Forty-Eight - Jellal Fernandes

"It's a good thing these are just sacks of flour," Jellal commented, staring at the four bags sitting on the table in front of him and Erza. "I can't imagine being left with their actual children."

"You don't want children, someday?" Erza asked him.

"I don't mind children," he said, folding his arms on the table and resting his chin on them. "My problem would be babysitting a miniature Natsu and Gray."

Erza laughed. "You have a point there," she said. "But I'm sure we could keep them in line."

"I can't even keep myself in line," Jellal mumbled.

He felt Erza's eyes on him and glanced at her peripherally, seeing that she looked distressed. He thought again of Lucy's words from the previous week. Was he really hurting Erza by keeping them apart? It was obvious to him, at this point, that they both felt the same way for each other. Would it be so bad to finally act on those feelings?

"Jellal," she said softly, looking down. "I-"

"Wait," he interrupted, making up his mind. He sat up straight and turned to her. She looked a bit surprised at his resolute expression. "I don't know, exactly, if this is the right decision," he said, "but I'm making it anyway." Before he could say another word, his phone began to ring. He inwardly cursed his brother's timing as he looked at the screen. But he knew, if Myst was calling, it must be important. He sighed and looked at Erza. "I'm sorry," he said. "I have to take this." She nodded and he answered the call.

"Oh good, you picked up," Myst's relieved voice said. "We have a problem."

"What is it?" Jellal asked warily. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Myst said. "The problem is Dad. He's been arrested."

"What?" Jellal asked, shocked. "For what?"

"For — get this — extortion," Myst said.

Jellal let the word sink in for a moment. "You're kidding," he finally said.

"I'm not," said Myst. "I got a call from the board saying it's been going on for awhile and he finally got found out."

"So," Jellal said slowly. "What is going to happen now?"

"Well, first of all, I'm coming home," Myst said.

"You can't!" Jellal insisted. "What about the tour?"

"I've already spoken to Anima about it," Myst said. "We only had two more concerts anyway, and this is important."

"But-"

"It's already decided, Jellal," he continued. "I'm just calling you to tell you what's going on. The board member who called me is expecting me to take over in Dad's place."

"But you're not going to, right?" Jellal asked.

"I don't really know what choice I have," Myst sighed. "Sieg is obviously not in any state to."

"Yeah, I saw the video," Jellal said.

"Well, we'll talk about all this when I get home," Myst said. "I'll see you soon."

"Yeah, see you soon," Jellal said.

After he hung up, he saw Erza looking at him expectantly. He sighed and then explained the situation. She listened patiently and then, when he was finished, she pursed her lips. She looked thoughtful for several moments. Just as he was going to ask her what she was thinking, she spoke.

"I know this may seem like a terrible idea," she said carefully, "but maybe we should go talk to Siegrain."

-.-.-

Jellal couldn't believe he had let Erza talk him into actually going home. He felt strange, walking up to the house. He went to open the door, and hesitated. Technically, it wasn't his house anymore; he couldn't just walk in. He decided to ring the doorbell.

"What exactly am I supposed to say?" he wondered. "What if he's still angry?"

"It'll be fine," Erza said. "He'll have to put all that aside for now and focus on what to do about your dad. Just like you have."

"It's hard enough for me," Jellal grumbled. "I can't imagine Sieg-"

He was interrupted by the door opening. Sieg stood in the doorway, staring at them blankly. They stared back, no one speaking for several moments. Siegrain's black eye had almost completely healed, but his right hand was heavily bandaged. He looked very tired and disheveled; his hair was unbrushed and he was wearing pajamas.

"Why are you here?" he asked, finally breaking the silence. He didn't sound accusatory, to Jellal's surprise, only curious and confused. "What do you want?"

"We have to talk about Dad," Jellal said. "He was arrested."

"No surprise," Sieg said. "He probably deserved it."

"Yes," Jellal said slowly, not sure why his brother was acting so strangely. "He was arrested for extortion."

Sieg seemed to contemplate that for several moments. Then he looked at Jellal and tilted his head slightly to the side.

"You know," he said, "I always considered you to be the screw up."

"Yeah, I'd noticed," Jellal said.

"I might have been wrong," Sieg said, making Jellal raise his eyebrows.

"Sieg, are you okay?" Erza asked.

"You know, even the few people that truly seemed to like me won't even speak to me anymore," he said, staring at the ground. "After the video, I don't blame her."

"I don't think it was the video that made anyone stop talking to you," Erza said. "And I don't think your breakdown was due to the graffiti."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," he said. "No surprise there. I've been… terrible."

"Yeah, you have," Erza agreed, crossing her arms.

"I thought that being similar to Dad made me superior," Sieg continued. "I thought my confidence and my ability to manipulate others to my advantage would lead to success and happiness. But I suppose treating people as subordinates rather than friends doesn't do much to make them like you."

"Sieg," Jellal said, but Sieg ignored him and looked at Erza.

"It's obvious, now," he said to her, "that you made the right choice, choosing Jellal over me." Jellal and Erza exchanged a slightly nervous glance, looking back to Sieg as he continued speaking. "I'm sure you saw light in him that you didn't see in me. It all makes sense."

"Sieg," Jellal started again.

"I think I'm the last to realize how bad I've been," he said. "Even though Ultear tried to tell me. My arrogance has cost me her as well."

"Siegrain!" Jellal exclaimed, finally getting his brother to pay attention. "We are not here to discuss what you've done. We're here because we have to decide what to do about dad and the company."

"The company," Sieg repeated. "It goes to Myst, doesn't it?"

Jellal nodded. "It does," he said. "But I was hoping you could help come up with a way to avoid pushing that on him. He obviously doesn't want it."

"I think I should be done coming up with plans," Sieg said.

"Coming up with plans isn't bad," Erza pointed out. "Extorting people and being an asshat is what caused your problems."

"Well I'm not sure how to get out from under those problems now," he said.

"You could always join Crime Sorcière," Jellal said. "We'll help you figure that out."

Sieg shook his head. "Ultear wouldn't be happy with that," he said. "I have no doubt that she despises me."

"I think you have the wrong idea about her," Jellal said. "She's just waiting for you to get your act together."

"Waiting?" Sieg repeated. "So, she thinks that I will get my act together?"

"She's been frustrated with you," Jellal said. "And even angry. But she'll accept you if you show that you want to get better."

Sieg's face brightened considerably and Jellal sighed with relief. It had been strange to see him looking so dejected. It was also strange to see a genuine smile on his face, rather than a smirk, but it was better than the depressed vibe he was giving off before.

"You should come inside," Sieg said, stepping aside to let them enter. "It seems we have much to discuss."