Time for some more Erza/Jellal. Look for the tune Dash Berlin ft. Jonathan Mendelsohn – Better Half Of Me. This is a relatively new song (mid 2011), and pretty lyric intense.

And just for the lulz, this takes place at the same time as the last song... after the party of chapter 275.


One by one - or two by two, in a few cases, Jellal noticed with an uncritical eye from his observation point outside the bar- the members of Fairy Tale left the bar they had invaded for their party and returned to the Honey Bone inn. Although it had been his Edolas counterpart that was really the guild member, Jellal couldn't help but be jealous of the warmth and camaraderie of the guild when it was in full-blown party mode. Crime Sorceré was too small to really party in the same sense. Most evenings after a hard mission, he, Meredy, and Ultear ended up polishing off a bottle of some expensive alcohol and calling it a night.

Ah, but those two were like his family now in a lot of ways. They had actually broken him out of jail, not for any benefit to themselves, but because of a sense of duty and obligation for what had been done to him. And when his memories came back, he didn't know what was left of himself. Who was the real Jellal? A terrible murderer, or a young boy who had fallen in love with Erza Scarlett's iron will and pretty hair?

With their help, he had collected himself, crawled through the shadows, and vowed that he would make up for it somehow, and never make the same mistakes again.

And there was the reason, standing right there, just a short distance away from him. He caught her eyes through the open window, and felt his heart squeeze when he saw her gentle smile, before she was distracted by some commotion inside the party.

She had forgiven him. God only knew why, but she had decided to forgive him for the horrible things he had done to her and to everyone else, even if it wasn't by his own free will.

Some time later, she reappeared, and caught his eyes. The smile was gone.

She jerked her heard toward the door, and he slid down from his perch to meet her on the street about a block away from the party.

"Erza," he said, trying to sound cool and casual, but failing miserably.

She had on her game face. "We've got a new enemy in Quatro Cerberus," she said, anger laced through her words. "Bacchus. That bastard out-drank Cana, stole her top, and then beat up half the guild."

He sighed. "Yeah, sounds like something that lecher would do. What an ass."

"Let us go somewhere we can talk more in private," she said without further ceremony, and started walking away at her normal brisk pace. He struggled to catch up with her for a moment until he could match her cadence, and then they walked in silence together.

He was surprised when she led them to the Honey Bone inn itself, and went upstairs wordlessly. He followed her, but stood there dumbly as she pulled out a key to a room.

"I thought the rooming assignments had you sharing with Mirajane and Lisanna?"

"I paid extra for a private room," she said, and opened the door. "Come."

Erza, the born leader. Her words were so filled with authority that he followed her against his better judgment.

"I shouldn't be here," he started, but she pressed one finger against his mouth, and then sat him down hair in one of the chairs.

"I have some aggression I need to work out, but I don't want to get into a fight in case I'm called up in the games soon." He looked into those hardened eyes, flashing with her frustration and anger, but as she looked at him just as deeply, the eyes softened. "I was hoping you could help me out in that regard."

"But I have a fiance," he said desperately. He had a feeling he wasn't getting away with the lie this time.

"Take off that silly scarf," she ordered, ignoring his objection. "And I too will change into something more comfortable." As he was unwrapping the Mystogan costume from his face, she was ex-quipping her armor off and replacing it with... well, to call her negligee a nightgown would be too polite. It was torture - she was a fantastically beautiful woman, and she knew it. The silk danced above her bare skin.

"Now," she said, sitting on his lap, "I have verified with Merody and Ultear that the 'fiancee' is non existent." He held his breath as she threaded her hands through his hair. "Therefore, I am fully justified in being as forward with you as I wish. Especially since *you* lost today."

"Erza-" he started, but he was interrupted by a searing kiss.

He thought of what it would have been like had she not disappeared for seven years. Could they have been together like this then? He didn't know.

Now he wanted her to see the real him, the man he had become, the vulnerable side he never showed to anyone. He was alone and incomplete without her.

If he lost her again, he would fall forever, endlessly. She was the ground beneath his feet.

She broke the kiss, looking at him with such tenderness he wanted to weep. "I suppose I should give you a choice now," she whispered, and traced one finger along his jawline. "What do you want us to do? What am I to you?" she asked.

"You're the better half of me," he answered.