Thank you, so much Zhou Fei (of course I remember you, Wendy ;D) and especially Miss Panda for your lovely and long reviews! Can't tell you enough how much I appreciate the support and motivation!
"I think we best start with something to eat- wait," Erza interrupted herself. "You haven't eaten anything since yesterday morning, have you?" She gasped, then pulled a face. She had at least snacked with the girls in town while visiting the Rainbow Tree. "I'll just go to the bathroom, and then…" Erza halted again. Both her speech as well as her steps. Frozen slightly, she stood there. Expression blank. Limbs stiff.
How would he even...?
"Do you…?" She looked at him with a mixture of bewilderment and pity. He had not eaten, but he would have to eventually. There was no way the answers would come flying their way in a matter of hours – the train ride to Crocus alone took that long. "First the carrying and now this," Erza lamented to herself as she made for the bathroom. "Will I have to clean up after you before the baby?" She glanced at him over her shoulder. He followed her without any signs of response.
It was not awkward for them to share the bathroom. Showering together, sleeping together, making love – embarrassment to see the other with or without clothes was certainly not an issue anymore. And they were married for heaven's sake. Still, his steps were noiseless and his gaze almost foreign despite the identically coloured eyes.
She could simply not ban him. Not only for his, but her own sake – having him around proved to her that he was at least unharmed. In most ways…
"You know what," Erza said when having washed her hands, "I'm just going to leave the lid open," she decided. Drying her hands, she made for the kitchen. Only to stop midway, turning back to do just as she had promised – and already forgotten so it seemed. This was going to need getting used to. "Meredy knew what a Sensory Link was and could cast it; you can use a toilet," she declared. More to herself than him.
The housewife-ing came back to her, and with her thoughts in a proper chaos, Erza forgot about breakfast in the heat of the moment. A heat she used to get the bathroom to sparkle. Cleaning was easy, she found, already content with her set of skills. The porcelain was sparkling, the drain hair-free, and the tiles shining enough for her to see her own reflection.
Quickly, she reopened the lid of the toilet. Nearly forgotten again.
With a short sigh, she let her sleeves glide back down. Only to roll them up again. Next up was laundry. There was more to a bathroom than a bit of scrubbing.
"Is this enough for a load?" She went through the small heap of clothes – the ones he had worn at the guild pre-transformation and those they had slept in. The nightdress she had lent to Wendy. "I'll go have a look around," Erza decided, getting up.
Surging with energy – perhaps quick bursts of adrenaline, she wondered whenever Jellal's cat silhouette spooked her from the corner of her eye – Erza stripped the bed. With the fitted sheets, she bundled up the pillowcases and duvet covers. It was by far too much for a single load now. It almost made her wish she would sleep with an ordinary amount of blankets.
"How do you fit all this in?" Erza asked, not expecting an answer. Hoping for one, yes, but not expecting it. The washing machine gave an unhealthy-sounding creak when she forcefully stuffed the sixth duvet cover in. Jellal gave a sound from the back of his throat. Unease? Discontent? A failed growl? Or failed approval? And if so, then to her question or her actions?
Arms sinking with discouragement, Erza sat back on her heels. Plucking everything back out, she inspected the washing machine drum for damage, then filled it with solely their sleeping and daily clothes. Not heeding a single thought to colour or turning everything inside out.
"This isn't enough, is it?" She turned to Jellal. At least she would have had he been there. Erza winced. Bolting into action where she had accidentally buried him in all the tossed-out sheets, it took her a moment to find him. "Sorry," she dug him out, leaving him to decide where to stay instead of picking him up. He chose a single pillowcase and sat down. Quiet, unintended purring emitted from his chest – it was her pillowcase. "So then no washing just yet," she said, half asked. Jellal looked up at her. Then he stood, leaving the bathroom. He did not have to glance back at her for her to follow.
"Ah," Erza said once in the kitchen. He had stopped in front of a counter, going up on his hindlegs to clumsily swat at the kitchen towel. "Good idea," she praised. "Food! I forgot again," Erza was flooded with more and more duties again, washing seemingly overwritten in her server as eating pushed into the foreground.
The kitchen towel was left over the backrest of the chair in her hurry.
"Oh, but what do I feed you- sorry!" Erza immediately backpaddled. "I'm so sorry," she apologised again, brow furrowing. She had not meant it like that, but it was still a cat she was facing. "Since you're a…" she pressed her lips together, swallowing the obvious, "you must have a cat stomach," she pondered. "Maybe if I just open a can of tuna…?" Erza rummaged through the cupboards, finding nothing even close to what she sought.
She did not have the slightest idea about a cat's diet – she had problems with her own pregnancy diet to begin with, and even there she liked to cheat and add extra treats. 'Treat' had just gained a whole new meaning, she noted, seeing as her husband was practically a pet now.
What if she fed him something he could not digest? Something poisonous? She could not go and buy him cat food – not only was it possible he would dislike it from the start, but she could never bring herself to feed it to him. She refused to even buy it.
Still, for tuna alone she would have to go to the shops…
"So if you have a cat stomach," she turned to where he had hopped from the chair on top of the table. She gulped, continuing anyway. "Doesn't that mean you have a cat's brain, too?" She asked – asked or mused aloud, she was not sure. But Meredy had understood! And he had… he had licked her chin and returned her gazes, but apart from that…
Erza's shoulders sank. For a moment, she prayed for those silly hormone jokes to hold some truth, because if this was how she functioned without Jellal, their small family was as good as ruined.
"Do you know how I am?" She asked, her voice nearing a whisper. For the first time since the day before, Jellal meowed. Her knees followed her shoulders, slumping, bringing her to drop in front of the table, forehead meeting the wood. "I don't know if that was an answer or just random," she lamented. He meowed again. "Or that…" Erza let out a discouraged groan.
A tiny nose nudged her. Lifting her head, Erza met the eyes she loved so dearly, only to be unable to read them. There was either too little to decipher or too much to crystalise separate feelings. Panic was at least not one of them anymore.
"Alright," she inhaled to summon strength, "one meow means it was an answer and two mean random," she proposed. Sitting down, he meowed once. That could have been just as much as an answer as random – again. "I should've made it the other way around," Erza huffed to herself. He nodded. It made her eyes widen slightly. Staring at him, she almost thought to recognise him more than before. "So yes?" He tilted his head. Yes to what, she realised.
This was going to be even harder than imagined.
Shuffling to kneel more upright, arms folded on the table, Erza met his gaze with intent.
"Do you really understand me?" She rephrased. He unmistakably nodded. "And you know who I am?" She went on. It earned her a heftier nod. He got up, then prodded his head to hers. Violently almost, at least for his significantly reduced size and weight, Jellal rubbed his head to her face, the tiny pink triangle that was his nose meeting hers meaningfully. She slung her arms around him in return, hugging him to her face.
"Oh, Jellal," Erza sighed, "I want to hug you so much," she dropped her head above his back.
Several minutes passed until she was ready to let go. With less to hug, it simply took her longer to be at least remotely satisfied.
Her stomach rumbled, reminding her how both of them had to eat. And that she was now responsible for it.
"We should go buy something for you," she said, standing. "Perhaps a trip to the library would not hurt either…" she brought two fingers to her chin. She could not just feed him anything, and the things she was able to cook were already limited. "But I can't carry you all the time, and those floors might be dirty from all the shoes," she eyed the kitchen floor.
She would have to clean them all again, the floors of the house. And then go barefooted; he could not wear anything on his feet anymore after all. So neither would she.
"Well, the last time I smuggled a cat was in Crocus to the ball after the Grand Magic Games," Erza remembered. "When Milliana was down and I had Happy and…" fading out, she frowned at Jellal. He was certainly small enough. "That might just work," she nodded to herself. "We'll get us something for lunch and then I can clean-" her attention returned to the kitchen towel, reminding of the unfinished laundry. And unmade bed. And floors to be wiped.
Why again had she thought his job was an easy one?
"Your job!" Erza suddenly recalled. "Today's Sunday – you have to be at work tomorrow!" She raked both hands through her hair. "How could I forget? I'm going to call immediately and tell them you're not coming," she summoned her lacrima. Jellal gave a meow. "What does that even mean?" Erza whined, though not taking the time to interpret his expression.
Not five minutes later, she let the device sink. A light pink tinged her cheeks.
"Right," she brought out, lips tight. "You work from home," she shrunk slightly with embarrassment. "I'm only glad I called Ambrose and not Jura – though that poor old man now probably thinks you're bedridden or were driven over," she gave a sorry grin. There really was not much she had done right that day, so Erza did what she had done best in the past twenty-four hours: clean.
Scrubbing floors and countertops, wiping windows – leaving streaks everywhere – and even dusting the attic, she made Jellal sneeze more often than she could have kept track of. Midway through tidying the desk where he would work from home, she remembered breakfast. Now lunch. And she was still nowhere near knowing a cat's diet or how strictly she would have to stick to it.
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't have just left you here," Erza argued as she closed the front door behind them. Jellal had jumped down the second they had turned the corner of their street, having trotted next to her for the rest of the way. Unhappily, he glanced at his paws, even though they appeared quite clean.
She bent down anyway, offering a handkerchief from her storage dimension. It did feel more as if caring for a child than her beloved when she carefully rubbed his paws.
Unequipping her boots and socks, Erza made her way to the kitchen. She could not hear his steps, but she knew he was following.
"I needed to know what you liked and deemed safe, and going shopping without being able to use my arms is nothing but a hinderance," she defended herself. Jellal hopped onto the chair, then the table, planting himself next to the paperback she had put down there. "Far be it from me to deny credit where credit is due – the hood was a fairly good idea for travelling – not that mine was not equally convenient, if not more so," she admitted. Somewhat. Jellal gave her a look, as far as one could call it that.
So being stuffed down her cleavage for only his head to peek out was not his favourite solution of accompanying her, but it had worked, Erza acknowledged. She had worried about suffocating him midway through the trip – he had fought to get his paws out of their squishy prison, finally pointing frantically at a person's back. It had taken her a while – and more than awkward excuse to said person – to understand that he had indicated the hood of their coat, and why.
"See it as payback for mocking them all the time," she puffed out her breasts. The hint of a smile had edged itself onto her lips, the way his tail twitched only adding to her amusement. His fur had prickled the entire way, more warmth that usual having radiated at her. He might not have been able to blush, but the bashfulness had been obvious.
With her list of cat-toxic food, Erza steered clear of any garlic, onion or dairy products for even her own meal. It did not come out quite as she had imagined – or hoped – and by far nothing even close to Jellal's dishes. Both were rather disappointed with their now lunch-dinner, but Erza forced herself to nibble on some carrots and munch down a precisely sliced fruit salad to keep her own baby-nourishing diet up.
She wanted to cry when about to fall into bed, only to flop onto a naked mattress with naked blankets and pillows. Where had he kept all those covers again?
Luckily, Jellal's mind was less and less occupied with his change of body, and he was able to guide her to the right drawer. Setting her jaw, not least because she had no other choice, Erza made the bed all by herself. Tired – and even more tired of putting on covers – she contented herself with half the usual amount of duvets. They did not have enough covers for all of the blankets anymore anyway, seeing as most of them were piled up in the bathroom.
How did he always manage these chores without complaining? It had taken her all day to get the house to be clean, the dishes washed and groceries bought, and she was well aware that it would have taken a great deal longer were it not for Jellal keeping things tidy.
Finally ready for bed, Erza requipped into one of his shirts. His shirts. His clothes. Her clothes. All of their clothing and towels from the honeymoon were still in her dimension – so much for not having enough to fill a load…
The white button shirt suddenly raised a notion, so Erza shuffled back into the bathroom. Already having forgotten about the new laundry again. Requipping once more, she fleetly loosened the lacing in the back of her chosen dress so that it would fit. So that she would fit. Hardly possible, but worth a try.
Jellal had already climbed onto the bed and cautiously stepped over the rustling sheets that caved in beneath his delicate paws. He looked almost stupefied when she returned in her outfit.
Still singed and torn, the skirt all but half its original length, Erza stepped into the bedroom. Shily, she glanced at her bare feet before daring to look at him. He watched without blinking as she crawled up to him, having to support herself as not to weigh down on her belly.
"I thought…" Erza started, biting her lip. It was a foolish idea, really. It dawned on her that he might not have known what she was intending to begin with, seeing as neither of them had enjoyed a normal childhood. Still, whatever spell was binding him was magic, so perhaps, by some rare chance, a fairy tale's magic would work…? "It's not about a cat in the original," she explained when he looked nothing but puzzled, "and I'm no princess either, but…" she hesitated.
Ignoring the blush crowning her cheeks, Erza closed her eyes. Leaning down, she puckered her lips. Then stopped.
She opened her eyes. Then she retreated before having been able to reach him. Jellal blinked in confusion as she sat up, turning her back. Her shoulders slumped, back hunched and head hanging. Her voice was meek when she spoke up.
"You said three days," she quietly reminded. "Three days and then you would kiss me again," Erza grit her teeth as not to let her voice wobble. It was too late for her throat, no swallowing getting the lump to leave, but she fought the itch in her eyes, rubbing them fiercely. "Is it selfish of me to wish that you'll keep your promise?" She turned, meeting big green eyes with watery ones.
She did not try to kiss him back into his human body. Changed back into his shirt, she focused on enjoying her own bed and her own home. Sleep was scarce, no matter how exhausted she was. Not even drifting off seemed to be permitted, her mind racing and churning and crying without respite.
He was a cat. A small, regular cat. No tiger or panther or anything big and huggable. Nothing like a companion; nothing she would ever be able to make herself believe to accept. But he was alive and unharmed, damnit, so why could she not sleep? She had the night before, and she felt just as runover as then.
"How can you sleep?" Erza whispered, eyeing the furry silhouette as its flank rose and fell steadily. His ear twitched, and he lifted his head. "Did I wake you?" She asked. He shook his head. A weak smile momentarily tugged at the corners of her lips. "You can't sleep either then," she assessed, and he nodded. Just like the night before.
It was Jellal who reached out first this time. With his nose, he snuggled hers, rearranging his legs to scoot closer without disappearing from her sight. Somehow, it seemed to come more naturally for him to use his nose than paws, she noticed. Was he that much animal already?
"Are thoughts keeping you awake, too?" She asked. Jellal wavered his head from side to side. With one paw, he tapped his nose. "You smell things?" She interpreted, and he nodded. "Of course, it must be much more intense now," she said, receiving another nod. "Do I smell any different from- oh, never mind, you didn't perceive scents this strongly before," she frowned. "I wonder if Natsu can smell a difference," she pondered. One hand stroked down her belly before returning to Jellal's back.
His ears perked at her remark, and he raised his paw again. Her brows furrowed when he flicked his ear with it.
"Hearing?" She asked. A nod. "Do you think he can hear the baby?" He shook his head. Again, he touched his ear, then drew a straight line over his eye. "Ears and eyes…" she guessed. He repeated the gesture, then bared his fangs. "A line over the- a scar; Erik's scar," Erza recognised. Jellal nodded. His paw went back to his ear. "Do you mean he could have already heard the baby?" She asked. More nodding.
Erza replayed her last encounters with the Poison Dragon Slayer to no avail. He had not come to the wedding, and they had been on honeymoon for quite a while after that. A certain day passed by her inner eye where he had visited to talk with Jellal about the future of Crime Sorcière – that time she had invited him in despite them soaking in the tub. Had she already been pregnant then, Erza brooded. Had he dropped any hints…?
Albeit she could not recall in detail, Erza had to smile. Jellal's confidence had had such a boost since they had first dared seeing each other, Erik had been shocked. How would he react if he saw his former guildmember now; the way he supported his family and was proud of them?
And preferably not in a cat's body anymore…
"You know," Erza smiled mellowly, "this is not what I imagined when picturing us staying up late – playing charade instead of making love," she quipped. For a second, it almost looked as if he smiled back. He replied with a purr-laced meow as if to say we did all that. "I can't tell you just how much I want you turned back, but… I think I prefer this," she took a quiet inhale, "to not knowing where in the world you are, whether you're safe or not… You're still here after all," she sank into her pillow, arm winding around him.
Jellal's purring became louder. She was starting to think he was not in control of it, but she liked hearing it. Perhaps Lucy was right, because it did make her feel calmer; eased the distress.
"We're still together," Erza whispered. Her eyes fell closed. The darkness of the night slowly lulled her into sleep with the purring of Jellal in front of her face. She nuzzled it deeper into his fur; into his chest. "We're still…" she yawned. Jellal bent his neck to press his nose to her cheek.
She did not remember falling asleep, but when Erza awoke, there was frantic knocking on the front door.