Titania's Trauma

Chapter 11

Erza leaned her head against Gray's shoulder and sighed. She just had Mira's best strawberry cheesecake and was still savouring the after-taste. She closed her eyes and tried to drown out the rowdy voices of her guild-mates, but that was impossible.

Gray wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. She breathed in his minty, iced scent and the rest of the world fell away behind her. She could no longer hear Lucy's compaints about her rent or Cana's drunken jokes. She didn't even hear the table next to them crash as Gajeel threw Natsu over it.

Gray was the only real thing that existed. His smell was better than anything in the world. Better than strawberries or cheesecakes. Even better than strawberry cheesecake.

Erza smiled to herself and her thoughts drifted back to the last two months. After Juvia's assault they had come back with fallen faces. Erza's skin had been red and raw for the next two weeks and Gray had insisted her to rest even though she didn't need any.

A search party was sent again for Juvia, but they had no luck finding her. The next day, they had returned to the guild. None of them wanted to abandon Juvia, but Mira explained that she probably needed some space and it would be best to just let her go. Juvia would be back when she was ready.

It took all the courage Erza could muster the next day, to clear her throat and stand up on the table in the middle of the guild hall to announce her love for Gray. The girls had cheered and the boys had gone in a state of shock. Gray even had the guts to pull Erza down and passionately kiss her infront of everyone.

This had been the final draw. The guys went hysteric as they bore down on poor Gray, demanding him of what black magic he had cast on the Titania. After many explanations, quite a few broken limbs and half of the guild blowing off, everyone had finally calmed down and agreed that Erza and Gray were actually meant for each other.

The first few weeks were hard for Erza. She would flinch away from Gray if he came too close and holding hands or kissing were absolutely banned. Gray only rolled his eyes, knowing that his girlfriend only needed time to realize that no one would loose respect for her only because she had a boyfriend.

The last two months had been the best of Erza's life. Except for the fact Juvia hadn't returned yet, Fairy Tail had never been so peaceful.

Very suddenly, Erza was thrown off the bench. Flung out of her trance, she heard a BANG! as the table hit the wall ahead and broke in half. She was still in the air as Gray hit the wall next and there was the unmistakable crack of breaking bones. The next second she crashed into Gray, who let out a whimper of pain and the two rolled, tangled together, on the floor.

So much for peace, Erza thought, lifting herself off of Gray.

Lucy and Natsu lay sprawled next to them. The blonde cried out as Natsu grabbed her breasts to help himself stand up. At his feet was Cana, who had either fallen asleep or had drunk herself unconscious, either of which were equally likely. Gajeel stood laughing at the spot were seconds ago Erza had been peacefully day-dreaming.

She glanced at Gray, whose eyes were flashing dangerously at Natsu while he cracked his knuckles. His right forearm was red and swelling at an alarming rate, but broken bones were the most common thing here at the guild. Wendy could fix it in a flash.

Erza's eyes travelled from Gray to Natsu to Gajeel. She could sense a brawl approaching and decided to end it before it could begin. She opened her mouth to speak...

"Erza."

She knew that voice. It was soft, but manly. The tone was full of warmth but also restrained. Erza's chest tightened as she turned to face Jellal.

His face was half-hidden under his hood, but she could still see the hollows under his eyes. He had, it seemed, lost weight and his skin looked pale and waxy. That and the dark circles around his eyes gave him the impression of a corpse.

Erza, mouth still open, tried to say something. Anything. Maybe a 'Hi' or a 'Hello'. Even a 'Get out of my sight' would have been preferable. But words failed the Titania as she gazed into the sunken face of the man she had once considered to be her brother.

Everyone in the guild watched with bated breath. Erza had only mentioned Jellal's confession to Mira and Lucy. But the whole guild had heard the rumor and she strongly suspected the latter for spreading it.

Finally, Gray pulled himself up from the floor, his eyes on Jellal. He wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and pulled her into him. Erza's shoulders stiffened and then relaxed as she too put her arms around his waist.

Again she let herself be overwhelmed by Gray's scent and let him protect her.

-X-

A/N-

Jellal's back and Juvia's gone missing!!! What d'ya think?

Vote and comment as always :*