A/N: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima, the OC's belong to me. BTW, make sure to give ZeloraNDZ a follow for me! This amazingly talented author helped me create this piece for you guys! The fancast for this series is on my profile page if your interested!
The day was gloomy.
It was the time where the sun was supposed to be shining, but instead, the day was dark. The sky was no more than a wide curtain covering the world, not letting a single strand of light to shine. Covered in dark grey clouds, rain fell. Laxus could hear the world crying. Water droplets joined the earth, each one heavy. There was no lightning that roared throughout the skies above. The lightning dragon slayer was too tired to create and hear one.
The day was gloomy.
It suited his emotions well.
"Hey."
A step, then another. She could feel his presence right behind her. She could feel his sadness radiating, his guilt, his regret. She could feel it all. He was, after all, someone who only she could understand.
She wanted to turn around, give him a big hug and a loving kiss. Then, they would smile. Then, they would laugh. But she wouldn't. It was a day to mourn, not smile. It was a day to cry, not laugh. She did cry already, all day.
"Laxus." Cana turned her head, the same time Laxus curled his arms around her waist. He kissed her cheek. The tears were still there, tainting her perfect cheeks, her face. Laxus wanted to wipe them all away, but all he could do was stare into those beautiful purple orbs of hers. Cana herself was hurting. Cana herself was pained.
"It's time Cana." He said softly, pressing his face to Cana's smooth brown hair, his palm stroked the swollen skin of her 9 month pregnant belly. It was comforting, it was calming him. He loved her.
"I know." Cana was trembling and the tears came flowing back down. Sadness engulfed them both.
The tears weren't for someone that was ordinary, it was for someone special, someone loved, someone honored and respected. It was for someone who cared about people, who believed in all the good in the world.
It was for their late guild master.
The third and sixth guild master of the commonly boisterous and powerful Fairy Tail guild.
It was for Master Makarov.
"We gather here today, to mourn the death of Makarov Dreyar. A loved and cared for master, father, and grandfather. An honorable man who saw greatness and good in every one of us. A man who believed in forgiveness and second chances."
He blocked all of it out, every syllable, every sound. Laxus didn't want to hear another word. Every time he heard a cry, or a speech, he would block it out. He would block it all out, including his feelings.
It wasn't because he disliked or hated his grandfather. It was because he was his grandfather that Laxus wanted to close his ears. He loved him. He cared for him. He was his father, more of an actual father than Ivan Dreyar, his biological deadbeat dad. Makarov took him under his wing, gave him a home and a family.
No matter what Laxus did or how defiant and stubborn he was, his grandfather was always there. Even though Makarov banished him from Fairy Tail after he tried to take over the guild, the old geezer still held him in a small fragment of his heart when he expected him to be cold and unforgiving.
The words and the cries, they all clenched his heart in an iron grip. It constantly reminded him that his grandfather wasn't coming back, that his grandfather would forever be gone. It told him that his grandfather will from now on be nothing more than a distant memory of the past.
The realization tore him up from the inside, it hurt like hell.
"Everyone..."
It was the infamous Erza Scarlet. She was next in sharing her sorrowful words with the rest of the guild, to bring forth another sad yet empowering speech. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying her eyes out. The mighty Titania was also hurting, the Queen of Fairies was also deeply impacted by this great loss.
Her speech had ended with a positive quote, which left Laxus with an aching heart.
"Laxus?"
He glanced sideways at Lucy, then towards his wife. Cana was sitting on a bench, her hand atop her swollen stomach, her back leaned against the table as she sniffled quietly. He realized it was his turn to talk in front of everyone.
So he took a step forward, then another, then another and he repeated the agonizing process with a heavy heart. He was in front of everyone.
It was his turn.
His turn to say goodbye.
"Makarov Dreyar, my beloved grandfather, was a wonderful master. He was always helpful, always caring." The words left his lips emptily. His gruff fingers tighten around the paper in his grasp. What was he saying? What are these meaningless words?
"He was...is respected and will always be. We all cared about him. We all loved him."
The world was suffocating. He strained to speak the words out. He struggled not to let his voice waver. This was his goodbye. The words on the paper were his goodbye and yet, why did he feel so much pain? As if the words were never meant to be said.
"We mourn for him today."
Such formality.
"We lost him recently."
This was not him.
"We-"
He stopped. This was wrong. Everything about this was wrong. He felt confused and lost, so he surveyed the crowd, looking for the person that could make this right. His eyes met her dark purple's on the bench and she looked towards him in understanding. As if she was inside his brain all this time, hearing his thoughts, feeling his emotions.
He stared at her worriedly. Cana nodded, sure and steady.
The people that were surrounding him were starting to murmur, confused as to why he had stopped.
He stared at her for a long while and after being reassured, he finally broke eye contact. He felt confident then. As he straightened his head, his eyes hardened. Cana's face was still in his head, comforting him.
The paper was crumbled in a second and with intense force, he threw it aside.
"Makarov Dreyar was my grandfather. My father! He was not only cared and loved, he was someone I would sacrifice anything for!"
His voice boomed, along with the lightning outside. This time, it felt right. It felt meaningful. This was him and nobody else.
"Gramps was a respectful guild master yes, but he's more than that. He was so much more that I can't even put it into words. We all knew him, we have all seen his kindness, his love."
He breathed with rage and sadness.
"I used to think of the old man as a fool. His kindness...his forgiveness...his willingness to believe in the good in people. I saw it as a sign of weakness. Me and him, we had our disagreements. I couldn't hate Gramps no matter how I tried, instead my respect for him grew as time passed."
His voice softened and he met Cana's eyes again.
"And my respect for him will always grow. Even if he's no longer here, I will love him, I will respect him."
Her eyes were loving. She wore a smile.
"I advise everyone to do the same to remember him for he he truly was. He may be gone but he will always remain here."
He jabbed his chest, above his heart.
"In our hearts!"
This was what he wanted to say and it satisfied him. It did not cover the sadness inside his heart but he knew he had said what he had wanted to say. This was his message. This was his goodbye.
He meant all of it. He felt all of it.
"And I'll do my damnedest to be one of the best Guild Master's this generation has ever seen. For Master!"
With his right hand, Laxus lifts it up in the air, it resembles the sign that Laxus gave his grandfather at the Fantasia Parade. The guild members held up their hands like Laxus, the sign was reciprocated.
"FOR MASTER!" The whole guild erupted in boisterous cheers. He looks towards Cana's seated form near the bar.
In that moment, he could also see Makarov, sitting beside Cana, smiling at him with proud eyes.
Even if it was his imagination, he smiled back, not realizing the tears welled up in his eyes.
Makarov made the sign as well with his right hand, he then closed his eyes and vanished from Laxus' view.
