Chapter Twelve

Gray was fuming as he walked off the mat, the match called as a draw when he and Lyon exceeded the time limit. Lucy sympathized with him but relented from speaking when he stood next to her; it would be better to allow him to cool down on his own time.

Fairy Tail was on a roll. Natsu defeated Toby in a matter of seconds, only after the laughing fit when Toby said something Lucy did not hear, and Erza wasted no time knocking Yuka to the ground (Lucy had learned that Natsu was not exaggerating when he talked about Yuka's big eyebrows - they were absurd), but then Wendy fought Chelia.

At first, it seemed like Wendy had to upperhand, easily hitting Chelia down with a punch right to the head. When it appeared that Chelia would not get up, the referee began to blow his whistle, but then the pink-haired girl popped off of the ground, assuring the ref that she was far from done. Wendy looked appalled. Blow after blow, Wendy and Chelia were beating each other up, both very quick and agile in their movements; it was almost hard to follow what was going on.

Then the timer went off, alerting everybody that the match was a draw. Both freshmen girls dragged themselves to the sidelines, laughing and chatting like old friends (Lucy assumed they were; they acted like they knew each other). Lucy watched them with a small smile. It was strange that some people were able to get along after brutally attacking each other, but she wasn't surprised that Wendy was one of those people.

The next match was Levy's match, and Lucy understood why both Levy and Natsu blanched at the mention of Jura. He was a bulky senior, all muscle, as if chiseled from stone. His impressive height towered over Levy's and Lucy swore she could feel her own heart leap to her throat; she wondered how Levy was feeling.

She wondered until Levy kicked first, effectively knocking Jura to the side and eliciting a gasp from the audience. Maybe she had a chance.

"Poor Levy," Erza sighed from her right, shaking her head pitifully. Noticing how Lucy's eyes bugged out of her head, Erza felt the need to continue. "I have faith in Levy's abilities, but Jura is a very respectable fighter. No one has been able to defeat him since he joined the Lamia Scale Fight Club. He always lets his opponents get in the first strike, though, and he doesn't typically use his full strength to fight."

Lucy gulped, turning her attention back to the mat to see Jura knocking Levy down as easily as if she were a small child. Levy was already shining with perspiration whereas Jura hadn't even broken a sweat - but the blue-haired girl was stubborn enough to continue fighting.

It was futile. By the next minute, Levy was pinned to the ground, her arm twisted behind her back as Jura held her down.

Commence the walk of shame. Levy groaned as she approached Lucy, her head hanging low, though Lucy was aware that Levy knew Jura was a very formidable opponent.

"Nice job, Levy," Erza commented, in spite of her loss. It was nice work; Levy moved very quickly and her attacks were right on target. Had it not been for the wall of muscle that was Jura Neekis's body, she might have been able to defeat him.

The fights continued on and eventually, Lamia Scale and Fairy Tail tied.

Lucy flinched when she saw the glower on Gray's face, and she shuffled closer to Erza when she saw that Lyon was returning it. Man, they're angry.

"Lucy?" Wendy asked, sitting next to her at the bar.

It was Monday, the nineteenth of December. The first weekday of Winter Break. The schools in the area had no school for two full weeks, and Lucy planned to spend as much time as possible with her friends at the club hall.

"Hey, Wendy," Lucy greeted with a small smile, looking up from the papers she had been sifting through. She had been sitting in the corner of the club hall since she was able to catch a break from decorating, working on papers from her father - all educating her about the business world. "What's up?"

"Why did you want me on your team of five with Erza?" The question was blurted out, as if Wendy needed to put the words in the air before she couldn't, and then the bluenette's cheeks were burning furiously. "I mean, not that I don't wanna be-heheh...! It's just… Erza told me that you were the one who picked me. Why didn't you want Levy, or Cana, or... or Gajeel?"

Lucy had spoken to Erza over the weekend (when she had, once again, appeared at her home with two certain boys without invitation) about the game plan - and more specifically, about Wendy. Erza agreed graciously, nodding in approval. The redhead approached Wendy the next day and Wendy was clearly elated to be ask to be on their team (and though Romeo was a bit jealous when Wendy informed him, he was happy for her).

"I can't give you a straight answer," Lucy admitted, looking down at the papers in front of her. "It's just a feeling I had. I guess… I like the way you think. And you are a good fighter, too, even though people might not expect you to be. I think you and I would make a good team, really-a great team!"

Wendy clung to every word, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. "Thanks!" she exclaimed suddenly, a brilliant grin taking over her face.

Assuming that was all she wanted to speak about, Lucy began scribbling down on her work again, but stopped when she felt Wendy still sitting next to her. "Did you need something else?" she questioned, glancing over at her with a concerned expression.

Wendy was fidgeting in her seat, red-faced and unable to meet Lucy's eyes. "Yeah… I, uh, I have this friend… who I really like…" It looked painful for her to say. "I want to give h-them something special for Christmas… but I need your help! I don't know what to give them!"

Wendy has a crush?! Lucy beamed just thinking about it, leaning in to keep her voice as low as Wendy's. "Well, what kind of stuff does this friend like?"

"Um…" More fidgeting. "They like to sing… and dance… They really like music..."

Lucy giggled quietly. "Well…" She thought about it for a moment. She was stumped. "Give them something from the heart because that means a lot, in my opinion." Another pause. "Maybe… write them a song?"

Okay, judging by the horrified expression that took over Wendy's face, she assumed that a song was the wrong route to take.

Then, "Wait, I got it! Thanks, Lucy-san!" Wendy was scrambling off, excitement clear as crystal.

"Young love," Lucy sighed dreamily, chin resting in her hands and a smile overtaking her face.

At some point, Natsu had wandered over. "You're only a few years older than her."

"Shut up!"

Natsu sat there with his arms crossed, Happy curled on his lap, and a pensive pout settled on his lips. Scraps of wrapping paper littered the floor and presents from his friends surrounded him, holiday music filling the air with suffocating joy, the smell of cookies wafting through the club hall, but something was missing, and he realized what it was when he spotted the large pile of gifts addressed to a certain newer member.

Lucy, when he had visited the day before, promised him an extraordinary gift for Christmas, but nothing labeled with his name had been from his blonde companion.

It felt strange in the new club hall without her there. Both of them had frowned at the changes made, agreeing with a shared glance that it was too different: it was larger and more advanced, with televisions and expensive floors and higher ceilings and even a pool behind the building. Not even the old furniture could give the place the comfortable, cozy feeling it had held before.

No, it only started to feel that way when a table was thrown and then a brawl had begun, and when he looked across the room during a spare second in the fight and saw Lucy sitting at the bar, laughing about something Cana had said, he decided that maybe he could call the new hall home.

But with Lucy absent, he felt strange; it wasn't right, her not being with her family on Christmas. Sure, maybe she was spending time with family elsewhere, but by the look on her face when he had visited her the day before, he could tell she wasn't too enthralled about the plans she had made - she even left Plue in the care of Wendy so that he could spend Christmas with the club.

He was toying with some sort of puzzle that Lisanna had gotten him when Mirajane approached him, a Santa hat on her head and a smile playing on her lips. "Natsu, I've got something from Lucy for you," she announced to him and him only, beckoning for the male to follow her to the back room.

Confused but slightly excited, he followed, a new bounce in his step as Mira flicked the lights on. In the far corner of the room resided a large tank, and in the tank was a lizard-like creature: a salamander, bright red with black spots freckling its back.

"She told me to tell you it's not a dragon or even a reptile, but it reminded her of you, and Merry Christmas," Mira spoke softly, watching with a giggle as Natsu pressed his full face up to the glass, squishing his nose.

Natsu eyed the little creature for a while before backing away, turning to Mira with a determined expression. "I'm going to get Lucy," he decided, and Mira encouraged him with nothing but an eager nod and a joyous clap of her hands.

"Lucy?" He pushed her window further open, allowing himself to stick his head fully inside from his perch on the windowsill. Frost coated the glass and snowflakes blew in from the outdoors, though he didn't seem to mind.

"Natsu?" she questioned, looking at him in the mirror settled atop her vanity. Normally, she would have chided him about using the door and respecting her privacy, but something was different on Christmas Eve. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the club?"

"If I'm not seeing you tomorrow, I might as well wish you a Merry Christmas tonight!" His feet landed on the floor and he closed the window behind him, turning back around to find Lucy standing in front of him.

His eyebrows bunched together. She was dressed to the nines; a long-sleeved dark blue dress clung to every curve of her body, the material giving way to skin at the middle of her thigh. Her hair was done in a neat bun on top of her head, though her bangs fell casually onto her face and a few strands snuck out of their tight hold. Not only that, but her lips were freshly glossed and her eyelashes were coated with a dark mascara, emphasizing her cocoa eyes.

"What are you dressed up for?" he asked nonchalantly. She didn't look bad, but the way she was dressed just did not suit her. It wasn't Lucy.

"I'm attending a dinner in my father's place," she spoke in a monotone voice, though the expression on her face was nothing short of distasteful.

"Why?" Obviously she didn't want to go.

"I have to," she explained. "Some of his business partners are more eager to meet me than see my father again."

Again, "Why?" He looked at her, at the way her eyes avoided meeting his.

"Ahem, um," she began, but paused, biting her lip. She was being uncharacteristically nervous and quiet and it bothered him. "They and their sons like the idea of a pretty, sophisticated, mature woman." Her words were slow, unsure.

"But you're none of those things," he shrugged, laughing when she slapped his shoulder with her handbag. "What are you doing tomorrow? Why can't you come?"

"I have to meet someone." The way she looked at him conveyed her feelings, and Natsu knew she was trying hard to reel them in. She looked hurt. He didn't want her to be hurt. Before he could protest, though, she was turning away, shoving some makeup into her bag. "I have to go soon. Oh, and I've got a great present waiting for you at the club hall."

"Okay," he nodded, scratching the back of his neck. He would have questioned what his present was had he not felt the underlying tension in the room. "Well, Merry Christmas, Luce!"

His grin shone on his face and he turned to the window, opening it once again so he could exit easily. Something stopped him. Someone. Arms wrapped around him from behind and he could feel Lucy pressed against his back, her face buried into his coat.

They hadn't known each other for long, not even a month, but they felt like they'd been friends forever. They very well could have been.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

A pause.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Natsu."

She slowly released him after that, watching ruefully as he slipped into the dark cover of the night.

Natsu, with Happy perched on his shoulder, strode right in to the Heartfilia Estate, waving casually to the maids he'd come to know the most, Valerie and Annette. "Hey Valerie, Annie," he greeted casually, beaming. "Merry Christmas!"

"Sir," Annette spoke timidly, tensely, as if raising her voice too much would awaken a terrible beast. "What are you doing here?"

He noticed the lack of Christmas cheer in the house; most of the hallways were dark and it was completely silent apart from their conversation. "I came to get Lucy! Where is she?"

Annette and Valerie exchanged glances, pursing their lips. "She's in the gardens," Valerie said finally, watching Annette as she disappeared down the hall. Moments later, the maid returned, a thick blanket in her arms. "Miss Heartfilia is in a fragile state right now."

"Lucy? She's tough as nails!" he brushed it off with a lazy grin - but when the maids didn't nod in agreement, when they held their solemn expressions, he sobered up. "What happened?" His voice was harder, more serious. Natsu began to calculate every incident that could have occurred overnight, blowing anything possible out of proportions.

"Nobody in the Heartfilia home has celebrated a holiday since the passing of Miss Layla," Valerie sighed, deciding to tell the young man. "Lucy herself hasn't properly celebrated a holiday since before her mother's death. Her father is never around, always away on business. It's a shame. She always spends Christmas alone and gives us the day off. We were concerned, though, so we came to check on the miss."

"Take this," Annette spoke, handing him the blanket that was folded in her arms. It was warm. "She's been out for awhile."

The pink-haired teenager held the mass of material closely to himself, turning in the direction of the gardens, but a hand on his bicep obstructed his intended path. When he looked at the perpetrator, Valerie, his eyebrows shot up. "Natsu," she whispered pleadingly, seeming to swallow her pride. The maid was not fond of him (or, rather, his destructive habits) and she voiced her opinion in one way or another every time he visited Lucy. In the few days he has known her, he could've never envisioned the sad expression that morphed her usually annoyed features. They really did care for Lucy. "Don't let her be alone anymore. Please."

Natsu nodded, practically running to the gardens. His face was unreadable but the concern coursed through his veins as he surveyed the gardens. They were vast and draped in white, making it even harder to distinguish direction; nonetheless, Natsu pushed his way past the flowers and plants, momentarily fighting with a thorn bush that snagged at his pajama pants, before he was finally able to locate his target.

Lucy was definitely not dressed for the snowy weather. All she wore was a pair of leggings and a long sleeve shirt, which were both obviously soaked through by the merciless snow pelting down from the sky above. Her golden blonde hair was drenched to a dull dark blonde and she was slumped over in a somewhat defeated manner. One step closer, then he stopped again. She was on her knees in front of a stone structure, her arms folded atop it and her face hidden behind them. The stone structure had words written on it that he couldn't read from where he stood, but he didn't need to read them; the towering statue of an angel let him know that it must have been her mother's grave.

Don't let her be alone anymore.

He ambled towards her cautiously, the snow crunching obnoxiously under his boots; she didn't move. It wasn't until he was standing next to her that he spoke:

"Lucy!" His voice was chipper, extraordinarily upbeat, like always, but the smile on his face didn't quite reach his eyes. Happy mewled.

His fists bunched the blanket when she looked up at him. Her lips were parted in surprise, as if she didn't know what to say. Her eyes were brimming with fresh tears and her cheeks, already painted with wet streams, were a dark red, stinging from the cold. She looked so broken and lonely. He didn't like it when she cried, he decided. He didn't like it at all.

"Na… tsu?" she breathed confusedly, hands falling to her lap as she stared up at him.

"Come on!" he grinned, offering his hand. "Everyone's waiting!"

She was shaking. Slowly, ever so slowly, her gaze fell from his face to his hand, and he watched as all the thoughts in her mind fell into place. Her lip quivered and she pushed herself off of the ground quickly, knocking his hand out of the way. "Wah!" she wailed, throwing her arms around his waist in a tight embrace. "N-Natsu!"

"Hey-" he exclaimed, raising his hands in the air, panic clear on his face. "What's wrong? Don't cry, Lucy! I'm gonna take you back to the club hall!" It was hopeless, though, because his words triggered something and only made her cry harder, her sobs muffled against his chest. "It's okay!" He didn't just dislike when she cried, he realized. He hated it. "Hey, stop crying." His words were softer and then his arms wrapped around her, draping the blanket over her shoulders in the process.

They stood like that for a while, disregarding the inclement weather erupting around them. Only when her sobs died down to sniffles did he speak. "C'mon, Luce," he repeated, nudging her gently. She leaned back, eyes red around the edges but livelier than they had been before. He smiled.

He ended up carrying her on his back, her arms loosely wrapped around his neck and her cheek pressed against his the back of his neck. Happy, upset that Natsu's shoulders had been occupied by part of Lucy's arms, opted for sitting on Lucy's shoulders instead, burying himself under the blanket that was still pulled tightly around the blonde.

Silence was exchanged between them, only disrupted by the howling of the wind and the sound of Natsu's shoes crushing the snow beneath him. Natsu almost believed she had fallen into a light slumber until he heard he speak.

"Thank you."

He hummed, nodding his head. "You're not alone anymore," he assured calmly, casually, but the way her grip on him tightened let him know that it wasn't just a casual thing to her. "I liked your present."

Somehow he knew she was smiling.

"Good," she murmured approvingly, closing her eyes. He was warm. She was freezing, and he was warm. She was upset, and he was so warm. "Sorry I couldn't get you a real dragon." Her voice was lightening up, and she was teasing him. She was slowly but surely converting back to her happy self.

"It's okay. You can always get me one for my birthday," he assured, halting his movements once he reached the doors of the club hall. He didn't want to put her down yet, because somewhere deep inside of him, he feared that once her feet touched the ground, she would turn tail and dash away into the snow to be alone again.

He understood. Lucy had no one when her mother passed. The maids were always at her beck and call, but she wanted her mother and no one else. She probably lashed out as a young girl, too emotionally vitiated to cope properly - not to mention the lack of a father figure. A man who had been in a position able to help her, to fix her, instead gave her the cold shoulder and worked on building a wrought company. He failed to even mend himself. She must have been so lonely, so lonely that she assumed she had to do everything on her own. She probably did everything on her own. She had been all alone. He understood.

He lost his father like she lost her mother.

She was startled when his foot kicked the door in and his voice ripped through the cheery holiday music. "We're here!" Letting the warmth of the building envelop her, Lucy stood on her own two feet, discarding the wet blanket and settling for wrapping her arms around herself. Everyone was looking at her. She tried to shrink.

"Lucy?" It was Gray's voice, and she felt his hand on her shoulder. "What the hell happened, Flame Head?"

"I didn't do anything!" Natsu protested, whirling to face Gray.

"Lu-chan!" Levy exclaimed, coming forth to greet her friend with a hug. She jumped back. "You're freezing."

"Here." Gray set his jacket on her shoulders before proceeding to fight Natsu, insults flying.

Lucy stuck her arms through the sleeves, sighing comfortably at the immediate change in temperature. She was about to go ask Mira for a hot chocolate when the white-haired girl appeared in front of her, clasping her hands together with a smile. "Your presents are over here!" Mira took her hand, tugging her along towards the Christmas tree that stood on the far end of the room. "Everybody loved the presents you got them!"

Relief flooded through her. She ensured that every single club member received a gift from her, but she was unsure when picking them out; Natsu, obviously, had received a pet salamander, complete with a supply of food and a guide on how to care for them. For Levy, she had bought an entire new series by Levy's favorite author, every book signed with a little message from the writer. Gray and Juvia were given tickets to a ski-and-snowboard resort that Lucy had heard about. With much knowledge on Erza's love of cakes, Lucy had bought for the redhead a year-long pass for free cakes from a very high-end bakery on the outskirts of town. Wendy was gifted many dresses, and Gajeel, a new amplifier for his guitar that he loved so dearly. Everyone got presents according to the knowledge Lucy held of what they liked - even Happy, Carla, and Pantherlily were given their favorite foods.

"Here! These are yours!"

Lucy focused again, spotting the pile of gifts, all labeled with her name. Her mouth fell agape. There had to be a gift from everybody in that pile.

It was strange. Heat spread throughout her body and her chest tingled, tears springing to her eyes for what seemed like the millionth time that day. Mira looked at her, still smiling, as the blonde brought a hand to cover her mouth, tears forming in her eyes once again. No one had gotten her a Christmas present since the Christmas before Layla's death; she spent seven Christmases without celebration. No one treated her like family in the seven years since her mother's death; no one seemed to care about her as much as these people did. She had known them for barely a month and already, already they loved her. They bought her Christmas presents even though she insisted she didn't need anything. They made her so indescribably happy.

"Oh no! Lucy, don't cry! What's wrong? Look, we all got you presents!" Natsu was in front of her, panicking, gesturing wildly to the unseen.

"Those are happy tears, Natsu," Mira informed him, patting his shoulder and watching Lucy adoringly.

It took Lucy a moment to bring her noiseless cry down to a hiccup, but then people were surrounding her, telling her which gifts to open first. She picked a small box decorated with pink wrapping paper and white ribbons, which so happened to be from Mira, Lisanna, and Elfman. It was a necklace; a silver heart locket hung from a plain silver chain, and engraved on the inside was the Fairy Tail insignia, along with the initials FTFC. She immediately put it on, beaming.

Making quick work of the rest of her gifts, she realized that she only had one gift remaining. Already she had received hair bows, jewelry, clothes, books, notebooks, and many things akin to those - all neatly wrapped in different colors, all proudly presented to her by the giver. So when Natsu finally meandered back to her, glad that the attention of the other club members was directed elsewhere, she took his gift gratefully, surprised when her fingers found soft fabric rather than wrapping paper.

He noticed the fleeting look of confusion. "It's a scarf, since you kept complaining about how you only had one!" he explained gleefully, rubbing the back of his neck.

She nodded. Only once or twice did she mention only owning one scarf, but it was rather endearing that he remembered something so petty. Carefully, she unraveled the material, finding a wooden frame. A picture frame.

It fit three pictures; all three of the pictures that had been taken during her welcoming party. In the first one, she was smiling at the camera, sheer joy on her face. Natsu's arm was wrapped around her shoulder and there was a grin on his face, while Gray pressed against her other side, his signature smirk resting on his lips. Cana had an arm wrapped around Gray's side, her other hand resting on Wendy's shoulder. On the opposite side of Natsu were Erza and Levy, behind them Gajeel (who had teasingly ruffled Levy's hair). Juvia stood next to Cana, a look of death on her face as she glowered at both women touching the boy she loved. Laxus stood behind Lucy, towering impressively over her meager height, with Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen (who was oddly close to Elfman) on his left, and Mirajane standing on his right, accompanied by Lisanna. Other members stood around, but everyone (Juvia being the exception), was beaming brilliantly at the camera. The second picture was a different story. Lucy looked troubled as she stared at Gray, who was exchanging ferocious glares with Natsu. Everybody in the picture was looking at the trio; Juvia was smiling, Laxus was unamused, Mira was unfazed, Erza was angry, and the like. The third picture was lacking the faces of the two boys, showing only their limbs in the air. Erza stood next to Lucy, who was looking up at her, completely awestruck. Everyone, save for Lucy, Gray, and Natsu, was once again looking at the camera, although only some were smiling.

It made her smile.

"Thank you!" she burst, holding the present to her chest and hugging him with her free arm. It took him a second to hug her back, but he did, his arms wrapping tightly around her waist. She could feel him smiling. "Thank you so much…"

"No problem, Lucy!"

Twenty minutes later all of the presents were separated into piles and everybody was chatting excitedly. Lucy, having traded her drenched shirt for a pink sweater given to her by Gray, sat comfortably on a sofa chair while sipping a hot chocolate, Plue snoozing in her lap. Natsu had managed to squeeze into the chair next to her, holding a plate stacked with chocolate chip cookies (occasionally Lucy would steal one when she thought he wasn't looking, but he knew).

"Wendy," Lucy spoke out of the blue, gaze finding her blue-haired friend. The girl sat on the floor a little ways away, chatting away with Romeo about something or another, but Lucy grabbed her attention immediately. "How did your friend like their present?"

Wendy blushed, glancing from Romeo to Natsu and then to Lucy, and then she was smiling brightly. "They loved it!"

"What did you end up giving them?" Lucy realized that Wendy hadn't actually told her what the gift was - not that it mattered, as long as Wendy and her friend were happy.

"I played them a song," Wendy mumbled, as if embarrassed. "On the piano."

"You can play piano?" Lucy gushed, eyes widening as she leaned forward. "You have to play for me sometime - I mean, if you want to! I love the piano. I know a little bit myself." Cue the hair flip. "I used to do recitals all the time before-" That was where she cut herself off, face draining of color. Before my mom died.

Natsu noticed her abrupt silence and he opened his mouth, about to question her, but he was interrupted.

"No way!" It was Cana's voice. The brunette came storming towards the pair, a devious grin on her face. Lucy gulped - that look always meant something bad for her.

"Yo! Flame Brain is caught under the mistletoe!" Gray bellowed, laughing hysterically.

Oh no. Lucy's head fell back, her eyes catching the tiny bundle of leaves above the chair, and she willed for them to burst into flames. They did not.

"I knew it was meant to be!" squealed Mira, eyes wide with delight and a blithe smile gracing her lips.

"Mistletoe?" Natsu followed Lucy's gaze before he realized it - the kissing plant of death, as Gray had deemed it last year, was hanging over his head. "Oh, mistletoe!"

"No way!" Lucy shook her head, arms crossing in an 'x' shape in front of her. "I don't care about dumb mistletoe."

"You have to! Any two club members caught under the mistletoe have to kiss! It's club tradition!" Cana was smirking, her eyes burning holes into Lucy's very being. All eyes were on the pair now. She felt like a deer surrounded by a pack of hungry tigers.

Lucy fumed, cheeks puffed out indignantly. "Nooooooooo."

"C'mon," Natsu shrugged, turning towards her. He ignored the alarmed expression sent his way by the blonde. "It's not like it'll kill us."

"I guess…" Lucy nodded slowly, before shaking her head. "But-but-but, still!"

Her eyes widened when she looked at Natsu, panic written on her face. He was fully facing her, eyes closed, and then he began leaning in.

He's going to do it.

She squirmed where she sat, hands balling into fists in her lap. Plue whined, nuzzling against her arm.

He's actually going to kiss me.

He was only centimeters away now. She could feel his breath on her face, the heat radiating from his body, and most of all, the gawking stares of everyone around them.

Does he even know the meaning of kissing?

She squeezed her eyes shut, holding her breath, and then…

Bahahaha, yes, I'm leaving it off there. I did it - I pulled the cliche, caught-under-the-mistletoe trope and I'm proud. ;)

Anyways, this is my longest chapter by far! Over 5.2k words! Given, I did manage to fit a lot into it, but whatever.

In the upcoming chapters, I'm going to be focusing on Lucy's friendships with the girls, more about her mother, and a bit of Natsu's past, too! The Winter Break will last for a few chapters, then we'll be moving on to the battle against Grimoire Heart.

If you haven't noticed in recent chapters, I've been taking some events from canon and changing them so they fit into this AU - because I think they're very important in developing the characters! :)

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Chapter thirteen should be up tomorrow or the following day.

Thanks to everyone who reads, faves, follows, and reviews (reviews are especially welcome right about now)! :)