Once again, thanks for all the love. I wasn't sure about uploading my stories at first but it's well worth it! Thank you so much everyone! And also a special shout-out to my personal friend who convinced me to publish these stories in the first place; if you read this, you know who you are ;)
Anyway, let's see what Elfman and the other members of Fairy Tail think of the events of Chapter 1.
Present day; X784
For the first time in two years Natsu slept a deep dreamless sleep, undaunted by painful memories or wistful dreams. He slept soundly for hours, holding Lisanna tight in his arms; their nude forms lain together on the hut's scratchy floor. They woke only when they heard the roar of what could have been either an army of Gorians or an angry dragon. The pair jumped up and stared at the source of the unearthly sound; Elfman hadn't been this furious since Monsieur Sol had made him relive his worst memories. In his beast form, he grabbed Natsu and bodily flung him from the hut. Natsu caught himself midair and flipped over so that he would land on his feet, realizing that Elfman may possibly have appreciated it if they had discussed Natsu's relationship with his little sister BEFORE Natsu went to bed with her.
"Crap, Elfman calm down, I'm so sorry I didn't talk to you about—" a charging Elfman charging him cut the dragon slayer short. Natsu had to jump aside to dodge a furious swipe from Elfman's claws, he was getting ready to roast the shape-shifter but thought that might only make things worse. It was then that Natsu noticed Lisanna outside the hut, staring at her transformed brother with a look of utter fear in her eyes and tears rolling down her cheeks. Natsu's inattention cost him a swat back toward her, where he stood up and turned to Lisanna. Then it hit him, he knew he had to get Elfman back to his normal state or it would have dire consequences. As Elfman started to rush him again, Natsu stood his ground and waited till his opponent was a foot away before bringing a fiery fist down hard onto the top of his head, driving Elfman into the ground. He then pinned Elfman down and whispered urgently
"Elfman, get back to normal, look at Lisanna!"
He looked and saw his little sister's tears, slowly morphing back into his usual self. Elfman forgot about his anger at Natsu and approached Lisanna slowly; but she cringed as he got closer to her.
"I'm sorry Elf…" she sobbed, "But that form…"
Elfman understood, she had been woken by the raging face of the monster that had almost killed her two years previously, it was only normal for her to be shocked.
And I came here to protect her… some big brother I am…
Speechless, Elfman reached out to hug his little sister, oblivious to her nudity. He held her tight as Natsu started gathering up their clothes and dressing himself. Lisanna broke the hug and started to put on her own clothes, still shaking in shock.
Natsu took advantage of this to pull Elfman aside, "Listen, I just wanted to apologize for last night, I know I should have talked to you before doing anything."
The larger man shook his head slowly, "No, I was in the wrong, she loves you Natsu. I remember her telling me when she was eight; it was bound to lead here. I was just surprised it happened so fast."
Natsu grinned uncomfortably, "Yeah... In my defense, I never intended to go all the way."
"Please spare me the details Natsu, I don't want to know anymore than I have to about my sister's sex life." He smiled sadly, "Anyways... I shouldn't judge… It was my fault in the first place. I almost kil..."
Natsu punched him, not hard, just enough to stop his speech. "Don't you DARE say that." Said Natsu solemnly, "Don't you dare put that on yourself. It wasn't your fault, you were taken over by that thing."
"Maybe... But 'that thing' is now my greatest source of power." Elfman looked back at Lisanna, who was now dressed and walking towards them, her usual cheery smile adorning her pretty face.
"That means that you've conquered your demons," Said Natsu, Elfman looked at him hopefully, "and I'm willing to bet Lisanna agrees with me."
Just as the Dragon Slayer finished talking, Lisanna reached them and hugged her brother tight.
"I'm sorry I scared you,Elf-Niichan."
Elfman grinned and hugged her so hard she almost felt her spine give way, "I should be saying that to you, my dear little sister!"
Natsu grinned, and together the reconciled trio made their way to the Guild Hall.
•••
About ten minutes before reaching Fairy Tail, Elfman ran off, mumbling about some 'important mission' he had to get done.
"Whenever he says that," whispered Natsu into his lover's ear, "it basically means he's trying to get into Evergreen's good books."
Lisanna stared at her fading brother in shock, "No!" She exclaimed, "Since when have the Thunder God Tribe members HAD good books? I thought they were all just fighting for Laxus to like them."
"A lot has changed, Laxus got booted from the Guild , and now the Raijinshū are a lot more social."
Lisanna lapsed into a thoughtful silence; what else had happened since she'd gone? Her mind turned to Edolas, where Nervous Natsu Dragion had always been making doe eyes at Lucy Ashley. Lisanna was not by any means a jealous person, but she couldn't help but wonder if the opposite was true here, like Gray and Juvia's different states. If it was so she hoped Lucy wouldn't be hurt about Lisanna's relationship with Natsu, or worse ; attempt to sabotage it. All these thoughts eventually led to one question,
"Natsu, did you and Lucy ever have a relationship?" She asked nervously.
Natsu was silent for a few moments before saying "No... I considered it at one point, but I finally settled that it would only complicate things. Plus Lucy feels more like a little sister or a protégée to me."
The Ivory haired girl smiled, it was sweet how much her boyfriend cared for his friends, and she trusted him implicitly... yet something told her Lucy had a different view. The happy couple reached the guild and walked in hand in hand, their comrades looked and grinned at this.
Macao and Wakaba whistled, and the latter yelled out, "Had a good night Natsu?"
Natsu responded only by smiling and extending his middle finger graciously towards the smoker, who responded by trying to hit Natsu with a column of smoke. The Dragon Mage dodged, kissed Lisanna swiftly on the cheek, and charged his middle-aged guild mates. It didn't take long for Gray to strip down and jump in, which led to the eventual participation of Gajeel, Pantherlily, Jet, Droy, Cana, Alzack, and a good deal of others. Happy, who had returned to the guild earlier that day, was circling the brawl and giving a mocking commentary of the battle. Lisanna sighed and sat at the bar, looking around for her sister. Mirajane was nowhere in sight, but Lisanna did catch the eye of a certain blonde Mage.
/I haven't properly talked to her yet,/ thought Lucy musingly, /maybe I should.../
Lucy was trying very hard to keep her jealousy in check, after all she had no right to feel that way, she had already told herself that she and Natsu would not work as a couple... Nevertheless...
She didn't have long to think on that, Lisanna had seen her and was waving her over happily, inviting her to join her at the bar while Natsu and half the other Guild members settled their differences.
"Hey! How are you doing?" Asked Lisanna jovially.
"Ok I guess, I'm assuming you had a good evening." Lucy laughed uncomfortably, trying to break through her custard-thick awkwardness.
Lisanna blushed and fidgeted with her hair, "Yeah... It was something else..." She caught herself and quickly blurted out, "So I was thinking we should get to know each other better, seeing as I never actually knew you before I left."
Lucy felt that wasn't her only reason, after all, Lisanna had never known Juvia, Gajeel, Wendy, or Carla beforehand. Maybe Lucy WAS being a bit paranoid, but all she could think was of all the time she had spent alone with Natsu, and how that might bother Lisanna.
"Sure," said Lucy, "I'm up for it. Everyone seems to know you so well, I feel at a disadvantage." She stood up. She needed to tell Lisanna something that had been nagging her for the past day, and the main room of the Guild felt too exposed. "Wanna go up the bell tower?"
Lisanna followed Lucy's example, "Lead the way!"
•••
The top of Fairy Tail's new bell tower was by far Lucy's favorite haunt. Up here, one could smell the Sea as Magnolia and the surrounding country sprawled away distantly.
Lisanna watched the view in shock, mouth slightly agape, "Wow..." She gasped, "Definitely worth the climb!"
Lucy sat down and stared at Kardia Cathedral silently, enjoying the fresh air. Lisanna sat beside her, legs dangling over the edge. Neither girl spoke for a while, neither of them knew how to broach their uncomfortable situation.
"Lisanna... What was the relationship between Natsu Dragion and the other me in Edolas?" Lucy asked curiously, the emotion in Lucy Ashley's voice the very first time she saw Natsu had made Earth-Lucy wonder about that.
Lisanna took a while to answer, but then said, "They weren't together... But Natsu was very much in love with her."
Lucy smiled slightly, "Did you think it was the inverse here?"
Lisanna was silent again; she liked Lucy, something about her made it impossible not to, and Lisanna wanted them to get along, so she had to be very careful with her words.
"Is it?"
"In some ways, yes..." Said Lucy, starting to tear up, "I'd told myself that dating a teammate would only complicate things, but that door was always there, it was always a possibility. At some times it was like a pleasant dream, but-and I know how awful this will be of me to say-since you came back and Natsu fell in love with you all over again, it's like that door is closed... And I can only ask myself now... What if? What if I had..."
The Celestial Mage stopped talking due to a huge lump in her throat, and tears started flowing out. Lucy fully expected the other girl to slap her, yell at her, tell her off, or just straight up throw her from the tower to keep Natsu to herself. She did not expect pale arms wrapping around her and hugging her close.
Lucy was shocked, "What..."
"I thought so..." said Lisanna softly, "I'm sorry..."
"Why?"
"Because this was so sudden, I came back to life and assumed everything could just go back to the way it was two years ago." Lisanna let go of Lucy and looked down mournfully, "I never considered that I might cause anyone harm, but between you and Elfman I've caused more pain than I could ever have thought."
Lucy felt a deep affection for the girl next to her, she was possibly the kindest and most considerate person Lucy had ever met.
"Don't say that, Elfman was only doing his job as a big brother, and if I never did anything about Natsu, that's my own fault. You kept your feelings for him hidden for five years, and then you were taken away just after having told him, you don't have to apologize for anything."
Lisanna looked up, "How did you know all that?"
The other girl smiled, "After a mission near Hargeon, we went to a bar and I found out Natsu gets very chatty when he's tipsy."
Lisanna laughed, "Oh my... I'm looking forward to seeing that, he was too young to drink before." She thought for a second before saying, "Is that really what he talked about when he got drunk?"
Lucy nodded, "You were never out of his mind for a second, I think he always regretted the time he didn't spend with you while you were here."
Lisanna said nothing; she only looked out over the city and smiled. She then turned to Lucy, "So are you ok with Natsu and I being together?"
"Of course," Lucy answered, "I'll always miss that possibility, but Natsu can't just wait for me to make up my mind. Plus he loves you more than life itself…"
The new friends smiled at each other and resumed their sigil over the gorgeous stone-paved streets of Magnolia.