A/N: Hi again, and thanks for reading my stories! :D (Special thanks to those who reviewed, you made my day!)

This story is an AU, and I had to go around asking for the meanings of cardinal (English isn't my native language) to be sure what to write. I decided to go with the meaning of the greatest importance; fundamental, but I also slightly incorporated other meanings... ;)

I hope you'll like it - because I have to admit I quite like how this one came out. :)

Day 4.

Prompt: Cardinal

Word count: 2316

Jellal Fernandez was usually a very intelligent man. He was actually very proud at his ability to quickly solve any problem thrown his way, without so much as breaking a sweat. So, when he realized he was starting to get a crush on his longtime best friend, Erza Scarlet, an amazing woman that caught the attention of many, he calmly analyzed the situation and his problem, before concluding that it would be for the best if he let it be, thinking that she'd never hold feelings like that for him, and that he'd be able to get over his little crush soon.

But you see, Jellal Fernandez made some cardinal mistakes.

And it would turn out, he wasn't so successful at solving his problems after all.

…

His crush started out innocently enough.

He began to notice small details about her, like how her laugh would start out as deep then raise higher, or how one corner of her mouth would curve downwards when she'd be telling a lie (which wasn't often), or how her eyebrow would slightly raise and she'd be subtly smirking when she'd catch someone else lying. At first, he didn't give these observations of his much thought, believing that it was quite normal for someone who's known a person for many years to notice small things about them, which were usually unnoticeable. Of course, he was correct – people who've known each other longer did tend to pay attention to small things others didn't bother with. However, soon he started having some thoughts and feelings which were not the kind you should have towards a friend.

He began noticing her beauty.

Really noticing it, because the fact that Erza Scarlet was a beautiful and attractive woman was well-known, but Jellal was starting to realize just how beautiful she was. She had soft, creamy skin that always felt smooth to the touch, a fact he overlooked for a long period. Her eyes were a warm, chocolate brown that would shine whenever she'd see something she liked. Her smile was like that of an angel's, sending warmth to the very core of your soul (though her glare could send icy chills even deeper, it seemed). And her hair. Her beautiful, marvelous scarlet hair. Jellal had always liked her shade, but only now was he starting to realize just how magnificent it was. It wasn't an ordinary red. It was a specific shade that burned itself deeply into his mind. It wasn't crimson, or vermillion, or cardinal, but scarlet, the color of the sunset (maybe even prettier). And it always smelled nice, too, like strawberries – she loved that fruit a lot.

So after that realization hit him in the face, Jellal admitted to himself that he was starting to see Erza as a woman, not only as his friend. But he kept convincing himself that that was it – just a sudden revelation, nothing more. He'd lose his last argument against the fact that he liked her when a certain feeling, which he didn't know of until then, would worm its way into his heart.

It all began on a sunny, warm day when the two of them decided to go out for a walk. The walk was pretty pleasant, as was any moment spent with Erza, but after a while the two of them got tired and thirsty, so Jellal, like the gentleman he was, offered to go and by them drinks. Erza gratefully took up his offer, and he left for the closest vending machine to buy some refreshments. Not a minute after he left, a certain group of guys approached her and started hitting on her. And, well, while that wasn't uncommon (Erza was a very stunning woman), this time, it was different. This time, Jellal saw red (and no, it wasn't just the little cardinal bird chirping somewhere on the trees – what was she doing there, anyway?).

And so, the usually very quick-witted man had finally, after quite a while, realized he was crushing on his best friend. Which was, in his own humble, but very often correct opinion, bad.

When he'd returned home later that day, he calmed his nerves down and decided to approach his situation objectively – he was starting to like his childhood friend, a girl that meant very much to him. She was smart, pretty, athletic, kind-hearted and very friendly. People who knew her respected her a lot, and often went to her when they needed an advice. Because of her beauty, there were many suitors who've tried to capture her fancy, but only a very small number managed to do so, and even then, there were few who succeeded to keep her attention for a long while. While Erza wasn't picky per say, there were some requirements men had to fulfill in order to be with her. Jellal and her other friends agreed with her on them – after all, she deserved the best.

Now, Erza had complete trust in him. Jellal wouldn't mean to sound haughty, but the woman did believe in him, and he worked hard to earn her trust. He was always there for her whenever she needed him. He'd like to think they were very close. But that was one of the reasons why his sudden change of feelings was unwelcome. Erza had a big group of friends, both male and female, but there was a small group she considered her family (and Jellal was close enough to be considered a part of it, wasn't he?). And did family members harbor crushes on each other? No, they didn't! Who knows what Erza, what all of their friends would think if he suddenly came up to her and told her he was having a crush on her! Just imagine the disapproving looks, the disappointed shakes of their heads… And the awkwardness that would follow his confession would be unbearable! So, after spending quite some time on waging the pros and cons of his new found feelings, he decided he had more to lose than to gain, and that it would be for the best to just forget about them, as soon as possible, which Jellal thought was no problem.

It would later turn out to be his mistake number one.

…

As it turned out, it wasn't just a simple crush that could be forgotten so easily. Quite the opposite, Jellal found himself falling for his friend, instead of putting his feelings aside. He tried to fight them, but in his defense, Erza was the type of woman who wouldn't let your mind forget about her easily. Each time, he found more and more things to like about her, and each time, it became harder to keep his emotions under a leash. He would oftentimes scold himself for letting his mind wander and thinking about Erza, but to no avail – his brain plainly refused to listen.

It actually went into a full blown riot, and about two months after he realized he had a crush, his mind started forming certain… pictures in his head, which made him feel like the lowest scum in the world. He tried to create a sort of a defense mechanism – whenever his mind would start wondering towards the forbidden areas, he'd think about every disgusting thing he could remember at the moment, and that actually helped a bit. Naturally, it was of no help at all when Erza would hug him, or grab his hand or something along those lines, which he should have gotten used to, considering their friendship had a lot of skinship involved, but since his feelings changed and they weren't just pure friendship anymore (they were far from pure), he was blushing more and more often around her. And others started to notice that.

That would be the mistake number two.

…

See, when it became plain clear to him that he wouldn't be getting over Erza any time soon, Jellal tried to convince himself that it was still okay, and that he would just have to act normal around her and not let her know of the mess inside his heart and brain. He was fairly certain he would manage to fool her and everybody else, and maybe he'd eventually manage to fool himself, too. Of course, he forgot the fact that he was a horrible liar and that he didn't know how to act around those close to him – if they were some strangers or people he barely knew and didn't really care about, Jellal would easily be able to play any role he wanted, but those close to him always saw right through him. So, his pathetic little tries of acting like everything was the same as always didn't fool anyone, especially not Erza. She began to notice that he was acting strange and tried to confront him about it several times, but Jellal always evaded talking about it by coming up with some ridiculous excuses no one bought, but was unable to call him out on.

Enough was enough, though, so soon Jellal was at the wrong end of Erza Scarlet's infamous glare, and was being questioned about his ridiculous behavior. At first, Jellal didn't give in, insisting he was the same as always and nothing changed. Erza wasn't giving up either, and she kept pressing him for answers, hurt because he was starting to avoid her. Even though his act was weak, Jellal didn't cave in, and Erza didn't cave in, and so they had their first major fight.

Those who knew them noticed Jellal's strange behavior, but they believed whatever it was, the two of them would solve it soon – they were inseparable. That's why, the fight that broke out and their sudden separation astonished everyone. They all tried to make them reconcile, but were met with stubborn responses on both sides. Neither wanted to apologize, because they both believed they were doing the right thing. The fight took its tool, though, as both of them missed the other a lot. After days and days of thinking, Jellal decided it was time for him to tell her the truth. The one reason he refrained from telling her before was because he didn't want their friendship to be ruined, but if things continued this way, that was exactly what was going to happen.

He visited her one day, and she was clearly still angry at him, but allowed him to come in. They spent the first few minutes in awkward atmosphere, with her acting like the good host and asking him if he wanted to have anything to drink. He told her he wouldn't mind some coffee, and she let the water boil slowly as they returned to saying nothing again. Eventually, he broke the silence, apologizing. Erza slightly arched her brow, surprised a bit, but let him continue. Jellal began fidgeting nervously, and took several deep breathes so he'd be able to calm down.

Then he told her everything.

He told her how some months ago he started to notice that he liked her, and how he realized that was a bad thing, and how he tried his best to push those feelings away or at least act like everything was normal, but he failed and that's why they got into this fight. He told her that her friendship meant the world to him, and that he didn't want to lose it, which was way he did everything he did, and why he came to apologize. When he finished talking, the room was filled with silence again, as Erza seemingly didn't know what to say or how to feel. The kettle started whistling, indicating that the water was boiled, and Erza clumsily stood up and said that she had to turn off the stove, while stuttering. Jellal lowered his head, knowing he had messed everything up, and silently said that maybe he should leave. Erza heard him, though, and suddenly yelled for him not to go, surprising Jellal (and probably herself as well). She left the kettle on the turned off stove and marched up to him, then kneeled in front of him so they'd be closer to eye level. She grabbed his face, brought it closer to hers and stared him right in the eyes before she crushed her lips on his and kissed him.

To say he was surprised would be an understatement, as Jellal seemed to process very slowly what was going on. He never even returned the kiss, as Erza pulled away before he came to his senses. What she said next quickly brought him back to reality. She said she liked him too. Jellal sat there, stunned, and when his usually quick brain finally processed everything, he threw himself at her, hugged the girl tightly and kissed her. Erza hugged him back, and he descended from the couch and kneeled next to her, and they spent the next few moments hugging and kissing. When they finally pulled away, they were both smiling and Jellal noticed the sparkle in her eyes she had only when she was next to something she liked, and mentally kicked himself when he remembered all the times she had the same sparkle when he was with her. He kissed her again, and she clumsily returned the kiss, as she was too busy grinning out of happiness.

…

Out of all mistakes he made, Jellal's biggest mistake was not taking the most cardinal factor into consideration – Erza herself. He tried to reconstruct her reactions all by himself, and that was impossible – no matter how much we know someone, we can never guess their every move and their emotions. So, instead of solving his problem, he was making it worse, and it took him several months and a heated confrontation to finally make everything right.

And well, even the most intelligent of men make mistakes sometimes. Jellal will make sure to learn from his.