A/N: The actual V Day drabble I was working on, late, because life intrudes. Thanks to Ryujin65 for the idea of using Gemini ~

Natsu had no one to blame but himself. He'd conceived a crackpot idea, hatched it and now was ruing ever putting the addle pated idea into practice. Well, everything actually hadn't gone totally to pieces, he could boast that. Almost everything was at a critical juncture; but with luck and possibly heavenly intervention, Natsu could and would pull through to escape unscathed.

It was the unthinkable, if his plan fell to shit, Lucy would rend him from stem to stern. There wouldn't be enough pieces of his body to collect up for burial. Maybe not even enough pieces for cremation. Natsu squirmed in his chair as he waited for Lucy to come back from powdering her nose.

*****Two weeks ago*****

"Focus!" Gemini crossed her arms and imperiously glared at Natsu. "Did you want to hear the whole list or just the highlights? 'Cause Lucy isn't going to let Loke keep her attention very long."

Natsu grinned thoughtlessly. Gemini was wearing the updated version of Lucy's form. No longer clad in a towel, faux Lucy had improved her wardrobe to a tight and low cut tank top and sleep shorts, her now longer hair in a pony tail, the bow matching her shorts.

Gemini waved her hand up and down in front of Natsu's eyes. "Hey! You know how much trouble we spirits had to go through to make this happen? Focus!" She snapped her fingers, and this time Natsu came back to himself.

"Um, the highlights I guess."

"Lucy has quite a few perversion points. First, your chest. She really likes you in that old vest of yours. Or try activities where you can lose your shirt, bonus points if it gets ripped off."

"Really?" Natsu seemed intrigued by that thought. "She likes the vest and second is shirtless?" He couldn't stop himself from inquiring, "why?"

"I don't wanna scare you with all of her reasoning, but sometimes less is more. Secondly, she likes it when you whisper in her ear - and not stupid things. Don't waste time with mundane chatter, use this technique sparingly." Gemini stood with her hands on her generous Lucy hips and pursed her mouth. "Lucy is a sucker to get the inside of her elbows stroked." She giggled then came back to the business at hand. "Gently! Don't let her catch you doing it, make her think she imagined it - because she definitely DOES imagine it."

"Uh, what else?" The slayer rocked on his heels, already impatient to set his plans into motion. "This doesn't seem like enough to make Lucy receptive."

"Making her receptive? Oh sweetie honey baby, she's been fighting against this for the longest time." Gemini fluttered her eyelashes and pouted. "It's such a shame you can smell us apart."

Natsu nodded, "That's just creepy, Lucy's weirdness got copied too, huh?"

Ignoring that, Lucy's celestial spirit continued. "So one last thing, since Valentine's day is coming up, Lucy's other fetish boils down to you in a suit and tie." Natsu frowned, and Gemini shook her head sorrowfully. "Take her somewhere nice, hang out, spend a few jewels on a meal, if you play your cards right - you'll be counting ceiling tiles before you know it."

"A whole suit? Blah - counting ceiling tiles doesn't really sound that fun, either."

"Well, compromise with a dark red dress shirt, black dress pants and shoes. A dark tie if you want some 'fun' later. Trust me about the ceiling tile counting game. You should really read some of her latest works of fiction."

"Your compromise is really specific."

"Honey sweetie baby, there's reasons - and since you asked for my help you must be finally on the same page together, so just roll with it." Gemini lifted her head and closed her eyes. "I gotta go, Lucy slipped away from Loke." Before Natsu could ask any further questions, Gemini dissipated into sparkles and was gone.

*****St. Valentine's Day*****

This was the defining moment. Was Natsu going to bravely try his luck? Was Natsu going to incite his Lucy into claiming him? Was Natsu going to use everything he had learned? He straightened his spine and tie. A ghost of a satisfied smile graced his lips. A tie was just the thing he knew Lucy might appreciate, especially after he'd taken Gemini's advice and delved into Lucy's writing files. He'd gotten two nosebleeds, came dangerously close to passing out, but had learned ever so many titillating things sure to come in handy dealing with a certain blonde's base desires.

Lucy felt nauseous again. If her plan didn't work, she didn't know what she would be able to try next, if indeed she could get up the courage to try. It was almost infuriating to know what she now knew. The blonde scowled, took a deep breath in through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. Repeating the procedure several times settled her nerves enough for Lucy to stride forward once more, heading towards the small table her beloved partner sat at.

*****Two weeks ago*****

Secure in the knowledge Natsu was fighting with Gray, Gajeel and most likely several others at the guild hall, Lucy sat on her couch, a pad of paper and pen in hand. "Gemini, I need you to focus!"

"Sorry Lucy!" Natsu's sweet grin made Lucy's toes curl even though she knew it was only a copy. "There's just so much he likes. It might be a shorter list to tell you what he doesn't like."

Lucy looked nonplussed, "Oh, all right then."

Faux Natsu beamed at his master. "Nothing."

Lucy rolled her eyes, "My magic is finally strong enough to copy Natsu and this is what I get." She smacked her knee with her note book. "I've made up my mind to find out once and for all how receptive Natsu is to me. I need you to focus - tell me what I can do to grab his attention and keep it."

Gemini scratched his head and smiled even wider. "Natsu likes that cleavage sweater." Sitting down on the chair across from his master, Gemini rubbed his chin. "It's hard to say exactly, but his instincts when it comes to you are more reactionary than that of a campaigner."

Lucy furrowed her brows, "You mean to tell me I have to take the lead? I wanted to know what would drive him crazy enough to make a move on me." She hugged the pad of paper to her chest and sighed. "I'm gonna die a virgin at this rate."

"You already know most of his signature moves. He sleeps in your bed to cover you with his scent. Almost everything he does is to mark his territory."

"I'm not a possession!" Lucy rubbed her forehead. "I need a plan of attack."

"That's good." Gemini nodded vigorously. "Assail his defences and you'll be victorious."

"Thanks Gemini, I think I have the germ of an idea now." Lucy smiled and Gemini popped back into their original forms, bowed and went back to the spirit world.

*****St. Valentine's Day*****

Lucy forced her steps to remain steady as she approached the table. The restaurant was actually very nice if you could overlook the various hearts festooned on the walls and incorporated into the decor. At the table where Natsu waited, there were a trio of candles, a heart shaped one floating in water and two tall tapers flanking. His hands were at rest, spread out on the tablecloth and the candles were still burning bright.

"Did the waiter come over yet?" Lucy slid into her seat, "I'm famished."

"Nope." Natsu jerked his chin to the side, "looks like one's coming over now, though."

"Great! The sooner we eat, the sooner we can get on with the rest of the evening!" Lucy licked her lips and added, "you promised to cooperate."

"Uh huh," Natsu started playing with his napkin. "I'm going to let you do what you want." His eyes glittered in the candle light. Lucy couldn't believe her ears and stared from beneath her lashes.

It took the waiter coughing repeatedly to get their attention. He rattled off the night's specials and left after taking their drink order.

"So you're really going to behave?" Lucy cocked her head to the side, "I think I need to write this down for posterity."

Natsu gave a slight nod, "That doesn't sound like me at all, 'behaving' - I've decided to let you do what you want."

The butterflies in Lucy's stomach redoubled their efforts and then calmed down. Lucy gave a jerky bob of her head in response. "Oh, you mean what to do after dinner." She clutched her napkin tighter and looked up in relief as the waiter reappeared with drinks.

"What did you think I meant?"

Lucy opened and closed her mouth without saying anything before her usually quick wits caught up. "What else could there possibly be?"

Natsu was saved from responding as the first plate of food was delivered. Conversation naturally turned to the excellence of the meal. Remembering his goal, Natsu reined in his usual bad table manners.

Both mages relaxed as the meal progressed and the wine didn't hurt matters either. As dessert rolled around, Lucy and Natsu were acting more like themselves. An easy camaraderie existed between the partners as they stood up and prepared to leave the restaurant.

"Hold on one second Lucy!" Natsu bent over the table and ate the tiny flames from the candles. "Those were tempting me all through the meal!"

"I'm surprised you didn't just eat them first thing." Lucy spoke as she accepted her jacket from the coat-check girl.

"And what sort of ambiance would that have left the table with?" Natsu gently pried the impractical jacket out of Lucy's fingers, holding it out properly for her to slide her arms into. "The candle flames were delicious though. Only weirdoes wear short sleeve jackets in this kind of weather." He grinned and took Lucy's hand, leading her out outside. "What do you wanna do now?"

"You don't understand fashion do you? Ah, I just wanted to go and hang out somewhere." Lucy blushed. "Just because we're using the reward for a fancy meal from that mission we went on...uh..."

Her words stumbled to a stop as Natsu squeezed her hand, and faced her squarely. "I meant it when I said I'd let you do what you want." He slid his other hand down her arm from her shoulder to her wrist.

Lucy wasn't sure if she'd imagined him pausing at her elbow and stroking her skin there. Deciding her brain was just being over active, Lucy giggled nervously. "Let's star watch in the park."

"Sure. You're not really dressed for it, but I suppose I'll just have to keep you warm." Natsu spoke softly and all but whispered the last word into Lucy's ear. He tightened his grip on Lucy and they walked the brief distance to the park.

At Lucy's direction, Natsu dragged a table out from under the cover of trees to sit beneath the stars. They both sat on the table top, and craned their heads to watch the sky. Lucy shivered and immediately Natsu moved to sit closer, sharing his warmth. She relaxed against his chest and began idly picking out constellations.

Natsu guided Lucy's arm to point at another grouping of stars; allowing his thumb to brush back and forth against the inside of her elbow. He asked, "you warm enough?"

"Y-yeah." Lucy shivered. Not from the cold, but from Natsu directing his question so that his warm breath flowed into her ear and on her neck.

"You're shivering! I know you're a weirdo, but since when did you become a liar?"

"I'm not lying."

"I'm well aware that people who are cold shiver. Let's get you home." Natsu scrambled off the picnic table and held out his hand to his blonde partner. Lucy pouted slightly and then allowed Natsu to help her to the ground.

Lucy was stone cold sober and furiously thinking as they got closer and closer to Strawberry Street. "Come in for a warm drink Natsu." Lucy dragged her best friend up the stairs and entered her apartment. She hung up her jacket and turned back to face Natsu who was still standing in the middle of her living room.

"Sit down and I'll make some tea."

Natsu scratched his head and agreed, sitting down in the middle of the couch.

Inside the kitchen, Lucy threw a quick tray together and as soon as the water boiled, set the tea to steeping. "Here we are!" She placed the tray down on the coffee table and sat on the couch beside Natsu.

He had his hands locked onto his knees, clutching the fabric of his dress pants. Slowly, he turned his head and locked eyes with Lucy.

Lucy could feel the anxiety, lust and excitement churning in her stomach. "You want me to pour?"

Natsu didn't answer, he couldn't. There were words piling up inside of him he was afraid of. What if Lucy wasn't ready to hear how he felt? What if Lucy decided she would never want more than his friendship? He could ruin everything if he didn't control himself.

Smiling gently, Lucy poured two cups of tea and handed Natsu his. She had to nudge his hand twice so that he would let go of his kneecap. Lucy leaned back against the couch and sipped her beverage. Natsu downed his and leaned forward to set it down and lever himself off the couch at the same time.

Forcing her nerves into submission, Lucy grabbed hold of Natsu's scarf and tugged. It wasn't forceful, but enough for the slayer to slump back down in his seat. He looked at her and just blinked, a raw emotion twisting inside. Lucy watched as his eyes became shuttered and distant.

Placing her own cup down carefully, Lucy then folded her hands together on her lap. "You're an idiot."

"You're a weirdo."

Lucy couldn't not laugh, and neither could Natsu. The tension broke and both partners became weak after long minutes of expressing their amusement. Lucy had leaned towards Natsu and ended up with her face pressed over his chest, giggling madly. Natsu had his arms around Lucy and his nose in her hair.

"Mmmm..." Lucy sighed in contentment. Her arms had snaked around Natsu's waist without any conscious prompting from her brain.

Natsu echoed Lucy's sigh as he inhaled more of Lucy's scent. His right hand lazily stroked up and down Lucy's spine as his left delved into her golden hair. The slayer tensed up as he realized maybe friends don't feel each other up.

Lucy let her eyes slide shut, enjoying the rhythmic glide of Natsu's hand up and down her back. Her ear enjoyed the thud, thud, thud of his heartbeat. It sped up and Lucy became aware that maybe friends didn't feel each other up and wouldn't get excited if they did.

Natsu stilled his hand, preparing to lift it away when Lucy lifted her head up and glared at him. "This is what I want."

Dumbly Natsu looked down and his cheeks blazed with colour. Unable to speak through the lump in his throat, he resumed gliding his hand up and down Lucy's back. Lucy resumed her position and smiled to hear Natsu's heart thump faster and faster.

Lucy pressed herself against Natsu's torso and smirked as his hand faltered in its formerly steady rhythm. "Correct me if I'm wrong," Lucy put both her hands on Natsu's chest and peered up into his dark eyes. "It seems to me that what I want, you want too?"

Natsu still couldn't bring himself to answer; it seemed like Lucy was receptive to his advances, but Igneel had beaten this golden rule into his head like none other. His chosen female had to be the instigator, or he risked chaining an unwilling female to his side.

"Idiot." Lucy pushed herself away to sit in the corner of the couch. "I don't know why I thought..."

Soberly, Natsu echoed her. "Thought? I can barely think at all, around you." He shrugged and pushed himself into the other far corner of the couch. "Just tell me you don't hate me, okay?"

"I don't hate you, I think I hate me." Lucy hunched forward and wrapped her arms around her knees. "I was just fooling myself that you'd like me the way I like you." Her head flopped forward and she missed the gleam that lighted Natsu's eyes.

"There's no fool like a weirdo, that's what I've always heard," Natsu said.

"That isn't a saying." Lucy forced herself to smile and look at her partner. "I'm sorry I let a dumb holiday mess with our friendship. It just seemed like fate was handing me the perfect opportunity..."

"You never wondered why I agreed to take an easy mission where the reward was a fancy meal?"

Lucy was mired too deep inside her own thoughts to respond right away. It took Natsu repeating himself twice before she looked over at him. "Huh?"

Natsu took a deep breath, "You remember the easy mission we took that had a fancy dinner as a payment?"

Lucy nodded.

"I set it up." Natsu blushed. "I didn't know what else to do."

"You set it up...huh." Lucy bit her lower lip and frowned slightly. "You wanted to take me out to dinner?"

"Yes." Natsu lowered his eyes. "I'm no good with words, but I really meant it when I said you can do what you want."

"We already star gazed and now we're sitting here, awkwardly dancing around something between us that I'm not sure is going on." Lucy sighed.

"I didn't mean what activities, I meant more along the lines of..." Natsu sat up straighter and couldn't force out more words.

"Dammit." Lucy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She exhaled and imagined her tension and nerves leaving. She repeated the exercise until she felt less jumpy. Snapping her eyes open, she decided to take the plunge. "Would you come closer if I asked you to?"

Natsu nodded.

"Would you hold me if I asked you to?"

Again, another wordless nod from the slayer.

"Would you be mine?" Lucy waited for Natsu to answer.

Slowly he got up from the couch and just stood, looking at his best friend. Natsu moved closer and closer. He pulled Lucy off the couch and into his arms. He hugged her and whispered into her ear, "I've been yours since I met you."

***** bonus *****

Happy flew into Lucy's bedroom as per usual, a little perturbed that it was already midnight and the bed wasn't being warmed up for his comfort. Deciding to raid Lucy's supply of fish, he flew into the living room. And to this day Happy cannot bear to hear the words, 'Oh my god' - he shakes, petrified and tormented by the lewd images he was never meant to see.

A/N: give me a show of hands, I could expand the 'bonus' portion quite considerably...but I think I'd have to up the rating on this drabble series. Mmmm, help me decide.