Gearhead
Summary: Gildarts lost an arm and a leg on his failed century quest, thankfully Cana knows a thing or two about automail. Isn't it interesting that something so innocent as a name can reveal everything?
Disclaimer: I don't own
AN: This chapter is a crossover clusterfuck that takes inspiration from about 5-6 different fics (some of which are mine) and a prompt from Midnight Rose 365. By the end of this you are either going to think I'm insane or that I got stupid lucky that this somehow worked.
"You know how to fix a magic mobile?"
"Yup." Cana replied absently as she tightened the last few bolts holding the lacrima converter in place.
"Why do you know how to fix an magic mobile?"
"Is there some reason I shouldn't?"
Gray continued staring at his best friend as she continued fitting the pieces of the magic mobile back together. They had taken a job together and the client had loaned it to them- when it had broken down the ice wizard had been resigned to kissing their reward goodbye. Cana had shrugged, pulled a small toolkit out of the passenger compartment and set to working taking the whole thing apart and then putting it back together.
The brunette girl seemed totally at ease among the nuts and bolts that made up the machine. Gray had always known that Cana had never been as girly as some of the others (not that there was anything wrong with being girly or not being girly) and while he had no problem with it, he was having a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that his ballerina best friend not only knew how to take an engine apart, but could expect it to work when she put it back together again.
The card mage shrugged as she pulled something that looked alarmingly like a weapon from the tool kit," I have a degree in mechanical engineering from Fiore National."
"You have a what?!" The ice make wizard asked incredulously, his jaw almost hitting the pavement," Since when?!"
"Since last month." She answered nonchalantly, putting the finishing touches on the machine. Satisfied, she pushed herself up, wiping the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand, unintentionally smearing her face with grease. "That should do it."
True to her word- the magic mobile not only started, it ran smoother than it had before. The two drove in silence for a while before Gray decided to restart the questioning.
"How come you didn't tell me about your degree?" He asked, slightly hurt that he hadn't known about an accomplishment as big as this in his surrogate sister's life.
"Gee Gray, I never realized that keeping details of my life to myself was so unfair. You're right- I obviously should have been telling you everything. I should rectify this right now- how about we start with my cup size?" She retorted, the sarcasm dripping of her words, before she sighed.
"I got my degree through Fiore State's accelerated program. I only took classes that pertained to my specific degree and skipped all Gen Ed classes and extracurriculars- thing is I found out that I'd been accepted to the program two days after Lisanna died." The brunette shrugged," It didn't seem right to mention it when we were all still upset."
That… was actually really reasonable. "But why didn't you say anything since then?"
"I just figured that it didn't matter- its not like it affects my performance on jobs or anything. I got a degree- something thousands of people do globally every year."
"But those thousands of people aren't you Cana." Gray said seriously, staring intently at his best friend. Her insecurities, he should've figured they'd be the cause of this. Cana was one of the most incredible people he knew, but her self esteem was shit. She'd never brag about herself because she harbored the (moronic) belief that no one would care. "I've heard about the accelerated programs at Fiore National- don't they only accept five applicants a year?"
"Five per department- "The brunette tried to correct, but her foster brother cut her off.
"That doesn't cheapen your accomplishment." The ice wizard said pointedly," You pulled off something that a lot of people couldn't do- don't think for a second the guild wouldn't brag to everyone about this."
"But- "
"No buts." He said firmly before a question popped into his brain," How did this even get started? I mean why mechanics?"
The violet eyed girl shrugged," I went to a workshop on automail mechanics and really liked it. I mean, I don't have the mind for something as complex as prosthetic creation or the medical background to be able to do the rewiring of the nerves into the pressure plates-" She cut off her rambling and flushed," Sorry. I just- uh- I just really find it cool."
Gray blinked, pushing away the question marks spinning in his brain as he turned onto the road that would take them back to the client's house." Is there anything else about you I don't know?"
"So much Gray. So much."
oOOOOo
News of Cana's degree spread like wildfire as soon as the duo returned home. And, true to Gray's word, the entire guild had thrown a 'Congratulations You're an Engineer Now' party for the brunette, everyone demanding to know why she hadn't told them about this and when her graduation ceremony had been.
Unfortunately, this led to the unintended consequence of the card mage being the new go-to person for repair work.
Cana was secretly touched by their enthusiasm, but she could really do without her landlady asking her to fix the lacrima water heater at Fairy Hills. Was she a lacrima engineer? No, she was a mechanical engineer.
She was qualified to work on stuff like automobiles and amusement park rides- so everybody swarming her to ask her to fix busted lacrimas got old real fast.
Thankfully her father returning from his century quest quickly made her degree old news.
Her father…
Gildarts coming home… it always brought up mixed feelings for her.
Joy that her daddy had come home, excitement because she got to hear all about his journey, pain because he always looked at her and saw a stranger, grief, inadequacy, shame- the list went on and on.
The brunette tried not to think of the approaching S-Class trials, and of the decision she had come to regarding her inevitable failure. She'd always been good about fooling others but fooling herself was something she just didn't have the strength to do anymore.
At least she had that shiny new degree- life as a mechanic had a hell of a lot more security than life as a dancer or musician did. That would make things easier.
"Hey Cana- you got a minute?"
For a moment her brain shut down. Unable to process the voice, the words, or the face that had said them.
"Um- I- sure?" She stuttered, gaping like a concussed fish as her father- the strongest wizard in Fairy Tail- sat down right across from her. Was this actually happening? Had someone slipped her something without her realizing it?!
Gildarts was eyeing her in concern," Um… are you okay Cana?"
"I'm fine!" She blurted out in a rush," What d'you need Gildarts?"
Hallucination or drugs be damned- this might be the only conversation she'd ever have with her father and fuck it all she was taking it.
The Ace looked her up and down, before shrugging," So I hear that you're the person to talk to about mecha- "
"If you need something fixed try a handy man." She interrupted blandly, making the man wince.
"No, it's not like that!" He said hurriedly to reassure her," You see I'm trying to find a good automail engineer and I was wondering if you could answer a few questions, so I know what to look for."
"Gildarts I'm not qualified- "Cana tried to say, before the crash mage interrupted.
"Please? I'll buy the next few rounds."
"…what do you want to know?"
The older male brightened and then began asking his questions. Cana listened to them all, nodding her head politely before she gave him her thoughts.
"Okay- as far as metal types go, if any mechanic offers you something made of iron then I'd leave- you've got enough bulk that you'd probably be okay but they don't handle well over time." She stated, completely in business mode as the red head jotted down her advice," For you I personally think you could handle some of the fancier combat models, but the maintenance on a long job wouldn't be practical for you- steel and carbon-fiber models have the most endurance with a level of maintenance that I think would suit your lifestyle. You also want to ask about the newer modified nerve wirings and hydraulic pressure plates."
"Is there a reason I want to ask for those?" Gildarts asked seriously.
The card mage shrugged," It's more of a preference thing." She explained," With new wiring and plates that route through your nerves to a small lacrima you would regain a lot of fine motor function- I can't give you exact numbers though."
He gave her an impressed look," You know, for someone who claims not to be qualified, you sure seem to know your stuff."
Cana flushed bright pink at the praise," I find automail really interesting." She admitted sheepishly," I don't have the technical skill required for an automail engineer, but I have done a lot of research just because."
"How'd you get interested in automail anyway?" He asked curiously, taking a swig from his glass.
"My grandfather was an automail mechanic for almost forty years," She explained chugging down the beer in her hand before she continued," He died before I was born, but I found some of his old designs and I thought they were cool, so I decided to learn more and really liked it."
Gildarts smiled at the girl," That's nice- you know I actually dated a girl whose father ran an automail shop- what was your grandfather's name? Maybe I've heard of him."
"Dominick Alberona."
He choked.
The Ace started coughing as he tried in vain to get the beer out of his lungs. Had she seriously just-!
"Dominick Alb- do you mean DA Ironworks?!" He asked slightly hysterically, getting a surprised and wary look from the eighteen-year-old.
"Yeah that's right- are you okay?" She asked in concern, but the crash mage wasn't listening. Spiraling down into the traumatic memories of the terrifying man who had fathered the love of his life. Of the talk they'd had when he and Conny had started to date… what he'd said he'd do if he ever hurt her… as horrible as it sounded, he had been kind of relieved the old man had already been dead when he and Conny had split up.
Wait- Conny had been an only child…
A slow realization building in his mind, he asked," Cana- was your mom's name 'Cornelia' by any chance?"
Surprise flashed across the brunette's face," Yeah actually- how did you- "
"Well it was nice talking to you Cana." He interrupted, giving the girl a fake smile," Thanks for the advice, hope you have a nice day."
And he walked away, his heart weighing heavier in his chest with every single step.
oOOOOo
What do you do when you find out that your ex-wife moved on without you finding out?
In Gildarts' case: you get smashed.
He was spiraling towards 'tipsy' with a real possibility of hitting 'wasted' in the near future.
He supposed that he should have seen this coming- after all he hadn't heard about Conny's death until almost five years after the fact, and she had been an incredible, beautiful, magnificent human being. Of course she'd been able to move on with someone else and have a kid.
In hindsight he was wondering how he'd never seen the resemblance before- Cana was the spitting image of her mother, but now he was wondering what traces in her came from the unknown man who'd fathered her.
The unknown man who his wife had moved on with.
For all of his womanizing ways, Gildarts would freely admit that he had never and probably would never truly move on, and selfishly… selfishly he had hoped that maybe it would have been just as hard for her.
How old was Cana anyway? How long had Conny waited before finding someone else who could treat her the way she'd deserved? A week, a month, a year?
They'd never officially gotten divorced ('go to hell you fucking bastard' felt pretty official to him), but maybe she'd done the paperwork and he'd just missed it? Wasn't there some kind of allowance for abandonment where she didn't need his agreement?
It… this was a terrible idea. It would only lead to further heartbreak, but… well the records office was probably still open. How long would it take to see if she had ever properly divorced him so she could marry whoever the hell Cana's father was?
This… even though he knew there was no way this could end well; he was going to do it anyway.
He had to know.
oOOOOo
There should be some kind of cosmic limit on how many world-changing revelations could happen to someone in one day.
He had a baby.
He had a little girl named Rebecca Arcana Alberona, that he shared with the love of his life.
A little girl who now went by 'Cana', who was also a member of his guild and had been since she had been a tiny little thing (she had barely reached his knee… how could he have walked away from her?). Who had been right in front of him all this time and he'd never realized it.
He needed to tell her.
This involved her life just as much as it did his- Cana deserved to know who her father was. And maybe… maybe they could have a relationship. She might not ever call him 'dad' but maybe they could at least be friends or get together for dinner every once in a while.
With that in mind he started walking back towards the guild, hoping to catch her before she left for the day and wound up running into her in the street.
Literally.
He had been lost in thought and she had been trying to walk and read at the same time- naturally that hadn't ended well for either party.
"Ow- shit- "
"Watch where you're- "
Then they'd each realized exactly who had been knocked down to the pavement with them .
"Oh." Cana said in surprise, her gorgeous violet eyes (Conny's eyes… seemed his wife had passed on the best things to their little girl) wide. "Sorry Gildarts." She apologized sheepishly.
"No, it was my fault." He said quickly, picking the both of them back up," I was actually looking for you."
"You were?" She asked incredulously (that was her reaction to him paying attention to her?!).
"Yeah." Tell her. Tell her that you're her father and you love her so much already. "I remembered I wanted to ask if you had any mechanics you recommended." Huh, what do you know? Eighteen years and he was still a fucking coward.
Cana blinked but nodded," I'm kind of in a hurry right now- but I'd say both Rockbell and Garfiel would be a good choice. Um- if you want, I can check and see if either of them are taking new patients...?"
"That would be great thanks." He said with a smile, watching as his beautiful child rushed away, with absolutely no idea that she'd just spoken to her own father.
Next time. Next time for sure.
oOOOOo
Attempt fifty-seven ends in failure.
What a surprise.
Four little words.
Why was it so hard to say four little words?
'I'm your father Cana'- see he could think them just fine. So why the fuck couldn't he say them?!
Every single time he'd been about to tell her something would happen- someone would set of an explosion in the guildhall, Natsu would try to challenge him, she would be called away, or everything would seemingly go right and then his tongue would be lead.
Eighteen years after the biggest mistake of his life and he was still a fucking coward.
"Gildarts! Hey Gildarts wait up!"
The crash mage froze, slowly turning to see his radiant little girl darting through the crowded street to catch up with him.
Cana finally made it to him, panting slightly," Glad I caught you." She said with a grin.
Tell her. Tell her now. "What can I do for you Cana?" Oh, you limpdicked moron.
The brunette pulled a piece of paper out of her bag," I called the Rockbells about your arm and leg- they weren't accepting patients at first but Winry said that they could make an exception since I'm the one's who's asking."
He felt his heart melt. She'd remembered. After a week without her broaching the topic he'd just assumed that she'd forgotten about it- his little girl wanted to help him!
"Thanks." He said with a grateful smile, accepting the offered address," Just out of curiosity- why are they making an exception for you?"
The card mage blinked," Oh, Winry and I were both in the accelerated program at the same time. She owed me a favor and she's even crazier about automail then I am, so I kind of figured that she'd do it."
The accelerated program.
He'd almost forgotten about that (not). The accelerated program at Fiore National University, that only accepted five students per department per year. That received applicants from all across the continent. The program that his baby girl had completed in less than two years to earn her engineering degree.
His heart was just bursting with fatherly pride at her accomplishment.
"You didn't have to call in a favor for me."
Cana blushed slightly and shrugged," You're the strongest member of the guild- you can't go into battle or take jobs with substandard limbs. Winry's one of the best- everything she makes is top notch."
"Well, with such praise I guess she has to be something special." The Ace replied, about to say goodbye when a lightbulb went off in his head." Actually- think you could tag along?"
His girl's gorgeous violet eyes (just like her mother) blinked in confusion," Huh?"
He sheepishly rubbed at the back of his head," I mean you two know each other and you probably know exactly what I should be asking for- why don't you come with me?"
She looked floored at his offer," Um- I- sure?" She said uncertainly.
He grinned," Sounds great- is there like a specific day we need to be there, or can we just show up?"
"Um- Its- we- we can just show up. This is just a consult."
"Sounds great- if you're free we can go tomorrow."
"…sure?"
"See you tomorrow then Cana." Gildarts said with a grin, whistling as he walked away from his still-confused little girl. This would be perfect- he could get his limbs upgraded and learn more about her at the same time! Maybe if they were closer it would be easier to say the words.
oOOOOo
Well… he still wasn't any closer to saying the words, but at least he some shiny new limbs in the making.
Winry was a very sweet girl about Cana's age with bright blue eyes that sparkled when she talked about automail (she only talked about automail). And it was clear that for all Cana claimed that she was not qualified to be an automail mechanic, it wasn't for lack of enthusiasm.
Even though it had been an excuse, it turned out that he actually had needed Cana to filter out the technical jargon. She had seemed right at home in the metal and machine oil of the Rockbell's workshop.
The walk back home was the part that was the best about all this.
He got to spend two uninterrupted hours with his daughter, and he fully intended to make the most of it.
"So," He commented mildly after a while of walking in silence," I know you keep saying that you're not qualified, but back there you seemed so at home."
Cana blushed slightly," Yeah, Winry and I both are gearheads, so I guess that's why we get along so well." She said, side-stepping the unasked question.
But Gildarts was not a man to be deterred," Why didn't you become an automail engineer?"
The brunette stopped and took a deep breath," Honestly? I don't have what it takes."
The Ace raised an eyebrow," And what does it take?"
"Dedication, medical knowledge, the ability to stand firm and not give in when someone's in pain, skill, technical know-how, and not being a screw up just to name a few." She said blandly.
"Well, there's no shame in not being able to see someone in pain." The crash mage started, reeling from just how low her self esteem seemed to be," And the medical know how, but you've got all the rest."
The card mage stopped and stared at him like he'd grown a second head before shaking it off," Thanks for the compliment." She said, faking a smile at him trying so hard to be nice.
After a little while of awkward silence, the crash mage once again tried to break it," So… the S-Class trials are coming up- any idea who's going to be nominated?"
Cana felt a flash of pain as his words stabbed her right in the heart, but she put on a brave face," Probably Natsu or Gray." She said mildly, trying to shove her feelings down," Though Elfman might get called, he's been chomping at the bit for a while now."
"What about you?" He asked curiously," You have your partner picked out yet?"
Fuck, it was like he read up on all the places to hurt her.
"I'm not sure I'm participating this year." She said tightly, desperately wanting to change the subject.
"Why not?"
"I just need a break this year is all- so what about you? You planning on anymore crazy quests?"
He gave her an odd look but let it slide. He shrugged as he answered," Master and I have been talking about another decade quest, but I haven't really got any definite plans yet."
"Well, it'd be a shame if you did, the guild's always so much livelier when you're around." Cana said, flashing her father with the first genuine smile of the day.
Gildarts faltered in the face of the sweet smile on his little girl's face," Oh don't worry- I'll be sticking around for a while this time!"
"That's good."
Okay, this was as good a time as any.
"Cana, I've actually been wanting to talk to you about something."
She turned to give him a quizzical look," Shoot."
This was it. He was going to do it.
"Do you think I could buy you a drink sometime?" Oh, you fucking coward.
This time the brunette stopped and gave him a vaguely creeped out look," Uh… no offense Gildarts but I really don't think about you in that way." She stammered, clearly uncomfortable.
"What?" He asked in confusion as his daughter tried to backtrack.
"I mean- I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression but I'm really not interested and uh- I hope we can still be friends but I don't think getting a drink is a good idea-"
Then it clicked.
He felt like he was going to be sick as he frantically tried to set the record straight," Oh! No I didn't mean it like a 'date' drink, I meant like uh- well you've helped me a lot when you didn't need to and I guess- fuck this isn't coming out right-" He was babbling when Cana put up her hand to silence him.
"Lets… lets just pretend this conversation never happened," She said, not looking him in the eye as he nodded.
"Yeah… that sounds like a plan." He said sheepishly as he tried to control his gag reflex.
Of all the times to tell her the truth, right now was definitely not among them.
oOOOOo
Everyone was gathered in the guildhall, waiting for Master to make some kind of announcement. Given that the S-Class trials weren't for another few weeks no one had any clue what this was about.
Gildarts had parked himself in his usual spot at the bar, trying to avoid looking over to where Cana was happily chugging down her fourth barrel of the day.
To say things had been awkward between them was an understatement.
Things had been so fucking uncomfortable that his little girl refused to be alone with him, not convinced that he truly wasn't interested in her like that. She was going out of her way to stay as far away from him as she could, and he was trying to figure out how to convince her that he really didn't want to have sex with her.
Fuck. His daughter thought that he wanted to have sex with her.
How was he supposed to fix this? How could he ever tell her the truth now?
"LISTEN UP YOU SHITTY BRATS!" Makarov yelled, getting the attention from the entire room," It has come to my attention that you lot tend to stay in your own circles and don't interact with each other. To rectify this, I have come up with a, shall we say, bonding activity." The evil smirk sent chills down every spine in the room.
This could not be good.
The miniature man walked over to a small wire bingo cage that had been set up on the stage, he flashed his children a wicked smile that promised pain," In this cage are all the names: I'll spin until I get two names out. Whoever I call will go on a job together: there will be no complaining and absolutely no trading partners," He said firmly, glaring at Jet, Droy, and Juvia respectively. "Now, let's get started, shall we?"
The crowd watched with bated breath as the little cage rattled, two small balls finally tumbling out. The old man inspected them before calling out," The first team shall be Happy and Gray!"
Everyone ignored Juvia's wails as they continued on with the matching.
Gildarts watched the cage in mild curiosity, wondering who he was going to get paired with. In the three years he'd been gone the guild had added quite a few new members, it might be interesting to take a job with someone. And then, of course, he was curious about who his baby would be going with.
"Wakaba and Evergreen!"
Damn, those two seemed poorly matched. Oh well, suppose that was the point of all of this anyway.
"Cana and Gildarts."
His eyes bugged out of his skull and he could hear his little girl choke on her drink.
Had that seriously just-?!
Fuck.
Either this was the universe mocking him or it was trying to get him to man up and tell her already.
The Ace sat in a stupor as the rest of the matchings continued. At the end of it all Makarov plucked up a few of the balls and put them back in the cage, flashing the audience a cheerful grin. "Oh yes, one more thing. For my S-Class wizards- one of you is getting an S-Class job!"
What?
He didn't like this. Not one little bit.
His little Cana was strong- but he didn't want to see her in any danger! But, what were the chances? The universe couldn't possibly hate him enough to put them through this, right?
"And the job goes to Cana and Gildarts!
Of course.
Oh well. This happened, all he could do was make the most of it. Who knows, maybe he'd finally get up the nerve.
"So, I guess it's you and me."
oOOOOo
"Yeah, I guess so." Cana said numbly, unable to look her father in the eye. What god had she upset? Or was this some kind of divine punishment for being a fucking coward?
Gildarts seemed to notice how uncomfortable she was and tried to give her an out," Look- if you really don't want to, I can go talk to Master. I'm sure he'd let us out of it if- "
The brunette cut him off with a wide (fake) grin," Don't worry." She reassured him," I'm fine and I'm sure we'll work great together! I'll go get the job request!"
She pushed herself off the table and weaved between the throngs of her guildmates, all eager to get started.
"Mira hit me up!" She called down to the white-haired barmaid, who obligingly slid a beer down the bar, the job request neatly rolled up and placed into the handle of the mug.
Sometimes she loved that girl.
"Okay." She said once she made it back to the table," Seems like we're dealing with a statue that summons fire-breathing zombie dinosaurs- not a sentence I ever thought I'd read." This was definitely going to be one for the record books," Travel time alone looks like its going to take at least three days- what's say we head out first thing in the morning?"
Her father nodded approvingly," Sounds good- seven work for you?"
Cana nodded in confirmation," I'll drop off my rent money tonight and meet you here tomorrow. Have a nice night Gildarts!"
He gave her a soft smile," You too kid."
Minimum seven days spent in the company of her father who didn't know he was her father. She could totally handle this- I mean what could possibly go wrong?
oOOOOo
This had really been an eye-opening experience for him.
He'd known that Cana was strong, but he hadn't realized just how brilliant she really was.
She had fearlessly thrown herself into the fray of fiery hell beasts, figuring where their weak points were and how to hit them flawlessly. She had quickly figured out how to destroy the damn statue that had caused this whole mess in a fraction of the time it would have taken him to figure out the same.
Everything was going perfectly- until he made a mistake.
One of the stupid things managed to catch him right when he had his back turned, sending him flying through several of the remaining walls of the ruined temple. When he finally came to he just laid there for a moment, slowly assessing the damage.
He was getting old.
That was the only explanation for this- five years ago he would've shaken this off like it was nothing, and now here he was passing out after a tiny hit like that.
"GILDARTS!"
The sound of his baby's terrified scream almost made his heart break, but he knew it would be worse if he forced himself to get up and just laid there as he slowly got his bearings.
"GILDARTS!" Cana screamed as she finally made it to her father's side, grabbing his hand and squeezing as she desperately searched for any sign of life," Oh no. Dad. Come on wake up! You're okay, you have to be. I never even told you- "
Gildarts' eyes flew open and he sat up so fast the two of them cracked skulls.
He stared at Cana in wide-eyed shock, as she fell back staring at him like a deer caught in headlights.
She knew.
This whole time she had known the truth.
"What- did you just- "He stumbled, not able to string together a coherent sentence," How did you find out?"
It took a second for the implications of his statement to sink over them.
The look on his little girl's face… of betrayal, of heartbreak, distress, devastation, and anguish all rolled up into one," Wait." She said slowly, on the cusp of a terrifying realization," You- you knew that I was- "
Gildarts swallowed and slowly nodded.
Cana's expression crumbled further, tears visibly building in her eyes, as she bolted away from him. All this time- all this time he knew who she was and never said anything. Had ignored her- had pushed her to the side-
She had to get away from here.
She would not break down where he could see.
oOOOOo
She'd known.
She'd known who he was for who knew how long and had never said anything.
All this time he'd been trying to talk to her- and she'd already known.
Why hadn't she said anything? Did she think he wouldn't be a good dad?
He had to find her first.
Watching as she ran away from him… it was the most heartbreaking thing he had ever witnessed. More than anything… it was like watching history repeat itself. It was like he was seeing Conny walk away from him all over again…
He was a fucking coward, but he would be damned if he would make the same mistake twice.
When he finally found her, it was almost nightfall. The setting sun painting the sky above the woods in brilliant colors.
She was curled up at the base of a tree sobbing her heart out.
He did that…
Gildarts carefully cleared his throat, watching as the small sound made Cana freeze as she slowly looked up, her eyes red and swollen.
She slowly climbed to her feet, not saying a word for several heartbeats, before she finally spoke up with a venom that surprised the both of them.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" She snarled.
He faltered," I just- I wanted to make sure- "
"Make sure what? That your little disappointment knows to keep her mouth shut?" She growled, baring her teeth like a rabid dog as all the hurt and pain this man had caused her came bubbling to the surface," Don't worry- I'd hate to ruin your reputation. Ace of Fairy Tail fathers a pathetic little girl who's bottom of the barrel as far as magic goes."
He started, looking at her in surprise," Wait- that's not- "
Cana let out a high mocking laugh," Tell me something- did you know at first sight or did it take a while?" Furiously biting back the angry tears," Am I really so pathetic that you didn't even want your little mistake to know? Were you afraid that I'd go blabbing to everyone- "She was cut off when Gildarts tried to pull her into his arms.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" The brunette shrieked, shoving him away from her," I don't want you to touch me."
The Ace stared at his utterly broken daughter and numbly started to explain himself," I didn't know then." He said quietly, watching as she visibly evaluated him and let out a half snort.
"Fuck- how can I even believe a single word that comes out of your mouth?" She asked scathingly, the angry tears sliding down her face.
He swallowed," I didn't find out until you mentioned your grandfather's name." Noticing that he actually had her attention, he kept talking," I met him when I was still dating your mother, Cornelia. She and I… actually we used to be married." He looked at the genuinely surprised look on her face," I take it that you didn't know that?"
Cana numbly shook her head.
"Things obviously didn't work out between us." He said giving her a small self-deprecating smile," I swear I never knew about you. I really did find out when you told me who your grandfather was, I just… well Conny was an only child. As soon as I knew the truth, I tried to tell you, but… I just couldn't get the words out. I kept on trying to spend as much time with you as I could, because maybe if I knew you a bit better I'd be able to say it."
He took a deep breath and slowly approached her and this time she let him pull her into his arms.
As soon as he had her comfortably in his hold, her head resting over his heart, he started again," Cana… you are the greatest child a man could ever hope for. You're strong, you're smart, you're talented, you are a blessing that was sent straight from heaven and I am so sad that I was never part of your life. I loved you as soon as I knew who you really were, but over the last few weeks… as I've gotten to know you, I've just fallen deeper and deeper in love with you. You're my little girl. And if its okay with you… if its okay with you I would like to be your dad."
For a few moments the only sound Gildarts could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat reverberating in his ears as he waited for Cana to respond.
"…I came to Fairy Tail because I was looking for you." She said quietly, feeling the way her father stiffened," As soon as I saw you I knew exactly who you were, but you didn't recognize me. I stuck around because I wanted my Daddy, but every time I tried to tell you things got in the way. I felt a little bit of my soul die every time I saw you be a father to everyone except me; eventually I decided that if I ever made S-Class I would tell you the truth… and obviously that's just a pipe dream at this point." She said bitterly, pushing herself out of her father's hold and taking a look at the horrified look on his face.
"I don't need a father anymore." She said firmly," The part of me that needed you died a long time ago. But… I am open to building a relationship with you."
Gildarts stared at his daughter in shock and horror as she recounted just how badly he'd hurt her and felt his own tears begin to fall.
"Cana!" He yelped as he pulled his baby back into his arms, hugging her with a desperation that surprised even him." I'm sorry- I'm so sorry! I promise to never make you sad ever again!" He swore, hugging her tighter," I promise to be the most loving father anyone's ever seen! Please give me the right to love you!"
The brunette responded calmly leaning her head into her father's chest," You've always had that right."
The waterworks started up again. Father and daughter clinging to each other like the other was a lifeline.
"Hey Sweetie?"
"Yeah Dad?"
"I love you so much angel. Please don't ever forget that."
"I love you too Dad."
Nothing else needed to be said.
AN: I have been wanting to do an angsty reveal since the beginning, but I just couldn't figure out how to do it until this little beauty. This whole chapter went from 'I have a plan' to 'where is this going' to 'wait how did this turn out this good'?! At least I think it turned out good at any rate.
FMAB is the only anime that my family can agree on, so with everybody stuck at home we have gone through the whole thing about eight times now.
Cana being a mechanic comes from a brilliant fic called 'Heartbreak Grows in the Garden' and if you haven't read it you really should. It's very heavy, but at the same time captures the true heart of Cana as a person trying to keep her head above water. Midnight Rose 365- this is probably worlds away from what you originally had in mind, and its worlds away from what I had in mind too. That said I hope you liked it.
One more thing- my creative energy has been running dry the last few weeks, so if anybody has anything to put forward it would be most appreciated.
