Disclaimer: If I did own Fairy Tail, I wouldn't know which direction to take it in.
Parent
"Mira~" Cana sang, sliding her empty mug down the bar counter. "Gimme another one!"
Cana chortled while Mira sighed. Night in Magnolia was fast approaching. The guildhall had cleared out except for Makarov, herself, Mira and Kinana.
"I think you've had enough, Cana," Mira said, taking the mug and rinsing it. Cana slumped forward on the counter.
"You can't cut me off now," she said, smiling at something she couldn't remember. "I just need one more for my pre-game before I go out tonight."
"Cana," Mira said. The Take Over mage placed her hands on the counter top and gave Cana a stern look. "You have had"
"Nee-chan?"
Both women turned to the guildhall entrance, Cana a second after Mira. Elfman's imposing figure stood in the doorway.
"Elfman," Mira said, almost leaping over the bar to run to him. "You didn't show up all day. I was worried."
The large man's hard features softened into a little smile. He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Sorry, Nee-chan."
"It's all right. Did you talk to Lisanna? How is she doing?"
"Better," a tired voice said from behind the middle Strauss sibling. Cana watched from the bar as a pale Lisanna appeared, looking worn and sheepish. Mira yelped in surprise and ran to hug her sister. "I'm sorry for worrying you and Elf-nii-chan, Mira-nee."
"Please," Mira said. "Don't fret over me. How are you feeling? Are you hungry? What did you do all day?"
Cana raised her hand in greeting, cutting into Mira's mothering ramble.
"Hey~, Lisanna," she said, slouching more than she needed to. "Tell your stingy sister to gimme another drink."
All three Strauss siblings looked at Cana, who may or may not have hiccupped. Lisanna looked at Mira.
"How much has she had?"
Mira sighed again.
"Forty."
Lisanna scratched her cheek.
"That doesn't sound like too"
"Kegs."
"Oh."
Elfman announced how manly Cana was for drinking that much. Mira silenced him and made the giant cower with a flash of her demon glare. Both of them relaxed when Lisanna giggled at little at her brother's strange mannerisms. Cana gave up.
"Ah, I don't need rude compliments from this crowd," she said, standing up. She made a point of walking in a straight line to the door before she turned to Mira. "I can get my drink on elsewhere."
The booze loving card mage gave Lisanna a quick peck on the cheek and winked at her.
"Glad to have you back, sweetie."
Cana sauntered through the nighttime streets of Magnolia. She had to take special care to avoid any lingering eyes, which proved more difficult than usual. She had grown accustomed to ogling due to her more than casual attire and her association with the guild brought even more attention, but despite her tipsy state she knew there would be another reason for people to stare tonight.
She rolled her eyes at the whispers of a passing couple before she threw her hair over one shoulder and strolled into the local pub. Mira hadn't been wrong- she did have quite a bit to drink, even by her standards, but she'd been dry since the... the-
"Whoops," she whispered to no one in particular, downing another shot of rum. "Almost went to a bad place."
She waved for another round of both her beer and her shots before she glanced around the bar and huffed. Nobody had come up to flirt with her or even offer her a drink. Did she put out a more intimidating aura this evening for some reason? Cana had an ability to frighten off low lives, but a small part of her expected there to be at least a few jokers trying to console her. Guys always tried to swoop in to comfort a lady who's griev-
"Damn," she muttered, more aggressive when she downed the next one. "It keeps coming back."
She figured maybe she needed a change of scenery. The vibes here weren't conducive to the mood she wanted. She stumbled outside, more natural in her missteps than earlier. She chuckled into the dark night.
"Somewhere in this great town," she said. "Someone will appear to show me a good time!"
The hand attached to the arm she swept out hit a hard chest. Cana turned, expecting to find a handsome face subsequently attached to a passable fellow.
"Hello, Cana."
To her simultaneous surprise, disappointment and repressed relief, her father, Gildarts Clive, was there instead. The card wizard's jaw dropped for a moment before she huffed and remembered herself.
"Oh," she said, blowing her hair from her face. "I thought you were traveling, old timer."
Gildarts shrugged off the pack he always carried from the shoulder of his prosthetic arm.
"I heard the news."
Cana tensed, turning away from her father. His tone indicated a topic she'd prefer to avoid however possible.
"And what brings you here this time of night," she asked, a teasing smirk creeping onto her face while she poked at his chest. "You're not trying to make passes at the women around here, are you?"
Cana wagged a finger in her father's face. Gildarts' stony expression didn't shift.
"I saw Mira at the guild," he said, crossing his arms. "She told me you got out of hand drinking today."
Cana tapped her chin with a finger. She shifted her weight from one hip to the other.
"Damn, she's a sly one," she said. The street swayed under her even though she hadn't boarded any trains. "Conspiring with my old man behind my back."
"Cana," Gildarts said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You need to be more responsible."
The card wizard stared at the crash mage for a full minute before outright cackling. She doubled over in laughter, hands on her knees for support.
"This is such a cliché scene," she said, spinning around with her arms out to indicate everything around her. "We have the concerned friend," she put sarcasm on the last word. "The problem drunk and a lecturing father!"
She glared at Gildarts, leaning against the window of the pub to keep steady.
"All it needs is a precious little brother or sister that will guilt me into coming home and swearing off alcohol!"
She took a breath, feeling the dryness of her throat for the first time that evening. She could use a drink. Gildarts' face grew dark for a moment. He turned his eyes skyward, his voice wistful.
"Yeah," he said, not without a bit of humor. "I suppose that's true. And I have the perfect kid in mind for the role."
Cana snapped her fingers; irritated her evening had been interrupted.
"Then bring 'em out," she said. "I have things I"
"But he's gone, Cana."
The card mage froze. The glass of the pub window felt colder against her back than a moment ago. She lowered her eyes, mumbling.
"Shut up."
Gildarts sighed, heaving up his pack and bringing the strap over his head across his chest.
"You don't want to talk about it, fine," he said, taking her wrist in his hand. "But you aren't drinking anymore tonight."
Cana ripped her hand free, all but spitting in the crash mage's face.
"I'm not a child!"
Gildarts returned her harsh expression, his tone biting more than she'd ever heard.
"No," he said, leaning toward her. "You're just acting like one."
Cana felt her face burn. She didn't tolerate anyone talking to her like that. She took an uncoordinated swing at his face, and to her satisfaction, connected. Gildarts, of course, didn't have any kind of reaction. She seethed for a minute before he hoisted her up with one hand about her waist.
"Put me down!" She shouted, kicking her feet in the air. The crash mage didn't even put her over his shoulder; he just carried her under his arm. "I will make a scene here! People don't like it when a strange old man carries off a young lady!"
Gildarts had the nerve to chuckle at her comment.
"I spent quite a bit of time bragging about my daughter before I left," he said. "Wouldn't be surprised if everyone in Magnolia knows by now."
Cana, still struggling, grumbled to herself about understanding why no one in the bar had approached her.
The walk to Gildarts' house was brief, but Cana nonetheless managed to slip into a half-conscious state on the way there. She opened her eyes to the feeling of a bed under her and Gildarts pressing a damp cold cloth to her forehead. She scowled as best she could.
"I hate you."
She would have tried escaping, but the mattress, while primitive, was comfortable. She kept one foot to the floor to prevent the spinning of the room.
"That's fine," she heard him say. "I can live with that."
Cana fell in and out of an aggravated, restless doze. She couldn't fall asleep. In her semi-lucid state, she told herself the problem came from being dragged to a house she'd never been to before and because she just didn't go to bed at this hour. She knew they were lies, but the reality meant confronting things she wasn't prepared for.
For the nth time she tossed her head to the side. Gildarts' chiseled face greeted her.
"Feeling any better?"
She rolled the other way, agitation evident in the grunt she gave for an answer.
"Tell me if you need water."
She expected to hear him move after that, but from what she could tell, he stayed. Cana clutched the one sheet she had; in her haste to make a point of conveying irritation toward Gildarts, her foot had lost contact with the floor. The card mage had experienced imbalance and spinning rooms from drinking before, but not since the last S-class exam. Her stomach garbled.
Not without hesitation, she turned back around to let a foot down; what she saw almost turned her sober.
Though he wasn't looking at her, Gildarts sat with his face in profile. The crash mage wore an expression Cana hadn't seen on him before. His chin quaked from the rigidity of his jaw, numerous veins pulsed on his neck, and the easy calm of his eyes had been replaced by a coarse grimace. She'd been intimidated by the sheer volume of his confidence and levity and stardom as a child; the hybrid of dark rage and loathing he had aimed at the world outside frightened her.
Gildarts leaned forward in his chair, putting his face in his hands. A small part of Cana wanted to hang on to the vexation from earlier. The rest of her prompted her to reach a hand out to touch his arm.
"Dad," she said. Gildarts snapped his head up, eyes locking onto hers. The card wizard's gaze darted elsewhere. The realization that she hadn't called him that before embarrassed her. "I can't sleep."
Gildarts brought his hand- the only flesh and blood hand he had- to hold hers.
"I've had nightmares."
Cana wanted to crawl into a hole and wither under a hangover. She'd never been one to complain or ask for favors since her mother died. In a voice so soft she almost didn't recognize it, he whispered.
"What can I do?"
She felt him rub over her knuckles with his callous thumb. She felt more comfort from the gesture than she might ever admit. Her eyelids drifted downward and she squeezed his hand.
"Just keep me grounded."
Sleep began tugging her away. She pulled the thin sheet up to her chin, curling in her legs. She felt a light squeeze on her hand, and a calming pressure that didn't let go.
"I can do that."
A/N: This one was... interesting to write. I had to pull on a very limited amount of personal experience and take chances with a few things. The kinship in this one is something that's fascinating to me. Please let me know how I did with these characters, dear readers.
As ever, if you enjoyed this bit, leave a review! If you didn't, I'm sure the voices will be happy to help with that! ... Don't you all hear them too?
Review Reply Corner
bstarqueen: Thank you! Like the other FT bits I've worked/am working on, this just walked into my head. I'm glad I pulled off the genres correctly! Thank you for that assurance. As far as NaLi, I haven't seen a lot of pieces that actively avoid the 'issue', though I have seen Lisanna hate, which seems unnecessary. But I digress. Thank you for reading and reviewing!