Disclaimer: I do not own Fairytail

Warning: This story has a tragedy genre for a reason.

Dear Otouto,

This is my letter to you… to tell you things I can't now.

"I was wondering something." Zeref said, his eyebrows furrowing. "Do you even have a girlfriend yet?"

Natsu rolled his eyes. Zeref was on his bed, swinging his feet like some teenage girl. "Whatever." Natsu grumbled softly. "It's not on my high list of priorities."

"Huh? How come!" Zeref cried.

"What do you mean, how come? Just because you can magically find a soulmate on your first try doesn't mean all of us can."

Zeref frowned. "But that's how it works. And just because we're soulmates doesn't mean we're in love." He pouted. "I mean, we are, but soulmates doesn't mean we are in love with each other! It just means we're meant to be together for life. it could be in the friendly sense too, or like you and I." Zeref raised his arm and shoved Natsu off the bed so he landed with a thud.

"Hey!"

"We're soulmates." Zeref flipped over on his back and turned to grin at his brother.

"Shut up, you make it sound creepy." Natsu said grumpily. Zeref shrugged cheerfully. "And also, how dare you push me off MY bed!"

"What? You were taking up all the space."

"You had over half the bed!"

"… The good space." Yeah no. Natsu glared at Zeref and he barely had time to scream before Natsu pounced.

"Stop. Making. Me. Act. Like. Some. Hormonal. Teenage. Girl!" Natsu said grabbing one of his many pillows and hitting him with it over and over again. Zeref just laughed and laughed and squirmed, trying to grab Natsu's wrists so he wouldn't be able to hit him again.

"Hey, stop!" Zeref cried, giggling. "You're still acting like a teenage girl!"

"So what? I'm gonna make you pay!" Natsu growled playfully, smacking the pillow everywhere he could reach. Zeref just squirmed until Natsu finally started to let up. Taking the opportunity, Zeref tackled Natsu and they both fell off the bed, landing hard. Zeref smiled at his younger brother who sighed softly. "You're impossible. You know that?"

Zeref smirked, "I try." He said and the two brothers laid beside each other, just like that.

I wanted to tell you something. Of all the people I've ever met, I loved you the most. You were always there, every single moment, of every single day. I loved you brother, and I love you still.

"Hey, don't sing." Natsu complained, glaring at Zeref who giggled.

"What's so wrong with my singing." He asked with a mock pout. "I think my voice is lovely."

"Well of course YOU would. But it sounds like a cat is dying."

"Don't be so mean. And don't joke about cats dying! That is a serious problem and it's sad!"

"Not if it's yowling like you are." Natsu replied dryly. Zeref glared and before Natsu knew it, Zeref jumped on his back. "Hey!" Natsu shouted, wrapping his arms under Zeref's legs. "We could've fallen and cracked our heads open!" Natsu accused. Zeref stuck his tongue out to which Natsu did the same.

"Natsu, do you have a girlfriend yet?" Zeref asked. Natsu groaned and rolled his eyes.

"No, Zeref, I don't. There are more important things than girlfriends!"

"I just want you to find a girlfriend before I-…" Zeref cut himself off and coughed. "I just want you to find a girlfriend. I don't want you to end up alone Natsu." Natsu felt Zeref's head fall on to his shoulder.

"I won't end up alone, silly. I've got you!" Zeref pursed his lips together before he lifted his head back up, grinning again.

"You're right, how silly of me." He said, smiling, and planted a kiss on Natsu's forehead.

"Hey! Don't do that, yuck!" Zeref laughed and wrapped his arms around Natsu's neck.

"Hya, giddy up, horsey!"

"Don't act like a child!" Natsu cried, glaring.

"I'm not acting like a child." Zeref pouted. "Now come on, giddy up!" Natsu scowled at him for about ten seconds before his face changed and he broke out into a smile.

"Fine, whatever." He grumbled and started walking. "But you're not exactly light."

"Don't be mean!" Zeref complained and then they both laughed softly.

I'm sorry I didn't tell you even though I could've… I had several good opportunities. But I couldn't bear to see the smile drop off your face. I couldn't bear to see you unhappy. I wanted us to spend out last few days together, happy.

"Zeref, why don't you want to go out? You always want to go out!"

"Well, not today. Why can't we just stay home?" Zeref asked. Natsu frowned but he nodded.

"Okay, we can stay home if that's what you want." Natsu said, sitting down beside Zeref. "Any particular reason why?" Zeref shook his head smiling.

"That's just what I feel like today. Tell me Natsu, do you have a girlfriend yet?" Natsu groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Why are you asking this time? And don't give me that crap about how you don't want me to be alone. I already told you that I had you." Zeref shrugged and leaned back on the couch, Natsu sitting down next to him.

"Just wondering." Zeref said and leaned his head on Natsu's shoulders. He smiled.

"You're a dork, smiling all the time, you know that?" Zeref's grin only widened.

"I'd rather be a dork than an emo." Zeref said.

Natsu sighed and turned on the TV.

I know you must hate me. But I would never trade the time we had together for the world. The memories I have of you, I will treasure them forever, even if we are torn apart. The memories are all we have left, I know… all we have left now that I'm gone.

"Zeref!" Natsu cried as his brother's legs gave out.

"Whoopsie-daisy." Zeref said, laughing slightly. "Must've slipped." Natsu frowned, worried.

"Are you okay?"

"Just a little dizzy is all. Don't worry, it'll pass soon."

"Maybe we should see a doctor."

"Oh no, I'm fine." Zeref said quickly, standing up. "See, all better… now come on, let's go. Natsu frowned, but kept walking, Zeref at his side. "Do you have a girlfriend yet?"

"No." Natsu said. Zeref was asking that question more and more lately.

I know I asked you that question a lot… heh, I just didn't want you to be alone. I should've told you why.

Natsu watched as Zeref violently hacked and coughed into his arm. "Oh, Zeref, did you come down with a cold?"

"It seems so." Zeref said, a little pale.

"Do you need anything?"

"No, otouto, I'm fine." Zeref said, still smiling. Natsu smiled back, though his smile revealed worry and stress.

"Okay." Natsu said softly.

"Have you found a girlfriend yet?" Natsu shook his head, not even bothering to speak this time, and left.

Zeref leaned over, grabbed a tissue, and wiped the blood off his arm.

I told you not to worry. I told you everything would be alright. You're probably angry, furious even. Do you even remember the last time we saw each other?

Zeref panted on the bed, sweat pouring down his brow. "Zeref, we need to get you to the doctor, I think this might be more than a cold." Natsu said, trying to drag Zeref out of bed. "Come on!" he sounded frantic and scared.

"Stop." Zeref whispered, grabbing Natsu's hand. It made him pause. "I love you, Natsu." He said softly and then descended into another coughing fit.

"Okay, I… I'll call an ambulance. Yeah, that's it!" Natsu's face showed minimal relief though, as tears gathered in his eyes. "You'll be okay."

"Do you have a girlfriend yet?" Zeref asked. Natsu paused and whirled on him, furious.

"Who cares about a stupid girlfriend! You're my brother! Why would I be worried about a girlfriend! Why would you? How could I possibly be worried about a girlfriend when you're…" he cut off his own angry rant and stared at Zeref with wide eyes.

"You knew." He whispered. "You said you didn't want me to be alone. And I thought I never would because I had you but…" he blinked back the tears that threatened to slide down his cheeks. "But you knew you were dying… and that if I didn't find a girlfriend, I'd be…" he gulped. "alone."

"I just wanted us to be happy." Zeref said. Natsu shook his head and ran out of the room.

"I'll save you. Just hang on!" Zeref watched him leave and sighed tiredly. Shakily he stood up and stumbled over to the desk next to his bed.

I write this now with my final breaths. I notice that you didn't say you loved me, but I won't hold it against you because you were probably too panicked to think and say it. I was always smiling at you, for you, always happy for you, wanted us to be happy. But on the inside, I was terrified. I wanted to break down and sob, and when I found out I did… but I realized that I wanted to continue living happily with you. So, when I came home from my doctor's appointment with tears streaking down my cheeks. I told you that I hated doctors and they scared me. You rolled your eyes, no doubt thinking I was ridiculous, but you hugged me all the same. Really, they told me I had an illness, one they'd never seen before, so of course, there wouldn't be a cure.

This is why I went out without you sometimes. To go to the doctors so they could run tests to see if they could work out a cure, but it soon became clear they wouldn't make it in time as my condition worsened. I wanted you to be happy, though I doubt you feel that now, all you feel right now is probably betrayal. I love you brother, for eternity.

Natsu read each line over and over again, his hands trembling as he stared at what his brother had written in his final moments. He said nothing about how he still wanted to live, nothing about how Natsu was lucky, nothing about any of that. He had been thinking about Natsu, about how much he loved him.

Natsu sniffed. He'd called the ambulance, but they hadn't arrived in time, and based on Zeref's letter, it wouldn't have mattered. Natsu had re-entered the room and he'd found Zeref collapsed and unmoving, pale, with blood trailing down the side of his mouth, a smile resting lightly on his face.

The ink had still been wet when he'd arrived too. He'd written he'd loved Natsu, his final words to him. Natsu tried to stop more tears from falling, it had already been a few months. What confused Natsu, was that this was written like a letter, yet there was no yours truly, or love, or anything like that to end the letter. But this was the last page in the notebook. Maybe he just hadn't had enough time to write that… maybe that had been all he had strength for.

However, if he looked closer Natsu could see jagged edges on the spine of the book, like a page had been ripped out. Had Zeref done that? Natsu looked around the desk, where Zeref had fallen. He couldn't have gone far with the page, so it must be in this room.

So, of course he started hunting for the page, his brother's last words to him. He searched through Zeref's drawers, looking absolutely everywhere he could think of.

Finally, in the last drawer, at the very bottom, Natsu saw a single slip of paper. Natsu grabbed it in between trembling fingers and stared at it. And the tears in his eyes finally slipped free.

A knock on the door startled him into turning around. Mavis stood in the door way, her smile sad, "Thinking about him?" she asked softly. Natsu nodded after a moment, the tears still falling.

"Yeah," he said, reading the note again, his tears dripping on to the paper.

Oh yes, brother, dear otouto, do you have a girlfriend yet? Please, anyone, I don't want you to be alone.

"You won't be." Mavis said, reading the note as well. "We have our friends." She said.

"And we have each other."

They smiled together and looked back at the note. He had wanted the best for the two of them. "I'll get a girlfriend someday. And don't worry, brother. We'll be just fine… I'LL be just fine."

Love,

Your Brother.

A/N Heh, I don't know where this came from but tada! I hope you enjoyed it even though it's sad, it made me cry. The Love, Your Brother thing could've been from either Natsu or Zeref, maybe both, your choice. Thanks for reading reviews/follows/favorites are all appreciated and thank you to all who read this oneshot. Good bye!