Fairy Tail was normally loud and filled with an overly happy atmosphere, but it just seemed to be more to the blonde celestial mage, Lucy Heartfilia when she walked in that cool December morning, honey brown optics lighting up and a gasped "Uwahhh~" leaving her lips as the guild hall had been decorated for the coming holidays. Christmas hadn't really been something she had looked forward to, not after her Mother passed on, but this year, she found herself looking forward to it!

It was her first with her new family, after all.

Taking a few longer strides into the guild, Lucy would shrug off her coat and make her way to the bar, smiling at the white haired barmaid Mirajane and asking for something to warm her up from the coolness outside, it would snow, any day now. But it was only sitting up upon a barstool, watching marshmallow melt into her hot chocolate that she realized;

The guild wasn't as loud as it normally was.

Quickly, her eyes would skim around, looking to see what was out of place, but quickly found nothing, besides that everyone seemed to be here, no one out on a job, staying back for the holidays. Or, she thought she found nothing, until her honey hues fell upon a booth, darkened and up the back of the guild, and while someone sitting in these places wasn't out of the ordinary, the person sitting there was. Head down, finger making a pattern upon the wood table was the pinkette Dragon Slayer, Natsu Dragneel. Who looked as if all the life had been completely sucked out of him, as dark as the corner he sat in, as the world around him was happy and bright.

That… wasn't right at all. If anything, she expected Natsu to be right in the middle of it all, helping Lisanna and Elfman decorate, or bugging a certain Ice-Mage that was instead being talked to by Mira, the woman trying to convince him to do something, a battle he was fast losing. But Natsu was just… sitting there… while Happy sat nowhere near as close as he normally did, his dark eyes flicking from watching the guild, to watching Natsu, and then back again, while chomping down on a fish.

It wasn't… right. Natsu should have been in full 'nakama mode', that was what this holiday was about, showing how much you care for those around you, without the religious part, of course. If anything, Natsu should have been the most over the top person here, and yet he was the most dulled. Even Gajeel seemed to be in a better mood, as he watched Panther Lily and Erza having another sparring match.

"…Natsu doesn't like Christmas." The bright voice of Lisanna Strauss made Lucy jump for a moment, before she turned the the silver haired girl, giving her a small smile.

"I've kind of worked that out… I don't understand why." Lucy confessed, taking a sip of her hot chocolate, licking her lips free of the melted marshmallow as Lisanna spoke again. "No one does. He was so excited for his first one, he said he had never celebrated it with Igneel, but after that… He's always been like this." The Animal Soul mage heaved a sigh. "Not even Happy knows…"

Lucy didn't like it, it was unsettling, as every day she walked into the guild, the date drawing closer, the rest of her guild mates getting brighter, while Natsu seemed to get darker, even his colours seemed to mute. Eventually, she just couldn't take it anymore, and when she heard her bedroom window creak open sometime during the night, and a body shift into bed beside of her, she would roll, turning to look at the face of the Dragon Slayer, who sighed low.

"I know, I know. Your room, your bed…" He hummed low, making a movement that he was going to turn and leave, but his voice, she hadn't heard it for days, and something about it now made her heart quiver. It sounded as he looked.

Defeated.

Reaching out she took him by the scarf, tugging him back towards her, rolling around a little and flicking on the lamp, blinking as eyes adjusted to the light. "Natsu. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." He immediately replied, avoiding her eye contact, voice almost squeaking with how fast he had spoken. Something was definitely wrong.

"Natsu. You can tell me anything. Something is bothering you."

"I hate Christmas."

Lucy gave a kind laugh. "That much I've worked out for myself, silly. You haven't been yourself. I've counted about twenty times when you could have gotten into a fight with someone and you didn't, and so many more when you could have made fun of Gray. But you just sat there."

Natsu shifted, looking a little uncomfortable before settling onto the blondes pillow a little, heaving a low sigh. "Its a stupid holiday."

"You do know what its about, don't you?"

"Some religious thing."

Lucy sighed, hand dropping the scale scarf and brushing a small bit of snow from the boys face, his cheeks rosy, but she supposed that was just from being out in the cold. He was warmer than everyone else, yes, but even she had noticed how he had stopped wearing sandals and started wearing boots. "Not that part. The other part. Its supposed to be the time when you…" She paused. Spend time with your family. Her heart dropped, how could she have not seen it before, all around them, there were people spending time with their families… and Natsu… Natsu had been spending almost eight years trying to find his Father. His family.

"They told me." He muttered, breaking her from her train of thought. "That if I was good, i'd get what I wished for…" She had to smile a little, the thought of cute, little child Natsu trying to be good for Santa. "…But I didn't. Every year I wished for the same thing, but I never got it." He shifted, face rolling away for a moment and into her pillow. "Everyone else gets to be with their family, but I don't get to be with mine."

"Natsu. You idiot." Lucy stated, but her voice was kind, and calm, making him roll back to look at her, face still rosy, hazel eyes looking into her own browns closely. "You are with your family. You were the one that taught me that the guild is your family." He gave a sad little smile and sniffle to that.

"Yea', I did."

"I didn't like Christmas much either… I used to wish for the same thing. You know, after my Mother died… and it was never very much fun for me anyways. Everything was really material back in the Estate. Just about the decorations and the gifts, not about the feelings behind it all. Father didn't even stop working." There was a light in Natsu's eyes for a moment, as if he was feeling regret, as if he had forgotten Lucy had barely had much of a family for a long time.

"But I'm really looking forward to it this year, it will be my first time to spend it with my new family. People that love and care for me, no matter who I am or what I do. My nakama."

"…It's stupid of me, to be so upset like this… isn't it?"

"You can be pretty stupid." The key user would say in jest.

"Oi!"

"No, its not stupid Natsu. I understand it. It hurts, when you don't get what you wish for…"

"…If I wished for something else this year, do you think I'd get it?"

Lucy's eyes fluttered in confusion. "Like what?"

"For someone to notice me."

Lucy let those words sink in, a small grin coming on her face. Natsu Dragneel, the densest person she knew, had a crush. It was almost far too adorable. "If you make the effort, they will."

"How do I do that?"

"I don't know. Spend time with them, drop hints, try and get them under the mistletoe."

"I do spend time with them and drop hints, or try to. Not done the mistletoe though… whats that for again?"

Lucy giggled, sometimes he was far too adorable with his naivety… Did she just call Natsu adorable? "When two people get stuck under the mistletoe, you're supposed to kiss."

"So… I'm supposed to kiss them to make them notice me?"

"Something lik—" Her words were cut off, or rather, swallowed, as warm lips came pressing on her own, taking her a few moments to realise what was going on. Natsu was kissing her.

Natsu was kissing her!

After the initial shock, she relaxed, arms coming around the males neck and shoulders tugging him a little closer, kissing back. Wait… why was she kissing back? This was Natsu! He was nothing like the guy she wanted he was…

Protective, Brave, Kind, Loving, Funny… Her best friend…

He was the guy she wanted…

"Merry Christmas, Luce'."

"…Natsu, you idiot."