I've been plagued by a headache almost all day but still, gotta upload. I wanna read your reactions (heart eyes)!
CheesyDelphox, thank you so much for such kind praises! I appreciate them a lot and that you left me a review! Makes me really happy! So much fangirling! Thaaanks! And of course you may take inspiration – what are fellow writers for?
Mitzy123(and then as guest), thank you so much for reviewing! And for letting me know about liking the detail in the kisses; I'll try my best to keep that coming then 😉 I actually already ruled the pigeon out but when I read your review, I got another idea for later, hehe… (much later, probably).
They do both use her lacrima and I haven't even thought about him reading her messages – again – only now thanks to your comment! And already, ideas are coming up!
Wendy Marvel, I try my best to upload regularly every two days but there might be cases when I am not able to do so. Thanks for reviewing!
Mikasa-Chan, so much fangirliiing, thank youuu! I always love to read your reviews! So glad to have your opinions and reactions on my writing, thank you so much! And always so kind! I did have a nice day, thanks to your review ;D Author-nim is wishing you one as well!
Somnolent Sushi Roll, I'm in love with your 'ack's, they always make me grin! Thank you so much for such an enthusiastically fangirling review (imagine more exclamation marks)! Love your speculation with Mira and the belt – that was exactly the kind of reactions I was aiming for, thank you so much for that! And how you stopped it abruptly xD
foxydame, oh my goodness how am I deserving of so many so incredibly kind praises?! Thank you so so much! Love how you picked so many things to comment on, thank you so much for so much effort and for letting me know! I'm so happy to be sharing my Jerza with you (and fangirling about them, of course :D)!
"Erza?" She heard her name being called from down the hall. Quickly, she turned the screen of the communication lacrima off, looking around hectically until finding a nice hiding spot. She slid it into the oven glove on the stove. Then she grabbed a knife, only now realising how utterly useless it was to hold something with nothing to cut anywhere near.
"To think I'd only have to follow the scent of food to find you," Jellal's voice startled her at the door. "On second thought, it's not all that unrealistic…" he pondered aloud and she threw him a look over her shoulder. He grinned back. His eyes wandered, however, and Erza realised to – luckily – never have taken off the apron. Oh, the power it possessed – it was plain to see on his face.
"Welcome back. How was work?" She asked in a casual tone. A hum escaped her lips when his arms came to greet her by winding around her waist.
"Mh, you didn't have to cook," he said above her ear. She had to smile, dropping the excuse of a knife into the sink. That would have been a reason to have it – cleaning! It only came to her mind too late and she hardly realised that he did not care in the slightest.
"Maybe I wanted to," she gave back in the same sweet singing as him. A smile stretched across his face and he did not lose it while placing a kiss on her temple. "So tell me," she turned in his embrace, meeting his lips before slipping away. Great. The table was not even set. Inwardly facepalming, Erza cursed at how unused she was to being a housewife. And that she would have to set priorities when trying to do him a favour – and chatting with Meredy should not be one of them.
"Well, apparently the Friday is always shorter, which I appreciate," Jellal commenced. He opened a drawer to select their cutlery, throwing an estimating glance into the oven. He looked so positively surprised, Erza felt her chest swell with triumph and her heart skip a beat, if a nervous one – they had not tasted them yet. "Did you get my message – I sent a pigeon," he asked while she searched for naught beneath the counters for plates. "It never came back…"
"Uh," Erza felt sweat pool at the base of her neck. Where was that darn bird anyway? She remembered it to have been in the kitchen at… some point.
"It was supposed to find its way back to the Council," he explained, opening a cupboard overhead, retrieving plates for them. A little embarrassed – and not to mention caught – she took them from him, setting the table. "But anyway," Jellal fetched her glass from her seating place, filling it up under the drain, "it was really good. I mean, it's mostly just paperwork that needs to be done but the cases I need to defend are interesting and sometimes a little tricky," he went on.
Erza found another glass for him, exchanging her full one for his, which he filled as well.
"Jura came by twice," Jellal placed the glass onto the table, "I think he likes me. Or otherwise he only wants to keep an eye on me,"
"Perhaps on the other employees around you – I recall that 'judge' from your trial all too well…" Erza growled. The lacrima tumbled out of the oven glove when she picked it up, completely having forgotten about it. It nearly hit the ground but she kicked it up, accidentally slapping it twice in her panic to catch it, finally doing so and slipping it into the front pocket of her apron. Where it could have been from the start, she realised, suppressing a groan.
"Nadal?" Jellal turned, fortunately oblivious to her short fuss. "I actually haven't seen him once. Perhaps he works solely in the dungeons," he supplied, so completely without a grudge she almost wanted to bring the entire issue back up and march to the prison herself, knocking some sense into that frog creature.
There really was something wrong with her, Erza thought, noticing how Mira's surveyed mood swings were not all that far from the truth. But she blamed it onto their new surroundings and situation, rather than any physical causes.
Bending over, she took out the baking tray, setting it down onto the stove. Then she held her hand out to the side and Jellal understood, handing her one plate. She loaded them equally full, feeling as hungry as he must have been even without having gone to work. Must have been that climb, she reminded herself. The missing pigeon came back to her mind but she ignored it.
"Did you get to talk to the other Council members?" Erza asked, sitting down with her own plate when he pulled out her chair for her. Jellal shook his head where he sat down opposite of her.
"No, I was mostly in my office."
"You have your own office?"
"Of course," he smirked, and she saw the honest pride in his eyes. "It's like a tiny library; it's really lovely," he said, "and it's close to the archive – at least one of them. Oh, remember when I told you about that thing with the paragraph I told them correctly on the first day?"
"The one they had not changed," she nodded.
"Today – this is good," he interrupted himself, pointing at their lunch with his fork. Erza felt her smile broaden. "So today, there were some others poking around the archive when I was there – I was already done with my cases so I wanted to familiarise myself with the files – and I overheard them talking about something they could not find a solution for," the words practically flew over his tongue. "Some family heritage mysterious murder case where they did not have enough evidence to call it murder,"
"That's the kind of cases you get?"
"Amongst others," he nodded, cutting another slice off his zucchini. "And I overheard them looking for something and I figured it to be the exact thing I had come across only a minute ago – just out of interest, I had read it." Jellal waited until he was done chewing. Erza could not help a fond smile at how excited he was. He was so absorbed, he did not even notice her to simply be watching him adoringly.
"So I told them what solution there had been in the past case – I didn't remember the file number so I just pointed down the rack – but I did recall the paragraph – again – and their faces were just as priceless as yesterday," he grinned. Erza giggled. She felt warmth spread through her entire body, becoming aware of this having been the right decision. This being his right place.
"And you know what? I know what date it is! I don't think I've known that for years,"
"I'm glad to hear you were successful," she lifted her glass, even if it was just water, and he smiled gladly, clinking his to hers.
"So were you," Jellal noted, lifting his next bite with his fork.
"Oh, well, I just thought you might be tired after work," she shrugged in what she hoped to seem nonchalant.
"Maybe with a little oil and hint of oregano…" he was already back in another zone, the new recipe intriguing him. Erza wanted to slam her head onto the table. She had forgotten the oil! How could someone forget the second step in a recipe? She spotted it on the counter, untouched but ready for action. If only his message had not rushed her so much – or so she thought, blaming her failures onto that vanished pigeon.
She tried not to mention the bird again while they washed up. It was not too late, though nearing sunset already, so they decided on a stroll through town. He had never had the time to get to know it and she was happy to show him her discoveries – she could drag him past the baby clothes and perhaps casually drop the topic.
"I can't believe it's snowing again," Jellal glanced up, his cheeks already rosy from the cold and his skin as icily white as the slowly falling flakes.
"It's winter," Erza gave a teasing nudge. She scooted closer into him, one arm linked with his while the other hand held onto it. "And it is by far more bearable to be out in dry cold than wet,"
"True," he agreed. They turned a corner, watching the street lamps turn on. Nearly every device in Era was lacrima powered – they hardly used electricity, rather relying on magic.
"How did you deal with it back in Crime Sorcière?" She asked as they came by a few shops. The bakery was already cleaning up and she guessed most of the town's businesses to be treating themselves to an early weekend.
"With winter?"
"Mhm,"
"Hm, well…" Jellal pushed out his lips, half concealed in his scarf. She glanced up above the rim of her own. "We were not often staying at an inn so whenever there was an abandoned shack or an unguarded barn, we would take up shelter in there for the night. Fire was mostly too dangerous as smoke could give us away so Ultear and Meredy would cuddle up in order to stay warm,"
"And not you?" Erza felt her heart drop slightly. He offered her a soothing smile, tugging lightly on her arm. As if wanting to make up for the lack of closeness back then, she leaned on him even further, her coat rustling against his.
"In the beginning, no. Meredy was only just dealing with Ultear's near suicide and she was still a child and, well, I did not make the best impression with my own thoughts in the abyss," he shrugged and this time, she was the one to give a tug. His face was relaxed, though, not a tad of that wretched remorse he had carried on his shoulders for all these years detectable.
Erza gulped nevertheless. She kept her silence when they passed the infant clothing shop, rather listening to his story than disturb that newfound peace of his mind.
"I think she hated me for quite a while,"
"That's hard to imagine,"
"It might be now, but back then I was just some filthy criminal who oddly enough took priority before her – well, not priority, but a lot of attention from her surrogate mother,"
"Didn't Ultear tell her why she broke you out?"
"She might have, but there were many things she told neither of us. And it worked, mostly," he nodded. Their steps were beginning to crunch in the still thin layer of snow beneath their boots. "Meredy mistrusted me for at least the first year or two, probably longer," Jellal went on in an easy tone. "It wasn't until much later that she actually admitted to be following my lead whenever the occasion arose – not verbally, though," he grinned.
"That I can imagine," Erza smiled back. She directed them towards a plaza, knowing her way back to the house from there. She was getting cold, winter clothing or not. "Did you ever fear her to harm you before you became friends?"
"Oh, constantly," he chuckled. "I was prepared to get killed in my sleep almost every night for about… let's say three, four years,"
"I thought she started to trust you," Erza tilted her head. Then she straightened it again, not wanting to flatten out her defence against the wind – it really was chilling her to the bone and she longed to snuggle in beneath a thick blanket and right into his warm body.
"She did – probably. But then puberty hit," he said in a dramatic voice as if narrating a plot twist in an epic tale. Erza giggled, giving his side another playful nudge.
"And you weren't prepared for that,"
"Pretty sure I'm still not prepared to this day," he gave a sheepish grin. "Meredy had just come to terms with me and I think we were on a regular guildmate basis. Then she ignored me for about two weeks straight but she calmed down again and everything went off the rails from there on…"
"Off the rails?" Erza raised a brow. They had reached the quarter of their mansion, and she shunned any and every look to the side, not wanting to meet a neighbour's eye through the window – it might be the ones who had seen her struggle in the tree. Most of them had.
"She started teasing me then – using Maguilty Sense for when she ate spicy food I was not used to, to share her monthly pain when she thought I didn't believe her – or just because she did not want to suffer alone – or to make me shiver during her shower when it had been my turn to get the warm water."
"You didn't have enough warm water for three people?"
"We hardly ever had warm water for a single person." Jellal shrugged. "Or a shower at all,"
"How horrible…" Erza sighed. She liked to know of his past and travels and feelings but there was seldom a recollection of his that did not make her stomach queasy with pity.
She rummaged for the key in her pocket.
Jellal gave a long sigh. Sinking down on the side of the bed, he ran a hand through his hair, ruffling the melting snow out and it flew in tiny drops all around him. He unbuckled his belt, proceeding to change into more comfortable and not as stiffly cold trousers. However freezing it had been, though, sauntering through the streets had been nice. He had less of an urge to keep talking and talking and talking. He did not like himself chattering so much but at the same time, there was not an ounce of regret. This was Erza after all.
"Jellal?" Erza called from the bathroom as if on cue. Only just having removed his shirt, he wanted to search for a new one before changing places. That was not her plan, he soon got to know, turning his head when she blocked out part of the yellowish light from the bathroom.
Her silhouette stretched across the carpet, the way her hip leaned against the doorframe and her hand rested on the opposite waist. His eyes widened.
Clad in a new piece of nightwear, Erza first and foremost wore a broad smirk. Her hair was up in a lose bun, the oh so tempting invitation to dig his fingers in and release them to tumble down her slim shoulders. It was only getting more dangerous from there on, her cleavage exposed with a heart neckline, though not much of the rest was all that hidden to begin with. It was but a whisper of see-through fabric, a balmy rose colour, adorned with black lace at the hems. Ending at the very top of her thighs, the black lacing of her knickers came into view, practically made of nothing else and going perfectly with the set of her bra and over-knee tights that strapped onto her waistband.
Jellal's body was frozen in place. All but one part but he did not even have the capacity to curse at it, his mind too paralysed. She was stunning. And she was wearing heels again.
On those tiny black heels that made his brain go haywire, Erza shifted her weight to swing her dazzling hips the other way, curving her body to watch his eyes roll along.
"I thought maybe if you were still cold," she neared the bed in an agonisingly slow pace, working her walk in the exact swaying of her hips his vision seemed to be glued on. "I could warm you up…" she winked, her smirk never leaving. The way the flimsy fabric brushed along her silky skin made him want to frame it against her, wrap his hands around her torso, draw along those lines she teased him with.
Hardly noticeable – and unconsciously to begin with – Jellal's hand came up to his other arm. He gave a small pinch, muscles wincing from the pain, eyes never straying from their target. Erza's eyes sparked up. His own flashed to see the change, the way she bit her bottom lip in order not to laugh out loud only turning him on more.
Shit, he thought, knowing she was onto him. She had seen that, right? That stupidly obvious reality check…
With an angelic and at the same time devilish giggle, Erza strode from the bedpost to stand right in front of him. She widened her stance, far enough for her legs to straddle his would she have scooted forward and yet too far away for him to reach out and enclose them.
How was he being punished and spoiled at the same time? She was pure eye candy, and he wanted to touch and experience what the wisp of fabric felt like under his fingers, to reveal what he could already catch more than just glimpses of. It was mesmerizing just to look at her – whoever designed such clothes was a dangerous mastermind.
His hands shook where he held them in place, not daring to pull away from his previous awkward position. She knew exactly what was going on in his head, did she not?
"Mh, you're so quiet, Jellal," Erza put her hands on her hips, framing that slender waistline against the light of the bathroom. The way she said his name made the hair in the back of his neck rise. "Don't you… want something?" She smirked at him, giving a full view of the tight valley between her breasts as she bent forward, being aware of his eyes' flashing and his Adam's apple's slumping as he swallowed.
All he knew was that he was not cold anymore.
Jellal yawned, returning from the bathroom. He debated whether to leave the light on or off, ultimately deciding in favour of the electricity bill. In this case, it was a lacrima based energy but he was far too spent to give it another thought.
Icy air bit his skin when he stepped further into the bedroom. He spotted her by the open window, leaning out, turning her head to him and then back.
"Look, they've put on the fairy lights!" Erza pointed into the night. Coming to stand next to her, Jellal let his gaze wander along the tiny flickering of colourful light in the distance. She had been disappointed upon finding them strung from lantern to lantern and then not having gotten to see them in their true splendour. Now her eyes sparkled in awe, making him fear for a moment that she would toss his coat at him and demand another stroll through the empty streets. Not that he would have declined.
Jellal settled with a sly smile.
"Is that another excuse to get me outside and cold again…?" He teased, knowing however that she had been genuinely admiring. Turning, utter cuteness turned into merciless seduction, eyelids dropping already. A smirk crowned her lips, even before the shiver gave away how easily she stirred him up again with that single nail running down his chest. She was thrilling in every way.
"Bold of you to assume I need an excuse to make love to you all night..." Erza trailed, her chest against his again, lips hovering close to his face. Jellal could already tell that sleep would be long in coming that night but at the same time, he was rather sure he would not mind too much.