Splash

"I'm not in over my head!"

She pouts adorably as she walks—sways, he corrects himself wryly—towards their apartment. She's flushed with alcohol, words slurred enough that she's stumbled over her own vowels several times.

"You owe Mira 120,000 jewels, Cana," he tells her dryly. "I'd say that's a little over your head. You haven't gone on a job in weeks!"

She crosses her arms and huffs at him. "I've been busy."

He raises an eyebrow. "You are so fucking gone right now, it is not even funny."

"I'm not even drunk!"

"I can't believe we're even having this conversation. I'm just impressed you're still upright."

"I'm not!"

"Sure, and I'm Mirajane. Pay up."

She kicks at him, misses, and overcorrects, spilling forward over her feet into his chest. He catches and steadies her, leaning forward to touch his forehead to hers. "Easy there, Thunder."

She snuggles into his coat. "Ooh, this is nice and warm."

"You're going to have to come out at some point, you know."

"No way, asshole. You're like a walking fluffy heater."

"I'll tell Mira to charge interest."

"… You're the fucking worst."

They walk in silence for several more minutes, then Cana perks up. "Can we walk on the canal?"

He turns to look at her in horror. "Now?"

She beams. "Yeah, come on!" Grabbing his hand, she yanks him with her over to the canal. She hops on top of the raised rim and grins at him, swaying slightly. "Look how cool this is."

"Incredible," he deadpans.

She scowls. "Seriously! I bet I can do a cartwheel on it."

He raises an eyebrow. "You're going to fall and kill yourself."

"Wow, you seriously have no faith in me. Jerk." She crosses her arms and glares at him. "I'm going to do it."

He feels a flash of guilt at goading her. "Wait, Cana, I—"

She lines herself up to do a cartwheel. She manages to get one hand down on the canal rim before she slips and goes over the edge. Laxus feels his heart plummet down with her. "Cana!"

Before he thinks, he's stripped off his coat and shoes and flung himself over the side of the canal after her. The water's fucking cold, he realizes on impact. It feels as if every pore of his body has turned to ice.

Reaching out, he snags Cana's feather purse and tugs her to him, cradling her to his chest. She blinks up at him happily, hair soaking wet, cheeks flushed with excitement. "Laxus, it's so fucking freezing!"

"Why the hell are you excited by that, woman?"
"This is awesome. Duh."

"Why the hell did you try to do a fucking cartwheel while drunk on a canal?"

"I have a well-exercised sense of adventure?"

"Fucking hell—"

A throat clearing behind them interrupts the squabble. Laxus turns, pulling Cana with him, to see a boat full of stunned fishermen staring back at them. The leader appears frozen, mouth open as if about to say something. He blinks and makes a choking noise before managing to force words out. "Are—you both all right?"

Cana sparkles at the man. "I love this canal!"

Laxus scowls. "You're psychotic, woman."

"Fuck off, Dreyar."

The fisherman blinks. "Uh—"

Laxus sighs, deciding to give up on his dignity. "We'll just be going now. Sorry for the interruption. Carry on." Hoisting Cana up over his shoulder, he heaves himself up out of the water, starting the tedious climb back up to the street. "You just had to do a cartwheel on the fucking canal."

Cana wiggles happily on his back. "Wasn't it fun though?"

"I hate you so much."