Disclaimer: I don't own fairy tail or any of it's characters.
Cana sat on a bench in the park, staring at a particular townhouse across the street. She had been here many times before, so much so that she knew when the neighbors got home, when the regulars started their runs in the park, and when the bus would come by on it's routes. There was nothing new about sitting on this bench.
She should just go knock on the door again, he probably wouldn't be home. She had lost count of the times she had finally worked up the courage to walk up the front steps and ring the bell, only to find nothing but an empty home. His movements were erratic and impossible to keep track of. Trips were never the same length, and hit randomly throughout the year. She looked down at her phone checking the time, if she wanted to try again today she would have to go soon, her shift started in an hour.
Cana had known her father's name since she was a little girl. Sometimes when her mother had mixed too many pain pills with her wine, she would lay on the couch, cursing his name for hours. However, whenever she was sober and Cana brought it up, she would change the subject, pretending she hadn't said a word.
When her mother passed away, Makarov had stepped up to take her in, Cana kept her father's identity a secret. The idea of being taken away and going to a stranger terrified her. Makarov had been a family friend, letting Cana stay the night on occasion when her mother was at her worst. His home was a safe place for her and, with her world suddenly torn apart, there was nowhere else she wanted to be.
It was later in her time with Makarov that she had learned exactly who Gildarts Clive was. Gildarts and Makarov's son Ivan had been best friends in high school, both the same class year as her mother. Gildarts and Ivan had gone their separate ways after, with Ivan going to college and Gildarts joining the navy, but they never lost touch. Every time Gildart's ship was in port, he would come to visit his friend. After Ivan disappeared, Gildarts kept coming, he would take Laxus fishing or to a ball game. Then when Natsu and Gray turned up, he started taking them to.
Cana watched him and never said a thing, slowly getting to know her father without the pressure of him knowing who she was. Sometimes he would take them all for ice cream, sometimes bowling, or sometimes he would order them all pizza to give Makarov a break. He was Uncle Gildarts and all of the kids loved him. Cana kept hoping he would figure it out on his own, but the man was clueless. It wasn't until later that she found out that Makarov had never told Gildarts who Cana's mother was, making it hard for Gildarts to put two and two together. Truth be told, she wasn't even sure that Makarov knew that Gildarts was the father. So her old man would just come by and tease gramps for how he had ended up with this rag tag group of kids when he should be retired, never knowing that one of them was his own.
Years just flew by and Cana became too embarrassed to say a word to anyone about the identity of her father. At that point it felt like she had waited too long. The only reason Laxus knew is because he caught her practicing her speech in the mirror one day when she thought she was home alone. It had taken doing his chores for a week to buy his silence. She sighed and dropped her face into her hands, maybe she would have been better off letting Laxus be the one to tell him. It would have saved her all these years of pathetic attempts.
Suddenly a hulking form plopped down on the bench next to her. Cana lifted her eyes and her mouth dropped. The very man she had come to see had sat right next her and was giving her a big grin. "What brings you all the way over to my side of town Cana?"
Cana wasn't ready, but she had to do this, she had to tell him now or she might never get the chance again, "Well . . .you see . . ." She threw her head back and gave a big sigh, why was this so damn hard?
Gildarts leaned back on the bench, throwing his arms around the back of it, "Take your time, for once I've got nowhere to be," he said with a wink.
Cana breathed out deeply and closed her eyes. It was like ripping off the band-aide, she just had to do it quick, "I know I've known you for a long time, and I should have done this sooner ,but I have to tell you who my father is."
"You found your dad? That's great Cana! Is it someone I know? Do you need help getting there?" he asked excitedly.
"Well, you see, the thing is . . ." Cana looked at her feet, not feeling strong enough to watch his reaction, "the thing is . . . it's you."
Gildart's eyes widened,"Wait a second!"
Cana cringed, maybe that wasn't the best way to say it, she had practiced so many times and this wasn't going at all like she planned. "I know it's a lot to accept . . ."
"Whose kid are you? Sara? Naomi? Claire? Feena? Mary? Eliza?" He looked off in distant thought, "No, no . . . the hair color's off . . . Emma, Lyra, Jean, Sydney, Kate, Yuko, Francoise . . ."
Cana gave him a look of disgust, "What the hell Gildarts! How many flings have you had?"
He held up a finger in triumph, "I know! You're the spitting image of Sylvia!" He looked at her again, "Hmm . . .maybe not."
Cana covered her face with her hands, fuming, "God, you're making me angry! I can't believe such a philandering loser is my old man! No wonder I'm so screwed up." She started to get out of her seat to leave, "Whatever! Now you know, I'm out of here."
"W-wait!" he said, grabbing her arm.
She turned to him and spat, "That's all I wanted to say. I don't want anything from you, I just thought you should know. It's not as if I'm trying to be family or anything. I'm fine with things staying the way they are."
He stood suddenly and pulled her into a hug. His voice was sad when he said into her shoulder, "You're Cornelia's child . . .I'm sure of it."
"Gildarts, let go of me," she said, uncomfortable with his display of affection now that he had gotten it right.
"Why did you keep quiet all this time?" he asked quietly.
"I couldn't bring myself to tell you and time just flew by . . ." she started, stupid tears starting to form in her eyes.
He pulled back to look at her face, "Truthfully, Cornelia is the only woman I ever loved. You know, I asked her to marry me but she said no. Didn't like the idea of being a sailor's wife I guess," he smiled fondly. "That didn't stop me from trying again and again to get her back. I heard she had passed away, but to think she left behind a child . . . I'm sorry I didn't realize it was you."
"It's okay," said Cana, pulling free from his arms and trying to feign nonchalance. "I purposefully hid it from you. Sorry for being so selfish. Telling you has lifted a weight off my chest. Really, it's like I can finally breath again."
"I had a daughter this close to me . . ." Gildarts breathed out, obviously still in shock.
"Don't be silly, I'm not saying you should take responsibility for me or anything. I'm an adult now. Let's just stay as we are. But let me say this, just once . . .I'm glad I got to meet you, Father," Cana gave Gildarts a big grin.
Tears started to form in Gildarts eyes, he reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into yet another crushing hug, "Cana!" This time Cana hugged him back. "I'll never let you feel lonely again. Never again! I could quit my job, I've got plenty of money to retire. I'll be together with you always."
"That could get a little annoying," Cana quipped, unable to help herself.
Gildarts ignored it, "Please give me the right to love you!" he declared.
Cana grimaced, still squashed up against his broad chest, "Oh god, this might be a problem."
Lucy knew her father would be coming by any day, but it still didn't change the surprise she felt when she found him, standing in the front of her bakery, looking through the display cases. She must have opened and closed her mouth ten times before finally getting any sound to come out, and when she did it sounded ridiculous, "Help dad?"
He looked up at her and smiled, which was confusing on it's own. Maybe his administrative assistant had started slipping prozac in his morning coffee?
"Your mom would have loved this place," he said, looking around the bakery in wonder.
Again Lucy was at a loss for words, she didn't even know where to begin. This was a side of him that she hadn't seen in years. "Do you . . . do you want to try something?"
Jude's attention snapped back to his daughter and he smiled, "That would be lovely Lucy, what would you recommend?"
"I have some new strawberry muffins that are really good," Lucy offered.
"Perfect, and could I have a latte as well?" he asked, turning to look at the case of small cakes.
"Yes, of course," Lucy said, giving a strained smile. She turned and started to make his drink, trying to relax. Her shoulders kept tensing in anticipation of a hurtful comment, or unwanted advice, or outright disapproval. So far everything her father had done had been so out of character, she kept waiting for the jerk he had become lately to reveal it's ugly face.
"I owe you an apology, you know," came her father's voice from behind her.
Lucy didn't turn to look at him, just continued heating up the milk for his drink, thankful to have something to do with her hands. "Oh?"
She heard him sigh deeply, "I was just so worried when you told me this was your choice. Your mother and I didn't have it so easy when we started out, everything was so hard and we didn't want that for you."
Lucy combined the shots of espresso with the warm milk into a to go cup. She added one pack of sugar and a splash of vanilla, just the way he liked it, and placed a lid on the top. She turned and set it in on the counter. He had paused his speech and was staring at her case of shortbreads with a far off look on his face. Lucy didn't dare say a word, afraid she would break this spell that had somehow brought the father from her childhood back, the father she had before her mother passed. She bent down to use a piece of wax paper to get one of the strawberry muffins and place it in a paper bag.
Jude still didn't look at her and he frowned, "I thought that when you told me you didn't want any part in the business, that you were throwing all my hard work back in my face. Like I had given you this gift and you stomped on it. It hurt Lucy, but I unfairly took that out on you. I thought maybe if I cut you off and I made this path difficult, you would give up and see what I had built for you. I should have known better than to doubt your tenacity. I even thought after you opened this place, that it wouldn't go well and I would be stuck having to come out and help clean up the mess, but that isn't the case at all, is it? Then when I saw those cookies at the office, and the way everyone was excited about them, saying how delicious and well-made they were, I had an epiphany. This was never about me was it?" He turned to look at her directly.
"No," Lucy said quietly, still in awe at his discourse.
"This is just something you are actually passionate about isn't it?" he asked.
"Yes, I really am," Lucy responded.
He smiled, "Well it really shows Lucy, I'm really proud of you."
Lucy stared at him in shock. A tear escaped from her right eye and dripped down her cheek.
Jude slumped down a bit, and his smile turned sad, "I really have been a poor father if telling you I'm proud makes you cry."
Lucy laughed and wiped her face with the back of her hand, "Maybe a little."
He came around the corner and wrapped her in a hug, whispering into her hair, "I'm so sorry Lucy. I'm really going to try and be better at this."
"I'd really like that," she said, pulling back to look him in the eye.
"You are mine and Layla's pride. I now realize that all I want is for you to live strong down whatever path you believe in. I hope I can see you again soon, that you will let me be more part of your life again. Lucy, I know I don't do the best job of showing it, but I have and always will love you." He smiled at her for a bit and then was distracted by a buzz from his phone. Jude pulled the device out of his pocket and frowned, "Damn, I guess my time is up. I have to get back to it. I'm sorry I don't have more time to spend with you."
"It's okay, I understand," Lucy handed him the bag and the cup. "Umm, dad? Is there any way you would you like to have dinner with me? Sometime soon? There's someone I'd really like you to meet."
"Oh?" Jude looked up at her in happy surprise, "Of course, I'd love to have dinner with you and your friend, or . . .is this perhaps a boyfriend?"
Lucy's cheeks flushed, she was an adult! It was ridiculous that this moment made her feel like a teenager bringing her first boyfriend home, "Well, yea."
"Alright then, let's make it a date, can you call my assistant and make sure she puts you on my calendar?" Jude asked.
"Sure," Lucy watched as Jude walked towards the front door, "Umm, dad?"
Jude stopped and turned to look at her, "Yes?"
"I love you too,"Lucy said softly.
Jude smiled, "It was good seeing you Lucy, I'll see you soon." And with a ring of the bell he was gone.
Cana grinned at Orga as he strolled through the door, "Hey, big guy, long time no see."
Orga took a seat at the bar in front of her, flashing a wide grin, "Hey pretty lady, is Mira around?"
"Yea, she just ran back to the restroom, she should be up here soon. You guys going somewhere?" Cana started wiping down the part of the bar that some patrons had just vacated.
"Yep, gonna catch a late movie," Orga turned on his stool to look at the Thunder Legion, who was currently playing in the front corner of the restaurant. "You know, they aren't half bad."
Dinner was done for the night, and the kitchen was closed except for a smaller late night menu. The place was still packed due to it being a Thunder Legion Friday night. Cana watched Laxus playing his guitar like he was playing for millions while Evergreen crooned a cover of a Fleetwood Mac song. They sounded good, but they were definitely major dorks. "Yea, they do okay. People certainly love them after they have had a few drinks in them," she snorted.
Bacchus passed behind her and pinched her rear, she turned and gave him a dirty look. "If you don't want it pinched, don't leave it all in my way," he defended himself with a grin.
"Pinch it again and you're getting ice cubes down your pants," Cana warned.
"Kinky, I like it," Bacchus winked and went to tend to the customers on the other side of the bar. He was a pain in the ass, but Cana couldn't help but admit that he was making her job a lot of fun.
She turned back to talk to Orga and noticed he was staring off to the right. She followed his line of sight and saw Mira. Her boss hadn't noticed that her boyfriend had arrived yet, instead she stood, swaying gently to the music with a small smile on her lips, staring right at Laxus. Cana frowned, while she couldn't help but root for Laxus, Orga was a really good guy. Mira was really happy with him, but she would need to stop having these kinds of moments or else Orga was going to think something was up. Nothing could poison a good relationship faster then a bit of distrust and jealousy.
"This is one of Mira's favorite songs," Cana said, hoping it would be enough to excuse Mira's oblivious behavior. Orga frowned and nodded, then stood and went off to get Mira's attention. When Mira saw him, her whole face brightened up and Orga seemed to relax. Cana was wondering if maybe she should think of way to discuss this with Mira, when she felt a sharp pinch on her butt again. She grabbed a handful of ice from the ice box in front of her and turned, "Alright dickwad, you asked for it!"
Lucy was nervous, Natsu could tell from the way she chewed on her lower lip and played with her bracelet. He wished he could somehow ease her discomfort, especially to stop the lip chewing, it was driving him crazy. There she was ruining a perfectly good pair of lips. If she wanted them red and swollen, he would have gladly done that for her. He chuckled at his personal joke and looked back at the road.
Natsu didn't know how he personally felt about the prospect of meeting Lucy's father. He knew he could handle the man's disapproval, he had never been one to put a lot of stock in people's opinions of himself. What he worried about was how Lucy would react to that disapproval. He had definitely considered the fact that it could be the very reason that, after half a year of dating, he was just meeting Jude now. Maybe all of Lucy's insistence about not caring about her father's opinion was just bravado. Maybe if Jude didn't like something, it would eventually wear her down until she no longer saw it in the same way. What would that mean for them?
He looked over at her again, this time she noticed him looking at her, and gave him a small smile. Natsu realized he should give her more credit than that, she hadn't let her father change her mind on her career path and she wouldn't let him change her mind about Natsu. His doubts were ridiculous. From what Lucy told him about her father's visit this week, it sounded like Jude was trying to be a better father. Natsu had promised to be on his best behavior and he would try, Lucy's father probably wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.
When they went into Fairy Tail, Jude was already at their table, perusing the menu. Natsu was glad Lucy had picked this place instead of the fancier place Jude's assistant had wanted. Those restaurants had so many forks and Natsu could never remember which one was for his salad and which one was for stabbing himself in the eye. Then he would spend the whole evening worrying about elbows on the table and where the napkin belonged, it just didn't make for an enjoyable dinner.
When Jude noticed them he stood and smiled, "This place looks really good Lucy!". He gave Lucy a kiss on the cheek, Lucy gave him an awkward grin, obviously not used to being a recipient of his signs of affection.
Jude turned to Natsu and held out a hand, Natsu took it and shook it firmly with a smile. "It's nice to meet you sir, I'm Natsu Dragneel."
"Ah, Natsu, yes. It's nice too meet you as well." Jude's smile seemed a little forced as he looked Natsu over. Natsu was definitely sure that he looked a little bit rougher than the guys Lucy used to bring home. Her father's reaction was okay though, he never expected to get approval at first sight.
They all took a seat, and Jude went back to looking at the menu. "You said this place is owned by a friend of yours Lucy? I really like the atmosphere, it's comfortable but in an upscale way. If the food is good, it would be a great place to bring business associates from out of town."
"Yes, this is Mira's place! It used to just be a bar, but she did a large remodel and revamped the concept. The food won't disappoint, she has an excellent chef!" Lucy was still playing with her bracelet. Natsu wondered if all family dinners between them had this strange tenseness. He didn't care for it, it was making him antsy. His knee bounced uncontrollably under the table. It also didn't help that Jude had selected the seat with the best vantage of the room. Natsu's back was to most of the dining room, it made him uncomfortable, he hated not being able to see who was coming and going, or what the other diners were doing. If he turned his chair it would look like he was being disrespectful. Natsu sighed and took a sip of his water, hopefully Kinana would get back soon so he could order a beer and try to relax.
"So what is it you do for a living Mr Dragneel?" Jude asked from behind his menu.
"I do building remodels and custom woodworking," Natsu replied.
Jude raised a brow and looked at Natsu over the top of his menu, "Is that so?" He was obviously not impressed.
"Natsu did the remodel here, dad," Lucy said quickly. Natsu smiled, he really didn't need her to defend him, but it was cute that she was trying.
Jude put his menu down and looked around, his face genuinely surprised. Yet again, Natsu was grateful that Lucy had picked Mira's place, and he wondered if maybe this was part of her motivation in choosing it. This place contained some of his best work.
Jude looked at Natsu and gave him a genuine smile this time, "This is good work Natsu."
"Thanks," Natsu said, his leg finally coming to a standstill.
Kinana came up to the table with a large smile on her face, notepad in hand, "Are you all ready to order?"
After she went away with their entree choices penned down, Jude turned to Natsu again, "So custom woodworking? What does that entail exactly?"
Natsu cast a glance at Lucy, for the first time her expression looked relaxed. Her small smile seemed to make her face glow, and Natsu felt a little bit of pride for putting it there. He guessed this meant he was passing the test. He gave Jude a big grin, "Well I've done a lot of the different things; furniture, jewelry boxes, wall art, built ins. Right now I'm working on an inlaid vanity for this client. . ."
Cana could hear Gildarts before he even opened the front door of the restaurant. He always did have a habit of making a grand entrance. Lately he was finding a reason to come sit at her bar every night, it was starting to give her an eye twice. "Damnit," she grumbled under her breath, already getting a glass for his highball.
"What's the matter?" came Bacchus' voice behind her.
"My dad's here," Cana said with a frown.
"You have a dad?" Bacchus asked, his face pulled up in confusion.
Cana looked at him like he was stupid and laughed, "I'm not exactly the immaculate conception you know."
Bacchus barked in laughter, "No doubt about that! I just didn't realize he was part of your life, you never said anything about him before."
Now it was Cana's turn to be confused. She looked at Bacchus with a small frown on her face, "I didn't realize we did all that much talking to begin with."
Bacchus's grin nearly took over his entire face, "Maybe not."
"There's my beautiful baby!" Came Gildarts booming voice from behind her. Cana couldn't help but feel disappointed when Bacchus gave her a wink and disappeared to the other end of the bar. Things were just starting to get interesting.
Cana sighed deeply and turned to look at her dad, "You know Gildarts, you don't have to come here every night."
"How else am I supposed to make up for lost time? All you ever do is work!" Gildarts exclaimed.
Cana set his drink in front of him, "You don't have to spend every waking second with me you know, I'm a grown woman."
"That's debatable," said Laxus, taking the stool next to Gildarts.
"I think I liked it better when you were avoiding this place," Cana said narrowing her eyes. Even so, she nodded her head when Laxus point to one of the taps, and proceeded to fill a mug with the dark lager.
Gildarts gave Laxus a large pat on the back, making Laxus oof in surprise, "Can you believe it, this pretty lady is . . ."
"Your daughter," Laxus interrupted, accepting the full mug from Cana with a tight smile and a nod of the head.
Gildarts gave him a look of injured surprise, "What? Did everyone know except for me!"
Cana snorted, "Of course not, just Laxus."
Laxus smiled, "Yea, could you imagine Natsu keeping a secret like that? You would have known years ago."
"You say that like that's a bad thing!" Gildarts exclaimed, running his hand down his face in frustration when Laxus and Cana merely shrugged. He sighed and raised a brow, "What's Natsu doing these days? Is he still seeing that Strauss girl? What was her name, Lisanna?"
"That was like over ten years ago, geez you are so out of it," Cana said, shaking her head.
"I bet your seeing the older one aren't you?" Gildarts turned his attention to Laxus, "Is that why you're here now? Waiting on Mira. You always used to chase after her."
Laxus frowned and took a sip of his beer, "No, I'm definitely not seeing Mira."
"Definitely? Why so defensive?" Gildarts boomed in laughter, "Don't tell me, she dumped you didn't she? You're such a loser!"
"Back off pops!" Laxus exclaimed.
"Probably not a good conversation choice there dad," Cana tssked. She filled another mug for a patron on the other side of the bar.
"Huh? Why not? Do you need some advice there boy? Cause you know . . ." Gildarts started.
"You can give me advice on surviving in the wild, fighting, working a boat, making a fire, any of that kind of stuff. But. . . there is no way in hell I'm taking advice on women from you. You didn't even know you had a daughter for twenty-five years!" Laxus scrunched up his nose and took another sip of his beer.
"True, but I have convinced many a woman to take me back," Gildarts said with a confident smile, "it's just keeping them afterward that I'm not the best at."
"Yea, probably a good idea to keep that advice to yourself," Cana said giving him a wink.
Gildarts put an arm around Laxus shoulders and started to tear up, "Look at my kids, all grown up! They don't even need me anymore!"
Laxus removed Gildarts arm, "Is that really only your first drink old man."
"So what happened with Mira?" Gildarts asked. At that moment Freed and Bixlow walked in the door, Laxus breathed out deeply in relief.
"And on that note, I'm outta here, see ya around Gildarts," Laxus said.
"Did I say something wrong?" Gildarts asked Cana, "He seemed a little touchy."
Cana laughed, "Pretty much everything you said, but don't worry, he'll get over it."
When Natsu arrived home the next day he found Lucy in the office, looking at her mail with a frown on her face. He leaned on the door jamb, amused that she was so absorbed in what she was reading that she hadn't noticed his presence. It was so great coming home to Lucy, his days had gotten longer while hers had gotten shorter and he missed her. Laxus had a long list of jobs for them to complete, and they were starting to be spread thin trying to get them all completed in a timely manner. Lucy found herself confronted with the problem most bakers had when the weather became hotter, less people wanted comfort food and more people were watching their waistline. He could tell she was stressed by the furrow in her brow, but for a moment he just let himself enjoy watching Lucy hum to herself while absentmindedly petting Happy, who purred contentedly in her lap.
"Hey Luce." He chuckled when she jumped in her seat, it was too easy to mess with her sometimes. Happy leapt from her lap with a sound of protest, disappearing into the house.
She turned to look at him, placed a hand on her chest and exclaimed "Geez, Natsu you scared me!"
Natsu gave her a sheepish smile, "Sorry Lucy, I thought you heard me come in." He came over and rubbed her shoulders, Lucy sighed and rested her head back against him, closing her eyes and finally letting the tension drain from her face. "What's bothering you? Something wrong at the bakery?"
Lucy grimaced, "No, that's going okay. I still need to do some brainstorming on how to keep people coming in this summer, but for the moment it's alright. It's more this letter from my landlord, they are increasing the rent on my apartment! It's already way over priced, I can't afford it."
"Then don't renew your lease," Natsu said, confused as to why that answer wasn't obvious.
Lucy looked up at him in surprise, "What? Do you mean . . ."
"Yea, just move in here. You're here all the time now anyway, do you still need your own place?" Natsu looked down at her with an encouraging smile.
"No, I just didn't want to assume. You might want your privacy or something," she looked up and noticed Natsu's wry expression. "Oh come on, I just thought you might want to keep this just yours."
"Well that's stupid, of course I want you here. Everything's more fun with you Lucy," Natsu grinned widely. "I like coming home to you, having dinner with you," his smile turned wolfish, "going to bed with you." Natsu winked, "I don't need my own space, what's mine is yours."
Lucy gave a strange frown, like she was trying to stop herself from crying, "How are you always so sweet?"
Natsu laughed and bent over to kiss her, "Don't know Luce, must be all those cookies you keep giving me."