#nacana

When did they meet?

She's been in Fairy Tail as long as Natsu, if not a teensy bit longer (she was there with Gray before Natsu and Erza got brought in). Cana's main goal ever since she came to Fairy Tail was to talk to Gildarts and tell him that they're family, that her mom died and left her in his care. But she was intimidated by him, overwhelmed when come face to face with him... It certainly didn't help that Gildarts left the guild so often on tough jobs.

But in terms of Natsu... They've been childhood friends, the both of them along with Erza, Gray, Mira, Elfman, and Lisanna (Laxus to a lesser extent). Not particularly close, but to be fair they've always kind of done their own thing. Natsu was always so noisy, rolling more with Erza and Lisanna. And Cana largely kept her head down, trying to build up that courage for Gildarts. Eventually, she devoted her efforts to becoming an S-Class mage in order to do just that... Unfortunately, Erza and Mira passed her by and got to that rank first. Cana failed the trial four times...

When did they grow closer?

Natsu and Cana might not have done much together, but they were used to each other's presence in the guild. "Affectionate" in their own ways, occasional barbs at each other, but all in good fun... Natsu never had a clue Cana was his idol's kid. If he had, the Pyro likely would have bugged her more often, if not bugged her to just tell Gildarts already...

And that's probably why Cana never told anyone. This was between Gildarts and her, no one else. Even though it always weighed on her over the years, Cana still lounged around and tried doing something with her life. She was always there when Team Natsu came back from jobs. She was there when the guild went to war with Phantom Lord. She was there when they all went to Edolas...

Eventually, Cana's time came. The next S-Class Trials, and she planned to make this her last attempt regardless. Failing so many times and being unable to talk to Gildarts... It really ate away at Cana. She and Natsu were rivals for these trials, and while they were friends she intended to give this everything she had. If she failed, she'd quit Fairy Tail... Cana was that depressed. Even when Grimoire Heart invaded, Cana was still fixated on the trials, finding Mavis's grave... Only when she found it before everyone else did Cana come to realize she abandoned Lucy and everyone, and she intended to atone for that. She helped take Grimoire Heart down, and after everything settled Cana just confessed everything to Gildarts, even if at first he seemed to not know who her mom was and she was pissed about that... It was a nice moment with her dad, though he became a royal pain after that, all gushy and lovey-dovey...

Acnologia attacked. They were frozen in time for seven years. Cana returned with the rest of the Tenrou team, and they had a lot of catching up to do with their friends they left behind... Cana and Natsu still didn't do much together directly. They just went through various adventures together as a guild - Key of the Starry Sky arc, Grand Magic Games, the Eclipse Spirits, Tartaros, Alvarez... Cana was done moping and dedicated herself to helping her friends. She was more chagrined with her dad more than anything; often so embarrassed by him.... But she did show concern when he went up against August. Beyond that, the guild was her family. And one could say Natsu was a part of that family.

When does friendship turn to something more?

Cana has... a unique flexibility to her that most girls in the harem do not. See, with most girls you can pinpoint an exact time when Natsu started bonding more with them and when love began to grow. With Cana, however... they always are just kinda around each other. Albeit with everyone else around, too.

The way I like to look at it... When Natsu hears about Cana being Gildarts's kid like everyone else does, he starts being nicer to her. Not because he's star-struck by her dad or considers her royalty or something like that... But Cana does have an awesome dad like Gildarts. He doesn't want Cana to waste what time she has with him... Even though GIldarts still runs off on his own so often. Natsu empathizes with her on that front, considering Igneel is still missing... And perhaps that's Cana's "way in", so to speak. How she grows closer to Natsu herself. Naturally, she's exasperated by Gildarts, and considers Natsu's attempts at coaxing her to talk to him more to be annoying... But when Natsu loses Igneel? That may hit Cana close to home. She may try checking in on him more often, even while he's off training on his own. She's got that card magic, after all.

After Alvarez blows over, and all the revelations that come with that, Cana may spend more time with Natsu. He doesn't seem as affected with Zeref's death, or Igneel's, but Cana knows he's hurting deep down... He's just choosing too focus on the bonds he has in the here and now, and Cana can respect that. It's what she did. And... as annoying as he is, Cana doesn't want to imagine losing Gildarts. Cana feels a kindred spirit in Natsu~... Even if he's a scrappy blockhead. Adventures aren't so bad... So long as there's downtime afterward~ And Cana will be there whenever Natsu gets back~...

On Natsu's part.... Cana's been a longtime friend, and he's never been too bothered by Cana's drinking habits. He knows Cana's strong in her own right, and not just because of the blood flowing in her veins. When Cana starts sharing drinks with him more often, even some of her top shelf stuff... Natsu can tell things are getting more serious between them.

Eventually Cana drunkenly asks him what kind of girls he likes... But she gets more direct than that, asking what he thinks of her. Why he's never admired her as much as Erza or Mira. Natsu knows it's mostly drunk ramblings, but there's something about how pouty and broody she is that he can't help assuring Cana he finds her attractive, and accepts her subsequent demand to "prove it" with a date when she's sober. ... Needless to say, Cana's in thfor the shock of her life when Natsu makes good on that promise and she doesn't remember that conversation at all .. Cana doesn't mind giving Natsu a shot, but she isn't expecting much. ... Well, a few dates later and Cana finds she doesn't mind going out with the dense Pyro. Sure, he still edges towards fights, especially when sleazeballs leer at her chest... But there's a charm to having one of the strongest guys in the guild as her boyfriend... (人◕ω◕)