A/N: OK so this chapter is a bit rushed, I really just wanted to get more plot out there. This is the first part of a two part chapter. Next chapter will be completely Bacchus vs Laxus at the bar. In this chapter Bacchus and Cana sleep together but I want to make clear that from Cana's point of view they are purely friends with benefits and she has no intention of crossing the line into romance again. This is not Baccana. What Bacchus feels is a bit more complicated. Thankyou sabarrineau and darkitty04 for your support, I hope you guys like this latest installment
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail
Day 35 pt1
Like most Firday mornings, Laxus pulled into his sisters' school and slowed the car to a halt. He looked back over his shoulder to smile at the two girls, one with bright blue hair, the other pale white as they sung there usual chorus of farewells.
"Have a good day!" he replied in his usual cheery tone when adressing the two. And in keeping with tradition, they didn't see his smile turn into a scowl as Wendy hugged Romeo who grinned widely in a similarly idiodic way to Cana when she got what she wanted. This of course was followed by the aptly named Happy trailing after Charle as she ignored his constant yammering about gifts of fish.
It was strange for him to think about Cana away from work like this, but now that it started he found it difficult to stop. He was going to have to make it through the whole night of drunken idiots without his favourite drunken idiot to keep him entertained. He wondered why he even agreed to take this job in the first place. Sure staying in one place for a while was great, he got to see more of his family, got to find out which take out he liked best and managed to stay in contact with people who weren't Freed, Bixlow and Ever. He had met some great people on the road, really decent people, but the truth is when you move you nearly always lose touch and then it's too hard to restart that conversation- how have you been for the last six months? Me? I've been good, just working. But being a club bouncer truly was monotonous. Maybe he thought the 'hottest spot in sydney' would be a fun place to be? Or maybe he liked the idea of no tolerance on drugs? He hated catching some creep trying to spike drinks and then having to just push him out the door as owners preferred not to make a scene. Or maybe he just wanted some monotony for a while.
Whatever the reason, he was now filled with dread at the boring nights to come and was about to give a frustrated sigh when his phone started ringing. He quickly checked the display and saw a rooster (most likely Cana's doing, he really needs to keep better track of his phone when he's at her place) above the name Guildarts Clive. He quickly answered, raising the phone to his ear.
"Dreyar?" the familiar voice asked.
"Yeah." He replied, not sure exactly why the man had called him of all people.
"I'd like to have a progress meeting before opening tonight, are you free this afternoon?" he asked, which was even more strange. Requests like this usually came through his manager, which Clive would have known but obviously didn't care.
"Is something wrong?" he asked tentatively, not quite reassured by the loud chuckle on the other end of the line.
"No, no. Nothing like that. I just like to touch base with my employees every once in a while- keeps things personal." He explained but this also sounded a bit off- the small amount of instructino he got from the man was on the importance of impersonal professionalism. While he had pretty much failed when it came to Cana, he was slightly proud that he had managed as well as he had with the gargantuan task.
"Sure, I can come around about an hour before opening?" Laxus replied, suspicious but unable to think of a plausible out that would relinquish the threat of 'catch ups' in the immediate future.
"Sounds good, see you then." Clive concluded and promptly hung up. Laxus would have preferred to ruminate on the call further but a quick look at the clock made him realise how late he was for picking up his grandfather to go to his weekly 'doctors appointment' already.
"Shit…"
OOO
Cana grinned wide and bright in expectation as she bounced on her feet, standing in front of Bacchus' front door. Excitedly she knocked on the door despite having a key and waited impatiently for a slightly haggard Bacchus to open the door. With a squeel Cana lauched herself, toppling him backwards onto the floor as her arms wove around his chest in a vice like grip.
"Gah!" Bacchus exclaimed as he floundered on the floor, Cana's weight crushing him. With a final soul crushing squeeze Cana let go of the black haired man and stumbled to her feet, to which he followed suit, turning to close the door. When he turned back to face her he was greeted to a rather painful punch to the gut, winding him. He glared at her in shock, clutching his stomach.
"That was for ditching me with this whole mess." Cana said over her shoulder as she walked into his familiar living room, sidestepping his half unpacked bags and threw herself down on his designer couch. The white leather felt good to her touch as she smirked up at her still grimacing friend.
"That was a dick move doll face…" Bacchus groaned, still clutching his stomach as he lowered himself beside her. Cana rolled her eyes but didn't comment, swielling on the couch to face him directly, crossing her legs under her.
"Soooooooooooooooooooo- how was everyone?!" Cana asked, gently pushing him on the shoulder to turn him to her. Now it was Bacchus' turn to roll his eyes.
"The same as always- buy us a pool. Where's Cana? Why haven't ya married Cana yet? Where are my grandbabies?" Bacchus said in his usual drunken drawl,grinning at Cana's laugh. "Maria made me promise that I'd bring you with me next time or she'd cut my hair off in my sleep- demon child." Bacchus said with false ire about his beloved neice.
"You'll have to show me all the photos!" Cana said, gleefully accepting a usb drive he passed from the coffee talbe in front of them.
"Maria dumped a stack of crap on there for ya." Bacchus explained, raising his flask to his lips that had been sitting at his hip like usual.
"God I love that kid!" Cana exclaimed, searching the room with her gaze for his laptop but couldn't find it. Bacchus scoffed at her comment and sensing her search reached out for his lap top which was sitting haphazardly underneath the coffee table to stop him from standing on it by accident.
"That kid is a giant pain in the ass." Bacchus said, plopping the blue lap top in her lap as she playfully glared at him. "She lost her shit if I didn't let her sleep in the same bed as me- for the whole month- It gave me blue balls so bad." Bacchus said, leaning in to playfully nibble Cana's neck which temporarily distracted her from the pictures on the screen as it hit her she hadn't been with anyone for the past month either due to Laxus' watchful eye and rather apt distractions. She began to lean into his mouth before the smile with small square gaps snapped her back to reality.
"I haven't slept with anyone either drama queen." Cana retorted, placing a firm hand on his chest pushing him away to a safe distance. Bacchus raised a skeptical eye brow, his body tense and ready to dive back in.
"Yeah right doll," Bacchus dismissed skeptically, his hand now placed on her knee, his fingers tracing circles on the soft skin of her inner thigh. Cana grabbed his hand and placed it firmly on his own leg before giving an annoyed reply.
"Dad got a new bouncer at the club, and you know what Dad's like." Cana said with frustrated sigh. "If I manage to land someone decent I just end up getting dragged home anyway." Cana said, trying to convey the travesty which was her current sex life. In the good old days of a month ago her tally rivalled Bacchus' always impressive record.
"That's harsh doll…" Bacchus said, once again leaning forward, straining against the pressure of her hand. "I could fix that for you…" he said in a raspy half-whisper, his mouth moving closer and closer until his lips brushed her ear.
"Really wanna do this?" Cana asked, clumsily placing the laptop on the table around Bacchus' quickly engulphing limbs. Rather than a verbal response Bacchus trailed kisses down from her ear towards her collarbone, hand at her knee and slowly sliding up her inner thigh. Cana gave a sigh of defeat which was quickly silenced by Bacchus' mouth on hers. She let go of the last of her resistence sunk into his embrace.
OOO
"What do you wanna do tonight?" Cana asked, clad only in a white towel to Bacchus who was still in the shower, water cascading over his naked body. She stood on the other side of the glass watching as he scrubbed his skin, waiting for a response.
"Somthin' with some booze…" he said before opening his mouth and filling it with water, gargling quietly. Cana shrugged off the towel and walked back into the bedroom and began collecting pieces of clothing that were strewn all over the room, sometimes intertwined with Bacchus'. By the time she had assembled the final piece Bacchus was out of the shower and doing the same.
"Wanna go to Fairy Tail?" Cana asked, passing him his flask belt. He considered the proposition as he threaded his belt through his pant loops. "I think you'll like Laxus, you're a lot alike."' Cana said, picking up his keys and stradling him to slide them into his back pocket, giving his buttocks a squeeze in the process.
"Who's Laxus?" Bacchus asked, returning the squeeze.
"The bouncer."
OOO
"So I hear you've been getting on quite well with Cana." Guildarts probed, arms crossed across his broad chest as he leaned back in his rather grandiouse chair, Laxus sitting before him on the other side of the desk. Laxus took a moment to consider the statement- did Clive fear they were too close? Had one of Cana's pranks finally gone too far?
"I like to think so." He replied evenly, "She hasn't challenged me to a fight in a while." Guildarts chuckled, but the serious glint in his eye didn't dissipate.
"That's good to hear." Guildarts replied, tension shifting slightly. "Look, the real reason I asked you to come in today was to talk about Bacchus." Guildarts said, deep voice rumbling.
"Cana's friend?" Laxus asked despite knowing exactly who he was. The real question was why his return warranted a meeting.
"Yeah." Gildarts replied before continuing. "You see Bacchus isn't a regular exactly, he just shows up with Cana every once in a while. But, he has a habit of causing problems." Guildarts said, uncrossing his arms to pause for a moment before recorssing them, his brow furrowed. "Bacchus isn't good at sharing, especially when it comes to Cana. And Cana has a habit of being overly defensive. So when you put the two of them together things tend to escalate quickly." Guildarts explained. Laxus was actually releived to hear some information about Bacchus that seemed genuine instead of Mira's silence and Cana's hero worship, despite it being slightly worrying.
"So do you want me to remove him if things get out of hand?" Laxus asked, irritated at Guildarts condescending laugh.
"God no! Try to avoid conflict at all costs. Think of him as a very important client." Guildarts explained, and Laxus found himself likeing this new task less and less.
"Understood." Laxus said, but one question was still lurking at the back of his mind. What if they went home together? Was Laxus supposed to interceed? Wouldn't that make an even bigger scene? Laxus nodded his assent and turned to walk out the door. He had his hand on the door knob to close it when Guildarts called out in one final instruction.
"Oh and if Bacchus says he'll walk Cana home then don't worry about it." He said. While Laxus nodded acceptance it still frustrated him. So Bacchus had Guildarts and whoever Cana's father was' approval? From what he'd managed to put together he was a womanising drunk who used his charm to handle customers while Cana ran the real business. And no matter how rediculous the crime was Cana would always make an excuse for him. He hated people like that, who relied on her kindness for their own gain. Before his internal rant could progress much further he felt a buzzing in his pocket from his phone. He fished it out and raised it to eye level. It was a message from Cana saying she would be coming with Bacchus to the bar that night.
So he was finally going to meet Bacchus.
While he intially got swept up in fantasies of seizing up Bacchus and putting him in his place he couldn't quell the overflowing sense of releif.
He wasn't going to have to spend the night alone.
Cana would be there.