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Disclaimer; I do not own Fairy Tail. It belongs to Hiro Mashima.

Punishment

x.x.x

The uncomfortable feeling of being watched made Erza's skin crawl, Gray's dark blue eyes stared directly at the back of the warrior's head from across the temporary beer hall. It was the late morning after they left Honseka and the travel back to Magnolia was a long, awkwardly silent walk. Gray had resisted the urge to bombard Erza with tons of questions and Lucy was shaken up after running into two thugs at the inn. However, the blonde, celestial wizard was saved by Loke. The dragon slayer and his cat companion were the only two unaffected by the events from last night and acted indifferent. Back at the guild, everything seemed to appear back to normal. Natsu was bragging that he won the pillow fight and Lucy was expressing her concern for Loke to Mira. Though, Erza knew that Gray wasn't ready to accept back in their normal routine and forget the intruder.

"Erza, would you like a drink?" Mirajane's sweet voice offered, the Titania looked up and saw the friendly smile on her guildmate's face. Erza nodded and silently thanked her as a glass of orange liquid was slid down the bar towards the scarlet haired girl.

The tangy juice eased Erza's mind until the glass was empty, then she felt Gray's stares once more. Maybe she should try some beer, drink until her mind couldn't think straight anymore and everything would turn fuzzy. No, then she would end like Cana and turn to alcohol whenever she felt stressed or just drink all the time. She was Erza Scarlet and she faced her problems head on, with a sword. She got up from her barstool, unnoticed by Lucy and Mira, and marched towards Gray with a serious look on her face.

"E-Erza?" He muttered, obviously taken aback by Erza's sudden approach even though he had been watching her. The sword she was clenching in her ironclad hands also caused a bit of worry for the ice mage.

"I know you were probably wondering who that man was," Erza's tone was unexpectedly soft and her eyes shone a hint of sorrow, "I'll explain everything but I need a place more private to talk."

Gray Fullbuster felt an unexplainable blush creep along his cheeks, Erza never asked to go somewhere private nor had she ever sound so willing to talk to him about personal things. She told him to meet up with her during the afternoon, which wasn't long from now, at the South Gate Park near the large tree.

For now, one of her problems were being dealt with but she still had one more worry .. Lucy and her keys. Jellal had ordered Erza to steal one of the celestial wizard's keys, it didn't matter which one and Erza had guessed it was probably a test to see how much she was under his control. Even if Erza did manage to sneak away from one of the blonde's keys, it wouldn't take long for Lucy to realize it was missing. The key-bearer loved her spirits as much as she loved her friends and Lucy would be distraught if one was gone.

"No." Erza scolded herself as she caught her eyes wandering towards Lucy belt and the ring that held all the keys together. The Titania returned to her barstool, next to Lucy, and held in her frustrated sigh so she wouldn't be questioned about it. Lucy Heartfilia was one of Erza's most treasured friends, she wouldn't betray her for Jellal. She would endure his so-called 'punishment' for Lucy.

The day proceeded forward and soon enough, the afternoon was here. Erza made her way slowly towards the tree in the center of the South Gate Park. The tree still held the painful memory of the three-mage team, Shadow Gear, being crucified from it but Erza didn't know anywhere else to meet up with Gray other than her house, and that was out of the question. The shirtless mage was seen leaning against the tree, his arms crossed as he waited from Erza's arrival.

"What do you want to tell me?" Gray inquired coolly, his blue eyes gazing at Erza as she approached him. Many things had been racing through his mind about the stranger and what connection he could have with Erza but he really wanted to hear the truth from her.

"His name is Jellal," Erza began, her mind trying to put the right words together without telling him everything, "His a childhood friend of mine, before I joined Fairy Tail, and he's came back."

"Why were you so scared!" Gray snapped, not satisfied with the warrior's answer. Gray was no longer leaning against the tree and he was holding Erza tightly by her shoulders, shaking her lightly.

"He's evil." She finally muttered, her eyes now were cast down to the ground in an almost shameful look, "I'm not sure what he is planing but it's something bad. I don't know why he's bothering me now, he just wants to torture me."

"Leave it to Natsu and I, we'll take care of this guy." The ice wizard reassured Erza, clenching his fist in anger once he released her shoulders. No one was allowed to treat his friends like this, epsecially not Erza. He always had a certain fear of the Titania's wrath and he never seen Erza afraid of anything, but now he could see Erza trembling just by mentioning his name.

"No!" Her voice had taken Gray by surprise, he blinked in confusion, "I didn't want anyone to find out. This is my problem and my problem alone!"

"Erza?" He reached out his hand to the scarlet haired girl, but she only smacked it away. She looked up at him with tears streaming down her left eye. Gray hated seeing her cry and he cringed away. Ever since that day he caught her crying by herself by the river, it always pained him seeing her so sad and he never wanted to see anything like that again.

"Don't tell anyone, please. I can handle this." Erza pleaded before she took off away from the park and raced through the streets of Magnolia, pushing people out of her way. Stopping to catch her breath, Erza found herself within one of the many alleyways of the city. It had been late in the afternoon whenever Erza had met up with Gray, so the sun slowly making its way to the horizon. She pressed her back against the brick wall, her chest heaving and she slid down until she was sitting on the stone ground.

"Why are you doing this to me!" Erza heard herself yelling out in frustration to no one in particular. She had reached the deserted streets of the large city, so nobody was there to hear her ranting as she continued. It was all Jellal's fault for her frustration. She hated him. There was no doubting it now. He was trying to turn her against her friends, trying to toy with her mind, and trying to use her.

Suddenly an all too familiar presence approached Erza, the sound of boots hitting the pavement echoed throughout the alleyway. Jellal. She jerked her head towards the man as he came closer and stood looming over her body, his hands behind his back.

"I see you disobeyed me." Jellal scolded, his eyebrows narrowing in a glare but Erza held her defiant gaze, "Not once, but twice now. I'll have to punish-"

Smack! He didn't see it coming, Erza's body moved so quickly that he hadn't seen her stand up and send her hand roughly across his face. Pain shoot through his cheek as her hand made contact with the tattoo on his face. His gloved hand instinctively reached for his now red cheek in shock.

"I don't care." Erza hissed, "Do whatever, I don't care. You'll never be able to control me!" She truly didn't care. She didn't care that she told Gray her secret or that she didn't obey Jellal and tried to take one of Lucy's keys. There was nothing he could do right now to make her feel worse. Even though she hadn't done anything to her friends, she still felt as if she betrayed them.

For a moment, they stared at each other. Erza's eyes full of rage and Jellal's were unreadable but eventually, his lips formed into a small, weak grin, "Erza, I love you."

"W-What?" Erza stuttered, she was angry that her cheeks grew red into a blush. This had been the first time he ever remotely said anything about loving her and it sounded like a confession he had been holding back for such a long time. Not to mention how random it seemed. He moved a foot forward, Erza stepped back, "Well, I hate you!"

It was said in a panic and the look on Jellal's face made her want to take it back, it looked of sincere hurt. Her mind was thrown into a state of shock and confusion, she knew Jellal was the enemy and she hated him, but why did she regret saying it? Why had he been using her and toying with her if he loved her?

"I figured that." Jellal answered after a moment of tension filled silence, his blue bangs covering his eyes. It seemed his personality switched from sadistic to somewhat normal but Erza knew better than to trust him. Instead of walking towards Erza once more, Jellal turned his back to her went off towards the darkness of the alleyway. She had not expected him to walk away though. Her heart twisted in pain, full of sorrow and hurt, it was unbearable and Erza couldn't understand why it was hurting just because Jellal was leaving. That was what she wanted, right?

"Jellal, wait!" Just as she yelled after him, lightning struck in the sky above and sent a loud, destructive sounding bang of thunder throughout the air which made the warrior jump. Rain poured down, soaking everything in its path. Jellal's walking ceased, his head turned slightly to look back at Erza, his dark eyes were blank.

"You're going to catch a cold." He warn, nonchalantly. He unbuttoned his long, dark cloak and threw it to Erza, who barely caught it in time. A close-fitting, black outfit was revealed and the sleeveless shirt shown off his toned upper body. However, the attire wasn't suitable for the heavy rain that kept falling from the blacken sky, "Wear that."

She grasped on tightly to the piece of cloth as Jellal turned back around to leave. He lazily waved his hand goodbye towards Erza before he disappeared into the darkness. Her eyes darted down the trench coat, its scent smelt like Jellal but the rain was quickly washing the smell away. Being stubborn, like Erza was always, she refused the wear it but she didn't dare to throw on the wet ground. Her feet carried her back towards her small apartment, it wasn't far from where she was but the pain shooting through her feet and legs made it seem like such a long walk. She assumed that the pain was from her running from Gray had caused it.

The persistent tapping on her tin roof from the rain and the smashing sound of thunder had kept Erza tossing and turning in her little, twin sized bed. Even when had been able to doze off, those horrid nightmares forced her awake with screams. She didn't mind the rain, it was just the thunder that seemed to worsen her nightmares. Eventually, the sun had came up and brought the end to the darkness and the rain. Pain pulsed through Erza's head, her hand clasped her forehead. The migraine had made Erza unable to get up from her bed and she realized her nose was stuffy, she wasn't able to breath through it either. Everything felt cold too, she nestled deeply into her covers but to no avail. Erza Scarlet was sick.

After laying in bed, her cold making her uncomfortable, Erza finally decided to force her body down to the guild hall. The trek was longer than usual and once she reached the outside beer hall, she nearly collapsed onto Mirajane's bar. Thankfully, she found a stool before she was able to fall on the floor.

"Erza, you don't look so good." Lucy said with concern as she gazed at her pale, sickly looking friend, "You probably got caught in that thunderstorm last night, didn't you?"

Erza only managed a small nod, her voice too weak and shaky to form a coherent sentence. She was in no condition to do a job today with her team. Natsu even smelt her sickness all the way across the café and immediately was at her side, he was just as concern as Lucy. It seemed Gray hadn't told her friends about yesterday and the night before, she knew she could trust him. Gray didn't join his friends who were with Erza, he remained at his table and his shirt had somehow disappeared yet again. She knew she had to apologize to Gray about the way she acted but that had to be another time, her body was too weak to move

"N-Natsu!" She hollered in surprise as her body was suddenly lifted from her seat, Natsu had picked her up. One arm held up her upper body, while the other held her legs.

"You need to get home and get some rest." Natsu ordered, refusing to listen to Erza's protests as he carried her body towards her home. Lucy and Happy followed.

Natsu used his foot to knock Erza's door open, probably breaking the lock. This was the first time Lucy had ever been to her house and the blonde was curiously examining everything with her brown eyes. The dragon slayer dropped, literally dropped her in mid-air, on her bed. She crashed down on the cushion and then looked up at Natsu with a blank stare of how carelessly he treated her sick body. The fire wizard only gave her a thumbs up and a big smile to show that she was alright. Lucy rushed over to Erza, making sure the scarlet haired warrior was cozy as she laid a clean blanket over her body. Natsu set a glass of water on her nightstand as well. Her armor vanished into her normal pajamas so she'd be more comfortable.

"Do you need anything before we go?" Lucy asked. Her teammates were now standing by her door, she really didn't want them to leave but they had to go back to Fairy Tail. Erza shook her head and thanked Natsu and Lucy as they left her home. Loneliness quickly took over as Erza laid down in her bed and held the covers close to her body.

Her vision went black, signifying that she had drifted off to sleep. Erza dreamed of the tower, like always, but this dream wasn't like usual nightmares. It was a flashback of the time she been sick and her condition kept getting worst since she was forced to work everyday. Her sickness now was nothing compared back to when it was then. Hunger and fatigued didn't help her at all either but each night Jellal had tried to take care of her. Jellal would always give her his share of food and tried to do more work to make up for Erza. After weeks had passed, Erza had grown stronger, no longer shaky or running a high fever, and her fierce cold was gone. However, Jellal had caught her same exact sickness once she had gotten better.

"You idiot. You spent so much time helping me get better, you got sick yourself." Erza had once scolded, upset that Jellal had gotten sick. She couldn't help but grin in her sleep as she reminisced about the once kind, caring Jellal. She was sleeping lightly now, mostly daydreaming about her good memories during her childhood. Suddenly, a light pressure was on her forehead which caused her eyes to blink open in surprise.

"You didn't listen to me and now you're sick." Jellal's smooth, deep voice muttered in a disappointed manner. His black, gloved hand was resting on Erza's brow, "You got a fever."

As if on instinct, Erza flinched away from his hand. Her coffee, brown eyes met his with a slight panic. Erza would have requiped into her standard armor and attacked her intruder but the look in his eyes told her that he meant no harm. It seemed this time, Jellal hadn't came to Erza's home to torture but he was there for a different reason.

"I'll make sure you get better." Jellal finally said with a small, kind smile forming on his lips.

A/N ;; Jellal seems to have a change of heart, maybe Erza had smacked some sense into him? But the real question is; how long is it going to last? Thanks for reading and leave a review~