Meddling Mira

Summary: The resident matchmaker of Fairy Tail decided that it is her duty as Cana's friend to set her up with a good guy and she had just the guy in mind. Cana and Gildarts would be so cute together after all!

Warning- Mentions of Incest (nothing actually happens), low self esteem, and mention of a mental breakdown that resulted in suicide watch.

Disclaimer: I don't own

AN: Don't worry guys- despite her best efforts the two never become anything more than friends before the big reveal. Thank you cowseatgrass for the tarot idea, took me a while to figure out how to use it and I hope you like how this turned out.

Mira knew that to some people this would probably be considered 'nosy' or 'meddling', but she just wanted to see her friend be happy- was that so wrong?

She had noticed Cana's behavior around the crash mage, how the normally brash girl became shy and awkward whenever the older man was at the guild- the brunette had obviously been crushing hard for a long time now and as her friend it was her duty to try to help!

To start she had to get Gildarts to notice Cana and she knew exactly how to do it.

"Good morning Gildarts!" The white-haired girl chirped happily.

"Morning Mira." The red headed man replied back with a smile.

"Sooo… I don't mean to be rude or anything Gildarts, but…" Mira trailed off, taking care to seem a little unsure.

"What? I don't really get offended that easily- what's eating you?" He asked curiously.

"We-e-ell… I was helping Master organize the files and… well I read yours…" the take-over mage said sheepishly," Its just- do you really not know anything about your family?"

Gildarts blinked for a moment before shrugging," Not a thing." He admitted," Its not really a big deal; I mean, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious, but there isn't really anyway for me to find anything out."

"Well you could always ask Cana." The She-Devil suggested casually, making Gildarts stare at her in confusion.

"Huh?"

"With Cana's fortune-telling skills I'm sure she'd be able to tell you something at least," she said nonchalantly while polishing a glass," She's one of the foremost experts in card magic- I'd be more surprised if she couldn't tell you anything."

Hook.

Gildarts mulled that over for a moment.

Line.

A shrug. "Eh, what the hell- can't hurt to ask."

Sinker.

Mira carefully made sure that none of her satisfaction read on her face, before casually mentioning," She should swing by the guild any minute now- eight in the morning like clockwork on Wednesdays."

"Really?" He asked curiously," Wonder why?"

"I don't really know- why don't you ask her?" Mira threw out with a smile- Cana would thank her for this later.

oOOOOo

When Cana strolled through the doors that morning the last thing she expected was for her father-of all people- to approach her.

"Hey Cana," The Ace said happily as he settled across from her, much to the brunette's shock

"Um- hi?" She stumbled- what the hell was going on?

"So, I actually have a favor I wanted to ask," he started casually," You see- I don't know anything about my family or where I came from, I was wondering if you might be able to give me a reading?'

Cana blinked stupidly for a moment before forcing herself to calm down- she just had to treat this like any normal reading. "I- you're going to need to pick a question as specific as possible." The brunette started, getting her cards out of her bag," The more specific you are the more I can give you."

The card mage firmly ignored the little voice in her head saying that she should tell him now: he wanted to know about family; what better time?

Gildarts thought it over as Cana shuffled her deck, before finally deciding." I want to know if I have any living family."

Cana carefully kept her feelings hidden as she tossed out the cards onto the table, flipping them over in quick succession. She studied the resulting formation, before giving out the verdict," You have at least one living blood relative, who is closer than you might think." Actually, it was better interpreted as 'who is right in front of you', but… being a little vague wouldn't kill anybody.

Gildarts blinked in surprise for the umpteenth time that morning- that was something alright. As he opened his mouth to ask if she could get anything more specific, Cana's stomach growled. Laughing a little at the brunette's embarrassed blush," Thanks for that, suppose the least I can do is buy you breakfast."

"I wouldn't be against that," the violet eyed girl said wryly, not being one to turn down a free meal," Guild always has the best pancakes on Wednesdays- milk delivery comes at eight and first person in gets chocolate chips."

Hey, she may not be as bad as some of her guildmates but she liked her breakfast!

Gildarts looked at her slightly amazed," I've been a member of this guild for how many years now and I didn't know that was a thing?" At least that solved the mystery of why she showed up at the same time on Wednesdays.

Cana gave him a little smile," Tell you what- you can have a bite of mine!"

"Now that's an offer I certainly won't refuse," the man replied with a smile of his own.

Unnoticed by both of them, Mira smiled happily as she watched them interact, she'd have them together by the end of the week!

oOOOOo

The next phase of her plan was going to be tricky. Gildarts largely still saw them all as kids, if she was going to get the two of them together, she had to find a way to get him to see Cana as a woman.

She served the crash mage another round and casually commented," Geez, between you and Cana I wouldn't be surprised if we run out of beer."

The older man laughed a bit," Yeah that was a surprise- never seen anyone drink that much and still be able to walk!"

The white-haired girl smiled before asking," Who do you think has the stronger tolerance- you or Cana?"

The red head shrugged before loudly replying," Cana can hold her liquor, but I've got a lifetime of drinking behind me- pretty sure I'd take it."

That got a round of cheers from the surrounding guildmembers.

"That sounds like Cana has a challenger!" Macao yelled to the crowded room, getting an enthusiastic response as he turned toward the card mage," What do you say Cana- you up for it?"

The brunette girl looked a little surprised, before giving the room a shrug," I don't know guys- I wouldn't want to embarrass him too badly when he loses." She said with a smirk, the crowd all cheering at the jab.

Gildarts himself let out a laugh and roared," Those are fighting words: bring out the beer!"

The question of who had the higher tolerance unfortunately would have to be answered at a later date as between the two of them the guild ran out of beer after about fifteen minutes. The pair managed to drain a total of forty-two barrels between them. It had certainly been entertaining if nothing else, even though neither of them were anything more than tipsy.

The crash mage let out a loud belch, before clapping a rosy-cheeked Cana on the back," Talk about a run for my money! I've never had someone that could keep up with me like that before!"

Cana hiccuped as she nodded," Same here!"

"We'll just have to settle this another time then."

"I could take you any day of the week Gildarts!" The brunette yelled before she playfully stuck her tongue out at her opponent.

Phase two of Operation Romance complete.

oOOOOo

The next phase actually happened more as a coincidence than anything else. Mira had been trying to figure out a way to get them to spend more time together when the perfect opportunity (literally) fell right into her lap.

An emergency request- a town on the other side of mount Hakobe was being threatened by an unstoppable monster. It was perfect.

"Gildarts!" She called out as he walked in the door. "We have an emergency request- you up for it?" She asked, sliding the paper across the bar to the crash mage.

For his part the Ace barely even looked at the flyer before nodding," Of course- always up for a job."

"Great- but I do have a favor if you wouldn't mind hearing me out first." The take-over mage asked seriously, getting a level stare from the older man.

"Shoot."

Mira took a deep breath," The S-class trials are coming up and… well I'm worried about Cana. She tends to beat herself up a lot around this time of year and maybe this could be the confidence boost she needs to make it this year." It wasn't a lie; she was worried about her. After the nervous breakdown last year when the card mage had quietly been put on suicide watch, Mira was willing to do whatever she could to help Cana make it this year.

Gildarts was surprised, but was more than willing," Sure- hell I might have asked her to come along even if you hadn't said anything."

Mira's matchmaking instincts started blaring as she tried to act natural," Oh really? Why?"

"Well over the past few days we've talked a lot and she's a lot of fun to be around, we actually have a lot in common." He admitted.

"Oh- well that's nice isn't it?" Yes!

The red headed man shrugged," I guess it is." And walked over to the table where Cana was chugging down a barrel.

"Hey Cana!" He greeted as he sat down next to her, making the brunette put down the barrel.

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand," Uh- hi Gildarts?"

"So, an emergency job request came in- care to come with me?"

For a moment she just stared. Gaping like a concussed fish as she repeated his words over and over in her head as she tried to puzzle out whatever code he obviously must have been using. Him- the pride of Fairy Tail and her biological father- had just asked her- the dregs of the younger generation- to go on an S-class emergency request with him?!

"…What?" She asked dumbly, getting a confused look from the red head as he repeated himself.

"Do you want to go on a job with me?"

He said it twice- what the hell?

"I-I… why are you asking me?" She stuttered.

Gildarts was feeling a little bewildered as he answered," …Because I want you to come with me?"

"No- I meant why aren't you asking Natsu or Gray or Erza- you know someone actually strong." She clarified.

That made Gildarts' jaw slacken just a bit- did she honestly think so little of herself?

"Cana- there's no one else I'd rather have my back than someone tough enough to prove she's worthy of S-class four times over. More than that, you'll be good company too."

Hearing those words come out of her father's mouth made her feel… something. Some kind of warmth in her chest that she'd never felt before (he thought she was strong- did he really think she was strong?). "I- okay I guess." She said, partly in shock gaining a huge grin from the crash mage.

"Great- but we gotta go now." He said climbing to his feet," It's time sensitive." He explained to the card mage.

Cana nodded, still kind of shocked but knowing how to compartmentalize when it came to work," Sounds good- shall we?"

As the two headed out the doors to go fight a monster and save the day, Mira smiled to herself. Even if they didn't wind up getting together, maybe this job would be what Cana needed to get some confidence in herself. Her friend's well being came first and after all these years of seeing Cana's opinion of herself sink lower and lower, it was good to finally do something.

Though… if they also fell in love and decided to elope on the way back that would be nice too.

oOOOOo

While they did not, in fact, elope on the way back to the guild, the mission did go so well that Gildarts was singing the card mage's praises around the guildhall.

He was holding court as he told the entire guild about the job, wildly gesticulating for emphasis.

"-so, I'm trying to get this kid out of the danger zone, the monster is about to stomp on us, and Cana comes out of nowhere and BAM!" He smashed his fist down on his leg for emphasis," And then she blew it up!" He said enthusiastically.

"Easily one of the most spectacular explosions I've ever seen." He said reverently, pulling Cana into his side with one arm to give her a hug, as well as pull her into the spotlight. Cana's face was cherry red as she avoided eye contact with anyone, but she had a smile on her face all the same.

The night continued with everyone celebrating a successful job with booze, food, and war stories galore. At some point during the night Cana fell asleep on the bar, a peaceful smile on her face.

Gildarts looked down at the sleeping beauty when the night was coming to a close as almost everyone had gone home," How did she sleep through all of that?" He wondered out loud- the chaos had gotten pretty damn loud.

"She can sleep through anything- we actually have a scrapbook dedicated to it." Mira said with a shrug as she wiped down the tables.

"A scrapbook?" He asked incredulously.

The white-haired girl nodded, not even stopping her work as she explained," Cana's the heaviest sleeper on the planet. The scrapbook's filled with pictures of some of the weirder places we've caught her sleeping."

Morbidly curious he had to ask," Where was the weirdest?"

"The roof of the original guildhall- she was cuddling a bag of potatoes for some reason."

Gildarts had to stifle a laugh- damn he'd have to see if he could see that picture, certainly sounded funny.

"So… do we wake her up or-?" The crash mage asked uncertainly looking at the card mage, she looked so peaceful it would be a shame to wake her.

Mira was about to say yes when a light bulb went off in her head," Oh that wouldn't do any good." The barmaid lied without remorse," When she falls asleep absolutely nothing can wake her- just have to wait for her to do that herself."

"Oh. Well… she can't stay like that all night." He said slightly worried about the state of Cana's back if they left her like that. "Should I take her home?"

"Yeah… didn't think about that." Mira said sheepishly," I know she moved recently, but I don't know her new address." That was true, Cana had moved recently- from the second floor of Fairy Hills to the first floor and Mira didn't know her new room number.

"Uh… can she bunk with you-?"

The take-over mage shook her head," Since Lisanna came back things have been a bit of a tight squeeze- we're looking for a bigger place but haven't found anything yet."

Gildarts paused for a second mulling things over before hesitantly suggesting," Well… I guess I could always take her home with me. I mean one night couldn't hurt right?"

Mira smiled," Oh that's so nice of you Gildarts!" She said happily," I'm sure she won't mind!"

The crash mage picked up the sleeping brunette, marveling slightly when she didn't even stir as he moved her into a bridal carry. More than a little awkward he headed off home, leaving Mira behind as she finished closing up for the night.

Oh they'd have such beautiful babies together!

oOOOOo

All was well in the Fairy Tail guild. A quiet morning with no property damage, no brawls, no threats of legal action, and no drama.

That was until Cana burst into the guildhall on the warpath.

"MIRA- WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!" She roared furiously, as she made a beeline towards the barmaid.

The white-haired girl blinked innocently," Oh good morning Cana- what's the matter?"

Cana's right eye twitched, before she put on a smile that was entirely too much teeth," Oh, nothing much- but would you care to tell me why you have been trying to set me and Gildarts up lately?"

The eldest Strauss tried to play dumb," I don't know- "

"Don't give me that crap." Cana snapped, interrupting the other girl," How about this- care to explain why I woke up in his bed this morning?"

That got spit takes from everyone that were not even trying to pretend like they weren't watching, though both girls ignored them as Mira squealed," You got together?!"

"No, we did not." Cana said sharply, gritting her teeth as she resisted the urge to strangle her. "Apparently when I fell asleep last night you told him that I had moved recently and suggested that waking me up would be a waste of time, so he brought me home. The drinking contests, the job, the conversations- all have been instigated by you. You have been pulling your matchmaking bullshit on us and I want to know why."

At the dangerous tone in the other girl's voice Mira decided to come clean.

"I was just trying to help! You've been crushing on him for years so- "

She was interrupted once again by Cana.

"What- what made you think I was crushing on Gildarts?!" She asked incredulously, a look of utter disgust on her face- as if the idea of having a crush on the Ace was completely repulsive to her.

That reaction made the barmaid more than a little confused," But the way you've always acted around him- "

"Let me be clear: I have never and will never have a crush on Gildarts!"

The She-Devil was not going to give it up though, "Why not?"

"Because unlike some people I don't get turned on by incest!" The brunette snarled.

"What?!"

It was at that moment that Cana froze, fifty emotions crossing her face as she slowly turned around, faced with her father's shocked and confused face, along with the rest of the guild.

"Cana- what?" Gildarts was at a loss for words as he stared at the dark-haired girl- incest? Did that mean-?

The card mage took a deep breath before answering," One of your flings was my mom- congratulations it's a girl." She said sarcastically, before caustically biting out," Don't worry I won't be moving in."

With those parting words she left the guildhall as quickly as she possibly could, wanting to put as much distance as she could between herself and the shattered remains of her life.

oOOOOo

Gildarts was in shock.

He felt like that was a pretty reasonable state all things considered.

He had a kid.

The beautiful, amazing young woman who he had felt he was becoming close to was his daughter, and she had known this. When he had asked about family, the reading she had given him was that his family was closer than he might think- had that been her way of trying to tell him the truth?

People around him were saying stuff, but he couldn't hear them.

When she had woken up that morning, she had initially been a little freaked out- asking him how she had gotten there and when he had answered she had gotten upset and stormed out. And when he followed her, he had gotten a front row seat to her yelling at Mirajane for trying to set them up and didn't that thought stir up mixed feelings? That if someone had told him even a few hours ago they wanted to set him up with Cana he might have even been receptive to the idea- and now that he knew the truth the thought made him nauseous.

She had just- how was he supposed to react?

'One of your flings was my mom.'

Which one was her mother? He had been with a lot of women over the years and even though he always took precautions (that apparently failed at least once), he always made sure that the girl could contact him if she got pregnant. Whoever mothered his daughter had deliberately kept him out of her life.

How did he begin to make up for all the missed moments?

Wait- better question: why the hell was he sitting here and not out looking for her?

With that thought he immediately stood up, ready to comb the entire town if he had to when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned to see Master with his arm stretched out.

"There's a music store across town called Griffith's- I'd check there first." The old man said gruffly, looking at him with an expression that was one part sympathy to two parts pity.

Gildarts mouth was dry as he tried to come up with something to say before he just nodded. He had been kept out of his daughter's life for long enough. Right now… that job with her had been enough to see how low her self esteem was, he didn't even want to guess how she might be feeling right now.

He had a daughter now- her feelings and well being came first.

oOOOOo

Griffith's was a low building with wide glass windows on all sides exposing the inside of the shop, where a familiar head of dark hair was seated at a piano.

The red head swallowed before entering, a little bell ringing as he stepped through the door. Cana turned on reflex at the sound, freezing like a deer in headlights as she caught sight of him. Her eyes were red, and she had tear tracks dried on her cheeks.

"What- how did you- "She fumbled trying to figure out what to ask.

"Master told me where I'd find you." He said lowly, trying not to make an already difficult situation even harder.

"Oh."

Things were quiet for a moment before Gildarts decided to break the silence.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Had she thought he'd be a bad dad?

"…I tried." Cana swallowed fighting down another wave of tears before she continued," I'm- sorry about the guildhall, of all the ways I thought about telling you… I'm sorry you found out like that."

"…Its okay." It wasn't but they'd both let the lie stand for now," What do you mean 'you tried'?"

Cana furiously rubbed at her face and push her hand through her hair," I came to the guild to find you." She admitted," My mother told me who you were before she died, and I came here looking for you. I tried to tell you who I was…so many times. Eventually I just- stopped. My self esteem was so low I just couldn't do it anymore- I figured you wouldn't want a kid who was the dregs of Fair- "

He didn't let her finish, he just grabbed her and pulled her into his chest, and that seemed to be the last straw for Cana. The girl broke down in his arms, burying her face into his chest as she cried and Gildarts rubbed her back and supported her until she calmed down, the sobs eventually becoming sniffles.

He'd had his child right in front of him all these years- he could beat himself up for this later, right now…

"Cana- I don't know much about being a dad, but if its okay with you… do you think we could try? I-I want the chance to love you."

"That's- that's okay with me… Dad."

He pulled back a little bit and wiped the tears off her face, there were so many questions he needed answers to, but first-

"Think you could teach an old dog a new trick?" He asked wryly, gesturing at the piano in front of them getting a shy smile from the most beautiful girl in the world as the father and daughter sat down on the bench and began an impromptu music lesson.

Yes there were questions he needed answered, but this took precedence.

AN: This one came to me in the middle of an exam and I had to get it down. I realized that her shy behavior when she was a kid could have been interpreted as a crush and since Mira's shipping habits are well-known this was born. I tried to keep the ratio of funny to angst as balanced as I could- what did you guys think?

Also- believe it or not that scrapbook actually exists. I have a unique bond with one of my sisters, she is the heaviest sleeper on the planet (slept through an earthquake, a fire alarm, and five of us screaming right next to her) and I sleepwalk- so the book was born to document the weirdest situations they've ever seen us in. The potato one and the roof actually happened, though not at the same time. I somehow managed to get up on the roof without waking me or anyone else up and we found her cuddling the potatoes in the pantry.

You might have noticed that the Cornelia revelation didn't happen- I just figured with the way that I laid it out there wasn't really anywhere I could put it where it looked right.