Venomous Cure | Jerza {hiatus}

Chapter XXIII

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Im. . . Possible."

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Erza has to be dreaming — no, there was no way where something like this had to be real; the man in front of her, a blue-haired man with a red tattoo above and below his right eye stood there, seemingly to be waiting for action, as he took a deep breath.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"That is. . . utterly impossible."

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀He was no other than Jellal Fernandes — the man who Erza had always loved.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Before he could say anything though, Erza ran, despite having a huge dress with shoes that was definitely not for running. Erza ran as fast as she could, tears uncontrollably filling her eyes as they were all falling, with her many emotions that were surrounding her. Even if this was a dream, she had to feel something that she wishes was real at the very moment so she wouldn't forget the amazing sensation that she felt right now.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀However, she could not believe it, even with the simplest idea. This is the reality. She tasted her tongue and everything was so clear to her, she couldn't possibly be dreaming. By the time she reached the man she loved, she wrapped her arms around him and sunk her head to his chest and before she knew it, he picked her up and spun her, holding her close and feeling every touch of her skin on his hand.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Jellal stopped, hearing Erza whisper his name repeatedly. "Jellal," she said, but she didn't seem to find her words correctly.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"My, you were at least quick to recognize that it was really me," he chimed in, "I had a hard time trying to assure Jeraline and Eric that I was not a false copy of myself. You really taught those two to protect themselves." He locked her in his arms, but she pulled away from him just to look at his face as she wiped off her tears. Jellal gave her time to stop sobbing and when she did, she stopped to stare at him.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Maybe it was just because he hasn't seen her for two years, but Jellal thought Erza was stunningly gorgeous — no tint of age lined in her. Her skin was gentle to the light, as he would describe it like glass. Even with crying eyes, nothing stopped her from shining, as she lifted her arm and cupped Jellal's jaw with one of her hands while the other was just by his chest.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Erza brought up a slight laugh while she was faintly tearing. "So Jeraline-chan and Eric-kun were the first ones to know?" She asked, not sounding angry. "I wouldn't have expected that you've decided to visit them first, not that I did know you were alive." Her eyes initiated contact with him, as she then changed the subject. "You. . . You've grown yourself a bit of facial hair. . . You look —"

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Old, I know," Jellal said, trying to stay calm with the insecurity of how he looked. "Not only has Jeraline and Eric been irritating me with that concept, but so has Laxus, when I revised his domination plan this morning, but what would you expect? Being gone for so long, I know I've aged a bit. The story behind everything is quite tiresome to explain — I was in a coma, and that's what made my age advance."

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Erza's eyes were soft with an inner glow to it. "There's nothing wrong about how you look — I like it," she showed affection in her voice, while tearing up, and then going back to the topic. ". . . I see. . . Is that why you couldn't come back right away? I was almost convinced you were dead when I saw a fabricated head of yourself, but I still really couldn't believe that I really lost you."

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Jellal chuckled, and brought a hand to wipe off tears streaming down one of Erza's eyes. "I'm already here, so why are you still crying?" He questioned, "Meredy told me about the head, and I gladly admit that that was a time where I had to let out a laugh." As soon as Meredy's name sprung up, Erza's eyes widened and creating a suspicious portrait on her face.