Precious Moment

It had been three months since the birth of Ariella's daughter, Athena Sloane Justine. She had just returned to work at her flower shop, Floral Haven, whereas her husband Freed was out on a simple solo job to earn more money for the family. Mirajane, Athena's godmother, was ecstatic to take care of her for Ari and Freed and her motherly nature was just what made her perfect for this role.

Mira was upstairs in the Justines' master bedroom, which was also Athena's nursery, as she was holding the baby in her arms. She was standing next to the baby's crib, which had a pink bedskirt underneath and her stuffed lamb and teddy bear were placed inside. A bright yellow pillow with her full name and birthdate sewn in pink thread was leaning against the right side of the crib, and it was a very special gift from the Strauss siblings. Mira had it made at an embroidery shop in town and was satisfied with the outcome; she gave this pillow to Ariella and Freed a month after Athena was born. She had also bought another one for Natsu and Lucy's baby boy, Igneel Natsu Dragneel—who they called Iggy for short. He was born three days after Athena's arrival, and it motivated Mira to get them a gift just as special as hers for Ariella and Freed. Iggy's pillow was white with his full name and birthdate sewn in pale blue thread, and it was just what Natsu and Lucy wanted to display in their son's crib.

Mira could hardly stop gazing at the baby with her blue eyes, as because her adorable appearance was too difficult for her to resist. She could see some blonde fuzz coming in, and it could take some time before she would have a full patch of platinum blonde hair. On the top of her head was a white headband with a faux flower at the top, and in the center of the flower was a diamond rhinestone that gleamed in the afternoon sunlight. She was also wearing a dress in the shade of aqua green with white polka dots all over it, and there were lettuce etches on the short sleeves.

The little one was staring right back at her with gleaming ocean eyes as she was displaying her wide smile and cooing happily at her. Her tiny hands were gripping onto Mira's arms, and she could feel their strong grip securing her in a gentle manner. To Athena, it was just as comforting as that of her own mother.

"Hello, Athena," she said to her in a sweet voice. "It's me, Mira. So good to see you."

Athena cooed to her godmother once more in response, as she blinked her eyes twice and kept her hands on Mira's arms.

"Lisanna, Bickslow and I are here to watch you and your brothers while your mommy and daddy are away. You'll have a good day with us until they come home."

Mira was like a second mother to Athena, as she had been looking after her daily while Ariella was occupied with work at her flower shop. And as if she was the only one with the babysitting duties, Mira's younger sister Lisanna and her sweetheart Bickslow had pitched in to help out. They were responsible for watching Ariella and Freed's two-year-old twins Darius and Lucian, and it was a breeze for them because they enjoyed playing with the energetic youngsters. Even Bickslow's five dolls, a.k.a. his "babies", were entertainment to all three of the Justine kids. Out of them all, baby Athena loved Pappa the most due to the big smile it always had on its face. She loved how it twirled around in front of her, and she would then hold onto it and pat its head as if she were playing the drum.

"So, Lissy, how is it looking after these kids?" Bickslow asked her, as he hoisted Darius on his shoulders to give him a piggyback ride.

"It's great," Lisanna answered him, while watching Lucian play with his building blocks. "We should thank Ari and Freed for letting us babysit their kids; It's easier for us, since we have one child each to look after and Mira keeps a close eye on the baby."

"Isn't Athena so adorable?" Bickslow asked of her. "She's got such chubby cheeks, and she looks almost like Ari!"

"Yeah, she does. But you know that she also has Freed's eye color."

Coming to realization, Bickslow's eyes blinked twice and he tilted his head to the left as he said to her:

"Ohhh… yeah, I do know. Now that you mentioned it, Lissy, she's a sweet mix of Ari and Freed!"

"Sweet mix! Sweet mix! Sweet mix!" His dolls parroted him, as they were hovering around them. Darius' eyes beamed with delight as he reached out toward Peppe, only to witness the doll floating away from him.

Lisanna nodded to him in concord, as she was observing Lucian placing one wooden square block on top of the other. She assumed that he was attempting to make a block tower with them.

"I think Ari made a wise decision selecting Mira as Athena's godmother," she said to Bickslow. "It's understandable why they selected her to take the role."

The Puppet Mage nodded as he replied: "I agree. Don't forget Laxus; Freed chose him as her godfather for a reason, after all."

"I know, and they will make wonderful godparents for her. Oh, and speaking of Mira, she told us a while ago that she was spending some time with Athena. I think I should check up on her."

Just as Lisanna headed toward the stairs, she suddenly paused and turned to Bickslow when he asked her:

"But what about the twins?"

"The twins, the twins," his babies repeated.

"They'll be fine. Lucian's occupying himself with his blocks, and you give Darius his ride," Lisanna said to him. "I'll be back in just a moment. Come on, Pappa."

Pappa hovered past Bickslow and Darius and paused above Lisanna's head, as it wanted to see Athena too.

"Alright. Take your time, Lis," Bickslow said with a mellow sigh. He then got on all fours and began crawling across the living room floor with Darius riding on him, as if he were a horse and the little toddler was his cowboy. Lucian was completely occupying himself with his block building, allowing his imagination to run wild as he proceeded to place another block on top.

With Pappa following her, Lisanna ascended up the steps and paused at the open door to the master bedroom. She spotted her sister holding the baby, and hearing her coos made Lisanna smile in delight. The way Mira was talking to the little one touched her heart, and deep inside she remembered Mira telling her stories of how their parents cared for them when the three siblings were growing up. Alas, their parents passed away and they were left without anyone to care for them… until their guild master Makarov came into their lives.

Athena is fortunate to have Ari and Freed as her loving parents, Lisanna thought of the baby. Mira is giving her the same maternal love as Ari's, and I can see her protecting this child from any evil that may stand in Fairy Tail's way. But we don't know what kind of evil may threaten us right now. Then again, there's nothing but joy and peace in this guild.

"Mira?" she said to her a moment later, as she entered the room with Pappa.

Mirajane turned to see Lisanna, with Athena blinking her big eyes in curiosity.

"Ohh. Lisanna," Mira said to her. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to check up on you," Lisanna answered. "I see that you're bonding with Athena."

"Well, it's because that she thinks of me as if I'm her other mommy. She still loves Ari the most as her own mother, though."

"Does she think of Laxus as a second father now that he's her godfather?"

"He's seen her about a couple times before, but he's being weighed down by his duties as guild master of Fairy Tail. Nonetheless, he loves her as much as I do."

In the midst of the Strauss sisters' conversation, Pappa hovered itself toward baby Athena and felt her hands grabbing onto its sides. It simply popped out of her grasp and twirled in front of her, making her giggle.

"Ohh, look, Mira. Pappa is entertaining Athena," Lisanna said, pointing to the doll.

"It's her favorite of the dolls, according to Bickslow," Mira replied to her.

Pappa continued to spin around with jovial cries, and Athena's giggling blended in with them into a cheerful duet. It then floated toward her and she reached out to grab it, only for Pappa to evade her hands and landed itself on the top of her head. The baby's eyes rolled upward at it as her mouth formed into a small 'o'. She could hear Mira and Lisanna giggle in reaction to this humorous scenario.

"Pappa, what are you doing on Athena's head?" Lis asked the doll.

Athena raised her arms upward in an attempt to reach Pappa, but they were slightly too short for her to reach the doll. Pappa hovered itself off of her hand and stopped right in front of her, twirling around once more to make her giggle again. Once it did hear her, Pappa finally let Athena grab onto it and hold it in her arms.

"She absolutely loves Pappa so much," Lisanna said, as she and Mira were gazing down at the little one cooing to Pappa. The doll settled itself in her arms with a sigh of content, and then it said to them:

"Comfy! Comfy!"

"Good to hear that, Pappa," Mira said to the doll. "Now, let's go downstairs and check up on the boys."

"I was going to say that just now. I hope nothing bad happens to them," Lisanna said, as she departed the room first. Mira followed close behind her and they descended the stairs together back to the living room. They spotted Lucian having just completed his block tower and Bickslow mimicking a horse's cries with Darius riding on his back.

"Well, what do you know? Bickslow's pretending to be a horse!" Lisanna said of him. "And Darius is his cowboy!"

"Reminds me of Asuka when she plays with Natsu in the guild," Mira said with a giggle. She recalled the time when little Asuka Connell would climb onto Natsu's back and make him crawl on the floor as if he were her horse. It occurred about a decade ago; Asuka was now a teenager and a Fairy Tail wizard embarking on a mission somewhere near Oak Town. Her parents, Alzack and Bisca, would be so proud of her for providing her with prestigious skills in gun magic.

"She was so cute back then. Now she's all grown up and taking on missions to earn money. Alzack and Bisca's training paid off in a good way for her."

"Ever wonder how Ari and Freed's kids would do when they become wizards one day?" Lisanna asked her, as she was watching the toddler boys and Bickslow.

"Well, I'm sure they could be great Fairy Tail mages one day. Who knows what kind of magic they would learn…," Mira answered her sister. "Ari and Freed would make great magic mentors for their kids."

Lisanna nodded to her in concord and replied:

"I think so, Mira, and Sloane and Laxus would do well training their four kids in their magic one day. What about Natsu and Lucy?"

"Sure! I think that their three kids would be just as strong as them. Same thing goes for Gray and Juvia."

"Well, I think Gray and Juvia would do well training their kids too, but there's a chance that Storm would pick up Gray's habit of removing his clothes," Lisanna assumed, a drop of sweat running down the back of her head. Both sisters recalled how many times Gray stripped himself of his attire every time he was in the guild hall, and it was embarrassing to some of the guild members. The most appalled of them all were Cana Alberona, Ari and Lucy; Natsu, on the other hand, was the only ones laughing their heads off at him. As a result, Gray would start a fight with Natsu and the two would wrestle with each other to the point that their teammate Erza would step in and settle them.

"They can't help fighting with each other. It's our Natsu and Gray," Mira said of them.

All of a sudden, Lisanna felt a light tug on her flowing white skirt and looked down to see Lucian standing next to her. He was looking up at her with his pale blue eyes as he was gripping her skirt loosely.

"Lissy," he said to her. "Come see."

He pointed to his wooden block tower, which was neatly stacked in the formation of a tall tower. A triangle-shaped block was balancing at the very top as it was standing on the square blocks.

"Oh, wow! What a nice tower, Lucian!" Lisanna complimented, as she hoisted him upward. "You were a very good boy while I went to see Mira and your sister."

"Yeah," Lucian replied with a nod.

Athena was still holding Pappa in her hands, and when Mira set her down on the floor, she began tapping its head with them. The Strauss sisters were smiling in delight as they watched her play with the Totem doll and they could hear her squealing with excitement. This was going to be a wonderful time for them, especially Bickslow.


A little later, it was time for the kids' afternoon naps. Darius and Lucian were taken into their shared bedroom by Bickslow and Lisanna, and they were each placed in twin beds that were next to each other. Lucian laid an arm across his twin brother's body, as if he were shielding him, leaving Lisanna in awe. Bickslow draped the twins' favorite blankets over them as he watched them sleep soundly, and he followed Lisanna out of the bedroom without uttering a single sound. His five dolls were floating around them the entire time, and they kept quiet just as their master ordered them to for the twins' sake.

Mira laid Athena inside of her crib as a mobile was playing a lullaby to her. It had small stuffed pink Exceeds with wings dangling from above, and they were a clear remind of the guild's three felines: Happy, Carla and Panther Lily.

Athena let out a tired yawn and she drifted off to sleep, with her body sprawled out as she was lying on her back. The mobile's music sounded like a music box, and it was soothing to the baby every time Ariella would play it for her naps and bedtime.

"Sleep well, Athena," Mira whispered to her.

As she watched her goddaughter sleep, Mira draped a pink baby blanket over the little one's body and placed the stuffed little lamb next to her. It was considered as Athena's companion and it had been her favorite since she first started sleeping with it. The first time it happened was a month after the baby was brought home from Magnolia Hospital by her parents.

I'm so happy to be caring for my goddaughter for Ari and Freed, she mentally mused to herself. It's as if she is my own daughter. Thank you, Ari and Freed, for giving me this opportunity. In the event that you are unable to care for her, Laxus and I will do so in your place. We promise to protect her and love her as much as you do to her and your twin sons.

The thought of her being with Athena every day had caused tears of happiness to well up in her eyes, but she simply wiped them away in an attempt to avoid being overly emotional about it. A moment later, she turned away from the crib and quietly departed the master bedroom as she shut the door. She then headed downstairs to see Lisanna and Bickslow sitting together on the sofa.

"Now that the kids are asleep, I'll serve the lemonade that Ari made for us. How does that sound?" she suggested in a quiet whisper.

Lisanna and Bickslow nodded to her in unison, as they were also keeping the noise to a minimum to avoid waking all three of the kids. Mira headed to the kitchen and opened the fridge to see a full pitcher of lemonade, and she could see ice cubes floating inside of it. She then took it out and placed it on the kitchen countertop before she went to the cupboard to look for three tall glasses.

Ari did great making this lemonade for us, she thought to herself. It was so nice of her to provide us with it, after having been watching their kids throughout the day. Hopefully she and Freed will return soon to see them…

Once she found three tall glasses, Mira took them out of the cupboard and placed them on the countertop next to the pitcher. She then lifted the pitcher up and carefully poured the lemonade into each glass. However, she couldn't hold them all in her hands and began searching the room for a tray. She finally spotted a silver tray that was put away inside a cabinet filled with pots and pans, and she tried her best not to make a noise when she pulled it out. With a sigh of relief, Mira placed the glasses on the tray and brought it over to Lisanna and Bickslow.

"Drink up," she said to them in a whisper.

Lisanna and Bickslow each took a glass from the tray and thanked Mira for the beverages. In return, Mira smiled warmly to them and took a glass for herself. After taking a sip, she let out a sigh of content and gazed out the window. Within her mind, Mira was very optimistic that she would please Ariella and Freed for taking care of their three children with Lisanna and Bickslow—and she would most definitely thank them for naming her and Laxus as baby Athena's godparents.

The End


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