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Erza never could have imagined that the plan might come back to bite her in the ass. How could she? It was a simple scheme, barely worthy of the name, a little nudge. There was no chance for it to backfire. Or there shouldn’t have been.
Her hand clamped tighter around her glass as she glared daggers across the guild hall. Water sloshed over the rim and splashed on the table.
At the counter, Lucy snorted so hard over her beer that bubbles flew into her nose and she sneezed. A vicious blush coloured her cheeks crimson, but Jellal just laughed a little and clinked his mug of herbal tea against her stein. They perched on the barstools facing each other, knees almost touching. Lucy wore the black thigh-high stockings that made her toned legs impossible to look away from, especially when she kept them crossed like that. One boot swung back and forth in a hypnotic motion. Both she and Jellal sported matching tans from their recent trip to Akane Beach.
A bowl of steaming soup landed in front of Erza and startled her out of her fuming. Mirajane leaned her hip against the table with a smirk, tucking the serving tray under her armpit.
“Are you trying to kill them with your mind?” She glanced over her shoulder towards the counter. “They’re celebrating. Seems like the job went well.”
“I know,” Erza grumbled, not at all inclined to elaborate.
She grabbed the spoon and shoved soup in her mouth, just to hiss when her tongue burned. She fanned herself uselessly before swallowing and downing half of her water. Mira covered her face with her palm as she giggled.
“Careful.” In her voice Erza could make out traces of the troublemaker teenager who delighted in ticking her off. “I thought you would be happy about them being friends.” Her tone implied that she knew the exact reason behind Erza’s annoyance. “It was your idea.”
Erza grunted. “Sure. Friends. Are you and Cana friends?”
Mira let out another giggle. “Yes, we are in fact very good friends. We also kiss sometimes.” Her eyebrows waggled. “Someone is jealous,” she sing-songed.
“I’m not jealous,” Erza protested, more out of principle than conviction.
She had the right to be jealous. How dare Jellal steal her best friend? And how dare Lucy steal her… Jellal?
This was not what Erza had envisioned when, months before, she had devised her master plan.
Lucy and Jellal were two of the people she loved the most, and Erza had known from the beginning that they would get along. The initial step to the friendship scheme had gone well, thanks to an assist from Mirajane: they’d come back from their first job together with smiles on their faces and went out the same night. Lucy had been bouncing on her heels as she recounted Jellal’s offer to teach her Heavenly Body magic. For her part, Erza had given herself a mental pat on the back.
The next morning, Erza walked into the guild hall to find them both in front of a coffee, Jellal slightly more awake than Lucy after years of the hectic sleeping schedule that came with being on the run. They winced at her lecture on the importance of getting at least a couple hours of sleep. On the train out of town for their mission of the day, a nauseous Natsu didn’t have the chance to sag into Lucy’s lap, because she was too busy sleeping in Erza’s.
After Jellal had moved the Heavenly Body magic lessons to daytime, it became common to see him and Lucy sitting at a table together, chattering about stars and nebulas and things beyond Erza’s comprehension. Levy would join on the occasion, but she preferred dead languages to space.
As Erza parsed the flyers stuck to the request board, she snuck a glance their way and couldn’t help a spontaneous smile. A massive stellar map lay on the table between them, white dots on midnight blue. Lucy traced a shape with her index, mouth moving fast, and Jellal answered by leaning over and pointing to a spot near her palm. Erza couldn’t remember the last time she had seen that animated spark of enthusiasm in his eyes. (Or, she could if she traced back her memories to years she didn’t want to think about, not when that pain was far behind her at last.) Lucy cast light wherever she went, a sun that pulled everyone in her orbit.
Perhaps Erza was as heavy-handed in her plans as people accused her of being, but that didn’t make her assessment wrong, and recent developments proved it. Lucy’s shine pried Jellal out of his shell and his brain was akin to hers in a way that Lucy couldn’t find in anybody on their team, or in the guild for that matter.
Erza tore her eyes from the scene to grab the leaflet that had caught her interest and jogged towards the counter. A monster hunting job would keep her occupied until Natsu, Happy and Wendy’s return. Mirajane logged in the accepted request and scurried off with a tray of beer steins. Instead of leaving the guild hall, Erza followed her through the tables on a detour.
“Still,” Lucy was saying, her nose scrunched-up and eyebrows furrowed, “I can’t believe that there isn’t a single study on this. What a waste.”
At the mention of scientific studies, Jellal lit up. “Right?” He rolled up the map with excessive fervour. “Admittedly, Heavenly Body magic is a rare branch, but the lack of research is astounding.”
Erza swept in, hands clasped behind her back. “What are you two talking about?”
Both of them whipped around with the expressions of two people who had forgotten about the rest of the world. A tiny grin twisted Lucy’s mouth.
“The influence of a pulsar’s intermittent energetic emission on spells.” When Erza just stared at her, mind blank, Lucy snickered. “I know it must be boring to you.”
“Not at all.” Both Lucy and Jellal greeted her hesitant tone with poorly-concealed amusement. “I’m sure it’s very interesting.”
The night sky was breathtaking. Erza loved it whenever either of them invited her to go stargazing. Once, on a mission at Mount Hakobe, Lucy had shown her the star-dotted dark river of the galaxy, unveiled from the lights of the city. Erza would never be able to forget that sight.
Problem was, astronomy required a lot of mathematics.
Jellal slid the rolled-up map into a cylinder and closed the cap. “What are you up to?”
“Just took a request.” Erza aimed her thumb at the bar. “I wanted to say hi before heading out.”
He froze and his eyes widened. “Shit. Meredy will kill me.”
Erza frowned at him, confused, but Lucy’s eyebrows shot up in understanding. “Right, weren’t you supposed to go on a job with her?”
“Yes. Yes, I was.” His gaze darted to the clock. “Our train is leaving in ten minutes.”
Lucy grabbed the cylinder from his hands. “Go. I’ll return this to the library.”
The smile wasn’t directed at Erza, but her stomach flipped anyway. “Thank you. You’re a lifesaver.” A familiar glow shrouded his body and he waved at both of them before dashing out in a starlit wake.
Lucy shook her head with a light laugh that Erza couldn’t help but mimic.
After scouring the guild hall in search of Lucy, Erza spotted twin blonde pigtails bent over a book in the library. Jellal sat squished to her side, peering over her shoulder at the text. Erza blinked; he’d never been a fan of physical touch outside of the people he was closest to.
“This is the part that Levy thinks might be an erroneous translation.” Lucy tapped a spot on the page. “It does read rather clunky.”
Jellal let out a hum of agreement. “You know, it’s during times like this that I miss having access to the Council’s archives.”
Lucy snorted, then her head snapped towards him, almost knocking their foreheads together before Jellal flinched back. “Wait. They have the original in there?”
“Most likely. The archives preserve magical artifacts and ancient texts in every Ishgarian language, both living and dead. It was my favourite place inside of Era.”
With a dreamy sigh, Lucy laid the book on the table. “I’ve rarely felt so envious of anyone in my entire life. You don’t happen to still have the access codes, do you?”
“If you’re asking me whether I remember them, yes. They must’ve changed them, though.”
“They didn’t transfer the key to their most powerful superweapon,” Lucy pointed out. With her head turned to the side, Erza could catch the way she batted her lashes at him—the same one that got her out of trouble whenever Erza scolded the team. “Maybe you could try? Please?”
Jellal cast her an unimpressed look. “You’d have better luck asking Levy.”
“If Levy had access to the archives,” Lucy pouted, “we would never see her at the guild hall. Please? You’re good at sneaking into places.”
The big brown eyes were back in full force and Jellal hesitated before he said, “I’m trying to be a law-abiding citizen.”
That brief moment of hesitation sparked an unpleasant, slithering feeling in Erza’s chest. Her mouth twisted into a frown. Something about the way they sat so close to each other and the intensity of their gazes rubbed on her nerves.
She stomped forward and they both jumped in their seats at the booming echo of her steps against the wooden walls. Lucy pressed a hand to her heart with a deep puff of air.
“Erza, you scared me.”
“Sorry.” She wasn’t sorry at all. “We’re taking a look at the request board.” Her thumb pointed at the door. “We should hurry before Natsu and Gray pick a job on their own.”
Although a small crease dented her forehead, Lucy nodded. “Right.” Her fingers lingered on the book cover and she turned to Jellal. “Meet up again after dinner?”
“Sure.” He smiled first at Lucy and then at Erza, but for once, she struggled to mirror him. That nasty feeling still wormed around in her chest. She resisted the impulse to rub at her sternum. “Good luck on the mission.”
As she stood from the bench they were sitting on, Lucy shined him a dazzling grin that could’ve put the sun to shame. “Thanks. See you later!”
“Yeah, thanks,” Erza mumbled with much less enthusiasm. Jellal’s smile faltered.
Lucy sent her a questioning look, but Erza pretended not to notice it. She grabbed Lucy’s hand tight and marched out of the library.
When she stepped into the guild hall, Erza froze in the doorway as a stinging spread in her chest. She must be hallucinating.
In the empty space between the tables and the stage, Lucy and Jellal swayed in a dance without music, her hand on his shoulder and his gripping her waist. Their backs were ramrod straight and their eyes locked while their feet moved in a complicated pattern. The rest of the guild didn’t seem to pay them much attention, as if they’d been at it long enough for the novelty to expire.
Erza’s palms prickled as the caustic sensation intensified. She wove through the tables, ignoring Natsu and Gray bickering in a corner, and planted herself in front of Jellal and Lucy with her fists on her hips.
“What are you doing?”
Lucy stood on her tiptoes to look at her over Jellal’s shoulder. “Oh, hey, Erza. Just practising.”
His fingers unclasped from hers and his hand slid around her waist as Jellal broke the stance to turn towards Erza. In her opinion, he lingered there for longer than necessary.
Her brow furrowed. “Why are you practising a dance?”
“Master is sending us to a formal ball at Era.” Lucy punctuated her answer with a sigh. “Diplomatic business. I volunteered, since there aren’t exactly many people here who know how to waltz.”
The reminders of Lucy’s upbringing never ceased to blindside Erza. It was easy to forget that she had grown up in a mansion, until she blurted the name of an expensive wine or mentioned that she played the bassoon.
“And you?” Erza turned her attention on Jellal.
His sigh lasted longer than Lucy’s. “I suggested that Master send Freed, to avoid pissing off the Council, but—”
“—But Master wants to piss off the Council,” Lucy finished for him with a wink.
Erza frowned at him. “How do you even know formal dances?”
“Well. The Council.” Jellal crossed his arms to his chest, disquiet on his face, and Erza connected the dots for herself. Her fingers dug into her bicep; she never enjoyed those reminders of the past. “Ultear and I had to participate in a lot of these events, back when… You know.”
Lucy nudged him with her elbow. “He says they’re duller than watching paint dry. Or sitting alone in a tower in the middle of the sea, in his case.”
Erza’s eyes bulged out of their sockets. Lucy spoke with such ease of something she only tiptoed around.
Then Jellal snorted. The sound blared inside Erza’s skull like an alarm. She stared in disbelief as Jellal shook his head fondly at Lucy and she giggled behind her palm. Were they… were they flirting?
All at once, it hit her that the corrosive feeling she couldn’t place had a name: jealousy.
The rational side of Erza knew that stewing at the counter wouldn’t make Lucy and Jellal return faster. They hadn’t left the guild hall long enough to have finished their job, let alone make the train ride back from Akane Beach. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to hop off the barstool and find an activity other than pretending to read the same issue of Sorcerer Weekly.
Colourful photoshoots blended before her eyes. She blindly reached for her glass of water and downed a sip.
Those two were out on a job, alone, in a popular beach destination. There was no way they would waste the opportunity to spend a couple of hours at the beach. With each other. Almost naked.
Erza chewed on her bottom lip. Surely Jellal wouldn’t look at Lucy, glowing in the sunlight, her skin glossy with sunscreen, and realise that by his side stood the most beautiful woman on the planet. And Lucy wouldn’t look at Jellal, dripping wet, and notice that, beside an impressive brain, he also had magnificent abs. And, of course, they wouldn’t take the chance to have a candlelit dinner by the seaside and a stroll on the sand, where Jellal would offer to carry Lucy’s heels for her. They wouldn’t laugh at each other’s jokes and point out constellations in the starry sky, and at the end of the night, kiss under the moonlight.
A snort sounded to her left and Erza whipped around to find Erik spitting his drink back into its beer stein. Heat crept up her neck. She hadn’t noticed him sitting there.
“No, no.” He coughed, slapping his chest. “Keep going, Titania. What happens next in your romance novel?”
Erza spluttered. “Learn not to stick your nose into other people’s private thoughts!”
A clink rang out and Mirajane, who had been wiping a tray of glasses dry, glanced at them over her shoulder. “Oh?”
“I’ve told you a million times,” Erik said. “I don’t overhear your fantasies on purpose. Trust me, I wish I didn’t. The things I’ve seen...” He feigned an exaggerated shudder.
“What fantasies?” Mira leaned her elbows on the counter, resting her face on her palms. Her innocent smile clashed with the dangerous glint in her blue eyes.
Erza swatted at her with the magazine. She dodged and returned to her position, unbothered. “None of your business.”
“Actually, maybe it’s better this way,” Erik continued with a smug smirk that Erza wanted to punch flat. “Not sure how in detail your imagination goes.”
The tips of her ears grew hotter. Erza hit him with the rolled-up Sorcerer Weekly, but his forearm parried the blow.
Mirajane drummed her knuckles on the counter to draw his attention. “Fill me in. Is it about Lucy and Jellal?” Erik cocked an eyebrow her way and she clapped, giggling. “Knew it!”
Erza struck her again. This time, she yelped and massaged her head with a pout.
“Both of you, stop it!”
“I’m sorry, honey,”—Mira grabbed a tray and started placing the clean glasses on it—“but you’re kind of turning into Juvia with this love rival thing.” Her lips curled into a tiny smirk. “Except both of them are the love rival.”
“Shut it,” was Erza’s weak protest.
Mira exhaled a dramatic sigh. “Oh, you’re so oblivious. It’s adorable.”
“You’re so oblivious,” Mirajane’s voice snapped her back to the present.
Erza glared at her over her soup. Her friend just batted her lashes in false innocence. “Honestly, Erza, you’re being ridiculous. There’s no reason for you to be jealous.”
“No?” Erza abandoned all pretence and pointed at the duo still seated at the bar. Lucy’s elbow rested on the wooden surface as she grinned at Jellal, a sparkle in her eyes. “Look at them!”
Without turning around, Mira rolled her eyes and shook her head. “That’s not what I meant.” Her expression melted into a playful grin. “You’ve surprised me, though. With how hard it was getting you to admit that you’re in love with Jellal,”—Erza hid her face behind a curtain of hair—“I thought it would take you the next decade to spill the beans about Lucy.”
The words jumbled in her throat and Erza gulped down the rest of her water. “I-I—”
A glint of compassion wrinkled Mira’s brow. “Oh, honey. Did you think we didn’t know?”
“I-I—” Erza repeated, until her mind caught up with Mira’s sentence. “We?”
“Oh, you poor thing.” Mira patted her arm. “Have you not noticed that you turn into a blushing mess whenever Lucy touches you? Considering how you act around Jellal, it wasn’t hard to connect the dots. Not that it would’ve been anyway.”
A wave of blazing humiliation washed over Erza. She was conscious of the fact that her feelings for Jellal were the poorest kept secret in Fiore, but she had a smidge of hope that she could keep her crush on Lucy hidden, at least.
From the opposite side of the guild hall, an arm flagged Mirajane over. “All right, bye! Maybe talk to either of them,” she said and scurried away.
Erza frowned at her back for a moment before her sight returned to Jellal and Lucy. A rosy glow coloured Lucy’s cheeks. She couldn’t see Jellal’s face, but from the way he leaned forward, Erza could picture a wide, rare smile. Lucy’s foot brushed his in a show of casual intimacy.
They looked… comfortable. The type of comfortable Lucy had grown into since joining the guild and Jellal settled into around a select few. Their laughter bubbled in the air.
A knot lodged itself in Erza’s throat—she picked up the spoon and swallowed it down with her soup.
Perhaps Mirajane had grown tired of Erza’s indolence and decided to put her plan into action with or without Erza’s permission. That was the first thought that occurred to her when, on that same evening at the guild hall, Jellal slid onto the bench across from her. He smiled, his eyes as gentle as ever, and offered her a glass of wine.
“Hey.”
Although images of the morning carved notches in her heart, she couldn’t help but smile back. “Hey.”
“Want to catch up?” He folded his hands in front of him. Erza longed to grab them and interlace their fingers. “It’s been a while since we had a moment to talk.”
Erza sipped on her wine to swallow an impulsive reply. “Did your mission with Lucy go well?”
Jellal nodded, a glimmer in his eyes. “It went great. We tidied things up early, so we went to the beach for the afternoon. Lucy insisted.”
The corrosive feeling spread in Erza’s chest. Her hand gripped the glass tighter. “That’s good. You’ve been spending a lot of time together.”
“Thanks to you.” She didn’t need the reminder. “And Mirajane. Even though I could’ve done without the meddling,” he teased, and Erza huffed, “I’m glad. Lucy is amazing.”
Jealousy battled with fondness. Erza lowered her gaze, tracing the rim of her glass. “She is.”
“She makes everything seem brighter, doesn’t she?”
A sad smile quirked her lips. “Yes.”
Pressure built behind her eyes. She, of all people, couldn’t blame Jellal for seeing how wonderful Lucy was. Damn it, Erza had pushed for them to become friends because she knew Jellal recognised a special person when he had one in front of him.
It should be me, she thought, and couldn’t figure out which way she meant it.
She dared to glance up at Jellal: the smile on his face left her breathless. Erza couldn’t blame him if he desired an easier love, one that didn’t come with an eighteen-years-old baggage of loss and hurt. All she wanted for him and Lucy was happiness; if they could find it in each other, how selfish would Erza be to go against it?
The admission speared right through her.
The new mission had provided a welcome distraction from her unwanted thoughts. Erza much preferred to occupy her mind with action plans and efforts to stop Natsu and Gray’s squabbling. She kept an eye trained on them, a couple of steps ahead and supervised by Wendy and Charle, and another on the map. The path beneath their feet wound in twists and turns through the mountains north of Crocus.
“A bit chilly here, isn’t it?” Lucy’s voice broke through her focus. She sidled up to her, huddling into her coat with a shiver.
In honesty, Erza didn’t feel cold, but Lucy had always been the one most sensitive to low temperatures among their team.
“Here.” Erza snuck an arm around her and tucked Lucy into her side. She let out a small “oh!” of surprise before nestling closer, head against Erza’s shoulder. In retrospect, that might have been a bad idea, because the feel of Lucy’s waist under her palm made all the blood shoot to Erza’s face.
“Thank you.” Lucy shuffled to match her gait. “You’re always warm, a little like Natsu. Ugh, I can’t believe that three days ago I was on the beach in a bikini and here I have to wear a coat!” Unaware that she had just shattered Erza’s peace, Lucy attempted to flung her arms in the air in disbelief, but she was still snuggled against her.
Erza tried for a casual tone, “Jellal told me you had fun.”
Lucy chuckled. “The beach part, at least. The request was a snoozefest. Actually,” she continued, any trace of humour gone, “Jellal and I have been discussing something, and I wanted to talk to you about it.”
A rock settled in Erza’s stomach. She swallowed hard. “What is it?”
“Nothing serious, I promise.” Her nervous laughter didn’t ease Erza’s concerns. “It’s just… I consider you my best friend, Erza. You’re special to me.”
“You’re special to me, too,” she rushed to add. How much, Lucy would never know.
She answered with a wavering smile. “The thing is, I don’t want to do anything that would ruin our friendship. That’s more important to me than my other…” she gulped, “feelings.”
Thorns clawed at her heart. So this was it. Erza hated the sense of dread that overtook her. Both Lucy and Jellal deserved better than for her to pray that they would stay away from each other.
Erza forced her mouth to tilt upwards. “What matters to me the most is your happiness, Lucy.” The words were true, but that didn’t make them hurt less. “As long as what you do makes you happy, nothing could ever ruin our friendship.”
A hint of uncertainty crossed Lucy’s gaze. Her brow furrowed as she studied Erza’s face, then smoothed. “Thank you. You have no idea how much of a relief that is.”
“Of course.” A stone closed up Erza’s throat. “You can come to me for anything.”
The corners of Lucy’s eyes crinkled in a grin. An arm snaked around Erza’s waist as she leaned closer against her. “I know.”
Despite the crack splitting it in half, Erza’s heart couldn’t help a frantic flutter, nor could she help the way her hand clutched Lucy’s waist tighter.
After the latest job, Erza was glad to be back in Magnolia. She rewarded herself for the hike back and forth through the mountains with a slice of strawberry cake and hot chocolate. The waiter at the bakery had blinked, puzzled, at her request for a warm drink so far into the spring.
With her stomach full and the sweet taste of strawberry still on her tongue, she strolled through the cobbled streets towards the guild hall. The water of the canals glittered in the sunlight. Vibrant flowers adorned the windowsills. The day was too nice to waste inside, so Erza circled the hall building and headed for the lakeshore. Gentle azure waves lapped against the bank. She planted her palms on her hips and closed her eyes with a smile, soaking in the warmth and the fresh air. There behind the guild hall, the sounds of the town came muffled.
“Erza!” Lucy called out.
Erza’s eyelids flew open and she whirled around in the direction Lucy’s voice had come from. The spontaneous smile on her face faltered when she noticed Jellal by her side. They crossed the grassy strip, Lucy tugging Jellal’s sleeve, and stopped in front of her. From up close, Lucy’s grin didn’t reach her eyes. Jellal fidgeted with the cuff of his coat. Erza gulped.
“Hey,” Lucy said. “We were waiting for you inside, but Max saw you coming here.”
Erza blinked. “You were waiting for me?”
“Ah—Yes.” A moment of hesitation passed as Lucy bit her bottom lip. “We wanted to tell you something. Well, ask you.”
Erza’s gaze ping-ponged from her to Jellal, who attempted a smile in response. The strawberry cake protested from her stomach. There was only one thing the two of them could want to ask her and, as much as Erza had told herself that she wouldn’t get in the way of their happiness, her chest constricted.
“It’s fine.” She swallowed around the knot in her throat. “You don’t have to tiptoe around me, I’m not upset.”
Both their brows furrowed at the same time. They exchanged a sideways look before Jellal turned to Erza. “Why would you be upset about this?”
A cog in Erza’s brain stuttered. Any trace of sympathy in her evaporated. If Jellal didn’t know of her feelings for Lucy, he at least knew about her feelings for him, and he didn’t think Erza would be hurt over him dating somebody else?
She scoffed. “Excuse me?”
His lips parted, confusion etched across his features, but he said nothing.
“But,” Lucy started, clinging to Jellal’s arm, “yesterday you… And now you’re upset about it?”
Erza had thought that Lucy’s carefulness in taking her emotions into account meant she understood, but apparently not. “Just because I support you, that doesn’t make it easy.” In another occasion, she would’ve swallowed her complaints and worn a fake smile, but affront loosened her tongue. How could Lucy swear that their friendship mattered the most to her and then be so insensitive?
Lucy stared at her with her mouth open. “I… don’t get what you’re trying to say.”
For one of the smartest people in the guild, she could be dense.
“Fine,” Erza declared, fuelled by adrenaline. “I’ll spell it out for you: you’re free to date, but you need to give me some time to get used to it, all right?”
A thick silence settled between them. Matching confused expressions coloured Lucy and Jellal’s faces.
“What?” Lucy broke the tension, flinging her arms forwards. “I don’t want permission to date Jellal!” Bright crimson washed over her cheeks. “I mean, I want to date him, but not just that!”
Erza’s eyebrow twitched. The confirmation stung. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“All right,” Jellal’s voice cut through the discussion. “Why don’t you let us ask the question, okay?”
Erza balled her hands into fists. She was going to strangle him. She opened her mouth to rant, but Jellal beat her to it: “Erza,”—and he had the audacity to smile—“would you like to go on a date with us?”
Her thoughts cut to static. Erza’s eyes widened, ping-ponging from Jellal to Lucy, who waited with pursed lips. She must have misheard every part of that sentence.
“Date?” she croaked. “Us?”
He nodded with that same smile, and now that the anger had fled her, Erza’s heart somersaulted at the sight. “Us.”
Her gaze slid to Lucy and found expectation on her face. Her fingers wrung together.
“Yes,” the word slipped out of Erza’s lips without any input from her brain.
A spark lit Lucy’s and Jellal’s eyes and, despite the confusion that still lingered within her, Erza matched their smiles. A warm, fuzzy feeling spread in her chest.
Lucy threw herself at her and squeezed her into a hug that Erza answered readily. “Great! Is tomorrow night at seven thirty fine by you?”
Erza hummed in confirmation, too shocked to form sounds. When Lucy let go and grinned first at her, then at Jellal, an arm stayed around her waist. Jellal stepped closer and—Erza’s heartbeat stopped—kissed the back of her hand.
“We’ll pick you up at Fairy Hills, okay?”
Erza let out an inarticulate noise, her neck on fire. Air filled her lungs again, along with disappointment, as Jellal let go of her hand with a final brush of his thumb. Despite the distracting feel of Lucy’s arm wrapped around her, her mind started to catch up with the situation.
“A date… the three of us?” She blinked down at Lucy and up at Jellal.
Lucy twirled the flap of her gilet around her index. “Well, we both like you, so why not? And, uhm,”—red returned to her cheeks—“you were kind of right. Jellal and I have been dating since the job at Akane Beach. Sort of.”
Jealousy itched at her chest again, but this time it was simple to push it down. Instead, she quirked an eyebrow. “Sort of?”
Lucy hunched her shoulders with a sheepish grin. “We were waiting for you to start dating officially. We can tell you all about it tomorrow.”
The reminder had Erza clamping her lips shut to stifle an excited giggle. She was going on a date with Lucy and Jellal. She didn’t quite understand how she had gotten here yet, but her heart burst with delirious happiness.
She reached out her free hand to grab Jellal’s and squeezed Lucy’s hip. Their answering smiles turned hers wider. “Tomorrow, then. It’s a date.”