Summary: Inspired by an episode of Fuller House. The whole guild pitches in to make Jellal's and Erza's first date magical.
Pairings: Jellal/Erza and general friendship feels.
YouTube Prompt: A tribute to Fairy Tail to 'This Is Me' from The Greatest Showman.
Sometimes Erza felt like fate was against her and Jellal.
After all they had first met when they had been kidnapped by a cult and forced into slavery to build a tower of doom and evil. Whatever initial feelings they had for one another had been brutally crushed when Jellal was brainwashed into being an evil douchebag which had caused resentment and hostilities for many years. Then there was a brief spell where Erza thought Jellal had died, then Jellal had amnesia, and then when there was a chance they could live together at the guild and relearn one another, Jellal was promptly arrested. If this wasn't discouraging enough, Erza was believed to be dead for seven years, Jellal ended up on the run, and then because Jellal had noble-git syndrome, they couldn't be together until all evil was vanquished.
(And Jellal was pardoned.)
So when the impossible finally happened and Jellal was cleared for freedom it took another couple years as Erza went on a hundred year quest with her friends, and then they danced round one another for ages, and now on the evening of their first date the worst fog of the century rolled in making it impossible for them to go out without walking into the canal or something.
"This is it," Erza murmured numbly, "this is the evidence that Jellal and I are not meant to be…."
"Oh hell no!" Mirajane snapped passionately. "Not under my watch. You are not going to let this relationship die before it has even been born because of some silly fog."
"But Mira," Erza said despairingly, "even the weather is obviously against us. We can't go on a date if we can't see where we're going."
"You don't have to go out on a date to have one!" Mira argued firmly. "You can have your date right here."
Before Erza could argue against this idea (because she certainly did not want her first date to be witnessed by the likes of Natsu and Gray!) she was immediately carried off by the other girls and within hours was dressed to perfection in an old costume from Fantasia while Jellal was forced to wait for her at the bottom of the stairs in a suit.
(Where Mira had found the smart suit and tie, Erza will never know.)
"Erza…" Jellal whispered as his eyes widened in awe, "you look beautiful."
Erza felt her cheeks heat up with flattered embarrassment. "T-t-thank you," she stammered slightly, "you look beautiful yourself. I-I-I-I meant handsome!" she hastily corrected herself. "You look very handsome tonight!"
Jellal smiled softly at her and she smiled back as her cheeks burned brighter and brighter. They would have stood there for the rest of the evening just gazing into one another's eyes and blushing if someone hadn't coughed loudly.
They both jumped in surprise. "I, ah, please," Jellal stammered as he offered his arm to Erza, "Allow me to escort you to our destination."
Erza beamed as she slid her arm through Jellal's and allowed him to lead her three steps to their right where Freed stood dressed elegantly in black suit and, for reasons Erza had yet to figure out, a fake black moustache.
"Table for two," Jellal said smoothly, "it should be under Fernandes."
"Hmmmmmmmmmm!" Freed dragged out in a melodramatic, over the top fruity accent. "Fernandes," he repeated as he flipped through the pages of what looked like one of Levy's dusty tomes of runes, "Fernandes, Fernandes, Fernandes - non!" Freed slammed the book shut. "There does not appear to be a booking under that name, Sir."
"…Oh," Jellal mumbled bewilderedly.
They stood there in awkward silence until Freed coughed loudly and made an odd fluttering gesture with his hand.
"…Oh!" Jellal's eyes widened in realisation.
He then discreetly and quickly slipped a twenty jewel note into Freed's hand who slid it into his jacket pocket gracefully. "On second thought a table has just opened up," Freed said grandly, "if you follow me."
He pompously led Jellal and Erza to the only nice looking table in the guild. Someone – most likely Mira or one of the other girls under Mira's instructions – had put a lacy white table cloth over it and lit up some tea light candles and placed a slim vase with a couple roses on it to set the mood. Erza was suddenly overcome by the warm, fuzzy, feels that her friends would –
"Yo!" Natsu bounced up to them destroying the moment entirely as he accidentally swung a basket of roses into Jellal's head. Unlike Freed, Natsu hadn't bothered to change his clothes, but just like Freed he inexplicably wore a fake black moustache as well. "Roses for the lady?" he offered. "It's ten for one and twenty for two."
"….that's not a deal," Jellal frowned puzzled, "that's simple math."
"Do you want the roses or not?!"
"Fine," Jellal sighed, "I….erm…." he flushed in embarrassment as he looked into his wallet. "I don't appear to have anything left under a hundred, do you have any change?"
"Nope!"
Jellal and Erza simultaneously spluttered as Natsu shamelessly stole Jellal's hundred jewel note and dumped the basket on the table.
Majority of the roses still had their roots and thorns with a mass of filthy, soggy soil clinging to them. Erza had a nasty suspicion that the roses she and the others planted outside Fairy Hill were brutally stolen.
But it was her first real date with the boy she had loved forever and she wasn't going to let the likes of Natsu being an inconsiderate jackass get in the way of enjoying it.
So instead she took several deep breathes before she met Jellal's calm, soothing, gaze and felt her cheeks heat up all over again.
Jellal opened his mouth and –
"Water?" Lucy interrupted.
She was dressed like a waitress in a high-end restaurant supposed to dress, in a white blouse, black skirt, and matching waistcoat. Her long, blonde, hair was piled onto the top of her head and her perfect, client-friendly, smile was plastered all over her face. The only thing that was out of place was the fact she too was wearing a fake, black, moustache.
Was there some sort of dress code that Erza had been left out of?
"Sure," Jellal replied easily going.
"Sparkling or flat?"
"Sparkling," Jellal answered, "Plea-"
"We don't have sparkling," Lucy said flatly. "Chilled or room temperature?"
"Chill-"
"We don't have chilled," Lucy interrupted.
"Then why offer?!" Erza hissed out. Her voice came out strangled as she tried to restrain herself from exploding.
She was pretty sure that her friends all thought this was some sort of game.
Lucy, however, didn't answer as she poured out the water and then bounced off to a corner. "Natsu you were right!" she said almost breathlessly. "It is more fun with the fake moustache!"
Erza slammed her face against the table.
It was all a game to her friends!
Before she could groan pathetically and then explode furiously at them for all taking the mick though Gajeel – also in a fake moustache – leaped onto a table nearby.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am your entertainment tonight!" Gajeel howled before he caused a horrific noise on his guitar. Erza and Jellal both blanched at the thought but before either of them could protest Gajeel burst into song. "Oh sha, la, la, la, my oh my, looks like the boy is too shy, ain't gonna kiss the gi-"
CRASH!
BOING!
THUMP!
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Gajeel screamed in a girlish manner that he'll deny for years to come whenever someone teases him about it. "MY BABY!"
Erza, however, merely dusted off her hands with a sweet, smug, smile. "Consider it a tip," she said softly, "your instrument was out of tune."
Gajeel stormed off in a huff as he muttered insults and curse words darkly under his breath. Erza kept a stern eye on him as she watched him skulk away, she then kicked the remains of Gajeel's guitar under the nearest table before she twirled round confidently to face Jellal.
Her clever, snarky, zinger died instantly on her lips as she froze upon catching sight of Jellal staring at her with wide eyes and slack jaw.
"Gah!" she cried out, strangled. "Jellal! I…erm…you…."
"You," Jellal said breathlessly, "have just fulfilled every fantasy Team B ever had about Gajeel's guitar."
Erza relaxed and the pair sank into a long conversation as they recounted each and every time Gajeel had tortured their ears and what they had wished to do to his guitar and person. It got more and more creatively gruesome as they got more and more hysterically giggly.
All the terrible-ness of this date was forgotten as they managed to blank out Mira snooping on them as she served them dinner.
Eventually the candles widdled away as the evening drew to a close. Erza found herself resting a cheek on one hand as Jellal held her other, without even thinking about it, they leaned in closer and closer until….
"Ah Jeeze!" Gray complained loudly from the balcony. "Just kiss already so we can go home!"
Jellal turned so red that his tattoo vanished as he jerked away from Erza. Erza, herself, looked up to see the entirety of the guild bent over the balcony banister as they spied on them shamelessly.
"DON'T YOU LOT HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO?!"
The large, irritating, grins on all of her friends' faces was answer enough.
….they didn't.
Erza was right, fate was against her and Jellal.
Fate and her interfering friends.