Drinking in Love
Chapter Five
Cana was incredibly nervous at the moment, she had just been unfrozen a few hours ago, and she just found out that everyone had been stuck with her for seven years. Aside from a few of fairy tail members, like Macao and a few others that were not on the island during the attack.
She had no idea if Macao had gotten re-married or how many girlfriends he had gotten since she was gone. She couldn't blame him if he had gotten married, seven years is a long time, and not only that but it seemed that everyone thought she was dead.
It would only make sense if Macao finally settle down and got a wife. He needed a proper woman to take care of him and Romeo. She knew from the beginning she would never be the girl to take care of him. She took care of herself, and that was enough to handle on her own. She couldn't take care of someone else, and she didn't want to. She just assumed that she wanted a man who could take care of himself. She didn't want to be like her mother who was co-dependent on her father, and even though she thought she took care of herself, she didn't do a good job at that. Getting drunk every night and only stopping because Macao told her to is not being very good at taking care of herself. She also used to skip meals to drink instead.
Speaking of her father, she finally told Gildarts that he was her father. It had taken a lot of encouragement from Lucy, but she went up to Gildarts while he was fishing and finally told him. He hugged her and apologized to her for not realizing long ago that she was his daughter. Before he figured out who her mother was though, that man started to name about 20 different woman's names. It pissed her off.
The only problem now was that she realized, since he has been extremely overly familiar with her that she was going to need to make sure he did not find out about Macao that would be a disaster. If there was anything to even figure out that is. She really hoped Macao hadn't moved on.
They were currently on the ship heading back to Magnolia, back to her home, and to the rest of her friends.
Gildarts was beside her humming while he had one hand around her shoulder pulling her into his chest while in his other hand he had a jug of beer. Him and Natsu were singing some silly song and for some reason she felt jealousy in her chest. This man was like a father to Natsu, and she had always been jealous of him, which was why she never bothered to get to know him. It felt stupid to be jealous of Natsu though, he had been through so much that it kind of made her proud at Gildart's for at least trying to be a positive influence in the young mans life.
"Cana" Gildarts called her name.
"What is it?" She answer annoyed, she didn't mean too be so grumpy but she just couldn't help it.
"Why don't you have some wine, its on me!" He asked her while letting go of her shoulder and putting his beer down so he could grab her a gallon of wine.
She grabbed the wine from his hold and chugged it, not letting herself get drunk. She didn't want to have Macao see her after seven years drunk out of her mind. He definitely wouldn't want me back then.
"You are excited to be going home, huh Cana?" He asked her putting his arm back around her shoulder and bringing her closer to him. When he first started doing this she kept pushing him away and getting angry, but after awhile she just accepted that this was his way of showing her his love.
"I'm not sure," She answered. She looked down while she closed her eyes. "I'm scared of what may have happened since I was gone… if he found another woman" She meant to think the last part and not say it.
"WHAT" Gildarts immediately dropped his beer and took Cana's shoulders in his hands, shaking her shoulders. "YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND?"
"Of course, I am eighteen. Its only normal that I have a boyfriend" she answered
"Have… have you had… sex-" at the indication of Gildarts trying to know about her sex life, Cana decided to give him a kick in the face.
She thought about telling him the truth, but it kind of pissed her off how he seemed to know everything about Natsu's love life and not hers. So she lied.
"Oh you know, I've slept with maybe 25 men? I wouldn't know, I stopped counting after awhile" she said sarcastically.
Unfortunately it seemed that Gildarts did not catch on to her sarcasm and took her seriously. He cried in the corner for a bit before putting his annoying arm back around her and started to tell her everything was going to be alright, he was here now. He also went off about "Special" rehabs, for girls like her.
The ship had finally reached the shore and Cana's nerves were shot. The rest of the trip she had tried to convince Gildarts that she was lying, and she was a virgin, but then stupid Natsu had to come in and talk about all the boys he had seen Cana flirting with. She didn't know how to explain that one, it was true, she had flirted with those boys, but it was all because Macao didn't want anyone to find out they were dating.
Macao said that if she suddenly stopped seeing other men like she's usually did, then the guild would figure out that she was seeing someone seriously. Cana knew he was just being paranoid but decided to respect his wishes since she loved him, and didn't want to lose him.
She wondered if it was still going to be that way, them hiding their relationship constantly.
What was she thinking, the man already moved on! She knew it, and she just had to confirm it so she could move on. She finally understood all break-up songs out there, love fucking hurt.
It seemed since they were gone, many changes had been made to Fairy Tail, like them losing their old guild and it being replaced by a small barn like place in the middle of nowhere. The rest of the guild that was frozen for seven years finally made it to the new pathetic gate of the Fairy Tail guild.
Cana feared in that moment that she was thinking selfishly, after all she didn't even know if Macao was even alive! Cana knew that Macao would never leave the guild, and the thought of him dying was too much for her to bear.
"Cana looks funny!" Natsu said stupidly.
"What wrong Cana? You look like you're going to be sick!" Gildarts drew his attention to her.
"I'm fine," she lied trying to mask her feelings.
Before Gildart's could say anything Gray cut him off.
"Natsu open the door to the guild all ready" Gray said impatiently.
"Hold on, I think I hear fighting going on" Natsu declared with a huge smile. Man did that kid ever love fights.
"Eye Sir" Happy said unnecessarily.
"I hear it too," Gajeel said with a wicked smile, cutting whatever Happy was going to say off.
"What exactly do you hear Gajeel" Levy said turning her head to look up at Gajeel.
"Worried Shrimp? It's just something about having a dept to another guild? Oh and I think I hear Macao" Gajeel said grinning. "No fucking way, I think he's the new master" his grin grew.
There goes the theory that he's dead.
Levy pouted at being called Shrimp. She wasn't use to the nickname yet. "What about Jet and Droy?" she asked worriedly.
"Don't know" Gajeel answered not caring about the two morons.
Cana was standing closer to Gildarts who was also getting inpatient. She needed a rock to lean on and Gildarts was the closet thing, so she leaned on him.
Natsu seemed to hear something he didn't like and stopped grinning, he then barged into the guild, and the entire guild broke into a fight. Cana stayed by Gildarts side the entire time, trying to pinpoint Macao.
When she finally found him she felt so much relief. One that he didn't look all that different, and two, he was alive. She could see his face had aged with much stress, but he still looked like the same Macao she loved. His hair had thinned out but he wasn't anywhere near bald. The only real difference was that he had grown a mustache. Whether she was still his girlfriend or not, she was going to make him shave that off his face. As for his body, it hadn't changed at all; he was still thin but muscularly built.
Oh I missed you.
The fight had just finished with the other guild and Fairy Tail had won. Macao was looking around frantically for Cana. When his eyes feel on her, his body moved on his own and he gave her a tight hug in front of everyone. No one seemed to notice though.
"Macao" she whimpered and she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.
"Cana…" he said muffled in her hair. "You have no fucking idea how much I've missed you" and with that they continued to hug until Wakaba decided he wanted a bear hug with Cana too.
It was late in the night and everyone was either passed out drunk, or was Gajeel and stuck to his dark corner. Cana thought she could see a blue haired Shorty sitting down with him, but decided to let them be. She thought it was adorable that Gajeel had taken such a liking to Levy.
Cana and Macao were at another dark corner of the guild. It had been such a big celebration that they didn't even have a chance to talk yet.
"How are you feeling Cana?" Macao asked making small talk, he seemed to actually care how she was feeling though. His eyes bore into her own, and she could see how much pain he had been through. It hurt to see it, but she didn't look away.
"I'm fine… I don't feel any different… it doesn't feel like seven years have passed" Cana replied not really thinking too much about it. She wanted to ask the important question, but she didn't know how too.
They both sat in awkward silence until Cana finally awkwardly blurted out the burning question she had wanted to ask. "Did you get married?"
"No" Macao said bluntly, his lips turn upward.
"A girlfriend?" she asked quickly after his answer.
"Cana, I haven't been with any woman since you left" he answer and leaned his head in to give her a kiss. "I don't want anyone else but you, now or ever. I've realized since you been gone how good I had it, and how wrong it was of me to hide you from everyone. I now this is sudden, but I have been without you for seven years, and I need to know the answer to this question." He said touch her lips with his own again.
"What is it?" She said smiling. Everything in her world was right again.
"Will you marry me?"
(Authors Note)
It's finished! Whoa, this story was just supposed to be a one-shot. Instead it became a short five-chapter story. Keep tuned, since I might make an extra chapter.
So this entire story started when I was reading a FanFiction called, "leave the bourbon on the shelf" by andthenshesaid
( s/7603370/1/leave-the-bourbon-on-the-shelf)
There is a line that says "She remembers [Macao] use to do that a lot, sometimes, when they were lying in bed not talking…"
This line pretty much gave me the idea for this entire story. I kept wondering, "What happened, why did they stop?" and as I began to write this story I remembered watching the anime for the first time, and completely shipping Cana and Macao during the Phantom Arc.
So my story is, that they didn't stop, they continued forever.
Thank you so much for reading and for everyone that reviewed ! :)