Saving Grace
He realizes it's hard to run away from the ghosts of the past, and even harder to chase down the life just within his grasp.

Chapter Four
Half-Baked Session

Jellal was glad that they aren't required to have uniforms for it spared him the trouble and cost of having to provide one. Just right after he asked when he could officially start working, Erza responded by telling him that it was all up to him. He needed the job and he needed the money as soon as possible so he told her he could begin after lunchtime that day and they both had come to a mutual agreement.

The new resident of Hill Town came back to the restaurant right after taking a bath. Once inside, he scanned the room in search of Erza. From buzzing customers and the busy workers, he happened to catch a glimpse of that scarlet hair he'd obviously not mind getting used to. Unaware that he was in fact within her field of vision, he smirked at how focused the redhead was at work. Though she's got her hands full attending to the customers' special needs, the owner still managed to keep an eye on her employees. Jellal reluctantly approached her, wondering if he should tap her shoulder in order to get her attention.

He chose to clear his throat.

"Oh, Siegrain." she greeted, finally acknowledging him.

"I've never seen so many people in one place." he whistled, checking out the unbelievable number of people inside and the ones still pouring in.

Erza shrugged. "This is our easy case. You should see this place during the holidays."

She cleared her throat and he looked at her expectantly, waiting for instructions.

"I'm going to introduce you to the crew later, right now I'm just gonna pin point out each one and what tasks they do."

She first started at the one closest to their line of sight.

"The blonde waitress is Lucy. She's only been here for a month but she's adjusted pretty quickly." her eyes moved on to the next one. To Jellal, this lady was familiar. After all, it was the same person who jumped to conclusions when he first met her earlier that morning. "And you know Cana, of course."

They moved towards the kitchen next; the place where the magic happens. Jellal's mouth went slightly ajar at the display before his very eyes. This was, in fact, the very first time he'd set foot and set his eyes upon the heart of the restaurant. The food's aroma hung heavily in the air and he felt himself salivate instantly.

"That's Jet, Droy, Alzack, Bisca, Freed, Bixlow and Evergreen." her finger went on to point at the person with their given names one by one. Jellal merely nodded hoping that would reassure the redhead that he had already distinguished and identified who is who. "The big guy over there with a scar on his face is Laxus. He's second in command."

He raised a brow.

"Then who's the head?" Realizing a little too late how stupid his question sounded, he mentally slapped himself.

Erza, instead of being annoyed or taken aback by the seemingly insensitive query, just smiled.

"You're the boss and I'm an idiot."

"I won't argue with that. Come."

She brought him outside with two men: one was starting up the motorcycle's engine, while the other was busy loading the food inside the delivery box.

"Natsu, Gray," both looked at Erza at the same time and acknowledged the man beside her. "This is Siegrain. He'll be the new addition to our team. I'll leave him to you guys." with that, she gave them one last glance and then left.

Jellal watched her disappear inside and he turned his attention to the boys who seemed to be younger than him by a few years.

"It's nice to meet you!" the guy who was introduced to him named Natsu beamed.

"Yo," the other guy, Gray, greeted. "Our job's pretty simple, we get a call, we deliver. See that guy over there? His name's Max. He's the guy who gives us the signal. Oh and you don't have to be worried about getting lost. These babies all have GPS on them." he looked at the new resident with a hint of playfulness in his eyes. "You do know how to use them right?"

Who the hell do you think you're talking to? I've used much more complicated navigation systems that I doubt you've ever seen or heard of!

Jellal cleared his throat in hopes of pushing the thought to the deep recesses of his mind and answered with a humble nod instead.


Compared to his previous jobs that included either serious cases of injuries or life-and-death threatening situations this one though downright mundane and easy, came out as a refresher for him. He couldn't remember anything in the past where he was included in the country's workforce like the others, and he couldn't imagine he'd be doing it now. Something that's absolutely...

Normal.

"Oh, not the usual delivery boy huh? Are you new here kid?" the customer asked.

Jellal nodded.

"Well kid, I hope you're enjoying it here." There was something sincere about the way the middle-aged man beamed at him and it affected him in a way where he returned the smile too.

"I already am, sir." Jellal started the engine and donned his helmet to proceed to his next delivery. "Have a good day."

The rest of the day went well for the new resident and his other two workmates, Natsu and Gray eyed at him intensely. His heart skipped a beat. Could it be that they recognized him?

"You know..." Gray started. "During the end of the day, flame-brain and I are usually burnt out, but you...you look like you haven't broken a sweat!"

"Who are you calling a flame-brain you stripper?"

"I've been through worse." Jellal smirked.

"Seriously? Man, you're one tough cookie."

Understatement of the year.

"Good job." came a familiar voice from around the corner.

"Ms. Scarlet," Jellal acknowledged.

"Please, I thought I told you to call me Erza?" she offered a smile.

"We're done for the day," Gray told the manager. "I'm gonna get going now. See you tomorrow."

After saying goodbye, the redhead turned to the new employee to ask him how the work was.

"So?"

"...so what?"

"How was your first day?"

"Great. Best job I had—have—in years."

Erza laughed this one but the seriousness in the tone of voice of Jellal made her sudden outburst die down.

"You're not kidding?"

It was Jellal's turn to laugh.

"Honest." he confirmed.

Erza sighed and said before turning around to leave, "You're one interesting man, Siegrain."

Jellal merely shrugged and watched the retreating form of the redhead.

"Yosh, everything's clean." Natsu wiped his sweat right after he finished conditioning the motorcycle couriers. "I'm heading back home first, you coming?" he asked Jellal.

The new resident was not paying any attention to the query and asked instead.

"Say Natsu, have you known Miss Scarlet for a long time now?"

Natsu raised a brow in confusion.

"Uh, yeah, I mean I've been working for a long time here now."

''How long is a long time?"

"Uh, four years? But hey! Why are we talking about me?" he pouted childishly. "Anyway, you should really stop calling her Miss Scarlet."

Now it was his turn to raise his brow. "Why is that?"

"First, it makes me cringe just by hearing it."

Jellal laughed.

"And second, she's not actually a 'miss' man."

"What do you mean?"

Natsu grabbed his stuff and looked at Jellal innocently.

"Oh, weren't you informed? She's married."


A/N: Random update by a random author. :D