The air was thick with the scent of pine needles, and laughter and yelling could be heard from inside the house of Lucy Heartfilia, while Christmas music played softly in the background. Natsu, Gray, Erza, and of course Lucy, were all gathered in her house to celebrate Christmas. She was a gracious host, and she tried very hard not to yell at Gray and Natsu when they started up a quarrel.
They fought on the smallest things, like who got Lucy the best gift, or who should have the last cookie that she made. Gray made a grab for it, but Natsu smacked him away and snatched the treat before he could protest.
"Lucy! Natsu stole the last cookie right out my hand… it was going to be so good!" Gray's mouth watered.
"I got it fair and square, so stop complaining, Ice Princess!" Natsu shot back, raising his fists.
Erza intervened before either of them could land a punch. "You idiots need to stop fighting; you're ruining the Christmas spirit around here." Erza commanded, sipping her eggnog calmly.
Lucy silently thanked Erza for stopping them, and came up with a solution to the cookie problem.
"Why don't I just make another batch of them?" Lucy offered. She needed a way to break the silent tension building between Natsu and Gray, for it was making her nervous.
"Sounds great Lucy! But don't count on me letting Elsa over here take any…" Natsu snickered, and smiled the boyish smile that made Lucy blush. She turned towards the oven to keep from being seen. She would die if anyone knew she liked Natsu. Keep it together Lucy, just stay cool, she thought, a slight blush still evident on her delicate cheeks.
…
Erza was drinking her eggnog, observing the chaos developing before her. She glanced at Lucy, who was looking at Natsu, blushing. She quickly spun around and faced the unbaked cookies, obviously embarrassed. Erza chuckled to herself. Don't worry Lucy, Natsu is too naïve to pick up even the strongest of hints. And it might just be a hunch, but I'm almost certain that he likes you. Gray seems to be developing feelings for you too… Erza smiled fondly. She knew Gray and Natsu's hormones were going crazy, and it was only a matter of time before they started making moves on the blonde. It was going to be a race for Lucy's hand. But Erza pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind, for she wanted to enjoy this Christmas while it lasted.
…
Natsu loved the cookies that Lucy made. They tasted heavenly, but what he really liked about them was that she made them. He loved everything about her, her smile, her smell (vanilla and cinnamon), everything.
On the other hand, he couldn't stand Gray. He always pissed him off, no matter how happy he was. He had managed to get on his nerves today, on what Natsu considered to be the best Christmas of his life (because Lucy was there). Before they arrived at Lucy's house, Gray had the nerve to insult the gift he got her. But Natsu was determined to have a great time with her, and he wasn't going to let Jack Frost stop him.
He shot Gray a death glare and walked over to Lucy, desperate to breathe her scent instead of Gray's, for his made him sick. He instantly relaxed; he didn't realize how tense his muscles were. "What'cha doing Lucy?" he asked, casually draping his arm around her shoulder.
She flinched slightly at first, but when she looked up and saw it was him, she relaxed. "N-Natsu, hi." She stuttered.
Is she blushing? Natsu asked himself. Nah, I think I just startled her. He thought.
"Can I help you make the cookies?" Natsu asked sheepishly.
"Sure! Do you know how to knead dough?" she asked.
Natsu scratched the back of his neck. "No, not really, maybe you could teach me?"
"Okay, just put your palms together and push the dough in an upward motion, it's really simple."
Natsu noticed that when she pushed her shoulders together, it squeezed her breasts together and pushed them up. He knew she wasn't doing it on purpose, but he couldn't stop himself from looking at them. They had sweat all over them from the heat of the room, and from his angle, he could see the drops travel down into her shirt.
Calm down Natsu, this is Lucy. He thought, disappointed of his dirty thinking.
"Do you want to try it now?" she asked tentatively.
"Sure…"
…
Gray was sick of all the attention Lucy was giving Natsu. He wanted that attention. Lucy was all he wanted, and that fire freak was stealing her from him. He didn't want to admit to Natsu that he liked Lucy, he knew he'd never hear the end of it. He'd just have to make her like him, and he knew that he would have to make his move soon, before Natsu did.
…
"Alright everyone, time for presents! Come to the living room!" Lucy called out. Everyone gathered in the living room, excited to see what they got each other.
To keep them from fighting, Lucy sat in between Gray and Natsu on the couch, thinking of how lucky she was to have friends like them. The fire crackled and flickered, consuming the air around it. It made Lucy think of Natsu, who was sitting right next to her, staring into space. He looked so cute when he thought, his nose scrunched up, and his eyebrows furrowed together in the cutest way possible.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Happy, who spoke up in hopes to get the present exchange started. "Come on guys, let's get this party started!" He said excitedly.
"Alright Happy!" Lucy giggled.
…
Natsu was thinking about the gift he gave Lucy. Will she like it? Was a good summary of his thoughts. Happy seemed anxious to start opening presents, and he made Lucy giggle. She was so cute when she giggled. It made his heart beat faster, pushing against his chest, desperate to escape. He struggled to regain his composure. Keep it together Natsu.
Lucy looked so excited; it made Natsu really happy to see her like that. Her cheerfulness was contagious, and soon he found himself laughing and having fun with Lucy as they prepared to open gifts.
"Here Happy, I hope you like it." Lucy said as she handed the Exceed a small, beautifully wrapped gift.
"It's a fish! But it smells weird, what's different about it?" Happy asked excitedly.
"It's a special fish from Aquarius's Pond of Plenty. You can eat it all you want, but it never runs out of meat. It will always regrow its flesh." Lucy replied.
"Wow Lucy! That's really cool… are you saying I can have as much fish as I want?" Happy was ecstatic, he never thought such a beautiful thing existed.
"Yep! Why don't you take a bite?" Lucy said joyfully.
Happy ate a huge piece of the fish, chomping down furiously. But to his surprise, the flesh reformed before his very eyes, and in front of him was the fish, looking unharmed. Happy started to cry.
"Happy, what's wrong?" Lucy asked, concerned.
"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Happy said through dramatic tears of joy.
Lucy laughed, a long and hearty laugh. She held her sides because she was laughing so hard. Natsu and Gray started laughing too, followed shortly by Erza, who laughed so hard she was in tears. Pretty soon they were in a fit of giggles, rolling around on the ground. Happy just stood in the middle of the mess, arms crossed, and face hung low.
After a good session of laughter, they got quiet and sat down, and the present giving went on.
After an hour, there was only one present left to give, and that was Natsu's gift to her, which was in a small box with a green ribbon on it. Lucy wondered about what it could be. I guess the only way to find out is to open it. And with that she carefully undid the ribbon and opened the box. It was a pouch, the perfect size for her keys. It was so pretty too, a shiny silvery-white. There was a crystal "L" on the front of it, perfectly accenting the color of the Celestial wallet. Inside the pouch were two keys, that which belonged to Taluna, the Wolf spirit, and Celestia, the Light spirit. Lucy was in shock. Not only had Natsu bought her a really nice key holder for her spirits, but he had gotten her two powerful spirits to add to her collection.
She did not hesitate to run to Natsu and hug him tightly, pressing her face into his chest.
"Thank you so much Natsu! This is a really great present, I love it." She proclaimed.
…
She really liked it. All Natsu's hard work had paid off, he got to see her cute smile, and he got to hug her. In his mind, that was worth the price he paid for the items he bought her.
An hour later, and Erza and Gray had already gone home. It was just Natsu and Lucy; Happy had passed out on the couch thirty minutes before.
"Thanks a lot... I really appreciate how thoughtful that gift was, it was definitely my favorite gift this year." Lucy said softly.
"Hey Lucy, look up." Natsu said.
Lucy looked up to see mistletoe hanging from the ceiling right between them. Before she could react, Natsu gently grabbed her chin and stole her lips.
The kiss was gentle at first, but passion grew out of it, and they were moaning with pleasure as they battled for dominance in the others mouth. Natsu could tell Lucy was tired, so he gently laid her on the bed, and lay behind her, one arm slung over her waist, and the other playing with her soft, golden hair.
"I love you Natsu"
"I love you too, Lucy"