The moon hung high over Magnolia, a pristine, silver orb that seemed to shine a little brighter now that the threat of the Anima and the madness of Edolas had finally faded into memory. It had been exactly one week since the Guild had returned. One week since the floating islands, the magic-draining King, and the robotic dragons.
Magnolia had returned to its peaceful rhythm. The canals reflected the lamplight, the crickets sang in the hedges, and the air smelled of blooming night jasmine and the faint, lingering scent of the bakery closing down for the night.
A week after the incident of Edolas at night, we see Blake and Cana are walking to Blake's house after they finished their date while holding hands.
They walked at a leisurely pace, enjoying the cool night air. The date had been simple—dinner at a new tavern on the west side of town followed by a stroll along the canal—but it was exactly what they needed. Edolas had been a frantic, high-stakes nightmare where they had met twisted versions of themselves and fought for the survival of magic itself. Now, they just wanted to be a couple.
Blake Corvus looked relaxed for the first time in days. His black coat was unbuttoned, his posture loose. His hand was firmly interlaced with Cana's. Her palm was warm against his, her fingers calloused from handling cards but gentle in his grip.
"You know," Blake broke the comfortable silence, his voice a low rumble. "I missed this. The quiet. No giant robots. No cats trying to convert me to their religion. Just... this."
Cana Alberona chuckled, leaning her head against his shoulder as they walked. She smelled of wine—just a glass or two, nothing heavy—and her expensive perfume. "You're getting boring, Blake. You didn't enjoy being a revolutionary hero?"
"I enjoyed the part where we won and came home," Blake replied dryly. "The rest was too much cardio."
Cana squeezed his hand, her steps slowing slightly. She seemed to be weighing something in her mind, her brown eyes flickering with a mix of amusement and nervous determination.
"Blake," she started, her tone shifting from playful to something a bit more serious.
"Yeah?"
"We need to talk about the elephant in the room," Cana said. "Or rather, the She-Devil in the guild hall."
Blake frowned, glancing down at her. "She-Devil? You mean Mira? Is something wrong with her?"
Cana sighed, shaking her head. "No, she is fine. Her heart, however, is a different story." She stopped walking, forcing Blake to stop as well. She turned to face him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Mirajane is in love with you, Blake."
The words hung in the night air like a physical object.
He blinked. Once. Twice. His brow furrowed in genuine, unadulterated confusion. He looked at Cana as if she had just suggested that Master Makarov was actually a secret bikini model.
"What?" Blake asked intelligently.
"You heard me," Cana said. "Mira. Loves. You."
"That's... ridiculous," Blake dismissed it, waving his free hand. "Mira is... Mira. She's the guild's mom. She smiles at everyone. She brings me food because I eat a lot. She talks to me about the weather and her singing. There's no tension. No 'look'. She treats me exactly the same way she treats Elfman. Well, maybe with less yelling."
"She's just nice, Cana," Blake insisted. "That's her job. She's the poster girl. Being nice is literally 90% of her description."
Hearing that, Cana rolls her eyes.
"Oh my god," Cana groaned, looking up at the moon as if asking for strength. "I knew you were bad at this, but I didn't think you were blind."
"You dunder heads are all the same," Cana poked him in the chest. "You can sense a hidden enemy from a mile away with your Haki. You can calculate the trajectory of a falling island. But a girl looking at you with heart-eyes? You're as dense as a brick wall."
"I am not dense!" Blake argued, looking offended. "I knew you liked me before you even said anything. I picked up on that immediately."
"That's because I was the first one to say I like you!" Cana retorted. "Subtlety isn't my strong suit. But Mira is different. She's shy about this stuff."
"Blake, think about it," Cana stepped closer. "Who sews your coat when it gets torn on missions? Mira. Who saves you the biggest cut of the meat when the hunting party comes back? Mira. When we came back from Edolas, who was the first person running toward you? It wasn't the Master. It was Mira."
Blake opened his mouth to argue, then closed it. He replayed the memories. The extra food. The way she always lingered a little longer when refilling his drink. The way her smile seemed to reach her eyes, specifically when he walked in.
"I thought she just liked my patronage," Blake muttered weakly.
He ran a hand through his hair, looking distressed. "Okay. Fine. Let's say you're right. Let's say the She-Devil has a crush on me. What do you want me to do about it, Cana? We're together. We both love each other already. I'm not going to cheat on you, and I'm not going to break up with you. So... do I just ignore it? Do I reject her?"
The thought of rejecting Mirajane made Blake's stomach twist. Not because he wanted to date her, but because making Mira cry felt like kicking a puppy. A very powerful, demonic puppy.
Cana looked at him, her expression softening. She reached up and cupped his cheek. "I know you love me, you big idiot. That's not what I'm questioning."
"But... remember Edolas?" Cana bit her lip, gauging his reaction. "Remember about how Edolas Blake lived? He didn't choose. He had... two partners. He made it work."
Blake stepped back slightly, his expression skeptical. "Whoa, hold on. You want me to build a harem? Like some cheap romance novel protagonist? I can barely handle one high-maintenance alcoholic card mage. You want me to add more?"
"It is not a harem!" Cana slapped his arm, though there was no heat in it. "A harem is one guy collecting women like trophies who don't care about each other. That's gross. That's not what this is."
"Sounds like semantics to me," Blake deadpanned.
"It would just be me and Mira," Cana clarified firmly. "Just the two of us. A triad. Or a V. Whatever you want to call it. Me, you, and her. We all care about each other. We're all family already."
They resumed their walk, but the silence was heavier now. Blake was processing. His brain, usually tactical and quick, was grinding gears trying to wrap around the concept. He looked at the cobblestones, then at the sky, then at Cana.
"Well?" she prompted.
"Cana, it isn't that simple," Blake said slowly. "People get jealous. People get hurt. It's complicated. And what do you want me to do, go up to Mira and say hey Mira want to join Cana and me in bed?"
He threw his hands up. "She's the sweetest girl in the guild! If I said that, she'd probably faint, or turn into Satan Soul and nuke me for being a pervert!"
Cana smirked. It was a knowing, Cheshire cat sort of smirk. "I don't think she'd faint. In fact, I think she'd be quite open to it."
"You're awfully confident about this," Blake narrowed his eyes. "What aren't you telling me?"
"Because I'm proactive," Cana shrugged. "And she said yes."
Blake stopped walking again. This time, he didn't just stop; he froze. His entire body went rigid.
His neck clicked as he turned. His voice was an octave higher than usual. "Excuse me? Run that by me one more time."
"After we got back," Cana explained, nonchalantly inspecting her fingernails. "Lucy told everyone about the Edolas version of you having 2 girlfriends. Everyone laughed it off, but I saw Mira. She went quiet. She looked... wistful. And Mira was in contemplation the whole time."
Cana stepped closer to Blake, her voice dropping to a gentle whisper.
"And after looking at her for 2 days, I couldn't take it. She looked so lonely, Blake. She's been through so much when she was younger. She had to be the strong big sister, the smiling face of the guild. She never takes anything for herself."
Cana poked Blake's chest again.
"So, I took her out for drinks. And asked her how she feels if she joined us as family."
Blake stared at her, his jaw slightly unhinged. "You... you just asked her?"
"I did," Cana nodded. "At first, she panicked. Typical Mira. Said she couldn't intrude, said she didn't want to ruin what we had. But after urging her for some time she said she will think about it, and just yesterday she said she will give it a try."
Cana smiled, a genuine, warm smile. "She loves you, Blake. And she likes me. And I love her—she's my best friend. Why shouldn't we all be happy?"
Blake looked at his girlfriend. He saw the determination in her eyes. He saw the love she had for Mira, and the love she had for him. He realized that this wasn't a question; it was a notification of a new life policy.
"I'm just a passenger in this vehicle, aren't I?"
"Don't be dramatic," Cana rolled her eyes. "We take it slow. Dates. Hanging out. If it gets weird, we stop. If it works... well, then you're the luckiest man in Earthland."
He let out a long, ragged sigh, the tension leaving his shoulders. He couldn't deny that he cared for Mira. She was beautiful, kind, and fiercely loyal. And if Cana—who was usually possessive—was orchestrating this, then maybe... maybe it could work.
"Fine," Blake muttered. "You win. I can handle you. I can handle Mira. I can handle the two of you together."
Blake's eyes suddenly widened. A look of genuine, primal terror washed over his face. He grabbed Cana by the shoulders.
"But you are forgetting the most important part."
"What part?" Cana asked, confused by his sudden panic.
Blake says, "Your father."
The words were whispered like a curse.
Cana froze for a second.
The color drained from her face. The bravado, the confidence, the sass—it all evaporated instantly.
Gildarts Clive.
The Ace of Fairy Tail. The man who destroyed mountains by accident. The man who was so overprotective of Cana that he glared at male flies that buzzed too close to her.
"Oh," Cana squeaked.
She quickly tried to regain her composure, waving her hand dismissively, though her hand was shaking slightly. "Oh, pshhh. The old man? We will think about it when the time comes."
"Think about it?!" Blake hissed. "Cana, if he finds out I'm dating his daughter and another woman at the same time? He won't just kill me. He'll disassemble me at a molecular level! He'll turn me into dust and then beat up the dust!"
Blake paced in a small circle on the dark road. "I survived Edolas just to be murdered by my father-in-law. This is it. This is how I die."
"You're overreacting!" Cana laughed nervously, sweat forming on her brow. "He likes you! He thinks you're strong! He'll... he'll understand!"
"He's Gildarts!" Blake countered. "He doesn't understand 'sharing'! He barely understands doors!"
Cana realized she was losing him to the panic. She needed to redirect his attention. Fast. She needed the big guns.
She stepped into his space, grabbing the lapels of his coat and pulling him down so their faces were inches apart. Her voice dropped to a sultry, smoky purr.
"Okay, okay. It's a risk. I get it. But... how about I make it up for all your trouble?"
Blake stopped hyperventilating about Gildarts. He looked at her, one eyebrow raised. "Unless you're offering me an invincibility potion, I don't see how—"
Cana says, "I will let you enter my back door."
She whispered the words right into his ear, her breath hot against his skin.
Hearing that, Blake perks up, lifts his head, and looks at Cana's grinning face.
The change was instantaneous.
The fear of Gildarts? Gone.
The confusion about Mira? Gone.
The exhaustion from the week? Non-existent.
Blake stood up straight, his spine snapping into alignment with military precision. His eyes dilated. He looked at Cana, searching her face for any sign of a joke.
All he saw was a mischievous, predatory grin. She bit her lip and winked.
"You're serious?" Blake asked, his voice breathless.
"Dead serious," Cana promised. "Tonight. If we get home in the next five minutes."
Blake didn't say another word. He didn't need to.
He bent down, hooked his arm behind her knees, and effortlessly hoisted her up onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes—or rather, a sack of very precious, very motivating treasure.
"Whoa!" Cana laughed, grabbing onto his back. "Eager, aren't we?"
"Hold on tight!" Blake yelled.
"Soru!"
He kicked off the cobblestones with enough force to crack them. He became a blur of motion, sprinting down the darkened street.
The concept of a triad relationship? A problem for tomorrow.
The terrifying wrath of Gildarts Clive? A problem for the future.
The promise Cana just made? A priority for right now.
As they disappeared into the night, Blake ran faster than he had ever run from any dragon, knight, or king. Love might be complicated, but motivation was very, very simple.