A/N: Happy Halloween!
In truth, Lisanna didn't feel much like celebrating this year which was a shame because she usually loved Halloween. Costumes, candy, pranks…What's not to love?
But this year, she just wasn't feeling it. She couldn't decide on a costume. She didn't have any good ideas for pranks. The thought of seeing everyone in their costumes and giving out candy didn't fill her with the happiness it used to.
And for the life of her, she could not figure out why this was. The answer was eluding her.
She played along, of course. She helped prepare the guild hall for their annual Halloween party, but she herself didn't plan on attending. She would spend the night in her room, maybe reading a book or….something. She didn't know what. She just knew she didn't feel up to attending and faking an enthusiasm she didn't feel.
Even if she had been in the mood for a Halloween party, she didn't have any idea what costume to wear. It was just depressing. She would probably just bring the mood down.
In fact, she'd been in an increasingly sober mood for the past few months and she still couldn't quite figure out why. Really, her life was fine, good even. She was reunited with her true siblings. Edolas was but a distant memory. (Or so she told herself; her dreams disagreed.)
So why did she feel like something was missing?
She was lying on her bed, indulging in self-pity (which wasn't like her; she always tried to be positive, but she figured she was allowed to be negative once in a while) when she heard a knock on her door. Just two sharp raps.
She sat up. "What is it?" She asked.
"It's me." Mirajane's voice said which didn't really answer her question.
Lisanna felt a smile tug at her lips. Mirajane could usually make her feel better. "Come in." She said.
Mirajane breezed into the room, smiling lightly. Her sister looked beautiful as always, long wavy hair shimmering down her back and eyes full of guileless cheer. Lisanna knew that last part was an act though. Mirajane had known pain and loss.
That was a thought Lisanna didn't want to dwell on for long so instead she concentrated on what Mirajane was hiding behind her back.
"Whatcha got there, Mira-nee?" Lisanna asked, swinging her legs around so she was seated on the edge of the bed.
Mirajane's smile widened. "Your Halloween costume, of course!"
"My…Halloween costume?" Lisanna said, surprised and maybe a little bit annoyed. "But I didn't pick one out…I said I wasn't going to the party."
"I know." Mirajane said. "And since you didn't pick out a costume for yourself, I picked one out for you. I really think you should come with us, Lisanna. It'll be fun. You used to love the Halloween party."
Lisanna sighed. "I know…but it feels different this year and not just because of…" She waved her hand in the air, the words hanging unspoken. "It's like…the guild is a puzzle."
"A puzzle?" Mirajane said.
Lisanna nodded, taking a liking to her metaphor. "The guild is a puzzle." She repeated. "And I'm one piece of it. For a while, I was….a lost piece. I was missing so the puzzle couldn't be completed."
Mirajane nodded, waiting for her to continue.
"Then I was found, but I'm not clicking back into place like I should. I don't fit right." She said. The last part came out quieter than the rest.
Mirajane hung the costume on Lisanna's door handle but Lisanna didn't get a good look at it because her sister came over and sat next to her on the bed. She wrapped an arm around her little sister's shoulder and Lisanna melted into her embrace.
"That's not true, Lisanna." Mirajane said. "I think I know what the problem is."
Lisanna looked at her. "You do?"
"Have you ever considered that maybe you don't fit wrong, but that the puzzle piece next to you doesn't?"
Lisanna's heart stopped. "W-what do you mean?"
"I think you know." Mirajane said. "One piece of the puzzle was more damaged than the others when you left. That's why he won't fit with you right now. That's why you feel out of place."
"Y-you might be right, Mira-nee." Lisanna admitted and there was some happiness to be found in answers. She pulled away from her sister's embrace and smiled, just a little.
"So what costume did you pick for me?" Lisanna asked.
MIrajane clapped her hands. "I'm so glad you asked." She stood up and picked the costume off the door knob, raising it up for Lisanna to see.
It was an angel costume, all done in shimmering white with gold accents. The main piece of it was a dress, made of a white gossamery fabric and trimmed in gold. The sleeves were separate from the actual dress, which was sleeveless, and long enough to go down to Lisanna's wrists. They were made in a gauzy material that looked like it would drape quite pleasantly. The waistline of the dress was tight and accented with gold stitching. The neckline dipped much lower than Lisanna thought it would on an real angel and the hemline was asymmetrical and extremely short in places while long in others. Accompanying the dress was a pair of brilliantly white feathered wings and a halo headband.
"An angel?" Lisanna said. "Really?" While the costume was certainly pretty, it wasn't much to her taste. Still, it could be hard to tell how good clothing looked on as opposed to off sometimes.
Mirajane nodded, smiling. "It's perfect," Mirajane insisted. "Just trust me. Will you wear it and come to the party?"
"Let me see how it looks on first. Then…maybe." Lisanna knew the answer would be yes. She couldn't disappoint her sister.
MIrajane knew it too as she happily said, "Yaaay! I'll be back once I've put my costume on."
Lisanna had to smile at that.
Mirajane left and Lisanna set about getting dressed. Since she was most likely attending the party now, she wasn't going to show up with a bland costume. She figured she had enough memories of how to do a fabulous costume from all of the other Halloweens to manage even with her funk.
She shucked off the casual clothes she was wearing and carefully took the gossamery dress off the hanger. It was so light it ought to have been a fairy costume. All it would need was a change of wings.
Another Halloween perhaps. Mirajane wanted her to be an angel this year so an angel she would be.
She slipped the dress over her head. It settled over her body like rose petals. The skirt was a bit tight across her hips but loose and light over her thighs. The waistline cinched in naturally right at Lisanna's waist. It wasn't even too tight. The bodice settled comfortably over her chest, neither too tight nor too loose.
In keeping with her tradition, she didn't look at the mirror until she was all done.
She snapped the elastic of the sleeves onto her shoulders and gave a little twirl, enjoying the feeling of the skirt flowing out and the sleeves billowing.
She put on the wings which were surprisingly comfortable, not too itchy or heavy. The elastic bands that held them in place were comfy as well and easily hidden.
She brushed her hair before setting the headband on.
She pondered what shoes to wear while listlessly applying pale pink lip gloss. She thought the innocent tone suited the look she was going for. In the same vein, she applied mascara without eye liner and dabbed pale pink blush on her cheeks.
She decided on golden sandals for shoes and finally deemed herself ready to look in the mirror.
She stood in front of her full length mirror which was relegated to one corner of her room with her eyes closed. She was afraid if she opened her eyes the tentative good mood she'd built would be destroyed. The costume wouldn't fit right or her make-up looked awful or some other mood-ruining catastrophe would become apparent.
She opened her eyes and let out a sigh of relief. Nothing awful jumped out at her. In fact, she looked rather…good.
Lisanna had never put much thought into her appearance. When she had a sister like Mirajane in the family, there was never much point. Mirajane got all the compliments appearance-wise and Lisanna didn't much mind. Lisanna knew she was pretty enough and she knew she had other skills.
But still, it was nice to feel beautiful and to her surprise, the costume made her feel just that. Lisanna wondered if Mirajane had intended that.
The angel costume presented a different kind of beauty than Mirajane's. An ethereal, almost innocent kind. Lisanna liked it.
The dress fit as well as it felt it did. The make-up wasn't too much. It was just what she'd hoped. The sandals looked good. The wings and halo weren't too tacky. Mirajane had good taste and Lisanna still had her skill with Halloween costumes.
She smiled. Maybe this night could be fun after all…she might even get some compliments on her costume. It was a small chance but better than nothing.
It would certainly be fun to see everyone else's costumes and there was always good food.
Mirajane knocked on the door at that moment.
"Come in!" Lisanna said again.
"You look wonderful, Lisanna!" Mirajane said.
Lisanna blushed a bit. "So do you." She said. It was true. The take-over mage looked particularly beautiful that night in a witch's costume complete with a pointy black hat. The detail was incredible. She even had a staff topped with a blue stone through the overall effect was more enchantress than sorcerer, more beguiling than sinister.
"Thanks," Mirajane said, sweetly. "Have you decided to come to the party after all?"
Lisanna nodded, slowly. "Yeah."
"That's great!" Mirajane said. "Let's go!"
Outside Lisanna's room, it was a bustle of activity as the rest of the girls in Fairy Hills scurried about, talking to each other and getting ready.
They managed to make it out the door without any major collisions. Lisanna tried not to look at anybody's costumes as she wanted them to be a surprise.
Fortunately, the walk to the guild hall was short and the night was rather warm still so they arrived at their destination without freezing.
The guild hall looked festive, done up with pumpkins and Jack 'o Lanterns and bats and cobwebs and all sorts of spooky things. Lisanna had helped with the decorations but it still looked impressive, seeing it all together.
Inside, it was even more festive. A few people were already there and partying away.
Lucy was among them and, spotting them immediately, she walked over to talk to them.
The blonde looked even prettier than usual in a fairy costume which Lisanna thought was appropriate what with this being Fairy Tail and all. Lisanna realized that was probably the point. Despite being one of Fairy Tail's newer members, Lucy possessed as much spirit as the rest of them and she wasn't afraid to show it.
Her sparkly turquoise wings shimmered as she walked and the matching blue dress clung to her form fetchingly. Her hair was left down for the occasion.
Her smile was full of sincerity as she said, "Mirajane! You look amazing! And Lisanna! I thought you weren't coming!"
Lisanna was surprised she knew that. She wondered who'd told her. "I changed my mind." Lisanna admitted, shyly.
"Well it's great to have you here." Lucy said. "Nice costume by the way."
Lisanna thought about telling her Mirajane had picked it out but settled for, "Thank you."
"Yours looks great too!" Mirajane chirped. Lisanna nodded in agreement.
Lucy brushed at her bangs. "Thanks, I put a lot of thought into it. You should see Erza's costume though!"
Lisanna ooh-ed excitedly. Erza's costumes were always impressive even if what she was going as tended to be hit or miss.
"Where is she?" Mirajane asked.
Lucy waved her hand. "Come on, I'll show you where everyone's at."
The sisters followed Lucy to the throng of partiers.
There were lots of fantastic costumes and more people arrived even as they walked.
Subconsciously, Lisanna kept an eye out for someone in particular. Her heart panged with a mixture of disappointment and relief when she didn't see him.
She cheered up when she saw Erza though. Her costumes were as spectacular as ever though it was not immediate apparent to Lisanna what she was dressed as.
Erza was shrouded in a deep black cape which was opened in the front to reveal a somewhat daring dress of dark red satin and black lace. It was old-fashioned looking, with a tight-fitting bodice baring an impressive amount of cleavage. The skirt was done mermaid style, tight-fitting until the very end where it flared out. While the collar of the dress was extremely low, the collar of the cape was high and stiff.
When Lisanna saw Erza's face, it became apparent what she was supposed to be. She was powdered paler than usual and her lips were coated with a blood red lipstick. When she smiled and greeted them warmly, fake fangs were noticeable. Her hair was caught in an up-do and a crown was perched on the front.
Erza was dressed as a vampire queen and she appeared at once both sinister and beguiling.
"Wow!" Lisanna said. "Your costume is fantastic, Erza!'
"Thank you, Lisanna." Erza replied, clearly quite pleased with herself. "You all look delightful as well."
Lisanna smiled. This was nice, truly, it was. Something was still missing though….
Lisanna refused to let it get her down. She was determined to have fun.
The four of them chatted cheerfully for a while, discussing costumes and gossip and missions they'd been on and all sorts of things.
All the while, more guild members arrived and the party picked up. The volume and the energy rose. Lisanna wondered how long it would be before a fight broke out.
She tuned back into the conversation.
"No way!" Lucy was saying. "He's coming as what?"
"A devil." Erza confirmed. "I couldn't talk him out of it."
"Seriously?" Lucy said. "That's so cheesy and he'll probably act like a lunatic because of it. I swear."
Lisanna's heart skipped a beat. "Who?"
"Natsu." Mirajane said, with a knowing smile. "He said he was going to be a devil this year. Looks like we'll have a devil and an angel. How fun!"
"Did you-?"
"Oh look!" Lucy interrupted. "Levy's here! Hey Levy-chan!"
The fairy flittered off after her friend.
Suddenly, there was a loud clanging noise. Erza whipped around, cape swirling.
Loud shouting started up.
"I better go see what's going on." Erza said.
"Did you plan this?" Lisanna whispered to her sister fervently. "This seems like too much of a coincidence."
Mirajane just smiled. "Speak of the devil." She said, pointing and giggling at her own joke.
Lisanna whipped around and there he was.
He was standing only a few feet into the guild hall so it was clear he had just arrived, but he was already being accosted by friends.
The moment she saw him, it hit her like a punch to the chest. It became painfully clear what was missing.
Him.
Natsu Dragneel, who had always helped her decide on a costume, who she had always come up with pranks with, who she'd pranked herself, whose enthusiasm always made Halloween, no not just Halloween, her life fun.
He was the puzzle piece she didn't click with.
She'd hardly spoken to him since she got back. She hadn't even known what costume he would be wearing or if he had any pranks up his sleeve. They hadn't done any of the things they used to together.
He was dressed as a devil alright, with a cocky grin to match. While Lisanna's outfit was white and gold, his was black and red and made in a plain cloth, but the style was oddly similar, like they were part of a set though that was probably just wistful thinking.
He was wearing a cape, more outrageous than Erza's, and a sort of suit which had a red jacket stitched with black flames and an even more outrageous cravat. The pants were simple, which was fortunate or the whole thing would've looked more ridiculous than it already did. On Natsu's head were a pair of horns, presumably kept in place by a headband or some clips and in his hand, he held three-pronged spear. His teeth were bared in a fanged grin.
Lisanna thought he looked rather adorable, but that didn't mean she wanted to go over and talk to him. It was too confusing, too painful.
Besides, if he wanted to talk to her, maybe pick up where they left off, he would've given her a sign by now.
Unless he feels as confused and hurt as you do, a stubbornly optimistic voice in Lisanna's head thought.
I'm not here to talk to Natsu. She chided herself. I'm not here to try to put the pieces back together. I'm here because Mirajane wanted me to come.
Then she stopped, because wasn't that exactly was she was here? To find why she couldn't fit? So she could click back into place?
The only things stopping her were her fear and her pain.
Mirajane seemed to know the war going on inside her head. "You should go talk to him." She said, gently.
Lisanna bit back a yelp. "Ma-maybe later. He looks busy right now."
At Mirajane's disbelieving look, Lisanna changed the subject. "Where's Elf-nii-chan? I thought he was going to be here."
Mirajane pointed. Lisanna wasn't sure how she'd missed him considering how tall he was.
"Let's go talk to him!" Lisanna said, dragging her sister away.
Mirajane sighed and followed her. Her trademark smile was back on her face a moment later as the siblings talked.
Lisanna smiled. She even laughed once or twice. This was good. This was better than she could've hoped for.
He was still missing. This was not as it should be.
It was good enough.
She was afraid.
But these thoughts were on the edge of her subconscious. She forgot her worries and concerns for a while, determination to enjoy herself overruling them.
"Lisanna," Mirajane said, suddenly.
"Yeah?" Lisanna replied.
"Would you go get us some punch?"
"…Sure, Mira-nee." Lisanna said, nonplussed.
She turned on her heel, wings and dress fluttering behind her, and walked towards the punch bowl.
She was right in front of it when a blur of black and red slammed into her.
"Ah!" She cried, stumbling back. Wait a minute, she thought. Red and black….
"Sorry!" An all too familiar voice apologized.
Her eyes widened. "N-Natsu! It's okay. I'm sure it was an accident." She struggled to regain her usual composure.
"It was an accident, right?"
Natsu laughed. Lisanna's heart skipped.
"Yeah. It was an accident." He said. "My bad. It's crazy in here."
Lisanna nodded. While she had been talking with her siblings, the party had picked up considerably. People were running all about. Some were fighting. Some might even have been dancing though it was hard to tell.
"It's wild alright." She agreed. "I love your costume by the way." She did. It was ridiculous but charming.
He grinned. "Thanks." He said, swinging the spear. "And to think Erza tried to talk me out of it! What does Erza know about Halloween costumes?"
Lisanna giggled then remembered what she was supposed to be doing. "Oh I was going to get punch for my siblings." She said, but inside she was thinking, this is about the longest I've talked to Natsu in forever.
"Right!" Natsu said. "Me too!" He frowned. "Well no. Not for my siblings. Unless Lucy counts as my sister…"
"Lucy had you get her punch?" Lisanna said.
Natsu nodded. "Can you believe her? What am I, her servant?" His voice took on a faux menacing tone. "I am the lord of Hell!" He shouted. "Fear me!"
Lisanna laughed. "You're too cute to be feared." She froze. Did I just say that out loud? She thought, panicked.
"C-cute?" He stammered. "Devils are supposed to be scary!"
Quick, she thought. What do I say?!
"Right." She said. "I was just teasing." She quickly turned towards the punch table and started filling up glasses to cover for her embarrassment.
"Right." Natsu repeated. "Teasing."
Awkward silence.
Lisanna passed the ladle to Natsu to get punch and turned to leave. She felt out of sorts and kind of upset though she told herself she had no reason to be.
She had just happened to bump into Natsu and they had exchanged a few words. No big deal, right?
But she wanted it to be a big deal. She wanted things to go back to the way they were or…maybe that was too much to wish for. She just knew she didn't want to be so distant from him.
Yet, she still turned to leave. She couldn't close the distance on her own and he wasn't helping.
She felt a hand on her arm and jumped, nearly spilling the cups of punch. She turned to look at him over her shoulder.
"You look really pretty." He blurted. "I like your costume." Then he spun around and ran off back into the fray, punch spraying behind him.
Feeling kind of stunned, Lisanna stared after him. Her hand came up to adjust her headband. She couldn't remember the last time Natsu had given her a compliment on her appearance…if it had ever happened before.
She unfroze a moment later and walked back to her siblings with a faint smile playing on her lips.
She passed out drinks (she'd brought one for Elfman, who was talking with Evergreen, too) and took a sip of hers. She recoiled a bit. Someone, probably Cana, had spiked it. Lisanna made a note to talk to her about that. Wendy and some other young members were probably here.
"So how did it go?" said Mirajane.
Lisanna frowned at her. "Getting the punch?"
"You know that's not what I'm talking about."
Lisanna twined her fingers together, feeling uncomfortable. "Did you plan for me to run into him?" She didn't see how, but two Natsu-related coincidences was a little hard to swallow.
Mirajane smiled.
"Mira-neee!"
"Okay," Mirajane relented. "I had Lucy send him to get punch at the same time I sent you. Actually it was her idea. My idea was the costumes. What's your point?" Her question was spoken completely innocently, but Lisanna knew better than to believe that.
"Lucy was in on it too? Is this why you wanted me to come to the party?"
"Oh no." Mirajane said. "I really thought you would enjoy it. Fixing whatever's wrong between you and Natsu is just a bonus."
"Nothing's wrong!" Lisanna insisted. "Two years is a long time! People…change." Despite everything, her voice cracked on the word change. "It's not a big deal…"
Mirajane's voice was so soft when she responded that Lisanna had to strain to hear her over the din. "You keep saying that. You keep trying to act like nothing's wrong, but you know that's not true. Stop lying to yourself, Lisanna."
"What do you want me to say?" She said, helplessly. "It's not like I can do anything to change it."
"That's not true either." Mirajane frowned.
Lisanna bit her lip. "Okay." She said, finally. "If you want to know the truth…I'm scared…I'm scared of having to face all the pain we went through and scared that if I did, I could just lose him again and it would hurt even more. To talk to him again…to regain what we once had or maybe some more…would be like opening myself up to more heart-break. And-" She took a deep breath. "And if he really cared we would've talked about this already! He would've been the one to help me decide on a Halloween costume and we would be pulling pranks right now and I would be scolding him for eating too much candy and we wouldn't be having this conversation!"
"Have you considered that he might be just as scared as you are?"
There it was. That flicker of hope amidst the fear.
"N-Natsu? Scared?" Lisanna tried to laugh. "He's not afraid of anything! Except Erza… and the Magic Council…." She trailed off. "I know that's not true." She said.
Mirajane swept her up into a hug, arms resting under her wings.
"I'm still afraid." Lisanna whispered.
"I know." Mirajane said. "And I also know you'll get through this sooner or later." She pulled back.
"Do you want to know why Lucy was helping me?"
"Okay." Lisanna replied, sensing there was something she wanted to tell her.
There was. Mirajane leaned in conspiratorially. "Lucy thought Natsu had been acting weird since you…got back. So she followed him one time and overheard a conversation between him and Happy."
"What about?" Lisanna said, intrigued.
"You," Mirajane said.
Lisanna's heart thudded wildly. "Really? W-what did he say?"
"Lucy didn't go into detail." Mirajane said. "But the heart of the matter was that he wants to talk to you again but he doesn't know what to say. I think he feels the same way you do."
"But how can you be sure?"
"I can't, Lisanna. But you'll have to take the risk sooner or later. You can't stay like this forever. "
Lisanna was silent. Her thoughts were tumultuous inside her head. Love, fear, pain, uncertainly all warred against each other.
"Can we talk about this later?" She said, quietly. "Let's just enjoy the party."
Mirajane looked a bit disappointed but she quickly put on a kind smile. "Of course, Lisanna."
Lisanna liked the way she said her name, so full of love and warmth.
On the outside, the next hour was spent happily. They partied Fairy Tail-style. There was cheer and food and drink and laughter.
But inside Lisanna, a kind of tension lay, a nagging need for resolution. Her thoughts ran in circles always leading back to the same one, "You can't stay like this forever."
She really couldn't. Something would have to give.
Which would win out? Love….or fear?
The party kicked up a notch further. Lisanna would be surprised if anyone had a costume that wasn't ripped up or spilled on by the end of it. It was particularly difficult for her with her white costume.
She didn't feel like fighting either so she took refuge behind an overturned table and watched from a safe distance. Try as she might her eyes kept flickering towards Natsu, a teasing reproach on her tongue. He was in the thick of it, of course. That didn't make it any easier to not think of him as even when she focused on someone else her eyes strayed over him.
Apparently seeing her refuge, Lisanna felt someone else settle beside her.
"You should really just talk to him, you know." The person said.
"Mira-nee, I thought we agreed we weren't going to-" She paused. That voice didn't sound like Mirajane's. She turned and blushed, embarrassed.
"I'm sorry, Lucy." She said. "I thought you were Mirajane. She's been bugging me about this," She waved her hands to indicate confusion as to what this was. "All night." She finished.
"Aw it's okay." Lucy said. "I'm kind of flattered to be mistaken for Mirajane actually."
Lisanna smiled. Lucy Heartfilia was very different from the Lucy Lisanna knew, but she was a good addition to the guild.
"But Lisanna," She said. "Go talk to him."
Lisanna didn't pretend to not know what she was talking about. "I do talk to him…"
"Really talk to him." Lucy insisted. "About what's bothering you both. If you won't do it for yourself, do it for him!"
"Do it for him?"
Lucy nodded vigorously. "If you won't talk to him to make yourself feel better, and Mirajane's told me you've been down, talk to him to make him feel better!"
"But he seems fi-what did you overhear him saying?" Lisanna asked suddenly, remembering what Mirajane had said.
"Ask him yourself." Lucy urged. "Look, I won't pretend to completely understand what's going on between you two, but just ask yourself this, is the reward worth more than the risk? You have to seize happiness, Lisanna. Don't let it pass you by."
Lisanna stared at her. Then she laughed. "Gosh." She said. "You're right. Thanks, Lucy. I'm glad Natsu found a good friend like you while I was away."
Lucy shrugged modestly though she blushed. "Don't mention it."
She pushed the white-haired girl out from behind the overturned table. "Now go get him, girl!"
"Wha-Lucy!"
"Go on!" She gave Lisanna a little push. She stumbled forward.
"He's in the middle of a fight!"
"He'll make time for you! He needs to!"
Lisanna squared her shoulders, set her stance. "Okay." She said.
Then she dived into the fray of fighting costumed wizards.
It was chaos, but fortunately for Lisanna, she had quick reflexes and as she darted through the throngs of mages, she found a scrap of solid, powerful determination in her heart.
If she was going to do this, if she was going to face what she had spent months avoiding, she was going to give it her all.
"Natsu!" She called when she got close. "Natsu!"
"Lisanna?" He froze, surprised, and took a hit to the shoulder. Lisanna winced, but he threw off his attacker easily. "Lisanna?" He said again. "What is it?"
"We need to talk!" She yelped, narrowly avoiding being run into.
"Now?" He yelled back.
"Now would be good!" She agreed.
"Well okay!" He agreed, looking confused.
With difficulty, they extricated themselves from the mass.
Fortunately, everyone was too caught up in partying to notice them leaving or if they did they didn't say anything. In fact, Lisanna thought she caught sight of Lucy miming don't do it signs frantically out of the corner of her eye.
Natsu caught sight of it too. "What's Lucy doing?"
"I think she's telling no one to come after us or ask what we're doing." Lisanna said, honestly.
"Oh." Natsu said. "What did you want to talk me about?"
Lisanna shook her head. "Not here." She didn't want to make a scene or anything but this seemed like a better way of avoiding that. This was a conversation she would rather have somewhere private. Or at least somewhere they didn't have to talk so loudly.
"Okay." Natsu said. He looked confused or was it….nervous? That couldn't be, but maybe it was.
She took his hand, ignoring the butterflies that appeared in her stomach and led him away to a nook where no one would disturb them.
And then suddenly, she didn't know where to begin. Then she remembered what Lucy had said.
"What were you saying about me?" She blurted.
Natsu frowned. "What?"
"Um," She hedged. She didn't want Natsu to get mad at Lucy for eavesdropping. "Someone overheard you talking to Happy about me."
Fortunately he didn't ask who. Instead, his eyes widened and he started stammering. "I-I uh…I didn't say anything bad!"
Lisanna laughed a little. "I didn't think you had. I-" She didn't know what to say. Natsu used to be so easy to be around. It was so natural to talk to him, but now there was this space between them full of awkwardness and hurt and words left unspoken.
Okay, she thought. Let's talk about how it used to be instead.
"Do you remember the last Halloween we spent together?" She said, suddenly. "It was a few years ago."
"Of course, I do." He said. A slow grin spread over his face as the memories washed over him. "It was great." He said. "We pulled off some of our best pranks that night."
"Like those caramel onions!" Lisanna said.
"Or that bucket of water we dumped over Gray's head!"
Lisanna giggled. "I kind of thought the water was going to freeze. Instead he just got mad at us."
"It was worth it," Natsu laughed. "To see the look on his face."
"Yeah…" They both fell silent.
When Lisanna spoke again her voice was serious, almost wistful. "We uh, we didn't do anything like that this year. We didn't plan any pranks or help each other decide on costumes."
Natsu blinked. "Y-Yeah…we didn't. I guess I just got used to…" He swallowed. "You not being here."
"R-right." Lisanna's heart sank, but she was going to see this through to the end. She took a deep breath. "Well I really missed that. I missed us. This year and the ones before it. All the time I wasn't with you I missed you desperately and even now, it doesn't really feel like I'm back because…we're still separated. We barely talk. I don't know anything about what's going on with you. I can't cross this-this chasm between us. Do you not even want to? Have you moved on? Or are you just afraid? Afraid like…like me."
The words poured out relentlessly. "Is what we had, love, friendship, something else, is it not enough?! Is it not strong enough to cross this gap?! It took me months to even tell you this because I couldn't face it! It would be foolish to think things could ever go back to the way they were, but can't things change for the better?! Instead of stagnating or getting worse because we're too afraid to try to pick up the pieces!"
Natsu stared, awestruck at the raw emotion he'd just witnessed. He reached out a hand.
Lisanna only heard silence and she turned away, tears pricking her eyes. She felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Lisanna." He said. "I-I'm sorry."
She looked at him. Of its own accord, her hand reached up to rest over his.
"I'm sorry that I've been avoiding you. I didn't know what to say. After you…died, I tried really hard to put it behind me and move on, but I didn't do a good job of it. I tried to pretend you didn't exist because remembering you was too painful, but I couldn't forget you either. I could only pretend to. When it turned out you were alive, it was like a dream come true, but it was also…terrifying because it didn't make the pain go away and it meant that, now I would have to face it. So no, Lisanna. Don't ever think I've moved on and forgotten about you. I could never do that."
"N-Natsu…" Her voice cracked. She cried.
"Lisanna!" His voice sounded panicked. "Did I upset you?"
She shook her head, sent him a trembling smile. "No, no. I'm-I'm okay." She brushed away her tears. "I'm sorry too." She said. "It's not all your fault. I didn't help matters. I should've talked to you about this sooner. I should've…I should've realized that love is stronger than fear. I should've had more faith. I should've-"
Without warning, he pulled her into a fierce hug, rustling her wings. He was so warm. She let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding.
"It's okay." He said. "It's all going to be okay."
"Yeah." She sighed. "It will be."
The small part of her brain not consumed by happiness and warmth laughed at the sight they must make. A devil and an angel embracing.
They pulled away a few moments later.
"So…uh…" Natsu said. "I thought of a really good prank to pull on someone the other day…but it requires two people." He smiled.
Lisanna glowed. "Does this mean we're going to pick up where we left off?"
"Better." Natsu said. "We're going to start something new."
"Better." Lisanna agreed. She aimed to kiss him on the cheek, but he turned at the last second and it landed on his lips instead.
The last piece of the puzzle clicked perfectly into place. The resulting picture was beautiful.