Stele: So, Grizz, we have reached the conclusion to our little Christma fic. However, we did this chapter a little different than the others. Can you tell our readers about this?

Grizzly: *Sobs* Y-yea S-stele *Sniffles* This chapter, the final chapter,*Wails* we split up. It's still in third person but instead of being solely focused on Lucy's journey, it also expands to include Natsu. Now in chapter 11 y'all got hella angry because I pulled a bit of a bitch move, but as I explained I had to. Anyway, because of that y'all will get to see what went down as Natsu saw it, but then we do a bit of a flip. Stele can explain that part while I go tear my heart to shreds.

Stele: *giggles* Well, yes. Grizz explained it pretty well. Basically what we did, was split the chapter into three parts. Grizz wrote the parts that are mainly about Natsu, while I took on Lucy, though, it all evened out pretty well in the end, I'd say, to give us each equal parts. This is the first "split" chapter we have done, so bare with us if it seems choppy. Though, I don't think that will be an issue, as Grizz and I make a fabulous team, if I do say so myself. XD

Grizzly: *Sniffles* Thank you, Stele, but there are a few other things to be told. Last chapter I told you the note will bring you to tears. And it will. I am telling you now, and with how Stele wrote the angst around it, is breathtaking. And if you're wondering I wrote the note. Anything else Stele?

Stele: Let's see… I can't seem to think of anything else to say, other than to, yet again, thank each and every person who has followed along with us for this journey. It truly amazes me the amount of support we get with each new chapter. You guys are the best, honestly. And we hope that you continue to follow along with us as we find stories to tell you. Our co-writing relationship has only just begun, so look forward to seeing more from us in the future. Right, Grizz?! *Grins*

Grizzly: AYE, SIR! NOW GO READ THE CONCLUSION TO THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS!

Chapter Twelve

On the Twelfth Day

On the outskirts of Magnolia resides a small shack with tree branches shooting from the roof and the upper walls. Inside the hut a certain salmon-haired fire mage lies in a hammock that hangs from the ceiling.

His hands are clasped behind his head and he stares at the ceiling while one leg pushes off from the wall causing the hammock to rock slowly. This action being repeated every time the hammock swings back to the wall.

His onyx eyes that are usually lit with life are now just a dull black, his mind turning over the events of the past day.

~Flashback~

He had fallen asleep next to Lucy's bed but woke up the next morning when the hand that was in his hair disappeared.

After he cleared out Lucy's fridge he made his way to the guild for the daily brawl and, besides Erza smashing his and Gray's heads together, it was a pretty good day.

Lucy was finally figuring out the clues, Sting had gotten his reward for helping place the gifts, and Rogue had gotten his fight with Gajeel.

Mira and Levy hadn't spilled the fact that he's Lucy's Secret Santa yet, which surprised him greatly, until he took in the fact that Levy and Cana had a massive amount of cash on the bet of when Lucy finally figured it out.

Yes, it had been a good day. Until he started making his way to Lucy's apartment, excited to see her expression when she opened the next present.

Along the way, he heard someone call his name and he turned to see Lisanna running towards him. A casual and friendly grin spread across his face.

"Hey, Lisanna, what are you up to?"

Instead of answering his question, she grabbed his arm and pulled him into a nearby alley.

A few steps in, she let him go and turned to him, her cheeks a pink three shades lighter than his hair.

"Natsu, I, uh, wanted to tell you something."

Natsu frowned in confusion and she stammered, "N-Natsu, I-I l-love y-you."

To say he was shocked was an understatement but he got over it quickly.

"I'm sorry, Lisanna, but I don't love you like that. I love you as a sister and nakama."

Lisanna frowned but then did something unexpected.

She pushed Natsu up against the wall and kissed him.

His eyes were closed from the shock of hitting the wall; he didn't register the strawberry and vanilla scent that crossed his nose.

Lisanna pulled away a short moment later and asked in a breathy tone, "Did you like that?"

Natsu scowled. "What the hell, Lisanna? I told you I don't love you like that. I love Lucy."

Lisanna frowned and avoided his eyes.

He snorted and pushed past her, back to the street, where he picked up the scent. Turning that way, he picked up his pace until he was sprinting down the street and skidded to a stop in front of her apartment.

Jumping up to the window, he looked through to see Lucy's face buried in her knees, and as he worked the window open, he could smell her tears.

When she noticed his presence, she jumped up so that her back faced the fire. When he stepped off the ledge, he took note that she took a step back and asked quietly, "Luce, are you crying?"

Her hands curled into fists at her sides and she avoided his questioning gaze that held just a bit of alarm.

When she spoke, his attention was drawn away from the tears that silently made their way down her cheeks.

"I should be asking you why."

His confusion was evident as he took a small step forward. "Why, what?"

He was lucky that he stepped closer as he could barely make out her reply.

"Why do you insist on doing this?"

His instincts acted and he took a step backward as he warily asked, "Insist on doing what, Luce?"

When her head snapped up, and he saw her normally dark chocolate brown eyes a bright brown from rage, a shiver traveled up his spine.

Her voice rose an octave as she replied. "Why do you play me along like some toy? You leave all these gifts for me to find and say you love me... but then I find you lip-locking with Lisanna in an alley?"

He unknowingly took another step back.

"Luce—"

His reply was cut off when he heard the venom dripping from her voice.

"No, I don't want to hear it, get out of my apartment."

His worry skyrocketed, and against his heart's demands, he climbed back onto the window ledge. He tried one more time and looked back at the emotionally wounded celestial mage.

"Lucy, please just let me explain."

"No, Natsu, I don't want any of your excuses, just go away."

His heartbeat almost died when he heard her response.

When he landed on the ground below her window, he looked back once more before trudging away.

~End Flashback~

The hammock stills as he rubs his hands down his face. "Ugh, what the hell am I gonna do now?" He asks to the empty shack.

With a sigh, he heaves himself up out of the hammock and walks over to the fireplace where the last gift sits.

"Might as well put this out, hopefully she'll let me explain now." He mutters, dragging his feet out the door and towards the guild hall.

When he reaches the back door of the guild, his expression does an automatic one eighty and he steps inside.

Quickly he places the gift in it's hiding spot before taking a seat at the bar where Mira sets a tray of food in front of him, but when he barely touches it, the take-over mage can tell something's up.

After she gives Cana her morning barrel of sake, Mira leans on the counter in front of Natsu and tries to look him in the eye, but he just stares at his food.

"Alright, Natsu, what's wrong?" Natsu looks up at Mira and she takes a step back at the dead look in his eyes.

"Luce is mad at me," He murmurs and Mira frowns.

"Natsu, Lucy is mad at you almost every day. So what is really going on?" Natsu sighs and pushes the plate of food away.

"No, you don't get it, Mira, she is seriously pissed at me and she won't let me explain."

Mira frowns. "What did you do to push her that far?"

The fire mage shakes his head. "I didn't do it, at least I wasn't the cause of it."

"Natsu, I can't help you if you don't explain." Natsu lays his head down on his arms and Mira has to lean in to hear him.

"Lisanna confessed to me, then kissed me, and Luce saw it. Now, she thinks I was playing with her when I left those gifts."

Mira hums and goes to say something when the doors open and the aforementioned celestial mage walks in. She looks around before walking up the steps, ignoring the fire mage who lifted his head up to try and catch her eye.

He heaves another sigh before standing and stating solemnly, "I'm gonna take a mission for a few days, hopefully by the time I get back she won't be so mad."

Mira frowns at the dejected mage but can do nothing as he walks up to the board and walks out the front doors.

Bright sunlight filters in through sheer curtains, illuminating the sleeping blonde and gently rousing her from sleep.

Soft eyelids flutter open as dark, chocolate orbs peer around the room, at first in confusion, and then the events of the previous evening flood through her mind at once and she visibly cringes as though she's been struck.

"Ouch," she moans softly, as the pain from her encounter with Natsu ebbs at her heart. She recalls the very moment that the realization hit her that Natsu was the one orchestrating this entire thing and the way it made her feel knowing that he loved her. But, then she saw that kiss in the alleyway between Natsu and her (she refuses to even think the name, now). She can still picture the way his eyes had become impossibly wide when she busted him on his cruel actions. And, perhaps most of all, she can still feel the way her heart had broken just before throwing him out of her apartment and how quick he had been to heed her command, not even trying to argue his case.

Not that she would have listened. She didn't want his excuses then and she doesn't want them now.

With a venomous scowl, Lucy throws the covers off and stomps into the bathroom, as if she could stomp the anger out beneath her feet.

She gets ready quickly, not bothering to wash her hair and instead pulling it back into a bun to keep it out of the way of the spray of water from her shower.

Once she finishes washing up, she let's the hair loose, barely remembering to run a brush through it before she leaves the house. She's not even sure what she put on today, and she doesn't care if it matches or not. She's too hurt and angry to bother trying to look cute today.

She trudges through the snow at a somewhat steady pace but stomping proves to be too difficult in the deep snow, so, she simply shoves the snow angrily out of her path with her boots as she goes along.

The cold air helps to clear her mind some but it doesn't completely erase the pain that pulls at her heart every time she thinks about her dragon.

No. Not mine anymore. He belongs to someone else now…

This new thought spins her mind into another rage and she lets out a frustrated groan. She doesn't even notice that she isn't alone until someone speaks up from her right.

"Whoa, better be careful, Lucy, you don't want to fall into that cold water."

Someone snickers.

She balls her hands into fists, gritting her teeth together against any retort, and speed-walks the rest of the way to the guild, keeping her head low to avoid eye contact with any passersby.

When she gets to the guild she is nearly frozen because, in her haste to leave this morning, she had forgotten her sweater by the front door. So she shivers violently against the chill that threatens to turn her bones to ice, thus freezing her like a statue.

She shakes off the cold as she starts up the guild steps so no one asks her why she was stupid enough to go out in this weather without a coat, because that is something she is so not in the mood to deal with.

Before she opens the doors, she pauses to collect herself. She takes a deep, steadying breath and shakes her arms a bit to work some warmth into them. She tries for a smile but her lips won't lift into anything more than an expression of indifference.

Whatever.

When she pushes through the doors, her eyes immediately find Natsu, then pointedly look away before he notices as she races up the stairs, hands still clenched tight.

This is stupid, she thinks bitterly as she hurries up more and more stairs. I shouldn't even care. I should ignore his last, stupid gift. It doesn't mean anything, now.

Despite her raging thoughts, Lucy continues up to the roof, in search of her last Secret Santa gift.

When she nears the top, she has to stop and rest for a moment. She suddenly feels exhausted, but whether that be physical or mental exhaustion she can't say for sure. Perhaps a mix of both.

Finally, she pushes through the door to the roof and carefully makes her way across the ledge to the brass bell that hangs just above their proud Fairy Tail sign.

On the twelfth day of Christmas,

Your final gift can be found where the wild meets the docile,

At the peak of the Fairy's Tail but under it's bell will you find this heart.

She resists the urge to smirk at how obvious this last clue was. Or, maybe she's finally learned how to decipher these notes.

Maybe he meant for it to be simple… Her mind supplies helpfully. She scowls at the thought.

Continuing along, she reaches the bell and peers around it, looking for shiny, purple paper. Something gleams in the sunlight but it's just out of her reach.

"Damn dragon," she grumbles, stretching on her toes to try and snag a corner of the small box.

After several failed attempts at getting to the gift, she pulls back in a huff of annoyance.

"Damn you, if you wanted me to get to it so easily, why'd you have to go and make it so hard to reach?!" Her voice is a low hiss. She kicks the side of the bell tower, wondering how she's going to get it down if she can't reach it.

Her answer comes in the form of a snicker.

"Having some trouble there, Blondie?"

Lucy turns with surprise at the Exceed hovering near her with a smug look upon his face.

"Lector? What are you still doing here? I thought you all left after the snow day."

Lector shrugs with indifference. "We came back," he says evasively. Lucy sighs.

I told you the other Dragon Slayers were in on it, too…

"Shut up!" She shouts. Lector looks slightly taken aback.

"What?"

Realizing she just replied to herself aloud, Lucy flushes in embarrassment before giving Lector a small smile.

"Sorry, it's not you," she apologizes. "But, since you're here, do you think you can lend me a paw?" She gestures at the bell, then points to where the box is slightly hidden beneath it. "Some idiot pushed it too far out of my reach."

Lector snorts. "Sure, Lucy. I guess I can give you a hand. After all, you did help me out once."

For a moment she frowns in confusion, then she recalls how Lector had fallen into the icy waters and Lucy had offered him shelter at Fairy Tail as well as some warm blankets to help stave off the chill.

"I guess we're even now," she jokes, but he ignores her as he flies up to retrieve the parcel for her. He drops it into her waiting hands as he flies by.

"See ya, Blondie!" He calls out as he soars off the side of the building, presumably in search of Sting.

"Thanks," she murmurs, even though she knows he can no longer hear her.

Despite the frigid temperature outside, Lucy sits down on the roof's ledge to open the gift.

She takes her time, slowly unwrapping the paper, then pulling back the lid with almost hesitant motions. She digs the charm out with slightly shaking fingers, eyes pinched shut as if afraid to look.

Don't be a baby, she chastises herself, then, with a determined nod, she opens her eyes.

The tiniest gasp escapes her lips when her eyes land on the opulent charm. This charm far exceeds the rest in terms of its beauty and uniqueness. The heart-shaped charm is a brilliant gold and has a star engraved into its flat surface. It is impressive due to the sheer detail displayed on the charm, despite its simplicity.

"A heart," she murmurs, voice catching slightly in her surprise.

Not a heart, she thinks. HIS heart.

Natsu.

Tears well up in her eyes as she turns the charm over in her hand.

Maybe I was too hard on him. Maybe it was a misunderstanding?

No. I saw him kissing her!

But…

She shakes her head, ignoring the sudden doubt starting to burn through her.

She attaches the heart to the bracelet before finally pulling out the note to read, though she has to keep wiping her eyes as she does so because each new line brings forth more tears and more memories.

On the twelfth day of Christmas

I give you my heart,

My heart is a fragile thing but so full of love just for you.

Every gift you've received these past days has had a second meaning.

They all represent memories we share.

The flame, my own fire that burns brighter when you are in my life.

The wings, the freedom you enjoyed when Happy and I met you in Hargeon.

The snowflake, all the missions, all the times we've spent with ice dick Gray, who treats you as a sister.

The sword, Erza is a knight among us and treats you as a sister.

The book, how often do you spend time with Levy? I can't count how many times I've seen you two talking or spending time together.

The tree, the seven years we spent on Tenrou because of Grimoire Heart and Acnologia. You proved yourself to be stronger than anyone in the guild because even when the rest of us are ready to give in, you don't.

The dragon, the Grand Magic Games, when you thought you let us down. In truth, I had let you down because I couldn't save you when it counted. But, again, you proved to be the strongest because you shut the eclipse gate.

The cherry blossom, surely you remember the sakura tree? Even if I don't admit it to anyone else, yes, Happy and I were the ones to dig up that tree and sail it down the canal because you decided to be a weirdo and get sick.

The moon charm, Galuna Island, didn't exactly like the fact that I got frozen but you defeated Sherry and her monster mouse. You called Lyra and revealed to Ice prick Gray what he was trying to run from.

The doll charm, when I almost lost you to the infinity clock, as you were falling you looked so much like the stars you cherish that I can't help but call it as I see it. You are a falling star and I had wished you would be mine.

So, there you have it. My twelve gifts to you, my heart laid out for you to see. I love you, Lucy Heartfilia, I don't know when I fell for you. It could've been when we ran from the soldiers in Hargeon or any number of other times, but I do know that once I started I couldn't stop. You are way out of my league. You shine brighter than the stars and your smile, sweet Mavis, your smile alone has my heart beating out of my chest.

Your Secret Santa,

Natsu Dragneel.

By the time she finishes reading, she is sobbing and has to hold the note slightly away so she doesn't soak it with her tears.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! She screams the words inside her head. Why had she never seen the feelings Natsu had for her until this moment? Well, she occasionally had thoughts that maybe he had feelings for her, but she never truly believed them. It was just too much to hope for. She had spent years thinking that she was alone in her feelings, that it just didn't seem possible that he could potentially share in them.

She hastily stands from her spot on the roof, only just realizing that her body shakes with cold—she has been out here too long—and carefully folds the note back up before placing it in her pocket.

She hurries down the stairs and practically falls through the door, stumbling slightly to regain her balance. She strides to the bar where Mira is having a casual conversation with Gray and Juvia, and slaps the note onto the counter.

Mira glances up at her in surprise at the wild look the blonde's eyes. Juvia also looks slightly bemused, and only Gray looks to be the only unaffected party. In fact, his expression is knowing as he gives Lucy a smirk.

"Mira," Lucy says, ignoring the ice mage. "Did you know about this?"

Mira gives her an expression that is so overly innocent, Lucy immediately narrows her eyes at her. Mira sighs.

"Yes," her tone reluctant. "But you can't hardly expect for us to give him away, now, can you? We're his friends, too."

Now Lucy sighs.

"Yeah, I know… but, Mira, I don't understand. If Natsu supposedly loves me as much as he so adamantly declares in this note, then why was he kissing your sister in an alley just yesterday?"

"He was?" Juvia looks surprised by this piece of information.

"It wasn't what it appeared to be, Lucy," Mira explains patiently. "Lisanna… came onto him. She went a bit overboard, I'm afraid, and feels terrible about it now. But, honestly, Lucy, it wasn't Natsu's doing at all. He pushed her away."

Lucy's heart sinks in her chest.

"I was horrible to him yesterday, Mira." She whispers, shame making her voice faint.

Gray snorts.

"Yeah, he stormed out of here pretty damn fast a little while ago. I wondered what bug had bit his ass." He chuckles. "Guess that would be you."

Juvia whacks him in the arm.

"Not funny,"

He grins sheepishly at her. Lucy ignores them both, focusing on Mira, instead.

"Natsu left?" She locks gazes with the take-over mage. When she nods in affirmation, Lucy whispers solemnly, "Because of me…" She slumps in a chair next to Gray and drops her head onto the counter, which smells faintly of beer, she notes with some annoyance.

"Aw, don't look so glum, Lucy," Mira pats her hand in consolement. "He just said he was taking a job-"

"Luuuuushi!"

Lucy turns to see Happy flying towards her, nearly slamming right into her chest in his haste.

"Happy? What's the matter? Why aren't you with Natsu?" She asks, somewhat accusingly.

"He wouldn't let me come," the Exceed explains in a pitiful tone. "He said he needed to think about some things. I thought maybe he told you where he was going."

Lucy shakes her head.

"No, I haven't seen him since…" she pauses a moment as a sudden realization sends dread flooding through her, "since I pointedly ignored him this morning like he was scum." She groans at her idiocy. How could she be so cruel? She hadn't even let him explain himself. Maybe if she had, she could have avoided all this pain.

"Well, then just go and get him," Gray's suggestion implies this is the most obvious option. There's just one problem…

"Yeah, but I don't have any idea where Natsu went."

"I know!" Mira sings, then gives Lucy a knowing wink when she looks her way. She waits for a beat for the take-over mage to continue. She doesn't.

"Um, are you going to tell me?" Lucy asks, voice coming out harsher than she'd intended in her frustration.

"Of course! Why didn't you ask sooner?" Mira turns and rifles through some papers under the counter. Lucy rolls her eyes. Of course, it's all her fault. "Here it is!" She hands Lucy a photocopy of a job request flyer. "This is the one Natsu just took."

Lucy scans it over briefly, then turns to Happy, who still hovers in the air near her. Her eyes flick to his wings. He frowns at her.

"What?"

"Happy, I need you to take me to Natsu immediately. Max speed!" She adds, then jumps off her stool and grips Happy by the knot of his pack and pulling him out the door with her.

"Luuuushi, stop!" He complains as she drags him along.

"You gotta help me, Happy!" She insists. "We have to go find Natsu, now."

"Okay, well let go! You're gonna make my fish fall out!"

She lets her hand loose and waits expectantly while he adjusts the bag to his liking, tapping her foot with impatience.

Finally, he gives her a nod and she turns around so he can pick her up before lifting her into the air and soaring off.

The snow under his feet crunches as he watches the ground. His mind not on the road ahead, but instead on the feisty blonde he's leaving behind, in hopes that she'll cool off enough by the time he gets back so he can explain.

He sighs, and a familiar sound reaches his ears but he ignores it, knowing he left his friend back in Magnolia, having decided that this would be strictly a solo mission.

That is, until he hears his name being called.

In the cloud covered sky a blur can be seen flying just below that clouds. When the duo finally catch sight of the somber fire mage trudging down the road, Lucy points him out.

"There he is. Happy, drop me."

Happy slows down, not believing her words, but when she starts fidgeting he picks up speed again and lets go of her.

Lucy folds her arms to her sides and yells out his name.

When he hears his name again, he turns around in enough time to see Lucy flying at him. Unable to think, he moves quickly and catches her before she can hit the ground, causing both of them to fall into a snowdrift.

When their senses come back online, Lucy sits up and looks into his eyes.

"Luce, what are you—?"

"I love you," she quickly interjects, before he can finish his question. "I am so sorry, Mira explained what happened between you and Lisanna. Please, please, forgive me for acting the way I did. I truly do love you."

Silence reigns as he looks into her eyes, looking for something. What that something could be, she has no clue.

Finally he leans forward and kisses her, hard. But just as quickly as his lips touch hers he pulls away again.

Deciding that one second isn't long enough, she leans down and captures his lips with her own. The world fades away, they forget they're lying in a snowdrift, and that a blue cat is watching this all happen from a short distance away.

When the need for air becomes greater than their want for the kiss to last, she pulls away. A flushed look settles on her cheeks, be it from the cold or from the kiss, she doesn't know and at this point doesn't care.

She moves back and he sits up so that they're sitting in the bank, knees touching as he says, "Luce, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you myself. Truth be told, I was afraid you'd turn me down. I mean, you're so perfect and I'm me." He finishes lamely, but it gets the point across as she leans forward and wraps her arms around him.

He wraps his arms around her in return and they stay like that until a certain annoying cat interrupts them.

"He loooooves you,"

She pulls away and scowls at the cat while he grins.

"Damn straight, Happy."

Natsu jumps up and pulls Lucy up before turning to the cat and frowning. "How did you two find me, anyway?"

Lucy reaches into a pocket and pulls out the copy of the mission that she snatched from Mira before she ran out of the guild. "Mira keeps a copy of every mission that comes through, so, we should get back before she hunts me down for taking it."

Natsu nods but as they turn to head back to Magnolia, Happy brings up an important question.

"What about your mission, Natsu?"

The fire mage looks back at the Exceed. "It's only catching a giant hamster, it can wait until after Christmas."

The usual "Aye, Sir," is all the Exceed replies, as they make their way back to Magnolia and the guild to spend Christmas with their family.

The End

So as you can see I'm kind of beat up that this is over, but Stele assures me there will be more co-ops between us. If you haven't done so already, follow us that way you'll get to see when a new story drops. There's also the fact that I'll put it on my profile while Stele will most likely go through all her stories and add a second A/N letting y'all know. I'm not too sure with her.

But hey her crazy matches mine, that's why we work so well together.

But anyway, Stele and I wish y'all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and don't drown in the gravy boat. XD

See y'all in a new story, or new chapters in my other stories.

Grizzly out for the night.

P.S. Santa put NaLu in your stockings this year.