A/N: Hiya, everybody! Guess who's back! That's right; it's me! And guess what else! I'll be here all week! Yes, you read that correctly! I'll be posting things for SEVEN DAYS STRAIGHT! Why is this, you may ask? Well, I'll tell you, since you probably did ask. You see, the Sunday on this week will be the birthday of a great author on this site, and a friend of mine-DRUMROLL, PLEASE!-CarnelianFox! Formerly known as PokemonRangerTrainer. And since his actual birthday is in six days, today is the first day of his birth-week! (I know that's not a real thing, but I don't care!) I have spent the last two months writing six individual romance one-shots, each for a different category. Each category (and pairing) is one that CarnelianFox has written at least one story for. He has expressed vivid passion for everything he writes, and kindness to everyone he talks to. So, I decided I'd contribute to the celebration of his birth with something I know he'll like. So, there will be one new story posted a day, all leading up to the special birthday treat on his actual birthday. Okay, with all that said, just to get it out of the way, I don't own the anime Fairy Tail. And, just to be fair, I haven't watched Fairy Tail for a while, so if there's something wrong in the story, it's because I probably forgot about it. And now, here's someone with a special message.

Happy: Hi, readers! And Happy first day of your birth-week, CarnelianFox! Please enjoy! This was written especially for you! Yay for fish!

So cute! Now, without further ado, here is the first one-shot.

How to Make Tea

…

It had been a typical morning for Happy the sky blue cat in the Fairy Tail wizard guild; his best buddy, Natsu, had once again picked a fight with his teammate, Gray, and the two were currently roughhousing in the wide space of the hall. Many of the rest of the guild members, as usual, simply ignored the ruckus and went about their business, while still minding to stay out of harm's way from the two feuding young men.

Erza, arguably the strongest (and the scariest) of their team members, was sitting down, while keeping a watchful eye on her fighting friends, just in case the fighting escalated to a point where she would have to break them up. Lucy, the team's second-scariest member (in Happy's opinion), was carefully looking over the list of jobs on the bulletin board, wondering which would be the best for the group that day.

But Happy's attention did not belong to any of those four at the moment. His focus was entirely on Carla, a beautiful kitty with a coat as white as the purest snow, and twice as soft as the fluffiest feather on the face of the earth. At least, that was an accurate enough description of how Happy saw her. Carla was currently at the same table as Erza and her human partner, Wendy.

Happy didn't know what they were talking about; he was several tables away from them. But he was far too enraptured by Carla's beauty to care. Happy, you see, had had a rather desperate crush on the white feline ever since the moment he had first laid eyes on her. Although, to say that Carla had not initially returned his affection was an understatement. She had been incredibly cold to him at every attempt he made to display his feelings. It was only recently that she had started warming up to him and seeing his inner bravery.

Happy couldn't help gazing at Carla's gorgeous chocolate brown eyes. He thought they suited her perfectly. He had heard once somewhere that the eyes are the window to the soul. Although she might initially come off as cold and stern, once she softened up a bit, Carla was sweeter than the sweetest chocolate.

Now that things were back to normal in the Fairy Tail guild (or as close to 'normal' as things could be) and Carla was finally starting to warm up to him, Happy decided it might not be a bad idea to start trying again to charm her. But how to do it? He could try to give her a gift again, but he wasn't sure what to give her. He already knew that she didn't like fish. So, what? He pondered this for a moment or two until he saw that Carla was again drinking a refreshing cup of Darjeeling tea. Her favorite, if he recalled correctly.

Happy's face lit up as he suddenly realized that was the answer. He would make her tea! He got so excited that he nearly summoned his wings and flew right up to the ceiling, until he remembered a very hard-hitting truth: he had no idea how to make tea. That was indeed a hindrance in his new plan. He brought his paw up to his chin as he pondered how to go about tackling this obstacle. Then, he snapped his little fingers as the answer came to him; Mirajane! Surely, she could teach him.

He saw Lucy walking back towards Erza, Wendy and Carla, with a sheet of paper in her hand. She showed it to the other girls, who seemed to agree that it was a good choice. It seemed the team had decided on a job for the day. Erza got up to fetch the feuding Natsu and Gray and separate them so they could get on their way.

Happy rose to his feet to join them, but made a mental note in his head to remember later to talk to Mirajane. Then he found a piece of red yarn on the floor and tied it in a knot on the tip of his tail, just to make sure he wouldn't forget. For now, it was time to focus and do his best on whatever job they had taken.

…

Later, the job had gone without too many major bumps (and relatively few broken structures; at least, significantly less than normal). All that had been required of them was to set a ragtag group of bandits straight, and it didn't take much to scare them into abandoning their thieving ways.

Happy was glad that the job had gone by fast, because now he didn't have to worry about forgetting to talk to Mirajane. It had turned out that he hadn't needed to tie the yarn to his tail, but he was glad he had done it anyway. Better safe than sorry, after all. Natsu had been curious about it, but let it go when Happy simply told him that he 'wanted to remember to do something later'.

And now that all their work was done for the day, Happy saw an opportunity to put his plan into motion. The guild hall was now considerably empty, save for a few of the members who were just finishing up their work for the day, and Mirajane and guildmaster Makarov, of course. Determination filling his heart, Happy made his way to the bar where Mirajane was. Currently, she was cleaning it off a little with a paper towel.

"Hi, Mira!" he greeted cheerily.

"Oh, hi, Happy!" she smiled as she looked up from the counter. "How are you?"

"I'm doing okay," Happy answered. "I was hoping I could ask a favor of you."

"Of course! What can I do for you?" Mirajane asked.

"Well… uh…" Happy started nervously, twiddling his thumbs a little bit. "I… want to learn how to make tea."

"Huh?" Mirajane tilted her head for a second in confusion, before the answer just clicked in her mind. "Oh! You want to make some for Carla, don't you?" Mira smiled. She always thought Happy's devoted feelings for Carla were so cute.

"Yep," Happy said without hesitation. He had no shame in this fact. If he had the lungs for it, he would scream to the whole world that he loved Carla.

"Aw! Well, I can help you, no problem! Right now, if you'd like!" Mirajane offered, eager to see how far Happy's affections could take him in his mission.

"Aye! Thank you, Mira!" Happy thanked and agreed with her offer enthusiastically. He was always so glad to have someone like Mira as a friend.

"Alright, then! Come on and I'll show you!" Mirajane instructed, leading Happy into the back and to the kitchen. Once there, she began to get out the items she needed. A teapot, a tea bowl, tea leaves and teacups.

"Thank you so much, Mira!" Happy thanked again as Mirajane set up to teach him. He truly was very grateful.

"It's my pleasure, Happy," Mirajane assured. "Let's get started." Happy stood attentive. "To begin, we need a pot of cold water. Luckily, I got some from the river just a few hours ago." As she spoke, she poured said pot of water into the teapot. "And then we boil it." She placed the teapot on the stove and turned it on.

"Okay, got it," Happy nodded. "Now what?"

"We wait for the water to boil," Mirajane said, sitting down to wait.

"Okay," Happy said, also sitting down and playing with his tail for entertainment. It only took a few minutes for the water to boil, so they weren't kept waiting very long. "Now what do we do?"

"Now that the water's heated up, we steep the leaves," Mirajane answered.

"Steep?" Happy asked as he tilted his head, unfamiliar with this term.

"That means we soak the leaves in the hot water to get the flavor out," Mirajane explained.

"Oh, okay," Happy nodded, scratching his head with one paw. Who knew tea was so complicated? Nevertheless, he kept his eyes on Mirajane as she showed him how to steep the tea leaves. "So, what happens now?"

"Now, all that's left to do is serve it!" Mirajane informed him with a smile. Happy watched as she carefully poured the newly brewed tea into each teacup. "And here we are! Freshly brewed Darjeeling tea!"

"Wow, thanks, Mira!" Happy thanked again, carefully going over each step in his mind. "I think I got it now."

"Now that you know how to make it, what are you going to do?" Mirajane asked curiously.

"I'll make some for Carla tomorrow morning," Happy explained his plan.

"Oh, I see. Good plan," Mirajane complimented.

"Thank you," Happy smiled, proud of his cleverness. He looked at the clock on the wall and noticed it was getting late. "Uh-oh, I'd better get going. Thanks again, Mira!" With that, he sprouted his wings and proceeded to fly out of the guild and back home.

"You're welcome! Good luck, Happy!" Mirajane called out before he disappeared from the kitchen.

…

"Okay, Happy. You can do this. Just go up and talk to her," Happy was muttering to himself the next morning, trying desperately to reassure himself. In his hands was a cup of warm Darjeeling tea, which threatened to spill onto the floor if his paws continued to shake from nervousness.

As he had vowed to do the previous evening, he had shown up at the guild earlier than usual so he would have time to brew a fresh pot. He had remembered the steps without much trouble, and although he didn't have nearly as much experience as Mirajane, he did his best, and he thought he had done rather well considering it was his first try.

Now all that was left to do was to give it to Carla. But his steps toward the table at which she sat were slow and shaky. He had never been so scared before. There were a thousand things he could think of that could go wrong. What if Carla didn't like it? What if she didn't even want to try it? What if he spilled it before he even got the chance to talk to her?

His heart racing, he glanced over to the bar where Mirajane was. She, while paying mind to her job, was also keeping a watchful eye on Happy's situation in case anything went wrong. She noticed his glance at her. She saw the worry in his eyes. In response, she gave him a reassuring smile and an encouraging nod. Calming down a little, he nodded back.

Taking a deep breath, he continued walking towards Carla. He remembered why he was doing this; to make her smile. The determination he had felt the previous day filled him once again. With his resolve restored, he went up to Carla's side.

"Um, Carla?" he started nervously, getting her attention. "I-I, uh… w-wanted to give you this." He presented the teacup full of tea. "I-I made it myself. Mira taught me how." All of this was coming out a lot less confidently than he would have liked. "I-I hope you like it." Carla looked surprised. Happy was really trying hard to impress. She took the teacup, and gingerly took a sip. For a moment, Happy's heart-stopping nervousness returned. And then, all of it vanished when Carla's eyes lit up.

"Wow, this is really good, Happy," Carla complimented. A small smile graced her lips.

"You really think so?" Happy asked excitedly.

"I really do," Carla nodded. "This is very impressive for your first time making it." Happy grew excited. His plan seemed to have succeeded. "Oh, this reminds me," Carla interrupted his thoughts, setting the teacup down on the table. She reached to her side and grabbed something. When she faced him again, Happy saw that the thing was none other than a fish! "I have something for you, too."

"Really?!" Happy asked with unbelievable enthusiasm, graciously accepting the fish.

"Really," Carla said. She looked away slightly, with a seemingly guilty look in her eyes. "I wanted to apologize for the way I treated you before, and to thank you for being so brave when defending us."

"Thank you so much, Carla!" Happy beamed. He had never felt prouder.

"Thank you, Happy," Carla said. Then, surprisingly, the she leaned forward and planted a kiss on his cheek. Happy's heart was aflutter. He was so happy at that moment, that he sprouted his wings and did a flip in the air.

"AYE, SIR!" he shouted with unbridled joy. Carla inwardly laughed at his goofiness, thinking it was cute, and took another sip of the tea. Over at the bar, Mirajane had been watching the entire scene. She smiled for the little blue cat. His efforts finally seemed to be bearing fruit. She was glad that the future was starting to seem brighter for those two little kitties. That day was certainly a good day for him. A very Happy, Happy day.

...

A/N: And with that, the first one-shot has come to an end. CarnelianFox, I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope it was up to snuff.

Happy: Aye! I know I enjoyed it!

Well, we're almost out of time. Anything else you'd like to say, Happy?

Happy: Yep! Everybody who isn't CarnelianFox, go check out his Fairy Tail stories if you liked this one, or even if you didn't like it. Trust me, they're REALLY good! He's written a lot of stuff about Carla and me, so if you're into that, don't waste a second and go check his stories out!

Agreed. Well, with that said, we're out of time for today, but check back tomorrow for the next one! See you later!