Day 5: Home
"You've turned into a homebody, Jellal," Meredy teases. She checks on him when he spends long periods of time away from the guild.
"If that means I prefer to be at home, then I guess I'm a homebody," he says placing another neatly folded square on the stack.
"Are you happy?" she asks picking through the pile of freshly laundered clothing.
"I am." He sets the stack of ten folded squares aside and starts a new one. "Are you?"
"Yes. Everything feels brighter."
"That's what wanted for you." Jellal glances at Meredy who's still eyeing the pile of laundry wistfully.
"I know. I also know things couldn't be any different than they are now. I'm okay with that." She suddenly smirks and tosses a green set of footie pajamas in his face. "You realize you're about six months too early to be worried about properly laundering these, right?"
"Erza likes to be prepared, and I don't mind doing it," he huffs.
"You're such a house husband," she laughs tossing her pink ponytail over one shoulder.
He smiles and deposits an armful of cloth diapers in her lap. "You could help me, you know. Since you're here."
When she places the last diaper on the folded stack, she sighs. "Thank you," Meredy says quietly.
"For what?"
"For a lot of things. Ultear gave me a purpose and a family in herself. I stayed with you after she... left and now I have a home." She smiles. "And so do you."
"You don't owe me anything –"
"Just shut up and let me thank you!" Meredy pokes him in the arm and follows him to a room already filled with new furniture. She fills the empty dresser drawers with things she can't ever remember having. It amuses her to tease Jellal but in truth she knows exactly how he feels.