Final Goodbye
- The Joker

Summary:
'I love you too Natsu. I really do. That's why I was able to say goodbye to you properly,' she smiled, taking his hand and placing it on her cheek. She kissed it whispering her final words to him. 'Bye, Papa.' NaLi One-shot

Rating:
K

Word Count:
684

Disclaimer:
If I owned, what happened on Tenrou Island wouldn't have happened at all.

The young Fire Dragon Slayer was sitting by a river, looking up at the sky. Correction: more like staring intently at it. All the wonders of nature around him were a faded picture as the blue one in front of him blurred. Tears in his eyes ran freely as the clouds made a familiar face.

He reached out to it, thinking of her hair which was the same color of white as the billowing clouds. He then pretended to caress the cheek of the cloud goddess.

'Where did you go to?' he whispered to the air, hoping it would carry his message to her.

'Here,' a voice called as a pressure was put on his chest. He blinked and soon his surroundings came into focus. His eyes widened at the sight in front of him.

'L-Lisanna…' he breathed as it hitched for the slightest second. She smiled at him as she looked out to the river in front.

'This is where we raised our child, isn't it?' she asked with a look of content on her face.

'You're still calling Happy that?' he asked with a stubborn jerk of his head.

'Well, we did raise him,' she said, recalling the days, 'You were the papa and I was the mama-.'

'Who left to live a better afterlife,' he interjected. She was taken aback as she turned to face him. The expression on his face was a mix of joy, sadness, anger and loneliness with most of the negative emotions showing.

'I'm here in front of you though, aren't I?' she said, reaching out to his hand. She only brushed it when he pulled it away. 'Natsu…'

'Why are you here?' he asked, 'How are you here?'

'Magic is a fascinating thing, isn't it? With just a tip of the scales, extraordinary magic is born,' she said, smiling sadly, 'So while I'm here in front of you I'd like to say something…'

'Wait! What do you mean 'while I'm here in front of you'?' Natsu asked her while she continued to smile sadly. 'Lisanna?'

'I love the guild. Master. Mira-nee. Elf-nii,' she said, closing her eyes and recalling each person, 'Happy too. He's my child after all!' she gave a smile, 'I also love you too, Natsu.'

'Lisanna!' Natsu called, wrapping his arms around her, 'Don't leave again. Please! Because- Because…I love you too, Lisanna!'

The light eyes of the girl widened as she released her tears of loneliness and happiness at once.

'I can't stay here Natsu! Don't make this harder for me to leave you all!' she cried, gripping his shirt tighter and accepting the hug.

'What happened to our family? The guild! Everyone!' he yelled, holding her closer.

'I'll still be watching over you guys. Just from a place you won't see me,' she said, sniffling and wiping her tears on his scarf. She pushed herself away from him and wiped her tears. During the few seconds that she obscured her eye sight with her sleeves, a warm pressure on her lips replaced the cold air.

'I love you Lisanna, so please don't leave again,' he whispered, embracing her again.

'I love you too Natsu. I really do. That's why I was able to say goodbye to you properly,' she smiled, taking his hand and placing it on her cheek. She kissed it whispering her final words to him.

'Bye, Papa.'

Memories of them as children passed through his mind. The smiles, the laughter, her – They all were recalled as she shed a tear and left with the breeze.

It rained, pouring down around him. The fishes in the river jumped around and animals scurried to their homes. But Natsu, he usually would cast flames round him to keep him dry. He did cast a flame, but not on himself.

The next day, while some of Magnolia's children were out and about playing, one child stumbled upon something interesting; A tree with a branch holding an eternal and unmoving flame. On the tree's trunk, a few words were burnt:

'For as long as this flame burns, I will love you,
Lisanna…'

Bit of fluff for a fellow roleplayer/admin who requested a NaLi story. ^^ Enjoy.

25/1/12: Structural change. Nothing big. Story's still the same.