DISCLAIMER: Characters belong to Hiro Mashima, I own nothing except the story idea!
Enjoy :)
'Mama! Mama, Papa!' A shrill voice sang, disturbing Layla's dreamless sleep. She raised her head off the heather pillow and groaned lightly as little Lucy climbed up onto the bed.
'Come on! Get up, get up! It's Christmas!' She yelled at the top of her voice, jumping up and down between her parents. Layla sat up and laughed at her daughter, whose face was lit up with excitement as she thought of the carefully wrapped presents waiting for her downstairs.
'You go wait for us downstairs, dear, we'll only be a minute.' Layla said, pulling a shell pink dressing gown over her nightie, and tying her hair in a bun with a ribbon. Lucy grinned and ran out of the room, three maids running after her, crying out, 'Lucy-samaaaa! Please don't run!'
Laughing quietly together, Jude and Layla descended the ornate staircase slowly. Layla was clutching the marble banister with one hand, and Jude's steady arm with the other.
'I don't know what I would do without you, Jude.' Layla joked, sounding tired. Jude looked at her with concerned eyes, and put his free hand against her flushed cheek.
'Well I'm not going anywhere, so you can stop worrying.' He smiled encouragingly, and supported her all the way down to where Lucy was waiting by the Christmas tree, jumping around with excitement. The tree was eleven feet tall, glowing with fairy lights, and lavishly decorated with red and gold tinsel, baubles of all different sizes, little chocolates here and there, tinkling silver bells, little angels blowing their golden horns, and finally, a beautiful gold star perched at the very top of the tree, which Lucy insisted she put it there herself.
'Lucy, why don't you open up your presents?' Layla asked her daughter, settling down on the settee, where a maid brought her a steaming cup of tea. Lucy immediately grabbed the biggest one, and carried it over to her parents. She squeezed in between the two and placed the large box on her lap, looking up at her parent's smiling faces.
'Open it with me?' She asked them, taking their hands. Her mother and father smiled at each other, then down at her.
'Of course we will, I'm really happy that you asked.' Layla said, planting a kiss on top of Lucy's blonde locks. Lucy blushed and smiled brightly.
'Because it's Christmas, and Christmas is time for family, right?' Said Jude, wrapping an arm around the girls and pulling them close.
'Oh!' Lucy suddenly cried out and reached around her father.
'Don't forget Michelle!' She said and smiled, hugging the doll close to her chest.