Erza brushed her sandwich crumbs into a napkin and leaned back in her office chair as she absent-mindedly sipped from her water bottle. She was staring at the man's face. Again. Spark wasn't something she thought about at work, and she'd certainly never messed with it during business hours. Partly because she considered herself a professional, but mostly because she'd have been mortified if anyone had caught her browsing available men. It was bad enough she couldn't be around Mira without a barrage of questions but if Lucy found out… Erza cringed just thinking about such a disaster.
He called himself Mystogan and she'd glanced at his profile no less than three times since waking up that morning. His self-essays were as sparse as her own, but she remembered how horrible she'd been writing them and decided there was no point in judging his paragraphs for anything other than basic grammar – which appeared to be flawless. He'd uploaded five pictures, and each one made her feel giddy. But out of those five only one had commanded her attention more than the others.
A sizable tree grew behind him, and the photo had obviously been taken in the spring. The low hanging branches dripped with pink blossoms in the background. He smiled naturally and looked genuinely happy. Those observations, however, weren't what snagged her eye. His arms – nice, thick arms she'd noted – were bent upwards, and his hands were securing a small pair of legs to his shoulders. The bright pink leggings with a pattern of hearts told her the small person perched on him was a child, a girl assumedly. It was impossible to confirm her guess because the picture had been cropped.
His profile said nothing about a child, but she didn't think that meant much. If she were a single mother looking for love on the internet, she doubted she'd want to advertise every part of her life. Raising a child by one's self probably left a lot of questions open that maybe he didn't want to answer before getting to know a person. Without considering the action, Erza snapped a screenshot of the picture and opened it in her photo album to zoom in on the tattoo that marked the right side of his face. The quality of the photo was poor, but she was thoroughly intrigued by the design.
"Yo! Erza! I'm heading out now, do you have my route?" Natsu burst into her office. She jumped in surprise and the phone clattered to the concrete floor.
"What? God, Natsu, can you knock?"
He raised his eyebrows and stepped into the office fully. "Knock? Why? What are you doing in here?"
"Because it's my office! And nothing! I'm not doing anything!" Erza knew she was flustered and behaving strangely. She reached down for her phone.
"Whatever. I won't tell anyone you were looking at porn on your phone. It's cool." He smirked and reached for the papers on the edge of her desk. "Is this my route?"
"I wasn't looking at porn!" Her face felt hot and even though she hadn't been looking at anything lewd, Natsu's accusation struck a nerve.
"Sure, Erza."
"Take your stupid route, and go."
Natsu grabbed the printed list and laughed his way out of her office and back into the kitchens. She burned with embarrassment and grumbled that she'd have to be more careful about her phone while at work.
Later that evening Erza stirred a pan of steaming red sauce as she glanced over her email inbox. She'd decided a proper dinner was in order - the kind of dinner that didn't consist of leftovers from Mirajane's kitchen or half-stale cake from her own. It was an attempt to feel more like an adult and less like a zombie. Her culinary skills extended well beyond pastry, even if they went underutilized.
As she scrolled through the unorganized mess of personal emails a notification from Spark popped up and her hand jerked so much that she sloshed marinara over the side of the pan. Erza licked the spot of sauce off her thumb and wiped the mess from the stovetop before cautiously opening Spark. She'd never been looking at her phone the moment a message came through.
"Oh…" Erza gasped when she saw Mystogan's name in her inbox. Despite being completely alone her cheeks flushed and she felt oddly bashful.
To: Titania
From: Mystogan
Hi there. Perhaps it's forward of me to message you out of the blue but I don't get a lot of traffic on my profile and I noticed you liked it. I just thought maybe you'd like to chat for a bit? This is awkward, and I'm sorry. Introductions aren't my best skill set.
The sizzling of overflowing pasta water tore her eyes from the screen of her phone. Erza squealed before grabbing the pot to quickly drain the water. Her stomach growled ferociously and out of hunger and extreme shyness she opted to eat before returning Mystogan's message. He'd used the word chat and she wasn't sure if she should try the IM function. It seemed more intimate somehow. Erza sucked in a deep breath and downed the remaining cabernet in her glass. His indicator was green.
Titania: Hi! I'd love to chat!
Did that sound too desperate? She hoped it didn't.
Mystogan: Hey! I'm glad you didn't find my message too ridiculous. I was worried.
Titania: No, it's okay. You don't even rank in the top five most forward men who've contacted me in the last two months.
Mystogan: I don't get a lot of messages, but I've heard some horror stories. I apologize on behalf of my fellow men.
Titania: Eh, don't worry about it. I promise I won't hold you responsible.
Erza stripped off her dirty work clothes, and pulled on a soft camisole. She climbed into bed and hid under the blankets. It felt strange to be carrying on a conversation with a man she'd never met while half-dressed and in bed.
Mystogan: I'll admit I'm impressed by your career essay. Owning one's own business is a huge accomplishment!
Titania: Some days it feels more like a punishment but thank you!
Mystogan: I have a weakness for chocolate pastry. Not very manly, I'm sure, but there it is.
Titania: Knowing what you like is manly in itself! Pastry is for everyone, even the masculine. What is it that you do? Is it okay for me to ask that? I couldn't really tell just by reading over your profile.
Mystogan: I've been serving in the Magnolia Police Dept. since I turned twenty.
Titania: Oh wow! That's got to be an exciting job!
Mystogan: It's alright. My dad was a cop, and now I'm a cop. I guess it was a legacy thing. I don't hate it, though. I just wish I could be home more often.
Titania: I can understand the toil of work/life balance.
He didn't respond for a moment, and Erza yawned. She didn't want to go to sleep yet, even if they'd only been discussing trivial things.
Mystogan: I guess it's as good a time as any to tell you that I have a daughter. She's 4 and I have her all the time. I don't want it to be a problem later.
Mystogan: …
Mystogan: Not that I'm assuming there will be a "later"! I just wanted to put that out there.
Titania: I kind of guessed already that you had a little girl. The bright pink leggings gave it away.
Mystogan: Ah. My sister took that picture at the Cherry Blossom Festival last year. She made me crop the picture before uploading it. I don't like hiding things, but she insisted it was obvious.
Titania: It didn't come off as you hiding anything at all. I was worried you might have thought me a stalker for noticing such a thing.
Mystogan: Ha! No. The leggings are pretty… loud.
Titania: They're cute. I remember being a girly-girl once too.
Erza paused. She felt a little more secure in the conversation and her wine buzz was making her bolder.
Titania: …and I wouldn't mind if there was a "later"
Mystogan: Yeah? I think I'd like that. Maybe tomorrow, though? I've got an early shift in the morning and I'd hate to just drop off on you.
Titania: Tomorrow is fine. I've had a killer of a day and should probably get some sleep, too. I generally take Sundays and Mondays off.
Mystogan: Until tomorrow, then. I enjoyed chatting with you
Titania: Me too.
Titania: I mean! I enjoyed chatting with you too. I don't chat with myself.
Titania: … I should just go to bed.
Mystogan: Haha! I got it ;) goodnight then.
Titania: Goodnight
Mystogan's indicator turned red, and Erza tossed her phone aside. She sighed loudly and realized she was grinning like a school girl. She decided to keep this new development a secret from Mirajane otherwise her friend would start planning the wedding before she even learned the man's real name.