Chapter 10: Ace in the Hole

It had been three years since Natsu had joined Fairy Tail. His relationship with the rest of the guild was… better than it had been. Still not great, but better than before. While not exactly friendly with the others, he was no longer outwardly hostile towards them. Once an unspoken agreement between Natsu and some of the more eccentric personalities in the guild to stop antagonizing one another, things got better. However, he could still be very standoffish towards everyone in the guild at times. Especially those he deemed weak, which was just about everyone. The only person that was spared of his treatment was Cana. She was the biggest reason for Natsu's change in behavior. If he was getting to riled up or annoyed and wanted to show everyone that they were still beneath him, all it would take was a single look and Cana telling him to stop, and begrudgingly he would.

The guild took note of this, and rumors started to spread. Most of them alluding to Cana "taming the dragon." None of these rumors ever made their way to Natsu or Cana in fear of what they might do. Well, really it was Natsu they were afraid of. Natsu surely wouldn't take the idea of him being tamed well. To everyone, Natsu was still extremely terrifying despite calming down a bit. And Cana had become quite hot headed as well, but it was mainly Natsu they were worried about. Even if he didn't react to the rumors, Cana getting upset was more than enough to trigger him.

In addition to listening to Cana almost without question, Natsu also grew very protective over her. One time, during one of the many guild brawls Fairy Tail hosted, Elfman had accidentally elbowed Cana in the face. Cana never really participated in these events, so she wasn't expecting the hit. As soon as his elbow made contact with her face, she let out a cry. Immediately she clutched her nose as blood started to run through her hands. The entire guild paused and looked at the inadvertent damaged caused to Cana's face.

"Shit Cana. I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to I swear!" cried Elfman. Cana just raised her arm in response, waving the boy off and letting him know it wasn't a huge deal. Elfman let out a sigh of relief and turned to rejoin his friends. Or at least he tried. As he attempted to return, he bumped into something. That something was Natsu.

"You hit Cana?" Venom laced his question as his magic flared.

"Look Natsu, it was just an accident! I swear I didn't do it on purpose!" Elfman said, backing up as Natsu walked closer to him.

"You hit Cana." Natsu stated again. Natsu grabbed the boy's arm he accidentally stuck Cana with and slowly began to twist. He wanted this to be painful. It didn't take long for Elfman's cries to ring out across the guild hall.

"Natsu that's enough! I'm fine. See? It's already stopped bleeding." Cana grabbed Natsu's shoulder and pulled him around to her. Like a switch had just gone off in his head, he instantly released Elfman's arm as Cana had instructed.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked running his hands along her face and examining it. Cana gave him a soft smile and nodded. Once Natsu had confirmed that she was indeed okay, he turned back to Elfman. "You ought to be more careful. Maybe next time she won't stop me." His calm tone delivered chills down the spines of everyone nearby. Natsu bent his head down, ear level with the other boy. "Or maybe I just won't listen to her." A look of absolute horror filled Elfman's face. He nodded to Natsu, knowing what would happen if something like this were to happen again. Smiling, Natsu stood up. His message was received loud and clear. Not just to the offender, but to everyone in the guild. Satisfied with his scene, Natsu raised his arm and vanished, a new technique that he had learned during his two years here. Lingering bits of his Chaos Dragon Slayer Magic littered the area he had occupied. Slowly, the evaporated into nothing, leaving the space completely empty.

Cana sighed as Natsu took his leave. She knew his intentions were good, but his actions were anything but. She would have to talk to him. Again. She would have to explain that accidents happen sometimes and that he couldn't react like that. Again. She would have to remind him that she was a big girl and could take care of herself. Again.

Cana walked into the guild and noticed Natsu sitting by himself. Deciding to have a little fun with him, she ran up behind him and covered his eyes with her hands. "Guess who!"

"You know I can smell you right?"

"And you know that you are no fun, right?"

"She's right Natsu. You are no fun!" Happy

Natsu snatched Happy out of the air and brought him in close. "You keep talking cat, and I'll show you how much fun I can be." Natsu released the cat's tail and Happy flew into Cana's arms. While Natsu didn't outright despise the creature, he held no love for him either. But because Cana adored Happy, he would protect him just as he would her. His words were nothing more than empty threats.

Happy struggled to his bearings in the air. Happy smiled and adopted the fake crying act he would put on when Natsu was mean to him. He did this because he knew Cana would tell of Natsu. And seeing Natsu get in trouble was funny to Happy.

"Cannnnnnnnnnna!" Happy cried. "Natsu is being mean to me again! Make him stop! Make him stop!" Happy continued his tirade as he buried himself deeper into Cana's chest. Cana stroked his back gently and moved to scold Natsu.

"Natsu. How many times have I told you that you can't be mean to Happy?" She leaned in and whispered the next part. "He's sensitive."

'And a liar.' Added Natsu, though he wouldn't voice that out loud.

In reality, Cana knew Happy was faking it. But she went along with his little game of pretend because she too thought it was funny. And any chance she got to pick on Natsu, she would gladly take it.

Well Natsu? What do you have to say for yourself?" Cana tried not to laugh as she questioned Natsu. Natsu just rolled his eyes at this. He learned a while ago that Happy liked to egg him on, especially when they were around Cana. That little cat had her wrapped around his paw. Even if they were playing, she would take Happy's side. Normally at this point, Cana would let the joke go. She always pushed it just far enough to get a small reaction out of Natsu. She thought he was cute when he pouted. But today, she wanted to push farther. She reached across the table and placed her hand on Natsu's chin and forced his head to look her way. His piercing onyx eyes gazed into her own violet orbs.

Cana tried to form a sentence, but the words would not come out. She was too transfixed on Natsu's eyes. A lot of people in the guild would describe his eyes as empty, having lost the malice they once held. But not Cana. To her, the were beautiful. She was glad most people couldn't see them as such. This made her feel as if his eyes had been made entirely for her. She would stare into his eyes forever if she could, but unfortunately, that would not be the case. She felt a heaviness grow in her chest the longer she looked into his eyes.

She knew this heaviness well. It was the one that plagued her for nearly three years now. At first, it was merely a fascination and amazement for the boy. But those quickly turned into a fondness the more time she spent with Natsu. It didn't take long for those feelings of fondness to turn into something more. She had done her best to keep these feelings in check. They were friends and partners, and the last thing she wanted to do was ruin that. It had been a lot easier when they were younger. She played it off as such a stupid crush that she was sure would fade with time. Only it hadn't. The older they grew, the closer they got. And the closer they got, the stronger those feelings were. Cana did her best to keep these feelings contained, but it was to no avail. For many people, her feelings towards the Dragon Slayer were obvious. Natsu, however, was not one of those people.

She was glad Natsu was oblivious. As this only made it easier to hide her true feelings. She wanted to act on them, to tell Natsu how she really felt, but once again, her fear of rejection stopped her. Her mind wandered to the mission where she knew for a fact she wanted to be with Natsu.

She had gotten separated from Natsu and gotten lost. She was in an entirely unfamiliar forest. The magic energy there was intense and had almost caused her to pass out. But she trudged on. By the time she made it out of the forest, it was dark, and the moon rested high in the night's sky. It had been late morning when she entered so there was no telling how long she had been missing. She saw signs pointing to a town to the east. She walked along a dirt road but didn't get very far before collapsing. The next thing she remembered, she was flying through the air. She looked and saw Natsu. He looked exhausted. There was no telling how long he had spent looking for her. This was when the heaviness first appeared. She knew what it had meant. She was drawn to the Dragon Slayer from the moment she first saw him, but that was mostly just due to curiosity on her part. And she had always cared about Natsu, but this far surpassed that. She wanted him

"Cana? Cannnnnna? You there?" Natsu's voice snapped Cana back to the present.

"Huh?"

"You okay? You kind of zoned out there for a minute."

"Oh.. I guess I did." Redness overtook Cana's face as she gingerly rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry about that!"

"It's fine. Anyways, you can't keep babying him Cana. He'll get worse than he already is." Natsu said as he pointed towards Happy. The blue cat was nibbling on a fish, clearly no longer upset.

"But Natsu, he IS still just a baby."

"Your hopeless." Natsu stood and lightly thumped Cana's forehead. Cana faked a small cry, earning a laugh from Natsu. "I'm going to go on a job. You coming?"

"Just pick one and bring it back here. I trust your judgement." As soon as Cana had said this, Natsu left for the job board.

Cana smiled as she watched Natsu walk away. He had made a lot of progress from that angry kid he was all those years ago. He still had a ways to go, but she was glad he was starting to soften up. And especially that she was the one Natsu had decided to display his softer side to.

"You liiiiiiiiiiiike him!" Happy teased. This had become a common thing whenever Natsu left Cana. Happy liked to mess with Cana too, and this was almost always a way to get a reaction out of her.

But to Happy's surprise, Cana just turned to him and smiled. "Yes Happy. I really do."

Natsu frowned. None of these jobs appealed to him. Natsu looked over and saw Cana and Happy talking to one another. Natsu smiled as he watched the two. "Maybe a day off won't be so bad."

Natsu made his way back to the table, but rather than sitting across from Cana like he had been, he took a seat next to her. "Couldn't find one you liked?"

"Actually, I figured we could take the day off. Natsu faced Cana and smiled "It could be fun." She enjoyed seeing Natsu smile, something that was becoming a more common occurrence.

Cana smiled. The Natsu of old would never do something like this, but the Natsu in front of her, well he continued to surprise her. "Yeah I think it will be!" The two teens smiled as a comfortable silence clung to the air.

"ATTENTION! PREPARING FOR A GUILDARTS SHIFT! ATTENTION! PREPARING FOR A GUILDARTS SHIFT!"

Natsu cried out in pain, his hands covering his ears in an attempt to reduce the noise. "What the hell is that noise?" Natsu shouted out.

"It's Gildarts, he's returned." Master Makarov stated. As the ringing subsided, Natsu acted like nothing had happened at all.

Natsu recognized the name and turned to Cana. He saw she had a mixture of fear and longing in her eyes. "I think you should tell him Cana." Natsu whispered so that the other wouldn't be able to hear.

"What… what if he doesn't accept me?" Cana said sulking.

"All the more reason to kick his ass then."

The silhouette of a man appeared in the entrance of the guild. "Hey everyone, I'm back." A large man said with slicked back orange hair and a brown cloak, with a travel bag with him. The two teens spoke his name in unison. While they said the same thing, it was for two different reasons. For Cana, she finally wanted to admit to the man she was his daughter. For Natsu, his instincts were taking over. In this moment, he wanted nothing more than to fight the approaching man. Only then would he finally see how his strength truly held up.

The moment he broke into the barrier of the guild, Natsu wasn't no time in getting up. He had heard all the stories. Gildarts was regarded as the strongest person in the guild, and to many, the strongest in Fiore. If the man was anything like the stories, Natsu would finally get the challenge he craved.

As he made his way towards Gildarts, a hand grabbed him and held him firm. "What are you doing? Cana asked, though she likely already knew the answer.

"What does it look like? I'm going to fight him."

"Are you an idiot? Do you even realize how strong he is?

"Insulted by her words, Natsu pulled his hand free of Cana's. "And do you realize how strong I am?" There it was. That arrogance Natsu always seemed to keep tucked away.

Natsu approached the man and planted himself a few steps in front of him. "Uh, hi?" Gildarts said confusingly. He didn't recognize the kid and he really didn't understand why he walk up to him like that.

"Fight me." The words escaped Natsu's lips with a sense of urgency.

"I see." Gildarts was used to people trying to challenge him. That came with the territory if being the strongest. "Look kid, I just got back and I'm not in the mood for a fight now. How about we talk it over a few drinks instead? Eh? What do you say?" Natsu's brown furrowed as he took another step towards the man. "Look I don't even know who you are. At least tell me your name kid."

"My name is Natsu. And I've taken your place as the strongest." Natsu allowed his magical pressure to climb, showing off to the Ace. His magical output continued to soar. Natsu had indeed grown stronger over the years. Makarov never allowed Natsu to test his strength against him. So he saw Gildarts as the perfect assessment of his skills. Small scales started to appear along his arms, but Natsu cancelled out his magic before he entered Dragonforce. He'd rather not show that card yet. Rather, he'd save it for later if he was pushed that far, though he doubted he would be.

"I'm not going to lie to you. Your magic, it's impressive. But like I said, I'm not in the mood to fight." Natsu took one more step towards Gildarts. The Crash Mage let out a sigh. "Fine. If it's a fight you want, that's what's you'll get. Just don't blame me if you get hurt."

"CHAOS DRAGON'S BRUTAL FIST!" Natsu launched his fist at Gildarts at a near impossible speed. Gildarts stayed perfectly still as Natsu's fist approached him. He a sigh, he raised his arm and met Natsu's fist with his own. A shockwave ran through the guild, sending anything that wasn't nailed down flying. Natsu and Gildarts stood there with their fists pressed against one another. Natsu twisted his body backwards and attempted to strike the man's head with his foot. But Gildarts had other plans.

He intercepted Natsu's attack. He wrapped his palm around Natsu's ankle. Gildarts swung the boy in front of him and held him upside down in front of the whole guild. Gildarts smiled at Natsu, then launched him into the air. Natsu sailed, breaking through the roof and kept going. "Whoops." Gildarts said to no one in particular. "Guess I used a little too much power." Gildarts left loose a small chuckled before finally being able to walk further into the guild.

"Hey everyone! I'm back! For real this time." Gildarts announced to the guild. Cheers erupted from the crowd as they prepared to celebrate the Ace's return.

Gildarts walked deeper into the guild, stopping to talk to those in his path. Cana was next in line to greet the Ace. "Hey Cana. What's up?" This was her chance. She had been waiting to tell him this for years. As she stared up at Gildarts, her nerves once again won the battle inside her mind. She muttered a quick hello, then ran to be with her friends. Thinking nothing of it, he continued on his way to the bar.

Gildarts took his place by Makarov at the bar. The master handed the Crash Mage a cold mug. Gildarts happily accepted the cup and drank it down greedily. After finishing his drink, Gildarts wiped his mouth and turned to Makarov. "So tell me about that boy."

Natsu landed somewhere in Magnolia Forest. He had lost. For the first time since his father, he had been properly beaten. He wouldn't stand for this. Natsu rose to his feet. Leaves from the trees littered his body, and a coat of dirt rested on his clothes He marched right back to Fairy Tail. He was going to show that bastard his real power.

The initial excitement had finally died down and things were operating how they usually did at the guild. Makarov and Gildarts were engaged in a long conversation about the guild's resident Dragon Slayer. Gildarts learned of the boy's problems, but also the progress he had made during his three years he had been a member. "Stronger than Laxus, huh? That's-" Gildarts was interrupted by the guild doors swinging open. It was Natsu. And he was pissed.

Natsu stormed to the bar, ignoring the calls of Cana. Natsu marched straight to Gildarts and demanded a rematch. But instead of an answer, he received a fist to the top of his head. The blow sent the Dragon Slayer to the floor. He had now been embarrassed by this man twice.

Natsu seethed with anger. He rose to challenge the man once more, but a pair of arms held him back. He knew who they belonged to without seeing their owner. It was Cana. "Stop." A worried tone was portrayed in her voice. "You're hurt. You need to rest."

"No. I have to beat him." Natsu tried to remove Cana's arms, but she only held on tighter.

"Please Natsu. For me? Cana bargained with him. "Besides, what's a man to a dragon. Natsu turned and saw Cana's smiling face. This alone, calmed him down considerably. But it was her words that truly reached him. She saw him as Natsu saw himself, a dragon. If Cana wanted him to hold off on showing his true power and beating the man, then for her sake he would.

"Hey kid!" Gildarts called to Natsu. Both Natsu and Cana looked to the source of the call. "How about I take you fishing instead of another fight? I might even give you some tips on how to beat me."

"What is fishing?"

"Oh man, now I have to take you!" Gildarts picked up Natsu and tossed him over his shoulder, taking him from the guild. Admittedly, Cana felt a bit jealous. She had been trying to get close to Gildarts for years, yet Natsu had only just met him and now Gildarts was taking him places. This reaffirmed to Cana that strength only responds to strength. Natsu was strong and there was no denying it, so it made sense that Gildarts would response well to him.

"So that's the gist of fishing. You think you got it?" Gildarts said cast a line into a river flowing through the forest.

"I think you better untie me you bastard." Natsu called out as he dangled upside down from a nearby tree. Upon getting to the river, Natsu once again tried to attack the man, however it did not go well for the Dragon Slayer. Gildarts had quickly incapacitated they boy and used some of the rope he brought to make the fishing rods to tie Natsu up. This meant, that Natsu would have to forgo having a rod, and fishing all together, but Gildarts was okay with that. This way ensured he would peace while he fished. And besides, the whole reason he intended to bring Natsu out her was to have a conversation with him.

"So you think you're the strongest? Well kid, let me tell you, there is a whole lot more to being strong than just having power." For the next hour, Gildarts lecture Natsu on the true meaning of strength. "Now, have you calmed down?" Natsu gave no indication he would comply, but neither did he react with hostility. Gildarts shrugged and sent a speck of his magic to cut the rope, freeing Natsu. Natsu got to his feet and stretched his limbs. "So Cana huh?"

"Excuse me?" Natsu did not like the way Gildarts had worded what he just said.

"I mean, she good looking sure, but there are definitely better personalities in the guild."

"Go to hell." Natsu was done with this interaction. He already wanted to crush the man to prove he was stronger, but now he hated him for what he had said about Cana. As much as he wanted to fight him again, he knew he wouldn't win. And besides, the only thing he really wanted right now was Cana. Gildarts watched as Natsu made his way back to the guild. Realizing he said something out of line, he rushed to catch Natsu.

"Hey Natsu, wait up a minute, I didn't mean anything bad by what I said, just that Cana isn't the first person to come to mind when you think of that kind of stuff." he said as he ran up to catch the boy.

Natsu turned to face the man. "You should talk to her when you get back to the guild hall." Natsu stared coldly at the man. He waited for a response, but one didn't come "It would mean a lot to her. Besides, it's not even like that." He turned back around and kept walking.

The two made their way back to the guild with in silence. When they arrived, the party had already started. Cana approached the two. Natsu offered her a simple smile and then headed for the bar, leaving Cana alone with Gildarts. Cana looked up at the older man, then to Natsu. Natsu had taken a seat on an empty barstool and was watching Cana. He gestured for her to go ahead. Fighting her own feelings once again, she opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by the Crash Mage. He asked her if he could talk to her outside. She agreed and the two left to go outside. When they got outside Gildarts spoke up. "Natsu said I should talk to you. What's up?"

Cana began to get nervous and start "Um...well...it's..." But she couldn't find the right words. "I joined Fairy Tail to find my Dad."

"Did you find him?" Gildarts asked. "I bet it's Wakaba, or maybe Macao."

"His name is Gildarts Clive." Cana stated.

"You're...you're my daughter?" Gildarts asked dumbfounded.

"Yes, my mother told me you were a member of Fairy Tail, so that's why I joined. But every time I tried to tell you I got nervous and put it off, or something would come up and you would leave." Tears started to stream down her face. "That's not true. None of those reasons are. I never told you because I didn't feel worthy enough to call myself your daughter. I mean, you the strongest person in the guild and I'm… I'm just so weak. I know that's a stupid reason, but that's how I felt. It was-" Cana was interrupted as a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her.

"You're right. It was a dumb reason to not tell me." Gildarts said as he continued to hug Cana. Tears continued to pour from the Card Mage's eyes. "I know I'm the strongest here, but strength was never something I really cared about. It just sort of happened so I figured I'd roll with it. I would never judge someone based on their strength alone. And I sure wouldn't have ostracized you for not being as strong as me." He pulled away from Cana. "And besides, you aren't weak. There is more than just physical and magical strength. And to hold something like that in for this long takes a lot of strength." Cana smiled at her father's words. After all this time, she had finally gotten what she wanted, her father in her life.

"You're Cornelia's daughter, right?" Cana nodded. "I loved her more than anything, you know?" When she left me, it broke my heart." Gildarts said as he embraced his daughter again. They stayed like that for a few minutes until they decided to go inside and tell the others.

They arrived back inside and broke the news to the guild. People cheered and congratulated the new father daughter duo. Gildarts began drinking at the bar with Wakaba, Macao, and Master Makarov. After the initial excitement died down Cana went up to Natsu. She wasn't happy with him. Not at all. Natsu gave Cana a confused look. He had helped her out so why did she look angry. Natsu was broken out of these thoughts by a slap to the face. "HOW IN THE HELL COULD YOU TELL HIM YOU JERK? I WANTED TO TELL HIM ON MY OWN TERMS NOT LIKE THIS!" Cana yelled at Natsu. Tears poured down her face and she started hitting him in the chest. "I THOUGHT I COULD TRUST YOU. I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY FRIEND! I THOUGHT YOU COULD KEEP A SECRET BUT I GUESS I WAS WRONG! YOU'RE JUST A HEARTLESS ASSHOLE LIKE EVERYONE SAYS! NO WONDER NO ONE LIKES YOU! AND TO THINK I DEFENDED YOU!" She was getting even angrier as she yelled and continued to hit the boy she thought was her friend. "GOD, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU!" Everyone was staring at them now. If there was two things Natsu didn't like it was attention and being yelled at. He always hated being yelled at by his father, but he took it because he knew his father was his superior. But here he didn't have to take it. Cana may have been his friend, but she was not his superior. And after this, he wasn't even sure if she was that anymore.

Natsu stood there as Cana continued to strike his chest. He could feel her blows getting weaker, and her cries getting louder. Eventually she stopped hitting him, opting to sob into his chest instead. "Are you done?" came the icy cold tone he had nearly abandoned. Cana looked up at Natsu with her watery eyes. Once she realized what she had said, instant regret coursed through her body. She stared into his eyes, hoping he would understand she hadn't meant what she just said, but she was doubtful that would be the case. She wanted to look into his eyes and see the spark he reserved only for her, but it was not there. His eyes no longer held the warm and welcoming look that she had grown accustomed to. Instead, they looked similar to when he first joined the guild.

"I'm glad to know that's how you really felt all this time. It's good actually. Now I have no qualms about finally leaving." Natsu said harshly, all while staring straight into Cana's eyes. He lightly moved her to the side so he could take his leave. The crowd that had gathered and watched as the scene between Natsu and Cana transpired stood frozen as Natsu approached them. He had reverted to how he had been at the beginning. Not even bothering to try and get them to move, Natsu shoved himself past them and left the guild. Mirajane, who was one of the people in the crowd, had sworn she had seen a single tear lightly roll down Natsu's cheek as he left.

After that the mood was killed and the party was pretty much over. Cana sat at a table crying even harder that she had been before, not because of what happened but because she reflected on all the hurtful things she had said to Natsu. She had done the worst thing possible. She knew better than anyone how Natsu was. She knew that despite know showing it, the way people view Natsu affected him. And now his best friend had reaffirmed everything he suspected people thought of him. Cana cried louder the longer the dwelled on this. Erza, Mira, and Lisanna tried to comfort her, but she was almost inconsolable. Gildarts could only watch his daughter. He hadn't expected to be forced to act in the role of a father so soon after finding out He was torn on one hand he was angry at the boy who hurt his daughter, but on the other hand he felt sympathy for the boy. He decided he would go find the boy and talk to him.

After a while, he finally managed to track the boy down. Natsu was where he always ended up whenever the outside world became too much for him, in the woods. When Gildarts approached him, he noticed the boy's knuckles were all bloody and several trees had gnashes in them, and many of them were knocked down. Gildarts couldn't feel any magic in the area, meaning Natsu had done this all using brute force. "Geez kid how strong are you?" Gildarts said as he chuckled lightly.

Caught off guard, Natsu assumed a defensive position. If it came down to a fight, he doubted he could win, at least in his current state. But that didn't mean he wouldn't try if it came down to that. "What the hell do you want?" Natsu summoned his magic and prepared himself for a fight.

"Easy there kid, I just want to talk." Gildarts said as he raised his hands in the air, clearly

showing his intention to not fight. "I want to talk to you about Cana."

Upon hearing her name, Natsu only got more defensive. "I didn't mean to make her cry. I thought I was helping her. She said she was having trouble doing it so I thought I'd just give her a little push. I don't understand why she got so mad at me?" Natsu questioned.

Gildarts took a seat on a fallen tree and motioned the boy to take a seat as well. He did. "Listen kid if there is one thing I know it that we will never understand women. They are unique creatures." Gildarts began. "Now I know you only had good intentions but it was Cana's secret to tell me when she was ready. Do you understand why she's so upset?"

"Yes." Natsu said as he stared at the ground.

"Now I need you to do me a favor, okay?"

"What is it?"

"I need you to watch out for Cana when I'm away, I can tell you're strong. So just look out for her for me, would ya?" Gildarts asked the young boy.

"But she hates me now. Just how the hell am I supposed to do that when she hates me?"

"She doesn't hate you kid, she's just upset. She'll forgive you. But let me ask you something, why did you leave the guild after that?"

"I don't like being yelled at." Natsu admitted. "My father yelled at me all the time and I had to just take it. I figured I could just leave and no one would care."

"Hate to tell ya kid, but in Fairy Tail we are all family so people not caring about you isn't an option." Gildarts spoke as he smiled at the boy. "Just give it some time and this whole incident will be old news and things will be good as new, okay?" Natsu nodded at the man. "Well, I'm gonna go home and rest before I head back to the guild. You okay to be by yourself?" Natsu nodded as the man got up and walked away.

The next morning Natsu entered the guild found the bench he used to sit in before he became friends with Cana. It was tucked away in the corner, out of the way of everything else. He took his seat, and he was right back where he had been all those years ago. All alone in a strange place. He noticed the guild was mostly empty, save for a few people that were either still passed out on the floor or nursing a hangover from last night. Then he saw her. Natsu just flung his head on the table and covered it with his arms, trying to hide himself away from the world, but mostly to hide himself from Cana. There weren't many times in his life Natsu had felt small. But knowing that he caused Cana to cry sure had.

"Natsu." He wasn't expecting her to talk to him. "Natsu get up, we need to talk." He raised his head slightly and noticed Cana had been crying recently.

"Cana I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

"Stop." She cut him off. He expected something like this. But what he wasn't expecting was for her to hug him. "I'm so sorry Natsu. I never should have said such awful things to you yesterday. Me being angry did not justify that. I was completely out of line. Will you forgive me?"

Natsu pulled away and looked her in the eyes, his warm look returning. "You're right. I am an asshole." The air of awkwardness between the two vanished as they both started to laugh. "And I'm sorry too Cana. I shouldn't have told him to talk to you. It wasn't my place. I just wanted to help."

"It's okay you idiot," Cana said as she pulled him in for another hug and just held him there.

Gildarts walked by and gave the boy a smile and a thumbs up but also gave him the 'I'm-watching-you' gesture accompanied by a serious look. But then smiled again as he walked to the bar.

A week later, and things had mostly gone back to normal. They only thing that had really changed was how clingy Natsu and Cana had started to become. They had been nearly inseparable since their reconciliation, only parting so Cana could spend time with her father. Natsu knew they two needed their time so he would make excuses to leave the guild for a few hours each day. Today was the last day Gildarts would be in Magnolia, as he was due to set out on a new job later this morning. Gildarts said his goodbyes to everyone and made his way to the door.

"Gildarts. A voice called out. The Crash Mage stopped inches away from the door. "Let me come with you." Natsu rose to his feet and started walking towards the man. Gildarts sighed and turned around to meet the gaze of the young Dragon Slayer. He'd be lying if he said Natsu's potential didn't interest him. For a moment, he entertained the idea of taking Natsu along with him. Gildarts looked to Makarov, who wore an expression saying that the decision was his to make. The her looked to Cana and she looked… sad. He knew they were close, but he didn't realize it was to this extent. After seeing his daughter's face, he knew he couldn't take Natsu with him. He wouldn't take Natsu away from her.

"Sorry kid, but it's a no." This wasn't what Natsu wanted to hear. Gildarts saw the look of frustration plastered across the boy's face. In an attempt to put him at ease, Gildarts leaned down and whispered into Natsu's ear. "I need you to stay her and here and look after Cana. You think you can do that for me?" Natsu stood there like a statue. Feeling like he wouldn't get an answer, Gildarts resumed walking towards the door.

"Fine." Natsu called out to the retreating man. "But next time you come back, I'll crush you." The only response he received was the wave of the Crash Mage's hand, acknowledging what he said. As soon as Gildarts left, Natsu returned to his seat beside Cana.

"Were you really going to leave? After everything? Just like that?" Cana's head hung low as she posed these questions and a sad tone leaked through her voice.

Rather than answering her, Natsu took a long drink from his mug. After finishing his drink, he slammed the empty glass down. "I'm here, aren't I?" Cana raised her head and gave the Dragon Slayer a long look. A small smirk escaped Natsu's lips as he looked into Cana's eyes. A redness started to form on Cana's cheeks and only continued to grow as Natsu grabbed her hand. "Come on. Let's go do a job." The two approached the quest board and mulled over the job selection before Natsu grabbed one and handed it to Cana. It wasn't a complex job, just a simple fetch question. But it would allow them to spend time together. Natsu led her out of the guild, still holding her hand.

Two chapters? I think so! This chapter is the reason it took me so long to upload the last few. I got bored and wrote this one before those so I had to change my schedule a little bit. This is also the longest chapter so far and I kind of enjoy those more so I think I'll start making my chapters longer overall. I'm gonna take a break for the weekend and let some ideas come to me. But who knows, if I feel like cranking out another chapter soon, I just might! I hope you all have a good day! And thanks for stopping by! - Sinh