This is early 'cause Merry Christmas! I can't believe we've already had a Christmas chapter once, but I'm more than happy to celebrate with you again! Thank you all for your incredible support!

Hope you'll enjoy!

Jellal's boots splashed as he walked home. Never would he have thought that the day would come where he went to the guild – alone. Erza was not only tired, but she hardly got out of bed. It was 'too comfortable' as she called it, hording blankets and pillows to herself. Every time he returned to the bedroom, she had gotten out another one. At some point, he had even dug out a towel from one of her forts.

Apart from his solo mission, Jellal was surprised by himself. He had not gone to the guild because he had had to, but because he had wanted to. Thanking the girls for their efforts with the risk-free mission had been his priority, but he had gladly stayed a little longer; chatted a little more with everyone.

He had paid Meredy in their new currency: pictures of him and Erza. It worked both ways – both were equally delighted to receive them. The fact that she had the guild was more than reassuring. The girls' company made her happy. She should not have been focusing her happiness on that of him and Erza alone – it was cute, but he knew it was not healthy. She had no power over someone else's relationship; she needed to be in control of her demeanour herself.

That thought briefly made another resurface – a relationship of her own might do her good, Jellal admitted. Without the naughty business. He shook his head. Then he reprimanded himself, but instead of scrapping the idea, he shoved it away for later. Much later.

Erza was sitting in the bathroom when he returned. She did not notice him, merry humming drowning out his sneaking steps. Her tune stopped when she tried to let down her hair, the elastic getting stuck. Pulling on it, she grimaced where her hair painfully pulled on her scalp and temples.

Before she could put her tormentor down, Jellal's fingers arrived. Weaving through, running along her hairline and down her head, he gently caressed her scalp to ease any leftover pain. Her shoulders slumped, relaxing immediately.

"You look beautiful with your hair up," Jellal said next to her ear, kissing her temple.

"Is that your new method of testing my mood?" She teased. He heard the twinkle in her eyes, but she had left them shut, sighing in response to his ministrations.

"In any case, it's creating a good one," Jellal grinned. She smiled, then hummed into his greeting kiss, having tilted her head back. She enjoyed something new; something they had not yet done just that way. He could feel her lips curl against his, trying to figure out whether she liked the way her nose prodded his chin and vice versa.

Bending down, Jellal picked her up. Her arm came around his neck as usual, the other absently inspecting the buttons on his shirt.

"How was it?"

"Fine," he said. "We're postponing the cooking class I promised Lucy to in a few weeks – she says Natsu found them the perfect job, but it'll take some time to travel there."

"He's refusing public transportation?"

"Any transportation but his feet, she said," he laughed lightly. "She's going to try and talk him into taking the train – at least to their destination," he retold. He had to use his foot to open the bedroom door.

Erza frowned slightly. It was not late, and even though he never complained about her lying around and being lazy, she would have assumed he would want to do something once she was up.

"Did you eat already?" She asked while he kicked blankets to the side with his knee. "Because I haven't," she added.

"No," he said, focused on his task.

"Lunch is ready," she went on, "I made something for us."

"Thank you," Jellal smiled. Finally setting her down, he retrieved the blankets from all sides as if building them a volcano. Erza watched, puzzled, waiting until he was done. It had turned out as more of a cave, and he even put a pillow over them as a lid.

"Don't you want it?" She tried again. Gathering her close, Jellal smiled boyishly, right into her face.

"I want to cuddle first," he grinned. Not met with any objections, he was hugged back instantly. It made him laugh, and later even more when she snored quietly into his neck. Her stomach's rumbling reminded him of lunch, so he did not restrain himself when laughing. She woke up with a pout, letting him carry her into the kitchen. Or into the hall, to be exact.

"Hold on," she quietly said, as if to herself. He set her down, watching with amusement how she arranged his boots properly under the coat hanger. He was everything if not a tidy person, but when Jellal entered the kitchen, he found it sparkling back at him.

"Did you clean?" He asked. Passing him in the doorway, Erza busily went to turn on the stove, reheating whatever it was she had previously cooked.

"Everything but the attic," she said over her shoulder. "I'll do that tomorrow – we still have to make that cradle; can we do it today?" She asked all the while setting the table. His frown never left, but neither did his amusement. She was not yet hectic, but her movements had a certain urgency to them. It reminded him suddenly that three weeks could very well mean two weeks and five days, or perhaps three weeks and two days or anything in between.

He would have to keep an even closer eye on her. Then again, Erza had always liked to act more pregnant than she had been, he tried to allay his own nervosity.

Taking the plates from her, he helped her set the table.

"What's that term again? The water…?" She asked, turning back to the stove to stir.

"Your water broke," Jellal supplied.

"My water broke," she repeated under her breath. It made him jolt.

"What?!" Jellal jumped, then blushed once realising his mistake. Alright, perhaps allaying was not the right word when talking about his agitation.

"No, no, I'm just trying to remember the term," Erza soothed. She had to chuckle when she noticed his reaction. It made the pink on his face darken. "Nahw," she pinched his cheek, so he swatted her away. For having been a sloth all weekend, then a whirlwind of motivation throughout the morning, she was surprisingly composed now. He could well imagine her peaceful, flushed face with the baby in her arms.

Only there was something in between pregnancy and actually having a baby, and that was… having a baby. The very notion of the delivery scared him to a point where he welcomed more than one towel in bed, nights spent in a bath of anxious sweat.

Having fended her off, Jellal endured more giggles throughout lunch. It was nothing grand, but she had not made any major faux pas either. They even finished the entire pot, and yet…

"Getting weak… from hunger…" Erza croaked. Sprawled out on her front, one arm reached out to where he stood next to the bed. She could hardly lift it. Or so she made it seem.

"We ate an hour ago," Jellal tutted.

"Not… enough…" Erza breathed as if she would fall to dust any second.

"You had three helpings," he laughed. She only gave a strangled cry for help.

"Sooo hungry," she drawled. Then whined like a dog. It stopped abruptly when his hand mysteriously vanished in the inside pocket of his coat. She fixated it, resembling a dog even more, only this time one that was on the hunt. He surprised her when producing a carrot.

"I'm going out shopping – I have a feeling that the girls will be showing up sometime soon," he announced, tossing the vegetable over. She caught it with her mouth, biting it in half. "With Lucy leaving on a mission, I assume she's going to want to see you before."

"A baby shower," Erza deducted. He nodded. Of course she would guess – he had not wanted to steal the surprise, but with one Erza Scarlet's tactical thinking, it was hard to succeed in anything secretive. That, and he preferred her not being overrun and stressed. Not that visitors were an issue anymore, seeing as she had removed every last speck of dust from the downstairs.

"Why do you have this?" She narrowed her eyes at him, suckling on the remaining half of her carrot. He chuckled.

"I knew you'd want it."

"Jellal," Erza gave him a look. And then a different one – the kind that made him blush up to his ears.

"It fell out of the shopping bag the other day and I had my hands full. I forgot it in there—no, Erza, no," he backed off when she crawled towards him. "I'll bring the wood for the cradle," he winked, saving himself. Her eyes shone back at him within an instant.

"I'll sharpen my sword right away," she beamed, summoning several ones to evaluate their carving-worthiness. "Oh, and buy yourself some new socks – you don't have many," she reminded while he put on his shoes. He smiled with a mixture of amusement and bewilderment. So then he would have to face Erza-washed laundry later…

"That's because you stole my socks," he laughed.

"I couldn't find mine," she shrugged. The way she scooted her feet into the sheets to hide them did not go unnoticed.

"You have a dimension of socks at your disposal," he playfully scolded. Her unintelligible grumbling left him smiling all the way to town.

"You really make me hungry, you know?" Erza huffed as she stretched up to her toes. Her fingers grazed the jar on the upper shelf, not quite reaching. The belly was in the way too, making it impossible to crawl up onto the counter and try from there. With a growl, she commanded the sprinkles to land on the table via telekinesis. Jellal must have put them up high on purpose.

Using a ladle, she piled up more and more sprinkles on her ice cream, then opened the chocolate sirup with a plop. Next came pickled plums, but she redirected them the last second to land in her lettuce and red beet salad, rather than in the ice cream. Now all that was missing were pretzels.

"Wendy hates these," she said while putting the plums away. Then she fetched them back, emptying the can. "They give her the chills, and I can't recall to ever have liked them either, but right now, I could eat half a kilo of them," she explained, nudging them into with her spoon.

Unable to balance it all, she got out a tray. The creaking of the cupboard made her miss the shutting of the front door entirely.

"Pregnant or not, please don't make me eat gross things, Violet, I feel like I'm gaining weight by the minute," she complained, giving her belly a poke. Her finger was promptly kicked off. Tsking, Erza reconsidered anew, finally deciding to eat in the kitchen. It was less of a risk anyway – Jellal had built them such a nice nest, she wanted to preserve it. "It doesn't make me stop eating anyway…" she sighed, stabbing a beet.

Sitting down then, inwardly reprimanding herself for her haste, she let out a sigh.

"It's been such a long time since I've truly suffered hunger," she muttered. "I can't say the same about your daddy though…" she stroked over her belly, shaping the ice cream with her spoon rather than shovelling it into her mouth. "It's not a bad habit, not at all, but it still pains me to see him scrape out every last grain of rice from the pot…" she let her head hang.

"Am I causing you trouble again?" Jellal startled her, suddenly behind her. Strong arms slid around her, making her wish that the chair did not have a backrest when she deliberately dropped her head to his chest. His lips found the crown of her head, then her temple. Another sigh escaped her, this time a relaxed, welcoming one. She should have remembered that they were going to build the cradle, but she was too tired to think any further than the right then and there.

"No, it's not your fault, and it's fine now," she said, a light blush on her cheeks. Did he always have to catch her chatting with the baby? "It's not like you don't have food. Actually," she closed her eyes. Her hand darted forward with precision nonetheless, shielding her salad from curiously pilfering fingers. "I was the same as you when I first came to Fairy Tail – I was even as unsocial," she grinned. Peeking one eye open, she twinkled at him when he had to laugh.

He tried once more but she was faster, snatching the forkful into her mouth before he so much as touched it.

"Are you telling me to beet it, Erza Scarlet?" He raised a brow. She nearly choked on her bite, having to cough. Awkwardly, Jellal went to put on the kettle.

"Wow," she rasped, coughing, "that was," she had to laugh, then even more at the way his neck was reddening. Pursing her lips in thought, she leant back in her seat. "How about we get building – jokes are clearly not your specialtea," she countered. He snorted, throwing a look over his shoulder. She grinned back, then ran as best as she still could, ending up in more of a hasty walk to escape.

The playfight ended before it had started because Erza had found the wood in the bedroom. It was already cut, yes, but she could still carve it to her liking. And she had to do it quickly before Jellal figured out how to put it all together. Or saw her handling her twin blades.

How convenient that she had just refuelled with lots and lots of sugar.

Jellal winced when something clattered in the bathroom. He harked for a moment, half of the crib in his hands hovering.

A genius idea, he allowed himself to call it. They had worked on it all afternoon. The first few slats looked clumsy, but apart from that, Erza had done a fine job. After completing it, Jellal had sawed it right in half again, making adjustments so that it could be put together at any time. With the same technique – four holes with pegs that fit into the other side – he had equipped their bed. Holes and pegs on each respective side allowed for the open halves of the crib to be attached, and the baby reachable. Erza had loved it.

Right at that moment however, she seemed rather as if she was going to murder someone.

"You're supposed to keep things out of my eye; you're the last line of defence!" She was yelling. Knowing he did not have a choice, Jellal crept into the bathroom.

"You okay in there?" He cautiously tried, holding the doorframe as he peeked inside.

"No!" She fumed. Blinking and hissing, Erza stood in front of the mirror. "My eye is on fire!" She snarled, then whimpered in frustration.

Picking up a facecloth, Jellal soaked it with warm water.

"Maybe you shouldn't have washed it out with soap," he said, cleaning her face even more gently than he spoke.

"I didn't," Erza huffed, somewhat forcefully leaning back into him, "I was washing my hands when the stupid thing just fell in," she growled at her eyelash. Then she sighed sharply, letting him pat her cheek dry.

"Better?" He asked. She kept pouting, but nodded. "Is there anything else I can do? A snack, a bath, a massage?" He offered. His hands were sore from working, and all he wanted to do was sleep, but he knew he still had work to do. He had to present it to the Council on Monday.

"I—" Erza sighed again, this time softer, "I don't know. I'm just feeling a little… strange. It's been so long, I'm starting to fear I'll forget what it's like not to be pregnant – it feels like years," she averted her gaze from his reflection. Bending down, he wrapped his arms around her. "I think I'm ready for you to take over – just for today," she quietly said. He chuckled soundlessly.

"You know that if I could, I'd take over every hour of every month," he said, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.
While she wished for the weeks to pass more quickly, that fateful day still frightened him to death.

The sun had set an hour ago. The kitchen was cleaned after a hearty dessert, but upstairs, the table lamp was still on. She snuck up the ladder, a sly smirk on her lips when he did not look up from his work once. Not even when she slid her hands over his shoulders did his eyes cease flying across the pages.

His hand came up, as if absently, landing on hers more tightly than she had anticipated.

"Meredy."

"Oh, come on! How did you know?" She groaned. "I was hoping for something cheesy," she pulled her hand away, cheeks puffing when he chuckled.

"Then you're at the wrong address."

"Quite sure you're just the right guy for that," she teased. He rolled his eyes. Propping his elbow up on the table, he let his head fall into his palm. He never turned, especially not when fabric rustled in his back as she changed. "Do you want me to turn off the light?" He asked once she had made herself comfortable in bed.

"I usually sleep with my eyes closed, but thanks," she retorted. He dimmed it anyway.

She stared at him for minutes until he relented.

"What is it?"

"You look tired."

"I'm always tired.

"You should call it a day," she insisted. He only gave a vague hum in response. He was not one to enjoy sweets – contrary to his wife who had had by far too many that evening – but he could have eaten more dinner, she found. Losing appetite because of stress was normal, but not beneficial when he had to take care of Erza and the baby.

"I'm fine," he grumbled.

"Erza would be happy if you did," Meredy countered. His quill paused mid-motion. Then it kept scratching over the parchment, another ten minutes of quiet scribbling passing until he gave in. Meredy had by then already climbed back downstairs to check out the noise. She was more than glad when Jellal finally descended, relieving her of her task.

"Isn't the second sneeze always heftier than the first?"

"Uhuh."

"And isn't it weird how socks smell so different from shirts even if both are sweaty from the same person?"

"Mhm," Meredy affirmed listlessly. He could have come down earlier…

"Why do people say mayhap? Isn't it just the combination of maybe and perhaps?" Erza panted, wiggling on the bed as a replacement for jumping. "Imagine your hands were as slim as your wrists; shackles wouldn't work anymore! Jellal!" She spotted him with an enthusiastic gasp. Feeling a tad guilty to be leaving him the hyper mess when his features told of exhaustion, Meredy unsuspiciously backed away.

He caught his wife before she could leap into his arms.

"Hug me!" She said despite already dangling from his neck. "Why doesn't one chew on the upper lip but always on the lower one?" She continued as if the person she was babbling at had not changed. "How come we use disgruntled but never gruntled?" She returned his tired gaze with big eyes.

Meredy snickered. It was the life he had chosen and the life that would do him best. Not the lack of sleep, but rather the woman not so much luring him out of his shell, but downright crushing through the ceiling, shattering his walls to bits. Yes, he was in good hands, she thought.

"Sleep well," she mocked, ducking when he grabbed a pillow from behind Erza's back, tossing it at her.

"Whatever you do, don't turn off the lights," Jellal warned as he struggled to get Erza to stay put. Seeing as she clung to him with all four limbs, he only had to drop down himself. She peeked over his shoulder, reporting to him dutifully when Meredy stuck out her tongue. The light switch clicked into the off position. "Perfect," Jellal mumbled.

Triumphantly, Meredy climbed back up the ladder. Then halted.

"Reverse psychology?"

"Mhm," he confirmed his wife's analysis.

"Isn't that for defiant children?" She tilted her head while he scooted them upwards towards the headboard.

"Defiant children, moody teenagers," he enumerated as he bundled them up. "That's why is works on her every time."

"I can hear you!" Meredy shouted, cheeks glowing red. The nerve of that man. Ultear would have been proud of him, she reluctantly admitted.

Since she had been hoaxed rather cleverly, she did not mind in the slightest when hearing Erza blather not two minutes later. Served him right.

"Do you think the person who invented the word 'bamboozled' was inspired by bamboo?" She asked. "Is baking pizza baking or cooking? Why is Gajeel called 'black steel' when he's the Iron Dragon Slayer? It's a different material," she pressed when he only sighed tiredly. "Are you asleep?"

"Yes," Jellal muttered. Her shoulders fell. He could feel her eyes on him, but he did his very best to ignore them. Just until she fell asleep, he told himself.

"Boop," she said, tapping the tip of his nose.

"Okay, that's it," Jellal took her finger, guiding it to hug him back where it would hopefully remain, "no more sugar for you before bed," he chided. Meredy snickered dirtily above them, setting Erza off too.

"More sugar," she cheered.

"No more sugar," he repeated.

"Why?" she drawled.

"Because it's time to sleep."

"Alright," she pushed out her lower lip with pretended strictness, "then no more sex before bed either," she determined.

"As if you'd adhere to that," he gave back. Grumbled curses told him that he had won.

"But I'm not tired," she tugged on him. He did not open his eyes.

"My point exactly," he countered. She tugged again but he remained unyielding. She poked his face, combed through his hair, plucked on his shirt, trailed the bridge of his nose. A minute passed. She had run out of questions but not energy.

Another minute, then she spoke up again.

"… stay awake and play a game with me?" She meekly pleaded. With a long, hopeless, and very tired sigh, Jellal announced his surrender.

"What game?" He asked. It made her bounce happily, showering his face with kisses.

Meredy's gleeful grin melted into a soft smile. They really were good for each other. At the same time, she knew they should have rather slept, and she kept on thinking so when she found them the next morning. Jellal must have fallen asleep midway through the game. Erza had curled up in the crook of his body, both slumbering peacefully.

She let them. They would need the energy for when the others arrived.