A/N:
Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed that last chapter. A little flashback to how Alana and Gildarts started seeing each other. I do intend on putting more flashbacks, as a way to see into Alana and Gildarts' relationship's past, so I hope you guys keep reading and loving this story like I do!

xoxo
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Master Makarov gathered the S-Class mages of Fairy Tail, as well as Gildarts, to let them know that the S-Class Trials were going to begin soon, and that he planned on involving all four of them. He explained his plan, that there would be eight participants this year, and they all would choose a partner. They would begin by choosing one of eight cave entrances on Tenrou Island, and that there would be five different path results. One team would encounter either Gildarts, Mira, or Erza. One team would have to fight each other, one team would get lucky and choose a "silent" path, where they encountered no one and got a free ride to the next challenge. And the last two teams would choose Alana's path.
The two teams that faced Alana had to combat her powerful winds, which would be strengthened not only by the magic of Tenrou Island, but because she could control the ocean's wind currents. Whoever could make their way past her winds first would be able to continue in the Trials.
All the mages were extremely excited, and their excitement boiled over to the younger wizards of Fairy Tail. Everyone went out on a ton of missions, and tried their hardest to be chosen as candidates for the S-Class Trials.
The night came when Master Makarov and the S-Class wizards stepped out on stage and announced who would be in the running to be an S-Class wizard this year: Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Juvia Lockser, Elfman, Levy McGarden, Mest Gryder, Freed Justine, and Cana Alberona.
Alana had to remain composed, not showing favoritism, when she heard Cana's name. This would be the fifth time she would participate in the exams, and Alana secretly hoped she would win.
Everyone was alive with the excitement of the Trials coming up, and the guild became a huge party. Everyone, that is, except Cana.
She seemed distant, and Alana understood why. She had already failed the S-Class Trials four times, and felt like she'd never pass. Alana had a lot of faith in the younger girl, but she seemed to have no faith in herself.
Alana wished she could be Cana's partner, but since she was an S-Class herself, she wasn't allowed to be anyone's partner. She wasn't even allowed to go easy on Cana if Cana chose the path that ended in a battle with Alana's winds, even though she desperately wanted to.
Cana had a ton of heart, and the will to match. She, unfortunately, just got consistently put up against people who could utilize their magic with a little more power than she could.
It wasn't her fault, and card magic suited her perfectly. She learned the tarot at a very young age and read tons of people's fortunes at the guild. But card magic wasn't incredibly offensive, and that was where Cana seemed to falter against others, like Erza or Mirajane. Their magic was about brute strength, instead of strategy and thought, like card magic was, and so it was easy for Cana to get overwhelmed and overlooked.
Alana admired the girl for staying strong, and standing by her magic. She was incredibly smart and talented at the magic she had, and that was truly all that mattered. The S-Class title was simply that, just a title, but for some reason it was so important to Cana.
Cana spent a lot of time alone in her room, and Alana let her have some time to herself, as she needed some as well. It was now mid-December, the weather was getting cold, her favorite, as the winds were extremely fun and boisterous this time of year. She dressed appropriately, putting on a pair of warm, black pants, a white knitted sweater, and knee-high brown riding boots. She threw a black scarf around her neck, adjusting her necklace beneath it. She walked out of the guild into the night, ready to let loose a little on her own.
-

Alana lived for winter weather; the apparel, the winds, the snow.. everything about winter was exciting to her. But, she still had yet to ride winds during a snowstorm, and one had quickly turned up out of nowhere.
She was unfortunately nowhere near the guild, so she had to land somewhere close as soon as she could. Luckily, she was close to her old sparring grounds. She landed, standing under a tree, watching the snow whip around in the wind, and it excited her. The lights of Magnolia were bright and twinkling from the hill she stood upon. These grounds were always a great place for sight-seeing.
Green eyes closed as the woman sighed, thinking about all that had occured on these sparring grounds in the past years. She used to share them with Gildarts, and they used to train together. She showed him how she rode winds here, and took him with her on a a short glide. His armor was too heavy for her to carry with the winds.

"You don't have to use the wind as an excuse to ask me to take my clothes off." Gildarts smirked, and Alana smirked right back at him.
"Have I ever made up an excuse to get you nude?" The young girl shot back, grabbing the man's collar to bring his face to her's in a kiss, his stubbly beard tickling her chin.
She giggled, pulling away, and smiled at him genuinely. He looked down at her, his arm around his shoulder, and wondered how he managed to get so lucky. Every God in the sky must have been looking out for him by sending him such a blessing after losing Cornelia.
He leaned down, kissing her again, more passionate this time. It wasn't long after that that they both found a reason to get each other nude.

Alana sighed at the memory and smiled, squeezing the pendant of her necklace fondly. She turned, walking toward a cave she knew wasn't too far away, to seek solace from the blizzard that was picking up.
And that was when she froze in place, because she realized she was being watched that whole time.

There he was, the man she was just thinking about, the man who she once shared these exact training grounds with.
He had his cloak wrapped around him, and was obviously shivering. Alana couldn't help but chuckle at him. He was always such a big baby when it came to cold weather.
He shrugged, knowing that he was caught, not only watching her, but also falling victim to the cold winds of winter.
He always did hate the winter, cold and wet. How could anybody like such a miserable season?
Alana shrugged back, but neither of them knew what to do. Alana refused to move because why should she? He was the one who was watching her, he should be the first to say something.
Gildarts wasn't moving because he just flat out had no idea how to approach her. What could he possibly say? Any of the possible million speeches he had prepared just didn't seem good enough now. Would he apologize? Would he tell her how he still couldn't get her out of his mind? How she's still the most beautiful woman he's ever seen and as he watched her standing there on the hill, he thought about all the times he made her body his in that exact spot under that tree? Would he tell her how badly he wanted to do it again in this exact moment?
He shook his head, trying to get those thoughts out of his mind. He didn't know what to say, or what to do at all.
So he pulled the whiskey bottle out of his pocket and nodded toward the cave, letting her know he wanted her to follow.
"A little too cold out here for my liking." He shouted to her over the freezing winds, and made his way to the cave.

The cave was set up like a small hut, with a table and chairs near the back, away from the outside. Gildarts sat in one of the chairs, hands on the table, around the bottle. He held the bottle of whiskey tight, nervous as to whether or not she'd actually come.
He hoped she would, but at the same time, why would she? They had ended things on such a sour note, and he left so hastily..
He heard the footsteps of her boots and looked up, smiling.
She actually came.
-

She couldn't believe she joined him, but the weather was too bad to walk home. She sat down and he opened the bottle of whiskey, taking a swig.
Gildarts slowly brought the bottle up, handing it to her. He didn't really know what he was doing, or what he even expected to come of this, but anything was better than where they were at now. Looking at her even from across the guild hall pained him, because he didn't know where she was going when she walked out the front door. She didn't want anything to do with him anymore, and made no attempt to tell him otherwise. They went from telling each other every little detail about their day to not even looking at each other as they passed.
It had been three years; a long time. He hadn't heard from anyone, but he wondered nervously if she had started seeing anyone else.
He almost immediately scolded himself mentally. Why did he even care if she was seeing anyone? She left him, not the other way around. If she wanted to be with someone else, then so be it.
For some reason, still, the thought of it brought a weight to his chest. He had spent seven years with the woman in front of him, and in the three years after she broke things off between them he still hadn't been with anyone else, not once. For some reason, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get her voice out of the back of his mind anytime a woman invited him home. No one else was good enough; no one else was Alana.
He let out the breath he wasn't even aware he was holding when she took the bottle into her own hand.

Alana had no idea what she was doing. Why had she taken the bottle from Gildarts? They were no longer together, and she should want nothing to do with him. He broke her heart and couldn't have cared less, leaving without even a second question. Gone for three years, and now he's back, and she had already given in, sitting with him in the cave they'd spent countless beautiful nights in. Not that it mattered, because none of the happy memories they had made up for the fact that he just didn't love her. He didn't want to commit to her, and start a life with her. Three years of denial, hoping secretly that he'd come back and beg for her to forgive him. Three years of loneliness and despair. Three years, and even though she had left him, she still wanted no one else.
She lifted the bottle to her lips and drank deeply, letting the liquid burn her throat on the way down. The heat got to her stomach and her face at the same time, warming her, which brought a small smile to her face. She loved what whiskey did to her.

Gildarts smiled, as it had been so long since he got to have a moment like this with her, even if it was an awkward one. She passed the bottle back to him, and he drank, and they continued until the bottle was empty. Alana watched curiously as he got up and returned with another.
He sat down and opened the bottle, handing it to her, letting her have the first drink this time. She accepted, and closed her eyes as she felt the alcohol getting to her head.
"So," he figured, if he was going to do anything, he might as well start talking to her, "this year's S-Class Trials sound exciting."
Alana nodded, not really knowing what to say.
Gildarts accepted this, and kept talking. "I feel bad for the poor kids that have to deal with you and your winds."
The corners of the woman's eyes crinkled in a smile she couldn't supress. "I feel bad for the one who's going to get demolished by you."
Gildarts shook his head, his hair moving side to side. "That's not true, you know I don't have to go all out to pass them."
"Oh yeah?" The dainty girl rested her chin in her palms, her elbows propping her up on the table. Her face was plastered with a drunken grin.
"And you think you can hold back during a battle?"
"Of course I can."
She giggled, so unlike her. "Are you kidding? Our entire town goes into a frenzy whenever you come home. It changes shape so you don't destroy buildings!"
She passed the bottle back, he drank, and handed it back to her.
"Sometimes I just don't know how to hold back. You know that better than anyone."
He laughed, "But it doesn't always help me out." He put his new, metal prosthetic arm up on the table, which prompted Alana to ask what happened. He was the strongest man she knew, and seeing him so damaged and worn out made her realize how serious the mission he took must have been.
"A dragon." He said, and her eyes bulged out of her head.
He told her the story of how he encountered Acnologia, a black dragon that tore him to bits.
"My arm, my leg, internal organs, they're all messed up." He said. "I'm lucky I made it back here, you know?" He gave the bottle back to her, and she drank.
Alana nodded, and not registering what she was doing, reached out and touched the arm.
His metal fingers extended, touching hers, which caused her to draw back.
Startled, the bottle slipped, and she was about to drop it when his whole hand grabbed it, along with her hand. Their eyes met, and locked.
Gildarts' mouth suddenly became very dry. He didn't know what to do.
Alana's heart felt like it was about to burst. Why was it he still made her feel this way? Why couldn't he just leave her alone? Why was it, no matter how hard she tried, he still had a hold on her? She wished that whatever feelings she had harboring for him would just leave her be, because it wasn't fair. She wanted commitment, but she wouldn't have anyone else but him, and he wouldn't commit to her.

Suddenly, she stood, looking away and pulling her hand from his.
"I have to go.. it's late."
She began walking but stumbled, and prepared herself to fall face-first onto the hard cave floor, but instead she landed in the two safest arms she ever knew.
She felt his new, metal prosthetic arm underneath her skin, cold from the temperature.
Gildarts looked at her staring at his arm and removed himself from her, apologizing.
"It's a bit unnerving, I know." He stepped back.
"No, it isn't that," she shook her head. They both looked at each other, a look in their eyes as if they both wanted to say something to each other. He was getting lost in her deep emeralds again when she finally broke the silence.
"I have go." Alana went to walk around him and stumbled again, not realizing how much the alcohol had really taken a toll on her. She could barely walk, but she couldn't stay here, not with him. She straightened her back and began walking again, and made it outside to the tree on the hill.
She just spent hours drinking with the man she left years ago, and the entire time all she wanted to do was forgive him, but she couldn't. She wouldn't let herself be used by him any longer, she couldn't do that to herself. She deserved more.
She looked down at the lights twinkling in Magnolia as she pushed on, trying not to slip in the snow. She tried using the winds to balance her, but she had a lot of alcohol and her judgement was a bit off. She tried to push the thoughts of Gildarts looking at her away, but her drunken mind bringing memories of her relationship with that man back to the forefront of her mind.

Like the night that marked that they'd been together for five years..
They sat across from each other at their favorite restaurant in Magnolia. They had just finished eating when he cleared his throat, catching her attention.
"So I, uh, got you something." He said, running his hand through his hair. Alana's heart stopped, nervous as all hell. He got her something on their five year anniversary?
He pulled the rectangular box out of his pocket and held it over the table, opening it.
Inside was the most beautiful necklace the wind magic made had ever seen. The chain was made entirely of gold, and in the middle was the most exquisite pendant she had ever seen. Inside was what looked like magic aura, entirely white, swirling all around in a gorgeous circle.
Her hand flew to her mouth. "Gil.."
A corner of his mouth went up in a half smirk proudly. "You deserve it. Five years, it's a long time to put up with someone like me." He got up, and she pulled her hair to the side so that he could put the necklace on her. "You better always wear this," he had said as he clasped the necklace around her neck, "it was damn expensive, you know."
Alana laughed lightly, feeling magic power flow into her from the necklace itself, like a piece of Gildarts became one with her own magical aura. She knew then she'd never take the necklace off.

She sighed, squeezing the pendant of her necklace, when she heard her name. She turned, and there he was, standing so close to her she could smell him.
She breathed in deep, revelling in his scent, something she had missed so much these past three horrendously long years.
His breath was slow and heavy, and all he could do was stare down at her.
She looked up at him through her eyelashes, and he couldn't stand it anymore.
Three years wanting nothing more than the woman standing in front of him, and he seized the moment.
He grabbed her by the cheeks and kissed her.