After she returned from Edolas, Lisanna was initially so glad to be home. She was surrounded by people that she loved - the real people she loved, not just their lookalikes, for they weren't the same, regardless of the fact she'd loved their counterparts as well. It just felt so right to be back. She'd dreamed of it for two years, nearly every night she spent in Edolas - she'd go back to Fairy Tail, and there would be dancing, merriment, and Guild fights, just as there always was. She could go on missions with Natsu and Happy, and everything would go back to the way it was before. It would be like she hadn't even left.

She supposed it was a bit much to ask - two years was a long time, and she should've known that things would be different. She was stupid to think that things would be normal, but she hadn't ever guessed that Natsu would have found a replacement for her. A new best friend.

Lucy Heartfilia was beautiful, curvy, blonde, and had big, warm brown eyes. Lisanna harbored no negative feelings toward her, but she did feel a twinge of hurt in her chest every time she saw Natsu sitting with the Celestial Mage, just as he used to sit with Lisanna herself. Lucy could make him smile, just like the white-haired girl used to, and it was clear that Natsu loved Lucy. Even if they weren't anything more than friends right now, anyone could see that there was a possibility for a relationship in the future, when Natsu was more mature and Lucy realized how she felt.

She should've guessed. She really should've known. The Lucy and Natsu from Edolas had been very close, and though she hadn't really given much thought to the fact that Natsu from Earthland might have found his own Lucy, she scolded herself inwardly. She should've known. It was like the universe was giving her a sign, preparing her for the fact that she was about to have to move on, like everyone else had.

Yes, it seemed like everyone else in Fairy Tail had moved on with their lives as well. Lisanna just didn't fit in anymore, which is why she just usually stayed with Mira during the day, tending the bar and cleaning up the Guild. For the first few weeks she'd been back, Natsu had run up to her and asked,

"Lisanna! Do you want to go on a job with me today?"

Each time, she would get so excited, and would automatically agree to go with him.

"All right! I'll just go get Lucy, and we can go pick out a request, okay?"

Her heart would drop, and she'd begin to fabricate a reason that she couldn't go with them - something lame, of course, like she remembered she had to help Mira scrub the floor, or she had a stomach ache, or Elfman had asked her to help him train, et cetera, et cetera. She just couldn't help it - she knew it would be far too painful for her to watch Natsu and Lucy be together, which they always seemed to be.

It hurt.

Sometimes, Lisanna would feel anger well up inside her at the thought of the two of them together, but she would always crush it down. She reminded herself that no one was being mean to her, and it wasn't like her to be mad. It was just stupid. Of course everyone would move on. It was only her that felt the same, because she'd been so disillusioned with the idea that everything and everyone wouldn't have changed.

She just felt so... replaced. Like an old toy that no one really wanted anymore. She felt as though she just watched everything happen from a distance now, like Mira did. Lisanna figured that she and Mira had both been broken from what had happened, and they hadn't moved on like everyone else. Even Elfman had moved on - he had Evergreen, and even though they pretended they didn't like each other, Lisanna knew they snuck out many times during the week, and she thought it was cute. She just couldn't help but be a little jealous.

She supposed Mira was the same. Her older sister had watched everything from behind the bar most of these past two years, broken and replaced by other people, and now Lisanna was with her. It hurt so much to watch everyone else be happy without her, and she knew that that was how Mira had felt for the past two years. Everyone had moved on with their lives, and she was just stuck in the same little rut.

At least they had each other. Lisanna found herself crying more than a few nights into her sister's shoulder, and in return, Mira would cry to her. They cried for all the time they had lost, and for all the time they would lose, because they just couldn't move on when they needed to, and now they were paying the price. And no one even knew they were so unbearably hurt with how things were, because it was just in their nature to put on a façade and pretend that everything was perfectly fine.

Lisanna couldn't help but blame herself for Mira's suffering as well. Her sister was beautiful, kind, smart... but she had changed. Mira used to be so much happier, when she was fighting with Erza and being herself, but now the red-headed Requip Mage had moved on, and she had not. Lisanna watched Mira flip through magazines and rip the pictures of herself in bikinis to pieces, unshed tears in her eyes.

Lisanna knew her sister was not the type of girl to sell herself like that. Mira was strong - perhaps even stronger than Erza, if she were to try. But she just seemed like she'd lost every ounce of willpower she once had - her spirit had been shattered into a million pieces. All she did was fill orders every day, put up that sweet, happy front as usual, and do what she was supposed to do. What she was expected to do.

"I want things to go back to the way they were!" Lisanna had once cried to Mira, in their apartment in Fairy Hills. It was after a particularly difficult day of watching a slightly sick Natsu rest his head on Lucy's lap to sleep for hours, and the blonde girl petting his salmon-colored hair. "I wish I'd never come back here. I wish I could've stayed in Edolas. It hurts so much!" she'd wailed, and Mira had petted her soft, white hair.

"I know," she'd cooed, hugging her little sister close. "I wish things could go back to the way they were, too. Before the Anima took you," she whispered, and Lisanna had felt her sister's grip on her tighten. "But I'm glad you're back, because things are easier on me. I know it's selfish, but it's like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. And now, at least we're not alone. That's good, isn't it?"

Lisanna had sniffled and nodded in agreement, but that night she couldn't force the tears to stop, and apparently neither could Mira, for they laid on the couch for the entirety of that night, crying over all that they had lost.

But when they sun rose, they had cleaned their faces up, dressed in their usual clothes, and put on happy smiles before heading to the Guild and going behind the bar.

Because that was what everyone expected them to do.

Just a short little one-shot I've been thinking about. I've had a bit of writer's block with my other stories.

Word Count: 1,310

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Fairy Tail is Hiro Mashima's.

I noticed that Lisanna's kind of been pushed to a background character in the anime. She's hardly ever shown, and she's so awesome for the fact that she can just let Natsu go. But she is a girl, and any girl would cry over losing their best friend, and the person they loved.

I've seen so many fics about Lucy being replaced when Lisanna comes back, and I'm not trying to hate on them, but if you think about it, Lisanna is the one who's been replaced, and it's sad. I do not ship NaLi, or NaLu, but I do hope that Hiro Mashima gives Lisanna someone who loves her. She's so awesome, and she deserves it. I don't necessarily ship her with anyone as of now, but I'm hoping she finds someone.

Feel free to read, review, critique, ask questions. ^^ I don't mind.

God Bless you all,

anim8or