Author's Note: HAPPY HOLIDAYS, FOLKS! Another cheerful little Christmas one-shot because I can get away with it. :) Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or anything affiliated with it. It all belongs to Hiro Mashima.
Little Miracles
by: SmurfLuvsCookies
Dedicated to: everyone who still believes in the big power of little miracles.
Laxus squinted his watery eyes against the bitter winter wind, looking up from his work for a moment to readjust his scarf. He was wrapped up in so many layers of fur and yarn that he could barely see, which was probably not safe considering he was balancing on a roof three stories high.
Why his idiot of a grandfather decided that the best time to decorate the guild was Christmas Eve, Laxus had no idea, but he did know that his festering dislike for the holiday was transforming into seething hatred. Because he had somehow been suckered in to putting up the lights.
And boy, did Fairy Tail have lights.
They won the annual Magnolia Christmas Decoration Competition every single year. Not officially, of course, because a person could only win twice in a row. But just because they couldn't be in the competition didn't stop them from decorating, and everyone knew that no matter who won the award, it was always Fairy Tail that deserved it. By the time Laxus was done with the place, every square inch of the guild would be covered in Christmas lights.
If only he didn't have to do it in the middle of a freaking blizzard.
Shivering, he pulled his fur coat tighter around him. After five gruesome hours of work, he was nearly done. All that was left was this bit of roof, which was the highest and most difficult to decorate.
"Merry freakin' Christmas," he muttered, getting back to work. He didn't even know how the old man had convinced him to do it. Then again, it wasn't like there was anyone else left to put up the lights. The rest of the guild was preparing for the gargantuan Christmas party they threw every single year on December 24th. It put even the Fantasia Parade to shame.
The Christmas party was a group effort. Mirajane and a posse of girls she collected were in charge of baking Christmas cookies, cooking Christmas dinner, and making her special hot chocolate and pumpkin-spice eggnog. Fried was in charge of strategically placing mistletoe around the guild and setting rune traps for any couple unfortunate enough to walk under the deadly plant. Team Shadow Gear was in charge of decorating the interior with poinsettias as scarlet as blood and pure white as snow (specially bred by Droy) as well as with strands of holly, shiny garland, and ribbon that sparkled in the light (crafted by Levy). Erza led the cleaning committee, all of whom were no less than disciplined soldiers if they met her strict standard of sanitation. Gray created snow for the indoors (personally, Laxus thought there was plenty to go around outside) and decorated the ceiling with pristine icicles that looked lethal, but that he assured were perfectly harmless (although Natsu had to dodge more than one every year). Macao watched the fire, ensuring that the guild was toasty all day and night. He was also on Cana-patrol, as he had been ever since she drank all the rum meant for the eggnog two Christmases ago.
Everyone else was in charge of the heart of the party. It stood like a guardian in the corner of the guild hall, towering nearly ten feet in the air. It could cradle over five hundred ornaments in its branches, as well as a mile of twinkling white lights and reams of curling ribbon. It was the valiant protector of mountains of enticing gifts, the defender of secret Santas' identities.
It was the famous Fairy Tail Christmas tree.
By the time the ten-man group was done decorating it, people everywhere would stop and stare at it in awe. The Christmas tree was undeniably the most majestic thing about the guild, bathed in an aura of wonder and Christmas cheer. It gave off a glow that even the roaring fire couldn't match, a glow that had nothing to do with the lights strung on it.
That Christmas tree was the bane of Laxus's existence at the moment. Evergreen and Bixlow were both busy messing with it. Which made no sense at all; why did it take ten people to decorate a tree, but only one to decorate an entire building?
Laxus yelped and dropped the hammer he was using as he pounded his thumb. Scowling, he pulled off his scarf and pressed the bleeding finger to his chapped mouth. Now what? There was no way in hell he was going all the way down there to get that stupid hammer, but he knew that if he didn't finish his job he'd never hear the end of it.
He sighed, producing a cloud that drifted away with the wind. "Well," he muttered, "I guess there's only one thing to do."
Inside the guild, Lucy paused as she frosted a sugar cookie.
"Does anyone else hear that?" she inquired, looking up at something in the distance.
"Hear what?" said Mirajane.
"Listen." They stopped their work and did so. Faintly, they heard a solid sound of something colliding with the roof. Mirajane pursed her lips, perplexed.
"Hm. Could be hail, or something."
"It's Santa!" Asuka popped up from under the table, her tiny hands full of cookies, her face covered in colored frosting. Mirajane tsked and bent down to retrieve her, tickling her belly.
"What are you doing under there, silly?"
Asuka artfully dodged the question. "It's Santa Claus!" she insisted. "Santa's up on the roof! That's his reindeer!"
"Could be," Mirajane giggled. "Now come on, let's take you to your mama. And no more cookies, okay? You'll give yourself a stomachache."
Lucy shook her head at the mischievous little girl and went back to frosting. She strained her ears, but didn't hear the sound again. Mira was probably right; it was just some oversized hail.
By the time Laxus finished stomping the nails into the roof, his feet were beginning to hurt even inside the safety of his steel-toed boot. "All done!" he declared, satisfied.
He stepped back, and his foot slipped on the perilous ice that coated the shingles. He waved his arms wildly as he tumbled off of the roof, landing in a snowdrift before he even got the chance to cry out.
Laxus groaned as he sat up, brushing snow from his hair. The snowdrift was convenient, but it still didn't make the fall really hurt any less. Damn.
And where the hell did his hat go?
After a moment of searching, he found it laying in the snow nearby. It was one of those ridiculous red felt hats shaped like a limp cone, edged with that white feathery fluff and a ball made of similar material swinging from the end.
Laxus grumbled as he slid it back over his head. It was the only thing he had to keep his ears warm. The only reason Mira had even convinced him to wear it in the first place was because he didn't own another one, and no one else was willing to give up their own. Besides, most everyone was wearing a similar hat anyway.
And, according to Mirajane, it matched his new red coat.
He pulled said coat tighter around him, glad for the white fur layer underneath. It was a Christmas gift from Evergreen. She had such good taste, as much as Laxus hated to admit it.
Laxus pulled himself out of the snowdrift and looked up at his handiwork. Now all he had to do was turn it on. Deftly, he pulled off one glove, licked his finger, and put a bolt of electricity through the lacrima generator that powered the lights.
The building sparked to life. Every surface was covered in row after row of Christmas lights. Bright blue lights panelled the front of the guild, while white lights draped from the gutters in graceful arches. Red lights wound around the posts of the gate in cheerful candy cane spirals. The roof was the best part. Lights of every color stretched all the way across it, except for the large Fairy Tail insignia made of plain white lights.
Most of which weren't working.
Laxus scowled at the dysfunctional section, as though he could will the strands into compliance. When they failed to cooperate, he pulled his scarf back over his face and climbed up onto the ladder, ascending to the third story once again.
Bisca had placed Asuka in the farthest corner of the guild after a brief reprimand, ordering her to keep from underfoot while everyone prepared for the party. "Then you can eat as many cookies as your little heart desires," she'd promised, tapping her daughter's nose and marching off to help Erza with the cleaning.
Asuka nibbled on the last cookie she'd managed to borrow from the kitchen, trying to make it last. She watched Gray and Juvia create elegant icicles from her vantage point in the corner as she ate. She wished she could help with that, it looked like fun, but her mama told her that it was too dangerous for her to be up on a ladder so high. That was Bisca's validation for not letting her help decorate the tree, too.
The cookie disappeared in one last bite. Asuka wiped the crumbs off of her sticky hands. She really wanted more, but knew that if she went back into the kitchen she'd get in bigger trouble. Maybe wouldn't even be able to stay for the party.
Pouting, she rubbed the condensation away from the window with her sleeve to watch the snow fall outside. Maybe Daddy would let her go out there and build a snowman...
Just as she cleared a spot big enough for her to see, she caught the shape of a man stomping through the snow, toward the guild. Squinting, she noticed that it was a man dressed in a red coat with white trim, and a Santa hat on his head. A man whose face was covered by something fuzzy and white. A beard, perhaps?
"Santa," Asuka whispered to herself. She turned around, her eyes resting on the two people decorating the ceiling. "UNCLE GRAY! AUNTIE JUVIA! SANTA! SANTA'S OUTSIDE IN THE SNOW!"
"What's that, Suka-chan?" Juvia said, turning to glance at the source of the shrill excited voice. The ladder that she was holding for Gray wobbled, and he nearly toppled over. The icicle he was working on snapped and plummeted down. Natsu screeched, throwing himself out of harms way as the deadly ice shattered into a million glittering pieces on the floor.
"Oi! Open your squinty eyes and watch what you're doin' up there, Gray!"
"What was that, Flame Brain?!"
"Oh, Natsu-san, please don't be upset with Gray-sama!" Juvia interjected frantically. "It was Juvia's fault. She wasn't paying attention and moved the ladder."
Asuka gave up on getting their attention and moved instead to Levy, who was producing an intricate sign made of ribbon that read, Merry Christmas! using her solid script pen. "Auntie Levy," she said, tugging on the blunette's sleeve. "I saw Santa Claus! He's outside!"
"Is he?" Levy said distractedly. "Where?"
"Over here! Look, look out the window."
Levy passed her sign on to Jet to hang up before she followed Asuka to the window and peered at the blizzard outside. "Wow, it's really coming down," she remarked.
"He was there," Asuka assured, frowning beyond the glass. Santa was nowhere to be seen, now. He'd disappeared, just like her cookies. "I know I saw him."
"I believe you," said Levy, pinching Asuka's cheek. "Santa's got a lot of toys to deliver, so he was probably in a rush."
"But doesn't Santa come down the chimney to deliver gifts?"
"Sure he does, but he certainly can't come to Fairy Tail now, can he, with the fire going like that?" Levy pointed out, gesturing to the roaring fire. "Don't worry, he'll come to your house later tonight."
"But - "
"Oi, Shortstuff!" Gajeel called. Levy turned, and burst into laughter when she saw that Gajeel was tangled in bunches of green and red ribbon. Pantherlily was attempting to unravel him, but to no avail. "A little help? I was tryin' to put up your stupid decoration, after all."
"Coming!" Levy chuckled, skipping away to assist them.
Asuka was too frustrated to be amused by the Iron Dragonslayer's predicament. Everyone said they believed that Santa was here, but she got the feeling that they didn't really. If only they weren't all so busy. If only Santa could actually come and deliver their gifts.
She eyed the fire roaring in the maw of the fireplace. On second thought, maybe he could.
Laxus knew that violence wasn't the answer in this scenario, but he really, really wanted to punch something.
Nearly fifteen minutes of cursing, slipping, and fiddling with the wire had gotten him nowhere. The lights that made up at least half of the Fairy Tail insignia refused to work. They stayed stubbornly dim, a dark stain on the brilliant canvas of the roof.
He sat down on the edge of the chimney, pulling his scarf over his nose. Now what? All his effort would be for naught if he just left it like this. It wasn't the lights; when he charged each of them with electricity individually, they lit for a few seconds. It was just getting them all to stay that way was the problem.
Laxus stood and narrowed his eyes at an individual light. Was it just him, or did it seem...off? He scampered across the roof and peered at it. Yes, just as he thought. The light was slightly pulled away from the electricity-generating lacrima that powered it. Damn thing.
He pinched it between his thumb and forefinger and pressed it back inside. Then he crawled his way back to the chimney and zapped the lights.
They blazed up like a star, blinding him. He cried out and recoiled, shielding his eyes from the display, stumbling on the slick, snow-covered shingles off the roof.
He fell straight down the chimney.
"Please, Uncle Macao!"
"I'm sorry, Asuka, I can't put the fire out so Santa can come down it," Macao said for the thirteenth time. "We'll all get cold. This is the only heat we have."
Asuka pouted and stormed off, surrendering to Macao's persistance. If she didn't do something about the fire, then Santa wouldn't come down the chimney and give them gifts, proving her right about him.
A horrible thought suddenly occurred to her; what if Santa Claus did come down the chimney, and he burned to a crisp?! Asuka couldn't let that happen. She had to find a way to put out the fire.
But how?
"What's up, Asuka?" Romeo sat down beside her, grinning. "You look like you got something important on your mind."
"I saw Santa Claus outside," Asuka explained. Maybe Romeo would understand; he was younger than most of the others, after all. Asuka noticed that kids tended to be more enthusiastic about Santa than adults. Probably because kids got more presents from him. "He's trying to get in here so he can deliver the presents, but he can't do it because of the fire. No one believes me. They won't stop the fire; they won't even let me go outside to check and see if it's really him! They said it was too snowy!"
"Hm," Romeo mused. "Well, if it is really Santa Claus outside - "
"It is!"
"Sorry. Anyway, Santa is magic. He should be able to figure it out. Not all houses have chimneys, remember? How do you think he gets into those places?"
Romeo made a good point. But Asuka still had one concern. "What if he doesn't realize that we have a fire in our chimney? Uncle Macao's fire doesn't give off smoke, so he won't see it. What if he falls down the chimney and burns to a crisp?"
"Well, we certainly can't let that happen, now can we?" Romeo said, galvanized. He was up for a little bit of mischief; these party preparations were so dull. "I'll help you put out that fire so that Santa can come down the chimney, Asuka."
The cowgirl beamed. "Thanks, Romie! You're the best!"
"The first thing we've gotta do is get Dad away from the fire," Romeo strategized. "Otherwise he'll see what we're up to."
"How?"
"We have to get Cana to wander away somewhere so he'll look for her. I'll handle that part. What you need to do is find a way to get Juvia to spray the fireplace. She's the only one with enough water to put it out. Here's how you're gonna do it." Romeo whispered the details of the plan into her ear. Asuka nodded, recognizing the weight of responsibility settling on her shoulders as Romeo left to entice Cana away (although she didn't quite understand why Cana needed a babysitter, since Cana was a grown-up, but Romeo said he'd explain that another time). She stood her designated corner and waited for the signal.
Asuka watched Romeo whisper something to Cana and lead her out of the guild while Macao wasn't looking. Then she saw Macao notice Cana's absence and begin his search for her. A few minutes after he was out of sight, Romeo appeared from the top balcony and gave her the thumbs-up.
She discreetly crawled over to the fireplace, dodging feet and coats. The plan was for her to throw some icky-smelling liquid that Romeo gave her into the fire from a safe distance and scream so that Juvia would spray it without question.
But Asuka's screams became real when she got a little too close and an ember leapt from the grate, catching on her fur coat. She dropped the bottle of liquid and it shattered under her feet, igniting the fire even further.
"SUKA-CHAN!" Almost instantly Asuka was hit by a blast of freezing water, swept up from the mantle where she stood. The water seemed to embrace her, soothing her as it carried her away from the fireplace. It deposited her, soaking-wet, on one of the tables before materializing into Juvia.
Asuka blinked water out of her eyes, looking around her. The guild had gone silent. Everyone froze in the midst of their decorating to stare at her with wide, terrified eyes. There was no more roaring fire; it was just a smoldering pile of black, soggy ash.
She looked down at herself and saw that her coat was streaked with black, bits of the clean white fur singed off. Her boots had black scuffs on them.
"Suka-chan?" Juvia said gently, her hands flitting about as though afraid to touch her. "Is Suka-chan alright?"
The little girl blinked at her. And then dissolved into tears.
"Asuka!" Bisca and Alzack burst through the gaping crowd, running toward their daughter. Juvia scrambled out of the way as they charged by. Asuka raised her arms and tightened them around her mother's neck, burying her wet nose in Bisca's green hair while Juvia told Alzack what happened.
"Why were you by the fire, Asuka?" Alzack asked after the water mage finished. "You know better than that."
Romeo stepped out of the crowd, looking terribly guilty. "I'm sorry," he murmured, hanging his head. "That was my fault. We were playing a trick on my dad and it got out of hand."
"What kind of trick?"
"Asuka was worried about Santa Claus being burned by the fire, so I was helping her put it out," Romeo said. "I distracted Cana so my dad would follow her and abandon his post. Then the plan was for Asuka to throw some alcohol into the fire and scream to get Juvia's attention. I didn't mean for her to get so close. I'm sorry."
"Romeo!" Macao stormed out of the crowd, looking as angry as anyone had ever seen him. "I can't believe you! Not only did you give a little girl alcohol, but you encouraged her to get close to a fire with it?! What did you think would happen? You're not going to the party tonight, you hear me?!"
"Yes, sir."
Suddenly, there was yell and a squishy crash as something - or someone - fell from the chimney and into the saturated debris at the bottom. The entire guild watched in awe as he kicked and scratched his way into sitting position, shaking ash from his great red coat and bushy white beard, his hat swinging from side to side.
Asuka looked up and gasped. She squirmed out of her mother's arms and hit the ground running to meet the strange guest, stopping right in front of him. Her jaw dropped when he turned his bright blue eyes to her, blinking in befuddlement.
"Santa Claus," she whispered, amazed. He was soaking wet and covered in ash from head to toe, but there was no denying it: from his red hat to his twinkling blue eyes, to his cherry-red nose and fluffy white beard, all the way down his red coat and black boots, he was Santa Claus. "It's really you. You're Santa!"
Santa blinked. "Me? I'm - oh, well. Y-yeah, I guess I am. Ho ho ho, or...something. Yeah."
"I can't believe it!" Asuka squealed, grinning from ear to ear. She turned to the rest of the guild, who were utterly dumbfounded. "I told you Santa Claus was here! I told you!" She turned back to the man in question. "I heard your reindeer on the roof. That was you, right?"
"Reign - ? Sure, yeah. That was my reindeer."
"And then I saw you walking around. Why'd you do that? You couldn't get down the chimney with the fire, could you? I knew it! I knew that if I put out the fire, you'd come!"
"Wha - ?" Santa looked around, assessing his predicament. "Oh. Shi - I mean, shi...ver me timbers! You're right, Asuka! Thanks for putting out that fire! ...Seriously, thanks."
"You know my name," Asuka breathed, willing to ignore the fact that Santa Claus was somehow familiar with pirate lingo. "He knows my name!"
"Well of course I do! I'm Santa Claus! I know all the names of everyone on the nau - er, I mean, the nice list! I check it twice...right?"
"Right!" Asuka grinned. "Does that mean I'm on the nice list?!"
"Sure are."
"Is my mommy on the nice list?"
"Bisca? Yup."
"And Daddy?"
"Alzack Connell, for sure."
"Where is it?" Asuka inquired, looking around for the elusive list.
Santa pointed to his temple. "It's all up here, kiddo. Top-secret information."
"Is everyone in Fairy Tail on the nice list?!" Asuka asked excitedly. "Can you name them all?"
"Well, now, that'd take a long time," Santa chuckled. "A really long time. And, as you know, I've got to deliver presents to everyone all around the world!"
Asuka frowned. "Well, if I made the nice list...where's my present?"
"Uh...that's, uh, that's a really good question...just full of good questions aren't you...?" Santa muttered. "Well, Asuka, you see, I didn't know what you wanted for Christmas, so I came to ask you."
"But I sent you a letter in the mail!"
"Must've gotten lost," Santa shrugged. "Happens. So, why don't you tell me what you want right now, that way I have time to swing by and give it to you later?"
"Okay!" Asuka plopped into Santa's lap, uninvited, and whispered in his ear what she wanted for Christmas. "I want a new pair of cowgirl boots, and a new cowgirl hat, and a gun just like Mommy and Daddy have."
"Ho ho ho," Santa muttered nervously. "Wow, that's a lot, huh? I'll see what I can do."
"Wait! There's one more thing," Asuka said. "What I really want most of all is for everybody in Fairy Tail to have the best Christmas ever!"
Santa blinked at her. She could've sworn he smiled behind his beard. "Don't worry about that, Asuka. I think they will." He gingerly picked her up and removed her from his lap. "Well, I'd best be going now. Lots of deliveries to make!"
"Can I see your reindeer?!"
"Nope, sorry, they don't like short people."
"Hey - what about the elves? Elves are short! Do you have any elves with you?"
Santa Claus dodged the question with expertise. "Ho ho ho, everybody! And merry Christmas!"
He quickly sprinted out the front door, leaving a baffled guild and a star-struck little girl in his wake.
Laxus joined the party after he changed, grumbling to everyone who would listen about what a pain it was to put the lights on the building. But no one could disagree that he did a grand job with it.
The party started, people coming in by the dozen. Soon people were partying and laughing and being merry, enjoying the delicious food and lavish decorations, the great music and entertainment. Asuka chatted animatedly with her friends from school about her encounter with Santa Claus. By the end of the party she was the most popular girl in kindergarten.
Even Romeo got to stay at the party, upon Laxus's request. "Just fulfilling a Christmas wish," he told Macao. The fire mage rolled his eyes but let his son enjoy Christmas Eve, with plenty of threats he planned to enforce if Romeo dared misbehave for the rest of the new year.
Laxus got a lot of crap for playing "Santa." Apparently his act was good enough to fool Asuka, but not anybody else. He figured he'd done a pretty good job, considering it was a complete accident. Or coincidence. Take your pick.
He'd never be viewed as the macho-man in Fairy Tail after that ruse. But there was a bright side. The women of Fairy Tail must have been very impressed with him, because by the middle of the party Laxus had accumulated at least ten phone numbers from attractive female guests who'd heard about it. One bold woman even sat on his lap and asked if she could tell him what she wanted for Christmas.
It was more of a gift to Santa, but hey. 'Tis the season.
After the woman left, leaving Laxus very pleased with himself, Bixlow draped himself across Laxus's chair and said in his most seductive voice, "My turn, Santa!"
"Get the fuck off," Laxus snapped, shoving the bevisored man on to the floor. "You're on the naughty list."
"You bet I am."
"Naughty, naughty!" his dolls chirped.
"I think what you did for Asuka was great, Laxus," Evergreen praised.
"It was pretty uncharacteristic," Fried agreed.
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"I always had faith in you," Evergreen lamented.
"You guys act like I've never done anything good before!"
"Hey!" Natsu shouted from across the room. "There's a gift under the tree! It's...for Laxus!"
"Me?" Laxus said. "But I already got all my gifts. Right?"
"We gave you ours," Fried shrugged.
Natsu tossed it to him. "I didn't see it there earlier. Must've been hiding back behind the branches or something."
Laxus caught it. It was a long, heavy box wrapped in silver paper, tied with a red bow. The tag said his name in curly, elegant letters. Laxus frowned, puzzled, when he read who it was from.
"Santa? Is this some kind of joke?"
"Open it," Evergreen suggested. Laxus undid the ribbon and tore off the paper. He took the lid off the box and gaped in surprise. Inside was a black missile-launcher, wrapped up in cheerful red and green paper.
"What the hell?"
"Hey, there's a card," Fried pointed out. Laxus took the card and opened it, reading the elegant script inside.
Dear Laxus,
I would like to thank you for substituting for me tonight. It pains me that I cannot visit every child personally on Christmas, but you know how it is. Traveling the world takes enormous energy all by itself. Anyway, I was touched that you would do such a deed of kindness for Asuka Connell. I'm aware that it was unintentional and that you don't consider it much of an accomplishment, but believe me when I tell you that you've truly made her the happiest of children this Christmas. And anyone who can make a child that happy deserves a reward, even if he is on the naughty list.
Sincerely,
Santa Claus.
(P.S. Keep in mind next Christmas that I can sue you for impersonating a national idol. Don't start getting any ideas about taking gigs at shopping malls. I've got to pay the bills at the Pole somehow. May I suggest an elf costume for next year?)
Laxus frowned at the letter, shaking his head. He tossed the card over his shoulder, dismissing it as some crazy prank, and picked up the gun. Reward, huh?
He pointed it at the wall and pulled the trigger. Lights shot out of the barrel, hooking to the wall like spider web and lighting automatically. Laxus grinned, an excited glint in his eye. "Thank you, Santa Claus," he snickered.
"Damn," Bixlow remarked, nodding with approval at the gift. "Neat trick. Too bad he didn't give you anything to remove Christmas lights."
Laxus glanced at the festering blizzard and groaned.