Summary: Set in my Wild West 'Verse. Jellal may be a man of God but he could never resist temptation in the form of a scarlet haired woman…
Pairings: Jellal/Erza.
YouTube Prompt: A Jellal/Erza video to 'What Have you Done Now?' by Within Temptation.
Jellal was once again intervening between Sheriff Laxus and Miss Scarlet.
It happened at least once a week and, as always, Sheriff Laxus was on the verge of erupting into a never-ending spew of fury while Miss Scarlet sat coolly in his chair.
"I ought to have you in the stocks as a lesson for all!" Sheriff Laxus hissed. "And then once that is over and I should have you branded as a harlot."
Miss Scarlet slammed a hand on the Sheriff's desk and stood up. Jellal had no doubt that if he hadn't physically stepped between the two of them, Miss Scarlet would have thrown the Sheriff out of the window, literally, just as she had with the two visiting prospectors earlier this evening.
(Yes, that was why she was arrested again.)
"Now Sheriff," Jellal said in his best comforting voice (it really wasn't that good the only people he seemed to have soothed with this voice had been Miss Scarlet and little Wendy Marvel). "Don't be hasty," he advised the man again. "There is no need to make this woman suffer anymore humiliation."
"It is not humiliation," Sheriff Laxus sniffed, "She chose this profession."
"I am not a whore, Sheriff," Miss Scarlet said with a steely undertone that threatened a bloody death if the Sheriff continued with his attitude. "I am a performer. I dance and sing on stage. I am also a waitress, I serve food and drink. This does not mean that any man has the right to grab my breast or buttocks."
Privately, Jellal agreed. If those visiting prospectors wanted to touch Miss Scarlet's…..erm…..assets, then they ought to face the consequences of being thrown out of the window, and not just by the lady herself. Every regular customer knew that the girls were not to be touched. They were entertainers and good conversationalists, they were not whores. Sheriff Laxus, however, was set in his ways and thoughts, and he did not back down.
"I don't care," he barked, "if you're flaunting it don't be surprised if they try for some more."
Miss Scarlet's eyes flashed dangerously. "Are you saying I should allow these men to touch me with their filthy hands?" she asked in a deadly voice that would have others (namely Natsu and Gray) cowering under a table by now.
There was a reason bar fights at Fairy Tail were cut short before the Sheriff arrived and it was called Erza Scarlet.
"I'm saying," Laxus growled, "that if you're going to wear a dress like that then don't get cross when a man mistakes you for a whore."
"Sheriff!" Jellal snapped before Miss Scarlet pushed past him and slapped the man. If she did that then there was nothing Jellal could do to prevent her from spending the night sharing a cell with Bisca. "That is enough! I believe Miss Scarlet knows she reacted to the situation in the wrong manner and she is repentant." The look on Miss Scarlet's face suggested otherwise but she didn't verbally contradict him and that was a huge help. "Miss Mirajane does not want to press charges for her broken windows, the visiting prospectors have left town, and the only person who is the slightest bit upset about this is you. If you feel that she has broken any laws then punish her, do not insult her."
Sheriff Laxus glowered at him. "Just get out of my jail house the pair of you," he snapped. "I've had enough of this nonsense. If I catch her assaulting another visitor or resident of Magnolia, she will be punished. Until then bugger off, I've had enough of her attitude and your eternal defence of her virtue." At that Sheriff Laxus gave him a rather mocking look. "She isn't Mary Magdalene you know."
"I'm glad to hear it," Jellal said stiffly, "after all I'm not Jesus."
And with that he walked out; escorting Miss Scarlet before she could give into her wild impulse of punching the Sheriff.
(Believe him, everyone had that impulse. Even men of God like him.)
FTFTFTFTFTFTFTFT
"I don't know how you do it," Miss Scarlet said as soon as they were out of hearing distance, "every time that man opens his mouth I have the urge to smack him." She glanced at him guiltily. "I know he is our Sheriff and he only wants the best for us but he is so bull-headed-"
"I know a fair few people like that," Jellal said softly.
Miss Scarlet's face turned a bright pink that spread to the tip of her ears. She ducked her down guiltily and repentant. "I do try," she mumbled.
"You don't have to," Jellal said instantly. Furious with himself for making her feel that way, he had promised himself that he would never hurt her again. They had known each other as children once back in the East when they were orphans on the street and he had turned his back on her for a life of crime. Thank God for that priest that had given him the second chance he most certainly did not deserve, and thank God for the sudden opening out in this wild west town that had suddenly lost their priest to a shootout (don't ask). "You have always been a good person Miss Scarlet, a very kind hearted one, and you certainly have the right to erm…..keep your virtue intact," his own face flushed pink at that as thoughts he shouldn't be thinking danced across his mind. "Wrath might be a sin but sometimes it's justified."
Miss Scarlet simply frowned at him. "Erza," she corrected him, "I'm Erza."
"I do not have the right to call you that," Jellal said eventually as he halted to a stop at Fairy Tail's very battered door. "It is not proper for me, your parish's priest, to address you, an unmarried lady, so informally."
She frowned at that. "You are not just my parish's priest," she said, "You are my friend. You have always been my friend despite everything and you shouldn't have to hide behind that collar."
"I do not hide," he said a little too sullenly for his liking.
"Then come have a drink with me," she nodded to the saloon, "I owe you many from all the other times you intervened."
"I should not drink," he said anxiously, "it is inapporiate for me, as the parish's priest, to-"
She moved quickly, like a tiger, as she grabbed his collar, hauled him close to her, and then quickly undid the white collar from under his black shirt and yanked it away. "There," she said a little too smugly, "you are not the parish priest tonight. You are Jellal and I am Erza, let's have a drink for old time's sake."
Much to his shame, he caved in instantly at that and nodded his agreement. Her smile in return was worth it though even if it did turn a little sheepish. "Hold on," she murmured, "I ruined your collar." She stuck the white card that was his priesthood into her mouth as she moved to smooth the cotton shirt collar round his neck.
He gulped as he tried to keep all of those images and thoughts out of his mind.
"There!" she said with satisfaction. "Much better. Come on then," she took his hand and it burned his skin with warmth. "Let's have fun."
And so he gave into temptation and Erza, and entered the saloon.
After all he was simply human, one that had a weakness was for a beautiful, stubborn, redheaded woman, and it was as he had said to the Sheriff earlier…..
He wasn't Jesus.