Merry Christmas, little star.

Lucy's mother greeted her every morning at the bottom of the staircase to those cooing words. Her outstretched arms would provide a perfect room to leap right in to as she tried her best not to tumble down the steps.

The last time Lucy vaulted into her mother's arms was years ago, and she never got used to the feeling of Christmas without it.

In order to distract herself from the pains of her earlier life, Lucy set to baking. It was the least she could do to remind herself that she chose to spend another Christmas alone instead of with someone and repay her friends for their hospitality. A moot gift of sorts.

Lucy had her hair safely tied back in a bun and headband to keep the hairs away, and her arms felt a bit chill from constantly being run under the water to get dust storms of flour off her. She wasn't the best cook, but she definitely had spirit.

The knock at Lucy's front door made her bump her phone with her elbow to cease the music. Wiping her hands off on a dish towel, Lucy trotted over to the peep hole to see Natsu standing outside with a paper bag of groceries.

"Hey," Lucy stepped aside to let him in. "Thanks for going shopping for me. Did you get those chocolate chips?"

Natsu nodded his head proudly and pulled out a big bag of chocolate morsels. "There's that and more. I also got those fruity gumdrops and some other minty thing that I'm not sure what it is but it looked good."

"Sounds about right." Lucy laughed softly. She leaned up to give him a welcoming kiss to his cheek before moving back to the kitchen.

There was never really a definitive point when Lucy and Natsu became anything. They're relationship progressed in unspoken stages, and she liked it that way. This stage seemed to be the normal relationship one, and she kind of admired it.

"Wanna help?" Lucy wondered aloud, tearing open the bag of chocolate chips and dumping it into the batter.

Natsu nodded his head, his scarf already around his hairline like a protective headband or a ninja warrior. Either way it was fitting. He jumped right into the kitchen, knowing good and well that his first stop was the sink to wash off his hands.

As he dried them with a clean towel, he nodded his head to gesture at the cinnamon candies on the counter. "I don't think you can bake any cookies with those, Gray's allergic."

Lucy laughed heartily. "He can either not eat any or he can suck it up."

Natsu deadpanned silently beside her. "Luce, he's allergic. You can't suck up an allergy."

She wasn't sure what to say to it. "Well...you know he's not actually allergic, right? He's just being overdramatic."

The pink haired boy was silent for a moment before turning away from Lucy to hide his reddened cheeks. "Yeah, I - I know. Just...being a considerate friend." He mumbled. Natsu grabbed a handful of chocolate chips and stuffed them in his mouth.

"Natsu!" Lucy whined, bumping him with her hip. "Don't eat 'em all! Besides, that's gross and you just spilled a bunch on my floor."

A mischievous grin blossomed on the boy's face. He picked up a single chocolate morsel before tossing it harmless at it, where it bounced off her cheek. "What, don't do that?"

Lucy stopped everything she was doing and stood still. She needed all of her focus to regain her composure.

Natsu threw another one, hardly able to contain his smile. The chocolate chip went down the cleavage showing from her shirt. "He shoots, he scores!" Natsu cheered to himself, hands in the air.

Grunting, Lucy pulled the chocolate chip from her shirt in order to whip it back at him. "Stop it! You're so immature."

"You're so immature." Natsu mimicked before sticking his tongue out at her.

Lucy reeled back with an over exaggerated gasp. Reaching behind her, she grabbed the scraps from her sugar cookie cutting and balled a piece up before hurling it at him. "See? Not very nice, is it?"

Natsu caught the ball of cookie dough and plopped it in his mouth. "It's very nice. And sweet."

The blonde nearly had a panic attack. She jumped towards him, her hands against his chest roughly. "Natsu, you can't eat raw cookie dough! You'll get sick."

He spoke through a full mouth: "Is that real or does everyone just not want me to be happy?"

Lucy nodded her head rapidly. "I'm serious, you can't eat raw eggs. You can get food poisoning."

Natsu laughed softly. "I didn't eat a raw egg, I ate raw cookie dough."

"I-" Lucy stopped herself; there was no point in arguing there. "Never mind. Just don't do it again, you dope."

She wen to turn away, but Natsu pulled her back to him before she could. He smiled sweetly and pressed his lips against her nose. "How nice that you care about me."

Lucy looked up at him dully. "Of course I do. Now clean up my kitchen floor. I don't want to feel some gross chocolate chip between my toes."

"Even I agree that'd be pretty nasty." Natsu nodded his head obediently. "Do I have to do it now, though?" He had to whine.

Lucy looked at him and simply said, "Yep."

Natsu groaned again in rebellion. "Why do you need everything to be clean? Why can't it wait to be clean in an hour or so?"

The blonde just shrugged her sloping shoulders as she went back to her baking. "It's just better that way. It's safe, it smells good..." She trailed off softly.

Natsu stood behind her and rested his head on her shoulder. "You need to relax and embrace the mess."

Lucy snorted. "Those two things don't go together."

The male rolled his head against her shoulder like a begging animal. "Well, you're probably never staying the night at my place then."

She looked over her shoulder at him and laid a playful kiss against his head. "I mean...maybe. Someday."

Natsu breathed softly. "'Maybe someday.' How hopeful."

He had a way of guilt tripping her into feeling bad for enjoying things being in order. They were different, but Lucy didn't mind. He would loosen her up, and she would make sure he didn't die of food poisoning. It was a win-win.

Lucy wiggled her shoulders to get Natsu off her. "Come on, hand me that cookie cutter. We have tiny snowmen to cut up."

Lucy was such a kind friend that she packaged the cinnamon cookies in a completely separate container than the rest of them, just for Gray.

She figured it wouldn't be too much of a hassle to have people at her apartment eventually, but for now it wasn't going to happen. Not during winter break, at least. So their clique instead decided out for dinner.

Erza was their first, as usual, a booth for four set up in a casual restaurant downtown. When Lucy and Natsu arrived, Erza didn't say hello; she just asked what was in the cookie tins.

Lucy smiled softly and set the tins down on the table. "They're early Christmas gifts for you guys. I made them myself." Natsu coughed inconspicuously. "...With Natsu's help, of course."

The redhead inhaled deeply as she popped open the lid of the gumdrop cookies. "After Emily goes to sleep, Jellal and I are going to eat all of these while watching Christmas movies tonight. Thank you." She smiled warmly and wrapped an arm around Lucy.

Lucy was practically beaming as she slid in the booth beside Erza, leaving Natsu across from them. "Where's the stripper?" he wondered aloud.

Not being able to wait, Erza broke off a piece of a cookie and at it. "If he's in another fight I swear to-"

"Are those gumdrop cookies?"

As if on cue, Gray pushed Natsu into the booth and slid beside him. He reached over the table and grabbed the tin from Erza, taking out a whole cookie and stuffing it in his mouth. "Man, I love these."

It was hard to ignore the angry twitching of Erza's eyes, but somehow Lucy managed it. "Gray, I gotta take a leak. Let me out."

Natsu nudged Gray, eagerly pushing him out of the booth. With a loud groan of disapproval, Gray got up to let him go. The pink haired boy walked away, but not before Gray soon followed. "I'm gonna go make some more room for dinner."

Erza breathed deeply. "How crass."

Her casualness to the situation only made Lucy smile. "I'm sorry Jellal couldn't come out tonight. He's really great." Lucy wasn't sure what to talk about; Erza's home seemed like a safe ground.

Nodding her head, Erza stared longingly at the tins as if seeing her husband in them before looking at Lucy again. "Yeah, he's the best."

Lucy chewed the inside of her cheek. "If you don't mind me asking, why is he, you know-"

"-On house arrest?" Erza shrugged nonchalantly. "He was involved with the wrong people, did the wrong things. He was just trying to make some extra money for us, but he never really forgave himself for it, so he turned himself in."

The blonde's eyes widened a bit. "He didn't have to be on house arrest?"

Erza shook her head. "No. Sometimes I hate him for doing that to himself, but I can't be mad. He's great, and he gets to spend so much time with Emily."

Lucy smiled weakly. "He seems like a great dad."

Erza silently nodded, her smile growing a bit. "Thank you for the cookies, by the way. You made them yourself? From scratch?"

"Well, mostly. Natsu obviously helped frost those bloody snowmen in the other tin." She pointed to the one below the gumdrop cookies. "The red was supposed to be for the scarves but it spilled everywhere so Natsu improvised."

Erza sighed appreciatively. "When in doubt, make it a blood bath."

"Amen."

Erza grabbed the tins of cookies and riffled through them. "You made cinnamon cookies?" She cooed softly, picking one out and nibbling it. "You truly are the best, Miss Lucy."

Lucy had enough time to blush and rock back and forth excitedly in her seat before Gray and Natsu came rushing back to the table. This time, Natsu pushed Gray to be on the inside.

"I'm so ready for this food to be in my belly." Natsu sighed.

Lucy stared at him blankly. "We haven't even ordered yet."

Gray riffled through the gumdrop cookie tin again, pulling one out and stuffing more than half in his mouth. "Lucy, you are magnificent in the kitchen."

Natsu scoffed and punched the raven haired man in his arm. "That's sexist, man."

The two of them were so intent on their bickering that Erza had enough time to reach over and swap her and Gray's cookies. The little cinnamon treat lay before Gray while Erza shamelessly chewed on Gray's already half-eaten food, like family.

Lucy would have spoken up and said something; would have, if it wasn't so absolutely worth it. Gray didn't even look as he picked up the cookie and shoved it in his mouth, but he gagged almost immediately.

"Oh my Mavith, it'th thinnamon." Gray hunched over and fanned his mouth in disgust. "Gimme a napkin!"

Natsu and Erza both shook their heads; Lucy avoided eye contact entirely out of shame. She chewed her lip to keep back the smile.

Eventually, out of pure desperation, Gray grabbed Natsu's glass of water and spit out the cookie into it before grabbing his own water and drinking it down.

"What was that for!"

"I was going to die, Natsu."

"Then die! Don't kill my water, too."

Nalu Lemon Novel
Exy Koroleva © 2016
Thank you for reading.
Some triggering scenes
to be included, so please
do not report. Comments
& votes are appreciated.