Heading deeper into Cana's house, I entered the kitchen and opened the fridge, acting as if I owned the place, which I didn't, but since Cana was my sister, I basically did. You know, tomato tomoto. "Beer, wine, rum, gin, liquor, mead, sake, some more beer. Tsk, don't you have anything else, Cana? I'm not a drunkard."
Clicking my tongue, I grabbed a few bottles of sake, drinking one while walking to the living room, where Cana, Erza, and Mira were sitting down. "If you haven't noticed, I'm not a restaurant. Also, give me one." Handing Cana a bottle, I downed one and crushed the bottle on my head before opening the second. "I do admit, this shit is good. I need to drink more sake." "Well, that stuff's expensive." "To you. Not to me. We're in different wealth brackets."
While Cana shot me an annoyed look at my comment, I finished the second bottle, crushing it on my head before opening the third and final one, only for Erza to break the silence. "What did you gather us for?" Furrowing her brows, Erza glanced at me, though Mira was the one who elaborated. "Fufu, you know he brought us here, Erza, it was so he could let you and Cana down gently."
Mira gave me a confident, flirtatious look, only for Cana to snort, evidently not believing her. "Hmph, please, if big bro had already chosen you, I would've known." "You truly believe you know everything about big bro, don't you, Cana?" "I know far more than either of you, I know that." "Knowledge isn't the deciding factor, Cana. You're not compatible with him." Frowning, Erza folded her eyes, and Cana, who didn't take kindly to her words.
While sipping on sake, I quietly watched and listened as the three of them argued, debating who was the perfect fit to be my partner. Erza thought she had the most compatibility with me; Mira believed neither Erza nor Cana could handle me in bed or be proper wives; and Cana argued that her understanding of me and my behavior were most important.
Honestly, all three of them made fantastic arguments. Arguably, no one knew me better than Cana, only Laxus and maybe Gramps; Erza and I were indeed very compatible, we were both fearless warriors. As for Mira, while I didn't agree with her first part, I couldn't refute her second claim; if I wanted anyone in Fairy Tail to raise my children, it would be Mira. She would be a fantastic Mother.
However, although they made good arguments, it didn't matter what argument or reason they came up with; at the end of the day, they were my little sisters.
Downing the third bottle of sake, feeling a little tipsy, I crushed the bottle on my head before clapping my hands, breaking the trio's argument as they focused their gaze on me. "Can I speak?" While annoyed with each other, they nodded, causing me to furrow my brows as I had no idea what to say.
I could try to let them down gently, but that would just be prolonging things as I beat around the bush; if I were them, I wouldn't want that; I'd like a straight, honest answer. 'I don't want to hurt their feelings, but that'll happen either way. Tch, this is why I wanted to stay ignorant! I'm stressed!'
Knowing there was no way for today to end on a happy note, I heaved a sigh and just jumped ahead, stalling no longer.
"Erza, Cana, and Mira…" Raising my head, I glanced at the three of them while their gaze was fixedly on me, a faint nervous energy circulating among them. "... Haa, listen, you three, I see you guys as nothing but my little sisters. My cute, adorable, beautiful, lovable little sisters. I l-love you three as a brother would his sister; I don't feel an ounce of romantic or sexual attraction to you guys."
Leaning back in my seat, I looked between them while the silence enveloped us. "Just stop these pointless actions. No matter how much time passes, I'll never fall for any of you." As I finished, I folded my arms, waiting for a response.
"W-What about when we made love? Y-You felt nothing then? Y-You feel nothing?" Mira forced a small smile as she looked at me with the faintest bit of hope, though I shook my head, brutally dashing any traces of hope. "I felt nothing, Mira. Honestly, a part of me regrets sleeping with you that day; I should've comforted you like a proper brother."
My truthful words caused Mira to pale slightly, though I stood my ground. "So, if you saw me with another man?" "Then I'd be happy and support you." Looking at Erza, who bit her lip and lowered her head, I stood up and headed back into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of beer; while doing so, I heard footsteps fading and the front door opening.
When I returned to the living room, it was just Cana, trying to hide her tears, though she was doing a poor job of it. "You know, big bro, I foresaw this." Raising an eyebrow, I popped open the bottle and gulped before handing it to Cana, who didn't hesitate to finish it. "You did?" "Yep. After all, I know you best. I knew you weren't oblivious to our feelings." Flashing a confident smirk through her teary-eyed expression, Cana brushed her hair back and leaned against the armrest.
"At first, I thought, maybe you stayed silent to not break the other's hearts, but as the years ticked by, I realized that wasn't the case; eventually, it dawned on me. Perhaps you didn't see any of us or romantic partners." Cana wryly smiled while I raised an eyebrow. "If you knew, th–" "Then why did my feelings remain? Why didn't I move on?" She stole the words directly out of my mouth as Cana chuckled before shooting me a mocking smile.
"Hehe, I tried, for a little bit, I genuinely tried, but the feelings I had for you were too deeply rooted; I couldn't just get rid of them because I wanted to. So, I deluded myself, hoping I'd realized wrong, dreaming of a future life where you and I were one… Though I suppose it'll stay that way, merely a dream."
Looking at Cana's expression, I sighed to myself before standing up and gently rubbing her head. Walking off, I closed the door and exited her house just in time as I heard her crying. "So annoying." Rubbing my face, I sighed deeply and walked down the street, heading who knows where, though I happened to come across Gajeel.
"Oi, Gajeel, you're coming with me." Arriving beside him, I wrapped an arm around his shoulder, causing him to go stiff. "Training?" "No, a bar, I'm paying, so join me." "Oh, sure." I could feel Gajeel physically relax at the shake of my head.
"Why are we heading to a bar in the middle of the day? I can also smell alcohol on you; did you just come from a bar?" "Why ask so many questions? Do you want free alcohol or not?" "Heh, never mind."
With Gajeel in tow, we found a random bar and drank to our hearts' content, which ended with us thrashing the place before blacking out.
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"Urgh, my head hurts. Where am I?" Seeing Gajeel come too, I faintly smirked. "Hey, you, finally awake?" He looked at me in confusion. "What?" "Nothing, if you know you know." Gajeel's confusion didn't vanish, but he quickly lost interest in whatever I was talking about.
"Where are we?" "In the back of a carriage… I think we've been kidnapped." While rubbing his head, Gajeel looked at me in surprise, only to skeptically narrow his eyes. "What kind of criminals would kidnap two grown men?" "That's a good question. Honestly, it's a little scary when you think about it… Do you think they–" "Wait, did you say carriage?"
Tilting my head, I nodded, only for Gajeel to grab his mouth, though that didn't stop him from suddenly puking. "F-Fuck, why a carriage?" "Oh yeah, forgot, you're a dragon slayer."
Not wanting to be stuck in an enclosed space with vomit, I broke the cuffs binding me and kicked the carriage door open before hopping outside, though when I did so, I scratched my head as I observed my surroundings.
"Ah b-better." Following after me, Gajeel practically poured out of the carriage onto the ground behind me with a blissful smile, which I promptly ruined. "So we weren't just in a carriage. We were in a carriage on a ship." "H-Huh?"
Slowly, Gajeel climbed to his feet, allowing him to see the endless sea in all directions, only for him to lunge to the edge and lean over the side, vomiting everything still in his stomach while I patted his back. "Wonder where we're headed… Perhaps an island with Milfs?" "I-I would like–Argh." "Just focus on vomiting, you can fantasize about an island of Milfs with me later."