Hello! Thank you so much again for your review, Nina-Chan202!
If any of you guys have ideas or requests for what you would like to happen, let me know (or this might take turns into cliché-ville sometime :D). I'd love to hear what you think!
Without further ado, enjoy!
It was dark when he came home. He had not meant to take this long, hoping for Erza not to have waited up. If she had come at all.
Getting ready for bed immediately in the bathroom, Jellal tried to be as quiet as possible, always listening whether there was some small noise, telling him he was not alone. Since the Queen of the Fairies used requip magic on any given occasion, she never left him any hints. No shoes at the entrance or even hair ribbons in the bathroom, if she used them at all.
Tired from the day, Jellal sighed under his breath. He pondered whether to eat something, ultimately deciding against it, brushing his teeth anyway. Upon wandering into the now perfectly white kitchen, he noted the plate of strawberry cake he had left on the counter to be empty. Shiny even. He smiled, forgetting to move the toothbrush as he imagined the mighty Titania's blissfully sparkling eyes as she ate her favourite treat.
After having changed, Jellal crept into the bedroom, careful not to let the door squeak. Another smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Erza was fast asleep. Curled up tightly, she hugged the blanket to herself, breathing deeply.
Jellal gladly climbed into bed, welcoming the already warmed mattress wholeheartedly. She stirred, giving a soft moan in her sleep. Not wanting to wake her up, he draped what little she left of the blanket over himself, back against hers. Her sleep warmth radiated to him. Another of her unconscious sighs of comfort allowed him to fall asleep with a smile on his face.
Jellal awoke once during the night when she had claimed the blanket entirely and now again as the first beams of morning light fought their way through the slit between the curtains. He blinked several times, then decided to leave his eyes closed for now. He still felt some of the exhaustion from the day before.
He paused when his skin tingled due to warm breathing down his back. Erza had turned during the night. Practically squishing her face into the back of his neck, she continued to breathe deeply in her sleep. Jellal's heart sped up ever so slightly, his face flushing.
Her lower arm – and he wondered how – had somehow found its way beneath him, snaking underneath his arm and enclosing his chest. The upper one was resting over his stomach, giving it a fuzzy twist when he realised her to have snuck it under his shirt, her delicate fingers across the ridges of his abs.
Jellal swallowed. Even though his thoughts were running wild alongside the pulsing of blood in his ears, one thing crystallised clearly. Her arm. He was not only crushing it with his weight, but the bandage was still there. He had never seen in what condition it was, but it must have been hurting her nonetheless.
He inhaled in preparation. Noting her upper leg to be hooking onto his hip, he decided to only lift his torso. Slowly, he rose with his side off the bed. Trying to take her arm and detach it from him, he made her stir.
Erza gave a groan in her sleep, tightening her grip on him.
"Mhh… Jellal…" she breathed down his neck, giving him a shiver. Now nearly bursting with accelerated breathing, Jellal shoved her arm up to his neck as she would not let go of him. Another moan, this time almost like a growl, rejecting his attempts. She clawed back into him, digging the tips of her fingers into his chest as if defending freshly caught prey from other predators.
Sinking back down, Jellal gave a sigh. Not only out of resignation, but in order to catch his breath, too. Sometimes, she just made him realise why they had never tried being together before. It was just too much. Though not only sometimes.
Taking calming breaths, he squeezed his eyes shut, focusing on steadying the spinning of his head. Was this his punishment? Going insane since he had never let her in? Would he be cooler now if he had kissed her back then? Or if he had been in a relationship before?
No. This was Erza. The one and only love of his life. And for a moment, he wondered whether he would ever not be as completely and utterly over the moon with her near.
Lightly moaning again, Erza stirred. She moved her face, gently, then strongly rubbing it against the crook of his neck. Her arms and leg tightened around him once. She in- and exhaled deeply, seemingly waking up.
Jellal held his breath, then tried to make it flow as naturally as possible. Her fingers twitched. One by one, in the most cautious way, the tips of her fingers beneath his shirt examined the territory. Finally coming to a realisation, they stopped dead in their tracks, frozen, wincing away ever so slightly upon brushing against his hot skin.
Despite himself, Jellal had to smile at the awkwardness of them both. He could feel the beating of her heart in his back, as if shooting through the ceiling. She was awake. She was aware.
Forgetting about his own red face, he dared to turn. Taking the hand on his chest, he gently passed it beneath him, holding it between them as he gazed into her with sleep glazed eyes.
"Good morning." He muttered as she avoided his gaze, cheeks tinted in pink. Hesitatingly, he put his upper arm around her back, then, daringly, leaned his forehead down to rest it against hers.
"M-morning…" Erza breathed back, a sigh of relief escaping her nose. In spite of her insecurely floating hand on his back, she responded strongly to his embrace, tenderly yet gladly pressing her forehead to his. She swallowed, trying to lift her leg off him, obviously hoping he would not notice if only she moved slow enough.
"I'm sorry," he apologised, inwardly grinning when she instantly opened her mouth in protest, "I must have crushed your arm." He said, the thumb on it stroking up and down. Erza dropped the issue, glancing down at it. The bandage was starting to come off, partly hanging loose. "Let me help you with it."
She nodded, not looking up. She was fixing her gaze on the caressing of his thumb, seemingly transfixed with her every sense. Neither of them moved for another minute. He was surprised at the calmness of his heartbeat, though it probably only seemed that way in comparison to hers.
"You were late yesterday." Erza noted in a small voice. He hummed in response.
"I met Kinana," he said, swallowing the next apology, "she was buying cake, too." He explained, smiling when her heart skipped a beat. Erza dared tightening her arm around him, wordlessly thanking him. "She said that Erik was in Magnolia. They… wanted to meet sometime to," he hesitated, sighing before he continued, "finally disband Crime Sorcière."
Erza inhaled in surprise. She moved her head, as if wanting to look at him. Courage seemed to leave her, so instead, she nuzzled her head beneath his chin as she liked to do. Jellal was grateful for it, knowing her immediate thought to be him joining Fairy Tail. At least being free to do so. He often thought about it, though he never dared to come to a conclusion.
"I'm sure it will be nice to see them all," Erza said, lovingly smiling against his collarbone, "and hear what they are up to."
"Yeah…" Jellal agreed, his tone a little restrained, "I'm sure Meredy will be very curious, too." He said, the awkward grimace audible in his voice. Erza chuckled, snuggling closer.
"I'm curious what you'll tell her." She teased. He did not know whether it was a challenge to report or the most subtle threat not to. He presumed her to have phrased it vaguely on purpose as neither of them were sure about it. About making anything public as well as what this really was.
"I'm afraid too much; they want to go out for drinks…" he pulled a face, his thumb drawing mellow circles on her wrist as a replacement action.
"And you're not used to that,"
"I tried the whole 'being in public and finding a bar that will host us will be difficult' shebang, but they are all very confident when it comes to being pardoned."
"They have every right to be – you should be, too." Erza pressed, daring to look up at him. Jellal could feel his cheeks redden, merely from looking at her beautiful face. So close… "You earned your freedom, you really did." She went on, not noticing him to be losing himself in her with vigour shining eyes.
I love you… The thought shot into his head without mercy. There was no room to contemplate about her words, to weigh them, to negate them. She was so sure, brimming with faith, he found himself out of doubts. He believed her more than himself. He respected her more than himself.
"Jellal?" Erza's voice was small. His vision cleared, staring into her wide eyes. He was only a centimetre away from her now. Her lashes brushed his cheekbones, breath tingling on his lips. Say it. The voice in his head demanded. Just say it. He felt his breath trembling, hitching in his throat. Erza's heartbeat pounded against his chest.
"Uh…" he stuttered, finding his voice. He leaned back, breaking the spell. She cleared her throat, averting her gaze. Both faces glowed with an almost unhealthy rush of blood. "We should get you patched up." He finally declared. She muttered something in agreement. They shuffled away from one another, getting up and taking turns in the bathroom before finding a fresh bandage, hardly speaking until she left for the guild.