AN: Hello Readers! XD So...hehe, i know Jellal is all 'i'm unworthy wah wah wah' a lot of the time, but that's just how he is for now XD He'll get over it soonish maybe lol :p It'll happen :D
Also, heehe, i'm trying hard to balance this fic, meaning if Jealous!Erza gets an appearance...then so does Jealous!Jellal and if Drunk!Erza comes into it...then so does Drunk!Jellal...if XD
I have a lot of fun ideas for this fic but, if by the end of it, something you wanted to have happen, hasn't happened, then i'll be open to doing bonus chapters with the stuff you wanted! I'm just nice like that haha XD
Anyway, i'm gonna stop talking now...sorry...
Chapter 6-
"We'll just take it one step at a time," Erza said confidently, stepping closer to Jellal, who was still using the wall for support, "The Inn isn't that far away, we can manage."
Jellal sighed and straightened up; wincing as a wave of dizziness nearly overtook him. Erza was suddenly right beside him, putting her arm around his waist again and slinging one of his arms around her neck.
"I'll look after you," she told him seriously.
He stared down at her, an ache thumping in his chest.
"I don't deserve your help," he whispered, tearing his gaze away.
She scolded him, "Shut up and take it, I'm helping you whether you like it or not, got that?"
She pinched his side for emphasis, causing him to let out a (manly) yelp.
"Alright!" he grumbled, "I get it…I get it."
"Good," she nodded decisively and then she started them walking out of the alley.
"And put your hood back up too," she ordered.
He hastily pulled up the material which had fallen back a bit when she had thrown him against the wall.
"Yes, Ma'am," he muttered.
She pinched him again and added, "Are you being cheeky?"
"Of course not, Miss Scarlet," he answered as seriously as he could, "I wouldn't dream of it."
Nausea was swirling in his stomach; he was putting most of his energy into walking and trying not to put all of his weight on Erza, and so he was a little more flippant than he would normally be.
She glanced up at his mostly shadowed face as they waited for a group of people to pass.
"You're not going to throw up on me, are you?" she asked in warning.
He simply pressed his lips together and made an odd sound in response. She eyed him sternly, attempting to keep all signs of sympathy off her face even as she rubbed small, soothing circles on his abdomen with her palm.
When the street was clear they, as swiftly as they could, made their way along it and turned into the next one. It was several streets later in which they ran into a situation. There were a couple of twenty-something year olds ambling down the wide path.
Erza eased over to the brick wall and again pulled Jellal against her, however this time, because he stumbled a little, Jellal's face did not end up in the crook of her neck.
So…warm…he thought rather groggily, pressing even closer to her chest.
When he unconsciously started to nuzzle against her breasts, Erza snapped her hands up to hold his head still and she spoke his name in cautioning tone, prompting him to realise what he had been doing. If he had had the energy, he might've blushed and felt guilty…but he didn't.
"Come on," Erza whispered, "It's not far now."
She helped him get his lead-filled limbs working once more and she didn't tell him off when he hid his now sensitive eyes in her neck. He wasn't aware of much of the journey besides the fact that he felt pale and clammy and that it took a lot of effort to move and hold down his breakfast.
Erza however was in turns thankful and let down by the fact the Inn was now only metres away. Of course she wanted to get Jellal back to their room and disguised once more, but she also had realised that, just as their embrace in the alley earlier had been a rarity, so too was this opportunity to have him need and accept her.
She slightly tightened her hold on him and then sped them up, reaching for the door of the Sunnysmile Inn. Once inside, Mr Davden greeted them and, after he caught sight of Jellal practically draped over Erza, he eagerly tried to help them, continuing to fuss all the way up the stairs.
"If there's anything I can do!" he said with a worried smile, "Just let me know!"
"Thank you," responded Erza curtly as she led a rather unsteady Jellal over to the bed, "But I'm sure he'll be fine soon enough."
Mr Davden nodded furiously and backed out of the room before closing the door and leaving them alone. Jellal sat on the edge of the bed, a white-knuckled grip on his knees as he willed himself to feel better.
Erza, with surprising gentleness, pushed back his hood and tilted his head up, lightly brushing aside some of his blue hair.
"You look awful," she told him plainly, taking in the sight of his extra pale skin and eyes filled with discomfort.
She placed a hand to his forehead and hummed disapprovingly.
"You're hot," she said with a frown.
When his mouth twitched into a tiny smile, she wasn't above hitting his shoulder and blushing a little.
"Idiot," she muttered under her breath, stepping away from him and beginning to look around for where she had put the disguise potion.
Jellal let his eyes fall closed while she looked for it and he began to tell himself not to get used to having Erza looking after him. It took him several moments to realise that he no longer felt as if he were on a rapidly moving vehicle. He slowly re-opened his eyes and pulled in a deep breath.
"I think…" he said quietly, "I think whatever was in that water is wearing off now."
He reached a shaky hand up to his head and felt the sand-like substance begin to crumble.
"Good," remarked Erza as she walked back over to him, vial in hand, "Now stop making a mess and drink some of this."
She pulled out the stopper and then plucked up one of Jellal's hands, shaping it around the glass bottle and guiding it up towards his mouth. After he took a sip, she did the same and then put the stopper back in place. She could feel the slight trail of heat down her throat from the potion as she slipped it into one of his pockets and took note of the time it would wear off.
"Am I going to leave you here or are you coming with me?" she questioned, folding her arms across her chest, adding as an afterthought, "You should probably wash that residue out of your hair too, in case it has another effect on you."
He stared contemplatively up at her for a moment and then decided, despite still feeling ill, "It's more important to go to with you to the other attack site."
Erza nodded in acceptance of his choice, "Very well then."
Their eyes locked and suddenly Jellal was completely cleansed of all previous feelings of sickness. He got to his feet without warning, causing Erza to stumble back. He caught her waist and reflexively pulled her close. His hands seemed to burn where he touched her and so he quickly dropped his hold and looked away awkwardly.
"Thank you," he said softly, "for looking after me."
She stepped away and mumbled, "It was nothing, really."
She then cleared her throat and said louder, "We should get going again."
Jellal followed her out of the room and locked it behind them, but when he turned to follow her down the hallway, he noticed her standing perfectly still. It was as if she had heard something suspicious and was trying to listen out for it again. He approached her warily and watched as she seemed to shake herself out of whatever she was thinking about.
"Erza?" he asked, "Is something wrong?"
She glanced over to him, "No…I just thought I sensed something, that's all."
She started walking again and he quickened his pace to catch up, watching her with concern all the while. They descended the stairs and found Mr Davden at his desk; he was overjoyed at Jellal's recovery and again asked them to call on him if they needed anything.
I just need to get rid of this uneasy feeling, Erza thought as she headed over to the front door and opened it. She looked around outside while Jellal was stuck in Sunnysmile, reassuring Mr Davden that he really was fine.
Erza's eyes scanned the street and buildings in front of her restlessly; she even walked over to check in the side alley between the Inn and the next building down, she couldn't see anything odd however.
Hmm, she inwardly analysed, I feel like someone is staring at me inappropriately, I feel someone is in my personal space and my skin is crawling...
Her eyes widened and she paled, that can only mean one thing!
"Ichiya!" she yelled, spinning around in a sudden movement.
"My honey!"
Erza yelped (though she'll never admit to it) and backpedalled, cursing herself and the creepy older man for her not realising he was right behind her this whole time. Ichiya struck a flamboyant pose and said dramatically, "My honey, it is good to smell your wonderful parfum again."
Fighting a shudder, she stared sternly at the sparkling man.
"Why are you here exactly?"
Before Ichiya could respond, Erza caught sight of Jellal exiting the Inn out of the corner of her eye and she turned to watch him walk over to them. Oddly, her first thought was, yes! Jellal will save me!
She felt something against her skirt and looked down. Upon seeing Ichiya trying to sniff her clothes, she ruthlessly kicked him away, thinking, kyaa! I'll save myself!
"Erza?" Jellal was utterly confused about the situation as he came to a stop beside her and watched the other man rub an injury.
Instead of answering Jellal, Erza focused on Ichiya. Her burning gaze bore into him until he explained.
"Men! I was passing through this town when I thought I caught the scent of one of my favourite parfums!" he held up his hands in a familiar pose and sparkled, "So I followed it and found my honey!"
Jellal folded his arms and stared hard at the odd man, raising his eyebrow as he repeated, "My honey?"
He gained Ichiya's attention with that.
"Hmm, men…" Ichiya stroked his chin and eyed Jellal, "Have we met? Your parfum is familiar to me."
Both Jellal and Erza shifted uncomfortably, thinking that it would be best to get rid of the older mage as quickly as possible.
"So," stated Erza, "You've seen me and…sniffed me, if there's nothing else, we must be going now."
"Aha!" Ichiya jumped and held his arms up in yet another pose, "I have a gift for my honey!"
Erza tried not to sound worried, "You do?"
Ichiya inhaled deeply and it set off a surge of protectiveness within Jellal.
He's smelling Erza, he mentally growled.
He began to reason that he was allowed to feel protective of her because he and Erza were 'comrades' and, that being the case, and adding in her obvious uneasiness, he would also be allowed do something about it…perhaps use a spell he knew that would temporarily stop a person from being able to use one of their senses…
Ichiya suddenly slapped a hand to his nose in distress and Jellal tried to show no reaction.
"Well?" demanded Erza, oblivious.
Ichiya twitched and eyed Jellal once more before crying out, "Men! Yes…of course, I see…that parfum…"
Erza raised her eyebrow and Jellal's expression tightened almost imperceptibly.
"For you!" Ichiya then exclaimed, snapping his arm out and extending it towards Erza, "My honey, the parfum of relaxation!"
She took it a little hesitantly, waiting for him to suddenly lunge and try sniffing her again. When he did nothing, she nodded towards him.
"Thank you for your gift," she said, "But we must get on with our mission now."
Ichiya held out his hand and looked away as theatrically as he could, "My honey, I understand and I too, have a mission to get back to. The parfum of farewells is bittersweet."
Unsure how exactly to respond to that, Erza simply nodded again and grabbed Jellal's arm, starting them off down the street. With every step away from Ichiya, both mages felt relief soak in.
"That guy…" muttered Erza, mostly to herself, "I wish he wasn't so…unsettling."
They strode in silence after that and it wasn't their typical awkward one either, well it was a little for Jellal because he was sure Ichiya had figured him out. Neither of them noticed when Erza's hand slipped down his forearm and her fingers tangled with his nor did they notice when he began to walk even closer to her and swung their joint hands occasionally.
They were absorbed in their own thoughts; Jellal wondered again if he had taken it a bit far with Ichiya and Erza was trying to figure out what had happened back there. Erza stopped abruptly, pulled the folded up map out from her boot and studied it, looking around, re-orienting herself and then marching off again.
It was only when she had stopped that Jellal had realised they had been holding hands for the past five or so minutes. He dazedly watched her walking a few steps ahead and then he shook himself and caught up to her.
"The public baths," announced Erza, "should be right around this next corner."
True to her word, and the map, they turned into the next street and found that at the end of the short road was a large building which seemed to be designed all in curves. The bold sign carved into the front archway declared it to be the Azolla Baths and, despite being made of some sort of ugly tan stone, it was very inviting.
"Community baths," said Jellal as they made their way over to the entrance, "And the town gardens…does someone have a grudge against Azolla or just public amenities?"
Erza smirked a little in response, "Whatever the case, we'll get to the truth and catch this criminal."
They shared a look and a small smile that seemed to heat them both from the inside out, then Erza turned away and reached out for the door to push it open.
Inside was vast and decorated with absurd amounts of coloured tiles arranged in many distracting, patterned paths that led to four, currently empty, different sized pools. The walls were all murals of the townsfolk and hanging from the ceilings were various bright decorations of weird creatures.
Jellal couldn't stop from pulling a face, "The attacker really did a number on this place, didn't they."
Erza chuckled, "I think you'll find this is how it normally looks in here."
As Jellal tried and failed to suppress a sound of disgust, Erza noticed someone entering from a door at the back of the large room. It was a tall, white haired old woman with a bounce in her step.
"Hello!" the woman called as she approached, "You're the mages investigating are you?"
Jellal and Erza cautiously met the woman half way.
"That's us," answered Erza.
"Well that's grand," the woman said seriously, "This place has been closed since the attack yesterday morning, no-one's been in or out except me. Come this way!"
She spun around and said over her shoulder, "You can call me Juley by the way."
Without bothering to see if they followed her, which they of course did, Juley marched over the speckled tiles and returned to the door she had come from.
"The largest bath is out here," the woman told them as she opened the door and stepped outside, "When I found it like this, I reported it and was told to make sure no-one else messed with it, so that's what I did, I closed the place down, I'm only here now to sort a few things out, I'll have to ask you both to leave out a different way because I'm gonna lock the doors now."
Jellal and Erza wore matching expressions of deep thought as they headed further into the walled outside area and surveyed the destruction. Chunks of stone and those gaudy tiles were everywhere and it was even hard to tell the massive pool had once been circular. Remnants of the wooden benches that had been placed along the wall, were strewn around haphazardly like fallen soldiers.
"There's a path down the side there that you can take," Juley explained, "I'm off home now so, take care."
Jellal watched the woman as she returned inside and locked them out, then he shook his head and found that Erza had jumped down into the rubble filled pit that had been the bath. He knew he didn't have to call out any warnings to her about watching where she puts her feet, but that didn't stop him from wanting to.
While she carefully stepped through the debris and occasionally picked a piece up, Jellal examined the outer ring of the pool.
"Definitely the same person or persons," he remarked, "And the woman didn't say anything about anyone being injured…"
He crossed his arms and looked down at Erza as she straightened up.
"So what are you thinking?" she asked him.
He grew thoughtful for a moment before answering, "I'm thinking the attacker did this place a favour, it looks much better now."
"Jellal," Erza scolded, turning away so he wouldn't see her smile and roll her eyes.
"Other than that," he said, "I find it interesting that whenever a place is hit, there is no-one really around, meaning the mage's goal is not to hurt people."
"Yes," agreed Erza, "They must have some other motive."
They continued to look around and learn as much as they could; trying to imagine how whoever had done the damage went about it. As Erza was about to climb out of the ruined bath, she caught sight of something, a flash of colour between lumps of grey rocks. She easily moved the top rock away and then gasped in delight.
"Jellal! Come and see this!"
He frowned and made his way over, hopping down into the mess with her.
"Erza," he warned, seeing the expression on her face.
Sitting in pristine condition on a white plate resting on a misshapen stone, was a piece of strawberry cheesecake. It even had a little fork with it.
If he hadn't been concerned about the situation, Jellal might've found it funny and cute the way her eyes were wide and sparkling happily while gazing the dessert.
"It's clearly been tampered with in some way," he told her, stepping back.
"It's perfect," sighed Erza.
"I mean it must have a spell on it or a potion mixed in," he said, his worry increasing, "It's highly suspicious, don't touch it."
He looked away for a second, a second, and when he looked back…Erza was already digging into the cake with the little fork.
"Erza," he groaned, "You're unbelievable."
The scarlet haired woman then took him completely by surprise yet again in the next moment. She put the half eaten cake down and turned to him with a passionate look in her eyes that made him highly aware of her body and his own.
"Oh, I think…" she purred, stepping closer to him, "It's you who's unbelievable, Jellal."
"E-erza?" he asked, his heart stuttering like his words as she pressed herself against him.
AN: Also don't forget you can find me on tumblr and i do post sneak peeks XD also you'd like our jerza blog with the cute headcanons and fanart XDDD
Yes so...next chapter should be fun! Pervy!Erza for the win! Poor Jellal... ;) ;)