"How did you know I preferred beer to wine?" Jellal asked when she passed him a bottle. Erza raked her eyes over him in a way that made the hair on his arms prickle.

"Honestly, I didn't. I prefer beer for myself." She sipped from her bottle and glanced at the oven timer. "But since you asked, I'd say it would've been a few things that gave you away."

"Such as?" Jellal was enjoying the open way she flirted with him since his arrival.

"Well, for one, you admitted you weren't actually a poet. If you'd claimed the talent, I'd probably assume you were a whiskey or wine drinker."

"Creative bias proves alcohol preference?"

"It can – stereotypically speaking, of course. But I can't imagine someone with a job as potentially stressful as yours falling back on all the pomp and decadence as a bottle of wine. The fragile glasses, the corking, and pouring… no. No, I can't see you being that guy."

"Well, you're not wrong." He laughed easily. "That's a lot of steps I don't want to go through at the end of my day. Beer is completely self-contained and that's important to me."

"I figured." Erza winked. "A man's got to have his priorities."

"Why do you prefer beer?"

"Do you honestly think wine glasses would last more than ten minutes in a house with a six year old boy and his rambunctious friends?" Her mock incredulity amused him. "Come on, Jellal, I know you know better than that."

"Fair enough."

"I don't really drink enough to warrant the purchase of decent glasses, anyway. This week is an exception because Rogue is gone and I'm an adult who's allowed to have drinks with dinner. Plus, I do have company."

The timer went off and interrupted their conversation. He'd only sampled her culinary skills twice so far and she didn't disappoint. After eating, Jellal was a model guest by helping Erza clean up. When he placed the last handful of forks on the drying rack he leaned against the counter and smiled down at her. She wiped her hands on a towel and stood incredibly close. Her fingers wrapped around his wrist and her mouth opened to speak just as the doorbell rang rudely. The glare Erza directed toward the front hall made him hope to never be on the receiving end of such ire.

"Excuse me," she mumbled and he trailed behind her stopping in the archway that split into the living room, and front hall. Jellal watched Erza quickly dispatch the delivery man and leave the box he'd brought unchecked in the entryway.

"You're not even going to open it?"

"It's just some stuff the Institute sent that's completely unimportant right now." Erza leaned against the archway frame and grinned at him. "So. I think it's time we had a conversation regarding the fact that you're not Rogue's teacher anymore."

Jellal smirked and stepped toward her. Erza allowed him to all but pin her body between his and the wood of the frame. "No, I'm not."

"And unless I'm mistaken," Her hand strayed to his chest and she lightly grasped the fabric of his t-shirt. "There's been this… thing hanging between us for a very long time." She looked up at him and Jellal's hands grazed up her arms, skimming over them until his fingertips slid into her hair and his thumbs caressed either side of her jaw. He leaned in – his cheek against hers and his lips brushing the shell of her ear.

"You aren't mistaken," he whispered before turning his head to capture Erza's lips in urgent, but agonizingly slow, kiss. Her mouth was hot and tasted faintly of beer, but the flavor struck him as incredibly addictive. The ever-tightening string that connected them suddenly snapped and there was no more reason for distance.

He kissed her with all of the pent-up frustration that had been coursing through his body for months, and couldn't be bothered with an attempt to stop the sound of pleasure that growled low in his chest. When Jellal finally pulled back her lips were red and swollen – deliciously so – and her cheeks dusted with a complimentary pink. Erza smiled up at him when his thumb brushed over her bottom lip. There was no leverage between them for her to meet him halfway so her arms wound around his neck and brought him back down for another searing kiss.

Jellal's hands settled on her waist and his fingers inched their way beneath the hem of her shirt; he needed to touch her. When his tongue brushed against the seam of her lips Erza didn't hesitate to dash out and collide with him. He wondered if every part of her was as warm as her mouth. Erza pushed against his chest and he leaned back in dazed confusion.

"Couch," she muttered breathlessly and guided him to fall into the cushions. An eyebrow shot up when she straddled his lap and gazed down at him. "I've been playing by the rules for months, Jellal. Months. Having feelings for my son's teacher took some time to reconcile but I'm over it."

"You are?" he asked stupidly.

"I'm tired of denying the way I feel and holding back because of conflicting interests." She pressed her chest against his and the way her hips settled over him sent flickers of heated pleasure all the way to the tips of his fingers. Every last vestige of space or breath between their bodies fizzled.

"You don't think maybe –" He didn't want to protest but, more than that, he didn't want to end up with nothing but a one night stand.

"I'm not pulling you into my bed tonight, Jellal," she breathed against his lips. "Not tonight. But I do need you to kiss me before I combust."

He decided he could live with that, and let himself drown in the sensations of Erza in his lap and against his chest and… in his lap. She was soft and firm and so much better than he'd dared to imagine. The quiet whimper that escaped her lips had him clutching her waist to both pull her impossibly closer and press her downward for shameless friction. Erza's fingers feathered through his hair tugging on his scalp in the most exquisitely painful way. If he could pry his hands from her body he'd have them tangled in her own strands but that could wait – he'd come back to the hair later. Erza pulled her mouth from his and laughed breathily.

"I knew you'd be a good kisser."

"Did you?" He pressed his nose into the wonderfully soft skin of her neck and inhaled deeply. She smelled vaguely of soap and something sweet he couldn't quite identify – he hoped the scent would linger on his shirt later.

"Hm," she mumbled when he took her skin into a wet, open mouthed kiss. "I did."

"So you thought about kissing me?" Jellal asked before sucking hard. Erza reacted immediately - her thighs tightened around his hips and she arched into him.

"Yes, I –" She cut off into a strangled, high pitched groan as he grazed over the reddened area gently with his teeth.

"A lot?" He persisted. He moved to her jaw and ghosted his lips over the spot just under her chin. She inched ever closer and Jellal thought for sure he could feel the heat emanating from the place between her legs that was covered only with a few layers of cotton.

"Mmhm." Jellal could feel the vibrations in her throat.

"But this is better?" He left one more red mark on her neck and felt a ridiculously animalistic sense of pride knowing they'd be there for a day or two. Erza forcefully pushed him back against the couch cushions and smirked in a wicked – but incredibly sexy – way.

"You're just teasing me now." She slid her hands beneath his shirt and her fingers fanned out across his chest. Somewhere in the back of his mind where rational thought was still possible Jellal was grateful for all his running and attempts at fitness. "My turn," Erza whispered indecently in his ear before swiftly moving to his neck and sucking his skin into her mouth forcefully. She was not subtle at all in the way she intended to mark him. Her fingernails scratched down his chest and Jellal's eyes rolled back into his head before sliding shut. This woman would be the death of him.

Erza left twice as many marks on him as he'd left on her and kissed every one of them softly before sliding off his lap and pressing into his side. The sun had long set and her living room was draped in darkness. Even in his most fervent fantasies he'd never imagined her so… aggressive. Jellal didn't know if this was because he hadn't dared to imagine she'd return his feelings with such intensity or because his imagination just wasn't that creative. Either way, Erza surprised him and it was definitely for the best.

"I want to take you out properly," Jellal said quietly into the dark room, fumbling for her hand. Erza threaded their fingers together and he felt her head rest against his shoulder.

"I'd like that."

"Tomorrow?" Erza's free hand pressed against his cheek and turned his head toward her. He could barely see her face in the moonlight.

"I hope you don't think that this week when Rogue is gone that this is all we'll have." She paused and licked her lips. "This isn't just a quickie for me, Jellal. When I say that I really like you, I mean it."

"Erza you've been on my mind for damn near eight months. If a quick fling was all I wanted, I wouldn't have waited for you. I want to be with you. And -" He sighed and brushed the back of her hand with his thumb. "And I don't think Rogue has to be out of town for me to be happy with you. I've never thought of him as an obstacle or something that needs to be out of the way for me to be here. That's part of the reason I had to draw a line until he wasn't in my class anymore."

Erza smiled brightly in the darkness and lifted herself back into his lap. She kissed him gently and hid her face in the crook of his neck.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Jellal saw Erza four times that first week and the way she made his heart race hadn't abated in the slightest. It was incredibly surreal to be with her out in public and not have to cage his affection. A latent concern had been that once they became better acquainted the attraction would fade and all the waiting, anticipation and prelude would be for nothing but a five minute symphony. Jellal supposed that there was still a chance for that to happen. A week was nothing in the grand scheme of time spent in a relationship.

Rogue would return from his camping trip in a few hours and he didn't know how things would proceed after that. It was entirely possible the little boy hadn't completely conceptualized his mother dating his former teacher and wouldn't want to share her attentions. As much as he hated the thought of it, Jellal knew in that situation he'd step aside without making a scene. Rogue needed his mom more than Jellal needed a girlfriend.

They hadn't made plans for the weekend under the pretense of Rogue unwinding from his trip and Erza wanting time to chat about dating his old teacher before exposing him to the new dynamic. Jellal didn't think it was a bad idea, it was a very good one in fact, but he had nerves about it nonetheless.

He'd been reclining on his balcony watching the sunset while Milliana studiously cleaned her paws near the sliding glass door. She'd caught a spider moments earlier and dubbed the hunt sufficient enough to warrant a thorough tidying. Jellal's phone chimed next to him and he mindlessly reached for it. The notification was an email from Erza and without trying to feel rushed he opened the message. She wanted him to join them for dinner and he felt both relieved and anxious. Surely if Rogue had voiced any objections she wouldn't be inviting him over… right? In any case he knew he needed a shower before going anywhere.

An hour later he arrived at Erza's house to find Rogue sitting on the front porch poking at invisible bugs in the flowerbeds with a stick. When he saw Jellal he brightened.

"Hey, Mister Fernandes!" His face was a shade darker and the change was likely due to the amount of time he'd spent outdoors while away. "Mom's on the phone with her boss so you should probably wait out here. They're so boring." Jellal laughed and took a seat next to Rogue on the steps.

"Boring, huh?"

"Yep. Mister Dreyer is a tiny, and hairy, man. He talks a lot."

"I see. Well how about you tell me about not-boring stuff? How was your trip? Did you have a good time with Sting?"

"I sure did, Mister Fernandes! His dad is kinda loud though, and I think Sting missed his mom."

"Did you get to sleep in a tent?"

"Yep…" Rogue paused and looked up at Jellal with a very straight face. "Well, we did, but Sting's dad accidentally set it on fire. After that they made us sleep in a cabin."

Jellal cleared his throat in an attempt to cover his laugh. "How did he accidentally set a tent on fire?"

Rogue sighed and went back to poking in the flowerbed. "That's the thing, Mister Fernandes. I have no idea. One minute he was roasting marshmallows and the next… tent fire."

"The move to a cabin was probably for the best, then. What other kinds of stuff did you do?"

"Oh, you know. Outdoors stuff - we went fishing and learned how to pick out poisonous, itchy plants. My mom said I can go next year if I want."

"Well, I'm glad you had a good time." Rogue was quiet for a moment before looking back up at him again seriously.

"My mom told me that she spent a lot of time with you while I was gone." Jellal's face felt warm.

"Uh, yeah, that's… yes she did." Rogue nodded.

"I can tell she likes you Mister Fernandes. Will you be nice to her? And not –" he faltered and sighed. "Not leave? Like my dad? I think my dad made her sad a lot."

"Rogue," Jellal paused. This wasn't the conversation he'd expected to have. "This stuff between me and your mom is kind of new, and I don't know how things will happen in the future. But I can definitely promise that I'll do my best to make her smile and not sad."

"Thanks, Mister Fernandes." Rogue nodded sagely.

"It's important to me that you're also happy. Is it okay with you that I spend time with your mom? I really like her, too."

"She's pretty, huh? Nobody has hair like my mom."

Jellal laughed. "She's pretty, yes, but that's not the only reason I like her. She's also very smart and capable."

"That's good. Being pretty isn't the most important thing, you know." Jellal raised his eyebrows. There was a rustling inside the house and they heard Erza calling for Rogue. "We'd better go." He stood and Jellal followed suit. "So…" Rogue toed the front door mat.

"What is it?"

"Can I just ask one thing?"

"You can ask me whatever you want."

"Does this mean that you're my mom's… boyfriend?" Jellal knelt down to Rogue's level.

"Does that title bother you?" he asked quietly.

"No." Rogue shrugged. "I just wanted to know what to call you if someone asks."

"Do you think many people will ask?"

"Well…" he said slowly. "Mister Ichiya asks me sometimes if my mom has a boyfriend and he talks about how good she smells a lot." Rogue wrinkled his nose. "It gets on my nerves."

"Who's Mister Ichiya?"

"I think he works for Mister Dreyer, too. He's really short and always at the Institute when I go up there. He told my mom once she was too gorgeous to be by herself. I don't like him."

"Well –"

"Can I tell him the next time I see him that my mom has a boyfriend and to not talk to her anymore?"

"Uh, well…" Jellal squirmed. "I think maybe that should be something you discuss with your mom first. She might not want to talk about her personal life at work." He didn't want to say that he already disliked this Ichiya guy, too.

Rogue sighed dramatically. "I guess. Anyway, Mister Fernandes, I'm happy you're going to be around more."

"Me too." Jellal smiled and stood just as the front door opened.

"There you are, Rogue!" Erza stepped from the house and noticed Jellal had arrived. "Oh! You're here. I had no idea."

"It's fine, mom," Rogue supplied. "We were just talking about man things. I'll go wash my hands for dinner." Erza's eyebrows flew up as her son marched inside the house.

"Man things?" She asked when he disappeared down the hallway.

"He wanted to make sure I would treat you properly." Jellal winked, and pulled Erza against him.

"How noble," Erza said teasingly. "He was excited to see you, I think. All evening he's been bouncing off the walls. I'm willing to bet be crashes hard after dinner."

"He mentioned Natsu set a tent on fire?"

Erza rolled her eyes. "I swear, Lucy Dragneel is a saint. I hope you aren't as prone to disaster as he is."

"I don't think so." Jellal grinned and nudged her nose with his.

"Good." She tilted her head and kissed him. "This is a rent house, after all. I'd like my deposit back when I move out." Jellal laughed and kissed her once more before being led into the house.