A/N: Hey, hey, hey~! XD Pen-san here wishing you all a Merry, Merry Christmas! :D Here's a little fiction to celebrate this once a year party!

This may contain some future spoilers for the story, "Me and Fairy Tail"… If you squint real hard, hold a magnifying glass, and have super thick glasses, that is… XD

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. :P


A Fairy Tail Fanfiction

Written by NewMusic098

That Time of Year

Summary: Pen-san's first holiday with Fairy Tail.

.~ … ~.

A fresh, December morning greeted the town. It almost seemed like the trees and buildings themselves were smiling at the warm glow. But a refreshing cool air wafted through the streets, balancing out the warmth and the cold. It was going to be a perfect day, by normal standards.

Unfortunately, a certain person wasn't that in the norm. Inside the little humble abode, Pen stretched his limbs as the morning rays hit his face. Groaning as he tried to open his eyes, he settled on rubbing them instead and turning to his side while trying to get more sleep. A cold breeze hit his back and made him shiver, forcing him once again to turn and try to find a blanket. Having no success over three to four tries, he gave up on that, too and just settled on waking himself up.

Blinking away some of his sleep, he rolled his eyes and looked at the calendar. He cleared his vision a little to focus on the image. Afterwards, his eyes slid half-closed before he sighed.

"It's that time of year again…" he said to himself. After stretching again, he rubbed his cheek and looked at the sleeping figures on the mattresses. Fairy Tail members Natsu, Lucy, Happy, Gray, Erza, and Juvia were happily sleeping in peace. His lips curled into a small smile at the sight, and he decided to let them sleep as he slid off his bed.

Pen wasn't a fan of this particular week, so he just had to bear with it until it's over. He silently walked out of his room, which was surprising considering he was wearing house slippers noisier than tap-dancing shoes, and went to the kitchen for breakfast. He grabbed a bowl and spoon, went to the fridge for some milk, and set them down on the table. Next, he went to the cupboards to fetch some cereal. As he sat back down on the table, he kind of regretted waking up. He really wasn't fond of this time of year, but too bad he didn't have the ability to hibernate through winter.

He sighed, wanting nothing more than for this week to pass by quickly. He poured the cereal and milk onto the bowl and started to eat. Only a few minutes had passed since he began when he heard the Fire Dragon Slayer cheering happily, and loudly.

"Woo-hoo…!" Natsu exclaimed. "Only a week before Christmas, isn't that exciting?!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy exclaimed in agreement. Pen heard the others mumbling words of agreement as well, but didn't bother acknowledging any as he continued to finish his meal. When he heard the door open, he saw all of them leaving the room one by one, happy grins on their faces and excitement obvious in their eyes.

"Good morning, Pen-san!" Lucy chimed. She sat down next to him while Erza on the other side. Juvia went to wash her face by the sink for a moment, before joining them seating across Pen. The boys went to get more bowls so they could all share breakfast together.

"Good morning…" Pen greeted with a small smile, before proceeding to eat the rest of his food. Lucy nodded at him, smiling widely with closed eyes as she waited for their bowls.

"Nice day, isn't it?" Erza asked him. He just nodded at her in acknowledgement. Pen gulped down the food in his mouth before heaving a sigh.

"So, Christmas is coming soon…" he said casually. He inwardly sighed when he saw Lucy's face brighten up a little.

"O-oh, really…?" She tried to sound surprised. "W-wow, can you believe that!"

"It's almost the end of the year…" Erza muttered with a smile.

"Yeah," Pen replied simply.

"So, uh, what're your plans for Christmas, Pen-san?" Lucy asked.

"I don't have any…" He said. He blinked in confusion when he saw Lucy's elbows, that were currently resting on the table, slid off and let her face fall flat on the on it. The blonde shakily recomposed herself before pouting at Pen for reasons the latter didn't know.

"Well, why not?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"Why don't you have any plans for Christmas?" Lucy asked. "It's supposed to be that time of the year where you get to spend time with friends, enjoy and bond, give and receive gifts! You must have at least some kind of plan!" Pen cupped his chin after he heard this, humming as his eyes roam the room.

"Well," he said. "I do have this one plan…"

"Really!?" The blonde exclaimed with wide eyes. "What is it?"

"…To sleep the day away on Christmas Day…" Pen said with a neutral smile on his face. This caused Lucy to slide once again and let her face fall flat on the table.

"G-geez," Lucy groaned. "Why are you such a downer…?" As she asked that, Natsu and the others returned with bowls at hand. They distributed the bowls to each individual minus Pen, who sighed before standing up and taking his bowl and spoon.

"I'm… just not into partying all too much…" He said with a shrug. Before Lucy could make a response, he quickly added, "But if you really want to do something for Christmas, I heard Michael is taking Mira and the others camping this week."

"They're spending Christmas in the forests?" Happy asked as he plopped down next to Natsu, who was sitting next to Lucy now.

"Yeah," Pen answered. "Gajeel, Meredy and Jellal are going with them. Levy and Ultear are staying with Dani-chan before they leave to go back to her hometown."

"Juvia thinks it sounds fun…" The water girl said, thanking Gray when he poured her cereal on her bowl before sitting down beside her.

"You should go," Pen insisted. "I hate to bore you and keep you locked up. It'll be nice to stretch your legs and stay healthy, right?"

"I…guess." Lucy muttered in defeat. There was a moment of silence before everyone agreed to the idea as well.

"Good," Pen smiled in satisfaction. "Oh, and before I forget, they'll be leaving on Christmas Eve. So I'll go inform Michael. You guys pack what you need for the week and to make sure you have fun, okay?"

"All right," Erza answered. "Thanks for setting the idea, Pen-san."

"Don't mention it," He said with a smile. The others continued eating and eventually got wrapped into their own conversations, so Pen turned round to go to the sink to wash the dishes. Erza was keeping a slight eye on him, and her eyes narrowed down a little when she saw that his smile was replaced by a frown. Though it was so quick, Erza didn't have time to distinguish it being early morning hallucinations or reality.

"How strange…" Erza muttered. Shrugging it off as nothing, she continued her eating and focused her thinking on what to pack for tomorrow. A little later, Sting and Rogue showed up and Erza told them about the plan, which they both agreed to. But much as she tried to ignore it, she couldn't put it pass herself that she saw Pen frown. He was hiding something, but didn't want any of them involved. So, doing the mature thing, Erza just ignored it and complied with his wish.

On the appointed day, Natsu and his group met up with Michael and his gang along with Gajeel, Meredy and Jellal in front of his house. It was pretty chilly, so it was good that Michael told them to pack a coat, some gloves, and bring a bottle of warm tea or coffee.

"Mornin'," Michael greeted them. They nodded to him, who nodded as well before he left to check on the supplies he was loading with Elfman on the van. Technically, he wasn't allowed to drive since he's still a minor, but he got his parents' permission and will have no trouble confirming this to the authorities, if he ever gets caught that is.

"A camping trip!" Lector exclaimed. "This is gonna be fun, right?"

"Fro thinks so, too…" The ever-neutral Frosch muttered. They were currently waiting inside the van with Happy, Charles, and Lily. Once Michael finished confirming everything, he went over to the four Dragon Slayers, who were gathered and chatting normally now rather than picking fights and taunting each other.

"Guys," Michael called over. The group turned to him, and before they could respond he added, "Head's up!" He flicked small, round objects at each of them, the group catching them instantly.

"What are these?" Sting asked, eyeing the small, orange medicinal tablet. It was smaller than a doll's button.

"It's for your motion-sickness," Michael said. "Mira told me you guys have a bad case, so take that and you should be just fine. It's a 6-hour trip to the mountains, so I suggest you take it now. I'm not stopping the van once we move, only for bathroom breaks and if we ever find a store open this early in the morning."

"Yeah, yeah," Gajeel waved him off. "We got it. Thanks." Michael nodded, zipping up his winter coat and shoving his hands on its pockets. Although it doesn't snow here, or any other place near here, the temperature takes a dramatic drop from night 'til dawn this time of year, so it's best to keep warm with clothes like coats, gloves or any other thick material.

"Are we ready to go yet?" Meredy asked Michael.

"Almost… I'm just checking up on some things." Michael said. Meredy smiled at him before bouncing back to Jellal, who was leaning beside the car. He continued his little walk before coming across Erza and Lucy. The scarlet-haired warrior noticed him first, excused herself from Lucy and went over to him.

"Michael-san," she stated. "Thanks again for allowing us to come with you."

"No problem." He shrugged. "The more the merrier, they always say…" he chuckled a little. He looked around for a moment before sighing.

"I guess Pen's not coming, huh…?" He asked as he rubbed the back of his neck. Erza narrowed her eyes slight, curiosity winning over her and she finally asked.

"I've noticed he hasn't been all too happy about the upcoming celebration… Is something wrong?" she asked cautiously when Michael's normal stoic expression turned more serious and melancholic than usual.

"I guess you could say that…" Michael's voice was low, and it held firm. Erza's interest was piqued even more, but didn't say anything and just nodded. The darkish-blue hue the early dawn highlighted them with really fitted the mood and atmosphere surrounding her.

"We'll he be okay by himself…?" Erza asked in a whispered tone, looking over the distance to where Pen's house was. Suddenly, Lucy tapped her by the shoulder, breaking her from her trance and the thought that kept running through her mind.

"It's time to get going now, Erza." The blonde said while her thumb outstretched pointing to the vehicle. Most everyone has gotten in, Elfman was just tying up the supplies that would last them up to a week.

"O-okay…" Erza said and smiled a little. Lucy smiled at her before walking to the vehicle. The scarlet-haired woman gave one last glance at the distance before entering the vehicle herself.

.~ … ~.

Pen stared out the window, the darkish-blue hue of the dawning mist matching his mood. This felt like a movie for him, where the character usually stares out and rain would start pouring down. Too bad this wasn't a movie…

Life can't be rewound, nor can it be halted…

He sighed, closing the window to stop the cold breeze from entering and walking back to his bedroom. There, hanging on the northern side of his wall opposite to his bed, was a small, wooden green frame. It had little pictures of Snoopy the Dog decorating the frame while it was hung with a gold chain. He walked closer to it, touching the glass of the frame and rubbing some dust off of it. The picture was an old childhood memory from he was just a toddler. He was riding a horse that time, and it was supposed to be a happy memory, but seeing it made his heart ache and his eyes to become watery. It always made him feel like this every year.

He tore his gaze away from the picture of his full family. His mom, his little baby brother, and his dad. The one that left them and found another, the one that left that when he found he was being used. He was a person that Pen couldn't find to hate, because after all, he is his father. Although he couldn't blame him for leaving, it was partially his fault that he left.

He kept wishing for more, no matter what the cost. And now regret filled his yearly life…

The memory was clear as day for him, no matter how many years have passed.

"Seven years…" he muttered. "Eight, counting this one…" He plopped down on the bed with his face facing the side. "All those years…" He slowly closed his eyes, still sleepy from waking up so early. He held on to consciousness for a little while, before finally giving in and letting his eyes shut, a single tear falling.

He has no right to dream, but he does it anyway…

Why is that? Is it because he wants to prevent that memory? Is it perhaps he wants to live in the world of dreams, where everything was all right? That they were all right?

.~ … ~.

Michael pulled over the radio-box just beside the fast-food diner. He ordered a lot considering there were many to feed, and he waited for his order to be confirmed. Once that was done, all they did was waited.

During the course of the trip, Erza was silent, often staring out the window and lost in thought. Mira was seated beside her, and she couldn't help but worry about her childhood friend. So taking a risk, Mira tapped Erza's shoulder, which was again lost in thought.

"Erza…?" Mira asked in concern. "Are you feeling well?"

"Yes…" she answered. "I was just thinking about something…" The white-haired bartender just nodded and sat beside her in silence.

"Too bad Pen-san couldn't join us…" Wendy pouted. "It would have been more fun with him."

"He'll probably regret it in the future…" Gray muttered from the back seat. "We'll tell him everything we did to make him say, 'Dang! I wish I could've been there…'"

"That's not such a nice thing to do," Michael called, maneuvering the van to the drive-through and getting five plastic bags containing burgers, vegetable salads, tuna casseroles, and some soda for drinks.

"Why not?" Gray asked from behind. "He's the one that didn't want to go. Making him just a little jealous wouldn't hurt…"

"Still, I advice you not to do that… You wouldn't want to add more regrets to his yearly one…" Although Michael said that in a very quiet, almost air-like voice, Erza had heard him.

"'More regrets'?" Erza asked. Michael paused for a moment and mouthed a curse, before shrugging it off and proceeding to drive.

"Here," he handed the plastic bags to Lisanna, who was seated next to him. "Hand these out to the others…"

"Michael-san…" The scarlet-haired woman called. "Don't avoid my question. What did you mean by that…?"

"Mean by what, Erza?" Lucy asked. She was sitting right next to Mira, the opposite end of the middle seat.

"About Gray going to add more regrets to Pen-san's yearly ones…" Erza answered. "Now we know what you said, you have to tell us…"

"Do I really have to…?" Michael asked, looking at them seriously through the mirror above him. His eyes met equally serious honey-brown ones, and eventually he gave up since he has to watch the road.

"Fine…" he muttered. Silence occurred in the vehicle for a few moments, Lisanna still passing out the food so it won't grow cold, before Michael sighed again.

"Have you ever experienced…" he began. "Choosing who to spend time with…?"

"Of course I have," Natsu said from behind, sitting on the floor since Sting and Rogue occupied the other seats. He was too friendly to leave one of them on the floor. Juvia was sitting on Gray's lap, and Gajeel sat next to them. Jellal and Elfman were the only two on the extra seats at the back of the van.

"I mean, I did choose at one time if I wanted to go on a mission with Lucy or Erza…" he continued. "But I ended up going with both and stripper."

"I knew you'd get that wrong…" Michael replied. "That's not what I meant, idiot. I meant, have you ever been torn between choosing two of your most precious things to spend time with…"

"For example," he continued. "Erza, you're put into a situation where you have no choice but to choose between spending the day with Jellal or your friends… Who will you choose?"

"I can't choose." Erza said simply. "If I can't spend time with the both of them, I might as well spend my time on training."

"See…" Michael pointed out. "You can't choose. That's what Pen's going through right now. Every year…"

"What do you mean by that?" Mira asked. Michael has entered the highway, it was pretty empty, minus the few early buses and taxis that roamed the area.

"Pen's parents had a fight when he was just a kid," Michael went straight to the point. "I wasn't there, he just told me. They were planning a surprise party for him. But it wasn't really a surprise since he knew about it. He wanted to have a big one, and his father planned on taking them to an expensive resort."

"But his mom said that they were already buried in debt, doing that would rob them of their property… His father wanted him happy, his mom wanted him happy. But he wanted luxury. He didn't realize the mistake he made until it was too late, though…"

"What happened…?" Lisanna asked.

"They ended up arguing and separating. It wasn't until later that Pen blamed himself for wanting too much and expecting more from things… And during the first four years of their separation, he had to choose which side he wants to spend his Christmas on."

"If he chose his mom, he'd feel guilty about not choosing his dad, and vice versa. It's been eight years, and he still blames himself for everything. He knows his family will never be the same again, but he always clung to that small hope. Right now he doesn't need to choose anymore, because his dad is overseas and he gets yearly calls. But that still doesn't stop him from blaming himself."

An awkward silence crept into the van, before a surprised cough from Wendy broke out. She was sitting on Mira's lap, with the Exceeds on each of the other girls' lap.

"That's…" Lucy muttered in astonishment.

"…Surprising…" Mira finished for her. None of them quite knew about Pen's past. They hadn't expected something like this out of their overactive, happy-go-lucky, ever-so-teasing host/friend.

"Why didn't he tell us to stay then?" Erza asked, rather a little upset that they had left him alone after finding this out.

"He doesn't want anyone to see him like that… Ever." Michael added the final word with much more depth. "The bullying didn't help about that, either, just made him want to hide it even more. Although he can still be an emotional dork, he doesn't break down that easily, at least, not anymore. He's cried plenty of times to be tough... Much like you guys…"

"But, he should've at least informed us." Lucy said. "I hate leaving him like that on Christmas."

"Well, there's nothing we can do." Michael sighed. The following hour was silent, each person having a different opinion about what they heard, but none wanting to speak up. This completely changed their view about Pen being a carefree, idiotic and annoying match-maker person. No one knew about the mask, but they should have, since they had been doing that before, too. They had overcome their challenges, but when will Pen overcome his? His loneliness, his self-loathing…

His loss.

"Turn back." Natsu suddenly muttered. He stood from his spot, gripped the seats in front of him and shouted, "Turn back!" This got him looks of confusion, encouragement, and admiration. Michael, though, just glared at him sideways before tearing his eyes away from him.

"What for?" Michael asked. "You think you change something about his way of thinking. I've been trying for years and I haven't even made him talk about it since. We may be enemies before, but that doesn't mean I don't care for his well-being."

"Well, we can give it a shot!" Natsu said through gritted teeth. "All of us here share a past that we don't like or want to change, but that didn't stop us from moving on and living up. If he knows about our principles, he should've done that from the star-"

"He doesn't have friends like you." Michael cut him off. "He has friends that he treats his siblings, but all of them struggle about their past. Some even gave up. Believe it or not, Pen's the strongest among his friends, but he's pretty close to giving up… He wants to move on, to just live a happy life, but he can't do that when he's surrounded with people who gave up first."

"That's why we're here!" Natsu shouted, slamming his fist on his chest just above his heart. "We told him before that we share troubles, problems, happiness, dreads and even losses. I guess it's about time we prove to him that…"

"And how do you plan to do that?" Michael asked. In truth, he was just testing how far they would go for his cousin, even though he kind of knew he was pushing too far.

"I have a plan…" Natsu smirked. "It'll cheer him up for sure! Who's with me?"

"Me!" Happy exclaimed, fluttering a little towards his partner.

"Since you put a nice speech again, I'll have to be onboard." Sting smirked. Natsu just smirked back, at least he was helping.

"I'm in." Gray and Rogue said at the same time.

"Juvia is in, as well." Juvia said, hugging Gray a little tighter. "Because of Pen-san, Juvia was able to be with Gray-sama~! It's Juvia's time to repay him."

"Count me in!" Lucy said, slightly raising her fist. "If Pen-san needs some cheering up, we'll be there! He's done a lot for us already."

"I agree…" Mira said. Lisanna nodded at her sister, whose eyes were telling that she also agreed.

"Turn this around like a Man!" Elfman shouted from behind, receiving some chuckles in front.

"No point in arguing," Gajeel sighed. "I guess I'm in, too…"

"You heard them, Michael…" Erza said, smiling a little as she saw the smallest of smiles on his face. "Turn this around."

The moment she said that, Michael hit the break and they did a small drift as they turned around. He started it up fast and revved up.

"This better work…" Michael said to them. "You guys will owe me a whole new Christmas if this doesn't…"

.~ … ~.

"Mama… Why is Papa leaving…?"

"What do you mean he's not coming back!? Of course he is, he lives here!"

"Mom, why are you making me choose…? Can't I spend Christmas with you two?"

"I knew it was my fault… It…hurts, feeling guilty. I-I made everything worse…"

"I'm not going today Mom, but thanks. Merry Christmas…"

"Dad, when are you coming back? Is it alright with you leaving… I'm sorry again for- Oh, the connection broke…"

"I always make everything worse… It's just my nature. I wish I could just die…"

Pen awoke, finding himself staring at the ceiling. He blinked a little to feel warm liquid seeping through his eyes and falling freely on the sides of his face. He cupped the upper half of his face, dragged down all the tears and sat up. He looked at his phone to check the time. It was already 8 : 30 in the evening.

'Have I been sleeping that much…?' he asked himself. He shook his head a little before pulling his feet from the bed and standing up. He grabbed a towel and proceeded to the bathroom to take a bath. A few minutes later, he got out and went to his room to change. He was wearing a white t-shirt with a giant purple eight-note in the stomach area, and 'New Music' written on the chest area in fancy script. He wore blue pants and looked at the mirror when his done. After brushing his hair dry, he wore his Siberian husky dog hat and let the laces fall on his shoulders.

He was thinking of a walk to freshen his mind after going through that, but was stopped when he found a note by the living room table.

"'Pen-san, please go to the lake a quarter before midnight. –Lucy~'…" He read aloud. Only 30 minutes had passed since his bath, there's 3 hours more.

"What are they doing at the lake?" he asked himself. "Weren't they supposed to be at the mountains by now…?" Eventually, he shrugged it off and went downstairs. He grabbed the set of keys hanging by the lamp and headed out, locking the doors as he did so. Three hours isn't that long, he'll just have to pass the time. He visited some internet cafés that were still open, played for an hour or so, then went to a grocery store to buy some chips and soda for snacks. He went gaming with some of the locals, and ignored the teasing remarks he got from his hat. It was his hat, so whoever's got a problem with it was not his concern. He won at every game, though, and that much proved he wasn't someone to mess around with.

The three hours almost passed by quickly, and he was now heading for the lake. The place was pretty empty, considering it was already late at night. The moon was full and was reflecting beautifully on the water with the stars. He had a couple of minutes left before it reached the designated time, so he settled with sitting by the bank of the lake, admiring the moon's eerie yet calming glow. Now, he just needs to wait for them to show up. He was feeling a little better and level-headed now, so he was expecting any kind of surprise to happen, or so he thought.

.~ … ~.

"Is he there yet?" An excited and impatient Lucy asked her Celestial Lion. Loke glanced at the lakeside to see if anyone was there, and grinned when he saw Pen sitting down near the lake.

"He's here!" Loke announced quietly. Lucy nodded her head, excited to hear that.

"Gray, Juvia, go for it!" she whispered. They were hiding at a small building near the spot Pen had placed himself. The two Lucy mentioned where on top of the roof, seeing en perfectly from where they were.

"Got it." Gray muttered. On cue, he and Juvia held hands and began concentrating their magic. A few seconds later, a magic circle appeared above them and blasted their concentrated magic into the air. A few more moments of waiting, and snow began falling from the skies.

Pen's eyes were wide as he saw snow for the first time. It was too cold to touch them, but he enjoyed seeing it. Lucy and the others hiding in the building perceived this as their time to show up. Lucy and Loke had jumped down from the building, all the while Loke giving Regulus a glowing light. As Loke blasts balls of light to the air, Sagittarius shot them at the right angle to match Pen's eye view.

Natsu, Erza and Jellal had come out and were on the ground just a little ways behind Pen, who was watching the fireworks in awe. The three of them focused their magic and began shooting fireworks as well. This caused Pen to turn to them, his eyes a bit watery at seeing them doing all the effort.

"You guys…" he muttered. Erza smiled at him warmly before taking a step closer.

"You know, you don't have to spend Christmas alone…" she said. "We're right here…"

"It doesn't matter if you have problems or not…" Jellal spoke next. "We're right here if you need help. We're always ready to be of help to you…"

"Don't forget, you made us live in your place, and provided us with lots of fun!" Natsu exclaimed. "It's about time we returned the favor, don't you think?" At the mention of this, a giant hole broke from behind them, shocking Pen a little. Virgo came out from underneath with Lisanna in her bird form and Mira in her Satan form, lifting what seems to be a giant Christmas tree filled with different decorations and different colored Lacrima lights. From underneath, Gajeel and Elfman kept it in balance as Virgo returned the hole to its original form.

"Hey…" Pen muttered quietly, a tear rolling down his cheek.

"Like we said," Natsu turned to him. "You always have us to help you out…" He grinned and showed him his wrist, covered by Meredy's Sensory Link. Jellal and Erza also had the same mark, and as well as the others. The same mark suddenly appeared on Pen's wrist, and gush of comfort, worry, happiness, joy, and many more feelings converged inside of him as he felt each and every Fairy's feelings. This caused him to cry fully now, covering his face with his hands and trying to keep his sobs at bay.

"T-this is…" He wiped his face for a moment and looked at everyone in the face. "I-I don't know what to say…"

"You don't have to say anything," Lucy said, walking closer to him. "We know what you feel, and you know what we feel."

"Merry Christmas, Pen-san!" The three behind them cheered.

"Merry Chirstmas!" The others cheered along. Pen looked at them all with a soft smile, letting the tears flow freely now.

"Th…Thank you…" he sobbed. "Thank you so much for doing this for me…!"

"Does it make you happy?" Lucy asked. He nodded furiously amidst the tears.

"Of course it does! I-I'm really happy… Tha-thank you… And… Merry Christmas…"

"Merry Christmas…" Lucy smiled as she outstretched her hand. "Now come on, we're gonna party all midnight-long~!" Pen blinked a couple of times, letting more tears fall, before smiling wearily and taking hold of her hand.

"Yeah…"

.End.


Season's Greetings from Pen-san~!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Minna-san! ^_^