Two years later…

Jellal swept the loose papers on his desk into a folder and sighed. The sunlight was already starting to creep across the floor and he wanted nothing more than to collapse into bed. But he couldn't. No, he still had to tidy his classroom and walk a stack of permission slips down to the principal's office

"Je- I mean, Mister Fernandes?" Rogue peeked into his classroom. They'd agreed on the formal name for when they were at school.

"Rogue! What are you still doing here? It's –" Jellal glanced at his wristwatch and winced; it was after four. "Well, I suppose it's late for both of us. Need a ride home?"

"Yeah," Rogue mumbled sheepishly. "I was reading and lost track of time."

"That happens sometimes. Just let me grab a few things and we'll go."

"I was going to call mom but I didn't want to disturb her." The boy shrugged and helpfully grabbed Jellal's messenger bag from the back of his desk chair. "You know how she is in the late afternoon."

"I do," Jellal laughed. "And I don't blame you at all for saving that as a last resort."

"How much longer?" Rogue asked.

"Mm… not too much more time now. Late winter is what I'm told."

"That's a long time," Rogue sighed.

"Probably longer for your mom than you." Jellal winked down at the boy and together they left the classroom in darkness.

"Do you think she'll cave on what I want for my birthday?"

"Well –" Jellal stalled. He tried not to wedge himself between Erza and Rogue when she vehemently put her foot down about something. "I think maybe you should lay off that for a while. You don't turn nine until next year and I think she may feel differently by then."

"You do?"

"Just give her some time, okay? I don't think she was anticipating you wanting to commandeer a vehicle before the age of sixteen."

"Natsu lets Sting tear around on his four-wheeler all the time and no one's ever been hurt! Well… no one but Natsu anyway. He's always doing stuff like that, though! Could you maybe talk to her? Mom listens to you!"

"Quick tip: don't mention the crazy stuff Sting's dad does when trying to get your mom to agree to the four-wheeler. It's definitely not in your best interest."

"Alright," Rogue drawled, shuffling his feet through the parking lot. "What about you, then?"

"What about me?" Jellal quirked an eyebrow and unlocked his car. Rogue rolled his eyes and tossed his backpack in the backseat.

"Are you going to ask my mom to marry you or what? It's taking you forever."

"I –"

"My grandma says you're the laziest man alive for taking so long. She says –"

"Okay, enough. I don't really need a breakdown on everything Doctor Falcon has ever said about me. I can guess."

"Well?"

"These things take time! I can't just –"

"I figure if you can get her to marry you, then you can convince her that a four-wheeler is okay, too." Jellal laughed out loud.

"It's all clear now! You have a hidden agenda!" Jellal pulled his car into the driveway of the house they'd only signed paperwork on three months prior. "Listen, Rogue, even if your mom says she'll marry me, that's completely unrelated to your birthday."

"But she'll be in a better mood!"

"I'm making no promises, okay? If you want this thing for your birthday, then you need to present it to your mom in a language she understands. Do some research and maybe talk to Sting's mom about safety."

"I can totally do that!" Rogue exclaimed. The two of them stepped from the car and approached the front door.

"But don't you go getting me into trouble! I'm trying to remain neutral on this."

Rogue looked up at him with a straight face. "It's 'cause you're scared of her, huh?" Jellal shifted on his feet. "She goes from crying to scary really quick lately."

"You're too observant for your age, Rogue," Jellal mumbled. When they entered the house Rogue flew up the stairs to his room and Jellal hung his bag on the set of hooks by the door. Erza wasn't in the kitchen or the living room and the house was unusually quiet. Not even Milliana greeted him at the door; she'd been much more attached to Erza in recent months and Jellal assumed this to be a female solidarity thing.

He found Erza asleep on their bed covered in a fuzzy blanket while Milliana sat sentry near her feet. "Hey, Milli-girl," Jellal whispered, reaching out to stroke her fur. Erza stirred under her blanket and rolled over.

"Is Rogue with you? He said he'd call me this morning when he was ready but –" Her mouth widened in a yawn and she glanced at the clock.

"Yeah, he's in his room. How are you feeling today?" Jellal scooted to the edge of the bed where Erza was lifting herself into a sitting position.

"Tired but that's nothing new. I don't know how I'll make it another two months. I feel like a whale." Her hand brushed the large swell of her belly and Jellal smiled.

"You do not look like a whale."

"I said I felt like one, smart ass." Erza smirked and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. "Please tell me you picked up dinner. I'm starving."

"I didn't even think about it, but Rogue can order out in a minute."

"Mmkay." She yawned again and leaned into his side. "Tell me again how this happened?"

"Well, when a man and a woman really love each other, sometimes –"

"Ugh, you're awful. That lesson should go more like, Don't forget your birth control when you go on spring vacation, ladies!"

"Do you regret it?" he asked carefully.

Erza looked up at him and smiled tiredly. "No. There's no one else in the world I'd rather be in this position with."

"I think this all started with a certain position, right?" He leaned in and nudged her nose with his.

"If you're trying to be a comedian, don't quit your day job, Jellal." Erza tilted her head and kissed him soundly. "If you don't feed me in the next half hour I may start eating members of this household," she whispered.

"Okay, okay. I'll have Rogue call in some delivery. Do you need any help?"

She glared at him. "I'm pregnant not an invalid."

Much later that night, after Rogue had been sent to bed, Erza walked back into the kitchen wrapped in her bathrobe. Jellal placed the last of the dishes in the dishwasher and raised his eyebrows.

"It's a little late for a swim, isn't it?"

"My back is killing me," she said with a grimace. "Join me? We won't have many more warm nights before things get cold."

"Yeah, okay, I'll just grab my suit –"

"Don't bother." She winked at him and left the robe on the nearest patio chair. Jellal stared after her and decided that even at nearly seven months pregnant she was the most enticing creature he'd ever seen. Not once since their move had he regretted the added expense and responsibility of the pool. Its presence benefitted him enormously – Erza had taken a liking to late night skinny dipping. At first he'd protested that Rogue would catch them one day, but so far that hadn't happened. The boy's bedroom window faced the street and he was as sound a sleeper as his mother.

"Right," Jellal whispered as he pulled off his shirt and followed her outside.

The view from the pool was an expanse of stars that were as visible as they could be in the city of Magnolia and Erza stared up at them as she floated weightlessly in the shallow end of the pool. Jellal's fingers worked into the muscles of her lower back.

"What about Erik?" she asked. "That's a nice name."

"How do you know it's a boy? Did they do another ultrasound?"

"No, I just have a feeling." Erza's doctor had done three ultrasounds in an attempt to determine the baby's gender but to no avail. The positioning was always just a little too twisted or a leg was in the way.

"What if it's a girl?"

"Lisanna is a good name, I think."

"They're positive it's only one, right?" Early in Erza's pregnancy a nurse had joked about a heartbeat echo, and Jellal hadn't ever quite swallowed the fear of twins.

"Yes," she laughed. "There's only one."

"Erza –" She waited for him to finish and when he didn't, she swiveled her body around to face him. His cheeks still flushed an adorable pink when he was faced with saying sentimental things and Erza loved it. She kissed the apple of his right cheek just over the red swirl that marked his face.

"What is it?"

"I thought maybe I could do this better but I'm starting to realize that there's just no perfect way." He sighed and touched the floating strands of her hair. "I love you, Erza. And I –" He sighed and licked his lips. "Will you marry me?"

Erza laughed softly and slid her arms around his neck fluidly. "Of course I'll marry you; you fool… if you don't mind waiting until I'm not as big as a house."

"I can wait," he whispered. "Though, I think Lady Falcon will have something to say about the baby being born to a couple still living in sin."

"Yeah, well, I've heard all those arguments before and she can keep her opinions to herself. I'm not feeling very charitable lately." Erza propelled herself as close to him as possible in her enlarged state and kissed him languidly. "I love you too, Jellal, and –" She sighed and laid her head against his shoulder. "I wouldn't change a single thing."

Jellal leaned back against the edge of the pool and gazed up at the sky as his fingers continued to tangle in Erza's hair. Life was indeed a messy adventure that didn't leave room for rose petals and romance, but he didn't mind the clutter. Sometimes a person wound up with a beautiful mosaic that was greater than the sum of its scattered parts.