Thank you so much, Guest, for your kind review! I'm more than happy to know that not only the romance, but the plot and individual arcs are appreciated. Also 41 chapters in 3-4 days? That's almost exactly the length of the Hobbit; wow you're fast!
Also thanks, Miss Panda, for the reminder. This is unfortunately the last chapter that's already written, but it's a chapter nonethelss.
Hope you'll enjoy!
"A room for two, please," Jellal told the lady at the hotel.
"We're married," Erza proudly put in. He stumbled on his next sentence. The receptionist hid her smile by turning around, scanning the board of hung-up keys for the right one.
Erza grinned, as innocently as she did so triumphantly, watching her husband pinch his nose, shoulders quaking as he couldn't help but snicker. It was nice to see that he was for once not composed and serious, but natural, even in front of strangers.
"What?" She pretended a pout. He rucked up Rosemary on his arm to make his point. "Could be anyone's." Erza shrugged. She looked behind them for support, but there was none. Laxus was currently giving it his all not to be associated with them, pretending that a potted plant was piquing particular interest.
"Erza, I'm holding a baby with bright, scarlet red hair – the spitting image of you," Jellal reasoned but she only shrugged again. She knew he had already won but she enjoyed his stifled laughter too much to stop.
"Erza Scarlet?" The woman at the reception asked, their key and contract ready.
"Yes?" Erza redirected her attention, but her grin never left. That single affirmation was enough to get them a huge discount, at least once the receptionist had been allowed to get her superior, who in turn asked unbelievingly, then traded an autograph for a night in the room with their most gorgeous view, not to mention a spacious bathtub. Both she and her employee melted at the sight of Mini-Erza – the name was getting popular.
So was that of the Princess of the Fairies it seemed, when Jason from Sorcerer Weekly surprised them with a visit at that very hotel. Saying he had spotted the hotel staff struggling with a huge cart full of luggage, he begged them for an interview; at least a photo.
Jellal refused the photograph, but let Erza handle the interview. He discussed the mission with Laxus, then went to help his wife get Rosemary to sleep before seeing them both off. It felt odd, leaving them in such high spirits, but Jellal couldn't help but look forward to unrestrainedly blowing off some steam with the Lightning Dragon Slayer.
There was a roar of thunder, followed by crackling lightning. It struck down into the crowd, people running and screaming, fleeing the site when there was a light so bright, it blinded them. It moved, zapped through, knocked back whoever tried to escape, tearing through the culprits like a meteor.
A crowd of townspeople had gathered, watching in awe, clapping and cheering. Erza observed the spectacle unfold through the window. She didn't let Rosemary see any of it.
"I'm glad he went; he seems happy," she told her baby. "I just…" Letting out a sigh, Erza stroked over the soft fontanelle at the back of Rosemary's head, supporting it. For a while, she merely stared out. Lightning and Heavenly Body Magic reflected in her eyes from time to time. She grimaced when part of the mountainside crumbled in the distance. True Fairy Tail Mages they were. "I feel myself yearning for my old life of missions," she said. "With your Papa.
"I'd never ask him to leave the Council; he's happy there too, and it's steady and secure and… safe." She frowned her lips, absently entertaining Rosemary with twirling fingers to be caught. "Perhaps I should ask Bisca how she managed. She and Alzack go on missions, but I've never actually asked since Asuka was already older when we…" Another sigh. Erza let her head drop back against the wall. "Even though I wouldn't want wait around there all day, but it might be a good idea to move to Era. Just for a while.
"And I don't want to be so far away, since we wouldn't have Meredy and the others to rely on, but for Jellal…" She glanced down at her daughter, meeting clueless green eyes. They brightened, the corners of Rosemary's mouth twitching as if to encourage a smile.
It worked, Erza returning a gentle one.
"Let's keep this between you and me," she proposed. "Your Papa should never contemplate quitting, not for my sake when he's already sacrificed to much for me. For both of us." She lifted Rosemary to touch noses, earning herself a quiet aah.
The noise from across the valley had stopped, the rockslide ceased.
The key turned in the lock to their room sometime later, so Erza heard from where she was only just finishing up a nappy change. The bathroom door opened right after.
"Why, if this isn't the closest race of a beauty contest's finale I've ever seen," Jellal said, grinning from his half-naked daughter to his half-naked wife. "Hello, love." He took her waist, kissing her.
"You smell of wind and fire," she commented, just before stealing another kiss. Rosemary waved her arms with great effort, dramatically calling out for her father. He complied, of course, blowing raspberries on her tummy. She sputtered with laughter, grabbing his hair with delight. "I guess you'll be writing apology letters then?" She assumed, watching fondly.
Jellal turned his head, still held captive.
"No – well yes, but we're going out for a drink, actually," he mumbled with his cheek on his daughter's torso. She giggled and squeaked in reply, tugging on his hair to demand more tickling speech.
"Drinks?"
"Later, and only if it's—"
"It's fine, I'm glad," Erza smiled. He beamed back, the initial guilt melting away.
"I'll tuck you two in first," he announced.
True to his word, Jellal spent the next hour in their room, entertaining his daughter, cuddling with his wife, retelling how the mission had played out. Laxus knocked on their door once returning from where he had dropped off the retrieved magical artifact, picking Jellal up for a trip to a bar. He was not nearly as grumpy as he had been at the guild that morning, Erza noted.
Erza awoke to a crash from outside. Her sleep had been light enough to wake easily since Rosemary's birth, and just like Jellal, her first reflex was to reach out to her baby. Her hand hovered over the tiny bundle, waiting, listening. Rosemary's peaceful breathing continued, undisturbed.
Deciding against touching and possibly rousing her, Erza retracted her hand again. For a moment, she thought that she must have imagined the noise, when there was another crash. Thuds, dull and somewhere down the street, but a ruckus loud enough to reach her. A Fairy Tail brawl for sure.
She turned on her back. Jellal could hold his own in a fight, but he would not want to. He would try to deescalate, stun instead of knock people out cold, perhaps simply leave and ignore whoever the drunken offender was.
But he might have been drunk himself – he really couldn't hold his liquor, she remembered with an almost fond grimace. That night in their – back then his – house, the way he had kissed her nape, nearly driving her feral, only to fall asleep. The first time he had kissed her. Then there had been their date at the festival where she had had to carry him to bed like a princess. Or his joining Fairy Tail with him and Meredy overchallenged by the prospect of brushing their teeth.
Erza smiled at each memory, but she was painfully aware of how she had been there to look after him each time. Right now, he was with Laxus. And she remembered his last time drunk just as well; the way they had almost splintered each other to pieces. Even if Jellal was still sober enough to avoid a fight, holding back Laxus was an entirely different story.
She tossed the blanket aside. Equipping shoes as she threw her feet over the side of the bed, Erza glanced back at her baby. The ruckus down the street had quieted to a tolerable extent, but that could mean most people had been beaten up, not been calmed. She bit her lip. Take a baby into a fray? Drunk and smoking people all around?
With a sigh, Erza rounded the bed. She couldn't leave her there all alone, not under any circumstances. If for some reason, any at all, Rosemary would be gone upon her return, she would never forgive herself. And she feared Jellal wouldn't either.
She had only just slid one hand beneath her baby's head when steps came down the hall. Freezing, Erza harked. Two pairs of steps. One stopped further down, the other in front of her door. She could see the shadows of feet under the threshold, blocking out the light from the corridor.
Erza let Rosemary sleep on when the key ground against the lock. She was at the door before he had properly opened it, spooking him.
"Erza," Jellal said, blinking at her now illuminated form. It was impossible to see his face with the lights in his back. He closed the door, plunging them into complete darkness. So she followed him to the bathroom. She gasped lightly when turning on the light, seeing as he had avoided it.
"What happened?" She asked, bewildered. His lower lip was swollen, two tiny droplets of blood welling up. He licked them off. On the side of his jaw, she could see a slight bulge, something she was sure would become purple later on. Reaching out a hand, she cupped his face. "Jellal," she urged, concerned. She should have never let him go with Laxus.
"I'm sorry," he sighed, averting his gaze but not his face, allowing her to cup his cheek. His jaw throbbed lightly against her palm. "It was really nice – there were lots of villagers congratulating and thanking us for today. We even got a drink on the house, but then…" he frowned his lips, ignoring the turgid lip. "Well, someone might have said something insulting about Fairy Tail and I might perhaps, just possibly, punched him square in the face for it, but only once," he rushed.
Erza blankly stared at him for what must have felt like an eternity. He dared meet her eyes, if only from below. Finally, she let out a long breath.
"You punched him square in the face?"
"Maybe…" Jellal muttered, back to glancing at his feet.
"Because of some puny words offending the guild?"
"Now that you say it like that, I probably should've—" His sentence got swallowed by her lips. Frozen for a heartbeat, Jellal eventually relaxed, his shoulders slumping, arms coming up to hold her back. Erza had wrapped her arms around his neck, practically sucking him dry as if they were already in the midst of heated love making. As if his lower lips was not throbbing against hers, and she was most likely hurting him.
"You defended our good name," she murmured, kissing him again. He could only grunt in response, mouth occupied otherwise. She broke the kiss with a light pant, gazing up into dazed eyes. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I couldn't be happier about you punching some random man in a bar."
"I got punched back," Jellal stupidly replied, making her giggle. It earned him another kiss, something he never complained about.
The second time Erza awoke, it was already morning. Or hardly so, she assessed with a peek at the clock. Summer was approaching quickly, so the sun was mellowly announcing its arrival through the slit in the curtains. Not yet warm but mild.
At the lack of a chest in her face or arms holding her, Erza groped around the bed. Nothing. She sat up, alarmed when not finding her baby either, until her eyes found the bathroom door. There was no noise coming from it, but scent. Steam and what had to be the hotel's own soap reached her.
She had mentioned on the side how Rosemary could bathe with them now, seeing as her umbilical cord had fallen off completely, but she had not expected him to act upon it at the next possible occasion. The day had not even begin yet.
Sneaking up to the bathroom door, finding it ajar, Erza carefully pushed it open further to steal a glance inside.
Sure enough, her umbilical cord-free daughter was right there, soaking in the tub, her head on her father's shoulder and her little feet kicking merrily. Jellal hadn't filled the tub completely. He was close to lying down, his legs propped up and guaranteed to be cold above the water, but he didn't seem to mind as he stared at nothing in particular.
There was a bruise on his ribs, and in the balmy light from outside, Erza could make out dozens of tiny cuts strewing his face. From the wind, she assumed, luckily not looking too bad.
With a faint knock, she announced herself.
"Erza," Jellal's eyes shone where they had looked distant just a moment ago. It made her forget the sadness she might have seen veiling his eyes, now faced with beaming content. A hint of doubt remained in her, but she said nothing.
Meeting his outstretched hand, she took it in hers.
"You're up early." She gave a squeeze. To her surprise, he gathered Rosemary up, then stood. Water splashed, cascading down his body, but she had no time to inspect that bruise on his ribs further when somewhat having her baby thrust at her. Out of reflex, she took her, cradling her to her neck, opening her mouth in question. It became stuck when he hugged her. Forced to take a step forward, Erza felt the cold tiles of the bathtub against her shins, then the warm moisture of his body against her own.
The water rippled on quietly, then stilled, its echo fading out. Perplexed, Erza waited. Half a minute ticked by, her pyjama soaking, leaving her to shiver.
"Jellal?" She finally asked. His chest expanded against hers, then he deflated with a long sigh.
"I was lonely," he mumbled into her. She had to hold her breath to understand. She frowned. He could have simply stayed in bed if he had missed her. The mission was over; he was free to remain by her side instead of soaking in the tub. "I'm glad you came," he said.
Gently shifting Rosemary, Erza freed one hand to wind it around his back. His embrace strengthened in response. So then she had not seen wrong, his eyes having betrayed him. Had he not been hugging her and spoken with a tight voice, she would have never believed his words. He was with his daughter after all.
"When they made fun of Fairy Tail, and I defended our name, it was strange," Jellal quietly explained, "because you weren't there – it made me feel almost as if…" I wasn't there anymore, she inwardly finished for him. Her brows creased further. The lack of her furiously brawling upset him? She had always known how he appreciated her soft side, but that he could miss her wild, often violently-out-of-control phases was new. And she had slept right next to him all night – how did that tiny, sore heart of his still feel wounded?
Had he slept at all, she wondered, or maybe just beaten himself up for hours over the possibility of her death one faraway day?
Letting out a sigh, Erza rubbed his back. He gave a small sound in response, an in between of protest and welcoming. He didn't want to dampen her spirits, but he savoured the soothing affection.
He released her slightly when she shivered again. She pulled away, turning her head to the side when having to sneeze. Rosemary – having rocked suddenly with her mother – stared at her with eyes the size of saucers. It conjured a smile onto both parents' lips. Since he had yet to take his hands off her, Erza decided he should not have to.
Stepping into the tub, she knelt down in front of him. He followed suit, hugging her again, though this time without hiding his face. She unequipped her soaked clothes, then leaned in to kiss him. She halted mid-motion, lips puckered and all, when being prodded. As stunned as Jellal, she looked down. The most confused was apparently still Rosemary.
With her tiny, chubby hands, she ungainly slapped her mother's shoulder where her head had rested a moment ago. Only through great effort was she able to hold her own head up a few millimetres, but she did, fiercely staring at the now miraculously bared skin. Wee fingers curled, but there was no fabric left to grab.
Erza exchanged a glance with Jellal, seeing her amusement reflected in his. Both had to laugh, watching their baffled, somewhat outraged baby on her quest of gripping vanished clothes.
"Part of me never wants her to grow older," Jellal said, "at least not old enough for her knuckles to show." He took one of the very awake, jerkily flailing fists. Tiny fingers curled around his, but still, she was too chubby for her knuckles to show, merely dents at the bases of her fingers indicating them.
"But then you could never explain the galaxy to her," Erza said.
"I already did," Jellal pouted, but she could see he was jesting. This time.
She let Rosemary go with one hand when he supported her. Running a hand through his hair, pushing it away from his forehead, Erza's brows furrowed. "Your fears are getting stronger again – and more frequent," she noted quietly. Just when hers following birth had stopped. She feared that once he would have to return to work, it would get worse; that he would be alone with dangerous thoughts.
Jellal only hummed, closing his eyes, enjoying her ministrations. There was no cure; no miracle remedy, Erza knew, but she had fine-tuned him before and she would again. Enough time together, enough soaking up family life, and a dose of being at the guild, meeting friends and confronting whatever uncomfortable parenting advice Gajeel and Levy had to offer would do just fine. She hoped.
For now, she looked forward to returning home. She hadn't told him yet, but she would on the way back. The word party was like an allergy to him, but it would be with friends and at the familiar setting of the guild. After all, it wasn't some everyday event to have one's draft to a second book accepted, and Fairy Tail sure loved nothing more than to celebrate its members. Lucy would be the centre of attention, not Jellal.
At least he would not be, if Erza held back with that certain idea she had in mind.