I didn't mean to wait this long. It's already almost the end January and you're left woefully lacking the final chapter! And aside from that, I really didn't know how I wanted to end it all. So I hope whatever I come up with as I type will be good enough, haha.

Without any more ado, I give you Tell, Chapter The Last.

Mira hummed to herself as she put the final touches on the three-layered cake she had made for the guild's Christmas party. She was rather proud of the outcome and paused to admire the dessert upon completion. The white icing was nothing special, that was for sure, but the green that looked like wreaths on the ledges of each layer and the red icing that resembled ribbons and bows made her proud. Around the outside edges of each layer, she had meticulously iced little images of mistletoe. On the very top of the entire cake in red icing was the Fairy Tail insignia with a green bow around its neck.

The white-haired woman finally turned away to look around her kitchen, hands on her hips. She was glad that she'd sent Elfman and Lisanna ahead with all the other food that they had made. Now she just had to find some way to carry all the presents and the cake without ruining the masterpiece it had become. A thoughtful frown crept across her features, causing a small crease in between her delicate eyebrows.

She was still trying to solve the problem five minutes later when there was a knock at the door. Mirajane sighed, wiping her hands off on her apron as she made her way to the door. Without even looking through the peephole, she gripped the knob and turned it. The door swung open to show the snowy streets of Magnolia and, more importantly, a warmly dressed green-haired and green-eyed man standing on her steps.

"Oh, Fried! Come in before you freeze!" Mira stood aside, motioning him inside. The green-haired man stepped in and she closed the door behind him. "I thought you'd be at the guild with everyone else already," the white-haired woman smiled at him, trying to come up with anything to say that wouldn't sound like just babble.

It was hard.

"I was, but Lisanna asked if I would come and help you with a few things," Fried supplied, following Mira into the kitchen.

"You didn't have to do anything of the sort!" Mira whirled around, placing her hands on her hips for the second time in the last ten minutes, but only the first time in front of Fried. "I'm perfectly capable of handling things on my own."

"You were planning on carrying that–" Fried gestured to the three-layered cake, "and the two boxes of gifts that Lisanna said were still here? Please, Mira, didn't I tell you not to take on more than you can handle?"

"I've done it before, what could it hurt to do it again?" she asked innocently, her blue eyes wide and questioning. Fried felt almost as if she knew what she did to him, even when he was certain that she had no idea of his feelings, but he wouldn't let her expression deter him. She didn't need to take so much on her own shoulders and he wanted to teach her to accept help when she should. And like he had told her before, anyone (including himself) would be glad to help her if she needed it.

"Mira," Fried said in a tone that let her know he was displeased by her attitude. She sighed, already knowing what he was going to say when he continued with, "I already told you that anyone would help you if you just asked. Please just let me help now."

"I'd hate to impose or something–" Mira began uncertainly.

"You're not imposing at all," he smiled gently at her as he spoke so that she knew he wasn't angry at her or anything. "I'm offering to help."

"Lisanna asked you to," Mira protested childishly.

"I would have come even if she had just mentioned all that you had to carry," Fried assured the white-haired woman, courageously allowing himself to place a hand on her shoulder. At his gentle touch she looked up to him, hating the light pink she could feel crawling across her cheeks. But oh, she loved the feeling of being so close to him in her own kitchen. She loved just the feeling of his hand on her shoulder and she wondered if his embrace would be the same, only on a grander scale. And she wanted to know, more than ever before, what he would do if she told him how she felt. But even though she was a strong woman, a great mage, and a caring person in general, she couldn't bring herself to confess the deepest feelings of her heart. As much as she loathed admitting it, she was still a shattered soul from the mistaken 'death' of Lisanna all those years ago.

"Thank you very much then, Fried," she hitched a smile back onto her face, still fighting internally with her feelings for him. "I still don't know how to manage it all. I don't want to ruin the cake while carrying it…"

The usually cheerful woman went back to thinking about her dilemma.

"Mira?" Fried asked after a few moments of her silent contemplation of the dessert she was so proud of.

"I don't know how to move it without it falling over," Mira admitted, sighing. "I'm afraid putting a cover on it would harm it, too. And I'm worried that I'd fall over or slip while carrying it and that would ruin it, too." She ran a hand through her hair.

"Mira, I think I might have a solution," the green-eyed man suggested, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze to get her to look up at him again.

"Really? What?" she quirked an eyebrow and was honestly excited to hear what the man had to say. He was a genius of sorts, after all, and she had no doubt he'd be able to concoct an excellent plan for the safe transport of her current masterpiece.

Fried, in response, held up his rune pen. "I'll put a barrier around it, of course. It's not too hard to make a rule where nothing inside the barrier can move. Will that work?"

Feeling much more excited than she probably should have about the solution, Mira threw her arms around his neck in a quick hug. When she realized what she had done, she let go pretty quickly and smiled at him as though nothing had happened. She felt the burning in her cheeks that meant her pink flush was definitely in evidence but she tried to ignore it, internally scolding herself for letting her feelings take precedence.

"That should be perfect!" Mira gushed, turning her back on him to hide the light flush that crawled even further across her cheeks. "If you don't mind, I'll go change out of this," she plucked at her apron and dress, which were both splattered with flour and icing, "and you can do your barrier. I'll be right back!"

"Take your time, Mira," Fried said, smiling even though she didn't turn around to see.

As soon as the white-haired woman left the room he turned, placing both hands on the cabinet and taking a deep breath as warmth finally began to creep across his cheeks. She was completely tearing down all the walls he'd built and she probably didn't even know it. It was definitely making it harder for him to stay away from her or to keep from telling her that he was utterly infatuated with her.

"Pull yourself together," he whispered to himself, straightening and beginning to write the rune barrier he'd promised his blue-eyed angel. It was a simple matter for him to write the rule that everything within the small area should be frozen in time until he removed the barrier. He'd actually gotten the idea from the Tenrou Island incident and it had worked well for him the few times he had tried it out. Surely it would work just as well for a cake, and he was glad to be able to help his lovely Mirajane in any way he could.

Mira, for her part, closed her bedroom door behind her at around that time and leaned against it, letting out a sigh. A glimpse of herself in the mirror showed that, just as she remembered, her blushes were a very light shade of pink, almost imperceptible, but they were still there. Her hand came up and covered her cheeks as she thought of the hug she'd given Fried on the spur of the moment. What had he thought of her rash move? She didn't want to think about it. What if he'd realized her feelings? What then? How could she go back down and face him after invading his personal space in such an abrupt manner?

"Stop it," the barmaid scolded herself, pushing her body off of the door and beginning to remove her apron. "There's nothing I can do about it now that I've already done it, so I just have to hope for the best."

Her apron was deposited in a clothes hamper on one side of the room and she started with the zipper of her dress before pausing, looking thoughtfully at her reflection.

"…But what is the best?"

Mirajane shook her head quickly to clear it of all possibilities, instead going to her closet to pull out the new dress she'd bought specifically for the Christmas party at the guild. It wouldn't do, she had decided, to dwell on her feelings right now. All she wanted was for everyone in the guild to be happy during this holiday season, and that was that. As long as her sister and her brother and all of her nakama, especially the man in her kitchen, were happy then so, too, was Mirajane.

But sometimes it isn't that simple.

Once again, the white-haired woman shook her head and began to zip up her dress, which was white with a red bow and green embroidery around the hem and the bust and the ends of her sleeves. She loved how it looked on her and was glad that Lisanna had helped her pick it out over the weekend. It was small moments of sisterly bonding time that Mira had missed out on all those years that her sister had been stuck in Edolas, and when she got the chance to make up for lost time, she'd do all she could.

The beautiful cover-girl was shocked when she found that she couldn't zip the dress all the way up. She couldn't reach. Mira opened her mouth to call for Lisanna before abruptly realizing that the only other person in the house right now was him. Fried Justine. Another glance in the mirror showed that her light pink flush was back with a vengeance and she let out a sigh. She couldn't very well go to Fairy Tail without her dress fully zipped up, and Fried was a nice guy, right? She wasn't showing anything indecent, so it would be perfectly innocent to ask him for help.

The thought still made her warm and embarrassed.

"There's no helping it," she told herself softly, picking a pair of red, heeled boots out of her closet. She carried them out of the room with her and back to the front door, sitting them on the linoleum before taking a deep breath and starting toward the kitchen. She raised her voice and said, "Fried? Could I ask a favor?"

Hearing her calling him when he hadn't even heard her leave her room startled him, but he immediately answered, "Of course I can, Mirajane. What did you need?"

He turned around to spot the oddly timid takeover mage in the doorway. She was wringing her hands and this time he noticed the light pink across her face. He wanted to know what was making her look like that, because he thought she looked amazing. The dress she was wearing worked perfectly on her and he felt heat crawling across the back of his neck but fought to make sure it didn't spread to his cheeks.

"I can't zip this all the way," she said softly, turning her back to him. There were about five inches at the top of her dress left unzipped. "Would you mind…?"

Fried was dumbfounded for a few moments, then said, "Of course not," and stepped over to her. It was a challenge to keep his footsteps even as he made his way over to her. As he gently grasped the zipper and pulled it up, he tried to sort through his muddled thoughts for something to say to her. Finally, he settled on saying, "You look beautiful, Mira," as he stepped away from her. She turned around to him and smiled sheepishly.

"Thank you," Mira knew that Fried would understand that she was thanking him for both zipping her dress and for his compliment. She then noticed that he'd unbuttoned his coat since she'd gone to change and said, "You look quite handsome yourself."

Oh. My. God, she thought suddenly. Wasn't she just flirting with him? She could have sworn she'd just batted her eyelashes at him, which definitely wasn't normal for her.

"I'm afraid you far outdo me, but thank you," he smiled good-naturedly at her and she couldn't help but smile back.

"We should get going before Lisanna and Elfman come looking," Mira suggested, picking up a white purse from the table and slinging it over her shoulder. "Would you carry the cake for me?"

"Of course," Fried felt like he'd said that too many times tonight, but he couldn't help it. Didn't she know he'd do anything she asked of him? She just had to look at him and he was hers, utterly and completely. Didn't she know just what she did to him yet? It seemed to him that she must, or that she must be close to figuring it all out, because he knew he hadn't done a very good job of hiding it over the last week, since he'd helped her with her groceries that first time.

"Thank you!" the smile that the white-haired woman shot the green-haired man made him wonder why no one else had ever been so smitten. Or rather, it made Fried wonder why no one had ever wooed her and earned her affection, effectively stealing her from his grasp. She was simply too amazing a woman to be devoid of suitors.

It was right then, as the cheerful barmaid flounced back into the other room to put on her shoes and pick up the boxes of gifts, that Fried Justine decided that he didn't want to let anyone else steal her away. He didn't want someone else to earn her affections before he could even try. So, then, didn't that mean he'd have to start trying? Because if he never tried to get her to feel the same then she probably never would, and he couldn't let it drop without at least trying.

For now, though, he'd carry her masterpiece of a cake to the guild and walk with her, monopolizing as much of her time as he could.

Mira glanced up when he entered the living room, the cake before him, smiled briefly, and continued to slide her arms into the sleeves of her coat. She had already put her boots on and was getting ready to pick up the two boxes stacked on the arm of the sofa precariously. Fried had spotted them on the floor by the Christmas tree when he'd come in, so she must have put them there when she began to put on her shoes. She was always so thoughtful.

"Well," Mira said once she had the door opened and gestured for Fried to go through, "let's go!"

Fried thanked her and stepped carefully down the steps and turned to watch her balance the two boxes on one arm while she pulled the door closed behind her. She turned the knob once the door was closed to make sure she had locked it. Once she was assured of that, she shifted the boxes to both arms and stepped up next to the green-haired man and the two began to walk towards Fairy Tail.

It didn't matter that the two were silent for much of the walk, because just being together was enough for right then. The Christmas season was all about being together for the mages of Fairy Tail, and remembering the time that they had lost with their nakama, and so, even though both wanted to be more than the other's friend, this time together was enough. For right now.

Lisanna sighed at the fact that her sister had taken up the job of a barmaid again. No matter how many times Lisanna asked Mira to take a break, the older sibling just kept going right back to serving drinks to their already mostly tipsy guild members.

"We're never going to get the two of them to dance together," she groaned to Cana in a low voice, watching her older sister. "Levy's plan isn't working!"

It sounded strange to say that Levy's plan wasn't working.

"Maybe we just need to push a little more?" Lucy suggested timidly, stopping by for a break after dancing with Natsu.

"How do we push harder without it looking like we're trying to push them together?" Levy demanded, disheartened. "It's not like we can just go pull Mira away from the bar and drag her to Fried and shove them together and tell them to have fun!"

"We could," Cana shrugged, "but I don't see that approach doing much."

"Exactly," Lisanna and Levy agreed simultaneously.

Evergreen, who had been silent so far, let a devious little grin come across her face. "Well, girls," she said, sitting up straighter. "I'll be off to talk to Fried about a certain someone who's been ogling our dear sweet Mirajane from afar."

"What…?" Lucy and Levy asked, slightly confused, but Lisanna and Cana let smirks similar to Evergreen's creep across their features.

"Don't you get it?" Cana asked the other two girls, turning to them with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Evergreen's going to tell Fried about some entirely fictitious man who's devilishly handsome and extremely charming. She's going to tell Fried that he's a photographer for The Weekly Sorcerer or something like that, maybe even that it's a mage from Lamia Scale or Blue Pegasus and that he's got his eyes set on Mirajane and only Mirajane. It's going to make Fried jealous and then she's going to prod his pride by telling him he needs to get a move on or the fictitious guy is going to steal Mira from him and if Fried's a man at all, he'll go ask her to dance."

"I don't know," Lucy said, twirling hair around her finger. "Isn't that a bit of an overused technique? Fried's a smart guy. Don't you think he'll recognize it?"

"Honestly, he's so smitten with her I don't think he'd even try to connect a fake man to the story," Evergreen rolled her eyes. "He wouldn't doubt that someone out there is after her."

"It's worth a try," Levy nodded firmly, "I'll try to think of something else if that fails."

"We're counting on you, Ever," said Lisanna as the woman of the Raijinshuu stood up to leave the table. "Don't let us down!"

Evergreen laughed and waved over her shoulder as she made her way over to where Bixlow was obviously tormenting Fried once more. Cana lounged back in her seat, lifting her tankard to her lips as she watched the events begin to unfold. Lisanna's eyes wandered around the guild, flicking to her sister occasionally but more often snapping back to where Evergreen had sat down with her teammates. Lucy was dragged off by Natsu for more dancing, though her eyes did keep going back to the table where Fried sat and Levy stared off into the distance in Evergreen and Fried and Bixlow's general direction, thinking about what they would do if Evergreen's plan failed.

Mirajane, oblivious to the plots involving she and the green-haired man she'd fallen for, was happily serving Max and Visitar.

"Hey," Evergreen greeted as she practically glided into the seat beside Fried. "Why aren't you over there talking to your woman? Or dancing with her, even?"

"She's busy," Fried said, swilling the last bit of his red wine around in his glass. Evergreen smiled a little as he said belatedly, "And she's not my woman."

"Not yet," Bixlow said, his five little seith dolls repeating the words.

"Actually, if he doesn't do something soon he might not get the chance to," said the brunette, leaning back in her chair and letting her eyes skim across her fellow guild members. She was putting her plan in motion. "There's this one guy from another guild that's been hanging around sometimes and sending her letters. He's absolutely smitten with her, would you believe it? And he doesn't even have the courage to talk to her."

Bingo, the woman thought to herself smugly. Fried sat up straighter in his chair, trying not to seem interested but she could tell he was listening to her every word.

"I can't remember his name, but I know he doesn't want to settle for anything less than Mirajane herself. And he's not too bad on the eyes. He's got gorgeous blue eyes and his hair looks so soft and—Fried, where are you going?"

He didn't answer her.

"You planned that out beforehand, didn't you?" Bixlow's voice betrayed his grin.

"Didn't you?" repeated five times as the seith dolls circled their heads.

"Planned what?" Evergreen asked with false innocence, eyes following the rune mage as he made a beeline for the area Mirajane was serving in. Lisanna had found herself a barstool nearby, perhaps so she could offer to take her older sister's place.

"Thought so," Bixlow relaxed in his chair with a laugh, eyes also following his teammate.

"Thanks, Mira," Wakaba said, then began one of his lame attempts to pick her up, but she breezed back behind the bar. She mixed up the drink that Laki had asked for and placed it on the countertop in front of the wood mage, who also thanked her. Mirajane smiled at her and waved it off, picking a few dirty glasses up was she made her way back toward her usual spot.

"Mirajane," a voice said and she stopped after placing the glasses in the sink, turning to look at the person who'd hailed her. Green hair and green eyes met her gaze and she immediately smiled at the man leaning across the bar.

"Fried! What can I get for you?"

"How about another glass of wine—" he began and when she turned to get it, she felt a light grasp on her wrist and returned her gaze to him as he continued, "—after a dance?"

"Ooh, that's a great idea, Fried!" Lisanna suddenly piped up from a few barstools away. "Mira, you deserve a break after all the hard work you've done tonight, and I'm sure everyone else would agree with it! I'll take over the bar for the rest of the night, okay?"

"Wha—Lisanna, I—" Mira fumbled for words, her cheeks burning.

"It wouldn't do for you to overwork yourself, Mira," Fried broke in, and Lisanna inwardly cheered. "If you don't want to dance, will you at least come have a glass of wine and a chat?"

"Oh—I, um…a dance would be nice," the white-haired woman finally piped up, a smile starting to spread across her face. She just couldn't help herself. What he was offering seemed so much like what a couple would do that it made her heart beat faster and her cheeks burn even hotter than before. She felt stupid for taking so long to answer. He might have taken it to mean that she didn't want to dance with him and that was an impression she definitely hadn't wanted to leave him with.

"Then what are you waiting for, Sis?" Lisanna asked, already behind the bar and giving her older sister a gentle shove toward the exit. "Go have fun! I've got everything under control over here. And Fried, thanks for making her see sense! I've been telling her for hours that she should take a break!"

The youngest white-haired sibling waved the oldest away happily, arm in arm with the green-haired Fried Justine. She flashed her thumbs up at the table where Evergreen had rejoined Cana and Levy, and the woman who'd begun this turn of events, Evergreen, flashed one back. Lisanna then turned to serving drinks and washing glasses, as her sister often did, while Mira was led toward the dance floor. Cana waved to Lucy, who in turn rushed to Lyra and asked her to play a slow song for Fried and Mirajane.

"I have the perfect song!" Lyra said happily to Lucy, and the blonde grinned at her celestial spirit.

"Great!"

A slow song began to play as soon as Fried and Mira reached the area cleared as the dance floor. Fried felt the back of his neck burning and realized that he couldn't believe that he was doing all of this right now. He was about to dance with the most beautiful woman in the entire world, and a slow song starts to play. Slow songs, he knew, were definitely more meaningful to a woman, especially when they cared for whoever it was they were dancing with, and he hoped that she didn't mind dancing with him.

"Shall we?" Fried asked, pulling a fancy little bow and holding out his hand to Mirajane, using a bit of flamboyance to hide his nervousness. He was rewarded by her light, tinkling laugh.

"We shall," she agreed then, placing her hand in his.

And they were off.

And oh, it was so glorious, she thought to herself as they spun around gracefully. It was so amazing to be in his arms, waltzing, as if no one else was there. And to him it was the same way, especially when the gorgeous woman in his arms was laughing and looking for all the world as though she was having the best night of her entire life. Who was he to deny her that?

He was content with this, dancing with her and being the reason for her smile.

He wanted to just tell her, of course, but he couldn't bring himself to do that right now. He would, sometime tonight or maybe tomorrow, but not right now. Fried knew he couldn't wait much longer or he would lose her, but he still was trying to figure out how to work up the courage to do it.

Everything was perfect.

And then Natsu and Gray got into a fight and sent the leftovers on the food table flying. The entire guild was showered in it as Erza separated the two culprits. Mira and Fried were brought down off of cloud nine and just stared dumbly at each other before grins broke across their faces. Mira's cake was splattered over and around the two of them, Fried having taken the brunt of the blow. A decorated piece slid a fraction of an inch on the top of his head as Mira watched, and she giggled into her hand.

"That look suits you," she teased him, brushing some cake off of his shirt.

"And you," he remarked just as teasingly, plucking a small piece of cake out of her white hair.

The two were interrupted, however, by Levy McGarden's excited squeal as the rest of the guild settled down some.

"Fried! You've got mistletoe on your head!"

And she was right. It just so happened that the piece of Mira's painstakingly decorated cake that rested on his head had one of her delicate icing-created images of mistletoe adorning it. Lisanna, seeing this, decided that they couldn't have planned anything this perfect. Because really, how could they make it more perfect than that?

"I what…?" Fried asked uncomprehendingly as Mira turned to look at Levy, eyes wide. She had clearly understood what the girl had said.

"I said," Levy repeated herself impatiently, "that you have mistletoe on your head!"

"I have m – how do I have mistletoe on my head?"

"M-my cake," Mira supplied, making a laugh bubble up. It didn't sound too forced, but the blush on her cheeks was noticeable even through the food. And those too words were enough for the rune mage to comprehend as he recalled the grand cake.

And then he started laughing.

After all of his confusion, after trying to figure out some way, any way, to tell her how her felt for her, and after having to tell himself to not think about kissing her…this happens. And it's not a foolproof way to confess, certainly, but he'd do it anyway. His laughter died out then after a few moments, and he prepared himself mentally even as he began to put his decision into action.

Without any further ado, Fried Justine leaned forward and pressed his lips to Mirajane's. His green eyes slid closed quickly and her bright blue ones widened in surprise and in disbelief. She, too, let her eyelids slide over her eyes and her hands fell on his chest and she let herself go by kissing him back.

Fried was surprised, of course, but he couldn't complain about it. After all, her lips on his were like a dream come true and there was no way he wanted this to end now. He understood that this could be the only time he'd ever kiss her like that, but since she was kissing back he now felt he had the right to hope for more than he had previously dared.

And neither of them noticed when the 'mistletoe' fell off of his head with a dull splatter onto the floor.

They parted when they became aware of wolf-whistles and cheers emanating from their fellow guild members, cheeks flushed. The back of Fried's neck burned from embarrassment but he wouldn't have traded what had just happened for anything.

And then it slipped out, simultaneously, from both of their lips.

"I like you."

It wasn't a full-blown confession, for each of them had chickened out at saying they loved the other at the very last second, but it was enough. And at the impromptu confession on both parts, they grinned and began to laugh again, Fried sweeping his cake-covered beauty into his arms. As the music started up again, another idea came to his mind and he stepped back from her.

With a flamboyant bow once more, he asked, "May I have this dance?"

"Of course," Mirajane smiled, sliding back within the span of his arms.

And it wasn't how either of them had expected to come together, but the simple truth was that they had come together and that it was just as simple as telling the other how they had felt. But now they were together, and in each other's arms, and that's all that they, and those who had conspired to get them together, really cared about right now.

THE END

Somehow, I don't feel like it's as good as I would have liked, but I'm satisfied. I should have had this out MUCH earlier, and I'm sorry about the delay! I've been playing around with my original stories again and I've also run into another slight snag on my NaLu stories, which always puts me in a brief slump. I know that's not really an excuse and I'm really sorry for the long wait for the last chapter. On the upside, the story is right around 5000 words without the Author's Notes, so I hope you liked it!

Thanks to everyone who stuck with me until this, then end!

And mistletoe is cliche, yes, but is mistletoe cake cliche? HA.