Name: Sky and Strawberries

Story type: One-shot

Characters: Jellal, Erza, Mirajane, Wendy, Fairy Tail

Fandom: Fairy Tail

Rating: T

Summary: Jellal wants to do something special for Erza after she comes back from a long job… So why not bake her favorite meal- Strawberry cake! One problem: Jellal has never cooked a thing in his life! With help from an excited Mira and Wendy, will he be able to pull it off? Or will it be a recipe for disaster? Did I mention Jellal's has a ring too?

It was a cold, uninviting, frosty winter day in Magnolia town. The air was stiff, and snow covered most of the sidewalk. It resided on the roofs and gutters of the houses and stores, continuing to fall lightly. A small pathway was made in the cobblestone street for carts and cars, but most things (and people) around town were under a blanket of shimmering white. The sky was clear, only dotted with a few fluffy, grey clouds.

Jellal walked out the front door of a small corner jewelry store, quickly buttoning his navy blue coat and pulling the hood over his head. Damn it was cold. The bells on the glass door jingled as it closed, but were overshadowed but the laughing of a couple of young children that ran past the former fugitive.

Yes, that's right- former fugitive. Jellal had been free of any charges against him since three years ago, after the end of the grand magic games. After a few heroic deeds and a talk with the government explaining his situation, they had stopped chasing him and the rest of Crime Sorcière. Not to mention that Erza had scared the shit out of everyone in the magic council and threatened to cut them with her heavens wheel armor if they didn't let him go free. After that, Jellal didn't have any reason to hide anymore. So he, Ultear and Meredy had decided to join Fairy Tail, who had resumed the number one position in Fiore again after the games had ended. It took time getting use to the guild, and Magnolia as a whole, especially since they were all so rowdy. But everyone was really nice, and Fairy Tail was like the family he never had. And heck, after everything he's been through, Jellal deserved it, even if he didn't think so himself.

The area around him was bustling with people, and was quite loud. People of all ages were shopping, eating and talking in the busy marketplace, barley taking notice of him. It was, after all, just a few weeks after the holidays, and everyone was rushing to get some last minute sales. Including Jellal. Never in his life did he think that he would be shopping in public trying to snag himself a good deal. But here he was, coming out of a jewelry store with a sour look on his tattooed face.

What the hell am I doing? The blue haired man shoved his hands in his pockets and continued walking down the icy street, avoiding a large dog pulling a small child on a sled.

She's going to be home soon and I still didn't find anything.

He sighed, an icy breath escaping his mouth. Shifting through all of these strangers, trying to get a glimpse of something in a window…it wasn't really his thing. Jellal defiantly wasn't a people person, but he was someone that liked to make his nakama smile, especially when that nakama was Erza. She had done so many things for him, and getting her a special gift was something he had his heart set on. Jellal had also been away on a job during the holidays, and was unable to spend Christmas with her, even though he promised that he would. A snowstorm had prevented the trains from running, and he had been stuck in the station all throughout the last five days of December. Fun, huh? Jellal didn't think so. In fact, he felt seriously guilty about it. Now that he was back in Magnolia, he felt the need to do something to make up for the lost time.

Erza would be back tonight from a job that she took, and he still couldn't find anything that really caught his eye. Actually, a lot of things caught his eye. If Erza was with him, he was sure that she would have picked up a ton of stuff by now. Lockets, books, suitcases, scented candles, magic mirrors…she would have bought it all. But Jellal was looking for something unique, something out of the ordinary.

Something no one else would have, or at least something that she would remember.

Maybe such a thing didn't exist, because Jellal was going out of his mind.

Sure, he knew Erza would just be happy to see his face, whether or not he got her a gift, but Jellal wanted to surprise her with something. Or at least try to, because at this rate, the only thing he was getting was more stressed.

Then he saw it.

Of course, why didn't he think of that before? It was like the snow was clogging up his brain or something.

The light mage quickened his pace and crossed the street, being careful not to slide on the ice patches that scattered the road. He then opened the door to 'Oliver's Bakery' and slipped inside, making sure not to drag in a ridiculous amount of snow with him. Although it was hard not to, being that the flakey white stuff stuck to his boots and refused to melt. As soon as Jellal stepped inside the small pastry shop, he was hit with a nice blast of warm air.

Well that feels good!

He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling his nose starting to defrost. It was wicked cold outside, and so far this was the only store that seemed to have a lacrima heater. Thank goodness. The shop itself was tiny, and there were only about four people inside, so it was very quiet. That's a relief, now maybe now I can relax a bit. Round wooden tables lined the large windows that were spread out across the front of the bakery, so everyone who was eating had a view of the town. Checkered red tablecloths and two small candles lay on top of each of the tables, creating a relaxing atmosphere. Soft music played in the background, and the clean floor was made of reddish-brown tiles.

The counter was in the back of the shop, and under it was a large glass display case filled with cakes and sweets of all kinds and colors. Wedding cakes, chocolate cookies, fudge squares, candied fruit…Jellal made a mental note to come back by himself one day, because everything looked so good. But, today there was only one dessert he was interested in. There! The light mage spotted a tray of them next to a box of white sugar pretzels. Jellal walked up to the cash register to where an elderly man sat on top of a high stool behind the counter.

"Umm…hi, can I have one large strawberry cake please?"

The old man raised an eyebrow and then asked, "To stay or to go?"

"To go please."

"Is this for a special occasion or a gift?"

"Errr…a gift."

"Who should I address it to?"

Jellal paused, and then replied, "To miss Erza Scarlet please."

The man nodded slowly and then grumbled, "Scarlet huh…" before jumping off the high stool and taking one of the red and white cakes from the glass case. He then opened up a double white door behind the counter and headed to what looked like the kitchen.

"Jellal? Is that you?"

Jellal turned around to see none other than Mirajane, sitting at a small table by the window, eating what looked like a crème brûlee. The barmaid was wearing a long, button-down pink coat with red heeled boots. A pair of white cloves were hung over the back of her chair, and her silvery hair was done up the way it normally was. Truthfully, Jellal had never seen her outside Fairy Tail; she was always busy tending to the guild members.

"Mira!" He blinked in surprise and walked over to her, wondering why the heck she was here by herself. Mira was a social person, and eating alone in a small bakery was very unlike her.

"What are you doing here?" He asked. Mira took the small spoon out of her mouth and placed it on the napkin beside her dessert. "Oh I'm just waiting for my date, master let me off duty early today and Kinana's taking care of the bar…but I think the real question is why are you here?" Mira took a strand of her long hair and twirled it with her finger, giving Jellal a taunting look. "Getting some cake for Erza, huh?"

"Yes Mira, I'm getting some cake for Erza." Jellal sighed, hoping the take-over mage wasn't going to tease him or ask him a million questions. Although, he knew that was probably coming.

"Really? That's sweet. Are you going to surprise her with it when she gets back?"

"I'm going to try to, although it's hard to surprise someone like her. She's always on high alert, you know?" He hadn't really thought about the surprise part. Would something like that work on her? He doubted it.

Mirajane nodded slowly, taking another spoonful of her crème brûlee. "Ummm…hmmm…." She eyed him curiously, and it looked as though she was thinking hard on what Jellal had just said. What is she up too? Suddenly she froze and her eyes went wide. The silver-haired mage jumped out of her chair and faced Jellal. "I got it!" She squealed. He took a step back, surprised, nearly knocking over the coat rack in the corner.

"W-what is it?"

"Instead of buying her a cake, why don't we make one for her?"

"Mirajane, I don't even know how to cook, and besides, I already ordered a cake for Erza."

Jellal knew that if Mira interfered, things would get more than just a little hectic.

"Sir, your cake is ready!"

The little old man hopped back up on his stool, and placed a brown package tied with a red string on top of the counter, waving at Jellal.

The light mage shot a glance at Mira that read 'Please don't mess with this!' before heading over to the cash register to pick up Erza's dessert.

The little old man handed Jellal the box and said, "That will be 700 jewel please."

700 jewel? No wonder Erza came here so often, the food was seriously cheap!

Jellal reached down into his coat and shifted his hand around in his pockets before pulling out seven gold coins and giving them to the man. He thanked the man and took the package, placing it inside his coat to protect it from the frigid weather outside.

"And you take care of that Scarlet girl, ya hear me? She's a good customer of mine." The old man replied to Jellal's thank you and teasingly pointed a finger at the blue-haired mage. Jellal smiled warmly and nodded, heading for the door.

Present for Erza-check!

It wasn't exactly as original as he wanted, but this cake was one of Erza's favorite things in the whole world. It would make her happy, and that was what mattered, right?

"Wait!"

Jellal turned around to see Mirajane, leaned over the counter and facing the little old man. "Yes, young lady?" The man raised an eyebrow at the pretty takeover mage.

"You have the recipe for that strawberry cake, don't you? I mean, you made it, didn't you?"

The man shifted back in his seat a bit. "Yes…and yes… But, that's not a recipe I give out to just anyone." He turned his face away from the silver-haired girl and crossed his arms. "You'll have to come back at least ten more times to get that one outta me!"

Mira gave the man a pouty look. "Awwww come on Mr. Oliver, you know I'll keep a secret! I promise!"

The barmaid continued to argue with the poor old man while Jellal was doing his best to slip out of the shop unnoticed.

Got to get to the door. Got to get out of here.

"Oh Jellal~!"

Crap.

The light mage was halfway outside when Mirajane ran over to him, a cutesy smile on her face. "I couldn't talk that recipe out of the old geezer, but we got the cake itself, so that should be enough to figure out how to make it ourselves."

"What? No Mira, I'm taking this cake home to Erza and that's that. Now if you'll excuse me-"

Jellal pushed past the barmaid, now thoroughly annoyed. He then proceeded to pull his hood over his head when he felt a hand grab his arm.

"But what about the ring?"

Jellal froze for a second, his eyes wide, but then whipped around to face Mirajane.

What the hell is wrong with this girl?

"How did you know about that?"

Mira smiled and winked. "That's a secret! But anyhow… if we bake that cake ourselves, it would be extra special! I'm a great cook, and an enhanced version of Erza's favorite cake would make her even happier! She'll have to marry you!"

Jellal continued to pull the hood over his head. "Sorry, but Erza's not the type of girl who's going to marry me because of worldly possessions or food. She's going to marry me because of who I am, not some cake."

"It's not even about that! Trust me! Erza loves my cooking and it would make her really happy!"

Jellal sighed and was going to open the door again, unaware that the little old man was watching them.

"Hey you two!"

He's going to kick us out of the shop, isn't he? God, I hope we'll be allowed back.

"Yes?" Mira blinked, and it seemed as though she and Jellal were thinking the same exact thing, being that Mira put on her most innocent smile.

"Ya see this here?" The old man held up a small container of what looked like pink sugar. It sparkled as he shook the can and placed it on the counter. "As a regular costumer of mine, I always take special requests from the Scarlet girl. Every time she comes here, she tells me to put a bit of this into her cake batter. It's a magic sugar that takes on and enhances the flavor of the fruit in cakes and pies."

"Amazing!" Mira's eyes twinkled as she ran up to the man and grabbed the sugar, placing it in her pocket.

A magic sugar huh?...

"But, it will only work if you cook it in inside the cake. Sprinkling it on top of one that's already made would only make it go sour."

"Not a problem sir!" Mira turned around and gave a "Thumbs up" to Jellal, an excited smile spread out across her face. "Let's go back to the guild! The kitchens calling my name!"

Jellal mentally face-palmed. Here we go again. Mira was always interfering with their relationship and forcing them into crazy situations. She was a good friend, but sometimes she went to extremes. The last time she came up with an idea…his face turned red just thinking about it. Maybe, just maybe this time wouldn't turn out to be a disaster.

Ha. Nope, this was defiantly going to turn into something completely ridiculous.

"Wait a second….didn't you have a date that you were waiting for!"

"Wendy-chan!"

Mirajane smiled and waved to the now fifteen year old girl from the guilds kitchen, who had ran to get some supplies from the store. The takeover mage was in a really good mood. No, too good of a mood. It was so good, that she decided it would be appropriate for all three of them to be wearing pink, lacy aprons and chef hats. God, she was way too into this. All Jellal wanted was to make Erza happy, not throw another party for the Fairy Tail. That's right, in only a few minutes, Mira had organized the entire guild for a "Welcome Home/Happy engagement Erza!" party. Charle and Happy were flying around, hanging streamers on the ceiling, Lisanna and Lucy were passing out plates, Laxus was blowing up balloons and Gajeel was setting up his guitar. And there was still the matter of the cake.

"Alright Jelly-man, start mixing these ingredients." Mira took the bag of supplies from Wendy and handed them to an unamused Jellal.

Jelly-man? What the hell?

He sighed and took the bag from the ecstatic mage. "Mira, I am not appreciating the embarrassing nicknames. I'm not even married yet." Jellal emptied ingredients and placed them on the counter. Sugar, eggs, water, cream, vanilla, strawberries…Am I really supposed to just mix them all together?

"Jellal-sama."

Jellal looked down at Wendy, who was holding a piece of paper out to him.

"You might want to read the recipe first." She smiled, but he could tell she thought he was crazy.

Jellal sweat-dropped and took the paper from the girls hand. It read:

Step one: preheat the lacrima oven to 350 F

Step two: Grease the two cake pans

Step three: Take the butter and sugar, and cream them thoroughly in a bowl

Step four: Add the eggs and a cup of water, one at a time. Beat the mixture well.

Step five: Add a pinch of salt and the flour gradually while beating.

Step six: Add the vanilla and magic sugar

Step seven: Pour the mixture into each pan and bake them for 30 minutes or until browned

Step eight: Take one of the cakes and spread whipped cream and strawberries on it. Place the other cake on top. Add frosting if desired.

Wait a second…

"Mirajane!"

"Yes?" The takeover mage was getting the cake pans and measuring cups from the cabinet above the lacrima stove.

"Where exactly did you get this recipe from? I thought you said that the man at the café wouldn't give it to you." Jellal raised an eyebrow and adjusted his chef hat.

"Well he wouldn't give it to me, but Wendy here was so cute…" Mira giggled and closed the cabinet door.

Wendy blushed and shuffled her feet, kicking up the slight layer of flour that was on the floor. "I'm sorry Jellal-san… I got the recipe when Mira sent me to pick up the ingredients…"

Jellal sighed, "It's ok Wendy. In fact, I think it's better to have it with us anyway. Let's just start on this before Erza comes home."

Was it a miracle? Fate? A dream? Because apparently Jellal Fernandes just successfully put both cakes in the oven with only a little help from Mira and Wendy. Ok, maybe a lot of help from Mira and Wendy. The man couldn't even mix a few ingredients without getting it all over himself. His tattooed face was now covered in a good amount of flour and sugar.

But somehow, he'd done it. And now all they needed to do was prepare the strawberries and frosting. Wendy was now mixing a bowl of whipped cream, and Mira was washing the strawberries. As for everyone else…well, Jellal didn't exactly know what was going on outside the guilds kitchen. He could hear yelling and what sounded like Gajeel's horrid musical talent through the door but was really happening was unknown to him.

The blue-haired mage took a cloth from the drawer and started wiping the counter, which was covered in grease and flour. The three of them had made quite a mess.

"Oi, Jellal, why don't you-"

"Huh?" Jellal lifted his head to see Mira, wide-eyed and holding up a container filled with pink sugar.

Shit! The Magic sugar! We forgot to put it in!

"J-Jellal…"

Jellal gulped and put down the dirty cloth he was holding.

"Wendy! Open the lacrima oven! Quickly!" Mira ran to get a spoon and Jellal got the oven mits to pull the cake out. Wendy nodded the quickly scrambled over to the oven and turned it off before opening it.

The cake's still seemed to be still liquidly for the most part, that was a relief.

"Will the sugar still work? It's been in the oven for a few minutes now." Said Wendy who looked down unsurely at the half-baked dessert.

"Well we don't have a choice, do we? If we want to make the cake like the ones at the bakery, we'll have to put the sugar in or it won't be the same!" said Jellal, taking the sugar and spoon from Mira and scooping it onto the cake.

I just hope it'll work….

There really weren't any other words to describe the guild right now other than a fucking disaster. Everyone was running around, trying to get any last minute decorations or preparations ready. Gajeel was practicing his new song, which was apparently in Spanish, and the iron dragon slayer was currently forcing Jet and Droy into mariachi suits. Natsu was picking a fight with Gray as usual and accidently set one of the tables on fire. Lucy and Levy were hurrying to fix a hole in the ceiling that Elfman made trying to put a "welcome home" sign on the roof…and according to Charle, Erza was going to be home in five minutes. The exceed cat had been flying around town looking for the scarlet mage to try and estimate how long it would take for her to arrive. She had been spotted leaving the station, and it was barely enough time for everyone to get ready.

And the cake? It was still in the oven, but almost done. Jellal was hoping and praying that it would turn out alright, and that Erza would love it. Well, at least like it.

"Jellal, why don't you go out and wait for Erza, she'll be home soon. We'll take care of the cake." Said Wendy as she wiped the last of the pre-cake-remains off the counter top. The girl had prepared the whipped cream, and Mira had glazed the strawberries. All they needed to do was put it all together.

Jellal nodded and said, "Thanks for everything Wendy. I really owe you one." before slipping out of the kitchen…and looking at what seemed to be pure hell in the guild hall.

"I knew it was probably crazy out here, but not this-"

Jellal's sentence was cut off by the creaking of the guild's door's being opened.

"I'm home-"

Crap! It's Erza!

It was like the whole guild just froze and went completely silent once the reequip mage stepped through the door. Erza too, just stared at her nakama in utter shock and looked at the scene in front of her. "What…What happened?"

Natsu was mid-way into punching Gray in the face wen Erza shot them both a death stare. "Natsu! Gray! What the hell is going on?" she demanded.

"A-aye! Nothing Erza! Just a little welcome home party…that's all!" The two rival's put their arms around each other and did a little dance.

Jellal's heart was beating a mile a minute. Where was the cake? Erza continued to yell at Natsu and Gray, while Jellal slipped into the kitchen. "Wendy! Mira! Where's the-"

Again, Jellal was cut off. But this time it wasn't Erza. It was a crumbly, black cake, covered in whipped cream. "No way…"

"The magic sugar must have over-cooked the cake since we put it in at the wrong time…I'm so sorry Jellal!" Cried Wendy, as she held out the burnt dessert to the blue-haired mage. Jellal sighed, "We'll we will just have to use the cake I originally bought for her, there's no way I'm giving Erza this." He turned around to grab the cake he got from the store, but froze when he saw none other than happy, stuffing his face with strawberries and crème.

"Aye!"

"Happy!"

"There's no time!" Jellal felt himself being twirled around by Mira and the "cake" thrust in his arms. "Wait! Mira!" But before he knew it, Jellal was thrown out of the Kitchen and into the guild hall. He had no idea how this was going to turn out.

"And Elfman, why exactly are you hanging from the ceiling? Did you really drill a hole in the roof?"

Jellal spotted Erza yelling Mirajane's brother a few feet away, gazing curiously at the sign he had attempted to hang up before he accidently punctured the roof.

"Well you see…"

Jellal turned to see Levy shuffling her feet with a small blush on her face. "All of this craziness…Is because we wanted to throw you a "Welcome home" and um…"Engagement party""

Erza blinked in surprise. "I'm not engaged." She suspiciously eyed the rest of the guild, scanning the area. Everyone was sweating buckets and had innocent smiles spread out across their faces. All but Jellal, who stood there in complete fear and confusion.

How am I supposed to do this?

"Oh, Jellal. Nice to see you hanging around the guild by yourself."

Shit!

"H-hey, Welcome home." He gave her a warm smile and she ran up to hug him.

"Merry late Christmas!" She laughed and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah…" Jellal still felt bad about not spending the holiday with her. "I'm sorry about that. I really am. But um…there's…"

Erza blinked and looked at him with a questioning stare. "What? Is something wrong?"

"No…nothing's wrong. Erza…I've known you my whole life, and there's no one else I'd rather spend the rest of it with. No matter how many bad things I did, you never lost hope in me. You gave me the strength to pick up the pieces and keep moving forward when I wanted to end my life. Even if I lose myself again, I promise I'll continue to walk by your side. That's one thing I'd like to never change. I understand if you refuse, and I'll respect whatever choice you make, but I would be the happiest man in the world… Erza, will you marry me?" Jellal reached into his pocket and pulled out a sparkling silver ring with a ruby in the middle and two diamonds on the side.

"Jellal…I…I…" Erza was shaking and tears started to form in her eyes.

I knew it…She's not going to say yes. Jellal lowered his eyes and looked at the ground.

"Yes! I'll Marry you!"

"Huh?"

But before Jellal could even get a good look at Erza's reaction, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, causing him to topple over. Jellal swore that the whistles and cheers coming from the guild could be heard a mile away. But it really didn't matter; because Jellal was the happiest he'd ever been in his whole life at that moment.

"Jellal! Get the cake!" Mirajane half-whispered-half-yelled from behind the bar counter.

"Oh, right!"

The blue-haired mage picked himself up off the floor and got the cake, which he had placed on the table in the back. It was still as horrid and disgusting looking as before, but he wanted to show Erza anyway. He had a feeling she would get a good laugh out of it.

"Hey I tried baking a cake…Your favorite, a strawberry one. You know, since I wasn't here for the holiday I wanted to do something special for you." He sweat-dropped and held out the burnt dessert.

Erza chuckled, "Jellal, what did that cake ever do to you? It looks like you murdered it!" she wiped a tear from her eye and gave him another kiss on the cheek. "It's amazing, dear."

I guess when viewed with love, anything could be beautiful, even if "The cake" was practically a piece of charcoal with frosting.

"You want to try a piece?"

"Hell no!"

A cup of relieved Jellal, a dash of excited Mira, a sprinkle of clueless Wendy, a hole in the roof and one surprised Erza… it was defiantly a recipe fit for Fairy Tail.

"Jellal, I have one question though."

"What is it?"

"Why are you wearing a pink, frilly apron?"

"Shit! I forgot to take it off!"

Woo hoo! Finally done! I decided to take a break from my main ongoing Jerza story 'Ghost of a Promise' (Which by the way, you guys should totally check out) and write a one-shot about the daily life of Jellal, Erza and the random craziness of Fairy Tail. There aren't enough fanfic's with fluff when it comes to Jerza, huh? Well, here you have one! Haha they are so cute, aren't they?

Thanks for reading and please leave a review! Thanks! 333