A/N: This is kind of like a continuation from the last fic! During the time skip, Erza was in contact with Crime Sorciere and I like to think that she stayed with them for the year.

Quick thank you for all your comments and love! I appreciate it a lot. Take care and enjoy the story, guys!

Title: A New Place to Stay
Rating: M for language
Summary: Erza Scarlet finds a home in Crime Sorciere.

"She took a step and didn't want to take any more, but she did." - Markus Zusak

A New Place to Stay

The path she walked along was a lonely one. She'd gotten so used to her friends' company whilst travelling, it was almost strange to be heading somewhere without them following behind.

Erza Scarlet wandered down the road aimlessly, one hand clutching a yellow note whilst her other hand pulled along an overflowing luggage cart. It should be around here somewhere…

She knew it wouldn't be easy to find Crime Sorciere. After all, the guild belonged to a group of escaped convicts who liked to play hide and seek with the justice system. As a result, they tended to relocate very often.

Pausing in her tracks, Erza sighed heavily, opening the note for what must have been the fiftieth time now and scanning it thoroughly. she was fortunate enough to gain some information on Crime Sorciere's current location through one of Juvia and Meredy's acquaintances, though this stroke of luck didn't seem to be working in her favour.

She squinted at the scrawled writing, her blood boiling with impatience. Did it read 'at the gate' or 'at the lake'? This handwriting was atrocious. Absentmindedly, she made a mental note to herself. If she ever ran into that informant again, they would surely feel the wrath of her purgatory armour for making this a thousand times more difficult than it already was. Scrunching up the note in defeat, Erza continued along her course, just hoping against hope that either a lake or gate would make its way into her line of vision eventually.

It was another cloudless day, the sun shining high in the sky and showering her skin with warmth. Dotted all around her were trees bearing bright green leaves, casting shadows on the path in bizarre shapes and sizes. On any other day, she would have truly enjoyed this great weather. But not today.

Fairy Tail had disbanded. The idea seemed ridiculous, yet it was true. All her friends, her family, were going their separate ways and she was left drifting around Fiore alone like a ghost. When Master Makarov had announced the news, the first thing Erza had felt was shock. Next, as she stood outside Fairy Hills with all her luggage in tow, she wondered whether the feeling in the pit of her stomach was sadness or emptiness as realisation dawned on her.

She had nowhere else to go. There was no other place in this world that she could truly call home and that thought scared her like no opponent she'd faced had ever done so before.

Scrunching up her eyes, Erza could make out something in the distance, through the shroud of trees—there was a small building hidden behind the woods, seemingly marked with a very familiar looking symbol. She could just about make out the guild emblem and upon seeing it, a surge of relief rushed through her. At last.

Her heart hammering in anticipation, she tugged her luggage towards what could potentially be her new guild, and her thoughts couldn't help but bump into her old guild mates with a certain reminiscence, their smiles flashing in her mind like a filmstrip from an old movie. A certain pink haired boy tackling an ice mage to the ground, a flying cat nibbling on a fish, a blonde girl laughing with glee—a faint smile on her lips, she wondered what they were all doing right now.

Nearing the guild doors, her mind was now a bundle of nerves as she slowly reached for the door handle. Even from outside, she could hear them all laughing and talking loudly. One voice stood out from the rest though. A voice as familiar as a distant call from home. A warm smile graced her features as she pushed the guild doors open.

She was confident in her decision, she had to be.

The guild hall was small but so was the guild itself. The walls were painted a light blue, all bare aside from one sporting a bulletin board with a diagram of all the known dark guilds in Fiore. At the far end of the hall was a small snack bar where Meredy stood, her head tilted to the side and bewilderment etched onto her pretty face. The other six members were scattered around the room, some perched on bar stools and some sat around tables, though all eyes were on her now.

Naturally, her own eyes searched for a shock of blue hair first and before she knew it, her seeking gaze had locked with his steady one. It always felt like it had been much too long whenever she saw that familiar face of his: red tattoo etched above and below his right eye, blue hair falling into his eyes framing his handsome face, lips tugging up at the side in a half smirk—it hit her all too suddenly: she had missed him.

"Erza?"

"It's been a while, Jellal."

The last time she had heard his voice was just after Tartaros had been defeated. As she had stood by the river's edge and contemplated her current situation, her mind reliving the memories over and over again like a reoccurring nightmare, he had told her not to stray from the path of light. Lifting her gaze to search for the source of the voice, she had seen him stood with a group of cloaked figures who all looked very familiar: the Oracion Seis.

She had smiled at the sight, hope illuminating her thoughts. A path of light always awaited her and this time, it had led her back to him.

Jellal's face broke out in a warm smile as he slowly rose to his feet. "It's great to see you—" he said, before blinking at her, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He whipped his head towards Macbeth to glare at him suspiciously. "Macbeth…"

The mage previously known as Midnight rolled his eyes at Jellal, a small smile creeping on his lips. "Not an illusion. Not this time, no."

"Holy crap," Sawyer said, dumbfounded. "It's really her…"

Meanwhile, Erik chuckled smugly to himself, his arms folded behind his head as he tipped himself back on his chair. "I thought I heard her coming. Guess I was right."

"And it didn't occur to you to mention this?" a sharp voice hissed, smacking him over the head angrily.

"Oi! Sorano! Keep your hands to yourself, would ya!"

"YOU KNOW HE'S NOT READY YET!"

"Do not fight!" Richard bellowed, fresh tears streaming down his face as he brought his hands together in a pleading gesture. "This is an occasion of love to celebrate, not to tarnish with your silly fighting!"

Erza arched a brow, dragging her luggage cart in behind her to glance at the two mages arguing curiously. "Ready for what?"

Jellal shot the pair a murderous glare that hissed 'shut up now or I will kick both your asses to the heavens and back' before setting his lips in a smile again. Sometimes, he wondered if his guildmates purposely made a daily effort to embarrass him. It honestly wouldn't surprise him anymore, what with all the lectures on how to handle his love life, since he, apparently, had no idea what he was doing.

Laughing lightly, he made his way over to Erza, arms folded and eyebrows raised at the overflowing luggage she was pulling in with her. "My, my…you're not just here to pay a visit, are you?"

She sighed, hiding behind a curtain of crimson hair. "Fairy Tail has disbanded," she said softly, her voice still tinged with disbelief at the thought of something like that actually happening. "The guild was my home. I realised I don't have any other place to call home." She flicked her gaze up to his to see gentle hazel eyes and a light blush coloured her cheeks as she smiled faintly at him. "But then I remembered, after all, there was you."

Jellal's face softened, his voice barely a whisper as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "In that case, why don't you stay with us for a while?"

"WHY DON'T YOU STAY WITH US FOREVER?" a bright voice chirped and Meredy sprung into view, all pink hair and giggles.

Erza laughed as Meredy threw herself into her arms, hugging the armour mage tightly and practically squeezing the last bundle of nerves out of her.

As Meredy pulled away, Erza felt a warm hand on her shoulder. Jellal wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer to him and bringing his mouth close to her ear to murmur, "I don't believe you've properly been introduced to the rest of the guild…"

The bedroom wasn't very spacious but she didn't mind. Though it took her a while to haul all her luggage in with the help of Richard and Meredy, she was already beginning to take a liking to this new guild. Of course, it would never replace Fairy Tail, but she could see herself turning this place into one with fond memories too. After all, Jellal was with her.

As she unzipped another suitcase and tipped the contents out onto her bed, she heard a soft rap on the door.

Jellal Fernandes stood leaning into the doorframe, an amused smile playing on his lips as he folded his arms and regarded her with a nod. "Comfortable?"

"Very. It's a lovely room."

He edged closer to her, scratching his head and eyeing the space around them wearily. "I know it doesn't compare to your room back in Fairy Hills but—"

"No, no." She flashed him a warm smile, the sight making his heart constrict in his chest. "I'm very grateful. Thank you, Jellal."

"You know it's no problem at all," he murmured, and he couldn't help but return the smile she was giving him.

Erza hummed in disapproval, chewing her lip uncertainly. "Hmm…but what about you?"

The guild was small, that was a well-known fact. With only four bedrooms to spare, it meant Meredy and Sorano had to share, as did Richard and Sawyer while Midnight slept on a floating carpet in the guild hall. Jellal and Erik had been the lucky ones this time round as they got their own bedrooms.

However, they did have to listen to the continuous complaints of their other guild members so it wasn't all happy days. Meredy apparently talked very loudly in her sleep, Sorano was an early bird who liked to sing as she readied herself in the morning, Richard snored like 'a fucking banshee' and Sawyer had a terrible habit of sleep walking—more like sleep running—around the room in the middle of the night.

And because Jellal was practically the master of their guild and because they felt he didn't suffer enough already, he had to listen to their endless rants about each other. Erik, on the other hand, was gifted but also cursed with impeccable hearing which led to him having no choice in the matter when it came to their never-ending ramblings.

Now, due to Erza's arrival, Jellal had kindly given up his own room for her, much to the horror of Erik and the smugness of the other guild members who relished in the fact that he and Erik no longer had any extra benefits.

"Don't worry about me," Jellal said indifferently. "I'll be shacking up with Erik for a while."

"YOU'LL BE DOIN' WHAT NOW?!" An indignant roar came from the next room, startling them both.

Erza watched Jellal doubtfully, arching a brow. "Hmm…he doesn't seem very excited about that."

Jellal rolled his eyes. "He doesn't mind. He's actually quite ecstatic about the whole thing."

"Right. As you say then…" Her cheeks tinted a light pink as she cleared her throat, eyeing him thoughtfully. "Though, you could always sleep here with me. I don't mind sharing a room with you and there's plenty of space for the two of us. It's the least I can do considering this is your room."

"OI, BLUE BALLS. KEEP YOUR PERVY FANTASIES TO YOURSELF, WOULD YA? DID YOU FORGET I CAN HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS?" Erik yelled from the next room in a taunting voice that made Jellal's stomach drop.

His cheeks flamed like wildfire as he whipped his gaze away from hers, feeling the heat spread to his ears and neck. Angrily, he made a mental note to kick that nosy snake's ass once he left this room. "Err, I didn't—I wasn't thinking that you—Erik just likes to irritate me."

Erza squinted at him. "I see…"

"Well, I'll leave you to unpack the rest of your belongings," he quickly said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck before backing out of the doorway to escape and throttle his so called comrade.

Didn't he realise his childish crusade had to come to an end now that Erza was actually living with them? He couldn't carry on teasing him in this way with her here, in the next room even.

Storming down the narrow hallway, Jellal clenched his fists in mounting fury, reaching out to knock down Erik's door—

"I heard you coming," Erik sneered, swinging the door open to smirk darkly at his visitor.

Jellal grunted angrily, pushing Erik inside and slamming the door shut behind him before exploding. "ERIK, WHY WOULD YOU—?"

"I never took you as one to have such dirty thoughts, blue balls. You know, they say it's always the ones you least expect…"

"I didn't have any such thoughts and you're entirely aware of that. You're just going out of your way to embarrass me in front of Erza!"

Erik made a disapproving noise, clicking his tongue and cocking his head to the side. His lips quirked up in a wolfish grin.

The best thing about being able to hear everything was for everyone to know that he could hear everything. That meant he could have a little fun of his own, because no one could ever prove that he was lying and making things up. Erik could easily place a little white lie here, a little white lie there and there'd be no difference from the truth. That was his talent after all: listening to other people's private thoughts. Whether they were actually thinking that or not—well, that was his decision to reveal.

"Tch, like I ain't got nothin' better to do. And by the way…not a chance in hell I'm sharing a room with a sicko like you—"

Jellal scrunched up his fists in Erik's dark cloak as the other man's smile stretched even wider across his face. "I swear, Cobra—"

"I CAN HEAR YOU TOO," a clear voice rang out through the walls.

Jellal's grip loosened on Erik and his arms fell slack to his sides, the colour draining from his face. He cursed quietly under his breath.

Curse the thinness of the walls.

Curse Erza just being in the next room.

Curse this sly sharp toothed bastard—

Erik laughed out loud, clapping Jellal on the back. "Man, it's gonna be fun having her around."

A/N: Anyone catch the Mulan reference?