So, I suddenly had the strongest urge to write. And, I thought, what story have I mostly neglected as of late? This was the first that came to mind, though I do need to finish Broken, but oh well. Slightly longer then the first chapter, so yay! I promise to try and get them out faster. Valentine's Day is still occurring for me though, sadly. I have tons of other chapter to update... Ugh okay. Here you go!

Hope you enjoy!

"Jellal?" she said hesitantly.

A small groan came from behind the closed door and her brow furrowed in worry. She heard a small cough and then a flush. Erza sighed in relief as he opened the door and leaned against the frame. At least he wasn't dead. He seemed pale, the red tattoo on his face making it more prominent. "Are you all right?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I am," Jellal said quietly, though he didn't quite look it. He had only been at Fairy Tail for three days, and though sometimes it looked like he was getting better, with his occasional smiles and laughs, there was still something haunted and dark lurking behind his eyes.

Erza noticed there was something different about him the second day he had been here. Jellal had always been quiet and calm but this was different. He was different.

"Okay," Erza said warily. Before he could protest, Erza reached up and pressed her hand onto his forehead. She frowned. He felt fine; perfectly normal, but that didn't explain why he had bolted to the bathroom earlier.

Erza had entered his room to wake him up and take him to breakfast. It was a small room with only a bed, desk, window, and connected to it was a bathroom. Ultear and Meredy shared a room down the hall. This was in the back of the guild. When Erza had come in he had been stirring restlessly in his sheets and when she had shaken him awake he took one look at her and dashed for the bathroom.

"I really am fine, I promise Erza," he assured her, gently pushing her hand away. Nodding and sighing simultaneously, she motioned for him to follow. She pretended not to notice his tired eyes and slumped shoulders.

When they arrived in the guild hall Meredy hurried over to them with a bright grin on her face.

"Natsu challenged me to a fight," she said cheerily. Erza raised her eyebrows in amusement. "He also challenged Ultear," Meredy added as an afterthought, "but she beat him in a matter of seconds. She wasn't in the mood I guess."

Erza's smile widened at the thought. Natsu still had a lot to learn.

"Interested in watching?" she asked, leaning forward. She mainly directed her attention to Jellal, hoping to spark some amount of interest in his eyes, but he only smiled faintly.

"Should be interesting," he murmured. Meredy's grin widened as she nodded vigorously.

"Let's eat first," Erza suggested. Erza glanced at Jellal, worried that he wasn't eating enough. And, of course, she was craving cake, despite the fact that it wasn't traditional breakfast food. Meredy followed behind as they walked to Mirajane who was talking to Wendy at the bar.

Wendy glanced up and her eyes brightened at the sight of Jellal.

"Good morning, Jellal!" she said. "It's nice to see you."

"Good morning," he murmured in response. "How are you and Carla?"

She grimaced and glanced at Carla who sat next to her. The Exceeds arms were crossed and she stared moodily at the wall opposite her. Wendy leaned forward and whispered, "I'm fine, but Carla and Happy had a fight. She has been in a bad mood ever since."

"Don't worry Carla," Meredy said, patting her on the head, "you'll make up soon." Carla sniffed in indignation.

"As if I would want to make up with that male cat," she snapped. Wendy sighed.

Erza waved for Mirajane's attention and ordered them breakfast. Once they sat down and ate from the plates Mira set in front of them (Mira was very quick when delivering food) Jellal began to eat his eggs after Erza and Meredy's constant urging and threats. Erza sighed happily as she bit into a piece of her strawberry cake.

Despite the fact that Jellal wasn't his usual self she couldn't help but feel a sense of calm and rightness settle over her as she sat next to Jellal. She felt warmth radiate from him sending the chills of the autumn away. Every time his arm brushed against hers she smiled secretly.

She really had missed him.

It didn't take long for them to hear a shout.

"You chicken out, Meredy?" Natsu shouted. Meredy swiveled in her stool and turned to glare at Natsu.

"Yeah right, hot head, like I'd ever chicken out." She rolled her eyes at him and turned back to her food. "Just let me eat first," she called around a forkful of hash browns. He snorted.

"Yeah right," he snorted.

"How stupid are you?" she snapped turning back to him. This time though she held in her hand her plate full of food and shoved it forwards for him to inspect. "Does it look like a lie?"

He eyed the contents of the plate with an air of indifference. "You had plenty of time to get food earlier," he pointed out. Meredy sighed and nodded at Erza and Jellal.

"I wanted to get those two love birds to watch the fight, so I was a little delayed."

Erza froze, her fork poised over the cake, ready to take another piece. Jellal blushed and ducked his head, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

"Ah," Natsu said in understanding. His eyes glinted in mischief. He smirked at the two. "You lovebirds cause a lot of trouble, don't you?"

"W-we aren't love birds!" Erza protested. "I am not any type of bird in fact!"

Mira giggled from behind the bar, her eyes shining in triumph. "You're so cute when you're in denial, Erza," Mira said. Though her words seemed warm there was a strange air around her. Unconsciously Erza shifted away.

"I'm not in denial!" she cried. Jellal, by now, had turned as red as Erza's hair and was staring far too intensely at his barely eaten eggs.

"They're just teasing you, Erza," he mumbled quietly. "Calm down."

Immediately she relaxed at his words, until the first part of his explanation registered in her mind. She scowled fiercely at the three. Meredy and Natsu took a step back in fright but Mira's smile widened.

Jellal chuckled as he watched Erza chase down Natsu and punish him for his offense. In truth, this was the most light-hearted he had felt in a while. Being back in Fairy Tail gave him the feeling that he was home again and surrounded in warmth. It was almost like he was enveloped in others light.

But no, that wasn't right. He didn't deserve that. He knew that, and yet. And yet he was still here, smiling with his friends. And they smiled back. And they forgave him. It was enough to make him feel good, and happy. But that couldn't last for long, of course. Soon the darkness drew him back in and he heard the voice whisper to him from the far corners of his mind.

"They may forgive you, but that means nothing when you can't forgive yourself."

His eyes darkened. It was his fault for his depression and bad moods, he knew that. It was always his fault. They had forgiven him, he could see it in the way Erza smiled softly at him or how Ultear looked at him happily and when Meredy did her best to make him smile. But he couldn't forgive himself. He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to. He had hurt his friends, killed Simon, and done so many other awful things.

He wasn't sure if he wanted anyone's forgiveness, and he knew he didn't deserve it.

But he still smiled the best he could when Erza glanced at him. Despite the darkness that clouded his heart, she was one of the one small shining lights that still resided there. He glanced at Meredy, and Ultear who had now joined them. They were there too.

That is why, when Meredy proclaimed she was done with her food, and announced to the guild that it was time for the fight, he smiled. And that is why, when Erza grabbed his hand and led him outside to the back of the guild and grinned excitedly at him- she had always loved fights- he forced his smile to widen.

She almost bought it.

Comments, suggestions, reviews? Yes, no, maybe so?

So, Jerza! Dudes, my glasses broke so it was kind of hard to type this, but I pushed through the pain! I should be getting new ones Friday (hopefully) *crosses fingers* Anyway, not on to the most depressing parts of this story, but I think I'm setting up a pretty good starting point for it to fully blossom (sorry Jellal), so what do you think? You might not think this, but your reviews mean a lot to me. They make my days a thousand times better then their usual crappy way. In fact, before I started writing this chapter, I looked at the reviews to encourage me on. So you know, review! ;)

I love you all so much, you are all so kind for your wonderful reviews! Thank you so much, it means a lot!

Have any ideas to add on? Thoughts on how to make it better? Ideas on how it might turn out? Just want to talk about it, or rant about the latest Fairy Tail chapter? Want to point out what I did wrong? Correct me? Please do! I love hearing from you all!

Thanks, hope you enjoyed!