A/N- Happy (almost) birthday to AvaEobane! Here is your request. Just so you know, this turned out more angsty then I originally intended. It was supposed to be all fluff-tastic, and then it almost wrote itself. So this is what happened. Sorry if it's not what you were hoping for…

Disclaimer- I do not, and never will, own Fairy Tail.

It was Cana's fourteenth birthday. All of her friends were there. Mira, Erza, Grey, Natsu, Wakaba, Macao, Lisanna, Elfman, Levy… all of her friends. All but one. Just one friend wasn't there, yet that one person being gone had cast a dark pall on the whole party.

And, no. It wasn't Gildartz. She didn't expect him to be there for her. He never was. It wasn't his fault, either. He didn't know he was her father.

Cana picked up the glass of wine she had been handed by… who even knows, but she had accepted because it was the first thing he had ever bought for her. Well, since she started going on quests. She missed him. She wanted him here, with her. He had promised before he left, too.

"Don't worry, Cana. I'll be back in time for your party. Do you really think I would miss it? I promise to bring you a present this time…"

He had promised her, and yet, here she was, sitting all alone on her birthday, waiting for the party to be over, because he wasn't here. And without him here, she just didn't feel like there should be a party. She knew she didn't feel like partying. And yet, everyone made due without her excitement, and without the one person she had truly hoped would be there today.

She turned back to her drink, looking into the corner, and downed it. She stood and slowly started making her way to the doors, waving and saying good night to people on her way out.

She stepped outside, shivering a little in the cold. ~I should have brought a jacket with me. He would probably kill me if he found out…~

One step, two steps, and suddenly, she felt eyes on her. Someone was staring. With slight concern, she looked up to see him. Him, just like he had promised. Him, standing right there, in front of the guild, with shocked eyes to see her walking towards him.

"Cana…?" he asked in wonderment, as if he had never thought he would make it back. In three large steps, he had crossed the small courtyard, and swept her into a nearly bone-crushing hug.

"Laxus…? What's wrong?" she asked, holding him while he clung to her.

"I didn't think I would ever see you again," he said simply, still clinging to her, "That monster was a lot harder to kill then I thought it would be."

Cana stroked his hair, comforting him, "Don't worry, Laxus. You're safe, you're here. You're alive. I'm alive. The entire guild is alive. You defeated it, Laxus. You're safe, you're here…"

Over and over, she repeated it, an endless litany of reassurances while he stood in front of her and trembled in her arms.

~Is this what it's like…? Being S-Class…? Because if it's bad enough to make Laxus scared, bad enough to send him running for comfort from the first girl he sees… I'm not sure I want it… What if someone other then me had been the one to find him right when he was about to break? Laxus wouldn't have been able to bear it. He's so… prickly. But that's one of the reasons he's my best friend… what if some other girl had been the one to hold him while he shuddered with fear and pain…~

At that idea, and unlooked for, unexpected, and slightly unwanted flare of jealousy appeared in her chest.

~Why am I jealous? It's just Laxus. I've never minded before if he had a girlfriend…~

At the idea of him with another girl, the unexpected jealousy made a triumphant return, having been vanished by her confusion. While she held her best friend, she quickly tried to sort through her feelings for him.

~I know I like him. I have since I was little. He's my hero, and my best friend. I love being around him, and I don't like when he goes away. I'm always lonely when he's gone, no matter who else is there. He brings out the best, and the worst, in me… It sounds like when Mom used to talk about Dad… do I love him…? I don't know… I've never loved someone before… how do you recognize it…?~

Cana held him, giving up on trying to figure out how she felt, and slowly, he stopped shaking. "Sorry," he muttered with embarrassment, pulling away.

She kept hold of his hand, "It's fine, Laxus. You needed me. I'll always be there for you, 'kay?"

Still embarrassed, Laxus nodded. He looked up, finally noticing all of the cheering and excitement coming from the guild. He looked over at her, a smirk on his face, "I made it back in time?"

Cana smiled, "Yes."

Laxus laughed, hugging her again, "Happy birthday, Cana."

This time, as Laxus was whole, was himself, she noticed something that she hadn't know was in her. Her heart soared as he hugged her, and she giggled slightly. She was ecstatic. She liked him. More then as friends. Embarrassed, she smiled, "Thanks, Laxus. Thank you for making it back. It was the only present I wanted."

Laxus gasped, releasing her, "Your present! Give me a minute!"

He rummaged through his bags, muttering to himself, "Now where did I put the damn thing? Seriously, where the fuck did I put it?"

Cana started laughing silently. He was glaring at the bag, and yelling at it to give him the present. "Laxus, it's okay. You can give it to me tomorrow after you've had a chance to unpack, alright?"

"Alright," Laxus sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets. With widened eyes, he pulled out a small bag, "Oh. Duh. I put it here so I wouldn't lose it in the bag."

Cana giggled again, "What is it?"

Laxus smirked, "You'll see."

He handed the bag to her, and she slowly opened it. Inside were six identical silver bracelets. They were adorable, with little, barely there, swirls and waves in them. She loved them. Quickly, she put them on, three on each wrist.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Laxus!" she cheered, hugging him tightly.

His arms wound around her, and she could hear the smile in his voice, "No problem, Cana."

Instinctively, she closed her eyes and turned her head to kiss his cheek, but instead of finding his cheek, she felt his warm, strong, yet achingly soft lips.

Her eyes shot open in shock, and she saw that his had done the same. Yet neither moved their lips from the other. As the shock started to dissipate, Cana realized something.

If she was going to accidentally give her first kiss to Laxus, she was going to do it right.

And as she realized this, she felt him start to disengage, to pull away.

She flung her arms around his neck, tugging him back to her, closing her eyes once again.

She felt him resist, to try not to kiss her. She felt him release her waist, and start tugging on her arms, trying to get her to release him. She locked her arms tighter.

And she felt the delightful moment he gave in, kissing her back.

His lips moved with aching precision, with immense skill, with adoring patience. His arms wound around her waist again, this time not with the platonic idea of hugging her, but with the full intention of devouring her mouth.

She didn't know what to do with her lips. She didn't know what to do with all of the emotion she was feeling as his lips moved so damnably well against hers. But slowly, as he kissed her, as he feasted on her lips, she learned.

When she could no longer breathe she pulled away, panting. And, instead of stopping as she was half scared he would, he moved to nibble and bite at her neck. He licked and played as she panted, trying to catch her breath, and couldn't, because every time she was almost ready, he found a new spot to make her pant, to drive her wild.

There was passion between them. Hers was untutored, unsure; she had no idea what she was doing, and even less idea of what she wanted. His was pent up, as if he had been holding it in, as if he had been trying to hide his feelings, scared or nervous about them.

Finally growing impatient with the fact that she was never going to catch her breath, she grabbed his hair and pulled with all her might, dragging him back to her lips. This time, he pulled his tongue teasingly across her lower lip, causing her to gasp. He speared his tongue into her mouth with no hesitation.

All semblance of control left them. She didn't care that he was Laxus, her best friend, her hero. She didn't care that half an hour before, he had been trembling in her arms. All she could think about was somehow managing to drag her mouth closer to his.

Once again, she pulled away; once again, she needed to breathe. And, once again, Laxus's lips moved back to her neck. But something was different.

This time, she wanted him to bite her. Not nibble, not play. Bite. Like an animal. She wanted him to bite her hard enough to draw blood. She wanted to have a scar right there, right where he had bitten her, that would never fade. The want was nearly a need. She wanted it so badly that it hurt.

Clutching her hands in his hair, she bent her head, and murmured against his ear, "Bite me, love."

She didn't realize what she had called him in her passion, and neither did he. All he noticed was the first word. Bite. So, with impassioned joy, he sank his teeth into her neck.

It hurt. It hurt so powerfully that she felt the tears well up in her eyes. But even stronger then the hurt was the strange, almost perverse pleasure she took in it. She never wanted it to end. But everything comes to an end.

"Laxus? Is that you?" Erza called from the entrance of the guild. Without realizing it, they had both entered the shadow created by the walled gate around the building during the kiss. They both prayed to god that she wouldn't see them. With a shrug, Erza walked back into the building.

They glance at each other, both turning bright red. Self consciously, Cana pulled her hair over her shoulder to hide his bite.

Laxus looked away, a blush heavy on his face, "I'm sorry."

He turned around, grabbed his bag, and walked into the guild.

Cana turned and walked for Fairy Hills.

She knew. She knew she loved him. She suspected that he might have feelings for her, but she wasn't sure.

He had walked away. She was willing to wait. She was willing to wait for him to realize he loved her. She was willing to wait a lifetime.

She loved him, after all.