Anyways. This short fic was inspired by this little bit from the anime because they’re totally a family. *sob*
“Are you awake?” Erza whispered, twirling her fingers through Jellal’s hair. It was a hot, muggy night. Jellal had passed out hours ago, arms wrapped around her hips, head resting against her belly. She traced her finger down the scars across his bare back. “How are you even asleep?” She smiled as her husband’s grip around her tightened.
“’m not,” he mumbled, his lips moving against the fabric of her shirt. “Too hot.”
“It might be cooler if you let go,” Erza said, running her fingers through his hair again. He groaned.
“At least come closer,” she whispered. Jellal sat up, his hair a mess, his eyes shimmering in the pale moonlight streaming in from the window. He smiled. Erza shook her head and grabbed his arm, pulling him down to kiss him. He sighed against her lips, brushing her red hair away from her eyes, and then kissed her again.
Then he groaned. “It’s too hot,” and flopped back over onto his side of the bed. Erza turned to tease him, but the moment she did there was a scream from across the hall.
“Wendy,” Jellal whispered, his eyes wide. He was out of bed before Erza could even respond. It had been a while since she had had a nightmare. Jellal yanked on his t-shirt and was striding across the hall before Erza even had time to react.
Since Erza and Jellal’s wedding, Erza had noticed Jellal was closer than ever to Wendy. She had, for some time now, thought of Wendy as her daughter. And Jellal, when Jellal and Erza had finally started dating, she knew he felt the same way. She almost smiled about it as she threw her blankets aside and pulled herself out of bed. Wendy could ask Jellal for anything and he’d give it to her. Such a pushover.
On the other side of the hall Wendy was still screaming: “He’s coming! He’s coming!” They were familiar words. Erza had heard her scream the same ones every night for weeks after Acnologia. Now… every so often the same nightmare came back. Erza’s heart hurt everytime she heard Wendy scream in her sleep. She saw some things… some things that no little girl should ever have to see. And then she paused in her doorway, clutching the doorframe till her knuckles turned white. No. She saw some things that no one should ever have to see.
Erza sighed, padding barefoot out into the hallway. Light streamed out from Wendy’s room, and she could hear soft murmuring. Jellal whispering over and over, “It’s okay. It’s okay. It was just a dream.” Erza could hear Wendy sobbing. She gently pushed the door open to see Jellal kneeling by Wendy’s bed. Wendy was still sitting on her mattress but was practically buried in Jellal’s arms—sobbing into his shirt—clutching at him like she still couldn’t quite believe that she was safe. Jellal glanced up at Erza, offering her a worried smile. It’s okay. She’s okay.
She was calming down, her trembling slowly dying away, her breath coming in gasps. “I’m… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She breathed. Jellal looked bewildered.
“I wake you so much…” she whispered, pulling away from his embrace, rubbing away her tears with her hands. “And they’re just dreams.”
“Wendy.” Erza said, sitting down next to her on her bed. “You’re right. They’re just dreams. But you should never apologize. Jellal and I, we have nightmares too. And we wake each other up. We’re there for each other. And we want to always be there for you—when you need us.”
Wendy stared up at Erza for a long moment, and then tears welled up in her eyes. “Promise?”
“Of course,” Jellal frowned, “Always.” Wendy pulled them both into a hug.
“I have an idea,” Erza declared. “I’m going to make some hot chocolate. We’ll all have some together, and then lets try and get some sleep. This time we’ll have good dreams.”
Wendy laughed a little, wiping the last evidence of tears away from her eyelashes. She beamed up at both of them as they stood. “Alright, can I help?”
“Sure,” Erza smiled, pulling her up to her feet. “You find the hot chocolate mix. I’ll heat up the water. Deal?”
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