Sugarhill
Summary: Cornelia never died, and Cana never joined Fairy Tail. Fifteen years after his wife walked out the door, Gildarts finally decides that it is time to bury the hatchet and to start healing old wounds. And its during this that he meets the daughter he never knew existed.
Disclaimer: I don't own
AN: I tried my best to keep everyone as human as I could, no one is entirely bad nor is anyone squeaky clean (except for Cana obviously, but only in the sense that she was put in the middle with no real say). It is not my intention to demonize Cornelia or to idolize Gildarts- they are just two people who made mistakes, some bigger than others, and are trying to do the right thing. Thank you LJF for the prompt I needed to finally write this one. Happy reading everyone!
It had been fifteen years since he'd seen her.
Practically a whole lifetime.
Wonder what she was up to now?
Maybe she'd finally gotten that horse she'd always wanted or maybe she'd decided not to. Maybe she'd gotten remarried and had a baby.
Maybe she'd missed him as much as he'd missed her.
Gildarts was a man with a lot of regrets and a lot of abandoned dreams. He buried himself in his work and his guild to try and forget, but some things still stayed strong. One of them being the torch he carried for a hot-headed woman with purple eyes and dark hair.
Fifteen years since he had let his wife walk out the door and had been too cowardly to follow her.
Fifteen years was long enough- for better or worse it was time to bury the hatchet between them. If she slammed the door in his face, fine. It was only her right. If she welcomed him with open arms, that would be fine too (fantastic actually). He would accept anything she threw at him, so long as he got to see her beautiful face again.
He just needed closure in whatever form it would come.
It had taken him a long time to track her down, Conny had always been good at covering her tracks, and the little town in the middle of nowhere she now called her home was a far cry from what he ever imagined her life would be.
Cornelia Alberona was a vibrant woman built for loud cities and bustling streets. Everywhere she went she moved with a quiet grace complimented by a sound- a hum, a song, her laugh- she wasn't someone who he had imagined was capable of living a quiet life.
And yet, here she was.
Living in a cookie-cutter green house with white shutters on the windows, a small porch and flowers lining the path leading to the door. The Ace couldn't resist a snort when he saw the small, sculpted bears standing on either side of the door, holding signs that said 'go away' in their paws.
If nothing else, that was so purely Conny it brought tears to his eyes.
He approached the door with far more confidence than he felt and knocked deliberately.
"I'm coming!" A voice called from inside the house that pulled at his heart in his chest.
This was it.
And then the door opened, and he locked eyes with the most beautiful woman in the world for the first time in fifteen years.
"Gildarts." She whispered in shock, staring at him with wide eyes and then, slowly, a soft smile crossed her lips," It's been a long time."
"It has." He agreed with a nod.
"Would you like to come in? I have the kettle on."
"Darlin' that sounds wonderful."
oOOOOo
It was almost like they had never been apart.
The conversation flowed between them as easily as water as they jumped from one topic to the next, never pausing, never ceasing. The air was clear and it was as if the great void that had driven them apart had disappeared.
"So did you ever get that horse you wanted?" Gildarts asked curiously, feeling at ease in the peaceful atmosphere of the house.
Cornelia shook her head and shrugged," Not yet- we have a dog though. Her name's Lila." She offered and the Ace tried to ignore the way his heart pulled in his chest.
'We'.
It had hardly been the first time she'd used that word, and he would've had to have been blind not to notice the layout of the house- that only two chairs showed evidence of frequent wear, the two cereal bowls in the sink, and the deck magic cards on the counter.
She had clearly moved on and was sharing her life with someone else.
Didn't matter: the time between the two of them had been over for a long time. So long as whoever it was made her happy then he would be happy for her.
"What kind of dog is it?" He asked curiously and the conversation continued.
They talked for hours about everything and nothing, by unspoken agreement their past together was completely taboo, but everything else was fair game.
"- so Master chucked him out the window!" Gildarts said with a chortle as he recalled one of Natsu's many escapades.
The brunette giggled and smiled at him," This is nice." She said quietly and he smiled back.
"It really is." He agreed. "So- you're teaching now?"
"Yeah, mostly beginner classes, but I have a couple students that are more advanced." She explained with a small shrug and, as she turned to pour another cup of tea, her eyes caught the clock and she stilled.
Gildarts, sensing her change in mood, looked at her in concern. "Conny, you okay?"
But before she could say anything, the distinct sound of the front door opening filled the house, quickly followed by a loud yell," MOM? I'M HOME!"
And he felt his heart sink in his chest.
Conny had a child- a daughter from the sound of it.
Here they were sitting and talking and he'd almost been able to fool himself into believing that maybe they could pick up where they left off.
Cornelia wasn't someone prone to impulsiveness. She was the kind of person who liked to take her time to figure things out and plan her next move, but seeing this amazing man's face fall like that and having a decent idea of what was spinning through his head… the weight of her sin weighed heavily on her and before she'd even realized what she'd done, she had called out," Rebecca- sweetheart could you come in the kitchen please?"
She saw the way his head snapped to her, saw the dawning realization in his eyes and the conflict on emotions playing over his face, but she kept her mind on her daughter.
Cana walked through the door with an uneasy grin on her face," Whatever you think I did I swear-" and her brilliant, beautiful girl stopped short at the sight of Gildarts," Um- hi?" She said in surprise, as she looked between her mother and the stranger.
"Rebecca, this is Gildarts." Cornelia said in explanation," He's… we used to be very close."
Her girl blinked her violet eyes and shook off her confusion," Nice to meet you." She said with a grin, offering her hand out to her father," I'm Rebecca- but everybody calls me Cana."
"Its… nice to meet you too." Gildarts said slowly, accepting the offered handshake, his mind and body in completely different realms as he tried to regain equilibrium.
The teenager gave him a look that clearly communicated that she thought he was a weirdo, before she addressed her mother," So… am I free to go or…?"
The older woman gave her daughter a tight smile," You're free to go sweetheart- think you could take Lila around the neighborhood? She's been guarding that contraption of yours all day."
"Mo-o-om." Cana groaned," Its not a contraption it's a magi-cycle."
The mother waved her off," Just go walk the dog."
"Fine." The girl said with a long-suffering sigh like it was the most tedious chore in the world and tropped out of the kitchen.
Leaving the two adults sitting in place, unaware of just what a huge change she had left behind.
oOOOOo
"How could you?"
Gildarts wasn't sure what to think- was he happy or mad? He couldn't even tell anymore as he stared at this woman that he had thought he knew like a book.
But the Cornelia he thought he knew never would have been capable of something like this- keeping him away from his child for her entire life.
For her part she didn't try to deny anything, she just let out a deep sigh and admitted," There's nothing I can say that isn't just an excuse."
"Did you know then?"
The woman sighed again and shook her head," If I had known then I would have said something." She said seriously," I found out a few weeks after… everything."
The Ace pushed himself up from the table, completely agitated," And why didn't you say anything?!" He asked harshly blinking back furious tears," You could have called! You could have written- you could have told Master- you should have said something!"
Cornelia didn't say anything, just sat and let him vent. It wasn't like she didn't deserve his anger- she had betrayed his trust in a very big way and she had been waiting for this conversation all these years- had dreamed of it, had acted it out in her head, had rehearsed everything she would say the day that he ever came knocking, and now she was tongue tied, because ultimately, she had no excuses.
Gildarts railed on her," Why did you name her Rebecca?" He wasn't even sure if that was the question he wanted to ask- the image of that beautiful teenage girl (his girl) looking right through him, like he was a total stranger-
Because that's what he was.
He had never seen her before in her entire life- didn't know the first thing about her and she didn't know him. They shared blood, but that didn't mean that they weren't perfect strangers.
The brunette looked him in the eye," I named her Rebecca because it was the name you wanted. I had already taken her away from you, the least I could do was give her the name you wanted. Because I'm not blind and I'm not stupid- I know that this was wrong and that I hurt so many people by staying quiet. I kept the two of you away from each other, and 'sorry' is never going to be enough."
"You're right: it won't." He growled, "I would've stepped up you know- I would've been there for her. Even if we split up, I would've done everything to be in her life."
"I know." The look she gave him made him pause, he couldn't place it for the life of him," I know that if I had let you, you would've been the most amazing father a child could hope for. And I have hated myself for this all these years. The day she was born, I looked over expecting to see you, but you weren't there. And I cried because I had taken that moment away from you. Over the years I would always say, 'I'll tell him on her birthday', and then I would never have the strength. Then it would become 'I'll tell him next year'."
"Does she- have you told her about me?" Rebecca-Cana- whatever she was called obviously hadn't recognized him, but had that just been because she had never seen him before…?
"I told her that her father is a powerful wizard and a very good man who would love her very much." She said quietly," She knows that we used to be married, but all I've ever said is that things just didn't work out. She's never asked in detail."
Gildarts didn't know what to say and voiced as much.
Cornelia shook her head," Gildarts… I'm going to make this right as best I can. I'll tell Cana the truth, but what happens from there is up to her. Whether or not she wants to build a relationship is up to her."
Slowly, he nodded," That sounds okay." And just before he was about to show himself out, he paused," …would it be possible for me to have a picture?"
She paused for a second, but nodded and grabbed a small album from a nearby bookcase. She flipped through it for a moment, before carefully selecting three photographs and handing them over. "I'll have some more tomorrow, if you'll just give me a little bit to make copies."
"That sounds great, thank you." He said sharply and walked out of the house.
Whatever closure he'd thought he would find; he had only gotten more heartache.
oOOOOo
He arrived back at the cookie cutter house bright and early the next morning after a restless night.
In the span of a minute his entire life had been turned upside down and he was struggling to adapt to the new way of things. In this world that suddenly revolved around a dark haired, violet-eyed, teenager who he had barely spoken to.
Did she use magic? Did she want to join a guild when she was older? Would she want to come visit Magnolia to spend some time with him?
She had a magi-cycle, so he knew she liked motorcycles at least… was that good? Normally when people would talk about teenagers and motorcycles it was framed as a bad thing…
Gildarts paused steps away from the front door suddenly, unsure of whether or not he should knock or wait for one of them. What was the protocol for situations like this?
As he raised his hand to knock a startled voice came from behind him.
"…Its you."
Slowly, he turned around to come face to face with the beautiful girl who shared his blood.
Cana looked like she hadn't slept all night, black shadows ringing her eyes, and she looked at him like she wasn't sure if she should say something or if she should bolt.
"Uhm… yeah." He said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. What should he say? What was the protocol for a situation like this? "So… did your mom…?" He trailed off, but the girl got the gist and slowly nodded.
"Yeah." She said shortly, fiddling with the dog leash in her hands," Mom told me last night."
An awkward silence fell over them as neither was sure how to go from there when Cana spoke up on impulse.
"I was just about to go take Lila for a walk. If... if you want to come…?"
"That sounds great." Gildarts said in relief, following her around the house to the backyard.
"I went out through the window." The brunette explained needlessly," I- uh- I didn't really feel like talking to Mom right now."
"Oh." The Ace said weakly. He was mad at Cornelia, but the last thing he wanted was to drive a wedge between the two women.
Lila turned out to be a very friendly white dog with long floppy ears that she frequently tripped over. Thankfully it hadn't taken much effort for Gildarts to endear himself to her, just a few ear rubs and as far as the dog was concerned he was part of the family.
The walk was awkward but Gildarts was determined to break the ice.
"So… you ride magi-cycles?" He asked curiously.
The violet-eyed girl blinked but nodded," Yeah… I'm in it more for the mechanics than the adrenalin rush- I just like machines, I guess." She offered uneasily.
The Ace was not one to give up easily," So do you want to be a mechanic or is it just a hobby?"
Cana blushed lightly and admitted," I actually just sent in an application for the Fiore National accelerated program. I want to get into their engineering program."
He blinked," Damn that's incredible." He said, feeling so proud of this girl," What kind of odds are you looking at? Don't they only take five people?"
"Five per department." She corrected lightly," I would only be taking classes that pertain to my specific degree and would skip all gen-ed and extra curriculars, my chances aren't that good but I'm still hoping anyway."
He smiled brightly," Don't sell yourself short- I'm sure that you'll get in and if you don't its their loss."
She looked up at him with wide eyes for a moment before giving him the most breathtaking smile he had ever seen. "Thank you- Mom said you were in a guild?"
The Ace nodded proudly," I'm part of Fairy Tail- been in the guild since I was younger than you are now and will be part of it until the day I die. You ever think about joining a guild?"
The brunette shrugged," I mean I've thought about it- Mom takes me to visit her old friends at Mermaid Heel sometimes, but I don't know if it's the right fit for me."
"Well Fairy Tail would be glad to have you." Gildarts said with a goofy grin on his face," What kind of magic do you use?"
"Card magic mostly- though I have dabbled in picto-magic and some elemental based. I'm a decent fortune teller too."
It didn't take long for the pair to loose their awkwardness, the conversation flowing easily from one topic to the next. The father and daughter slowly started down a path that would continue to build their relationship together.
oOOOOo
Ten Years Later:
Seven years.
They had lost seven years of their time, of their lives with their families and friends.
In that time the guild had fallen from what it used to be and Gildarts wasn't sure what he was supposed to do or how he was supposed to do it.
Cana would be twenty-five now…
Twenty-five.
His little girl was now all grown up and he had missed it all.
Had she been worried when they had disappeared, had she been sad- what about Conny? The two of them had been slowly rebuilding their relationship- what now?
Searching around the hall for something to distract himself, Gildarts blinked in surprise as soon as his eyes landed on the basket.
It was a nice basket- tightly woven, padded with soft blankets, but that wasn't what caught his attention.
"Well hello there." He said with a grin as he took in the curious infant," And who are you little guy?"
"I see you've met Henry." Wakaba said with a grin, but something in his tone set Gildarts off for reasons he couldn't understand.
He shook it off," So who's kid is he?" He asked curiously," Don't tell me Macao's started collecting strays too."
The smoker laughed," Oh no- Henry here is the son of the current Ace."
"Oh really?" Gildarts commented mildly," Who is it? Someone we know or did they join afterword?"
A familiar laugh had him reeling around, locking eyes with a face he would know anywhere.
"…Cana?"
His not-so-little girl smiled widely," Welcome home Dad, I see you've met your grandson."
Wait- what?
"Grandson?" Gildarts said with a squeak not dissimilar to a dying mouse, gaping as he stared from the baby to his baby and back again. Then his brain decided that it had had enough surprises in a twenty-four-hour period and shut down, his eyes rolling up into his head as he dropped.
oOOOOo
"I can't believe you fainted!" Cana crowed, tears of mirth rolling down her face.
Gildarts rolled his eyes as he sulked," Yeah, yeah- very funny."
"Aw are you pouting?" She said in mock sympathy," I'm sure that everyone else will forget- "She broke down in another fit of giggles, not able to finish such a blatantly untrue statement.
She had really grown up…
Gildarts wasn't sure what to focus on- his daughter or his infant grandson.
Grandson.
He was a grandfather.
He was way too young to be a grandfather!
Cana gave him a gentle grin as she finally calmed down and wrapped her arms around her sulking father," I've missed you so much Dad- you have no idea."
He softened and wrapped his own arms around her," I'm so sorry sweetheart- I wish I could take the time back, but I can't. I'm sorry I left, I'm sorry I missed so much time with you."
"Its okay- just don't miss anymore."
"I won't. I promise I won't."
After a moment of comfortable silence, he finally pulled away and raised an eyebrow," So you're the Fairy Tail Ace now? What happened to becoming a mechanic?"
Cana softened," After all of you disappeared, there were a lot of rumors about how Fairy Tail was going downhill, how they were nothing without you all. I just- I couldn't let your guild die. And now its almost as important to me as Henry."
Gildarts stared and felt tears well up in his eyes as his daughter opened up.
"At first things were hard because everyone just expected me to be you, but after some time things got better. When everyone started harassing us, I just felt like we needed to prove a point, that we weren't weak, so I started working on my skills and building new spells and techniques. Before I knew it, they decided to make me the new Ace." Cana pouted," Apparently they voted on it and forgot to tell me about the decision until almost a year later."
Gildarts snorted," Yeah, they did the same thing to me. They all just conveniently forgot to tell me and I didn't find out until I got arrested and they read it off on the court docket."
The brunette raised an eyebrow," Dare I ask what you did to get yourself arrested?"
"You really don't want to know sweetheart."
Henry chose that moment to let out a peculiar sound that was somewhere between a coo and a yawn, Cana laughed and picked her baby up.
"What's the matter darling?" She cooed to the now-cheerful little boy," Were you upset that Mommy and Grandpa weren't paying you attention? Shame on us!"
The card mage turned to her father, lightly rocking her son in her arms, waiting for him to ask the question she could practically see bouncing around his skull.
"Go ahead and ask, I know you want to." She said pointedly.
The former Ace held his hands up in surrender before he did as instructed," May I ask who the father of my grandbaby is?"
She nodded," Yes you may."
After a moment of silence he realized exactly what she was doing and asked," Who is the father of my grandbaby? Is he doing right by you?" The unsaid 'do I need to beat him up' was still heard loud and clear.
Cana laughed a little," His name is Donor 357X." Smirking a little at the discombobulated look on her father's face, she clarified with a shrug," I was ready. I didn't see any point in waiting to settle down with somebody when I was ready, willing, and able to do it myself. Besides I can't exactly call myself a single mother- the entire guild was crammed into the waiting room when I had him."
The Ace almost felt disappointed. He had been looking forward to torment- interrogating whoever fathered his grandchild.
The brunette shook her head and changed the subject," Would you like to hold him?"
Gildarts didn't even need to think twice, chucking the questions whatever man contributed to helping make his grandchild away to be revisited later, and eagerly nodded," Yes please!"
The new mother carefully passed the baby over and Gildarts took the slight weight of the little boy gingerly. Holding him like he was made of spun sugar glass.
Henry didn't take long at all to adjust to this new person holding him and gave his grandfather his best smile, happily showing off his toothless mouth.
Gildarts felt his heart melt. "Hi there." He said hoarsely, swallowing back tears," I'm your Grandpa, its nice to meet you little one."
"He likes you." Cana said fondly," The only other person I've seen him take to like this is Mom."
The red-headed man stilled," How is she?"
His daughter softened," She misses you- she was actually one of the loudest voices in trying to get the Magic Council to keep up the search for you guys. She never lost hope."
The decision came easily, perhaps he'd made it long ago and hadn't realized it.
Gildarts abruptly stood up, taking care to protect the baby in his arms," Let's go Cana."
The card mage reeled for a second at the abrupt change," Huh?"
"Let's go home."
oOOOOo
Apparently Conny had moved out of the cookie cutter house in Sugarhill when Cana had joined the guild. She now had a nice little cottage on the outskirts of town, at first glance it was nothing special, then one would notice the sculpted bears on either side of the door holding signs that said 'go away' and 'take a hike' respectively, and the coffin-shaped welcome mat that added to the flavor of the place.
He had long since passed his grandson back to his daughter and, steeling his nerves, knocked firmly on the door.
"Just a second!"
Time seemed to move in slow motion- the sound of footsteps in time with the pounding of his heart, the door nob turning like it was submerged in molasses. And then the look on this beautiful woman's face (seven years and she still looked exactly the same).
"Gildarts." She breathed in shock, and slowly a soft, brilliant smile crossed her face," It's been a long time."
"It has." He agreed, echoing their conversation from so long ago.
"Would you like to come in?"
"Darlin' that sounds wonderful."
oOOOOo
Gildarts had realized something over the years: it had only ever been Cornelia. Cornelia had made him the happiest man alive, they had their differences but this would never change. Through thick and thin, she was a constant in his life.
This woman had brought their daughter into the world, had raised her to become the magnificent woman she was today. She had given her the name that he had wanted so badly even when things had fallen apart.
She had her flaws, but that didn't take away from her brilliance in his eyes.
The two of them sat together at a beat-up kitchen table while their daughter nursed her baby in the next room. The conversation flowed easily and it felt like they had never been apart.
"I missed you so much." Cornelia said with tears in her eyes.
"From what Cana told me you never stopped hoping."
"Of course not." She said like the thought of giving up was absurd," You are too stubborn to die like that- you would drag yourself back half dead just to give that dragon that stupid grin and crack a bad joke. You've changed a lot over the years, but not to me."
"Well." He said lightly," I guess that just means that I've absolutely made the right decision then."
He watched the confusion on her face turn into shock as he got down on one knee, taking both her hands," Conny, if there's one thing that all this has taught me, its that life is too short not to grab all the happiness you can. I want to wake up every morning by your side, I want to spend the rest of our days spoiling our grandson until he's blue in the face. I want to laugh with you, I want to cry with you, but most of all, I want to be your husband again. So, Cornelia Alberona, will you marry me again?"
For a moment all he could hear was his heartbeat pounding in his ears, and he watched as her shocked face changed- a small, stunned smile on her lips and her eyes glittered with happy tears and she nodded.
"Yes." She whispered, letting the tears fall and joining him on the floor, pulling him in for a kiss," Yes, I'll marry you again- I want to spend the rest of my life with you, I'm just sorry it took all this for us to get our act together."
"Better late then never though, right?" He said, gently cradling her face in his hands.
"Right." And the two kissed each other as desperately as they needed air.
Unseen by either of them, Cana stood in the doorway of the kitchen, lightly bouncing her son in her arms with tears of joy pouring down her face. "Well sweetheart, looks like Grandma and Grandpa finally got their act together. They're both a little crazy, but you know what? All the best people are."
AN: I have had that last scene in my head for months and I was so happy to finally get to use it! In initial drafts I actually made Bacchus the dad, but then remembered my no shipping rule, and figured a sperm donor was just as good. I also was originally going to have her just show up with Henry to see if the rumors of her dad coming home were true, then I moved her to having joined Mermaid Heel, before finally deciding to make her the new Fairy Tail Ace.