16th: Letter

Summary: Her words albeit strangely stiff and awkward touched his broken heart and put it back together. It was, without a doubt, love.

AN: Elfgreen … finally. That will be probably the hardest to write especially since I believe that there is more to Evergreen than her obsession with fairies.

Evergreen had no words to speak or to write down. For the first time in her life, she felt empty as she sat in her room in Fairy Hills, trying to ignore the weeping sounds from Juvia's room where a certain card mage was nursing her heartache with the water mage's help and trying to focus on the paper in front of her, hoping to find a way to force the words she wanted to say onto said paper.

The nights were cold in Magnolia, especially in autumn and winter, but the cold she felt wasn't to blame on the weather even though she feared that her body might freeze up if she wouldn't sit right in front of the fire.

Her problem was that she had never apologised that honestly before and she felt like Elfman should be the first to hear a true apology from her while all the others would have to wait. The ironic thing about her fight with Elfman had been that she hadn't want to hurt him – which was why he had gotten away with far less injuries than most people who ever had the misfortune of fighting her. She actually liked the clumsy man and this terrified her greatly because so many people had rejected her in her life for various reasons and she didn't want to go through this pain all over again because she wasn't sure if she would be able to stand this pain again.

Still, she had to write this damned letter.

Dear Elfman,
this is an apology letter
I am not good at things like this because I usually never apologise but I feel like I owe quite a few people an apology right now and I figured out that I should start out with you.
Like I already hinted at, I am sorry for the fight, my harsh words, your injuries and everything else – especially for petrifying your older sister. I know how much you love her after all, don't I?
If I had known that you would run into Fried next, I would have let you win or I would have ensured that it would have ended in a draw, meaning that both of us would have been allowed to participate in the fights afterwards. I know Fried and therefore I can imagine the degree of your injuries.
To be honest, I really envy people like you and Cana-san. To keep fighting even after being injured this badly just because there is a comrade on the line, that is admirable and I wish that I had someone I would fight for like this. Sadly, there is no one.
A few years ago, we used to be friends and as a former friend I ask for your forgiveness. Your sister's death changed you and even though I am probably not the right person to say this, I understand your feelings about this and therefore, I won't write anything about Lisanna now. But one thing I regretted the most about her death is that is split us apart – along with the time-consuming jobs Fried chooses for the Thundergod Tribe as the self-proclaimed leader. Tsk.
I can merely recall what it was like to be your friend. I only remember that it was a nice, comfortable feeling and that I miss it. I never cried about the loss of this friendship. Alright, that was a lie. I banished the memory of being your friend because … it was painful for me. It was painful to know that it was over and that I never had the chance to fight for it.
You know that I hate to lose, right?
Anyway, I apologise,
Ever
PS: Congratulation on mastering the full body takeover! I always knew that you could do it.

He read the letter again, wondering if this was really Evergreen's writing and not some imitation. But hardly anyone knew that they had been friends once, before Lisanna's death, and no one knew that Evergreen had always believed that he would master the full body takeover 'when the time is right' and so it had to be a letter from her.

True to her personality, her words were stiff and slightly awkward but he didn't mind because this was how his Ever was: complicated and socially awkward because she had never had a normal life. He had been her only friend outside her team and sometimes, she had called him the only real friend she had had because Fried and Bixslow were more like brothers to her.

He had missed her and to read that she had missed him too caused a strange feeling in his chest, right where his broken heart resided because even though it was hard to believe, all the memories were returning to him. There had been many calm moments after sparring when they had rested in the shadows of huge trees. There had been many funny moments in the guild, laughing about Mira's and Erza's fights while Lisanna had merely shook her head.

To remember this healed him. It made him whole again. Evergreen made him whole again. She fixed what no one had been able to fix so far. She was, without a doubt, good for him and so he rose from his chair, leaving the letter behind and went to look for her.

He found her in the garden of Fairy Hills where she sat on a bench while she read a book. "Long time no see, Ever," he said calmly as she raised her head. "Can I sit down with you?"

"Sure," she replied with a faint smile. "Did you get my letter?"

"I did," he nodded. "And I wanted to say that I accept your apology."

"Oh, that's good," she replied with a sigh. "That makes it easier for me to apologise to the others."

"You know that they don't expect it from you, right?" he asked as he stared at the sky. "People know that you're a proud one and some might actually be as shocked as I was when you suddenly go and apologise to everyone."

"Not everyone, of course," she said. "Just the ones I petrified … and not to Erza, pah. I would have already apologised to Cana and Juvia but they are currently not available because Cana is nursing a major heartache and Juvia is helping her with it."

"A Cana with heartache is a new concept because usually, she is too drunk to feel any pain," Elfman said drily. "That's not manly at all."

"Well, she isn't a man and girls like us, we are allowed to eat tons of ice cream when we have heartache. And for her, it's especially bad, I guess. She was betrayed after all," Evergreen shrugged. "But on the other hand, I am sure that he will be back for her."

"Just like you were back for me?" he asked as he watched the clouds.

"Yes," she admitted. "That's why I am so sure of it in the end. And because I know that he loves this guild … just we all do. He has just a strange way to express his feelings."

"You are a lot like him – minus the leaving-thing, of course. That wasn't manly of him but she will get over it. She always did," he said with a shrug. "But … where does this leave us?"

"I would suggest that we will watch where the road takes us," she smiled.

"That sounds like a man's word," he agreed.

"Elfman," she sighed.

He raised his hands. "Sorry, Ever," he muttered and they both laughed.

They could laugh because what they had was, without a doubt, love and though they said that they would let it happen, they knew where they would end up one day.