Finals getting over were always a beautiful thing...more-so now than they were over the summer semester. It was amazing how much had changed in the span of a few short months and how different everything was between everyone. The last Friday of school that rolled around signaled the beginning of a well-deserved break and a mental relax for all. It was more needed than ever before.

"Are your finals over now?"

"Yes father...I turned in my last project a few hours ago."

"Very good. I hope you will find a few moments to relax and take it easy..."

"I have two weeks ahead of me father. I plan on utilizing this time efficiently before the spring semester starts up."

"Do you think you'll be able to do what you envision will happen next semester?"

"I believe I can sneak by with it. I haven't encountered any resistance with any of the professors so far."

"That's good. I'm glad you'll be able to do what you want to accomplish."

She grinned, fist clenching at the excitement of the upcoming future so within her grasp. "I don't see anyone stopping me now."

"For now, I hope you can forget about those plans and focus on the two weeks that you have. Perhaps you can invite one of your friends. Christmas is coming up soon...did you have any plans of doing something here again?"

She hadn't, but she did now. The second he asked that question, he practically allowed her to have full run of the place again. He didn't say it in so many words, but it sounded like his wallet was opening up for her to use, too. She grinned and headed for the phone. She needed a cohort for this and she knew just the person to call to get in to trouble with!

She dialed the number she knew by heart and didn't worry about the other side not getting picked up. There was be no way he'd be at work now and after what she heard about Juvia flunking her final, she knew that Gray wouldn't be hanging out around the gym taking up his time either. Gray would probably be with Juvia if she had her way. This meant that her fellow schemer would be free to go along with all of her blooming plans...

"Hello?"

Her grin widened. "Yo. Long time no see. I have a mission for you."

He blinked, mouth dropping open a little. It had been almost a month since he last heard her voice. It hit him like a sledgehammer and his heart twisted a little, smile forming all on its own after a second. "Hey Lucy. What's up?"

She gripped the phone. "I'm going shopping for some vital necessities and you're coming with me. It's father's money, so don't worry about paying for anything. You just have to survive a car trip or two."

He already didn't like where this was going. "Ugh...do we need to drive for this shit? I don't want to ruin the high I got this morning from my finals being over."

"Yes we need to drive!" She hotly denied. "I'm coming over to pick you up and then we're going Christmas tree shopping! We don't have any of that stuff as you can imagine and I'm making up for lost time. So you have to help me go pick out garland and tinsel and lights!"

"When is your driver leaving?"

"Oh, he's not coming."

His brows shot up to his scalp. "When did YOU get a license?"

She grinned. "I fit it into my schedule. I won't be able to have the driver toting me around every inane place that I wish to go..." She stood and made for her room and her shoes. "I already had something of a conversation about this with father. He even mentioned having one of you come over so I can relax before January shows up."

He stared at the ceiling from his couch, giving a hum. "Well, it sounds like I don't have much choice but to be your willing prisoner. I gotta say, you came to the right place. I don't have anything like that around here either. I'll just have to use your house since you're not here anymore."

His past and their situation came to her all at once and her heart clenched in guilt and sadness. She suddenly felt like a heel for bringing up all of those years he didn't have holidays with Igneel and her having left. She tried to shake it off and focus on the fun time they would spend together shortly and how many memories they'd make in order to erase all the bad ones. "You can use my mansion anytime you want to for holiday stuff. I've spent too many years without doing so and I'm done with that. Plus, we're going to make it a half Christmas, half birthday bash since my birthday is already past anyway."

He shot to a proper sitting position at that news. "It is?! Shit, why didn't you say anything? Did you at least celebrate it?"

"I was studying for finals that weekend, duh!" She suddenly smirked. "I seem to recall someone saying that it was no big deal if a birthday went uncelebrated and no one knew about it..."

He scoffed. "Yea well that was me and this time it's you!"

Her lips pressed together in a silly smile. She grabbed a pair of boots from the closet and shut the door. "Anyway...I'll be over shortly to get you. You do better in the front seat than the back and I'm not taking the luxury car so you can sit in the front with me."

"Capricorn's car? I can just wait out front and watch for it."

She grinned knowingly. "Oh...I don't need Capricorn's car anymore..."

A brow ticked up. "Will you just spit it out already? You're trying to be coy and I know you want to say whatever the hell it is you're trying to hide!"

"You're no fun." She pouted momentarily. "Father bought me a car."

He could've choked. "He what?! Just like that?!"

She grinned evilly. "He said he'd pay for it if I managed a perfect grade average despite the beginning of the semester. ...I picked it out myself."

He could almost hear her cackling over the line. He could only shake his head at that. He had no words to say and wondered what she picked out. Any possible idea he may have had for her birthday flew out the window at hearing her father bought her a car of her own to drive. "Well...I guess I'll hang up so you can head over."

"I'll ring you when I get to the front door."

They bid goodbye and he put the receiver back. He went back to lounging on the couch, mind now full of all the differences in Lucy's life from when they met. He was honestly happy for how much better her life, father especially, had gotten with that debacle of running away. He knew it wasn't good that her father had a heart attack out of the deal, but he also attributed that hospital visit to a change of thinking on both of their sides. He had a feeling that her father's brush with death gave him a taste of mortality and he was more willing to reach out to the daughter who had been waiting there the whole time. He also knew that after hearing about her past and her father's time in the hospital, Lucy was much more receptive to any loving advance he may make.

His mind wandered over to her birthday. He felt a little guilty for having forgotten about it considering she mentioned it back at the hospital not that long ago. He knew it and yet did nothing. He was even working most of that day and didn't even call her to wish her a happy birthday! That was what horrible friends did, not best friends...especially one he had a special interest in... He didn't know how to make it up to her, but he wanted to do something. But what did he, a poor college student, buy a woman whose father bought her a CAR? He knew she'd be happy if he put some thought into it, just like he was happy with her little gift back then, but he still didn't think it'd measure up. He could barely cook, one reason he ate out at other people's expense so much; he couldn't play an instrument like she could; he didn't know how to work with his hands; and he couldn't even get to her place easily! He was kind of pitiful and full of empty ideas here...

He resolved to watch her while they were out and observe things she liked in order to find something he could use to get her or do with her. He didn't honestly know what he could buy her though considering he had a lower paycheck than normal due to finals keeping him busy the last few weeks.

He sighed, harshly running a hand through his hair. He was kind of pathetic compared to her. She had grown so much in such a short amount of time after having met him and he just couldn't keep up. She went from being a college student in a forced degree program that she didn't want in a home which she didn't wish to be in to a gracious father helping her find her way in life and taking full advantage of how to graduate early so she could take over for him and help him out in return.

She was inspiring to say the least. She had flipped her life around multiple times, made everything work to her advantage, and had only tripped in the beginning of each change. She always picked herself up and kept going after figuring out what she needed. She was now taking the bull by the horns on her latest venture and running so fast...fast and out of his reach. He glowered at the other side of the living room, rolling to his side. She was quickly fading from him for her busy life as if she was being erased and he hated it. He wanted to bother her, but he felt guilty for wanting to selfishly take her from her duties and self-imposed responsibilities. She had chosen this of her own free will and he didn't have the heart to tell her to spend time with him just because he missed her a lot.

The doorbell ringed and jolted him to attention. It was loud in the quiet and he was thankful it jarred him from that mental derailment. He didn't need anything like that right now...not when she was here for the day. He hopped off the couch with a grin and headed to the main door downstairs. She was standing, back to him, breath puffing in the cold and idly looking around at nothing. He took in the yellow coat and fluffy white hood she wasn't utilizing. He liked the color on her and he took a second to admire it before knocking on the glass to get her attention. She jumped and whirled before meeting his eyes with a smile and a wave. He grinned back and opened the door.

"Let's go get your coat. I want to go see the upstairs for nostalgia sake."

His head shook as they headed back upstairs. "You can come here anytime you want now, you know..."

She grinned as he opened the door and let her in. Her eyes drank in her previous home for so many weeks. She twirled in the living room happily. "Yea, but it's not the same!"

He shook his head with a bemused smile as he watched her head to the bedroom. He followed her and watched her flop on her side with a huge grin. Although she didn't live here anymore, he would always call that her side of the bed.

His arms crossed, although her good mood was infectious. "You're such a little kid."

"Say what you want; you're not going to burst my bubble right now!"

He waved her off and headed to his closet. "I'm going to grab a sweatshirt for the drive. Hold on."

He walked into the closet, leaving the door open. She sat up on the mattress in time to watch his bare back flex as his t-shirt came off. She shivered despite herself, despite having seen it before many times before in such a similar situation when she used to live here. But, that was then...and this was not then...

Her eyes glazed over a little as she watched him change, watching every muscle move and shift. Then it was done, yet the baggy sweatshirt did nothing to hide what she just saw, nor her imagination on how well it puffed in the right places. It was a little taunt over his arms and shoulders, but a little baggy at the waist. It hung on his hips and bunched up around his jeans. Her fingers twitched before she could control them.

She quickly looked away, wanting to hit herself for allowing herself to look and yet knowing it would accomplish nothing. Teeth harshly bit her lip as she heard the light click off and his footsteps pad across the carpet. She abruptly slid off the bed, feeling the sudden gravity of what she was on and left the room first. She quietly watched him grab a black coat and snatched her keys out of her coat pocket.

They headed out to the nearest mall. The drive helped and the fact that she had to keep an eye on her driving to keep him from puking in the car helped take her mind off what she witnessed and her reactions. She had pretty much forgotten the incident by the time they were locking the car doors and heading to the nearest entrance.

It wasn't hard to find the closest Christmas section and start looking for decorations. Things had been set up since November and now, a mere week before the main date, people were practically shoving things at shoppers to get them out of their stores. She started by picking up the nearest shiny thing and getting lost in it. Stars almost shone in her eyes as he watched her age melt away. He ended up being the voice of reason when she immediately proclaimed wanting to buy about eight boxes of bulbs for the largest tree in Magnolia that she wanted to get. They almost got into an argument right there in the aisle about how much she should probably be spending and how much he didn't want to be lugging around for her. Neither had done the whole tree thing and so decided it be best to get the tree first and come back. As much as he didn't want to go driving all over Magnolia just to get the right order down for this, he had a feeling it would be more annoying if they got the tree after getting so much stuff for it and overshot the tree size. Thus, they needed to start at the beginning and figure out how much of her dad's wallet to drain.

Shopping for the tree with her was like trying to keep a kid from running through a candy store! He had to yank on her coat hood more than once when she started to take off for some random tree that caught her attention. Her eyes were all over the place! As endearing as it was to see her so ecstatic, he lost her twice and had to go play hide and seek, unintentionally so, and shout her name in the crowded outdoor area. When he finally got her to calm down enough to consider her car and how she planned on getting such a huge tree home, things went a lot better. Maybe half an hour later, about a hundred bucks poorer and one huge pine richer, Lucy handed over the information on delivery to her mansion and they headed back to the mall.

For the second time, they shut the car doors and she bounded into the Christmas aisles again...even more hyper than before. He followed her with a cart in tow. She practically shoved boxes at him and he had to pause her again when all of them were haphazard in thought.

"You're just buying random, cute shit!" He groused, looking at the three she put in his hands to put in the cart.

"So? Who cares? Why is that a crime?"

He gave her a dry look and roughly put them back into her arms. "At least put some thought into it!"

Her chin rose as she clutched the boxes to her chest. "Father said I could get whatever I want. So I'm going to get the ornaments that I want." She walked around him, pointedly not looking at him, and put the three in the cart.

He stared at what she wanted before rolling his eyes. It was all odd designs and colors. He had a feeling he was talking to a brick wall here and knew that this wasn't going in his place, but old habits died hard. None of the money getting blown here was his, but he had a feeling that he was going to be helping her decorate her place. Not that he minded really...he was just thrifty by necessity and it was hard to keep his mouth shut.

Eight boxes of decorations, five wreaths of different sizes, four boxes of lights, rolls and rolls of garland, and a few boxes of tinsel packed the cart full. They had been browsing for probably an hour and he had to remind her that the tree was going to be delivered around three if she wanted to get it taken care of today, she needed to end this before she maxed her dad's card to the limit.

She checked her watch and found it already two. Her eyes widened, teeth nibbling a lip. No way had she gone through enough of the department to satisfy over a decade of no Christmases! But she wanted the tree up today so she could start planning the party she wanted to have with everyone. She had invites to get out and quickly left Natsu and the cart to head to the cards as the thought crossed her mind.

He heaved a sigh and was starting to regret having ever tagged along. She was worst than a little kid! She was like a kid with too much caffeine and a hyper puppy in tow! "If you keep this up, I'm going to demand food to refill all the energy you're making me waste following you in all directions..." He griped, stopping behind her when she paused for five seconds.

"We'll get something..." She idly mumbled, eyes on the rack of cards and invitations. She finally picked one she liked the best and added it to the pile. She stopped when the invites almost didn't fit and her lips pursed. "Hmm...maybe we should stop for now..."

He looked to the high ceiling, annoyance gracing his features. "How about just stop?"

Somehow they tag-teamed the bags in the trunk of her car and managed to get the door shut. They headed back inside for the food court and he got in line at the one that smelled the best. She paid for him and let him go find them a table before heading to a smoothie shop and getting herself something as well. She looked around a bit as he ate...correction, inhaled his food.

He subtly eyed her lips as they pursed around the straw while she drank. She had some kind of pink lipstick on and just the way those lips bunched up suddenly struck him as so overly sexy that he had to fight to stay in his seat and not put distance between them. The way her hand cupped her cheek and held her head up as she randomly looked around gave him free range to look as much as he wanted despite needing to look away. He found himself unable to change his gaze as he slowly chewed on part of his burger.

She suddenly looked his way and blinked at the hooded eyes he had. Her brow rose as she sat back in the chair. "What?"

"Nothing!" He reached for his soda and took a huge gulp from the can to distract himself and distract her from him. He didn't need this kind of issue right now if he intended on spending the rest of the day with her!

He finished his food quicker than intended to help him forget that spectacle in the lunch area. They headed back to the mansion and she almost regretted buying him anything. She warned him about doing anything in her new car and that he would take full responsibility for the maintenance bill. He denied puking in her car and wasting so much food, but she wasn't convinced and made sure to drive extra careful the entire way back.

She finally stopped under the carport and he took a deep breath once he got outside the car. The cold helped jog him a little and he felt better from it. He looked around the place and how most of the snow had melted. It didn't look as magical as it had when everyone was here for Thanksgiving, but it still looked like a castle in its own right.

The second the front door was open, they found the pine tree sitting upright on a stand in the center of the entrance area. The piano was moved over to make room yet still stay in the area. Her hands clapped together with a happy cry as she went to it and lightly caressed one of the branches. She turned and flashed him a brilliant smile. "I can't wait to get started!" She gushed, stopping in front of him with fists clenched in excitement.

He grinned, feeling her joy radiate to him. He looked to the tree for a second before finding her suddenly embracing him. He was taken aback and stumbled just a step, arms instinctively going around her to steady them. "Lucy?"

She gave him a squeeze. "Thanks for sharing my first Christmas decorating time with me Natsu. It wouldn't have the same feeling if I just did it by myself."

His brows furrowed. "What about your dad? Isn't he here?"

She slowly shook her head, her good mood going down quite a bit. "He's on a business trip for some end of the year stuff..."

He knew why some of her luster died and gave her back a pat. "Don't worry Lucy; he'll take it easy. I doubt he'll push himself like he did. I'm sure a lot of the higher ups know about his time in the hospital and will help him out so that doesn't happen again..."

That didn't mean she didn't have to worry about him. It still scared her occasionally whenever she found him in his office or heard he had meetings to go to. She didn't know what would happen to her now that she had tried to make an effort to become a family with him. She looked to the floor and nodded, wanting to be reassured at his words. "Yea..."

He pasted on a smile for her and looked to the top of her head. "Hey...where'd all that enthusiasm go? Let's get to tree decorating!"

She pulled away enough to look at him and smiled despite herself. She stared at him and stole some of his strength in order to find her way back to the mania she had lost herself in earlier.

Her eyes looked worried and sad and it got to him. All of his old mothering instincts to help her rose with a vengeance and before he could stop himself, he lightly kissed her forehead. It was innocent and it was primarily meant to provide comfort, but he wanted to hit himself for having done so. What confused him was that she looked really shocked and flushed to her ears at the gesture. She went still in his arms and stared at him as if she couldn't believe he just did such a thing. He didn't know why she acted as such when mere months ago she would have given him a smile and hugged him for doing so.

He stepped away after a second, blushing uncomfortably at his own actions and mentally cursing why he just did that. He cleared his throat a little and took a step toward the front door. "Anyway...uh...why don't we go get those bags from your car and get started?"

She silently followed him out and grabbed the bags he held out to her. She was uncomfortable taking them from him because their fingers kept brushing against each other. They trudged back inside and it took until the stuff was unpacked and ready to use for her to get over herself enough to ignore what he did. Not that she could forget it, but she pushed it out of her head for the task looming over them.

Getting into a debate on the mechanics of tree decorating helped her really get into the whole thing. They almost started arguing which should be done first amongst the bunch of different things to attach to the tree. She figured the bulbs and garland could go first, but he thought the lights should be done instead. It took Capricorn to ask her how she intended the tree to look in order to play peacemaker and get their voices lowered back to normal levels. She finally did the lights first after minutes of agonizing how she wanted her first tree to look like. They ended up needing a ladder and he took the dangerous route of the upper level as she fed the wire to him. They did the same thing with the garland while the ladder was up and then started in on the lower levels.

"Stop putting them so close together!" She argued, picking up another decoration and moving it inches away.

He pouted and purposely put two next to each other. "It's not that big a deal. You have so much shit here that I doubt we'll have enough room for it all anyway."

"It's about the look! If you do a crappy job then your results will look crappy!" She wagged a finger at him and tsked when he did it again. "You really suck at this! Give me that!"

"Excuse me Miss Perfect for not knowing the art form of Christmas tree decorating! It's not supposed to be artistic; it's supposed to be fun! Calm your shit and just enjoy doing this."

She puffed her cheeks out and hung the ornament in her hands. She purposely went to the other side of the tree and worked on it for a bit before going for the ladder. She set a box of ornaments on the stand and climbed up. She went for the box when sudden arms around her legs almost made her fall off. "What are you doing?!" She shrieked, clutching at the ladder with wide eyes.

"You should get down before you fall down! I can get the upper half. Just tell me what to do."

She looked down to find his head just above her hip. His face was practically touching her chest and she jerked away, finding it a mistake. The box almost fell over and her mad scramble to keep it from shattering jerked him with her and they almost tumbled off the ladder into the tree. She cried out in shock and he in annoyance as his grip increased, arms clutching her legs against his chest.

"What are you doing? Stop moving! This is what I'm talking about! Get down already before you kill us both!"

"You startled me!" She glared at him. "I can do this myself too, y'know! I thought you didn't want me to be all uptight about decorating this thing so how am I supposed to do this the way I want to if I have to tell you how to put up every damn bulb?"

He waited until her hands had loosened on the ladder enough to pick her up and pull her off it without taking it with them. She screeched and clutched at his shoulders when air met her feet and her balance drastically shifted. His face crashed into her waist and cut off his air, but she didn't have time to be mortified that her boobs were pretty much draped over his head. He moved back a few steps and slid her against him to the ground once he was able. His arms loosely remained around her waist and he tried to get his brain back after that debacle. He mentally cursed himself again for not thinking of how his actions would screw with him emotionally...and physically this time!

She felt him way too clearly on that slide down and her face flushed at that, but she used her anger to get past the discomfort. She glared at him, hitting his chest, but not moving from her place in his arms. "Ass! You thought I was going to kill us? You're lucky I didn't drop the bulbs and get glass all over the place!" He was silent, an unreadable look on his face directed at her. She inched back warily, brows furrowing. She locked eyes, unable to look away, heart picking up speed. A shot of adrenaline coursed through her. She was suddenly all too aware of where he was touching her. "W – what?"

He suddenly released her, looking away. He tried to keep his discomfort to himself, but felt it showing on his face. "Nothing." He turned to the tree and looked to the top. "Don't tell me you plan on putting the star up too..."

"Is that a problem?" She poked him, finding him still acting weird and yet unable to place her finger on why. Was it because of what he just did?

He heaved a sigh and turned to her, face stern. "Just let me do that. It's an eight foot tree! I don't think I could handle you doing something stupid and getting hurt."

She pouted at him, trying not to feel happy at his concern. "I wanna do the star!" She threw back, stomping her foot.

The only way she ended up getting her way was if he held onto the ladder while she did so...his arms on either side of her legs to keep her from falling off it or the ladder moving on her. His nearness made her hands shake and she kept missing the top of the tree to put the star on! She could feel his breath on her clothes and a little of its heat seeping past the fabric. She refused to look and see just where he was standing right now for the task at hand! She couldn't focus on the star when he kept standing there so close, but she wasn't about to let him have the final glory of the decorating!

She somehow managed to get the star plugged in to the rest of the lights and then turned to him. His face was void of emotion and for some reason her heart picked up when she met his eyes to tell him to move. She couldn't produce words, though her mouth opened with intent to say something. She harshly swallowed. She had always found his eyes addicting and they were great whenever he was smiling, but these were infectious all on their own. They were intense and shining with something she didn't want to assume, but couldn't help it. She couldn't look away from him, although she was highly conscious of where she was standing and the feel of his arms extended on either next to hip. Just knowing that his muscles were around her again made her heart speed up and a little adrenaline course through her.

She slowly inched down the step till her foot touched ground. She barely blinked, eyes still on him. Breathing was difficult and it felt like something was constricting her chest. He had nostly let go of the ladder, but didn't move away. His arms only laxed on it a little to provide a bit of extra space for her to get down. Neither of them had said a word since she climbed up the ladder to get the final deed done. She found she was dangerously close to him after having gotten down and he wasn't letting her pass. She was encircled by him and it was driving her crazy in a way it never had. She never had this reaction with him before and it was seriously unnerving her. Her hands were shaking and she couldn't get them to stop.

She finally broke their stare when her eyes darted down to his mouth as it parted just a little. She couldn't control that movement, but she felt like that one little gesture broke the standstill they had somehow gotten to. Her hands floated up and lightly touched his sweatshirt despite not really wanting to. She felt solid muscle underneath and almost pulled her hands back, even as she tried to push him away a little. "Y – you're too close! Move back already!" She stammered, feeling her face flame as she looked away.

He stepped back slowly, feeling unable to control himself and again berated himself for it. What was he going to do if he acted on how he felt just then? He felt like if he was honest with himself and got these feelings off his chest, he would only inconvenience her in more ways than one. As much as he wanted to tell her, as much as he wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms the way he wanted, he restrained himself for her benefit, not his.

Lucy/Natsu coat inspiration: kristallin-f. deviantart com /art/ FT-Every-star-will-shine-tonight-342437397

Natsu back inspiration: sarara-chan. deviantart com /art/ that-behind-526680422