This fanwork contains references to the use of alcohol and to certain mature situations. Viewer discretion is advised.
Where the Wild Things Are
Chapter Three: Heart-to-Heart
Three weeks after she returned from Crocus, Cana found herself at the counter of Fairy Tail's bar with her fourth beer of the day, anxiously watching Mirajane as the older woman flipped through the pages of the magazine and looked at the pictures with a professionally critical eye. The article of the interview itself remained ignored; they'd long ago grown accustomed to the way Jason wrote, and Cana was not willing to talk about the apparent "coolly passionate and forbidden romance" between herself and Bacchus that had become the focus of his article. As long as their reputations as mages, as well as those of their respective guilds, remained intact, Cana hardly cared whether the rest of the world thought they were dating. It was hardly worth something to worry about.
At least, that's what Cana kept telling herself.
"You guys really do look good together, Cana." Mirajane nodded appreciatively at the photo spread in front of her. "It's not a surprise that Jason assumed you two were dating — if I didn't know any better, I probably would, too."
Cana glared at the older woman over her mug. "Except you do know better." She shoved the mug forward, a silent demand for a refill. "I still haven't forgiven you, you know."
Mirajane looked at her friend pointedly, but took the mug from her all the same. "I also know that you enjoyed doing the photo shoot more than you'll ever admit." She gestured down at the glossy pages of the magazine. "You can deny it all you want, but that's definitely not the face of someone who isn't enjoying what they're doing."
"It's complicated." Cana leaned forward and allowed herself to slump down onto the counter, eyes fixated on the worn wood before her as if she could will a new mug to materialize instantly before her.
"And who do you have to thank for that?"
The counter was suddenly very interesting, so much so that Cana found that she couldn't answer the question she'd been asked, and Cana found herself following the pattern of wood grains intently. She heard Mirajane sigh audibly, her frustration with entire situation obvious, but all the same she set another large mug of beer before Cana a few moments later, accompanied by a large bowl of hot soup and a plate of bread that was still slightly-steaming. It smelled delicious, and Cana winced when her stomach growled loudly in response.
"Just as I thought," Mirajane said smugly, and when Cana looked up from the table to frown at her, the Take-Over Mage's smile only grew. "You should be glad that I didn't tell Porlyusica — if she had her way, you'd be kept in the infirmary for a month." Her expression grew thoughtful. "Now that I think about, maybe I should tell her after all. Erza, too."
"I hate you," Cana replied, but she reached forward and took a piece of bread nonetheless, dipping the end of it into the soup before placing it in her mouth. Sweet Mavis, it was delicious.
Mirajane smiled. "I love you, too."
Cana stopped mid-chew at the mention of the word. To her, love in a romantic context was a strange and alien concept that she didn't understand, nor was she certain that she wanted to. She certainly knew what it was like to love her friends, and while she enjoyed the love Gildarts had showered on her after the revelation of their relationship (even if it was trying at times) she'd still been blessed enough to love, and be loved in turn, by the family she found in Fairy Tail and its members ever since she was a little girl. But a love that went deeper than that? It was difficult to fathom, especially where her own love life was concerned.
Her parents had loved one another dearly. The way Bisca and Alzack looked at one another with such pure adoration was obvious to even the most casual observer. Even Juvia, for all her enthusiasm and possessiveness for anything and everything that concerned her precious Gray-sama, clearly cared for the Ice-Make Mage on a very deep level, and despite his apparent frustration and numerous attempts to appear nonchalant and aloof about the whole thing, Gray returned her feelings as well, in his own way. But for Cana to feel that way about someone was scary enough; the possibility that someone could in turn feel that way about her in turn was downright terrifying.
"This sucks," Cana muttered, ripping another piece of bread in frustration and shoving one large half into her mouth. "It's not even like we're dating, and I'm already thinking about love — what the hell is wrong with me?" She swallowed thickly and brought her mug to her lips, draining it entirely in one go.
Ever mindful of any situation at hand, Mirajane had made sure to fill another mug with thick, dark beer, and she set it in front of Cana with one hand while taking the newly-emptied mug with the other. "Nothing's wrong with you — it's not like anything else happened in Crocus, right?" At that, Cana bit her lip and looked away from Mirajane guiltily, and the older woman gasped. "You didn't!"
It took Cana a few seconds to figure out the best way to respond. "After the photo shoot, we decided to get a couple of drinks together. I made sure to keep my distance, and so did he, so I thought we'd be alright. Obviously, we weren't." She closed her eyes in embarrassment, buried her face in her hands. "I screwed up."
"I'll say." Mirajane had never been one to sugarcoat her words when it came to such things. "Did Bacchus say anything?"
Cana shrugged. "Not really. He was already gone when I woke up." At that, Mirajane looked at her curiously, one delicate eyebrow arched in deliberate interest. Cana was confused. "What?"
The older woman merely shrugged. "I was just wondering something," she began slowly, "did it ever occur to you that you might have hurt Bacchus?"
Well, she certainly hadn't been expecting that. "Hurt that overgrown puppy dog?" she spluttered. "He's a pervert, Mira, a lech. Sure, he's got a sense of honor, I'll give him that, even if it is his own twisted brand, and he's definitely a good person, underneath all the muscles, but — !"
Now it was Mirajane's turn to glare, and Cana froze; she was familiar enough with the expression to know that nothing would bode well for her if Mirajane didn't speak her mind. "Cana, you two were together — don't give me that look, I know you thought the exact same thing — for three months. Three entire months." Her glare grew more intense, and Cana was beginning to wish she hadn't started drinking that last beer. "You know as well as I do that most 'casual' relationships don't even last three weeks." She held up a finger. "One."
"M-mira, please…"
"Two," Mirajane continued as she put up another finger, her voice gradually growing louder in volume, "you ran away without even saying goodbye. You didn't even leave him a note."
Cana swallowed nervously, painfully aware of the attention Mirajane was attracting to them. "But I paid for our room and board, at least."
A loud smack met her ears as Mirajane slapped her hands on the counter in frustration, and Cana was fairly certain she'd heard the wood splinter, as well. "That doesn't help!" the older woman was screaming, now, and Cana briefly wondered if she'd end up transforming into her Satan Soul form by the end of the discussion — in which case she'd need to make sure someone found her will before it was too late. "You leave without saying goodbye, and then you refuse to see or contact him for an entire month, even when you weren't on a mission." Her expression grew pained. "I know he tried writing you, but it's not just that — do you know how many times he stopped by the guild between his own missions just to see you? Did you know that he and Gajeel met up on a mission right before the interview, and all Bacchus would talk about was you?"
"He seemed fine when I saw him in Crocus," Cana offered meekly, wishing that someone in the guild would start a brawl soon, and the rest of them would be too distracted by the fight to even care about her discussion with Mirajane. Unfortunately for her, an angry and untransformed Mirajane was terrifying enough to prevent anyone from starting something as relatively trivial as another guild-wide scuffle.
Mirajane closed her eyes, then, and inhaled deeply. For a moment, Cana was certain that her friend would be utilizing her most powerful Take-Over form within seconds, but let out a shaky breath of relief she hadn't realized she'd been holding when Mirajane exhaled slowly and opened her eyes, noticeably calmer than she'd been seconds ago. "Because he did it for you." She shrugged. "I won't pretend to be an expert about things like this, but I know that whatever it was the two of you had, you definitely thought it was special, and I think it's safe to say that Bacchus did, too." Then she fixed Cana with another frosty glare. "And then you had to get cold feet and mess it up the moment you could have had a 'happily ever after'!"
"Well, thanks for making me feel like even more of a horrible person," Cana replied sullenly. The argument between the two women seemingly over, and the threat of a fight seemingly gone, the guild had gone back to sense of relative normalcy. Cana ignored it, and instead fiddled around with her soup spoon, not willing to admit that everything Mirajane had just said hit much closer to home than she'd like to admit. "What do I, now?"
"First, you're going to finish your food. I meant it when I said I'd tell Porlyusica; you've lost too much weight recently." And then Mirajane shrugged. Somewhere on the main floor of the guild, the two heard the familiar sounds of yet another brawl beginning over some mundane matter or the other. They ignored it. "After that, you're going to fix this. I don't know how you'll do it, or even what you're going to do, but you were the one who got yourself into this situation, so you're going to be the one to make it better."
Right, Cana thought as a the sound of wood splintering, followed by surprised yelp of pain, met her ears. Easier said than done. "Have you ever thought of trading in your modeling career with Sorcerer Weekly to be a life coach and inspirational writer for them instead? You could have your own column and everything."
Mirajane shrugged and expertly dodged the corner of a table that came flying at her from the fight growing in the center of the guild. "I don't know. I think I'm to used to the guild — a job like that would get boring really fast, don't you think?"
"You're right," Cana said with a soft chuckle. "I'll drink to that!" And she did, despite the strange combination of fear and guilt and apprehension that was beginning to pool in her belly, until someone was stupid enough to punch her squarely between the shoulder blades, causing Cana to spill her drink all down her front, which naturally warranted Cana to return the favor with a swift kick of her own to someone else's neck. She continued her assault of anyone stupid enough to come near her, content to drunkenly bash heads together — literally — until she fell asleep at the bar when the fight slowed to a stop, though Bacchus and their current situation was never far from her mind.
Still, she thought tiredly as she pillowed her head on her arms and drifted off to sleep, that was something sober Cana would have to worry about later.
A/N: So, yeah. I ended up changing the title of the fic, but I suppose that hardly matters, at this point. Anyway, we get a bit more backstory, and this time with the added bonus of plot as well (with maybe a hint of character development, too, if you squint hard enough). In other news, Mirajane is unexpectedly fun to write, as is a mopey and frustrated Cana, as well as the banter that occurs between the two. Also, I'm really enjoying writing a (relatively) more light-hearted and humorous multichaptered piece more than I thought I would, which is also a plus. Yay.
As always, reviews and feedback are always appreciated — thank you to everyone who has reviewed thus far, as well as those who have favorited and are following this piece. It really does mean a lot to me!
