So apparently, my fingers were too quick for my keyboard, because in my notes I found 'Jellali' and found it quite hilarious.
pilikali, thank you for your review! I've actually thought about the last names a lot before deciding what she'd choose.
Mikasa-Chan, you're so cute, greeting first, so hey! And thank you for your review! I already loved how you guys pointed out how the wedding would be 'as perfect as the proposal' - which was a proper chaos, need I say it - and so was the wedding and you're still like: so perfect! xDxD I'm really having a blast here, thank you! Actually, both of your honeymoon and mission wishes are already in the making so stay tuned for that ;)
Mitzy123, I think 'so funny and I never expected that' is as brilliant a praise as it gets, thank you so much! Glad to know what you liked in particular! Thanks for letting me know!
foxydame, epic is a very strong word and I am so. happy. that you called the previous chapter that! Thank you soo much for such a long and detailed review! You make my day and my week (so much, you get all these italics)! Hahah, yes, we'll get to see the pigeon again soon. I'm so happy I made you laugh! Also 'taking him on a date to meet frigging Ichiya isn't really batting a thousand terms in winning' really cracked me up xD a date to see Ichiya (also, thanks for the idiom, I hadn't known that before ;D). And thank you so much for even mentioning Jellal's and Meredy's conversation! Thank you so much for all the fangirling and constant support! I'm truly grateful!
Snow piled up where she dragged her feet through the snow. It was not fresh, though luckily not frozen over either. Her head was still throbbing a little and she inwardly thanked Jellal for his strictness about her alcohol consume – sure, she had stayed until well into the morning but she had stayed clear off the ever-flowing booze most of the other guildmembers had kept on slugging down like bottomless pits. It had been more fun without everyone completely intoxicated, anyway, and she knew how to have fun without it.
In any case, it had not been a bad thing in the end for the newlyweds to have left earlier than most others. For the sake of Jellal's introvertism, as well as his still somehow mostly positive opinion of his fellow members. Not to mention Erza's current condition, seeing as her usual nap during the day had been omitted.
Nonetheless, they had forgotten their wedding gifts, and Meredy was rather keen on those not being destroyed within the unavoidable havoc Fairy Tail was bound to wreak once they awoke.
Rather proudly, Meredy led the horse that was pulling her makeshift sled down the street. She still had to bring the animals back, glad to have found them all in front of the Guildhall – unharmed and not frozen solid. Someone had even supplied a water trough and a huge load of apples from the guild's storage. She could not shake the feeling that the certain someone had been the groom himself – with a little help from a Solid Script Mage for the wood – the groom who was undoubtedly the sole groom in all of Earthland to have offered to help with cleaning up. On the same night.
The animal puffed next to Meredy and she smiled at it, even though it meant nothing to the mare. Glancing back, not for the first time, she checked whether nothing had fallen off. The gifts were all splendid, ranging from practical things such as a tea cosy or whetstone – as well as a highly suggestive baby pacifier from Mira – to emotionally important items, amongst which there was a deck of cards with guild members for numbers and a photo collection from the Sorcerer Weekly of every shoot Erza had ever done. Meant for Jellal, of course.
He had taken it all by far better than Meredy would have assumed. He had not hidden away at having to accept gifts or compliments, he had laughed at any speeches or jokes at the couple's expense as much as he had dealt a few teases and witty remarks. One of which had been on the photo collection, a grin having graced his lips as he had fawned over finally being able to secretly marvel at his wife, with emphasis on 'wife'.
On second thought, perhaps the alcohol had done him good. He had always had a small liver, she remembered, his food poisonings having stalled the original Crime Sorcière quite a few times while she and Ultear had merely complained about a particularly upset stomach.
Oh, how she wished her late foster mother could have been there. Ultear would have been in the vanguard of embarrass-the-groom speeches just as much as she would have loved to see him finally acting upon his feelings. No, she would have loved to see that above all else. What Meredy was not so sure about – and all the more curious – was whether the exceptionally talented mage would have known her limit, drunken at all and how she would have behaved when wasted.
Somehow, despite the bitterness of never getting to know; never being able to even ask if not witness, Meredy smiled without grief. Because Ultear would have been very happy. She was very happy. She was exhilarated. And that was only her – there were no words to grasp in which spheres Jellal dwelled.
"Meredy!" Meredy stopped upon hearing her own name being called. A mistake. The horse continued for another step, prompting her to tighten her grip around the rope and fall face forward into the snow. Fortunately, there was snow. "Are you okay?" The high voice, now meek, said above her.
Getting to her feet where two even smaller ones now stood, Meredy shook her head to rid herself of the melting flakes.
"I'm sorry," Wendy apologised but Meredy gave an allying smile.
"Don't worry," she grinned. "You're up early," she noted and she young mage crossed her arms behind her back.
"I didn't stay too long after the countdown yesterday, and since no one's awake yet, I wanted to get breakfast in town," she elaborated. Meredy had to smile upon the mention of the countdown. What a wonderful thing to do. She had never wished so many people a happy new year in her life and she had hardly gotten enough of it. She still greeted every and any passer-by with it, even if they were scarce that morning.
"Did Charle not want to join you?" Meredy asked, tilting her head. There was still snow left in her hair but she decided against brushing it out now – what did not chill her by skin contact could wait.
"She's still asleep, I didn't want to wake her," Wendy explained.
"I'd love to join you; if you want, that is," Meredy offered, a bright smile shining back at her, "but I have to drop this off first. Wanna come?" She asked, receiving a nod.
Their chat was light and they laughed almost the entire way to the house in recollection of the previous night. The topic of the wedding ceremony itself never occurred, and Meredy guessed it was as unbelievable to be true to the Dragon Slayer as it was to her.
She fumbled a from the cold whitening hand into her pocket, unlocking the front door to the house. It was quiet inside, and for a second, she almost forgot about the wedding night's tradition. Sending prayers to her lucky stars, aka herself, she snuck inside the hall. Ready to find them both naked and in a turmoil of blankets – or so she hoped, for the blankets, that is – she peeked into the bedroom, all the while blocking the view from Wendy.
Not a heartbeat later, she stepped aside.
Quite obviously, it had not been longing that had kept them from fulfilling a tradition this time as it had with the day apart.
Spawled out on their backs, the couple laid side by side in the middle of the bed. Jellal's leg still hung over the side, his mouth parted as he kept on sleeping soundly despite the intruders. Erza was still wearing her partially burnt up dress, her hair not even released, falling apart here and there, and one of her hands grasped the only thing her husband had come to loosen, if not enough to take it off – his tie.
They must have collapsed first thing that night, exhaustion clearly having overpowered both.
Wendy peeked past Meredy, and they exchanged a glance. Neither could keep from giggling. Wendy's hands shot up to her mouth to cover it when she saw Jellal stir. Exchanging another, surreptitiously flashing look, the two in the doorframe remained unmoving. To no avail.
Giving a small groan from the back of his scratchy throat, Jellal slowly blinked his eyes open. He had not drunken too much but he still seemed like a corpse when he stared at the ceiling for a minute, his brain's gears almost visibly turning as they gradually picked up work again. Frowning to himself then, Meredy noticed his finger move. The little one lifted, curling, finding the ring on the next. Tracing it for another few heartbeats. It was hard for Meredy not to nudge Wendy and ask her whether she had perceived, too. Finally, he lifted his hand.
Tired eyes widened ever so slightly, the light having shone in them all night rekindled by the mere sight of the simple titanium ring. And for the first time since Meredy had known him, he gave the impression of falling in love with a material object.
It took another minute for him to look his fill, though he only tore his gaze away when she spoke.
"It's not a dream," Erza softly reminded, her face telling of a similar feeling as his, and Meredy could only guess their actual dreams to have been filled with wedding-themed scenarios.
With a light blush – she had hit the nail on the head, uttering his very thoughts – Jellal turned his head to look at her. At his wife. Then a broad grin stretched across his lips and both of them started to laugh with happy tears in their eyes, then kissed as if there was no tomorrow, squishing the other in a tight hug where she had to mumble into the skin of his neck.
"Now we can honeymoon," she said with what was undoubtedly a smirk. A kiss followed, then another as she pecked along his shoulder, finally smiling into his face.
"Right, that exists," Jellal remembered sheepishly, "and is apparently a verb, too," he muttered, more to himself, enticing a giggle. "I think I want you to plan that," he decided and she raised a brow.
"Not Meredy?"
"If we'd still be in a hurry, then definitely yes," he grinned and she agreed. "But I had to think of how you bloomed in preparing us for the Council's gala," he illuminated, receiving another nod. Then he sighed. "How do we ever thank her for this…?"
"For planning?" Erza asked and he hummed positive. She adapted his pensive frown. "Souvenirs?"
"We also have to think about where to go – did you want to leave the country?" He went on, fingers tracing circles into the exposed skin of her back.
"It's an idea," she agreed. "I've only ever been outside of Fiore once, when we went to Alakitasia to rescue Master from Zeref," she reminded.
"Ah, right," he gave a nod, "where you fought the sandman," he recalled, carelessly attributing the new Alakitasian Emperor by his magic. "But I'm afraid we'll have to ask the Council for another holiday then; I can't take work with me while travelling, it wouldn't be safe enough," he reluctantly admitted.
"When does this one end?"
"I'd have to look it up, but I'm sure I don't have an entire week left," Jellal informed, heaving a sigh.
"Mh, that's alright," Erza stretched her neck to grant a peck to his chin. "We can honeymoon in Era, too," she offered but he was not satisfied with the notion. Remaining silent, brooding written all over his forehead, Jellal stared ahead as he searched for a solution. At least an excuse or special task that would allow him permission to take more time off.
Clearly, he was a stranger to the concept of not going on one's honeymoon immediately after the wedding.
"Jellal?" Erza brought him back to reality.
"Yes, love?" He blinked down at her, a huge smile forming on her lips at hearing his words. Another heartbeat passed before she was really to let the moment pass, still smiling brightly.
"Do we have pretzels? I'm feeling like pretzels," she stated. He raised his brows.
"For breakfast?"
"Mhm," she kept on beaming at him.
"I can buy some," he proposed, shrugging, but she misinterpreted the gesture, throwing herself onto him when her arms were already encircling his torso.
"No," she whined, "don't get up," Erza clung to him and he grinned like the happy idiot he was. Not going unnoticed, she smiled back just as merrily. "You know," she started as she often did, already making the corners of his mouth stretch even further, however that was possible. "Now you can finally remember that anniversary," she laughed, yelping when he poked her ribs at the old tease. To them, it felt like ages since having discussed the topic – to the two quietly smiling girls in the doorframe, it was just as new of an innuendo as most of their jokes and conversations were.
"It still sounds odd," Jellal confessed, mouthing 'anniversary' without pronouncing it.
"Surreal?" Erza supplied.
"That," he agreed, a shiver travelling down his spine as she tenderly drew a finger along his nape, "and it's still so…" he lifted his hands off her waist, gesticulating in the hopes of it helping him express himself. Patiently, Erza waited. She detached her face from his clavicle to regard his face as he struggled. He huffed to himself. "Not too long ago, I didn't believe I'd live past thirty," he chuckled. "And I haven't yet," he joked, "but still, it's so…" he repeated, and again, she waited. "Desirable." He ended in a gentle smile.
Melting at his words, Erza closed her eyes in silent demand of a kiss. Willingly rather than obediently, Jellal met her lips with his, tugging her closer again.
"Just think," she softly said against his face, "soon, you'll have another reason live life to its fullest," she smiled warmly, her hand raising and Meredy knew its destination to be her stomach. "We'll be having a-"
"Good morning!" Meredy blurted, practically yelled, startling the couple and not to mention Wendy, who nearly jumped out of her skin. Eyes huge from having been spooked, Erza and Jellal stared at her, minds making slow progress until Erza's seemed to click at the sight of Wendy – realising to have been saved.
Out of reflex, Jellal had held his beloved closer. Now another reflex kicked in, prompting him to let her go and awkwardly sit up.
"I just came by to drop off your wedding gifts," Meredy started as cheerfully as she could since his expression spoke of slight irritation. "They're outside; I'll just leave 'em there for now, but be sure to take them inside before someone else helps themselves to it." She winked.
"Thanks," Erza managed, starting to relax again. "Did everything go alright yesterday night?" She asked, possibly having had to listen to Jellal's chastising concerning Meredy's stay after their departure. On second thought, however, they might not have talked all that much to begin with, seeing as Erza had even been too tired for their wedding night's tradition.
"Yeah, everything was great – the guildhall still stands and everyone got home okay. We did find a lonely pair of knickers though…"
"Oh," Erza nodded, "those are probably the horse's," she explained, not solving the enigma in the least. At least not for the two girls, Jellal nodding to both of their bewilderment.
"And I thought you didn't drink…" Meredy pondered aloud, then grinned at Jellal's scowl in her direction. Registering the mistake, she opted for a hasty retreat. She turned on the heel, waving over her shoulder. "Anyway, see ya!" She called, ushering Wendy back out the bedroom and then the front door. Coming face to face with a horse.
"Right…" Meredy sighed to herself. Sharing another smile and more than another giggle with the young Dragon Slayer, they went to escort all of the horses back to their owner, finding they more than deserved their breakfast afterwards.
"Thanks again for helping me," Meredy said with a small smile. "And sorry for being so useless," she gave an apologetic frown but Erza waved it off.
"It's our pleasure," she ensured where she held up the wooden top of the Maguilty Sense Mage's new nightstand. Jellal nodded in agreement, positioning the sidewall with its pegs at the corresponding holes before hammering it in. She turned the surface for him to attach the other two, then strolled over to the bed where Wendy finished the drawer.
"Though I still wonder as to why you've chosen a bed this big," Jellal raised a brow where he sat on the windowsill, legs dangling outside. Men were not allowed in Fairy Hills, after all. So technically, he was not inside, they all silently agreed on, bearing the cold from outside as not to have to exclude him.
Meredy rolled her eyes, not that Erza held it against her.
"It's all your fault – if you wouldn't have let me sleep in Erza's enormous old one, I would've never gotten used to it," she defended herself, rather wittily shoving the blame back to him. He pursed his lips, watching where she was sprawled out on said bed, one arm covering her eyes. "You never asked her why it was so big," she pointed out and his frown changed.
He threw a glance at his wife.
"More space for hoarding blankets?" She shrugged in response.
"More importantly, I'll finally have my own bathroom where I can go whenever I want," Meredy raved, momentarily forgetting her aching stomach. Jellal huffed.
"I ask you every time if you need it before we take a bath,"
"I didn't have to go then!" She protested, a light pink on her cheeks upon realising how childish it sounded. How the entire argument was one of their silly quarrels again.
Shaking his head, Jellal opened his mouth to retort, but his attention shifted.
"There they are – I'll go help," he offered, then disappeared. Erza sauntered over to the window to see him land, his feet furrowing deeply into the snow. Down the steep hill, Lucy, Juvia, Natsu and Gray were carrying boxes and wheeling a cart of more furniture building sets respectively. Happy hovered above them with a small bag of nails and a huge grin at their struggles.
"Urgh, I think I'm gonna die…" Meredy groaned as she rolled onto her side. "He just had to comment on that, didn't he?" She then digressed. A small smile pushed through her agony as Wendy gave a soothing pat to her hand which hung over the mattress.
"Still not better?" Erza asked in regard to the hot-water bottle, knowing very well how her own monthly ovulation had caused her slight pain in her abdomen. Obviously not as much as Meredy's, she thought, knowing the girl not to be overdramatising when it came to injuries. It was almost scary to know how long it had been since her own, not that Erza complained in any way.
"No," Meredy whined, crumpling a blanket to herself.
"I'm sorry my magic can't help you," Wendy said where she still held her friend's hand as if paying her respects to a moribund Mage.
"Don't worry," Meredy managed another smile, "just be glad it's not your turn yet," she said and both knocked on the wooden bedpost. Erza shook her head.
"It's not always this bad. I've never had too many problems," she assured Wendy who had gone a hue paler. "Did the pills not help?" She then asked Meredy. When noticing her gaze to be avoided, she sighed under her breath and went to sit on the bed. "Did you buy them?"
"No…" Meredy confessed. "He'd only get suspicious," she mumbled into the blanket as she pulled it closer.
"Why suspicious?" Wendy asked. "If there's a pill against pain, there's nothing wrong with it, right?" She went on, puzzled when the two older women exchanged grimaces. Trying to relax her frown, Erza collected herself. Meredy's graduate sinking into the sheets to hide did not go unnoticed.
"Well, you know why women bleed once a month," she started, biting her lip when Wendy shook her head instead of the anticipated nod. Why did the others have to take so long with bringing the furniture? And this was not even the worst part to explain, she encouraged and discouraged herself at the same time. "Alright, so the female body develops the ability to conceive – to become pregnant and have a child," she began and this time, Wendy nodded.
Meredy peeked out from the covers, her face a bright red but her lips quirking up into a gleeful smirk at the light stutter of the Queen of the Fairies. Had she not just organised their entire wedding, there would have been revenge.
"To, uh, produce a child," Erza frowned to herself, "the ovum that your body grows needs to be fertilised – like an egg will forever stay egg white and yolk if unfertilised; it won't become a chic," Erza elaborated. Wendy was listening intently, honestly interested since the topic was still rather scientific and focused on the pregnancy, rather than the procedure beforehand. Wondering for the first time how much the young Dragon Slayer knew about the latter to begin with, she decided that she did not want to go into detail anyway.
And still, the team was taking their sweet time, no voices reaching them from either the window or hallway.
"But your body makes a new one every month to make sure it's always healthy and uninfected, so that if it stays unfertilised after three weeks, it throws the ovum out which results in the bleeding and occasional pain,"
"Occasional…" Meredy mocked, karma acting on Erza's behalf when the pink-haired Mage groaned with another cramp, curling up tighter around her source of warmth.
"I see," Wendy nodded, almost eagerly as if sitting in class and soaking up as much knowledge as she could for an upcoming exam. "Then why is it so bad to take medicine?" She glanced from Erza to Meredy when the latter snorted. Her face vanished in fabric when Erza shot her a glare.
"It's not bad, only their purpose is not to ease the pain; that's a positive side effect," she proceeded, slowing down while throwing a hopeful glace at the door. Nothing.
"Then why would Jellal be angry?" Wendy harped on to Erza's dismay. She slapped the blanket bundle when it vibrated in unsuccessfully stifled snickering.
"Well, you see," she noted how her hands came up to gesture as a replacement action, putting them back on her lap. Fingers fidgeted with her rings instead. "The original purpose is… that you use it as not to conceive," she took a hissing inhale, "to prevent becoming pregnant while also… inducing that…" Erza grumbled while the sheets kept on shaking with muffled laughter. Wendy seemed more confused than ever, and Erza felt guiltier than she felt bashful. "It's when you… have-"
The door sprang open, making them all wince. Happy greeted cheerfully, tossing his puny contribution to the ground before yelling for the girls to be wary of the carpet in the hall over his shoulder.
Erza felt her embarrassment reach new heights at the idea of the others overhearing – at her telling the young Dragon Slayer such things. It was then that Meredy delivered her from her task, throwing the blanket over Wendy's head to whisper to her beneath the cover, leaving a brightly scarlet girl to exit the warm haven. She looked a tad dizzy but revived by the giggle from the side and the understanding hand of Erza on her shoulder.
"Wow, you've come so far!" Lucy called where she was carrying a large box in her arms. They had worked the entire morning already, wallpapering the walls with a lovely white and cream flower pattern. All safe for one wall – the one behind the bed – where a cosily dark purple matched the sheets.
The day before, the newly married couple had been too busy with finding places for their wedding presents and tidying up all of the armoury and suitcases in the cellar to make room. Now having adhered to his promise, Erza and Jellal had come to help a somewhat hindered Meredy with moving in properly after the room had finally been fixed up and separated from the rest. Merely the bathroom demanded some work, the workers accidentally having broken a few tiles, but it was not a big issue – Meredy would live in Erza and Jellal's house for a while, anyway, guarding it in their absence.
A rather basic but queen-sized bed throned against the wall opposite the window, just where Erza's had been. The ceiling-high closet – erstwhile Erza's – stood next to the bathroom door, leaving space for the settee and armchairs Meredy had chosen during their shopping spree after lunch. Erza had never had more seating accommodations than a chair, having spent her time at the guild or in the community room downstairs. That chair, alongside the desk, now resided beneath the rooflight of the attic in their house.
Rising to her feet, Erza went to offer her help but Lucy jerked her head towards Juvia on the stairs, the cardboard box she carried seeming heavier than the blonde's.
"So, Erza, have you decided yet where you want to go on your honeymoon?" Lucy asked after having placed her load in a corner, a relieved exhale following.
"We need to leave for Era first," Erza informed where she walked backwards, assisting Juvia with carrying and lowering the box to the floor. "We might take a while to catch up on work," she said, swallowing the part about having to ask permission for another holiday before being able to travel anywhere on their honeymoon.
Jellal appeared at the window, carefully shoving the first parts of the couch into the room where he glowed with the flight power of Meteor. Then he disappeared again, going to take the next items in order to avoid stairs as well as entering the building.
"Juvia heard Bosco is a beautiful country," Juvia said where she wiped her forehead. "But one with a very different culture,"
"Oh, we've already decided on the country – just not any specific location," Erza disclosed, accepting the next box from Jellal before he went back down.
"Right, you said you'd rather go somewhere warm," Lucy remembered, being met with a nod. Erza smiled as she found her husband's eyes at his next appearance, beaming at him.
"We're going south, to the island of Caelum."
That it an actual place within the Fairy Tail universe - check out the map if you're interested ;)
Have a good weekend!