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24 ; bad timing

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"I dreamt of you last night," he murmurs against her temple, fingers playing with the ends of her hair.

The hospital bed is too small and she's curled around his body like she's clinging to him for life. The beeping in the room is steady, a backdrop to every word he breathes.

Erza stays silent, and tightens her arms around him. There's something stuck in her throat and she's scared — scared that if she lets it out, she'll never get the chance to take it back. She doesn't want him to see her cry.

He twirls a red strand around his fingers loosely. "Don't you wanna hear about it?"

Definitely not. "Did no-one ever tell you?" She clears her throat and glances up with a smile stretched too wide. "There's nothing more boring than hearing about other people's dreams."

His laughter, gentle as it is, makes her shake. He's grinning when he says, "You've spending too much time around those friends of yours. That's exactly something Gray would say."

This time, her smile's real. "I guess I have."

But who's fault is that, Jellal?