I just worked 20 minutes on this Author's note. Then Fanfiction deleted it. I want to cry.
Regardless... here I go (again). Sorry if this is shorter than intended originally...
Frangellica, thank you so much for reviewing! Haha, I hadn't even thought of the surveillance, but I wouldn't put it past Nadal and Co. either. Laxus mission is in the works, thank you for the action reminder. Would you like that written out?
Guest (who reviewed first), thank you so much for taking the time to leave me a review! I really appreciate it. Glad to hear how you enjoy Erza's tries at becoming more considerate.
Mitzy123, so much enthusiasm, thank you! The voice in my head reading your review is screaming alongside you :D Thanks so much for the praise! And also thanks a ton for the typo reminder! It's already corrected and while I was at it, I shamefully found another few ':D
Mitzy once again, thank you so much for just doing another review to let me know about something you liked! It really makes me giddily happy that you would take the time again to write another one! And yes, let's pray for Mashima-Sama to please make them kiss. And have a baby. Soon. Just saying.
Somnolent Sushi Roll, the fangirliiing, thank youu! Makes me so happy (imagine several exclamation marks; Fanfiction only accepts one)! How you described that made me laugh, 'cause I imagined it the exact same way, Erza's O.O Love it. And you, too, with the CCTV xD Again, I'll include a note on the distraction below the thanksgiving here.
Mikasa-Chan, thanks so much for reviewing and letting me know you appreciated drunk Jellal :D Was a lot of fun to write. The lime, I can't breathe. I'm not one who writes lemon, but I do my best at most everything up to that :D Read at the end of the Author's note for more news on that.
Isanien, no worries about being late - it's almost a treat for me to be reading both of your reviews in such a short period of time. Thank you so much! More drunk Meredy, noted. Thank you so much for commenting on all those moments, I'm really grateful for all the attention to detail you guys pay to my writng! At the bottom of this note, I'll get to the getting it on again.
Guest, ah, so much fangirling! Thank you so much! You Sir/Madam put a smile to my face with these awfully kind reviews (heart eye smileys)! Thank you so much for mentioning what you liked and being so nice to me! It's truly a pleasure to update for you. For wink comment, read below.
Last but not least, welcome CheesyDelphox! Thank you so much for your review and for leaving so many on the way! And wow, you really got here in, like, two days? That's a lot of reading! Thank you so much for such kind words! Hope you'll continue to enjoy!
Now the note on Jerza getting it on/lime/testing beds etc. I got ya covered. Very covered.
Enjoy!
Jellal felt his muscles burn with ache. Everything was worn out, having shook slightly just this morning. Late morning. He had found himself on a loveseat, legs dangling over the opposite armrest, Erza snoring soundly into his neck where she had laid on top of him. It had not been the same room where they had started, neither the second or third. He still felt a little hazy, every bone in his body pleading for rest.
Still, he forced his feet to keep moving, making the straining way up to the new Council's building. It was just past lunch – they had overslept breakfast anyway. What a splendid first impression, he thought himself. He could have sung with luck when finding the kitchen not to be equipped with a personal chef, fortunately not being surprised by any other staff that could have– that would have heard them, either.
Jellal inhaled deeply, collecting himself to focus on the present. Why he was there. What the purpose of his coming was. Then again… he did not exactly know the answer to that one.
Self-consciously scratching his arm where his guild mark was, he walked up to the colossal double doors. Just before he reached them, they opened as if by magic. He saw then that it was actually the case, no employees scurrying about, but small pegs of rock shoving them to open towards him, revealing the magic's caster.
"Jellal," Jura smiled a big smile. He spread his arms in a welcome, and Jellal caught himself bowing, only then accepting the unspoken invitation and stepping into the enormous entrance hall. The ceilings were several stories high, the windows stretching almost the entire length. It was bright and hospitable while at the same time imposing and awe-inspiring. All adjectives that reminded him of Erza.
Shaking his head unnoticeably – pretending to swat a fly with his hair – Jellal concentrated. He had to stay sharp and definitely not allow his thoughts to wander. Not that she was not constantly on his mind, but the direction they had gone yesterday were most inappropriate to consider right that moment.
Also a fly was just about the dumbest excuse in winter.
"I'm glad you came,"
"Thank you for inviting me," Jellal nodded, receiving another smile. He let the hand on his back guide his feet until they fell into step, heading for the rounding stairs opposite the entrance. The gates rumbled closed behind them.
"Our pleasure." Jura's traditional footwear echoed across the marble before they reached the carpeted corridors. "You look tired – too excited to sleep, eh?" He joked in a well-meaning manner. Jellal hesitated.
"Sleep was rather long in coming, yes," was what he settled with, accompanied by a somewhat sheepishly shy smile.
"Well, no need to be nervous," the Wizard Saint assured. "After all, not just anyone gets hired by the Council as per their wish,"
"So I've been told," Jellal politely responded. He felt the calm eyes on him, feeling as if he was expected to say more. Only what? "I must give you my sincerest thanks for the accommodation we have been given – it's marvellous,"
"Ah, I'm glad to hear." Jura nodded. "It's one of many in the Council's possession – it would be yours should you accept our conditions,"
"Conditions?" Jellal asked, a tad stupefied by the offer. The entire mansion? But… at a monthly rate, surely… right?
"The position we'd like to employ you in," was all he received as an answer. His brain was going haywire. Why were people offering him so much? What was it that he suddenly did, who he suddenly was to be respected and treated this way? Was Erza's irresistibility contagious?
The hall stretched, seemingly endlessly, doors to all sides, presumably offices and archives.
"I know what you're thinking," Jura pulled Jellal back to the present. Oh, please do not say 'Erza', Jellal thought to himself, his expression revealing nothing however. "What all of this is about and why we've invited you for this," he went on, being met with expectant silence. "There's no trap, don't worry. But with the continent back in order and Ishgar more or less defenceless when it comes to governing…" Jura sighed. "And I don't mean by any means that our new Queen isn't doing a splendid job, only she is very inexperienced. As are we,"
"I'm not the one to give you that – this country was a different place when I held the seat of a Council member," Jellal intervened. I was a different person, he added in his head. It switched back to Erza, the light of his life and this time, it was harder to get rid of the image of her, giving his stomach a warm, comfortably fuzzy feeling. He owed her so much.
"And you are different from back then," Jura twisted his thoughts in a surprisingly good way. "Let me tell you something," he lowered his voice slightly, his pace slowing. Jellal's ears perked. He had no idea how the other Wizard Saints would behave in his presence but he trusted Jura to be honest, feeling himself drawn in by the man he had once so miserably failed to defeat. "And I'm telling you this because I'm sure the others won't admit it, but we discussed this." He said, meeting Jellal's eyes. "You are more valuable than you think."
"Valuable?"
"Take the OE-Plug incident as an example," Jura elaborated. "And I don't mean the man himself, there was another thing most people tend to forget – all thanks to you, which we could not be more grateful for."
"You have the wrong person then,"
"Not at all. When you went to answer your friend's calling – Makarov told me all about it," he illuminated at the frown Jellal's brow creased with. "There was a monster; a mutant that attacked you. Now I don't mean to offend you but what you did – taking it out – was something considered very controversial."
"How so?" Jellal slowed his own pace. He was almost positive not to get arrested again, but the way it sounded was not to his liking.
"Mutants are a thing many people have been upset about lately. Most of Fiore's population is in agreement with our laws. Altering lives – living beings – is nothing short of abominable and forbidden in any way, magical or not. Still, there are those who defy the law and ignore the moral questions the topic arouses,
"Would the beast have survived, we as the Council would have been faced with a trial beyond our ability. Deciding over life and death of a creature not responsible for its form, yet too dangerous to be free… it would have torn the people apart, opinions on freedom, captivity and slaughter splitting everyone and putting us in a position of impossible resolvability.
"You took that decision from us,"
"I never thought about morals – I was merely trying not to get killed,"
"And you decided correctly anyway." Jura stated. Jellal gave a dubious look but waited for him to continue. "You have an instinct – plus, you do have many experiences that would prove very useful in this field of job. And being new at ours, we need to prove to the Kingdom – mages and not mages – that we are capable of handling change."
"So I'd serve as the guinea pig," Jellal concluded, continuing despite the shaking head he received. "I still don't understand. If you want to show the country that you're dependable and trustworthy, why hire me? Quite literally anyone else would have been a better pick,"
"That's where you're wrong," Jura said, his smile never leaving his face. He was so convinced about Jellal's non-twisted morals, it was almost infuriating. He was like Erza. Only with him, there was no way to resolve the topic through a tender caress or a steamy kiss.
And she would be angry to know how much he was beating himself up again, so Jellal inhaled deeply, setting his mind on listening, rather than replying.
"Just for your information – before we go in," Jura jerked his head at the door ahead of them, "no one thinks that way of you," he clarified, somehow intruding into Jellal's thoughts the same way Erza did. Perhaps he was just that transparent, seeing as his past and feelings about it were widely known.
The double doors opened as if on cue. Jellal's back straightened automatically. The room was gigantic. Wide and light and with too little furniture for such a ballroom of a conference hall. It had a long oval shaped table, chairs around it in respectful distance and in front of it, there was a parlour section, two couches and a few armchairs circled around a low coffee table. It smelled of freshly brewed tea and moist earth, though the latter might well have been due to the original Fairy Tail member in the room.
Warrod Sequen, Draculos Hyberion and Wolfheim, all of them Wizard Saints or as they were called, too, the remaining three of the Four Gods of Ishgar sat only metres away now. Jellal's face ironed into a plain expression, a habitual move he had forgotten was imbedded within him. He met their gazes, holding unrevealing, curious and friendly eyes for a moment of silence.
The doors closed with the same force Jura had used before, his pegs hardly noticeable. He passed Jellal, gesturing for him to follow, which he did.
"Please," Draculos, the least readable of them extended his hand, "have a seat." He pointed at the opposite sofa. Jellal followed the offer, sinking down, not expecting his muscles to scream at him again, knowing his cool to twitch for the split of a second. They noticed, though they showed no sign of concern. Or any other. All apart from Warren, who smiled his dry lips.
Jura sat down next to Draculos, the other two positioned in the armchairs to the left and right of their invitee.
The fresh tea was still steaming, arranged on a tray with one turned over cup waiting for Jellal while the used ones stood in front of their owners. It was hard to hold their gazes when – out of the corner of his eye – he caught sight of a bowl of perfectly plump and red strawberries, his mind travelling against his will once again. There were scones and sandwiches, too, but they got blanked out completely.
"Now then, I understand you know what you are here for," Draculos began, his voice a deep rumble in his throat. He nodded to Jura, who slid over a sheet of paper. Jellal glanced from one to the other before finally averting his eyes to study the document. A contract, as he found, his name printed-in already. He skimmed it briefly, finding a description of what he had already anticipated concerning his work. All tasks he was able to perform flawlessly if asked to.
"We are ready to give you one day of time to consider," the immensely powerful Wizard continued, "since you have already taken the liberty of thinking it through for over a week," he remarked, however without the sharpness Jellal would have expected. He was either not too bothered by them not having answered the request or he was that good as masking his true emotions.
Whatever the case, Jellal's confidence was not scratched in the slightest. It might have been the talk before entering the room or the fact of the perhaps still strongest mages in Fiore to be reaching out to him – or maybe it was simply the tiredness of his body and lightness of his soul that his beloved had winged him with the last night – but Jellal squared his shoulders, clearing his throat.
"Thank you," he nodded. The curiosity shortly twinkled in the eyes of the man who also bore a red mark on his face. "I am astonished to be chosen for my skills in your field of work. And I would be honoured to accept such an offer of generosity and in return provide my services for the Magic Council. However," he took a break to breathe, liking the tension it created, not knowing where all of this poise was coming from. "I will only agree under one condition," he said, seeing the composure of the other men distort in the slightest of ways.
"And what would that be?" Wolfheim asked, his tone close to a bark. Jellal's eyes travelled the room again, meeting each expectant pair of eyes before speaking up. Another notion hit him just then, and he allowed himself the small line of a smile on his lips.
"On second thought, two conditions."
Erza sighed to herself. A few hours ago, she had finally not been able to occupy herself anymore, so she had gone to bed. Her most important swords were glistening now, polished and sharpened. During her walk around the kitchen, she had run a finger along the rim of a counter, remembering the morning so vividly – his stiff movements, the way he had pretended not to feel the same soreness as her, how he had avoided that certain counter they had used the night before.
The Queen of the Fairies had used her spare time to explore the city. She had found deliciously smelling pâtisseries, cafés and restaurants. There were clothes shops, including a small boutique of Heart Kreuz – a side branch, focusing on everyday attires as well as… baby clothing. She had melted from the shop window's view already, unable not to enter and have a look around. The same went for the bride's shop.
Also unable to resist, she had bought a bunch of the most adorable tiny socks and stockings. It was not unthinkable that they might come in handy some day and she feared those particular patterns she had fallen for to become out of season if she did not buy them now, so she got herself a few, locking them away in her storage dimension.
And maybe, just maybe, she was not all that good with money either. Not as bad as Jellal, she told herself, though a tiny voice in her head did admit that her spending seemed less excessive due to the total amount she possessed.
Back after half the day – the rest spent in a relaxing bath and the aforementioned weapon maintenance – Erza now found herself growing tired, her lids heavier by the minute. She had waited up for as long as she could, finally preparing for bed, still in the hopes of him coming back any minute.
Perhaps she should have accompanied him, she thought, not for the first time. Ruling against her growing concerns, however, was reason. It would have undermined his professionalism, she knew. She could have built his confidence by intimidating them or simply staying by his side, but she was aware that that was a double-edged blade. She would have scared them – that, or they would have been reminded of the endless stacks of apology letters of Fairy Tail; of their origin, rather than who had written the last few.
She turned onto her stomach. Hugging the pillow to her face, Erza let out another muffled sigh. She could hear the grandfather clock's ticking down the hall. It had chimed once already after midnight. Would she not have been so tired, she would have already been out and about, hasting up the long winding path to the Council's building.
Erza winced when there was the sound of a door falling shut. She harked, hoping dearly for it not to have been outside again – the window was tilted despite the piercing cold from outside and she had been tricked already more than once.
A few moments later, steps came down the hall. She smiled in relief, letting out a long exhale. Then the steps walked past the bedroom she had chosen, probably in search of her.
"Jellal," she called his name. The steps stopped. Then they came back until the door carefully opened. It opened so carefully, she was unsure whether he would still enter within the next minute. "Jellal?" She repeated, trying to find out what was keeping him, encouraging. At last, he crept inside, and her with tiredness small eyes widened slightly at the swaying of his against the corridor drawn silhouette.
"Erza?" He whispered, too loudly to be fulfilling the purpose of whispering. He flicked on the lights and she squeezed her eyes closed for a moment, being blinded. "Erza!" He exclaimed. Oh, great…
Erza gave a groan under her breath, heaving herself out of bed. He did not seem too drunk, though, coming to greet her in a long and tight hug. Maybe just tipsy, she decided when managing to detach him from herself, flicking the lights back off and leading him to the bed. He could walk fine, only his stereoscopic vision was a little off. She pulled on him to help his behind find the end of the bed.
"Wait," Jellal said, nodding for god knew why. "Bathroom," he excused himself, getting back up and searching for the door in the dark.
"There's one here," she supplied. He nodded several times, aiming for the direction she pointed at, ramming the wall a few times before finally hitting the door. And then opening it. She shook her head when he forgot to close it again. Shuffling with the sheets – way less than at home, having prompted her to steal some from another bedroom – she snuggled back in, scooting upwards until her face was back in its mountain of pillows.
"So I said: In that case, two," Jellal came back, apparently having told the entire story in his head already. She guided him with her voice and he made it, stubbing his toes just once.
"Come here," she patted the spot next to her. She could not help but smile, being so at peace with him finally there. It was like her prayers heard, warmth filling her to the core with the blessing that was him. "Now, from the top," she asked, propping herself up on her elbows.
It was hard to see anything in the darkness, but she felt him flop onto his back, the mattress making her bounce along with the impact. He deflated with a hearty sigh.
"They were really nice," Jellal retold, starting at the kind words from Jura, going over to his 'interrogation' and then tour around the building. "And when we came to the offices, there was this one employee in a discussion, they just could not figure it out – some sort'a hard case from court. Anyway, he overheard them and the Saints were kind of annoyed, being a little shown up – well, not that but you know what I mean.
"And then," he was nodding again, babbling away while she gave a hum every so often. "And then I just told them- I told them the exact paragraph. Of that law, you know? The one,"
"What did they say?"
"Not much! They just didn't change the law. It was the same and I remembered from back then and they looked it up and, I mean, you should've seen their faces!" He snickered. Erza's smile grew in size, proudly, happy for him. He seemed to really have enjoyed himself, the triumph resonating in his every word. He must have left quite the impression on them, strengthening his reputation as very capable even further. She could hardly be happier.
"And then you overdid it again," she scolded mildly and he grinned up at the ceiling.
"I might have been invited to a drink or two afterwards…" he scratched his neck sheepishly.
"Ah, that explains a lot," she noted and he gave an apologetic mumble. The giddiness was starting to wear off, the sleepy side coming through again. But the joy stayed with both of them. He really had scored a big win, and with the leaders of the Magic Council of all people. She smiled, placing a hand on his chest. "Can I trust you with brushing your teeth by yourself?"
He pushed out his lips in a moment of thought.
"… not if you're offering…" he quietly said and she laughed.
"You know that's not very efficient," she tilted her head to the side, trying to find the shine of his eyes in the dark. They found her instead and her smile only softened more at his small pout. "But I can keep you company,"
"I love your company," he immediately beamed, making her giggle.
"I am pretty good company," she jested, flattering herself while forcing herself out of bed once more.
"The best," Jellal was getting all high on his love for her again, crawling after her, sticking to her like a magnet and gazing at her with dreamily sleepy eyes. "Oh, I brought you something," he halted, pointing his finger towards the door. She had forgotten about his scattered coat by the door up until now.
With the light from the bathroom in her back, Erza went over to pick up the clothing, finding one pocket to be bulging with what turned out to be a small box.
"Erfa," Jellal sounded as if his toothbrush was already foaming in his mouth. That was a big step, she thought to herself, sauntering back over to her very successful beloved. "Remember when I said I'd take the job?"
"Mhm," she confirmed. She opened the box, only absently when he mentioned his acceptance of the position at the Council. Her gaze was fetched, however, and she felt her mouth water at the sight of fruity ripe strawberries.
"I fold dem fhat I'd do if under fwo condifions," Jellal explained. He rinsed out the foam, giving his face a quick wash before straightening again.
"You stole their strawberries?"
"I traded them," he corrected, looking smug though increasingly tired. She popped one into her mouth, unable to resist, brushed teeth or not. It was heaven. And so unexpected in winter. She squished the yumminess with her tongue against the roof of her mouth, a blissful moan escaping her lips.
Coming to, Erza turned when he was already back in the bedroom. It was hard to miss by the crash against the bedpost and the yelp of having stubbed his toes again. He fell into bed, lazily stripping off his clothes and scrabbling up the mattress.
She followed suit, groping for his body beneath the sheets, cuddling in. Her heart gave a tiny skip, warmth spreading inside of her anew when he tugged her closer to him, pressing a fond kiss on the top of her head, his chin coming to rest on her crown. His eyes fell shut.
"What was the other condition?" Erza asked into the silence. There was a pause and for a moment, she suspected him to have already fallen asleep. Then his embrace tightened and his lips travelled to her ear, granting another kiss before whispering.
"To stay in Fairy Tail."