So with the alternate branch of the Fairy Tail world I've created in Another Imagining, there were a lot of fun little omake-type moments that even though there wasn't much of a place in the main story, I thought deserved to be written out. The solution? Sidestories! With the progress I've made with my fic, I feel it's appropriate. So, if you've taken to my rendition, then I hope you enjoy these accompanying oneshots. If you're not familiar with my rendition of the series, but still intrigued with the subject matter at hand of each chapter (the summary on the front page will change accordingly for every new edition), no worries, because you're invited along too.

Since they're my favorite pairing, the first in our series of extras is a fluffy Natsu/Lisanna piece. In my continuity, this would take place right before Natsu's fight with Erza in Chapter 8. What were they up to the day leading to the big showdown? Let's find out!

Extra 1
- Don't Think. Feel! -

The day after Lucy had accompanied the team of Natsu, Happy, Lisanna, Mirajane, and Elfman to defeat the Dark Guild Eisenwald, she cheerfully walked into the guild hall. She was already familiar with the first floor's layout after just three days as a member of Fairy Tail, and could distinguish a good portion of her fellow wizarding mates. One of the friendlier faces signaled her over to the bar as soon as she was spotted, moving aside a large barrel of alcohol to make room for the blonde girl.

"So what's on the agenda for today, Lucy?" Cana asked with a grin, running a finger along the barrel's side. "Whatever ass-kickings of justice you're planning on dishing out, you better make sure you're back by tomorrow."

Lucy blushed slightly. No thanks to the embellishing constitution of a certain flying cat, a reputation had already spread throughout the guild to paint her as some kind of infallible shining hero. Her efforts to try sort out the truth to the others only added 'modest' to the growing list of reasons to admire the Celestial Wizard. "So that's when Erza agreed to have the fight?"

"Well, it's definitely not happening today," the brunette shrugged. "When Natsu got in her face about it earlier, she nearly punched those pointy teeth of his down his throat. It's not a lock, but there's a really good chance she'll take him up on it tomorrow."

Lucy looked out across the hall, catching sight of Natsu staring daggers at Erza a few tables over. The redhead was oblivious to his glowering in the reverie of her cheesecake, while Lisanna and Happy fruitlessly tried to keep the boy distracted with conversation. "It's the weirdest thing," she commented, speaking of the two childhood friends. "Any other guy would love to have a girl as sweet and pretty as Lisanna around him all the time, but the only thing Natsu seems to be interested in is trying to find someone to fight with."

"That kid's totally clueless," Cana smirked. She knew Lucy didn't need this proven after the adventures they'd been on together, but still, she thought inciting an example would be fun. "Check this out," she winked, leaving the bar and striding over to the trio's table, Lucy a step behind as she followed her lead. "So, you two," the brunette coyly addressed Natsu and Lisanna, breaking his gaze away from Erza, "when are you gonna make it offish?"

The pink-haired young man blinked at her. "Huh? A fish?" he thought he was repeating, completely misunderstanding that Cana had simply played with the word 'official'. "Um, you wanna take this one, Happy?"

Lisanna sighed, while the blue feline got a twinkle in his eyes as he caught on. "Are you talking about Lisanna's Fish Take Over?" he inquired innocently. "I never knew how a soul could tear in conflict until I saw that transformation."

"Cana," the youngest of the Strauss siblings chided playfully, "don't tease the poor boy. You know he doesn't get stuff like that; it just goes over his head."

"Hey!" Natsu shouted defensively at his human best friend. "First of all, you tease me all the time! In fact you did it just now, which leads me to my second point! I get stuff! Maybe not in this particular instance, but I get stuff!"

He growled at the dubious way the three girls giggled at his claim, just on the verge of bursting in full-out laughter. Even Happy was stifling his reaction, using his paws to cover up a huge grin. The mockery combined with his already being on-edge over his fight's delay, and Natsu shouted at the ceiling that they were all jerks amidst a jet of flames searing from his mouth, before marching out of the building in a smoking huff.

"He's okay, right?" Lucy asked, worried that they might've pushed him a little too far. At least he hadn't unleashed his frustrations by sparking a brawl with the other members. Erza and Gray were in the vicinity, so the fact that he'd avoided them on his way out was probably a good sign of restraint.

"He'll be fine," Lisanna said, even though guilt dotted her smile.

"We should probably go after him," Happy suggested to her, his ulterior motives easy to read through his smirking. "You know how he is when he gets mad. We don't want him getting into any trouble, do we?"

Cana nodded in support, Lucy joining a second later. Lisanna shook her head at the corner she was backed into, but submitted to their little game as she rose from her table. With Happy hovering at her shoulders, she began on her way out of the guild, catching the cheeky grins Mira and Makarov aimed at her, sitting together at the bar. Elfman was giving her a frown with his massive arms crossed from his post at the request board, but did nothing to keep his little sister.

"You guys don't have to sucker me like that to get me alone with Natsu," she quietly reneged to Happy as they exited through the doors. "And really, wouldn't this work a lot better if you didn't come along?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he feigned ignorance. "I just wanna make sure my best pal doesn't do anything stupid."

Since he didn't have much of a lead, it didn't take long before they caught up to Natsu, powerwalking a familiar course through Magnolia. He eyed them grumpily after they called out to them, but his visage softened as he slowed to let them take his side. No words, no accusations or explanations, just an exchange of smiles as they continued to their favorite destination.

A few minutes later they were outside of the city, hiking through the East Forest, aiming to reach the cliff clearing that always provided a gorgeous view of the sunset. That wouldn't be for many more hours, but they had nothing else to do for the rest of the day. Might as well wait it out at their private home away from home.

The Dragon Slayer enjoyed the calm sounds of nature as they ventured in deeper. Being fed up with their antagonizing, he and Elfman had dealt with the Gorians some time ago, ensuring they'd never pop out of their holes to give them any more trouble. Now they could relax as they strolled on, allowing him to catch an unrecognizable but distinctly-special ruffling of feathers. "Hey, Lisanna," he motioned with his head after spotting the streaking white flash.

She followed his gaze, her sights falling on a glorious snow-white hawk. Her face lit up as the avian majestically spread her wings to perch on a high branch, surveying the field below for her next meal. "She's beautiful," she breathed, stepping off the trail to come up to her tree.

Natsu watched Lisanna as she held her forearm out for the hawk to land on. It always scared him initially, whenever she'd encourage a bird over to her. He didn't want to see razor-sharp talons anywhere near her porcelain skin, but over the years he'd learned to trust her relationship with animals. They'd never hurt her, just as she'd never hurt them.

Lisanna wordlessly communicated with the raptor, peering into her fierce eyes with her own gentle ones. With her consent, she placed a glowing hand on the back of her neck. Her soul laid open to the girl, she Took Over the hawk, absorbing a piece of her into herself. When the process was finished, she stroked her plumage with a gracious smile, before letting her flap back up to her lookout.

She rejoined Natsu and Happy on the path, and the pink-haired boy couldn't help but smile at her elation.

He was the first to come up to the little hut that had withstood nature's whims for the past six years. Abiding by custom, he allowed Lisanna to crawl into the straw structure she'd built, Happy trotting in next to settle to her right. The Dragon Slayer was the last one in, greeted by a precious expression from the lovely young lady. "Welcome back, Dear," she smiled.

"Hi, Honey," he whined playfully. The embarrassment of their childhood ritual had never worn away, and only increased when he noticed Happy's gleaming eyes at the back-and-forth starting a few years back. Still, he didn't mind having to endure it when she gave him that look. "I'm home."

He leaned against the unprecedented sturdiness of the hut, to the girl's left to leave her in the middle. As time went on and the two grew from preteens to the earliest stages of adulthood, their little hideaway had become much more cramped. Their frames filling out took up considerable space, and yet, they found it no less cozy, comforting and inviting to them as the day it was first established.

Lisanna warmly linked their arms together, the red marks of the guild they loved and took so much pride in appearing like matching tattoos next to each other. It was for this reason that even as Happy varied who he sat beside, she and Natsu never changed how they lined up within the hut.

"I'm sorry for what I said back there," she said, tucking in her legs. "I know have your clever moments every now and again."

"That's right," Natsu responded with a smug grin. "Besides," he continued a second later, his voice taking on a softness reserved only for her, "what do I need to be super-smart for, anyway? That's why I've got you and Happy."

"Aye," he agreed, nodding at the praise he felt was well-deserved and quite overdo.

Lisanna giggled as she scratched behind Happy's ears, the cat beginning to purr absently at her massage. "What would you do without us?" she asked, keeping her eyes on Natsu. Her head was slightly tilted to the side, the tiniest, cutest little gesture that made his breathing catch in his fiery dragon's lungs, and caused his words to stumble ineloquently off of his naive boy's tongue.

"What would you do without me?" he tried countering, but he knew he'd lost the round.

"Well, since I'm always having to keep you from running around making things difficult," she began teasingly, putting a fingertip on her chin, "I'd probably have a lot of spare time on my hands. I could go and get a boyfriend or something."

Natsu's olive skin paled. "Get a... boyfriend?" he echoed, choking out the last word. His face filled with heartbreak at the thought, and his arm went limp around hers.

The girl was immediately swept with regret over her reply. "Oh," she whispered apologetically, tightening their connection to make up for his slack. "I was just kidding. It was a really stupid joke. I don't want a boyfriend."

The fact that she didn't sound pleading convinced him she was being honest, not just backpedaling. Even so, the jest had hurt him down to his very core. Never did Natsu ever envision Lisanna with someone else. When the concept was proposed by some of his guildmates once before, he made sure that discussion was never to be brought to his ears again. After knocking out the whole lot of them for it, he had only needed to see her, sighing with a smile at the carnage, to be set at peace.

Hearing it come from her own lips, however, struck him with a pain he could only compare to one thing. Not the beatings he'd received from Erza, Mira, Laxus, and Gildarts, after he challenged them with his fist already reared back; they didn't even register. Not the near-fatal blow he'd taken against The Beast while shielding Lisanna; there was still another atmosphere between them there. No, just imagining that scenario felt most like the desolate sense of loss after Igneel disappeared. There would be a pitch-dark vacancy in his heart if that ever came to pass.

It took him a second before he reminded himself she was still right there, beside him. With him. And there was no way he was going to let her go so easily.

"I don't think there's a guy in the entire world that would wanna be your boyfriend," he said quietly. Out of context, that could've been a very hurtful comment itself, but seeing his gentle smile, and feeling his arm reciprocate again, Lisanna knew he meant no such sentiment. "With Mira and Elfman as your family, no one would even dare trying to brave it. Not unless they were totally dense, and stuff like that went over their heads."

The white-haired girl beamed at him as she leaned in closer. "Don't forget," she said with a wink, "I have more family, too. I don't think the son of a dragon and a ferocious blue cat would be any more forgiving than Mira and Big Brother Elf."

It was rare that Happy enjoyed his presence being ignored. Sometimes, even though he was being spoken of or indirectly replied to, it was still like he wasn't there at all, and normally it was his biggest pet peeve. Moments like this, between his best friends, the boy and the girl that had hatched him together, actually made him appreciative of the arrangement. He was the only one that got to see the two snuggled up and as relatively vulnerable as they allowed themselves to be, and that made his invisibility worthwhile.

Natsu looked up at the ceiling of the hut with a dreamy smile, wholly assuaged of the fear that someday she would depart from his side, as he stared out at the cheery blue sky through the small opening left at the apex of the dome. "Igneel's gonna love you guys."

"I can't wait to meet him," Lisanna said with hushed excitement. Years of the boy cutely talking up his foster father had made her feel like she already knew the great Fire Dragon. She truly looked forward to the day the two would reunite, and she would be formally introduced.

"I wonder what he would think, about me already having a family," he grinned. "I can just imagine the look on his face when I'd tell him, 'Hey Igneel, guess what? You're a grandpa!'"

The three shared a laugh at the thought. Not long after, they shifted to lay on their backs, watching the small wisps of cloud roll through the hole above them. Eventually, in their special way without words, they decided that a nap was in order. For the rest of the afternoon, they slept peacefully on the crisp straw floor. It was the first time in a long while that they had done so, perhaps why Natsu felt his sore muscles from his battle the day before completely refreshed when he awoke.

Lisanna was still asleep, and he found that in their slumber, her hand had stirred into his. Their fingertips brushed together, and he remained completely still, despite his face feeling strangely hot.

Watching her for a moment, he was reminded of when Igneel had first taught him about angels. They were supposed to be radiant winged beings, glowing a transcendent white, but the dragon had scoffed at the notion. In all his years, he'd never encountered anything of the sort in the sky.

Natsu then added that to the list of tales he'd brag about to him, for he'd discovered an angel on the ground.

When he finally turned away from her, he noticed the sky was no longer blue, but rather a healthy orange. He sat up and poked the girl awake, Happy chained into regaining consciousness as well. Realizing the time, they crawled back outside to bid the sun a good night in its last few minutes.

"It's always going to be so amazing," Lisanna observed. Not just the sunset, but the instances that they were gathered in such warmth. It might not last forever, but the now was just beautiful.

"Yeah," Natsu agreed. There were many things that made him smile, but hers was his favorite.

"Aye," Happy rounded them out, discreetly looking at the two staring out at the horizon, looking over at one another every few seconds. They were always so happy to be together, and it made him even happier to think of the day their feelings would break free into another infinity.

And there we have our first Another Imagining Sidestory. This is my favorite pairing in Fairy Tail, and even if other Natsu/Lisanna shippers don't follow my main story, I'd hope that you still got to enjoy it as a standalone oneshot.

But, the idea behind these Sidestories isn't just to proclaim my love for these two exclusively. More often than not, I probably won't give an outright description of the next chapter, but because the next one corresponds with this one, I will right now. The next chapter will feature a fun friendship tale of adventure and bonding between Lucy and Cana, and it actually begins right after we shift from their perspective in this edition. What did the two girls do after Natsu, Lisanna, and Happy left the guild? We'll catch that other side of the coin next time, so I hope to see you there!

Oh, and what kind of Mickey S. work would this be if I didn't ask for reviews at the end? I love hearing what you guys think, so if you take the time to review after reading, I'd much appreciate it!