*A/N- This one is a head cannon I've had for a while now, and it was begging to be posted.

Day 4- Diamonds

I do not own Fairy Tail

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Jellal ducked into the armor shop, and breathed a sigh of relief as the door closed behind him. The other customers looked up at him, and then turned quickly away. Most people in this town were still unsure of how they should act around him, although very few were openly rude. It just so happened he had been fleeing from some of those people when he had ducked into the armor shop. The other patrons finished up their business quickly and left, casting him many side long glances. He smiled at them whenever they made eye contact, but they didn't smile back.

"They'll warm up to you eventually, they just need time to adjust." Jellal nodded.

"Yea, most people are nice enough to me, there aren't many that are rude."

"And I don't suppose you were running from some of those few when you ducked into my shop?" Jellal blushed and ducked his head. "I knew I heard shouting when you walked in. Who was it? I'll give 'em a piece of my mind!" He turned around and made for the door, but Jellal put a hand on his shoulder.

"Really, Lloyd, it's alright. I'm not going to win over the townspeople by force." He said, sighing, "I might not win them over at all."

"You're not going to win them over by laying down and taking shit from them either!" Lloyd exclaimed. Jellal sighed again.

"You sound like Erza," he said exhaustedly. "She was calm at first, but now it's been a year, and she's getting tired of it."

"And you aren't?" Lloyd asked.

"I'm used to it," Jellal said.

"You're too nice for your own good, kid." Lloyd told him, patting him paternally on the shoulder. Jellal smiled sheepishly and followed him to the counter. He leaned up against it and looked at the armor on display behind the desk.

"You looking for a gift for Erza for your anniversary, aren't you?" Lloyd asked.

"Yea, did she tell you it was today?"

"Yes she did, and might I add, waiting until the last minute to buy an anniversary gift for your girlfriend is a bad idea."

"I know, I know, I was going to pick something up for her on the way back from the job I went on with my guild last week, but then Meredy caught a cold, Sorano and Erik got into a fight and Sawyer got knocked out trying to break it up, and you don't even want to know what Macbeth did." Jellal sighed heavily yet again and put his face in his hands. "There was so much chaos I completely forgot to get her anything."

"Well that sounds like a good time, but you've known about it literally all year, you had time."

"I know," Jellal said, "but I kept putting it off, or I saw something when I was with Erza, and I would go back for it later and then it would already be gone, I kept putting it off until it was too late. I thought that armor was a safe bet."

"It's true Erza loves her armor, but as an anniversary gift?"

"What's wrong with it? I thought you might have something girly, or really powerful and hardcore, those are her two main interests." Lloyd chuckled.

"Well we do have one particularly ornamental set of armor, but it's decorative, not meant to be used."

"Could it be enchanted to increase her physical strength or speed or something, or just offer some sort of protection?"

"If you had asked last week, yes, but there is no one in Magnolia that I would trust to enchant them effectively, not for the kinds of battles our Erza will be in. I'd have to send it off."

"Damn it."

"That's some strong language, son."

"And there is nothing powerful?" Jellal asked, although he already knew the answer. Lloyd shook his head and Jellal deflated. "Do you know anything that she might like?"

"The jewelry store is just two doors down."

"Jewelry?" Jellal asked, "I don't know what sort of jewelry she would like."

"What about earrings or a necklace? I'm sure that you can find something. Just go in and get whatever reminds you of her." Jellal nodded, thanked Lloyd, and left.

Jellal ducked his head instinctively when he left the jewelry store, and walked quickly to the jewelry store two doors down.

A few of the customers looked up when he walked in, one of them actually returned his smile, and another dropped the ring he was looking at and walked out, shoving into Jellal on the way out. One of each extreme then, he thought. The attendant who had been helping him approached Jellal.

"I'm sorry," he said out of habit, "I'll leave if you want me too." She gave him an incredulous look.

"Why on Earth land would I want that?" Jellal blinked, taken aback.

"Well. I'm not very popular, that guy left because I came in."

"Oh that doesn't matter, we're the only worthwhile jewelry store in Magnolia, and he was a jerk anyway," she leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "the whole time he was in here shopping for an engagement ring, he was shamelessly flirting with me," she held up her left hand, which was adorned by a diamond ring.

"Congratulations," Jellal said automatically. She nodded in acknowledgement of this.

"Thank you, but, he was also checking out that blonde over there, the one with her boyfriend." Jellal looked over at the woman she was indicating and raised his eyebrows.

"Did she check him out back?" He asked, before he could stop himself. The attendant snorted.

"She didn't notice." She walked behind the counter, and Jellal followed her, feeling much more comfortable. "What can I help you with?"

"I'm looking for a gift for my girlfriend for our anniversary."

"Which anniversary is it?" She asked.

"Does it matter?"

"Yup." She said briefly.

"A year," he told her.

"Are we looking for a ring?" She asked, casting a suggestive glance over at the ring display.

"Um- I don't think- I mean-" He was cut off by her giggles, and he realized that she was teasing him.

"I'm sorry, I know Erza, she came in here earlier looking for a gift for you."

"Erza came in here looking for a gift for me?" She nodded. "Did she buy anything?" He asked, imagining himself having to wear a glittery necklace or earrings so he wouldn't hurt her feelings.

"Not telling." She said. Jellal sighed again. He glanced around the store for something that reminded him of Erza, and a case filled with red caught his eye. He looked back at the clerk and she nodded. She walked around the counters to the display case, and rested her hands gently on the glass.

"See anything in particular?" She asked. Jellal scanned the shelves, looking at the rings, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings.

"I think earrings, because she wears earrings into battle, but a necklace would get broken."

"Not necessarily, a girl's got to have a little jewelry for when she's not in battle." Jellal scoffed.

"Erza's always in battle," he said. The girl chuckled.

"Anyway, I know you have to give it to her tonight, but later you could send it off and have it enchanted with some cool spell so she could use it in battle. It would be even better if you could enchant it, or have it enchanted with some sort of magic similar to yours. You could even have it turned into a mini communications lacrima that way she can always keep in touch with you!"

"Is that even possible?" Jellal asked.

"I don't know." Jellal gave the woman a look that said, you're no help, then looked back down at the glass case, and had an idea. He pointed out one of the bracelets, and paid the lady, then left, feeling much better than he had when he had walked into it.

On his way back home, he saw a group of teenagers throwing rocks and bits of broken glass into a small alleyway. He was going to ignore them, but then he heard yelping coming from the alley, and he couldn't just leave the poor dog to be tormented. He'd always had a soft spot for animals.

"Hey!" He yelled, catching their attention, "leave that dog alone!" The teenagers laughed, and the boy he assumed was their ringleader stepped forward to talk to him.

"Mind your own business, Mister," he said, taking in Jellal's appearance. He obviously hadn't recognized him yet, or maybe he had and didn't care. Admittedly, Jellal's appearance today wouldn't lead anyone to believe that he was dangerous. Although his gray sweater didn't exactly hide how muscular he was, it was a sweater, and it was rather fuzzy, making him look like a big teddy bear. Jellal probably wouldn't have thought to be afraid of himself either if he'd seen himself on the street, especially since he was carrying a bag from a jewelry store. He probably looked completely harmless, which he most definitely wasn't.

The teenager laughed loudly and turned back around like he was going to go back to harassing the poor dog. Jellal waiting, hoping that the kids would leave and he wouldn't have to intervene any further, but the kid, shooting him a spiteful look, picked up a rock and flung it into the alley. The dog yelped loudly again, causing the teenagers to laugh raucously. The ring leader picked up another rock, looking triumphantly at Jellal as if saying, do something.

Challenge accepted, Jellal thought. He walked slowly forward, allowing his magic to form a visible aura around him. His hair billowed in the writhing magical power, revealing exactly how not harmless he truly was.

"If I were you," he began, still advancing slowly and menacingly towards the kids, "I would think long and hard about your next move." The ring leader stared at him, eyes wide with terror. He dropped the rock, and Jellal smiled.

"Good move," he said, "now turn around and walk away, and don't ever let me catch you abusing animals again." The kid nodded vigorously, then turned tail and ran. Jellal rolled his eyes and allowed his magic aura to diminish. His hair settled, and he crouched at the mouth of the alleyway, peering into the near darkness.

Deep inside the alley, cowering next to a garbage can, was a small lump of matted fur. Jellal would have thought it was someone's disgusting old sweater covered in mud, if it hadn't been trembling violently.

"Hey, it's alright now," he said gently, reaching out a hand to the dog, it flinched. "I'm not going to hurt you. It's alright." The dog whimpered, and Jellal made soothing sounds at it.

"Come here," he said, making clicking sounds with his tongue, a group of teenage girls that happened to be passing behind him at that moment giggled at him, but he ignored them. "Come here, I'll buy you a nice big sausage if you do!" The dog sniffed at his hand, and edged closer to him.

He heard some whispering behind him, but he didn't turn around. He was able to catch words of a few of the conversations nearest him, however. The words Tower of Heaven, Jellal Fernandez, and Magic Council floated to his ears on the wind, and Jellal felt himself blushing. He did his best to ignore them, but he couldn't help feeling a little self-conscious. The dog took a few more steps forward towards him, and he smiled encouragingly at it, when something cold and wet made contact with his ear. Jellal jumped and whirled around, but he lost his balance and fell flat on his butt. There was some snickering from the crowd as he came face to face with a large Golden Retriever, and it licked him right in the mouth.

"Ack!" Jellal said, leaning away and spitting so that the dog couldn't lick him in the mouth again.

"I'm terribly sorry," the woman holding onto his leash said, "he never does this. He's generally shy around strangers."

"It's alright," Jellal said, wiping his mouth and tongue on his sleeve, (which he regretted instantly because now there was fuzz all in his mouth.) "It happens to me a lot." That wasn't a lie, at least once a week some strange animal came up to him and asked to be petted. Animals loved him for some reason, and every time one of them did that Erza smirked triumphantly.

"Never in our lives my ass," she'd said once, causing him to chuckle. Well, that hadn't been a lie at the time he'd said it, all though it was no longer true.

"Here," the lady said, handing him a baby wipe. He took it gratefully and wiped all of the dog slobber off his face. "Why were you on the ground?" She asked curiously.

"I saw some teenagers throwing rocks at the dog in there, and I was trying to get it to come out that way I can see if it's injured."

"Oh!" She said, peering into the crack between the buildings, "I have some dog biscuits here, take one." She fished into her pocket and pulled out a dog biscuit. She handed it to him, smiling. He took it, and thanked her.

"You're welcome," she said, "and good luck!" She started walking again, and the dog nuzzled against his cheek. Jellal patted it on the head before it trotted off, wagging its tail.

Jellal turned back to the dog in the alleyway, which had retreated back into the shadows again. He held out the dog biscuit, calling the dog forward again. This time it came more readily, nibbling at the dog biscuit before Jellal swooped it up into his arms. It looked horrible, it's fur was all matted, and he could feel it's ribs through the skin. There was so much mud and dried blood he couldn't even tell where the wounds were.

"Oh you poor thing," he said, picking up the jewelry bag and checking to be sure the bracelet was still in there before walking over to a food stall and buying the dog a sausage, as promised. The clerk raised his eyebrows at Jellal as he handed the sausage to him, and the dog immediately ate it. Jellal merely shrugged before asking where the nearest vet was.

He followed the sausage salesman's directions, aware of how late in the day it was getting. He felt a little worried, thinking he might be late for dinner, but once he told her why, Erza wouldn't be mad, right? She liked animals too, and he couldn't be expected to not get this little guy checked out, it would just be wrong.

It was a few hours before Jellal could leave the vet's office. He'd gotten his hair trimmed, had stitches on several cuts, a cast on one leg, and a cone over his head so he didn't bite at his stitches. He held off on naming it, deciding that if he let Erza do it, it was more likely he'd be allowed to keep it.

It will either be something very girly and cute, or something really metal, he thought.

"I'm home!" He called when he walked through the door, "Sorry I'm late!"

"Where have you been?" Erza called from the kitchen. She didn't sound angry, however, which made Jellal breathe a sigh of relief.

"The vet," he told her, setting the bag containing the bracelet he bought on the counter as Erza walked out of the kitchen.

"Why were you- oh you got a dog!" She cried, stepping forward and taking it out of his hands.

"What's her name?" Erza asked, cuddling the Yorkie to her chest.

"I thought I'd let you name her," Jellal said.

"Skull Crusher." She said decisively. Really metal it is then, Jellal thought, chuckling. Erza had this twinkle in her eye that said she wouldn't be reasoned with about the name not fitting the dog, not that Jellal would have tried anyway.

"We'll call her 'Crusher' for short," Erza declared.

"That's a perfect name." Jellal then preceded to give her the bracelet, diamond and ruby encrusted, and tell her the idea he had for enchanting it.

"I think that's a wonderful idea," she said, kissing him.

Erza presented Jellal with a set of armor that she said she had bought a matching set too. She showed him hers, it had subtle differences, and it was more feminine, but they were clearly a matching set. They each had little star decorations on them, "to match your magic," she said.

"It's perfect," he told her.