The Chance to Love Again

Seiyuki Narimaru

A/N: So this will be a brief one shot. After months of not writing, I wanted to ease back into it so that I could finish up other stories. I know it's probably not that great, but after six months of not writing, I thought I would try somewhere!

Edit: It was brought to my attention that I neglected to include the characters for the story in the description! Thank you, Anemone102!

She planted her feet in the sand at the shore and closed her eyes as the wind touched her skin. Part of her still couldn't believe that they had crossed paths again. The last time she had heard any news of him, he was scheduled to be executed. In the distance, she could hear the screams of her guild mates due to Ultear releasing their Second Origins. As she had already gone through hers, she did not need to take part. She did worry for them and closed her eyes tightly as their screams grew louder in the distance.

"They will be okay, Erza."

She stiffened slightly at the sound of his voice and turned slightly to see him sit next to her. His blue hair was finally visible to her and she nodded slowly at his reassurance. How long had it been since she had last seen the mage? She hadn't seen him since before they were frozen in time on Fairy Tail's sacred land, Tenroujima. In those seven years, he hadn't changed much except that his hair was more scraggly than she remembered. She had been shocked to see him traveling with Ultear after everything that happened with the Tower of Heaven. Along with the girl from the Seven Kin of Purgatory, Meredy, they introduced themselves as Crime Sorcière. They were an independent guild that focused on eliminating the dark guilds and kept themselves in the shadows.

"What made you appear in front of us, Jellal?"

Her question was followed by a pregnant pause before the blue haired mage looked ahead at the ocean. He wasn't sure how to answer the question she asked even though it had already been answered. In reality, he wanted to see her.

"There was no one else we could depend on," he admitted. "As wanted criminals, we cannot get close to the Grand Magic Games. We wanted a reliable group to help us investigate the mysterious magic energy that appears every year."

And I wanted to see you again…

His side thought was interrupted by a brief chuckle and he looked over at her in surprise. He wasn't sure which part of his answer had been funny to the scarlet mage and he raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"I'm sorry," she breathed. "You do realize that Natsu is a part of that group, correct?"

Jellal nodded and regained his serious expression. He was well aware of Natsu Dragneel's presence in that group. He had fought Jellal to defend his friends and didn't care about the cost. In fact, he would think of Natsu as the strongest member in that group aside from Erza. The dragon slayer had been known to go overboard in certain situations. A small chuckle escaped and he turned to look at her.

"I am well aware. In fact, we wouldn't trust any group except yours."

"I see," Erza mused.

"Also," he paused. "There's something I wanted to tell you."

Erza straightened at his serious tone and turned to face him. His eyes had turned more solemn and his lips were pressed in a thin line. She could see that he appeared to struggle with his words and his lips finally parted.

"I regained my memories," he began. "I have been a horrible person and there is nothing I can do to fix that. Another reason I sought you out was to allow you the ability to exact your revenge on me for killing Simon."

"Don't be stupid. You've done a lot to atone for your sins and I know it wasn't really you that...that killed Simon."

The words pained her even though she couldn't figure out why. Deep down she knew that Jellal wasn't the cause of Simon's death, but it was his body and magic that dealt the final blow to her childhood friend. Her eyes watered when she thought of Simon's last stand, but she quickly blinked her tears away.

"That may be, Erza. However, I won't fully redeem myself until I have met my death by your-"

His face stung with her sudden slap and he watched her stand angrily with shining eyes. Before he could say anything, she had turned away from him and ran. He rubbed his cheek and sighed as he went after her. In his head, he knew that his motive was selfish and that he hadn't thought about her feelings. He hurt her so much, but it never dawned on him that his death could possibly hurt more than Simon's.

"Damnit."

Jellal followed the footprints in the sand in hopes of catching up with her, but paused when they suddenly stopped. He looked up and saw a small group of rocks with a scarlet woman sitting atop of one. His feet moved on their own and he slowly approached her. As he stepped closer, he could see her trembling slightly and he removed his cloak.

She sniffled slightly and wrapped her arms around her body tighter. As the sun slowly vanished, she became chilly and her tears fell again. She couldn't believe how selfish Jellal would be and not consider her feelings. He didn't want to hurt her anymore, but he didn't even realize how much his death would hurt her. She loved him and she couldn't even tell him. Her shoulders grew heavy as warmth surrounded her and she realized her caught up to her. He had given her his cloak and sat on another rock beside her.

"Erza," he started.

"How could you be so selfish?" She asked quietly.

"I was only thinking-"

"Of yourself!" She interrupted. "Why would your death bring me comfort?!"

Jella stared at the requip mage in disbelief. He wasn't sure how to answer her and lowered his head in shame. He knew that she was right about his motives being selfish, but he wasn't sure why her expression hurt him so much. His heart ached in a way he had never felt before and he didn't know what to do.

"Erza, I just thought…that you would be happy."

Erza grabbed him roughly by his collar, pulling him off of the rock in a jerking motion. She misjudged the weight and fell back, pulling him with her. They hit the sand with a soft thud and his face ended up inches from hers. Her eyes bore into his and her lips parted in expectation. She wasn't sure what she wanted or what her heart felt. As much as he would never return the feelings, she loved him. She would always love him.

Jellal stared down into shining chocolate eyes and he closed his own. The silence between the two became thicker and he opened his eyes again. He braced himself using one arm and let his other hand caress her cheek. He could see the expectation in her eyes, but he was too afraid to let himself feel. How could she forgive him so easily? What was so special about him?

"Jellal," she breathed.

She watched his hazel eyes blink in confusion and they softened with a smile. Her hands came up clutched the front of his shirt before she lifted her head slowly. She gently pressed her lips to his and her eyes widened briefly when he crushed his lips against hers. Her lips felt hot from his assault and she parted them to let him in. Their tongues danced together as her hands made their way under his shirt. She couldn't think straight and wasn't sure she wanted to at the moment.

When he had broken the kiss, she took the opportunity to catch her breath. Her cheeks were flushed and she stared up at him. His sudden movement had been unexpected and she wondered if he had been holding back his feelings.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

His words stung and she shoved against him to make him move. Her body felt weak and she pushed harder, but he didn't move. She felt disgusted at her actions when he didn't return her feelings. His apology embarrassed her. She tried to wiggle from underneath him, but he pinned her down with his body.

"Get off of me," she hissed angrily.

"Don't be so rash, Erza. Let me finish what I want to say."

He was relieved when her body stilled beneath him and sat up slowly, pulling her with him. His arms circled her and he pressed his cheek against her bare back. He wasn't sure how to put his thoughts into words without scaring her off. He felt selfish. He knew that Simon had loved her and it was obvious when he sacrificed himself for her and Natsu.

"I love you," he whispered. "I've always loved you. There aren't enough apologizes in the world to make up for what I've done. Holding you in my arms like this? I don't deserve that. I didn't deserve to kiss you either. Erza, I don't deserve to have these feelings. Not after what happened."

Erza listened to him and closed her eyes to stop her tears. Was she selfish for wanting to love him after what happened to Simon? What would the others think? She had felt so much guilt over not being able to help Jellal break free of Zeref's control when they were younger. His words rested in her heart and she finally turned to face him.

"You've already done so much. Please stop punishing yourself. I already know that your mind had been controlled. When you regained your memories, you wanted to repent. You deserve to be happy, Jellal. Please forgive yourself."

She punctuated her sentence with a smile and wrapped her arms around him. It was her hope that her words would be enough to pull him closer to her. He didn't need to run from her anymore. She held him as long as he let her, listening to the wind rustle the nearby trees. The sound of branches cracking under pressure went unnoticed by the couple.

"Watch where you step or they'll notice us."

"Are you sure this is okay, Ultear?" A small voice asked.

A woman poked her head over the hill and smiled before sinking back down. Her dark eyes gleamed with unspoken happiness and she folded her arms. The wind provided an excellent cover for them to snoop on the unsuspecting couple.

"Of course it is, Meredy. He deserves to be happy. I ruined his life and he forgave me for that. He shouldn't have. He can't keep punishing himself for something he had no control over. Don't you think that I should be the one that suffers for what I've done? Besides, can't you feel his emotions through the sensory link?"

The smaller woman, Meredy, held her own wrist where the sensory link had been formed and blushed lightly. She could feel Jellal's unspoken emotion through the bond and thought that it may his wise to server his link. It would be up to him if he wanted to re-establish it.

"I think the others may have finally fallen asleep. The screaming has stopped. Let's go check on them and leave these two alone. Undo the sensory link for a little bit."

"I'm happy he's letting himself love again…"

A/N: And there it is. Nothing fancy! Just something to help me get back into writing after a long issue with writer's block and life. I know it's not perfect and it's quite short.