The tension in the room was almost palpable. The gentle, incessant rain drops against the roof were nerve wrecking to an already uneasy Cana. She was in the dingy, small living room of her father's house, in the company of another man. He turned to look at her, his dark, warm eyes boring in to her soul. At times his gaze was too much for her, so she lowered her face and looked away, her cheeks pink.
"It's ok. It'll be ok" Hibiki said as he reached for her hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze and right then the door to the drab little house opened.
The bear of a man who came in through the door was wearing a long, flowing cloak and he was wrapped in bandages. His brown hair was disheveled. He was drenched from head to toe. He looked at the two young adults and as his eyes moved over Cana, his heart filled with pride and love. His daughter was truly the spitting image of his one and only love, Cornelia. He did a double take. Was she holding hands with this boy? He grunted in their direction as a greeting. He didn't know how to feel about it, or how he should handle it. After all, he had discovered that Cana was his daughter only two years ago… nine years, if one counted the time they had remained frozen in Tenroujima.
"Gildarts… father" Cana said, standing up. It still fell kind of strane to call Gildarts, the strongest member in Fairy Tail, father. Hibiki stood next to her.
"Gildarts-sama… we came to speak to you" Hibiki said confidently, stretching out his hand towards the older man. Gildarts took the outstretched hand in his and gave it a firm shake. Good. He liked that the boy returned his handshake firmly too.
"You are from Blue Pegasus, right?" Gildarts asked, sitting down on the couch. The two young ones sat down again, facing him.
"'Yes sir" Hibiki answered.
"What did you want to talk about?" Gildarts asked, looking at the blond young man.
Cana stood up and went in to the kitchen. She pulled out three cups from her father's cabinet and looked in the ice box to see if he had anything to drink. He had nothing, of course, as he had only been home for two days, having come home from yet another job. He did, however, have a few choice bottles of wine. She chose one and made her way back to the dank living room. She wondered what Hibiki was saying. She had met him two years ago, at the Grand Magic Games and it had been love at first sight. Now, two years later, they had decided to take the next step.
"You want to marry my daughter?" Gildarts asked gruffly as Cana placed the cups on the coffee table.
Her heart skipped a beat. She couldn't look at her father in the eyes as she poured the wine into the cups. Sure, she had told him he was her father not too long ago, and had insisted that things remain the same, but Gildarts would have none of it. He had assumed the role of a father immediately. And sure, he still went on long requests, but they no longer were the type of requests that took years to complete. He was gone a few months at a time and when he came back, he was always by her side. It was kind of annoying actually… but she loved him for it.
"Yes sir… I love her and I want to marry her. I have come to ask you for her hand" Hibiki said, turning to smile at Cana. She smiled back at him. As Hibiki looked at her, he felt a powerful surge of love. It had taken him a long time to get over Karen after her murder… but when he met Cana, it had been an instant connection. He loved everything about her. She was unlike anyone he had ever met and he had fallen completely in love with her. He just hoped Gildarts would understand. He wanted his blessing. But even if he didn't receive it, he would still marry Cana. No one could keep him from her.
"And you can provide well for her? You can take care of her?" Gildarts asked. It seemed unfair that he had just found his precious daughter, only to have to give her away to another man already. But he had to do it. She was not a child. She was a grown woman full of hopes and dreams and love. He wished he had known her as a little girl. He would not have gone to so many jobs that took years to complete. He would have loved to have gotten to know her. But alas, she had had her reasons for keeping it from him, though he berated himself for not noticing she was the spitting image of his only love. But the past was the past. All he could do now was give his blessing for her future.
"Yes sir. I will take care of Cana and I am able to provide well for her. I already have a house where we can live" the blond young man said.
Cana looked at her father. "Besides, I can take care of myself, I am a wizard too you know" she said to him, crossing her arms. She sat on the arm rest of the couch, next to Hibiki. She resisted the urge to take a big swig of wine. Since meeting him, she had stopped drinking so much.
"Then you have my blessing" Gildarts said. Cana almost fell over. She had expected Gildarts to argue that they were too young. She had expected him to fire a million reasons for them not to marry each other. She had not expected his blessing so soon.
"You both remind me very much of myself and Cornelia, your mother" Gildarts said and a faraway look came over his face. He cleared his throat and stood up. "Right. Well, I'm tired. You both look like you know what you're doing. And if you love each other, then there is nothing I can say or do to stop you, am I right?" he said.
Hibiki and Cana looked at each other.
"Thank you sir, good night" Hibiki said. Leaning down, he whispered something to Cana and then stepped outside of the house.
Cana looked down at the floor. Gildarts was silent.
"Don't worry… I'll be fine. And I really believe he's the one" she said after a moment.
"I know you'll be fine. You take after me after all" he grinned. Cana looked at him and smiled.
"Yeah… and… you know you'll always be number one… daddy" she said quietly, stepping in to his outstretched arms. Gildarts held her tightly and kissed the top of her head. He cleared his throat and Cana stepped away.
"See you tomorrow" she said and left his house.
"See you tomorrow… my little girl" he said, as tears filled his eyes. With a sigh, he plopped down on the couch and fell asleep, dreaming of Cornelia.
Making their way to the guild, Hibiki and Cana held hands.
"That was easier than I expected" she said to him.
"Yeah. He has quite the presence. It may not have looked like it, but I was nervous" Hibiki replied, squeezing her hand.
"He's not Fairy Tail's strongest for no reason" Cana grinned.
"I believe it," he chuckled, "I definitely don't want to be on his bad side".
Once they were in front of the guild, Hibiki pulled her into his arms.
"God, I love you Cana" he said quietly, burying his face in her silky dark hair.
"I love you too, Hibiki" she answered quietly. Taking his face in her hands, she kissed his lips.
"See you tomorrow" she said.
Pecking her lips once more, Hibiki waved good bye.
A/N: Hi guys! This is my first Fairy Tail fic and I thought this paring, CanaXHibiki is super cute. Also, I am in love with Gildarts so I just had to write about him too. I would love to get some reviews and also, if you guys think if I should continue the story or leave it as a one shot. I was thinking that if I get enough reviews, I might add the wedding :)