A/N: I can't hold off on publishing this one any longer! I hope you enjoy this Christmas AU. This is a three shot, so be on the lookout for the other two chapters. :D If you need a translation of the military terms, I'll post that on the next chapter.


"All I want for Christmas is you to come home," Sting said quietly. He propped his chin on his bent arms, flopped across his bed with a sigh.

His blonde sweetheart on the other side of the computer sighed as well, running a hand through her damp, loose hair. She was off duty, so she was snuggled in her warm civilian clothes. It might've been 125 degrees during the day in Alverez, but in the pods, Lucy had told him they kept the temperature at a comfortable 65. Besides, everyone was working the night shift anyway. Her reindeer shirt and candy cane jammie pants showed she was trying to get into the holiday spirit despite being thousands of miles away. "I know, love. I'd love to be able to come home for the holidays, even though I've already used my R&R, but..." She hesitated for a minute, her brown eyes flicking to the side.

Sting straightened. Lucy only got like that when there was some military matter going on. "What is it, Luce? Are you going to be coming home early?"

He was trying so hard not to get excited but it wasn't easy. He knew from having a brother in the military that it didn't pay to get excited at the prospect of an early return. They rarely came home early, often returning later than anticipated. Rogue just rolled his eyes and said that's the military for you.

Lucy's deployment was only supposed to be 18 months long and she'd be home early January. They'd already missed their first Christmas as a couple and all Sting wanted was for his girl to be home for the second. The two weeks she had gotten for R&R that summer hadn't been near enough time for them. She'd been able to get a little reacquainted with everything, including her boyfriend of eight months. Their friends had been thrilled to see her again. Mira had thrown her a party at Fairy Tail despite Lucy's pleading not to go to such effort just for her.

Still, he'd noticed that while she was enjoying herself, talking to their friends, laughing, cuddling with him, the whole time her body was still tense. Her brown eyes were always moving, always on alert for any threat. She didn't like crowds. She kept her face to the door and back angled near a wall. Sting knew that this was classic soldier behavior. Rogue was like this all the time, hating crowds and always tense. It just hurt to see Lucy that way. He wondered if she'd ever be able to fully relax again. Seeing as this was her third deployment in six years, he rather doubted it. She'd seen too much and been through too much to ever be truly comfortable on the home front again. War had changed her.

Lucy tapped her chin and shook her head. "Sorry, can't tell you that. It's not good opsec." She paused then shuddered. "Besides if I say anything else, Erza will find out and string me up by my toes."

Sting winced at the mention of Lucy's frankly terrifying roommate and tacked on a groan. Then, with a laugh, he winked at his soldier girl. "You know, I love when you talk military to me."

Lucy groaned at his cheesiness and the conversation turned to lighter subjects. Lucy eagerly questioned him about Magnolia's Christmas preparations. Did Levy have her bookshop window all decorated and twinkling? Was Mira selling gingerbread and peppermint bark? Had Laxus grumpily lit up the tree in the square? For now, the darkness of war was driven from her beautiful eyes. With a promise to write and talk soon and pass on his love to his deployed brother, Lucy and Sting said goodbye.

He flipped over on his back, staring up at the ceiling of the room he used to share with Rogue. Has it only been 18 months since I met her? I feel as if I've known Lucy my whole life.


I will be hosting a MidKino week (Midnight/Yukino) from January 31 to February 6, 2016. Please join me in this new crack pairing love! It's coming up super soon, so be sure to tell me if you're interested in joining!

MidKino Week prompts

Day one: Can I keep you?

Day two: Sugar High

Day three: Roommates

Day four: Late night shopping

Day five: Makeup Fail

Day six: Old Friends

Day seven: Transport

Bonus: Burnt

Please tell me if you're planning on participating so I can check out your stories! The beautiful Fareetauhl will be cohosting with me! We're both so excited!