"Natsu! Stop eating the popcorn!"
"But mom, I'm hungry!"
"Then eat the fruit snacks I gave you, dear," Grandeeny articulated slowly, taking a deep breath to keep herself from fuming and trying her very best to refrain from lashing out at her four-year-old son when sweet little Lucy was sitting so close by. Besides, fighting would ruin the vibe they'd established as they went about decorating their home, and she wasn't one to let the Christmas Spirit be tarnished.
But Lord help her to keep her cool if her son kept munching on the popcorn she'd made to be threaded and strung around the Christmas tree when a good fifth of her bowl had already been lost to his belly while her back was turned.
"But I don't like that kind! They're gross!"
Lucy just giggled as she watched her salmon haired friend roll around on the floor in childish exasperation, the three-year-old blonde happily kneeling on the ground of the Dragneel's living room right next to Grandeeny and pasting the little paper snowflakes she'd made to red, green, and blue pieces of paper just like the woman had shown her. Her hands were sticky with glue, but she couldn't have been happier, contentedly humming along to the Christmas jingles that Igneel had switched on as she continued with her task.
"Natsu, why don't you help Lucy cut up some more snowflakes?" Grandeeny lightly suggested, "We'll need lots if we want to cover the whole tree."
The pinkette flopped onto his back with a despondent groan, a strand of silver tinsel tangled around the bottom of his left leg from his rolling about, "But why do we have to make new ones? What about the thingies we used last year?"
"They're called ornaments, dear, and since you broke so many of them last Christmas by running into the tree, I thought paper decorations would be a better option," she let out a heavy sigh, shaking her head as she recalled sweeping up mess after mess.
Natsu let out a stubborn humph, folding his arms over his chest and turning his head in the other direction.
"I bet Lucy would really appreciate your help."
He only let out another wordless grumble.
Lucy decided to take matters into her own, glue-covered hands, curling them into fists so her palms didn't stick to the carpet as she crawled over to him. She kneeled right next to his head and waited for a few moments to see if he would look her way, but when he stubbornly refused to, she let out a quick sigh through her nose, her fists clenching in determination atop her knees before she leaned down to place a quick peck on his cheek, her lips barely brushing against his skin. She pulled back with a grin on her face, giggling happily at his tense frame and wide eyes as she asked, "Please, Natsu?"
The pinkette lay with wide eyes and a clenched jaw for another silent moment before he was melting to the floor, his cheeks beginning to tint the same color as his hair as he lowly grumbled, "Fine."
"Yay!" the blonde bounced on her knees in joy before hurriedly snatching the salmon haired boy's wrists and tugging him with her as she scooched back to her pile of glue and paper, excitedly passing him his own glue stick and a piece of red paper since she knew that was his favorite color.
Grandeeny quietly continued to string popcorn, smiling to herself as she watched Lucy explain the process to Natsu, the salmon haired boy dutifully clinging to her every word even though he probably already knew how to glue things together. That girl could get him to do anything, and Grandeeny could that the little blonde knew it, her sly little grin giving her away.
AN
Yeah, its short, but there's plenty more on the way ;)
Thanks for reading!
Hint for next chapter: Preschool Christmas Program