A/N: I've been really into Jerza lately because of the latest chapters so HERE! Have another story. I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out and I hope you like it too! Heads up: it's a mix of both past and present moments.
Also, I'd like to say a special thanks to everyone that has been leaving reviews! You're all so lovely, ahhh! You leave me smiling for days. Thank you so much!
Title: Grow Old With Me
Rating: K+
Summary: A beautiful reminiscence of how we used to be.
"We were two old souls since time began...before light was measured in years." - Lang Leav
Grow Old With Me
The old man hobbled down the street gradually, having long since forgotten what it felt like to have joints that didn't ache with each and every step. Over the years, his bones had grown weak and his back had become slightly hunched but it wasn't all bad. He was still able to get around Magnolia to carry out errands and visit his grandchildren. Not to mention, he still had a full tangle of blue hair, even if it was peppered grey now.
As he shuffled into the bakery, both hands tucked into the pockets of his green coat, the smell of fresh pastries filled the air, coaxing a smile across his lips.
A pudgy man wearing a white apron and a big grin on his face waved from behind the counter, laughing heartily. "Ah, Mr. Fernandes! Right on time!"
"Good morning, Akio," Jellal replied, giving the baker's hand an amiable shake before slipping his hand back into the warmth of his pocket.
"I had a feeling you'd be paying me a visit today," Akio said, waggling his eyebrows knowingly. "And don't you worry, I baked a fresh strawberry cake earlier just for you!"
Jellal chuckled. "It seems I've stopped by this little place so often, even you remember how it's mine and Erza's anniversary today."
The baker chortled some more, his cheeks reddening as he placed both hands on his hips. "But of course! Your wife would have killed me a long time ago if I'd ever forgotten her wedding anniversary."
Jellal's lips tugged up in a fond smile, his hazel eyes crinkling at the thought of Erza in her younger days: fiery red hair, calm composure, adorning a death glare that could send anyone running towards the hills. "That sounds like something she'd do."
The baker laughed again before holding up a finger and disappearing out back only to return with a white square-shaped box. He lifted up the lid, peering at Jellal with eager eyes, waiting for the old man's approval.
The cake was quite small and round, topped with fresh cream and plump strawberries dotted in a circle. In the centre of the cake, 'Happy Anniversary' was written in a loopy red, much like the colour of his wife's hair and the engraving above and below his right eye.
Jellal's wizened face broke out into a warm smile as he dug around in his pocket for the correct amount of money. "It looks lovely, Akio. You know, she loves strawberries. Now that I recall, she loves just about anything sweet."
Although Jellal was generally quiet and reserved, he could ramble on just like the old man he was when it came to talking about Erza.
The wrinkles etched into his face told of long journeys: the lines outlining his eyes telling stories of laughter, tender smiles and affection whilst his forehead told tales of fears and worries he faced in the past. He had lived an incredible life so far but his favourite stories to tell his grandchildren all revolved around the scarlet haired woman he'd married. They rolled off his tongue with a certain ease and every memory with her was laced with a warmth and happiness he'd feel whenever he delved into reminiscence of their time together.
"Thank you, Akio. I'll see you soon," he told the baker, placing the money on the counter and reaching out for the cake box with trembling hands.
"You take care of yourself. Okay, Mr. Fernandes?"
Jellal turned around, lifting a hand in goodbye. "Of course."
She was standing in the kitchen, her hair tied up and a big smile plastered to her face. A blue apron hugged her body and her cheeks were powdered with white flour.
"You're back!" She beamed brightly at him, rushing to throw her arms around his neck and to press a soft kiss on his cheek.
"And you've been baking," he said with a raise of his eyebrow whilst she laughed, brushing the flour off his cheek.
"Of course!" she replied, excitedly ushering him to the kitchen table to sit down. "It's our first wedding anniversary, after all. It's a special occasion so I decided to try to bake a strawberry cake by myself."
"This should be interesting," he murmured, though the smile was already stretching across his lips.
The armour mage smacked him lightly on the head, muttering about 'hard work', 'ungratefulness' and 'the best strawberries in the whole of Magnolia' before turning on her heel and heading back to the kitchen counter where a small cake was neatly decorated with red strawberries and blue icing.
She held the cake out to him from across the room, stars in her eyes and a twinkle to her smile. "See? It turned out perfectly. And of course it did! I hand-picked these strawberries from the Magnolia valleys all by myself—"
One step, two—and by the third, the cake went flying out of her grasp, toppling to the floor with a loud splat.
Silence filled the room as they both just stared at the remains of the once perfect cake topped with handpicked strawberries from the valleys of Magnolia. Simply a catastrophe.
Erza's hands flew to her mouth as she squeaked, almost as if in pain. "No! MY GLORIOUS STRAWBERRY CAKE!"
Jellal's eyes widened before darting back and forth between his wife and the crushed cake. For a brief moment, he wondered what would happen. It was one thing for someone like Gray or Natsu to destroy her cake—of course, they'd immediately receive an ass whooping, no doubt about it.
But what happened when Erza destroyed her own cake?
And then her face crumpled, tears pooling in her eyes, but Jellal was already out of his chair, quickly folding his arms around her with his chin resting atop her head. "Erza, it's alright. It was just a cake. We can get another from the bakery if that's what you'd like."
"Just a cake? It wasn't an ordinary cake! I handpicked those strawberries from—from—"
"The valleys of Magnolia, I know," he said, amusement laced in his voice.
"I hope that's not laughter you're stifling."
"What? No, of course not, Erza."
They stayed like that for a while, fitting in each other's embrace like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, content with the silence surrounding them before Erza finally sighed into his chest. "…can we go get a cake from the bakery?"
Jellal chuckled fondly, stroking her hair. "Akio's?"
"Yes, let's go to Akio's."
The bell rang lightly in his ears as he walked into the shop filled with rows and rows of flowers. A rainbow of colours and a blend of exotic smells greeted him as he set the cake box on the counter and swiped a quivering hand across his forehead. He really was getting too old for all this lifting.
"Oh, hi!" A small woman organising a bouquet of pink roses beamed at him. "Ah, don't tell me…you called earlier today, didn't you? Err, red lilies, right?"
Older Jellal nodded.
"Got it. One sec!"
Moments later, she emerged holding a bouquet of blazing red lilies dotted with a meld of blue and yellow. Jellal took them into his shaky arms, brushing his fingers against the silky petals, lost in another memory. "You know," he said, a smile playing on his lips, "her hair was once the exact same shade as these lilies. Of course, many years have passed since then."
"Oh yeah?" The lady returned the smile, taking the money from him and propping her elbows on the counter. "Well, in that case, I'm sure she'll love them."
"I'm sure she will. Thank you."
She was stood in front of the mirror, holding a lock of hair in her grasp and sighing heavily.
"What's wrong?" Jellal asked, leaning into the doorframe with his arms lazily crossed against his chest.
Erza picked out a single strand of hair, glaring threateningly at it. "I found a grey hair."
"Oh?"
"Yes, it seems so." She sighed once more, letting the hair fall back into place before turning to her husband with a frown. "It appears as though I'm getting old."
Jellal raised an eyebrow at her, a playful gleam glinting in his eyes as the corner of his mouth tugged up in a grin. "Does this mean I can't say 'it was the colour of your hair' anymore?"
Erza glared at him.
But he simply laughed, walking over to stand behind her before pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
His hands sifted through ribbons of red hair, fingers finding that single grey strand contrasting against the rest. "Your hair may have been red when we first met and it may have been red on our wedding day. It was even red all those wonderful years after too. But for it to be turning grey?" He rested his chin on her shoulder, his breath softly tingling her cheek. "That just shows we're growing old together, doesn't it?"
Erza smiled, tilting her face slightly to get a better look at him.
"So…grow old with me," he told her.
"I will," she replied softly.
The cake box and bouquet of red lilies clutched firmly in his arms, the older Jellal Fernandes made his way along the paths of Magnolia.
He couldn't wait to take these gifts to Erza.
At the thought, his lips stretched into a faint smile, though the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. His expression was a happy one but tinged with a certain sadness that would never quite leave him.
Jellal sighed, slowly bending to put the box and flowers on the ground before crouching down himself. It would take him a long while to get back up but he knew he'd be staying here for a considerable amount of time now.
It was the fourth wedding anniversary of theirs she had missed.
The smile that had been present at the corners of his lips faded away. Instead, a soft whimper escaped him as his hand ran lightly along the edge of her gravestone, cold to the touch.
Tears brimming the corner of his eyes, he laid the lilies around her grave, scattering them so that they burned brightly like flames against the dull colour of the soil.
The flowers were cut at the stem. They were no longer growing. They were living corpses, both alive and dead at the same time. He couldn't help but feel the same after her passing. Without her warm smile to wake up to every morning, without her laughter to fill their home, without her presence in his life, he was like a ghost wandering around the house alone.
His memories of her both comforted and haunted him, sometimes filling him with warmth and other times, filling him with a hopeless and empty longing to have her beside him.
Time had betrayed him by taking his wife away from him and leaving him all alone.
"Happy anniversary, Erza," he whispered. "I miss you."
A/N: OKAY...well, that hurt to write. But it's a good kind of pain, right? They spent their whole lives together, after all.
I promise the next one will be a happier story! Truth be told, this only happened because I just finished 'Clannad After Story' and felt the need to write something sad because damn, I feel a bit broken now.
