Word Count: 2129
(f/c): favorite color
(f/a): favorite animal
《Reference used for our lovely Child!Reader》
Fairy Tail guild members bustle around the hall in jubilation as they prepare the large room for a birthday celebration. Guild members hang streamers from the balcony rails, blow up balloons and tie them to tables, the wind swaying them in the air from side-to-side, cook up delicious, kid-friendly treats to dump into mountainous piles on tables, and, most importantly - in the birthday girl's perspective - stack up a plethora of gifts along the walls of the guild.
Erza struggles to keep her hands off the beautiful, large, freshly-baked strawberry cake sitting out on the bar, waiting to cool before consumption. Mira spots Erza and tries her best to refrain from bursting into a fit of giggles. The white-haired bartender drags her cake-deprived, drooling friend away from the dessert as Natsu lights up five (f/c) candles, passing them on to someone with steadier hands to place them on top of the dessert's decorated surface.
"Wow," Lucy exclaims in awe as she wraps up the last present. Her hands move to pick up the gift, only for the item to be snatched away. "Hey! Natsu, give it back! That's not for you."
"So? I just wanna look at it," he whines, turning the colorful box around to inspect the wrapping paper. "What'd you put in there? It's so light."
"Wh-"
"Oh, I know! It's one of those girly bottles you have, right? You know, the ones with the sparkly water in it," Natsu interjects with his arms waving around animatedly in an attempt to get his idea across to the irked blonde.
"No," Lucy growls, trying to grab the gift from the dragon slayer's evading hands. "Those aren't even appropriate for a toddler!"
With one last attempt, Lucy lunges forward, launching her entire self at Nastu, only to crash to the ground with him. The gift tumbles to Gray's feet, prompting the man to pick it up. He cocks his head to the side as he takes in everything he can observe about the object.
"Do you even have anything in this?"
Lucy gasps in horror, clutching a hand over her heart with a hurt look on her face. Gray only raises an eyebrow and motions for her to further explain the situation.
"It is not empty! I put a lot of thought and time into making the gift for little (Y/n)," she proudly says, puffing her chest out with a grin. "There's no way she'll like a different present. Mine is the best!"
"How would you know? You don't even know what everyone else is giving her."
For a second, the blonde's shoulders slump on realization, but she remains optimistic and presses on with her boasting. The two men before her share skeptical glances at each other as she continues on a rant that explains, according to her self, why all the other gifts are not as special as her own.
Heads turn as the guild door swings open, (Y/n) toddling in with her mother, Cana. Everyone cannot help but smile as the adorable child waddles down the carpet with her small hands gripping her (f/a) plushie. With help from Cana, (Y/n) sits down at a table and converses happily with Romeo and Wendy while patiently waiting for the adults to finish their work.
"Good morning, guys," Cana greets with a grin, sliding onto a barstool next to her friends. "The guild looks amazing! Who thought of all this?"
"Mira Jane organized everything," Gray comments, pointing a thumb at the woman in question," but everyone pitched in to make it happen. Natsu and Lucy didn't do anything though."
"Oi, popsicle-brain! What did you just say!"
"I was at home preparing (Y/n)'s gift!"
(Y/n)'s head perks up at the mention of one of her her favorite words involved with birthdays. Her eyes light up like lanterns and a wide, toothy smile stretches across her chubby face. "Presents," she cheers loudly, clutching her plush toy tightly while bouncing in her seat with glee. "Mommy, Mommy, I wan' my presents!"
Chuckling warmly, Cana walks over to her daughter and scoops her into her arms. Her soft lips blow a raspberry into (Y/n)'s cheeks, eliciting the happiest of giggles. "Not yet, my little star. You have to eat your food first. Mira Jane bought your favorite cake and cookies!"
A loud gasp and more cheers has the entire guild laughing along with (Y/n) as she screams,"Yaaaaaaay!! Cookies!!"
---
Gildarts sobs has Cana pats his shoulder. The thought of his grandchild growing up broke the S-Class mage into tears, leaving his daughter to be the strong one of the two of them. Smiling understandingly, Makarov hands him a handkerchief. The orange-haired man blows his nose loudly, evoking "eww's" and laughs from the toddlers in front of him.
"You sound like an elephant, Grandpa," (Y/n) giggles.
"Oh?" Gildarts wipes away his tears and blows into the handkerchief one more time before sauntering over to the toddler and tossing her into the air with a bold smirk."Can you say that again, (Y/n)? I can't hear you! You must be a star, because you're too high up for me to hear you. Speak up!"
"Grandpa, I'm flying!"
"You shouldn't do that too much," Cana sighs with shake of her head. "You'll hurt your back, old man."
"I am not old," Gildarts protests, continuing to lift (Y/n) up with ease as if to prove his point with the demonstration. "This little star over here on the other hand, she's getting too old. Stop growing right now, (Y/n)!"
"No! I'm not old, Grandpa! You are! I get to stay the littlest while you get old," teases the toddler, and putting on an innocent smirk she learned from Natsu.
Once again, the entire guild bursts into laughter. Makarov rolls around on the bar's countertop, tears escapes his eyes as he desperately tries to compose himself. Never has any of the guild members, even Cana herself, heard (Y/n) sass back at Gildarts.
"Owww," wails the orange-haired man, feigning pain as his fist clutches the area over his heart. "You're so mean, little star! Cana, you're daughter is so cruel to me! How dare you teach her such horrible things."
"It wasn't me, old man." Laughing, Cana looks over to where Erza is fighting, a knowing look shared between her and the reequip mage . "You can blame the red-head. She's been around (Y/n) a lot."
"Why would you ever leave her with Erza? You know how she gets when she gets the chance to be a motherly figure."
"With her skills and playful personalities, I figured it'd be easier to get her training started if I let Erza show her some fighting basics."
"That's-"
"A bad idea? Yeah, I realized a few days after when (Y/n) came to me and showed me her 'new trick.' It involved punches to a man's most vulnerable, lower regions. She also gained her cake obsession from Erza..."
The orange-haired man imagines the scene in his mind, shuddering in fear of his granddaughter attacking him from below the waist in the future. He lowers (Y/n) and places her at an arm's distance. For a brief second, Gildarts considers how he will convince Erza to hand over his granddaughter's training. The red-head can be stubborn at times, and with the offer Cana had given her, it will be quite difficult to get Erza to agree.
"Happy birthday to you," Mira begins to sing, pushing a large cart displaying (Y/n)'s birthday cake.
One-by-one, guild members join in, singing and humming to the cheerful song. Natsu and Gray digress in their argument, walking over to the crowd of people surrounding (Y/n).
(Please play the song provided below for reference.)
(Y/n) blushes at the song comes to an end. She gestures for her mother to pick her up, prompting Cana to lift her daughter, who continues to gain more weight as she grows like a weed.
"Yay! Blow out the candles, (Y/n)." Cana cheers at the end of the song, bouncing (Y/n) on her hip as she helps the toddler blow out the candles. "How old are you now? Show everyone with your fingers," the toddler's mother coos.
"Three," (Y/n) says, proudly holding up four fingers.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," exclaims Gildarts, pretending to forcefully grab (Y/n)'s fingers," not yet you're not, young lady! I will not allow for you to grow any more! You hear that? You will stay as my three year old little star forever!" Tears rush down his face once more as the adult male clutches onto (Y/n) tightly, refusing to let go as the toddler stares at her grandfather with a gummy smile.
"It's otay, Grandpa! I'll always be smaller than you. That means I'mma always be your little star!"
Sobs turn into wails. Gildarts is no longer clutching his granddaughter; his hands grip his long, tattered, black cloak as he blows his nose into the fabric, not caring about the mess his snot has created. Cana crinkles her nose in disgust, scolding her father. She places (Y/n) on a nearby bench, grabs a pair of scissors on the table, and starts snipping away, cutting off a large chunk of Gildarts' cloak within a five inch diameter of the disgustingly gooey blob. The man's mouth opens, ready to protest, but Cana's glare stops him. A part of him wants to swat her hands away from the cloth, but the possibility of Cana injuring herself with the scissors overrules Gildarts' decision.
Looking to the side with a worried glance, Cana can see (Y/n) trying her best to stay still, but the toddler's patience is running thin. Cana cuts away the final piece of her father's cloak and discards it immediately in a trash bag, runs over to a sink behind the bar to wash her hands thoroughly, and grabs a large cookie in the shape of a star. She calls (Y/n) over and hands her the cookie, running her hands through the toddler's soft, milk chocolate locks as she nibbles happily on the baked treat.
"What are you doing, silly," Cana coos, her heart swelling with joy at the sight of (Y/n)'s happiness with round cheeks storing in all the bites of her cookie.
"I'm saving it, Mommy," (Y/n) explains with excitement, jumping up with a bright, crumb-covered smile. Her words are muffled, the large bits of cookie in her mouth preventing her from pronouncing her words clearly. "If I don't, I won't have any more left to eat."
"There's plenty more on the table, little star. Mira Jane also saved a whole box for you," Cana assures with a giggle. "And don't jump, (Y/n). You'll choke and might accidentally hurt yourself."
Cana sits cross-legged on top of the table, a barrel of mead in her arms. The heavy, wooden container is lifted with ease by the Magic Card mage, the strong alcoholic beverage traveling into her mouth, evoking a pleased grin on Cana's face. She tilts her head back, ready for another gulp, when a tug on her pant leg grabs her attention.
"Mama, I tirsty! I wan' drink too!"
"Uhh," stutters the mage. She tries to come up with a reason as to why her daughter cannot drink the mead; (Y/n) has a sharp mind that refuses to take simple answers that most toddlers will accept.
"Mommy is drinking a big person's juice," Gildarts offers, glancing skeptically at (Y/n) and hoping for no further questions.
"May I have juice them, Grandpa?" (Y/n) pulls out her pout and puppy dog eyes, clutching onto Gildarts' large hands with her smaller ones. "Please?"
"Hehe," the man chuckles," of course, little star."
---
The Fairy Tail guild members watch contently and exhaustedly as the mother-daughter duo enjoy their respective snacks. A stack of star cookies had been piled up for (Y/n) and several barrels of alcohol for Cana. The youngest is situated between her mother's legs, snacking with an endearing smile, while Cana drinks the night away, playing with (Y/n)'s hair as the two engage in conversations covering a wide range of topics.
"What an adorable pair," Mira coos, resting her head against her brother's strong arm. "It's kinda funny seeing Cana as a parent."
"What a manly parent," Elfman comments with a raised fist. His siblings shake their heads witch amusement.
"Yeah," Gildarts sighs," my beautiful girls."