The snow was falling beautifully that day. Her breath puffed out in a cloud as she studied the busy city street. It was mid-morning, fluffy white snow covering the earth like a blanket. Very few cars were out and about after the warning had been sent out that a snow storm was heading their way and she was grateful for it.

Winter was one of the prettiest seasons of the year - when the snow wasn't melting and filthy and making her look just as filthy when cars and feet spattered it at her.

Tugging her scarf a little tighter around her neck and her hat further down on her head, Lucy Heartfilia prepared herself for the long walk to her job at the tavern known as Fairy Tail. It was a popular place for various regulars. She herself went there every day, even when she wasn't working, as it was generally full of friends and people she'd grown quite fond of.

She rubbed her gloved hands together as she walked down the street. A car slowly passed her. A woman walked her daughter down the street as the girl tried to play in various piles of snow. Lucy smiled warmly at the sight. She remembered doing the same with her own mother before she'd died of illness. It was a happy memory, one she remembered fondly.

Lucy reached Fairy Tail within half an hour and shivered as she walked inside. Immediately, she was confronted by the lively sounds of people enjoying themselves. Despite the earliness of the day, several occupants were in, including one incredibly drunk Cana Alberona.

"Hey, Lucy!" Cana laughed as she walked past, sweeping her blonde hair into a ponytail. "Long time no see!"

"I saw you yesterday, Cana," Lucy laughed back. "You were just too drunk to remember!"

"Was I?" Cana paused and then grinned when several people shouted their agreements to Lucy.

Lucy swept behind the to start working and nearly ran into a bustling silver-haired woman. Mirajane Strauss squeaked in surprise when Lucy appeared in front of her, her pretty blue eyes snapping wide. "You scared me! Go ahead and grab these, would you?" She nodded her head in the direction of a few plates that had been set on the bar. "Lisanna's out sick today." A pause. "Hello, Lucy!"

Lucy grinned. "Hey, Mira." She grabbed the plates and then followed Mirajane over to a full table that consisted of some that were just stopping by. Lucy didn't recognize any of them as regulars, but kept up her politeness - until one muttered under his breath about her chest.

Her smile disappeared. A glare replaced her gentle look and then she turned to Mirajane, whose face had turned from a happy look into a deadly one. The smile was still there, but it was dark and malicious.

The proclaimed She-Devil of Fairy Tail had made her appearance.

"I do believe," Mirajane purred. "You'll be increasing your tip unless you wish for me to call my boyfriend in, sir. I'm sure the last name Dreyar rings a bell...?"

The man's face paled and he hastily gave an apology and promised to leave a huge tip.

Lucy relaxed as she headed back to the bar, dark eyes amused. Mirajane's boyfriend, Laxus Dreyar, wasn't a man that anyone but Mirajane was allowed to mess around with. The scars on Mirajane's back proved that.

Lucy envied Mirajane as well as a few other people. The idea of Soulmates, once fantasy, had come into the light when scientists had begun to look into random bruises and cuts had appeared on people. Particularly when the princess of the country of Fiore had been found with a painful gash in her stomach with no recollection on how it had got there. It had taken years for the scientists to admit to it. It had only been after several connections had been made - including the fact that several people who shared injuries had ended up married - that the matter had been officially recognized.

The dating sites were ridiculous.

Some people were unlucky. Or lucky, depending on one's opinions on the matter. They were very clearly born without a Soulmate. They never received the injuries that another suffered, never shared painful scars with someone else. They married others like them, or the rare few who didn't want a Soulmate and abandoned their significant other.

Lucy wasn't one of those people.

She knew from the moment she'd received a bloody wound that had scarred over on her neck that she had a Soulmate somewhere in the world.

She hadn't found that person, naturally. She hadn't gotten quite as lucky as Mirajane or her closest friend, Levy McGarden, who looked like a petite pincushion. Levy's Soulmate had turned out to be a man a couple towns over who hadn't the slightest idea of what was going on until Levy had started forcefully pinching her skin to get him to stop being so reckless with fights. Lucy had actually been there when the pair had accidentally come across one another while they were on a shopping trip in the capital of Fiore.

Gajeel was fun to tease when it came to the matter.

No, Lucy hadn't found her Soulmate quite yet. But when she did...

She was going to beat the hell out of him, even if it hurt her in return.

Because waking up in the middle of the night and having to call for an ambulance after discovering a hole in your side was not okay.

"Lucy!" Mirajane suddenly called. "Gray's here!"

Lucy's head snapped around. "Gray," she shouted, waving when she saw him sliding into a booth. He flashed her a lazy grin and returned the wave before Lucy ordered for the cook in the back to make an order of Gray's usual. When it was done, she grabbed it and slid over to her friend's table.

"Fancy seeing you here," she teased.

Gray snorted. "Not like I come here every day, right? Been eons." His sarcasm made her laugh. She slid the plate of food to him and carefully placed a drink down on the table before him. "Thanks, Lucy. Can you get me some alcohol, too? My old roommate's back in town. Lent him my place to crash at. Literally crash at. The bastard's ripped everything apart, put it back together, and then eaten everything in my fridge before letting his stupid cat lay on my bed."

Lucy clucked her tongue sympathetically. "I'll send Lis - she's not here, actually. I'll make sure Mira knows to give you something as soon as she can. We're busy today, apparently."

"Just be careful getting home later," Gray warned as he grabbed a fry. "Expecting quite a bit of snow from what I heard. The inches have gone up and a couple of the people in my apartment building have been out shopping in preparation."

The blonde nodded slowly. "Got it. Thanks, Gray." She headed back off to work, her eyes warm as she greeted the daughter of a couple of usuals. Asuka greeted her back just as cheerfully.

"Here," Mirajane said hastily, shoving some empty dishes at her. "These need-"

"Washed," Lucy finished. "I know." She took the dishes back, thanking the person working for them on the dirty dishes and then made her way back out to the bar, which was apparently her central location in Fairy Tail.

It was while she was ducking down to grab a few glasses to fill for some of the people waiting patiently that pain flashed through her head. Lucy grunted in surprise, glasses shattering as she hit the ground.

"Lucy?!" Mirajane called worriedly as she hurried over. Apparently she'd seen Lucy go down. Several customers looked over and even Cana stopped drinking to peer over, eyes wide.

"I'm fine," Lucy slurred out, clutching her head. Her hands trembled at the agonizing pain that raced through her, temporarily turning her vision black. "I'm okay."

"Stop lying," Gray ordered as he hurtled over the bar to kneel beside her. Mirajane slid around it to join them, ordering anyone else to stay back. "You're not fine. What's wrong?"

"My head hurts," she finally admitted, grimacing. "I'm going to guess whoever the hell was called my Soulmate hit his head. Hard. Ugh, is there blood?" Mirajane checked her head with gentle fingers and shook her head, reporting that there wasn't. "Hopefully it'll go away then."

"Take her to the break room," Mirajane told Gray with narrowed eyes, worried. She gave him a sharp look. "And if anything else happens, tell me so I can call some professionals to come and help."

A special unit of medical professionals had been created after the discovery of Soulmates. They were in charge of caring for those who needed help. There were some psychotic people who took advantage of the bonds they held with others and they helped the victims. When someone's Soulmate was particularly injured and shared the injuries - such as the wounds of a car crash - they stepped in.

"No professionals, it's clearing up," Lucy said hastily. "They must have just knocked their head. It's fine, Mira, see? I'm fine. Entirely fine." She hauled herself to her feet despite Gray's protest. She staggered. "I'll be fine in a moment after it fades."

Gray and Mirajane shared a long look before Gray finally promised, "I'll watch her. I don't have to be anywhere anytime soon and was just going to hang out here anyways."

"Thank you," Mirajane told him and then rushed off to continue working, answering worried questions with reassurance.

"At least take a moment to catch your breath," Gray demanded as Lucy tried to get back to work, too. "That didn't look too good, Lucy…"

"It's fine," she argued. "I'm fine."

It's what she'd told herself every time this had happened.

And she wasn't about to stop now.

It was evening before Lucy finally left to go home. She wrapped herself up in her coat and scarf, tugged on her hat and gloves, and then bid Mirajane farewell. Gray had left not too long ago to meet his old roommate at a bus stop and bring him back to Fairy Tail for a full night of drinking.

When Mirajane had heard that this particular friend was a mass of destruction, she'd been distraught, but had been reassured that a mutual friend of all of theirs was stopping in.

Because if anyone could control a massive amount of destruction, it was a fierce and cheerful Erza Scarlet.

Lucy had been told to go home and rest after a lingering headache had remained despite usually hanging around after she was done working to make friends. She'd been reluctant, but had finally given in.

She ducked outside into the snowy world and furrowed at the flurries around her. The snow had only gotten worse...what the hell was going on with the weather? Magnolia, Fiore rarely received so much snow...usually it was only a few inches.

This was looking to be a few feet.

Shrugging, Lucy hummed and shuffled through the snow. She crossed the main street of the town, reaching an island that had been set up for people to wait on until a light gave them the signal to cross again. There were a few others there, odd shadows cast on them all by the street lamp. Across the street, in the direction she'd come from, Lucy could see Gray waiting for his old roommate and she waved. He waved back.

Lucy glanced at the light, still humming softly under her breath. A woman to her right glanced over and smiled hesitantly, offering her praise for her voice. Lucy opened her mouth to thank her, grimacing at a throb in her head.

And then a horn blaring filled the air. Lucy's head snapped around. Fear pierced her heart when she saw the car screaming towards them. The few people around her scrambled as the car slammed into the curb. It spun out of control. Lucy gawked, fear freezing her legs. Shouts and screams filled her ears as it shot across the ice and barreled down on them.

Something crashed into Lucy. One moment she was standing there, staring at the danger, the next, she was rolling across the ground, limbs with tangled with someone else's. There was a sharp pain on her face where something had cut it, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

Warm breath puffed into her ear, a gasp coming from the other person. "You okay?" he rasped.

"Yeah," Lucy whispered, shaken.

He pulled back a fraction and Lucy sat up, clutching his arm tightly and her eyes wide with shock. They both glanced over to see that the car had managed to slam itself into a tree. People had gathered, most checking to see if the driver was okay while a few others checked on a man who'd been struck.

"Lucy!?"

Her head turned. "Gray!" she called as he ran as fast as he could across the street. He threw himself down onto the ground beside her and the man who'd shoved her out of the way. "I'm-"

"I'll hit you if you say you're fine again," he threatened.

She wisely closed her mouth.

He frowned as he touched her cheek, his fingers coming away with blood. "You're bleeding, Lucy!" Gray looked worried. Suddenly, he blinked. "Oh. Pyro. You're here, too."

The man who Lucy found herself holding onto tightly scowled at Gray. "Just now noticing, Popsicle? Nice to see you, too. So much for drinks this evening."

Gray glared. "And it's my fault?"

"Can we stop bickering?" Lucy asked, rubbing her temples. She flinched at the sting that came with the wound on her cheek, and she grimaced as blood dripped onto her coat. "Are the other people okay?"

"Who gives a damn?" Gray huffed, trying to look at her wound again. "What matters is…" He trailed off, staring at the man who'd helped her. The startled pink-haired man was staring at his fingers in surprise and Lucy realized they, too, were slicked with blood.

"Oh!" she gasped, releasing his arm. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said slowly. "Fine. Uh…"

"Well, shit," Gray stated.

"Yeah," he agreed. "That about sums it up."

"What?" Lucy demanded, grabbing Gray's arm and shaking him. Distantly, Lucy could hear sirens coming. Someone had called for emergency help, and the cops and ambulances were coming. "What's wrong?"

The man with pink hair smiled sheepishly, red and blue lights highlighting his face. Lucy stared at the cut on his right cheek as he scratched the back of his head. "Nice to meet you. Uh...I'm Natsu."

Lucy stared blankly at him.

And then she slapped him.

"Thank you," Lucy said honestly as she was handed a cup-to-go of hot chocolate. Mirajane offered her a kind smile, patting her arm, and then went back to the bar to start up some more for other people.

Lucy sank into her seat, alone in a corner. She shivered at the memory of how close a call she'd had with death that evening and studied the busy yet empty building. Mirajane had closed the place down for regulars and customers, only letting in the officials that had come to the rescue and the victims of the near accident. Medical personnel were going from person to person, tending to various cuts and bruises that required their attention. They had yet to approach Lucy, though she could see that they'd gone to "that man".

Her gaze darted towards him. He was seated at the bar with Gray, letting an EMT tend to the nasty wound on his cheek. He winced every now and then, but kept up a bickering conversation with Gray. Finally, the EMT finished, patching it up with a rather large square bandage and using medical tape to keep it in place.

Irritated, Lucy scowled and turned her attention back onto her hot chocolate, remembering the shocked look on his face when she'd slapped him. Gray had burst into cackling laughter as she'd climbed to her feet and stalked away, furious with the man who had caused her so many problems over the course of her life.

She would not forgive him. Ever.

"Someone's grouchy."

"Cana," Lucy sighed as the brunette slid into the seat across from her. "I thought that Mira kicked you out?"

"Nah. She let me stay 'cause I promised to be good." Cana took a drink of the bottle of whiskey in her hand. Lucy stared at it and then shook her head, not entirely surprised. "Anyways, why you looking so grouchy, Lucy?" She grinned, leaning over the table.

"No reason," Lucy lied.

Cana glared. "Liar. You just almost got run over. Tell the truth, woman."

"Fine, fine. That idiot by Gray," Lucy said, jerking her chin in their direction. "Look closely and tell me what you see."

Cana squinted at the pink-haired Natsu, who had gone back to pouting, his bottom lip jutting out. Suddenly, her eyes widened. She let her gaze dart back to Lucy and then back to Natsu. "No," she gasped.

"Yes," Lucy said grimly.

"I'm so sorry," Cana whispered.

"Thank you."

"...okay, I don't see it. What's going on?"

"Ugh, Cana," Lucy whined. But then she reached over and grabbed the alcohol from Cana's hand and took a drink of it herself. Cana pouted and took it back when she was done. "That's Gray's roommate, the one he was complaining about. He also happens to be my Soulmate."

"Oh, that does change things doesn't it?" Cana took another look at Natsu, narrowing her eyes. "What's up with his hair…?"

Lucy giggled and then smothered her laughter as an EMT approached, asking if he could take a look at her cheek. She set her hot chocolate aside and let him.

"So...that's new," Cana sighed as he worked on patching up her cheek, debating whether or not to tell her if she'd need stitches. "What happened?"

So Lucy launched into the story of how he'd smacked her out of the way of the car - she did owe him a lot of gratitude for that, she supposed. "...and then I slapped him and came in here when I was told to," Lucy finished.

Cana burst into laughter, clutching her stomach. The EMT looked amused as he told Lucy, "This is a story I haven't heard before and I've heard a lot of stories. When people are in pain, they generally tend to blame their Soulmates even if it's their own fault." He put a bandage on Lucy's cheek and stood. "Go to the hospital if you think it's getting infected," he told her and then went to check on someone else.

Flustered, Lucy sputtered. Cana wiped tears from her eye and reached for Lucy's hot chocolate. "Whew, you know how to make a girl laugh, Lucy. Oh, boy. You realize that ninety-nine point nine percent of people end up married to their Soulmate if they meet them, right? Hey!" she suddenly called. "Lucy's Soulmate! Come here!"

"Cana!" Lucy hissed, burying her face in her hands.

"That's you, moron," Gray told his ex-roommate and promptly shoved him off of the bar stool he'd been sitting on. Natsu yelped as he hit the ground and glared up at Gray. Reluctantly, he came over to where Lucy sat with Cana. Lucy didn't dare look up, mortified.

It was somewhat embarrassing to look someone you'd outright whacked across the face in the eye.

He stood there beside their booth with one hand on his hip and the other tugging at an oddly patterned scarf away from his mouth as he huffed, "What?" He gave Lucy a sort of pouting grimace. "Gonna slap me again?"

"No," Cana hummed. "I wanted to look at you up close. Lucy's been whining about you for ages and how you're always hurting her so I wanna know if you're someone I can entrust my girlfriend to."

"I'm not your girlfriend, Cana," Lucy said into her hands.

"So she thinks." Cana gave Natsu a very serious look and swept her gaze up and down his body before grabbing her bottle and drinking some whiskey. "Eh, you're okay. Not too bad lookin' to be honest. What the hell are you doing that you always end up with weird bruises?"

Natsu rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh…"

"Don't answer that. Are you a criminal of any kind?"

"...no? I mean, I accidentally blew up my last house, but-"

Lucy gawked. "What are you doing that blows places up?"

He shrugged. "I like fire and thought it'd be fun to put some fireworks together for the kids next door for New Years. It didn't work and burned my house down. I got burns, but I, uh, guess you knew that," he added sheepishly. Lucy glared at him. "Sorry."

"...you're okay," Cana decided. "He's okay," she added to Lucy. "You'll like him. He's a good guy. Look at his face. He's like a kid that's been scolded. Or a puppy that's been kicked. You hurt his feelings." Lucy protested, grimacing when she reached out and pinched her good cheek. "You two will be cute together. And I mean, you nearly got him back by getting run over."

Lucy's face filled with horror. If Natsu hadn't shoved her out of the way…

Well. They'd maybe both be dead in the street.

Natsu huffed, fiddling with the scarf in his hands awkwardly as Cana left to go see what Gray was doing and if he'd found himself a girlfriend yet. "I'll go back and sit with that moron," he decided aloud, but Lucy's hand darted out and caught his sleeve. She flushed, admittedly flustered over slapping him.

"No, no," she mumbled. "You can sit here. It's fine."

He gave her a suspicious look and slid into Cana's spot. There was a moment of awkward silence in which neither of them said a word. Eventually, Lucy blurted, "What was with the headache earlier?"

Natsu beamed. "I was getting my cat down from a closet shelf and whacked my head while climbing up the ladder to get him."

"That explains the little scratches," Lucy admitted, thinking of the scratches that sometimes appeared on her arms.

"Yeah...sorry about that." Natsu grimaced. "He's a jerk and will attack at random times. Especially when I have a fish around. He likes fish."

Lucy sat back, scowling when she realized that Cana had drained her hot chocolate. Tossing the cup into a trash can behind her booth, she sighed. And then she was surprised by what he asked next.

"What happened when we were little?" He rubbed his chest thoughtfully. "I thought my heart was gonna rip in half. It hurt. A lot."

Lucy faltered, her eyes widening a fraction. And then she dropped her gaze and said very quietly, "My mother died."

"Oh." He studied her anxiously, as if concerned he'd brought up something that would result in another slap. "Sorry."

"It's fine." She shrugged. "She got sick and passed on. My father got ridiculously involved with work and stressed himself out so much he had a heart attack and followed her a couple years later. Lost our fortune and moved to Magnolia for a new start, met some people, and ended up with a job here."

Natsu's expression shifted into uncertainty as he struggled to figure out how to respond, and Lucy smiled a little as she offered, "What about you?"

She supposed she could try to be civil with him. He wasn't too bad from what she had gathered.

"I, uh, was adopted by my dad when I was little." Natsu crewed his face up thoughtfully. "Dunno where he is now. Disappeared years ago along with my cousins' parents. Went on a vacation and never came back. I usually take care of my youngest cousin, but she's staying with a friend while I'm here. Uh…" He struggled for an idea on what to say before finally shrugging helplessly.

Lucy snorted in amusement. "How'd you meet Gray? He said you're an ex-roommate?"

Natsu suddenly scowled. "Yeah. Offered me a place to stay when Igneel first vanished and I was homeless. Split rent with him until I could afford my own place and have my cousin move in. Bastard. Constantly freezing everything I owned in the goddamn freezer."

Lucy laughed at the thought. He'd done that to his own adopted brother once or twice from what she'd heard. Natsu looked pleased that he'd managed to get her to laugh. "He's a regular here," she explained. "I see him most days of the week."

"I'm sorry," he said gravely. "No one deserves that."

She giggled again and Natsu puffed up with pride. That only made her roll her eyes, smiling. She leaned forward, elbows propped on the table. "So what happened with this?" she asked, waving at the scar on her neck. "Scared us all half to death when I started bleeding all over the place in the middle of the workplace."

"Oh!" He made a face. "I got mugged. Bastard didn't know what he was doing and started slashin' when I shoved him back." He suddenly beamed. "He's in jail now so it's okay. My friend's a lawyer and made sure he wasn't getting out of it."

"Erza Scarlet?" Lucy asked.

"How'd you know?" He blinked. "Do you know her, too?"

"Helped me when someone I rejected started trying to get me into legal troubles," Lucy said, waving him off. "Government people aren't a fan of rejections apparently. Heard she was the best at what she does so I hired her. I couldn't afford it after everything was done and he gave up, so she told me it'd be her volunteer work for the year and let me pay her in strawberry cake once a week for a year."

"She likes strawberry cake," he agreed. "A lot."

"You going to slap him again or not?" They both looked up to discover Gray standing over them, a pout on his face and his hands shoved into his pockets. "I've been watching for something like ten minutes, waiting, Lucy!"

Lucy turned a brilliant red and said in a flustered tone, "No, I'm not going to slap him again. I was just...anxious. And you know, stressed out. I was almost hit by a car."

Natsu cackled under his breath like some sort of witch.

"I can't believe this," Gray muttered, and then narrowed his eyes at Natsu. "I should have figured this out earlier, when you said your head hurt 'cause you'd hit it again. I should punch you for making Lucy hurt so much."

"It's not my fault," Natsu protested, "I don't ask to get whacked over the head!"

"No, but all of those little burns from playing with fire you did ask for!"

"...point taken." He looked guilty and looked at his hands and Lucy rolled her eyes before telling Gray, "It's fine. When I cut my fingers all of the time with the knives while cooking, I forget about it, too."

"See?" Natsu muttered smugly.

"Still not pleased with all of the scars," Lucy told him.

He grimaced, losing the smirk. "Sorry, Lucy."

"You're forgiven," she muttered and then smiled gently at Gray. "You can go home if you want. Juvia's probably worried and wanting to call you. Don't you guys usually talk around nine every evening?"

"Yeah," Gray admitted.

Lucy grinned. Gray had found his Soulmate nearly a year before and while he pretended to be casual about it, she knew he cared deeply for Juvia Lockser and would protect her fiercely from anything should she merely ask. She lived a few towns over and since she had been between jobs when they'd crossed paths, had decided to move to Magnolia.

Lucy thought her obsession with Gray was a bit over the top, but funny nonetheless.
"Is that who you were talking to when I was trying to sleep last night?" Natsu scowled. "You two are loud when you talk. All she does is say your name in some weird voice." He raised his voice to an awkward pitch and squealed, "Gray, my dear, have you eaten? My dear Gray, have you been sleeping well?" He snorted. "It's annoying as hell."

"Don't listen in on my phone calls, you pyromaniac," Gray growled.

Lucy shook her head with a laugh. "It is rude," she informed Natsu apologetically, and he reluctantly apologized, though she could tell he didn't mean it as he and Gray exchanged harsh glares.

"Anyways," Gray muttered, ignoring Natsu and now turning to her. "I'm headin' out. Call if you need anything, okay? I'll deal with this bastard for you if you need me to," he added, jerking a thumb at Natsu. "I'll send Mira after him."

Lucy shuddered. "No, then she'll come after me, too."

Gray paused. "Point taken. Anyways, see you tomorrow?"

"Naturally." She pounded a fist against his playfully and then watched him leave. Turning back to Natsu, she admitted, "I should get home, too."

He seemed to pout, but then brightened after a moment. "Okay. I'll walk you so you don't get run over again."

"Thank you, but I doubt it would happen so soon after the first time. Besides, they closed down the street to deal with the matter." Lucy's lips quirked up as Natsu's bright look faded into disappointment. "However, so that you can pester him by walking in later and making him deal with your dangerous cat, I'll be nice and let you walk me. And maybe I can get you some tea to keep you warm on the way back to Gray's."

He grinned hugely, delighted with this development and hopped to his feet. "Great!"

"Bye, Lucy!" Mirajane called as they left, waving. Her blue eyes promised danger the next morning, but Lucy didn't seem to care as she ducked outside, puffing out a breath at the chilly breeze.

Despite having been annoyed at finding her Soulmate was someone who didn't know how to keep himself from getting injured after nearly being hit by a car, Lucy decided the day had been pretty good.

Upon reaching her home, she told him, "I work when Gray goes into Fairy Tail tomorrow."

Natsu grinned back at her. "I'll be there," he promised.

As he meandered away, heading back to where he was staying with Gray, Lucy shook her head and slipped into her home, amused.

The only thing she could think of that Christmas as she celebrated with her friends around her and Natsu at her side was that her mother would be very proud and that even with a scar on her cheek, she was the happiest she'd been in years.

Joined in with rivendell101's secret santa FT ordeal on tumblr, and received Gajeels-levy as my person. So voila. The gift.