He didn't hesitate before throwing the guildhall doors open and stalking inside. No one got in his way or attempted to stop him – in fact Mirajane smiled sadly and motioned for him to follow her. She led him up a staircase and down a narrow hallway to a door.
"I'm sorry," she whispered before disappearing back down the hallway. Jellal ground his teeth and opened the door.
A candle burned on the side table, and a pot of dry herbs smoked nearby. Porlyusica turned to glare at him from the bedside and Makarov stared silently from a chair in the corner.
"Don't disturb her," the healer commanded. She turned to Makarov and gathered a bag. "I'll be back at sunrise."
Makarov simply nodded, but Jellal was not satisfied.
"Will she live?" he asked gruffly.
"Most likely. I've removed the poison thorns and treated the wounds." Porlyusica offered nothing more before leaving him alone with the guildmaster.
"She shouldn't have gone alone," Jellal muttered.
"I don't police my S-Class mages. Erza is strong enough to handle herself." Makarov grunted when he hopped from the chair. "If you want to babysit her perhaps it's time you rethink your position on joining Fairy Tail. You can't preach about taking danger on alone when that's all you ever do." The old man thoughtfully smoothed his mustache. "Think on it, Jellal."
He stared at Erza in the bed for several long minutes taking in her condition. Her skin was pale and in the candlelight her vulnerability frightened him. Doing his best to avoid disturbing her, Jellal knelt down next to the bed. His fingers brushed against her forehead and he found her skin shockingly cold. He wanted to trust Porlyusica but terror seized him. There was no life without Erza and in his grief he tried not to tally the amount of times she'd feared him dead over the years.
Erza's breathing was weak but steady and he was afraid if he looked away for even a moment she'd die and he'd miss it. So he kept a vigilant watch.
The grey light of dawn peeked through the curtained window when Jellal realized he'd fallen asleep. He felt Erza's hand in his hair and she smiled. Her pallor hadn't changed – her skin was still cool to the touch and much too pale – but her smile sent the fear of death back into the shadows.
"What happened?" he asked.
"It wasn't a big deal, Jellal. I tangled with a plant that had a mind of its own, I guess. Nothing I couldn't handle."
"Erza you almost died. I almost lost you! Do you have any idea –"
"Think about what you're asking me before finishing that sentence." Her lips still held the ghost of a smile but it had turned patronizing.
"Why did you go alone?"
"I'm S-Class and no one would doubt my ability to do the job… which I did."
"I've never been more terrified in my life as when I walked into the guildhall and everyone looked at me like there had been a death. Your death."
"I'm sorry."
"If I accepted Master Makarov's offer to join Fairy Tail would you stop taking solo missions?"
Erza smiled and weakly shook her head. "I don't need a babysitter, Jellal, but I wouldn't turn down a partner."
"I could accept that." He leaned forward and kissed the corner of her mouth gently.
"I told you not to disturb my patient!" Porlyusica complained loudly from the doorway. Jellal's cheeks flushed pink and he shrunk away from the bed to stare at the floor from the corner. Makarov grinned and clasped his hands behind him.
"I'll have Mirajane prepare you a stamp."
Before the day was out Jellal had a red Fairy Tail stamp on his left shoulder blade. When Erza saw it she only smirked and told him that color looked good on him. To which he replied with a noncommittal sound and a blush the same shade as the stamp.
