A/N: Hi guys, I am back with another chapter of road-to-redemption Jellybae. Guys I cannot tell you how much I love this man- I would literally kill for him. If I owned Fairy Tail (Which I don't *ahem*DISCLAIMER*ahem*) this man would be the main character and there would be flowers and love and happiness and joy and-

Jesus christ guys you literally need to tell me to shut up otherwise I WILL GO FOR DAYS ABOUT MY LOVE FOR JELLAL FERNANDES. Pls stop me.

On the other hand, I am working on a fic for ZUTARA (which btw, I am a slut for). I'm debating on keeping it as a oneshot or going to a multi-chap, but I need to work on all my other fics too so it'll probably stay a oneshot. But once it's posted, please give it lots of love, ok?

A part of me hates this chapter and loves this chapter. More on that at the end.

Read, review and follow, if that floats your boat. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 4: I'll Give You the Sun

"Siblings will take different paths and life may separate them, but they will forever be bonded by having begun their journey in the same boat."

— Unknown

There's a heaviness in the air, a thick shadow that cloaks Jellal's heart. He sits in the field, blood cracked on his palm and in his soul, and stares at the star-choked sky above him. He feels their call, feels the magic within him stirring under his skin, singing at his fingertips. He closes his eyes, clenching his fists, and recalls the fight with Kagura. The sweet sting of battle, the harsh grunts of anger and pain screaming to the skies, the soft schick of blood as it kisses the grass below.

"Let this scar serve as a reminder to you. Know that the air you breathe is because Simon died to give you life, and I am letting you keep it."

He grits his teeth and opens his eyes, unclenching his palm to look at the gash scored across it. The symbolism of it is not lost on him- the weight it carries is far heavier than any pain he's ever born. Kagura's pain and hatred will forever live on within this scar, and he'll carry it close to his heart forever. Knowing she can never truly forgive him is something he'll carry with him forever.

"You know Kagara-san told you to be gone from the city before nightfall," a voice calls to him, and he turns his head to see Milliana making her way towards him. She smiles and comes to stand next to him, bright eyes boring into his own. "Last I checked, big brother, it's nighttime, and you're still here."

The banter Milliana brings with her is as fresh as a spring wind, lifting Jellal's spirits and sweeping away some of the guilt from his shoulders. He clears his mind with a single breath. "Last I checked," he retorted. "I'm technically not in the city."

She laughs and plops down next to him, leaning her head onto his shoulder. "Touche, big brother," she giggles.

They share a quiet moment, and Jellal takes this opportunity to stare off into the distance. He thinks about what could have been, had he not surrendered to the dark. Maybe they could've made it off the island. Maybe he and Erza could have helped raise Milliana. Maybe Simon could have liv-

"None of that, Jellal," Milliana says, jabbing him in the shoulder.

He blinks and turns to look at her. She smiles wistfully, and takes his hand in hers, looking down at his gash. "It's no use thinking about what could have been, Jellal," she says, frowning as she pokes at his cut. "It is what it is. Every choice we've made has led us to this very moment, and to be frank with you, if I had to go back and do it over, I still would have made the same choices."

He startles, and she tsks at him, going into her pocket and pulling out some fresh gauze. She looks up at him wordlessly, and he hands her his flask of water from his hip with his good hand. She grins and takes it, pouring the contents of it onto his palm and washing away the dried blood. He hisses at the small twinge of pain, but lets her finish cleaning his cut.

"Why?" he asks after a moment. She stills, still looking at his pam, before responding.

"Because, Jellal," she says, beginning to wrap the gauze around his hand. "We live in a world where people believe that everything is black or white, good or bad." She looks up at him, finished with dressing his would. He finds that he can't tear his eyes away from her impossibly bright eyes. "I've come to realize that this world is just a mixture of grays, and we need to find the color in between."

She pulls away and rests against him, impossibly warm and familiar, yet surprisingly like a stranger to Jellal. He studies her closely. Her brown hair is piled in a messy bun at the nape of her neck. She looks at him, and he takes note of the wrinkles around her eyes, the gentle slope of her nose, the arched pout of her mouth. The little girl he'd known in the darkest years of his life is gone. She's grown up.

"We all made mistakes, big brother," she said, turning and looking at the stars. "I realize now that despite the terrible choices you and I made, it doesn't make us bad people. I mean, look at us now. I'm in Mermaid Heel, with the most noble of mages watching over me. And you," she turns to look back at him, "You helped us fight the dragons, Tartaros, and Alvarez, and you helped us defeat Acnologia. We've come a long way, you and I."

He sighs. "I don't feel like I've come anywhere," he confesses. "It's so hard to find redemption- I feel as though I can never be forgiven. Kagura is right to not forgive me. I killed her brother."

It's silent for a moment, the only sounds Jellal can hear are the steady gasps of Miliana's breathing and the ever present whisper of the stars in his soul. The breeze picks up, bringing with it the taste of homesickness and a longing in Jellal's heart for something he still has yet to figure out.

"I understand why Kagura can't forgive you," Milliana says. "You killed someone she loved."

He looks over to her and opens his mouth, but she cuts him off. "But you also killed someone I loved. You killed Simon, a brother to me as well. And for the longest time, I thought the Jellal I knew was dead too."

He sees the glimmer of tears beginning at the corners of her eyes and he moves, gently tugging her into his chest and wrapping his arms around her. "I am so sorry, Milliana," he whispers as her shoulders shake. He holds her tighter. "I forgot how much pain I must have put you through."

"It was so hard, big brother," she whispers into his shoulder. "I thought I lost you. Then I thought that if I did want you wanted, I'd be able to see the real you again. You were the sun for me, and all I wanted to see was your smile again. I thought that bringing Erza to you would bring you back to me, but then you betrayed my love and killed Simon. I hated you for so long."

He closes his eyes and buries his face in her shoulder.

"It hurt so much, Jellal," she continues. "My heart hurt so much. Losing you was one of the worst things that happened to me. I felt so lost- not only had I lost one brother in Simon, but then I lost another in you."

She pulls away from him and stares at him, wiping her cheeks. "But you're back, and you're here, and that's all that matters," she says firmly. "Kagura may never forgive you, but I have."

"You shouldn't have to," he tries to argue, but she silences him with a look that even Erza would be impressed by.

"Why are you fighting so hard against forgiveness?" she snaps. "For all your talk about redemption and wanting to be better, you refuse to be forgiven!"

"Because I don't know how!" he cries. Suddenly, he feels so much better about voicing his fears out loud. "I don't know how to function as a good person. For years I've carried this stigma about being a terrible person with me- I don't know how to be something that I'm not."

Milliana closes her eyes and rubs her temples. "For the love of god," she mutters under her breath. "I don't know what Erza thinks she sees in you."

He flinches and opens his mouth, to defend Erza's honor or deny it he doesn't know, but Milliana cuts him off, again (if this is what Mermaid Heel is teaching her, he doesn't want to know what other semantics she's learned).

"I'm going to say this once," she says to him, leaning in close. "You, Jellal Fernandes, are a good person, despite history working against you. Get that into your thick, dumb skull, otherwise I'm going to find Kagura and Erza, and make them drill some sense into you. Got it?"

He stares, perplexed. He hasn't seen this side of Milliana in a long time, so fierce and strong. She's had good role models in Kagura and Erza, and he's relieved that whatever trauma he'd done to her hadn't taken that away from her.

"Is it that easy?" he whispers, lowering his eyes. "To just accept that I'm good?"

Milliana laughs and takes his hand, lacing their fingers together. "No," she says. "And I have no doubts that it's going to be a hard journey to get there. But it's a good start. You have people who believe in you, big brother. I believe in you, and Erza does too."

He looks up at her, eyes narrowed. She catches his eye and grins. "Please," she snorts. "I've known about that not-at-all-subtle crush you've had on Erza ever since the beginning. I used to hate it, because I didn't think my brother and sister should like each other like that-" he sputters and waves his hands awkwardly "-but now that we're older, I think I get it."

He frowns at her. "You guys, the two of you just work together, you know? You guys are like the tides, push and pull, in perfect balance with each other. She helps center you, and you provide meaning for her."

He rolls his eyes. "I do not provide meaning for her," he retorts weakly.

She punches him in the shoulder, ignoring his grumblings of i just got my ass fucking walloped can you please go easy on me, grinning. "She strives to be as good of a person as you want her to be, Jellal," and he quiets, taking in her words. "Your faith in her is what keeps her going everyday- she wants to be strong and good, so that you can see that no matter how dark your past is, there is light for the future."

"How do you know this?"

She preens, proud of herself. "Erza and I had a long discussion after the war. We talked about you, and her, and what had happened. I hated you for the longest time, you know, after you killed Simon and hurt Erza, but Erza explained everything to me. How they tortured you, how you spent years under this mind suppression, and how you'd been spending every day after trying to atone. It made me see that this world is made up of varying shades of gray, and that we are the bright colors."

She stands, reaching under her cloak to pull a small sack of provisions out. "I don't know where your path is leading you, big brother, but I do know that Erza is somewhere at the end of it. I want you to know that not everyone will forgive you, and that is ok. Just know that no matter what, I love you with all my heart big brother, and for you, I'll give you the sun."

He takes the sack from her. "Some medicine, some food," she says. "You'll need it."

"Thank you, Milliana," he says. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

She shrugs. "Neither do I," she laughs. "Now you better be on your way before Kagura finds you out here. She might not let you walk away this time."

He stands and envelops her in a hug, breathing in her scent one last time before pulling away. "Thank you for believing in me, little sister," he whispers, tapping her forehead. " I won't violate that trust ever again."

She nods, smiling. "I believe you. And Jellal," she calls as he turns to leave. "When this is all over, don't be a stranger."

He looks over his shoulder and smiles. "Never," he calls, and heads into the forest, his heart lighter and his chest straighter than it had before.

A/N: Listen, a part of me loves this chapter because now this story can finally move and get some gas going. I think Milliana is a crucial turning point- as a family member, I think she provides enough closure and enlightenment for Jellal to actually move forward, because she's seen him at his worst and his best. But I hate this fic because I absolutely DO NOT know how to write Milliana. I'm good at serious writing, and (no offense to Mashima nor Milliana) she's not a very serious character. I did my best.

Hope you guys liked it. Let me know what you think.

Love,

Wolf