Erza bit her lip, her hand reaching slowly for her underwear. She couldn't. Her heart wasn't getting over him. Her body wasn't forgetting him.
It was so frustrating. Whenever she would lie in bed after spending a while thinking of indecent thoughts of him. When in the morning, she would be on cloud nine, thinking he was beside her; she would realize he wasn't when her hand landed on empty sheets. Her body ached for him. Her lips craved him. Her mind needed him. It was so much more painful than she could have imagined. She was deprived of touch, love, sex, and him, most importantly. She was literally in withdrawal. In the past, whenever someone approached him, she could wave them off. But now that she no longer lay claim to him, whenever she came across him outside, he'd be turning down men and women left and right. Whenever their eyes would meet, she'd be the one to look away first, even if she didn't want to. She wanted to stare forever, until the end of time. She wanted him so badly. She stopped herself once more from doing something she would regret, standing up slowly from her bed. Walking towards the living room, the familiar scent of musky cologne wafted by her nose. She paused and immediately turned, looking around for any sign of Jellal, somehow or someway.
"Jellal..." She gasped, sliding to the ground when she noticed a coat of his hanging on the door to her closet. A few tears slipped down her cheek before she lead her hands to her face. As her nails dragged down her cheeks, she let out whining sobs to herself. And rolled her eyes into the back of her head. She crawled a few feet over to the coat and dragged it from its hook, following it as it fell to the floor. She picked it up shakily, tears falling onto the soft fabric of her beloved's jacket. Her achey voice hitched and cracked before she pulled the object into a tight embrace, burying her face in the fabric to inhale his scent, her chest repeatedly heaved in short, exhausted breaths. "I love you, too." She whispered to herself, her blood red hair covering her moistened face gently.
Three Days LaterErza stepped into Phoenix, her eyes hanging as people turned to greet her. Wendy stared for a few minutes before turning to Jellal across the room and sighing in annoyance. Hadn't it been long enough?
Gray didn't bother looking over, as he was too busy staring at Juvia. The blue haired girl knew he was staring; and it made her insecure to have his eyes on her 24/7. Feeling tense under his gaze, she turned to Erza and stood up. Juvia glared at Jellal, impatience finally overpowering her will to just let them figure it out. It hadn't even seemed like Gajeel and Levy had arrived since they were too busy preparing for Levy's next trimester.
"Erza!" She yelled, watching as the redhead looked up at her. "Jellal!" Jellal switched his gaze to her and sighed inaudibly when he caught sight of Erza. Though, something that caught his attention was the red irritation visible around her eyes. It should have been obvious she was crying about Invel, but-... in that moment, he wanted to believe the tears she spilled were for him. His gaze softened as he stood unconsciously. "Both of you need to knock it the fuck off. You're behavior is literally becoming childish! Jellal, Natsu told me that he'd never seen you look so miserable in his life. You're pale, you're eyes are fucking dead, you're quieter than usual, you don't finish assignments or you overwork yourself with no in the middle." She scolded, glaring fiercely at the blue haired man. "Erza! You're skin is white, you haven't slept a wink, you've been crying, you're slouching and you've lost weight. You're appetite is abnormal, it's not healthy."
"Oi, Juvia!!" Gray scowled, walking up to her a bit too late and pulling her away. "Can you tell you've crossed a line!?" Erza was angry. Furious, if not.
"How do you expect me to forgive him!?" The red head yelled.
"You said he didn't give you a reason!! How are you just going to assume the worst!?"
"Because he killed my boyfriend!!!" That one hurt. More than he'd hoped it had.
"No he fucking didn't, Scarlet!! He killed an abusive man that forced you to fuck him!!"
"B-But!! It's not fair!!!"
"Do you think you're the only one suffering!?" Erza paused, her eyes widening at her friend's words. "Enough is enough already, I can't stand watching to people in love pretend like they hate-"
"Juvia." Gray growled out, fed up as he shut her mouth with his hand. "Shut the fuck up." He reminded her, satisfied by the fear evident in her pupils. "Come with me." He demanded, giving an apologetic look to Erza and grabbing the back of Juvia's neck. He lead her outside, opening the back door, he forced her outside and slammed the door.
When he let go of her, she rubbed the back of her neck and looked down, a small feeling of shame growing unsettlingly in her stomach. "What the fuck is your problem?" He asked, clearly angry. "Did I not tell you to mind your business?"
"They were getting on my nerves."
"Oh yeah? And that means you can yell at them about personal matters that don't concern you? Are you out of your mind? Why didn't you listen to me?"
"Because you don't control me."
"You're right I don't control you. That fact stands until you step out of line at any moment. You knew you were wrong."
"Shut up. You can't tell me what to do."
"It seemed pretty simple to do so anyways." He growled, grabbing a hold of her neck and lowering his lips to her ear. "Next time you do something stupid, you'll regret it."
He threatened, releasing her and holding her face. His thumb gliding across her lips and eyes, he gazed intensely at her and her flushed cheeks. Her hand slowly reached for his arm and lightly grasped it.
"Why are you-... doing this?"
"Are you going to stop acting up?" He whispered, turning her head upwards to look at him. She bit her lip with a nod, the blush on her cheeks growing.
"Yes." She hushed.
"Good girl." Leaning down, he stared into her eyes for a moment before pressing his lips against hers with great pressure. Juvia whimpered, placing her hands on his chest and giving into him. His other hand held her up by her waist as he took her over. Tongue and all, he found his own mind telling him to stop. That is he went further, things could be bad. And so he did. Letting go of her, he let her drop to the floor in a flustered mess and left after wiping his lips. "Come sit with me when you've calmed down." She slowly nodded, staring down at the grass.
~
"Sorry guys. She won't bother you for a while." Gray apologized to the two who had been avoiding each other in a nearly tangibly tense atmosphere. Wendy felt she was suffocating. Though, Gray's presence seemed to break this tension as she found herself laughing, knowing Juvia must have been out there, full.
"How'd you get her to calm down?" She chuckled, watching as Juvia walked in, and quietly sat down next to Gray. He placed a hand on her lower back and drummed his fingers gently against her skin, causing shivers to run down her spine. He turned to her and held back a smirk.
"I just told her to shut her pretty little mouth."
~~~
"WELL WHY CAN'T I GET IN A WORD!? YOU ASK ME QUESTIONS BUT KEEP TALKING OVER ME!!"
"SHUT UP YOU TRAITOR!!! HOW COULD YOU START THINKING ABOUT WHAT IM DOING WRONG WHEN YOURE THE ONE WHO FUCKED ME OVER!?"
"OH RIGHT BECAUSE IM STILL THE BAD GUY WHEN YOU STILL HAVENT HEARD ME OUT!!!"
"SHUT UP ABOUT THAT YOU PSYCHO!!! I HATE YOU! YOU STUPID, UGLY, ANNOYING IDIOT!!!"
"DONT ACT LIKE YOU WERENT SCREAMING FOR ME, TALKING ABOUT HOW GREAT I WAS!!"
"STOP BRINGING THINGS UP FROM HE PAST!!!"
"YOURE ACTING LIKE A CHILD, I DONT REMEMBER BEING ATTRACTED TO A KID!!!"
"How did we get to this point?" Wendy groaned, covering her ears and shutting her eyes. Gray ran a hand through his hair and sighed. Juvia huffed and put her head on the table.
"Erza insulted him because she thought he couldn't hear and it honestly just escalated from there." Gray chuckled.
"It was bound to happen anyways, see?" Juvia mumbled, catching Gray's eyes as he glared at her.
"It's because you provoked them. Don't forget what I told you." He whispered his last sentence, riding a hand up her dress and letting it rest on her inner thigh. Wendy stared at Juvia's exposed skin and rolled her eyes at Gray's hand that was clearly grabbing at it.
"Guys I feel my eyes bleeding, can you not do that shit in public?" Wendy complained, almost yelling with the screaming in the background. Gray stared at her dumbfounded and squeezed tighter around her thigh, earning a small yelp of surprise from Juvia.
"What was that? Sorry it's really loud could you speak up?" He grunted sarcastically. A few more minutes of screaming continued before Natsu's office door slammed open, shutting everyone up instantly.
"Oi. If you don't zip it this instant, I'll kill you all." His voice ripped through the air despite being low and calm. Even if he was very much furious. And with simply that, he slammed his door closed again and the fighting nearly continued. And it would have, if Wendy hadn't shot up and glared at them.
"We're getting in trouble because you guys think it's cool to yell and scream in the middle of the damn building!! Get a damn room, no one wants to hear your lovers quarrel!!" Erza glared right back before her eyes widened. Her stomach churned as she hunched over a bit. Her face went noticeably pale when she felt bile rising in her throat. She ran for the bathroom, toppling over when she made it to a toilet. Jellal shot up from his seat and followed her, panic beginning to pump adrenaline into his blood.
~
Juvia stood up from her spot to followed as well before Gray gripped her wrist and shoved her back down.
"What did I say?" He threatened, pulling her closer. She obeyed and sat still, waiting longer to see if Natsu was going to give them orders or not.
~
The sounds of vomit soiling a toilet echoed throughout the bathroom as he entered. Once he reached the red head, his first instinct was to pull back her hair, and so he did. Holding it behind her and suppressing his desire to rub her back. Once her stomach had emptied itself, she smacked his hand away and looked up, wiping her mouth with some toilet paper and glaring once more at Jellal. She slid against the wall beside her and sighed after flushing the water down.
"What's wrong with you? Are you sick?" He questioned in a whisper.
"I'm fine. Everyone gets sick sometimes."
"How long has it been?"
"Since yesterday. Now can you leave me alone? Go bother someone else."
"Fine, then." He said, looping his arms around her waist and knees, bringing her to his chest and exiting the bathroom within a few seconds. Erza gasped and began squirming, trying to find any way to escape his grasp. She scratched, kicked, punched, pushed and smacked his arms and shoulders to get him to let go. But he refused as they walked out of the building doors, ignoring the stares coming from the others.
"Let me go, bastard!" She growled. Though, by the time she realized her attempts were futile, he had already reached her house. Swiping her key and unlocking the door, he shut it with a foot behind him and plopped her down onto her bed. His veins and muscles contracted and pulsed with every stride and every movement, noticed by Erza. Exiting her bedroom without speaking a word, he immediately made his way towards the kitchen. For a second, the sight of his jacket on the couch several feet away told him what he needed to know for now. He wasted no time in taking out ingredients for soup. Erza heard the rattling of pots and decided he must have been making something. Standing up slowly, she quietly walked towards the kitchen and peeked inside, watching in admiration as he skillfully concocted a brew of different vegetables and meats. "W-... what are you doing?"
"I'm cooking. Get in bed." He demanded, his voice indicating there was no room for argument. She pouted when he ignored her presence and calmly removed her street clothes.
(Jacket, boots and everything else, you dirty minded degenerates)
She entered her room before something clicked in her head. She didn't want to be yelled at for not following instructions but there was no good that could come from him seeing the jacket she clearly cuddled. Without a second thought, she tripped over herself, booking it down the hall to find where she left his jacket on the couch. Picking it up and throwing it across the room in an area out of view, she turned to Jellal with red cheeks.
"Did you... see it?" She huffed, scowling at her stupid forgetfulness.