"Here!" Natsu dropped an unmarked envelope in Gray's lap.

Gray studied it without moving. "What's this?" He asked, wrinkling his nose. But he knew what it was. Through the cheap tissue-thin violently pink envelope, the card was shaped like a clichéd heart.

"Nothing," Natsu plopped down opposite him. "Why don't you open it?"

Gray mentally sighed and dropped his spoon. He picked it up between his finger and thumb like it might explode, and carefully opened it without touching it too much. The card was decorated by a glossy picture of two penguins, beaks touching, fluffy white chests forming an obviously photo-shopped heart. He opened it. In brown writing were the words;

Did you know that when a Penguin finds its mate, they stay together for life?

Will you be my penguin?

It wasn't signed, but it wasn't especially difficult to work out who sent it, even if the heat dulled his brain.

"So...?" Natsu asked, leaning across the table.

"Valentine's day was a month ago. Where on earth did you buy this?" Gray asked, not looking at him.

"Will you be my penguin...?"

"I don't know."

"What?! What's not to know?! It's a simple Yes-No question!"

"Well, penguins feed babies by being sick into their mouths."

"Shut up, that's not what I mean!" Natsu sat back down on his chair in a huff, crossing his arms.

Gray almost rolled his eyes at how childish he could be. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on Natsu's forehead. "You're so cute when you're acting stupid."

Natsu almost exploded at that. "I'm not going to forgive you just because you called me cute, Squinty Eyes!"

"I didn't think you were clever enough for forgiveness, flame-butt!"

"What did you just call me, ice princess?!"

"You heard me, Donkey-features!"

"You want to fight?!"

"Bring it on!"

In the next bench across, Lucy sighed. Was it really okay for a couple to have this many fights? Wasn't it, like, a sign of incompatibility? They were so similar they clashed. She just hoped this didn't mean they were going to break up, even if they were perfectly bad for each other. She always expected them to end up with someone mellow, in order to calm them down, not someone who always riles them up.

When Natsu's too cold? Him and the rest of the world bundle up.

When Gray's too hot? Beach Party!

Gray looked sullenly at the ceiling. Even though he was in the next house, he could hear the thunder of the music's beat through the wall. It was faint though, and he could barely hear it over the fan. Well, it's not like he can take more clothes off. He was already on the edge of socially acceptable amounts of clothing.

He had no idea why everyone seemed to curse winter and love summer. What's so great about bouncing around on the too-hot beach and spending the next three years picking sand out of awkward places. Outside that dastardly sun insisted on showering everyone in those ugly ultraviolet rays.

Gray peeled his arm off his forehead. It's not fair. He couldn't even cool his blood down; what with his heat-fuzzy concentration he'd probably kill himself from ice-shards tearing his veins. If that sun got any hotter he would risk internal bleeding if it mean it would stop being so warm.

Cana swaggered by with a whisky in her hand and possibly an even skimpier bikini on. Alcohol didn't seem to affect her. Others, however, not naming any pink-haired show-offs in particular, didn't have that same special gift. Three drinks and he is wasted.

Ah, speak of the sun and so it shines its burning, cancer-giving rays. "Oi, Gray! Come on out!" Natsu looked tipsy, but still enthusiastically stupid as always. He'd probably only had the one drink so far.

Gray exhaled loudly. The fan was doing nothing but blowing more hot air at him, but there was no way he was turning it off. "Nah."

"C'mon Gray!" Natsu picked up Gray's hand from where it had fallen onto the sofa when he had and tugged it towards the door. "It's lovely out!"

Gray was going to leave himself limp, but even a tipsy Natsu could, and was probably more likely, to drag him out there himself. He whipped his hand away. "Nah."

"Graaa~aaay~" Natsu whined. "Why won't you tell me what's wrong!"

Gray looked at him sceptically. "You never asked."

"Tell me!"

"It's hot." Gray growled.

Natsu blinked. "So?"

"I'm an ice mage!"

"So?"

Gray rolled his eyes. Was it possible? Was slightly-drunk Natsu stupider? "Ice doesn't like fire, fire doesn't like ice."

Natsu looked shocked and horrified his soulful black eyes. The hand that held the empty glass of possibly alcohol began to shake a little. "Like fire! Please? For me?"

"Fire isn't a person, Natsu, you can't just like it. That's not how it works." Gray sighed.

Natsu looked at the ground. "Please?" Oh dear lord there was tears in his eyes. Gray just couldn't say no to them. He brought the word to his lips but it wouldn't come out. It was his brain's taboo.

"Yes, fine, I like fire. Me and fire, we're besties for ever." Gray said in a dull voice.

Natsu brightened instantly, his eyes lit up like lights. "You're hot right?"

"I like to think so." Gray said humourlessly. He leaned towards the fan.

"So I'll cool you down!" Natsu said happily.

"Natsu, in case you've forgotten, you're a fire mage, I doubt anything—" But Natsu was gone. Gray sighed and leant back into the sofa, his head flopping backwards. He stared at the ceiling. It wasn't like he could focus for very long on it anyway. He tried counting the pot marks or the faults in the paint, but he lost it easily. It was so dimpled and dirtied it might as well be beige.

There must be a higher setting to the blasted fan. He straightened up and fumbled over the large buttons. It was difficult to see because the air kept drying out his eyes, and the ribbons Lucy had insisted on tying to the bars for no apparent reason, kept fluttering into his eyes and ticking his face. He counted the buttons under his fingers. Five. There was a higher setting after all, he—

In Gray's defence, the iciness of the water was not why he screamed, it was more the surprise. That and the unstoppable girlish giggling that was coming from the soon-to-die-at-the-hands-of-his-friend greatly drunk salamander. Gray shot up angrily, glaring into those smirking eyes.

And he wouldn't admit it as Gray vaulted over the back of the sofa and charged after the cackling pink-haired demon-spawn, but...

He felt better already.

Rain.

It always happened at the most unexpected moments. Their fight and the second barbecue in as many days was cancelled, as Natsu was at a disadvantage and they didn't feel like a fistfight. Gray was slumped on the porch, staring at the heavy, relentless rain. Streaks of different shades of blues, mostly dark, everything darkened in the rain, the deafening sound like a million horses galloping. Pink entered his vision for a moment, and Natsu rested his head on Gray's lap, his body sprawled on the icy stone.

"Gray?" Natsu asked softly, his voice barely heard over the rain. He hadn't had a chance to drink anything before the rain, so his voice was calm and level. But there was a tinge of fear.

"Yes?"

"Would you..." Natsu paused, "Will you be my penguin?"

Gray stroked his head softly, the rain collected in the pink hair dampening his hand. The horses continued to gallop in his ears, the streaks would have clouded his vision had he had eyes for them. "I already was."

A/N So yeah. I had to write a Valentine's day fic, it's a right of passage to all Fluff-writers in my opinion. I don't know if you can tell, but it's a merge of two super short fics. And I love it to bits.