If anyone ever asked Cana how her relationship started, or even how she could stay in a relationship when she was always passed out drunk somewhere, she'd just smirk and tell the person to ask Bacchus whilst ordering another barrel of liquor.
On the other hand, if someone would be brave enough to ask Bacchus how the two of them 'got together,' he'd give the specific person a smirk. "I beat her in a drinking contest and I stole her bra," he'd laugh before ordering another beer, grinning at the embarrassed girlfriend nearby.
Eventually, that was how the story passed around Magnolia, or even among the guilds. The drunken falcon and the girl who never stopped drinking; it was no surprise to their respective guilds.
That was until Gildarts returned home.
The bells had started ringing and the city split once more to welcome Fairy Tail's greatest. It had been months since their hero had returned, and it was a surprise that the news had not spread too far yet.
"How was your journey?"
"Any new monsters? See any dragons? Powerful wizards?"
"GILDARTS! FIGHT ME!"
Everyone laughed as the Gildarts grabbed Natsu and threw him onto a table. With an eyebrow raised, he scanned the guildhall.
"So how did your mission go, Gildarts?" Makarov asked with a grin.
"It was simple enough. Had a few injuries though, but nothing special. How's the guild?" the man asked again, looking around once more.
"Everything's been going smoothly; the young'uns are prepping up for the S-Class exams again, nothing much has happened while you're gone, lucky for us," Makarov grinned with a glint in his eye.
"Where's Cana?" he mused. "She's rarely out of the guild when I'm back,"
A collective silence filled the hall.
"What happened?" Gildarts asked, a sharp edge in his voice. "Is she hurt? Did someone hurt my daughter?" his voice grew louder. Mira turned to look at him, eyes wide. It seemed as if everyone else was avoiding the spectacle.
"Well, you see," Makarov's voice was soft. "She's out at the moment."
"Where is she?" There was a pause.
"You need to understand something, first," the master warned, "a lot of things happened in the three months. Remember the tournament? Well, she met someone there,"
"What do you mean?" Gildarts asked dangerously.
"Well, someone told me that if you asked anyone in the town, or anyone from the alliance of guilds about it, they'd say that it was a drinking contest that ended up with a topless girl and a drunk falcon,"
"Tell me what's going on," he seethed.
"Well, she's out on a date,"
In all honesty, when Bacchus had first flirted with her, he had never expected that girl to be Gildarts Clive's daughter. If he had known, he wouldn't have gone ahead and stole her bra.
Then again, he wasn't really right in the head either. No decent guy, regardless or a stupid bet would've done it.
"Shit, do you think he knows?" he grumbled. It would just mean trouble if he found out, especially since he was almost a celebrity among mages. After all, he did survive a hundred year quest, he had been from the most powerful guild, and the fact that he fought Acnologia and survived guaranteed a sort of awe in just the mention of his name.
She rolled her eyes. "Dude, you mention your little stunt every time someone asks you about how we're together, and you do it so arrogantly that I doubt it'll pass over him," she smirked, taking another swig from her whiskey.
"Shit," he groaned. "Why didn't you mention he was your father?" he grumbled, slamming the beer on the counter. "I mean, I might be S-Class, but I'm no where near his level. What was I thinking?"
"You couldn't even take down Elfman, and he wasn't an S-Class. Think about that," she slurred with a laugh. "Good luck in meeting pops, he's sure to love you."
"You're a real bitch you know that," he smirked, his head in his hands.
"You're an asshole for telling everyone that in the first place," she retorted, downing her drink. "You really owe me one for that," she complained.
"Yeah whatever," he replied dismissively. "Anyways, when's your pops coming back? Did he write you or something?"
"Two weeks ago… something about coming back before the beginning of May or something," she murmured, popping the cap off another bottle.
"You're not serious," he groaned. That was it. He was completely screwed over. "If you told me earlier, I would've just gone back to my guild," he hissed, slamming his bottle on the counter. "Fuck this,"
"What?" she asked in confusion, a dazed expression clear on her face. He sighed; she was completely oblivious to anything outside of their drinking, the excitement of the guild, or their contests to beat each other in anything.
"It's the last day of April, dimwit,"
He couldn't ever remember being this nervous to meet someone. Hell, he couldn't remember being nervous before. Ever. So why was he standing here, dressed in something other than a pair of pants and his armored sleeves?
"Don't worry, you'll be fine, I think. He should've arrived by now at least,' she smiled encouragingly, 'and you're with my guild members, so he won't do anything stupid," her grin turned into a frown. "At least I don't think he will,"
"You must be a great counselor, and a lot of fun at parties," he grumbled, crossing his arms. "Why do I have to do this?"
"Because if you want to be my boyfriend, you should meet my pops before he stops by your guild on one of his 'missions' and pummels the shit out of you. Just get this over with, it won't hurt as much as you think it will," she smirked. Pushing the door open, she turned to him again, with that stupid devious smile of hers. "And by the way, they love me at parties," she winked.
"SO YOU'RE THE PERVERT WHO STRIPPED MY DARLING CANA?"
Oh shit. Bacchus mentally slapped himself. It was a terrible idea. Everything was a terrible idea. He should've never gone challenging the girl to a drinking contest of all things. He should've never taken her clothes. He should've never boasted about it like an arrogant toad, and most of all, he should've never fallen for her the way she fell off the stool after that fateful encounter.
"Dad, this is Bacchus, my boyfriend," Cana said cheerfully, leaving an edge in her voice as she moved towards the nearest table. Bacchus groaned internally. This was it, his death sentence.
The fact that Gildarts didn't immediately pummel him came as a huge surprise. Was it just his own wishful thinking or did the older man just give him a warning look before hugging Cana with a love-struck gaze?
"It's nice to meet you, sir," Bacchus stuttered awkwardly, completely unsure of what to say. Stupid! He had never felt so strange and out of it before. Even a couple of beers didn't help loosen him up.
"So what did you do to Cana again?" Gildarts grumbled threateningly, letting go of his daughter.
"Well you see, we had a drinking contest," Bacchus chuckled with a grimace. "She lost,"
Gildarts' eyes widened. "Wait, you're saying that Cana, my Cana, lost a drinking contest? You're joking," he replied disbelievingly.
Bacchus immediately shook his head. "I'm not, why would I lie about that? You can ask all of them," he motioned to the boys sitting in the table near them.
"He also stole my bra, papa!" she called out. He could see Cana laughing a few feet away at their usual table. He groaned, reminding himself to take away her vodka collection later.
Gildarts gaze sharpened, and he clenched his fists. "Alright, I don't know what you're thinking or planning to do with my baby Cana-"
"I don't have an ulterior motive if that's what you're wondering," Bacchus interrupted with a bored glance at the older man.
"That's good to hear, because if you hurt one hair on h-"
Bacchus smirked. "I won't dare to hurt her, don't worry old man. I'll try not to hurt her when I'm conscious all right? Don't need to get your boxers in a twist," he grinned awkwardly, his fear quickly dissipating.
"You know what's coming for you if things end badly, right?" the older man growled.
"Yes sir, I'll do what I can to protect her or whatever, all right?" Bacchus cocked his head to the side, looking at her father with raised eyebrows. Gildarts would have every right to hurt him if he ever gave her up or made her cry, because he'd be an idiot to hurt such an amazing person, he thought.
The red-haired man gave him one last dangerous glare before heading over to the counter to get his drink. Cana quickly took his seat, a glimmer in her eyes.
"It wasn't so bad, see? You know, if you get to know him and you know, get on his good side, he's just a big teddy bear kid thing," she laughed.
He gave her a meaningful look. "You know, if you weren't my girlfriend, I'd kill you right now," he grumbled, taking a swig from the bottle.
She laughed, taking the bottle away from him. "I hope you don't mind facing the old man when you do that," she slurred with a grin on her face.
"Bitch," he murmured affectionately. If that was the worst that could happen, he could handle it. After all, he did beat her in drinking of all things in the first place. He took the bottle away from her and stood up. "Let's get out of papa's eyesight before he changes his mind about killing me," he smirked.
"Come on then, stupid asshole," she laughed, stumbling up and flinging an arm across his shoulder.
"Let's go," with a stupid grin on his face, Bacchus headed out of the guild, a slightly tipsy Cana at his side.
If anyone ever asked Bacchus how the 'potential father-in-law' meeting went, he'd grin and tell the specific person to ask Cana, before ordering another vodka.
On the other hand, if anyone ever asked Cana how the 'potential husband and father' meeting went, she'd have a knowing smile on her face. "Oh Gildarts found out his stupid bragging and threatened to kill him. He was scared to death and almost wet his pants, nothing much to add about that," she'd laugh, before shooting a glance at the blushing boyfriend nearby.