If it was love at first sight for Laxus, then it was much more so for Makarov, the first time he got to hold his great-granddaughter.
He honestly never expected to have a grandchild, the first time, with Laxus. Ivan wasn't exactly the kind of guy to attract many...companions. With Laxus, rather, he found himself more shocked that not only did he not return from jobs having fathered children, but he also only ever had one child. And with a wife, at that. That he was very much so in love with.
Those facts alone made Makarov love his new granddaughter even more.
He was rather in up age, by the time she was born, and wasn't really able to babysit her much. Most of his days were spent sitting up at the bar, trying hard not to fall asleep while keeping up the appearance of a capable master. Caring for a baby would have been too taxing on him.
Mirajane did, however, bring her over frequently. Typically when Laxus was gone, off on a job, and she seemed lonely. It was hard to imagine her as lonely, really, considering she constantly had her siblings and the Thunder Legion hanging around (Laxus and Mirajane marrying was more or less like the joining of two houses) as well as visitors from the guild, but she seemed to fill the void of her husband with the man's grandfather.
And Makarov never made complaints. He'd loved Mirajane far before she became his granddaughter-in-law and even more so then. Adding on the woman and Laxus' daughter, Lana, was just heaven. Even when all she did was sleep, cry, and poop, Lana was perfection to him.
Add to that the way that Laxus, big tough gruff Laxus, was at the complete and utter mercy to the little girl and, well, Makarov probably knew no one he loved more than Lana.
It was so great for the old man, watching his grandson so enraptured with someone. It was much the same when the man first got involved with the eldest Strauss. At first, Makarov was rather apprehensive over this, given how dearly he cared for Mirajane (she was his second in command; the only thing worse, possibly, could have been Laxus moving in on Erza...although the hilarity in that might have just made it worth it), but that all changed when the man took note of how...different his grandson was around Mirajane.
She had him more than eating out of the palm of her hand. She had him downright licking the ground behind her. He was more respectable, around her, would actually speak instead of just moping off in a corner, for once seemed to have a constant, steady date (her, of course) and, for the first time in his life, Makarov thought that he might actually see his grandson get married.
Not that it wasn't still shocking, when Laxus showed him the ring and announced his plan to ask the eldest Strauss for her hand. Though Makarov thought the day might come, he figured it'd be a more tortuous decision for Laxus. That Mirajane, who he was still very much so enthralled with, would eventually wear him down with her requests of marriage and, perhaps, even force him into an ultimatum over it; wedding or bust.
Rather, Laxus seemed to be really excited over the whole thing. Not even in a nervous way. He told Makarov whenever the man questioned the act (and the Thunder Legion, when they were harping on him over it) that he felt as if it was just the right thing. The right step. There was no one else. There never had been.
It just took him a bit to realize that.
And if Mirajane had been placed on a pedestal to the man, then their child was dangling above it. Because, damn, Makarov thought that he loved Ivan, when he was a child. And he knew that he loved Laxus. But the feelings that Laxus seemed to have for his daughter far exceeded that.
It could have gone one of two ways, Mirajane told Makarov once. From the childhood that Laxus had been given, he was either going to reject being a father or go at it wholeheartedly, to make sure that his own child never went through the same abandonment he did. They were just lucky, she figured.
Laxus couldn't explain it though, himself. And would pretend as if the others were crazy, if they made a joke about it or brought it up. There was just something in him, that first time he'd held Lana, that made him just…
Makarov felt the same way, actually, about Laxus. He'd screwed up Ivan. He hadn't given him the proper care or attention and, due to that, Ivan felt absolutely no connection to Laxus. He ruined Laxus.
But Makarov was determined not to repeat his mistake with his grandchild. He tried and tried, even after Laxus grew up, to love the boy. He did love the boy. He'd never felt any stronger love, not even over his guildhall or the children he came to care for there, as he did over Laxus.
His grandson just happened to skip a step. Laxus didn't wait around to screw up his kid and then love his grandchild. Oh, no. Never. He wanted Lana to feel loved and happy and never let a single thing bother her ever.
As much as he loved when Mirajane would bring Lana over for a visit at his home, Makarov loved it even more when Laxus would do so.
Only after Mirajane insisted, of course, as the man frequently tried to avoid his grandfather those days (they were on far better terms, the two Dreyar men were, but lack of constant contact probably furthered this along). Still, when Laxus came over with Lana in tow, Makarov would pull out all the stops.
Mirajane would spend her time over there cleaning and cooking for the man while he spent time with his great-granddaughter, but Laxus, when he was there, mostly like to just sit around as Makarov treated both Lana and he as any grandparent would, plying them full of cake and drinks and anything else they might desire.
That was one of the best times of his life, when Lana was first able to try solids, and he got to sneak her things that Mira deemed she wasn't ready for. Better still was when she was old enough to ask him for things. That was about the time when she was old enough that she didn't require constant attention, just plenty of supervision, and was able to come over to his house without her parents.
They even had sleepovers.
She was probably around two, going on three, about then. And liked to ask him for anything and everything. If they were in the market, she had to have multiple toys. Passing the ice cream shop? Then he might as well head in there because they were going one way or another. Donuts? Go nuts. Wanna go to the park even though it's raining? Makarov would literally just let her run around in his house, knocking into the things and bouncing off the walls.
More than once, in quite a clipped way, Mirajane tried to let her Master know that this wasn't really appreciated.
"I have a hard enough time," Mirajane told him more than once in her innocent tone of hers, though the man could tell she was a bit peeved to find out that her daughter had been fed cookies for dinner, "dealing with Laxus and how he spoils her. Please, Master, don't just let her run all over you."
And why not? Mira and Laxus had made it very clear that they weren't popping anymore kids out in the near future (or at least Laxus had) which meant that she'd be the last grandchild he'd ever have. Why shouldn't he give her everything she wanted?
"Well, for one, you're gonna make her fat, Gramps," Laxus told him once as the man dropped Lana off at the man's house. He was about to head out on a job and Mirajane was at work, which meant Lana had to go somewhere. And as all her aunts and uncles (the Thunder Legion and Strauss siblings) were busy, that left Makarov.
Who, for the record, had honestly planned on stopping by the hall that day for more than an hour. Honest. He just got so...tired...and Mira said he could go home and babysit so…
"I will not," Makarov complained as his three year old granddaughter was busy chasing around butterflies in the backyard garden. "Look. She burns everything I feed her right off."
Laxus was sticking around a bit for some reason (it would be a long job and he was gonna miss his hatchling, so he was pushing off leaving for as long as he could) and only stood over his grandfather, who was seated at his patio table out there, watching his daughter as well.
"Even I manage to tell her no sometimes," the slayer grumbled.
Which was true. He possessed that capability. Just didn't use it very often.
Lana would miss Laxus when he was gone on jobs. They spent a lot of his off time together. A lot. Nearly all of it, in fact. Her daddy dragon told her that there was no one else in the world that he'd rather hang around than her.
It would have made her feel special, did she know that not all fathers treated their little hatchlings the same way.
Still though, she did enjoy time with her aunts and uncles. Her gramps especially. If those sleepovers were great for him, then they were far better for her.
Gramps would make her dinner (and it had far less nasty, gross vegetables, like Mommy's did) and let her stay up super late (like, seven thirty late) before they both conked out to that dang movie lacrima he'd grumble about as he could never get it working on the first try, either in his big bed or the living room floor, where they'd lay down blankets and all her stuffed toys.
He took her to the park too, but only if she was being an extra good girl, because he couldn't move around as well as he used to, he'd tell her, and that meant he couldn't chase after her if she started acting up. Or, even better, he'd take her down the market. She had to be a super extra good girl then. He'd buy her toys and ice cream and just, ugh.
Gramps was the best.
She liked him for other things though, of course, than just the things he could buy her and the places he could take her.
No, she reserved that sort of like for her Aunt Ever and Uncle Elf.
Her grandfather, rather, now he was fun no matter what they were doing. Even if it was just a rainy day out and they were stuck inside, he'd have the best coloring books and little puzzles for them to put together (her to try and eat the pieces of). He didn't mind snuggling and he told stories that were kind of like Daddy's.
Not as good as Daddy's, of course, because no one could top those, but Gramps' were good too.
Over at his house, Gramps had some really cool toys too. They were the ones that she had to leave at her Gramps' house and not take home, so that she always had something over there to play with, so she was always excited to get to play with them. One of her favorite action figures, one of her daddy, was actually in her toy box at her Gramps' house.
"Love you," she'd tell him a lot, when she finally got that sentence down. She told it to everyone, but Makarov felt like she meant it more, when she spoke those words to him. "G'amps."
And she'd kiss his cheek a lot. A whole lot. Mainly through Mira's prompting, but whatever.
It felt like a long time, to Makarov, since he loved something in that way. He loved Fairy Tail and all his children there. He loved Mirajane and Laxus even more. But Lana….
There was no toughness when it came to her. No resistance. He didn't have to break down layers, as he had to do with many of his children up at the guild. He didn't have to worry about hurting anyone's feelings by caring for her, as he'd had to do when Laxus was a boy and Ivan was very jealous and critical of his father's involvement with his son.
Lana was loving and caring and Makarov was more than willing to be much the same back to her. He liked snuggling her up in his lap and reading books to her or when they'd color all day long because she loved coloring and, well, it was one of the easy things around to do, so of course her grandfather was down with it.
Hide-and-seek was fun, in his house full of trinkets and oddities. Tag was the best, out in his grandfather's garden. He even had a little part of the garden bed, where there were no plants, that he let her dig for bugs and rocks in.
They were kind of sort of best friends.
That's how come Lana was so sad when he got sick.
It wasn't like, at the age of nearly five, she didn't understand the concept behind death. Because she did. Sort of.
Mommy talked a lot about her parents. And how they were gone. Passed on.
Dead. That's what Laxus said his mother was. And sometimes he'd call his father dead to him and, even though he didn't mean it in that way, Lana took things very literally and assumed much the same about Ivan.
But when Makarov got sick, she never once thought that he was dying or anything of the like. Because the only dead people she knew of had been dead from the start (or at least her start). Mira's parents were long gone when she was born, as well Laxus' mother (and kind of Ivan too).
Never once did she consider that he was dying. Nope. She took her parents at face value.
He was very sick though, it seemed, as he hardly ever left his room. Lana was okay with that though, as she was pretty good at sitting up on the bed with him and keeping him entertained.
She liked to talk.
The daughter of Mirajane liked to talk.
Shocker.
Makarov was a very good listener.
He coughed a lot and Mommy was in the room with them a lot too, wiping the man down with cool clothes and feeding him soup. They argued some times, Mommy and Gramps did, but it was usually Gramps that started it. Mommy would be trying to give him those nasty pills that Gramps hated and he'd just snap at her. That was how it typically would go down.
Then Mommy would cry. She cried a lot, actually. Even when no one else was upset.
Daddy didn't cry though. Ever. And especially not around Lana.
He stayed home a bit more then, Laxus did. He took care of Gramps too. He'd sit with him, sometimes, at night. Lana would sleep in bed with Gramps, but Daddy would just sit there, in a chair by the bed, and mostly watch them, it seemed. Whenever Lana would wake up, he'd still be up, usually, sitting there. Sometimes his head was bowed and he'd be muttering under his breath, but she didn't know what he was doing. And when she'd giggle, to let him know that she was up, he'd only lift his head, smile at her, and put a finger to his lips, as if to let her know that they had to let Gramps sleep.
He did it a lot.
It was only when she was spending the night with her Aunt Lissy and Bickslow one night (Laxus was out on a job and therefore, not there to forbade this; they could babysit, he didn't care, but his baby was not to be staying over night with those morons; they might lose her or something, he feared), when she found out that the others thought that Gramps was gonna die.
Her birthday was coming up, the following week, and Lana was going to be five. This was monuments to her and she was boring the hell out of Bickslow with her talk of it. He was trying to get her to go to bed for the night, but she was just all wired up for some reason or other.
Then Lissy came into the room, having just finished being on the lacrima with Mirajane, and didn't seem to be thinking much as she immediately began to tell Bickslow all about how Makarov wasn't doing well and they thought that he'd probably pass, in the coming weeks.
"Gramps is gonna die?"
And that, right there, is the exact reason that Laxus always said that Bickslow and Lisanna should not, under any circumstance, be allowed to keep his daughter for extended periods of time.
Why no one else listened to him, he had no idea, but it was what it was.
Lana was inconsolable that night and had to be taken back to Mirajane who, as she had been for the past few weeks, if not months, was spending the night in Makarov's house. It was only seeing the man that calmed her down and, even though he didn't feel well (and looked even worse), Makarov had her come sit up on the bed with him.
"Why are you so sad, child?" he asked her as she snuggled up to his side, still whining, nearly drowning out the sounds of Mirajane berating her sister and Bickslow out in the hall. "Hmmm?"
"I don't want you to die," Lana sobbed, nuzzling up against him. "Gramps."
He smiled down at her. "Why not?"
That gave her some pause. Sniffling, she lifted her head to stare up at him. "Because it's bad."
"Dying is bad?" When she nodded, he asked, "How come?"
Face crumbling, Lana thought hard to come up with an answer, but finally just said, "Because it is."
"That's not an answer." Makarov shut his eyes then, leaning back against he pillows behind his back, letting out a slow breath. "I've been here for a very, very long time, Lana. How old are you going to be? Next week?"
"Five," she sniffled.
"Five. You know how long ago it was that I was five? How different the world was? Back then?" She said nothing, because she didn't really understand the question, but Makarov wasn't looking for am answer. Not really. "Many, many years ago. Too many years ago. I've watched all of my friends… And it's not always a good thing, you're right, but when you get as old as me…"
Shifting down into the bed too, Lana said, "You'll get better. Huh?"
"I will," he agreed. And he would. Just perhaps not in the way she wanted. "I'll feel much better. I'll be much better. Promise."
Gramps had lost a lot of weight, recently, and his arms were real bony, but it felt nice, when he wrapped an arm around her and, though she still wasn't wholly convinced he'd be there when she awoke (death was tricky, she was pretty sure), Lana was able to drift off.
She didn't want to do anything, the rest of that week before her birthday, other than sit at Gramps' side. She thought that if she watched over him, then there would be no way that death could come and get him.
When Daddy got back (which was always a joyous occasion for his daughter), he made her come with him, out on a special day.
"Gramps promises to be here when you get back," the slayer said as he lifted Lana out of the bed against her halfhearted will. "Won't you, old man?"
"Of course, Lana," Makarov said through a cough as she stared forlornly back at him once her father sat her on the ground (she was officially to old too be carried around; Laxus hated time). "You go with your father. Be a good girl."
Always.
And Laxus snatched up her hand as the two left the room, passing Mirajane on the way as she came in, bringing Makarov his lunch.
"Dragon, don't forget to feed her, okay?" she said as he pressed a kiss to her cheek and made Lana call out a goodbye. "Soon."
"What kind of Daddy Dragon would I be if I forgot?"
A not very good one, obviously.
Luckily for Lana, however, he happened to be the best Daddy Dragon around.
They ate burgers on a patio cafe and he even let her drink soda (Mommy hated for her to drink soda).
"Now, Lana, hatchling." Laxus stared across the table at her as she played with her fries. "Mommy told Daddy that you had a bit of a...problem, while I was away."
"Mmmm...I was good."
"Of course you were. You're always good."
In a certain sense of the word, sure.
"But that's not what I meant, baby." Laxus had grown a beard recently and, sometimes, when Lana looked at him, it just made her giggle. When she did it that time, he only frowned. "Lana, Daddy wants to be serious, okay? Just a little."
Nodding, she couldn't help her smile as she said, "Okay, Daddy."
"Mommy told me that you got upset about...Gramps."
Oh. That. Lana didn't wanna talk about that.
Slumping back into her seat, she nodded a bit, but said nothing.
"Well, you know as well as I do that there's no one that can explain stuff better to you than me."
Yes. Of course. He was the one that got her to realize why it was okay for her brothers (read pet dogs) Tenjin and Raijin to pee in the bushes, but not for her.
Dad was great at explaining.
The best.
After her nod, he began.
"See, Lana, life's...not forever. And it sucks, you know? Like how Mommy and Daddy always tell you about how our parents aren't with us anymore. You know?" When she pointed up, he nodded himself before saying, "Yeah. They live up there now. And watch over us. Because they...died. And, um, you know, that's what happens, to people. Because… Well, because we get old. And when you get old, things stop working and… Shit, baby, Daddy had this all planned out."
Lana, who was sucking on the straw of her drink, released it just to say, "That's a bad word, Daddy."
"I know. I just… Gramps is… He loves you, Lana." Laxus hadn't touched his food and didn't plan to. His stomach hurt. "A lot. More than anything."
"I know," she said, a smile breaking through then. "I love Gramps too."
"Yeah, I know." Swallowing air, Laxus forced himself to smile back at her. "That's why Daddy's doing this. Because you have to know, hatchling, that Gramps is very sick. Very, very sick. He-"
"He'll get better." She nodded. "He promised."
"Well, I know, but… Lana, sometimes really sad things happen. You remember when Uncle Elf got very lost on that job with your Aunt Ever and everyone was super worried about him and Daddy and Freed had to go find him?"
Nodding, she said, "He cried."
"Yeah, Elfman cries at a lot of things. But my point was that it was scary, huh? And sad? Because we couldn't find him?" Laxus' smile fell. "And you were upset, huh? But it all turned out okay, didn't it?"
"'cause we found Elf."
"Well, yeah, but… This was a bad example. Um… Dang, kid, you really have nothing bad that ever happens to you. You know that? How the hell are you ever going to be a mage without a tragic back story?" Laxus shook his head. "What I mean is… When Gramps does...pass away-"
"Not gonna."
"But he is, baby. And when he does, it's not gonna be a bad thing. That's what Daddy wants you to understand."
"It'll be," she asked slowly, as if unsure, "good?"
"Well...in a way, yeah. Gramps is old." Smiling at her truly then, her father said, "And he's seen and survived a lot. But now he's gotten so old that you're his only friend. And that's no good. You want him to be happy, don't you?" When she didn't answer (why the heck should she; he should be honored if she was his only friend), he only continued. "When he...passes away and leaves us, it doesn't mean that he wanted to go. That he wanted to leave you. It just means that he had to. And he…
"He did a lot for you, Lana. A lot. He raised you. He took good care of you. When no one else was there, he was there. Even when you were being mean to him or wouldn't do what he wanted, he was always there. Always. Sometimes, yeah, he could be an ass and he probably deserved it, on occasion, you being mad at him, but you didn't have to be so mean. To waste so much time. But… He didn't care. And now everything's finally perfect and he's gonna go away and… But he has to. He doesn't want to. And it's okay. Because you had so many years together. And he'll still be here. Just not...where you can see him. But he'll always be with me." Laxus looked away from her finally and, maybe it was just the light, but it looked like his eyes were glistening. "You. He'll always be with you. So don't feel so bad abut it anymore, okay?"
Just sitting there, staring, Lana wasn't sure what to make of what the man said. Only slowly asked, "Daddy?"
"What?" He still wouldn't look at her.
"You love Gramps too. Huh?"
"Yeah, baby." Swallowing more his swollen throat then than air, Laxus managed to get out, "A lot."
They went for a walk, after that, and Lana held Daddy's hand without prompting, because she was a big girl. And, as she found out, big girls got ice cream.
They brought home some to Mommy and Gramps, but neither seemed to really want it.
Mr. Salamander (that damn bastard, as Laxus called him) and his kitty that Lana loved so much, who had stopped by, did though. Mommy's friend Lucy was there too and scolded them for being rude, but Mommy had on that really weird grin she got when others were over and only waved them off.
After they were finished visiting with Gramps, Lana reclaimed her spot at his side while Mommy and Daddy spoke softly in the corner.
She heard her brothers (pets) names mentioned and, after a kiss to the cheek of his wife, Laxus waved to his daughter and grandfather, claiming he needed to go tend to the mutts.
Mommy seemed much sadder when they were all alone, but Gramps only slept and Lana sat there on the bed, coloring.
Gramps couldn't come to her birthday party the next day, but a lot of the gifts she got that day were bearing his name. Some of her friends from the neighborhood (the kids that Laxus deemed frequently unworthy and Lana, on more than one occasion, had sunken her teeth into; so what, she was a biter, get over it) came and she was able to forget, for a bit, about how sad all her family was.
Mommy made her this big cake that Raijin and Tenjin weren't allowed any of, because it was chocolate, but Daddy said it was for the best. Uncle Bickslow whispered in her ear that he'd sneak her doggies some of the hotdogs that were served instead, if she'd like.
Aunt Evergreen and Uncle Elf (though mostly Evergreen, the woman claimed) got her a bike that they both bickered over teaching her to ride, Freed got her a bunch of new books, Aunt Lissy got her some clothes and some toys to play with, while Mommy and Daddy said they were getting her room painted purple, as she requested (it was her new favorite color; of the week; the poor schmucks should have known she'd want it pink again in another) as well as this shiny pendant with some sort of design engraved on it. Daddy had picked it up on a job, he said, and he put it on this chain, so that she could wear it around her neck.
"It kind of looks like a dragon, sort of," he said as both he and her stared down at it. "but at the same time, I think it sorta looks like something...demonic. A demon. Just like you, hatchling."
She never planned on taking it off again.
Uncle Bickslow though, out of all her family, got her the best gift of all. It had been sitting in the corner of the backyard (which Daddy had set up with tables and chairs as well as decorated a bit), with a sheet over it, but when he went to pull it off, all of her friends were impressed.
It was a big doll house!
"Hand carved," he boasted as Freed and Evergreen gave him dirty looks (they'd all agreed not to outshine one another that year on gifts; although, Bickslow would argue, considering Freed brought books to the table, he wasn't really ever planning on playing the game to begin with), his dolls fluttering around as the evening started to befall them, the sun setting in the sky. The dolls were glowing green and all the little boys were mesmerized by them as all Lana's little girl friends were staring inviously at her new doll house. "See? All the little rooms? And I painted them. And I have a box, in the house, that has all these little figurines and objects that go in it. Like a minature bathtub and couch and stuff. For all your dollies to play in. Now tell me that I'm your favorite unc-"
"Bickslow," he heard, oh, all of his family grumble, Elfman and Freed most of all. He only grinned though, at Lana, who rushed to go hug him.
Lana was nearly certain, she'd had the best birthday ever.
Mommy, however, had a different take on it.
"We have got to have," she heard Mirajane mumble later as she rested in the woman's arms, after most everyone had cleared out and all that was left were her siblings and the Thunder Legion, who were helping them pick up, "the most spoiled daughter in the world."
"You say as you carry her around," Lana heard her daddy retort. "She is, what now, Mirajane?"
"Five." Lana felt her head get a kiss. "My baby's five."
"And she deserved to have the best fifth birthday in existence."
"If she didn't get it, I'd hate to see what monster did."
She slept in her own bed that night, Lana did, with her doggies snuggled up to her. All she wanted to do though was go over to Gramps', to tell him about her amazing party. So, when she woke up sometime in the morning, she jumped right out of bed to go get ready for the day and do just that.
Only it wasn't Mommy or Daddy at home with her.
It was one of Mommy's friends. Cana. And she wouldn't tell her where her parents were or why she was there, but did say that they could go to the park, if she wanted.
"I wanna go see Gramps," Lana explained as Cana got her ready. She liked Cana. A lot. She didn't babysit often (she wasn't sober often), but when she did, they had tons of fun.
Cana hummed a bit, when she said this, before saying, "Let's just eat. Huh, squirt? Then go to the park. Maybe we can bring one of your dogs-"
"Brothers."
"Of course."
She didn't stay with Cana the whole day. Eventually Aunt Lissy took over watching her, with Uncle Bickslow in tow, but both seemed down and upset about something. Bickslow played with her though, with her new doll house. He had his babies pretend to be some of her dolls and it was just great.
Eventually, Aunt Ever and Uncle Elf showed up. He was crying, but that wasn't too weird, and Aunt Ever and Aunt Lissy just shushed him as the man tried to pull himself together.
For a good while, the four of them were there for Lana to play with. Along with her brothers, of course. They were there too. They were always there.
Freed came home with Mommy. Lana had a lot to ask the woman, but Aunt Ever tried to tell her that maybe she shouldn't bother her mother at the moment.
Mira didn't want that though and, even though she looked very tired, she came and snatched Lana up from the living room floor where she'd been playing Go Fish with Aunt Lisanna and Uncle Bickslow (they were both big cheaters) and take her off upstairs, leaving Freed with the others.
"Where's Daddy?" Lana asked as Mirajane took her to the main bedroom, dropping her gently on the bed. "How come Cana was here? Did Daddy go on a job?"
"No, sweetie." Mirajane smoothed down Lana's silvery hair. It hadn't darkened much, since she was born, but in certain light, it looked just a tad blonde. Laxus liked to mention that to Mira all the time, as if it made a difference. "He didn't."
"Then where is he? He said we'd play with my toys today!"
Mirajane was standing in front of her, as Lana sat on the edge of the bed, and only stared down at her daughter with rather red eyes. When she didn't respond, Lana sat up real tall and reached up.
"What's wrong?" she asked, hand just gracing her mother's cheek. "Mommy?"
"Let's wait until Daddy gets home to talk about it."
Lana watched with big eyes as her mother moved around the room, first going over to the dresser to take off her earrings and other jewelry before going into the bathroom. It sounded like she was sniffling, just a bit, but Lana was sure she was imagining it.
Daddy came home about ten minutes later. She could hear him, down there, talking with the others, but she just sat on the bed, waiting for him to come up and see her and her mother. It didn't take very long.
"Hey, Lana," he greeted as he opened the door and came in. He too looked rather beat down. He immediately came over to the bed to hug her, Lana wrapping her arms around him just as tightly. "Mmmm. Hatchling."
"Where did you go?" she asked against his chest as she stood there, on the bed, and him standing before it. "Daddy?"
Laxus only looked towards the bathroom door, where he could hear his wife finishing up the shower she'd apparently grabbed. Sighing, he moved to let his daughter go before sitting down beside her on the bed. Patting his thigh, she quickly moved to take a seat there.
"Oh, hatchling." Laxus leaned down, nuzzling his head against hers. "You and Daddy have to talk about something."
"You left without playing," she accused, though it was softly, as even at (newly crowned) five, she could tell something was up. "Daddy."
"I know. Early this morning, while you were sleeping, Mommy came back home from Gramps' place."
Lana hadn't know she'd left, but it made sense. Mirajane always spent the night over there with the man. After the party and putting her daughter to bed, she probably went there.
"Why?"
"Mmmm," Laxus hummed. "Because she needed to come tell me that Gramps… He fell asleep last night, baby, and then he just…"
The bathroom door opening didn't make Laxus lift his head, but Lana did glance over there. Mira's hair was still a bit wet as she came closer.
Mirajane's eyes found Laxus', questioning silently. When he shook his head, she only moved to get down on her knees, in front of the two of them, so that she could stare at Lana too.
"Sweetie," she said, reaching out to take the five year old's cheeks in her hands. "Last night, Master...went on to go be with all of your other grandparents. He-"
"What?" Lana jerked her head out of her mother's hands as she turned it to stare up at her father. "Daddy, what-"
"Baby, Gramps… He's..." Laxus looked up too then, and away form her, as Mirajane reached out to gently stroke Lana's cheek. "Gramps died, hatchling. Last night. He went to sleep and it didn't hurt and he feels so much better now. Just like he told you. He-"
Lana started to try to wiggle out of his lap then, whining a bit, but not really saying anything. It was more confusing to her, than anything, and she didn't like what they were saying or how they were acting and she just wanted them to take her over to Gramps' house, so that she could see him.
That's all. The only thing she'd ever ask for again. She wanted to go see her Gramps. She had to.
It was so late that, when Lana was all tantrumed out, Laxus and Mirajane put her to bed in their bed, him going to get her some stuffed animals and her going to get her brothers so that they could all join her in it. Leaving her in the (un)capable hands of her stuffed dragon, baby dolls, and Tenjin and Raijin, Laxus and Mirajane headed downstairs.
The others were all still waiting for them, of course, in the living area. Evergreen and Elfman were taking up opposite ends of the couch, him sobbing, her looking stoic as ever, while Bickslow and Lisanna were on the loveseat, the former leaning against the latter as the latter toyed absently with her hair, though neither were talking, as they usually would, and both seemed rahter distant.
Freed seemed to have been pacing the entire time, back and forth, from one end of the room to the other. At the sight of Laxus and Mirajane, however, he came to an abrupt stop, right there in the middle.
It was Lisanna, of course, who managed to speak first.
"How's Lana?" she asked softly as Mirajane and Laxus stopped as well, at the bottom of the staircase, to stare at the others. Laxus had one arm around Mirajane's shoulders, but neither seemed to be deriving any comfort from one another in the tense moments.
"Sleeping," Mirajane whispered as, slowly, Laxus led his wife further into the room and over to the big recliner that belonged to him. He fell into it, but when he tried to pull her down, she resisted. "Laxus, I have to make tea and-"
"I can do that," Freed said rather quickly as Lisanna only shoved up from her spot resting against Bickslow.
"And I can make sandwiches," she said, getting to her feet, the seith quickly following.
Mira still didn't want to, but she did give into Laxus then as he tugged her to her rightful place in his lap. Elfman had lifted his head, when they entered, and stared for a moment at them over there before dropping his head back into his hands.
Just as he was taking in a haggard breath to begin sobbing, Laxus growled, "Get out. If you're going to do that, just get out. You-"
"Laxus," Mira whispered, but her brother was already getting to his feet and rushing off to the kitchen too.
Then there were three.
Evergreen stared over at the pair, for a moment, before looking off.
"Perhaps," she said, not looking towards them, "it would be best if the two of you went to bed. If you thought the hall was bad today, now the news has had a chance to...circulate. People from other guilds will be-"
"The guild will be closed to non-members tomorrow."
Both Laxus and Evergreen stared at Mirajane as she spoke, but she didn't look at either of them. Only sat there, leaning back against her husband, and staring straight ahead, at their cozy fireplace in the corner.
"We let people come and mourn today," she said simply. "And they will have a chance again, at the funeral and wake. Tomorrow we have business to attend to."
"What business? Mira?" Laxus asked, wrapping an arm around her stomach. "Demon?"
"Master… Master didn't officially leave a successor."
"Right," Evergreen said slowly, staring over at the two of them. "Because we all know that it's going to be...Laxus, right?"
"No one else wants it," the slayer agreed softly.
And that was true. Erza had been offered it, as well as Gildarts, and Macao, but none wished to fill the role.
Laxus, though not the appointed, was the next viable option.
Until Mirajane spoke, that is.
"Master and I talked a lot, these past few days," she said, eyes still fixed on the fireplace. "Especially last night, when I got there. I think he...knew."
That hung in the air for a moment before Laxus whispered, "What did he tell you though, Mira?"
"A lot."
"But about me being Master-"
"That… He didn't think it would be good for you." Mira swallowed too, after saying that as Evergreen, who, while miserable over the death of their Master, had lost much over the years, and found time to thank whatever ruled over them from above that she hadn't gone off to the kitchen with the others. So thankful. Continuing, Mira whispered, "That you wouldn't enjoy it. And-"
"He never said this to me," Laxus argued though his tone was still soft. "What-"
"Master thought that I should be the next Master." She raised her head too as Laxus' arms fell away from holding her. "And tomorrow, in front of the others, I'm going to accept."
Things felt still, for all of a minute. Then, with a deep growl, Laxus asked, "What the hell are you-"
"Tomorrow, Laxus."
"No. Now, Mira. You-"
"Tomorrow."
"Now."
"Laxus, tonight isn't the time or place for-"
"You're telling me that my damn grandfather-"
"We have guests."
"Fuck the guests!"
"Lana's upstairs, sleeping." Mira slipped out of his lap too as he only glared. Not glancing back at him, she headed to the kitchen. She was being cool to him, she had been since she came and got him, nearly 24 hours ago, to inform him that Makarov had passed on. "Go cool down. Come back when you've processed-"
"Why are you doing this to me? Huh?" Laxus forgot about Ever even being in the room then, as he stared after his wife. "The same day you tell me my grandfather's dead, you take my dream from me too? What are you-"
"It isn't your dream, Laxus. And you know it."
"Oh, and it's yours?"
That got her to stop, at the doorway, before saying over her shoulder, "I'm doing this, dragon. We can talk about it more later. When we're alone. I'm sorry. I love you."
Laxus always heard that bereavement came in waves. Even the first day. Those first couple of hours were rough, but after that, it was just a roller coaster of ups and downs.
And at the moment, the slayer was on a definite down.
"Fuck you then, Mira," he called out loudly, alerting then not only Ever of their fight, but the whole house. "My grandfather just died last night and you're doing this to me? What kind of wife are you? Huh?"
In the kitchen, the others were all just standing there, Lisanna and Bickslow at the table where they were prepping sandwiches, Elfman seated, mid-sob, and Freed over at the stove, making tea. Mirajane just stood there though, not looking at any of them.
"I can't… Fuck."
That was Laxus, as he got up, in the living room, and left. Ever called after him and Freed rushed in there, but he needed to be alone.
One day without their Master and, already, they were falling apart.
Laxus never came back home that night. The others spent it in his house, with Mirajane and Lana, so he really didn't have them to worry about.
Not that he wanted to at the moment. Worry about Mira, that is. Lana, he definitely was worried about, but also knew there was a good chance she'd just sleep the night away.
At sunrise, after walking around aimlessly for hours, he figured he'd better head over to the guildhall and find out just what Mira was planning.
Apparently, while they were at the hall the previous day, dealing with the aftermath of Makarov's death, Mira had gotten the word out there was going to be a meeting because the place was packed.
There were some tears going on and Laxus spotted where he was sure he was supposed to sit, up in front of the stage, where the Thunder Legion and Lisanna were, as well as some of what the others called 'Makarov's inner circle', such as Team Natsu and the like. Mirajane stood up on it, with Freed for some reason (he was kind of the surrogate Laxus, in a lot of ways; the two were actually rather close), clearly about to address the Fairy Tail members.
Instead of pushing his way through the nameless losers that he didn't know (Laxus was really bad about networking; he had a hard enough time remembering facts about that 'inner circle' everyone always griped about). It didn't help either that the guild had grown over the years. By a lot.
Far too big, for his taste. Not large enough for Makarov's.
Sigh.
Hanging near the back, Laxus found a wall to lean up against. No one noticed him, it seemed, other than freaking Gajeel who came in late (he looked dog tired) and happened to walk passed him.
"Shouldn't you be up there?" he grumbled, trying to sound tough, though the dark circles under his eyes showed he hadn't slept in a good while. "To, you know, talk to us or whatever?"
Right. That's what everyone thought was going on. They though that Laxus was about to be inaugurated.
Ha.
"Go find your stupid woman and cat, nut sucker," Laxus grunted. "I ain't in the mood."
"I's tryin' to give my condolences," the other slayer griped right back, though he was heading out to do just that. "But never mind."
Laxus' eyes fell, once more, at the stage, where Mirajane was, before over to the Thunder Legion and Lisanna again. It was then that he noticed, after a quick glance around, that Elfman wasn't anywhere to be found.
He must be the one babysitting Lana. Good. Laxus really didn't want to deal with that dolt while watching his childhood dream be snatched away from him.
Arms crossed over his chest, he was no less scowls when Mira, finally, started talking.
She began, of course, by silencing them all and asking for a chance to share with them a few things. Then she detailed when the Master's service would be held, what time, and things such as that. She also told people that, while, they were all grieving, she wished for them all to allow Laxus time to heal and not to bother him too much especially.
"How," came the voice of someone else over the sound of others, "can we do that? If he's going to be our Master?"
That got some grumbles of agreement as well as others, glancing around. Laxus kept his mouth shut though.
"That's why you're also here," Mira told them all loudly. "And please, I can answer questions after this all. It would all be best if you let me finish."
Laxus wanted to tell them all to shut the fuck up, that his woman was talking, and that if they didn't show her some respect, he'd bring the whole damn guild down on top of them.
But at the moment, he was too pissed at her to care.
"As you all know," Freed started speaking them, silencing them all because, apparently, he was filling in like usual. Bickslow and Elfman were Lana's cool uncles, but Freed was the strict one. He did Mira's bidding quite well (though at times it seemed that was more to please Laxus, than anything else, but Mira didn't care). Of course with Laxus off, pouting, he'd be her rock. Didn't make her feel any better about not having her dragon, but it was something. "Master Makarov did not make a formal request for another to become Master in the result of his...untimely demise. There was much he wished to get done, even in his illness, before he left the hall to someone else, but, as it typically is so, those plans will now go unfinished."
Freed was standing with his arms clasped behind his back, staring out at all the others, while Mirajane seemed a bit nervous, rubbing at one arm.
It was hard on her too, Laxus knew. On them all, fine, as they all loved Makarov, but Mirajane had been closer to him than most. The man had gotten Mirajane through those horrible years when she thought her sister was dead and, in return, she'd been the man's faithful helper for the rest of his life. It only intensified, when she began dating Laxus.
"This, obviously," Freed was continuing, in his overly analytical tone, "would leave quite the conundrum as to the next Master of Fairy Tail. However, thankfully, Makarov realized in his final days that this would occur and left us with a successor. Before he passed, he named his granddaughter-in-law, Mirajane Dreyar, as-"
And then it started, the grumbles and complaints, growing louder. For some reason though, over those, Laxus could hear Natsu cheer for Mirajane as well as Lucy shush him and Happy clap loudly.
Laxus was so glad that he didn't go sit up front with that inner circle. They were annoying as hell.
"This ain't right!" came loudest complaint of all, from some guy in the crowd that Laxus didn't know. He was a big guy, only a bit tinier than Elfman, muscular and intense looking. His hair was cut into a spiky Mohawk and he was the last guy that Laxus was ever going to let speak to his wife that way. "The hell are we gonna be led? Huh? By a stupid barmaid? The hell does she know about running a guild?"
And see? That was the problem that Laxus had with the big guild that Makarov loved so much. You had too many people that didn't know each other. That didn't understand one another or one another's powers. Strengths. There were just too many people.
And, apparently, ones that didn't even know who their S-Class members were.
Dumb fucks.
"I know a lot, actually," Mira called over the sound of the discord going on. There were still some crying, but now, mostly, the ones that weren't in the inner circle were being complained at by the ones that were in it, as they wished to be happy for Mirajane, rather than listen to the grumbles of how unfit she was. The closest to Laxus, at the moment, happened to be Cana, who was mourning her Master the only way she knew how; by getting sloppy drunk.
Around a barrel, she yelled right back at those making complaints, saying that there was no better leader than Mary Jane and they were all foolish to think otherwise.
"Master chose me," Mirajane kept up, on the stage. Then she addressed a few people that she noticed in the crowd complaining by name, something Laxus would never have been able to do (Levy was lucky, honestly, if he called her by something other than just nut sucker's girlfriend). "He knew that I'm the only one other than him that can hold the hall together. He-"
All of the turmoil during the past day was starting to spill over though. Into arguments between the people who were truly mourning Makarov, that had been practically raised and molded by him, and the ones that had joined the guild in the past few years, who rarely saw Makarov and knew very little about him because, simply, Fairy Tail had been lucky recently and there had been very little threats in the past few years, leaving them to not know his strength or power.
The division was palpable. And, over it all, there became a single request.
"We demand," someone yelled, starting the others off in agreement, "a vote! We should get to vote for who our new master is! Instead of some stupid barmaid!"
Lisanna, who was upset, of course, by the response Mirajane was getting, was probably the loudest of her sister's defenders.
"Mirajane is the Master, so just get over it," she yelled at the others more than once.
"Lisanna," Mira tried, but then the literal brawls broke out and her and Freed jumped down from the stage, to go break people up.
And that was it. Laxus had had enough.
Shoving up from the wall, he first passed Cana, snatching her barrel from her and slammed it down on the floor before her, giving her a stern look that said she was definitely cut off, before shoving his way through the crowd, none too kindly.
"Would you all," he growled over the sound of all the others as he approached the stage, "shut the fuck up?"
Jumping up onto it, Laxus stood before his guildhall with dark eyes, electricity jumping from his body as he thought, honestly and truly then, about striking them all down, Biblical style, and being done with it.
"I said," he yelled again, "to shut the fuck up! The hell do you people think you are? This is my grandfather's damn guildhall! You think that his spirit isn't here? Right now? Watching you? Disrespect his decision? Hell, half you morons didn't even know Gramps. And you sure as hell don't know my wife, if you think she's just some damn barmaid. Who do you think gets this place ready every morning? Pays the bills? Make sure that you all have jobs? Smooths things over when you fuck ups screw a job to hell? Huh? You're talking to fucking Satan Soul, you imbecils. And if I let her, she'd rip apart everyone of her detractors."
It was less the speech and more the sound of looming thunder outside, a loud boom of it, that got them all to settle down and stare fearfully up at the stage. Natsu, who was, of course, enjoying the brawling (it was really helping him get over the fact that he'd just lost Gramps), was the only one brave enough to speak then.
"Well, I have an idea then," he said as Freed literally came to pull him off another guild member, tossing him to the ground, though the other slayer's eyes only stared up at the stage with glee. "Let's have a tournament. For the strongest member! And then-"
"I'm this close, flametard," Laxus growled, glaring down from the stage at him, "to-"
"Laxus is right." And that came from a more well known powerhouse in the guildhall. Erza. She had that scary look in her eyes too, upset that they were defiling Makarov's hall in such a time with their needless violence and disrespect. Coming to stand before the stage, she said, "I am disgusted. Wtih all of you. To behave this way. Master Makarov passed only hours ago and you are going to sully his legacy in such a way? There was no other, not even I, that Master trusted more than Mirajane. And I know her not to be one to capitalize off death of a man she revered more than anyone, all to gain power. Should anyone believe that, I wish them to speak to me and me alone, now." Silence. For a good minute. Then, bowing her head, Erza said, "And if anything, we would never hold a...vote or a tournament, for something of such great importance. Even without Mirajane's admission, the guild would have gone straight into the hands of Laxus. None of you. And don't think for a second that this behavior will help any of you move any ranks up in the eyes of anyone in the guild. Despicable."
Laxus, never one to be used to Erza being on his side, nodded down at her, from up on the stage before looking down at the crowd. When his eyes found Mirajane's glistening ones, he nodded her back up.
She was hurt, he could tell, by the way that she was being treated about something she'd been told to do by the Master. She'd been cool, towards Laxus, the night before, but had more to do with the nature of their relationship, probably. She knew that if she broke down, if she was sad, if she dissolved into herself, then that would force him to care for her. To put his own mourning on the back burner and focus on hers.
And she never wanted that.
At the moment though, everything was falling apart and she hadn't even known he was there, honestly, and she just…
She needed her husband.
And there he was.
Laxus helped Mirajane up on the stage, holding a hand out to her, and kept their fingers interlocked as they stood before the guildhall, Makarov's children, and addressed them.
"Erza's right," Laxus said as Mira stood at his side. "If anything, this guildhall would be mine. And if you don't trust my wife, that's fine. Because I..." He glanced at Mirajane then before back out at all them. "Because I concede. Even if Master didn't hand the hall over to Mirajane, I am. She's your Master now. Be proud. You have one of the strongest, toughest, smarted mages in all of Fiore to lead you. If you don't think that's a step in the right direction, if you have a problem with one of our longest S-Class wizards becoming your master, if you can't serve under a woman, if you don't know enough about Fairy Tail to know how many times she's saved our damn asses, and if you think of a damn second that she's only a fucking barmaid, then I have a damn door for ya."
Mirajane looked up at him, after he finished, but Laxus wouldn't return the stare. He just glared out at the others, having one of the worst days of his life, and ready to strike down anyone who opened their damn mouths.
Silence.
Swallowing down those dang nerves in her stomach, Mirajane looked out at her hall as well, glancing around at them all. Her eyes fell to her sister, who was with Bickslow, of course, as well as Natsu, who'd come to pout at her side, and only smiled up at her oldest sibling.
At the very least, she had all of their support.
It was just time to find the support of all the others.
Hand still locked with her husband's, Mirajane said loudly, "I know, that this is quite a shock for some of you, and I know that Master didn't plan it this way, but I hope to be a good Master. Like he was. And the ones before him. And then followed him. Only for him to follow them again." That made her giggle a bit, which Laxus felt like telling her wasn't the sign of a serious Master, but he figured he had to let her make her own mark. "And he thought that I could do it, so I know I can. There will be changes, of course, to certain things, but as someone who's tended to this guild for the majority of my life, I have to say, I have faith that we'll only grow even more powerful. Not without Master Makarov, but in honor of him."
Laxus and Mirajane went home together, some time later, after the hall cleared out a bit. It was closed, for the day, but it took some time for the others leave. Kinana offered to stick around and clean up the place a bit, and prep it for opening for real, the following day, giving Laxus and Mirajane clearance to leave as well.
On their walk there, Laxus kept his hand in Mirajane's. It made her feel a bit better and, after some quiet between them, she said, "I never did any of that to hurt you, dragon."
"I know."
"I love you."
"I know."
"If Master hadn't asked me, personally to be-"
"Mira, I know." He squeezed her hand. "And...out of the two of us, you probably are more fit for the job. Fuck, I had never even seen some of those people in there. Most of them, actually. I always think our guild is made up of, like, thirty people."
"Those were the days."
"Yeah." He kicked at the ground. "Weren't they?"
Lana wasn't doing any better, when they got home, but she was glad to have Laxus back. Mirajane had funeral preparations to finish up and requested the Thunder Legion and her siblings let her husband have some space for awhile.
So he and Lana were alone. They were so in sync, always, that they both knew the only way to get over Makarov and all the feelings they were having was to build a fort.
"I miss Gramps," Lana told him as they sat in it, him lying huddled on his side, so he fit, and her just on her butt, sniffling a bit. The doggies were in there too, the fort was so big, as it was in the middle of the living room floor, Tenjin and Raijin each chewing on some bones in their half of the fort. "Daddy. Can't I go see 'im?"
"I'm sorry, baby." He let out a slow breath. "But he's not here anymore. He's...with my mother and your mommy's mother and father. And trust me, I know that he's with you, right now. You know that? All of them are."
Sniffling some more, Lana looked down at her pendant she'd gotten at her birthday. "Uncle Elf said that Mommy's gonna be the Mas'er now."
"She's gonna be the best Master ever, yeah." Laxus smiled, even though he didn't want to, and said, "You know, when I was a little bit older than you, my mother got sick, kinda like Gramps, and passed away too. I spent a lotta time wishing that she could come back too. I don't remember, of course, that first day after I found out, but… It was pretty hard for me too. I know that you loved Gramps. And he knew it too. He-"
"If I didn't go to my party," she whined, falling down to lay on her back, "then I couldda kept death away and he'd still be okay!"
That made Laxus frown. Siting up, just slightly as he couldn't clear the top of the fort otherwise, the man spoke.
"Lana, that's not why Gramps died."
"Yes, it is!"
"No, silly, look, snuggle up to Daddy." Pulling her closer to him, the man said, "Maybe Mommy and Daddy didn't explain this well enough to or something. See, death isn't...sentient. It isn't a person or a grim reaper or something. It's just...what happens. Like… You know how sometimes, we'll bake a cake, right? But if we don't eat it in time, it will start to go stale?" When she nodded, he said, "That's because of time. Time moves and changes things. Gramps' time just ran out, is all."
She snorted up a bunch snot then (it was kind of gross, honestly) before saying, "I hate time! I want it to bring Gramps back!"
"You don't hate it, baby," he said though, honestly, he felt the same at times. "Without time, you wouldn't be here right now. If time froze and stopped moving, back before my mother died, then I'd still be your age and yeah, she'd still be here, but it wouldn't mean anything. It wouldn't be real. That's what life is. Time. That's all it is. That's how we know we're alive, watching things change. Like your birthday. That was because of time. It's how you went from being a tiny little baby growing in your mommy's tummy to being the big five year old that you are right now."
He tickled her too, then, but Lana didn't giggle. Just tried to wiggle away from him.
"Daddy-"
"Baby, Daddy misses Gramps too. So much. Already." Leaning down, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "And I always will. But it's okay to, you know, miss someone. There's nothing wrong with it. It just means that you loved them. Love them. That you still love them. That's all. And one day, you'll get to be with him and your other grandparents too."
For a moment, this confused Lana. Then, with a frown, she stared up at him in surprise.
"You mean," she whined, "that I'm gonna die too?"
"Oh, baby, don't worry about that right now." He leaned down to nuzzle his head against hers that time. "Just… I know. Why don't you tell Daddy about all of your favorite things you did with Gramps? Would you like that? Would it make you feel better? Or worse?"
She wasn't sure. But, after some thought, she slowly started to do it just to find out.
It was a big decision for Mirajane and Laxus to make, whether or not to let Lana go to the funeral. It would be very crowded, given Makarov's prominence in the community and those surrounding. Still though, they felt it was a valuable learning experience. Not to mention, with everyone they knew going, it was either that or give Lana to one of the neighbors and, well, with her so worked up over her grandfather's death, the risk of her biting (or hitting, spitting, clawing, ect.) was high.
No need to put that burden off on someone else.
Lana liked her dress, anyhow, that her Aunt Ever picked out for her. Black. She liked that color. She mostly liked to say it, but same thing.
She could tell that Daddy was very nervous over the whole thing. He was one of the people that was going to be speaking about Master Makarov and it had him on edge.
A lot of people she didn't know though complimented her on what a good girl she was. Many past members and members of other guilds approached her parents to shake their hands and give their condolences.
"Surely this isn't the Lana Dreyar that I always hear so much about?" one really big guy said as he stared down at her in shock. He was a pretty important guy, Lana could tell, because the whole town had went into a frenzy over his arrival. It seemed that some were glad, even, that Master had passed, as it at least led to a visit from the man. "You're so big!"
Rather bashful after so much attention, Lana only blushed and swayed a bit, looking everywhere, but at him.
"Can you say hi, Lana?" Mirajane prompted as they stood there, at the memorial service, in front of the man's casket. Turning her head, she buried it in her mother's dress, muttering something that made both Mirajane and the man laugh. To him, Mira said, "A lot's been going on, is all. She's usually not so rude."
"That's alright. A lot going on is right." The redhead man, Lana observed, turned his attention to her mother then. "I hear that you're my new master."
"Soemthing like that, yeah."
"Then I am honored, Mirajane," he said, reaching out to take her hand, Mirajane blushing, just a bit, at getting such attention from the man that they all revered so much when they were children, "to address you as so. Master Mira, call upon me for any job that you should wish."
"Thank you," she breathed, eyes alight for the first time in days, "Gildarts."
"If you'll excuse me, I should go find a seat. Not to mention my daughter..." Glancing down once more, the man, Gildarts, smiled at the youngest Dreyar before saying, "It's good to see you, Ms. Lana. You'll take care of your parents for me, huh? And the guildhall? While I'm away?"
She only cowered further into her mother's dress and, with a laugh, the man was gone.
She met a lot of other people that day too. Some guys from Sabertooth and Blue Pegasus, as well as some very nice ladies from Mermaid Heel. And, at one point, when her parents were busy and she was with Erza, she met some very creepy people that hung around at the back of the graveyard that had their hoods up and wouldn't let her see their faces.
Erza seemed pretty happy to see them though.
After the very long and boring funeral, Lana was allowed the reprieve of going to what she was told was a party.
It was not.
It basically was just going up to the guild to watching people get drunk and cry about Gramps.
Mommy was very busy and Daddy just about the same. Aunt Lissy and Mr. Salamander (that bastard) played with her though, outside, on the guild property. And Happy too! And Lucy came to join them after awhile. Uncle Bickslow as well.
"Hey, Salamander?" Lana asked at one point as, during a game of hide and seek, the man took to running away with her up on his shoulders, hiding them behind some bushes from the others.
"What?" Natsu took her off his shoulders and let her sit with him, down there, under the bush. "Lana?"
"Daddy says that Gramps is still with me, but… Where?"
"He's just like my dad. Igneel." Natsu moved then, to tap her gently against the chest, making the little girl giggle. "He's right in there."
"In my body?"
"In your heart," he said with a nod of his head. "Can't you feel him?"
"Mmmm...Maybe."
"He'll always be in there." He ruffled her white hair then. "Just like how I got Igneel in me!"
"And like how Daddy has a lacr'ma in him?"
"Sorta, yeah! You're super smart, Lana."
Yeah. She knew.
That night, after everything was all said and done and they were closing down the hall for the night, Lana got to spend some time with her parents again.
Mirajane was helping Kinana and Lisanna clean up while Evergreen and Elf sat in a corner, talking softly. Bickslow mostly just sat around and continued to gripe about how bored he was, hoping in vain to speed Lisanna's cleaning up, while his babies floated around and gave off similar remarks.
In the back office though, where Freed and Laxus were cleaning out Makarov's stuff in preparation for Mira moving her own in, Lana was sitting up in her Gramps' chair, toying with the pendant around her neck.
"You feelin' better, hatchling?" Laxus asked at one point when he noticed her giggling and drawing on the coloring book they'd put out for her on the desk. "Huh?"
"Mmmhmm." She grinned over at him as Freed, who was cleaning out the filing cabinet, trying to figure out what needed to stay and go, smiled over at the little girl as well.
"That is good," he said with a nod of his head. "I was quite young, perhaps even younger than you, when I was first introduced into the macabre experience that is death. I feel it has shaped me into what I am today. Your acceptance of your grandfather's death and future absence in your life is admirable."
"Freed," Laxus grumbled.
"What? I am only-"
"Gramps isn't gone, Freed," Lana told him, glancing up from her coloring with a grin. Patting at her chest with her free hand, she said, "Mr. Salamander says he's in here. Like his daddy. And Daddy's lacr'ma."
"The Salamander?" Laxus puffed out his chest. What about all the great advice he'd given to her? About death and coping with it. "That bastard."
Mirajane, however, when she found out about how Natsu had, somehow, connected with Lana only giggled.
"Don't you get it, dragon?"
"Get what?" he grumbled that night as they laid down to go to sleep, without Lana in their bed crying, for the first night since her birthday party. "What's there to get?"
"Natsu can explain things like that to Lana because they're, you know, the same."
"The same?"
"They're both five, basically."
He rolled his eyes. "Basically."
"But you're a mature, grown man." Mirajane snuggled her dogs up to her because it didn't matter if they were in mourning or content; Raijin and Tenjin always slept with their mama. "Who thinks of things in a mature, grown man way. You should thank Natsu, really."
"Is that what I should do?"
"That's what you should do."
"Because I think," he said, shifting closer to her, bowing his head a bit to nuzzle it against her, "that I should be thanking my wife right about now for being such a great woman and helping me get through this. Don't you?" He lips got a kiss before, against them, he breathed, "Master?"
Mira's eyes turned glassy, but in a good way that time, as she reached a hand out to brush it against his beard. "I couldn't be anything without you."
"Yeah," he sighed as he moved to kiss her again. "Same."
Miss me?
Dan wanted to see Makarov and Lana interacting and I couldn't see how I could make that into a story, so for some reason, I immediately shifted into killing him off mode. Oops. This was a bit more morose than the typical story in this series, but here we are. This is also the furthest we've ventured into this universe and also the first time I've ever explicitly had Mirajane as the Master over Laxus or Erza.
It's a big step.
I've also finally finished re-reading Accidents and incidents, so hopefully there'll be a new chapter of that soon (I say knowing I've said the same thing for the past two months). Either way though, I hope this super long one-shot will tide you guys over for a bit, until I get something else posted.