Thank you so much for all of your reviews! I was practically showered in them and I couldn't be happier! No one missing their chance to request that Jerza kid, huh? :D to be honest, I was very hung up on that idea after that and I will definitely include it now. Thank you all so much for the ideas for names; I loved the ones having to do with stars, that's really perfect and meaningful. And the suggestion 'Simon' hit hard, I can't believe I've never thought of that... but one of you had the same idea as me, so stay tuned for that name which will be chosen...
Until then, enjoy!
Jellal returned in time for dinner after successfully having located his next investigation's target. He kept the bag of groceries he had brought on his way home in one arm while rummaging for Erza's lacrima in her nightstand drawer. He sent a quick text to Meredy, then put the magical device back, strolling into the kitchen.
"Hello, love," he greeted Erza, finding her at the table in the kitchen. She hummed in response when he kissed the top of her head. She was engrossed into a document she held up with one hand. The other was thoughtfully tapping a pen onto another sheet of paper, accidentally sprinkling her writing with tiny specks of ink.
Jellal set down his paper bag, unpacking. Now that they had used some ingredients for the chocolate pudding, he had to stock up. He wanted to make sure that he could always fulfil her every wish, the second she would utter one. That, and it had been fun to try cooking something new. He was starting to get the hang of it.
He fired up the stove beneath the filled kettle, pouring both a cup of tea when it boiled and after having stowed everything away. Then he washed the cherries he had bought, taking out another for pits.
"What's all that?" He asked, leaning over her to reach beyond the mess of papers that blocked nearly every centimetre of wood of the table from view. Erza sighed, then gave a grateful smile when he put the snack down for her.
"Just some paperwork from the guild," she explained, her voice strained, face soon mirroring it. "I help Mira with it whenever I can. She works too much,"
"So do you," he said, sliding into the other chair. "Is it complicated?" He asked, sipping his tea. There were mostly tables with names and job descriptions. Further columns listed rewards, complications and whether the quest had been successful. Jellal let his eyes scan the documents, then her messy writing, trying to figure out what it was she worked on.
"Not really, it just takes quite some time," she informed, "I need to pay attention to detail, and then there's Gildarts who takes on jobs on other continents, so I'll have to convert the currency…" her voice faded into a mutter to herself. She narrowed her eyes at what she was reading, then started scribbling again. He waited patiently until she was done with her notes to put another question.
"Did Mirajane teach you how to do that?" He asked, curiously peeking at the numbers she was calculating. Very high numbers, which impressed him. Also on behalf of her guildmate, apparently making a fortune with his month- and yearlong missions. Erza gave a small laugh.
"Right," she grinned, "we started doing that when we were only fifteen,"
"And?" He frowned at her smirk, seeming a tad sheepish.
"And she still hated my guts back then,"
"What?" He blinked at her in confusion. Erza only chuckled. She gave another sigh – a reminiscent one – then shrugged, putting down her current documents of interest.
"We weren't exactly the best of friends. More like rivals, always fighting, much like Gray and Natsu still do,"
"I can hardly imagine," he said, unbelievingly. When trying to picture it, however, it came a lot easier than he would have thought, two powerful and moody teenagers throwing each other dirty looks of jealousy. Back then, Erza would have probably been too proud to accept the help, anyway, especially when coming from the now calm and friendly Mirajane.
"Master taught me," she pulled him back to reality. Her voice was soft now, eyes shining with warmth as she took down another number. Burying a hand in her hair when refocusing on the calculations, Jellal had to smile. He could see why the bun she had put her hair up into was falling apart. He loved the tiny strands that strayed and stuck out on all sides, particularly the short ones above her nape, wanting the twist them around his finger, supressing the urge.
Erza gave a long exhale, shoulders slackening. She had been very happy about his return, then disappointed when he had left for a shower. The cherries cheered her on, though, and she needed the encouragement when she noticed more and more mistakes in her work. She had tried to hurry to spend time with him, ending in an unwanted chaos that would only lengthen her time alone at the table.
Irritation made her lips frown. She had to start over again. Unconsciously, a hand went up to where Jellal had placed a peck on her cheek before disappearing again. Tenderly, she brushed the tips of her fingers over the spot, mind wandering, stealing her focus. With a growl, she forced herself to keep going, scrapping the last of her writing. Her pen tapped the page pointedly.
Erza felt her shoulders sink when lips pressed a gentle kiss to her nape. The scent of a fresh shower reached her, clouding her and she had to smile, relaxing again.
Wordlessly, Jellal put a book onto the table, sitting down to read it. Keeping her company. Her smile widened and his eyes flashed up, warmly returning it. One of his hands crawled across the table, making her heart skip a merry beat when it stopped on hers. She opened her fingers, gladly inviting his to interlace with hers.
For a while, they both sat there in silence. Holding hands. Everything seemed to fly by instead of dragging on and blocking her path from free time. Her writing flowed in the pace he was turning the pages of his book.
"How do you do it?" Jellal broke their comfortable quiet after almost an hour. She tilted her head, meeting his eyes. "The currency conversion,"
"Oh," Erza pushed her lips out, shuffling with the notes and lists. "We have values of how much the other currency is worth," she began, sliding over a sheet of paper.
"Approximate fluctuations," Jellal nodded, skimming the numbers.
"Yeah, that," she affirmed, not entirely sure anymore. He had to smile. He must have noticed how she rolled her wrist or put down her pen every so often to stretch and curl her fingers. He was glancing at it again, then at her.
"Show me," he asked. Smiling, she handed the pen over, explaining with the Master's words – she remembered them as if he had taught her only yesterday. Jellal's handwriting was neat, swirled here and there and more pretty than she had ever seen even women to write. Or officials.
He understood quickly and when he kept the pen in his hand, already having practised with the numbers she had previously finished, she merely dictated the next ones to him. Obediently, and, she could not keep from noticing, rather happily, he wrote everything down she said. They continued where she had left off, finishing just before dusk.
Erza returned from having handed the paperwork in at guild when the sun was dipping down behind the horizon, bathing Magnolia in scarlet hues. Jellal gulped at her unbelieving expression when she entered just as he finished tying his boots. He was already wearing his coat, giving away that it was a mission he was headed for.
"You're leaving?" She asked, though she must have known by then. He nodded, straightening. "But you can't go now," she huffed, frowning with disappointment. It stung his heart to see it.
"Why not?" He asked, keen on only going after having put her in a good mood. Or better mood. It would otherwise haunt him all night, robbing his mind with guilt even after returning and reuniting.
"You can't just leave when we're about to go to bed," she argued. Her lower lip was shoving into a pout by now.
"But…" he blinked, slightly stupefied. Then he sighed, letting his eyes soften with sympathy. She had to know how much he would have preferred to stay, judging from her childish sulkiness instead of decisive reasoning. "I'm sorry, love, but I wouldn't have been here over night, anyway," he put his hands onto her arms.
"But then I'd already have known," Erza mumbled from between her by now prominently pouting lips, staring at her feet. "Now I have to go to bed all alone and you were just there," she complained quietly.
"We need to be there early in the morning," he explained. "We only leave now because I didn't want to stay away all day, too," he explained, gently rubbing her upper arms.
"That's so nice of you…" her pouty voice did not match her words but her expression all the more. She seemed more annoyed at the general situation than him.
"I'm sorry," Jellal repeated, tilting his head. She did not look up. Her toes curled, not finding any carpet to grab.
"At least tuck me in,"
"Now?" He frowned, finding it a little early for bed. Autumn was knocking at their doors and the sun vanished much sooner than during summer. "What about a bath or dinner?" He proposed, glad not to meet immediate rejection. She thought for another moment, then shook her head.
"I don't want any," she muttered. He sighed with a poorly hidden smile of adoration. They would just have to hurry on the way to their destination, he thought, knowing he could not leave while Erza was in her current mood.
He leaned down, finally catching her eyes.
"How about you get ready for bed and I make you something to snack?" He offered, relieved to see her nod. She trudged into the bathroom while he made his way to the kitchen. He resolutely avoided his guildmate's smirk.
"You're such a sweetheart, you know," Meredy beamed at him from where she leaned against a counter. Her cup was empty, washed and still in the sink. He ignored her mischievously sparkling eyes, opening the cupboards to find a package of semolina pudding he would be able to do relatively quickly. It would make both feel better if Erza got something sweet for dinner.
"If you must watch, you could at least keep the commentary to yourself." He said dryly. The stovetop clicked, flames shooting up when he turned on the gas.
"It's just a privilege to get to see that side of you, since you're so different in the guild,"
"You'd better keep your thoughts about it in check," he warned, "or Erik will get his share of them, too…" he grumbled under his breath.
"Because he hasn't already," Meredy teased. His stirring sped up.
"I happen to be very attentive as not to let my mind wander astray," he snapped. His eyes were glued to the pot, not meeting hers for even a second.
"Right, so he told me,"
"Told you what?" He winced. And prayed; prayed for his inward panic not to show.
"Oh, just the occasional drift to a certain someone…" Meredy grinned, audibly. She followed when he strolled into the bedroom in a fast pace, unable to shake her off. Buying himself some time to come up with a reply – and digest her revelation of his mishaps –, Jellal fluffed a few pillows. He arranged everything for Erza to sit comfortably, finding her a few of his books that were not about renovation. He found candles and placed them on the nightstand, lighting them. Then putting them out again – just to be sure.
He felt her triumphant smirk burn into his back.
"I can assure you that any and all of my thoughts were of strategic interest," Jellal plainly gave back. He went into the kitchen to arrange Erza's dinner in a bowl, feeling an involuntary blush creep up into his cheeks when Meredy followed. He could practically hear the cheeky smirk on his guildmate's face as she followed.
"Then Erik's definition of 'strategy' and yours differ greatly…"
"That's far enough," Jellal gave a pressed breath. He straightened more, lifting his arm off his guildmate's shoulder. She frowned at him from the side with puzzlement. Then bewilderment, followed by irritation.
"What? Don't be silly, you're hurt," she argued, but he stepped back as well as he could to get her to let go of him.
"It's fine," he said as nonchalantly as possible. He tested his by now swollen ankle on reliance. Pain shot up his leg when he set it down but he could stand it – at least pretend and focus hard on not flinching. They only just came back that afternoon and after the heart-breaking longing of his beloved the previous evening, he could well imagine a day spent entirely in bed. She did not have to find out and worry.
"Wendy can heal you; you don't have to hide it. It'll just take one second," Meredy kept going, sticking to him to his dismay. They were only two houses away from his and he was almost positive that she would not hold her tongue. Rather barge in, letting the cat out of the bag before greeting.
"I don't want to bother her all the time,"
"But you still want to go on missions and make money and impress Erza, right?" He nearly pouted, arranging his face again, hiding the pain that zapped through his body when he walked. She did not have to say it like that. The amount of truth was embarrassing. "Then let yourself be healed," Meredy was starting to be exasperated.
"It's nothing," he shrugged.
"Right. That's why I practically carried you all the way here," she elbowed his side and he tensed as not to fall over or put too much weight on his twisted ankle. He did not dare scowl at her, watching the pavement instead. Their house was the next one and he tried to focus on the still empty flower pot in front of the kitchen window.
"You're exaggerating,"
"Says the one not accepting help for something he could easily get it for and most definitely needs!" Meredy hissed, pushing her lips out in annoyance.
"It's fine, Meredy," he hushed in sharper tones, fishing for the key in his pocket. She had already told him that she was visiting Juvia, probably implying to be staying there over night. He would not have minded should she not, knowing that Erza shared his sentiment.
And of course, Meredy was only watching out for him. He sighed to himself, realising that she was not only caring for his wellbeing, but that her direct approach would protect him from the Fairy Queen's wrath, should she find out without him having told her.
The key clicked and he opened the door.
"Men..." Meredy groaned, rolling her eyes. He closed his own for a moment, untying his boots. She was shaking her head, then turning to leave. He snatched her wrist, halting her in her tracks.
"Wait," Jellal let go, standing, then pulled the key out of the lock. "Here," he held it up between them, "in case you need a hideout or a bed for the night or even just a bathroom," he let his still tormented features ease into a smile. She blinked at him, unbelievingly. Stupidly.
"You can't be serious." Her face was deadpan. He exhaled through his nose in silent amusement. Of course, she would take it as a joke. Then again, she was not one to crack a lot of them, hence the utter confusion in her eyes.
"I thought maybe if you didn't want to feel guilty by troubling someone as a guest, you can stay with family instead," he smiled again. Then wider when he saw the glistening of her eyes, water standing behind them. Shaking her head, Meredy chuckled, giving her eyes a quick wipe with her sleeve.
"You're such a softy," she blinked the tears away, "she brings that out in you," her lips curved into a warm smile.
"Don't make me take it back," he raised a brow and she grinned, accepting.
He watched her for a moment longer as she walked down the street. Closing the door, he leaned against it, then unlatched his cape.
"That was beautiful," Erza's voice startled him, lowly from below his hear. He smiled again, shoulders sinking when her hands brushed over them, taking his cape. He gave a vague hum at her proud expression, pretending to be busy with his coat while she hung up the cape.
"I mean it. You can be so good with words, if only you'd…"
"Try?" He supplied, too focused on appearing to be standing comfortably to remember his embarrassment at being caught.
"Talk." Erza grinned. She squeaked when he poked a finger into her ribs, slapping it off.
"But then I'd have to... talk," he lamented overdramatically while she took his coat to hang it.
"Oh no!" Her eyes sparked with amusement. She smiled, allowing it to ease, obviously more than happy about his return.
"So how was your day?" He asked but she only tilted her head, a slight frown crowning her forehead.
"Are you okay?" Erza asked. He nodded quickly – perhaps too quickly – trying hard to keep her attention on his face and from eyeing him up and down. "You look tense,"
"It's been a long night," Jellal said, earning himself a sigh.
"To bed then," Erza gently ordered, then placed a hand on his chest, "on your back; I'll be there in a minute," she smirked one-sidedly at him, gazing up without lifting her head. He followed her with his eyes as she went into the bathroom, then used his chance to hobble as fast as he possibly could, reaching the bed before she would be able to notice his injury.
The ankle was just swollen and a little twisted, nothing to be truly concerned about, he told himself. Still, he laid down, hiding his feet beneath the covers he conveniently draped over them. The tiredness reached him when his body sank into the mattress and he sighed deeply. He could well imagine a day in bed. Probably even sleeping.
"Take off your shirt," Erza announced her arrival. Jellal sat up, doing as he was told, confused. She loved nothing more than to take it off herself, having made it an essential part of their routine when things got too steamy. She was not giving any of those signals, however. Calmly, she knelt down on the other side of the bed, watching him undress, still in her casual blouse and skirt.
"Did I say back? I meant stomach," she shook her head to herself and he frowned even more, complying. Keeping his feet undercover. He winced when a botte snapped open and the next moment, something cold touched his back.
"What-"
"Relax," Erza said, not for the last time. She spread what he identified as body lotion, hands warming with their movements alongside his own skin. Jellal stiffened unconsciously and she kept reminding him not to, even if it only held for a moment or two.
Surprisingly, his shoulders eventually relaxed when she forcefully drove her elbow into his back. Most bones located there or in the area around popped. Jellal gave an involuntary groan of pleasure.
"There," Erza whispered, more to herself, planting her fist right back at that spot she had discovered. "You sound," she knelt upright to lean down with her entire weight, "as if you've never been massaged before," she noted. Her knuckles were drawing fierce circles where his back was most adamant.
"That's because I haven't…" he pressed, his breathing hindered with her working to push his spine into his lungs. He did not mind. In fact, he could not imagine any other place and time he would rather be. It hurt like hell but it felt like heaven the second she lifted off the tiniest bit.
"So I gather," Erza huffed. She growled at the knots down his vertebrae, shoving them around with the heel of her hand. She shifted to sit on his lower back, adjusting her hand, inexhaustibly running it up and down and sideways. He could not help the groans of pleasant ache when his entangled and strained muscles undid themselves under Titania's touch.
"Tell me when it hurts," she said, far too late, already having worked through his brick wall of a back. She seemed to feel that, though, her strokes becoming gentler but firm enough for him to enjoy them at their fullest.
"I think I'd rather…" Jellal sucked in a breath when she hit one of those many spots again, "that you never stopped…" he sighed and she laughed.
"You can ask me anytime," Erza leaned down to speak above his ear, turning her head to place a kiss on his temple – the temple she had unintentionally cut, that night of bolting awake from the horrors of losing him.
"Mmh," Jellal squeezed his eyes closed when she masterfully loosened the firmness of his stiff neck with her thumbs, "but then I'd have to talk," he picked the joke back up.
"To human beings," she added and he played a whine.
"You don't have another job today, right?" Erza asked and he feared those light, caressing strokes along his shoulder blades to herald the end of his bliss. He shook his head, mind entirely too clouded with the feeling of her hands on his newly limbered back. "Then let's go for a walk," she shattered his dream with a cheery smile.
Haha, undercover, you know, 'cause they're under the covers? Okay sorry, bye.