The Tattoo
Summary: When Cana comes back from a weekend trip with a tattoo, she thought that Master reacted like he did because he had realized that she wasn't a little girl anymore; meanwhile Makarov is trying to find out why Gildarts' ex wife is scrawled across Cana's shoulder.
AN: This results from binge watching all thirteen seasons of Ink Master
Disclaimer: I don't own.
Cana wasn't sure what she had expected to walk away with when she had entered the competition, but it definitely hadn't been the piece of artwork scrawled across her right shoulder.
When her friend had told her that he was going to go compete in a tattoo competition she had wished him the best of luck- and then on a day when she had gotten epically trashed she decided to send in an application to be a canvas. A few days later she had received a notification that she had been selected to go on for portrait day.
While surprised, she had grabbed one of the only pictures of her mother she had and traveled up to Tanzaku to get it done.
The look on Zack's face when he saw her standing in the line of canvases had been hilarious- all slack jawed and slightly terrified at the prospect of tattooing her (he knew she'd give him hell if he screwed up- or just tell humiliating stories about him to the rest of the room while he did it). Shame they hadn't wound up assigned together but given how this turned out she didn't regret a thing.
Her artist had taken one look at the photo and had crafted a tattoo that was beyond anything she had ever seen. It looked like her mother, and it had a life to it that made her seem so real as opposed to being just a picture on her skin.
It… it had been a long time since she had really taken the time to remember her mother, the way that she tied the bows on her birthdays presents just so, the way the house had always smelled like cinnamon, and how when her mother had played on their piano the air seemed to dance with the music; this experience had made her feel a lot more emotional than she had anticipated, but not in a bad way.
Of course, as soon as she had gotten back to the guild she had almost given Master a heart attack. Guess he still saw Cana as the child he had raised, but she was eighteen- if she wanted to get a tattoo, she would damn well get one.
She could carry her mother around with her now in a way she hadn't been able to before- she didn't care what anyone else had to say about it.
oOOOOo
Makarov was between a rock and a hard place at the moment. When Cana had come back from her weekend trip with that tattoo he'd almost had a heart attack.
He hadn't seen Cornelia in almost twenty years- not since she and Gildarts had decided to call it quits- but he still remembered her face. Seeing Cana with the crash mage's ex-wife on her arm had been jarring to say the least and then when someone had asked her about it- the answer sent every alarm in his brain blaring.
The portrait tattoo was of her mother, Cornelia, who had passed away when she was a child.
Cana's mother had been Cornelia Alberona. If it had just been the face or just the name, he might have written it off as a coincidence- but together?
That little revelation had caused a suspicion to form in the back of his mind and in an effort to sate his own curiosity he had checked the brunette's file. Makarov had known roughly when everything between the two had fallen to pieces, but wasn't sure if just dates alone could give him a conclusive answer.
Turned out the dates hadn't even been necessary. Cornelia had listed Gildarts on Cana's birth certificate.
The strongest mage in Fiore had an eighteen-year-old daughter who Makarov was fairly certain that he had never even spoken to. The father and daughter had unknowingly been right next to each other all this time- what even were the chances of all of this happening?
Now onto the question- what the hell was he supposed to do with this information?
oOOOOo
To say Gildarts had been having a rough week would be an understatement- hell he'd been having a rough year.
He'd lost his arm, his leg, and damn near almost lost his life. The Century quest had definitely been too much for him to handle.
Well he had to think positive- he was still alive and was healing up great. He was adjusting to his prosthetics well. He just had to accept it all happened and move on with his life.
At least he would be on his way home soon- he had really missed Fairy Tail the last few years. Wonder if Natsu and little Lisanna had gotten together yet?
A loud ringing sound cut through his thoughts, confusing him for a moment before he placed the sound. The emergency lacrima- he answered it apprehensively, this thing was never used lightly: whatever was going on it was bad.
The sight of Master's stony expression set him even more on edge.
"Is anyone hurt?" The crash mage asked, slightly alarmed.
Makarov winced slightly, and looked at him with pity in his eyes- what was going on?
"Everyone's fine Gildarts. That's-that's not why I'm calling." The older man let out a frustrated breath before continuing," I found something about Cornelia Gildarts- something you deserve to hear."
That got the Ace's attention- Conny had been gone for a long time now, and while that thought made his heart hurt, he had accepted it for the reality that it was. What could Master have possibly found out that was so important he would call on the emergency line?
The miniature guildmaster visibly steeled himself before he dropped the bombshell," Gildarts… Gildarts you have a daughter."
The world stopped turning, time stopped moving, and the only sound he could hear was the echo of his own heartbeat in his ears. He had a daughter? Conny- Conny had his baby?
"-darts. Gildarts." Oh. Master was trying to get his attention.
"…I'm here." He said tightly, trying to get himself under control (he had a baby).
"Master...where is she? Can-can I see her?" He had to see this girl (woman- he and Conny had split up eighteen years ago, she'd be a woman), this living proof that he and Cornelia had once shared something incredible. He had to get to know her, he had to hold her- who did she take after? Did she have her mother's eyes? Would… would she be willing to let him into her life?
"Gildarts- she's here. She's part of Fairy Tail and… and she has been for a long time now."
"…What?"
Master looked so, so sorry," She's been in Fairy Tail for a long time now." He repeated.
That meant- "The kids."
His mind started racing. There were what- four girls among the children the guild had raised? One of them was his.
Mira and Lisanna were obviously related so that ruled them out, which left Erza and Cana. From a raw power standpoint Erza made the most sense, but… she didn't look like Conny and she didn't look like him. Maybe that was ridiculous, but… his gut was telling him that it wasn't her, which meant-
"It's Cana, isn't it?"
Master looked visibly surprised before nodding gently, "Yes, it is."
He had spoken to her maybe twice in all the years she had been a part of Fairy Tail. He'd never really noticed her before- he had never thought she was important.
"Master how… how did you even find this out?"
The older man was silent for a moment," Apparently one of Cana's closest friends outside of the guild is a tattoo artist. He went to go compete in some art contest in Tanzaku and she went for the weekend to cheer him on- she came home with a tattoo." That made Gildarts freeze for a second- she was what, eighteen? That was way too young to get a tattoo! " Its… she got a picture of Cornelia, it was so well done that recognizing her was easy… after that and her confirmation that it was her mother, all I needed to do was look at her birth certificate."
"…What's she like Master?" He shouldn't have to ask that question. He should know what she was like. He should know all of her likes and dislikes, her pet peeves, and odd quirks. But he was asking another man who had raised his child in his place.
The shorter man softened slightly," She's a powerful girl, not overwhelmingly so like some of the other children, but she's a leader who will never leave anyone behind. She is one of the best strategists I have ever seen, I don't think anyone has ever beat her at chess. She can drink anyone under the table and never falter. She has a loud presence to her; she can make anyone laugh if she tries. She is also one of the most talented dancers I have ever seen- her ballet instructors have started having her teach the younger students- "
"She dances?" Gildarts was suddenly struck with an image of that wide-eyed little girl he had seen so many years ago in a small pink tutu with little slippers on her feet.
Makarov didn't even seem to care about the interruption," I've never missed a single one of her recitals and I never will- I have lacrima recordings of all of them, you can borrow them when you come home."
Home. That sounded even more appealing than it had before. Home, where his daughter was.
"Master… I'll be home as soon as I possibly can, just… can you please make sure- "
"I'll keep her in town." The other man promised, before giving him a wry smirk," I have plenty of things I could use some help with, and its always more relaxing when she plays something for me, she's gotten quite good on the violin."
She played the violin too, just one more thing that he hadn't known about her. He could fix this, he might not be able to get all those years back, but he could damn well try to make up for it.
"I'll be home soon Master- I promise."
oOOOOo
'Soon' wound up being three weeks later.
It wasn't as fast as he had wanted, but ultimately distance and being a human who needed sleep won out.
His mind had kept running through the few memories he had of her, of seeing her for the first time, the tiniest, most adorable little girl he had ever seen, holding a small dog on a leash. What were the chances of all of this even happening in the first place?
That after Cornelia died their daughter would somehow wind up in the same guild as her father, that the two would never realize the connection they shared. If Cana had never gotten that tattoo- how long would this secret have been buried? Another year? A full lifetime?
Master had been a god send- breaking standard protocol to give him regular updates on her. Apparently the old man was pulling every excuse in his arsenal to prevent the card mage from taking any out-of-town jobs: from guilt tripping her into playing something for him on one of the many instruments she worked with, to having her discuss strategies from older mission reports on what she would have done differently, to calling her dance school and persuading them to have Cana take over teaching a few more classes. According to the older man, she definitely knew something was up but was choosing to play along.
To say Gildarts was grateful was an understatement. Master didn't have to do this- didn't have to keep her there just so he could tell her the truth on his terms, he certainly hadn't had to look through Cana's file after seeing the tattoo, but the miniature guildmaster was adamant that it wasn't a big deal. He had raised both of them and it was his responsibility to make sure his children were happy- withholding information as important as this would be detrimental to that.
The crash mage wasn't sure how this was going to go. Cana was a grown woman, strong, confident, intelligent, and talented: was there even any room for him in her life? Would she hate him for not being there for any of her moments before or after arriving at the guild, for letting her mother walk away? He already loved her so damn much- but what would happen if she wasn't interested in a father- daughter relationship?
Well, if she didn't want him in her life that was her right and he would respect it. He couldn't put his own wants above hers, that was how being a parent was supposed to work and if that was all he could do he would do it.
And as he looked around at the sea of new and familiar faces around him, he subtly scanned the room for the brunette that had come to be the center of his whole world in three weeks. He spotted her sitting on a table near the bar, chugging beer straight from the barrel. The Ace had to furiously stomp down on the reflex that demanded he go take it away from her and cover her up; she was a grown woman who could make her own decisions and he didn't have the right to parent her anyway.
She looked so much like her mom, he mused to himself, how had he never seen it before?
He had missed so much of her life, here's hoping she was willing to let him in.
He steeled himself and walked over.
"Hey Cana," he greeted cheerfully, getting a confused look from the card mage, who looked around for a minute before seeming to realize he was actually talking to her (and wasn't that a shot to the heart? That his daughter automatically thought his talking to her was some kind of mistake?).
"Um- Hi Gildarts," The girl stumbled, wide-eyed.
"Do- do you think we could talk privately for a few minutes Cana? Its- its important."
The violet-eyed girl blinked but nodded hesitantly, and as the two walked toward the backroom Gildarts saw the tattoo that had started all of this and it took his breath away. Prominently displayed on her right shoulder was the image of the love of his life, whoever the artist had been was certainly talented. Despite being a black and white image, it had a life to it: the shine of her eyes and the small scar at the corner of her lip- he had known that face so well, had traced every feature a thousand times, but Cornelia remained the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, even after all these years. Though as he came to a stop in the back room he mentally corrected himself- Cana was the most beautiful, her mother took second place.
The card mage figeted a bit," So… what did you want to talk about?" She asked uneasily.
"I-" Why was talking so hard? He had rehearsed this over and over- why couldn't he say it?
Cana looked him up and down," You know, maybe we could do this lat-"
"I'm your father." He blurted out.
Silence.
Cana blinked, staring at him in astonshiment," You- what?"
"I'm your father." The Ace repeated carefully," I- Master recognized your mom when you got your tattoo and he did a little digging- and- and when he found out he called me. I swear I didn't know Cana! Your mom and I- we used to be married and things- things just fell apart; I didn't know about yo-"
He was cut off by a raised hand from the brunette.
"I know that you didn't know about me." Cana said quietly, it took a moment before Gildarts processed the implications of that statement.
"…you knew?"
The brunette nodded slowly, before admitting," I came to Fairy Tail because I was trying to find you. Mom- before she died she told me who you were and how to find you. I've tried to tell you so many times, but things just kept getting in the way and eventually I just couldn't do it anymore- my own low self esteem contributed to that I guess."
Gildarts could only stare open mouthed in shock and horror. Cana had been such a tiny child when she had joined the guild- all these years, all these years she had been trying to tell him the truth. All these years she had to watch as her daddy openly favored the other children and ignored her. How badly had he hurt her?
He didn't even think, he just pulled her into his arms, wrapping her up and pressing her head to his chest. "I'm so sorry Cana." He whispered into her hair.
"You didn't know- I don't blame you for anything." He pulled her closer, wanting more than anything to rewrite time- to go back and be there for every little moment. To be the kind of dad who would go to every dance recital and brag endlessly about her to anyone with a pulse, to take her sledding in the park when the snow was fresh, to be there for every little thing that he had missed.
"Can I call you Dad?"
He almost sobbed," Of course you can sweetheart! I promise we're always going to be together for now on- I don't care if its on a job or hitting up a bar. Just...please just let me love you!"
"I'm fine with that… Dad."
That was what broke the dam. All of the pent of emotions were released as father and daughter sobbed, desperately clinging to each other. It would take some time to adjust, you don't just become a family overnight, but everything was going to work out- they would make sure of it.
And if Gildarts tracked down the artist later to thank him for his part in all of this, well that's another story.
AN: It took so long to get that ending out, I just needed to find the right balance and it took awhile before I was satisfied. The flying tackle-hug is great when she's young, but as an adult with baggage it's a lot more difficult. I definitely had Makarov praise her highly, some of it is actually from the series, I remember a little thing in one of the OVA's that Cana was almost undefeated in chess and she is always a leader when things get rough. I also had my own little headcannon that in this verse where Cana is a dancer that Makarov would be the kind of foster parent who never missed a recital (in my head I also have him dragging Laxus to them, but that's not important). And if any of you caught the Naruto reference I tip my hat to you!