Christmas Gifts

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[X772, Wakaba's home]

— Wakaba Mine —

It was Christmas morning, he and the kid were in the house he owned on the outskirts of Magnolia to spend a little bit of time together before they head to the guild. They were both sitting by the porch, with him smoking a cigarette and Dannis drinking tea whilst reading a book.

And honestly, Wakaba Mine never expected this. 

When he entered the doors to the guild two years ago, he didn't expect to come out of that same door as a father. Of course, little Dannis had never actually called him that, and he doubts that he ever will, but the fact that he would be the guardian to an 8 year old orphan who had lost way too much way too young was something he did not see coming.

When Makarov asked if anyone could help house Dannis until better arrangements could be made, Wakaba was the first to volunteer. He didn't know what it was, perhaps to make up for the sins of his past, but Wakaba felt like he needed to help this child who seemed lost to regain his grip in life.

And not a day goes by that he doesn't regret that decision.

Sure there were hard times, when Dannis would wake up in the middle of times screaming 'Get away from me!' with his lungs out. Times when Dannis would go the entire day without uttering a single word. Times when his eyes become so haunted with his past.

A look that shouldn't belong to a child.

Everyday he tried his best. Always reminding the boy that he was there if he wanted to talk. That whatever the kid needed, he was there to provide. 

It took a while, and slowly but surely, it worked. Dannis started to speak up more both at home, and at the guild. His friendship with Laxus had certainly helped with that.

They went on trips to the marketplace to get him some clothes. And for some reason, Wakaba wasn't surprised when most of the clothes he bought for the kid were all black in color. 

He also made the effort to put some bookcases Dannis's room when the he realized his likeness to read. Two cases as tall as the ceiling were quickly shoved into his room. It was still relatively empty now, but Wakaba was sure that with the kid's penchant for reading, they would fill up pretty quickly.

Wakaba even helped out Dannis pick the power for his lacrima eye. He could still remember those sleepless nights where they brainstormed and debated long and hard about what power he should get. 

He looked back with a fond smile as he remembered intentionally arguing about every single one of Dannis's pick since it was the first topic he'd found that the boy was passionate about. The way he smiled and laughed and excitedly pointed out different benefits of different powers. It was also pretty mind boggling to see just the amount of powers one could get from implanting a lacrima within you. If only the price to get those powers weren't so high.

He was also among those who stood by waiting outside the room with Makarov when Dannis had the surgery to implant the eye. It was also the most tense and nervous he's been his entire life. Not knowing what would happen and considering the dangers of anything going wrong.

Thankfully, Porlyusica proved that she was the best medically-inclined individual in all of Ishgar and Dannis walked out of it all fine. Wakaba even had to admit that the heterochromia formed was pretty cool-looking. His right eye was colored black while his left prosthetic was red. 

Wakaba also never felt prouder the first time Dannis had asked him for a cigarette. He felt as if he was having his own mini-me. He still chuckled to himself everytime he remembered Dannis's coughing after his first smoke. 

Right then and there Wakaba wondered if that was what it was like to be a father. 

After all, he did have a wife once, only to botch it by fooling around with other women and never being home when she needed it. It didn't surprise him at all when she asked for a divorce.

'But perhaps now,' Wakaba thought as he stared at Dannis sitting beside him on a reclining chair, reading a book. 'Perhaps I've finally done some good in my life.'

That was when the kid looked back at him, a freshly brewed tea in his hand and the book on his lap. "Did you need something, Wakaba?"

"Nah, nothing kid. I just wanted to give you something." He said as he got up into the house and walked out with a wrapped present.

It was obvious his action surprised him, judging by Dannis's widened eyes.

He passed the present down to Dannis's hands and waited for him to open it. Dannis slowly unwrapped the gift before the object within was totally revealed.

Dannis had his eyes wide. "This is…"

In his arms was a sword. It had a black hilt with a crossed hand-guard and along the side were pieces of diamond-shaped white metal. The sheath was pure black just like the hilt that if it was lost in a room full of darkness, no one would probably find it.

"Wow." was all Dannis could say as he began to feel the blade all over and gripped the hilt in his hands. He smiled brightly as it felt perfect in his hands. He then unsheathed the sword, the sleek blade glinting in the morning sun. 

The blade itself was engraved by intricate lines that ran across its side, its sharp edge cutting the very air that it rested upon. 

[Sword Image]

"I had the blacksmith make that ever since you started using a sword. I remember you asking Master Makarov to grab a sword from the guild's storage. So I uhh, asked the blacksmith to make you one. It's made out of Arcaneum. A rare steel that could conduct magic so you should be able to channel your magic through it with no problem. I based the color black since it's your favorite too. It's a little long for you now, but I did that intentionally to make sure it still fits you when you grow up." Wakaba said, his hand rubbing the back of his neck in slight nervousness. "Merry Christmas, Danny."

Wakaba could see Dannis's eyes watering. The boy then immediately hugged him for dear life as Wakaba reciprocated by wrapping his arms around the younger man's shoulders. 

"Thank you so much." Dannis's muffled voice came out that brought chuckles out of him. 

"Anytime kiddo."

They then released each other from their hug as Dannis wiped an arm across his cheek. 

"I, um, only got you a book." he said, slightly embarrassed. 

Wakaba just laughed in good nature, feeling deeply touched.

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— Dannis Martell —

"Here, this is for you." 

I said to Laxus as we lounged around in his room. We had planned on getting each other presents for this year's Christmas. After getting the gift from Wakaba, I decided to name my new sword Obsidian, after the black stone.

"Go ahead, open it up."

Laxus opened up his gift to see a large brown cloak with light brown fur trimming around the neck and the sleeves' edges. His wide eyes and smile told me that he loved it. Laxus draped it over his shoulders like a cape, and I could already tell he loved that look. (Laxus's signature coat in canon).

Funnily enough, he got me something similar. 

"A coat?"

"Yeah, I chose black since that's your favorite color. Funny how we both thought the same thing, huh?"

I looked at the coat, it was a long sleeved black coat highlighted with gold stripes on the collar and the body. I looked back up at Laxus before looking back down before we laughed together. (The one he's wearing in the cover picture.)

I immediately wore the jacket and it fit perfectly. 

The gifts we got each other today would later be part of our usual attire. A signature look that people across all Fiore would recognize us in.

"Perfect." Laxus said with a grin. "Now that we have matching attires, we can really call ourselves a duo."

I said nothing, but the smirk and mirth in my eyes told Laxus all he needed to know. 

We're gonna climb our way to the top and stand at the very pinnacle of magic.

We will be the strongest duo the entire world has ever seen.

That we promise.

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AN: A shorter chapter, and a bit of slice of life. I aim to develop Dannis's relationship a little with the people of Fairy Tail since friendship has always been a major part of the series.

Btw, if you like this novel (or not), do me a favor and drop me a review. The fic won't be properly rated in Webnovel without a decent number of reviews. Feel free to give me honest criticism, I accept em all. Thanks.