.

Cat Years

Natsu had never thought of any of them growing old. Especially not Happy, who was the youngest of them all.

Natsu had never thought of any of them growing old. They were all so young and vibrant and powerful, and Natsu never even considered growing up, much less growing old.

Even once Lucy had published a book and Erza had opened a bakery on the side of guild work and Gray had taught himself to keep his clothes on, they seemed just the same as always to Natsu. Things did change considerably after he dated Lucy for a couple years and married her, but he still hardly considered them adults. It wasn't like they had swarms of kids running around or anything, and he was smart enough to know he wasn't ready for that.

Natsu was a firm believer that you only got old if you let yourself. Maybe he couldn't sleep in any crazy position anymore without waking up with a crick in his neck and twinging pain in his lower back, but that was about it. Asuka called him an old man, but kids thought anyone in their thirties was on death's doorstep. Lucy would give him the cold shoulder for days if he called her old. Erza had started cheerfully discussing middle age, but no one else seemed inclined to bite.

All things considered, very little had changed since defeating Zeref all those years ago. They still took team jobs and hung out at the guild, Happy still begged to go fishing every few days, Natsu and Gray still fought and bickered, and Lucy and Erza still yelled at the boys to grow up already. Aside from adjusting to having Lucy in the house and having his life and happiness depend on keeping her happy, Natsu hadn't felt the need to change at all. As far as he could tell, the rest of his friends hadn't changed much either.

"Oh, please," Lucy said, rolling her eyes. "You're the only one still acting like a child. Except sometimes Gray, but he's kind of an idiot. You just don't notice things like that, because you don't want things to change. You don't want to grow up, and you don't want to see anyone growing up without you. You'll see, one day. When you're ready."

Whatever that was supposed to mean.

A few weeks later, he wandered into the bedroom to see Lucy stretched across the bed on her stomach, stroking a snoring Happy's ears.

Natsu snorted. "That cat can sleep through anything these days. I swear I was frying fish the other day and he didn't even twitch."

He'd had a lot of time to study Lucy's smiles over the years, and he wasn't sure why the one she wore now was so bittersweet.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "He sleeps a lot more deeply than he used to. There was a time you couldn't say the word 'fish' anywhere in Magnolia without him appearing over your shoulder."

Natsu smirked. "Yeah, it's a little weird to see him sleeping so much. And he used to wake right up if you ever touched him."

He rounded the bed and tripped over something on the floor. Hissing out a curse, he managed to catch himself on the edge of the bed. Happy didn't stir.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked.

Natsu frowned at the carpeted wedge of steps marching up the side of the bed. "What's this?"

"I bought a stepstool for Happy. So he can get onto the bed easier."

"He can literally fly."

"Natsu… He doesn't fly as much as he used to, and he's having more trouble getting around."

Natsu rolled his eyes and shot the stool a contemptuous look. "He's fine. He's been handling jobs and things just fine."

Lucy darted a glance down at Happy, but his sides still rose and fell in a steady, deep rhythm. "Don't you remember when you almost drowned on that job in Hargeon when he couldn't maintain his wings long enough and dropped you in the middle of the harbor?"

"That was nothing. Mistakes happen sometimes."

"It's not a mistake, Natsu." Lucy fixed him with large, watery eyes. "He's getting old. He's getting old faster than the rest of us."

"That's ridiculous!" Natsu protested. "He's younger than I am. I raised him myself."

"He might be younger than us in human years, but not in cat years. He ages differently."

"He's not a cat," Natsu said. "He's an Exceed."

"So a magic cat. Maybe he's not aging as fast as a normal cat, but look at him. We need to make some allowances to help him be more comfortable. He just can't do everything he used to, and we need to support him."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. He's perfectly fine."

Lucy's lips pinched up in the way they did when she wanted to argue, but Happy snuffled in his sleep and then stretched as his jaws cracked wide in a yawn. Natsu beat a hasty retreat, not ready to face Happy after talking about him behind his back.

He loved Lucy and she was way smarter than him, but he thought she was crazy wrong on this. Happy had always been younger and twice as energetic as the rest of them. When the team finally started growing old, he'd be the last of them to fall.

Natsu had to shake Happy for a good twenty seconds before he opened his eyes and yawned.

"Whaddya want?" Happy groaned, curling back into a ball and peering at Natsu blearily.

"Lucy made breakfast," Natsu said. "And after we eat, we're going to the guild."

Happy sighed and muttered, "I'd rather sleep."

"Quit being so lazy! Come on, it's already late."

"Natsu?"

"Huh?" Natsu had been turning toward the door, but looked back. "What's up?"

Happy hesitated, the very tip of his tail twitching, and then said, "Pantherlily says he's retiring from jobs."

"Oh?" Natsu asked, taken aback. "That's the first I've heard of it."

Happy watched him expectantly, as if he wanted something more, but Natsu didn't intend to touch the subject with a ten-foot pole after his talk with Lucy.

Happy sighed. "I was talking to Charle, and we wondered… We haven't heard anything from the other Exceeds after they got kicked out of Edolas, but do you think we could find them if we looked?"

"I mean, if we looked, probably. Why?"

Happy wrapped his tail neatly over his paws and the tip of his nose and regarded Natsu warily. "In case you decide to find a new Exceed companion."

"Why in the world would I want to do that? I have you."

"Natsu, I'm going to have to retire soon too. I'm too tired for all the adventures anymore, and I'm just slowing you down."

"You are not!" Natsu said indignantly. "You're my right-hand man. You're welcome on all our adventures."

"But maybe I don't want to go on all those adventures anymore." When Natsu recoiled, Happy sighed. "I'm okay for a few more, but not forever. And Charle and I… We're worried about what you and Wendy will do without us."

"I won't do anything without you," Natsu said sharply. "You aren't going anywhere. Now, come eat breakfast before it gets cold."

He turned on his heel and retreated from the room as quickly as his feet could carry him.

A few days later, he woke to the smell of frying bacon permeating the air. "I love you, Lucy," he groaned into his pillow, before shaking himself the rest of the way awake and hopping out of bed.

Happy still lay stretched across the end of the bed, and Natsu clicked his tongue. How could anyone sleep through such a glorious aroma?

"Happy, wake up."

When Happy did not wake up, Natsu shuffled over to prod him awake. Happy didn't stir, and Natsu's stomach dropped out from under him. He couldn't see Happy's sides rising and falling.

"Happy?"

He couldn't die just like that. Not Happy, who had always been there and would always be there. Natsu had never, not once, considered the possibility of his friend passing away right in his bed.

"Happy? Happy!"

Natsu splayed his fingers across Happy's side and shook him harder. He couldn't imagine a world without Happy nibbling at breakfast across the kitchen table or teasing their friends mercilessly or jostling for position in bed and sulking when he was kicked out for the night. He couldn't accept that.

"Happy!"

Happy cracked one eye open and grunted in protest, stretching and flexing his paws against the blanket. "What is it?" he grumbled.

Natsu snatched his hands back and stared at him wide-eyed, his heart still hammering at his ribcage. He had never noticed how much gray lined the fur at Happy's muzzle, how tired and old Happy's eyes were.

"Natsu?" Happy asked, frowning and raising his head. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Natsu swallowed hard and looked away as he slid back off the end of the bed. "Nothing," he croaked. "Breakfast is almost ready."

He hurried across the room and locked himself in the bathroom. His hands shook, and he grasped the edges of the countertop to steady them. In the mirror, he noticed new lines creasing his face and remembered the gray touching Happy's.

They had always known their line of work at the guild was dangerous. Natsu had never really expected to lose a friend in the line of duty, but he had always known it was a possibility to be taken seriously. He had never even considered the possibility of losing a friend to something as mundane as old age. Especially not Happy, who was the youngest of them all.

But there had been a heart-stopping moment when Natsu was sure Happy was lying dead in his bed.

Happy was okay for now. He had woken up.

But for the first time, Natsu was faced with the possibility that one day he might not.

Note: I have a dog who is getting really old. He sleeps in my room every night, and he sleeps a lot more deeply than he used to. Sometimes I can sit there and pet him and he doesn't even wake up right away anymore. It's actually really cute, but also off-putting. A few weeks ago, I went to wake him up and there was a moment I thought he wasn't breathing and he didn't respond right away, and I freaked out. He did wake up in the end, but I know one day he might not. That's basically where this came from. Me venting, I guess.

emmahoshi: Lol yeah, growing up is a pain. Goodness knows I still don't feel like a proper adult.