Erza was exhausted. The asshole had held out for four hours. It was the most worthless interrogation she'd had in a long time. Now that he had an attorney she would have to come up with a whole new strategy. This guy was a pain in the ass, maybe she would just let Kagura try.
She pulled into her driveway, relieved to finally be home. Then she noticed the Wrangler parked in front of her house. Erza cringed. Shit, she had left Jellal here chained to her bed. To her credit, Erza really thought she would be gone an hour, two at most. The perp was weak, but there was someone out there scaring him worse than she could, Erza hadn't counted on that. Four hours chained to a bed was a little excessive, cruel really, no matter what Jellal did. She walked up to the door and paused before opening it, nerves making it hard to turn the handle.
She was Erza Scarlet, her name struck fear in the hearts of criminals all throughout Magnolia, and yet here she was afraid to enter her own home because of the man she loved. Now in the light of day, when the afterglow from their night before faded, she wasn't sure she had made the right choice. Jellal had really broken her heart. She had known him most of her life, their relationship had turned romantic senior year of high school. When they both went to different colleges, they still maintained their relationship, even over the long distance.
It was when they graduated that the problems started. Jellal was obsessed with his career in the military; he had to be the best. That meant lots of different schools, trainings, and deployments. He had expected her to follow him wherever he was stationed, even though it meant weeks or months of being alone without him in a place where she knew no one. She had been willing to try, she loved him so much, but then, two years out, he was offered an opportunity to be stationed overseas and at the same time Makarov had become very ill. She just couldn't leave the adoptive father she loved so much, especially when Jellal wouldn't even be home for half of the time they were over there. Jellal had been furious, he didn't understand how he could choose Makarov over him and she couldn't understand why he thought that was what it was about. He refused to pick a position at a closer base and refused to try and continue their relationship long distance, if she couldn't support him, he would do it by himself.
She didn't hear a thing from him for two whole years. She tried dating here and there, setups from the guys, people her fellow officers knew, even a couple guys from online dating, but it all felt like a farce. None of those guys would ever be Jellal. So she focused on her work, took extra hours, and moved up fast in her department.
Jellal was injured badly. In an explosion he shattered his left leg. They were able to save it through extensive surgeries but his career was over. His parents had him transferred to the hospital in Magnolia so that they could help with his care. Mira's little sister Lisanna was a physical therapist there. She would unknowingly torture Erza by telling her about his progress and how he asked about her. When she started asking if Erza would come visit, Erza started avoiding Lisanna. It just hurt too much, so Erza stayed away.
When Jellal recovered he sought her out, begging for forgiveness and another chance, she asked the question neither of them wanted the answer to, "if you hadn't been injured, would you have come back for me?"
And Jellal couldn't lie; he told her "I don't know."
Not fully able to forgive him, she had agreed to try and be friends. Her heart still broken, she found seeing him just opened old wounds. Erza stopped picking up his calls, stopped returning his texts, and avoided him whenever she could. He tried for a while but eventually he left her alone. Their last contact had been six months ago. So of course, a little too much to drink and she would drag him into her bed and then chain him to it. Erza massaged her temples and took a deep breath. She had to go in; she couldn't leave him shackled to her bed. Even if she wasn't sure that she wanted him there, she was the one who put him there in the first place.
She opened the door and was surprised to hear the TV on. She hung up her coat and left her boots by the door. Erza slowly shuffled to the living room and a smile spread on her face. Of course he would free himself, how could she have had any doubt? He sat on the couch asleep, the TV on to the news, a textbook in his lap. All of her doubts drifted away, this was what she wanted, this was what she needed. It was time to let go of the what ifs and move on.
As if he sensed her presence, he opened his eyes. He smiled at her and groggily said "Oh, hey there. You're back."
She flushed, extremely embarrassed by her behavior, "Yes, I am very sorry it took so long."
He set the book on the table next to him and stretched, "It's okay, I hope you don't mind I had some of your cereal."
Erza inched towards him, feeling suddenly shy, "N . . . no, of course not. "
He seemed amused by her behavior, watching her with a small smile and a twinkle in his eye. He reached out and grabbed her hand then hauled her roughly into his lap. He pulled her close, nestling his face in her neck. "That was a very naughty thing you did earlier," he rumbled in her ear.
Erza's eyes went wide and she bit her lip. He nipped her ear, chuckling softly. "You're going to have to make it up to me . . ." he continued softly, moving his attention to her collar bone.
"Uh-huh," she breathed out, unable to say anything more. She reclined her head back and closed her eyes, reveling in the feel of his mouth on her chest. Suddenly he stood, dropping her unceremoniously on the floor, her butt hit the ground with a loud thud. "By letting me take you to lunch," he said with a grin.
Erza rubbed her back and stared at up him in shock. "Wha . . ."
He put out his hand to help her up, "Come on, I'm starving, that cardboard you eat for breakfast is terrible. And what kind of person only has instant coffee in their house?"
Erza laughed, allowing him to pull her to a stand. "I usually just drink the stuff at work. I don't spend a lot of time here."
He held her close to him and smiled, "You did have a piece of cake in the fridge . . ." Erza couldn't help but show the feeling of rage that came over her, did he eat her last piece? He laughed at her expression and kissed her lightly. "Don't worry, I knew better than to touch that. Come on, let's go to the diner, I can get a real sandwich and I won't judge if you just want to order dessert."
When Lucy came into the bakery the day after New Year's, it was perfect. The bakery was sparkling clean, everything was prepped, and her to do list manageable. That was the last day like that. January was insanely busy. The business crowd wanted coffee and muffins, the lunch crowd wanted soups and sandwiches, every well-to-do stay at home mom wanted a platter of cookies for their luncheon, business was great. When she could, she went over to happy hour, but she found most night's she just wanted to go right home. She would cook Natsu dinner and then they would watch a movie and he would rub her feet. It was comfortable, it was wonderful.
"Lu, what are you guys doing for Valentine's Day?" Levy asked from Natsu's usual place at the lesser used prep table. She had started taking lunch over at Lucy's since she found most mornings these days she was running too late to stop for coffee.
"I don't know, I hadn't thought about it," said Lucy.
"Says the woman making heart cookies," teased Levy.
"Huh?" Lucy looked down at the Linzer hearts she was currently preparing. She laughed as she placed a scoop of raspberry jam in the middle of one of the hearts. "Well yea, I've been planning lots when it comes to the business end of it. Linzer cookies, heart shaped sugars and shorts, little chocolate heart cakes, some cheesecakes, and maybe even truffles, although that might be a little ambitious. Maybe truffles next year," Lucy saw from Levy's face that she was rambling again. She laughed and continued to place scoop after scoop on the hearts. "Yea I haven't really planned anything with Natsu. I don't even know that we will do anything special. Maybe just order some Chinese and watch a movie?"
"No! You can't! That's not fun and it's your first Valentine's!" Levy protested.
"Okay, what are you and Gajeel doing?" asked Lucy.
"Well . . . nothing yet," Levy put her finger to her chin in thought. She smiled, "I know! Let's all go out together! We can invite Juvia and Gray, and Erza and Jellal! It will be like a quadruple date!"
It sounded to Lucy like a disaster waiting to happen. "Are you sure that's a good idea? Every time we go somewhere with Gray, Natsu has some stupid competition with him, with Gajeel in the mix . . . "
Levy waved off Lucy's concerns, "Oh, don't worry, we won't go anywhere fancy. And Erza is usually pretty good at making them stop."
Lucy laughed and quipped sarcastically, "Of course, it would be way less embarrassing if they had a brawl in a Pizza Hut."
Levy ignored her, "We could all go to the new Japanese Steak House! I've heard such good things about that place!" She started tapping away on her phone.
"I really don't know that getting Natsu somewhere that they set food on fire is a good idea . . ." Lucy grimaced at the thought.
"Oh don't be such a party pooper Lucy! It will be fun!" Levy grinned up at her. "I've already texted Erza and Juvia; they think it's a great idea!"
"Is Gajeel going to like it?" Lucy asked.
"Well . . . maybe not at first. But he really does enjoy hanging out with you guys, even if he pretends he doesn't." Levy's tone made it sound like she wasn't very convinced herself. "Okay, it might take some convincing; he's been a bit of a homebody. I like that most of the time, but I want to go out for once and I miss spending time with you guys! I'll make it up to him."
"Sure Levy," Lucy laughed. She began placing the heart tops on her linzers, careful to make sure the jam spread evenly between the two cookies. She wasn't sure how she felt about Levy hijacking Valentine's Day. She didn't really care much about the holiday, Loke had always made it way too over the top, and when she was single it was just easier to ignore its existence. "Well, I guess I'll check with Natsu, I'm not sure if he had any plans."
Levy laughed, "I doubt he even remembers there is such a thing as Valentine's Day!"
"Give him more credit than that," Lucy snorted, Levy was probably right.
"Really, you guys have been together longer than a month, that's like the longest he's ever been with anyone." Levy looked thoughtful again, "well unless you count Lisanna but that was like middle school and early high school so you can't count that. I wouldn't really consider Natsu a romantic."
"Well, yea, he's not really one for grand gestures, but he can be very sweet. He's always doing thoughtful things for me." Lucy sprinkled powder sugar on the cookies and smiled, they were perfect. She set the trays on one of the racks and pulled out another three trays of plain hearts to start adding raspberry to. "Besides, I don't need anything extravagant, most of that stuff makes me uncomfortable anyway."
"All the better then, this takes the pressure off the guys and we can all have fun together!" Levy exclaimed.
Levy's enthusiasm was contagious, Lucy grinned from ear to ear. "Alright it's a date then . . . after I check with Natsu."
Gajeel could not believe his ears. He looked down at the tiny blue-haired woman sitting next to him. "You've got to be kidding me Shrimp, we're not doing that."
"Oh Gajeel, but Erza already made the reservation! It will be fun! Like a party for Valentine's Day!" Levy said enthusiastically.
"First, Valentine's Day is a stupid holiday to begin with; it's just another way to sell cards. Second, it doesn't matter what the day is, I don't want to go to dinner with stripper and Salamander, I see them way more than I want to already," Gajeel crossed his arms and scowled.
"Salamander?" asked Levy
"Yea, you know, he's got that weird fascination with dragons, but he's a small fry, a little lizard, so a salamander," Gajeel explained. Levy raised her brow at his strange clarification. "Whatever, I'm not watching him slobber all over his food and I'm not in the mood to see Gray's nipples again!"
"Okay . . . I guess if you say so," Levy sighed and pouted. She wandered into the kitchen and started loudly emptying her dishwasher. Gajeel flinched at the sound of plates hitting plates. Damnit, now she was mad.
Gajeel huffed and rose from his spot on the couch. He came up behind her and hugged her, kissing her on the top of her head. "We can just do something by ourselves . . ."
"Whatever you want Gajeel," Levy squirmed out of his grasp and slammed the dishwasher shut. She headed into the living room and pulled a vacuum from the closet near the front door. Levy plugged it in and started furiously attacking the living room carpet with it. Gajeel watched her for a moment then slowly edged his way over to her.
"Shorty . . . don't be upset," Gajeel stopped at the corner of the rug, afraid that if he came any closer because she might attack his feet with the cleaning device.
"Who said I was upset," said Levy, still avoiding his gaze. She turned off the vacuum and ripped the cord from the wall, then pushed the button to retract to cord with a loud snap. Levy marched right passed him and slammed the vacuum back in the closet. She stormed into the kitchen and grabbed the Windex from below the sink and the paper towels. Levy went over to the windows behind her chaise and started wiping them zealously.
"Any idiot can tell you're upset, you're cleaning like a maniac!" said Gajeel, his frustration leaking into his tone.
"Of course I'm cleaning, this place is a disaster!" Levy snapped back.
Gajeel groaned, he came up behind her again and disarmed her of the Windex, setting it on the end table next to the chaise. He turned her to him and sighed deeply. "If it means that much to ya Shrimp, we can go."
"Really?" her face quickly changed from sour to sweet, her smile lighting up the whole room.
"Yea, but if Salamander spits anywhere near my food, I reserve the right to pu . . ."Levy leapt into his arms and kissed him hungrily. Gajeel grinned and kissed her back, falling down into the chaise and taking her with him. He knew he had lost this one, but with the tiny blue-haired fairy in his lap he decided it was worth it.
On Valentine's Day there was a nip in the air, but Lucy wore a dress anyway. There was no way she was going to let another opportunity to look gorgeous pass her by. This time she picked a simple fuchsia, strapless, midi dress. She paired it with nude heels, diamond earrings, and her hair down with a soft wave. Lucy was excited because the adorable dress had pockets, she was also excited about the matching pink and white lace bra and panty set she had under. She grinned as she checked herself in the mirror; Natsu didn't know what he had coming.
The doorbell rang and Lucy hurried over to answer it. She opened the door to Natsu's big grin which turned quickly to a look of awe. He stepped in, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her sweetly. He pulled away so that their noses barely touched and murmured, "You are so beautiful, did you know that?"
Lucy felt like her smile couldn't get big enough, and her cheeks flushed as pink as her dress. She stepped away to get a better look at him. "You look pretty handsome yourself, are you wearing khakis!"
Natsu looked embarrassed and scratched the back of his neck. "Yea, Gray said I would look like an idiot if I came in jeans, so I bought a pair. I clean up nice huh?" He grinned real big.
"Yes, very sexy," Lucy smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Just let me grab my coat and bag, and we can get going."
When they arrived at the restaurant, Natsu found a spot right next to Gray who was helping Juvia out of the passenger side. Seeing them pull in they waved and waited, so that the four of them could walk in together.
"Kinda crazy that Jellal is here with Erza don't ya think?" Gray said when he shook Natsu's hand in greeting.
"Yea, I never thought she'd give him another chance," admitted Natsu
"Didn't you punch him in the face the last time you saw him?" Gray said with a smirk.
Natsu breathed in with a sharp hiss, "Oooo yea, I think I did."
Lucy looked up at him horrified, "Natsu, you didn't!"
"What? That was years ago! He made Erza cry! She's family, nobody messes with family. I'd do the same for Cana except she's typically the one causing the crying." Natsu looked to Gray for support.
Gray nodded in agreement, "Yep, we look out for our own."
"What are you guys? The Mafia?" Lucy teased.
"I'd tell you Lucy, but then I would have to kill you," Gray shrugged.
Juvia giggled at his joke, holding tighter to Gray's arm, "Juvia thinks it's cute that Gray-sama and Natsu care so much about Erza. They are good brothers."
When they entered the Steak house, they found Erza and Jellal sitting with Gajeel and Levy. They all stood to greet each other. Lucy was a little worried about the uncertain look Jellal gave Natsu when they approached. Then with his typical confidence, Natsu went right up to Jellal and shook his hand and pulled him into a manly, back patting hug.
"Long time man!" he said with his toothy grin.
"Yes, it has been Natsu," Jellal subconsciously rubbed his jaw.
Noticing the gesture, Natsu began "and look I'm sorry for . . ."
Jellal held up his hands with a big smile and stopped him. "No need for apologies, I deserved it. Just glad to see you guys again!"
The hostess interrupted their reunions to let them know their table was ready. They all wove through the restaurant to a hibachi table in the back. She left them with menus and a smile, disappearing back to the front. Erza was sure to separate Natsu and Gray, Lucy was excited to get a seat next to Levy, and Gajeel was glad that he managed to end up next to Juvia and Levy instead of one of his idiot coworkers.
After the waitress came and got their drink orders, Lucy whispered to Natsu, "This is so exciting, like dinner and a show! I hope we get a good chef."
Natsu grinned like a big kid, "I just can't wait for the fire!"
Lucy rolled her eyes and was about to make a comment when she was distracted by the arrival of the chef pushing his cart up next to their table. He was extremely short, his large head barely clearing the table. His unruly orange hair stuck out from under his funny hat and Lucy swore he sparkled.
He leapt up onto a stool in front of the grill and breathed in deeply through his nose. "Ahhh! Such a beautiful parfum at this table," he turned to Erza who was seated closest to him on his left, "especially the exquisite one in the corner right here."
Levy choked on her water and Lucy had to cover her mouth to hold back a giggle. Erza looked like she regretted her seat choice, while Jellal looked like he was having the time of his life at her expense.
The chef waved his hands dramatically to regain their attention, "I am Ichiya, I will be your chef for the evening, men."
Lucy looked at Levy with a face that asked 'is this guy for real.' Levy whispered back "See I told you it would be fun!"
Ichiya grabbed a couple oil squirt bottles, "Let me show you the parfum of passionate cooking!" He dosed the grill and lit it with a match. The whole thing went up in flames.
The whole table gave a collective "ooooo," except for Gray who acted unimpressed. Natsu grabbed Lucy's arm, "This guy is awesome!"
The chef began juggling and banging his spatula and fork, the whole time mumbling under his breath, "men, men, men, men." Lucy laughed into Natsu's shoulder, unable to keep a straight face, while he watched with delight, like a kid at the circus.
Ichiya dumped a plate of rice on the grill and pulled out three eggs. He began to twist and flip one on his spatula when he turned to Erza again, "And how would you like your eggs this evening, my sweet," Erza's eyes widened. He laughed dramatically, "I joke of course, Smash!" He rolled the egg onto the grill and broke it with the spatula. After moving the shell away he broke the other two with flourish and began scrambling them on the hot surface. When they were cooked he mixed them into the rice and added sauce, tossing the mixture on the grill with fanfare. The finished fried rice was pushed to the side and he added zucchini, mushrooms, and onions to the grill, chopping them with expertise. Every chop he muttered 'men,' making him sound like a child pretending to shoot a machine gun.
Then he pulled out onion rings and began stacking them. "I dedicate this to the delicate parfum in the corner; this is the fire of our love, men." Using a match he lit the onion volcano causing a huge flame to burst into the air. The whole table clapped in joy, except for Erza, who Lucy noted was starting to look like she did when Lucy told her there was no more cake.
He put out the volcano and pulled all the vegetables around it. He then filled the rings with sauce, gesturing to it as it bubbled over. He chopped up the onion, adding it to the other vegetables and mixing them together with the sauce. The smell made Lucy's mouth water.
He added shrimp to the grill, they cooked quickly. With a flick of his spatula he tossed them on plates starting with Gray. They all clapped, happy to start eating and amazed at his aim, until he got to Erza. "I feel destiny has brought us together," he said as he flicked a shrimp right into her ample bosom. She screamed and stood, flinging the hot food out of her cleavage.
Natsu tapped Lucy's arm, whispering excitedly, "Here it comes!"
Ichiya raised his hands in apology, "I am sorry, that wasn't very men of me."
But Erza's rage would not be subdued. "Buzz off!" she screamed, and she punched him so hard he flew backwards towards the grill behind him. He hit the floor and his hat hit the other grill, bursting into flame. The other table clapped uproariously, as if it was part of the show, and their chef smiled uncomfortably as he hurried to scrape the charred bits of hat off of his grill. Ichiya stayed down.
The manager came and had the two bartenders drag Ichiya to the back. She bowed apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, but you will have to leave. No charge, but you have to leave." Not needing another warning, the group rose from their seats giving their apologies, and headed to the front door.
When they got outside, they all decided to part ways. Natsu bounced into the parking lot towards his truck, "That was awesome! Best Valentine's Day ever!"
Lucy frowned, "We didn't even get to eat!"
Natsu wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him, "Don't worry Luce, I've got a plan. You can count on me." Lucy smiled and leaned into him, letting her discontent drift away. She knew whatever he decided on would be great.
Levy was so disappointed, "I can't believe all I was able to eat was one shrimp!"
"So hungry you resorted to cannibalism? Gihihi," Gajeel teased.
"Gajeel!" Levy lightly smacked him on the arm. "It's just the night is ruined! What are we going to do now?"
"It's not ruined Shorty. This way we got to see everyone, we had a little fun, and now we have the rest of the night to ourselves. Let's go get a pizza, and we can rent whatever movie you want. I just wanted to spend tonight alone with you any way."
"Yea, okay," Levy wasn't feeling quite convinced.
Gajeel put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze, "Let's go out next weekend yea? You can pick wherever you want and look all fancy like you like. We'll have a real date without any of the idiots."
Levy rested her head against him and smiled, "you're so good to me."
"Gihihi, just giving you what you deserve Shrimp," Gajeel gave her another squeeze.
Jellal helped Erza into the Jeep and walked around to the driver's side. He couldn't stop grinning, the image of Erza punching the pervy chef kept replaying in his mind. He climbed in and turned on the engine and looked at Erza, she seemed to be trying to hide in her coat.
"I am so sorry for my behavior," she said.
"Oh don't worry about that, he should have known better than to throw shellfish in your cleavage," Jellal teased.
"What are we going to do now?" Erza sighed.
"Go get dinner. We have reservations at my friend's restaurant downtown." Jellal said matter-of-factly, as he pulled the Jeep out from its parking space.
"You made other reservations?" Erza looked at him, a betrayed look on her face.
"Well, when you told me we were having dinner with Gray and Natsu, at a hibachi grill no less, I figured it would only be a matter of time before they kicked us out. If things had gone well I could have just texted Richard to cancel, he said he didn't mind. Granted I thought it would be Natsu or a combination of the two that caused our ejection . . ." Jellal looked over at Erza and smiled fondly.
Erza turned red and sank deeper into her coat, "I am so embarrassed."
"Don't be, I could watch you punch Ichiyas all day. That fiery spirit of yours is part of what makes me love you so much," Jellal chuckled, his eyes back on the road.
Erza turned even redder, but this time with a smile on her face.
Juvia sat in the running car, tapping on her thighs along to the music on the radio. She trusted Gray when he told her to let him handle it, but she couldn't contain her excitement and nerves at what he might choose. Juvia had been extremely disappointed that Erza punched the chef. It wasn't that he didn't deserve some kind of reprimand, but she had really looking forward to the scallops she had ordered. However, Gray assured her he would make sure they still had a good evening, and she would trust him.
The last month had felt like a fairy tale. She still couldn't believe Gray was hers. The kiss on New Year's Day had felt like a dream. Now every time he did something affectionate she worried she would wake up. He still struggled with accepting her affection, but Juvia knew that he had bounced from foster home to foster home before finding his way to Makarovs. All that rejection made it hard for him to understand his self-worth and trust other people's love, Juvia would give him time.
She spotted him coming out of the high end grocery store, paper bags in hand. He set them in the back seat and hopped up front. Gray looked over at her, seemed to think for a moment, and then gave her a quick kiss. "Let's head back to your place."
Juvia blushed prettily, "Alright Gray-sama."
After they parked in front of the house, they hurried in, escaping the cold night air. "How can Juvia help?" Juvia asked.
Gray shook his head, "Don't worry about it. Take a load off, I got it." He went to bring the bags into the kitchen.
Juvia sat on her couch. She leaned forward to smell the flowers in the vase on the coffee table, Gray had brought her them before they left for dinner. He could be so thoughtful sometimes. She watched him curiously as he ran out the front door. Moments later he came back in with an armload of wood. Setting it down near the fireplace, he set about using a combination of logs and newspaper to make a fire. When he was sure it was strong enough, he stood and headed back to the kitchen. "I'll be right back," he said with a wink.
He returned with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. After cursing and a bit of struggle, he popped the cork and poured them each a glass. He handed her one glass and left the other on the table. He held up a finger, "just one more thing, I swear."
Gray returned to the kitchen. Juvia sipped her champagne, feeling the bubbles tickle her tongue before swallowing. It was crisp and refreshing; the fire was warm and soothing. So far everything was perfect. Gray hurried back with her massive cutting board covered with food. He had a sliced loaf of bread, multiple cheeses and spreads, grapes, strawberries, prosciutto, dates, and some nuts. He smiled, "I also have a chocolate torte for dessert but I thought this might take us a bit."
Juvia put her hands to the face, "Oh Gray-sama it's so beautiful!" she exclaimed.
He sat down next to her, put one arm around her and used the other to gently turn her chin so that she was looking at him. "You're beautiful," he said quietly, kissing her softly on the lips. Juvia couldn't help herself, she started to tear up. Gray chuckled, "You've got to stop crying every time I compliment you. You're killing me here!"
Juvia threw herself into his arms, hugging him tight. "Juvia knows, Juvia is sorry. Ju . . . I will try to be less weepy. Gray-sama is just so sweet, it makes me so happy."
Gray chuckled into her hair, "You make me happy too Juvia."