Gildarts awoke the next morning feeling peaceful and well-rested. A night with Alana was much-needed; he never slept as well as he did after spending a night making love to her beautiful body. He would do it every night, if missions weren't his first love.
Unfortunately for him, not everyone felt the same way.
Sitting up in bed, he noticed Alana, already up, sitting across from him on the bed. Her deep green eyes held a look of sadness, and Gildarts went to put his hand on hers, worried.
She took her hand away, leaving him confused.
"Alana..?"
She sighed deeply, and sat for a moment silently before speaking.
"Gildarts, I can't do this anymore."
The older man knew he must not have heard her correctly, and asked her to repeat herself. She couldn't even look at him as she told him they were over.
"Then why even bother with me last night?" He questioned fiercely, and she shrugged.
"It's not that I don't want you, Gil.. I just can't play this waiting game anymore."
"Waiting game?" He exclaimed. "What the hell are you talking about, Alana?"
She gulped, nervous, but she already knee the words to say. She had this moment planned for days.
"Always waiting for you to come home from your missions, for up to years at a time.. do you think I enjoy wondering if you'll even come home half the time? If you're even still alive?"
"That's bullshit. You go on missions too!" His eyebrows were furrowed, now angry with what was going on. How dare she act like all she did was sit at home and wait for him to come home! She was an S-Class mage, going out on difficult missions herself, making a living for herself just as he was. He shook his head angrily. "You know that's bullshit."
"It's not bullshit, Gildarts!" She said finally, looking up at him earnestly. "I'm always here waiting when you get home, aren't I?"
"After you're done with your own missions!"
"I'm twenty-five, we've been playing this game with each other for seven years.."
"What game are you even talking about?" He threw up his arms. "None of this is a game to me!"
"I'm sick of just being the girl you make your rounds to when you're done having your fun out on the road." she bit her lip. She knew this wasn't going to go well, but she wished Gildarts would just give up already. Pretending like she didn't want to be with him anymore was draining her.
He jumped up out of the bed at this, absolutely outraged. "Are you out of your mind!? You aren't!"
She breathed in deeply. "After seven years, I deserve commitment. What we're doing.. this isn't fair to me."
Gildarts turned away, getting dressed in a rush.
"Fine then. If that's what you want."
And he broke the door completely down on his way out.
Alana burst into tears, her heart shattered into a million pieces. It wasn't that she didn't want to be with Gildarts.. it was the entire opposite, actually. She loved him more than she knew was possible. He had shown her strength and beauty within herself she never would have found alone. She never wanted to let him go, but she had to. At twenty-five, Alana needed more than someone she would see once a year. She wanted a real commitment, for the man she loved to actually, finally say those three words to her..
Curling back under his blankets, she breathed his scent in deeply, never wanting it to escape her. She knew it was the last she'd ever have of him.
She didn't leave his bed until Mirajane found her, three days later.
Mira immediately put two-and-two together, and suddenly it all made sense then why Gildarts took that 100-year quest.
She knew it'd be a while until they saw the same Alana they once knew again.