I apologize, my readers. I was a bit caught up this weekend cause my GF was back in town after her vacation and then yesterday I was a little preoccupied in my gaming. But I'm back, late, but certainly not never. This is the first of the two filler chapters I have set up. I'm currently working on the next arc, so in the meantime enjoy some fun and eventual lemon. ;)

Light shined and birds chirped on a perfect Tuesday morning. Zilar was sound asleep in bed, his silver hair jutting out in certain places, as was his bed head. As he slumbered, his bedroom door quietly creaked open. Someone slowly slipped into the room and took soft steps towards the bed. Zilar rolled onto his back and cracked his eyes open a bit.

"Wake up, sleepy-head," Mimi greeted with a smile. Zilar smiled back and sat up.

"Good morning, dear," he replied. "What time is it?"

"It's nearly 10:30," she said. "You overslept a bit."

"Oh," he said, "pardon me. I was quite tired last night." Mimi giggled.

"How did you sleep," she asked.

"Excellent, knowing you were here by my side," he said, stroking her cheek lightly. She giggled once more and the two shared a warm kiss.

Nearly 2 months had passed since Zilar almost left the Guild and since then he and Mimi had begun dating. They had only agreed to move into a new house together rather recently, and had now been living together for a little over a week. Zilar and Mimi had gone back to the Guild Hall to explain the misunderstanding in Zilar's leaving. Makarov was kind enough to void his resignation and accepted him back into the Guild with no harm done. Everyone was happy to see Zilar stay, and many still were a bit surprised to hear of their newfound relationship. Since then, Zilar and Mimi had sold their old houses in order to pool their finances for their new one. It was a townhouse in Magnolia just a few blocks from the Guild.

"So," Mimi began, "you wanna leave for the Guild soon?"

"I suppose so," Zilar replied. "Unless you would like to stay here." Zilar playfully grabbed Mimi and placed her on top of him. The two kissed lying down for a few minutes.

"Wow," she said drawing her finger around Zilar's bare chest, "I love this passion you've been showing lately. I almost didn't think you had it in you."

"All my inner passions are reserved solely for you, my love," Zilar said, stroking her cheek once more. Mimi blushed and looked away for a moment. It really was a new side of Zilar, one she had never anticipated. But she loved him even more for it. The two casually got dressed and took a leisurely stroll down to the Guild. They walked in and heard lots of chatter going around the Guild Hall. Normally they were greeted by yelling, crashing, and otherwise unruly noise, so this caught the two off guard a bit.

"Morning, you two," Lucy called to Zilar and Mimi. She was sitting with Natsu, Gray, and Happy at a long table. They walked over, greeted them back, and sat down.

"So have you two heard the news," Lucy asked.

"About what," Mimi replied.

"The Fairy Ball is coming up in a week," Gray chimed in. "Haven't you guys heard all the talk around the Guild?"

"So that is what we have been hearing," Zilar concluded. "What sort of celebration is it?"

"It's a grand ball held to celebrate the birthday of the Guild's founding master, Mavis Vermillion," Lucy said.

"I'm not one for dancing, but the party itself is always incredible," Natsu said with a large smile. "This year even our Guild allies like Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale are celebrating with us. It's gonna be the best one yet! Right, Happy!?"

"Aye sir," the blue cat exclaimed.

"That sounds magnificent," Zilar said. "What do you think, Mimi?" He glanced over to her. Her face was flushed red and her gaze was fixed down on the table. She looked very uncomfortable.

"Mimi," Lucy said, "are you alright?"

"Uhhhhhh...," she began shakily, "y-yeah, I'm j-just...not so good with big parties. And dresses. And dancing. And lots of people. And...and..." She looked like her head was steaming. Zilar sighed.

"I think I see the problem," he said. "You are not good with high profile situations." She nodded slightly.

"What do you mean," Lucy said. "You did fine in the Fantasia Parade at this past Harvest Festival."

"Well, that's cause that's more like...fun," Mimi said. "I got to do magic and show off my skills and everyone was cheering and the parade floats and the food. But this is more...high class. Dresses, etiquette, ballroom dancing, it's all a bit too much for me." She stood up.

"I need some air." She walked out into the courtyard and leaned forward on a stone railing. She sighed despairingly. Zilar slowly walked up to her side.

"Are you well," he asked, leaning forward like her. She looked over and smiled weakly.

"Yeah...I'm fine," she replied. "I do wanna go to the ball, I really do. But it seems like so much trouble and work and whatnot. I bet you're upset with me cause you wanna go, aren't you?"

"I am a bit upset, yes," he answered. Mimi's spirits sunk even lower. "But not necessarily because I want to go, but because I want to go with you." He reached over and held her hand. She looked over to him with surprise.

"I want you to be able to have fun with me and all our friends at this ball, because you deserve to have loads of fun," he said. "That being said, I am going to do everything in my power to ready you for this ball." He smiled at her. That warm smile that infected Mimi with happiness.

"And we're going to help," Lucy said. Mimi turned around and saw Lucy, Natsu, Gray, and Happy standing behind her.

"We're gonna make sure this party is the most fun you've ever had," Natsu said with a smile, which warranted another "Aye sir!" from Happy. Mimi couldn't help but smile back. Her boyfriend and all her other closest friends wanted only one thing from her. For her to enjoy herself to the fullest. They all brought it in for a big group hug around Mimi, the warmth of love and friendship overflowing in her. After they broke away, she looked at them all with a confident smile and nodded.

"Where do we start?"

.

The week leading up to the Fairy Ball had been full of planning. Not just the Guild planning the event itself. But Zilar, Mimi, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy preparing for it as well. Lucy had gotten help from Erza, Mira, Lisanna, Levy, Wendy, and Charle to go out with Mimi and pick out a ballgown for her. But not only was Mimi preparing; Natsu, Gray, Happy, Pantherlily, Elfman, and, begrudgingly enough, Gajeel went out with Zilar that same day to find him a suit or tuxedo. The days following that had been filled with dancing lessons. Lucy used the help of her Celestial Spirits to teach them. Virgo helped Zilar while Capricorn helped Mimi. Once the two were confident in their dancing abilities, they took a dance with each other and finalized their lesson. The last 3 days were devoted to either relaxing or helping others with the ball preparations. At last, the day of the ball arrived. Natsu, Gray, Happy, Pantherlily, Lucy, Levy, Wendy, Erza, and Charle had all come to Zilar and Mimi's house to help with their final preparations. They were all already in their attire. Suits and vests, shoes and dresses of many different colors and styles were seen on the lot of them.

"Alright," Erza said, "the girls will take the main bedroom upstairs for Mimi. The boys will take the guest bedroom downstairs for Zilar. Is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am," they all answered in unison.

"Right then," she said. "Move to your positions with haste and ready yourselves." Zilar and Mimi were confused. This almost seemed more like a training drill than readying for a ball. The girls took Mimi upstairs while the guys stayed downstairs and gave Zilar a hand. Zilar had consented to actually fix his hair for this occasion. He brushed it back and tied it into a ponytail. He had chosen a Victorian style midnight blue jacket with bright silver linings and accents over a white poofy dress shirt. He also decided, since the occasion also called for it, to wear black leather dress shoes. As he fixed the last bit of his outfit, he looked himself over in the mirror.

"Well," he said, turning to his friends, "what do you think?" He noticed all the men's eyes were staring transfixed on one point, his shoes.

"You're...you're actually wearing shoes," Natsu said.

"Yes, your point," Zilar asked.

"It's just..." Gray said.

"It's so..." Happy said.

"Unnatural..." Lily said. Zilar sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It couldn't really be that inconceivable, could it? Just then they heard footsteps on the stairs. They turned to see Lucy, Levy, and Wendy walking down and standing next to the foot of the steps.

"We now present to you," Wendy said.

"The fair damsel of the evening," Levy said.

"Lady Mimi Kuro," Lucy concluded. Mimi began walking down the steps while Erza helped hold back parts of her ballgown so she wouldn't trip over it. Mimi was wearing a gorgeous black shoulderless ballgown with white accents. Her hair was styled to make it shiny and wavy, drapping gracefully over her shoulders. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, Charle slowly flew around Mimi, tossing red flower petals so they slowly fell and spun around Mimi. The boys gaped at Mimi, but none were as awestruck as Zilar. He slowly walked towards her. She looked up at him with a small smile.

"You look," Zilar said, having trouble finding his voice, "phenomenal." Mimi blushed and looked aside.

"Thank you," she said. "You look...very handsome." Zilar smiled at this. All the girls slowly peared over and around Mimi to look at Zilar. Or more specifically, his shoes.

"What is it now," he asked, dreading the answer.

"You're actually..." Lucy said.

"Wearing shoes..." Levy said.

"It's...kinda strange..." Wendy said.

"I'll say..." Erza said.

"Indeed..." Charle said.

"Alright, it is amazing that I am wearing shoes. Groundbreaking, life-changing even," he said, becoming fed up. "May we please get past it?"

.

The large group casually made their way to the Guild Hall, which had been utterly transformed to suit such a momentous occasion. The interior was decorated with vivid colors and adornments. The center of the hall where tables and chairs had once been was cleared to make space for a large dance floor. Mirajane was wearing a beautiful emerald green dress and was serving around drinks. Aside from her, everyone else was also dressed up for the event. Even Gajeel was dressed in a long black tailcoat, black dress pants and shoes, a tuxedo shirt and a black bowtie. He looked positively disgusted that he had to be dressed in such a way.

"Fuck, why do I have to wear this garbage," he complained, his arms crossed angrily. "I'm already wasting my evening coming to this stupid party and now I can't even dress comfortably. Well if this isn't the-" Just then Levy wrapped her arms around his muscular forearm.

"I think you look very handsome," she said. Gajeel glanced down at her and then quickly darted his eyes the other way.

"Yeah, whatever," he replied. Levy pouted.

"Well? Don't you think I look good, too?" Gajeel looked down at her once more. She was wearing a golden yellow gown that fitted her small form perfectly.

"Sure, you look great. Happy now, Shrimp?" Gajeel said. It didn't seem like it, but Levy knew this was a compliment in Gajeel's book. She rested her head on his arm, which made Gajeel blush every so slightly. Across the room, Zilar and Mimi had been watching the entire exchange between the two and had been giggling and laughing to themselves.

"They really are cute together, aren't they," Mimi said, wiping a tear of laughter from her eye.

"Indeed," Zilar said with a smile, "they really are inseparable." They were sitting alone together at a table by the wall. A few feet away they could see Natsu and Happy gorging into the buffet table. Erza was making her way there to put an end to said gorging before nothing was left. Lucy and Wendy were sitting with Cana and were all deep in conversation. Gray on the other hand was trying to pry apart Juvia's iron grip from his torso.

"Please, Gray-sama! Honor Juvia with just one dance, pleeeeeeease!"

"I already told you," Gray replied frustratedly, "I'm not really into dancing!"

"Then nevermind the dance," she continued. "Gray and Juvia can run off together and continue the festivities on our own beneath the nighttime moon like true lovers."

"LIKE FUCKING HELL!" Gray let out another grunt of frustration and tried even more fervently to push the water woman off of him.

Just then, a waltz began filling the Guild Hall. Zilar looked around to see that not many people were going out to dance. He noticed Mimi looked particularly flustered as she tried her hardest to avoid Zilar's gaze. He decided to go for broke.

"Mimi," he asked, "would you like to go dance?" She quickly looked down at the floor with a deep blush and began twiddling her thumbs.

"Uhhhh...I'm not exactly feeling up to it," she said. "I...I think I have a little...um...headache! That's it, my head hurts a little and if I were to go out and dance now I might-" She was cut off when Zilar grabbed hold of her hand. She looked up at him, his deep sky blue eyes piercing into hers. He didn't need to say a word. Once he fixed her with that stare, she knew the subject wasn't up for objection. Zilar slowly stood to his feet while gently holding her fingertips and Mimi followed suit. He led her out to the very center of the dance floor. They faced each other, neither saying a word but beaming at each other. Zilar gently placed one hand on her hip and the other softly clutching her free hand. She held his hand and placed her other one on his shoulder. They waited for the beat of the music then slowly began swaying and dancing. They took graceful steps and turns around the dance floor. They brought their chests close to one another as they continued to glide across the floor. People began noticing they were the only two out dancing. Mimi looked around and noticed the many staring faces. She began getting a bit nervous.

"Z-Zilar," she whispered, "everyone is staring at us."

"Do not mind them," he said consolingly. "They do not matter right now. It is just you and me." Mimi nodded and continued dancing with Zilar. As they danced, more and more people started coming out to the dance floor. Soon Natsu and Lucy were dancing together, then Gildarts and Erza, followed shortly by Romeo and Wendy, then Happy and Charle began dancing together. Gray was finally worn down and consented to dance with Juvia, to her monumental excitement. Even Levy had convinced Gajeel to come down to dance with her. Soon nearly everyone in the Guild had begun dancing. Zilar and Mimi hadn't even noticed any of this. They were too transfixed on one another, gazing deeply into each other's eyes. The waltz changed to an especially slow, intimate song. Most of the dancers had left save for Natsu and Lucy, Gray and Juvia, Gajeel and Levy, and of course none other than Zilar and Mimi. Zilar moved his hands around Mimi's waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She gently rested her head against his broad chest. She felt his muscles even beneath his fancy garments. He was warm and she felt comfortable and safe in his arms. As the song started coming to an end, their gazes met. Mimi blushed, shut her eyes, and almost frantically planted a kiss on Zilar's lips. Zilar's eyes widened in surprise, but then gently closed them and kissed her back. They kissed passionately for another moment or two before breaking away and leaving the dance floor. As they reached the edge of the space, Mimi gently tugged Zilar's sleeve.

"Um...Zilar," she began, "not that I'm not having an amazing time...but...can we go home?" Her cheeks were lightly rosy and her eyes were staring pleadingly, glossed over. Zilar didn't say a word. He simply smiled and led her out of the Guild Hall.

I thought this was a cute little interim in the epic storyline of Zilar and Mimi. XD
I hope you guys enjoyed the little bits of NaLu, Gruvia, and Gajevy I planted in this chapter. I promise to be more punctual next week. Also, thank you all for the continued support and viewership. ;D