009. Preemptive
Jellal/Erza – "I said yes a long time ago."
"-and I know that this is a great deal that I'm asking from you, but Erza Scarlet, will you-"
"Yes."
Jellal blinked. "I'm sorry?"
Erza tapped her foot impatiently, looking longingly at the wrapped box on the table. "I said yes."
"I didn't even say wha-"
"You were about to ask me to marry you, were you not? I said yes."
The blue-haired man spluttered at the most important question he had ever asked in his life being so nonchalantly answered. "H-How did you-"
She rolled her eyes. "I saw you walking out of the Heart Kreutz jewelry shop with Lucy last week with a small box, Master Makarov kept winking at me since yesterday, Ultear and Meredy sighed whenever I saw them, and I heard Natsu and Gray threatening you this afternoon. And," Erza gestured at the box once more, "you brought me strawberry cheesecake. You only bring me cake for special occasions or when you're trying to beg for my forgiveness. It's not my birthday, our anniversary, or the day we first had sex. We haven't argued over your silly self-punishment recently. In addition, the box is slightly heavier than the standard strawberry cheesecake you bring, so the ring must be in there. Am I incorrect in any way?"
Flabbergasted, Jellal stood in shock for several seconds at the fact that every attempt to keep his proposal a secret from Erza had been seen through rather blatantly.
"You've always been a bad liar. I could tell the moment you walked in."
"S-So you… accept?"
"Do I need to repeat myself again?" Erza sighed in exasperation before allowing a small, warm smile to spread across her lips. "Long before you ever needed to buy a ring, long before you joined Fairy Tail, long before that day at the beach, long before both we made our mistakes back then… I said yes a long time ago, Jellal."
"I…" Jellal almost felt like crying, but it would not be a manly thing to do. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Now pass the knife and give me that cake."