Hello! Thank you so much for your reviews! I always try to save them up to cheer me on just before writing but I can't, really, I have to read them immediately:D

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Enjoy!

Even though she had said herself how excited Asuka had been to see Jellal again, Bisca could not find the words to thank Erza upon the return of her overjoyed daughter. She admired every drawing, then sent the little girl to bed.

"Alzack said he saw you fight – he didn't have the guts to ask for babysitting after that spectacle," she rolled her eyes, though not unpleasantly, "everyone kept mentioning it – that must have been great to watch," she kept ranting while she fished for payment.

"Oh," Erza shook her head, holding up one hand, "better give it to him – and offer him another job," she said, making her guildmate laugh, "I think they both profited." She explained, receiving a nod.

"I sure will." Bisca agreed, waving her goodnight. It was easier to talk about him now. She felt as if they were both starting to accept reality; having had the time to let it sink in. And find out that it was the right thing.

She returned home at such a late hour, the street lacrima lights were all that helped her see at least her own feet. Erza started to think it to be the perfect time for an ambush. She stayed alert the entire way but nothing happened, though the feeling of being watched lingered. For a second, she hoped to be ambushed – they would finally have some kind of clue.

It was foolish though. No one would attack a Fairy Tail Wizard in their own town; those times were over. Rumours had it that crime had gone so far down, almost vanished completely after the battle against the Alvarez Empire and Zeref's as well as Acnologia's defeat, Dark Mages and delinquents stayed away from Magnolia.

Erza opened the front door, a sigh escaping her lips. The house was clad in darkness and she rather trailed along the wall to find the bathroom than waking him up by switching the lights on. She felt the previous exhaustion return, relieved when finally being changed and ready for bed.

She snuck into the bedroom on tiptoes. Her stomach grumbled and she held it with her arms, trying to shush it.

Jellal stirred. She shuffled beneath the blankets, feeling more and more of them all around, spread, folded, crumpled, blocking her feet or weighing down her torso. She fought her way through, giving a content hum as her hands found his arm. She took it, hugging herself close to it, nuzzling her head into his shoulder.

Jellal gave a pressed breath, already sleepy. Perhaps even waking up. It really had been a great idea for him to babysit – it tired him out.

"Are you hungry?" He croaked, turning to face her. She shook her head, then remembered that he could not see it.

"It's fine,"

"Eat something then,"

"It's fine, really,"

"Come on, midnight snack," he encouraged and she exhaled strongly through her nose.

"Tomorrow," she groaned, snuggling closer. He was so warm and the blankets formed a fluffy haven around them, she did not want to get up anymore. He tapped her forehead with one finger, triggering an annoyed 'nyeh' that made him chuckle.

"Midnight snack." He repeated. Erza did not react, so he decided to just get up and force her to eat. Of course, she could not win this argument after having lectured him about it never being too late for food the other day. She whined a complaint but he was already dragging her curled up body across the bed until she almost fell off. With an overly unnerved sigh, she stood, following him into the kitchen.

She watched him cut fruit into a bowl of yoghurt, leaning against the opposite counter, eyelids heavy. His movements were just as slow. She glanced over at the counters she had taken out by the window. The now exposed wall was greyish but her eyes caught sight of tiny white smileys, newly painted onto it. Only now did she remember the white freckles on both his and Asuka's hands – and how she had mentioned to have painted a wall.

"Bisca wants to see you for the payment sometime," she mentioned as she was handed her improvised meal.

"I don't want any," he waved it off, opening the fridge.

"She'll just give it to me if you don't show up," she protested on her friend's behalf. Jellal made a thoughtful face. He poured himself a glass of milk and she caught herself thinking how she would have just drunken right out of the glass bottle.

"Hm…" he sipped it, "you can tell her…" he tilted his head, then nodded, "she can pay me by buying you strawberry cakes at the guild," he decided, readying himself for protests. Erza spooned some yoghurt into her mouth. She gave him a long look, then closed her eyes for another bite.

"Yeah, I think I'll propose that to her," she nodded to herself. Jellal grinned, supressing laughter. She could feel his gaze on her, but she was too tired to acknowledge it.

She finished her snack and he took it from her to clean the dishes.

"I wanted to wash tomorrow – do you have anything?" Jellal asked over his shoulder, entirely too awake again but she was already down the hall, falling back into bed.

Erza yawned as she washed her hands. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror, her eyes still tired. She contemplated whether to change for the day, ultimately deciding against it.

Bringing her comb with her, she returned to the bedroom. She was surprised when Jellal had already sat up. He was leaning against the headboard, one of the books next to his nightstand on his lap, scribbling something down on his notepad. She watched him while climbing onto the bed and combing her hair.

His eyes shone with a different light these days. He was more… in the moment, instead of everywhere else. Right there, within himself and not prying around for potential threats or onlookers. He was not even noticing her gaze, staring at him as he scanned the pages of something about bathrooms.

She waited a little longer, putting down her comb. He was still skimming the book, noting something down, marking a page. She liked him that way – seemingly at peace with himself for a change. But she liked his eyes on her even more.

"Jellal?"

"Hm," he hummed without looking up.

"Pay attention to me." She said, unblinking. He stopped, detaching his glance from the book. He met her eyes, then a smile softened his features. An amused one. She felt a wide smile of her own stretch across her lips when he set down his things and held out his arms. Erza crawled forward, letting herself flop into his embrace. He groaned, then chuckled.

"Would you like some breakfast?" He asked, stroking a hand down her now untangled hair. She smiled to herself at how careful he was, at the same time greedily feeling the silky texture beneath his fingers.

He was developing into such a housewife, she thought. And it was good. It not only seemed to give him pleasure to be working around the house and manage their tiny family, but she was well aware of how utterly atrocious she handled any of those tasks. She preferred to go on jobs instead, hoping he would agree to that division, too. Plus, she would not have to worry about him getting injured on missions anymore.

"I wanted to take a bath since you fixed the warm water," she said instead of answering his question.

"Would you like me to draw it for you?" Jellal offered and she shook her head, lifting it to meet his eyes.

"I'd like you to take it with me."

"You should invite her more often; perhaps then she'll consider settling down," Erza's voice echoed from the bathroom tiles. "Maybe even in Magnolia." Jellal frowned. He debated with himself, trying to find a way to describe his thoughts without just saying them. He wanted to be more honest, but he also wanted to avoid a certain topic.

"I think," he sighed to buy himself another moment of time, "she is waiting for a decision on Crime Sorcière," he clenched his jaw, bracing himself for bribery on joining Fairy Tail. Erza fell quiet. She pushed her lips out in thought, which he could not see. With a strong exhale through her nose, she leaned back against his chest.

He felt his tension subside as she slid down further and further until only her nose and above poked out of the water, knees closely hugged to herself. He lifted a hand off the bathtub's rim, placing on the top of her head. Moving his fingers, he gently scratched her scalp and she sighed, her ribcage expanding against him.

"I'm sorry, love," he said quietly, unaware of how much his choice of words made her smile. She shook her head – only slightly, though, no wanting to shoo off his caress.

"It's alright," she soothed, lifting her chin up to be able to speak, "just take your time," she muttered and he had to chuckle.

"That sounds like a mild threat,"

"If you see it as such," she innocently agreed.

"As if it's only a matter of time," he thought out loud with a lopsided smirk, knowing she was viewing his joining Fairy Tail as decided.

"It's not?" She asked nonchalantly but he detected the edge in her tone – another threat. He had to laugh again and she did not harp on about it. To her, it really was just a future event, while to him, it was a constant debate of life or death. She was his life now – always had been – and if anything happened or he screwed up again, the end of their relationship would end him, too.

For the first time, Jellal found himself contemplating what might happen if he did join the guild and they broke up. Then what?

"Do you think she'll take it?" Erza pulled him out of his thoughts. He blinked, repeating her question in his mind, still not following.

"Take…?" He frowned.

"Meredy,"

"Ah," he nodded. Tilting his head back, he closed his eyes. Meredy Milkovich. It rolled of the tongue as if always intended that way. Why she had not chosen to take on Ultear's name sooner was a mystery to him – it should have been that way ever since his former guildmate had taken the girl into her care.

A smile crept across his lips when Erza felt for his arms, snatching them in order to be held. He gladly complied.

"She will probably take it and not tell anyone so that she can be cool about it when it's established," he shrugged with amusement.

"Who will call her that for it to be established?" Erza frowned, though he had a feeling that she anticipated the answer.

"No one, really," he inwardly grinned, "maybe like three random people on the street," he speculated and she giggled.

"You know her so well," she said with that warmth in her voice – that warmth that she used like a mother who was glad for her introverted child to at least have one non-imaginary friend. He feared that tone, should he be friendly with anyone at the guild.

"And yet, I'd never known Ultear to be a surrogate mother to her until you mentioned it," he confessed.

"Really?" She asked. "I think I overheard it when she told Juvia once," she recalled, tapping her chin in thought. Her grip tightened ever so slightly on his arm when he started tracing his thumb up and down. "Ultear found her in the ruins of a village where Meredy had lived. She was quite young back then and I found she was still too young for the battles Grimore Heart put her through when we first encountered her.

"I always forget how she must be around our age, now after the seven years," Erza closed her eyes for a moment.

Your age, Jellal thought to himself. He swallowed, trying to keep from saying it. He had pondered whether to bring their age gap up more than once, never quite daring. Was she aware? And did it not bother her? He feared it would, guilt gnawing at his insides, no matter how often he tried to convince himself that keeping quiet was not lying.

He noticed her gaze on him, head tilted so far back, she could stare right up into his eyes with her huge, endless ones. He opened his mouth, wanting to avoid her asking about his thoughts.

"She has grown quite a lot during that time," he agreed, "and I'm afraid she will have to keep on doing that," he sighed deeply, averting his glance from hers, "I can't imagine what it must be like to lose a mother figure," he clenched his teeth. Then he loosened his jaw again, relaxing when he felt her hand to be stroking along his arm in a calming manner.

"But I suppose that's something we all have in common; Asuka is really lucky," he said somewhat awkwardly. It was true though; not only Fairy Tail but most guilds had many strong members who had grown up as orphans or lost their family over time.

"We have Master," Erza said, her voice serene, seemingly at peace with a topic that was bugging him more than he liked to admit. "And… I've met my mother," she added so quietly, he was not entirely sure to have understood her correctly. Also because it was absurd.

"You have…?" He asked, his voice merely a breath. He could not picture such a coincidence – and how she had never talked about it. Where was her mother now, if not with her? How could they have reunited and then parted ways after all those years of wondering?

Then another notion hit him.

There were two of her?!

"Mhm," Erza's voice was soft, and he stiffened in alarm at the… was is sadness in her tone? It was too vague to pin the sentiment down, perhaps due to the unclear mixture of feelings that was written across her face. She looked down upon noting his stare on her.

His arms tightened. Perhaps for his own reassurance.

"Do you remember when Wendy and I were being attacked by Acnologia and you came to help us?" He nodded, too tense to form words. What was it that she was letting her voice ring with? He could not begin to imagine how this story would end – and how their battle against the king of all dragons had anything to do with it.

He suppressed a light shaking of his body, winding his arms closer around her.

"And…" the word echoed so she lowered her voice even further, "do you also remember that body he was mauling…?" She asked and his breath got stuck in his throat. His eyes were wide and he stared at the back of her head. His heart dropped.

He could not find the words. He could not find his thoughts, either, his mind buzzing and empty at the same time, his mouth itching with dryness. Would it even be of any use to apologise now?

"I always believed I would…" Erza croaked, and for a second, he suspected her to be crying, "die in battle…" her breath came in fits, "but I guess hugged to death is a nicer way to go," she managed, gasping.

Jellal winced, releasing her. Panting lightly, Erza bent forward. He retracted his arms completely, apologising over and over again. The water swashed, slopping over the rim of the tub as she turned around to capture his lips with hers.

"Don't worry about it," she said, standing. Jellal sighed under his breath, following her example, not without sneaking a side glance or two at her as she still searched for their towels. He let the water drain, drying himself and tying the towel around his hips as he walked back into the bedroom for his clothes.

Erza sighed.

"Sometimes, I wish you had Gray's habit…" she said, more to herself. He turned returning the stare she traced over every ridge of his muscles. He felt himself blush, cursing at it when she noticed and giggled.

"What habit?" He asked, confused. She crossed her arms over her own towel, nearly shyly turning away.

"Nothing…" she said innocently. He pushed out his lips, then asked again. When she ignored him, he came over to where she pretended to be busy with a blanket, snaking his arms around her from behind. She did not answer. That called for drastic measures.

"Ah!" Erza yelped when he dug his fingers into her sides, tickling her, "No- ahaha, no, sto-hop!" She gasped for breath, fighting him off. He hooked one arm around her stomach, keeping her squirming and flailing body trapped, running his hands up and down her flank.

"Tell me," he pressed while she slapped him repeatedly.

"No!" Erza squealed, nearly crying with uncontrolled laughter. She elbowed him too hard then, freeing herself. Hunching over to catch her breath, she shrieked when his arms returned. She jumped aside, finding no way out, her back hitting the wall where he cornered her.

"I can only change," he leaned down, "if you tell me what it is you like," he said, her hot panting venting against his face. Her eyes were shining despite her previous panic, telling him just how much she loved that rare, seductive side of his. She tilted her chin up, lips brushing his.

"You, just the way you are," she breathed, closing the gap between them.

Leaning against the wall, Jellal closed his eyes. He really needed to get some jobs. He glanced over his shoulder where the laundry soaked in the bathtub. He should have made the washing machine a higher priority.

He did not mind doing the work around the house, on the contrary. He enjoyed it, finding that he not only felt better after doing something to unburden Erza, but that getting things done was a reward in and of itself. The results were immediately visible.

"Jellal…" he heard her voice call, somewhat huskily. He smiled to himself.

"You're back early; was the job that easy?" He asked, waiting for the creaking of the door. Perhaps she waited for permission since it was closed – she had sounded rather far away.

"Jellal…" it came again, louder this time. "Help," his eyes shot open, "help me…" Erza whimpered. He stared at the empty space in front of him. There was no one there. His pupils shrunk. Panic grasped his heart like a claw and it beat wildly, thumping against his ribcage.

"Jellal…" it was in his head, he realised. She was somehow using telepathy, either strained from the magic itself or… "please… help me…" she pleaded, her voice thinning out, begging him to save her.

"Erza!" He cried, eyes flashing about the room even if it was of no use. "Where are you?"

"The… mans… si… oshi…" she croaked, almost not audible anymore, "please… Jellal…"

He nearly broke down the door as he sprinted out, not bothering with a coat or boots. Mansion. Oshibana Town. Erza.

"I'm coming, Erza!"

The manga says green and the anime changed it from green to pink later on; which eye colour do you give Meredy? Thanks for your opinion!