It finally happened, I finished the story.

It feels weird to let it come to an end after almost 4 years and I'm overwhelmed by the amount of support this fic has received.

Thanks for all your comments and messages throughout the years, it means a lot

This ship has grown so much in the fandom ever since people started adopting it and I'm super happy about that!

A special thanks to Chrissy for being my beta for every single chapter through all these years :)

Lazily, Cana hung over one of the guild's heavy tables. It had been a while since she had gone on a quest. Not that she needed the money. Everything she had earned with Mest was still in her savings, and she would be able to pay rent and food for at least half a year. They had kept their savings together, but he had taken his half just before he left.

Time had passed as if all days were empty. It was like Lisanna's funeral happened just the other day, but it had been two months already. It had been a rainy day, all the guild members dressed in clothing even more depressing than the weather.

Silently, Cana had put a lily on her friend's empty grave. Standing in the crowd, she kept looking left and right. Him not being on one of his best friend's funeral was the final straw for her to doubt her own sanity.

Slowly, she had started to accept that he was gone, vanished without a trace, but being the only one to know about his existence started to drive her crazy.

She had held on to a new plan. Day after day, she would wait for Makarov to walk out of his office without anyone being around at the highest floor of the guild.

Today was finally the day Makarov left his office early without Mirajane, who was now his assistant, walking anywhere near his office.

As soon as the guild master went outside, she sprinted up the stairs as fast as she could without making too much noise. She tiptoed to his office and closed the door behind her.

Where to look first? Cana walked up to the desk and read the titles of the messy piles of paperwork. Almost no letters, just boring financial stuff. Beneath one pile of paper, a gold and black agenda showed up. Bingo.

She quickly leafed through the pages. All kinds of meetings were scrabbled down in almost unreadable handwriting. She scanned all the dates thoroughly until her attention was caught by a few words written down in a different colour ink.

July 23rd: Magic Council meeting - 4 pm

What on earth would Makarov go to the Magic Council for if it wasn't for any property damage the members of the guild had done? She took a little piece of paper out of her pocket and scribbled down the date and time.

Quickly she turned around, only to find herself directly facing Mirajane.

''Cana? What are you doing here?''

She quickly stuffed the piece of paper away in her bra. ''Nothing,'' she blurted out.

''So you're doing nothing in Makarov's office, where no one, but me is allowed to be?''

''I-'' She stopped. What was she supposed to say?

''Would you believe me if I said I'm looking for a way to contact an old friend of Lisanna to tell them what happened?''

Mirajane looked at her in confusion. ''A friend outside the guild?''

''I know this all might not make any sense, but please believe me,'' Cana begged, ''I'm doing nothing against the guild rules.''

''You're lucky I'm in a good mood,'' Mirajane said. ''I'll let this slip, just one time.''

July 23rd

''Good to see you Gramps,'' Mest said as soon as they were alone in the Council hall, ''are you impressed by how well I've blended in so far? They're not suspecting a thing.''

''Very impressed,'' Makarov replied, ''at this rate, it won't be hard to recover the first information they are hiding.''

''Absolutely!'' Mest said optimistically, even though he knew that this could take years. His smile soon vanished.

The short silence was suddenly interrupted by the sound of running footsteps from the other hall. Makarov sighed deeply. ''I was already afraid this would happen.''

Mest raised an eyebrow. ''What's the matter?''

''You couldn't erase Cana's memory, now could you?''

He gulped. How did he know?

''You have to make the choice here and now, Mest,'' Makarov said as he turned around, ''one person less to remember you or saving the entire continent.''

''Master, wait!''

Makarov turned around the corner, back to the council's entrance, almost overrun by Cana.

She stopped. ''He's here, isn't he?'' she said, almost out of breath.

Makarov only nodded before continuing his way out.

She didn't hesitate for a second, almost tripping over her own feet when she lost grip on the polished tiles of the main hall.

She stopped once more when she turned around the corner. In the middle of the empty hall, he stood. Motionless, they stared at each other. The only sound that echoed through the hall was that of her own panting.

He looked bad, to say the least. His hair had grown longer, and he apparently didn't feel the need to shave his now slightly visible beard. His eyes looked tired and had the bags underneath them to confirm it. His clothes were nothing like he had ever worn before. Long white trousers, a green vest, and a white cape that almost reached the ground. Council attire.

Cana felt tears prickling in the corner of her eyes. ''It's really you,'' she whispered.

''Cana,'' he hoarsely said, ''I- I'm so sorry.''

She balled her fists. ''What could have possibly made you make this decision all of a sudden?!'' Her voice trembled with anger. ''What's so important,'' she took some steps closer, her voicing rising with every step, ''that you had to skip Lisanna's funeral?!''

His eyes widened in shock. ''Lisanna's funeral?'' he breathlessly managed to bring out.

''Yes, Lisanna is dead!'' Cana yelled. ''Not that you would care, you're not in the guild anymore.''

His face had turned as white as a sheet. ''I had no idea.''

''Of course you had no idea! You also don't know what I've been through these months!''

He took a few steps to close the remaining space between them. Without further hesitation, he draped his arms around her, holding her tight. ''I've missed you so much.''

She was stunned. Beforehand she had thought only about her rage, her agony, and sadness, and she was ready to unleash it all on him. Every part of her mind wanted to scream at him, to slap him in the face. Only to let him feel what he had caused.

But she didn't. Instead of getting more worked up, she felt herself relax against his touch.

''I've missed you too,'' she said, before holding his face between her palms and pressing her lips onto his. He returned the kiss just as desperately as her. Only he knew this could be the last.

All of a sudden she felt a sharp pain striking through her skull. She opened her eyes, only to see him crying. She didn't have to ask what was happening to her. She knew it was no use fighting it either.

''I don't want to lose my memories of you.'' Her voice shook. ''You're all I have.''

''You don't have to forgive me,'' he said as he held her tighter, tears kept streaming down his face onto her shoulder. ''One day you'll understand.''

He felt her gradually grow weaker until all he was holding onto was her unconscious body. Gently, he laid her down and wiped the tears from his face.

Makarov came walking around the corner. ''I know this wasn't easy, you did well, my boy,''

''Get out of my sight!'' Mest yelled at the old man. ''You've done enough already!''

He turned around and looked over his shoulder one more time.

''Goodbye.''

Slowly, Cana opened her eyes. Quickly she sat up straight. ''What happened? Where am I?'' She looked around and realised she was in the guild's infirmary.

''It's okay Cana,'' Makarov said, ''you came with me to the Magic Council to help me collect some paperwork, and you tripped and hit your head.''

She pressed the palm of her hand against her still aching forehead.

''Gramps, who was that man just now?''

Makarov had to keep his voice from breaking, upon seeing her naivety, unaware of everything that had just happened. ''That man was Doranbolt," he said as he swallowed his tears. ''Doranbolt Seyir of the Magic Council.

The saddest ending possible, but I had decided on this ending from the very start because I wanted to stick to the canon verse.

No need for sadness after this end because they will be reunited in my sequel Scarred Pasts, which I wrote in 2015.

I'm currently working on oneshots that are related to this story so it's not entirely over yet ^^

Until later!