Fairy Tail Ship Oneshots

Underneath All Her Armor: JErza

Erza Scarlet. If there was one thing that was synonymous with her name it was her armor. Often times, that was all people saw of her. The Queen of the Fairies. Titania Erza. The Knight. The woman who was never not wearing armor. Tough as nails. Hard as her own swords. Unbreakable. No flaws. No weaknesses.

Those who managed to get close to her were lucky enough to see past the armor, sometimes. However, she was still careful to not let her armor fall completely, even around her closest friends. She refused to be completely vulnerable, even around Lucy. Allowing herself to become completely vulnerable and weak around someone was something that she just couldn't do. Not anymore.

But, that was changing with every second she spent with him. Jellal was different. He had already seen her at her weakest point. Lowering the hard metal plates that she put around her heart for him was something that she did without thinking. It was second nature to her by now. Some might have thought that it was a reflex left over for her childhood, but she knew that it was something more.

They both knew that she shouldn't trust him the way she did. He had betrayed her too many times before. He didn't understand how she could let him in the way she did. She had her reasons, though. She knew why he had joined Crime Sorciere. He wanted to atone for what he considered to be his previous sins, despite the fact that he had been manipulated into doing so by Zeref. She knew why he had lied about having a fiancée. He wanted to protect her, so certain that he would only bring her pain. She forgave him for everything he had done to her. She would forgive him anything, just because it was him.

He was the only one who saw past her walls. He broke done all her armor with one look, one word, one touch. Only he could do that. While other people had to fight tooth and nail just to get a glimpse, for him the metal protections that she had placed over her heart melted away, like they were made of sugar that had been caught in a gentle rain.

She knew that she should be afraid of the effect that he had on her. Each time she was with him her hardened heart softened. She wondered if, maybe, it was good thing that she saw him so infrequently. This never lasted long. How could being with him be so bad, when it was the one time she felt safe taking off the weight of her armor? Deep down, she was burdened by the weight of it all. All the wanted to do was to be able to take it off, to feel the light, airy freedom that she felt when she was with him every day. Then she would feel the darkness closing in again and that fear returned. The fear that if she allowed herself to be vulnerable, it would destroy her. So, she put her armor back on, unable to face the world without it. She knew that she had to get stronger to be able to let others in, but she wasn't there just yet.

She would be stronger, someday. They were all helping her to grow stronger: all her friends at Fairy Tail. Gray. Natsu. Lucy. They were helping her to become stronger, to open up more and let her heart show. None more so than him. With each moment she spent with him, she was getting stronger. Yes, she would be strong enough to let her heart show, someday. But, for now, Jellal Fernandes was the only one who saw what she was, underneath all her armor, and that worked for both of them.