A/N: Moving along then. Now back to our thoroughly intimidated/confused bachelor.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

The Last Straw

Jellal walked away from his meeting with Irene with a frown on his face. He had no idea why she was so intimidating to him. He was rarely intimidated by anyone or anything, and all of those things were insanely powerful and had proved it to him directly. Maybe it was because she was Erza's mother. Not just Erza's mother, but Erza's mother who had finally started to care about her daughter's wellbeing.

He wondered if he had cared that she would be staying at Wendy's that night. He hadn't told anyone, but he was planning to ask Erza on a vacation to a remote cabin for a week so that they could take that next step of their relationship in peace. If he was being honest, he was to antsy to wait that long. After the fourth night in a row hearing Laxus and Mira being loud all night and fleeing to Erza's for the night he decided he needed to get over his fears and just sleep with Erza.

He walked into what was now officially Laxus's office to talk to his friend. Jellal collapsed into the recliner in the corner and looked at Laxus, who was now looking up from some papers he was trying to read.

"I thought I might see you this morning," Laxus said. "Need a beer?"

"No," Jellal sighed.

"Mira said Irene was going to grill you today," Laxus told him. "I think Mira's too crazy about forcing you and Erza to have sex already, but tell that to her. Especially now that she's forced Irene over to her cause."

Jellal sighed. "I was actually planning on taking her on a romantic vacation for that exact purpose when she had time, but I don't think Mira or Irene would stand to wait for that."

"Where were you gonna take her?" Laxus asked. "I need ideas. It's been too stressful and I need a break."

"I had a cabin in the woods as a hideout for a while. It's completely cut off from civilization, so it's a great place to relax. Right on a lake as well," Jellal said.

"Does it have a bed though?" Laxus asked.

"Yeah. And a few bunk beds. Crime Sorciere used it quite a bit before the war," Jellal replied. "I need to renovate it into more of a romantic getaway and remove the bunkbeds before I take Erza there."

"Well, Mira and I could do that for you if you give us a weekend there. God knows I need a break from all the members of Fairy Tail but her right now."

"I don't think Irene or Mira will wait that long for anything to happen. If I don't do anything soon they'll do something drastic," Jellal sighed.

"What? Like send you to a resort or something?"

"No, something worse, whatever that would be," Jellal insisted.

Laxus gave Jellal a sympathetic look. "It's not like you don't want to. Why don't you just get it over with?"

"Irene. All my other hesitations were gone until I found out she was staying with Erza," Jellal explained.

"No, I totally get it," Laxus said.

"But Irene's staying with Wendy tonight, so suddenly I have no excuses," Jellal told Laxus. "And somehow that's making me more nervous."

"Then just do it. Look, I was worried about disappointing Mira too. I know she's had guys that were a lot better than me. I still don't know why she likes it so much," Laxus said.

Jellal could tell Laxus was uncomfortable admitting that, but was grateful that Laxus was willing to share his insecurities.

"I'd say you're in a much better position as well," Laxus said. "Mira told me that Erza's been saving herself for you. Well, when she was a teenager and hated you she wasn't doing it consciously, she was just too turned off the idea of any relationship, but after she found out you were alive and redeemable after the Nirvana incident she started consciously saving herself."

Jellal didn't know why he was surprised by that. None of the tabloids about Erza had every mentioned a relationship other than the possibility of one with Grey, who Jellal knew was practically a brother to Erza. Despite Erza's hatred for him, Jellal also wondered about Ichiya because he was so convinced he had a claim on her.

"Maybe I'll just go for it," Jellal mumbled.

"Yeah. And you don't have to worry about condoms – Erza's on birth control," Laxus informed him.

"Why do you know that?" Jellal asked.

Laxus shrugged. "Mira told me that she, Erza, and Cana all take the same monthly potion and have been since they were teenagers. It stops their periods entirely so they don't have to worry about it on missions."

"That sounds like Erza," Jellal replied.

"What about it?"

"Planning for absolutely everything," Jellal deadpanned.

Laxus laughed. "I'll be scared when she decides to stop taking it. Imagine a pregnant Erza."

Jellal didn't want to. Well, he did want kids with Erza, but a pregnant Erza sounded dangerous. "It would be even worse if she and Mira were pregnant at the same time."

"Don't even bring up that possibility," Laxus threatened jokingly. "If the guild hall was left standing I'd consider us lucky."

"If we're left standing we'll be lucky," Jellal corrected his friend.

"Anyways, you should go talk to Irene about it," Laxus recommended. "I'm willing to bet she wouldn't be so insistent if Mira wasn't influencing her."

Jellal scoffed. "There's no way Mira could force Irene to do anything."

"Well, she might be able to if Irene was bored enough, and I'd say she's probably bored enough," Laxus pointed out.

"I suppose," Jellal conceded.

"Maybe she'll lay off you if you tell her your plans and give her a part in them," Laxus advised Jellal.

"But do I really want to?"

"Yes, Jellal. You do. Now go see her, I have work to do," Laxus said.

Jellal trudged back to see Irene. She was still sitting at the table, now reading a newspaper. He tried to steel himself for conversing with her. If Laxus was correct about her boredom being the driving force behind her interest in his relationship with Erza, she should be more receptive to him once he told her his plans.

"Yes, Jellal?" Irene asked. She didn't move her eyes from the paper.

"I was wondering if you'd help me," Jellal said.

"I already said I would – I'm going to stay at Wendy's tonight," Irene purred.

"You don't need to do that," Jellal said. "I was actually planning on taking Erza on a little vacation."

Irene raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"I have an isolated cabin I figured she'd like to spend some time in," Jellal said.

"Wouldn't a girl prefer a cushy resort?" Irene questioned him. She looked over the paper's edge at Jellal, but didn't put it down.

"Of course she would," Jellal replied. "But does that really matter when she's going to be spending her time inside?" He was surprised how suave he came off as with that statement – and that he even implied such a thing to Irene.

"I suppose not," Irene said. "But I trust you are planning to take her somewhere nice later?"

"Once I have the money to take her to the best resort in the country," Jellal replied.

Irene finally put down her paper. "It's good you recognize her needs. Is there a hot spring near this cabin?" Irene asked, curious if Jellal knew that Erza could hardly survive without warm baths. She could if necessary, but Irene knew a relaxing weekend for Erza would not be survivable if she didn't have a bath. That much was evident the first week after the war ended and the bath at Fairy Hills was closed due to a disruption in the plumbing system. Irene watched Erza fume waiting for a bath. On the first day after it reopened, Erza went missing. Irene found her later that night refusing to be dragged out of the bath by Wendy, who was concerned for her health after a long soak.

Jellal nodded. "In a cave, no less."

"Really?" Irene asked.

"Would I lie?"

"If you thought it would make me more likely to approve of your plans," Irene told him.

"Should I ask Erza to send you a picture?" Jellal asked sarcastically. When he saw the expression on Irene's face, he wondered if he had overstepped his place.

"No, I'll be fine," Irene replied.

"I do have a request for you," Jellal said. He saw Irene's eyes widen in surprise, but they quickly turned curious.

"And what would you have me do?" Irene asked.

"I'll be gone for a few days this week at the cabin getting it ready. I want you to make sure she's not looking for me," Jellal replied. "And if you would make sure she's not out on a job Friday, so we can leave then?"

"How do you propose distracting her so she's not looking for you?"

"Erza is independent," Jellal assured her. "She made it years without me."

"But those years are not now," Irene reminded him.

"She can keep herself busy," Jellal once again tried to convince her. "If she can't, see if you can get the runes expanded to all of Magnolia and ask her for a day of shopping, followed by a day of cake tasting."

"If you're only gone for two days," Irene pointed out. "Should I just recommend that she go out on another mission?"

"I'm sure I can figure something out in two days," Jellal replied. He knew any mission Erza took was liable to run long due to her teammates' behavior.

"Good," Irene said. "You have a deal."

Jellal had told Crime Sorciere (well, everyone but Sorano, who had left to go to Sabertooth) that he would be out the next week. Now that they were essentially free to do what they wanted they didn't care. Or rather, they didn't care until Erik revealed why he'd be gone, and then they cared only to tease Jellal about his romantic getaway.

Erik asked him later, privately, if he would lend the cabin to Erik for a while so he could spend time away from all of their voices. Jellal knew what Erik's true motivation for wanting the cabin was – Kinana – and that he couldn't hide that knowledge from Erik, so he agreed to allow Erik use of it as long as they cleaned up. He hoped that no one else would request its use, but he knew Laxus had already asked. Jellal could only hope that the rest of Fairy Tail wouldn't find out.

After spending a long afternoon gathering up and packing the supplies he needed, Jellal decided that he would go see Erza. Even if he wasn't planning for anything to happen, it would be nice to have time alone with Erza after the chaos of the war. With Irene living with Erza, there hadn't been a way for them to have one of the private moments of peace they so enjoyed with each other.

Jellal climbed up the tree that was right outside Erza's bedroom shortly after sunset. He was surprised to see that the window was open already, but figured that since it was a warm night Erza had wanted to keep the window open for fresh air. He hopped through it and landed next to her bed only to see Erza, wearing only a towel, laying on her bed reading a romance novel. She looked up at him with a slightly surprised expression. The flush on her face could have been caused by a number of things, so he wasn't sure she was embarrassed.

"Jellal," Erza exclaimed. "I- I wasn't expecting you this early!"

"But you were expecting me?" Jellal asked. He didn't take off his shoes or coat in fear of her sending him away.

"Well, not exactly," Erza said. "But Mira was acting suspicious today. She made a point of telling me that Irene would be at Wendy's tonight before reminding me that you were now free."

Jellal had to admit, for all her attempts to subtly get various couples together, Mira couldn't possibly be so subtle that Erza (her best friend) wouldn't be able to tell when she had something up her sleeve.

"I figured she had forced you to come over here to see me," Erza continued. "I was ready to wait for you, however long it took for you to be ready for a relationship, but Mira isn't – she wants to make it happen."

Jellal wondered how to respond. "I think that's because she knows I am ready," Jellal admitted quietly. "But that I wasn't planning to make a move on you."

"Wasn't?" Erza asked, her expression mirroring her Mom's questioning look.

If Jellal was as suave as some of the other men he knew, he would have kissed her then and there. Instead, he felt in necessary to reply. "Well, I was making plans, but I kept it from her."

Erza was the one to reach up, grab the edges of his coat, and drag him down for a kiss. At first Jellal stood frozen from the shock, and then began to lean into it. Erza pulled away from him, a now obvious blush covering her face. Both of them turned their heads, trying not to show their embarrassed excitement at the kiss.

"That was…" Erza said first, trying to come up with words. When she couldn't, she dragged Jellal back down for another kiss. Jellal was the one to pull away from her, causing Erza to stare at him until she saw that he was taking off his shoes and coat. As soon as he was done, she pulled him back to the bed and embarrassment turned into a predatory expression on her face.

An hour later, Jellal found himself naked under Erza's covers. The woman herself had curled up behind him, playing the part of the big spoon. He had been trying to wiggle himself away from her so that he could convince Erza to leave the bed. Under their hips he could feel that the sheets were very wet and therefore uncomfortable to sleep on, so he greatly desired a change of bedding. Erza wasn't having it, and he doubted any explanation of his reasoning on his part would help.

"Erza?" Jellal asked, going for his absolute last resort. "Would you like to go for another round in the shower?" It was his last resort because it was a request he was too embarrassed to make otherwise.

Erza shifted against his back and nuzzled his neck possessively. "I don't want to move. Maybe in the morning?"

Jellal sighed, but was able to hold back a groan.

"Just go to sleep Jellal," Erza told him in a rather non-reassuring voice. "We can change the sheets in the morning."

Jellal waited until she was asleep, hoping that she would have a laxer grip in her sleep. That didn't happen. Instead, in his first attempt at movement, her arms tightened even more. At that point he figured he had no choice but to sleep, so he did.

A/N: I may write the lemon portion of that later, but if I do it would be added to one of the oneshot collections.