First of all, of course I read the newest 100 Year Quest chapter! I bargained my way out of work earlier to read it xD And finally some Jerza again! I loved the way they executed it - all peaceful and separated from the rowdies - and even though I'm disappointed it stayed at a hug, I am just as much excited about it! I mean, just like that 'ambiguous' kiss on the beach in the manga, I like to interpret his words as a confession rather than a statement. Judging from Erza's reaction (the surprise and then the blush, though that is probably also a result of the hug), I think she sees it as one, too. I hope... and I keep hoping for more...
Which is why I write this crap like a maniac! ':D
Mitzy123, thank you so much for your review! I was very happy, too about the new manga chapter! Let's keep our fingers crossed!
mitchellejones, thanks so much for reviewing! I'd really love if they were canon (they kinda are but I'd like more to be sure, like, I dunno... a kiss?!).
Mikasa-Chan, thank you so much for your review and such kind complements! Thank you for pointing out so many things that you liked to read! Hehe, she won't forget about the (grand)children... and you're so polite; I had a good day with your review, thanks!
Frangellica, haha thank you so much for such a nice review! I have to smile again reading it now!
Somnolent Sushi Roll, how I love your reviews! Simply seeing your name pop up at the beginning of my emails, ah, so nice (heart eye smiley or just Juvia seeing/hearing/smelling/touching/thinking about Gray). Thank you so much! Heh, I'm a sucker for those, too, so we're both welcome xD Always glad to provide family and fluff moments. Again, no worries about (grand)children ;). I don't think that Laxus and Jellal really knew what they were talking about at some point to be honest :D lost track at sometime but before, it was most likely Erza and perhaps women in general - what other topic is Jellal going to rave on about...? ;D More Drunk Jellal, noted. And wow, you're just so sweet! Thank you so much! You stay safe, too!
Guest, so looong, thanksss so much! How do you do it? Come up with such incredibly nice words for me every time; I can't thank you enough! Self-esteem: boosted (like a level up every time I read your kind words)! And so many mentions of the chapter, thank you so much for that! I cannot say it enough; I'm really grateful! And more Meredy family moments are in the works as wished! Hope you'll like them!
Now while we all wait for another updating Wednesday of the official manga...
Erza awoke sometime in the morning, feeling tired and stiff. She had only just closed her eyes when the sunlight forced her to realise just how long she had tried to fall asleep. Sighing deeply, she pushed her face further into Jellal's chest to block out the light. He still smelled of alcohol but more of himself by now, which was usually all she needed to relax.
He moved then. She frowned, rather with pity than puzzlement. Of course, he was awake. Not even drunk and stupid kept him in bed longer than her. It had once, but perhaps she had merely lost track of time and it was around midday already. It was winter after all – the sun made the world wait for quite a while.
Meredy was the first to get up. She groaned to herself, turned and twisted until she could not stand it anymore. Erza pulled a face when hearing the girl to be vomiting in the bathroom. Glancing up, she saw Jellal to look just as bad, though he managed to keep it in. For another hour. Then he joined her and they took turns while Erza curled up a couple of times to find an hour or two of sleep.
She awoke with his arms around her, having to smile.
"Mmh, good morning," she turned around to face him, having to giggle when his eyes were closed tightly, his breathing regular until she had spoken. He peeled his lids open, small, crusted green eyes glancing at her. He gave a croaking sound from the back of his throat, not yet smooth enough for a hum. Her smile widened.
She shifted to reach his face, softly kissing one of his exhausted eyes, letting them close again and allowing them both another hour of rest. All three of them. Meredy snored while lying on her back, limbs stretched far from her. Erza noticed how she was the only one of them to still be smelling of sake, assuming Jellal to have brushed his teeth despite his condition, not wanting to plague his love with the biting stench.
The entire day flew by in a haze of napping, eating and respectively throwing it up again. Any light was too garish and any sound too loud for the two of them. The next morning, Meredy took Jellal on their first mission that she had already picked for them days ago: waitressing for Yajima in his 8-Island restaurant.
She noticed too late to have overlooked the fact of him being a former Council member, just like him and Jellal knowing each other from when the latter had schemed the Council into firing Etherion.
"Whoops,"
"You can't be serious…" Jellal's face dropped into his palm.
"Think of it this way – you can repay him now," he gave her a long look. She grinned sheepishly.
"Maybe he doesn't remember," Meredy shrugged, tugging at the bow of her apron behind her back.
"You're right, I'm sure he doesn't. After all, he only greeted me with 'since you're so suasive, maybe you can spark up business',"
"It sounded friendly enough," she gave another grin over her shoulder when he tugged everything in place for her.
"Payback for the spaghettis, huh?" He muttered but she heard. With her eyes softening, Meredy returned the favour, even though his attire did not need to be adjusted anymore. She seemed to just want the cover from his gaze.
"Sorry about that…"
"I'm sorry, too,"
"Also about having invited everyone to the restaurant today," she quickly added. His face fell and he opened his mouth for an unbelieving question, but she had already grabbed the nearest notepad and pen and scurried out the door. Right on cue, he heard Natsu's voice, followed by the ones of his team and an extended group of Fairy Tail Wizards. And Crime Sorcière.
The things he did for his family.
"At least you only dropped something once,"
"At least you dropped your things in the kitchen,"
"No one blamed you; you were staring at Erza,"
"Thanks for stressing that again…"
"Am I wrong?" Meredy had raised a brow, having winked at him as she had turned. He had watched her stroll along with a happy whistle, joining the rest of Team Natsu – and several other guild members – on their way back to Magnolia. They all certainly had had a great time, enjoying their visit with its new part-time employees. One-time, as Jellal determinately called it.
He sighed, closing his eyes against the setting sun. The landscape was set ablaze, flying by as the train sped through the country side, bringing them to their next destination: Era.
He did not stand it for long, glancing down again. The two letters in his hands were mocking him. Especially the left one, his name standing out like his face in a crowd or Ichiya in a beauty contest – not the good kind of special. A different colour, a different handwriting. A thorn in his side.
They had talked about it a lot. What Levy and Gajeel's experiences had been, what Jellal's own experiences were. About the new Council – Ishgar's Wizard Saints. About the consequences of accepting. And not accepting.
His eyes wandered away from the blurring paper, down to the only thing to ever keep his mind off whatever tribulations he was facing.
Erza had considered moving. She had even suggested it, calculating how long it would take them by train to each of their destinations, where the best compromise would be or what other options there were, like buying a Magical Vehicle. She was rooting for him more than he was himself – it only occurred to him when the final station was reached that he had not once doubted to be getting the job. Thinking about it now, he was still fairly sure, only at the cost of leaving Fairy Tail.
The train rucked and Erza gave a small moan of complaint at being awoken. Instead of realising the movement to be the braking train, she squeezed her eyes shut, turning over to shove her face into his stomach. Jellal smiled warmly. How did he deserve such unquestionable support?
Gently, Jellal gave her a nudge. It took several of them to eventually gain her attention but she complied. He admired her professionalism more than anything when they were surprisingly greeted by a servant of the council when exiting the train.
"We have been expecting you, Jellal Fernandes," the anthropomorphic amphibian said. Jellal blinked at him, puzzled as to where he could have known their plans from.
"We appreciate the gesture." Erza cut in before he had collected his thoughts. "However, we would be grateful for a postponement of the appointment until tomorrow," she said, quite inventing to be scheduled due that day. Then again, he was invited and there was someone awaiting them right that instant.
"Self-evidently," the frog creature nodded, either adapting to her sophisticated way of speaking or always formulating that way. Jellal feared it to be the latter, only just having gotten off his high horse and rather enjoying the laid-back manner he could use with his beloved.
"Jellal," Erza nudged him. He returned from very far away, glancing at her. She lifted her brows, then quickly linked her arm with his, shoving him along to pretend him to be listening and aware of what was going on. They followed the messenger, surprised and a little suspicious when another arrived to take their luggage.
"Of course, you may choose any accommodation of your liking, but the Council would be pleased to house you in its annexes," the first employee said. They nodded along, walking a mere two streets before being found by the waiting carriage. It brought them all the way through the town's centre and further, past the imposing mountain with the Council's rebuilt headquarters and to the near outskirts.
Small city row homes traded for vast front yards of smartly impressive private houses and mansions. Both Jellal and Erza made big eyes when one of them was revealed to be theirs for the duration of their stay. They kept straight faces, sending their thanks and – the second their guides had left – took an excited tour around the seemingly endless rooms.
"Four," Jellal counted loudly.
"Five," Erza called back and he slightly spurred his tired feet to reach her, marvelling unbelievingly at yet another bathroom. "And another bedroom," she pointed at where he had entered through. He was not yet ready to take in another set of flawlessly made beds and couches, still staring at the enormous bathtub. Made of marble. In a guesthouse.
It was all a little much. He felt his head soar with lightness.
It was not particularly the realisation yet – that they wanted him; that he was wanted and accepted and treated almost like a king. It was more the fact of being given something. Being offered something he did not have to worry about using. About enjoying.
Erza's hands slid around his torso, her chest pressing to his back.
"Wanna test the beds before choosing one for the night…?" She lowered her voice and he felt a broad grin spread across his face of its own accord. Gods, how he loved this woman. The one thing he understood – the most important of all – was that she was there, and that she was the one he had to thank for all of this luck. No matter how pushy and ignorant, her ways of forcing him to do things, confront them and make decisions were what brought him here.
Without giving an answer, Jellal turned around. Erza yelped when he captured her in a tight hug.
"Jellal…" she muttered into his shoulder. Then her own sank, her arms coming around to embrace him just the same, eyes closing with content. There was just no end to how happy she made him.
"Thank you…" he whispered. She frowned in question but kept quiet. Moments later, she chocked from the fierceness of his hug and he caught himself, releasing her with a sheepish smile.
"I think I saw a kitchen downstairs," Erza announced, turning on the heel and going back down the hall. He pursued. "Let's see if they've stocked up,"
"Judging from what we've seen so far, I wouldn't be surprised if it came with a private chef," he commented and she gave a hum of agreement.
"I hope so – I'm feeling too tired to cook myself,"
"It's not like you have to…"
"Hey, you've taught me a great deal," she threw a pouty glance over her shoulder. He focused his gaze on her hair, swaying back and forth in its high ponytail. "And dessert counts as dinner – speaking of which," she stopped in her tracks. "I never actually asked you if you're okay with that!"
"Dessert?"
"Teaching me!" She suddenly became vigorous, her forehead creasing into what he soon found out to be remorse. "I just decided that again – why do I always do that? And after everything…" she pushed out her lips, disgruntled, apologising to him multiple times.
"Don't worry-"
"No, it's unfair," she went on, mood shifted completely, "I'm taking everything back – you don't have to learn how to ride a horse,"
"Oh, so my end of the deal is fulfilled but yours won't be – that's convenient," he joked, lifting a brow. He noticed too late that it was a mistake, her resolve strangely genuine and serious. He bit his lip, panicking when tears shot into her eyes. "No, no, I didn't mean-"
"Then something else, anything, or the horse thing or maybe…" Erza raked her brain for possibilities, wiggling her legs, overflowing with hectic solutions for a problem he did not recognise as one. His smile tugged up into a smirk.
"Perhaps start with riding something else," Erza's eyes nearly popped at his words. She froze in her concern, blinking rapidly to herself. Did he just…?
She turned but he was already gone, his feet shuffling in the far distance. She gave a chase, trying to confront him but Jellal eluded her, turning another corner.
"Oh gods, no, no, I'm so sorry, I take it back, I'm sorry," he sputtered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing at all, I didn't say anything, it's nothing, I'm sorry," Jellal scanned the next corridors, finding nothing but closed doors and no way to see whether they resulted in a dead end.
"Did you just…?" Erza insisted and he shook his head, hands pulling down the skin of his face, coming to rest in front of his mouth.
"No, I didn't." He denied through his fingers. "I mean, I don't know what you're talking about," he found a new target of attention, pretending to be extremely busy with untangling the knot of a held-back curtain, his movements static, robotic. How unspeakably embarrassing.
"That was so bold, Jellal, it was actually quite alluring," Erza lowered her lids, leaning on him. He wound out of her grip.
"It was horrible, please forget I ever said that," he turned away, avoiding to show her the glowing scarlet of his face. Hands crept around his torso and Jellal shivered when they snuck their way beneath his shirt. Erza giggled at the reaction and he found his neck to heat up as well. He loved her voice too much not to react.
"Mmh, I'd count this as a request, but then you would never name any anymore…" she teased his abdominals with light strokes, fingers hovering just above to make tickles ripple through him. It was even more embarrassing how incredibly easily she pulled him back into her everchanging moods, how exciting it was to fall under her spell.
Erza rose up to her toes, trying to reach his ear, her breath warm and sharp.
"So then I suppose that I'll be the one to give the order…" she bargained. And really, who was he to defy her?
"Promise me you won't ever for as long as you live tell anyone about this," he said between gritted teeth. Erza giggled again and it made the hair on his arms stand on end. She noticed by the goose bumps on his chest, her hands already working their way all across his most sensible spots.
"Do you mean your dirty flirt or the fact that we did it in every bed of the house?" She trailed, her tongue already capturing his ear, teeth following, lips suckling down his nape and shoulder. She gasped when he once more surprised her with a spin, pinning her back to the now veiled window.
"We didn't do that," he growled above her lips, hands shaking to roam further than her sides. Erza tilted her chin up, eyes shut halfway.
"Then what are you waiting for…?" She asked. She chocked on her words when he obeyed her bidding. Her command. That power she had over him – he sucked it out of her, only to have the favour returned. She moaned throatily when his tongue seemed to win over hers. She grabbed his collar, pulling him further down, sinking against the window, towards the floor.
With his own hands wandering, he made sure to keep her there. A hitched gasp told him to be on the right path, his fingers digging into her rear and then thighs, rucking her back up to close the gap between their bodies. Erza hooked her legs around his hips, letting him carry her to the nearest door.
"Whatever happened to being too tired?" Jellal teased, leaving a smacking mark on her neck. Erza moaned, throwing her head back. Her cheeks were flushed, her breathing accelerated and she looked like the proper mess she had created in his brain only minutes ago.
"These things come and go; keep up, Jellal," she mewled at his lack of attention. They detached their faces for an instant, giving the shortest of scrutinising glances at their new surroundings. It was not a bedroom but a sofa would do, they decided. She did, impatiently pinching the small of his back with her heels. He complied more than gladly.
Setting her down on the couch, Jellal climbed up with one leg. He pressed his knee high up her skirt and she voiced her approval with a set of moans that grew louder the more pressure he added. She ground her own pelvis to assist along, all the while working the buttons of his shirt out of their holes in a practised haste.
Jellal's mouth found her throat, her neck and her cleavage, helping himself, treating whatever skin he touched to a kiss, a flick of his tongue or a firm suck, leaving his marks that she craved for with hungry groans.
Erza was not yet done with his shirt when growing too eager, removing her own blouse, fingers shaking thanks to his actions. He took her hands and she whined in protest. She was even more of a mess than him, too needy to be thinking straight and too worked up to remember to seize control as she liked to.
He overtook the task. Slowly, agonisingly, Jellal trailed his hands over her in fabric covered torso. Erza withered at all of the soft spots he knew too well, arching her back to receive the pressure he still denied her. She growled in frustration, her hands coming up from where they had curled around the pillows. She gasped when his hand wandered lower in a teasing stroke, nails pinching his arms instead of guiding them.
Jellal hovered back over her face, smiling lovingly and with the spark of a tease in his eyes.
"We should probably stop; you said 'beds' after all,"
"Don't you dare," Erza snarled but the same smirk wandered across her swollen lips. She tilted her chin up and he complied, kissing her deeply, feeling her chest heave against his and her hands tangle in his hair.
He really owed his life to her – his everything.