Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters; they belong to the one and only Hiro Mashima.
I do own the idea for the fic though.
Burning Tree
(A I.-.-.I Kuroyagi I.-.-.I original fan-fiction story.)
In the Dragneel house.
"Are you sure you can handle it?"
"C'mon! How hard can it be?"
"Hmmm… it is not that hard, but it is you what worries me."
"What do you mean?" Natsu scowled and pouted at his wife, not believing what he heard.
It was Christmas in Fiore.
A night of joy and peace for everyone.
Hell, even the dark guilds took time to stop their evil deeds to partake on the holiday's spirit.
At some random dark guild.
"Here," a brutish man with no hair and lots of piercings grumbled, showing a bright purple enveloped box to one of his subordinates. "Merry Christmas… worm."
"M-master!?" The poor dark guild member felt tears coming when he opened the purple box and found just what he wanted; a new weapon to terrorize the villagers near their guild. He hugged the guild master. "T-thank you very much! Master!"
"Yeah yeah…" The Master, begrudgingly, patted the head of the cheerful subordinate, turning to go and continue delivering gifts to the others under his command.
Back to the house.
Now you get the point.
Christmas.
Everyone is happy and giving gifts while expecting the next morning to celebrate with those close to their hearts.
Of course, those moments were first enjoyed having great dinners near the tree that symbolizes the occasion.
Which take us to the matter at hand…
A white night in Magnolia, the Dragon Slayer and Knight of Fairy Tail, having joined their lives together in marriage not four months ago, were celebrating their first Christmas night together in their home.
Natsu took care of everything, since he knew now he couldn't left Erza in charge of the food because of her lack of skills on the culinary area, and was now pushing the matter so he could also take care of dressing the tree inside their house.
It wasn't that the task was difficult for her, no; it was just that, since she was always the one to keep things in control for the past months, he wanted to return the favor this one night.
Show he could take care of this class of things too and convince the hard-headed woman to let him help during normal days of the year.
It was a good plan and all, but Erza was adamant in at least doing something to help.
It was Christmas!
They were supposed to do things together, not leave the tasks on the other's shoulders!
But Natsu just had to be Natsu, didn't he?
"Please, Erza!" He dropped to his knees and kissed her boots, much to Erza's embarrassment and Happy's amusement. "Let me do it!"
The Knight sighed tiredly and stared at the pleading eyes of her husband.
So much of a hassle to dress a tree?
Yeah, she did not have problem in him dressing it, but it was something that they were supposed to do together.
At least, her novels told her that.
"Your 'tree' is so long…" A woman next to her lover purred, gazing at the 'gift' before her. "Let me be its 'star' at the top~"
"M-my lady!?"
Shaking her head to get rid of the warmth in her cheeks, she returned to the situation at hand.
Why not… let him try to do it?
What could go wrong?
He already made the food, put the decorations outside and had everything ready for the next day at the guild, where they were supposed to have a joint dinner with the rest of their friends.
"Okay, Natsu," She nodded firmly, watching him jump high in celebration before narrowing her eyes, stopping him dry. "But we are going to do everything together for New Year's Eve… I also mean this for next year's Christmas."
Natsu nodded repeatedly and dumbly, giving her a salute and watching her leave the house to go and visit the guild.
Though, Erza would never admit that she didn't go to the guild after that talk.
She forgot to buy the pinkette a present, and she went to repair on that, being careful to not being spotted by any of their friends in the process.
'Oh could I forget, dammit!' She thought furiously, hurriedly eyeing the stores in Magnolia's downtown in search of something that might be of the man's liking. 'I bet he already bought me something! Stupid Erza! Stupid stupid stupid!'
At the house, Natsu and Happy stared at the tall tree in the living room with shining anticipation in their eyes, lunging towards the boxes full of decorations to start with the task.
Natsu put some at the middle and bottom of the tree while Happy took care of the top.
The lights and star were last, for what Mirajane told them, so they left those in the boxes and merrily made their way dressing the pine up for the holidays.
In the Fairy Tail guild.
"Master," Mirajane called for the old man's attention, eyeing the usually rambunctious guild slacking a bit in that department because of the two missing members that were about to have their first Christmas together. "Isn't it too calm today?"
"Ah, Mira," Makarov nodded without hesitation, heaving a long sigh at the sight in front of the bar. "Those two are really needed here."
"Um-huh," the bartender slouched tiredly on the counter, blinking cutely at some of the strained faces in between the wizards. "But I cannot blame them, they are married now, and this is important for them."
"True, very true," the old man crossed his arms and eyed the Ice Alchemist playing with some of his creations on a table not far away, Lucy chatting with Levy about a new book, and Gajeel watching not too far away. Lily was talking with Carla and Wendy. Jet and Droy were drinking with Macao, Wakaba, Max and Warren… there was something missing, and it was obvious for those observing from afar. "Lucky us, we will have a big dinner tomorrow, that will brighten everyone's spirits."
"I hope it does." Mira sighed and dropped her head to the counter, feeling a bit sleepy with the unusual quietness around her.
In the Dragneel house.
So now, they were supposed to put the lights on.
No big deal.
"Happy!" Natsu called for his small feline companion and showed him one end of the lights, moving his arms around to explain what he wanted him to do with it. "Fly and leave that end at the top of the tree, I'll start encircling it from here and done!"
"Aye sir!" Happy grabbed his end of the lights and did as told, the job being finished in just a few minutes. "All done sir!"
"Great! Now let's light this thing!" Natsu knew he still needed to put the star at the top, but preferred to wait for Erza so they could do it together. Meanwhile, he would check the lights worked and could be ready to marvel his wife with its rainbow glows. "Uh?"
He turned the switch on and nothing happened.
"What's wrong, Natsu?" Happy flew low and next to his friend's head, watching him scratch his temple with a finger while thinking about what happened with the lights. "Why aren't the lights working?"
"I don't know, buddy," Natsu checked the lights were connected but it seemed like the trouble was not that one. "I guess they are broken?"
"Ahhh! Erza's going to kill us!" Happy shouted in fear, knowing that the failure of this simple job would anger the scarlet-haired woman.
"C-calm down, Happy!" Natsu patted the scared cat and watched the tree in deep thinking, trying to come up with a way to remedy this situation. His eyes widened when an idea came to his mind. "H-Happy! Bring me cotton! Now!"
"U-uh…? Why, Natsu?" Happy looked at his friend in cluelessness, receiving a slight push towards the rooms inside the house as an answer to his questioning. "N-Natsu!"
"Just bring me some!"
In some place hidden from view.
"So…"
"So…"
"So~?" Meredy eyed anxiously at the two grownups in front of her, patiently waiting for them to say something.
They agreed to put a stop to the dark guild hunting for tonight and enjoy the festivities as well, which meant they were now exchanging gifts as everyone else in the world.
Meredy gave her mother-figure a nice new cape to use, since the last one was torn apart in the last raid. Ultear was grateful for the gift; so much that she did not have the heart to tell the pinkette that she already repaired the torn cape with her magic.
The Maguilty Sense user also gave a new suit to Gerard, telling him that the last one was a bit old now to use in their missions. The azure-haired man… only smiled in appreciation.
They both gave her some new clothes to use when they were on day-offs and were content to see the girl smiling brightly at them for the gifts.
Though now, the only thing that remained was this…
"So…"
"So…"
"So…" Meredy forced her smile to remain on her face, twitching a bit at seeing the two most powerful mages she ever saw fidgeting over a simple gift exchange. She couldn't believe they were making a huge deal out of it. "Ultear-mama? What did you get for Jellal?"
"Uhm," Ultear gritted her teeth and smiled weakly to the girl, thanking her presence but not her pushing. "Let him tell you."
She presented the small envelope to the man and turned around after he took it and she grabbed hers from his hands.
After a moment, the girl asked what they gave to each other and she was met with small smiles.
"Nothing too important." And they walked away from the fireplace, taking their gifts with them.
Meredy groaned in frustration and followed Jellal first, wanting to know what the Time Wizard gave him.
"A small necklace, Meredy," Jellal told her with an innocent smile when she found him, showing her a nice silver necklace with a small meteor hanging from the middle. He also changed into the clothes given to him by the pinkette. "I really liked it and your gift, thank you."
She then went to Ultear.
"Nothing too fancy, I told you." The woman showed her a ring with a blue sapphire on it, a gem as blue as the sea. She gave a small smile and turned to change into the new cape she received from her foster-daughter. "Let's go, we still have to eat, right?
Meredy nodded eagerly in response.
In the Dragneel house.
"Are you sure this is going to work, Natsu?" Happy asked a little doubtful of his friend's idea, eyeing the lights on the tree covered with the cotton he was pushed to retrieve. He also added some alcohol on them for them to last a bit longer, spraying some on the tree without noticing.
"I am, Happy," Natsu eyed each of the cottons and concentrated on what he wanted to do.
Lighting like a hundred small cotton balls showered in alcohol and encircling a tree was a hard task, even for him and his control on fire.
If he happened to fail on this one…
"Karyu no Hoko!" The flames came out of his mouth and towards the tree, slightly burning the carpet on the floor and the wood of the ceiling before reaching its objective, flaring the small cottons and letting it burn brightly in replacement of the light that didn't work.
But it also lighted the small drops of alcohol on the tree.
Making it shine completely to burn the ceiling, the roof and the wall next to it in an abrasive fire.
In other words… he did fail… epically.
"AH! Natsu!" Happy yelled in panic, trying to put off the fire eating one side of their home by waving a blanket, which only helped in strengthening the flames. Natsu was running behind him trying to do the same, only that he was filling buckets in the kitchen and throwing the water onto the fire.
After a small, arduous struggle, the fire was off and gone.
As well as a portion of the living room.
Certainly, the snow looked nice to cover the burned carpet.
"ERZA IS GOING TO KILL US!" Natsu yelled in panic, hurrying from here and there inside the house, trying to find a way to repair the mess he caused.
"W-what?! Don't add me! You were the one with the idea!"
"Happy! You traitor!"
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE?!" A beast roared from the entrance of the house or what remained of it, halting the chokehold Natsu had on the blue feline and making them pale at the black figure eyeing with red eyes at the partially destroyed living room.
"W-well, remember you told me the windows were too small?" Natsu tried to sweet-talk his way out of the predicament but the Knight was too smart for that.
"Natsu," Erza took some steps forward, laying her hands on both of the pinkette's shoulders. Her face was stern, but the Dragon Slayer could see some amusement in her eyes. Guess the matter was not that important to her. "Next year, we will do this together, okay?"
"O-okay…?" Natsu nodded shakily and heaved a sigh of relief when she released his shoulders. "S-so… you're not mad?"
"I expected something like this to happen," Erza confessed plainly.
Natsu's jaw hit the floor.
So little trust in him.
"That's why I wasn't surprised to see a cloud of smoke rising from here," she continued. "And it is not like the time it took me to get here didn't lower my anger."
Well, he could be grateful.
Though…
"H-hey?" Natsu was still nervous. Understandable. "How did you see the smoke? Weren't you at the guild?"
Erza's eyes widened at his question.
She hoped he wouldn't notice that!
"I-I was outside with… L-Lucy and Gray, yes?" She lied hastily, crossing her arms to make a point.
She didn't want him to know she was buying her gift to him because she forgot to do it earlier.
"A-ah…" Natsu nodded slowly, believing in her lie because he wasn't seeing her face when she told her story.
He eyed the burned down living room and turned to the scarlet-haired woman. "So… now what?"
"We could eat and later…" She bit her lip, feeling a bit guilty at remembering. "Exchange gifts… if it's okay with you."
"U-uhm… sure?" He nodded again and led the way to the kitchen, carrying what was left of a little box near the tree and leaving it close to the door to the other room. He grinned to it and walked inside to find Erza sitting and waiting for him to join her on the table. He quirked an eyebrow. "And the food?" He looked around, seeing something else missing. "And where's Happy?"
"H-he went to the guild…" Erza coughed on her fist and stood up, searching for the food before laying it on the table, moving around so the guy could not see her flushed face. "…s-something about a gift for Carla…"
In the streets.
"Naaaaaaatsuuuuuuu~!" The blue cat flew from one store to the other, finding them closed and flying to another place where he could buy something for his owner… in Erza's stead.
In the Dragneel house.
Eating dinner was never something so quiet, except when Erza was mad with the pink-haired fighter.
The only sound which could be heard was the forks and knifes on the saucers, and it was certainly annoying the brat who had been chastised.
"Uhm… so, what's up in the guild?" Natsu asked slowly, not knowing what else to mention.
"E-eh!? N-nothing much, everyone's having a good time." The red-haired knight answered without hesitation.
Not much anyway.
Dinner went on with both sides awkwardly feasting on what was laying on their plates.
"I'm done." Erza announced quickly, getting herself off the chair swiftly in one motion.
"Aye sir." Natsu responded without wasting a second, doing the same as the knight and heading straight for the 'supposed' living room with a merry grin on his face. "Gift time~!"
"N-Natsu, wait!" The red-haired woman called, raising a hand to stop the man. When he looked over his shoulder she pointed at the dirty plates on the table. "W-we need to clean this up."
The young boy stared at her and the plates for a good amount of time, thinking if the plates were really that big of an issue to be taken care of now before dropping that line of thought and shrugging, heading to pick and wash up the dishes with no complain, finishing the task in a matter of minutes that were not something to drive him back.
"Gift time~!" Natsu cheered again as he exited the kitchen and grabbed the small box next to the door with a seriously conflicted Erza following his steps as she watched their surroundings in search of a patch of blue fur with white wings.
In the Fairy Tail guild.
"And then Natsu burned the tree and the house down!" Happy told to the people assembled in the hall, marveling all with his recent gossip. The cat having forgotten about the task/mission given to him without a care in the world.
In the Dragneel house.
"Here, Erza!" Natsu beamed as he pushed the little box into the red-haired woman's hands, surprising her with his actions and letting him waiting for a reaction other than just plain staring.
"A-aye, thank you, Natsu." Erza murmured as she undid the bow holding the wrapping together to later throw away the paper and have only a small cardboard box in her hands. She looked at it in puzzlement, her eyes shifting to see the pink-haired smiling at her before daring to open the box and find…
…a small envelope.
Her gaze fell on the pink-haired once more and she found him motioning for her to open the little envelope.
She did so and inside she discovered…
…a letter.
Oh God, those three dots are starting to become annoying.
Anyway.
The letter was of a clear white paper, nothing fancy but nothing to be taken as cheap either.
It was a regular piece of paper with a few words scribbled on it.
Nothing romantic or serious.
Just a confession.
"I forgot to buy you a gift. Sorry, Erza." Miss Dragneel read out loud, an eyebrow quirking in wonder as she faced her grinning husband again. She could take the chance to confess now as well and tell him she forgot to buy him a present for the day, but his happy-go-lucky attitude and his hands taking hers to make her see the back of the letter stopped her. She continued to read out loud when she found more words at the back. "Still love you though."
"I forgot this morning!" Natsu added on his own, not paying attention to his wife's tearing up eyes for the sake of preventing a gauntleted fist from hitting his face. "I even had an idea of what to get you and all!"
Erza dropped the box, the envelope and the letter. "Natsu."
The pink-haired youngster stopped his rant to listen to his wife, his eyes wide in expectation, and his mind ready for the possible punishment to come. "Y-yeah?"
Instead…
"Shut up."
…she got the perfect Christmas gift for him.
~Sometimes, all that matters is that the people are there to share their joy with you~
~There's no need for gifts~
~At least, not the material ones~
~If you know what I mean~
The Merrily Fluffy End.
AN: Merry Christmas to all of you~!