Previously on How to Hide a Criminal...

Erza found a blue-haired man with a tattoo over his left eye in her bed. Now this may already be out of the ordinary but what really shocked her is that he was completely covered in bruises and gashes that were bleeding profusely.

Chapter 2: Bathtime

Erza was at a loss for words. She stared at the former wizard saint lying on her bed. It was hard to ignore that sweaty, gorey, near death smell he was emitting. His usual forget-me-not azure hair, was now caked with dry crusty mud resulting in a grayish appearance. He was also covered in bruises, cuts, and scrapes. Erza was taken aback by his current state. She couldn't make herself be mad at him. She fully examined his body discovering that there was a giant gash in his leg. Erza then noticed his blood stained bandages, drenched in a vexatious shade of bloods signature reddish-brown hue. He must've been in a tough battle or something. He's in pretty bad condition. She thought, beginning to closely examine the unexpected surprise that was left in her bed.

She ran her thin fingers across his dirty forehead feeling a major bump. The requip mage began to rub it, hoping that it would reduce it. Then seeing that he began to stir in his sleep even whimpering uncharacteristically, the redhead quickly stopped. It must hurt. She sadly sighed, combing out his tangled, messy blue locks with her hands, removing the grime, bugs, and rock shards.

Why is he even here? More importantly what is he doing so injured. Before Erza could ponder the thought anymore she caught a white slip of paper in the corner of her eye. Huh? What's this? A note? The re-equip mage let curiosity take over and picked up the paper. It read:

Dear Erza,

We need you to babysit Jellal for a while. Please take care of him. Try to keep him hidden.

~Your friend, Ultear Milkovich!

P.S. : It would be nice if he came back alive!

"ULTEAR!" She yelled, pissed off at the time-ark mage's letter. "When you come back, I swear..." she trailed, crumpling the note. The angered red-haired mage summoned a sword and sliced the offending paper then tossed it in the trash. She stared back at her unexpected visitor, whose eyes were now cracking open.

They stared at each other for a few moments. An awkward silence had fallen over the room.

"E-Erza." He managed to barely whisper, with a raspy, scratchy voice. "Why am I her-" Jellal's voice broke off before he fell unconscious once more.

"Jellal," She said rubbing dirt off his cheek. She stared at him a few seconds more."You're dirty. Let's get you washed up!" She exclaimed, beginning to hoist the man over her shoulder. It took a few minutes due to his unbearable weight.

"Jeez Jellal what have you been eating..." She quickly rushed to the bathroom before her shoulders gave out.

"Now let's get you out of these clothes, err, I don't think they can be considered as clothes anymore." She stated, voicing her thoughts on the remains of what used to be his clothes. Erza pulled his dirty and tattered shirt over his head, chucking the offending material into the trash. She began to remove the tatters of cloth from his body, making her way down his body. Soon all that remained was his boxers. She felt the heat rise to her face. Come on Erza! You can do this! It's not like you haven't seen one before. It'll be just like the times you bathed with Natsu and Gray. Except it's Jellal! Still you got this.

Erza's mental pep talk didn't help much though. She found herself reaching then drawing her hands back from his waist. Why does it feel so wrong? Why can't I take off his boxers? I've got to do this for the sake of Jellal! I've got to stop being selfish. 1. She reached for the boxers. 2. She tightly grasped the elastic waistband. 3. She yanked them down, quickly looking away.

With the utmost speed the redhead found a fresh pair of boxers and put it on him without a second glance. She sighed with relief, the hard part was done. Erza walked up to the her small bathtub and turned the knob in order to get the water flowing. Once the bathtub was filled she dipped her thin fingers to test the water. Finding it to her expectations she stopped the gushing water.

The requip mage threw the blue-haired mage over her shoulder, staggering a bit from his weight. She slowly but surely made her way towards the filled bathtub. When she got there she gently laid Jellal into the room-temperature water. Once she was sure that he was comfortable, she grabbed a clean towel. Erza wet the towel and furiously rubbed a bar of soap onto it. Eventually the towel was lathered. Satisfied with the towel she began slowly cleaning his chest, trying her best to avoid his wounds.

As the redhead finished cleansing the young male wizard, he began moving uncomfortably and his eyes opened slightly. Then seeing who it was, he quickly tensed and his eyes were wide open in shock.

"E-Erza?" He repeated the same thing he first said, "Where am I, What are you doing here?" Jellal then looked at his surroundings, "And why am I in a... bathtub?"

" you see, what had happened was, Ultear dropped you off. She wants me to babysit you? Er..." She answered rubbing soap in his blue locks.

"Hmm. Strange. I don't remember being badly injured. And that still doesn't explain the tub?" He said confusedly, glancing around the bathroom.

"Well you were dirty and I just wanted to make you clean and give you new bandages. Isn't that what babysitting is? Taking care of someone? Right?"

"Yeah, I guess." Replied Jellal. He gazed at the girl who was still cleaning muck out of his hair, as badly as I'm beaten up, I'm sorta glad I'm here with her.. ugh what am I saying, she walks in the light and I in the darkness. The Light and Dark don't mix...

Nin-Nin:Ha ha! Erza! Ever so awkard moment. Gotta love Jerza! REVIEW! We'll give you virtual cookies. Our reviewers are appreciated and make us smile!

Pie: There we go... Awkward scene over! Jerza Jerza Jerza... Come to the dark side... we have virtual cookies! Well thats it.. *Salute* Peace out peeps!