Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail and Naruto. They belong to their respective owner.

A/N: Thank you to fellow readers, old and new especially narutouzumaki6497, ScarletFiona, Guest, naruto x fairy tail, annarochev, Not-aThinker14, nikkitheprincess, Sasukefan, hi, fictionlover1993, fizirazak, and king forreviewing the previous chapter and also to those who favorite/follow this story. I really appreciate it.

And sorry in advance for any mistake.

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CHAPTER 12

Erza walked along the hallway of the school to the classroom. She had been missing school for two days and it felt good to be back again. She felt a lot better and rejuvenated after her rest. Now, she was ready to do her duty. She had a lot of work for the student council since the 100th year anniversary was fast approaching and she wanted to be prepared.

She stopped by the student council room first this morning so she was a bit late to the class. She hurried her step and walked into the classroom, glad that the homeroom teacher had not come yet. With a good mood, her eyes trailed to a certain someone's seat expecting to see the unruly mop of dark hair, but she found the seat in between Naruto and Natsu empty. She frowned instinctively wondering why Sasuke was missing school.

It was during lunch hour that she got the answer to her question.

The lecture today was a drag. Even she felt a little put off by the topic. History was so not her favorite subject, but she tolerated it. She was the student council president after all, she needed to show a good example to other student. But the good mood she sported early in the morning did not hold until the end of the school period. She wondered what was wrong with her.

"Erza, I'm off to the washroom first. I'll see you at the usual spot later," the lazy ass also known as Nara Shikamaru spoke as he rose from his seat yawning in the process.

"Okay," she answered with a sigh at Shikamaru. She didn't even have the heart to scold him for sleeping in class during the lecture.

Without any words, Shikamaru walked away, leaving her to gather her books and put it in her backpack. Just as she was about to step away from her desk, a voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Erza."

She turned at the sound of her name and saw the orange haired teen sporting a big smile on his face, coming towards her. "Naruto," she uttered softly. At least someone was in a good mood today, she silently thought to herself.

"I'm glad that you're okay now," he said when he stopped directly in front of her. "I heard that you were sick."

"It's just the cold but I'm fine now. Thank you for your concern," she answered feeling a little awkward with Naruto. Ever since her rejection of his advances, she had been feeling a little uncomfortable when she was speaking alone with him. It was because she had hurt his feeling and she felt a little guilty at that.

She didn't mean to hurt him but at that time a year ago, she had been through an ordeal that really took a toll on her. Breaking up with Jellal and the ordeal with her uncle, she was just not ready for a relationship. But no matter how many times she thought about it and twisted the scenario, even if all those things didn't happen and Naruto still confessed to her, she would reject him again. It was because she thought of him as her friend. She loved him as a friend, not more than that.

"I can't help but be worried," he said with a shrug. "All these years that I've known you, I never see you let sickness hinder you from coming to school, so I thought it must be pretty serious," he spoke sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with an awkward gesture. She saw that he was a little uncomfortable speaking with her. So she was not alone in the department.

"It must be something in the air. At first it was you and then Sasuke too caught a cold all of a sudden," he supplied, making her interest peak at that piece of information.

"What?" She uttered distractedly.

"Oh, you must not know then since you were on leave," he said. "Sasuke caught a cold too. He had been missing school for two days now."

Erza felt her body went stiff when she heard that. Dread filled her entire being when she automatically thought that he must had caught the flu from her when he was visiting.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Naruto said with a faraway look on his face. "He looked pretty awful yesterday when I visited him at his house."

She could see that Naruto truly was worried for his best friend. She felt guilty towards Sasuke for being the cause of his demise and now she was truly concerned about him.

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Naruto watched as flashes of emotion flickered on Erza's face. She seemed a bit worried when he told her that Sasuke was sick, so he thought their relationship was not as bad as he originally thought.

"I hope he's going to recover soon," he heard her muttered softly.

Naruto nodded. "Don't worry, I'm sure he will."

"Yeah," she said.

Awkward silence filled the air after that, as both of them didn't know what to say. It was only a moment but to Naruto, it sure felt like a lifetime. He didn't notice it till now, but they were the only one in the classroom since everyone already left for lunch. Being alone with her made the tension grew tenfold.

"I guess I'll be going then," Erza suddenly said. But before she could move from her place, Naruto was quick to stop her.

"Erza wait," he said.

Erza raised an elegant eyebrow questioningly. "Is there anything you want to say?" She asked.

Naruto looked at her with determination. "Lucy told us everything that she knows about what happen a year ago," he revealed. He could see her eyes widened when she heard that before a somber smile graced her lips.

"It doesn't matter what happen. It's all in the past," she said quietly.

"How could you say that?" Naruto countered. "Aren't we all your friends? You should've told us something," he said heatedly. "You should have told me."

"Naruto-"

"You should have told me Erza," he insisted, pain laced through his voice. "If only I knew that you were in trouble, things would be different. I wouldn't confess to you that day and put more things on your plate. I would have helped and stayed with you throughout your struggle instead of pushing you away because I couldn't take your rejection like a man," he confessed.

Naruto could see the sadness reflected in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered softly.

"You don't have to be sorry Naruto. I don't blame you in any way since none of these is your fault," she said calmly still sporting that somber smile from before. "And it's not Lucy's fault either. All that happen is the result of my choices."

"Your choices alone didn't make the situation lead to this Erza," Naruto commented.

"I know," she agreed. "But I really don't want my friends to be involved in my problem."

"So you just trade us away with Shikamaru?" He accused snidely with a pain expression.

"NO!" Erza denied. "I never trade you guys with anyone. Shikamaru is also a dear friend to me," she said.

Naruto felt ashamed with his accusation towards her but it was not like he uttered those words without any ground basis. But he always let his emotion ruled him instead of his mind when it came to Erza, and look at where it led them today.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that," he apologized regretfully.

"Don't worry about it," she said dismissively. "Like I said, what's past is past. It's true that there are things that I just can't forget in the past, but I don't like to dwell on it much."

Now it was his turn to let a somber smile graced his lips.

"Erza, I hope that we could be around each other like before," he muttered. "I really miss you. Not just me. Natsu, Gray and Lucy, they miss you too."

"Yeah, me too," she admitted.

"Let's eat lunch at the rooftop again one of these days. You can invite Shikamaru along too. The group has expanded with Gajeel and Juvia joining together since the first assignment anyway. It's a lot of fun with more people," he supplied.

Erza chuckled. "Maybe, when I'm not busy," she said. It's not really a promise but at least it was something. He would pester her again one of these days to join them, until she agreed to his will.

"Oh crap," she suddenly said when she glanced at her watch. "I'm late Naruto, I'll see you later," she said before she left the classroom in a hurry after saying goodbye, leaving him alone to watch her form disappeared from his sight.

There were still some issues that he wanted to talk to her with but then again, he was glad that he did not because he felt it was too soon to tell her about his feelings. Sure, he got rejected a year ago, but not once did he remove her from his heart. He always thought about her in his wake and now that he knew about what had happened to her, he felt like he had more confident to pursue his feelings for her once again. All he had to do was gave her some time and in the process, he would slowly creep his way into her heart.

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The council meeting was finally over.

Erza sigh in relief as she watched her fellow student council member stood and left the room leaving her alone in a quiet atmosphere. She quickly gathered her stuff and placed it inside her bagpack, ready to go home for the day.

Just as she was about to stand up from her seat, her mind wandered to the sick Sasuke and she bit her lips worriedly. Her guess was correct after all. He did get the cold from her. He was being kind to her the other day and he took care of her, so she felt indebted to him.

She took the phone from her bagpack and pondered whether or not she should call him. Since he was sick, he must be sleeping a lot so she didn't want to disturb his rest. But she did feel worried about him and after all that he had done for her, the least she could do was show him some gratitude and wished for him to get better soon.

Making her mind, she quickly scrolled for his name on her phone before her determination wavered. Seeing his name on her phone, she quickly dialed it and waited for him to pick up.

It was not a long wait as her call was connected and she heard the groggy sound of a scratchy voice answering from the other line.

"Hello."

Erza felt nervous all of a sudden when hearing his voice. Sure she got his number before but she never called him and they only texted each other once when he told her to meet at the public library during their first assignment.

"Sasuke, it's me Erza," she said stuttering a bit in her nervousness.

There was a moment of pause on the other line. She wondered if he went back to sleep.

"Erza," came the answer. He sounded surprise by her call so he must not be expecting any call from her. "Have you returned to school? What's up?"

"Yeah, I came to school today," she answered calming a bit. "I heard from Naruto that you are sick. Did you catch the cold from me?" She asked guiltily.

"I guess," she heard him said.

Erza sighed heavily. "I'm sorry then. I do hope you'll get better soon. Is there anything I can do to help?" She asked genuinely. She knew that there was nothing she could do to help him at this moment but it was the thought that count. That was what she thought.

"Actually, there is something you can do."

"Excuse me?" She blurted out with an incredulous face, lucky that he couldn't see her at the moment.

"I thought you want to help," he replied back. She could detect the accusation on his voice.

"Of course. But what can I possibly do to help you get better?" She countered, curious as to what would he asked her to do. She hoped it was not something impossible or utterly embarrassing.

"Don't worry, it's just a simple task," he said as if to answer her quiet musing. "Where are you now?" He asked.

With a raised eyebrow she answered truthfully. "I'm still at the school, but I'm getting ready to go home now."

"Good. I'll be waiting for you at your house, so hurry up."

"What?" She uttered in alarm. "What do you mean by that? Hello? Sasuke? Hello?"

Hearing no answer from him, she looked at her screen only to see that the call was disconnected.

Erza huffed in frustration. She shouldn't have tried to be nicer to him in the first place. He always twisted the situation around to get what he wanted. "That manipulative jerk," she muttered grudgingly under her breath, grabbing her bagpack and proceeded to go home.

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The ding sound reverberated inside the closed space of the elevator. Erza stepped out of it and walked towards her house. A few steps away, she saw a figure sat with his back against the door, wearing a black jacket over his frame with the hood covering his head. His bang was peeking from under the hood and she recognized him instantly.

"Sasuke?" She uttered.

He looked up when hearing his name and she could take a good look of his face. Erza gasped involuntarily when she noticed his condition. He looked deathly pale so she quickly went to him, crouching beside his form.

"Sasuke! You look very sick," she exclaimed worriedly. Without thinking, her hand went to his forehead and her eyes widened when she felt how hot it was. "You're burning," she stated, concerned for him clearly etched on her face.

"I'm cold actually," he muttered as he took her hand away from his forehead and Erza could feel that unlike his forehead, his hands were very cold.

"Come on, let's get inside first," she said as she helped him get up from his spot and opened the door before they both went inside.

"How did you come here anyway?" She asked once they were seated at the living room.

"I drive of course," he answered with a blank stare and lay down on her comfortable sofa, like he owned the place. He adjusted his body so that he was lying down on his left side, facing her.

Erza gave him a stern look. "You shouldn't be driving in your condition," she scolded him. But the sick man only rolled his eyes at her.

"Don't worry, I'm a very competent driver," he said with his scratchy voice.

Erza huffed in annoyance at him. "What are you doing here in the first place? I thought it was a joke when we talked over the phone. You clearly need a hospital, there is nothing that I can do to help you at this point," she told him.

"Of course you can," he countered. "I only want something simple from you."

"And what could it be?" She asked calmly, trying to control her temper. She was indebted to him so she might as well pay it this time. Then maybe she could stop thinking about him and chased away the weird feeling he gave her with his constant presence in her life.

She didn't know what was it with Uchiha Sasuke, he unexpectedly included himself into her life and spun it around to his will. She really did try to avoid him but fate seemed to always bring them together.

"I just want you to cook something for me, something hot," he said tiredly.

It was her turn to stare blankly at him, trying to register what he said in her mind.

"Porridge will do," he added.

Erza shook her head vigorously. "I'm sorry. I thought I heard you ask me to cook porridge for you," she muttered.

"I did."

She stared at him incredulously. "You have your mother and your maids back at your mansion to cook for you. Yet you come here and ask me to do it. If I didn't know any better, I would say that you come here just to torment me," she said with a suspicious stare thrown at him. She just couldn't understand why he had to come to her.

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Sasuke stared at the red head beauty sitting opposite of him in the living room. Sure, she was suspicious of his motif for coming here, and she actually hit the bullseye on that one. Asking her to cook for him was just an excuse from his part. The real reason why he came to her house was simply because he wanted to see her.

After he left her house two days ago, he was constantly worried about her. He made plan to visit her again the next day after he left but he was suddenly sick and it was pretty bad. Even in his sick condition, he still worried about her because while he was sick, he had his parents and his maids to take care of him but Erza, she had no one. And he knew her, her pride wouldn't let her reaching out to ask for help.

"Contrary to popular beliefs, not all mothers out there know how to cook. And my mom, despite her numerous attempt, should have never be allowed to cook for the rest of her life. That's how bad she is," he said with a defeated sigh. "And I always ate the food prepared by the house chef anyway. I want something different this time," he supplied. He was not ready to tell her that he was worried about her and kinda miss her a bit. She might kill him or ridicule him for it. Or worst, she might misunderstand his pure intention making their relationship went downhill when he thought it was getting better.

"And you couldn't just buy something instead of coming to me."

He frowned at her snide remark. He wouldn't mind it on any other day. In fact, he marveled at the chance to perform a verbal judo with her, but right now his head was hurting like a bitch and he was in no mood to argue with her. "You said you want to help," he pointed.

He saw the guilt flashed across her face. It was not his intention to make her feel that way.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry," she apologized genuinely. "The request came out to be quite unexpected so I'm a bit baffled by it, that's all," she explained.

He nodded in understanding.

"But I'm warning you, I'm not the best cook out there so don't expect anything too much from my cooking," she warned him.

Sasuke had the nerve to snicker at her confession. Seeing the cold glare sent his way, he quickly removed the smirk on his face and tried to save the situation. "Don't worry. I doubt that you could be any worse than my mom," he said.

"Yeah right," she scoffed at him. "I'll take a quick shower before I start preparing for your dinner," she informed him before she stood and left him there to go to her room.

Sasuke watched her retreating back and smiled when she was no longer in sight. Seeing her well and healthy again alleviate the worry he had for her in the first place. He was glad that she was okay.

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To be continued

A/N: Hate it? Love it? Thanks for reading. Till next time.