A/N: Here's our last feel-good filler before the final chapter! I hope these scenes have given you enough of a break after the events in that final arc! And I hope you're ready for the upcoming finale!

Chapter 74: Happy Birthday, Syllest!

It was a crisp fall day. The end of the year was just around the bend. It was incredible to think that Dreamer had brought Macbeth to Fairy Tail in the spring. Had it been over six months since that fateful day? It felt as though it had only been a few weeks, while at the same time, the memories seemed to span over years. It's true, there's no beginning or end in the splintering wood of time.

It was also true that today, November 21st, was Syllestra's eighth birthday.

And since this is the Fairy Tail guild in question, and consists of a group of people who will use any excuse to over-celebrate, naturally they were holding a birthday party of gargantuan proportions for the girl. Several members (under the guidance—and threat—of Mirajane) had begun decorating before dawn. Now, the hall hung with pink streamers—the floor was a sea of confetti and balloons—every table had been set with flowery pink tablecloths and empty baskets for the placing of gifts (of which there should be many). The stage had a table on which sat a birthday cake at least the same size as the birthday girl, and decorated with countless pink, frosting roses.

Currently, Macbeth was standing atop a stepping stool, carefully placing sugary bees on the highest flowers. Erza was supervising, her hands on her hips, and her tongue flitting occasionally over her lips as she admired the cake.

"Macbeth, what did you say was in this cake again?" she asked.

"Strawberry, bubblegum, and honey," he answered as he carefully adjusted a bee wing, "with layers of vanilla buttercream and a grape jam core."

"So, it is indeed a strawberry cake, of sorts?" Erza's mouth watered.

"Titania." He stood upright and cast his gaze on her while crossing his arms over his chest. "Syllestra gets the first piece."

"Of course, she does!" Erza's jaw dropped and her cheeks took color. "What are you insinuating?! Do you really think I would sneak a bite of that delicious, strawberry confection before she's had the honor of that first, creamy bite?"

He deadpanned.

Erza cleared her throat, then turned briskly to survey the rest of the room. "Right, well it appears that preparations are almost complete."

Mirajane was hanging the last strand of lights. She clasped her hands together and squealed with delight. "I'm going to open the doors now!" She hopped off the table and skipped to the guild hall doors, which she'd barred with a stack of tables to prevent anyone from coming in (including the poor guild members who just wanted to go check the job board). She easily tossed the tables aside and threw the doors open.

"Come in!"

People poured in at once. Among them were Dreamer and the birthday girl herself.

Syllest was wearing a pink skirt with a purple shirt, and her short hair was pulled back with a sparkly headband, a birthday hat perched atop it. She skipped inside with her head held high and her eyes wide with wonder.

Behind her, with her hand on Syllest's shoulder, was Dreamer, wearing a matching pink skirt. She was taking in the setting with approving eyes.

"Happy birthday, Syllest!" Mira scooped the girl up into her arms and swung her in a wide circle.

"Auntie… Mira… can't… breathe."

Mira released her constrictor grip on the girl and sat her back down. "What do you want to do first, birthday girl? No cake or presents until all of your guests arrive! But there are snacks and games and—"

"Is Romeo here yet?" Syllestra stood on her tiptoes and tried to see over the tabletops.

"The party just barely started, Syllest," Dreamer laughed and patted her head. "Give him a few minutes to show up."

"Dear me, if I may…" A kind old voice called out to the girl. "I have just the place for you to recline as your guests arrive, sweet Syllestra."

He was standing on the stage, dressed in a finely pressed suit and top hat with a pink flower—standing beside a solid gold throne, sized for an eight-year-old.

"Ooooh!" Syllest skipped over to him and climbed into the throne. "Is this from great grandpa?! Look at me!" She waved a hand dramatically in the air. "Bow before me, my loyal suspects!"

"I believe you mean 'subjects,' dear me."

People began to filter in and deposit their wrapped gifts in the baskets on the tables. One by one, they walked up to Syllestra's throne and wished her a happy birthday.

Cana slid onto a barstool.

"What's on tap today, Kinana?"

"Sorry, Cana," Kinana smiled apologetically. "The bar isn't serving alcohol today."

"What the hell kind of party is this?!"

"Um… an eight-year-old's birthday party?" Kinana sweat-dropped. "I can make you a Shirley-temple?"

"Now you's know how I feel every day, babe!" A familiar gruff voice said as Piper walked in from outside with a tray of barbequed food.

"Alright, now we're talking!" Gajeel snatched the tray out of Piper's hands so fast that he tripped on his own boots and almost faceplanted.

"Watch what you're doin,' you's hunk of rusted metal!"

"What did you just say to me?" Gajeel turned in an instant. "No one talks to me like that and gets away with it." He clenched a fist and advanced on Piper.

"I talk to you like that all the time, Gajeel," came a drawling tone, as Macbeth intervened by placing a hand on Gajeel's shoulder.

"Great," Piper scowled at the dual-haired mage. "I was hopin' I'd gets ta eat somet'in before I saw you's today." He scrunched up his face. "Now I lost my appetite."

"HEY!" Gajeel lunged forward to strike, but was held back by Macbeth's arms around his waist. "Talkin' shit to me is one thing, but screw with Beth and I'll knock you on your ass, you got it?!"

"I'd be careful," said another voice. Erik was walking in with a package under his arm. "Dreamer's watching you guys like a hawk. She already decided that the first person to land a punch is gonna be exiled from the party."

All sets of eyes turned toward the other side of the room where, sure enough, Dreamer was glaring at them with all the fury of an adorable murderer.

Gajeel and Piper smiled sheepishly in her direction and then shook hands like well-behaved guildmates.

"Truce?" Piper asked through gritted teeth.

"For now."

Erik walked his package over to Syllest as she continued to sit like royalty on her throne.

"Happy birthday, kid." He sat the present next to her chair.

"Thanks, uncle Erik!" Syllestra beamed at him. He frowned and awkwardly tugged on a pointed ear.

"Look, we're not related," he pointed out.

"Yes, huh," she blinked. "You're like Macbeth's brother, and Macbeth is like my dad, so that makes you my uncle right? Except he's not like my real dad, I mean he's like a different kind of dad, because the real one was super mean but Macbeth is super nice—okay, I mean he's not like super, super nice, but…"

"Okay, I get it," he cut her off. "You can call me whatever the hell you want, just stop talking."

She giggled. "Oooh, you said 'hell.'"

"I should've stayed with the Seis..."

"Hey, Syllest!" Mira walked over again after having made her rounds to multiple tables in the room. "When are the rest of your friends going to be here? We should start eating cake soon!"

"My friends?" The little girl blinked up at her surrogate aunt with wide, pink eyes. "Oh, well I don't know where Romeo is, but none of my friends from school are coming. I invited my whole class but they said they didn't want to come because Fairy Tail is deductive and they called me a weirdo."

"Destructive," Erik corrected her.

"Oh!" Mira's eyes filled with tears. "Well, what matters is that your family is here to celebrate with you." She leaned down and squeezed Syllestra to the breaking point again.

"I… know, Auntie… I'm… not… upset…"

"Syllest!"

She shoved Mira off of her in an instant, before standing up on the throne and looking over everyone's heads.

"ROMEO!"

The young boy ran through the room and climbed the stage to hug her.

"Happy birthday, Syllest!"

"Yay!" She squeezed him tightly. "Now we can eat cake!"

"At long last!" Erza's voice bellowed from below as her gauntleted fists slammed on the table. "EVERYONE! Gather around to sing Happy Birthday to Syllestra so we may cut into the cake!"

The crowd joined Syllestra on stage. She stood on the table and put her hands on her hips as they lit the candles and sang to her.

"Make a wish!" Mira said.

"I wish… to be as tough as Erza!" She blew out the candles.

"Psst, you're not supposed to say your wish out loud, Syllest," Romeo whispered.

"Oh…"

"NOW, WE CUT THE CAKE!"

Erza requipped into baker clothes, but hoisted swords into the air rather than cooking knives. "STAND BACK!"

Within moments, the cake was cut into perfect slices, and Erza was passing a plate to Syllest.

The little girl took it and slowly lifted a fork.

"Well?" Erza was leaning so close to her that her breath was making her bangs sway. "Take a bite! Tell us how it tastes!"

Painfully slowly, Syllest lifted a forkful of cake to her lips.

"Come on, come on…" Erza's whole body was vibrating.

Syllest sniffed the fork, uncertainly. "Did you make this cake, Macbeth? What did you put in it? Sometimes you put really weird things in cakes, like that one time you made my mom that special cake that had mustard in it and you wanted me to taste it before you gave it to her because you wanted to make sure she would like it and your cheeks were kind of red like you were scared to give it to her, except I don't know why you were scared, my mom loves mustard and she loves cake and she loves you, so I don't even know why I had to taste it in the first place. I hope this doesn't have mustard in it because—"

Erza shoved the fork into Syllestra's mouth.

"Oomf, that's yurmmy!" Syllest said, with her mouth full.

"Finally!" The redhead scooped herself the largest slice of cake and began savoring every bite with an expression of pure bliss.

Soon, everyone was seated with a slice of the cake. Everyone was chatting happily, including Romeo and Syllest. That is, until the guild hall doors opened wide.

"Oh, did we interrupt something?"

The two figures that entered were none other than Sorano and Sawyer.

"Angel? Racer?" Erik stood up and blinked at them. "What are you doing here?"

Sorano's cheeks took some color and she glanced at the floor. Sawyer folded his arms and scowled.

"Well, you see… With the King of Diamonds gone—"

"And nowhere to go—"

"We began to think—"

"That we really missed the Seis, you know?"

"And while we may never be the Oracion Seis again," Sorano closed her eyes and breathed a slow breath, "we would like to remain with its former members."

Erik and Macbeth shared a startled look. It was Macbeth who first looked back and them, and whose face broke out in a soft smile.

"Syllestra," he looked at the girl. "Would you mind if my friends joined in the celebration?"

"Huh?" She narrowed her eyes at the two strangers. "Hm…" tapping her little fingers on the throne. "I don't know… That girl looks kind of bossy. And the boy looks like a penguin. And Mom says boys shouldn't wear full body spandex suits because it makes their—"

"Syllest!" Dreamer clasped her hand over the girl's mouth. "Of course, you're invited!" She smiled warmly. "You're Macbeth's family."

"And Family comes before all else, dear me," Jezran bowed.

"So just get in here and shut the damn door before you let all the cold air in!" Gajeel yelled.

The doors closed behind them, as Sorano and Sawyer joined the Fairy Tail members in celebrating Syllest's eighth birthday.

Sawyer took a seat next to Erik and they began to chat quietly. Sorano, on the other hand, was about to approach Macbeth when she caught sight of someone out of the corner of her eye. Someone who was carefully trying to slink behind the bar to hide.

"Well, well… If it isn't the degenerate sinner." She turned course and approached the bar.

Piper stopped in mid step and slowly turned to face her, while chuckling awkwardly.

"Ah, angel-face! What are you's doing here?" He glanced multiple times at Cana, who had leaned back to look Sorano up and down.

"I'm surprised." She came to stand before Piper with her hand on her hip. "I assumed you'd be happy to see me, after all that smooth-talk you were doing during our battle."

Cana's eyes narrowed at Piper.

"W-Wha? I don't know what you're talkin' about angel-cheeks—I mean, doll!" Another awkward laugh.

"Your name is Piper, right?" She took another step toward him.

"Uh… yeah—"

Sorano suddenly leaned forward and kissed his cheek, with mischievousness in her eyes. "Thank you for sparing my life, degenerate."

Piper's cheeks took some color as he stared, slack jawed, at the woman.

Until Cana smacked him on the side of the head.

"Does fidelity mean nothing to you?!" She fumed, hands on her hips. "Angel-cheeks? Are you serious?"

Sorano smirked and stepped back to watch the chaos unfold.

"Uh… I ain't sure what fidelity means, but I promise babe, I ain't seein' this chick!"

"Don't be shy," Sorano drawled.

"Wh—I ain't bein' shy! The hell is wrong with you Seis freaks?! You're all goddamn sadists!"

"PIPER." Cana was yanking him by the ear away from Sorano.

"I swears, babe! I swears!"

Meanwhile, everyone was finishing their pieces of cake, and Syllestra was begging for presents.

"Come on, Mom! I can't wait anymore!"

"Okay, okay." Dreamer sighed and called for everyone to gather around so she could start opening gifts.

No one shreds wrapping paper faster than an eight-year-old girl and her best friend. Clothes and toys and gift cards were soon strewn across the stage. She was in the process of ripping open a box from Reedus, when the guild doors slammed open once again.

"Watch out! Present coming through!"

The crowd split as the fire-dragon slayer and his blue exceed carried in a box that was at least ten feet tall and wide.

"WHOA!" Syllest stood up, eyes bugging out at the sight of the massive gift.

Dreamer, on the other hand, was already getting a headache. Especially when she saw the box jerk after Natsu slammed it on the ground.

"Mom, can I open that one next?!" Syllest jumped up and down in excitement.

"Well, I…" Were those breathing holes at the top of the box?

She didn't even get the chance to answer. Syllestra was already opening one side of the box while Romeo worked on the other. Once they'd torn off a side of wrapping paper, the box suddenly burst open. Standing there, looking absolutely furious at having been knocked unconscious and shoved in a box, was a towering forest Vulcan.

"NATSU!" Dreamer gaped at him. "You got Syllestra a MONSTER for her birthday?!"

"She said she wanted to be tough like Erza, right?" He grinned proudly. "So I got her a monster to beat up! Igneel did the same for me when I was a kid!"

"No, no, no!" Dreamer was marching for Syllest. "This is not okay! She's not about to—" A hand grabbed her wrist. She stopped walking and looked over her shoulder into blood-red eyes. Macbeth shook his head.

"I can do it, Mom!" Syllest got into a fighting stance, in front of the fuming beast. "Come on, Romeo! Let's do it together!"

"Huh?" Romeo glanced at his dad for permission. Macao gave him a brief nod. "Okay! My dad took down a ton of these guys before! One will be a piece of cake!"

"Indeed!" Erza lifted a forkful of her third slice of cake.

"What is this?!" The Vulcan roared. "You brought me all the way here to snack on a couple of little kids?! Fine, if that's what you want!" It pounded its fists on its chest.

"Let's show them what we've been working on, Romeo!"

"Yeah, okay!"

They stood side by side, facing the monster that was easily three times their height.

"Unison Raid: Meteor Strike!"

"They have a unison raid?" Dreamer started to faint, but Macbeth caught her. "When have they been practicing magic together?"

The Vulcan tensed. Syllest held out her palms and squinted her eyes in hard concentration. She was focused so hard, that her little face scrunched up and she stuck her tongue out. Pink magic circles swirled in her palms, beginning to form a shape.

"Now!"

She threw her hands forward at the same time as Romeo. There was a flash of purple light, followed by a quiet thunk, as a tiny diamond rock, engulfed in a little purple flame, bounced off the Vulcan's head. The "meteor" rolled pathetically to the ground in front of the Vulcan.

There was a long moment of silence.

"HAHA!" The Vulcan doubled over laughing. "Was that an attack?! Meteor Strike? You've got to be kidding me! I've fought mice that were scarier than you shrimps!"

Syllest was looking down at the diamond with trembling fists.

"It's okay, Syllest…" Romeo touched her back. "We did our best."

"OH GOD THAT'S SO RICH!" The Vulcan was rolling on the floor now. "FUNNIEST THING THAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME ALL WEEK!"

Syllest shook violently. "Hey! Shut up, you… you… fat monkey!"

"FAT MONKEY HAHA!" He continued to laugh out loud.

Syllestra had had enough. She angrily marched forward and picked up the diamond rock. "I said SHUT UP!" She chucked it hard at the Vulcan.

The little burning mineral shot straight into the Vulcan's laughing mouth.

The monster clutched his throat and started to gag.

"Whoa! Syllest look! He's choking!" Romeo rushed to her side. "You did it!"

She blinked. Then grinned proudly. "Yeah! Yeah, take that fat monkey!" She kicked it in the shoulder while its face began to turn blue.

"Now get out of here!" Natsu stepped forward and booted the Vulcan through the roof and watched until it vanished from sight in the blue sky. "Nice goin,' kid!"

"Aye!" Happy picked Syllestra up by the arms and the crowd clapped and cheered for her.

Tears shimmered in Dreamer's eyes. "Eight years old… She's growing up so fast…"

After this mini-adventure, Syllestra finished opening her gifts. The chaos died down a bit, and the mood calmed. She sat her last new outfit down on the stage, then looked up at her Fairy Tail family.

"Thank you," she said, with a bright grin. "This has been my best birthday ever!"

They smiled back at her. Mira was about to excuse everyone, when Syllest stood up and hopped off the stage. She strode purposefully to where Macbeth was sitting.

"Hey, Macbeth!" She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned at him. "You didn't get me a present!"

He fidgeted under the weight of her accusing glare, and all the stares in the room. "I made your cake," he pointed out.

"It's okay," she nodded seriously. "There's only one thing I want from you, Macbeth!"

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

Syllest climbed onto his chair and plopped herself onto his lap. She brushed his hair to the side and cupped her hands around his ear to whisper something to him. He listened, with the same suspicious expression. His eyelashes fluttered in surprise after a moment, and the slightest color touched his cheeks.

She leaned back. Her cheeks were red too. "You can say no, if you want…" she looked shyly down at his scarf.

Dreamer watched this exchange with muted interest.

What did she say to him?

Macbeth closed his eyes. He was either deep in thought, or fast asleep, it was always hard to tell with him. At last, he opened his eyes again and met Syllestra's gaze, evenly.

"I don't mind."

"Really?!" Her face lit up. "You really mean it?!"

He gave a small nod.

"Thank you!" She threw her little arms around his neck and buried her face in his scarf. "Thank you so much!"

After a moment of sobbing into Macbeth's hair and his awkwardly patting her back, she pounced off and ran to play with her new toys with Romeo.

The curious crowd began to disperse.

Dreamer made her way over to where Macbeth was still sitting. He hadn't budged since the strange display, and his eyes were closed, head bowed.

"Macbeth? Are you awake?" She sat down next to him.

"Yes."

"What did she say to you?" She cocked her head and watched him, resisting the urge to brush his hair to the side so she could see his eyes.

"She asked me for permission." He finally straightened up, though his eyes remained closed, and his face void of expression.

"Permission… for what?"

He opened his eyes just slightly, glancing out of the corner at her. His lip twitched in an almost-smirk.

"She asked for permission to call me 'dad.'"

Dreamer inhaled sharply, her cheeks taking instant color as well. "S-She what? I'm sorry, I tried to tell her that's not—"

"Dream." He cut her off. "I don't mind."

"But—"

"When you're raised without a father, you find the inexplicable need to give someone that title. You want someone to call 'father,' who will teach you, and who you can strive to make proud." There was unusual passion in his voice. "Let her give me that title. Better me than some heartless man who might use that role to hurt her."

It occurred to Dreamer that he was talking about more than just Resmond. He was talking about Zero, too. In other words, he was expressing his desire to be for her what Zero failed to be for him—a father who cared.

"Besides." He turned fully toward her and brought his face uncomfortably close. "I'm not opposed to playing house with you, sweet Dream…"

"Aaand, on that note!" She slid away from him. "I better start helping Mira clean up!"

He chuckled under his breath and watched her run away.

"Dad!" Syllestra called to him. "Can you help me and Romeo put this kite together? Please?!"

He let the word sink in for a moment before he stood up. Silently, he joined the two children on the stage. Dreamer glanced over her shoulder at them as she walked toward Mirajane.

"Happy Birthday, Syllest…" she said quietly, as a joyful smile touched her lips.

A/N: There, a cutesie, feel-good filler for you all. :)

Are you ready? The next chapter will be the final in this stage of Dreamer and company's adventures. It's an extra long special. After that, I will be posting some extra-content fillers for fun, to keep you entertained before I start posting the sequel. You'll have a day in the life of Piper from his point of view, the story of how Dreamer and Mystogan met, a humorous scene of all the dragon-slayers attempting to babysit an eight year-old girl, among others. ;)

I only ask that, after you read chapter 75, you review and tell me what you thought of this story. Tell me what sort of things you want to see more of in the sequel, things you loved, even things that you think could use some improvement. Your feedback will be invaluable to me, my dear friends and readers. ^^