AN: Alas, the final chapter is here! There will be an epilogue posted sometime within the next week, but I'm not sure when!

Deck the Halls, Bitches

Part Eight: You, Me, and the Hickey, Too

Sunday, December 25th

Her nose is cold.

That's the first thing Lucy registers upon waking up. The rest of her is warm to the point where it's bordering on making her itchy with sweat—thankfully, that's not the case. She's quite comfortable all curled up against Natsu's chest with her limbs tangled into an absolute mess with his—but her nose is cold. Now, usually this wouldn't bother her in the slightest if she were at home, however, Makarov never turns on the damn heat in this house, so rather than her nose being a little chilly, it feels like it's about to freeze off.

Lucy quite likes her nose on her face, thank you very much.

She groans, refusing to open her eyes as she clings to the last bit of sleep tugging at her subconscious. For once, she's perfectly content with just lying here and not moving at all—soaking up the afterglow, so to speak. She's ridiculously warm, she's extraordinarily happy, and, do to unfortunate circumstances, she's also very much awake.

Huffing, Lucy cuddles closer to Natsu's chest, her bare skin pressing against his wonderfully as she tangles her legs with his, hooking a leg around his in order to drag herself closer to him. Her arm crawls across his stomach slowly beneath the blanket, fingertips barely ghosting across his skin as she slips her arm around him. Natsu sighs beneath her, his own arms tightening around her, fingers curling loosely against her skin, making her shiver slightly against him.

Lucy shifts herself upwards, wriggling against him slightly as she shifters her head from his chest to the crook of his neck in order to bury her cold nose against his skin. She sighs against him as he squirms at she sudden chill, clinging tighter when he start to shift away. Keeping her eyes squeezed shut, Lucy presses herself upwards slightly, just enough to press a gentle kiss against the underside of his jaw. His pulse jumps beneath her lips, but she merely lets them linger against his skin, in no rush to pull away from him. Her fingers begin to move, tracing nonsensical shapes against her side with a lazy touch. She pulls back slightly, only a breath away from him, before leaning in once more, pressing a second butterfly kiss to his skin.

It's nice—just lying here next to him, as if the rest of the world just doesn't exist. It's quiet and warm and Lucy is completely and utterly content to just lie here and cling to sleep. Maybe, if they don't go downstairs they can just stay here forever.

Lucy brushes her cold toes against Natsu's bare legs, stroking them slightly. A low groan leaves Natsu's throat at the sudden chill and she hides a smile against his throat. He huffs, arm curling tighter around her as he feels her grin, his fingers curling around her hip and squeezing suddenly, drawing a soft, surprised squeak from Lucy.

Natsu laughs, his chest vibrating against hers, and Lucy realizes he's a lot more awake than she assumed he was. Her lips twist into a puzzled half-frown, not entirely sure why he's even awake at the moment. Not once has he woken up before her in their few nights together—which isn't all too strange, given that Lucy barely sleeps and wakes up at the crack of dawn every damn day. Usually, she's up before the sun, which kind of sucks, if she's being honest. So, either Natsu didn't get much sleep at all last night, or Lucy finally managed to sleep in later than six in the morning for the first time in literal months.

Her lips pull into a smile once more, giddiness flooding through her. She's always had insomnia—but she's never taken medication for it because she hates how it makes her feel. She doesn't like feeling groggy in the morning or the way it feels like there's cotton shoved into her mouth—and it's never really been a huge issue with her. She's always gotten just enough sleep so that it hasn't hurt her grades or made her feel sick. However, she has suffered through some nasty headaches in the past.

It's just that the insomnia got worse after her birthday during the summer, when her date had called her to try to hook her up with one of his many rich, snobby coworkers that were old enough to be her own father. She hadn't been able to sleep for more than a few hours at a time after that.

That's why she started taking the late shift at the bar with Gajeel. Getting some extra cash seemed a hell of a lot better than staring at the wall and willing herself to fall asleep.

Natsu suddenly slips two fingers underneath the fabric of her underwear, skin warm against hers. He snaps the fabric against her skin gently, teasing the skin beneath playfully. Natsu's fingers begin to trace strange shapes against her naked hip as he pulls her closer to his side and Lucy smiles.

He snaps her panties against her skin again and leans in to graze her teeth against his neck, nipping at him playfully in retaliation. Natsu chuckles, twisting to press his lips against her forehead as best he can and intertwining their legs even more, if that's even possible at this point. Maybe she shouldn't be quite this cuddly with someone she's known on a personal level for just under two weeks—though, that's rather moot at this point, considering he had her pressed up against a wall and moaning last night—but there's just something about Natsu that makes her feel comfortable. It's like she already knows him like the back of her hand. Hell, she's told him some things she hasn't told anyone else besides her family. He's held her when she cried.

That means more to her than he'll ever know.

And maybe it will all end after they get home, but then again, maybe's don't mean shit to her.

Natsu's thumb brushes over her hip softly, barely ghosting across her flesh, and Lucy shivers at the soft touch, his fingertips tickling her bare skin slightly. "Good morning," he murmurs against her hair, breath warm against her skin. His arm curls around her tighter, drawing her flush against his side almost languidly—as if they have all the time in the world to just lie here and do nothing.

Lucy exhales heavily against his neck, finally letting her eyes slip open with a pout. Though, she certainly appreciates the view in front of her, she thinks, gaze trailing down Natsu's bare chest slowly, the blanket having slipped down to rest just above his hips at some point in the night. "What time is it?" she murmurs, sliding her palm up his bare stomach lazily, nails scratching at his skin gently. She glances up in time to see him swallow thickly.

He pulls back slightly, just enough to peek down at her, eyes alight with humor. "About seven," he whispers back, as if speaking too loudly will burst the little bubble they've found themselves in. Natsu smiles down at her, a slicker of amusement in his gaze. "You actually slept in today," he murmurs, his hand sliding from her hip to her rib cage, resting just beneath her breasts.

She snorts, palm settling over his rapidly beating heart. Lucy drums her fingers in time with the beating. "Seven isn't sleeping in," she mumbles against his collarbone, letting her eyes slip shut once more. Natsu laughs against her hair, the low rumble vibrating through the both of them. She grins against his skin.

"It is for you," he muses, fingers tapping against her ribs gently, drawing a breathy giggle from Lucy as she rolls onto her stomach and hooks a leg between both of his. She props herself up against his chest, caging him against the bed with her arms and resting her chin against his chest. Natsu sends her a lazy grin as he stares down at her, palms sliding down to rest against her bare thighs.

Lucy wets her lips, staring down at him, something curious and wonderful in her gaze. She shifts against him slowly, pressing a lingering kiss against his beating heart. "We had sex last night," she tells him, more so than asks. Lucy tilts her head to the side slightly, peering up at him and positively stealing his breath away. Her thumbs brush against the naked skin covering his ribs, barely ghosting against him in slow circles.

She's not sure why she's saying it out loud—the evidence of what they did is very clearly scattered across the room for them to see in early morning light. The sun has just barely begun to rise—a sliver of light peeking through the curtains and casting shadows on the wall beside them. Maybe she needs reassurance of what he said to her last night. Maybe she needs something more than that. Maybe she just needs to say it because that makes it real.

Swallowing a bit thickly, Lucy's gaze shifts from his briefly before snapping right back, gauging his expression with mild trepidation.

His grip on her thighs tightens just the slightest, fingers pressing into her skin and leaving little indents on her chilled flesh, the blanket slipping from both of them to pool around their tangled legs. His eyes never once leave hers. "Should we not have?" he whispers, as if speaking too loud with utterly shatter the moment and send them slipping into something sad. He swallows as well, gazing down at her with something heartbreakingly honest in his eyes.

Not for the first time, Lucy wonders if her grandmother is wiser than Lucy has ever given her credit for.

Lucy finds herself unable to look away. "I didn't have any problems with it," she tells him, voice a bit shaky, but entirely honest. She wouldn't change a thing about last night. Not one single thing. "Did you?" she asks gently, voice dipping so low that she can barely hear herself. There's something pleading in her voice—something begging him to tell her that last night meant something—that all of this meant something.

Because it sure as hell meant something to her.

And Lucy isn't in love, she knows that, but maybe she could be, given more time.

Or maybe Ida's right, and they're all just too scared to call it that, because only fools rush into things like this. Though, maybe they're fools in love, all the same.

Natsu's fingers slide from her thighs to her waist slowly—almost lazily as he stares at her, gaze drinking her in and swallowing her whole. His palms are warm against her sides, and that's when Lucy's heart decides to do something funny in her chest, positively squeezing with something she can't begin to describe. "I can't say that I do," he whispers back to her, his own heart stuttering beneath her lips.

Her lips curve into a small smile at his words, but she hides it against his chest, placing another soft, slow kiss against his heartbeat. She knows that he can feel it, judging by the way his own lips curve up at the ends. "Okay," she tells him, but a breath away from his skin, "then, we're good."

He nods, still staring down at her. His fingers tap against her waist lightly, drawing her gaze to his face. When she does, he grins down at her, pulling his lower lip between his teeth, gaze practically sparkling. "Do you think they heard us?" Natsu asks her playfully, drawing a fingertip all the way up her spine to the base of her neck, drawing a shiver and a breathy sigh from Lucy.

She giggles, shaking her head. "God, I hope not," she tells him, shifting upwards so she's hovering directly above him, lips mere inches from his. "They'll never let me live it down if they did." She laughs again, wrinkling her nose as she thinks about how noisy they must have been last night. They weren't exactly screaming for all to hear, but there's still the off chance that they may have been a tad louder than they should have been.

There's a good chance that Laxus may have heard something, but he wouldn't dare make fun of her for it. Lucy had caught him and Mira in some rather compromising positions back before they were married. He knows better than to mock her.

"Well, you did start it," Natsu reminds her, finger sliding back down her spine slowly. He grins as she wriggles against him, arching into him as his fingers brush against her skin. Natsu lets out a little laugh as Lucy huffs.

She sends him a dirty look, eyes narrowing just the slightest as she peers down at him critically. "You're the one that shoved me against a door," she snaps back, trying to fight back a smile. "And it's not like you did anything to stop me," Lucy tacks on, leaning up to nip at his chin.

Natsu laughs outright this time. "Touché," he murmurs, palms sliding back to her hips as Lucy swings a leg over his hips, straddling him. She grins at him, hovering just a breath away from his lips.

"It takes two to tango, Honey," she tells him teasingly, leaning back just the slightest as he tries to kiss her, playfully avoiding the advance. Her thumbs brush against his rib cage once again, drawing a little sigh from somewhere deep in his chest.

His eyes lock with hers, an equally teasing glint in his own eyes. "Does that mean I get to call you babe, now?" he jokes, squeezing her hips softly as his warm breath puffs against her lips. His nose bumps against hers, he's so close, but neither of them make to pull away.

She leans in, placing a butterfly kiss against his exposed skin. He shivers beneath her, and Lucy's smile widens as she continues to pepper his jaw with little kisses, humming to herself when he tilts his head slightly to give her better access. Lucy's grin turns wicked. She wets her lips, leaning down to whisper in his ear. "Whatever the hell you want," she murmurs against him, one hand slipping down his side to finger the hem of his boxers.

Natsu rolls the two of them over, pressing her against the mattress gently. For a moment, he simply stares down at her, one hand rising to cup her cheek, thumb brushing against her skin slowly. "Good," he finally says, smiling down at her fondly. And then he leans down, kissing her softly. She smiles against his mouth and he releases her after several long seconds, beginning to place little kisses against her cheek and jaw and chin.

"Is that all you've got?" she teases, looping her arms around his neck, fingers tugging at his hair. He takes the bait, leaning down to kiss her again, only harder this time, mouth pressing against hers with just enough pressure to make her head spin. She grins against him, sliding an arm down around his shoulders. His teeth nip at her lower lip, followed by his tongue brushing over the same spot playfully. She sighs against him, feeling him smile against her mouth.

He hums against her lips, palms sliding up her sides slowly. His tongue teases the seam of her lips, silently asking entrance that she grants easily. His tongue sweeps into her mouth, brushing everywhere, skimming over the back of her teeth and the roof of her mouth, wrapping around her own, already familiar with her from the night before.

She gives the intruding appendage a sharp nip and he retaliates by gripping her hips sharply, making her gasp against him. She tugs at his hair and he growls low in his throat, pressing closer still. His teeth tug at her lower lip again, nibbling it and tickling her slightly. Lucy giggles against his lips, feeling them quirk up into a smile a moment later. She quickly catches his lower lip between both of hers, nipping at him before drawing her tongue against his lip ring. He pulls away from her with a wet pop, breathing heavily. She simply smiles up at him, panting as well.

"And how was that?" he pants against her ear, lips trailing across her cheek and jaw and chin lowly. He's not kissing her anymore, just touching her. She tilts her head to the side and his smile widens, his lips trailing down her neck languidly as he settles on top of her, pressing her further into the mattress. He finds a particularly sensitive spot just below her jaw and Lucy releases a shaky breath.

She wheezes out a little laugh, completely breathless as she clutches at his arms. "I've had better," she jokes, humming slightly as he continues to peruse her neck lazily. An amused sound leaves him, his arms curling around her back underneath her and pulling her flush against his chest. His lips press against her rapidly thrumming pulse, her breath catching in her throat as his teeth graze her skin.

"Hey, Lucy," he murmurs against her throat, placing butterfly kisses all the way down to her collarbone, hands sliding high on her back play with the clasp of her bra. He bites down on her neck gently, and she can't seem to catch her breath, merely humming in response. His lips leave her neck suddenly, and when her eyes flutter open they lock with his. Natsu leans down, nuzzling her cheek softly and making her giggle before pulling back once more. "When we get home," he starts slowly, gaze locked with hers, "do you want to go on a real date?" Natsu asks her, wetting his lips and swallowing thickly, something like trepidation shinning in his eyes.

Her breath catches in her throat, eyes widening just the slightest as she stares up at him. She uncurls her arms from around his neck, fingers trembling slightly as she cups his face in her hands. Out of all the things she was expecting him to say, that hadn't been one of them. Her cold fingers smooth against his skin gently, and he leans into her hand, pressing a soft kiss to her palm, eyes never once leaving hers.

"I would love to," Lucy tells him, smiling up at him softly, heart squeezing in her chest. Natsu's lips twist up into a grin, a toothy smile spreading across his face before he ducks down and presses a kiss to her temple, tucking her under his chin a moment later.

They seemed to have done this backwards, Lucy thinks, smiling against his collar bone and leaning up to press her lips against his skin. Him meeting her entire family before the two of them have even gone on one date, and all. She doesn't mind, though, if anything, it just proves that their relationship will be interesting.

Lucy likes interesting.

Before either of them can say anything else, there's a banging on the door. "Hey, Lovebirds!" Loke calls from the other side of the door, something sarcastic in his voice. "Put your clothes on and get down here so we can open shit!" he tells them, voice slightly muffled. A moment later, Lucy can hear him walk away.

Natsu shifts away from her, his eyes wide and alight with amusement as he peers down at her. Lucy groans, wrapping her arms around his back and pressing her face up into his neck. Another defeated groan leaves her as Natsu laughs.

"I think he heard us," he date tells her, his laughter vibrating through her.

Lucy hits him with a pillow.

By the time Natsu and Lucy managed to get downstairs, everyone else was already settled around the tree, waiting patiently for the pair of them. Granted, it had taken them a longer time than should have been necessary for them to finally leave their room—which is entirely Natsu's fault really. They would have been down much sooner if he hadn't have shoved her up against the door again in order to pepper kisses down her exposed neck.

Unfortunately, neither of them had bothered to look in a mirror that morning, leaving the pair of them completely unaware of several very important marks on their exposed skin. Lucy had managed to cover up most of the light bruising on her hips and thighs, tossing on a pair of leggings and Natsu's shirt from the night before in her rush. The collared shirt was buttoned haphazardly, crooked at the bottom, but she couldn't have cared less about the buttons, given the way Natsu had slid his hand under her shirt and up to her chest as soon as he saw her in it, slipping a hand under her bra to squeeze her breast.

She had giggled and shoved him away reluctantly, telling him to put a shirt on so they could join everyone else.

Lucy never once thought to take a look at her neck in the mirror as she pulled her hair up into a messy bun, far too distracted with the way Natsu kept pressing butterfly kisses against her shoulders and the back of her neck.

It was only after they made it downstairs and saw matching smirks on the adults' faces that she realized something wasn't quite right. Lisanna had taken one look at her and burst into laughter, Bixlow doing the same a moment later. Loke had shot the two of them a disgusted look, blanching at them and turning away, pretending to gag. Aries had blushed, sending Lucy a small wave, but unable to meet her gaze. Mira smirked at the two of them, waving off her blissfully unaware children and placing a placating hand on Laxus's arm.

Her father, of course, looked nothing short of disgusted as he turned away from her, but that's nothing Lucy isn't used to. He father never was able to look her in the eye without something shameful in his gaze. Ida, however, had a very curious reaction. The woman had smiled at Lucy, very much the cat that got the cream, her gaze drifting from Lucy's eyes, the her neck, and finally to Natsu in rapid succession. Her smirk had only widened at Lucy's confusion before Ida finally tapped a finger against the side of her neck slowly, grinning all the while.

It had taken all of ten seconds for Lucy to realize what her grandmother meant, her eyes widening comically as she remembered Natsu's rough treatment of her neck the night before. She had briefly lost her breath in that moment—remembering the way his lips and teeth and tongue had felt against her sensitive neck as he pressed her against the door, hands squeezing her hips as he rocked against her and—

It had taken everything Lucy had not to slap a hand over the hickeys covering her neck, and when she looked up at Natsu, he at least had the decency to look sheepish. Though, she couldn't entirely blame him, as her gaze locked on a rather tender looking spot just beneath his jaw, the skin there slightly discolored.

Well if her family hadn't heard them, they definitely knew what happened after seeing them.

That had been nearly an hour ago, however, and most of her family seems to have either forgotten about it, or simply decided not to bring it up. Which is a good thing, obviously. She really doesn't need to have a chat with her family about her sex life. Her disheveled state had also kept her father away during the whole gift giving process. He had taken one look at her and then left the room completely, much to her amusement.

Thankfully the Christmas haul was over and everyone had dispersed throughout the house. Lucy had received a multitude of gift cards for Christmas, an old necklace from her grandmother that must have been an heirloom, three pairs of colorful thermal socks from Aries, and Loke had thrown a condom at Natsu when no one was paying attention.

Lucy hadn't missed how he shoved it into his pocket, her thighs clenching slightly as he sent her a look out of the corner of his eyes.

The family room is quiet now, everyone disappearing to do their own thing. Laxus and Mira went upstairs to pack as Elfman whisked the twins outside to play, Evergreen trailing behind them. Ida and Makarov are in the kitchen chatting with Loke and Aries about when their wedding would be, and Lisanna and Bixlow are plopped onto the couch beside Natsu and Lucy, cuddling together and staring at the other couple with wicked grins.

Frankly, Lucy doesn't give a damn where her father is.

Lucy sighs, leaning back against Natsu's chest as he curls his arms around her, fingers plucking at the hem of his stolen shirt absentmindedly, his chin coming to rest against the top of her head as he pulls her onto his lap. He hides a smile against her hair, the fingers of his free hand coming up to rub against one of the bite marks on Lucy's neck almost apologetically—almost, because he doesn't even try to hide the satisfaction in his eyes or the way his lips twist into a smirk against her hair.

"Hey, Lucy," Lisanna coos suddenly, leaning off the couch slightly to poke her head in front of Lucy from where she's curled up on the floor. The other girl blinks her big, blue eyes at Lucy, fluttering them innocently, but Lucy narrows her eyes slightly, not missing the evil glint in her friend's eyes. "You're still coming to the party right?" Lucy nods slowly, unsure what Lisanna is getting at. The other girl beams at Lucy's affirmation, smirking. "Good! Your hickey can come too, if it wants," she tacks on slyly, giggling.

Lucy swats at her friend, but misses as Lisanna jerks back, cackling. Bixlow snickers as well, and Lucy can fell Natsu's lips against her temple, attempting to placate the fuming girl in his arms. His grip on her tightens, and Lucy crosses her arms with a huff, knowing she won't be able to reach Lisanna. "Shut up, Lisanna," she settles with, sending her friend a dirty look. It's not a good comeback in the slightest, but it's all Lucy has at the moment.

"What!" the other girl giggles, mock offense crossing her face. "I'm just being polite," she tells Lucy, eyeing the bruise on Lucy's neck appraisingly. Lucy blushes. Lisanna had pulled out her phone earlier to give Lucy a good look at just how good of a job Natsu did on her neck. The hickey is big, an off purple color towards the center and red at the edges, and exceptionally sensitive to the touch, she learned when Natsu pressed him lips against it when no one was looking, drawing a shaky gasp from Lucy. Jerk. "I want your hickey to know that everything is okay and I appreciate it," Lisanna tells her, patting her on the shoulder before reaching out to poke the hickey lightly.

Lucy raising an eyebrow at Lisanna, lips pursing slightly. "You appreciate my hickey," she says blankly, sarcasm threatening to creep into her words. She holds it back though, eye twitching slightly in annoyance.

It's just a hickey, dammit. It's not like she's sprouted wings or a purple dragon is trying to crawl out of her neck. Actually, that would be really gross. Eww.

Lisanna claps her hands in front of her, grinning widely. "Well, yeah," she says, scoffing like it's obvious. "Look at that monster!" she continues, throwing her hands up. "Natsu did a damn good job." The man behind her grins, one arm leaving her waist to high-five Lisanna. Lucy elbows him in the stomach. He ignores her.

Natsu presses a quick kiss against her forehead, lips twisting into an amused smile. Lucy rolls her eyes, thinking he's way too okay with all of this. "If you think that's good, you should see what Lucy did to my back," he tells the other couple suddenly, an utterly serious look on his face.

Lucy gasps, nearly choking on her spit. "Natsu!" she hisses, utterly mortified by his comment.

Bixlow quirks a brow, reaching over Lisanna to pull up the back of Natsu's shirt and asses the damage. Lucy groans, shifting to bury her face against Natsu's shoulder. Bixlow whistles approvingly at what he sees. "Damn, Bro," he muses, clearly impressed with Lucy's handy-work. "She got you good." He drops Natsu's shirt and turns to Lucy, who glares. "I didn't know you were a freak, Lucy," he jokes, jerking back to avoid a slap in the face.

"Shut up, Bixlow," she hisses back, baring her teeth at him threateningly. So maybe she did do a number on Natsu's back. So what? He certainly wasn't complaining about it at the time! And why is she getting made fun of for the massive hickey? That was Natsu's fault, not hers! They should make fun of him instead! "I hope you choke," she tells him, pouting slightly.

Bixlow gasps, placing a hand over his heart in mock hurt. "Rude!" he barks at her, jabbing a finger in her direction. "Rude and uncalled fo—"

Lisanna slaps a hand over his mouth, cutting him off before he can finish. She rolls her eyes, turning back to Lucy, the humor leaving her eyes slightly. "But, seriously," she starts, you are still coming right?" Her head cocks to the side curiously. "I need to know a rough estimate of people so I can get Bixlow to buy enough alcohol."

Said man pulls his girlfriend's hand away from his mouth, frowning at her slightly. He quirks a brow at her, crossing his arms and sending her a curious look. "Why do I have to buy it?" he complains, staring down at the girl on his lap.

Lisanna rolls her eyes playfully. "Because I said so," she jokes, jabbing a finger into her boyfriend's side and making him yelp. He bats her hands away, but smiles nonetheless.

"Fair enough," he replies, shrugging halfheartedly.

Lucy rolls her eyes at the two of them, tilting her head back to rest against Natsu's shoulder, a small smile playing on her lips as she curls closer to his chest, feeling his arms tighten around her just the slightest. "Yeah, we'll both be there," she promises, much to Lisanna's excitement. She's pretty sure she promised this last night, but it's probably good to reaffirm their plans now that everyone is sober. "Cana won't miss a party and I can probably drag Gajeel along, too," she tacks on.

"And they'll both be bringing dates?" Lisanna asks, peering down at Lucy.

"Most likely." Lucy shrugs, lips pursing as she thinks about her friends. Cana will definitely want to bring Kagura with, and even if the other girl isn't really the party type, Cana will probably drag her along anyway. Gajeel will go with enough hounding, and Lucy can get Levy to go easily enough. "Cana's persuasive and Gajeel won't go unless I can get his girlfriend to go, too, but she loves me, so she'll come if I ask."

A little underhanded? Definitely. Does she care? Not at all.

Lisanna beams at her. "All right, cool! I can't wait!" Her eyes narrow suddenly and she twists to face Lucy directly.

She raises a brow. "What?" she asks Lisanna, sighing slightly.

"Will your hickey be coming too? I only ask because—"

Lucy reaches behind herself blindly, latching onto the first thing she finds, and then tosses a handful of wrapping paper at Lisanna, who merely laughs as the shiny gift wrap does absolutely nothing to her. Lucy pouts slightly, then rips a bow off of another scrap of paper. She lunges forward, slapping the sticky part onto Lisanna's forehead as the other girl squeals in surprise.

That'll teach her.

By noon, everyone is gone besides Natsu, Lucy, and the other Heartfilias. Laxus, the Strauss's, and their significant others all left around ten in order to make it to a Christmas Day lunch with Mirajane, Elfman, and Lisanna's parents. Loke and Aries left not long after them, the pair having a five hour drive ahead of them and not wanting to get caught in traffic on their way home. The goodbyes had been full of hugs and promises to see each other soon, as well as Lucy swearing to come visit the twins the next time she has time off.

All in all, the weekend went pretty well, save for a few hiccups between herself and her father, but she doesn't want to think about that at all. Maybe next time they'll work through some of their issues, but it's too late for that right now. She barely even wants to look at him and he clearly has nothing to say to her. And she's okay with that. Maybe now he's finally gotten the message and he'll leave her alone.

"Goodbye, Zvyozdochka," Makarov tells her, pulling Lucy into his arms from his spot on the porch. The pet name rolls off his tongue lovingly, arms squeezing around her tightly as he murmurs goodbyes against her hair, some in English, others in thick Russian as he repeats them over and over.

Her heart squeezes in her chest, tears coming to her eyes as she hugs her grandfather. She really does wish she could see him more, but it's hard with the schedule she keeps. If she finally manages to be promoted from an intern at Sorcerer Weekly, maybe she can quite her job at the bar and have more free hours to visit her family. "You too, Dedushka," she whispers in response, pulling back just enough to smile at him.

Makarov grins back at her, lifting his hands and resting them against her cheeks softly, cupping her face in his palm. She raises her hands, fingers curling around his wrists. "I better see you soon, yeah?" he asks, smiling wider when she nods, tears spilling over her eyes. He wipes them away with his thumbs, shaking his head softly. "You were away too long," he murmurs, voice thick with emotion.

Lucy nods again, laughing through her tears. "You will," she tells him softly, swallowing back a sob as she stares back at her old grandfather, praying that this won't be the last time she sees him, just as she does every time she has to leave. Makarov's age always scares her and she hates that he's alone in this house, but he won't leave and she respect that. "I promise."

"Good," he replies, releasing her with a grin, "you stay away too long," he jokes, turning from her to pull Natsu into a hug as well, much to the younger man's surprise. Lucy giggles, heart warming as she watches her date's arms curl around her grandfather.

She turns to Ida, who sweeps her into her arms straight away. "Goodbye, Lucy, my dear," she coos, releasing her just as suddenly as she had hugged her. Ida always has been a flighty one, always flitting around and never staying in one place for too long. Lucy has no idea when she'll see Ida next, but she supposes that's half the fun. "I'll see you soon," Ida promises, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Don't have too much fun, yeah?" she jokes, glancing behind her at Natsu, winking.

"Grandma!" she gasps, scandalized, but Ida merely cackles and releases her, practically skipping her way to Jude's car and tossing the door open.

Lucy shakes her head, giggling, and sighs when Natsu walks up behind her, arms curling around her waist gently as he tugs her against his chest. Lucy tilts her head back, smiling up at him as she hears Makarov chuckle and head back into the house. Natsu grins right back at her, leaning down to press a kiss to her cheek, before unwinding his arms from her and lifting his bag from the ground, tossing it over his shoulder before wiggling his eyebrows and dashing to her car. She giggles again, about to follow him when a voice stops her.

"Lucy," he father says sternly, stepping up to her before she can spin on her heel and take off after Natsu. She considers ignoring him, pretending she hadn't heard and just making a run for her car, but shakes the thought away. If he wants her to be the bigger person, fine, she'll be the bigger person. He's been the one ignoring her all day, not the other way around.

As much as she would love to just walk away, she just can't. He's always had this power over her—this innate ability to keep her under his thumb. No matter how many outbursts she has at him when she's tipsy and angry, she always turns back into that scared little ten year old girl whenever she's faced with him the next time. Sometimes, she considers herself something akin to a kicked puppy, always crawling back with her tail between her legs, apologizing even though she's done nothing wrong.

And maybe that's how it's always going to be. Him too stubborn to listen and change, and her too emotionally damaged to cut him out of her life for good. Somehow, she keeps hoping he'll change and that they'll reconcile, but it's been four years since she first started hoping that, and nothing's happened yet. Who knows, maybe this will be the last time and she can finally—finally move on with her life.

She's tired of his sharp tongue and degrading words. She's had enough and knows that she deserves better than that—she deserves a lot better than that.

"So you're going to talk to me now?" she snaps suddenly, gaze jerking up to meet his icily. Her heart squeezes painfully in her chest as he takes another step towards her, but she fights back the urge to flinch away. Lucy crosses her arms over her chest, jaw clenching tightly as her father stops no more than a yard away from her.

His eyes narrow slightly, his lips pressing into a thin line that Lucy knows means trouble. She steels herself, waiting for him to say something bitter or cruel—something more socially acceptable that slapping her across the face, but no less biting. "I tried to talk to you last night," he reminds her, back straightening so that he's towering over her, glaring down his nose at her, disappointment written across his face.

Lucy takes a half-step back, shaking her head slowly as a laugh bubbles in her throat. She swallows it down, arms curling righter around herself protectively. She's used to the disappointment, but it always hurts just as much as it did the first time she saw it. "No," she corrects him, giggling slightly. It's too high pitched, too strained, and it sounds false even to her. All of her courage from the last two nights is gone and all she wants to do is disappear. "You tried to berate me in front of everyone, thinking I wouldn't talk back," she says, a trace of venom in her words as she tries to mask the trembling of her hands.

Her father sighs heavily, as if she just doesn't understand and he's too tired to keep explaining things to her. Lucy wonders if her father thinks she's stupid—if she just can't think for herself. She knows her father is a sexist pig, amongst other things, but does he really think she's so simple-minded that she doesn't know the difference between an apology and victim blaming?

She lived with his emotional abuse for years. She knows better now, even if he still terrifies her.

"I was trying to solve the problem," her father says slowly, taking another step forward, apparently ignorant to Lucy's obvious discomfort. Or maybe he just doesn't care. That seems like the most likely option. He reaches out to place a hand on her shoulder, but she flinches back immediately, eyes wide as she stares up at him.

Lucy inhales sharply through her nose, suddenly finding her nerves as he drops his hand back to his side, seemingly startled that she doesn't want him to touch her. Lucy sneers, lips curving back over her teeth threateningly. "And which problem is that?" she asks rhetorically, not giving him a chance to respond. "The one where I won't sell my body to a strange man just so you can make a business deal?" she snaps at him, grinning sardonically. "The one where you don't listen to a word I say?" she continues, shrugging and letting out a bitter, watery laugh. "Or how about the one where you made me feel worthless for eight years? The one where you made me think I was the problem?" He takes another step forward, hand clenching at his side, but she stands her ground this time. "What about that one, Dad?" she asks lowly, voice nothing more than a whisper against the breeze.

For a moment, she thinks he must not have heard her, as if her voice had been carried away with the falling snow. Lucy suddenly becomes increasingly aware of the weather, her fingers beginning to freeze painfully from the cold as snowflakes stick to her messy hair. She'd forgotten to grab her gloves out of her bag earlier, and she doesn't need to look down to know that her fingers have begun to turn a burning red with the cold.

"I didn't know," her father says after a moment, voice softer than she's ever heard it before. Her gaze locks with his and her father has the audacity to look ashamed. Somehow that only serves to make her angrier. Is he really only realizing all of this just now? Did he seriously think the things he did were okay?

Lucy laughs in his face, but it's bitter, something toxic curling through her stomach. She feels sick all of a sudden. Very, very sick. "You didn't know?" she repeats incredulously, shaking her head slowly. Behind her, she hears a car door slam, but pays no mind to it. "You didn't ever stop to think," she nearly shrieks, hand flying up and fisting in her hair, "that telling your fourteen year old daughter that the only thing she was worth was what's between her legs was fucked up?" she asks, voice dipping into a whisper and cracking as she finishes. Tears burn at her eyes and she laughs again, shaking her head rapidly.

How could he have possibly thought that any of things he did were okay? He was raised by Grandma Ida, he should have known better! Then again, maybe who raises you has a lot less to do with how you turn out than Lucy ever thought. Look at Lucy, she's absolutely nothing like her father—she never wants to be.

Her father sighs again, sound tired, but she turns away from him, locking her gaze on her boots, watching snowflakes swirl through the air and land on the smooth leather before melting, leaving little streaks against her shoes. Lucy's fingers begin to tremble from the cold, but she ignores the biting feeling of her palms.

"I've made some mistakes," he says softly, reaching out for her once more, as if a hug and a half-assed acknowledgment will fix everything between them. As if all of their familial problems can be solved just like that, years of hurt and anger just brushed away like it meant nothing.

Lucy thinks her father must be the delusional one if he thinks he can touch her.

"Yeah," she agrees quietly, steel lacing her words, "you have." Her agreement seems to have shocked him, despite the fact that this is exactly what she's been saying for years now. Lucy is usually able to forgive and never forget, but this time she can't bring herself to do it. He made her life hell, she doesn't owe him anything anymore.

She just wants to go home.

Her father stands stock still as he ponders her agreement, shoving his hands in his pockets and squaring his shoulders. At least he doesn't try to touch her again. "But so have you," he says suddenly, breaking through her thoughts and causing her to take a step back in shock, her eyes going wide.

"Me?" she sputters, eyes snapping up to meet his cold ones. She's never seen love in Jude Heartfilia's eyes, at least, not directed at her. She doubts she ever will. "What the hell have I ever done?" she asks him, voice cracking. All of the fight leaves her, self-doubt beginning to creep into her mind. This happens every time they talk. He always finds a way to turn things back on her.

Maybe she is the problem after all.

He snorts, hand leaving his pocket to gesture to the hickey on her neck, the light bruising appearing ever darker against her pale throat not the she's surrounded by the snow. "Parading around with that thing on your neck," he spits at her suddenly, causing her to take a step back at the sudden anger in his voice. "Like some little harlot."

She slaps a hand over the mark, eyes wide as she stares up at her only living parent. Hurt floods through her even though she knows she should be used to comments like that by now. She's come to expect them, actually, but that does nothing to sweeten the blow.

He takes another step towards her, but freezes just as suddenly, gaze locked on something over Lucy's shoulder.

"Hey!" a voice barks from behind Lucy, tone low and dangerous. Lucy relaxes, the tension leaving her shoulders immediately as she recognizes the voice. Natsu steps up behind her and coils an arm around her hips, drawing her back against him gently. She latches onto his arm with shaking fingers, leaning back against his warm chest as soon as his arm is around her. "You don't get to talk to her like that," Natsu threatens lowly, grip tightening around her as she sinks into him.

She can't see his face from her position, but she knows Natsu isn't happy. He got into it with her father once already over break, he's clearly not going to be happy about having to do so again. At least she isn't crying this time. Natsu might just knock her father out if she was.

"I'm her father," she hears her dad argue, a lilting scoff to his voice, as if he finds it amusing that Natsu doesn't like the way he talks to Lucy. Then again, what has her father ever cared about what anyone thinks about the way he talks to his own daughter? Out of every aspect of his life, that's the one thing her father's never given a damn about.

Natsu practically growls against Lucy's ear. His fingers dig into her side harshly, but she can barely feel it. Natsu, however, loosens his grip immediately once he notices it. "And I don't give a shit," he snaps back at her father, glaring at Jude over Lucy's hear, rage boiling in his eyes. "You don't get to talk to her like that," he repeats with a snarl, fingers splaying across Lucy's stomach, as if covering more of her with make her disappear from her father's gaze entirely.

"Natsu," she whispers gently, sighing slightly. Talking with her father just isn't worth it. She slides a shaky hand from his arm to his palm and his hand relaxes, letting her thread her fingers through his gently. She squeezes his fingers, shaking her head softly, but he ignores her in favor of continuing to berate her father.

"You know you made her cry, right?" Natsu continues, voice so low she almost can't hear him. She didn't realize how angry he must have been the last time, when he walked into the kitchen and saw her crying. He seemed more concerned with getting her out of there then, but now she's not crying and apparently Natsu's fuse is a hell of a lot shorter than hers.

Lucy sucks in a shaky breath, back straightening as she clutches his hand tighter. They need to leave, now. "Natsu, just leave it alone," she says softly, so only he can hear, but he just shakes his head and gives her hip a gentle squeeze with his free hand. Clearly, he isn't as ready to walk away from this as she is.

He continues yelling at her father, though much softer this time, all traces of steel leaving his words as he speaks. "You made your daughter cry herself to sleep," he tells Jude quietly, voice accusing and utterly unfriendly, and Lucy glances up in time to watch her father flinch back as if he's been slapped across the face. "What kind of parent does that?" Natsu asks, malice lacing his tone. The question is mocking bitter and harsh, but not asked angrily. Natsu manages to mask his rage with curiosity, as if truly wondering how Jude could do something like that.

He father swallows thickly, but his voice is shaky when he finally manages to say something. "You know nothing about me, Boy," he retorts.

Natsu just laughs. "Yeah, well, neither did you," he reminds her father, "but that didn't stop you from taking one look at me and writing me off, did it?" Her father doesn't answer, but Lucy doesn't care at this point. "Frankly, I'm just calling it like I see it." Natsu unwinds himself from her arms, taking her by the hand instead. "Stay the hell away from her unless you have something that's not bigoted to say," Natsu snaps, tone final. He gives Lucy's hand a tug, and Lucy lets him lead her away from her father with a light touch, his free arm coming up to wrap around her shoulders.

Behind her, she can hear her father's car door slam shut, the car pulling into reverse a moment later. She releases a shaky breath, shaking her head softly.

Natsu stops about halfway to her car, stepping in front of her and cupping her face with his warm hands. Lucy blinks up at him, meeting his eyes slowly. There's still anger burning in his green eyes, but it dims when she looks at him, melting into something soft and sad. "Are you okay?" he murmurs, caressing her cheeks with his thumbs, gaze flickering across her face slowly, searching for something.

Lucy sends him the best smile she can manage, but it isn't much. "Yeah, I'm fine," he whispers back, hands fisting against his shirt. She sighs, eyes squeezing shut for the briefest moment. "Let's just go home," she tells him.

"Okay," Natsu nods, but doesn't move, instead, he steps forward and wraps his arms all the way around her, one hand moving to tangle in her hair as the other rubs soothing circles against her back over her jacket. Her own arms slip around him, drifting to his back under his leather jacked and tangling with his shirt. Natsu squeezes her against his chest, pressing his cheek against the top of her head gently.

She wets her lips, swallowing thickly as she presses the side of her face against his chest, feeling his heartbeat against her ear loudly, as if threatening to beat straight out of his chest. "Thank you," she whispers, cuddling closer to him.

Natsu doesn't respond for a long while.

"So about that date," he says suddenly, changing the subject so easily that it causes a surprised giggle to bubble out of her throat. He smiles against her hair, shifting to place a gently kiss against her temple, lips lingering there as he continues to speak. "How do you feel about Mongolian takeout and watching movies on my couch?" he murmurs against her skin.

Lucy pulls back just enough to peek up at him, a soft smile spreading across her face. "I think that sounds great," she tells him honestly, pressing up on her toes to place a soft kiss against his lips. When she pulls away he leans down to snag another quick kiss, making her giggle once more.

In hindsight, she's glad that she wasn't able to take shifts at the bar this week. If she had, she never would have meet the man standing in front of her, heartbreaking honesty shining in his eyes as he peers down at her, something soft and fond in his expression.

This may just be her favorite Christmas yet.

Natsu leans down to give her another soft kiss and she meets him halfway, arms raising to loop around his neck and pull him closer to her.

AN: Originally, I was going to end this with Natsu and Lucy getting in her car and Natsu asking her out on a date, but this seemed to work better :) New Year's party epilogue will be posted at some point in the next week!

I know some people are probably going to be mad about there not being a resolution for Lucy and Jude, but that's not always how it works when it comes to family.

Fun fact: Makarov's pet name for Lucy is "little star" in Russian! I thought it fit nicely, so I used it!

Be sure to drop a review and tell me what you thought about the chapter!