Roommates - A Jerza Oneshot

2.

4:00 am.

"Jellal, wake up. It's time for you to go to work."

"Let me sleep, Erza..."

"But you have to go, don't you? you will get your salary plus, if you don't go, he might scold you again, worse, might even fire you."

Jellal groaned but opened his tired eyes.

Without forgetting Erza would wake Jellal up and still not being able to complete his sleep, he would get up and rush to the office.

His daily practice was now stuck in a loop. The same routine went on for days, for weeks and for months but the urge to sleep for Jellal would never end.

Under his eyes were circles, even darker than Erza's and he had stopped eating the canned food, though at times Erza would force him or place a cute message on the sticky note beside it and sometimes that does compel Jellal to swallow the cheap and unsavory quantity of the preserved grub.

Once he had even bought Jellal a chicken sandwich from the amount he had earned for his hard work and seeing how deliciously Jellal was wolfing it down, he had decided to keep bringing him something even more appetizing.

Jellal's boss was happy to see him come to work every day on time. The front and the bathrooms were always clean, the files were always stacked neatly and the trash would always be empty.

Resultantly, he gave a day off to Jellal, after all, he did earn it.

Jellal, feeling blessed and overjoyed ran back from the filthy road to his apartment.

Unlocking the door with his spare key, he switched on the lights and saw Erza in a deep sleep. Keeping in mind not to wake her up even by the slightest of the creak, he closed the door and switched the lights back off.

Tossing himself on his untidy, fetid bed, he stared above at the decaying ceiling. It appeared in waves like the dark green ocean but now he could finally close his eyes and sleep for the rest of the day.

Keeping in mind the note he had stuck months ago, he removed it since undoubtedly Erza would wake him up.

So, he opened the drawer from his bedside and took out a bundle of sticky notes and a pen. This time he chose blue.

"Don't wake me up." He scribbled and stuck it on the table, hoping Erza would see it.

"Jellal, wake up. It's time for you to go to work."

"Let me sleep, Erza..."

"But you have to go, don't you? you will get your salary plus, if you don't go, he might scold you again, worse, might even fire you."

"He won't...he gave me a day off, Erza..."

"A day off? But you can't take a day off, what about your pay? What if he cuts today's pay, huh? That's not fair, right?"

"Erza...just let me sleep, let's talk about this later..."

"But Jellal, you have to go to work--"

Jellal's body shook as Erza forcefully woke him up. His head spun like a vinyl and for fairly good seconds, his limbs turned paralytic.

"Dammit Erza, let me sleep! Didn't I stick the note saying not to wake me up?!"

He got up, flinging his hand with the pillow and bit his lower lip to prevent himself from cursing his best friend.

His head was dizzy and his vision fogged. Jellal's eyelids weighed a ton and keeping them open seemed next to impossible for him.

"Let me sleep all right!" He yelled and slumped down again, burying his face in his own slobbered pillow.

Erza didn't speak anything, maybe because she was sorry for waking him up or angry at him for throwing a damn pillow.

However, all Jellal heard before he fell asleep was the sound of the door clicking shut.

"Jellal, wake up. It's time for you to go to work."

"Let me sleep, Erza..."

"But you have to go, don't you? you will get your salary plus, if you don't go, he might scold you again, worse, might even fire you."

Jellal groaned but opened his drowsy eyes.

One day's sleep wasn't enough for him but work was work and he was gratified to his boss for even giving him a day to himself.

Hence, to repay the kindness, he shunned his sleep and slowly placed his feet on the creaky fractured board of their studio apartment. Cold.

Underneath his eyes were circles, darker than Erza's and his eyelids were heavy, making his toes appear wrinkled.

A tune played in his ears, vague lyrics and humming. The notes sometimes a bit too high for Jellal's ears. It was Erza singing.

"I will be going now. Be sure to eat your breakfast before you leave, okay?"

Jellal habitually nodded.

Erza wore her black worn-out jacket, slipped a cap with the post-office company's name on it and left the studio with an abused brown case.

A canned food and a sticky note stuck by Erza before leaving was on a half-drank bottle, "Eat well Jellal-Kun!" Perhaps to make up with Jellal.