I do not own Fairy Tail.
The room was almost completely dark still, since the sun was barely high enough to shine over the tops of the buildings surrounding the house. Gray stood over her bed, arms crossed as impatience kindled inside him. He slowly reached a hand to shake her shoulder, but stopped as he heard a snore from the other side of the room. He crouched into a defensive position, ready to protect the sleeping woman in the bed. A small figure rose from the chair, stretching out its limbs and. . .tail? Frowning, Gray tiptoed toward the little being and whispered, "Happy?"
The creature jumped up with a shriek while clawing at the curtains, which caused the cloth to crash down to the floor. Sunlight flooded the room and several moans sounded from the others. "Gray? What the hell are you doing in my house?" Lucy's voice contained more anger than he was ready to face this early in the morning. He hesitantly looked at her and found that she was wearing a cute pair of Christmas-themed pajamas. He smiled softly, and the gesture was met by a fluffy pillow to the face.
"Ease up, Lucy, would ya?" That voice belonged to Natsu!
Gray turned to the chair again, and found Natsu sprawled across the cushion. "What are you doing here, numb nuts?"
Natsu sat up at a leisurely pace, rubbing his eyes. "I was here first, ice dick. Why are you here?" Happy fluttered over to stand on the back of the chair behind Natsu's head, paws on his hips.
An exasperated sound came from Lucy as she clambered out of bed. "It's my house! I'll ask the questions around here! Now, why are any of you here?"
Gray looked at Natsu, allowing him to speak first. The dragon slayer stretched his legs in front of himself and said, "Do I ever have a reason? Your house was closer than mine, and we were tired, so here we are."
Lucy simply rolled her eyes, then look expectantly at Gray. He rubbed his black hair, trying to find an excuse since he didn't really want to give the real reason in front of Natsu. It had been bad enough talking with the flame-head about his feelings for Mira; he was not going to share this with him. "Ah, well, I was up early. I couldn't sleep! I found Erza in the guild hall and she asked me to find Natsu for her. Since he comes here a lot, I decided to look here first."
The pink-haired man in the chair narrowed his eyes and said, "Then why did you ask why I was here?"
Gray faltered for only a second before responding. "Just because I assumed you were here doesn't mean you really have a reason to be, idiot."
Natsu jumped to his feet, balling his hands into tight fists. Before he could take a swing, Lucy stepped between them and placed a hand on the chest of each man. Her fingers were chilly against Gray's bare chest, and he pulled away quickly as she directed, "Stop being stupid! Natsu, you better go find Erza before she gets impatient. She'll kick your ass harder than I am about to!" As Natsu pushed past her, she called after him, "And quit coming in my house!"
After Lucy closed the door behind Natsu and Happy—that pink-haired idiot always left doors open—she turned to look at Gray with a raised eyebrow. "Why are you really here?"
"What makes you think that wasn't the real reason?"
As she spoke, she rifled through her closet for an outfit. "Because it's Christmas Eve, and Erza would never accept a mission unless it was absolutely necessary." She carried a large pile of clothing into the bathroom and shut the door. "So, what really brings you to my house at this terrible hour?"
Gray chuckled to himself; it was unbelievably amusing that Natsu hadn't been able to figure that out. "I need your help. I haven't found a gift for Mira, yet."
A clatter sounded from the bathroom and Lucy yanked the door open, wearing a green dress that was accented with a red belt. "Seriously, Gray? Tomorrow is Christmas! What kind of a boyfriend are you?"
Gray rubbed a hand along his face as he held back the words he wanted to fling at her. "It's not like I haven't been trying, geez! I just can't figure out what she would like." His anger tapered off as he admitted his failure.
The blonde woman sat on her bed, grunting as she tugged black boots onto her feet. With a large sigh she smiled at him and agreed, "Alright, we'll do some shopping today. Lucky for you I still need to get a couple of things!"
After visiting numerous stores, Lucy was now tugging him through the door of the jewelry store. He was overwhelmed by the sparkling that was all around him, and the sense of delicacy. He was hesitant to touch anything in the shop for fear of breaking an irreplaceable item. Lucy browsed for a few minutes, probably just looking for herself, before Gray impatiently said, "Do you think she'd like any of this crap?"
Lucy carefully set down the earrings she had been admiring. "Nothing that interests your girlfriend is crap. You better learn that now, or you'll be in for a hard ride, bud." She stopped to think for a couple minutes before assaulting him with questions. "What kind of jewelry does she prefer? Does she like gold or silver? Is she allergic to any metals? What is her favorite stone, or her birth stone?" Each question was answered by a heartbreaking shrug.
Gray clenched his fists, feeling like a terrible person. He knew nothing about MiraJane. He picked up a simple necklace; it was a silver chain with a small heart made from a diamond. Something about this necklace called to him. He held it up for Lucy to see. "What do you think about this?"
Lucy carefully took the necklace from him, examining it with a smile on her face. "I definitely think you're on the right track. This is very simple, not flashy and gaudy. Mira would like this a lot," she concluded, but her tone suggested there was more she wanted to say.
He leaned in closely, waiting for her to continue. "But what?"
"I just think she might appreciate something that wasn't so common. A million girls have heart necklaces that are either made of diamond, or look close enough. You can do better than that! Think! What would be really special?"
He looked around the store, despair knocking on his chest. Nothing in here was an entirely original idea. Every single item could and would be duplicated at some point. He had to think of something that no one else could create. He gasped quietly as it came to him: Create.