Thank you guys so much for your reviews! I really appreciate that you all took the time to let me know about my question and writing style (and the action inclusion in general). Answered more questions that I don't need to ask anymore now :D Thanks!

I also heard some Asuka preferences and more of the guild; do you have any characters you want an appearance of in particular? I hope I'm doing the others and also other ships justice.

Anyway now to you, Roll of a Sushi: thank you so so much for the loong review! I was so excited when it just went on and then had another paragraph, it made me so happy! Thank you so much for that! I love how you combine answering as well as reviewing, naming moments from the chapter while also saying some wishes for the future. You're a real angel, thank you so much!

Without further ado, have a treat ;)

Meredy unlocked the door without opening it. It had been over a week since she had been there and she had already used her very own key once but she was still cautious. She harked, waiting in front of it, then slowly made her way inside.

"Meredy," Jellal spooked her, coming from the bedroom. He was wearing a towel but his hair was dry. "Do you need to use the bathroom?" He asked she and gave an amused frown of puzzlement.

"It's good to see you, too," she teased and he sheepishly scratched the back of his neck, returning the greeting. "But no, I don't," she said.

"And not in an hour," he asked, "or maybe two?" Her forehead wrinkled with another frown.

"No…?" She said, opening her mouth for a question when they were interrupted.

"Jellal?" Erza's voice echoed from the bathroom.

"Coming," he raised his voice, trying to keep a cool face when his guildmate's turned into a sly smirk. "Make yourself at home," he offered shortly, heading for the bathroom and disappearing in a cloud of sweetly scented steam.

Meredy chuckled to herself. She removed her boots and sauntered into the kitchen. The sun was dipping down behind the horizon, the last beams strong enough to warm the wooden floor where she stood in front of the window. They had planted flowers in the window box outside. Their open buds rustled in the wind and it would soon be too cold for them to keep blooming but they were nice to look at.

She drank a glass of water, then dared to take a peek into the fridge. There was lots of stuff and she felt her mouth water at pretty much all of it. She even spotted leftovers, ready to be eaten. Pushing her lips together, she snuck out of the kitchen and towards the bathroom. The couple was talking but their words echoed from the tiles, making it hard to understand anything. Perhaps that was why Erza had not noticed her coming before.

She knocked, carefully at first, then louder.

"Come in,"

"No, don't!" Jellal exclaimed, triggering a smile across his guildmate's face.

"Why not? I'll shield you," Erza nobly argued and he protested but she did not see his reasoning.

"I just wanted to ask if I can take something to eat," Meredy said, having opened the door to be ajar in order to hear, remaining behind it.

"Of course," Erza immediately replied, "anything you like,"

"Anything but the strawberry cake if you value your life," Jellal added and the redhead against his chest gasped.

"We have cake?"

"For breakfast, since we have to leave early," he explained, probably returning the gaze of enthusiastically sparkling eyes.

"You're going out tomorrow?" Erza asked and Meredy closed the door with a quiet 'thank you', but the two were already discussing Crime Sorcière's mission of the coming day. It was incredibly sweet and so very Jellal to have something prepared for her to have during his absence. He was as if born for this relationship – Meredy could not imagine anyone else capable of handling Titania quite as well.

Ultimately, she decided against taking the leftovers, making herself a sandwich. And then another one, fancier, with salad and tuna. And then another one, grilling it with cheese and fresh slices of tomatoes. She had always appreciated proper meals when going to an inn or being in a town where they had sent her as the least suspicious of the group to get them food.

This was so much better.

She was not very inventive, but preparing food herself was a lot of fun. And rewarding.

Meredy ate her dinner with a sigh of bliss, boiling herself a cup of tea and then spotting the ingredients for a milky hot chocolate, making one as well. She was just finished with washing everything up when the bathroom door flew open, banging against the wall. She winced, nearly rushing down the hall but stopped in her tracks when Erza laughed.

And screamed.

"It was a joke- ah!" She squeaked, her feet rumbling as she ran, his steps following immediately. "No, don't, Jellal," she gasped, laughing, fleeing. The bed creaked and she was yelling threats in between panting, finally drowned out by her own uncontrollable laughter.

Meredy had to smile to herself. She heard his voice nag something and hers to be wheezing something beseeching, failing miserably by the continuous laughter that cut her voice off. There was a squeak and then a thump, silence falling for a moment.

Meredy caught herself to be listening closely, already behind the corner, standing on the tips of her toes.

"Are you okay, deareast?" Erza caught her breath, amusement and slight concern ringing in her tone. The bed creaked as she leaned over the end of it, glimpsing at him where she had accidentally kicked him off in her struggle.

Meredy jumped at the sudden yelp, easing when Erza started to scramble and bargain again, complaining and laughing fitfully. A pillow flew out the door, another hitting the wall and another the doorframe. Meredy finally decided to pass their room on her way to the bathroom, throwing a glance from the corner of her eye – also in order not to be bombarded.

Jellal had a smug expression of triumph on his face, returning the deadly scowl he received with amusement. Erza glared, being cocooned into one of their countless blankets, only her head and feet poking out. Defeated by a duvet. He chuckled at her sourly frowning lips, then threw the bundle over his shoulder, enticing more protests.

They had obviously forgotten her to be there.

"Oh, Meredy," Jellal then noticed his guildmate, and Erza wiggled with even more remonstrating. He opened his mouth to say something else, one finger absently running up his love's foot and she shrieked. The blanket burst into bits and he fell to the ground, Erza tumbling right onto him. Meredy winced, but Jellal only turned his head, sneezing as not to do so into Erza's face.

"There's a spare toothbrush behind the mirror if you need one," he mentioned as if nothing had happened. Feathers and downs floated through the room like a blizzard. "The green one," he said it so nonchalantly, Meredy felt herself stare even more at him than at the overall scene.

Erza used her chance as he seemed distracted, but he snatched her wrist when she tried to crawl away. She jumped, seeming caught, an uneasy pout on her face, mere centimetres away from his teasingly triumphant smirk. He did have a light blush now but Meredy was not sure whether it was from the bath or from being caught with goofing around. Some of both, she assumed.

"Thanks," she said, truly grateful at how considerate they were. She went to get ready, using the toothbrush, faintly hearing their voices and the hinges of the ladder to the attic being unfolded.

She returned to the bedroom when everything was dark – in- and outside the house. The door was left ajar and she tried to be as quiet as possible, even if the two were still talking.

"… quite sure I've never heard of anyone using coconuts for that,"

"But technically it would be possible," Erza argued from beneath the sheets. They were only silhouettes but in the weak light of the moon, Meredy could see them facing each other, his arm beneath his head.

"I've put a set of clothes on your bed," Erza said, and it took a moment until Meredy felt addressed. "Since you didn't bring any luggage, I thought you'd want to sleep in something clean," she said, a smile ringing in her tone. She did not seem tired in the least, rather exhilarated than exhausted after their playfight. It was already foreseeable that he would stay awake for her, going on tomorrow's mission with heavy lids.

It was very forgivable, Meredy thought, finding the reason more than understandable – adorable even.

She thanked them, wishing a good night, then creaked up the ladder to the attic. Quiet chattering reached her until an hour later and continued for a while when she had already drifted off into a deep, dreamful sleep.

Jellal awoke like he imagined teddy bears would. Somewhat cramped between lying on his back and side, his body tightly strapped into arms and legs of the person he loved most in the world.

Smiling, he watched Erza sleep. Deeply. He had never known her to be an early bird, wondering just how much discipline she forced onto herself every morning when having gone to the guild regularly, probably being the first to arrive of her team. Or how she would gather everyone on a mission after a night's rest, taking the lead.

Not that she was not currently in control of the situation – he could hardly move. It was the most wonderful captivity there was – trapped in her arms with no other choice but to hold her back and watch her sleep peacefully.

He sighed deeply when remembering his mission. And Meredy's presence. He wondered whether she was already up, glancing upwards in thought, blinking twice when he finally noticed her head to be poking out the hatch. A grin stretched across her face when their eyes met. He forbade his own blush, unsuccessfully.

"Take your time," she said, entirely too cheerful for that early in the morning. He dared to peek at the curtain, realising that it was probably not all that early.

"You can pack some provisions," he said, mainly to get rid of her for when he would try to sneak away from Erza – and whisper his farewells. It would, however, be a rather long trip and food was a good idea in any case.

With a quick wiggling of her brows, Meredy complied. She descended from the attic, already fully dressed and ready to go, only putting one visit to the bathroom between her and packing for their journey, aka, waiting for him. He listened for a second longer after her steps had gone down the hall, then tried moving.

A terribly insolent idea.

Erza clutched his shirt and Jellal immediately resorted to his newly discovered trick – taking it off. It was harder than the first time, though. Her leg tangled with his, fiercely clinging to him and she gave a small groan, if not a growl when he tried to detach her limbs.

He had to use pillows to stuff them into her arms and where his legs had been, putting more pillows and blankets at her disposal since she was hugging them so firmly, they lost their volume instantly.

"I'll be back, my love," he whispered above her ear, having to smile warmly when she gave a hum in her sleep, tightening her arms. He had already told her about the mission and its presumed duration; she did not have to worry. Only he could not shake his concern about her going on quests on her own. He would just have to take her word for it.

"I can go alone, you know," Meredy leaned against the doorframe, a smug yet adoring smile on her face. His own fell. Hiding his embarrassment in the new shirt he put on, Jellal shooed her from the bedroom.

"I don't want you to go on important ones by yourself just yet," he said on their way out and she huffed. "I mean it. We should be careful, just for a while longer,"

"Fine," she rolled her eyes with amusement.

"That, and I don't have a single Jewel left."

Jellal's feet were dragging, his mud-soaked boots dried but still heavy. Seemingly heavier than before. He was exhausted from the long way back. The mission had not been too hard and accounted for a handsome reward but travelling back and forth was taking its toll on him. Perhaps if he had taken a break instead of pushing on for about sixteen hours, he thought, he would have been able to properly lift his feet.

Then he scratched the last thing, Erza coming to his mind. Or back to the front, that was – she was never really gone; she was nearly all he thought about.

He could not wait to see her. When he opened the door to the house – his legs appearing to sink into his feet at the shortly given opportunity to halt – it was empty. He called her name, but there was no reply. It was not very late, only just evening, so he banned all worries.

He washed up in the bathroom and then simply collapsed onto the bed. Every muscle in his body sighed. Closing his eyes, Jellal did not notice to drift off, finding a good hour to have passed when realising. He allowed another ten minutes, then trudged into the kitchen where he ate dinner.

She was not yet late, so he tried to find something to do in order to stay awake. He wanted to welcome her home.

Finding a pile of his clothes in the bathroom corner, Jellal decided to finally get something done. He spent a fair amount of his earned money on a washing machine, remembering too late that she had taken her suitcase cart with her on her job. His already tired arms almost fell off when he eventually reached the front door. They felt as long as to be able to reach his knees when standing upright.

He shoved the huge box across the threshold and into the bathroom when his arms went on strike, quivering with pretty much any weight in them.

Jellal felt his eyelids grow heavier and heavier. He loosely put the tube where the water would come from into the wall, then plugged the machine in, turning it on and off to test it. He gave the laundry drum a scrutinising spin before resigning to his exhaustion and going to bed.

Merely dropping his clothes on the floor, he collapsed into the mattress, the thought of wanting to wait up drowning in the deafening need for sleep.

It felt like minutes and not hours later when Jellal's senses jolted into the present. He frowned, his dreams growing hazy, trying to incorporate the sound of the front door's lock. Then, said door closed and he awoke completely. He did not wait for further noises, getting up under the hefty protest of his every muscle. His head throbbed at him but when he heard a light thump of a hand against the wall, he ignored himself.

He flicked on the light in the hall. Erza winced, squinting, then frowning at him as she got used to the sudden brightness. Her features eased while his daunted. With wide eyes, he stared at her slightly lifted leg. Half of the wound was hidden behind the veil of her skirt, but from what he could see, there was some sort of hole in the side of her thigh. As if ripped out, raw flesh welling with deep, vermillion red. It was starting to dry but had run down her leg, over and into her boot.

Her knees were touching, quivering, having drawn his attention to what she tried to play down with an easing smile he did not buy. She could hardly stand.