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Juvia had learned, over time, that loving Natsu Dragneel meant loving noise.
The guild hall was alive with it tonight, laughter crashing into arguments, mugs clinking, chairs scraping, magic sparking faintly in the air like static.
Fairy Tail never did anything quietly, and Christmas was no exception.
Decorations leaned wherever someone had decided they looked festive enough. Someone had attempted to string lights across the ceiling beams and failed halfway through, leaving them drooping like defeated vines.
Juvia stood near the edge of it all, hands folded neatly in front of her, watching Natsu exist in his natural habitat.
He was laughing, loud and unrestrained, arguing with Gray over something that made no sense and didn’t need to. His scarf hung loose around his neck, singed at the edges, and there was a smear of white frosting on his cheek that had somehow survived three different attempts by Lucy to wipe it off.
Juvia noticed everything.
She always did.
Her heart did that familiar, traitorous flutter, not sharp enough to hurt, not soft enough to ignore. She told herself it was happiness. It usually was. Loving Natsu had taught her how to feel things without drowning in them.
Tonight, though, something tugged at her chest.
It wasn’t distrust. Juvia trusted Natsu completely. He was honest to a fault, wore his heart on his sleeve whether he realised it or not. He loved fiercely and openly, never holding back.
But he was also… everywhere.
Erza passed him with a laugh and clapped him hard on the shoulder. Cana slung an arm around him and shoved a drink into his hand, declaring it “seasonally mandatory.” Lucy leaned in close to whisper something, smiling as Natsu snorted in response.
Juvia’s fingers curled.
This is not jealousy, she told herself firmly.
She was allowed to feel things. She had learned that. She had learned not to punish herself for emotions that arrived uninvited.
Still, her chest felt tight.
She inhaled slowly, grounding herself, when Natsu’s voice cut through the noise.
“Oi, Rain Girl!”
Her head snapped up.
He was waving her over, grin wide, eyes bright. “Come eat! Before Happy eats everything again!”
Happy, already halfway through a third slice of cake, protested loudly.
Juvia hesitated only a moment before moving. She always moved toward him.
It felt as natural as breathing.
As she stepped closer, she noticed the mistletoe.
A small sprig, tied with a red ribbon, hanging just above the doorway between the main hall and the bar.
There were several scattered throughout the guild, but this one seemed… deliberate. Positioned right where people passed, low enough to notice, high enough to catch.
Natsu walked under it without a second thought.
Lucy noticed immediately.
“Oh no,” she said far too cheerfully.
“Natsu.”
“Huh?” He looked up. “What’s that weed?”
“Mistletoe,” Cana said, grinning. “You stand under it, you gotta kiss someone.”
Natsu frowned. “That’s dumb.”
“Holiday tradition,” Lucy replied sweetly.
Juvia stopped.
For a moment, the world narrowed. The noise dulled. The lights softened. All she could see was Natsu standing beneath the mistletoe, completely unaware of how tightly her heart had begun to ache.
Gray smirked. “Well? Who you kissing, Fire-for-Brains?”
Natsu opened his mouth, then closed it.
He glanced around the guild, eyes flicking over Lucy, Cana, Erza. Then he looked at Juvia.
Not by accident. Not in passing.
He looked at her like something had just made sense.
Juvia’s breath caught.
She braced herself for him to laugh it off, to step away, to treat it like a joke.
Natsu didn’t usually stop to think about things like this. He followed instinct, not tradition.
But he didn’t move.
Instead, he scratched the back of his neck, cheeks faintly pink. “So… uh. It’s not mandatory, right?”
Lucy raised a brow. “Only if you’re a coward.”
“Hey!”
Juvia felt warmth bloom beneath the nerves.
Before Natsu could decide for himself, she stepped forward.
“Natsu,” she said softly.
He turned fully toward her. “Yeah?”
“If Natsu does not wish to participate,” she said carefully, “Juvia understands.”
The words were true.
But they were not what she wanted.
Natsu studied her for a long moment, expression uncharacteristically thoughtful. The guild had gone suspiciously quiet, everyone pretending very hard not to watch.
“It’s not that,” he said finally. “I just… don’t wanna mess it up.”
Her heart stuttered. “Mess what up?”
He shrugged, embarrassed. “This.”
Something in her chest loosened.
“Well,” Juvia said, voice steady despite everything, “Juvia thinks it is sometimes okay not to think so much.”
He laughed quietly. “You sound like Happy.”
“I will take that as a compliment.”
He stepped closer.
The mistletoe swayed gently above
them.
“Hey,” he said, softer now. “Juvia?”
“Yes, Natsu?”
“You always show up,” he said simply.
“Even when things are loud. Or stupid. Or messy.”
Her breath caught again.
“So,” he added, rubbing his nose, “if I gotta kiss someone… I want it to be you.”
Juvia didn’t answer with words.
She reached up, fingers brushing his scarf, and rose onto her toes. Natsu bent down instinctively, meeting her halfway, like he always did in battle, in trust, in everything that mattered.
The kiss was gentle. Short. Soft. Real.
Just enough.
The guild erupted.
Lucy clapped both hands over her mouth, eyes shining. Gray groaned loudly. Happy cheered.
Juvia pulled back first, cheeks flushed, eyes bright.
“Merry Christmas, Natsu,” she said.
He grinned, wide and unguarded.
“Yeah. Merry Christmas.”
Later, when the noise had settled and the night had grown quieter, they found themselves outside on the guild’s back steps.
Snow drifted lazily from the sky, catching in Juvia’s hair. Natsu sat beside her, elbows on his knees, staring up like he was trying to decide whether snow was friend or foe.
“Hey,” he said suddenly.
“Yes?”
“Did I do that right?” he asked, genuinely concerned.
Juvia blinked, then laughed softly. “Yes. Natsu did perfectly.”
He relaxed, shoulders dropping.
“Good.”
They sat in comfortable silence for a while.
“You know,” he added, “I don’t always get stuff like this.”
“I know.”
“But with you,” he said, glancing at her,
“it feels… easy.”
Juvia smiled, heart full. “That is because you do not run from the rain.”
He snorted. “Yeah. Guess I don’t.”
The next morning, the guild was quieter, not silent, but softer. Juvia arrived early, setting mugs out on the tables.
Natsu appeared moments later, scarf askew, eyes lighting up when he saw her.
He didn’t hesitate.
He sat beside her.
No mistletoe. No audience.
Just choice.
Juvia met his gaze and smiled.
And for once, loving him felt calm.