Hello!
Thanks so much to everyone who left me a review! I appreciate them so much and they made me so happy, I've read them several times! ^^ And boy, you're goin' all out there, hey? :D

Also (I really seem to like that word...) you're so kind, always thanking me and letting me know you liked the chapter and something in particular, I'm just really really grateful; feel virtually hugged by Author-San! And thank you for letting me know about tiny details you appreciated, like that she missed or how Wendy and Lucy's moment was nice to read, it really makes me so happy!

And finally, welcome and thanks to Lizzie611. I usually listened to instrumental gaming or movie/anime soundtrack while writing but I gave your song a listen and, wow, the lyrics fit so well, they're almost mean... Let's stick with bittersweet (the heaven thing).

Aaaaanyway, enough of me! How about some Jerza instead?

Hope you enjoy!

"I can't be unwell again,"

"Why not?"

"I thought we were taking turns, like we do with nightmares," Erza pouted to herself, feeling very reasonable. An amused smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"I'm glad we don't," Jellal said, receiving a questioning look. "At least you listen to my pleas – I only anger you,"

"You bribe me, that's why," Erza pointed out, triggering another smile. A broader, roguish one.

"Speaking of which," he started, interrupted by a grumbling of her slightly bloated stomach. He pushed out his lips in thought. "I see," he nodded matter-of-factly, leaning down to put his ear where she attempted to cover the noises with her arms. "Mhm," he furrowed his brows in pretended concentration, "right," he listened, another rumble right below his ear.

Erza removed her hands, letting him lie there, rather liking that he snuggled up instead of the other way around. She put one palm on top of his head, gently parting strands of hair, eagerly yet gently running her fingers through.

"What does it say, O Wise One?" She could not hide her own smile as it stretched across her lips.

"It says…" Jellal thought for a moment, closing his eyes. "Something with… chocolate,"

"Hmm, no," Erza's smile widened and she found herself to be excited for his next guesses. She could not help her other hand joining the activity on his head, massaging his scalp with her nails.

"Something sweet,"

"No,"

"Hm… no food?" He asked, then carefully tapped the water-filled mound and it gurgled in response. She chuckled at his shortly shocked, apologetic expression.

"Not really," she interpreted, though, when starting to imagine the desserts he created, she did feel her currently fussy appetite grow. She let him guess on, however, wanting to check the offers. He always came up with such wonderful ways of spoiling her.

"Ah, it's a dialect, my mistake," Jellal invented, earning himself a giggle and with it, another growl of her stomach. It hurt less when he warmed it with his ear, she noticed. "I'm sensing… bath vibes?" He tried, waiting, then going on when she remained quiet. "And- oh, wait, this cannot be right – bath and nibbles," he gasped and she chuckled. He seemed very happy with his reward of her laughter and additional loving scratches.

Jellal nodded to himself, sitting up. Erza almost raked on his hair to keep him from moving away, restraining herself the last second.

"The orders were loud and clear – very loud," he informed, conjuring an even broader smile onto her lips than before. "It's time for the new bath bomb," he said, and he said it gravely, as if telling her a lethal diagnose. Puckering her lips and wrinkling her forehead, Erza tried to imitate his serious expression, failing most miserably and cracking him up. He tried and flopped while trying to stay in character.

Then he got up, disappearing in the kitchen where he stayed for minutes. Erza frowned, rubbing her slightly cramping stomach while listening for any noises he made. Which were almost none, making her wonder what he was up to.

Being terrible with surprises and awaiting suspense, she started to get up, just when he re-entered the bedroom.

"Ahem," Jellal theatrically cleared his throat. Erza sank down again, looking caught. Having one arm behind his back, he strode over to her side of the bed, handing her a clumsily folded sheet of paper. She gave a puzzled look, accepting and opening it.

"Do let me know when you're ready to order, Milady," Jellal pretended a snobby voice, and she realised he was trying to play a waiter. She could see why Asuka loved him so much; he really gave it his all when slipping into different roles.

He left for the bathroom. A moment later, she heard the water run, filling the bathtub. He kept rummaging through the cupboards, so she took the time to trail her eyes along his beautiful handwriting. There were several desserts listed, each of them costing her a certain number of kisses – which he had then struck, not daring to demand anything in return.

Leaning across the mattress, Erza found a pen in the drawer of his nightstand. She added a zero behind each of the crossed-out amounts, circling her choice: chocolate chip cupcakes with banana cream on top.

How he managed to make them in roughly fifteen minutes, she did not know, but not a mere twenty minutes later, Erza was sitting in a steaming hot bath, filled to the brim and beyond with bubbles, munching on a freshly warm muffin.

"I do pray I won't have to throw them back up, they're divine," Erza sighed heartily, burying her face in another one, cream sticking to her nose.

"As do I – bananas are expensive," Jellal said from atop her head.

"Use my money, I really-"

"It's fine," he interrupted, "I worked while you were out," he informed. She let the topic drop. She would just have to stock up his wallet from time to time – she ate more than him, anyway. And broke things.

"I can't believe you've been earning Jewels for two weeks while all we did was spend them…" she exhaled sharply through her nose. So much money and she had enjoyed almost none of the delicious food. "It feels as if having lost instead of gained,"

"But you gained information," he tried to cheer her up. She chewed on the last bite of her second treat, her hand already wandering to the tray on the chair for the next.

"We don't know yet if it leads to anything," she argued.

"Evidence against a theory can be just as valuable," Jellal countered, uninterruptedly drawing mellow circles with his hands on her stomach. As much as she liked being able to watch him, sitting in front of him in the bathtub was still her favourite. It was as if every ounce of his attention was solely directed at her, though, she had to admit, that was not only the case when bathing. He really did spoil her rotten.

"Stop being so smart when I'm not," Erza said, but softly, enticing a smirk.

"It's payback for calling me out," he retorted, kissing above her ear.

"You're not going to get over that, are you?" She smirked, too, finishing her cupcake with a thorough lick across her lips.

"I shall have it engraved on my tombstone," he joked. Erza pouted, turning her head, one hand coming up to find his cheek.

"No talking about tombstones, okay?" She softly asked, though it was not a question. Tilting her head back, she leaned into him in order to be able to meet his lips, guiding his head with her hand to get the demanded kiss. "One," she counted, murmuring into his mouth, "one hundred and forty-nine to go…"

Rain lightly pattered down onto the cobblestones of Magnolia. The sky was murky but clearing up, everything glistening in the reappearing sun. The fuchsias in front of the kitchen window dipped their heads with tumbling off drops of water.

Jellal sighed to himself. He heaved the brown paper bag in his arm up to rest on his shoulder instead. His left arm, clutching another bag, pressed a fresh bouquet of flowers to his torso. With his now free hand, he searched for the key in his pocket as he strolled down the last few metres until the house. About to insert the key into the lock, he stopped, hearing his name being called.

The lock clicked. He pushed the door open with his toes, then turned to see three of his beloved's guildmates to be coming down the other side of the street. He rucked up the groceries he held, waiting for them to reach him.

"Do you need help?" Wendy immediately asked after greeting him. She did not wait for his dismissal, politely plucking the bag out of his arm and wrapping both of hers around it, holding it up to her chest. She had to lean back due to its weight but did not seem bothered in the least.

"We don't mean to intrude, but we wanted to check on Erza," Lucy explained.

"How is she?" Levy asked after greeting as well. "It sounded so serious," she went on. Feeling a little cornered as usual, Jellal decided to let Erza handle it. He pushed with his back against the door, bidding them in.

"To the kitchen?" Wendy asked, slightly lifting her bag while stepping out of her shoes.

"Yes," Jellal said, closing the door behind them. "Anywhere, thank you," he added. He set his own groceries down, toeing off his boots and quietly sneaking into the bedroom.

Erza was awake, still in her knickers and his shirt which she had complacently stolen the last night, having slept in it like a baby. With a duvet covering her legs and stomach, she sat against the headboard, a book on her lap.

"You're back," she greeted him with a smile. She tilted her chin up and he got the hint, crossing over to place a kiss on her lips.

"You have visitors," he announced and she frowned with puzzlement. "They want to check on you," he continued and she nodded. He exchanged the old flowers in the vase on her nightstand with the ones he had brought, then waited for another moment. Her smile widened.

"It's alright, you can let them in," she said, amusement sparkling in her eyes at his careful approach. She grabbed his sleeve when he wanted to turn for the door. "Stay if you like,"

"I was going to start on lunch," he quickly said, trying to save himself. He could see that she knew. But she let him, releasing his arm.

Wendy had returned from the kitchen, all three women waiting in front of the ajar door. Wordlessly, he nodded, opening the door to allow them in, then picked up his paper bag and left them. It was not adrenaline but he did feel a nervous flutter of his heart. She wanted this so much – his joining of the guild, her friends getting along with him or rather the other way around. It made him even more anxious to know that she was expecting something of him, more than the task of talking to people itself. He was entirely too self-conscious.

Jellal finished with putting everything away, washing his hands and rolling up his sleeves. His shoulders sank while he began to chop. Cooking relaxed him, he found, and he put extra effort and focus into making the pieces all finely diced and roughly the same size. It distracted him of overthinking other things.

That was all he ever did. Distract. Elude, avoid. Steal himself away instead of face those uncomfortable challenges she put before him. He did not ask her friends whether they remembered what she had eaten, he tried to milk it out of her. He had not confronted the consequences of buying at the black market, he simply ordered a new item. However high the expense, he paid – as long as it was not stepping out of his comfort zone.

Pathetic, he thought.

Giggles from down the hall brought him back to reality. He harked for a moment, their chatter audible but not understandable. Erza seemed happy, though.

Sighing deeply, Jellal took the clattering lid of the pot off, shoving the cubes of pumpkin into the boiling broth. He went on with setting the table, readying bread and butter, stirring and seasoning. Finally, after cleaning every knife and cutting board he had used, he ran out of things to do. He would have waited for the soup, just standing around, but the chance of being caught without being busy was still there, so he kept on avoiding the tiny possibility of being asked to join them by taking the used kitchen towels to the bathroom.

They were still laughing by the time he passed the bedroom, not daring to turn his head and peek in. Feeling even more wimpy.

Opening the washing machine, he gave a scrutinising look as to which colour was the most present. He took his time with digging everything back out, sorting the clothes and turning them inside out.

"It's so cute," Lucy was saying.

"And comfortable," Erza agreed.

"Whenever I try to wear Gajeel's clothes, I disappear," Levy sheepishly said, making them all giggle again.

"It's a little tight here," Erza thoughtfully added and Levy mumbled something pouty at the comment.

"You should try boxers, too," the Solid Script Mage caught her cheerful attitude back, a hint of a grin ringing in her voice, "makes you wonder why you ever bought women's underwear," she said and they snickered. "Oh, and if you need more books, let me know, I'll bring you some,"

"Thank you,"

"You know, that genre," Levy added mischievously and everyone but Wendy had to giggle again.

"Which genre?" She asked innocently.
"Nothing." The three older women said in unison.

More than ever, Jellal wondered what she was reading so secretly. It could not be… no, Erza was the last person he could imagine to read something 'inappropriate'. It would have to be something heroic and chivalrous, or something fancy and scientific. On second thought, not something scientific. Or too complex, but at the same time, not vapid.

All the while trying to come up with the apparently tabooed genre, Jellal was more and more unable to picture her with a book at all. Perhaps it was just a comic.

He shook his head, refocusing on the laundry. He was faster than he would have liked, sneaking back into the kitchen when the girls changed their topic to Team Natsu's last mission. Levy promised how she would start to work on analysing the samples soon and that she was positive to find hints. He did not try to listen anymore, stirring the softening pumpkin and blending after having a taste.

Jellal just started to worry about how to serve it and avoid having to stay, when the front door closed. Not a minute later, arms slowly wrapped around his waist.

"It smells delicious," Erza hummed into his shirt.

"It's ready," he responded, letting go of the spoon to put his hands over hers on his abdomen. Her own was grumbling against the small of his back. She gave a short groan of either discomfort or annoyance, but did not complain. He hoped that that was a good sign.

"There. I made a food protocol of what you ate here at home since you came back and what you remembered from the restaurant," Jellal lifted his pen from the list.

"Sweet potato,"

"You also ate sweet potato?" He asked, starting to write it down.

"No," she said, "I want some," she declared, even if she had finished eating not too long ago. He raised a brow, continuing to write.

"Okay," he finished scribbling, "so now we'll make a plan of what to eat the next days, like tomorrow only octopus,"

"What?" She grimaced. "I don't want to eat that again," she nagged, pulling a face. He lifted his gaze.

"But then we would know to avoid it," he reasoned. He had worked hard on his list for the past hours, already having committed himself to eat whatever had to be eaten by her to find an allergy.

"Maybe it's just a… dust allergy," Erza surly said.

"You wouldn't be throwing up from a dust allergy,"

"I didn't know you studied medicine…" she snapped. He glanced at her, how she crossed her arms, turning her head to the side, her lower lip pushing out. Jellal sighed through his nose. He used a gentler tone then, assuming her to be irritated by constantly feeling sick and not by him personally.

"I did not," he could not help another tired sigh, "but with dust allergies, you usually sneeze," he tried to soothe. She would still not look at him, sulking, and he knew that she now simply did not want to agree, being aware of him to be in the right.

"Well, maybe I'm just special," she pouted. His eyes softened.

"Of course you are," he rose from his seat to kiss her cheek. She exhaled sharply, then rubbed her knees together, reluctantly admitting to herself how his kisses convinced her. He took her bowl to clean it but she grabbed his sleeve. Jellal halted, smiling to himself.

She tugged and he obeyed, leaning down for another kiss on her forehead. She did not let go. A chuckle escaped from deep within his throat and her pout extended but she ceased any protests, holding on to his shirt while he lovingly showered her face in kisses.