MERRY CHRISTMAS, MY LOVELY READERS! I hope you're enjoying your day, and I hope you enjoy this final chapter!

The street was beautiful, to say the least. Christmas lights of all different shapes and colors hung from the rooftops of the surrounding buildings and swirled around the trunks and branches of trees, and every single shop had windows that were filled with gifts donning magnificent bows and beautifully wrapped boxes. Snow lined the cobblestone path, and holiday music was playing over the speakers, pleasantly wafting through the air for all of the passerby to hear.

The Magnolia Christmas Market had really outdone itself with their decorating this year, and Lucy had long since decided that of all the years she'd lived in the small town and of all the Christmas markets she'd attended in its central plaza, that this was the best, both in terms of scale and quality. And with the market nearly empty since it was Christmas day, it was the perfect place for a peaceful and pleasant stroll with her boyfriend.

Now if only Natsu would get the message and adhere to the 'pleasant' part of that description. He had let her loop her arm through his and rest her head on his shoulder, but his entire frame had been incredibly tense all the while. He was barely talking to her, and he wouldn't even look at her, his gaze devotedly staring at anything that wasn't the blonde at his side.

They'd had a bit of a fight before they left their apartment, a fairly petty and inconsequential one by Lucy's standards, but it seemed like Natsu was making it out to be a much bigger deal. Her boyfriend, the dummy, had thought it would be a good idea to try and force a holiday sweater onto their cat, and, needless to say, Happy hadn't been too happy about it. She'd always known that the pinkette had an overwhelming amount of Christmas spirit, but really, she thought that a Christmas sweater on their cat was a bit much, and she'd made sure that he heard her opinion loud and clear as she'd cleaned and bandaged the scratches on his arms.

Despite all of that, it'd been a fight without much substance, so she had no idea why Natsu was so hung up on it. He was still giving her the silent treatment and looking anywhere but at her, and she could feel how tense he was as she leaned against him with her arm looped through his. What made the blonde even more perplexed was that he had been the one to insist they go out on a walk through the market this year instead of staying in their apartment or at his parents all day like they normally did on Christmas, yet he was still upset, and Lucy would even say that he seemed a bit anxious for some reason.

Whatever that reason was, Lucy hoped it was worth sacrificing the pleasant stroll with her boyfriend she'd been envisioning, because other than Natsu's grouchiness, everything about this moment was perfect. Well, the cold was a bit bothersome since it was making her lips dry, but it wasn't anything she couldn't chase away with a layer of lip balm.

She pulled the tube out of her pocket for her second application of the night, removing the lid before twisting the bottom of the tube and sliding it across her chapped lips. Her mouth settled into a pout when, of all things, that finally got Natsu to break his silence, his voice suddenly light as if he hadn't been mad at all as he asked, "Oooo, can I use some of that?"

The blonde glanced over at him to find that he was licking his own lips, and although his lips were visibly chapped, he didn't seem to be licking them out of an attempt to gain relief. It looked like he was doing it a bit more out of…nervousness, dare she say?

Regardless, her lip balm was very important to her, so she curled her hand around it and pulled it close to her chest, fixing him with a glare, "Ew, you can't put your mouth on my lip balm."

Natsu gave her a blank stare in silence for a moment before he was flatly remarking, "You had your tongue in my mouth, like, twenty-five minutes ago."

The blonde pursed her lips, keeping the tube tucked into her chest for a few seconds before holding it out to him with a heavy sigh, "Fine."

She watched him swipe it across his lips with furrowed brows. Was that just her, or was his hand actually shaking? She didn't think it was that cold, and normally Natsu didn't get the shivers, but maybe he was starting to feel sick or something? Was that why he was so quiet and tense?

She dismissed the thought when he passed back her lip balm, the pinkette holding out his elbow for her to take hold of again before going back to giving her the silent treatment as they turned down the path that would lead them to the center of the plaza, where the seventy-foot Christmas tree resided.

Lucy rested her head back against Natsu's shoulder as they made their way towards it, sighing in content as her eyes followed the swirling strands of Christmas lights as they wound their way towards the giant golden star at the very top. She didn't think she'd ever get tired of staring up at it and she hoped Natsu would give her a moment to stop and stare at it instead of just continuing past.

They made it to the base, and it seemed like Natsu was fine with stopping there for a minute too, his steps slowing to a halt in sync with the blonde's.

His arm suddenly shifted in her hold once they'd come to a stop, "Can I have my arm back for a second?"

Her answer came in the form of her arm disentangling from his, her hands going into the pockets of her coat to keep warm while he was doing whatever had him occupied. Her focus continued to wind up and down the tree, which hadn't changed much since they were little kids, but it was still as magnificent as ever, and just as awe-worthy.

There was the gentle sound of someone clearing their throat behind her, and that was when she realized that Natsu's warmth was gone from her side.

"Um…Luce?"

She spun around slowly, something about the way his voice sounded making her realize that something was up. His voice had sounded choked, almost like he was crying, which had her slightly worried, because Natsu only cried when he was absolutely devastated or the moment meant a lot to him.

Upon catching sight of him, she knew right away why he'd sounded the way he did, tears gathering in her own eyes as her hands shot to cover her mouth.

It seemed that the moment had finally come, the moment their parents had been teasing them about practically their entire lives, the moment their friends had been betting on for years.

He was down on one knee, his hands visibly shaking as he held out an opened ring box for her to see. Despite the tears in his eyes, there was a soft grin on his face, a subtle quiver in his voice as he began, "I love you, and…I want to spend my forever with you."

The first of the blonde's tears slipped free.

"Lucy…" a little nervous laugh slipped through his before he finished his proposal, the possibility of what was about to be making him giddy. But he quickly got himself back under control, his voice full of love and sincerity as he asked, "…will you marry me?"

Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes.

Through the cluster of emotion in her throat, only one managed to make it through Lucy's lips, her trembling hands pulling away from her mouth as she hurriedly nodded her head and shakily breathed out, "Yes."

She only got the briefest glimpse of the massive, bright smile that broke out on his lips before he launched himself at her, his arms flying around her and squeezing her tighter than they ever had before. If her arms hadn't been trapped between their chests, she would've hugged him back, but since they were successfully squashed between them, she settled for burying her face in his chest, soaking the outside of his coat.

Finally, he was hers and she was his, the two of them forever only belonging to each other.

Her hands were shaking as he hurriedly pulled back and excitedly slid the ring onto her finger, more tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked over the ring, a silver band that split into two twisted stands on either side of the modest diamond that shone like a star in the middle.

It was simple, but it was perfect.

As his hands settled on her hips to keep her close, she let out an embarrassed giggle and swiped at the tears on her cheeks, her eyes always either on the boy who was now her fiancé or the ring he'd placed on her finger, "God, I'm a mess."

He gave her a soft smile, one of his hands straying from her hip to gently brush the tears from her skin as he hummed, "You're beautiful."

Her heart warmed, her voice fully of nothing but sincerity as she returned the favor he'd offered her earlier, "I love you, Natsu."

It looked like he was getting ready to say it back, but she placed her hands on his cheeks before he could utter a single word, lifting herself up on the balls of her feet to gently and sweetly press her lips against his.

He wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her even closer and help keep her on the balls of her feet, smiling softly against the gentle, but sweet pressure of her lips as they kissed in the light of the Christmas tree.

Their relationship had started with a war of Christmas lights, their bond growing ever stronger over years of awkward mishaps, some of which they'd rather forget. But what really mattered was that their tale ended happily, the pair forever sealed together with a promise of eternity.

AN

AAAHHH I hope that wasn't too cheesy. I was debating between about four different proposal options (one was putting the ring in her stocking, or in the very last box of an advent calendar, or just that it was one of her presents on Christmas morning) but I figured that Natsu would probably just do it in a simple and straightforward, but sweet way, so we ended up in the Christmas Market on Christmas Day!

I'm sorry we didn't get a Christmas with their kids, like some of you were asking for, but…maybe next year.

When I first came up with this idea of making a fic with an update everyday, I didn't think I would be able to do it because of school and work and the like. But I actually did it, and I'm pleased to say that for once, I'm actually pretty happy with how it's turned out.

I want to take this final chance to say a major THANK YOU to all of those who favorited, followed, and reviewed, and to all my readers in general. Like I've said before, fluffy stuff really isn't my forte, so I was positively overwhelmed with your guys' support and love for this fic! So really, THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Signing off for the last time,

~McSquidster