Erza hissed at everyone, glaring like a feral werewolf when Jellal began to stir in his sleep.
"Shut up", she whispered as she patted his chest rhythmically, soothing him to sleep.
"It's bad enough he had to stay up for three days fighting that man. Let him sleep in peace...my poor Jellal has deserved it"
Everyone stared at Erza with an obviously flabbergasted facial expression.
Laxus' hands were half a metre away from Jellal's face. The sheer energy and aura emanating from Laxus juxtaposed perfectly against Jellal's serene face.
Turning back, Laxus grabbed a piece of parchment and electrically wrote a threat, and placed it near Erza's feet.
GET UP QUICKLY. I AM GONNA BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU AGAIN!
Erza rolled her eyes as she recalled how the two men often threatened each other with murder or dismemberment, and within thirty minutes they would be outside laughing like they had never argued in the entire time they had known each other.
"I should go, Erza. The rest of the guild is waiting for us. Just...let me know if he is safe, okay?"
It did not take a genius to know that Meredy needed some time alone. Those who were close to Jellal knew how gruesome the man could become when backed into a corner.
"Meredy-chan, let me come with you for a while. I'm going out anyway to buy food supplies", Mirajane followed her and winked at Erza.
The latter returned a smile, heaving in relief. The barmaid had a powerful silver tongue and she would lift Meredy's spirits in no time.
Later
Mirajane was done with shopping, and returned to the guild, counting the remaining Jewels yet again.
Nearing the guild, Mirajane stopped in her tracks. The guild was silent - far, far too silent for a guild on Fairy Tail's level.
People could hear the noise in the guild from the next street at the bare minimum.
Bracing for the worst, Mirajane softly pushed the door open, instantly scanning the entire guild base for penetrants and trespassers, but found absolutely nothing to her surprise.
What caught her eye was the bright sight of Erza sitting on the same seat with an absolute state of bliss on her face.
The scenario appeared to be something straight out of a fantasy novel with an angel silently taking care of a character.
Mirajane might have believed Erza's rebirth into an angel to be true if it had not been for the ghastly sign behind her written in vibrant red ink.
IF I HEAR A SINGLE SOUND, I WILL TEAR YOU FROM LIMB TO LIMB. BUT I WILL NOT LET YOU DIE.
I WILL MAKE WENDY HEAL YOU, ONLY TO DO THE SAME THING AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN.
IF YOU WANT TO LIVE YOUR LIFE THE SAME WAY YOU ARE DOING SO AT THE MOMENT, DO NOT MAKE A SOUND.
Lucy was at the corner, biting her nails in trepidation as Erza's eyes shot up at every faint sound.
The moment Mirajane turned towards the Requip mage, the latter's eyes shot up to hers - glaring at her to remain silent at all costs.
Was it unfair of Erza to hold almost the entirety of the guild hostage for her boyfriend? Yes.
Would the said man be annoyed at her for doing so? Yes.
Would any of those two questions stop her from doing so? Definitely not.
As dangerous as Jellal was, he was absolutely tame around Erza. The woman made sure he would never get into a fight with her around, and she was talented in that.
With that issue, and how Erza would often become meek and touchy around him, it was no doubt she had the man wrapped all around her.
He would groan, roll his eyes, apologise to everyone on her behalf and things would go on as they were.
As much of a rival as she was to her, Mirajane could not reciprocate that with Laxus. The Lightning mage would laugh at her, ruffle her hair and leave, which would start yet another argument between the two of them.
But, even if she had a room's length of a list to complain about the woman, she deserved a man of his stature - and that man needed someone as clingy as her to acknowledge his own worth.
Rolling her eyes, she decided to go back to check the stocks. By the time she had spent shopping, some of them would have delivered the food supplies.
The moment she turned, the guild doors flung right out with a powerful kick, and Jellal shot up.
"YOU SHUT UP!"
"NO, YOU!"
"GET THE FUCK OUT, ICE PRINCESS. GO WEAR A SHIRT!"
"Wait...ANYWAY, GO TAKE YOUR STUPID OPINIONS TO THE TRASH CAN, PINKMANIA!"
"IS THAT...wait...why is everyone silent?"
There was no need for an introduction. A blind person could find out who the loud duo was - Natsu and Gray.
"What happened?", Gray asked, looking at Juvia who was literally eating her hair and screaming at the same time.
He turned towards Lucy, who was staring at the two of them with a mix of pity and fear.
It was at that moment, did the two of them see the majestic sign and the murderous scent in the air that subtly encircled Jellal.
Natsu grinned on seeing the Meteor mage as he rushed forward in anticipation, in a vain attempt to challenge him for another fight.
What stopped the "salmon-haired" man in his tracks was the twitching face of the man's girlfriend sitting behind him with a facial expression akin to that of the god of death.
Erza got up, facing the duo with the sweetest smile she could conjure. However, the smile on her face was as fake as snake oil.
"You want to fight don't you, Natsu? Why don't we have a spar? Gray can join as well! The three of us will have a great fight just like when we were young"
Her aura grew more potent by the minute, and traces of her magic could be sensed around her. Erza brought out a whip with her Requip magic and cracked it on the ground.
"I said LET US FIGHT!"
Jellal caught her arms in an attempt to pacify her and mumbled comforting words into her ear. Erza miraculously dropped from her aggressive persona to her affectionate one, mewling soft curses at Jellal.
Things looked fine until Jellal pushed her away and covered his mouth, and coughed blood into his hand.
The cruor flowed down his hand, while random gashes and nicks appeared on his body, coating his shirt in a pool of red.
"I AM FINE! I AM FINE!", he bolstered as he saw Erza's face melt right into purgatory.
"I...I had overused my magic. The effects were probably suppressed because of my adrenaline rush, and now...the aftershock is hitting me"
It was a perfectly valid reason and Erza blitzed forward to catch him. The woman could make a mountain of a molehill, and with the love of her life involved, and his inclination towards wounding himself, there was absolutely no reason for her to NOT turn the guild upside down.
"WENDY!"
Later
"I insist. I will be fine! You do not have to supervise me, Wendy. You probably have better things to do", Jellal averred, causing Wendy to let out a lily-livered laugh.
"Do you genuinely believe that Erza-san will let either of us do that?"
Silence followed as the duo silently agreed with Wendy's statement. The door slammed open, revealing Erza in a nurse costume.
Wendy began to mumble about safety protocols and Jellal gulped audibly.
"Wendy is quite busy, so I decided to look after you today", the Requip mage informed and took a seat next to Jellal.
The man was ready to go to war if he could convince his girlfriend to do something else for the day, but much to his dismay, the scarlet-haired woman had already decided to stay with him, and he would rather have a better chance of seeing hell freeze over.
"I am fine, Erza. I just need rest. Give me a book, and I am done for the day. This is overkill!"
As expected, Jellal's remonstration fell on deaf ears as Erza hugged him from behind, resting her chin on the top of his head.
"I cannot do that, Jellal. As a nurse, it is my responsibility to ensure that the right care is given to my patient, and what my patient needs is a lot of rest and stress relief", she breathed into his ear as her hands began to travel to his chest.
Jellal felt her fingers slowly ripple over the bandages on his torso, covering the sudden gashes that appeared on his body.
"I can help a lot with stress relief. You can use me as you like, my dear patient"
Erza had already begun teasing him, and when she starts, there is absolutely no stopping her. Jellal was far too tired to engage in mental warfare against his better half and gave in, as he leaned comfortably against her chest.
"I'm getting treated by a quack nurse in heat", he groaned out, praying internally for a random asteroid to target his forehead and end his embarrassment once and for all.
"I heard Meredy talk about some underground auction related to human trafficking. What was that about?"
Jellal drummed his fingers against her forearm, not knowing where to start. People were being reported missing left and right, and less than five percent were found and even in that minuscule amount, only a handful made it out alive and in one piece.
"Who was she talking to?"
"HERSELF!", she cut him off. Her boyfriend was a stickler to rules and would not hesitate to murder someone if things went awry. The last thing she could do to the already rattled Meredy was give her another azure-haired headache.
"She was mumbling to herself and I overheard her before she left. I just thought...you might need some help"
Her heart was in her mouth, one word away from screaming her head off, as she waited for him to ask for her help.
"They..have been through quite a lot in recent times. Even if I am the guildmaster, I feel...it would be unwise and selfish of me to bring them with me again. So if you've got the time, and if you would like to...I could use the help"
Erza pursed her lips and leaned forward, rubbing her cheek affectionately against his.
"Why are you hesitating to ask me something so obvious, you dummy?", she mumbled before tightening her grip around his midsection.
Jellal softened before leaning against her cheek. Things were fine at the moment. He could definitely use the calmer time and affection of Erza.
It was fine until Erza's hands began to wander candidly against his abs and grazed against his waistband.
"Recall fucking me in my nurse uniform, Jellal?", she purred against his ear and the tip of her fingers started to wriggle inside his pants.
Erza let out a soft giggle when she felt him stiffen.
"It has been so long, has it not? My patient needs something"
"Erza, stop", he murmured in an inane tone before clearing his throat.
Clicking her tongue, Erza looked up to see Mirajane looking at the two of them in disgust.
"Mira, for what it's worth, I am the vic-"
"Get the fuck out of my guild, you repugnant pair of perverts"
"After a bath?", Erza asked with a nonchalant tone.