Alana finished her mission just as night fell, and she made her way back to the guild. She sighed, relieved, when she entered and didn't see Gildarts.
Everyone greeted her, and she waved as she walked quickly through the guild to the stairs. During her mission she realized she didn't have the necklace she typically wore on her. She assumed had left her necklace in the infirmary, on the table beside the bed she slept in. She was feeling a bit panicked, as she always wore the necklace, and couldn't even believe she had forgotten it in the first place, but forgave herself, as her thoughts were scattered that morning with the return of Gildarts.
She used her winds to propel her up the stairs, and jogged to the infirmary doors.
The sight she ran into froze her in the middle of the doorway.

Mirajane was there, helping bandage the stomach of none other than the man she had left the guild to avoid: Gildarts.
Hearing Alana's entrance, the two both looked, and Mirajane's eyes darted between the two, before she tried excusing herself.
"Mira, no, it's fine," Alana tried to get her to stay, as she knew what her fair-skinned friend was up to. Mira smiled at her in an attempt to look innocent, and Alana grabbed her wrist.
"Do not leave me alone with him." Alana muttered, not knowing Gildarts heard her. He huffed, clearing his throat, and stood. Alana's grip slackened, and Mira took her arm back.
"It's okay Mirajane, you may go," he said, looking Alana straight in the eyes, with a cold look of his own, "I'll finish myself up."
Mirajane slipped out of the infirmary as quickly as she could, and then it was just the two ex-lovers, alone.
Alana stood, not knowing what to say, and just watched as Gildarts finished bandaging his stomach. She took in the sight of the man in front of her, the body that her hands once roamed blissfully. His chest was broader, with large, stitched gashes strewn about, his Fairy Tail stamp sported proudly over his heart. His muscles were larger. He looked more toned, more mature. She would have drooled if she didn't then notice what had happened to the rest of him. Before, she just disregarded him as extremely bandaged up, but she was mistaken.
One of his arms was almost completely gone. From his left elbow down, instead of skin, there was a makeshift, wooden prosthetic arm. Alana felt herself soften, and stepped forward, wanting to immediately go to the man's aid.

"I found this, figured I'd bring it to you." He said brashly, and from his pocket pulled the necklace she had been looking for so desperately. He handed it to her softly, their hands grazing slightly, causing Alana to flinch. She hadn't felt an ounce of his touch in three years; had tried desperately to forget it, yet it still haunted her dreams. But feeling his hand in reality was much different than any dream, and she supressed the longing she felt for more.
"Gildarts, are you-" she went to ask about his well-being, but he cut her off quickly.
"Mirajane says you still wear it, every day." He half-smiled, but quickly replaced it with a cold expression. "You should keep a better eye on your belongings."
And with that he walked by her, his arm brushing her side roughly, and left.
Alana bit her lip as hard as she could in attempt to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes.
She opened her hand, looking down at the necklace she held, and swallowed hard.
Her teeth penetrated her skin, and she could taste the blood she accidentally drew, feeling defeated, as she couldn't stop the tears as they fell.
She had intended to stop wearing the necklace, to throw it away, but for some reason she just couldn't do it.
The chain was pure gold, with a pendant in the middle. The pendant itself held small magic power within it, and took the physical form of Gildarts' white magic aura, flowing in a large, beautiful spiral.
Alana's thoughts went back to when he first gave it to her.
"You better always wear this," he had said as he clasped the necklace around her neck, "it was damn expensive, you know."
She laughed at the memory, but it came out more like a half choke, half sob, than a laugh.
Despite the fact that she tried so hard to keep him out of her mind, she couldn't. She hated him, but he was still her soft spot. Even though she had broken things off with him, she couldn't bring herself to dispose of that necklace.

She wiped her eyes in a rush when she heard someone clear their throat. She sniffled, trying to erase evidence of her crying. She wouldn't let anyone see her in a moment of weakness like that. The air around her cooled in response to her quick change in emotions.
"Don't worry Killer," She turned quickly, seeing Cana walk in, "it's just me. I already know you're still human."
Alana shook her head, wiping her eyes again. "Fuck you," she said sarcastically, and Cana rolled her eyes.
"You don't have to act so guarded, you know," the brunette said, pushing her long hair behind her shoulder, taking the necklace from her closest friend. She pushed the short black hair aside, and put Alana's necklace back on for her. "It's okay to let your walls down. We're all family, no one's gonna do anything but be there for you."
Alana sighed, sitting on the bed Gildarts so recently occupied. "You don't get it, Cana."
The card magic mage raised a dainty eyebrow. "Oh? I don't get what?"

The air around Alana became easier to breathe in, and her eyes became moist again.
"Gildarts.. I still love him, Cana."
"So?" Cana crossed her arms. "Go back up and be all gross sappy with each other again."
Alana shook her head, and tried explaining things as easily as she could to the younger girl.
"I'm twenty-eight now, see? That almost thirty. I know you see how many missions I go on; think about how much money I've saved. But what do I have to show for that? I live in my guild and when I had a boyfriend, he was never around. He didn't care that I wanted more than just sex," Cana gagged at this, "and a fun time when he came home. He didn't care that I wanted more than that."
"But you knew what he was like," Cana said, confused. "You knew he always left. How can you get mad at him when you knew what you were getting yourself into?"
Alana smiled, knowing that was where she and Cana were different. Cana sat down next to her, and crawled up onto the bed, crossing her legs. Alana did the same, and they face each other.
Alana sighed, nodding. "Yeah, you're right." She shrugged. "I guess I just hoped that he'd stop after a while."
"His wife left him for the same reason, you know," Cana said, "'Cus he wouldn't stop working and commit to her."

Alana shifted, uncomfortable. Gildarts told her about his marriage before; that he had only been in true love once, with his ex-wife, Cornelia. It made the air around the then-23-year-old turn ice cold. They had been seeing each other for quite a few years at that point, and he figured it was appropriate to let her know that he had once been in an extremely serious relationship.
It made her jealous, absolutely. She had given up the chance to play the field during her prime in order to be faithful to a man who had been around the block quite a few times, and she had to face the fact that she had no chance of being his first true love.
After hearing him tell her why his wife left him, she made it her mission to be the woman who could get him to settle down. She wanted to be someone special to him, and if he commited to her, that would mean she was special.
But he did the same thing to her as he did to all the others, including the woman he married, and she wouldn't let herself be made a fool.

"I wanted to be something she wasn't." She admitted, and Cana's eyebrows shot up.
"I wanted to prove I could do what even the woman he loved couldn't do."
Cana shook her head, feeling defensive of her mother, but not wanting to reveal herself.
"It's not a battle to see who's better."
Alana rolled her eyes, standing. "Let me know when you find yourself in the same situation as me, then try and tell me how to go about my business."
She made her way to the door, and looked back at the brunette still on the bed.
"You know, up until now, all you did was talk trash about my relationship with Gildarts. Now all you do is defend him and tell me I asked for this."
She felt her eyes get wet again. "I left the man I love because he'll never love me back. Why would I ask for that?"
The look in her eyes before she walked out broke Cana's heart. She knew then that something had to be done, but she just didn't know what.