Summary: Erza and Jellal are trying to teach their daughter to walk and the little girl receives some unexpected motivation

Juliet was sitting on the living room floor, playing with her soft blocks and greatly enjoying herself. In her mothers' eyes, she looked absolutely adorable; her scarlet hair was a little messy since she had just woken up and she was wearing a pink footed sleeper.

Erza was sitting cross-legged on the living room floor, staring at her daughter adoringly. Juliet turned her attention to Erza and rewarded her mother with an open-mouthed smile. Juliet slowly stood herself up on shaky legs and tried to walk towards her mother. However, Juliet took one step and immediately fell on her bottom. Erza held her arms out towards Juliet and smiled kindly at her.

"Come on, sweetheart, walk to Mommy," Erza said encouragingly. "Try again, I know you can do it."

A few days ago, Juliet had started standing on her own, which absolutely thrilled her parents. She hadn't gotten the hang of walking yet, but she was trying. Whenever she stood, Erza and Jellal would try to get her to walk; they used incentives like food and toys, but so far they hadn't had any luck.

Jellal entered the living room with breakfast for Erza (a big piece of strawberry cake, Erza's favorite breakfast food) and smiled as he spotted Juliet trying to walk. The little girl fell on her butt again, but instead of becoming frustrated, she began to giggle.

"Trying to get her to walk again?" Jellal asked as her sat next to Erza and handed her the plate. Erza sighed with a smile on her lips; even if Juliet wasn't achieving her walking goal, she still looked adorable during each walking attempt, so Erza couldn't help but smile.

"She's so close, I can feel it." Erza said as she took a bite of her strawberry cake.

"She'll walk when she's ready," Jellal said as he put an arm around his wife's shoulders. "She's definitely determined enough. She obviously has her mother's tenacity, so she should be walking before we know it."

Almost as if in cue, Juliet stood herself up again and looked at her mother. She smiled, cooed, and took one step without falling back down. Both Erza and Jellal widened their eyes.

"It's happening," Erza said quickly as she put her strawberry cake down on the sofa behind her and stretched her arms again. "Juliet, come to Mommy!"

Juliet giggled as she took another step, steadier on her feet than she had been the last few days. Jellal and Erza's hearts were in their throats, they were so proud to be witnessing their daughter's first steps.

"You're almost there, Julie, just a few more steps! You can do it!" Erza said with pride.

Juliet was almost within her mother's reach when she slightly turned away from Erza's arms and walked to the couch behind her. Juliet reached a chubby baby arm towards the strawberry cake that Erza had set down and grabbed a fistful. She then put her strawberry-covered hand in her mouth and squealed happily at the taste.

Erza and Jellal looked absolutely stunned, but then Jellal starting laughing hysterically.

"As if we needed any more proof that she's your daughter." Jellal said, still laughing. Erza was absolutely beaming, she couldn't have asked for a more perfect moment. Not only did Juliet take her first steps, she displayed her love for strawberry cake at the very same time!

"Sweetheart, if I knew that strawberry cake would motivate you to walk I would have given you some days ago," Erza laughed as she brushed her daughter's bangs out of her eyes. Erza then lowered her voice and whispered in Juliet's ear "Just so you know, as my daughter, you're the only one who has the honor of sharing my strawberry cake. Not even your father has that right."

Juliet stared at her mother as if she understood the big secret Erza was entrusting to her and answered by giggling more. The little girl was quite a sight at this point; both her mouth and her hand were covered in strawberry cake. Erza didn't think Juliet could look cuter if she tried.

"But you know what? You just took your first steps! I'd say that's more than enough reason to eat strawberry cake. So why don't we split this piece, mash yours up, and have some celebratory cake?" Erza asked as he picked Juliet up under the arms and gave her an Eskimo kiss. "Jellal, if you don't mind..."

"I'm already on it." Jellal answered as he picked up the rest of the cake and got it ready for proper baby consumption. Soon enough the small family was sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast, and celebrating one of Juliet's biggest milestones.