4 Months Later

Lots of things had changed in the Fernandes household. Jellal was steadily warming up to the children and he smiled a bit more often.

Erza would often be away on raids, quests and patrols and would frequently return home to spot three aquamarine haired beings sleeping on the sofa with a few toys and books lying around on the floor.

That night too, was not different. Erza had just returned from her duties, and thankfully she was a bit early that day.

"I'm home", she whispered as she slowly opened the door, but to her surprise, Jellal was not there sleeping on the sofa. She could hear the children faintly mumbling in their sleep, so it meant that he had tucked them in.

Expecting him to have given up on doing it everyday, she tiptoed into their room, and to her surprise, he was not in bed either. She went into the bathroom, and he had filled the tub with hot water for her, but where was he?

If he were to take up some independent quest, he would have surely told her and at times, he would come home with minor bruise marks that he would unsuccessfully try to hide. Erza was worried that he was relapsing into self harm.

Undressing herself, Erza dipped into the hot water and sighed in relief.

Elsewhere

"JELLAL!", a pink haired dragonslayer yelled as he placed a decisive punch on the Meteor mage's jaw.

The latter shifted his face to the side, ensuring that the punch avoided his chin and returned the favour with a double punch to Natsu's chin causing the younger man to mildly wobble back.

Using the momentum, Jellal placed his hand on the man's face and slammed his head onto a nearby tree before landing a finishing knee kick to his chest. Natsu groaned from the floor and tapped the floor thrice, but his face wore an expression that was a mix of satisfaction and disappointment which seemed to juxtapose itself.

"Where...Where does that put us now?", he panted. Jellal dropped down to the ground and began to nurse all visible bruises and his cracked ribs.

"28 wins for me and 17 wins for you", he chuckled in satisfaction as he heard Natsu groan out in frustration.

"Hey...Natsu", Jellal sighed and turned towards the pouting man on the floor.

"What?", he snapped like a sore loser and comically turned his face away from Jellal causing the latter to break into a soft smile.

"Why did you do it?", he asked and Natsu frowned in confusion before widening his eyes.

"About defending you those two years back?"

"Yeah"

"No reason, to be honest. I trusted the man I saw. Me...well, you know me. I'm annoying and not the sharpest tool in the shed, so I really can't understand the concept of layered betrayals. I just trusted the man I knew. I knew, I mean know for a fact that he would never hurt Erza and his children", he explained and Jellal clenched his fists.

"Natsu...Thank you. From the bottom of my heart...thank you. You might think I am joking, but I probably am alive right now because I heard you that day. I don't care if you got shut down instantly or that you made a negligible impact. It is just the fact that you chose to stand up for me that I knew that there was at least one person outside who genuinely trusted me...and for that, I thank you", he spoke with gratitude dripping with every word and Natsu started to blush.

"Well well well well well, look at the time! I have to run. Lucy would kill me otherwise. Bye!", he screamed and ran away in embarrassment.

"This might have been our last training session, Natsu. I hope you'd do well to remember whatever you've learnt", Jellal smiled as he whispered to himself on seeing Natsu sticking his tongue out like a child while wiggling his butt before shooting away.

Jellal stared up at the sky and looked at the positioning of the stars.

"Three minutes past midnight, huh?", he clicked his tongue as he made his way back home. Using Meteor would have surely saved time, but there was the off chance that the children might wake up, so Jellal walked the last half kilometre by foot and was surprised on seeing the lights switched on in the bedroom.

Jellal tiptoed into the house and saw Erza reading a book.

"Where were you?", she seethed as she flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"Training", Jellal said with a straight face and Erza pursed her lips.

"Why aren't you sleeping?", he asked in return, considering that Erza was on a quest not too long back and she needed sufficient rest.

"I was worried, and I am fine now", she retorted as she expected a proper answer from him, knowing well that he was hiding something from her.

"I'll prepare some food", Jellal offered, but Erza stepped forward.

"I'll do it. No issues. You can use the shower"

"Fair enough", he replied with a soft smile.

A Few Minutes Later

Erza placed some of dinner's leftovers on the dining table and made some for herself as well in a vain attempt to have a small private dinner with him.

"Don't worry. I won't bother you by coming late from now on", Jellal snorted with a small smirk.

"I'll bring you a glass of water", Erza offered. Perhaps it was instinct, or a woman's intuition - Erza could feel that something was definitely wrong with her husband. At the moment, she chose to ignore it.

A Few Hours Later

Erza could not sleep a wink that night. She saw it. From the corner of her eye, she saw it. He planned to drug her. Jellal had crushed a few sleeping pills and sprinkled them on top of her food before mixing it up.

After eating it, she had instantly taken an antidote, but the effect did not get cancelled entirely. She was still drowsy, but it was manageable. She wanted to know the reason behind it. Was he involved with less than legal people once again? If yes, why couldn't he swallow his ego and ask for help?

Erza had her back facing him, and was still trying to convince him that she was asleep. Her heart was in her mouth when she could feel him stir. Jellal got up from the bed and began to dress himself.

To her surprise, Jellal tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and gently kissed her temple. It was softer than a feather, but the momentary presence of his lips on her skin had an impressive impact on her. It took her the entirety of her mental strength to not lunge at him instantly and capture his lips.

Jellal stroked her hair once more and kissed a lock of hair before leaving the room. Erza faked a mumble and turned around lazily. Before she could attempt to address the issue, Jellal left the room.

Erza got up and wore her bathrobe before following him. Peeking from a wall, she saw Jellal kneeling near Azure with a defeated expression on his face.

The man cupped his daughter's cheek and gave her a strong kiss to the forehead and kissed Cerulean's eyebrow in a similar fashion. From his breast pocket, he pulled out a piece of paper and stuffed it inside Azure's blanket.

The two children were hugging each other implying that Cerulean had another nightmare and Jellal pressed his forehead against both of their small heads for a solid minute before he got up and left the room.

As he slipped out of the room, Erza tiptoed into the children's room filled with dread. Did he finally decide to leave them?

When Jellal left, Erza picked up the letter he has hidden.

Dear Azure and Cerulean,

Papa is going on a big secret mission. If Papa finishes this mission, we can have strawberry and blueberry cheesecake everyday, but this is a bit hard.You should be good to your Mama. She works really hard for you. If Papa doesn't come back home, Mama will be sad for a while. You should keep her happy. It is now your duty.

If you are reading this letter, it means that Papa has failed to clear his secret mission and you may never see me again. Don't be sad. I am just going to a place where I can grow lots of berries and cheese with nobody troubling me, but it is a big secret. So you should not follow me quickly.

You are only allowed inside it when you are around eighty years old. So until Mama enters our secret field, you have to make her smile again.I know I don't say it out loud, but I love you.

Goodbye,

With love,

Jellal Fernandes

Erza couldn't stop hyperventilating when she finished reading the letter. Was he going to try to kill himself yet again?

Erza instantly requipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armour, expecting tons of enemies and rushed towards the door.

Jellal had used Meteor. It was more than obvious. The strong scent of his magic lingered in the air and Erza followed suit, flying to avoid wasting time. It was a high risk high return gamble as Jellal might easily see her, and it was not exactly a subtle armour.

She followed his magic trail and to her surprise, his magic trail suddenly split into two. The magic was stronger on one trail which she chose to follow and for some reason, the distance was way too high. Erza began to suspect that she was on a wild goose chase.

Gliding through the air, she could finally make out a small blue haired figure and she instantly dropped down before she decided to prowl. Her husband was standing front of something that looked like a portal with a deep contemplating face and Erza started to lose patience. She rushed forward and faced him in that empty place.

For some reason, the vegetation that surrounded them had miraculously disappeared. She reached forward to touch a tree that had previously existed and all she could do was swipe the air. It was at that moment she realised that she actually did not touch anything and those were hallucinations that were created by the man in front of her.

Jellal suddenly moved his hand towards the portal and it vanished implying that it was another figment of his mind games.

"I see that my plan to drug you had failed", he sighed and Erza frowned. Why was he realising this so late? Jellal would have realised it the moment she had excused herself to the washroom. When Jellal made a mistake, it always lead to one conclusion - his opponent is exceptionally powerful.

"Why are you doing this, Jellal? Are you...are you planning on - "

"I believe I don't have the necessity to answer you", he snapped, raising an eyebrow and Erza started to suspect him. Jellal was overly sassy only when they were flirting and this...this was not flirting. Plus, flirting was off the cards for a long time.

"True. You don't have to answer me. I will find it out by myself", she said steeling her nerves as she raised her sword against him.

"Whatever you plan to do, take me with you. You are not in a state to defeat me", she stated and Jellal smirked.

"I don't want to take you with me. I'd rather kill mys-"

"ENOUGH! ENOUGH! ENOUGH! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU SAYING THIS, YOU HARDHEADED FOOL! NOBODY WANTS YOU TO DIE!", she screamed before landing a powerful punch on Jellal's chest, causing the man to stumble back and roll his shoulders.

"Is that all you can do, Erza?", he sneered. Jellal jumped a couple of steps back and pulled out a dagger before taking a combative stance which Erza mirrored.

"If I have to beat some sense into you, so be it, Jellal Fernandes. Let me show you the fruits of my hard work", she seethed in rage as she held her swords in pure rage, summoning hundreds of them.

Her rage however, was a bit clouded. For some reason, Jellal seemed a bit weak. Either he was underestimating her, or was hit by something vile enough to drain his magic. Perhaps the split she saw a few minutes back was to give out a decoy. Erza was strong enough to spot out the subtle difference in the strength of the magic.

It was only after a few deafening seconds did she realise that the man in front of her was not Jellal, and she had voluntarily ventured towards the decoy.

"Siegrain", she wheezed, clutching her swords so tight that their handles were about to crack under pressure.

"Let's start!"

To Be Continued...