Confession

His smile was warm and inviting and his voice gentle as he spoke. "Hey Erza."

Erza could barely stand, all of her air was gone. She placed her hand on her chest, she could barely breathe. She moved back in disbelief and tripped on the welcome mat, but before she could hit the ground, Jellal caught her. "Are you alright?" He asked with concern in his voice, she blushed slightly and quickly regained her bearings.

She stood up and brushed herself off. "Yes, I'm…I'm fine. What are you doing here Jellal?"

"Well it's your birthday isn't it? So I thought I would come see you."

"How did you know I was here?"

"I went by Fairy Tail to see you but everyone said you had decided to take a break. I remembered you had a cottage out in this area so I stopped by. Am I interfering with anything?" She saw the calm, gentle look in his eyes and she knew she couldn't refuse him. "No, you're not." She answered nervously. "Just take a seat on the couch and I'll go make some coffee."

"Alright thanks." He placed his bag down and sat on the couch as Erza walked back to the kitchen. "This place is pretty cozy." He called to Erza. "Yes, I suppose it is rather small." She replied as she waited on the coffee to finish. After it was hot she placed two mugs filled with coffee on a tray and brought them to the living area. She placed the tray on the table in front of the couch and took one, Jellal taking the other.

Jellal sipped the coffee and looked around the room smiling. "This cottage is just like you."

"What do you mean?"

"It's small, secluded, and reserved. It's just like how you like to keep to yourself and how you may have a rough exterior it's beautiful on the inside."

Erza blushed a tad as she sipped her coffee, "I never thought of it like that."

Jellal sipped on the coffee one more time before he turned his attention towards Erza. "So Erza, where's Natsu?"

…

Natsu searched all around town but he found nothing that he thought Erza would like for a present. He didn't really know what clothes fit her and the fact that she requiped everything threw that option out. He thought lingerie but his head got steamy thinking about it, and the thought of Erza decking him for being a pervert quickly dashed that idea.

"Aw man, I can't think of anything." He scratched his head in frustration as he continued to walk through the small town. His stomach began to growl as he continued to think. He placed his hand on his stomach, "Man now I'm hungry." Thinking he couldn't look for a present on an empty stomach, he walked into the nearest restaurant and sat at a table.

A maid came to the table and took his order with a warm smile, "What will you be having this afternoon sir?"

"2 of everything please." He answered with an innocent smile.

The maid dropped her pen as her eyes widened. "But sir we have about 60 items on the menu." She to confirm that his request was true. "I know, I'm really hungry. I have enough money." He said smiling back at her.

"It's not the money I'm worried about." She stated under her breath as she wrote down on her pad. She then smiled and bowed before walking to the back of the kitchen. About an hour later a huge assortment of food was brought before Natsu, and in about half that time it was gone. The rest of the restaurant watched him ingest the huge amount of food; some of them amazed, others horrified. Natsu burped loudly as he finished his last morsel of food. He then thanked the restaurant before walking out. Satisfied with the meal he just ate, his spirits reignited.

He picked the last bit of food from his teeth as he looked to the sky; the sun was starting to set. *I better hurry back, but I have to find a present first.* After looking around town for a few more minutes, Natsu began to lose hope. He began the long trek back to the cottage, but before he had reached the town's exit, the perfect store caught his eye. His eyes opening wide with joy as the store began to light up as day turned to night. He had found the perfect gift for Erza.

…

Erza almost spit out her coffee. "Why are you asking about Natsu?" She asked Jellal anxiously.

"Well I was told that he came with you. I wanted to say hi."

"Oh." Her face grew sad, "I don't know he suddenly went out this morning. I don't know where he went."

"Well it's your birthday so I assumed he would be here."

"Yeah, me too." She looked down sullenly and clenched her mug.

"Is something wrong Erza? You've been acting strange since I showed up." He could sense her apprehension as they talked about Natsu.

"No, nothing's wrong. I'm fine." She gave him a fake smile. *Why did he have come now of all times?* She thought to herself. *I can't think clearly when it comes to him, he knows that.* She then thought of what Master Makarov said to her before she left.

*"Well what will you do when you two cross paths again? Will you be able to make a choice?"* Her Master's voice replayed in her ear. She was torn, the time to make a decision had come and she wasn't ready.

Jellal moved closer to Erza and placed his hand on her shoulder, breaking her thought process.

"Erza are you sure you're alright?"

Erza looked up at him, her heart was racing. She couldn't speak; she hadn't seen him in a while and the moment hit her hard. She gazed into his eyes, they were warm & innocent. She had been brought back to when they were young, when they 1st fell in love.

"If you need anything. You know you can tell me." Erza stood up and continued to look into his eyes. Her knees became weak. Without realizing it, they started to move closer to one another. Their lips slowly parting as the thought of them being reunited filled their minds.

However, as their kiss became closer to being made reality. Flashes of random thoughts began appearing in Erza's mind…they were all of Natsu. His stubborn attitude, his innocence, his laugh, the fight against Phantom Lord, the life he saved at the Tower of Heaven, the fights against Night Shade, the promise they made, and the kiss they shared. But through all of those memories, the one she thought of the most…was Natsu's smile.

*Hey Erza.* She should hear Natsu's warm voice and see his smile in her head.

No matter what mood she was in, that smile always managed to lift her spirits again. Thinking of nothing but Natsu even as she and Jellal's lips were close to touching; she knew her decision was made. At the last second she backed up from Jellal.

He looked at her surprised. "What's wrong?" He asked with confusion in his voice.

"Natsu." She said low voice, looking at Jellal.

Jellal backed away from Erza, she looked at him ashamed. She felt she had led him on, but he simply smiled softly at her.

"You love him don't you?" His smile was gentle, but she could tell that he was hurt.

There was an uneasy silence between them for a few moments. She didn't really know what to say, she had never been directly questioned about it before; but she knew she couldn't lie to Jellal because of their history, she knew she had to be honest with him.

"Yes, I do." She answered as she began to smile. "Honestly, Natsu is the last person I should be in love with. He's immature, stubborn, reckless, naive, all of the things I should scold him for; and I do, but I also love him because of them. Despite all of his faults, he's also kind, strong, open minded, caring, and even a tad shy at times." She looked at Jellal and continued to speak, "Love has never been something that's come easy to me. Ever since I was a girl, I've closed myself off from it, afraid I would get bitten by it…that it would hurt me, like it did in the Tower of Heaven. But Natsu, he…he makes me want to take that chance again. I could fall one million times and he would be there to lift me up one million and one, ever since we were kids I've been drawn to his side. I love him and even if he never says it back, even if he may not feel the same, my feelings will never change. This may sound foolish -" She looked down at the ground then back up at Jellal. "but, I don't…no I ***can't be*** without him. It would end me." She placed her hand on her heart.

"He's saved my life…on more than one occasion. I could never repay that debt, and despite saying I wouldn't throw away what he gave his all for." She then looked at Jellal determined as her hand still lied upon her heart. "I would gladly give my life, if it meant that I could protect the man that I love."

After a few minutes of silence, Jellal simply smirked and looked at Erza, she looked so strong and resolute; a totally different person than who she was a few minutes ago. "I wouldn't have expected any other answer from you Erza. You have grown a lot." His voice was more solid now. "I'm glad you have found someone like Natsu." He smiled at her one last time and picked his things up from the floor. He was happy that Erza had found someone to make her happy, and while he was slightly distraught that it was not him; he took solace in the fact that it was Natsu.

He turned around and walked towards the door, but before he could exit; Erza ran to him and wrapped her arms around his neck in a loving embrace. "Thank you Jellal."

"Anytime Erza. Tell Natsu how you feel before it's too late." They let go of one another as he kissed her on the forehead and walked through the door. "I'll see you again." They waved to each other as Jellal walked into the distance.

Erza then closed it behind him and sat on the couch to wait on Natsu to return, thinking of Jellal's words. She had made up her mind to tell him her feelings as soon as he walked back through that door. An hour so later, Natsu walked through the door, his hands behind his back. Erza quickly rose to her feet.

"Natsu I…"

"Erza…"

Their faces grew red as they noticed they were cutting the other off from speaking. After a moment of silence Erza looked at Natsu. "I'm sorry what were you saying?"

He slowly moved his arms from his back to show Erza what he had. She smiled wide as her eyes grew misty. It was a bouquet of about 12 roses and a slice of strawberry cheesecake. Natsu smiled at her showing his white teeth. "I got the roses because they reminded me of your hair and I know how much you like cake, so I bought that as well." He walked over to the table and placed the items on it. "It took me forever to think of the perfect gift."

He smiled at her softly "Happy birthday Erza."

Erza jumped on Natsu instantly, wrapping her arms around his neck and looked into his eyes. His smell, she had missed it all day; she missed HIM all day. She thought of Jellal's words to her and smiled. She finally had the strength to fully move on.

She moved her lips closer to his and as they began to part, she could feel their breaths become one sharing a passionate, deep kiss. Natsu was surprised at 1st but eventually succumbed as he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Erza's waist, bringing her closer to him. He began to yearn for the warmth of her body against his, her scent, and the taste of her lips. But he didn't know why.

He stroked his fingers through her hair, feeling each and every strand as he tasted her lips. Erza then pulled back and looked at him alluringly, Natsu returned her gaze.

"What was that for?" He asked smirking.

"Hush." She kissed him again.

There were no more words, they would only ruin the moment. They made their way to the bedroom and Natsu kissed Erza again as they fell onto the soft bed. He felt her guild mark as he unbuttoned her shirt. He then looked at her one last time. She was blushing, her face as red as her long flowing hair. He couldn't help but smile gently at her, it only felt right to ask before he proceeded.

"Erza…"

She placed her hand on his cheek, and Natsu stopped talking. "Shhh, no more words." She said in a calm serene voice as she smiled at him. They kissed again and undressed one another as the calm night sky set the mood. The stars seem to fall from the sky as time seemed to slow down around them. The world outside kept spinning, but Natsu & Erza could only hear the sounds of their heart beats. As Natsu began to kiss her lightly from her lips to her navel, the only smell in the air was the sweet scent of strawberries. Erza's body was quaking from sheer pleasure…but she managed to utter one last sentence before she was completely overtaken.

"Natsu…I love you."

That night, the Knight & her dragon had truly become one.