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Hope you enjoy a chapter of pure fluff!

"Oh, she's very nice, perhaps a bit gruff," Erza waved a dismissive hand.

"Gruff?" Meredy asked, tilting her head.

"She hates human beings," Erza replied as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Ah," Meredy pushed her lips together. She leant back to see past Erza, exchanging a glance with her guildmate who shared her uneasiness.

They had been informed that Porlyusica would arrive the following day. Whether it was due to preparations or not caring enough to hurry and put whatever she was doing on halt, they did not know. For the time being, they returned to the house, having invited Meredy along. She had declined – several times – but both insisted, knowing that Juvia was still out with Team Natsu in Oshibana.

The streets were starting to empty, the sun dipping down behind the horizon.

Meredy curled her lips when Erza started to ponder out loud again, wondering where to fit their guest.

"I can sleep on the floor; it's not trouble," Jellal offered and Erza immediately declined, offering herself instead.

"That's really nice, but I can find something else, guys," Meredy interrupted, "I'll just book a room,"

"Out of the question," Erza crossed her arms as she walked on, armour clinking. Then she gasped. "What about my room? In Fairy Hills; the bed's nice,"

"No, she'd be alone there, too," Jellal argued, being met with agreement. Not from his own guildmate.

"It's fine,"

"You're right, we have to stay together in the case of an attack,"

"Or possible aftershocks,"

"Exactly," Erza nodded sternly, both ignoring the protests Meredy piped up with after every of their sentences.

"It's really not that-"

"Oh! We can just move the bed! I've wanted to bring my furniture, anyway. But where to put it…" the Queen of the Fairies put two in metal covered fingers on her chin.

"You really don't have to move-"

"Perhaps the attic," Jellal suggested, completely with his beloved on the 'disregarding objections' path. Meredy groaned, ramming an elbow into his side when Erza strode ahead of them. He held it off so absently to make her stop, it was almost funny would she not have been so annoyed. And… touched. Only a little, though.

Right now, she was captivated like he was, staring into huge, sparkling eyes.

"We have an attic?" Erza was nearly hopping on the spot, pressing her palms together as if praying for him to make it true. Jellal grinned.

"I was waiting for a special occasion," he said with such a softness about his tease, it was more than lovely to watch. Or listen. Meredy even forgot to be irritated for a moment, having to smile when Erza stretched up to her toes to peck his cheek.

"Every occasion it special with you," she whispered next to his face but Meredy heard. It was her turn to gain the upper hand, smirking at her guildmate's blush who avoided her gaze at all costs, pretending she was not there. Still, she did not have a say in the matter, following as they climbed the hill to the dormitories, a skipping Erza ahead of them.

The Requip Mage opened the front door for them and Meredy remained where she was. The hall was dark, only the silhouette of stairs visible across the entrance hall. The breeze blew in from behind them, whirling her own hair around her face. She was not scared of the dark, neither of the unknown, but for a moment, she had to admit that she was glad not to be left there by herself.

"We'll have to dismantle the bed," Erza explained on their way up. She froze after the first few steps, turning. Meredy watched as Titania shoved Jellal back out and he followed the unsaid instruction without complaint. Confusingly, she returned then, him remaining outside.

"Men aren't allowed in," Erza informed, resuming to lead the way as if nothing had happened. Or perhaps she was a little too fast, as if wanting to elude questions by arriving at their destination. Meredy did not persist. She remembered the rule from when Juvia had told her.

Her jaw dropped when they had to cross four rooms until finally reaching a bed – its size being nothing to be scoffed at. Erza summoned tools from her dimension and together, they started to take it apart.

"Oh, I'll ask Jellal to get the cart; we have to get it home somehow," Erza remembered, hurrying out the door. Meredy smiled to herself. She could have probably just called out the window – no one else was there anyway. But it was sweet how freshly in love they were, addicted to being together and attached like loop and hook fasteners.

It had taken longer than expected and when Jellal had offered to make dinner, he had returned to two resigned women on the newly swept attic floor, playing cards instead of trying to fix their error. After dinner, it had finally worked and – all hesitation of the bed being fastened enough gone – they had all merely collapsed onto their handiwork out of exhaustion.

Jellal awoke when the first rays of sun already touched his face. He had not expected to have fallen into such a deep sleep.

There was a window in the slope of the roof, gracing them with morning light. The ladder went down into the bedroom and apart from the new bed, Erza had already planned for other pieces of her furniture to go here and there.

Opening his eyes, Jellal in- and exhaled deeply. His muscles still ached from being sore. Whether it was due to that night of the attack or the one following it, he was not certain. He felt weight lift alongside his ribcage, sure enough finding a sleeping Erza to be cuddling into his side. Her head was curled up on his shoulder, depriving his arm of blood. Her legs were just as huddled against him as her body, hands on his chest. Her breathing told of peaceful, undisturbed slumber.

When feeling eyes on him, Jellal turned his head. On the other side of his love was Meredy, awake, watching with fondness and amusement. For a second, he had to hide a chuckle of his own, seeing as her face was nearly covered in scarlet wisps of hair.

He carefully stretched the arm that was prickling and nearly numb, gently removing the curtain of red by stroking down the back Erza's head. Meredy gave a thankful and sheepish look, that way forgetting to tease him about his blush, luckily.

"I didn't want to wake her," she whispered. He smiled.

"You won't; she sleeps at least until sun high," he soothed, feeling a warm fuzziness in his stomach. He could describe her habits perfectly. He was able to write lists on end about them.

Meredy giggled.

"Much like us back then," she grinned.

"At least you got up eventually, in contrary to someone else…" he reminded. His smile fell when hers did. She did not return his gaze. Instead, she watched Erza's side rise and fall steadily, eyes overshadowing in her quietness. Her voice was as faint as a drift of dandelion seed heads in the breeze.

"Does she… remind you of Ul?" Meredy asked, not taking her eyes off the sleeping warrior.

"You do," he said without having to think about it. Her eyes widened and he stared into those huge pools of insecurity when they rose. "Almost every minute of the day, Meredy,"

"I'm sorry," she looked down again. He shook his head.

"You shouldn't be. You have every right to miss her. But you have to think of yourself, too,"

"Look who's talking..." she mumbled, puffing out her cheeks. He bit his lip, then gained some confidence for her sake, raising a brow at her. She followed the gesturing of his finger to a dormant, snuggling Erza, making his point. She pouted in reluctant defeat.

Jellal felt his heart heavy with words, but he forced himself to say them.

"You know you can always leave and join another guild; I won't keep you," he whispered.

"You're our-"

"I'm not the guild's master,"

"Well, you're the closest… thing to… that," she tried to talk back, resorting to an indecisive mutter. His gaze softened. She was too loyal for her own good.

"I just want you to be happy,"

"And how do you know that leaving Crime Sorcière will make me happy?"

"I just assumed-"

"That I'd be glad to leave you all and just replace you with someone else?"

"No, but because you aren't, now,"

"I don't want us to split up just so there are some new faces to get used to," she argued and he knew she was hiding sorrow behind annoyance. She knew, too. And that he was aware.

"In Fairy Tail, you wouldn't have to,"

"Same goes for you," she shot back immediately.

"I..." Jellal began, his voice fading out alongside his thoughts. He could not tell her about that entire dilemma; he did not know what to make of it himself.

"I know." Meredy interrupted, not breaking eye contact anymore, "I'll wait for you." She said. He felt his eyes widen, blankly staring at her. A sigh escaped his lips and he caught himself. He might not have known what to make of himself, but he would not let her be the same kind of stupid. He could prevent her from making his own mistakes.

"You shouldn't let your happiness depend on me,"

"I don't." Meredy was determined. "But you're a part of that, so I'll wait," she decided. Then she smiled. That smile she had when thinking about Ultear when it was not just woeful or bittersweet. That… unassailable affection of family. He could not quite tell whether to be happy or sad.

"Why does everyone just assume that it's only a matter of time...?" He nagged instead and she giggled. Her eyes flashed down to Erza, seeming glad that the redhead had already made that clear to him.

"For starters-" Meredy stopped, glancing down again when Erza gave a groan in her sleep. Folding her lips inwards, she pressed them together, giving an apologetic look. Jellal shook his head. He felt the tight grasp on his shirt, the quick beat of her heart pulsing through to him. She was not waking up, she was dreaming. Not nothing positive, it seemed.

Her eyebrows twitched. Her flank gave jerky breaths and she inhaled sharply, only to let out another sound of discomfort.

"I'll be downstairs," Meredy whispered with a concerned look and he nodded, waiting until she had creaked down the ladder.

Erza was clutching his shirt with both hands, her leg squirming above his, as if trying to get a grip on anything as not to fall. Jellal wrapped his arms around her struggling form, shoving her onto him. The tension of her leg stopped. A shiver travelled down his spine when her breathing rasped.

"Erza," he said in a hushed voice. His arms were tight around her, hands gently rubbing up and down her sides, trying to wake her. She started muttering, her tongue sharp with fear, sweat pooling at the back of her neck. She gave another moan, then a gasp. Light flashed when she suddenly screamed.

"No!" She rammed a sword into the bed, splintering even the wood beneath the mattress. Jellal stared up into her now opened eyes. She stared back, panic and confusion swirling in the streaks of morning light. Neither hers nor his gaze flashed to the blade that had missed his head by a millimetre. Or perhaps less, he thought, feeling the sting of a cut along his temple. Hot tears spilled from her eyes, dappling his face.

She collapsed.

Jellal drew his arms back around her, pressing the vocal sobs out of her, letting them flow. Water dripped down his cheek, into his ear and onto the pillow.

"It's okay," he whispered and she sobbed so heftily, her torso rocked both of them with gasping breaths, "I'm here. We're fine," he assured. Erza whimpered, hardly able to breathe when already trying to form words.

"I couldn't… do anything," she cried and he ran his hand through her hair and down her back. "I couldn't…" she sobbed again, shaking.

"You did; you came to save me. To save us both," Jellal appeased.

"I was-" she snivelled, "I felt so helpless, I did nothing," her voice ended in a high-pitched squeak. He was not entirely sure whether she meant her dream or reality. In any case, he could not imagine the great Titania to be helpless, no matter how hard he tried.

Her hands grabbed whatever part of him they could, practically tearing his hair and shoulder off him.

"Of course, you did," Jellal started to draw mellow circles and lines with two fingers on her lower back. It reminded him of when he had done that for the first time; when she had come to the house for the first time. To distract off a wound, to calm their racing hearts. Erza's breath hitched but he felt her pulse steady slowly. "You were the only one to receive the message; we could have been captured for who knows how long.

"And I think there was more to his plan than we got to see. I'm sure there was a better plan but because you came that very night – because you insisted…" he explained and she listened. His temple was still wet from blood and salty water but now allowed to dry. Her tears had stopped. She lifted her head, meeting his eyes with her swollen ones. "And you have your comrades to help you; you can always rely on them like they can rely on you,"

"I should be the one telling you that," she retorted in a husky voice. Jellal offered a soft smile. Gently, his thumbs brushed over her cheeks, wiping the last, hovering tears away.

"I know. I'm not telling you, just reminding," he said as upbeat as the situation allowed. Erza stared at him for nearly a minute. She noticed the blood, letting the sword disappear but he took the inspecting hand off his head, kissing her palm. The corners of her mouth twitched and he thought she would return his smile when instead, fresh tears welled up again, mercilessly gushing out of her eyes.

"Oh, Jellal…" her voice was but a whisper and she fell right back into him. With a frown of pity, he leant his head against hers from the side. His embrace was more tender now, just like her crying. He stoked her back in a steady rhythm. "I was so afraid," she choked and he tightened his arms a little.

"Me too," he gave back. He knew she blamed herself. For having made him a target; for dragging him into such a mess that had been meant for her, where only he had been hurt. That was not entirely true, he thought, sadly regarding her silently sobbing, suffering form.

"But at least you can't have any nightmares now," he said and it took a moment for her to lift her head. She frowned, her face sticky and red. "Apparently, we take turns, so you'll have a good night," he smiled and she gave a sigh at his idiotic logic. He could see that it at least got her away from further, harmful thinking, setting her mission of curing him of self-loathing back into place. And for some reason, she seemed to like him being a moron, sometimes.

"At least until I've had one; who knows when," he tried to cheer her up. Finally, it triggered a weak smile. He gladly returned it.

The sun had wandered, reaching his eyes and Jellal tilted his chin up to avoid it. He froze when she kissed him, taking the unintended invitation. He smiled against her lips. With a tired, yet relieved sigh, Erza sank back down. She squished her nose into his hair from the side, taking a few deep breaths until lightly dozing off again. He did not wake her. He would not rush her, keeping her close instead.

The ladder creaked. Jellal bent his chin to his chest to catch sight of Meredy, carefully climbing up. Stopping before being able to peek in.

"Jellal?" She attempted to be quiet.

"Hm?"

"Can I shower?" She asked, not even asking for his consent – which he would have given without hesitation – to come or even look into the room.

"Of course! Shower, bathe, use anything you like," he offered, "maybe except the strawberry scented shampoo…" he muttered and she giggled, letting him know that she had heard. With a quiet 'thanks', she stepped back down into the bedroom. The second the bathroom's door closed, Erza stirred from the noise. Her blinking lashes tickled his neck.

"How about some breakfast?" He proposed.

"Chocolate pudding." She said immediately. His brows knitted together. He had not been prepared for that, taking a moment to process her wish. And the lightning-speed at which she had uttered it. "It's in the cake book," she briefed, her voice still raw.

"Do we have the ingredients?" He asked and she nodded into him.

"We have the ingredients to make everything from that book," she said and he could not shake the feeling that it was, once again, one of her not-in-the-least-subtle subtle hints.

Jellal pushed himself up to sit and when she did not let go or made any attempts to move by herself, he wrapped his arms around her thighs, carrying her downstairs – careful not to fall, cradling her like a baby. It was heaven. He loved everything about their hugs, but whenever she stuck to him, his stomach filled with warm flurries of love. He adored being allowed to hold her.

She did, however, not make it all too easy for him to find his way around the kitchen. He had to resort to reaching out with only one hand, to crouching rather than bending over. Not that he would trade being able to use both hands for this.

Jellal took out the recipe and all the ingredients, which were not too many, fortunately. He even found the exact tool the recipe required – a whisk. Erza had not been able to choose at the shop, resorting to buying everything that had looked as if it might someday come in handy.

Also starch. Whatever the heck that was. It resembled flour and the recipe needed some, so he just added it.

Jellal had to put Erza down on the counter when needing both hands to chop the chocolate, but she still hung over his shoulder. He started melting the chocolate, all behind her back, mixing ingredients together with minimal movement.

She only sobbed once and he immediately let everything go to stoke her back, calming her down. From then on, she breathed calmly, her chin warm on his shoulder, and, so he checked every once in a while, dry.

Neither noticed Meredy to return from her shower, standing in the doorframe against which she leant, watching them fondly.

As he waited for the melting, Jellal held up a tiny leftover chunk of dark chocolate, next to his shoulder. He gave a gentle poke with his other hand and she stirred, registering his offer with a sniff. Finding the piece next to her head, Erza popped it into her mouth, her jaw moving across his shoulder as she chewed.

Smiling to himself, he picked up the whisk again to stir. One of her hands rose, giving an appreciating scratch on his back. Misinterpreting, Jellal picked up another bit of chocolate, holding it up and she did not correct him, taking it the same way. This time, she let it melt on her tongue. With a wide smile and a deep sigh of content, Erza nestled her face into the side of his neck.

The chocolate pudding had only just stiffened when she already started eating it, hot and right out of the pot with the biggest spoon she could find.