Four Gifts
Summary: A relationship in four gifts, or four times Laxus made Cana happy. Laxus/Cana Laxana Request fic for Mrs. HopeEstheim.
Disclaimer: Don't own anything; I'm really just playing in someone else's sandbox for a little while.
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Not many people in Fairy Tail know that Laxus and Cana have a very subtle relationship with each other. They point out that Cana cares what Macao thinks; that she stopped drinking so much when he asked her to, that she doubled her drinking when Macao got himself a girlfriend, that obviously she must have feelings for him. And she does. Macao is one of her best friends; of course she cares about him. But, if anyone asked Cana, she'd be pointing to a very different man. But no one ever asks and besides, she's not entirely sure she'd tell them even if they did. Laxus is a difficult man after all, and they never wanted a great deal of attention drawn to their relationship. They're taking it slowly after all. They always have.
Laxus, himself, knows that most people think that he and Cana have little to nothing to do with each other. This is a bit stupid of them, really. They grew up together in the guild, after all. He knows that others think that the only woman he would deign to give his attentions to would be Evergreen. She's one of his chosen, they say, one of his Raijinshuu, of course Laxus would pick Evergreen, he wouldn't so much as tolerate anyone else. Truthfully, Laxus has his suspicions about what Evergreen feels about Elfman. Besides, there is one woman he truly cares deeply for, one that he secretly kind of loves. But he won't, he can't, tell Cana that. But he has always been able to show her he cares by giving her gifts that make her happy.
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The first gift Laxus gives Cana wasn't really intended as a gift. He'd just wanted to cheer the slightly younger girl up when he'd seen her sitting by herself, lonely in the midst of the chaos of Fairy Tail, and staring into the bottom of an empty glass looking depressed after one of Gildarts rare visits. So he decided to buy her a drink. An alcoholic drink. Realising that as she had just turned thirteen she wouldn't be used to the taste of alcohol, he had gotten her a cocktail. After presenting the depressed girl with her drink, Laxus quickly glanced around to make sure no one was really watching before giving Cana a quick hug around the shoulders and sitting next to her. He spent a good part of the afternoon sitting and talking with Cana. The next day, she shyly gave him a quick hug and an even quicker kiss on the cheek. He spent the next hour hiding in a corner, blushing furiously. Of course, at the time, Laxus had no idea that this one act of kindness would be the start of Cana's lifelong love and near obsession with alcohol in all its various forms. For a depressed Cana who had yet again been unable to tell her father that she was his daughter, Laxus' unexpected kindness had been something she had unknowingly desperately needed. The sweet alcoholic cocktail became the symbol of happiness to the young Cana and as she tried more and more alcoholic drinks, this was only reinforced in her mind. To Cana, alcohol equalled happiness. Cana loves alcohol and she loves Laxus for introducing her to it. This is the moment that starts the relationship between the two young mages.
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The second gift Laxus gives Cana is her feathered bag. Ever since he bought Cana her first drink, he had occasionally sat and chatted with her in the guild or walked with her to various places, once or twice joining her on job requests. As such, he had noticed that the little bag she carried was beginning to get worn, looking closer and closer to falling apart each day. One day when he is on a mission in a far off mountain town, famous for its colourful wildlife whose hides are worth a small fortune, he sees an over the shoulder bag covered in long, beautiful feathers in a shop. Feathers from one of the most famous and sought after birds in the area. He immediately thinks of Cana. Once he finishes the job and has been paid, he goes straight to that shop and buys that bag for Cana. Although it costs him almost all the money he has just earned, when he gets back home and draws Cana aside to somewhere private and gives her it, her reaction makes it all worth it in his mind when she squeals and throws her arms around him in utter joy before kissing him soundly on the lips. Since he gave her it, it has never left her side. As a teenage girl, Cana knows enough about fashion to know what Laxus has just given her. As she hugs him she spontaneously decides to kiss him and afterwards can't help but wonder if this is what it's like to have a boyfriend, as she falls a little bit more in love with the handsome blonde. She can't help but think that she would quite like to have Laxus as a boyfriend. This is the gift that shifts the relationship in a new direction, though neither mage is quite aware of it yet.
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Cana's third gift from Laxus is on her sixteenth birthday. Fairy Tail naturally throws her one of their famous parties and all her Nakama give her various gifts, all of which she loves and appreciates, especially the alcohol. But her favourite gift is given to her later on that night, on the roof of the guild hall, with the sound of the party inside in full swing echoing up through the roof. Freed tells her that Laxus wants to talk to her and when she gets to the roof he is waiting for her. The light of the moon highlights his strong features and she cannot help but admire him as she goes to join him. Unusually, the blonde mage looks almost nervous as he greets her, before he gives her a wrapped present. When she opens it to find some simple, but elegant bracelets and a pair of metal bracelets engraved with a pattern made of many A's, she is so happy with her gift that she once again hugs him from sheer joy before stepping back and putting her new jewellery on, the two metal bracelets going around her biceps and the others around her wrists. Once she has finished putting them on she goes to thank Laxus again, but stops as she notices an odd look on his face. Slowly, he moves forward and with one hand gently cups her cheek, and wrapping the other arm around her waist, he draws her closer and kisses her. This moment is the happiest either of them has ever been. Eventually, they both go back down to re-join the party, both unconsciously deciding not to actively tell their guild mates about this new fledgling relationship.
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The fourth gift comes after a lot has happened, between them and to the guild itself. After the Phantom Lord attack on Fairy Tail, after Laxus' attempt to take over the guild and his banishment, after Edolas, after the S-class Exams and after Mavis saves them from Acnologia's destruction of Tenrou Island and Gildarts allowing Laxus back into the guild. By unspoken agreement, they meet privately away from the guild during a quiet moment. Although there are many things between them now, they are both glad to see each other once more. To Cana's surprise, Laxus gives her a small box, wrapped simply with a ribbon. Opening it, she finds three bracelets similar to the ones she had been given for her sixteenth birthday. Laxus simply offers her a small smile and apologises. As they catch up with what has been happening since Laxus' banishment, their relationship slowly begins to repair itself, growing stronger. As they return to their guild mates to begin to get ready to join the Grand Magic Games, they both know that their relationship is now on its way back to how it once was. As they have always done, they are taking it one day at a time.