One-shot Number: #1
Title: Warm Hands
Author: That Dastard Cerberus
Characters: Hibiki Lates, Cana Alberona
Rating: K+
Setting: sometime after the seven year gap
Prompt/Wish: handing hands; Hibiki/Cana, HibiCana, HibikixCana, HibikiCana
Summary: His hands were warm and soft in hers.
Word Count: 1,163
Genre: Romance, Fluffy

His hand was warm and soft. His touches were gentle, only squeezing a bit to let her know he was still there. Honestly, it was strange, especially with how quiet he could get, since she was so used to loud noises.

But she wasn't complaining. She enjoyed his presence, a change from the normal crowd she happened to hang with. Allowing a moment to rest was good for the body, as they say.

Like right now, as they walked down the street, his warm, tender hand holding onto her colder, rougher ones. There was only silence between the two, the only noise around them being the noise of freshly fallen snow crunching under their shoes as they walked on.

He gave a light squeeze, and she responded in kind. Honestly, she liked how he didn't speak much whenever they were together; he communicated everything with his eyes, his body, and, more literally, his mind. Neither really needed their tongues to talk, to chatter away precious time they could be spending just relishing in each other's presence.

Another thing that was different from most relationships was how soft his hands were. She was the woman in the relationship, yet he had softer hands. Call her shallow, but normally, she would at least expect the guy to have as rough, if not rougher, hands than hers.

Then again, his line of work didn't involve the same kind of physical labor seen often at Fairy Tail. That's not to say he wasn't a powerful wizard in his own right, but his abilities were primary supportive and defensive, not to mention hands-off. He was Hibiki Lates, one of the Trimens, and as of the year 791, the top wizard every girl wanted to have as a boyfriend. Cana sighed, her warm breath condensing in the air as a white mist.

"Something the matter?"

Cana turned to look at her boyfriend, his dark eyes inquiring, head tilted slightly. With such an expression, any other girl would have fainted in a heap of hormones. But then again, Cana wasn't just any other girl.

"Just thinking is all," she replied breezily, careful in keeping her tone light. One problem she found with having a telepath as a boyfriend was that if he found out she didn't want to speak in public, he would simply make a connection through their minds to talk privately.

Hibiki didn't buy the tone, unfortunately. The next thing Cana realized, her mind was buzzing with the sensation of a telepathic connection, with Hibiki mentally asking, "What's really going on?"

Cana resisted the urge to sigh aloud. Her lips frowning slightly, she replied back, "I was just thinking, okay? It's nothing big."

Of course, her thoughts might not have been big to begin with, they had begun to delve into the darker side, into things she didn't want to consider.

Like how so many girls constantly took it upon themselves to flirt with Hibiki, even when he and Cana were on a date. Cana wasn't the jealous type, but seriously! Those girls needed to give them some space to enjoy simple activities.

On the subject of girls, Cana knew how crazy fangirls could get. After all, after Loke had "quit" the guild, all his former girlfriends had come running in, like a frenzy. It didn't surprise her when she found out Hibiki had his own "fanclub," yet she did find some of the more wild girls' behavior disturbing, to say the least. She was just grateful none of them had tried stalking her yet.

Hibiki suddenly stopped, causing Cana to jerk a bit against his hold on her hand. She felt his grip tighten lightly; he never squeezed too hard, something that sometimes annoyed her due to the fact that she didn't like being viewed as a child.

"Cana." His voice was low, soft, and hesitant. Turning her body to face him, Cana stepped towards him, releasing his hand in the process. She raised a hand to his shoulder, brushing off some snow that had nestled there. All the while she did this, she wore an easy-going smile, trying her best to not meet him in the eyes. "If it keeps snowing like this, I might need to dig you out of a snow heap."

Suddenly, his hand came up and grasped hers, stopping her. She looked up, surprised. His dark eyes were burrowing into her violet ones, searching.

"Cana," he repeated, his voice gaining strength in terms of firmness, "tell me what's wrong."

She had just began to diverge her eyes away from his before he demanded, "Look at me."

Reluctantly, Cana turned to look directly into his eyes. Using his other hand, Hibiki cupped her cheek, holding her in place. Finally, Cana broke the stare, looking down with a sigh. "I'm sorry; it's petty and I shouldn't even be thinking about it—"

"But you are?"

Biting her lower lip, Cana hesitantly continued, "I—I sometimes don't… I don't like it when…" Her voice, however, kept failing her. Frustration slowly bubbled under the surface, annoyed at her own inability to own up.

Dammit, why can't she just tell him?!

An idea appeared, an irrational one at that, but at that moment, she didn't care. Her other hand already released from Hibiki's grasp, she reached out to his face, cupping it and bringing him down into an intense kiss.

Hibiki at first didn't react, his handsome features stricken with shock at her strange behavior. "Cana—" was all he could manage to say before she kissed him, and when she finally pulled away, she beat him to the punch of explaining herself.

"I don't want to share you, okay?" she whispered softly, her face still close to his. He could smell a hint of booze on her breath, yet that didn't explain away the redness on her face.

Smiling sweetly, Hibiki touched his forehead to hers, his lips just an inch from her mouth. "Who said anything about sharing me?" he chuckled before kissing her gingerly. Cana sighed against his lips, yet still, the hint of worry was there, and it probably would always be there.

Yet somehow, she got the feeling, if there was ever a reason to worry, it would never be about Hibiki himself. As testament to his words, his warm hands took hers, lighting a fire inside her belly that sent her into a flurry of giggles. Eventually, the single kiss turned into a swarm of butterfly light pecks, causing her to giggle louder and harder. When it felt like she couldn't take it anymore, he held her close, her head resting on his shoulder, his arms secure around her waist.

"I'm never letting go, okay?" he stated, giving her body a light squeeze. Cana nodded, smiling against his shoulder.

"Me neither, Hibiki."