Well I was planning on having this done around Christmas as a not-so-Christmasy story but it just didn't work out that way. I suppose it's better late than never! Lol

Once again, I don't own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima does.

THE TWELVE MONTHS OF FAIRY TAIL

Chapter 1

This could not be happening...

It was completely unbelievable, but Lucy knew it was real. She should - she'd already pinched herself three times to make sure her mind wasn't playing tricks on her, but no...she was well and truly awake...and appalled. How could Mira suggest such a thing? How could she possibly expect Lucy to photograph a select group of Fairy Tail men for a calendar...in their underwear?!

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. It was just supposed to be pictures of guild members, just a calendar to raise money for the local children's home, not some photo shoot for...for Playgirl! Lucy wasn't that kind of photographer. Sure, she'd worked as a photographer for a while before she'd made her way to Fairy Tail, but she'd never worked this kind of job!

She was incensed that Mira would drop this on her in such a way, letting her volunteer without giving her all the information. But of course, there was no backing out now. The guild's barmaid might look sweet as candy, but the truth was she was the one person you didn't want to piss off. The woman could go from smiles to demon in two seconds flat. So now, Lucy was stuck, and she was dreading it with every ounce of her being.

Still, she didn't have much choice. She wasn't getting out of this, so she may as well get over it. It was moving forward whether she liked it or not, and she had a choice. She could either let her embarrassment over the situation force her into doing a bad job or she could put on her big girl pants and knock it out of the park.

So she came up with a plan, a way to make it a bit easier on her slightly virgin sensibilities. She'd do two rounds of pics with the guys. Having exactly 6 to work with, she would take two separate pictures of each - the first with them only shirtless and using their magic, and the second, dropping down to the bare necessities. It was a flawless plan, well as close to flawless as she could get without pissing Mira off.

Nodding to herself, she squared her shoulders and all but slammed through the doors to the guild. All eyes turned at her entrance, and bracing herself for the poking and teasing, she marched her way across the room toward the Demon herself. Sure enough, the guild erupted in catcalls and whistles, but the blonde turned a deaf ear, choosing to ignore their good-natured ribbing.

She pulled along side the bar, lifting her gaze to a smiling Mira, and nodded. She was ready. No matter how badly she wanted to take off running, she would stay and brave her way through all six men. She would remain professional, keep her mind on her work, and completely avoid looking at their bodies too closely.

Of course, she found out very quickly, that was easier said than done.

Thirty minutes later, she was ready to pull her hair out. Oh, why had she thought she could do this? She'd only just started, and she'd already caught herself gaping at one of the guys. Her own team mate for Mavis' sake! Her partner!

It wasn't like she'd never seen him scantily clad before. Though he was far better than Gray at keeping his pants on, it wasn't exactly unusual for Natsu to go around shirtless or covered only by an open vest. But there was something about being the one behind the camera that changed everything, and it was making her think things she definitely should not be thinking!

Shaking away the wild thoughts, Lucy forced herself to turn back to Natsu. "Okay, Natsu...let's get this done."

She walked purposefully over to him, poignantly ignoring the way his pants hung so haphazardly on his hips. Thankfully, she didn't have to prolong this shoot by trying to figure out the best way to showcase his magic and his abs. She'd worked with him enough to know just what to do.

So, she reached out, placing his body where she wanted it, all while giving him instructions. "Okay, I want you like this, facing the camera. Right, now slightly hunch your shoulders." She nodded when he complied without fight, then touched his arm. "Okay, arms up. I want a fist here, just in front of your chest...elbow up. Good, now raise the other arm the same way and put the fist in this hand."

Looking over his stance, she frowned. Something was still off. "Natsu, spread your legs a bit more...right, and bend the knees a bit...okay great."

"No problem Luce!"

His cheerful shout brought a smile to her face, but as she moved behind the camera, the smile flickered. How had she never noticed how hot he was? She nearly snorted at the thought, because honestly, Natsu reminded her on a regular basis how hot he was by burning the tar out of her belongings. Pushing off the errant thought, she looked back up at him and grinned. "Okay Natsu, now give me a fighting face."

Natsu stared at her dumbfounded, his brow raised in question. "Huh?"

Lucy rolled her eyes, then smirked. "Pretend Cobra just walked in and called you a pansy ass matchstick."

All of a sudden, a change came over his face, his head tipping down, his eyes narrowing dangerously. And that wasn't all. His magic had activated just as she'd hoped it would, dancing along his hands and forearms and casting flickering shadows across the lower portion of his face and the top of his bare chest. It was...sexy as hell.

The blonde could scarcely find her tongue to tell him to tone the flame down, but somehow, the words tumbled from her mouth, and Natsu's flames subdued to a manageable level. Instantly, Lucy began clicking the button. She didn't want to miss the shot, because this was going to be one hell of a photo.

Another half a minute o so, she stepped back from the camera and nodded. She'd gotten it. She didn't even have to go back and look. She'd nailed it. "Okay Natsu, that's it."

"Wait," he said, stopping her with a hand on her arm. "What about the other one?"

"Oh..." Lucy's face flushed at his mention of the second photo, but she agreed. "Right. Okay, yeah you're right."

He gave her an odd look, his head angling a bit as if to get a better look. "You okay, Luce? You seem tense."

Tense? She was downright frazzled! But she pushed a bright smile on her face and ushered him to the other side of the room, the one set up with props for the more...involved pictures. "I'm fine. I've just got a lot to do."

Her partner eyed her once more, his expression telling her plainly that he knew she was lying, but he turned and faced the other direction before coming to a standstill. "What the hell is all this junk?"

Lucy laughed at his question and felt her nerves work themselves loose and fade. Natsu was a pro at that, taking stressful situations and reducing them to something silly. "Those are props. I might need some of them for these other pictures."

"Oh," he hummed, then spun around, his hand on the top of his pants. "So which one do I need?"

The Celestial mage swallowed hard as he toyed with the waistband, and she wondered briefly if he was nervous before remembering that he'd asked something. " Oh..um..." She paused, realizing she hadn't actually chosen anything for this pose. "I'm not sure."

She turned back around to see Natsu hunched over, dragging his pants down his legs and over his feet. "Socks too?" he asked, looking up from his bent position.

He was talking. She knew he was, but she couldn't seem to recall how to make her mouth work. She could only stare at the sight of him cut down to just a pair of tempting deep red boxer briefs. They were...form fitting. It was the most chaste way she could say it, but in her mind, she was freaking out. "O-Oh...yeah. No socks for this one..."

She fought to look away, fought to erase the naughty things from her mind, and only managed to succeed when she realized that Natsu had gone pink, his cheeks flaring just the lightest bit at her obvious attention. She was mortified. She couldn't believe she had gaped at him in such a way, but...now she couldn't help but notice how he looked as he awkwardly rubbed at the back of his head. Somehow, it was both cute and sexy at the same time.

And that's when inspiration struck, sending excitement billowing in her mind. All at once, she could think again, and she clapped her hands. "Oh! I have the perfect pose for you! I can't believe I didn't think of it before!"

She raced toward a far corner and waved him over. "Here Natsu, come stand in front of this dresser. Now lean back on it a bit, and feet just a little wider. Good, now just hunch your midsection just a bit. Great! And...lift your hand up like you're going to rub the back of your head."

"Like this?" he hummed, tipping his head to one side and putting his hand behind it.

"That's perfect!" Lucy cheered, smiling at her accomplishment as she ran to get her camera. She moved into place just in front of him and quieted. She knew just what to do to get the face she wanted from him. She flashed him an appreciative smile, then slipped behind the lens as she said, "You look so cute."

At her impromptu compliment, Natsu turned his head to the side, his face going sheepish, and that hand that was forever brushing at the back of his head went to work. It was perfect, and Lucy snapped shot after shot before her partner caught wind of what she'd done.

He grinned at her. "That was sneaky, Luce."

"Yeah," she laughed, holding up the camera victoriously. "But I got the shot!"