The Shadows in Our Hearts (Rogue X Female!Reader)

XV: Christmas!!!

     "This is one of the best Christmas parades we've had," Erza yells over the cheering crowd, and your other friends agree.

     You guys quickly leave, heading to a hill perfect for sledding right on the edge of Magnolia. You drag a few sleds over from the guild hall, and begin your afternoon of sledding.

     It starts out as casual sledding, of course: going over jumps, trying to get downhill the fastest, trying to go the farthest. Of course, with your friends, it escalates quickly. Soon, you're all attempting to "surf" on the sleds and knock each other off. It can't get much worse, right? You're wrong. All hell breaks loose when magic gets involved.

Let's just say that after some explosions and a few magical outbursts, that sledding hill on the outskirts of Magnolia wasn't much more than a pile of icy ash.

Walking back to your flat, you laugh with your friends.

"It was mostly Natsu's fault, he was the one who went all out with the flames," Gray accuses.

"Well, I wasn't the one who decided to freeze the hill to make it more slippery," Natsu retorts, tucking his arms behind his head. Happy and Desert fly overhead, swooping down to you every once in a while. Lucy drags her feet, a sweat-drop on her forehead.

"That was not as fun as I was hoping," she mutters. You fist-bump Erza and laugh as Natsu and Gray argue while Lucy tries to tear them apart.

When you get to your flat, you thank your friends for spending the day with you, and they all hug you before leaving. You go inside with Desert in your arms again, and take off your snow clothes so you're in your pajamas again. You make yourself some hot chocolate and snuggle into your couch with a book.

     After reading for a while, a knock comes from the door. You look up; who could be knocking at this hour? It was extremely late, and all of your friends were probably at the guild party (you never liked it, there was too much alcohol involved for your taste). You shove yourself out of your sofa crease and open the door. Rogue stands outside in the snow.

     "Oh, um, hey!" you greet, letting him inside. He grins at you.

     "Hi. I can't stay long, sorry, but I wanted to bring you this," he explains, and hands you a box wrapped in decorative paper with a bow.

"Oh, thank you!" you exclaim. You feel kind of bad because you didn't get him a present, but then again, he ruined your first date. You unwrap it and open the box; inside is a small music box, intricately carved with little gems inlaid in the trimming. You gasp.

"It's gorgeous," you breathe, carefully taking it out of the box. You wind the small gold key on the side and open the box. Inside is a bunch of little fairy figures that light up and flit around. A pretty slow song plays. Rogue takes it and sets it on the counter, grabbing your hands and moving closer. With a smirk, he spins you around and the two of you dance for a moment to the music coming from the box. Even though you still feel slightly angry at him, you close your eyes and smile, enjoying the moment. The music ends and you giggle for a moment before he begins to head for the door. You follow him and he wishes you a Merry Christmas before he leaves. You watch him walk down the stairs to the road.

"Rogue!" you call after him, running down the snowy steps in your bare feet and pajamas. He turns and you tackle-hug him into the snow. Surprised, he falls to the ground with you on top of him, but he laughs and wraps you in his arms.

"Happy Christmas to you too," you respond quietly. Your cheeks are pink from the cold and the clouds from your breath mingle with Rogue's in the air. You stare into his eyes, and he looks back at you. Your eyes flutter and the falling snow dances on your lashes.

Suddenly, you stand and offer him a hand, helping him off the snow-covered street.

"Thank you again," you say graciously, and he smiles at you before turning and leaving quickly. You watch him go, fading into the shadows of the fairy lights lining the road. With a small smile, you head back inside. You cuddle up on the couch once more, and wind up your new music box, letting the tune play. You gather a sleeping Desert in your arms and lay back, closing your eyes.

"Merry Christmas, Desert," you sigh peacefully, letting the music lull you to sleep.

~~~~~

Happy Christmas! I wrote this at 4 in the morning because I couldn't sleep, and because you all deserve a wonderful Christmas present in the form of another update! <3 I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas (sorry if you don't celebrate it, have a wonderful whatever-you-celebrate)!