The Celestial Mage should have guessed Christmas tree shopping with the White Dragon Slayer would be a thing for him.

In the months since she had come to Sabertooth after Fairy Tail had disbanded, Lucy had done a piece on the Twin Dragons for Sorcerer which ended in Rogue hiring her on as Sting's assistant to save the poor Shadow Slayer from murdering his best friend for his complete lack of regard for any of the paperwork required as Master of a legal guild. After an easy discussion with the two dragons, she determined that while she was working with Sting, she didn't want to replace her guild so she wouldn't become an official mage of the Sabertooth, opting to continue to write for Jason and stay in the house Yukino and Rufus shared since they were looking for another roommate anyway.

After two weeks of her pretty much taking over all of Sabertooths records, finances, and communications, the guild was back up to date, met every standard and regulation of the Magic Council and she even discovered a discrepancy in the bill from the Grand Magic Games that rewarded the guild a massive amount of jewel back from the city of Crocus; impressing not only the Shadow Slayer but the Master himself.

Months of working closely together had Lucy developing a more than minor crush on the easy-going blonde, which of course was only fed by his constant teasing and flirting. So they settled into a relationship teeming with repressed sexual tension, lots of laughter and flirting, and the most confusing roller coaster of emotions she'd ever been on. Rarely were the two apart since most their time was spent at the guild, Sting complaining about having to do the work of a Master and Lucy hovering over his shoulder to make sure it got done and done properly.

So when he asked her to help him pick out the tree for the guild hall, it was more of a nuance than genuine inquiry from the handsome White Dragon. Which lead her to her current predicament.

The blonde beauty's toes were numb even though she was wearing her thickest wool socks and the insulated hiking boots Virgo had given her. She had expected the man to be picky, but she had not expected him to want to go tree hunting; as in hiking up into the mountains surrounding the guild and finding a tree in the woods. When she tried to convince him to just go to a tree farm where they were maintained and shaped, he shot her down, claiming it was 'guild tradition' to find the perfect tree in nature. The whole thing just sounded like a crock of shit to the practical woman, especially after hours of walking with not even a potential Christmas tree for the guild.

She couldn't help but snap at the blonde who had been circling the current candidate for fifteen minutes, giving an occasional thoughtful noise as he appraised the pine from top to bottom, "For the love of Mavis, what the fuck could you possibly be looking at for this long? It's just a tree!"

Completely unfazed by her outburst, his deep blue eyes lazily met her's, his voice easy, almost bored, "This is the centerpiece for the tone of the holiday season, Lucy. It is not 'just a tree'."

Smacking her forehead with her mitten covered hand before taking a calming deep breath and stomping over to stand next to the Slayer, her voice quieter but tight, "Okay, so what's wrong with this one?"

Pointing to the top of the tree, "It has a split top."

An anger tick sprouted from her forehead, voice slithering through her clenched jaw, "You mean to tell me, you've been staring at this tree for twenty fucking minutes when you knew, you knew, you weren't going to pick it as soon as you saw the top. Is that right?"

Shrugging casually, "Maybe it would have made up for it in other ways."

"Like what?!"

Ignoring this outburst completely, Sting grabbed her wrist and started walking further up the mountain, "Come on, I have a good feeling about the next one."

Ten minutes of the blonde dragging the begrudging woman through the snow, he stopped suddenly. Lucy running directly into his back before calling from behind him, "How about a warning next-"

"Shush, I'm thinking," staying frozen in front of her, transfixed on whatever was in front of him.

Mumbling under her breath through her chuckles, little puffs forming as they fell from her lips, "Now that would be a miracle."

Turning his head to give her a droll look before rolling his sapphire eyes back to the masterpiece of a Douglas fir in front of him, taking a few steps to take a branch between his gloved fingers, murmuring under his breath, "Beautiful..."

Taking another steady breath in, she saddled up next to the oblivious man to steal some of his weird, unnatural body heat while he went through his assessment process, ducking further into her massive scarf in an attempt to return feeling to her nose. When he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her tighter against his side, her honeyed eyes, wide with shock, turned up to look at his face, he was still staring at the damn tree with a gloved hand thoughtfully curled over his mouth.

When his critical gaze peeled from the tree to look down at her, smile bright and toothy, he drawled, "Don't freeze while I check out the back of this beauty. I'll be right back."

She tried to calm the erratic beating of her heart as she watched him do his walkabout, cursing herself and her ridiculous attraction to the second most oblivious individual she had ever met in her whole life. It was actually kind of amusing to her just how she managed to come to have so many obtuse men in her life.

When he poked his head from the other side of the tree, easy smile on his lips, he called to her excitedly, "I think we have our tree, Lu."

Breathing a sigh of relief as she sighed out, "Thank the fucking gods," jogging over to the dragon before rubbing her hands together, excitement at the prospect of getting off the side of this cursed mountain evident in her voice, "All righty lumberjack man, how do we get this son of a bitch down this hellscape."

Calling from under the tree, where he had knelt to examine the trunk, giving the Celestial Mage a very nice view of the Dragon Slayers well-defined backside, "Hell is fiery and hot, this mountain is cold and snowy."

Tilting her head to the side to appraise the muscles further, she spoke easily, "Hell is relative."

"And you think being surrounded by pristine, glistening snowfall amongst towering decades-old trees away from civilization on the side of a mountain immersed in nature, is hell?"

Crossing her arms as she tilted her head to the other side, "No, I think having frostbitten toes, meandering through deep, heavy snow, being freezing cold despite the fact that I have a shit-ton of layers on and can't bend over to save my life because of them, while you go through this weird selective process of a tree for the sake of 'tradition' that I very obviously did not need to be here for and my total lack of feeling in my face, is hell."

"Of course you didn't have to be here."

His words ran back through her brain on a loop before she shoved the idiot Slayer with her booted foot, voice asking incredulously, "Then why am I here?!"

Getting up from beneath the tree, he turned to face her, standing close enough their breath mingled before dissipating, speaking as if she should have already known, "Because I want you here. Where else would you be?"

Narrowing her honey eyes as she looked him over, her voice speculative, "You...want me here."

"That is correct."

"But why? I've literally complained this whole trip."

Ducking his head to be eye level with the little bundled mage, "We do everything together, Lu," before turning back towards the tree. After a beat he tilted his head towards her, his earring swaying with the motion, "Plus, you're cute when you're mad."

She had tried to speak, opened her mouth to start about four separate responses but her brain had just stalled. When she realized Sting had watched the whole process and the shit-eatting, knowing grin that curled over his lips directed at her, a blush deepened the red already covering her cheeks.

Before her brain had fully caught up, his voice broke her stuttering mental capacities, "Could you call Taurus out? I don't want to drag this lovely lady if I don't have to."

Blinking away her confusion, she answered, voice distracted, "Uh, yeah...I can do that..." Without needing to grab her key, Lucy summoned the Bull Spirit.

"Miss Looooooocy, do you need me to warm that bea-yooo-tiful body up?," her massive spirit raised his brows as her flexed his biceps at her.

Laughing at the ridiculous spirits antics, her voice had returned to it's usual cheery lilt, "No, I don't think so, bud, but I could really use your help with getting this tree down the mountain."

While the blonde chatted with her spirit, she had completely missed the jealous glare of the usually easy-going Slayer was shooting her spirit.

When Lucy turned back to Sting, her brows furrowed when he was nowhere in sight, asking Taurus if he could start cutting the twenty-something foot tree down while she looked for Sting, only to find him staring back down the mountain, arms crossed over his chest.

Concern laced through her words as she put her knitted covered hand on his arm, "You scared me there for a second. I thought you left me up here on this mountain. While I very easily could find my eay back to the guild, I really don't think I'd like making the hike solo."

In an unusual bout of silence, Sting just nodded to her before waiting for Taurus to finish cutting down the tree.

His silence continued the whole two hour hike back down the mountain, the whole way through Taurus putting the tree up and the whole way through the dinner with Rogue, Yukino, Orga and Rufus at the guild hall, only speaking up to say his usual goodbye's to his guild mates.

After Lucy carried Lector's sleeping body to his office where she had brought a little cushy bed for him when she and Sting had to stay late at the guild, which happened more often than not, before coming back out to the guild hall where her fellow blonde had his back to her. From the bulging of his biceps, she could tell he had his arms crossed over his bare chest. The tension of his shoulders had a pit developing in her stomach.

She quickly crossed the hall to put a hand on his shoulder blade, her voice was soft, "I've known you long enough to know when you're acting weird, unusually quiet. It makes me...uncomfortable."

The little mage couldn't hold in her gasp when he spun around to face her, his deep sapphire eyes searching her honeyed orbs, but for what, she didn't know. His brows were furrowed, the wrinkle between them foreign on her Slayer's face, it didn't belong there. Her fingers traced it before she realized what she was doing. Pulling her hand back quickly, her face flushed as she looked away.

Sting's voice was that of an errant child, "What are we?"

Raising her head to meet his eyes, she didn't know whether she wanted to slap him for his tone or stutter at his words. Deciding maybe on an attempt at a neutral middle ground, she tried to keep her voice even as questioned him, "What do you mean, Sting?"

Gesturing between them, "I mean us, you and I, me and you," running a hand through his hair, "I thought I knew but, now...now I don't know and it's driving me insane."

Shaking her head in disbelief and confusion, she couldn't help the overwhelming urge to scream at his roundabout cryptic way of trying to explain, only furthering her confusion and irritation to levels only he could produce from her. With a frustrated huff, her hands flying around her as she burst, months of repressed feelings pouring from her as she paced in front of him, "You and I? Me and you? Us? I have no freakin' clue what's going with us. I came here because I missed having a family, I missed having a place to call home, to have people around me who needed me, valued me; a family that wouldn't abandon me even though I gave them everything. I lost everything just to be left behind!" Poking into his chest as she ranted, "Then I interviewed you. I saw what you had done for this guild, what you had built and I thought maybe for a moment, this could be home. But I was scared and I was ashamed. I had given up the only real mother I had left to save them; I sacrificed her to save them, and they just left. What kind of a mage am I if I don't honor what she did for me, for them, if the guild doesn't survive? Even if I am the only member, it means it wasn't all for nothing. Today was the first time I've summoned any of my spirits since my family left me. It was like taking a breath of fresh air for the first time in months and now all of a sudden you're acting like," gesturing wildly to all of him, "this, and I haven't got the slightest clue what the fuck it means! I've been trying to not read into anything and not get attached because, hello, huge abandonment issues here, and then you do you're whole 'because I want you here' thing and I'm right back to trying to figure out just what the-"

Blinking as the initial shock of Sting crashing his lips down to hers, his hands framing her face as his fingertips laced into her golden waves neatly piled on her head, faded away and she melted into the kiss. Moving her lips with his in a frenzied duet as her hands ran over the ridges of the hard muscles of his chest down to his abs before snaking her arms back up around his neck. Her chest was heaving when he finally pulled back, easy tone fighting with his own sense of breathlessness, "Fucking hell, Lu, if I'd known you were interested, I would have done that sooner."

Leaning her forehead against his while she regained any semblance of thought process, she opened her eyes to meet his, deep oceans of the richest blue she had ever seen crashing with lust, understanding, before she finally spoke again, this time her voice was small but lilting, "That really doesn't answer the question of 'us', in fact, it kind of blurrs things a little more."

His hearty laugh spilled from his lips as his hands ran down the curves of her body to settle on her hips, on the sliver of skin between her cropped sweater and her dark green jeans, his voice wry, "I've been under the impression that if you actually wanted something from me, you would let me know. Weird notion right?"

Her voice turning incredulous but hints of play were evident as she spoke, "As if you couldn't make a move yourself?"

"Where have you been for the last few months? I've been making moves everyday for the last two of them," nuzzling into her hair to inhale her scent, soothing his inner dragon.

Pulling back to stare at him, voice questioning, "What moves have you made? When would I have gotten 'I'm into you' vibes from you?"

Rolling his blue eyes, "I literally flirt with you every day. I take you with me everywhere I go. Lector calls you Mama. We have a room here in the guild. I asked you to move in with me. I tell you regularly how important you are to me. Would you like me to continue?"

Her mouth floundering for a minute before she conceded, "Right...but you never made any moves."

A lazy smile spread across his lips before he answered smoothly, "I just did."

"Yeah, after I spewed up months of feelings," absently smoothing the fabric of his white vest.

Smirking at the feisty blonde, his voice light, "Feelings that could have been spewed at any point up until now."

Letting out another frustrated sigh, this one light-hearted as she asked cheekily, "So, Sting, what are we?"

The Slayer raised his hand to her chin, lifting it slightly before his breath danced over her lips, "I'd like to be able to kiss you any time I wanted..."

"Done. Anything else?" She could feel her heartbeat betray her easy words, pounding away in her ears.

Running his thumb over her bottom lip, adding casually, "I'd like to be able call you my girlfriend..."

Her breathy voice was airy and dazed, "Fucking done. Anything else?"

"I'd like to wake up next you every morning, hear you moan my name every night..."

She could feel the heavy weight of her arousal deep in her abdomen, the swirling heat pooling and filling her, begging for release as she answered honestly, "I can live with that."

His free hand had made it's way to her lower back, his fingers splayed across her skin underneath her sweater as he pulled her tight against his toned body, she felt his hard bulge press into her pelvis as he breathed out, "When do 'we' start, Lu?"

Her fingers gripped the back of his neck, her voice dripping with desire, "Now," before she devoured his mouth, reveling in the feel of his lips as they moved with a ferocity against hers that had her toes curling in her boots, a battle for dominance with two unyielding sides. As his tongue ran along the seam of her lips, asking for entrance, inviting a partner to mingle with his, she moaned at the feeling him, granting him entrance and greedily sucking the deft muscle into her mouth before she had to pull away, her lungs screaming for air.

But she was unwilling to relinquish her hold on him, her core aching to feel him, for him to take her.

As if reading her mind, Sting had lifted her curvy figure, her legs instinctively wrapping around his trim waist before his husky voice dipped low in her ear, "I can't wait to hear my name fall from those pretty lips of yours," carrying her effortlessly through the hallways of the guild to where the Master suite was.

When he finally managed to get the door unlocked, her lips making for quite the distraction as she sucked on the skin of his neck in ways that were guaranteed to leave marks, something he just couldn't help but think sexy, the Slayer made quick work of his vests, leaving them in a heap in front of his still open door. The next thing to go was Lucy's muted red sweater, leaving her in a see-through bra with embroidered bunches of white flowers covering her nipples before her lips were taking his as an unspoken challenge; one he was more than willing to take as he pressed her against the wall of the hallway leading to his bedroom, her back arching into his restrained member as it hit the cold surface. Toeing his boots off one at a time as he moved them closer to his bedroom, his hands were gripping her denim covered thighs, lifting her small frame to loosen the buckle of his belt with one hand as he pushed the door open with his foot, the moonlight illuminated the light grey fabric of his bed.

Reluctantly, he set her back down to let her get out of her boots and jeans as he made quick work of stepping out of his black pants and briefs. When he looked up, he couldn't help the words from escaping, "Holy fucking hell, Lu. You are...That is...wow."

She just so happened to be wearing one of her favorite bra and panty sets, the sheer white triangle covering her core had a matching, smaller embroidered flower to block the view of her slit as the thin white material sat high on the curve of her hips and as much as she liked the the way he was looking it over, she wanted him and they were in the way. Reaching behind her back to unhook her bra, she let the material fall away as she eyed his length, the size of him making her wet with anticipation, before stepping out of her thong and laying in the center of his bed, her hand running the length of her body in careless, easy pathways. Her voice smooth as silk as she called to the dragon, "What are you waiting for, Big guy?"

Chuckling under his breath as he drawled, "Not a damn thing, just taking in the pretty view," before walking to edge of his bed confidently and kneeling to crawl up her body, leaving a trail of kisses from her ankles to the smooth planes of her stomach on his slow ascent up her body. The sight of the man she had been having vivid wet dreams about for weeks hovering over her silky golden curls, slick with arousal for him, pulled sweet little moans from her.

His hot breath teased over her folds, his hungry deep blue eyes, darkened with want, roved over the curves of her body before closing the distance to her mouth, the tip of his cock rubbing the juices of her to coat his shaft as the ridges of him created a sensuous friction stemming from the skin to skin connection with her sensitive bud. The crisp scent of pine filled her senses as his lips closed over the line of her jaw, nibbling playfully over the flesh; his large hands cupping the underside of her breasts, thumb teasing the rosy flesh at their peak.

Hitching her leg over his hip, she flipped the Slayer onto his back and lined her welcoming heat over his member, impaling herself in one quick thrust. She was rewarded by the lowest, sexiest moan of a growl from him as his back arched, pushing him further, deeper into her pussy. The creamy sheen of her skin was luminescent under the light of the moon shining through the windows, only made brighter as it reflected off the blanket of snow to catch the beautiful pink of her nipples as they bobbed in time with the rhythm of her deep thrusts, desperate to climb to her peak and watch the White Dragon come undone beneath her.

He was mesmerized by her, the way her hair had loosened from the neat bun at the crown of her head, few short strands falling away to frame her face, caught in the throes of their love making as her pleasure tightened the features of her face. The way her walls took him in, the scintillating vice grip she had around him coupled with the roll of her hips, her clit rubbing against the hard muscles of his pelvis, had his release building in his balls higher than he'd ever experienced. She arched her back when she felt him tense beneath her, his hips thrusting in time with hers when she felt it; the twisting, turning tangle in her gut suddenly snapping. Her throaty moan and the feel of her intense orgasm as her walls shuddered around him, pulled his climax from deep within him, ripping the Celestial Mages name from his throat in a rough growl as he pulled her to his chest to ride out the high of their peaks together.

Only after he was completely emptied and her twitching limbs had calmed into a satiated blanket of warmth over his chest, his softened member still buried in her drenched depths; after their breathing had evened out, Sting running his hands over the curve of the gorgeous blondes lower back, his voice husky and sweet, "Lu?"

Lifting her head to rest her chin on his chest, just above his collarbone to press feathery kisses along his jaw, her voice satiated and lilting, "Hmmm, what do need, sweets?"

Smiling, wide and toothy, at the woman pressed against him, he knew, this was the woman he wanted by his side. As he lifted her chin, her cheek pressed into his palm, he met her sparkling honeyed orbs, remembering every moment he spent with the blonde in front of him, every time she smiled at him, every time she encouraged him, every time he felt her hand comfort him in his moments of weakness, of anger, and he knew; with his voice genuine and caring, "Join the guild, Lucy. Be an official mage of Sabertooth."

Giving the Slayer a small somber smile, her voice was heavy with sleep and adoration, "You know I can't do that..."

"Why not, Lu? I know you think you owe it to Aquarius to be a Fairy, to carry that symbol with you everywhere you go but this guild, our guild, is your home. Yukino worships the ground you walk on, Rogue sings your praises every chance he gets and I've never seen the Thunder God or Rufus dote on anyone the way they dote on you, Blondie. We are your family now and we want you, I want you, to be a part of grows here, officially."

Propping her elbow on his chest, her chin in her palm as she pushed his blonde hair from his face, voice tired but kind, "Even if I replaced the mark, it doesn't change anything. I'll always be a Fairy, love."

"The Light of Fairy Tail," speaking low and reverent before taking her face in his hands, his voice strong, "You are more than that; you are more than someone to be protected and locked away. You deserve the chance to prove yourself, the chance to know what it's like to be apart of a family that knows enough to value the people brave enough to claim it the way you have. Just think about it, that's all I'm asking."

Lucy took a moment; a moment to reflect back on all she's been through, on all the things she's seen, before she made the mistake of meeting his open, expectant gaze. His eyes were filled with a patient understanding she had rarely seen in her life, a spark that she knew meant that he would respect her decision enough to not fight her on it and that, was the only thing she had ever asked for; to have someone who valued her enough to let her make her own decisions and deal with the repercussions of them. So with her heart in turmoil, she answered, "I will...I'll think about it." Pausing to take in his easy smile, his handsome dimples softening his face before continuing, "I can't tell you how much it means to me, how much you mean to me, but thank you," kissing the skin above his heart before laying her cheek against the warmth of him, her voice soft, "I can't tell you just how much you've done for me."

Pressing a tender kiss into her hair, Sting breathed out, easy and carefree, "You don't need to," before turning to his side and curling his body around hers, whispering into her ear before falling asleep, "Whatever you decide, I can't wait to wake up with you in my arms."

Feeling the last of his consciousness leave him, Lucy kissed his collarbone and followed him into sleep, her heart full and a small contented smile on her face.