summary - you put your arms around me and i'm home. [jerza week '16 - day one: embrace]

Quite some time had passed, she knew. The non-stop fussing had taken her mind off of things, but now that Mira had moved onto other patients, she was left with her thoughts.

Erza let her eyes close as she listened to the room's occupants. Members of an assortment of guilds, all injured but alive. Breathing. Fighting for the same cause; those who had come to their aid. A smile lifted her lips. Friendship, companionship…it was such a beautiful thing.

Her smile faded, however, as her thoughts about a certain ultramarine persisted, invading her mind with flashes of blue hair and kind eyes.

Erza was well aware that Jellal was still around, assisting in the clean up of lingering enemy forces with his guild, but…she wanted him here. It was childish, she knew, but she wanted the mage in eyesight, so she could see for herself that he was well, uninjured. Safe.

Memories of the fight from earlier came back, broken and jutting but only furthering her worries. Never before had she seen Jellal so…enraged. He had shattered the skies, brought down heaven with his fury, all for her. A strange sensation erupted in her gut, as if someone had unleashed a hoard of butterflies into her stomach.

It had been all for her.

She was not naive, nor oblivious, to the delicate bond they shared. Not because it was fragile, but the opposite; the strings that bound them together were their tethers, to each other and to their worlds. Erza's breath hitched as her thoughts formed, the solid realization enough to knock the air from her lungs.

Jellal was her world.

Not because she had nothing of her own to live for, nor was it because she couldn't survive without him. She had her guildmates, she had her self, but Jellal was her foothold in the world, the grasp she had on reality. Sanity.

They could survive without each other. They have. The nights had been bitter, the world and its colours infinitely duller, but it was possible. She could carry on without his phantom touch ghosting across her skin, without his irregular visits and soft words and his reassuring presence and-

A small noise left her lips as yet another realization hit her, so strong in its conviction that she had to fight to not gasp.

Erza could survive with Jellal, but she didn't want to. She would never want to.

A rush of emotion exploded within her, hard-hitting and unforgiving. Seeing him earlier today, set on proving himself worthy, had scared her. She was terrified that he would get himself gravely injured, all in the name of redemption.

It had been all for her. Her, her, her…

Seven years. He had lived with the burden of her supposed death for seven, long years. How? How had he done it? The mere thought sent her spiralling into despair, yet somehow Jellal had carried forward. On his path of light.

And then his voice interrupted her thoughts, and it took all her willpower not to jump out of bed and rush him at the door. Not only would Mira kill her, but Jellal, too, would chastise her for her recklessness. It was as she was twisting her head in the direction of opening in the curtains surrounding her bed that he gently pushed his way into the little enclosure.

Their eyes met after he shut the curtains, and she drank in the sight of his dishevelled hair. He was covered in dust and grime, looked exhausted, but Erza could only sigh in relief at the lack of blood anywhere on his clothes. He wasn't injured. He was alive, he was safe, and he was here.

"Erza," he murmured. "Are you alright?"

She didn't respond, instead locking gazes with him. He was watching her with warm eyes, that expression of his that was so full of affection, of tenderness and care.

For her.

Wordlessly, she left a hand and curled her fingers towards her body, gesturing for him to come closer. For some reason or another, her throat was clogged and she felt the telltale burning of an onslaught of tears.

Jellal, as always, somehow managed to understand her unspoken plea. Throwing his cape onto the abandoned chair, he stepped closer and reached out with shaking hands, fingers gently skimming over her tangled hair. The contact sent waves of calmness through her, still her erratic heartbeat and making her wounds sting less. Comfort. Healing.

She leaned into his touch, tranquil, and found his cheek with her previously outstretched hand. His eyes slid shut, mouth opening by a fraction. It was such a tenuous moment, a stillness encasing them in their mutual benevolence.

He bent closer, their foreheads touching, and she strengthened her hold on his cheek, guiding him even closer. He was warm, and smelled of pinewood and rain. It was a familiar scent. It was a welcomed scent.

She felt his hand slide down to the nape of her neck, and he cradled her head with such gentleness that her tears nearly spilled. It was hard to believe that this man was the same who nearly tore the world apart mere hours prior. But he was. He was so much more than the label of a criminal allowed, and it was a crime in itself to keep that from the world.

"Erza," his whisper was lost into her fiery locks of hair, but she could feel the heat of his breath spread across the crown of her head. "Erza."

At some point he had wrapped his free hand around her waist, had settled down onto the bed with her. With a touch of a smile, she reached out farther, wrapping both her arms around his neck and looking up at him with stars in her eyes. She heard his breath hitch, felt the tightening of his grip, and found peace in his presence.

"You are well?" She asked, rogue fingers playing with his hair. He hummed his appreciation, instead responding by placing a soft kiss against the side of her head. She almost lost control, almost cried, but bit her lip before any noise could escape her.

"You didn't hold yourself back earlier, in the slightest," she tried again, brow furrowing as she thought back to his rage. For her. "You tore apart the skies, let loose your true strength…"

"…All for you," he finished her sentence, pulling back to look at her fully. But Erza found herself unable to uphold the sheer emotion in his eyes, and solved her problem by laying down on his shoulder. His chuckle shook both their bodies.

"If it had been one of our friends or allies injured, had it been Kagura instead of I…would you have…would it still…" she couldn't finish the sentence. The magnitude of her implications, the imminent answer awaiting them…how would they come back if they crossed that line?

Erza, all tangled up in his embrace, found herself not caring about crossing back over the proverbial line. She remembered the blood and death and decay, the dangers of their job.

Time was so precious, so temperamental…and never truly on anyone's side but its own.

Jellal hesitated for a moment before replying to her question, unsure of the water they were treading. Already he felt he had overstepped too many boundaries, too many of his own guidelines, but after seeing Erza broken and beaten earlier, how was he to keep his hands to himself?

"Only with you has my control ever been shattered as thoroughly as it was earlier today," he admitted. "Rage like never before filled my bones, shook me to the core, and I…gods, Erza, seeing you like that-"

"I know," she whispered, sparing him the difficulty of putting what they felt into words. She had tried, and failed. It was too big, too strong, for words. "I know."

She lifted her head, twisting to take another peek at his eyes, only to find Jellal moving their bodies. With a squeak, Erza went limp, letting him gently place her into the crook of his arm, her head resting across his chest and their legs entangled atop the thin sheets. Satisfied with their position, Jellal held her close, threading his fingers through her tresses.

"Rest, Erza," with Jellal, nothing was a command, but a simple request. Looking up at him, at their bodies entwined in a way that felt perfect, Erza couldn't stop the flashes of a peaceful future from flitting through her mind. Love, marriage, children…she looked up into Jellal, into his smile, and knew in that moment that their someday would come.

Unable to stop herself, she leaned upwards and pressed a chaste kiss against his lips, lingering for but a few seconds before pulling away. To his credit, Jellal only looked slightly shocked. She was shocked with herself, too, but was more shocked when Jellal dipped down, silencing her apology with a more urgent kiss. A moment. They could allow a moment, and so they did. A moment passed, too quick, too soon, but they pulled apart once more and Erza, finally, could identify what she was feeling inside. She could understand the burning pleasure that had settled into her heart, her bones, as she took his Jellal's smile. Love. Belonging.

All for her. Forever and always.

She was home.