Nine - Siegrain Fernandes

Siegrain was glad that student council meetings didn't start until later in the week. It meant that he would get home before Jellal and, undoubtedly, Erza arrived. He wasn't one hundred percent sure why he had thought that stealing Erza's clothes had been such a great plan. Ultear's plans were generally pretty decent, but this one seemed silly in hindsight. It wasn't as if he got to see her without her clothing.

"Stop with the perverted thoughts," he mumbled to himself. "They'll be home any minute."

As if on cue, the front door opened and the sound of Jellal's voice echoed through the front hall. Erza laughed at something and Siegrain had the strangest feeling of jealousy. He pushed the thought aside. Erza did not like Myst, so there was nothing to worry about. Siegrain waited on the couch at the top of the stairs, knowing that his brother and Erza would find him soon.

"Do you want something to eat?" Jellal asked from the kitchen as Erza began to climb the stairs.

"No," she said. "Thanks, but I just need to find your brother- Oh."

She stopped short when she reached the top step and found Siegrain staring at her. He had to take a moment to adjust to seeing her in Jellal's clothing. It made him feel a bit possessive and he wished he hadn't stolen her clothes after all. Once he had processed that feeling, he stood and approached her. She couldn't back up easily, having nothing but stairs behind her, so she was essentially trapped.

"These are not your clothes," he said, plucking at the sleeve of Jellal's shirt.

"No, they aren't," she said crossly. "Someone stole my clothes from my locker. Jellal was kind enough-"

"Jellal?" Siegrain repeated with raised eyebrows. "Don't you mean, 'Myst'?"

Erza rolled her eyes, taking Siegrain's moment of confusion to sidestep him.

"As if I wouldn't notice it was Jellal," she said, looking around. "Where are my clothes, Sieg?"

He folded his arms across his chest. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," he lied.

She glared at him. "Siegrain, give my clothes back," she demanded.

"Why?" he asked. "You don't like wearing Jellal's clothes?"

Much to Siegrain's displeasure, she blushed. "That- that is none of your business," she stammered.

She does like it, he thought bitterly.

He immediately grabbed her wrist and dragged her toward his bedroom.

"W-what are you doing?" she squeaked.

"Hey!" Jellal protested, reaching the top of the stairs and glaring at his brother.

Siegrain just rolled his eyes and tossed Erza into his room, slamming the door behind her. "Your clothes are on the bed," he said through the door. "Hurry up and change."

"What is your problem?" Jellal demanded of his triplet.

Siegrain ignored his question. "Hello, Myst," he scowled. "I see you completely ignored my instruction to not talk to Erza."

"She spoke to me first," Jellal defended himself. "She sat next to me in homeroom and instantly realized that I wasn't Myst."

"You failure," Sieg sighed. "What will we do now?"

"She isn't going to tell anyone," Jellal said. "I explained to her that Myst needs help. I don't know how you expected to keep her in the dark about this."

"You still shouldn't talk to her too often at school," Siegrain suggested, narrowing his eyes. "Myst never did. You don't want to cause suspicion and get yourself found out."

"It's none of your business, Sieg," Erza said, opening the door to his room and smoothing her skirt out. "How we interact at school is between me and Jellal." She held up Jellal's clothes, folded into a neat pile, but didn't hand them over. "I'll wash these for you," she smiled. "Thanks, again."

"That is unnecessary," Siegrain said, snatching the articles from her hands. "We have a perfectly capable washing machine here." Why am I acting like this? he wondered. There's no indication that they're anything more than friends. Besides, I already know that Erza is attracted to me. There's no reason to be jealous. But he still couldn't shake the irrational emotion.

"Calm down, Sieg," Erza frowned, stepping past him and giving Jellal a quick hug of thanks.

Siegrain seethed with envy. Jellal, to his credit, looked apologetic, but it did little to assuage Sieg's anger. Erza didn't even look back as she went down the stairs, leaving the brothers alone with each other. Jellal was flushed red as Siegrain glared at him. He opened his mouth to speak, but Siegrain cut him off.

"You had your chance with Erza," he said, glancing down the stairs to make sure the redhead was out of earshot. "You blew it. She's mine now."

Jellal's blush vanished as his expression hardened. "I'm not trying to steal her from you," he said quietly. "But I'm not going to ignore her if she's willing to be friends with me again."

Siegrain simply brushed past his brother, strolling down the stairs to see where Erza had gone. He knew that it was unreasonable and impossible to try and keep Jellal and Erza apart, but it was so frustrating to know that they would be together so often when he wasn't around. What if she chose Jellal over him? Why had he ever agreed to let his brother go through with this stupid plan? Erza was sitting on the living room couch, arms and legs crossed and glaring at him as he entered the room.

"Why did you steal my clothes?" she asked.

He took a moment to respond. "I wanted you to come see me," he eventually said.

"There is an invention," she said, pulling her phone from her pocket. "It's called a cell phone. If you wanted to see me, you could ask? I do not respond well to theft and annoyance."

"I apologize," he said, offering a bow. Her expression didn't shift, so he walked to her chair and leaned over her until their faces were very close together. "Will you really not forgive me?" he asked with a slight smirk. "I was not in my right mind."

She was blushing hard, which pleased him greatly. Hindered by the chair, she was unable to escape him. It was just how he liked it. She cleared her throat nervously and unfolded her arms. It took a lot of willpower to keep his eyes on her face and not allow them to scan the rest of her.

"I forgive you," she mumbled, looking down and away. "I always do."

"That's my girl," he smirked, using his forefinger to lift her face and force her to look at him. He wanted to kiss her so badly. He could tell from her expression that she was wavering between letting him and pushing him off of her. I could claim her as mine, right now, he thought. Jellal will realize that she's with me, not him.

"Ahem," a stern voice interrupted, causing the teenagers to jump in surprise. They looked over at the doorway to see the triplets' father, Faust Fernandes.