She was tired and tried to repress a third yawn. It was the last day of this seminar. She had naively trusted Luxus when he talked about a simple reunion between representatives of each guild and now she was enrolled in the middle of a conference during three days.

After an other couple of hours she discreetly slipped out of the crowd which was animated by debates of the last evoked topic and she took advantage of the agitation to leave.

" Seems I'm not the only one who try to escape "

She immediately recognised the voice. She hadn't seen him during this three days. She had believed she did but she thought she had imagined it by not seeing him again.

" I didn't try I succeeded "

" Of course you always succeed, Scarlet "

She smiled to him not a big smile but a little sincere one. It warmed his heart.

" It's surprising to see you here, crowded place I mean. "

" I'm free now and crime sorciere has become a legal institution, I have some obligations "

" Like assisting to seminary about the cooperation between mages and citizens ? "

" Among others "

" That seems exhausting "

" You're the one who looks exhausted "

She had let her guard down without noticing. She stood up straight. Her head high, shoulders balanced and her back straight. She hated been readable by her body language.

" I'm not. I guess I just needed a little fresh air "

" If you say so "

He didn't know anything. And still he tried, she felt his gaze being penetrated, as if he tried to see through her armour, these layers of forbearance behind which she hide her. Her true self.

" I wish I see you "

" I'm right in front of you so unless you're blind, you do. "

An enigmatic smile played on his lips while his expression was unreadable.

" I must be "

She was unsure of the meaning of his words. There was a subtext in them she failed to catch. It was irritating. He was irritating. Grey was secretive but Jellal was at an other level. She could never say what was on his mind.

" You planned to stay one more day or do you come back to Magnolia directly ? "

" This endless seminar is finally finished I'll take the first train to Magnolia "

" Perfect so may I invite you to dinner ? "

Unpredictable.

" I have a train to catch. "

" Yeah and it is six o'clock, the first won't go before three hours. I checked it. "

She snickered. He did what ?

" I beg you pardon "

" I really wanted this dinner "

" I didn't accept anything "

" Not yet "

" Mavis ! Since when are you so confident ? "

" You just smiled "

She was astonished.

" I … Okay let's have a drink "

" I talked about a dinner "

" And you confessed to me that you loved me barely weeks ago, I won't accept a dinner. And if you continue to try to flirt the drink between friends will become a coffee between acquaintances "

She was smiling but she really wanted put boundaries, she had already had an ambiguous friendship and she wouldn't start a new one even for all the money of the world.

" Okay Scarlet, let's go for a drink."

"Good."

" I really enjoy us being friends again."

" I think I do too."

"I pick you at seven."

She stood leaning on the railing, her eyes fixed on the horizon as her thoughts drifted freely. She had come back to Magnolia very early in the morning. The night train journey had been restless and as soon as she arrived at home, she had took off her clothes, disappeared into her bathroom to shower, and collapsed into her bed. She had slept less than three hours when her alarm clock rang, yet she went to the guild.

The night had fallen for one or two hours, and she was still there. She didn't straighten up when she heard the sound of familiar footsteps behind her. Few people climbed up here, so few that the master had never thought to close the access. It was a little haven of peace, even more so at nightfall, firstly for the view and then for the tranquility; no one would come to disturb them.

"Here we are, again."

First the balcony of Crocus during the Great Magical Games, then this hotel's, and now the rooftop. They seemed have a common inclination for secluded places, constantly crossing paths, thus interrupting their solitary retreat. A real unfortunate bond for two people who so cherished their privacy. But against all odds, what had been a curse had turned out to be a blessing for two souls sharing the same but paradoxical refusal of solitude. They had learned to be alone together. And there they were now, never exposing their true selves except in the other's presence.

"I was here first."

"Unexpectedly childish retort."

His voice was blank, betraying neither resentment nor scorn. She kept her eyes fixed on the horizon while a fleeting smile crossed her lips before disappearing. She didn't want to meet his gaze. Not yet. She stayed quiet for a moment not having the bravery to break the comforting silence. But finally she looked at him : it was her turn to make a step towards him. She asked him the question that burned her lips for days.

"How are we ?"

It was clumsy, and for several seconds her question hung heavy in the air, which was becoming increasingly tense as the silence fell.

"Fine. We're fine."

She didn't feel any relief. She thought she would, but she didn't. He had answered surprisingly quickly ; she thought he would need time, maybe a lot, and she was ready to wait. Nonetheless, he had been quick; his eyes found hers, and he was answering as if it were obvious. Maybe she was the one who needed time after all, and it was hard to swallow.

"Sure?"

She didn't understand this so cruel need to hear him admit that he missed her, and as much as she could she tried to ignore it. She knew he was far too stubborn to show how he really felt, even if she had inspired in him a strong attachment or a desperate desire to change her mind. He wouldn't have let her know. And she couldn't confront him more directly than she already had. Even if she craved for more, more hints to know how handled her own feelings.

"Yes."

Just one word, really? Was that all she inspired in him? She tried to suppress as best she could the bitter undertones of anger that she knew were misplaced and inappropriate. Her pride was hurt, but she certainly wasn't going to make a spectacle of herself. It didn't matter if he refused to let her know his feelings; she would just have to guess them herself.

Of course, it was easier said than done. She hadn't started this conversation to avenge her pride but rather to repair what she'd broken, and even though she abhorred his brevity, perhaps it was for the best; at least it would force her to apologize properly, to confess how deeply sorry she was for not having understood his feelings better, for her words and for her selfishness. At least it's what she would have done if she hadn't looked at him and saw into his eyes that it no longer mattered.

The alteration was subtle, but it seemed glaring to her. Her reflection was dull, lacking the resilient tenderness she had grown accustomed to finding when he looked at her : his eyes were icy. They not resonated like home anymore. He started to move on and she understood it too late.

No more denial, no more anger, no more bargaining. He was accepting that she didn't love him, only regretting what they could have been, while she regretted what they had been. Their timing was terrible. Maybe, if she hadn't been so pained, she would have laughed of it. It was absurdly tragic.

She could feel that he didn't want to prolong this conversation, nevertheless she tried to think of something to say. Anything that would retain him at least one more minute, she wasn't ready for him to draw a line under them yet. She had a sense of déjà vu, seeing herself back in his apartment, the roles reversed; being the one getting ready to leave.

"Night Er…"

"How was your mission with Juvia?"

It was undoubtedly the worst thing she could have asked, but it had retained him.

"You're serious; you really want to talk about her? Now ?"

Of course no. But she also didn't want their conversation to end like this. She couldn't accept that all their relationship ended like this.

"Why not ?"

"Oh, I could give you plenty of reasons, Erza," he still hadn't approached her, remaining at a distance, casually leaning against the wall behind her, observing her from afar.

"Starting with your terrible sense of timing and ending with the fact that you're really not the best person to give me love advice," he intended to stop there, trying not to cross the line, but she was looking at him with such skepticism that it was almost an invitation to continue.

This time, he pushed himself off the wall to approach her, mimicking her position, standing with his forearms on the railing and his hands crossed over the void in front of him.

"Not to mention that I was kissing you barely five days ago, and I can't forget it, so you see, I don't really want to talk about another girl, especially not with you."

Her body tensed up as she tried to chase the memory of her mind, however him looking at her the way he did didn't really help. She was amazed by his ability to hide his feelings so well, and demure calm nevermind how his mind could be agitated ; because she knew the scene was lively in his mind too.

She felt his gaze staring at her. She looked at him, finally allowing their eyes to meet. She wished he could hear the words she didn't articulate, that she could convey him her feelings by looking at him. She searched in his eyes a hint that would show her he understood. They looked at each other for too long. The intensity of their looks was increasing making them more than aware of their mutual presence, and yet none of them looked down.

A zephyr winded through the rooftop, her hair softly swinging around her enveloping her in a scarlet cloud. Their eyes still locked, a lock of hair stood on her face near to her eye. He gently replaced it behind her ear absentmindedly brushing her face, as his thumb slipped on the outline of her face then her neck, it was a fleeting contact he barely touch her but they felt the same delightful quiver reflexively leaned closer. Then she turned her face on the opposite side as he withdrew his hand in the same moment.

"We shoul…"

"Let's agree not to talk about that."

His hand was shivering nevermind how many times he clenched it. Her heart puttered so hard in her chest that she wondered how she had figured to make a proper sentence.

"This is getting a lot of things that shouldn't be talked about."

How not to be agree with such a statement? She tried to ignore his weary tone and find a way to circumvent his retort because she couldn't refute it.

"So, one more won't make much difference."

He smirked bitterly, her indifference resonated in him with deep reverberations, echoing into the void of his heart in tatters. Knowing she was aware of her feelings for him but kept denying them with so much intensity was atrocious. All his mind was haunted by her. She inhabited his every thoughts, and he could barely repress his feelings when she was near to him. He was infatuated with her and it was mentally exhausting.

"Do I really inspire indifference to you ?"

"Why asking a question when we already know the answer ?"

"Because we want to hear it, I guess."

She smirked with an unforeseen softness. He was adept at hiding his disappointment behind false assumptions.

"I guess we should go back"

And he was not the only. He nodded opening the door for her. She threw a last look over the city before she turned her heels. She wore a long sleeve and loose black blouse with a plounging V neck and a suede brown miniskirt with silver details. A light smile played on his lips when she passed by him, despite her heels boots she was still shorter than him.

Yet she was not small, among the girls of the guild she must be one of the tallest, rivalling with Mirajane's mannequin height and equaling Natsu's. But he had never really noticed how short she seems next to him, not more than he had heeded how protective he felt towards her. She was Titania, their queen strong and invincible, so much that he forgot she was also a woman who needed to rest. He forgot this other part of her, the vulnerable one, the one she always hide. The human one.

" Grey ?"

"humm ?"

He walked to her crossing the hall. She was standing in front of the door.

"What's the matter ?"

"In one word : locked"

He had arrived next to her and tried to open the closed door.

"I didn't even know she locked the door. You have a duplicate set of keys ?"

"Nope only the master, Mira and Laxus."

" Great. We just have to find an other exit."

She nodded yawning. The lack of sleep began to be felt.

"Tired ?"

"No."

He sighed discreetly. He was tired of her lies. It was her way to distance herself from him. They walked around, each one taking a side, looking for an emergency door into each rooms and corridors vainly.

"Can't you make a key with your magic ?"

She was leaning against the door her arms crossed and her eyes half closed.

"No I need the original to make a replica."

She rubbed her sleepy eyes, and suddenly remembered a conversation with Mirajane.

"Try behind the bar, there is maybe a duplicate key next to the safe."

He obeyed and moved towards the bar coming back with a satisfied smile.