Ah, ringing in the new year. What could be better than celebrating with friends? For it to be worth it, it would definitely have to be memorable.
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
All Chapters - Day One - Day Two - Day Three - Day Four - Day Five - Day Six - Day Seven - Day Eight (Bonus) - FF.NET
NEW YEAR'S EVE/NEW YEAR'S DAY
Title: The Day After
She wasn't sure how it happened, but it happened again.
She woke up to find bodies – naked bodies – sprawled out on the floor of her apartment. She was in Natsu's embrace with her back to his stomach. Surprisingly she was able to remove herself from his grip and got up.
She then looked at everyone who was there with quick glances so that she wouldn't see something she did not need to…again. Everyone was accounted for. Well, all except one blue, twin tailed girl who must have left the apartment before the insanity happened again at Erza's drunken stupor. However, this time, there were more bodies than last time, by six.
Lucy Heartfilia carefully stepped over the unconscious guests of hers and picked up her clothes and got dressed before heading to her bathroom. There, she found the missing pre-teen, sleeping in an empty bathtub with her white winged feline friend on a hoard of pillows and blankets, along with a snoozing blue exceed and a black one.
She looked back out the door to see some bodies stirring and went wide-eyed. If the innocent Sky Dragon Slayer woke up and saw what Lucy had to maneuver her way through, she'd be scarred for life. Lucy did not want that to happen – at all. Lucy then looked back and saw Charle start to open her eyes.
"Morning Lucy!" The white exceed greeted.
"Uh, hi Charle. I am going to need you to keep Wendy in here. Trust me when I say she does NOT want to go out there to leave my place."
"Okay." Charle agreed partially confused.
Lucy then left the bathroom and closed the door before dealing with her in the buff guests. She walked around the room and gathered the boys' clothing and put them next to each one of them before doing the same for the girls in the room. She then walked over to her best friend and nudged the bluenette's shoulder to wake her up.
"Mm?"
"Levy, you need to..uh..get dressed. It happened again." Lucy stated in her friend's ear causing her to go wide-eyed as she shot straight up.
"Oh, hell no!" Levy said in disbelief.
"Relax, I put your clothes next to you. I have to wake everyone else up, but ladies first."
Lucy then woke up Juvia, Cana, Lisanna and Mirajane to tell them the same thing. She received groans from them as well before they woke up and got dressed. She then found Erza on the other side of her bed's headboard. Lucy and the girls were glad that the boys were sleeping as they were.
"Remind me to kill Erza later for last night." Mirajane joked as she tied her dress's bow.
"I have a splitting headache." Lisanna whined as she rubbed her eyes and then opened them to see the massive bare skin site before her. "AAH!" She screamed but Mirajane covered her little sister's mouth. "Sorry."
The girls let out a small giggle before they attempted to wake up the boys.
"Do we have to wake them up?" Juvia asked. "Gray-sama looks so peaceful."
Lucy snapped her head at the water mage and gritted her teeth before speaking.
"Yes, Juvia. I am sorry but they all need to get out of my house." She answered as she looked around at the mess that had been made again.
Streamers were everywhere, as were champagne bottles and other bottles of liquor.
"Does anyone know how we ended up at Lucy's in the first place?" Mirajane asked. "The last thing I remember is giving Natsu a drink."
Lisanna looked at her older sister and then laughed.
"That's funny. The last thing I remember is him spilling it on me after Gray tripped him." Lisanna chimed in.
"Which caused you to bump into me making me spill my beer." Cana added.
It all started to unravel. All of the events leading up to how they had arrived at Lucy's house were starting to be explained.
"And then you got so mad you threw the bottle at one of them, but it hit the wall over Erza and her…cake." Levy finished as Erza started to finally stand up.
"And they still need to be punished for that. That ruined a perfectly good strawberry shortcake." Titania added and then looked around the room. "I am…sorry Lucy for bringing everyone here again."
Lucy smiled.
"It's okay Erza, really. I know I came back early with Wendy and Charle because I could tell something was going to happen that I wanted no part of." Lucy said and then paused. "I think I fell asleep because the next thing I can remember is waking up because I heard you all yelling as you came up along the canal front.
"Speaking of our Sky Dragon Slayer, where is she?" Juvia asked as she looked around.
"She's fine. She must have grabbed some blankets and went to hide in my bathtub. She's still in there. We need to get the boys awake and at least dressed before Charle allows her to leave."
Erza took a deep breath in before speaking.
"Well then, let's wake these losers up." She said before throwing Jellal's coat on top of him before kicking him half gently in his side.
"Ow." He said calmly as he looked up at the woman who just kicked him and then went wide-eyed.
"Get dressed. You're naked." Erza said forcefully before making her way to the next naked Fairy Tail mage in the room.
Lucy followed suit with a laugh hurrying along and waking up Natsu, while Juvia tried to wake up Gray but was failing miserably. Levy was left with waking up Gajeel and Lisanna woke up Bixlow and Mirajane woke up Laxus before the girls all headed into the bathroom to give them some decent private time to hurry up and get ready.
"Why are we in here? Can we all fit?" Cana complained.
"We'll have to for the next five minutes." Lucy stated. "And just be happy you didn't have to wake any of them up."
Cana then made her way to the door to sneak a peek of the boys.
"So, uh, who did we all kiss at midnight?" Cana asked.
"I kissed Laxus." Replied Mirajane.
"I kissed Bixlow." Lisanna answered.
"Gajeel."
"Gray-sama, but only on his cheek because he turned away at the last minute."
"Jellal." Erza whispered.
"So that leaves you Cana."
"Bacchus was at the hall." Cana answered with a large grin. "But Lucy also didn't answer."
"I didn't kiss anyone. I was here watching the fireworks while Wendy joined me." Lucy somewhat proudly admitted.
"So then who did Natsu kiss? Didn't he say he was going to kiss someone?" Mirajane asked.
"Yeah, I wonder who." Levy added curiously. "We'll have to ask him." She added devilishly.
Once the five minutes were up, all of the girls came out of the bathroom to find the boys already starting on the cleanup of Lucy's tiny apartment. Lucy smiled at the site as she and the girls started to help them. Within ten minutes the apartment was put back the way it was when they first arrived.
"So, Natsu, who did you kiss at midnight? We know who we all kissed, but you're the only one not accounted for." Levy teased.
"Quit it shrimp!" Gajeel scolded causing Levy to scowl and then stick her tongue at him. "All right! That's it!" He yelled as he scooped her up causing her to start flailing her arms screaming. "Come on Lily!"
"Coming!" The black exceed answered as he came flying out of the bathroom.
"Gajeel! Put me down!"
And that was the last they heard of Levy for four days.
The group left it alone and decided to thank Lucy for her involuntary hosting of the after party before heading out themselves. Wendy eventually emerged with Charle and Happy and left as well not knowing what had transpired. However, Natsu stayed behind.
"You're not going home?"
"Nah. You still have some cleaning to do."
"It's just vacuuming and cleaning the coffee table." She said with a shrug.
"I know."
Lucy went to grab a spray bottle of cleaner and a rag and handed it to him before she pulled her vacuum out of the closet.
"You never did answer Levy. Who did you kiss at midnight?"
Natsu went to scratch his head before he answered.
"I, uh, didn't officially kiss anyone."
"Officially?"
"Yeah, the person I wanted to wasn't there because she went to her home with a few friends."
Lucy's eyes became wider than Natsu had ever seen them. He walked over to her and smiled as he closed the gap in between them.
"But that's fine. There's always next year."
"You're right. There is." She eventually responded as she went on the tips of her toes and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Now get to work!"
A/N: Thanks for reading. I appreciate it. I wasn’t too thrilled with out this turned out, but I had no idea what else to write. I had thought of writing a repeat of the Christmas Special, but decided not to and write about the day after.
I have been struggling for maybe three days with writing chapter 7 of Fata Donum. I also have to write my last entry for FT Christmas Week which is “due” either tomorrow or Friday (I am giving myself a due date because that’s how I roll). And then I have to work on my next chapter of Astral Iter (CharlotteXAkagami no Shirayukihime crossover) which needs to be posted in like a week - maybe that will be the last chapter. =)
The good news is I have maybe a page or two left for chapter 7 of Fata Donum so that *should* be posted tomorrow without any issues.
Collab by @amehanaaa and @lonestorm -- Merry Christmas Fairy Tail Fandom!!
Summary: Playing Secret Santa wasn't really Lucy's forte, but as Natsu held out his idea, she blurted out the first thing on her mind. "Why the hell are you choosing THAT gift for your crush?"
Found here on ff.net
If it hadn't been for the pink-haired boy from chemistry class, Lucy might have been driven absolutely up the wall. It was just her luck that she had to be paired up with Sting, the most obnoxious person in the whole class. All she ached to hear was the bell that would dismiss them for the day. The only downside, though, was if she heard the chime of the bell, that meant she needed to head straight to work.
Of course, she did greatly appreciate her job at the small gift shop downtown; it was normally quiet, warm, and gave her plenty of time to do her homework at the front desk. Christmas season, however, was a different story.
The place was bustling, customers generally asking stupid questions, complaining about their favorite brands being sold out, and children screaming in their parent’s wake. Lucy was pretty done with humans when he walked in.
She'd been straightening her golden blonde locks after rushing around to find the right size shirt in the back that the customer had been demanding. When she looked up, he was walking in, halting as he noticed her behind the counter. Lucy recognized him; the boy that sat directly behind her. She knew his name was Natsu, he was a friend of her friends, he was loud and funny as well as a genius at chem.
And, admittedly, extremely cute.
Not that she noticed, of course.
Natsu looked mildly stricken to see her, but quickly recovered, shooting a wide grin before ambling off. Lucy tried not to let her eyes glance at him too much as she eventually resumed folding shirts. She peeked through her lowered lashes while Natsu filed through a rack of shirts. Normally, she would have to be over there by now—asking him if he needed any help—but her feet seemed to be stuck to the floor. She pretended not to notice the several pauses he made when picking up an item and studying it intently.
After selling a few chocolates, Natsu finally appeared at the counter, holding a…
What even is that?
“Why the hell are you choosing THAT for a gift for your crush?”
The words flew from her mouth before she realized how rude it sounded; it was her job to sell whatever the customer wanted! Not question it! Good thing her supervisor wasn’t here today…
“Huh?” he said, startled. He blinked big eyes in the most innocent way so that her face warmed.
“I’m so sorry!” she said quickly, shaking her head. “That was very rude of me. U-um I’ll, uh, get a bag and…”
“How did you know?”
“What?”
“How did you know who it was for?” he implored, unabashed and looking interested.
“O-oh.” Why can’t I talk normally? “I-I, em, you looked a bit nervous… blushing and… at some jewelry…”
After a moment of a blank expression, his face morphed into a grin. “Well, I guess I knew you were smart.”
“Y-you…?”
“You’re in my chem and English classes. You’re smart.”
The fact that he’d noticed that about her, a girl he’d hardly ever talked to, sent warmth through her chest. Lucy smiled. “Oh. Thank you. But in chemistry, you’re top in the class.”
His grin turned slightly cocky, and genuinely happy. “It just clicks with me, I guess. I like pyrotechnics so I already know some of that stuff!” He leaned on the counter, putting his cheek in his hand. “So, why shouldn’t I get this for the girl?”
Her eyes fell back down to the fluffy, white stuffed animal. It looked a bit like a mix between a snowman and a dog. It… okay, it was really cute, but… “Well, I guess I just thought it’s not something that shows she’s special to you, and not what would make girls most interested in you.”
“Most? What about you?”
Lucy frowned. “What… what about me?”
“You said most girls wouldn’t like it much, but if a guy gave this to you… would you feel special and like it?”
The question caught her completely off guard. “Me? Um. Well.” She cleared her throat, mumbling in admittance, “If it were me, I’d… I’d probably love it, but I’m a bit…”
“Weird,” Natsu finished.
“I’m weird?” Lucy sputtered, crossing her arms.
“Yep!” he said cheerfully, standing up straight and tucking the stuffed animal under his arm. “I like it. Mind showing me what every girl would like, then?”
“Oh… sure,” Lucy said, still distracted by the ‘weird’ comment. Inspiration struck, from daydreaming about many of the prettier items in the shop that she’d thought of wearing for a special person. “Over here.”
She led him to the side glass case of jewelry, pointing down at a silver necklace on top. “Well made, and not out of a reasonable price range. It’s simple and pretty; the Japanese symbol of hope. Hope is a better go because it won’t scare the girl with a big declaration that sounds like love; it’s just the hope that she’ll give you a chance.”
He was completely silent for a moment, making her shift nervously at the thought of him telling her it was stupid. Then he declared, “It’s perfect! I’m buying it.”
Breathing out in relief that her retail skills remained, she nodded with a smile. After she drew it out from the case and carefully closed the box up, Lucy put it onto the counter. “Will that be all?”
“This too,” he said cheerfully, dropping that ridiculous stuffed animal next to the cash register.
After letting out a rather unladylike snort, she scanned the soft thing and put it into a bag, followed by the necklace. She told him the price, he paid, and he was going to be off giving that beautiful piece to some lucky girl.
Lucy couldn’t help but be a little jealous; she hadn’t been on a date for a long time, and they’d never gone too well. In all her books and shows, there had been kind men that loved their woman simply for being herself. In Lucy’s experience, there had been douchebags that were really interested in her “rack.”
“Hey.” Lucy turned back to be face to face with the little snowmanish stuffed animal. Natsu was holding it out, a much smaller smile contained in his cheeks. “This is for you. Thank you for helping me look. Merry Christmas!”
A warm tingling filtered through her, absolutely touched as she took the stuffed animal. “That is so sweet of you. Thank you, and Merry Christmas, Natsu.”
“Well, only a weirdo like you would like it anyway,” he said, shooting her a last grin and wave before pushing through the door. “See ya tomorrow!”
Lucy’s eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement at his retreating figure passing the store windows. Tomorrow? But—
Oh. The Fullbuster Christmas party. Of course.
“See you tomorrow, then,” she mumbled under her breath. Then, after noticing a customer was coming towards her, she dismissed all her erratic thoughts. It wasn’t going to be until after work that she thought about Natsu until her brain throbbed. She couldn’t tell if the pit in her stomach was due to anticipation or anxiety. She wouldn’t be surprised if it was both.
This party was definitely going to be… Weird.
The Fullbuster Christmas party was, without a doubt, the highlight of Lucy’s winter.
Since her dad was far too busy shut up in his office to even realize it was getting chilly outside, he’d never really been one to celebrate the holidays, especially since her mother passed away. But when she’d gotten Gray’s invitation freshman year, Lucy had been reintroduced to a world of lights and carols and friendship all wrapped in ribbon and tinsel.
It wasn’t actually that big of a party, compared to most high school blowouts. A couple of his close friends, who would bring a couple of their friends. It gave a turnout of about twenty people, laughing and making merry under a twenty foot evergreen decked in color and candy canes.
Her three best friends, Levy, Erza, and Juvia had come to hang out in Lucy’s mansion early in the day that Saturday, lounging and watching chick flicks shamelessly before rushing upstairs at six to change into their dresses and fix their hair. Lucy mostly helped the other three, as they all had crushes and boyfriends they—refused to admit—wanted to impress.
And Lucy had absolutely no one. Of course. Because a stuffed animal dog with a carrot for a nose did not count as a testament to deeper feelings.
But she couldn’t keep from slipping off into her pink-clouded thoughts, drifting off into a daydream of someone telling her she looked pretty tonight, maybe accidentally stepping under the mistletoe that Mira hid everywhere as soon as she came, or—
“Whaaaat are you doing?” Levy mused, eyes closely following the progress of Lucy wrapping the golden tinsel around her own finger instead of in her hair.
“I am…” Lucy cleared her throat as she returned to reality. “Um, experimenting with fashion.”
“Well, if you’d take a break from your fantastical discoveries with attractive tinsel rings, I’d ask you where this weird little stuffed animal thing came from,” replied Levy, plucking Plue from her bedspread. “I guess it’s kinda cute.”
“I didn’t see that when I was here studying yesterday, Lucy,” Erza frowned, turning in her stunning, crimson dress. “A Christmas present from someone?”
Lucy’s mind whirled, considering how much they’d tease her if she was honest. “Uh… I just… you know. Gift shop bonus.”
She turned away quickly from them, untwining the tinsel and making herself busy by weaving it into Levy’s curls like a crown.
“And that makes you blush because… why?” Levy was smirking; Lucy hadn’t even seen her look back.
“It doesn’t,” quipped Lucy, tucking in the last wire. “It’s just a little present. It doesn’t mean he has a crush on me or anyth—”
Ah, crap.
“He?!” Juvia sat up straighter, ears perking up. Oh, she was in for an interrogation now.
“A boy gave it to you?”
“Who is it?!”
“Was he cute?”
“Did he ask you out?”
“Stop, guys!” Lucy hissed, backing away slightly as they bounced around her in circles. “It was just some guy looking for a present for the girl he likes and he was going to buy this! I told him he should get something else and he did, but he also got this and gave it to me to… to thank me for helping him!”
“Well, I don’t care who his crush is; that’s the sweetest thing and if he’s cute I say you flaunt what you got and steal ‘im!” Levy declared.
“You sound like Cana. We don’t need two of those.”
“What is his name?” Erza demanded, grabbing Lucy by the shoulders.
“N-Natsu,” Lucy stammered at Erza’s steady stare. “G-Gray’s friend.”
“Juvia has no more love rivals!” said girl cheered gleefully, and Lucy groaned at their unwarranted enthusiasm.
“For the recorded eighty-ninth time, Juvia, I have absolutely no inclination towards Gray, nor have I ever, and I d-don’t for… for Natsu either!”
“Whatever you say,” Levy said busily, but then picked up the red ribbon and began to reel some out. “But this would go lovely around your neck with that gorgeous white dress of yours, and I am curling your hair and putting some holly in it. Whether or not the boy likes you or you like him…” She let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like “totally does”. “You are gonna knock him out the second he lays eyes on you.”
“I hate you all.”
“Love you too,” Levy giggled while prancing around her with the ribbon.
With that, the girls began to put the final touches to their outfits. Levy wouldn’t stop gushing about Lucy’s new love interest, Erza constantly daydreamed about the strawberry cake that would surely be there, and Juvia was off into her own little world filled with Gray and Gray only.
“Okay, girls, let’s go,” Erza declared once they were all content with their appearances.
“Yes, ma’am!” the girls sang, picking up their Secret Santa presents. Making their way out of Lucy’s mansion, they headed towards the Fullbuster Christmas party, grateful the walk wasn’t too long. By the time the girls were knocking on Gray’s front door, their exposed legs were causing them to shiver slightly. Immediate warmth circled around them when the door swung open, revealing a smirking boy wearing a lazily placed santa hat with no shirt in sight.
“Merry Christmas!” the girls exclaimed simultaneously, Juvia being the loudest.
“Welcome, welcome,” Gray beckoned them inside with an unfaltering smirk. “You can put your presents under the tree. Want anything to drink?”
Lucy couldn’t stop herself from stealing a glimpse at the rest of the neatly wrapped presents already sitting under the tree as her present joined the others. She paused after noticing a particular present—the shape being oddly familiar. So familiar, she felt as if she could see the jewelry inside of it. Before she was the last one to be admiring the presents, she placed her contribution beneath the tree.
“Where’s everyone else?” Levy asked curiously while they wandered into the kitchen. Pouring themselves some soda, they heard several howls come from the living room. The laughter was almost enough to shake the entire house.
“In there,” Gray responded simply, now leading the girls to the voices that only seemed to get louder. “Oi, everyone, the final guests are here!”
Lucy was the last to enter the living room, instantly locking eyes with a pair of entrancing, onyx ones. Time seemed to be frozen as Natsu and her blankly stared at one another for a couple of moments. It wasn’t until she forced herself to send him a smile when time resumed flowing.
“Are you going to sit down anytime soon?” a rough voice inquired bluntly.
“W-What?” she blurted out, hardly realizing Levy, Erza, and Juvia were already seated. She briefly scanned the living room to find an open spot, noticing Natsu scooting over on the couch he was on. He lightly cleared his throat as he patted the now unoccupied spot. Reluctantly, she stepped towards him and sat beside him.
“You don’t have to be so mean to her, Gajeel!” Levy chided sternly.
“Well, her standing while we’re all sitting was annoying me,” he grumbled.
“I’m running out of booze already. You have any more, Gray?” Cana freely burped out, not bothered by the bewildered looks she received.
“Cana, why don’t you take a break for now?” Mira suggested.
“And don’t try to give any to Wendy!” Lisanna added while swiftly snatching away the cup Cana attempted to offer.
“I wasn’t going to take it, don’t worry!” Wendy assured meekly.
Lucy listened to the group with amusement, feeling a pair of eyes beside her settled on her. It took all of her strength to finally look at Natsu. Her heart skipped a beat when their gazes locked.
“So, we meet again,” Natsu said with a grin.
“Thanks for giving me a spot,” she replied softly, smiling to show her appreciation.
“Anytime!” he guaranteed. “You’re already weird, and we can’t have you get any weirder, you know?”
“I’m not weird!” she proclaimed just as she did the first time. And just like last time, his eyes lit up at her reaction. Before he was able to tease her some more, Gray whistled to get everyone’s attention.
“Anyone up for a game?”
“What kind of game?” Erza was the first one to ask, interest in her eyes.
“A relay,” he answered with a challenging smirk. “Who’s in?”
When there were no objections, Gray’s smirk transformed into a mischievous grin as he surged up from his seat to retrieve the items for the relay. It wasn’t long until he returned with several rolls of toilet paper in his arms. “Alright, get into groups of two!”
Lucy instinctively began to look at Levy; however, an arm linking around hers didn’t give her enough time to. Her eyes widened when she realized Natsu had her trapped.
“Let’s work hard together, partner!” he told her enthusiastically. Lucy gulped in response, not quite sure if being paired up with him was a good thing or not. Glancing around the room, she noted that her friends were either paired with their sibling or significant other. Well, future significant other, anyway. Lucy couldn’t help but feel like her and Natsu were the oddballs of the group. Okay, Cana and Wendy were a little strange, but that was besides the point.
“Rules are simple,” Gray stated, tossing one person in each group a roll. “The first person to put all their toilet paper around their partner wins. There’s a catch, though. You have to make your partner look like a snowman.”
“I quit,” Gajeel grunted, falling back down onto the couch.
“Oh, no you don’t!” Levy groaned as she used all her strength to pull him back up by his arm.
“Winner of the relay gets a special gift at the end,” Gray concluded, nodding in satisfaction once Gajeel immediately stood back up at the news. Not wasting another second, Gray inhaled deeply and shouted, “Get ready, get set, go!”
“Put your arms to the sides, Lucy!” Natsu instantly commanded.
“Why me?!” she exclaimed with bewilderment, refusing to lift her arms.
“I got a plan, don’t worry!” he said with such an assuring tone, it caused Lucy to hesitate. Slowly, she began to lift her arms.
“There you go,” he encouraged with satisfaction as he started to wrap a few layers around her arms. “I’m going to make you the best toilet paper snowman ever.”
“Snowwoman,” she corrected.
“Even better!” he replied.
A smile broke out onto Lucy’s face as she stayed as still as she could while Natsu worked his magic. She decided to observe everyone else in the meantime, holding back a snort each time Gajeel’s piercings tore through the paper. Levy and Gajeel weren’t the only one having trouble—Wendy was too short to reach Cana’s shoulders, Mira and Lisanna were still deciding who should be the decorated one, and Juvia didn’t dare do anything to cover up Gray. The only real competition Natsu and Lucy seemed to have was Erza and Jellal. And oh, they were going fast.
“N-Natsu, I think you should start hurrying up a bit,” Lucy mentioned anxiously after noticing the small amount of toilet paper Jellal had left.
“I’m almost done,” Natsu answered. “Give me a few seconds.”
Lucy tried her best to not move too much as she looked down to see how Natsu had decorated her. She was entirely covered by the toilet paper, and her white dress blended in perfectly. She couldn’t deny that she was more than happy with the outcome.
“Are we done?” she asked excitedly when he took a step back to inspect her.
“One more thing!” he added, his hands unraveling the scarf draped around his neck.
“W-What are you doing?” she stuttered with large eyes. She promptly forgot what breathing was as his arms came around her to place the scarf and wrap it snuggly around her. Her face was inches away from Natsu’s; she was sure he could feel the warmth of her cheeks.
“You make the perfect snowwoman,” he smiled at her. Simultaneously, two yells announced their victory.
“Finished!” Erza and Jellal shouted.
“That’s time!” Gray instructed. “Everyone drop your rolls.”
“You call that finished?” Gajeel cackled with no hesitation. “Erza looks like a mummy!”
“Yeah, Erza, you don’t really look like a snowman,” Lisanna remarked.
Erza squinted through the open section Jellal provided her, her voice muffled as she tried her best to speak.
“Due to poor snowman construction, Erza and Jellal are disqualified,” Gray said firmly, not having the patience to let Erza finish speaking. “Anyone else finished?”
“We are!” Natsu proclaimed proudly. “I present to you, Lucy the Snowwoman!”
Lucy was grateful for Natsu’s scarf since it was able to conceal her flushed face. With everyone’s eyes settled on her, she couldn’t help but feel self-conscious. Natsu looking at her didn’t make it any better, either.
“Lucy looks amazing!” Mira gasped. “Natsu, you did really well!”
“I know,” he smirked.
“I never knew you had it in you, Flame-brain,” Gray scoffed. “I guess you can win this time.”
“What’s our present?!” Natsu demanded.
“Here you go,” Gray handed Lucy a simple present bag with holiday swirls scattered across it.
Lucy peeked into the bag, feeling Natsu’s impatience, so she quickly reached inside to pull out the soft fabric inside.
“Matching sweaters?” Natsu and Lucy asked at the same time, looking up at one another with dumbfounded expressions.
“That’s so cute, Lucy!” Levy exclaimed, her grin being wider than usual.
“Put them on right now!” Lisanna commanded.
“Why not?” Natsu shrugged as he entered his arms into the green sweater. “How’s it look?”
“Familiar,” Lucy joked once she had removed the toilet paper and had her sweater on now. The two shared a laugh in response.
“Okay, they got their presents, now can we open our presents already?” Cana gave out an irritated sigh.
“You’re a mean one,” Lisanna muttered, though it was still loud enough for everyone to hear. The rest weren’t able to hold back their snorts, receiving a glare from Cana.
Gray’s nod was all it took for the group of teens to instantly transform into a group of rambunctious toddlers. As everyone sprinted to the tree in search for their gift, it was every man for himself. Lucy had to dodge Gray being thrown back by Gajeel, who was also getting thrown by Jellal. Natsu had no interest with the boys since he somehow made it to the presents before anyone else had.
Knowing that it’d only be safe after the boys had found their presents, Lucy eventually was able to go up to the tree. Her eyes widened in surprise when she realized that the present with her name on it was one that looked extremely familiar. She hesitantly picked it up, double-checking to see if it was actually her name on it.
Lucy’s legs moved on their own as they brought her back to the living room and on the couch. She wasn’t able to tear her eyes away from her gift. She didn’t even want to unwrap it until she knew she was taking too long. Once she had forced herself to slowly peel away the wrapping paper, her heart leaped into her throat.
This couldn’t be real. This necklace could not be real. What made a tingling sensation scatter across her body was the main piece of the necklace.
“It’s the Japanese symbol for hope,” a gentle voice mentioned beside her. Lucy looked up to find Natsu sending her a coy smile.
“When I was buying this, I was told hope is a better go because it won’t scare the girl with a big declaration that sounds like love,” he added.
“It’s just the hope that she’ll give you a chance,” Lucy replied with her own smile playing across her lips.
“Was the person who told me this right?” he asked.
“I think she was,” she gave a small nod.
“That’s a relief,” he spoke while taking the necklace from her. “Here, turn around so I can put it on you.”
Lucy’s cheeks immediately darkened to deep crimson as she felt Natsu’s arms come around her again. Goosebumps rose on her skin when his fingers accidentally skimmed across her neck.
“Thank you so much, Natsu,” she faced him with a grin once the necklace was hooked around her neck. “It’s perfect!” Not thinking twice, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She felt as if she was going to burst with joy when Natsu returned the hug.
“Merry Christmas, Lucy,” he told her softly.
“Merry Christmas, Natsu,” she responded. She felt as if it was just her and Natsu at that moment, but after hearing several gasps, she remembered that wasn’t the case.
“You two look so good together!” Levy proclaimed.
“Juvia is so relieved now!” she chimed in.
“Hey, Mira!” Cana called out, raising her glass to them. “Where’s that supposedly secret mistletoe you probably hung all over? And maybe some rope to get two dorks under it?”
Part of the FT Christmas week (Prompt 7-Christmas) and a gift to all my followers, thank you for making my first few months full of laughs and fun, I’m so glad I met you all. I would also like to especially tag @kiss-me-khaos who has been nothing but a pure delight to talk to, she’s helped me with my stories/advice and listened to me ramble on about all sorts of things <3
I hope you all have a wonderful day and I love you all
Btw you cannot tell me that Exceeds don’t love to curl up by the fire like other cats
Nothing beats waking up Christmas morning and ripping open all of the presents you have received and handing out the ones you have purchased for your friends and family.
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays
Cause no matter how far away you roam
If you want to be happy in a million ways
For the holidays, you can't beat home sweet home
~#~#~#~#~#~#~
All Chapters - Day One - Day Two - Day Three - Day Four - Day Five - Day Six - Day Seven - Day Eight (Bonus) - FF.NET
CHRISTMAS
Title: The Pleasure of Giving
Natsu Dragneel woke up early on Christmas morning - before the sun even started to rise. He pulled himself up on his bed and glanced at the blue Exceed sleeping at the foot of the bed and then over to the end table by the couch.
Natsu smiled at the sight of the neatly wrapped present that he bought for his best friend and celestial mage, Lucy Heartfilia. If Natsu had wrapped it, it wouldn't have looked so nice. Luckily, the shop owner wrapped it for him a few days prior when he was in Crocus.
Eager to head over to Lucy's house, Natsu quickly got ready and made himself and Happy breakfast.
"Mornin' Natsu!" Happy greeted after yawning. He sniffed the air and smiled. "Mmm…smells good."
"Christmas morning special present for my little buddy!" Natsu answered with a toothy grin. "Pancakes with a side of grilled trout."
Now one would wonder who would make such a breakfast, but as seeing as it was for a cat, it should be expected.
Natsu placed the plate at the table and Happy came over and joined him. After eating and cleaning up, the duo headed to the guildhall to sneakily drop off their gifts to everyone else before leaving. They then made their way over to Lucy's house armed with her present. Natsu, instead of going through the window, actually decided to go to the door this time.
"I would have preferred going through the window." Happy jokingly said as he flew up the stairs as Natsu climbed the stairs.
Moments later they were at her door and Natsu lightly knocked on the wood.
"Coming!" Lucy yelled. A few moments later she opened the door with a very surprised look on her face. "What in the world are you doing here? At my door?" She asked confused as he pointed her thumb behind her towards the window they normally used as their entrance.
"Merry Christmas Lucy!" The duo yelled with huge smiles spread across their faces.
Lucy smiled back and welcomed them inside.
"You still didn't answer my question, Natsu." She teased as he found his spot on her couch.
He sheepishly grinned before answering her as Happy landed on the arm of the couch.
"I wanted to use the door this time. So what?" Natsu rhetorically asked as she came over and raised her eyebrow. "Okay, so I am trying to turn over a new leaf and not go through the window. Plus it's quite chilly out. I didn't want to get beaten up by you when I opened the window and came in."
Lucy cackled before she responded, clearly accepting of his explanation.
"Would the two of you like some hot chocolate?" She offered.
"Yes please!" they said simultaneously.
Lucy smiled as she walked to her small kitchen and prepared three mugs of homemade hot chocolate, complete with the tiny marshmallows. It took a few minutes, but she eventually came back into the living room where Natsu had now made himself comfortable on the living room floor.
"So what brings you by so early, anyway?" Lucy asked as she set the tray on the coffee table and handed him his mug. "I thought we agreed to meet at the guild around one thirty with everyone else." She added giving Happy his mug before she sat down on the floor next to Natsu.
Natsu inhaled the sweet aroma of her hot chocolate before taking a sip and answering her.
"I know. I just didn't want everyone to see what I got you at the same time as you." He said as he put his left hand on the present lying next to him. "It's not much, but I did get you something I hope you would appreciate." He said as he tightened his grasp on the gift and then handed it to her.
Lucy looked at him before slowly taking it out of his grasp. She put it on her lap before placing her mug on the tray.
"Well, if we're exchanging gifts now, let me get you yours." She commented before standing up.
Lucy walked over to her three-foot tall tree and grabbed two neatly wrapped packages and handed one to Natsu and one to Happy.
"But I didn't get you anything Lucy." Happy whined.
"It's okay Happy. I don't mind." She replied as she squatted back down in her seat. "On three?"
"Aye!" Happy replied while Natsu nodded.
"Okay. One. Two. Three." She counted and then the three opened their presents.
Happy ripped his gift open leaving scraps of paper everywhere revealing a few fish wrapped individually, and pre-cooked.
"Uh, Lucy?"
"Yes Happy?"
"Would you mind it if I ate one of these now?" The blue exceed asked as his mouth started to water.
"Go ahead. It's your gift." Lucy said with a chuckle causing the winged cat to smile and bite into the fish. "But eat it slowly. Mira is making a feast for everyone again today."
"Aye." Happy replied, as his mouth was full of fish.
Natsu carefully opened his as he watched Lucy's expression go from a simple excited smile to wide-eyed and blatantly surprised, which caused him to smile. He stopped unwrapping his gift to focus on her verbal reaction, which was sure to come momentarily.
"NATSU!" She screamed once the immediate surprise of his gift wore off. "YOU BOUGHT ME A SILVER KEY!?" She questioned excitedly as she turned to face him.
Since she was practically screaming in his ear, he covered them as he let out a chuckle or two.
"Yes." He admitted calmly. "Although I first I wasn't sure what I should get, and when Princess Hisui gave me that as a suggestion I still wasn't sure I should be buying you a key after – oomph!" He tried to explain, but Lucy cut him off by tackling him in a hug.
"It's fine! It's more than fine." Lucy spat out smiling from ear to ear. "I love it! Thank you!" She added as she got up and let him up.
"You sure? I mean, I know it won't replace Aquarius, but -"
"Yes, Natsu. I am sure. I love it." She interrupted him. "The fact that you bought me a key for my collection means a lot more than you know. And I know I will never be able to replace Aquarius's key since I had to break it to summon the Celestial Spirit King, but it's fine."
Natsu smiled softly knowing that she completely loved his gift. He watched her eyes as she looked from her new key, to him, to the partially unwrapped present that luckily wasn't crushed when she tackled him.
"Open yours." She said calmly as she picked it up and handed it to him.
Natsu took it from her again and finished unwrapping it. He looked at the gift curiously before forming a large grin on his face.
"I get that they are spices, but – "
"Oh, right, so each are made with the three hottest peppers in the world. There's the Seven Pot Douglah, the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, and then the hottest is the Carolina Reaper." Lucy nonchalantly answered with a smile. "Do you like?"
"Uh, yeah!" Natsu replied still grinning. "Thanks Lucy!" He answered her.
He put his arm around her and pulled her closer into a sideways hug and Natsu noticed that she was still absorbed in her present. Lucy stared at the key and Natsu stared at her.
Natsu couldn't help but think of one thing - that being next to Lucy like this felt right. And that thought scared him more than anything else.
"Say Natsu?"
"Yeah Lucy?"
"Do you even realize which one you bought me?" Lucy softly inquired.
"Well," He started as he removed his arm and sat up, "Since I technically could have chosen between five, yes." Natsu finished with a grin. "I thought that one was the better of the five."
"Why? Because it's Draco?" Lucy asked half joking. She then looked at Natsu's expression, but she couldn't figure out if he was shocked or hurt. "Oh."
"No, it's fine. I thought with it being a dragon you might laugh at the fact that I chose that one of all of them. I'm not offended. I promise."
Lucy pursed her lips together and scrunched her nose before sitting up.
"Shall I make a contract with it now?"
"Aye!" Happy finally chimed in after swallowing his last bite.
Lucy stood up and pointed the key out, but Natsu was worried. She was going to call Draco – a dragon. Had she not seen Igneel and Acnologia? Dragons are huge and would break this tiny apartment, possibly even make it collapse underneath its weight and taking them along with it.
"Wait! Lucy!" Natsu yelled but Lucy also opened the gate at the same time.
"Open! Gate of the dragon! Draco!" She commanded.
What appeared wasn't what he was expecting…at all. Instead of a huge dragon, a small dragon about three feet tall appeared.
"Eh?" Natsu said as he tilted his head confused.
Lucy smiled as she continued and introduced herself and got down to business of making her contract with her new spirit. Once she was finished, she sent a message with Draco for her spirits of a "Merry Christmas" and closed the gate. She then turned around to see Natsu still trying to process the small dragon spirit.
"You okay?" She asked with a bit of a giggle.
"Yeah." Natsu answered after shaking his head. "So, what time does Mira want us all to meet at the guild for dinner?"
"Well, I know she said dinner was at two, but we could always head over there earlier. I have a bunch of gifts to hand out to everyone so getting there early might not be a bad idea."
"Are you going to go in your pajamas?"
"What? No! Of course not!" Lucy replied in shock. "If you want to head over there now, you can. I'll meet you there."
"Nah, we can wait for you." Natsu answered as he pulled himself onto the couch and Happy joined him.
Lucy smiled and then headed into her bathroom to change quickly and fixed her hair. Once she was finished, she came out and Natsu helped her put her other gifts in two large bags and headed over to the guildhall.
"Didn't you buy anyone else anything?" Lucy questioned after noticing he was a bit empty handed on his end.
"I did. I already dropped them off before heading over here. They are all under the tree." Natsu boasted.
Lucy giggled as the two walked. Once they arrived they checked in with Mira, or rather Lucy did, and then she headed to Fairy Hills to find the girls who were busy getting ready.
"LUCY! Merry Christmas!" Levy called as she walked half-dressed through the hallway. "I am so glad you're here. I need help with my hair! And you look awesome!"
"Thanks and Merry Christmas to you too!" Lucy giggled as she hugged her friend. "Come on! Let's tame that mop of yours." She teased.
As Lucy brushed Levy's hair, Lucy had her open the gift. Once she was finished, Levy gave Lucy her gift.
"Why are you so happy, Lu?"
"Oh, well, Natsu gave me a key for Christmas."
"A key? Like a key to his house?"
"NO!" She said with a slight chuckle. "Believe it or now, he bought me a celestial key. And of course it was the dragon." Lucy added causing Levy to laugh as well.
They found the other girls and had a bonding discussion. Wendy asked for some assistance with her hair from Lucy, who obliged. Once Lucy was finished, the ladies then walked back down to the main hall to enjoy the rest of their Christmas with exchanging gifts with the other members of the guild.
A/N: Thanks for reading! I appreciate the love I have been receiving.
I will be writing one for the bonus day too over the course of the next couple of days while I am at my brother’s house cat-sitting while he is ‘home’ visiting friends (a routine we established a few years ago when he moved out of state and acquired a cat).
Anyways, I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas, or has already had one.
