A/N: Another story in the Edolas universe, this time it's Mystwalker/Edo Jerza. :) I hope you'll like it! :D
Pairing: Mystwalker/Edo Jerza
Prompt: War's end kiss
-After all of this was over, they'd have to have a serious conversation.-
Word count: 2269
"Your Highness, watch out!"
A blue haired man turned around just in time to see an enemy trying to attack him from behind. With practiced ease he swung his sword and defended himself, then rushed to the side of his most trusted general that just saved his life.
"Thank you for warning me.", Jellal said, back to back with a red haired woman who just fended off two more attackers.
"It would have been bad if the King was killed, especially with me so close by. I would like it if you took better care of yourself, Your Excellency. Your life is not yours only.", General Knightwalker responded professionally, turning only a bit so she could look at her superior from the corner of her eye. Seeing him smirk, in a situation like this, made her incredibly angry, but they didn't have the time for another one of their "silly", as some would call them, arguments.
"The west wing is under intense attack. I must lead a part of the trope there and help them. I trust it that you are more than capable of taking care of yourself from now on, Jellal.", Erza said, now talking to a friend, rather than her king, and Jellal turned around so he could look her in the eye. They silently communicated, telling each other everything through their looks.
"Don't you (dare) lose."
With a nod, General Knightwalker left King Jellal's side, and shouted for her men to retract to the west. Jellal was left with one more general by his side, and two tropes guarding him.
"When this is over", he said, talking to himself, "you and I will have to have a serious conversation, General. So you better come back in one piece." The enemy kept attacking, so the King resumed fighting, counting on his associates to help him protect the country.
…
Several hours later, the exhausted soldiers were returning to their tents. The battle was over, and the enemy king surrendered. The Kingdom of Edolas was, once again, protected. Naturally, there were many casualties, many wounded or dead. The King himself was injured, having been cut after defending two young warriors. He wasn't in a serious danger, but he will be seriously scolded once his female general heard of his stupidity, as she would say.
Jellal hoped he would hear that scolding soon.
Even though the battle had ended, not everyone returned yet. It was unknown for many whether they were just missing, or were actually dead. And the west wing was under the biggest pressure. So even though many of his subordinates already reported to him, Erza Knightwalker was yet to do so. No one had seen her either. Jellal believed in Erza , he truly did – she was one of his most trusted soldiers and one of the best as well – but he couldn't help but feel worried for her. Even though she told him, numerous times, that they shouldn't mix professional and personal feelings, Jellal couldn't simply shrug his worries off. She… She was someone dear to him. Very dear.
He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard a ruckus outside, and an irritated female voice approaching.
"Uh-oh", Jellal though, "she sounds really angry."
And just at that moment, the red head warrior violently pulled away the curtains to his tent and marched towards Jellal, grabbing him by the collar of his tattered uniform. Jellal only hissed a bit, even though his whole front side was hurting.
"How stupid are you, huh? Why in the world did you, a king, jump in front of the enemy's sword to protect two mere soldiers? Have you any idea what would have happened if they actually killed you? Did you think for a second about the consequences of your idiocy- and no, don't even start your "I have to protect everyone" fairy bull because if you had died, all of us would have been in danger!", Erza yelled at Jellal, tired and exhausted from the battle, but livid because of the information she got about him risking his life. It was as if he forgot who he was and what his responsibilities were. Even worse, it was as if he intentionally chose not to listen to her and go ahead and throw himself at the enemy's hands. She was about to start yelling at him once more, but then he put one of his hands on hers, and looked at her with gentle eyes.
"I'm so glad you're okay.", he whispered, and Erza couldn't stop the subtle blush from appearing on her cheeks. She didn't let go of him yet, though, because she still had many things she wanted to say to him.
"Oh, no, don't you think you can get away from this by… by doing that! What you did was probably the stupidest thing you've done so far, and you've done many stupid things, believe me. And where's the idiot that was supposed to protect you? Uh, when I get my hands on him, I'm going to-"
"He's in his tent right now. He is being healed. Please, do not disrupt the medics.", Jellal calmly said, disentangling himself from Erza's grasp. "And I am not trying to get away from anything. You are right – what I did was very stupid and I admit my mistake.", he apologized, now standing across from her.
"Then- Then why did you do it?!", Erza asked incredulously, but Jellal just shrugged, angering her even more.
"Instinct, I guess."
"Instinct, you guess. Well, if that's so, I shouldn't be angry with you at all, isn't that right?", Erza yelled once again, and by now, Jellal was sure that everyone could hear them. He was also sure that no one would dare interrupt their little argument, as everybody knew that the king and the red haired general had become very close over the past few years, and that Erza would never do any real harm to Jellal because she was loyal. They also knew, though, that when angry, Erza would turn into something close to the demon himself, and they didn't want to experience her wrath.
"That's not what I'm saying, but can we please talk about this later? I have some more important things to discuss with you right now.", Jellal said, causing Erza to rise an eyebrow.
"What could possibly be more important than teaching you a valuable lesson?", she asked with her arms crossed beneath her chest.
Jellal looked her from the top to the bottom. She was dirty, bruised and bloodied all over. Cuts and scars marred her skin, and her hair fell over her shoulders like a river of blood. Her uniform was tattered, revealing quite a lot, though it didn't hide much from the beginning anyway. She looked like a mess, but there was still a dignified aura around her that made her look absolutely stunning. Like she was the goddess of war. And, well, Jellal was sure that those old men from the council would be absolutely flabbergasted by his move, but they had been nagging him about this for such a long time already, that he was starting to get annoyed. And if he had to do it, he'd do it on his own conditions.
"Marry me.", he said, pulling the straightest face he could make, and Erza's jaw dropped. Outside, he could hear collective gasps, a few cheers and even some words about some kind of a bet, but he ignored it all, looking straight at the woman in front of him. Who was still gapping.
"W-what? Are… Are you… Are you insanse?!", she finally said, and it was the exact reaction Jellal was expecting. "You must have hit your head or something, that's why you keep doing stupidities like this. You know how I said you risking your life for those two was the stupidest thing you ever did? Well, I take it back. This is.", she said, walking around the tent, and muttering all sorts of things (which a future queen should never say) under her breath. Those outside took that as a sign to get away as far as they can, and avoid being greatly injured.
"I am completely normal, thank you very much. In fact, I have been thinking about this for a while now, so there is no way I'm saying this only because I've hit my head. I'm serious. Marry me, Erza.", he repeated, as firmly as the first time, and Erza was slightly taken aback by this.
"You… do realize… that I am not a noblewoman, but a soldier.", Erza reminded him, taking a different approach to the situation.
"Yes, I'm very well aware, and if I may say, you're one of the best. That's why, should anyone attack you, I believe you'd be able to protect yourself.", Jellal countered, still wearing a calm face, and Erza narrowed her eyes at him.
"I almost killed you once. What guarantee do you have that I won't do it again?", she said, thinking of the time when the two of them met again after Jellal had spent seven years on Earthland as "Mystogan", when she attacked him while knowing he was the prince.
"You were only serving your previous king, which shows you are loyal. Besides, I believe you have changed since then. And I think we've grown… closer since then.", Jellal replied, reminding them both of a certain incident that happened about a year ago. Both Erza and he blushed remembering what happened that night, but then Erza cleared her throat and broke the awkward silence.
"What about my reputation as the Fairy Hunter? Those Fairy Tail people may put up with me now, but they haven't forgotten what I've done, I can assure you. Do you really think they'd accept me?", she said, her voice showing a tint of sadness and regret that she tried to hide, but Jellal just smiled softly.
"I told you", he said, "I've been thinking about this for a while. I've already asked them would it bother them."
"You what-"
"They haven't forgotten what you did.", he said seriously, prompting Erza to stop talking. "But they said that you've proved yourself, and that you deserve a second chance. And, according to Lucy, 'What better way to show you've changed that than to pledge your loyalty to the King and the Kingdom, and to swear you would protect the nation with everything you got?'
Erza was surprised, and she'd never admit, touched by the amount of trust her once enemies were putting into her. She was running out of excuses and reasons to say "no", and the more she thought about it, the more she realized she didn't want to say it. A strange kind of warm feeling was spreading through her body, and she could feel her heart beat fast, not out of excitement, fear or adrenalin, but because of the thought of being… married to Jellal. Not the king. Jellal.
Her face flamed up and Jellal allowed himself to subtly chuckle, amused by the red head's reactions. He knew she was giving in, and that she only needed a slight push to cave in completely. He smiled softly, feeling happy because of this. Erza looked at him again, and with a weakened voice asked him about one last obstacle.
"W-What about those fossils at the council? Surely they wouldn't agree with your decision."
"Who cares what they think? I'm the king. And I think we need to refresh the council a bit, anyway. Introduce some young blood.", he joked, and slowly closed in on Erza. She silently watched him, and she didn't move away from her spot. When Jellal approached her, he took her hand and kissed her knuckles, making Erza blush once again.
"I ask you again: Erza Knightwalker, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife, and the Queen of Edolas?", he asked, looking her straight into the eyes, and slowly, Erza nodded, inhaling a lot of air before answering.
"Yes."
Jellal smiled and kissed her knuckles again, then he kissed her forehead, and then they looked at each other's eyes before kissing on the lips, sealing their promise. As Jellal pulled away, he smiled at Erza, who averted her eyes, too embarrassed to look at him. After a few moments of silence, though, Erza remembered something.
"I'm still going to be a general, right? I don't have to quit just because I'm going to become a queen, right?", she seriously asked, and Jellal shook his head.
"I would never make you quit. You love being a general, and besides, Edolas needs you."
"Good. And… Y-you know I don't love you, right? This is just a m-marriage out of convenience, you know?", she said, but while stuttering, so she didn't sound too convincing, but Jellal humored her anyway.
"Of course. But, you have to admit that you at least like me.", he teased her, and she thought about punching him but decided against the idea, as it was not the smartest thing to do to a king. Sighing, she nervously rubbed her legs against one another and mumbled something, but Jellal understood it clearly.
"You're… not that bad.", she said, and Jellal laughed at that, prompting Erza to hit him on the shoulder lightly.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But it's okay, don't worry – I have a lifetime to make you fall for me after all.", he winked at her, and at first, Erza was startled, but after only a few moments she smirked and confidently raise her head.
"Let me see you try, my King."
