A/N: Yo, minna-san! I'm back with a new story :) This is my first one-shot and Fairy Tail fanfiction. I hope you will like it.

"Erza, I wanna battle you!" Natsu screamed enthusiastically.

"Bring it on! " Erza replied, gesturing to the outside of the guild. The noise level in the guild was abnormally loud yet heart-warming. It was New Year and a wild party was going on. The guild had went through many difficulties throughout the past year, however, their strong nakama sprit managed to pull them through. Shouts, cheers,laughters and clinking of glasses reverberated through the beautifully decorated building. Lucy was talking fervently about her favourite reads to Levy. Mirajane and Lissana were busy whipping up cocktails and serving the never-ending line of customers at the bar. The three exceeds were flying around randomly. Everyone was hanging out and having fun, apart from two lonely people.

Cana stared lazily at the cold glass of golden beer in front of her. She heaved a sign of disappointment as she stared longingly at the entrance of the guild. Father...he broke his promise again...but was to be expected, ,wasn't it? Gildarts loves traveling and taking missions that seem to be sky-rocketing higher levels than the normal mages. She reached for the glass and drowned her sorrow in one bug gulp before groggily waving her hands for more.

Gray was sitting in a dark corner of the guild. Somehow, he did not really feel like partying today. There have been quite a number of celebrations recently and he had partied very hard. Perhaps he should take on some solo missions to get back into shape. Just then, someone caught his attention. He stared intently at the brunette at the bar table. It has been a while since he last talked to her. He could remember that during their childhood, Cana was mostly isolated from their group and it took a very long time before they could speak to each other. His mouth turned upwards at the thought of how close they had become. He could tell that she was obviously upset at the alarming rate she is gulping down her drink.

Cana felt the familiar warm, pleasant sensation of the burning hot sensation of beer run down her throat. She knew she was getting wasted but doesn't care. It was New Year and she just wanted to go crazy and get drunk.

Gray strutted over to Cana. Talking to her always help. She was more mature than most people her age. She was beautiful and her character strong. Her only flaw was being an incorrigible drinker.

"Hey," he called out to her as he took a seat beside her. "Gray," she replied softly. "I'm sure your old man would return soon. He wouldn't dare to disappoint you. " he commented tersely and grabbed a class of beer.

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise at Gray's words. He knew. Her emotions rarely ever shows. Yet, it was normal for Gray to know what she was feeling. He was the only guy close enough to her to be able to do that. Macao and Wakaba were like her caring uncles. When they found out that she is Gildarts' daughter, they had gradually distanced themselves away from her. It had hurt initially but she had long gotten over it. Now, if it felt as though she is all alone in the world, apart from the two men, Gildarts and Gray.

Without thinking, Cana turned over and hugged Gray and wept. She cried from the disappointment of not seeing her dad,sadness of being isolated from her usual drinking partners, self-hate from never meeting any expectations and pain from the feeling of loneliness.

Gray was shocked when Cana had suddenly lunged into him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Comforting her, he started stroking her hair and back. Soon, her weeping changed to sobbing before turning quiet. Then, she look up at him with a tear-stained face and smiled. In a whisper, she said "Arigatou, Gray-kun! "

"Go and have fun! Don't waste your time on me. " Cana continued loudly

before getting up from her seat and proceeded with wobbly steps to the exit of the guild. Gray shouldn't waste time, , especially not on a worthless girl like her. The fact that he had actually cared enough to come over to comfort her had made her heart palpitating insanely and gave her a fuzzy, warm feeling. She winced in pain as her head throbbed badly from the noise level. This time, she had really drank over her limits.

Gray blushed at her whispered words. It had been a long time since Cana had called him Gray-kun. He was the only person whose name Cana added a special suffix to. It was only used in special occassions. He looked at her exiting the guild, admiring her curvaceous body. But, it was also at times like this that she seemed so small and weak. Suddenly, he felt a sudden urge to go after her,grab her and wrap her in his arms to get rid of all her insecurities and protect her. He bowed his head low, letting his fringe cover his eyes. Maybe, this is love.

It was 3am. Most of the mages had long gone home, except for Gray and the Strauss siblings. They had duty and were doing last minute clean-up. The once-messy building had been tidied up neatly by the mages and is sparkling clean. However, a small blue bag with cards slipping out laid on the sofa unnoticed.

Under the beautiful stars-dotted night, Cana shakily made her way back to her dorm. Feeling naseous, she stumbled to a nearby narrow alley. The horrendously pungent smell of garbage and other waste permeated the air in the alley. As Cana breathed in the stink, bile rised into her throat and she vomited the contents of her stomach out. Unbeknownst to her, few pairs of lustful eyes were staring at her.

Gray's eyes scanned across the guild, ensuring that its cleanliness was up to standard. Just then, something blue caught his attention and he strutted over to take a look at it. It was Cana's bag of magic cards. Almost immediately, his gut feeling told him that something was wrong. Without hesistation, he reached for the key to the guild door and locked the guild up before dashing off in the direction of Cana's house.

Cana was recovering from her puking when burly arms encased her from behind. A hand covered her mouth, stifling her scream for help. Instinctively, she reached for her cards. To her utmost horror and despair, her cards were missing. Helpless,she began struggling as hard as she could, kicking and punching. The thought of being raped crossed her mind and she fought even harder. Alas, despite her best efforts,she was no match as a drunk woman with slurred movements for the three rogue mages. Tied up, Cana laid unmoving as the evil mages removed her bra and bangles and flung them away. Tears were streaming down her cheeks at the thought of being taken unwillingly. Anger and fear burned inside her as she sent a prayer upwards for help to come soon.

Gray was running when he spotted something golden sparkling on the street. Cana! He could hear the sounds of fabric being torn and ran into the alley without hesistation. What he saw caused him to clench his fists in fury. The sight of Cana whimpering helplessly as the rogue mages removed her clothes.

"ICE MAKE SPEAR!" he screamed as he thrusted the ice spear through the tummy of the nearest evil mage near him, causing blood to pour vigorously onto the floor and form a puddle. "Scram if you want to live! " he commented as he walked over to Cana. The evil mages scattered away as fast as their legs could carry them, bringing their injured companion along. Gray removed the strings from Cana, stripped off his jacket and covered Cana with it. Carrying Cana, he made his way to her house.

-At Cana's house-

Gray let Cana down and supported her to her sofa. Her face was emotionless as she recovered from the shock of her previous dire situation. Then,she stood up abruptly and grabbed some clothes before proceeding to her bathroom.

Cana settled down into her bath tub with her hands wrapped tightly around herself. Her mind had not really cleared yet, , especially since she had gulped quite a huge volume of alcohol beforehand. Gray... Without him, she would have been taken against her will and perhaps left for dead. Her heart started to beating fast when she thought of how he had came to her rescue. Erasing the bad memories of the men touching her, she scrubbed her body till it turn red and raw.

Gray sat on the couch as he waited patiently for Cana to come out. He was glad to have been able to reach in time to save Cana. If he had been any moment later, he couldn't imagine what would happen to Cana. If he had found her in such state, he would definitely show no mercy and kill those bastards.

After drying herself, Cana put on some clothes and went out of her bathroom. She saw Gray standing up and coming over to her. "I'm alright, " she assured him and gave a tense smile. "Thank you...and sorry for causing so much trouble," she continued, fidgeting awkwardly.

Gray was damn pissed. Grabbing Cana's shoulders, he reprimanded her," Cana, you idiot! No girl would be fine after everything that just happens. Stop pretending that you don't give a damn about anything! "

Cana's eyes widened in surprise. Grau had never ever scolded her once before. Furious, she hollered back, "I just don't want to be a burden to anymore! " and added softly "I'm worthless. I'm a weak coward and an addicted drinker. After so many tries, I still fail to become a S-Class mage."

With anger coursing through his veins, he kissed her hard. Cana's hands resisted him before relaxing and letting herself savour the kiss.

Ending the kiss, Gray said emotionally, "I care about you. Everyone in the guild cares about you too. We are your nakama, your comrades. I'll leave now. Take a break. You know my number when you are ready to talk. " He let go of Cana and headed towards the door.

Cana reached out for Gray's hamds and tugged at his fingers. "Stay with me tonight," she demanded softly. With their hands locked, the two mages went to Cana's bedroom and settled down for the night.

Laying on the bed,Gray embraced Cana around her waist tightly and stroked her long brown hair to coax her to sleep. Cana's face was plaved against Gray's chests and her arms wrapped around it. After few silent moments of peace, the couple slept.

The morning sun rose up from behind the mountains, painting the sky a beautiful hue of red and gold. Gildarts stood outside the door of Cana's house and knocked loudly. Guilt filled him when Cana did not answer the door. He was supposed to reach Fairy Tail at 10pm last night but the train broke down and he only manged to arrive in Magnolia at 7am. After taking the key Cana had given him, he unlocked the door and went in, calling out, "Cana!" He walked past Cana's bedroom and immediately turn back. Gray,who appeard naked (The lower halves of their bodies were under a blanket) ,was touching his precious daughter's body intimately! This was not what he had expected to see, sspecially having travelled very long distances to visit his daughter n

"Gray, you asshole!" He boomed as he grabbed the sleeping man from the bed and shook him violently. "How dare you defile my daughter's body! " he continued shouting his head off.

In self defense, Gray froze Gildarts entirely subconsciously. He opened his eyes lazily and stared at Gildarts. A moment later, he broke away from the grasp and the frozen Gildarts.

The sound of ice cracking could be heard in the silent room. Then, the ice encasing Gildarts burst like a firework and scattered everywhere.

"You took advantage of Cana, " Gildarts fumed at Gray, his eyes hard and his fists clenched.

"I didn't. She was upset and got drunk. I was just accompanying her," Gray replied, trying to prove his innocence. The two men continued debating loudly back and forth.

The noisy argument in the morning woke Cana up. "SHUT UP!" she screamed, rubbing the sides of her temple to ease the ache in her head as she sit up straight. However, she gasped in shock when she realised Gildarts and Gray were fighting. "Father! Gray! " her voice sounded through her room.

Cana leaped from her bed and hugged her father dearingly. Gray took this moment to leave quietly in order not to disrupt the private moment between the father and daughter.

"Cana, what were you and Gray doing? Do you like him? Have you done it with him? Did he force you?" Gildarts bombarded his daughter with questions. Standing outside the door, Gray could hear what was going on. Curious to hear Cana's respone, he placed his ear right next to the door. Straining his eyes, he managed to hear, "Father, whoever I like and sleep with is none of your business, but, yeah, I'm interested in Gray."

Gray's facial expression turn gleeful. Cana like him! Just then, the door open and he almost fell on to the floor. He looked up, only to see Gildarts looking right at him.

"Would you protect Cana? " Gildarts asked solemnly. Gray blushed and stammered, "yes, I will protect her with all I got, even my life."

Satisfied with the response, Gildarts nodded his head in approval. "You will make a good man for my daughter. Cana, I'll going to the guild now. " Gildarts announced as he made his exit.

Gray and Cana looked endearingly at each other before looking away shyly. Suddenly, Gray grabbed Cana's hand and pulled her up for a kiss, who responded with just as much fervor.

-End-

A/N: Thanks for reading! I really hope you enjoy it. Do leave a review. Constructive comments are acceptable. Depending on the response to this fic, I'll hopefully be back with another story.