((A/N: This takes place after where the manga left off with Jellal. If you aren't reading the manga, then spoiler alerts dead ahead. Gonna be honest, that chapter left me crying ;3; ))
You were keeping watch.
Meredy was asleep soundly next to you and tonight you decided to keep watch despite Jellal wanting you to get some sleep after today.
Today...it wasn't the best of days really.
Several hours ago, Jellal had maimed his eyes and recruited Oración Seis to their guild.
You didn't trust them after what they had done to Jellal.
After all, he had saved your life.
~~~
Few years prior to you joining Crime Sorcière, you were traveling throughout Fiore just for fun. Your uncle wasn't too happy with it, but it was something you wanted to do as a way to figure out what you wanted to do with your life and find a purpose.
Magic had been in your life and you used it on a daily basis.
Fire magic was useful on your journey, but you didn't know how to use it to actually defend yourself properly.
"Tonight's weather is just perfect! Not too cold and not too hot!"
You began to cook dinner for the night over your small fire.
"Look what we got here boys! A cute girl all by herself." a raspy voice cracked out from the darkness.
~~~
"You should be sleeping."
Towering over you was Cobra.
"I'll start sleeping the second I feel safe. Too soon to start trusting you."
"Ha. Smart, but too bad you gotta deal with it."
He walked away as Meredy snuggled closer making you smile.
Needless to say, Jellal, Meredy, and Ultear came to your rescue, but it was Jellal that wanted you to join.
To belong somewhere.
You slowly tucked Meredy in with a blanket before moving next to Jellal.
He was sitting there, eyes closed.
It was difficult to tell if he was sleeping now.
"(First Name), you should be sleeping."
A small smile surfaced onto your lips.
"So should you. You've done a lot today. I can make the sacrifice of not getting any sleep."
The blue haired man chuckled and shifted against the wall of the cave.
"You sound like Erza. She'll be angry with me once she finds out what I did."
You've been well aware of his love towards the red haired exotic Fairy Tail mage.
Honestly, your feelings weren't going to be returned, but that didn't stop you from loving him.
"(First Name), thank you for staying with us. Meredy has grown fond of you and I'm sure Ultear would appreciate you taking care of Meredy."
"Jellal, there's no need to thank me. I should be thanking you. If you never came years ago, I'd be broken and would have no will to live. Plus, I wouldn't know how to protect myself or the ones I care for."
It was his turn to smile.
When you weren't watching over Meredy, you went out of your way just to make the troubled blue haired male smile.
"You know, it's always the small things you do that reminds me of what kind of world I want."
"Huh? What kind of world you want? Care to share, Jellal?"
Jellal held your hand with a smile.
"A world where there's peace and no one has to go through the pain we all have gone through...being pried away from our families and watching loved ones pass away."
You squeezed his hand.
"Don't worry, Jellal! We'll get rid of Zeref and reach your goal. Then, we can worry about fixing your eyes. I hate seeing you like this. Meredy hates it too and I'm sure Erza would probably yell at you."
The two of you laugh lightly.
Despite not having the chance with him, you wanted Jellal to have a happy ending with Erza.
You grew up in a decent home and the only death you experienced was the death of your grandparents. Then again, your birth parents abandoned you, so you lived with your uncle.
Still, it was a better life than what Jellal, Meredy, Ultear, and Erza had gone through.
"Do you still not trust Midnight and the others?"
"No. If they want my trust, then I need to see what they can do and see some good deeds come from them."
"(First Name), they're broken souls too. They lost their homes and loved ones. Please try and understand that."
It was hard. These people were in jail for their crimes and Jellal was giving them a second chance basically!
Your hand tightened around his.
"I'll try, but I can't help it if I feel this way."
He chuckled.
"Alright, but go on and get some rest. For me?"
"But what if they try something?"
Jellal ruffled your hair.
"If they try anything, then I'll teach them a lesson. Just because my sight is gone doesn't mean I can't fight anymore."
You were hesitant to leave him alone, but sleep did sound nice and tomorrow the group was going to have a long journey once the sun rose.
A sigh escaped your lips.
"You win, Jellal, but I'm only doing this just so you can be at ease. Wake me up or Meredy if anything happens."
Jellal nodded.
"Goodnight, Jellal."
You kissed his cheek before walking back towards Meredy farther in the cave.
The blue haired male smiled and held his cheek.
"She deserves better. They all deserve better."
He looked in the direction of the sound of your footsteps went.
A memory of your face was all he had, but he was glad that he had the chance to see your smile before he sacrificed his vision.
The smile that he would keep close to his heart.
Small things like your smile, the way you worried over his actions, or how excited you got upon hearing that they would be meeting new people kept him going.
Jellal may love Erza, but in a way, he had loved you as well.
And making you happy was one of his priorities
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Not going to lie. I felt sad while writing this. Well, I was upset with what happened to Jellal and lost everything because I am a huge shipper of Jellal and Erza! They're meant for each other and for him to take away his vision is sad ): I'm hoping Jellal gets his vision back because I refuse to believe so!
Enough of sad things, next one, I will write something happy. Happy times with Midnight :) See you then!