Author's Note: FINALLY! My very first NaLi fanfic! This used to be my favorite pair ever since we were introduced to Lisanna (before I met Jerza in episode 33), but it's still my 2nd fave! XD Essentially, this is my take on how Natsu's and Lisanna's relationship might have grown if she hadn't been killed. Therefore, this would also mean that Mirajane is still one badass mother f*cker and Elfman wouldn't be all "Man! Man! Man! Real man!".

Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and the characters of course. I am simply playing around with one possibility for if things had gone differently.

As We Should Be

"Welcome to Fairy Tail, Lucy!" Natsu said with a big grin on his face as the blond Celestial mage gazed up in wide-eyed wonder at the guild hall.

"Somebody, please pinch me," Lucy murmured to herself, still caught up in staring at the guild, when she noticed that Natsu and Happy were already leaving her behind. "Hey! Wait up!" she shouted and hurried after them to catch up.

"We made it back alive! ! !" Natsu yelled to the entire guild as he promptly kicked down the door, completely destroying it in the process.

Made it back alive as opposed to being arrested by the Magic Council for the total annihilation of Hargeon is what he meant.

The guild was lively and noisy and Lucy still couldn't get her head wrapped around the fact that she was actually inside the Fairy Tail building when Natsu suddenly kicked a guy in the face and sent him flying across the room, destroying a couple tables in the process!

"Why did you do that? !" she exclaimed, but he wasn't paying attention to her, just shouting something about lying about the salamander guy at the person he had just kicked.

And then fighting broke out! It happened so fast she had no idea how it started! She still couldn't believe that she was in the Fairy Tail guild hall of all places. She had wanted to join and now she was actually here. But why did everyone in this guild appear to be so insanely crazy! But even over the chaos, Lucy heard a female voice somehow manage to call out above all the others.

"Natsu! You're back!"

Much to Lucy's never-ending surprise, Natsu stopped fighting immediately (thus a great deal of the hubbub died down as a result) and started looking around quickly, turning his head all about in search of something before his olive-green eyes lit up and he smiled brightly. "Lisanna!"

Lucy looked where Natsu was looking, which was towards the bar, and saw a pretty, petite young woman with short white hair and deep blue eyes come out from behind the counter. She had a beautiful smile and the girl looked to be her age too. She had fully-emerged and now Lucy could see that she was wearing a short red dress with a pink shirt underneath. Lucy watched the girl curiously, wondering what she would do and how she'd gotten Natsu to stop fighting so quickly.

The white-haired girl, Lisanna, walked right up to the Fire Dragon Slayer and clasped his hands in hers. "Welcome home, dear."

Eh? 'Dear'?

Natsu's grin widened as he brought their clasped hands up and Lucy could now see a small, fiery something around the base of Lisanna's left ring finger. "Hi, honey, I'm home," Natsu said happily and the two of them briefly touched noses, both blushing.

'Honey'? ! ? !

Natsu suddenly turned to stare at Lucy with that same wide smile and said with a gesture in her direction, "Lisanna, this is Lucy! I met her while I was in Hargeon and she wanted to join the guild so I brought her with me! And Lucy, this is Lisanna, my not-yet-wife."

"Eh? You're what? !" Lucy exclaimed, half in shock and half in confusion.

"I believe the right word is 'fiancé' Natsu," Happy supplied helpfully.

"Oh, yeah! That's the word!" Natsu agreed and Lisanna smiled at Lucy.

"Welcome to the guild," Lisanna said politely with a slight inclination of her head, "So you want to join Fairy Tail, right? Come with me so that you can get the stamp."

"Oh, okay!" Lucy said with a slight jump as she followed after the girl. And no sooner had Lisanna left Natsu's side did the dragon slayer jump back into the dwindling fight and it resumed full chaotic force. "Wha-! So fast!" she exclaimed, a little worried for her health and well-being, "And Natsu's your fiancé...?"

To her surprise, Lisanna laughed and smiled, "Well, this is normal Fairy Tail for you. There's always a ruckus battle going on, but it's never anything serious. We would never seriously hurt each other. Fairy Tail is like a big family after all, so it's only natural that families get into fights every now and then. As for Natsu, he may act all tough most of the time, but he can be really gentle and sweet too."

"Sounds like you two are really close," Lucy said with a soft smile.

To her, seventeen seemed way too fast to commit to a serious relationship like that, but what did she know? She was only basing her opinion off of her own personal experience and she hadn't ever had a boyfriend let alone someone that she would ever consider wanting to marry. She hadn't known Lisanna for more than five minutes or much about her relationship with Natsu aside from what she had been told, but from the way they acted towards each other, it was clear they were important to each other and they were quite adorable.

"Well, we've known each other since we were little kids," Lisanna admitted as she went behind the bar and started searching around under the counter, "And we actually helped hatch- No, not here- and raise Happy together like we were- Ah, here it is!- his parents. Maybe I'll be able to tell you the story at a later date. Where would you like your guild mark and in what color?" she asked as she moved one foot to the left to avoid getting crashed into by a flying guild member, courtesy of the ensuing battle.

"Oh, uh... on my hand and in pink, please," Lucy said a little startled. She hadn't realized that she'd be able to choose where and in what color she could have her guild mark. Somehow, she'd thought it would be a little bit more difficult to get it too.

"Alright, pink it is!" Lisanna said with a smile as she pressed the stamp down onto Lucy's hand and when she removed it, there was the mark, perfectly pink and well-placed.

Lucy was examining her new guild mark when she caught sight of Lisanna's left hand. The fiery thing she had seen earlier on her ring finger was in fact, a ring... that was on fire! "Ah! Lisanna! Your ring, it's-!"

"Hn? Oh, this?" Lisanna asked the blond as she held up her left hand, indicating the burning ring and smiled in understanding when Lucy nodded vigorously, "It's okay, it's not actually on fire. Here, see?" Lisanna removed the ring from her finger and held it out for Lucy to see. Indeed, there were no burn marks anywhere on her hand, much less around her finger where the ring had been. "It's actually charmed. Natsu made it for me," she began as she slid the cherished ring back onto her finger, "Most people are only aware of Natsu's destructive tendencies, as the Magic Council likes to point out, but when he really puts his mind to it, he can be quite creative too. It protects me from being hurt by fire, but not just any fire. Because Natsu made it, it can also protect me from dragon fire, that's what these little flames licking the metal of the band are." She smiled softly and closed her other hand across the ring, "These are Natsu's flames and I'll always have this little bit of him to warm me up whenever he's away."

"Aww, that's so sweet!" Lucy gushed and smiled at the young woman, "You're really lucky to have a guy who cares so much for you, Lisanna."

"Don't I know it," Lisanna said with a small laugh, "I'm lucky to even be alive today."

"Wait, what? You're joking!" Lucy exclaimed in disbelief.

"Afraid not," Lisanna denied with a shake of her head, "There was an event that happened two years ago that, if Natsu hadn't been there, might have killed me."

"Really? That's serious. What happened?" Lucy asked in a subdued voice.

Just as Lisanna opened her mouth to answer, the guild battle escalated even worse out of control and Cana, Gray, Loke, and Natsu had all whipped out their magic which would have become a fight that probably destroyed the guild hall had a giant not appeared and stopped the fighting from his mere presence (with exception to Natsu, who got squished like a bug when he didn't give in). Lisanna touched Lucy's shoulder and mouthed to her 'I'll tell you later', just as the giant shrunk down to pipsqueak size and Lucy was formally introduced to the guild master, Makarov. There was a huge pile of important-looking documents in his hand.

()()()()()()()()

"Wow, that was the most-inspiring speech I've ever heard about magic in all my life," Lucy said in wonder after Makarov had just finished 'lecturing' them.

"Yeah, I suppose you could say that it's one of his many skills," Lisanna agreed.

"So, I hate to impose or be a bother, but is now a good time to ask you about that event two years ago?" Lucy asked. Her curiosity was absolutely killing her!

"Oh, no! Now's as fine a time as any, but it may take a while so please take a seat. If you'd like something to drink too, I can go get you something from the back."

"Ah, any non-citrus fruit juice sounds good," Lucy told her, not really sure what kind of drinks the guild had besides whatever alcoholic beverage that brown-haired woman was drinking from that barrel. It wasn't long before Lisanna returned carrying two glasses of what looked like apple juice.

"I found apple juice. Hope you don't mind," she said as she set the drinks down upon the counter and gave one to Lucy.

"Haha, cool, I guessed right," Lucy said happily, "No, I don't mind at all. Thanks for getting it for me. So what happened?"

Lisanna was a little embarrassed. She had herself a captive audience and she hadn't even begun to retell the event yet. "Well, as I mentioned, it all happened two years ago. I was going on a S-class quest and- eh, perhaps I should give you a bit of background information first. We have normal quests on the request board down here," Lisanna pointed over to a bulletin board with a bunch of paper notices on them, "but upstairs, there are super dangerous quests that you may lose your life on if you take them. In order to do these quests and even go up on that level, you have to pass the S-class exam in order to become an S-class mage. Fairy Tail currently has five S-class mages total, one of which is my older sister, Mirajane, but none of them are in the guild at the present time."

"So you have an older sister and she's one of the S-class wizards in the guild?" Lucy asked, wondering just how powerful this woman was, "What's she like?"

"Mira looks a lot like me, same hair and eyes, and she can be pretty intimidating. She also likes to tease Natsu and Gray, but she's really sweet and caring once you get to know her and see past her scary-looking appearance. She should be back from her job request soon, so it won't be long before you get to meet her."

"Alright then..." Lucy said a little nervously, not sure about the prospect of meeting Lisanna's seemingly-scary and powerful older sister. "Sorry that I got you side-tracked, but you were saying...?" she prompted.

"Right, I forgot. Two years ago, I was going on a S-class quest with my Mira and my older brother, Elfman-"

"Wait, you have an older brother too? !" Lucy exclaimed.

"Oh, yes. He's around here somewhere. He's a big guy with white hair like me, you can't miss him if you look," Lisanna explained.

"Okay then. Sorry I interrupted you. Please continue," Lucy said apologetically.

"No problem!" Lisanna said with a smile, "I was going on a S-class quest with my older siblings and Natsu wanted to come with us, probably because he was a little jealous that I was going on a S-class quest before him. My brother was against it, saying that he could protect us well enough, but he eventually caved-in to my pleas and so Natsu got to come along with us. It sure was a good thing too."

"Elfman! Pull yourself together!" Mirajane shouted.

"Mira!" Lisanna called out to her big sis as she flew down and landed beside her, "I had everyone in town evacuate, now let me help you!"

"Lisanna, you have to run. It's dangerous."

"Big brother Elf tried to use his Takeover magic on the Beast, but it was too strong and it overpowered him."

"I was getting beat up pretty bad so Elfman tried to Take Over the Beast to protect me," Mirajane explained.

"Oh my gosh," Lisanna gasped, "That's him?"

"Yes, and it almost worked. But the Beast was too powerful for him. Now he's totally lost control!"

"Mira had been badly hurt and couldn't fight, but I knew my brother was in there, so I stepped forward and talked to him. I told him that we would all go home together."

"Big brother Elf? You feeling okay? It's me, Lisanna, your little sister. Our big sister, Mira, is here too," Lisanna told her brother from somewhere inside the Beast.

She was scared. Scared that she would lose her only brother, but she had to put aside her fear and save her brother. They just had to get him back.

"We're a family and when times are tough, we pull together and work things out. So why don't the three of us go home and talk about what happened today? I promise we're not mad at you," she added when she saw the Beast narrow his eyes.

"The Beast controlling Elfman had raised his arm. Perhaps I should have known that it would strike at me, but I guess I was just so sure that big brother Elf would be able to control it enough to stop it from attacking me because he wouldn't ever attack his sisters."

"Come on. Don't be afraid, big brother," Lisanna said warmly, spreading her arms wide and smiling up at him, We still love you."

"But Natsu saw what I didn't."

"Lisanna! ! !"

"He pushed me out of the way just as the Beast's paw swept across the ground that I had just been standing on."

Lisanna felt a heavy force crash into her and a sudden breath of wind whoosh past her as she fell backwards to the ground. The heavy force that had crashed into her was Natsu whose body covered hers and had shielded her from, she could now see, the Beast's giant paw which had swung up into the air and turned it about thanks to its forward momentum. That... that was the whooshing sound she'd heard! The Beast... it had tried to attack her...! If it weren't for Natsu, she might be...!

"Then he stood up and confronted big brother Elf himself, who was still somewhere within the Beast."

"I hate to do this to you Elfman. I know you would never attack either of your sisters if you had any sort of control, but I can't let this Beast that's overpowered you continue, so I'll help you fight it, but you've got to help me out here..."

"And then Natsu said:"

"... Because I won't stand by and let this Beast harm my wife! !"

"No way!" Lucy exclaimed in rapture, "He actually called you that! You weren't even engaged by that point, were you? !"

"Yes, he did. And no, we weren't engaged at that point, but it wasn't too surprising. We had played house together when we were kids with Happy as our son. Still, the reason I knew that Natsu was being absolutely serious was because in all our time playing house, hehad never once actually referred to me as his wife. Anyways, after that, he and big brother Elf managed to successfully defeat the Beast, Elfman's long-since mastered it by now, the request was completed, and Natsu asked me to join him on a never-ending journey," Lisanna finished with a dreamy smile on her face.

"A never-ending journey?" Lucy questioned, appearing slightly puzzled as she took a sip of her drink.

"Yup," Lisanna agreed with a beaming smile, "That was how he proposed to me."

Lucy spat out her drink. "He what? ! ? That's how he proposed to you! How in all of Fiore is that a proposal? ? ?" she demanded.

"Well, it is a little odd," Lisanna admitted, "But life is a journey for Natsu. The journey called 'life' never ends until the day we die and who knows? Maybe the journey continues on from there. So by Natsu asking me to join him on a never-ending journey, he was inviting me to join and share with him this journey of life and maybe even death if such a journey exists."

"Wow, that's... actually pretty deep..." Lucy breathed in awe, "I had no idea that Natsu could be so philosophical."

"Oh, he's not," Lisanna corrected, "There's no great thinking of philosophy involved with Natsu, it's just how he lives his life which is even better, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I guess... Wow, you two really do have a pretty deep commitment to each other. So have you two decided on a wedding day yet?" Lucy asked excitedly.

"Eh? ! !" Lisanna exclaimed, blushing suddenly, "No, no, we haven't! We may be engaged, but I don't want to tie Natsu down with marriage just yet. I'll just wait and let him take his time until he's ready. To be honest, I think Natsu might have proposed earlier than he'd intended because in the heat of the moment, he might have been scared of losing me."

"So, you've been engaged to him for two years and you're going to wait even longer until Natsu's ready to get married?" Lucy asked and then sighed, "Well, that's a little depressing. I was hoping that I'd get to participate and be witness to a wedding this year. It would be a great experience to witness for my novel at any rate. I think you'd be a wonderful wife for Natsu. You clearly understand him well and he obviously cares for you."

"Ah, thank you very much," Lisanna mumbled in embarrassment, "But it really is no trouble to wait. I'd loved him for five years already before he proposed. I can wait another five years to marry him if that's what it's gonna take. So long as we still love each other, we can get through anything."

"Hey, Lisanna! Take a look at what I found!" Natsu shouted excitedly as he ran up to the two girls, Happy right behind him, and held up a piece of paper that looked like a job request, "I found an easy job request that pays pretty well! You wanna join me?"

"Can I at least read what the job is first?" Lisanna asked with a laugh as she held out her hand to accept the paper from her pink-haired fiancé.

"Absolutely!" Natsu said enthusiastically and placed it eagerly in her hand.

Lisanna chuckled lightly and began reading the contents. Her originally-amused smile slowly shifted to confusion as she read and then shock when her eyes reached the bottom of the page, her cheeks becoming a brilliant shade of red.

"I-Is that right?" she stuttered, her face still red as she gazed up at Natsu questioningly.

"Of course it is!" Natsu said happily as he grasped her hands in his and held them to his chest where his heart beat beneath the skin, "That's what the job says and the reward is absolutely priceless, so let's go!"

Lisanna's blue eyes began to brim with tears of joy and she threw her arms around Natsu's neck, embracing him lovingly, "Oh Natsu, you're amazing, you know that?"

"So you tell me," Natsu said with a slight laugh and hugged her back. "Come on Happy! You're coming with us too, of course!" he called to his best friend as he pulled back a little from Lisanna.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Happy cried joyfully as he followed after his pseudo-parents who had run out of the guild hall hand-in-hand.

"Hey, wait, you guys..." Lucy protested weakly, her hand barely outstretched to them as all three of them disappeared from sight outside the guild. "What kind of job were they going on and where?" Lucy wondered out loud when she caught sight of a paper floating haphazardly to the ground.

It was the job request flyer that Natsu had shown to Lisanna. Lucy scooped it up just as it touched the ground and examined its contents. Her expression started out confused too as she began to read it and just like Lisanna, her face suddenly turned bright red upon reading the reward at the bottom of the page.

"No way! Today! ? ! ? Natsu! Lisanna! Wait for me! !" Lucy yelled at the top of her lungs as she tossed the paper aside and ran out of the guild after them.

The antics of the past five minutes had now drawn the entire guild's attention to the one flyer that had caused such a powerful reaction so quickly and all the members gathered around Makarov as he read the flyer's contents out loud.

"EHH? ? ?" the entire guild shouted once Makarov had finished and everyone was thrown into a frenzy.

Elfman went to send for Mirajane to return to the guild instantly for Lisanna was their little sister after all. And Gray volunteered to send for Erza, knowing that she would hate to miss something this important. In all the confusion and bustle, the poor flyer was abandoned for yet a third time and the guild had become impossibly-empty in such a short time frame. What had been written on this mysterious job request to warrant such a unified reaction from the Fairy Tail guild? Merely this:

Job Request Approval Form

Job Requestee: Natsu Dragneel
Contact: Fairy Tail Guild messaging service
Approved by: Guild Master Makarov Dreyar

Request: Participate in a ceremony of holy matrimony and create a marital union with Lisanna Strauss.
Reward: Lisanna Strauss will become the wife of Natsu Dragneel.

lol, I've never believed that Natsu would do things the traditional way. That just wouldn't be Natsu for you. Also, I really do think that Lucy would ship them together if this had happened. I really do find this couple uber adorable! (and it saddens me so much that sooo many people hate her and are so horrible to her, even in the summaries! [I'd hate to see what they do to her character in the actual story content])