A/N: Thanks to everyone who read and responded!
This edited version is posted on 10/04/2018. Thanks to Saphira for her help!
When Jellal returned to the house, it was already a quarter past four in the afternoon. Ultear and Meredy hadn't come back yet. That meant they had already left for over five hours.
The two ladies had gone to the town again this morning to buy food and do some shopping. Jellal understood that shopping was always one of women's most favorite activities. But shopping with women was an activity he would rather avoid as much as possible. After spending his morning rewriting his letter to Erza, cleaning his bedroom and making lunch, he found that he had nothing more to do in the afternoon. That was why he made the decision to go to the forest to continue the exploration interrupted by the bandits yesterday after his lunch.
Jellal slumped down in the sofa.
I'd better not go to the forest again during the rest of the break.
He had chosen to keep his distance from Erza, so he shouldn't take the risk of being found out by her in the forest in case she was still staying there. Besides, he wasn't so sure – after the bandits who tried but failed to rob him and the woman whom he loved yet couldn't approach – who would be the next to surprise him if he stepped into that forest again. He wouldn't be so delighted if he was introduced to someone's boyfriend, although it would still be much better than a fatal encounter with the rune knights. But in the worst case, he would imagine to meet someone who belonged to both categories.
Jellal unwillingly turned his gaze to the coffee table, on which a certain magazine was placed. Straightening up and letting out a heavy sigh, he then grabbed that magazine and flipped to the story of "Titania's boyfriends" again.
These boyfriends still annoy you that you want to rid them from her, huh? And that desire of claiming her as yours hasn't vanished even though you know you're not allowed to do so? Then would you rather want her to live alone simply because it disturbs you seeing her be with any other man except yourself? If not, why can't you control your emotions to peacefully accept that she willone day date someone, either the guys mentioned in the magazine or not, get married and have children one day? Why keep on torturing yourself with someone you can't have but not end your suffering by letting go of her from your life? Don't you realize that you need to move on without her too, just like how you let her move on without you?
Jellal threw the magazine at the coffee table, sick of all the questions in his head that he can't answer. He propped his chin on his right hand, elbow resting on the knee.
"You have way too much free time on your hands to think about her," Jellal whispered to himself mockingly. "And even got a chance to see her from distance."
But when the break came to the end after three days, everything should return to normal. He would be too occupied with the dark guilds to think about his relationship with Erza. He wouldn't have time to follow every future development of "Titania's boyfriends" when he was busy travelling from one place to another. He would write her once in a while to let her know that he was safe but he wouldn't get her reply anyway. They would continue to live their own life far apart from each other, careful not to cross their paths. Then someday, he might find out that she had built a family with someone, but he had learnt to simply smile knowing she was happy and then continue living his life, unaffected.
Jellal suddenly hoped that the break could just end now. But he couldn't, not while taking his friends' wishes into consideration. And time will definitely not pass quicker than he wants it be, not at the rate that he was slowly disintegrating in his thoughts. As if to prove his assumption, he looked at the clock. Only half an hour had passed since his return to the house, but he actually thought that he must have been so lost in his thoughts that at least an hour had passed by. He shook his head, a helpless smile upon his lips.
He considered what he should do next. He was rather tired but didn't feel sleepy enough to want to go to bed. He actually got used to only sleep for a short period of time since he was enslaved in the Tower of Heaven. It might be that he could take a bath to get rid of the fatigue. His mind made up, he got the changing clothes and went into the bathroom.
Jellal heard a small sound of the door being opened from outside when he was putting on the clothes after the bathing. After a while, someone knocked on the bathroom's door.
"Are you inside, Jellal?" It was Ultear's voice.
"Yes!" Jellal shouted back. "I just finished. You need to use the bathroom?"
"No, that's okay, take your time. Just make sure you dress up properly when you come out."
"Uhm…yeah." Jellal answered back, frowning at her strange reminder. What made her suddenly think that he would not dress up properly in front of her and Meredy? Nonetheless, he did check on his clothes twice before opening the bathroom's door.
"So how was—" began Jellal as he walked into the living room. But his voice trailed off in the middle when he noticed there was another person in the living room. His heart skipped a beat and then eyes widened in shock as he realized who it was. Before he could open his mouth to greet the unexpected visitor, they spoke first.
"Long time no see, Jellal."
Jellal took in a deep breath.
"Yes, Erza, long time no see."
There was no way Jellal could hide from Erza now. In fact, he found himself gazing at her face. After more than a year, he finally saw her face-to-face once again – not in his imagination or in the magazine, and not her back like when he saw her in the forest. Her beauty was still something of a spell that made his heart melt in an instant, and her big brown eyes seemed to have the power of locking his soul in them.
It was equally difficult for Erza to take her eyes off Jellal's face. She was so happy to finally get a chance to be able to meet him after more than a year. Her heart started to beat at a strange rhythm as she realized how he was as handsome as she had always remembered, and she felt lost in his golden-green orbs which were now focused on her.
"That's all? No more things to say? Or are you two communicating via telepathy now?" Seeing how the two were in a loss for words as they drank in each other's presence, Ultear didn't miss the chance to tease them.
Jellal immediately cleared his throat to speak.
"So Erza…how did you meet Ultear and Meredy?"
"I bumped into them when I was on my way back to the town after sightseeing in the forest."
So she is on vacation? Alone? Jellal thought. But before he could clarify with Erza, Meredy spoke.
"So we were on our way back here when we saw Erza. We invited her over for dinner because, you know, we don't usually have the chance to meet a friend in such casual occasion!"
"Oh by the way, we will need some time to prepare for the dinner. How about you taking Erza for a walk at the nearby forest before dinner, Jellal?" Ultear suggested.
Ultear, you've overdone it. Jellal frowned a little. He really didn't see it as a good idea to spend time with Erza alone considering that he was still struggling to control his feelings over her.
"Can't we stay in the house? I've just cleaned up myself. Besides, I had already taken a walk outside this afternoon and I don't feel like repeating what I just did two hours ago."
"Erza wants to explore around, can't you do her a favor as our guest?" You're so stubborn, Jellal! Ultear started to lose her patience. "If you don't want to take a walk again, then take Erza to go boating on the lake. Don't tell me that you went boating as well in the afternoon! And you can clean up yourself once again when you come back if you like."
"It's okay, Ultear." Erza didn't want to hear another rejection from Jellal. It hurt. "It's fine with me if he doesn't want to go out. We can still talk here." She then turned to the blue-haired man. "I'm sorry to have bothered you."
"No, you didn't bother me," Jellal responded quickly.
He could tell that Erza was trying hard to hide her disappointment at his response to Ultear's suggestion, noticing how she tried but failed to smile at him. At the same time, he could feel that Ultear was giving him a deadly glare at his back.
He sighed internally and decided to give up his resistance. "Let me show you the lake." He smiled at her, determined to keep his feelings close this time. "Let's go, Erza."
