Erik: What? Why?

Hi love! I'm sorry it took so long before I gave you an answer ! I Hope you'll like it! @watcher-ofthe-sky

Prompt: "My head is full of you but my arms are empty"

Jellal sighs as he enters the hotel room. He is tired from the flight, and his body seems to weigh a hundred tons more with every step he takes.

Closing the door behind him, he runs a hand through his hair, taking in the room. It’s simple enough; just a bed in the middle of the place, with a nightstand next to it. There's another door not too far off, probably for the bathroom, and he can spot his luggage in the very corner of the rom. Nothing fancy, but it'll do for the night, and as long as he can get a good night’s sleep, that’s all that matters.

The man doesn't waste time and makes his way toward the bathroom, already taking his coat off. A yawn escapes his lips while he gets rid of the remainder of his clothes.

When the hot water finally slides down his skin, he allows himself to close his eyes for a moment, enjoying the way his body is slowly warming up, as his sore muscles relax, tension easing.

He’d left his house early this morning, having just the time to have breakfast with his husband, before heading for the airport to take the flight so he could attend the meeting he's having tomorrow. A little smile makes its way onto his lips as he thinks of the sleepy face Erik had earlier that day, eyes barely open but determined to spend a few more minutes with him before he went. Ten years being together and eight years of marriage barely allowed their love to fade; in fact, Jellal would say it’s made what’s between them grow further. Even if he has to go overseas for a few days at least once a month for work, it’s never shattered their relationship.

Jellal shakes his head drowsily and opens his eyes once more. As much as he enjoys the water on his skin, he desperately wants to sleep, so he quickly cleans his body before stepping out of the shower.

It's only when he is completely dry that he remembers that he didn't take any clothes with him. Sighing, he wraps the towel around his hips before going back to the bedroom where his luggage is. He opens it on the bed and he stops as his eyes meet with two post-it notes, a pink and a green one, stuck on top of his clothes.

Lifting an eyebrow, he takes the pink one between his fingers and can't help but smile as he recognizes the neat handwriting that belongs to his husband.

"I bet you forgot to take your PJs in the bathroom with you again?" it says, and Jellal laughs at that. His husband knows him a little too well.

He picks up the green one and this time rolls his eyes fondly as he reads the few words on it: "Did I tell you how much I love you lately? Because I do. I love you."

"I love you too." he murmurs, even though Erik is not next to him to hear it.

Jellal has no idea when Erik found the time to slide these little notes in here, but as he gently puts them back from where he took them, he realizes that it was exactly what he needed.

Jellal takes a look at the time, hoping that if it’s not too late he can maybe call his husband and tell him that he loves him too. But it's 10pm where he is, which means it's past 2am for Erik. He is probably asleep and while Jellal knows if he calls, Erik would answer, he doesn't have the heart to disturb him.

Sighing in defeat, he decides to go through his clothes and takes some pajamas, but as he removes the attire his gaze finds a blue post it, slowly falling and making its way toward the ground. He catches it swiftly and take a good look at it.

"My head is full of you but my arms are empty. I hope I'll dream of you tonight and I'll pray for tomorrow to come faster. Sleep well my one and only."

Jellal feels his eyes sting as his heart clenched a little. He misses his husband and reading these had done nothing but makes him crave his presence more. He knows he won't be able to sleep even if he is tired. Not until he could tell Erik how much he loves him too. He pulls on his pants before taking his phone. He doesn't care what time it is anymore; all he wants is to hear the voice of the one he loves.

The phone rings two times before a groggy voice is heard, and Jellal shuts his eyes, picturing the sleepy face of Erik.

"Babe…?" Erik says, voice thick with sleep. "It's two in the morning here…"

"Yeah, I know… I'm sorry." Jellal answers, his voice soft.

There's a little pause and Jellal can hear the bed cracking and the sheets being shuffled. He can imagine that the bed is a mess right now; Erik has always been a restless sleeper.

"Hey… is everything alright?" Erik asks, sounding more awake.

"Yeah... I just found your little notes."

"Little... oh, yeah. Left them here when you were sleeping last night."

"Thank you. They cheered me up." Jellal says tenderly.

"You don't have to thank me; but you don't sound cheered up, more like… nostalgic."

"Probably because it made me miss you a little more." Jellal laughs.

"Oh..."

Jellal can almost see the little blush appearing on the tanned cheeks, the way Erik would avoid his gaze, flustered by the affection.

"I miss you too." Erik whispers.

"Mmh… and I love you too." Jellal hums contentedly.

"Uh... did you wake me up to be all sappy on me? Because I'm going to hang."

At this, Jellal can't help but laugh. No matter how many years they've been together, Erik is still shy and uncomfortable expressing his love out loud. He’s fine to show it or to write it down, but it’s always a battle for him to actually say the words.

"You and I both know that you're not going to do that. I'll keep calling you non-stop otherwise."

"I'll just turn my phone off."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Want to bet?"

Jellal can practically hear the challenging smile in Erik’s voice.

"You're impossible."

Despite having been on the phone with his husband for only a few minutes, Jellal can already tell that he is feeling a little bit better, so he turns the lights off and then slides under the cover, resting his phone next to him, after turning the speaker on.

"And yet you're still married to me." Erik says.

"Indeed. I must be crazy or something."

"Definitely crazy. But that's not news to me." his husband chuckles.

Jellal rolls his eyes.

"As much as I would love to talk to you more, you have a meeting tomorrow and I have some pretty little snakes to take care of, early at the Zoo…"

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry for waking you up." Jellal interrupts, wanting to end this quickly so they can both get a good night’s sleep.

"It's okay, babe. We will see each other when you come home tomorrow, okay?"

"Alright... goodnight, love. I love you."

There's only silence for a moment, and Jellal is afraid that somehow the call has ended, but then he can hear a soft sigh, and Erik’s voice comes over the speakers again.

"I love you too, sweetheart. Sleep well."

Jellal smiles widely at the words, but before he can say anything the conversation is over, and his eyes meet the home screen of his phone. A picture of Erik and himself, faces pressed together, greets him. Both of them have a silly grin on their lips, eyes glimmering with happiness.

And it's with this picture and the voice of his husband still running through his mind, that he finally falls asleep, content with the knowledge that Erik is always there for him.

*

Jellal: Remind me why I fell in love with you again.

Erik: *smiles*

Hey, do you remember the first time we went to the beach together? You couldn't get that smile off your lips, and your hand was wrapped so tightly around mine that I thought you were going to cause bruises. I swear I can still see how your eyes shined with life, like all the colors in the world presented themselves just for you.

Do you remember the sunset that day, it was so bright like it was challenging your light. A losing battle, really. What an amazing time...

What a great time, huh?

Hey, do you remember the first time we went hiking together? You couldn't stop laughing because we hadn’t even walked a mile, before I fell to the ground because I was too busy watching the way the wind danced with your hair, instead of watching where I was going. I swear I can still hear your laughing exactly the way you did back then.

I can still remember the peace we felt on top of the hill, looking over the land like nothing could ever hurt us. What a blissful time...

What a great time, huh?

Hey, do you remember the first time we said 'I love you' to each other? It wasn't even romantic or anything. We were just sitting on the couch together, watching whatever movie was on tv and we said it at the exact same time. And we laughed so much after that.

Do you remember how all I wanted to do was dance with you until the moon hid from the sun. What a perfect time, right?

What a great time… hm?

What I wouldn’t do to go back and give you everything...

I miss you.

*

This was inspired from the song "What a time" by Julia Michaels and Niall Horan.

Thank you to @grayserigala for the beta job AND also for writing half of this. You're really talented and you should write more sweetheart ♥️

And on a final note, just let your imagination decide on who this is about !

*

Peleamos otra vez

La casa está encendida

Si me quedo es suicidio

Dices que no lo volveras a hacer

Promesas que ya no escucho

Yo te conozco bien

It always starts in the same way.

It begins with a call from some random bar; even if he knows that he shouldn't do it, that he should just ignore the call and pretend that nothing happened, Jellal still goes to him.

When he gets there, Erik will smile and cling to him as if he was some sort of guardian angel.

As soon as they get home, Jellal will have to help him reach the bed because Erik will barely be able to place a foot in front of the other. He will tell him how beautiful he is, how much he loves him, and how he wants to spend the rest of his life with him.

Of course, he won’t remember a thing in the morning, and he will act as if everything was normal.

However, this time feels rather different.

As Jellal eyes his ringing phone, his heart remains clenched; he knows the reason for this call. It's 2 am, so it's not like there were any alternative possibilities. He continues to hold his breath while the tears start stinging his eyes. It’s still not like the other occasions; now, his body doesn't want to move and pick up the phone. He doesn't feel the urge to go and fetch his boyfriend.

He is tired. So tired.

He recalls each and every thing his friends told him: ‘Erik was no good for him’ and ‘he should have let him go already.’

He reminisces, albeit not very happily, about all the other nights. He would sob until his eyes dried out; it was all because he knew Erik was out there, in some random bar, drinking until he forgot his own name.

He remembers, in perfect detail, the moment when their relationship started going downhill: when he came home and found that girl in their bed. It had been difficult, but he forgave him.

He forgave the cheating.

He forgave the drinking.

He forgave the nights, like this one, when he couldn't sleep.

He forgave everything.

Because that's what you do when you love someone - when you really and truly adore someone.

But he is tired. So tired.

This time, instead of picking up his phone, he grabs a pen and a sheet of paper.

He proceeds to leave a short note:

" ¡Ya no puedo más! Me voy. Te amo."*

Although he's too tired to think of any words in English, he knows that Erik will understand when he returns. Whenever he comes back, anyway; for all Jellal knew, he would never return.

He doesn't allow himself to dwell on it too much. He knows that if he does, he might just stay and put himself through that hell once more. He grabs a bag, throws some of his belonging into it, and snatches his phone while heading for the door.

He leaves the keys on the table as he passes, even if it's the hardest thing he’s ever done.

It's better this way.

Thank you to @fyo-schii for being kind enough to do the beta work! And thank you to @mdelpin for the spanish part in this little story!

Also I blame @ceruleanshockwave and @wizardwithbrushandpen for this drabble. 🌺

* "I can't do this anymore. I'm leaving. I love you"

"...I can't believe this," Erik says, eyes gleaming with frustration. "I just can't."

Jellal breathes out, trying to placate his agitated Dragon Slayer boyfriend. "Erik, I-"

"You what?" Erik rounds on him angrily, face flushed. He's pouting, Jellal realises, and it's just too cute for the older Mage to be able to focus on what Erik is saying anymore.

A sharp slap brings him back to reality. Jellal cradles his cheek with a wince. Erik hits hard.

"You weren't even listening." The Dragon Slayer throws his hands up furiously and storms off.

Jellal chases after his boyfriend, catching Erik by the waist and swinging him up into his arms bridal style. "Babe, no," he whispers into Erik's ear. "I was just distracted by how cute you are when you're angry."

Erik's face reddens further, and he rolls out of Jellal's arms, landing gracefully on the floor.

"Cute?" he snarls, and Jellal has a sinking feeling that he's made a mistake. "Let's see exactly how cute you find this! Poison Dragon, Roar!"

And that's how Jellal ends up having to buy a new apartment for them.

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