The Unicorn

Summary: Its Cana's first birthday with Gildarts after her moving in- Gildarts is completely prepared to pull out all the stops and hearing what Cana wants for her birthday doesn't diminish this. His Princess wants a unicorn he's going to get her a unicorn.

Disclaimer: I don't own

AN: This has been the month of fresh hell and it is only going to get crazier, so fair warning this fic might not get updated again for two weeks minimum. I'll do my best guys but I just don't know where this is going right now. That said, please enjoy the pure adorableness that is this chapter!

It was an ordinary day in the Fairy Tail Guildhall.

The people were loud, the alcohol was flowing, and in the midst of all the usual chaos, one little girl was seated at a table coloring.

It had taken time, but Cana was very pleased that she could now totally ignore all the noise from her Daddy's guildmates to focus on whatever she was doing. She had actually managed to sit through an entire brawl without even noticing that it was happening!

Though there were a few people that could pull her out of her zone.

"So, a little bird told me that your birthday is coming up." A familiar voice said cheerfully, that made the little girl stop what she was doing.

"Good morning Master!" She said with a bright smile on her face.

"Good morning Cana." Makarov said fondly before he repeated himself," So- how old are you going to be?"

"Seven!"

"Seven already?" He said in admiration, loving the way his surrogate grandchild's face lit up, "That is quite an accomplishment- you're practically an adult."

The six-year-old puffed up in pride, but before she could answer there was a loud laugh.

"She certainly is." Gildarts said in delight.

"Daddy!" Cana squealed in delight as she attempted to tackle her father. "I missed you!"

"I've only been gone for twenty minutes." The Ace said with a raise brow, not missing a beat as he scooped up his little girl.

"I still missed you."

"And I missed you too." He conceded with a grin, pressing a loud kiss to her cheek," So- what were you two talking about?" He asked curiously as he settled down, Cana on his lap.

Makarov smiled at the picture the two made," I was just about to ask what she wanted for her birthday."

Gildarts turned down to his little girl," Well Sweetheart? What do you want for your birthday? It isn't everyday you turn seven, now is it?" He said, preparing to make a mental list.

This was the first birthday he had ever been there for- whatever she wanted she would get. He was already planning the most extravagant birthday party a child could ask for. If there was anything else he could do to make it a perfect day, by God he'd do it.

Cana thought about it for a moment, before coming to a decision.

"A unicorn."

Both men blinked.

"Um, what?" The old man asked hesitantly, not sure if he'd heard her right.

"I want a unicorn." The little girl repeated.

Makarov tried to let her down gently," Cana… you know unicorns are very rare animals- "

"I can do that." Gildarts interrupted causally, making the shorter man stare at him in open astonishment. "If you want a unicorn princess, Daddy will get you a unicorn."

"Really?" She asked in awe.

He grinned and kissed her forehead," Really."

The old man watched his young granddaughter cheer and tried not to tear up.

Poor thing, she was going to be so heartbroken.

oOOOOo

The day of Cana's seventh birthday was a mess of streamers, confetti, and brightly colored glitter.

Gildarts had spared no effort in making sure that every detail was perfect- from the party games to the cake- everything was fit for a little princess.

Cana herself was ecstatic as she buzzed around the park, pink frosting smeared all over her mouth.

"Hi Master!" She greeted, bouncing in place as her body tried to work off the sugar high.

"Happy birthday Cana." The old man said fondly as he gave the little girl a hug. "I'm so sorry Laxus couldn't be here today."

This dampened her mood for a few seconds- Laxus was hardly the strongest boy and had come down with a nasty cold that had left him in bed. She shook it off quickly," I'm going to bring him cake later." She informed the old man," If he can't come to my party, I have to bring the party to him."

Makarov smiled down," That's a wonderful idea, I'm sure he'll love it." He said sincerely, before looking around," Where's your father? I would have thought he would be right in the middle of all this."

"Daddy went to go get my unicorn."

The miniature man stilled," Oh did he?" He asked, fighting to keep a straight face.

Ever since Gildarts had told her that she could expect it, Cana had been talking about the unicorn nonstop to everyone. He had attempted to shake some sense into Gildarts multiple times for promising her something he just couldn't deliver, but the other man was adamant- if his little girl wanted a unicorn, he would find a way to get her one.

Now everyone was silently dreading the heartbreak the lack of unicorn was going to cause.

Makarov was trying to figure out what to do, should he break it to her gently or go ask Reedus to make one? Before he could decide he heard Gildarts pipe up from behind them.

"Sorry I'm late Sweetheart, he was just being a bit difficult!" The Ace called out cheerfully as everyone turned to face where he was coming from… and as the old man's eyes bugged out and his jaw hit the floor, the little girl let out a thrilled squeal that almost deafened everyone in earshot.

"Thank youthankyouthankyouthankyou!" She screamed as she bounded over to where her father was standing, holding the magnificent creature on a simple rope lead.

"Easy now Sweetie." The crash mage cautioned his ecstatic child, as he tightened his grip on the rope lead," He's a little worked up- let's give him a second to calm down some."

Whatever Cana said next Makarov missed, because the only thing he was processing was the fact that there was a living, breathing unicorn right in front of them.

A unicorn.

As in an animal that until this moment he had believed to be extinct.

It was such a pure white that its coat almost seemed to glow, and its single, spiral horn seemed to change colors with every movement of its head.

And judging from the way Gildarts' left eye was quickly purpling… it was definitely a powerful animal.

The dumbfounded party guests stared in incomprehension as the little girl approached the animal and shyly held out her hand for it to sniff.

"Hello Mr. Unicorn, my name's Cana it's nice to meet you." She said politely.

The unicorn seemed to evaluate her for a moment, before it bent its front legs to kneel down and happily nuzzled the little girl- who was absolutely delighted. She giggled as the creature affectionately licked her cheek, and happily gave it a kiss back.

Gildarts was standing back watching the two bond with a smug grin on his face- pleased as punch.

oOOOOo

Later on, after the shock had worn off and the unicorn had received all the attention it could want (the affection from the children was accepted, everyone else was given a look that warned them to keep their distance), Makarov finally got a chance to talk to the smug crash mage.

Gildarts was sitting back as he watched his little girl play with her new friend as he held a small ice pack against his swollen eye.

"Master!" He said in greeting, but before the taller man could say anything, Makarov held up a hand.

"Tell me you did not do anything illegal to get that unicorn." The old man said directly, not bothering mince his words.

Gildarts stilled," … define 'illegal'- "

"Oh my God."

The father rushed to his own defense," It's not like I went to the black market or anything!" He said hurriedly," I just asked around about if anyone knew where I could find one and I met a bartender who knew a hairdresser, who was friends with a bank teller's ex-wife, who knew this dog walker, who used to be married to a guy who fixes lacrimas, who's uncle is an old hermit, who supposedly knew where a herd was!"

The guildmaster eyed him suspiciously," And where was this herd?"

The Ace winced and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head," It might have been in…" The rest of the sentence was an unintelligible mumble.

"What was that?" Makarov asked, clearly unimpressed," I didn't catch it. Where did this unicorn come from?"

"…Andalasia."

The old man froze," Andalasia?"

Another wince," Yeah."

"As in, the same Andalasia that has a permanent travel ban on citizens of Fiore?"

"…yeah."

"You illegally smuggled that unicorn in from a country that we have been in a cold war with since before either of us were born?"

"… that about sums it up."

The guildmaster took a deep breath, trying to stave off the impending headache," Was it worth it?"

There was a happy squeal as the unicorn rolled over to expose its stomach, a thrilled Cana happily giving the creature belly rubs.

Gildarts smiled gently at the scene. "Absolutely."

AN: For some reason I have it in my head that she named it 'Telephone'. I don't know why, I was just trying to think of something that is so totally not a name you would give a unicorn (because stuff like 'Sparkles' seemed a bit to on the nose) and arrived at that for some reason. There was actually going to be a scene where it gets hurt and Cana asks Wendy to come take a look and both Lucy and Wendy are just staring at the unicorn like 'that's a unicorn- how the fuck did you get a unicorn' and everyone else is chill like 'oh yeah she's had him for ages now', but it didn't work out.

Telephone the unicorn may or may not be making another appearance in a future story. I haven't really thought that far ahead with him yet.