Chapter 14
A/N: Jerza fluff alert, despite all the hints I have given you. Oh well...
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL- IT BELONGS TO HIRO MASHIMA!
When Erza awoke that very morning, an aroma of bacon and eggs entered her nostrils. It was clear to her that Mirajane was tinkering in the kitchen. She slid over to the side of her bed, allowing her legs to dangle, and sat upright.
"Oh, you're up! That's one less thing for me to worry about." Mirajane entered Erza's section of the room with a tray in her hands.
"Morning Mira," Erza eyed the tray in Mirajane's arms. "You didn't have to go through all that trouble-"
Mirajane placed the tray on the coffee table and smiled. "Today is a special day," Mirajane said, completely ignoring Erza. "Hurry up and get dressed, 'kay?"
Without question (there would be no point anyway), Erza performed her morning routine in a matter of minutes, and began to eat her already prepared breakfast.
"Erza, aren't you excited?"
Erza looked up from her breakfast to Mirajane, who was reading the local news.
"About what?"
Mirajane furrowed her eyebrows. "You're kidding, right? Think about what day it is."
Erza pondered for a moment; then it hit her. "You're right, Mira. The results of the play auditions are being posted today!"
Mirajane sighed and put her cheek in her palm. "I suppose that'll do."
"Speaking of which," Erza held her hand up. "In three, two, one..."
As if it was on cue, the girls heard screams of excitement coming from downstairs.
Mirajane nearly choked on her pancakes and laughed. "Still have that top notch timing, eh?"
Erza grinned and stood up. "I'm going to check it out."
"I'm coming too!"
Erza stared at her in bewilderment. "I don't think that will be necessary-"
Mirajane huffed and folded her arms. "I know, I know, I always get one of the main roles, but I still want to see how the others did!"
"You have a point..."
...
A swarm of people had already gathered around the poster that Erza and Lucy created.
"What?!" Evergreen was at the front, gawking at the paper. "I didn't get the role?"
She angrily stomped her way towards Erza and Mirajane."It's your fault!"
Erza didn't flinch, nor show any sign of emotion of her face. Instead, she cocked an eyebrow at her. "Really? As far as I'm concerned, the results were pretty clear during the auditions."
Evergreen looked as if she was about to erupt lava out of her cheeks. She whipped her head around, making sure that her bushy, light brown hair hit Erza's face and stormed away.
"Well," Erza sighed and glanced at Mirajane, who was laughing. "I don't know why, but I've got a feeling that she'll interfere with the play at some point..."
"You may be right," Mirajane smiled. "I have a date with Laxus tonight... Do you mind giving me a hand or two later?"
"Sure."
...
"Oh no," Mirajane groaned. "My hair!"
"It's alright," Erza chuckled at a section of Mirajane's hair, which was acting like a cowlick at that moment. "I'm sure we'll be able to fix it."
Mira's phone started to ring. "I'm sorry Erza... Give me a moment of privacy, will you?"
Erza, who still held a brush in her right hand and various bottle's of Mirajane's perfumes in her other arm, was struggling to keep her balance.
"Sorry about that," Mirajane laughed nervously. "Here, let me-"
There were light knocks on the door; Mirajane stiffened.
"I'll get it." Erza began to set down Mirajane's trinkets onto the nearest table, only to be stopped by the actress. "Hey! Your bottles- What are you-"
Too late. Mirajane shoved her into the bathroom without any further delay, and locked the door. The perfume bottles that were once in Erza's arms hit the ground and scattered.
"Mira!" Erza banged on the door with all her might. "What the hell?"
Mirajane scurried across the dorm room and finally turned the knob on the door. There stood Jellal; dressed in a black suit, dress pants, and a red tie. He seemed to be hiding something behind his back.
"Good evening, Mirajane. Is Erza ready?"
It was pretty clear that Jellal was nervous, but Mirajane overlooked it.
"Yes, in a moment... Sit down." Mirajane pointed at the sofa, and Jellal obeyed. He couldn't help but hear a loud racket coming from the back of their room.
Mirajane shifted uncomfortably. "As you can see, Erza's a bit... confused. Now if you'll excuse me-"
Without another word, Mirajane ran out of Jellal's line of sight and unlocked the door, freeing an enraged Erza.
"Mira! What the hell are you up to?"
Mirajane grabbed the dress that she had bought the previous day, including the brush that was still in Erza's hand and a black, lacy bra with panties to match.
"Hey! Mira, stop-!"
Mirajane began ripping off her clothes, including her undergarments.
"Mira, stop taking off my clothes!" Erza attempted to flee from Mira's grasp, only to be stopped yet again.
"Stop, there's someone there! You don't want them to see you in your birthday suit-"
"I don't get why you're making me put on matching laced panties!"
Clothes? Erza was naked? Laced underwear? Jellal's thoughts wandered for a moment before he snapped back into reality. No, he musn't think like this!
Mirajane slipped the dress over her head and onto Erza's body. She snatched the brush and brushed her hair as fast as she could manage.
"Ow! Mira, it hurts!"
"Sorry Erza, but this is for your own good."
Mirajane began braiding Erza's hair waterfall-style as quickly as she could and curled the edges of her scarlet hair.
"Thank goodness you don't need any makeup." Mirajane stepped back, pleased with her work.
"What in the name of Mavis you-" Erza yelped. With one final movement, Mirajane slipped shoes on Erza's feet to match her outfit. She then dragged Erza towards Jellal.
Erza blushed when she noticed the way Jellal was dressed. Thank goodness Mirajane had stopped her from running away! "What's... going on?"
"Jellal's here to take you out on a date for this very special occasion." Mirajane winked at Jellal.
"Special occasion...?"
Mirajane sighed. "Erza, you're just as dense as Natsu. It's Valentine's Day!"
Erza blushed with embarrassment. "I... didn't know that was today..."
"Well," Mirajane gave a sly grin and entwined Erza's hand with Jellal's hand. "Now you know."
The two blushed at Mirajane's gesture and Erza was about to untangle her fingers with Jellal's but his hand was firm. Erza tried to wriggle free of his grasp once more, and failed.
"You best be off now," Mirajane chuckled. "I think you have everything under control, Jellal."
Jellal nodded and led Erza to the door, allowing her to step through it first and closed the door behind them.
Mirajane sighed. "How hopeless she is without us..." Mirajane picked up her phone and wrote:
'Mission accomplished. All thanks to you, Ultear.'
Now she had her own date to worry about; after she cleaned up the mess Erza made, of course.
...
Jellal and Erza walked along the corridor in silence. He turned his head to scan his date; she was wearing a dark blue, sleeveless dress with silver sequins embellishing its top portion. The hem of her dress reached just two inched about her knees. Her feet were covered in white heels adorned with blue gems outlining its platforms. His eyes roamed around her passive face; Mirajane was right. She definitely didn't need any make up.
"Jellal?"
Jellal was too shocked to speak. He finally managed a 'yes' in a questioning tone from his unusually dry lips.
"Erm... sorry for slapping you the other day," Erza blushed and looked away before the bluenette could notice.
"Oh, well..." Jellal stopped himself before he mentioned anything about Meredy's opinion. Erza would start questioning about that for sure. "You did the right thing."
Erza stared at him in disbelief. "I-I... no, it wasn't..."
Jellal hushed her just as they arrived outside of Jellal's car. He opened the door for her and shut it once she was seated. He then proceeded to the driver's seat and started up the engine.
...
They arrived outside a small, yet welcoming building. The inside was surprisingly big, and many people were already there.
"I'm sorry," Jellal gave Erza a small smile. "Most restaurants were already booked for tonight."
Erza smiled back. "No, it's perfect."
"Welcome back to 8-Island, Jellal! I see you brought Erza too." An old man who appeared to be in his 80s stepped forward.
"This voice..." Erza was surprised. "Yajima!"
Yajima chuckled. "It's been awhile, Erza. I see you two finally made up..."
Erza blushed. "Uh, well..."
Yajima laughed with amusement. "I was kidding. Anyhow, your table is upstairs," He pointed to a staircase near the back of the building. "I saved the best for last," Yajima winked. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a kitchen to run..." Yajima dashed off, leaving the couple alone.
Erza and Jellal walked behind chairs and around tables to reach theirs. Erza gasped; the table that awaited them was seated near a balcony. They could see the sun on the horizon line, and aided the candles that lit the table, just barely lighting the area around it. Jellal pulled out a chair for Erza to sit, and then took his place in his seat. The waiter placed the menus on the table and proceeded downstairs to tend to other guests.
Erza skimmed over the pages of the menu, glad to finally escape Jellal's stares. She loved him, but... why did she feel so nervous?
"Erza?"
Erza jumped at the sound of her name. "Yes?"
Jellal chuckled. "Nothing."
It was about time the waiter showed up again; she was saved.
...
They ate their dinner in silence, and Erza was the first to finish. She completed this task without looking up at Jellal. Jellal put down his fork. "Am I bothering you?"
Erza shifted her gaze to his eyes. "No."
Jellal shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Was she lying? No, she couldn't have.
He stood and took Erza by her hand and helped her out of her chair, not that she needed it, but he found it as an excuse to hold her hand. The couple walked away from their table and towards the open air near the balcony. There they stood, side by side, watching the sun lower into the sea.
She was scared; scared of how this scenario would unfold. She couldn't understand it herself. She was with the man she loved, yet it felt so strange...
"Erza."
Erza looked up and yelped. She found Jellal's face to be a small distance away from her's; just thinking about what he would do next made her blush.
"What is it now?" She tensed.
Jellal pulled out a long case from behind his back. "I have something for you."
Erza's eyes widened as he placed the box into her arms. "H-heavy..."
Jellal smiled as Erza opened the box, revealing a bamboo-crafted kendo stick.
"I heard you practice kendo." Jellal smiled as she stroked the 'sword' in awe.
Erza looked up from her present and stared at Jellal, mesmerized by his eyes. "Thank you."
Jellal grinned wider as she examined the handle of her brand new stick; there appeared to be some sort of message engraved there.
"I'm here for whenever you need me." She blushed. "Oh, Jellal, I-"
She fell silent. "I didn't know that we would be going out tonight; I didn't get you anything... I'm so sorry..."
"It's fine," Jellal stepped closer to her and wrapped his arm around her waist. "All I need is you."
Erza blushed profusely at his comment, yet she moved closer towards his gesture. Close enough that their foreheads were touching and that their breath mingled. Erza bit her lip and stared into Jellal's eyes for the millionth time that evening. Jellal couldn't take it anymore- closing the gap between their faces, he leaned in and captured her lips into his.
Erza felt so dizzy; she couldn't believe that this was really happening. The whole world didn't matter. Even their past wasn't able to break their bond this time around. And this time, they were complete.
Valentine's Day really is full of miracles...
A/N: I did it! :D This story isn't over though; I still have a few things to cover. I may not update this story next week because of regents exams. :( Other than that, see you next time!