A/N: Hey guys! I decided to start a collection of one shots revolving around Jellal and Erza. All the stories in here will be individual, under 3k with varying themes and ratings! If I ever write a story longer than that, I'll post it separately.

ANYWAY...I've seen this particular prompt on tumblr so many times and because it makes me laugh, I decided to try putting my own spin on it. Putting my favourite characters in awkward situations is just too much fun. I promise it's not as cheesy as it first comes across! Well, I hope you enjoy reading this and the other pieces to come.

Title: Too Good to be True
Rating: T
Summary: He and his guild had a love/hate relationship.

"Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous red head." - Lucille Ball

Too Good to be True

The sky was painted with a blend of different colours: orange, pink, yellow, violet and his favourite of them all: red.

His back leaning against the trunk of a willow tree, he let his eyes wander to her, a tender smile playing on his lips. Erza Scarlet was folding away a checkered picnic blanket, her sundress swaying in the wind and her crimson hair flying behind her like threads loosened from the raging sunset behind her.

"All done!" she said, flashing a smile at Jellal before getting to her feet and smoothing out the creases of her sundress. Running a hand through her windswept hair, she made her way towards him and crouched down beside him, their shoulders brushing. "That was a wonderful picnic. I'll have to ask Meredy for that strawberry cake recipe."

He exhibited a low chuckle, wrapping an arm around her and drawing her close to him. Together, they watched the tree's low, drooping branches sway in the wind peacefully, creating a sort of falling canopy around them.

Jellal closed his eyes, calm, at peace. He'd have to thank Meredy for this perfect afternoon with Erza. She'd cunningly planned a picnic for the two of them, not bothering to tell him about it until the last minute.

She had shown up in his room, her pink ponytail bouncing from side to side at the back of her head as she jumped up and down on the spot, squealing about how she may just have told a certain armour mage that Jellal would meet her at the top of Willow Hill in the outskirts of Magnolia.

At first, he was sceptical, squinting at her in suspicion, but then she had laughed cheerily, shoving a woven picnic basket into his arms before pulling him to his feet to fix his hair with precise fingers. Meredy then ushered him out of their small guild, waving encouragingly before proceeding to slam the door behind him.

Before he knew it, he was stood at the top of Willow hill staring at none other than Erza Scarlet.

"What are you thinking about?" a gentle voice said, snapping him out of his reverie.

Jellal glanced down to see Erza looking up at him, her brown eyes watching him closely. "Nothing," he said, flashing her a warm smile, "I was just thinking about how great this afternoon has been."

She hummed in contentment, leaning closer to place a slender hand against his chest. "I agree." Tracing patterns against his shirt, her voice grew quiet as she softly murmured, "I didn't know how long it would be until I'd get to see you again."

"Time is never on our side, is it?" he replied, laughing bitterly.

Erza tilted herself forward, close enough to him that their noses almost touched and her soft hair tickled his cheek. Her eyes were half-lidded as she leaned over him, her hand reaching up to brush a stray lock of blue from his face. "Believe me when I say that waiting for you was the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

He believed her. He knew the feeling all too well himself.

Eyes shut, one hand on his shoulder, the other pressed against his chest, she edged closer to him as Jellal watched with widening hazel eyes.

It was happening again. If he was to close his eyes now, he would almost be able to hear the sound of the waves crashing against the shore and the feel of the slight breeze picking up his hair.

He could have kissed Erza that day, let everything out into the open. He could do the same now too.

There was never anything to say. Her mouth soft under his own would fill the silence slowly like a speech and all his fervent thoughts would speak for themselves if he kissed her now.

His heart pounding as if it was about to jump out of his chest at any moment, he wondered whether she could feel it racing underneath her palm too. All too suddenly, he became very aware of her hands on him, nearing closer and closer, her breath ghosting over his lips and dammit, why wasn't he kissing her?

"Erza?"

There was always something stopping him. He was always running away.

"Erza," he whispered again, leaning back further and swallowing hard.

Oblivious to his body shifting, Erza toppled over him, her breath hitching in her throat at the sudden movement. Arms clutched tightly around each other, they rolled down the hill with surprised gasps and grunts, only to reach steady ground with a heavy thud, Jellal pinning her down, gazes locked.

His eyes widened at the sight of her, roaming over her features slowly, leisurely, as if memorising every small detail. Her hair fanned out underneath her like stray ribbons, she smiled up at him through half-lidded eyes, a light blush colouring her cheeks.

Tenderly, her hand reached up to touch, her fingers stroking his cheek. "Well, isn't this familiar?" she mused in a soft voice that would have pulled him in entirely, had it not been for the strong sense that something seemed off about the whole situation he had found himself in.

If he was to close his eyes now, he would almost be able to hear the sound of the waves crashing against the shore and the feel of the slight breeze picking up his hair.

Jellal blinked at her, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He blinked again. "You're right…" he muttered, removing himself from on top of her to sit back against the grass dazedly. "This is familiar. A little too familiar."

He recognised the picture before him just like anyone would recognise an event that haunted their thoughts on a regular basis. It was all so clear, the realisation hitting him like a tonne of bricks. How had he not anticipated this?

Jellal sighed heavily, looking up to the sky with a weary expression etched onto his face. "Macbeth? Macbeth?" he yelled, tipping his head back and groaning in annoyance. "MIDNIGHT!"

"Oooh, you know it's serious when he calls you Midnight," a familiar voice echoed through him, causing him to run a hand down his face tiredly.

Damn his guild, damn them all.

All at once, the scene faded away. The glorious sunset, the willow tree, the greenery and the scarlet haired woman lying in front of him all disappeared. Instead, he found himself sat on the hardwood floor of the Crime Sorciere guild hall.

Jellal scanned the room, pausing at each and every face of his fellow guild members before he closed his eyes, unable to look at their smug expressions for any longer. He sighed in a feeble attempt to calm himself down, except his breath still came out uneven and disgruntled. "Exactly what is going on?!"

Sawyer was the first to speak, his sneer taking up almost as much room on his face as his nose as he flung another handful of popcorn into his mouth. "Aw, come on, Jellal. You spoiled the fun! It was just getting to the good part!"

Meanwhile, beside him was Richard, his eyes gleaming with tears of joy as he rambled on about 'childhood sweethearts' and 'long lasting love'. Jellal cringed at the sight, wishing for the first time in his life that he could swap his heavenly body magic for something that would get him the hell out of there as fast as humanly possible. Why couldn't they stay out of the personal affairs of his life?

"That was pathetic, Jellal," a shrill voice said, and turning his gaze towards the source of the voice, his eyes met a blend of white hair and feathers. Sorano rolled her eyes at him, making an irritated sound. "Tch. She was leaning into you and you moved away. Do you know anything at all about women?"

Meredy sighed. "See what I mean? This is why we need to practice and get it right before the real thing happens."

At her words, everyone hummed in agreement, nodding at Meredy like she'd just spoken true words of wisdom. He was surely losing his mind…since when was Meredy the pillar of knowledge and guidance in their guild?

Surely, this was not happening.

"What?" Jellal demanded, resting a hand against his face and sighing defeatedly. "That whole afternoon was just an illusion, wasn't it? One of yours, I'm presuming, Macbeth?"

Macbeth ignored the accusing glare, nodding with pride. "You seemed satisfied enough. Was it to your liking, Jellal?"

"I ATE THAT FOOD, MACBETH."

"You almost kissed an imaginary woman too." Meredy giggled, her cheeks flushing pink as she struggled to stifle a laugh.

Jellal shot a glare in her direction. Out of all his guild, he expected her to side with him, at least.

Sorano rolled her eyes, looking at Jellal like he was something she'd found stuck to the bottom of her feathered high heel. "He could have gotten a lot more than a kiss if we went with what I was suggesting."

"I don't even want to know—"

"Yeah!" Meredy jumped up, waving her hands excitedly. "Oh Jellal, Juvia told me how Erza has this seduction armour—"

Jellal spurted everywhere, bright in the face. "Wh-wh-WHAT?"

"Please, he ain't getting anywhere near that thing if he continues on like this," Erik said, throwing a lazy arm around Jellal's shoulders before chuckling darkly. "Well? When you gonna grow some balls and tell her how you feel, Jellal? You ain't gettin' any younger."

"Again with this? I told you, I don't need any of you interfering—"

"'Course you do," Sawyer drawled, shaking his head at the blue haired mage with feigned disappointment. "Oh Jellal…what we gonna do with you, huh? Mac, show him the recording of the picnic illusion."

"You recorded it? How did you even manage to—"

"Hey, stop complaining." Sorano shot a stern glare in his direction. "Just be glad we didn't go with my idea in the end. Otherwise, we could all be watching a very different recording together which I don't think either you or Erza would appreciate."

"Think of this like a class, Jellal," Meredy said, smiling fondly at him. "A class on how to get the girl, who in this case, is of course Erza Scarlet. We need to analyse where you went wrong so when the moment comes up again, you don't mess it up like you did just before the Grand Magic Games."

Sorano clicked her tongue. "Imaginary fiancée, remember? Needless to say, you're failing this class miserably."

"Okay…" Meredy pulled out a notepad from inside her cloak, clicking the pen and looking to her fellow guild members expectantly. "So, any suggestions as to why he's still rejecting her despite being hopelessly in love with her? Erik, you first. What do you think?"

"I think his balls are as blue as his hair."

"Noted," Meredy replied, jotting something down in spite of Jellal's raging protests. "Any other reasons?"

"Shower isn't hot enough to wash away his sins?"

"Destined to end up alone forever?"

"Gets a kick out of feeling sorry for himself?"

As the guild erupted in suggestions, Jellal threw his head in his hands, sighing deeply. Maybe his atonement was being stuck with a guild that loved to embarrass him to no end.