I can't believe you guys, I just love reading your reviews so much! Usually, when characters fight, it's all like 'Oh, no, don't fight! Please get along yada yada' and I mean of course, I wish for that, too, but... you guys... you're just so adorable and mature going all 'good job, standing up for yourself, you go Jelly, tell her' xDxDxD I'm enjoying myself a lot over here, thank you so much!
Akira-Hayama: thank you so much for such a long review! So kind of you to take all that time to write it! Also, hell yeah Meredy will. SHe ships them.
At guest who appreciated the shop assistant/ keeper: thank you so much! I really appreciate your review! It was a lot of fun to write that; I was trying to go for the anime vibe when characters just scoot in and out of rooms without moving their feet :D
Somnolent Sushi Roll: Man, I love your reviews. Six paragraphs (insert drooling smiley)... thaaank youuu! I know how it feels, having to fangirl in public but you saying that really makes me so happy, what a compliment! Thanks!^^ Unsociable lifestyle xD I sympathise with that but you put it so perfectly. Don't apologise for long rants, I looove long rants!
Felly16: you're exactly who I'm talking about with the mature analytics of a healthy relationship xD how you just all jump on that train... super cute. And you're not wrong, just wait and see, he will appear...
Isanien: also the character development type, I love it :D and thank you for leaving me a review, I appreciate it a lot!
I haven't forgotten about any other guest reviews, I'm always so happy to receive all of your reviews!
I apologise in advance but I don't yet know how regularly/frequently I will be able to update this coming week but I'll try! For now, hope you enjoy!
"And then- hya!" Romeo exclaimed, a thud following shortly after. Then the extinguishing flicker of a flame. "Like Natsu does – gives it an extra kick," he said with a grin in his voice.
"So it's either lashing them out or using them as supplementary drive," Erza harked upon hearing Jellal's voice. She exchanged a glance with Mirajane who smiled sweetly. The She-Devil had caught her when trying to find Jellal after almost an hour of tormenting herself with guilt about their fight.
Now in the forest to the side of the Fairy Tail guild hall, they snuck closer to the voices on silent feet. Mira was just as curious, it seemed.
"Have you ever thought of combining them?" Jellal was asking. Romeo gave a thoughtful hum.
"I can't even picture that," he confessed. Erza caught sight of him, then of Jellal, standing amongst the trees.
Jellal held out his hand for Romeo to step back. He narrowed his eyes at the scarecrow training dummy in front of him. He tensed, a quick succession of kicks following, spinning him around without moving much from the spot. His feet landed where they had started, lightly, as if he had merely hopped up and down for a second.
The dummy was singed, small golden flames licking at the coarse cloth that imitated a human torso.
Romeo's eyes shone brightly.
"That was amazing! You didn't even touch the thing!"
"I didn't," Jellal began to explain, "I use the magic to attack and my body to guide it," he extended his arm. Golden fire lit up on top of his palm. He stretched his hand and fingers to form one union, as if he was about to chop something in half. He lashed at the dummy again, without much effort, the flame expanding his reach and harming the already smoking fabric again. It sliced one precise line.
"Coooool!" Romeo cheered. He was bouncing on the spot, balling his fists, ready to try. Jellal noticed, stepping aside and gesturing for him to go ahead. Romeo widened his stance, then attempted to kick while turning, throwing his leg up in the air for the other to follow immediately. Being too fast, he slipped and fell.
He huffed when hitting the ground. Jellal helped him up.
"Don't copy me, do what you always do and add the guidance to your fire," he advised, "one thing at a time," he nodded, then went over to a tree stump. Erza only now noticed Asuka to be sitting there, her legs dangling merrily. They accelerated their pace when he neared and she automatically held her arms up.
Erza melted against the tree she was hiding behind when he picked Asuka up so naturally, sitting down himself and placing her back on his lap. Erza wanted to squeal at the sight. She felt Mira's hand on hers, exchanging a glance, only then noticing to be wiggling slightly. She stopped, refraining from clearing her throat in an awkward manner.
Romeo had already lunged at the dummy several times. He punched and hit it, either randomly shooting at it or coming close enough to actually meet it with his fist.
"Try not to move too much," Jellal said from the side, "find a good position that's far enough for only your magic to reach your target," he instructed. Asuka pointed her tiny gun at the closest rock, closing one eye and sticking out her tongue while a magic circle appeared around the barrel. "Imagine the line you want to create in your head," Jellal went on, gently adjusting the gun downwards without looking at it. She shot and his mild calibration aided in flinging the exact stone into the air with her rubber bullet.
"Okay," Romeo puffed ambitiously, collecting himself.
Erza leaned against her previous hiding spot, watching with an adoring glow on her cheeks. Romeo gave it his all, nodding seriously at the curt corrections he received, working his way through the training session without complaint. He was not giddy anymore but adapted Jellal's professional way, even if it was lacking praise, which Erza would have offered. Still, it was all so much more than she could have hoped for.
Mira tapped her shoulder at some point, pulling her out of her trance. Erza followed her guildmate's gaze, spotting the hulk of a man as he came up from behind where her beloved was sitting.
"We're under attack!" Asuka yelled, having noticed, too. She threw herself backwards into Jellal who leaned back for her to fire behind them. "Pow, pow!" She exclaimed, not pulling the trigger. Laxus raised a single brow, meeting hers, then Jellal's eyes. Jellal soberly stared back, still upside down.
"You the new babysitter?" Laxus asked, his voice as plain as Jellal's, who heaved himself up with Asuka still on his lap.
"Do you see any babies around here?" He asked sarcastically, then his eyes gained a small spark. "I'm a prisoner, obviously," he informed, just as neutral as before.
"I caught him!" Asuka said and Jellal nodded matter-of-factly. Laxus expression twisted into something between puzzlement and patronising amusement.
"Look, Laxus," Romeo interrupted, "I'm learning," he punched, his flames almost reaching the dummy this time, "how… to," he threw more hits, "fire," he kicked the straw, "with," he struck again, "precision!" He dealt another blow, turning to grin up at the S-Class Mage. Laxus crossed his brawny arms.
"Don't make contact with your body," Jellal rectified before the Lightning Dragon Slayer could give his comment. Romeo scooted backwards, throwing a sheepish glance at his current teacher. Then he planted his feet back into the ground, his expression darkening with concentration. He really was adapting the sobriety of Jellal. The latter nodded at the next few attempts, not uttering any praises however.
Laxus seemed to take liking in that stoic, earnest attitude.
"Your father is looking for ya," he said, leaning back against a tree next to the stump.
"You can tell him," Romeo huffed with another punch, gritting his teeth for the next one, "I'm busy," he started to lose his cool when not reaching far enough again. He caught himself, though, throwing a side glance at the patient eyes of Jellal on him, exhaling sharply to return to his original stance.
Laxus snorted, a lopsided grin on his face. He did not take orders. He did seem impressed with the boy's perseverance, however, watching him and his teacher with interest.
"Always convenient to learn the ploys of a wanted criminal," he commented and Erza would have thrown herself at him had Mira not clung to her arm. Jellal's eyes flashed to the side where Laxus stood, as narrowed as before, his expression unchanging. Then he resumed to survey Romeo's struggle.
Asuka was meanwhile lying on her stomach across his knees, fishing for his coat on the ground.
"Just don't go using them against your friends," the Lightning Dragon Slayer shrugged, stressing the last word, almost mockingly. "But you don't do that anymore, do ya?" He peered down onto said former criminal with a provoking sneer. "Going all out on allies," he emphasised, grinning when getting Jellal to speak.
"Precision is utile in any case," he calmly responded. Laxus rolled his eyes, giving a sharp exhale when Jellal did not turn to see.
"You don't have to tell me," he lifted his chin, "Lightning is about as precise as you can get,"
"Lightning seeks the shortest way into the ground," Jellal retorted, "light is by far more accurate," he glanced at Laxus from the corner of his eye. One of his hands was holding Asuka's shirt for her not to tumble down, pulling to get her back up. She started examining his discovered coat, ruffling the fuzz at the collar with a giggle.
"You wanna go, pretty boy?" Laxus stiffened in his position, not giving up the unfazed attitude. Jellal held his challenging gaze, then turned it back to Romeo, who was panting and sweating, wincing when being caught with watching them instead of training.
Jellal sighed under his breath.
"It was brought to my attention that I have had my fair share of combats already," he said with a straight face. He kept it while Asuka started to shove his sleeves up his arms, putting the coat on backwards. Laxus laughed gloatingly at the reply.
"And there Titania goes again, bossing people around," he groaned tauntingly. Erza nearly burst from their hiding spot, jerking against the strong hold of her friend.
"She never really stopped," Jellal said. Erza halted in her winding. She stared at him from across the clearing, muscles relaxing. He was smiling now, a small but genuine smile, just to himself. Her gaze softened when seeing his, his green eyes distant with not-so-secret adoration.
"Ha, you can say that again," Laxus made a face but to Erza's surprise, it softened. He watched with honest amusement how Asuka pulled the collar up to Jellal's neck, smacking it into his face. He wiggled his nose as not to sneeze.
"Romeo," Laxus said without turning away from the scene below, "you father said he wanted to eat now,"
"I'm training," Romeo said with a clenched jaw, glaring at the dummy that was falling apart, his punches more controlled though still not whipping his magic far enough.
"Romeo," Laxus said again, his tone darker. The boy stopped, pouting over his shoulder. With sinking shoulders, he grumbled something unintelligible, stomping out the bits of fire on the ground.
"I hope Mira cooked it and not dad," Romeo muttered as he walked over to them.
"Could prove difficult with her standing over there," Laxus responded, jerking his chin in the girls' direction. Erza narrowed her eyes, trying to guess whether he had only just noticed, or seen them before – whether he had provoked Jellal to provoke her or whether he was only now realising to have insulted her in her presence. His features revealed nothing, though his eyes sparked humorously, as if trying to overplay the previous harshness, avoiding remorse.
Jellal – his face covered with his collar – did not seem shocked in the slightest, though Erza guessed him, too, not to have noticed them. He was simply not too bothered by Mirajane. Or finding it rather practical that something covered up his face.
Mira gave a sweet and much saying, suggestive glance to Erza, stepping out onto the clearing. She picked Asuka up, informing Jellal to be taking her back to the guild now. He only gave a hum in understanding. Erza followed her guildmate, returning Laxus' teasingly lifting brow with poise and a faint blush she inwardly cursed at.
"Ah," Asuka nearly dropped something in her hands. Laxus caught it, holding it up between his and Mira's face. It dangled there and Asuka reached for it. "It's from the coat," she said, taking it back to hold it out to Jellal.
Before he could react at all, she had accidentally let it drop onto his lap. With a frown, he brought up a hand to uncover his face but she protested.
"No! You're still a prisoner!" Asuka yelled and he actually stopped. With a sigh through his nose, Jellal simply felt for the object Erza found looked very alike the compass he had given her. She could not help making a mental note to check her armour later where it should be attached to the belt.
"For how long?" Jellal asked obediently. It was Mira's turn to silently melt at him playing along and Erza proudly puffed out her chest.
"Hmm… five minutes!" Asuka decided and he uttered his consent. Laxus laughed again, then gave Romeo's back a somewhat forceful pat, hustling him along as the four left with glee on their faces.
Erza smiled to herself, denying the blush their grins had triggered. She almost snickered at Jellal's hearty sigh. He really just sat there, unable to see a thing, like the charming dork he was.
She neared him with caution but he heard her anyway. He was alert but not concerned, waiting, probably for a sneak attack from Asuka. Erza felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth. She threw one reassuring glance down the path where her guildmates had vanished. When spotting no one, she leaned down to whisper above his ear. Jellal froze.
"So, what do you think I can do in five minutes…?" She asked lowly and he nearly jumped off the stump. Smirking widely, Erza lowered herself down to straddle his lap. She trailed her fingertips from his stomach upwards, gliding them over his shoulders, finally taking the collar and folding it down. He was more than surprised, staring at her with uneasy eyes.
"Relax, we're alone," she hummed, diving back in to place a kiss below his ear. She could feel his abdomen retract, his entire torso tense. She kissed a little lower and he swallowed, finally daring to speak up.
"You're… not mad?"
"I was never mad at you," she purred, lazily dragging her lips down to his jugular.
"Not never," he quietly pointed out.
"Well, I wasn't this time," she agreed, grinning against his drastically heating skin. "I thought you were," she said, suckling where she knew one of his soft spots to be, enticing a very reluctant moan.
"At myself," Jellal all but sighed, his blush deepening at his own wobbling voice. Erza softened her actions, lifting her head to look at him.
"You need to stop that," she offered a smile. He shily returned it.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, eluding her lecture.
"I happened to stumble on you training Romeo," she admitted and he glanced away. "He seemed to really enjoy it," she went on, raising his chin with her fingers to have him meet her eyes. She cupped his cheek, tenderly kissing his lips. Only then did he start to relax.
"I hate to let people down," was all he managed. She kissed him again, then released him, standing up. Tilting her head in question, Erza waited in vain for him to take her hand.
"Don't tell me-"
"Five minutes aren't over," Jellal said, shrugging. She gave him a look but he only repeated how he did not want to disappoint anyone. "You shouldn't be here, though," he said.
"I'm fine, Jellal," she knew immediately what he was getting at. Overprotective as he was, she had not left the house for days without him by her side, her legs having yearned for the walk to the forest.
"You threw up just this afternoon,"
"I'm fine now," she persisted. She let her features soften then, extending her hand again. "Home?" She asked, forgetting about her dinner plans when his cheesy casserole returned to her mind, proposing it to which he laughed. He gently returned the enthusiastic smile she offered, letting himself be pulled up. Her eyes flew to where his hand caught the small metal thing from his lap, fretting as to why she had not taken her chance to give it a closer inspection. It disappeared in his front pocket.
"I wouldn't have thought you'd actually still be here," Laxus startled them. He was leaning with his back against a tree again, arms crossed as usual. Erza narrowed her eyes when he pushed off, supporting himself with his lower arm against the bark at the height of his head. "You're even more of a slave than I guessed, Fernandes," he grinned broadly.
"Is there something you need, Laxus?" Erza stepped in front of Jellal, who seemed more than ever to want his collar back in his face. She assumed due to not knowing how long the Lightning Dragon Slayer had actually been there already, but she was sure the words hit home in any case. Especially the one connecting to their childhood.
"Master's looking for you," he said to Erza, the glee flowing from his face as the standard boredom returned. Erza thought for a moment while her beloved slipped out of his sleeves to put his coat on properly.
Without having to brood for long, she grabbed Jellal's wrist, pulling him along.
"Thank you," she said flatly as they passed Laxus. He gave a snort, watching, then only a few steps behind as they made their way to the guild. She could not leave them alone, she knew. There was no way that with all of her hard work and always biting her tongue when it came to delicate topics, she would let Laxus stomp over Jellal's already withering self-esteem with a few taunting remarks. Of course, he would have to stand being out of his comfort zone, but she preferred to be the one to control what was being addressed and at which pace. Meredy was a by far the more indulgent method.
That, and if Jellal would actually snap and those two brutes came to blows, Magnolia would not live to see another day.
"Didn't you say you wanted casserole for dinner?" Jellal asked and she noticed to be spurting ahead, trailing him after her. She also remembered the divine taste of his masterpiece of a casserole she had bargained for just a minute ago. Slowing her hurry, Erza fell into step with him, letting go of his wrist. She knew what he was getting at.
Again, she had to weigh the options.
It was very important to her that he learned to deal with people and the attention he avoided where he could. She wanted nothing more than for him to get along with her guildmates, not only because it could finally prompt him to join. It was a perfect way to scratch the surface of those walls he built around himself and she could already see the admiration and gratefulness from both Romeo and his family as well as Bisca's. They would do him good.
Furthermore, Erza was there to take over in case things went overboard.
She stopped, though. It would be a reward for him having gone out and interacted with someone from the guild by himself if she let him go now – guilt from the previous argument resurfaced with the thought, too, almost making her take back the last few points. And she knew that Laxus had more inhibition when it came to teasing her without Jellal – when she could be the monster at least half the country feared.
"Right," she said, noticing the relief that washed over Jellal's face. "I'll see you at dinner then," she turned to him with a smile. She could feel the Dragon Slayer's eyes on them, amused and as taunting as ever.
Erza stiffened shortly when Jellal dared to lean down and peck her cheek. Her widening smile fell at the snort from the side. With a fury she desperately tried not to take her over, she snatched her beloved's shirt back as he turned to leave. She still sensed the stare, curious now, turning into the same sneer when she froze, suddenly feeling stupid for wanting to prove anything to him. She did not owe him and loving Jellal as well as his love for her should have been enough for her.
Erza's eyes grew in size when Jellal's closed as he leaned in. Her lips parted of their own accord, welcoming his gentle, yet passionate ones. Her lids fluttered closed and she found her knees to be momentarily weakening at the tenderness he put into the kiss. Her hand flattened against his chest where she had raked at his shirt, just when his own hands rested on her sides, drawing her closer. Erza's heart soared and she glided her lips against his while he captured hers again all the same. She panted lightly when he drew away.
"Try not to be late," he said in a lowered voice, giving her stomach a lurch of excitement. His eyes were still trained on hers, half open and so close, she could feel his breath on her cheeks.
"I will," was all she managed, only slowly returning from her dreamy haze. He really was more powerful than even she knew. With an enchanting smile and one last nod towards a rather stunned Laxus, Jellal turned to leave. She watched him until he was out of her sight, unable not to throw a side glance at her guildmate.
The S-Class Mage would never let his jaw drop but his mouth stood open nonetheless. He stared ahead like she had, remaining silent all the way back to the guild and even then kept to himself, the cheekiness wiped off his face.
Erza was greeted cheerily by her friends and pretty much everyone in the guild. She greatly enjoyed chatting with them, even if she had only seen them that morning.
"If it's as good as you say, I'd love to try it too sometime," Mira smiled when Erza happily informed as to why she would not stay for dinner after the meeting with her team and the Master. An idea started to form and she borrowed Gray's lacrima to set her plan into motion.
Tiny addition, I only received your review, Nina-Chan202, for the last chapter and dang, you joined the squad instantly xD thank you so much for the review!