T'was the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring not even a mouse..."
...Except in the case of a cat named Happy and a boy named Natsu who were at the moment trying to sneak into their friend's apartment...
It was a cold winter morning and the sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon. Lights that decorated the streets glowed faintly, small bells made barely audible dings when the wind happened to pick up, and the windows of buildings were frosted over as the warm and cold air clashed together at the thin glass separating the two.
It was silent outside, completely silent.
And in a small apartment found in Magnolia a young blonde was sleeping soundly in her bed. Her plump pink sheets cocooned her body as she enjoyed the undisturbed silence...
"Lucy.... Luuucy... Luuuucy come on~ I wanna open some presents!"
Lucy felt someone pinch her nose shut.
On some occasions this technique would have easily roused the girl from her slumber, but at the moment she was far too invested in her dream of hazy, yet glowing images to wake up. She simply switched from breathing through her nose to breathing through her mouth, so she could continue dreaming.
As her dream progressed a familiar voice called her name and she couldn't help but loved the way it rolled of their tongue, Lucy... And then something heavy plopped on top of her not only forcing the air out of her lungs, but also forcing the girl back to reality.
"Come on weirdo, wake up! Nobody sleeps in on Christmas morning!"
When Lucy's eyes finally fluttered open the first thing she saw was that it was in fact Natsu who had jumped on top of her. The pink-haired boy was grinning from ear to ear and an equally cheerful Happy floated above the bed.
Raising an arm so it covered her tired eyes she groaned, "What time is it?"
"4 am!" Happy replied excitedly.
Lucy could feel Natsu shifting on the bed and then suddenly her arm was no longer covering her face – it was being held down above her head on her pillow.
"So it's time to get up!" Natsu exclaimed, his face very close to hers.
Lucy's face flushed and suddenly she was very awake.
"Please can you get up? We can't start opening presents without you..." The dragon slayer tried to persuade her with his interpretation of puppy dog eyes.
Lucy might have laughed at Natsu's expression if not for the fact that over his shoulder she could see Happy snickering to himself. His blue paws covered his ever growing grin and Lucy knew it was going to happen before he said it.
"She liiikes-"
Lucy pushed Natsu off of herself (and off the bed without realizing it) and sat up.
"Fine, fine. I'll get up. Just give me 10 minutes or something. I want to brush my teeth and make some coffee."
She tossed her comforter off her body and swung her legs over the edge of bed. The moment her feet touched the cold wooden floor she instantly regretted leaving the warmth of her blankets, but momentum (and the look on Happy's face) kept her moving.
"Natsu, can you start the fire place while I get ready?" She asked. Then without waiting for a reply she scurried off to her bathroom hiding a growing blush.
As Natsu got up from his fall he say a quick "'kay," before turning to look at Happy. "...Well she got excited quickly."
Happy nodded smugly , before flying over to the glowing Christmas tree.
—
"Ahh..." Lucy sighed as she took her first sip of coffee. "How nice." Her eyes were closed and she was sitting on the ground with a fluffy blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Lucy was just within touching distance of the Christmas tree that she and her friends had decorated the week before.
"Geez Luce, why are you getting so excited over coffee?" The pink-haired boy asked, as handed her one of the presents he had bought for her.
Placing her cup down on the ground next to her Lucy countered jokingly, "And why are you acting like a kid, hmmm...? Waking me up at four o'clock and all." She took the present he was handing her graciously.
"Because it's Christmas," Natsu replied in a duh-tone. "Everyone's excited to get presents!" Eargerly he looked at the remaining presents under the Christmas tree. "Which one can I open?"
"You guys can choose which one you want to open first. Yours are the ones I wrapped in red," Lucy replied. "And Happy, yours is the one wrapped in the paper with fish on it." The presents Natsu and Happy had given her lay in her lap, yet to be unwrapped.
"Ah red? Good choice Luce, red is the best color, way better than blue or gray!"
"Oooh fish!"
Lucy laughed at their comments.
Once Natsu and Happy had picked out which present they wanted to open (Natsu choosing the bigger of the two) the three of them sat in a circle looking at each other.
"One..." Lucy said starting of the count down.
"Two," Happy added.
"Three!" Natsu yelled, and then simultaneously the three of them attacked their presents.
The sound of wrapping paper ripping could be heard over the cracking of the fireplace and the mystery of what had been bought soon disappeared.
From Natsu and Happy, Lucy had received a rare book she had been dying to get her hands and gorgeous necklace. Natsu on the other hand had gotten a new fishing pole from Happy and a lacrima gaming device, which he had been wanting for a while, from Lucy. Happy's first present led to him zooming through the air excitedly, clutching it to his chest. From Lucy he had gotten a prepaid fish card, which meant he would be getting one 'free' fish per day for an entire month. And from Natsu, the exceed had gotten 1) a picture of Carla as a joke and then 2) a toy that Happy had been nonstop talking about for the past few weeks.
It was a good turn out and all three of them were content.
After thanking each other for the presents Lucy started to make breakfast. Natsu and Happy of course tried to help, but after a few eggs hit the ground, flour was accidentally poured on the front of Lucy's pajama's, and a 'mysterious' fire somehow started, Lucy insisted that the two of them sit at the table.
While she finished making breakfast, the three of them casually chatted about whatever came to mind...
—
Wendy, Gray, Erza, Juvia, Levy, Gajeel, and Cana weren't supposed to come until noon, so after they had finished eating and cleaning up the kitchen the trio fell into a comfortable silence. The fire was still crackling, the kitchen sparkled, and now that Lucy had lit a candle the room smelled like cinnamon and vanilla.
Excusing herself, Lucy left Natsu and Happy momentarily so she could go change out of her flour covered clothing. When she came back the two boys were whispering to each other by the Christmas tree with their backs towards her.
When the door closed behind her the two of them jumped and turned around quickly.
"'D-done?" Natsu asked.
Lucy hummed 'yes' and was about to ask what the two of them were doing when something in the corner of her eye caught her attention.
"Look! It's snowing!" The celestial mage rushed over to the window to get a better look. Sure enough, white flakes were dancing through the air and coating the barren ground. Excitedly Lucy muttered to herself, "This is the first time it's snowed this year..."
Even though a few people were walking down the street it was still silent outside.
"Hey Natsu, come look at this-" As she spoke Lucy turned around only to find the Natsu was right behind her. Her eyes widened a bit, and she could feel the back of her neck growing warmer. "I-its, um, snowing!"
Natsu was looking at her, but not her eyes, more like her nose.
"Natsu, are you okay?"
"Uh yeah," the pink-haired boy replied. His charcoal colored eyes looked up and he appeared somewhat startled when their gazes connected. Then his eyes softened and he cleared his throat.
"I-I know we said we'd only get each other one extra present... but, um, I have another," he murmured. "I was thinking it'd be better to give it to you before the others came over..." His right hand, which had been behind his back, moved to reveal a small box no bigger than his hand.
It's probably jewelry, right? Maybe some earrings that match with the necklace they gave me earlier... Lucy began to feel nervous, but she couldn't pinpoint why.
"...Okay," she replied quickly as she took the box from his hands.
As Lucy began to unwrap the ribbon around the box, Natsu, unbeknownst to her, watched her intently.
The ribbon came off and the box opened, resulting in a confused blonde.
Sharpish green leaves. Small white flowers.
Mistletoe?
And before Lucy could ask about it Happy swooped out of nowhere, grabbed the plant, and flew up, so he was hovering above Natsu and Lucy.
The blonde's heart began racing as she looked up at the blue cat. I-is this a prank? What's Natsu have planned? What...
She lowered her head, so she was looking at Natsu again. He was biting his lip and the moment her gaze returned to him he slowly began to lean forward. When he was just inches from her lips he paused for a moment in hesitation...
Then he closed the small gap between their lips.
At first Lucy froze as her brain tried to process what was going on. The kiss was warm, light, and had a feeling of fragileness that came with uncertainty. That's when the blonde realized that Natsu was probably even more nervous than her about the whole ordeal. When she came to this understanding was the moment she began to reciprocate the kiss.
Natsu pulled her closer and she could feel her skin tingle as he held her. Her mind was in a state of euphoria and she couldn't help, but feel giddy. Lucy was in heaven.
She didn't know how long they had been kissing, but when then they finally broke apart from each other breathlessly Natsu was grinning even brighter than he had earlier that morning.
He pulled her to his chest, which led to her snuggling even closer to him. Then he whispered in her ear, "Merry Christmas Lucy."
