So...I promised myself I wouldn't do this, break up a one shot that is, but seeing as this thing is 18 pages and growing...I'm cheating a bit and posting it in parts. But, it will be completely posted by the end of tomorrow. hehe.

The Phoenix-Part One

In which Lucy and Natsu prepare for a party in an AU of Passive Aggressive Post-Its. They haven't exchanged phone numbers, and Natsu still hasn't been able to figure out Lucy's name, but not from lack of trying. This story begins as they prepare to go to a Halloween party, and Natsu puts into effect his twelfth attempt to meet the Weirdo face-to-face.

Lucy wiggled and squirmed.

She danced around her apartment waving her bare arms and legs around.

She tried anything she could think of to keep herself from concentrating on the terrible tickling sensation traveling systematically over her body.

Who knew a paint brush could tickle so godsdamned much?!

"Are you almost done!? This is excruciating!" she yelled at her empty room.

But Natsu heard her.

They had gotten much better at the hearing bit of their bond in the last few months. Since the Weirdo had refused to give him her phone number, or even her name, he had had to get creative. If he wanted to impress the girl that invaded pretty much every fucking thought he had lately, he was going to need more than the written word to do it. Words were not his forte. Thus attempt #12. Yes, he had gone through 11 other plans to trick her into meeting him, all of which had failed, but he was confident #12 would be the last time. They were going to the same party for gods' sakes. If he failed at finding her in the same fucking building, then he deserved to be alone.

Or he'd have to come up with plan #13.

He grinned, yelling back at her as he carefully completed a golden swirl on his arm, accenting the red that was thankfully already dry.

"Almost! But don't look yet! I don't want you to see until you can see it all at once!"

"Fine! But I'm only giving you another half-an-hour and then I'm looking whether you're done or not! You know how much I love to watch you work too! I'm starting to think you're torturing me on purpose!"

Natsu's grumbled to himself about pretty girls who had never learned how to be fucking patient.

"I HEARD THAT!" Lucy yelled back, with vim.

Shit. She really was getting good at 'hearing' him. He would have to be more careful in the future. Well, if all went according to plan, it wouldn't matter by the morning. He couldn't help but grin. God he loved to listen to her get fired up.

"Good!" he yelled back. Gray poked his head into the studio, in the mostly deserted art building Natsu had commandeered a few hours ago, and raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry, did you say something?"

"Shut the fuck up, popsicle queen! You know I'm not talking to you!"

Gray grinned. "You about done in here? The girls are starting to arrive at the house and they sent me to check on you."

"Is that Gray?" Natsu could hear his Weirdo yelling. "Say hi for me!"

"The Weirdo says hi. Now leave me alone so I can finish up. Shouldn't be more than another 20 minutes, I would think."

"Tell her hi back, and that I hope to run into her tonight!"

Natsu's eyes widened to their maximum potential wideness and he made abbreviated shushing motions. It was really hard to keep something from someone who could both hear you and feel your movements all the time.

Gray winced with a faint curse. Natsu waited in silence for a second, trying to see if she had picked up on what Gray had said...maybe they had lucked out…he heard what sounded like tiny, faint explosions.

Wait, what?

"Weirdo, you there?" he called out, eyebrows furrowing in sudden concern.

"Sorry, what did Gray say? I missed it, I was popping popcorn!" she yelled back, the buttery taste of microwave popcorn flooding his tastebuds a moment later. Natsu groaned sinfully. It was always sweet, sweet torture when she ate.

"God, man, get a room. Whatever she's doing to you, I don't need to hear it!" And with that, Gray pulled his head back out of the room just in time to miss Natsu flipping him the bird and groaning again at another warm, buttery handful.

"Shit, you are making me so hungry right now," he rasped out, knowing she could hear him.

"Well, you're making me pretty fucking horny right now. Plus, do you have any idea how hard it is to make microwave popcorn with your eyes closed? Wait, nevermind. Knowing you, you probably could make it in your sleep. Will you please finish so I can get to the party? I appreciate you helping with my costume, but if you never finish, I'll never get to go!"

If Natsu didn't have plan #12 in place, he probably would have slowed down what he was doing just to keep her away from all the roving males that would be eye-fucking her at that very party in her (presumably) skimpy costume. But, he had plans. So he sped up instead, adding the gilding to the final swirl of feathers on his calf. But, knowing she could feel it, he went back and touched up the already overly embellished feathers of her inner thigh.

Lucy gasped as she felt his brush veer further up her leg than it had before. Struggling to keep her eyes closed, because he would definitely feel it if she opened them before he said and torture her for ruining it later, she stilled the erratic flapping motions of her limbs and focused all of her attention on the feeling of a wet brush caressing her most sensitive areas. She drew a breath to tell him to cut it out, that no one would be looking there anyway, but her breath caught in her throat as she felt the soft, wet brush glide over her clit. She didn't know how he had done it, but over the last few months of fooling around 'long distance', Natsu had pinpointed exactly where her erogenous zones matched up with his...and exploited them mercilessly. She gasped as she felt movement inside of her, a more delicate touch than the squeeze of his fingers usually was. She completely forgot why he was painting her for a moment as she felt him pinch at his nipple. Her own buds hardened at the sensation, straining for his touch.

"Oh gods," she moaned softly, her tongue flicking out to lick her lips. The oily feeling of lipstick reminded her why she was being painted in the first place. "Natsu, sto-FUCK, no, nevermind, don't stop. Gods that feels amazing! What are you do-AH!-ing?" Natsu grinned and circled his nipple with the red paint again over where it was already painted red. It wouldn't show (or at least it had better not!) on her costume, but he was going bare-chested to show off the hours of painting he had done. Plus, like he was going to pass up a chance to paint the Weirdo's boobs. Yeah, right.

"Natsu!" Hearing her moaning his name brought him back to himself and he swiftly set down the paintbrushes he was holding. She always did this to him. One minute he'd be perfectly innocently doodling on his arm or something, and the next he'd be locking himself in a closet to touch himself until he could hear her screaming his name. She wasn't a lot better though. The only difference was that he didn't know what name to moan in praise of her skills.

He wanted more than anything to know her name. That, and to find her and feel her skin warm under his hands. And it would happen tonight! If he could keep his mind out of the gutter long enough to get them both to the fucking party. He took a deep breath and licked his suddenly dry lips. Luckily whatever shit she had put on her lips to match the red he picked was water resistant or whatever. One less thing to worry about.

"Okay, I'm done. You can go look now," he said breathlessly, as he tried to mentally calm down the raging erection he was trying to tuck back into the red feather-printed swim trunks that made up the only fabric part of his costume. He closed his eyes and tried to think of anything but her. Which was made a hell of a lot harder when she opened her eyes and found a mirror, a gasp cooling her lips as it entered her mouth.

Oh to be that air.

She ran her hands lightly over the painted feathers adorning her limbs in every shade of red or gold he could create.

Oh to be those soft fingertips.

Her pupils dilated as she stared at the phoenix he had made her-that is, them-into.

Oh to see through those eyes at that very moment. To see what life his fire bird took-on when emblazoned across her curvy figure. He cut that thought off quickly. It was really not helping the downstairs situation any. He glanced at the mirror above the sink as he washed out his brushes.

Gajeel had helped with the back feathers when they had first started, and then peaced out to hang with his tiny blunette of a girlfriend while Natsu finished up. That had been close to six hours ago, but it had been totally worth it. He bet she looked amazing. His smile fell a little. If only she wanted him to see it.

"Oh Natsu...it's...breathtaking. Thank you."

She always thanked him when he drew on her. Like he had gifted her with something beyond worth. Gods, she was so fucking nice.

"You're welcome. Now put some damned clothes on and get going. You're going to miss the party," he exclaimed, struggling to keep his excitement from giving away his plan. He didn't care how many people he had to weigh through to find her tonight, he was holding her in his arms. Fuck her hang-ups. He couldn't live a hair's breadth away from her anymore.

After finding out she lived in Magnolia last month, it had become unbearable. He had looked for her everywhere, stalked the smells and sounds that surrounded her, but with no luck. Tonight though. Tonight he knew exactly where she was going to be. He had heard her get invited to the huge party thrown by Lamia every Halloween, and he had silently rejoiced when she asked for help with a costume.

He reached a hand up to run through his hair and stopped himself barely in time to keep himself from fucking up his carefully gelled hair. It might look haphazardly disheveled, but he had spent an embarrassingly long time in front of a mirror working on it. And it had been especially hard not getting any gel on his scalp. He didn't want to tip her off.

The Weirdo didn't know he'd be going to the party too. He had masterfully fabricated an imaginary evening of gaming with the guys in the house - which was probably what he would have been doing anyway, if it wasn't for plan #12 - and she knew him well enough to figure out something was up from gel in his hair. He wasn't leaving anything to chance.

Because she was going to be there. And he was going to find her.

Lucy wiggled carefully into the red backless dress that had inspired the phoenix theme for the night and zipped the tiny bit at the small of her back to bring it snugly in just below the small of her back. The feathers that embellished the micro-mini skirt blended into the feathers swirling across her thighs. She had painted the ends of them gold to match. She would never be the artist her soulmate clearly was, but she could handle dipping the ends of feathers in gold paint.

She stepped into gold stiletto sandals and shoved the feathered earrings she had found into her ears. She had a simple gold mask she had planned on wearing, but looking at what Natsu had painted across her cheekbones, and around her eyes next to her previous makeup job, she couldn't bear to cover it up. So she left the mask behind. When the final touch, a simple gold chain necklace with a flat heart pendant, rested just above her exposed collarbone, she let out the breath she had been holding in a whoosh.

Tonight was the night. So she flew through her building and out into the night, like the uncaged bird she pretended to be.

Part Two will be posted in a few hours! See you then!