Hey y'all! Welcome to my first LuDarts fic! This is the ship that actually got me into Fairy Tail crack ships. Thank you to LittlePrincessNana for that! ;)

And yes the title is a pun based of Gildarts's magic because I'm a sucker for puns and dad jokes.

"Another round, please, Mira!" Cana hollered from the table in the back corner of the guild.

"Coming up!" Mira called sweetly.

Gildarts grinned and clapped his hand on Cana's back, "I got this round, kiddo."

"Woo hoo!" Cana cheered, "Thanks, old man."

Lucy, across from them, chuckled, "She's going to run you into the ground at that rate."

Gildarts waved the concern off, "Meh, I just got back from a mission so I figured we could celebrate."

"Yeah, they stopped partying so much now that you're back all the time," Cana pouted, "Gotta make more excuses."

"Cana, are you saying you want me to leave again?" Gildarts asked with wide eyes, full of fake tears.

Lucy giggled as Cana rolled her eyes.

"You're embarrassin', you know that?" Cana muttered.

Gildarts just grinned and threw his arms around Cana and started spouting about how much he loved her. A slight pang shot through Lucy at that, but it was gone as soon as it came. And, thankfully, Mira had brought out the next round of their drinks.

"You two are so adorable," she gushed at the father-daughter duo.

"Thanks, Mira! This round's on me," Gildarts said, looking as happy as ever.

Mira smiled sweetly and nodded before heading back to the bar. The trio at the table downed their shots as a table flew over their heads, courtesy of Natsu.

"You dunderheads!" Cana screeched, "Can't I drink in peace?"

And then she joined the fray. Lucy chuckled and watched her friend for a bit before turning back to Gildarts.

"How'd the mission go?" she asked.

The older man smiled, "Piece of cake, of course. Group of bandits. They were pretty damn surprised to see the Gildarts there," he chuckled.

"I can imagine," Lucy replied, smirking, "One big, strong, scary man for a group of men I could probably down with my pinky? Sounds like overkill."

"Coming from the chick who's part of Team Natsu, AKA Team Overkill," Gildarts teased.

Lucy groaned and laid her head on the table, "Don't remind me," she muttered.

"Rent?" Gildarts chuckled.

Lucy, surprisingly, shook her head, "Nope. Book sales handled that, but my team eats all my food and I barely have the money for myself."

Gildarts furrowed his brows, "Have you told them?"

Lucy sighed, looking back up at him with tired eyes, "I have, but they always just insist on taking a mission with me to cover it, and you know what happens."

"Oh, jeez," Gildarts groaned, "Have you-"

"Tried going on my own?" Lucy deadpanned, "Yup, and Natsu just follows me and gets all petulant that I left him behind."

Gildarts's eyes followed said pink-haired man, trying to beat some sense into him with just his gaze. He loved the kid, but he was such a fucking moron sometimes and Gildarts wanted to smash him to pieces and reform him in a new and improved form. Not to mention, the past few months Gildarts had been back, he and Lucy had grown close and he found he cared for the woman. Perhaps not in the way a father of a friend should, but he did. The fact that he was pretty much whipped already slightly scared Gildarts, having not felt that way since Cornelia. And, shit, well Lucy was 19 and he was an old man. He wanted to help her. Give her his money, his home, his bed, his heart... but he was pretty sure he was going to either get rejected, get castrated by the guild, or both if he so much as gave Lucy more than a friendly hug.

Suddenly, an idea popped into his head and he grinned.

"How about you, Cana, and I go on a mission together, eh?"

Lucy's eyes widened, "You mean it?"

Gildarts smiled and nodded, "Hell yeah! I've seen how well you and Cana work together and I wouldn't mind spending some time with two of my favorite girls."

He said the last part before he could stop himself and he blushed a little, as did Lucy. However, her blush faded fast and she nodded with a bright smile on her face. Gildarts loved that smile.

"Sounds great!"

God, Gildarts was so fucking in love.

Lucy sank blissfully into her bath that night, sighing as the heat seeped into her muscles and helped her relax. She smiled as she remembered what had happened before she came home. How, after the fight, Cana came back to the table and the trio ordered dinner while Gildarts told Cana the plan to go on a mission together. Cana agreed under the condition that she and Lucy be given space for 'girl time', though Lucy knew Cana was ecstatic about the whole situation. They picked out a simple enough looking mission, monster hunting, and decided to meet the next morning at the guild hall for breakfast before taking the train to their job. Lucy blushed happily at the memory of Gildarts calling her one of his favorite girls. Though, she knew he probably saw her as a daughter she couldn't help but hope for something else...

She wanted his strong hands to hold her close, his beard to caress her chin and cheeks as he kissed her, or as he went down...

Lucy squeaked and shook her head of those thoughts.

She stayed in the bathtub until the water went cold, pouting as she unplugged the drain and stood up and dried off. She wished baths could last longer. She walked out to her room in her towel and started rummaging for some comfy sleepwear to put on before packing. She settled on a pink tank top and sleep pants, slipping them on before grabbing her suitcase and scampering around to pack her essentials. As she was zipping up, her door opened and she sighed.

"Cana, what are you doing here?" Lucy asked, crossing her arms and giving her friend a glare.

Cana crossed her arms back, "You've got a thing for my dad, don't you?"

A blush broke across Lucy's face and she squeaked, again, "What?"

"You like my dad," Cana said, "I've seen the way you look at him, I'm not blind."

Lucy sighed and collapsed on her bed, "I'm such an idiot."

"You both are," Cana mumbled.

"What does that mean?" Lucy huffed.

Cana rolled her eyes, "Nothing. Just know, as weird as I think it is, I want you to be happy and you have my blessing."

With a wave, she was out the door again and darting outside.

"Cana!" Lucy cried after her, voice cutting through the quiet of the night.

So, how was it?

Bye y'all!