Did you guys read the latest 100YQ chapter?! Erza (of course her and not him) made a move on Jellal. This fic might actually become distant, distant, exaggerated canon material.

Also I think they announced the anime to the 100YQ!

Anyway, I can't tell you all enough how much I appreciate your reviews! I haven't been writing this much Jerza in quite some while, and I really hope I'll be able to manage regular updates.

Thank you Miss Panda (woah you're French; what dedication to read this entire thing in English!) for your lovely review! I was (and still am) super happy to read it! Sorry I'm so late ':D

And thank you Isanien and damnyousillygoose for sticking with me and reviewing all the chapters as you read along; it motivates me so much!

Erza winced awake. Jellal, was her first thought. Her head was still misty with odd dreams and thick, much-needed sleep. Gravity seemed as if settled within her core, pulling her down into the warm sheets. Jellal. Where was Jellal?

It took her a moment to remember the circumstances. She did not open her eyes until having groped around the bed, finding him nowhere. The pounding at the door was still there, and she only realised its source being the front door once having scanned the bedroom. The door was ajar.

"Jellal?" Erza croaked, sitting up. She was so tired, she only crawled to the end of the bed. She let herself sink once arrived, seeing as he entered the room. Meow. Jellal padded in, meeting her eyes. By far too awake for not having been able to sleep either, she judged. "That's right," Erza said, voice still hoarse, "you have to work today," she said as if there were no other pressing matters to attend to. Or issues in the way.

The banging on the door slowed while at the same time increasing in volume.

"Erza! Erza?" Came a familiar male voice. She frowned. Jellal clawed up the end of the bed to stand on his hindlegs. With his face close to hers, he gave another, more urgent meow. She sighed, complying.

He was at the door first, rising up like he had with the bed – signalling her to open it. When she did, she was surprised to see a sweating, panting Alzack.

"Erza!" He wheezed. "We have to- we need you to-" he gasped for breath. "There's-"

"Calm down; do take a breath, you can hardly speak," Erza said. With the cool morning breeze hitting her bare legs, she was reminded to requip into something other than her beloved's shirt. Alzack hunched over his knees, then stretched one supporting hand in the direction of the guild.

"Natsu," was all he managed. It was all she needed, too.

Sliding the key out of the lock and storing it away, Erza bent down to pick up Jellal.

"Thank you, Alzack. Help yourself to something to drink," she called over her shoulder. Hurrying with a cat in her arms proved more difficult than imagined, and she pitied him as she jogged down the streets, his hindlegs dangling over her belly. It came to her too late to tell Alzack to take off his shoes – she had only just cleaned the floors! But there were more important concerns right now, so she pressed on. A trail of smoke had come into view.

Jellal gave a sound of discomfort. Claws brushed her chest, and she helped him once understanding that he wanted to pull himself higher. She rucked him up as carefully as possible given the exercise. He used his chance and climbed up to her shoulder. A shiver shook her when his tiny cold nose touched the back of her neck as he wound his body beneath her hair, securing himself a spot around it. It freed her hands so support her run, so Erza sped up.

The smoke did not come from the guild, but civilian houses.

"He's at the market," Erza shared. He must have been lured in by the smells of fresh fruit and vegetables, or perhaps even fish and meat, she concluded. She wondered how much Natsu was still inside that giant fluff ball, and whether with the change of body came a change of appetite. His sense of smell must have been worse than a human's now, though maybe not too different since he was a Dragon Slayer.

Somehow, she was glad Jellal was not this complicated and merely a common if powerful human.

They arrived with her short of breath. Porlyusica's words circled in her head, accelerated breathing being something normal with a baby taking up more space of her organs and lungs. There was no time to dwell on it any further, because Natsu had not only found the market, so it appeared rather evidently. He had obliterated it.

People were cowering in the shadows, others already back to tidying up – they were Magnolians after all; they lived with Fairy Tail Wizards in their midst. The floor was littered with splinters of wood, flower buds and fish – one of the latter half-eaten. Not a single stall still carried its roof.

When it came to vegetables, fruit or even flower stems, there was no trace of them. Single leaves and a stomped cabbage was all that was left. He must have been hungry.

While traversing the square – apologising left and right like she so often did when her guild went and destroyed things again – Erza saw that the smoke was not coming from any of the stalls. Luckily, it did not appear to be a nearby house either. She hurried on, Jellal bouncing lightly on her shoulders. His eyes were wide, nostrils flaring and ears perked. She almost feared he would jump off and hide somewhere.

"Erza!" A new voice rose amidst the chaos of the streets. More wood was lying around, sometimes shards of broken windows. Mira waved to her in the distance. She sped up again once Erza caught up, both hasting towards the source of the fire. "He was gone this morning, and Happy came to warn us that he's on the loose,"

"So I gathered," Erza pulled a face. "Where's Elfman?"

"With Lisanna," Mira took a turn, leading them towards the guild, "I asked him to stay in case Natsu returned and broke something." A wise decision, Erza deemed. If that massive pink rodent smashed into the wall, parts of the building might collapse and Lisanna was nowhere near capable of getting up and to safety. "I think he might have eaten something bad because he's in a foul mood – he won't listen," Mira explained. Of all the times Lucy was not there.

The hill of Fairy Tail came into view. The fire was not a big one, mainly due to Juvia as they came to see. It had burned off parts of a roof. A thatched roof. A fountain of water extinguished the remains where she was redirecting the channel's stream. Next to her, Meredy was hard to overlook in her feathery form.

Gray was even harder to ignore. Juvia had gone out of her way to make him a better container – a labyrinth of sorts, several tanks connected via tubes for him to enjoy a different environment ranging from plants to rocks to what looked like Gray-faced clay caves. That woman knew how to keep busy.

"Juvia," Erza greeted as they briefly came to a halt, "thank you," she caught her breath.

"Of course," Juvia immediately replied. "Juvia is sorry she could not stop Natsu, but she helped the family who lives here," she said. Her eyes lingered on Jellal for a moment. And was that jealousy Erza perceived? Though, a cat for a husband was still better than a fish for a crush, she admitted.

"I can see him," Mira brought them back to the present. "He's headed for the guild."

"Not for long," Erza reached behind her. Mira gave a small sound of surprised when being handed a cat, scrambling not to drop him. Erza rushed up the hill as best as she could without shaking the baby too much. It gave her a surge of energy to know the others relied on her.

Juvia was a wonderful friend and a splendid mage, but she also had two handicapped friends to watch over. Fighting while at the same time not hurting a giant rabbit was not something they trained for, but something a nearly lifelong Fairy Tail Wizard could do more than any newcomers, no matter how well integrated.

Mira must have still been under shock. She had already lost her sister once, and she gave the impression of being just as magic-tied as back then – sucked into grief and perturbation, the She Devil within was as if petrified. Not Erza.

Erza seized her chance of rising to the challenge that left her friends at a loss. An inner flame blazed with the chance to do something. To not stand idly by, to not just wait around. To be a woman on a mission, just like she always had been and yearned to be again – she knew why she should not be going on risky quests and she would not. Right after this.

Cherry-blossom-petal pink fur came into view. He was stumbling up the hill. Numerous traces of flattened and squashed grass told of unsuccessful attempts. Now he had found the stairs, the steps too tiny for him but with his giant feet on the grass and his front paws dragging himself up as leverage, he was making progress.

Erza requipped into her Black Wing Armour. She had spent so many hours recalling her armoury to see which she still fit, it came as naturally as it always had. With a single dash – reptilian wings spread wide – she had covered the distance of half the stairs. Not with a slash but rather a poke, she tipped Natsu's front paw on the stone, and with that his balance.

He squeaked, retracting his paw out of reflex. It made him loose his grip, and he tumbled all the way back down the hill. He fumed even before having gotten back up. Flames spewed from his mouth. They missed the closest building, but when he jumped up to land on his feet again, the ground shook. His eyes fixed on Erza.

Another squeak, this time almost a roar. Fight me, his eyes screamed at her. She adapted a fighting stance. She might have been able to counter him, Erza pondered, with the flat side of her sword. He came flying towards her before she had the time to finish the thought. Having leapt, he crushed into the steps below her. Fortunately for her, it sent him tumbling back a little again. Unfortunately though, it riled him up even more.

If he hit even the flat side of her blade, his paw would be too big – it would be soft and enclose the sharp edges, cutting into his flesh. He was not one to throttle his force; he would hurt himself significantly. And while the notion of him being injured and thus unable to run around so much anymore did pass through her mind briefly, Erza had to scrap it.

They did not know these forms – only Lisanna did. If they turned back and the bodies adapted, the flesh might rip open further. Burst even. Or perhaps it could hinder the transformation altogether. No, there was no way she could let him get hurt, and by her own hand least of all.

He jumped again, this time higher than before. Higher than anticipated.

She evaded him only just so. The stairs crumbled, rocks and stone fragments whirling up. They nearly cost Erza her own balance. Huffing, she saved herself up higher, but he was hot in pursuit. He was having the time of his life, she saw, the gleam in his eyes too fired up to realise what he was doing. He might have thought to be able to beat her now, but Erza was not to be beaten; not in her state.

She barely dodged his next kick. The top of the stairs was coming rapidly, any eluding only leading higher, towards the guild and towards flat grounds where her advantage of slim feet would be null and void. He lunged again. This time quicker. This time not with his entire body but one of his colossal back paws – a Fire Dragon's Claw, engulfed in flames and all.

A spear, it came to her as quickly as she refused the idea. Her mind was running wild; running in circles. A spear was not a blade, but the staff was too slim to cover her. If the ground were not this solid, she might have tried and relied on sinking in.

Erza summoned a shield in the split of a second she had left. The Adamantine Shield. The spiky, bladed and very much harmful shield if hit with a force like the Dragon Slayer's. She squeezed her eyes shut, nothing left to do but pray.

A heartbeat passed. The impact never came.

Erza opened her eyes when Natsu gave a cawing squawk. Her eyes widened when she stared past her shield, right at the sole of his foot. It hovered there, as if frozen in place, not half a centimetre away from her. But there was no ice freezing him – there were black runes, winding around like snakes, holding him in place. Bind Snake, Erza recognised.

Her attention shifted. She let the shield disappear, glancing over the mammoth foot and up to Natsu's face. It was distorted, paralyzed in action but thawing when he realised he could relax it. A silhouette rounded on his shoulder – Jellal.

He must have pounced with all he had since his size did nothing for him in the face of Natsu's body. Bind Snake needed contact to its victim, and Jellal had found contact in the form of burying his petite fangs in the fuzzy pink hide as far as possible. He was growling lowly, not letting go, every hair of his pelt standing on end.

Protecting her.

Not only Erza's but everyone's eyes wandered further. Breaths were still held, heads tilted back into necks where they stared up in awe and fear – straight up to the starry sky above the entirety of Magnolia; a circle so big it spanned towards the mountains, thin clouds all that separated it from the murky grey morning sky.

Erza focused back on her husband. He kept growling in fits, as if indecisive. Perhaps overwhelmed by instincts. His fur levelled only gradually. Soon, his shoulders did, too, claws retracting. He let go then, flicking hairs out of his mouth and off his tongue. Then he glanced at Erza. Making sure she was alright. She could tell there was more than just a leftover of fear in his eyes. For such a small body to hold this much force – he must have been pumping with adrenaline.

"Erza!" Mira came running. Juvia tried, her invention of a fish tank labyrinth hindering significantly. It was the only reason Meredy was able to keep up. "Are you alright? I'm sorry, I couldn't keep him there," Mira said. Erza shook her head. Her panting had yet to abide.

"I'm glad you couldn't," she finally replied. Taking a step closer to Natsu, she held out her arms. Jellal carefully treaded towards her, scrambling the last bit to reach her hand. He tapped it once before stepping on. Fleetly balancing his way up her arm, one of her hands aiding in not falling off, she embraced him to her chest. He purred quietly with relief. She released him when he kept climbing, finding back his spot on her shoulders.

The starry sky disappeared, giving way to the sun behind clouds. Erza gave a short sigh as she regarded her caught teammate.

"He could have hurt himself," she nodded at Natsu. The latter gave another croaking complaint.

"Or you," Mira insisted. Her glance flashed down to Erza's belly.

"Let's get back to the guild," Erza proposed.

"I'll ask Elfman to bring Natsu there," Mira agreed. They made their way up the remains of the stairs, Juvia in tow with her scaly beloved and feathery best friend.

"We can't just leave him like that though," Erza reminded. "At least he ate something; we have to apologise to the market salesmen," she pulled a face. She would have loved Jellal to write the apology letter instead of her.

"I'll take care of it," Mira offered. Thank goodness for that, Erza thought to herself. As if she had not enough to do, but for Mira it might be a nice distraction. Opening her mouth to ask how Lisanna was faring, Erza's words got stuck when she entered the Guild Hall and was met with two unexpected guests. "Right, I meant to tell you," Mira grinned sheepishly, "you have visitors from Mermaid Heel," she said. Then hurried off to find her brother.

Erza bit the inside of her lip. Of course, the two most troublesome when it came to Jellal. Not that she was not happy to see them, and they did know she was married – they had been invited to the wedding after all, and therefore been witnesses of the utter chaos – but the news of Jellal's child were not yet widespread… or at all.

She approached them anyway.

"Erza," Kagura turned where she stood next to the bar. Milliana nearly dropped out of her stool, rushing her friend.

"Oh my goooosh, itty bitty kitty, how cuute!" She shrieked with delight. Missing the pregnant belly entirely. Erza saw a flash of narrowing eyes towards it just when Milliana blocked out Kagura as she stormed forward. "Kitty, kitty, aw, how adorable!" She outstretched her arms.

Jellal flinched. He rose to his paws, arching his back. He hardly even had the time to hiss. Before Erza could blink, he was snatched off and away from her.

"Milli-"

"Such a cute-y kitty, oh my gosh, I'm going to keep you forever," she squished him to her, then danced with him in circles. He looked about ready to throw up. And either he was too shocked to move, or Erza could be fairly proud of his self-restraint not to use his claws. "I'll cuddle you and feed you and bathe you and play with-"

"Milliana," Erza started a new attempt. She could feel Kagura's eyes burning into her from the side, not daring to turn. Not least because she needed to save her poor dizzy husband.

"Erzy, where did you find this cutie, it's the prettiest kitty I've ever seen, how could anyone not want it, how cruel. I'll take it if you don't-"

"Milliana, that's not a cat," Erza tightened her lips. Milliana tilted her head, puzzled. At least she was not spinning with him anymore. "That's not a real cat – we've had a bit of an accident with Lisanna's Animal Soul and…" she briefly closed her eyes, "that's my husband."

"Your…" Milliana needed another second. Then she gasped. Realisation must have hit hard, because she gave a sudden squeak, all but tossing Jellal into the air. Erza hasted to catch him, holding him to her protectively. He did not try to find a different spot this time, his hackles risen and his body shaking lightly.

She could not keep from whispering to him soothingly.

"That's Jellal?!" Milliana exploded. Pointing wildly at him, she stared blankly. "You can't be serious, you're trying to pull my tail, aren't you?" She laughed. Erza wished she could join.

"No, I'm not, unfortunately," she said. She held him a little tighter when Milliana bent down to eye him closely.

"It can't be; the kitty is so cute and innocent,"

"It's him." Kagura cut in. "Those are undoubtedly Jellal's eyes," she darkly assessed. Erza's stroking down his back became slightly more rigid. "And that…" Kagura scrutinised Erza's belly, but said nothing more.

Milliana looked from one to the other, eventually following Kagura's abating glare. Another gasp, hands flying towards her friend again.

"Woah, Erza!" She planted both palms on the round belly, eyes sparkling. Jellal winced from his ears to the tip of his tail. This time, his claws unsheathed. "You're having baby Erza-kitties!" She cheered. Erza nearly recoiled, no matter how nice it was that her childhood friend was happy for her. "But then isn't…?" Milliana was doing the baby-math in her head, pursing her lips in thought. Erza was not too keen on her finishing the calculation and explode once more with Jellal-centred conclusions.

"Of course not," she quickly intervened, "they'll be a perfectly normal and human baby," she defended herself. "He's only been transformed two days ago," she added for good measure. And why was she justifying herself anyway? Whenever someone had had a problem with Jellal, she would just beat it out of them. Only these were her friends. And they had had their reasons, even if all of that was in the past now.

Telling herself she was not merely doing so to distract off herself and her pregnancy, Erza retold their dilemma. Kagura and Milliana listened with alternating frowns and nods, pensive and confused respectively.

"Most importantly," Erza concluded, "we have to find a solution as fast as possible because Lisanna is suffering a state similar to Magic Deficiency and getting worse by the day," she sadly said. Kagura gave a hum. She crossed her arms.

"Are you sure it might not be just that? Magic Deficiency," she avoided glancing at Jellal. A faint blush was crowning her cheeks ever since Erza had pronounced the word 'baby'.

"Do you know more about it? You can see her if you want," Erza immediately proposed.

"No, not me," Kagura held up a hand to stop her, "but I know someone who might help," she said. "It was a spell that caused all of this, right?" Erza nodded. "Then why don't you ask Rufus from Sabertooth?" She asked.

"That's right! He knows so many spells," Milliana agreed. "And doesn't that one Ichiya pawn also know loads – Hibiki I think; the one who did the MPF challenge with me," she recalled. Erza made an indecisive face. Involving even more people? It was already not the greatest of things that Queen Hisui knew, no matter the access to the royal archives – news might travel to the Council…

"I don't know," Erza hesitated.

"I think that's a great idea," Mira came to stand next to Erza. She nearly spooked her when placing a hand on her shoulder. "You know it's okay to rely on others once in a while," she gave an encouraging smile. Erza frowned slightly, then agreed with a nod. "Asking won't hurt," Mira added, "and they can always say 'no'. Now, do you want to get going on those tablecloths or should I make you three something to drink?"

That's right, Erza thought, she had asked Mira to teach her how to iron clothes. Kagura was already scrolling through her lacrima in search of Sabertooth, while Milliana watched Jellal with interest. He was looking anywhere but at her, hindering her attempts to study his eyes. Erza stroked his fur for reassurance.

"Maybe we should-" she interrupted herself when there was an electronic ringing. Jellal met her eyes. Shifting him, she held on with one hand, rummaging her skirt's pocket with the other. "Laxus?" She frowned at the screen. Holding it to her hear, the expected voice did not come.

"Erza," Lucy greeted, "are you at the guild? Or can we meet up there?" She seemed in a hurry.

"I'm here. What's the status?" Erza asked. Jellal replaced his paws on her chest, so she lifted her arm with his hindlegs on them. "Did you find anything useful?" She helped him reach her shoulder. He crouched across them, around her nape, listening close to the device.

"Levy thinks we found just what we need, but we had an idea – do you think Jellal can still perform magic?"

"He can; he did so just earlier," Erza confirmed.

"Really?" Lucy sounded excited. "We're on the train to Magnolia, only two stops away now," she said.

"Did you figure out the circle?" Erza pressed. She had understood by now that merely comprehending the meaning was not enough – they needed a counter measure, and perhaps even for each different animal. "Do you know how to reverse it?" She asked, just to be sure.

"We're not a hundred percent sure how, but we think Jellal might," Lucy said. It hit Erza like a punch in the face. Of course! Why had she not thought of that? Well, to be frank, she had doubted him capable of knowing who she was not twenty-four hours ago, but still; if he had constructed the runes for the original spell, he might just be able to undo its curse. At least help.

"Alright; we'll wait at the guild,"

"Tell Mira to fry us an ox!" It came from further away, giving Erza a hard time to understand.

"What?" She frowned into the lacrima. Jellal bore a similar expression, reflecting her puzzlement.

"Laxus is hungry," Lucy illuminated.

"I'm starving," Laxus grumbled in the background. "Just don't make pork," he added for Freed's sake. As if Erza would be the one cooking. She should, she knew, but she was not in the mood. Cooking once was alright, but everyday three times a day was a nuisance. Eating at the guild had always been so convenient… She praised any and all gods for Jellal's fondness for cooking. Not to forget baking.

"We'll be there around lunch," Lucy said.

"Then we'll be here," Erza nodded. She apologised quietly to Jellal for having bobbed against his paw. He shortly rubbed his head to her cheek in return, purring without meaning to. Lucy harked for a moment, then upon recognising the sound, she laughed. Erza hung up quickly, awkwardly.

She was surprised that when she offered food, she was joined in ironing tablecloths instead. Kagura frowned fiercely in concentration, and Milliana nearly burned the white fabric twice when trying to catch Jellal's attention – former archenemy or not, he was a cat now. Erza had to smile. While she did not need them to support her in learning a housewife's skills, she appreciated it greatly. She would have thought it to be embarrassing, but it was nice to drudge and make mistakes and laugh and be proud of the other together.

So she would try, against her nature, to rely on her friends rather than struggling on her own.