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All three of them winced when the door of the infirmary opened. It did not creak like the ones in the house, and since there was always some sort of commotion in the guild hall, neither had noticed the infirmary to be approached.
Jellal and Meredy tried not to stare, already feeling submissive with the aura they were being greeted with. Erza waited. She had her arms crossed, standing next to Jellal's bed.
Porlyusica had her eyes narrowed like she always did when around humans. She wandered into the silence, glancing from one patient to the other. She knew neither of them and it obviously bothered her.
"I want you to free your torsos so I can inspect them," she ordered without accepting any protest. They would not have dared, anyway. Erza nodded at Jellal and Meredy. She assumed the elderly healer to have been informed already, perhaps having met with Master beforehand. Jellal had reported about the stab in the back and as for Meredy, the same could only be presumed since she did not remember.
Porlyusica made her way over to Meredy's bed, drawing the curtains with a nasty look over her shoulder. Not that he had been watching – or that it would have been that absurd; they had travelled together for over seven years. Erza wondered how strong their bond had become, especially with Ultear gone.
She could catch a glimpse of Meredy's back who wordlessly showed it to the healer. Porlyusica muttered something incomprehensible to herself, her fingers winding more closely around the pole of the bed as she pondered.
Erza gave a sigh to herself. She just hoped for nothing to be permanently affecting the two – they really were in bad luck to have been caught in the dilemma. One she counted entirely against herself.
She stopped her thoughts there, not wanting to dwell on guilt now. She glanced down when Jellal finished with his overcoat and brought his hand to the hem of his black, high-collared shirt. That shirt which outlined his muscles so narrowly, that defined his collarbone and abs and everything else she found her eyes to be glued at. She wanted to take it off in his seat.
Unaware of her stare, Jellal lifted it over his head. Her eyes nearly popped. The door opened again, this time more loudly as Natsu and his team strolled in with cheerful greetings. Erza's heart flung up into her throat in wild panic.
She pushed Jellal to fall backwards onto the mattress, then spun around to swing the curtains of the bed closed. She clutched them for a moment longer, bearing the mockingly suggestive snickering of her comrades.
"Oh, did we interrupt something?" Gray's grin was audible through his voice. Lucy scolded him, though unable to hide her own giggle. Erza still felt her heart race against her ribcage, only letting the fabric go when she was sure about them to be distracted with reporting their findings to Meredy. Or rather, lack of findings.
Turning, Erza met Jellal's confused eyes. He remained silent, however, and she was grateful for it. He frowned even more upon noticing the by now prominent blush on her face. She just stood there, then pointed a finger. He followed the gesture, glancing down.
His eyes widened with the same panic as hers previously. He was cluttered with tiny bruises, lovebite after lovebite trailing down from his neck to his stomach. He gulped. His cheeks glowed.
Both winced when Porlyusica gave Meredy the instruction to dress again. Erza cursed inwardly. That woman was not one to accept excuses. Or respect decency – everything served a purpose and she would be even more irritated with her visit should they stall her. That, and Team Natsu still stood right there, only a whisper of fabric away.
Erza prepared for the worst when the curtains opened. She held her breath, but Jellal had already moved. He knelt at the end of the bed, having turned his back to the healer who commenced to inspect it.
"It was here," she said, drilling a finger into his spine and he nodded. Erza did not have the time to admire the old woman's talent – being able to spot a past injury that was already invisible and healed – she was too busy with trying to seem relaxed. Nonchalant. As if he had not just nearly doomed and then saved them. She in- and exhaled deeply under her breath, relieved about the sereneness of her expression when her guildmates peeked in, ignoring the drops of sweat that tumbled down her nape.
"So, was it a weapon or magic?" Lucy asked, frowning.
"Jellal already said it was a weapon," Gray retorted.
"No need to be so grumpy…" she mumbled.
"But Meredy said it wasn't one," Natsu joined in.
"She doesn't remember," Wendy corrected, exchanging a glance with the mage in question, who nodded.
"But if we already know that it was-"
"Everyone out!" Porlyusica hollered at the top of her lungs. The group winced, spilling through the doorframe as quickly as possible. Erza felt an evil stare burning into her, glancing up without moving her head. Reluctantly, she edged towards the exit as well, not even given the chance to exchange an apologetic gaze with her beloved.
"Erza!" Bisca waved her friend over. A smile eased the Requip Mages's features.
She had been in the Master's office with her guildmates, discussing their findings. There had not been much to be discovered. The house was empty and apart from the tiny bomb at the wall that had crushed Meredy and the spiked boulder, nothing had given them any hints.
Townspeople had noticed the commotion, but no one had seen the neglected building to be entered prior to those events. The mansion's owner had passed away, leaving it behind to no one and the town itself had not yet overtaken the task of reselling it.
Erza was frustrated with how slowly they progressed in their investigation. Rather, how they did not progress. She pushed the thoughts aside, gladly returning the greeting of her guildmate as she came to meet her halfway.
"How's everything going? We heard about that terrible incident," Bisca folded her arms over her chest, brows furrowed with concern.
"It's fine now; Wendy took care of any wounds," Erza reassured. She did not want to burden anyone else with their lack of knowledge about the attacks.
"That's good to hear." Bisca let her shoulders drop. "Actually, I've been meaning to ask you something, but I can understand if it's too early,"
"Another job?" Erza's eyes sparkled. Sure, it would not be her own job, but it had been such a miracle to see the last time, she had been waiting for another request. It would be perfectly suited – he had to stay home and not strain himself.
"Yeah, but only if he doesn't mind," Bisca said.
"Of course not," Erza confidently affirmed on his behalf.
"She talked about it all evening but then – you should have seen it," Bisca put a hand on her guildmate's crossed arms, grinning, "she fell asleep while still brushing her teeth," she laughed and Erza joined.
"I can report similar happenings," she added under her breath and they chuckled again.
"It's really on short notice, but would tonight be alright? We're having our anniversary and Alzack doesn't tell me, but I know he's got something planned," she grinned.
"It's no trouble,"
"Wonderful! I'll get her," she turned towards the back of the guildhall, "Asuka!" Bisca called, then smiled at Erza. "I don't know how long it will take yet," she shrugged apologetically.
"She can stay overnight," Erza offered, conjuring a wide, grateful smile onto her friend's face.
"Erza," Meredy piped up from behind when Asuka arrived. Her face brightened upon spotting the little girl.
"Ah, Meredy, what did she say?" Erza asked. Meredy shrugged.
"Nothing to us, really, but she wanted to check again tomorrow," she reported, receiving a nod. "Jellal went home already. I'm going on a mission with Juvia," she informed, her smile returning.
"That's great. Be careful and don't overdo it," Erza advised, shaking her head with amusement when the pink-haired mage saluted.
"Oh, babysitting?" She grinned when Bisca left with a goodbye to Erza, following her husband who suddenly seemed in a hurry.
"Not me," Erza raised her brows and Meredy gasped, a wide smile on her face. "You can sleep at our place again, if you like, Meredy," she went on, "we can meet here tonight; I only have a small job, too," she said, remembering her promise to Wendy after leaving the Master's office.
"Only if you don't mind,"
"Of course we don't," Erza assured. She gladly watched her beloved's guildmate leave with her friend, then proceeded to drop an excited Asuka off at the house before joining Wendy.
Erza returned to a nearly empty guildhall after accompanying Wendy to Fairy Hills. They had met Juvia there so she was not surprised when she spotted Meredy at the bar. She was chatting with Cana, Mirajane and her sister, the two siblings drying off mugs behind the counter.
"I can't quite imagine that," Meredy was saying, peering at the cards Cana held in front of her, only revealing the identical backs.
"Neither could we," Mira chuckled and Cana rolled her eyes.
"I'm still not sure whether it was a good idea to tell him; he's so… embarrassing," she nagged.
"Gildarts might be a little overprotective sometimes," Lisanna supplied.
"Tell me about it," Meredy said dryly, though with a hint of affection sealed behind the annoyance her tone voice with. She chose a card and Cana smirked viciously.
"I'm sure they only mean well," Mira said, watching with amusement how Cana read Meredy's fortune, triggering snickers from all sides.
"Erza!" Meredy grinned across the hall upon following Mira's eyes.
"And I thought we could drink all night!" Cana laughed when their guest got up to leave. They all laughed and the two women left, walking into the thick veil of the night.
Mild rain dappled onto the empty streets but they were not bothered. Meredy retold how her mission had gone, nearly raving, making Erza happy. And a little sad, too. Jellal had told her about his guildmate's declaration, making her decision to join Fairy Tail dependant on him. He had been very reluctant to say it, but Erza was glad that he had.
She unlocked the front door and both of them fell silent. The house was completely dark, even more than the streets, not a single sound to be heard. They exchanged a glance and Erza unequipped her boots to sneak into the kitchen while Meredy hurried for the bathroom.
Since there were no curtains in the kitchen, Erza found her way around without having to turn on the lights. Everything looked softly blueish and cold but the wooden floor was pleasant beneath her bare feet.
There were dishes stacked in the sink, all washed, and a note laid on the table. He must have built it during the day, she thought, running her fingers across the natural, finely furrowed surface. She bent over to read.
Dinner in the fridge
It read in his surprisingly pretty handwriting. Beneath, he had drawn a heart in the place of a signature.
Upon opening the fridge, Erza found a plate, stacked with pancakes, surrounded by lots of groceries – he had been shopping, too. She closed the door again when a hiss reached her ears from down the hall. Following Meredy's urgent yet quiet calls, they met in the doorframe to the bedroom. She was smiling widely.
Erza peeked her head around the ajar door, then pushed, carefully. Jellal was lying on his back, one hand beneath the pillow which threatened to fall of the side of the bed, while his other arm stretched across the mattress. He appeared to be fast asleep and so was the tiny ball that was Asuka, her back against his side, curled up beneath his arm. The entire room was a mess of blankets and pillows and papers.
Meredy and Erza exchanged a glance, both smiling with adoration. Meredy sneaked up the ladder to the attic while Erza got ready for bed as noiselessly as possible. She contemplated what to do for almost a minute, frowning at his sprawled form and the lack of room they had left for her.
In the end, she crawled up at the end of the bed, taking Asuka in her arms, properly placing her on a pillow and covering her in a blanket. Then she shuffled over her now reachable beloved, sighing deeply upon cuddling up and hugging his torso with an arm and a leg. He might have had plenty of brawn but he was still so huggable, it was an invitation she would never miss. Or an opportunity, was more like it.
He stirred, muttering something unintelligible. She was not sure whether he was truly awake, but closed her eyes with a smile when his arm automatically wrapped around her shoulders.
The sun was blinding, too hot for the arriving autumn. Erza fixed a strand of hair behind her ear, staring out into the ocean. It was calm and glistened in the sun. She had forgotten how she had come there after her meeting in the Master's office, nor did she remember the reason why.
Arms crept around her sides and she had to smile, leaning back against his chest. The waves licked at her feet. She asked how his mission had been and he replied shortly, though she could not exactly recall what. The waves had risen.
Suddenly, everything was plunged into darkness. She could not breathe. The water was crushing her with its weight, dragging her down. She saw nothing but her own, glowing pale skin, hands holding her throat, trying to grasp for air when her lungs hardly managed to allow any in, only expiring, expiring, expiring.
Erza jolted awake. The world was a different dark now, less suffocating, less deep. She tried to swallow but choked. She could still not breathe. Grasping the arms around her waist, she clawed into them, desperate to get him to stop squishing her, fearing he might do more to her spine than just pop a joint.
With a smothered inhale, she tried to calm down, taking shallow breaths to keep from losing consciousness. He was merciless when he had nightmares and she feared to be the cause once more. Gasping when her detaching attempts either hurt him or resulted in a tighter squeeze, Erza took her hands off his arms. She cupped his face in them, running one up behind his head. Placidly, she began to stroke.
He gave a shaking whimper in his sleep and she let her lids close halfway in sympathy.
"It's alright, love," she shushed in a feeble voice, tracing lines and circles on his back with the tips of her fingers. "I'm here. It's alright." She went on, whispering with as much softness as she could. Whatever it was that kept him from a peaceful night's rest had to be unspeakable – he had not yet woken up. He always woke up from the tiniest movements, sometimes seemingly just before, somehow feeling her to be waking.
She released a sigh of relief she just could not suppress when he started to relax, giving her room to breathe again. His face still twitched with discomfort and so she went on with caressing. And with talking.
She told him how much she appreciated him – his work around the house, his never-ending care, his loving gestures and constant affection. She told him about her day and then Meredy's. She drifted off into anecdotes of guildmembers, her clothing preferences, Natsu's eating habits and general, trivial gossip from the street. Every so often, she made sure to let him know that she was there and that they were safe.
"… showed me the box and it were the real jewels, the ones Hilda had been meaning to give me all those years ago," she quietly ranted when he gave a groan. His by now slackened muscles tensed once and she feared for him to keep suffocating her when she felt his eyelashes tickle her chin. Glancing down, Erza had to edge away the slightest bit to meet his eyes.
"Erza…?" Jellal croaked, his features sunken with restlessness. She frowned pitifully, scooting down to be at his height. Gently, she placed a kiss on his lips, then met his confused and exhausted eyes again.
"I dreamed of cats with human skin and necklaces…" he admitted and she had to giggle.
"That's my fault, I would assume," she said, explaining, leaving out how he had almost hurt her badly. "But since you've had a nightmare, it's my turn again," she ended with a sly smirk, trying to cheer him up.
"No," he grunted, then chuckled, much to her relief. She put her forehead to his, closing her eyes again.
"I'll try for it not to be my turn anytime soon," she promised, feeling a strong exhale through his nose on her cheeks. Something between amusement and relief of his own.
"Oh, you," he cawed quietly, touching the tip of her nose with his, "my love…" he breathed and she felt her heart swell, smiling uncontrollably. She sighed more than once, drifting off again until the early morning, holding him as close as he embraced her.
They did not wake up until the first rays of the sun warmed the bed with its beams, triggering their rather lively alarm clock. Asuka's hands pattered like paws as she felt for purchase, crawling onto Erza's flank who huffed as the girl slummed down into a sitting position on her hip. She grinned into their sleepy faces.
"Breakfast!"