~ Good Girl Gone Bad ~

At 9am on the first morning of the winter break, Natsu Dragneel invited himself into the girls' penthouse. He went straight up the stairs, headed for Lucy's room at the end of the hallway, and unceremoniously barged in.

"GOOD MORNING, LUCY!" He announced his presence at the top of his voice.

The still sleeping Lucy groaned when disturbed by the noise and she turned away, onto her side, yanking the covers over her head.

"Lucy, wake up!" The undiscouraged pink-head pounced onto the mound that had formed under the duvet.

"Ack! Natsu!" A distraught shriek came from underneath and she struggled.

"Morning, Lucy!" Natsu said cheerily, pulling off the covers to reveal the hot blonde mess beneath.

Carelessly sweeping the hair out of her face, Lucy glared at the culprit who had just awoken her.

"Get off! You're heavy!" She complained and Natsu obliged by rolling onto his back. He lay next to her now instead. He knew better than to go against her when she was cranky.

"Meh, you're no fun in the mornings," he brushed it off.

"So? What do you want?" She said, propping herself up slightly by the elbow.

"Nothing," he replied with a shrug. "I thought we could hang out again today."

"Ugh, Natsu," she grumbled. "It's too early," she glanced at the bedside clock. "Besides, I'm hanging out with the girls today."

"Whatttt," he whined. "Can't you go with them some other day?"

"Sorry, I was supposed to go out with them yesterday but then I went out with you. I can't ditch them again today."

"Boo."

"That being said–" Lucy had to pause for a yawn. "–let me sleep a while longer."

She snuggled into his side like it was the most natural thing to do now that he lay beside her. It was the same for Natsu and his arms went around her instinctively, cuddling her as she gradually drifted back into dreamland.

"Can I come along?" He asked softly before she slipped into slumber again.

"No." Although she couldn't see his face, Lucy could tell he was sulking, so she added, "We can do something else tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," he gave in.

The second time Lucy awoke was when Erza knocked on the door.

"Lucy," the redhead called. "You up? We're all getting ready to leave now."

"Mm, 'kay," the blonde called back blearily.

Leaving Natsu on the bed, she grabbed a change of clothes and a towel before ducking into the bathroom. A flush of the toilet was followed by the squeak of the tap and the sound of running water pouring down as Lucy began her morning shower. The pink-head rolled around in the giant bed while he waited for her. When she emerged from the bathroom, her damp hair fell loosely around her shoulders and her towel hung around her neck. Natsu's eyes widened for a second at the sight of her but soon changed into a frown.

"Is that what you're wearing?" He said as she sat at her vanity table with her bare back facing him. Her outfit of the day was a backless casual dress; the top half was blue with cheongsam-style buttons and the skirt half was white with a sash around her hips.*

"Uh-huh," she replied absentmindedly and got to work drying her hair.

Natsu opened his mouth to protest but then shut it again. He was conflicted over whether or not to voice his concerns. Where would he even begin? Her side cleavage? Her exposed back? Or too much legs? But what could he say? Eventually, he gave up due to the drowning sound of the hairdryer and sought relief in the fact that she would be safely in the company of Erza all day. She looked great anyway. Plus, she'll be wearing her winter coat outdoors.

"Ah–!" The blonde noticed through the reflection in the mirror. "You messed up my bed!"

Setting the hairdryer down, she went over to the lazing Natsu and smacked him. "Get up!" She scolded without any real menace.

"Sheesh." He got off of her bed as told and stood idly while the girl made her bed. The length of her skirt taunted him whenever she bent over.

"Lucy," he called once she was done.

"Hm?" She responded innocently.

Met with an unexpected embrace, she looked into Natsu's onyx eyes.

"Come back soon or I'll miss you." He gave her a swift kiss when he said that and her cheeks gained a natural rose tint.

"Ok," she whispered back.

She then freed herself from him in order to tie her side ponytail, put on her thigh-high boots and grab her coat. They then left her room together and Natsu saw the four ladies off at the lift lobby.

"Did he stay overnight?" Erza asked casually once they were in the lift.

"No," Lucy shook her head. "He just came to wake me up." The girl probably wasn't aware, but her friends could tell; she was positively radiating happiness.

For the rest of the morning and well into the afternoon, the four best friends shopped till they (nearly) dropped. They did their Christmas shopping, buying gifts and things they needed as well as stuff they didn't. They stopped once for tea at Wild Honey, the cosy restaurant they always frequented, and resumed shopping afterwards, only stopping completely at dinner time. They ate at a fine dining restaurant and moved to the adjoining lounge after dessert.

"Ahh, I'm stuffed," Erza let out a satisfied sigh as she sank into the comfy seat.

"Juvia too," said the wavy-haired blunette, sitting opposite from the redhead.

"Me three," Levy joined Erza on the same side.

"I'm so tired!" Lucy exclaimed, and took the last seat next to Juvia.

Over the laidback melody of ambient music played by the lounge pianist, the girls chatted over some drinks. (It was a public place so they ordered non-alcoholic beverages.) Suddenly, Lucy felt a buzz in her bag and she checked her phone.

Just then, the service waiter came over and served Lucy another drink.

"Oh, I didn't order this." When the blonde looked up, she saw the waiter setting a martini down next to the drink she already had.

"It's from the gentleman by the bar," he gestured to the said man.

Lucy turned and saw a dashing young adult looking in her direction. She smiled weakly and uncomfortably, and then she told the waiter, "I'm sorry, could you please take it back?"

"Certainly," the waiter answered. He picked up the glass by its thin stalk and dismissed himself.

"Well, that was unnecessary," Juvia said.

Erza sighed. "I hope that's all to the extent of his attempt."

"How old does he think we are anyway?" Levy wondered.

Lucy returned her attention to her phone. She typed a quick reply and hit send.

Looking at the way the girl's umber eyes glimmered, Erza guessed, "Was that Natsu?"

"Yeah."

"What'd he say?" Levy asked.

"Eh," Lucy slid her phone back into her bag and turned her attention to the short-haired blunette. "Oh, he just asked where I am now."

"Oh yeah, how was your date yesterday?" As soon as Juvia asked, Levy's face turned bright red.

"What's wrong, Levy?" Erza noticed right away.

"Yea, your face is almost the same colour as Erza's hair," Juvia remarked.

Lucy, being the only one who could guess what Levy was thinking about, blushed at that same memory.

"Geez! It's all her fault!" Levy blamed Lucy.

"What?" Juvia was clueless.

"When I came back from the convenience store yesterday, I caught them making out at the doorstep," she told them.

"Stop!" Lucy shrieked as her cheeks flamed with embarrassment.

Juvia's expression changed into one of revelation while Erza chuckled.

"Sounds like it went well," the redhead teased.

"I even waited at the park for fifteen minutes before going back just so I wouldn't run into that situation! Fifteen minutes in the cold!" Levy complained.

"Sorry…!" Lucy wanted to dig a hole and hide.

"Ahh, Juvia is so envious," the other blunette said. She leaned back in her seat, resting her elbow on the armrest and propping her head against her hand. "Juvia wishes Gray-sama would love Juvia like that. Lucy's so lucky to be the girlfriend of the one you like."

"Eh? So are the two of you officially dating now?" Erza realized.

"Huh?" Lucy went.

"Why would they be making out if they're not?" Levy asked.

"No, but knowing Natsu," Erza disagreed. "He'd probably attack her even if they weren't together."

Erza was right. Lucy blushed again at the thought of Natsu's previous advances.

"Eh?! You can do that even if you're not together?!" Juvia exclaimed. Various ideas began cooking in her head.

"Hold up!" Lucy protested. "Who said we weren't together?"

"Oh, so you are his girlfriend?" Erza asked.

"Eh…" The blonde quickly recalled everything that had happened the day before. When she had confessed to him on the rooftop, he didn't mention anything about going out. When they were at The Tavern, Cana had asked if the two of them were dating but Natsu didn't confirm it. And for the rest of that day, they didn't talk about it either. Wait, so are we not together? The girl wasn't sure.

Confusion grew evident on Lucy's face and Levy asked, "Did the two of you not talking about this at all?"

Lucy shook her head. "Now that I think about it, neither of us said anything about dating officially…"

"Does it really matter?" Juvia asked. "I mean, it's Natsu-san. He probably just assumed it was a matter of course so maybe he didn't think he had to say anything?"

"Of course it matters!" Erza firmly asserted. "Listen up, Lucy! You can't be sure anything is official until you and him have discussed it!" Erza was a strong believer in stating these sort of things explicitly.

"Really?" Lucy looked at the experienced girls who sat across from her.

"No, Gajeel and I didn't really do that," Levy said. "But when Jellal and Erza first started dating, I remember there was some miscommunication."

"He asked me if I wanted to go out with him," Erza began recounting her story. "I thought it was just one date so I said yes. Then the next day, he started telling others that we were dating. I didn't know! So when other people asked me if I was his girlfriend, I said no."

"Eh?! Something like that happened?" Lucy had no idea.

"Juvia didn't know about this. Erza and Jellal-san were already official when Juvia joined Fairy Tail." Out of the four girls, Juvia entered the academy the latest.

"Ah, that's because it happened in middle school," Erza said.

"Oh yeah, at that time, Lucy hadn't enrolled yet either," said Levy.

"I see…" Thoughts were floating around in her blonde head as she mused.

"In that case," Juvia spoke up. "Juvia thinks Lucy should talk to Natsu-san and make sure the both of you are on the same page."

"Ehhh? I don't think it's necessary though," Levy said. "After all, it's not like Natsu intends to see somebody else."

"By then it'll be too late and I'll kill him," Erza said coldly.

"Hmm…" Lucy became unnerved after hearing her friends' words.

"Should we head back now?" Juvia suggested.

"Um…" The troubled girl hesitated.

"Well, maybe you could just talk to him?" Erza said.

"Yea, if you're really bothered by this, it won't hurt to confirm things," Levy encouraged.

"I guess I'll ask him," Lucy decided.

"Ok, before we head off, Juvia needs the ladies'," Juvia said.

"Oh! I'll come with you!" Levy chimed.

"I'll go take care of the bill so we don't have to wait around after," Erza stood to her feet.

"Alright, you guys go ahead," Lucy said. "I'll look after our shopping bags."

While waiting for the three of them to return, the blonde whipped out her phone to occupy herself. Suddenly, a male voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Do you not like martinis?"

Startled, the girl looked up and saw that it was the man from before.

"Um, no."

"Is that a 'no' as in 'no, you don't like martinis' or 'no, you do like martinis'?"

She didn't want to engage him so she just stared blankly. He had reddish-brown hair and maroon eyes.

Undaunted by her lack of interest, the man stretched out a hand to her. "I'm Dan Straight."

Lucy didn't know what possessed her to react but she took his hand and shook it.

"I was sitting by the bar earlier and I couldn't help but notice you," he went on.

"Uh… huh…" She didn't know what to say; she was just uncomfortable.

"That shyness of yours makes my Fibonacci sequence chirp! It's such a turn-on!"

"W-What?" Exactly as his name implied, this man was damn straightforward.

"Can I get your number?"

"Um, actually…" Lucy glanced nervously at her surroundings – none of the three were back yet. She hastily began gathering the shopping bags so as to get away from this lunatic. "I have to go," she stood to her feet.

"Wait, don't run," he grabbed her by her elbow when she turned away.

"L-Let go of me," her voice wavered and she tried to shrug him off but he was determined not to be shaken off.

"At least tell me your name?" He said.

"I–"

"She said let go already," a voice that could only belong to him came from behind her.

While the girls were out, the guys stayed in and played video games all day. They ordered pizza for dinner and the intercom buzzed when it arrived.

"Oi, somebody go get it," Gajeel grumbled without peeling his eyes off the screen.

"You get it," Natsu rebutted as he mashed the buttons on the wireless controller.

"No shit, not when I'm about to own all your asses." The heavily-pierced punk focused intensely on his play.

"Hah!?" The pink-head exclaimed.

"Tch," Gray scoffed. "Who's owning who?"

"I called and ordered earlier, so somebody else get it," Jellal said.

"…" In the next moment, all four of them continued playing and nobody said a thing.

Until the intercom rang again.

Jellal sighed. "Seriously, you guys?" He resigned to fate and put his controller down. It was a bad round for him anyway.

He was back in ten minutes but by then the game had ended and Gray won.

"YES!" The topless male shouted just as Jellal walked through the doors with a stack of pizza boxes.

"Damn," Gajeel went.

"Argh, again!" Natsu was irritated that his rival had won.

"Hey, don't start without me," Jellal chided.

He set the boxes down on the coffee table and picked up his controller again. But at the smell of food, Natsu and Gajeel flung their controllers down on the sofa and reached for the pizza instead. Now that their dinner was right in front of them, the boys decided food was more important and so they put the gaming on hold for now.

"Oh yea, Gajeel," Jellal called.

"Ah?" He answered with his mouth full.

"Did you order something online?"

"Errr, why?"

"The security guard downstairs said something came for you this morning," the blue-haired male said. "But nobody answered the intercom so it wasn't delivered."

"This morning?"

"Like around 9 or 10?" Jellal said. "I think we were probably still sleeping then."

"I wasn't," Natsu said.

Gajeel glared at the pink-head. "If you were awake then just answer the damn thing."

"Geez, I wasn't sleeping in but I wasn't here, ok?" Natsu explained.

"Where'd you go?" Gray asked, not that he was really interested.

"Lucy's," came the one-worded reply and that was all the explanation anyone needed.

"Well, anyway," Jellal went back to the topic. "The postman left a message. Something about rescheduling the next delivery date soon, otherwise you'll have to wait till after the Christmas holidays."

"Shit! What?!" Gajeel almost spat his food out. He stuffed the remainder of his slice into his mouth and seemingly swallowed without chewing. "Shit, shit, shit!" He cursed as he got up.

"What? What is it?" asked Jellal.

"It's probably porn or something." Natsu leaned back into his seat, watching Gajeel fumble around the cushions on the sofa looking for something.

"Screw you! It's not porn!" When the long-haired male found his phone in between the seats, he hastily strode towards the door.

"Then what?" Gray shouted after him.

"It's Levy's Christmas present!" He yelled, and in the next second he was out the door, rushing down to get the full message from the security guard.

"Ohh…" The three boys watching had the same unified expression of 'oh shit' on their faces. After all, even though he was a rough person, they all knew Gajeel was a softie when it came to Levy. He really treasures her.

"Well," Gray said. "It was just this morning so it should be fine."

"True that." Jellal resumed eating.

But Natsu was suddenly in deep thought. "Did you get Erza something?" He asked Jellal.

"Of course!" The redhead's boyfriend replied.

"Oh."

"Why? Did you forget to get your girlfriend a present?" Gray guessed from the look on Natsu's face.

"I'm already planning a special date so I didn't think I had to prepare one…"

"If you're doing something, it should be fine," Jellal said. "But since when did Lucy become your girlfriend?"

"Eh, yesterday."

"You mean when the whole school saw the both of you leaving together hand in hand, that wasn't a rumour?" Gray asked.

"That was right after she confessed."

"So she confessed to you and then asked you out?" Jellal asked.

"No."

"Then you asked her out after she confessed?" He sensed something amiss.

"No." Natsu gave Jellal a weird look. "We went on a date because I passed my exams."

"So neither of you asked the other out?" Jellal asked again.

"I've asked her out plenty of times before."

"I think what he's trying to get at is," Gray cut in. "Are you sure the two of you are officially going out?"

"Huh?!" Natsu exclaimed. "Of course we are! She confessed and I told her I like her too!"

"Ohhh, this is not good." Jellal shook in head. "Natsu, let me tell you something. Girls can actually be really dense when these sort of things concern themselves. I don't know how or why but their mind just works differently. A confession to them and a confession to us is not the same thing. It might seem natural to start dating after confessing. But sometimes, to them, a confession is just a confession, and until you ask them straight in the face, they won't think that they are in a relationship."

"You're kidding, right?" Natsu was skeptical.

"Juvia is totally not like that," Gray pointed out.

"Juvia's eccentric," Jellal rebutted Gray's statement. "My point is, Natsu, you'd better confirm it with Lucy otherwise there's gonna be a huge misunderstanding."

"But that's just stupid," the pink-head thought he was exaggerating.

"Yet that's exactly what happened with Erza!"

Both Gray's and Natsu's jaws dropped when they heard that.

"Seriously? Erza?" Gray was in disbelief. "But she's so sharp."

"I know!" Jellal cried.

At that moment, the front door slammed and Gajeel was back.

"How was it?" Jellal asked.

"Settled." He retook his place on the sofa and picked up another slice of pizza. "They'll deliver again before the 24th. I told them to buzz the other side's intercom if nobody answers again."

"Huh, what if Levy answers?" Gray asked.

"Then she'll come over and wake me. But even if she accepts it on my behalf, she won't open it," Gajeel replied. "Anyway, what's wrong with him?" He jabbed a finger in Natsu's direction whose face was the epitome of bewilderment.

"He may or may not have a girlfriend," Jellal said.

"Idiot," Gray said.

"Oi, I can still hear you," Natsu reacted.

"You told him about you and Erza?" Gajeel asked Jellal.

The blunet nodded.

"If you're that worried, why don't you just go ask her again?" Gray said.

The more Natsu thought about it, the more he became unsettled. Eventually he abandoned his 5th slice of pizza and went to grab his phone in his room.

Where r u? He texted.

Even before he received a reply, Natsu prepared to head out. By the time he had changed, Lucy replied and he rushed back down while reading the name of the restaurant.

"Where're you going?" Jellal asked at the sight of him.

"To look for Lucy."

Without another word, Natsu was out the door.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, the doorman greeted him but Natsu simply ignored him. In his hurry, he'd also failed to notice Erza who was paying by the cashier. His one-track mind only thought of one thing. He found Lucy as soon as he walked into the lounge area and his gut churned when he saw her with another man. Where did everyone else go?

As he approached her from behind, he could hear their conversation.

"I have to go," Lucy stood to her feet.

"Wait, don't run." The man held her back and Natsu's strides got bigger.

"L-Let go of me," her voice shook. Her attempt to shake him off had failed.

"At least tell me your name?"

"I–"

"She said let go already," Nats's voice lined with ire.

At the sound of his voice, the blonde's head snapped round. "Natsu!?"

With the appearance of a threat, Dan's grip momentarily loosened and Lucy took the chance to break free from him. She immediately went over to Natsu's side, clutching his arm for a sense of security.

"You are…?" Dan questioned.

"He's my–" Lucy started but broke off. She was stumped by Erza's words from earlier.

"It's none of your business," Natsu spat. He attended to Lucy instead, relieving her of all the shopping bags and carrying them for her.

"Well, not that it matters anyway," Dan went on. "Just because there's a goalkeeper doesn't mean you can't score."

"She's not interested in you. Leave her alone." The look on Natsu's face was thunderous.

"Natsu, let's go," she said under her breath and tugged at his arm. She did not want to cause a scene in this place.

Heeding her words, he backed down. On their way out, Erza returned.

"Natsu?" Surprise was written all over her face.

"Sorry, I need her back now," he said without slowing down his footsteps.

"I'll see you at home!" Lucy called over her shoulder as she left with him.

As soon as they were out the door, the merciless winter wind greeted them and Lucy shuddered. She quickly let go of Natsu's arm to don her winter coat, but after that, somehow it felt weird to grab onto him again so she kept her hands to herself.

The sky was painted in hues of soft pink and fiery orange as day drew to a close. The two of them walked with unhurried steps; both of them had something on their minds but neither of them said a word. Eventually their aimless footsteps brought them to the stone bridge of the river by Strawberry Street and Lucy halted right in the middle of the arc when she caught sight of the view stretching into the horizon. The river rushing beneath glistened from the rays of the setting sun. The bridge was lifeless at this time of day because the temperature outdoors was expected to drop even lower that night.

"Are you alright?" Natsu asked.

She nodded. "Sorry if you were worried."

"Of course I was worried." He leaned the bags down against the side since it seemed like they would be lingering for a while.

"You don't have to be so worried about me, you know?"

"How could I not worry?" He said. "I like your fashion sense but it makes me want to kill everyone that looks at you; they're annoying."

"Were you… jealous?" She asked. Her eyes still looked down at the water flowing under.

"...If you already know it, then don't make me say it."

She smiled and looked up at him now. "But you know I'm only interested in you."

"Me too," he said.

They were both skirting around the main question. Then, suddenly they spoke at the same time.

"Lucy, are we–"

"Natsu, are we–"

Both of them began but stopped short when they realized they both had something to say. Then, looking at the expression on each other's faces, it dawned on them – both of them had been wondering the same thing.

"Why are we beating around the bush?" Lucy laughed.

"I duno." Natsu shrugged slightly.

She took a step towards him, closing the distance.

"You know how I feel." Her voice was a soft whisper but her tone was firm, absolute.

She reached up, twined her arms around his neck, and then she pulled him into a kiss.

The moment her lips brushed his, his surroundings fell away. The scent of her hair, the taste of her mouth, the feeling of her hands knotting in his hair at the nape of his neck – all of these sensations hit him at once and Natsu was lost. Sliding his arms around her waist to draw even closer to her, he returned her feelings with the same desire.

When Lucy pulled away eventually, she could see herself reflected in his darkened eyes.

"You know how I feel," she repeated. Then she took a ragged breath and whispered, "I'm yours."

His lips parted but he said nothing. It was like the kiss had literally taken his breath away.

"That was the first time," he said out of the blue.

"The first time?"

"The first time that you kissed me first."

"Oh." She blushed when he put it like that.

"Can you do that again?" He asked and she blushed harder.

"N-No." Suddenly all bashful, she walked on ahead in order to escape his wilfulness.

"Aww, why not?!" He quickly gathered up the shopping bags and chased after her.

"Come on," she paused for him to catch up and then linked her arm through his. "They'll be wondering where we've gone."

On the eve of Christmas Eve, Lucy was cooking up a storm in the kitchen. The girl was humming to herself as she simmered the sauce over the stove. She was exceptionally happy because Christmas was one of her favourite times of the year. She was stirring the sauce when her favourite pink-head hugged her from behind.

"Natsu!" She squealed at his surprise attack.

"Whatcha doing?" Wrapping his arms around her waist, he gave her a squeeze and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Making the sauce for the pasta later."

"Hmm…"

"We usually do this dinner thing on the 24th, but since everyone is paired off this year, we decided to do it on the 23rd instead."

"I see."

"Erza can't really cook and Levy isn't into cooking," she went on. "Juvia bakes better than she cooks so I just do this for everyone since it's Christmas."

"Mmm, smells good."

"Really? It's the first time I'm using this recipe. I guess the herbs really bring out the aroma."

"I wasn't talking about the sauce." He nuzzled into her hair and she blushed upon realizing what he meant.

Just then, the intercom rang, interrupting their sweet moment. Unwillingly releasing her, Natsu walked over to answer it.

"Hello?" He pressed the button and spoke.

"Good evening, sir," the concierge greeted. "We have a package for Mr Gajeel Redfox. We were instructed to call this unit in the event that there is no answer in Mr Redfox's original address."

"Oh, okay," Natsu said.

"Is that Levy's present?" Lucy overheard everything since the kitchen was an open concept. She knew about the incident from Natsu.

"Yeah."

The blonde turned off the stove and went to the intercom herself.

"I'll be right down to sign," she told the man before cutting off the line.

"What about the food?" Natsu frowned.

"It's more or less done anyway." She checked the colour of the turkey in the oven and then took off her pink frilled apron.

"Why didn't anyone answer again?" He complained.

"I just sent the girls out to get drinks so I guess the guys must've tagged along," Lucy said. "I'll be back soon. Don't pinch the food," she warned before she left.

When she got down to the first floor, she signed for the package on Gajeel's behalf. After thanking the delivery man and the concierge, she turned on her heel, ready to head back to her kitchen but then, an expensive black sedan pulled up outside the building entrance. Two people dressed in suits – one man and one woman – came out of the car and strode into the building.

"Aquarius! Capricorn!" Lucy recognized them at once. They used to be her mother's bodyguards.

"Lady," the towering man in the tailcoat suit greeted with an ominous expression.

"What's wrong? What are the two of you doing here?"

"Get in the car," said the woman accompanying him. She had long, light blue hair and she wore a dark blue pants suit.

"What?"

"You heard me," Aquarius folded her arms. Her mood was foul as usual.

"Please get in the car. Your father wants you to come home," Capricorn explained.

"What–?! No!" She refused. "Can't he wait another two days? I'll be home on the 25th anyway, like I always am."

"There's been a sudden change of events this year and he wants you back tonight," Capricorn said.

Her blood boiled at the abruptness of the situation and the thoughtlessness of her father. What about tonight's dinner? What about my date with Natsu tomorrow? She had always been home on the 25th so long as she got to spend the eve with her friends. But now he was even going to take this away from her? No. She didn't want to go.

"Argh, just move it already." Frustrated with all the waiting, Aquarius grabbed Lucy by the arm and dragged her towards the car.

"Wait! Stop!" The girl protested and struggled to break free but Aquarius was a formally trained bodyguard with strength that was not of this world.

The staff at the concierge watched and did nothing because they were aware of who Capricorn and Aquarius worked for. Capricorn opened the car door while Aquarius hauled Lucy's ass into the backseat. She got in after Lucy while Capricorn got into the driver's seat and then they drove off.

Back at the apartment, Natsu waited. Five minutes passed, ten minutes passed, then twenty and then thirty. It was close to 7pm when the six of them returned with the drinks. When the door opened, Natsu jumped up from the sofa, thinking it was Lucy. But when he saw that it wasn't her, he grew worried.

"Where's Lucy?" He asked.

"Lucy?" Levy echoed. "Isn't she cooking– eh?" With one glance, it was clear for all to see. The turkey was still in the oven. The saucepan had been left on the stove. Various half-plated dishes lay on the counter. But Lucy was nowhere to be seen.

"She went down to accept a delivery," Natsu told them. "But she hasn't come back."

"My package?" Gajeel asked.

"Yea," Natsu nodded.

"That's odd," Erza said. "We didn't see her downstairs."

"What?" Natsu grew more anxious.

"Have you tried calling her?" Gray asked.

"She didn't bring her phone," he said.

"Lucy wouldn't disappear without saying anything…" Juvia was worried too.

"Let's check with the concierge," Jellal said.

Everyone went down to the first floor this time. The man behind the reception rose from his seat when seven people poured out of the elevator.

"May I help you?" He asked.

"Yeah," Jellal said. "Was Lucy here earlier?"

"Yes, she was."

"Where did she go?" Natsu questioned impatiently.

"Two people picked her up in a car and left."

"WHAT?!" They were all surprised but Natsu's reaction was the loudest.

"She was kidnapped?" Gray misunderstood.

"No, no," the staff said. "If I'm not wrong, the two were Mr Heartfilia's bodyguards."

"Oh..." And with that, most of them understood.

"What does that mean? So where's Lucy?" Natsu didn't get it.

"Natsu." The look on Erza's face was solemn as she faced him. "Lucy is probably on the way back to her father's."

"…what?"

The chapter ends in a cliffy but… Merry Christmas!

Hope you have enjoyed it. Thank you for reading! ^^

* It's the dress she's wearing when she set out with Natsu again after Fairy Tail was already disbanded for 1 year. Reference to chapter 420 :D