This was the original one shot I made for the last prompt, but I wanted to use Happy to surprise you better. Now that I have, I can share this one.

Thanks for all the love and happy reading!

It began as a joke, but once word got around, she made it known she would honor her deal: If someone could open the front door with the key tied around her cat's neck, she would marry them.

The men in the village spent night after night waiting for her cat to emerge, so they could try to catch it and take the key. A small thing, with tan fur and large brown eyes, it was fast and smart, and seemed impossible to catch. Still, there were always men willing to try.

Every night, the cat would crawl out from the open window on the second floor, climb down the tree, and leave through one of the holes in the fence. No matter what the men tried, the cat would always get away, and they'd spend hours chasing it through the streets.

It had been nearly a year, and even after men from dozens of towns had come to try, none had been successful so far.

Gray grumbled as he threw himself into his chair. Natsu caught his coffee as it tried to spill and cocked an eyebrow at him. "Rough night?" The man grunted and avoided his gaze as he picked up his cup.

The pair had joined a group of half a dozen men who had travelled to the town the week prior to help dig up new wells and a new irrigation system for the nearby farmland. The town was responsible for feeding a lot of the nearby towns, so when they expanded, there were always people willing to help. They were scheduled to be there for at least the next month, or until they finished, whichever happened first.

Natsu chuckled. "Did you really spend your night chasing that cat around again?"

"I don't understand," Gray groaned. "Lucy is never going to get married if she sticks with those conditions. That cat is impossible to catch. Not only that, it's tricky and way smarter than any cat I've ever met."

"Hey! Happy is extremely smart!"

"Not like this," Gray said. "It's like it knows. It taunts you, and then runs away before you can catch it. Or worse, it tricks you or hides. I heard about a guy who climbed a ladder and fell because the branch was dead and rotted."

"Sounds like bad luck."

"No, I'm pretty sure it knew what it was doing." Gray crossed his arms and glared at the tabletop. "I don't know how it knows, but that's one smart cat."

Natsu shrugged. "Whatever you say man."

"Aren't you at all interested?" Gray thanked the waitress as she dropped off their breakfasts. "Lucy's gorgeous. How come you're not trying?"

"Because I value my sleep," Natsu said, "and I'd rather marry a girl because I like her, not because she's hot and I can catch her cat."

Gray's cheeks pinkened and he changed the subject. Neither brought Lucy up again during that meal, or for the rest of the week. They saw her around town occasionally, but other than that, neither brought up the cat, and Natsu didn't comment anymore when Gray stayed up too late, or went to work groggy.

The first morning they had off, Natsu found himself awake much too early in the morning. His insomnia often plagued him when he wasn't getting enough exercise during the day, but during these trips he usually didn't suffer. When he found himself awake before the sun had even risen, he didn't bother trying to go back to sleep. Instead, he got dressed and quietly left to walk around the town.

He'd been there a few times in the past, but he still enjoyed walking through the streets and seeing what was there. A few of the shops had moved around and a few new houses had been added on the north side. The sky was starting to lighten when he heard footsteps running up to him. When he turned around, he saw Lucy's cat bolt around the corner and then skid to a stop in front of him.

They stared each other down for several seconds, before the cat's fur began to go down. Natsu assumed it didn't see him as a threat, especially when it began to ignore him and search around the area. It was panting and twitchy, no doubt tired from all the running. That exhaustion bothered Natsu, so he looked around too.

He took a few steps over and kicked over a wooden box nearby so that it faced towards the wall before looking at the cat and turning to walk away. A few moments later, the men who had been chasing the cat entered the road he was on and yelled at him.

"Hey! You see a cat come through here?"

Natsu turned around and found six men behind him. He shrugged. "No, I haven't seen any, sorry."

The men grumbled before splitting up and heading in different directions. Natsu watched them go, a grin on his face. "Don't understand why they're working together," he mused out loud. He watched the box he'd kicked for a bit, but when nothing happened, he just walked passed and continued on his way.

A quiet meow had him pausing and looking over his shoulder. The cat was sitting on the box staring at him with an intensity that made him wonder if Gray had been right.

Natsu smiled and gave it a little wave, feeling foolish. "Be careful," he said before continuing on his way. His face heated up as he walked away. He couldn't shake the embarrassment, no matter how hard he tried.

It was just a cat. He talked to Happy all the time, so he had no reason to feel so weird about it.

What was wrong with him?

The next time he saw the cat was during the day. He'd snuck away to eat his lunch, leaving Gray to snore in the shade by himself. He was nearly finished when he spied it watching him from the grass. The cat watched him like it had the first time, with a stare unlike he'd seen from any other cat.

"Hello again." When the cat didn't move, Natsu rummaged in his bag. "I'm not sure if I have anything- oh, here." He pulled out a piece of cheese he'd missed and ripped some of it off to toss the cat's way.

The cat squinted at him but didn't make a move to get closer or to get the cheese. It just watched him, quietly and calmly. When he was done eating, Natsu stood up and the cat tensed, ready to bolt. "I'm not coming after you," he said. He leaned down and grabbed the piece of cheese he'd tossed. After dusting it off, he tossed it in his mouth. "Not gonna waste food," he said.

With a wave, he turned and left. "Have a good day," he said without looking back.

Gray cocked an eyebrow. "I'm sorry. What?"

"What what?"

"I can understand you don't wanna catch the cat, but I don't know why you're bothering with the weird story," Gray said as he took a bite of his meal.

"Wha- why does it sound like you don't believe me?" Natsu asked.

"Maybe because I don't?"

Natsu frowned. "Why not?"

Gray snorted. "Come on, man. You should know why." He took a bite of his food, surprised when Natsu continued to watch him incredulously. "That cat literally never goes out during the day, that's why. It runs around at night and that's it. There's no way you saw it while the sun was still shining."

Natsu sighed as he returned to his food, ignoring Gray for the rest of the meal.

Natsu cocked an eyebrow as he heard a herd of men running nearby. Did they never give it a rest? Had Lucy considered what her words would do for that poor cat? All it wanted was to walk around at night, and instead, it was chased night after night with no break. He was already waiting when it came flying around the corner. He allowed the tarp he was holding up to fall, getting the cat's attention, before he walked closer to the corner. He saw it run under the tarp, so he stopped closer to the crossroads and looked down one of the roads.

When the herd reached the road, Natsu glanced back and before they could ask, he pointed down the road he was facing. They nodded and thanked him as they yelled at each other and split up, some of them running around to head it off.

Soon, they were gone, leaving him alone with the cat as it poked its head up again. Natsu chuckled as he went and sat across the road from it. He leaned against the building and crossed his arms so he could study the cat as intently and it was studying him.

The cat sat on top of the tarp and curled its tail around its feet. Natsu stared at it for a little while trying to figure out what to do. "So, you do seem to understand things better than most cats. Maybe Gray was right," Natsu mused, "and you are smarter than Happy."

The cat's ears flicked around before settling on him again. He sighed. "So, what do you think about being chased all the time?" The cat just stared at him and he wondered if he was going crazy.

"That owner of yours should have thought about this whole thing a little more. I'm sure you used to enjoy quiet nights, wandering around town on your own. Now you spend your evenings being chased by multiple men."

With a sigh, Natsu got to his feet. "Sorry I can't help you more than I just did. Hopefully they give up soon so you can go back to your normal routine.

"Good luck."

Natsu reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of chicken. He walked to the cat's side of the road and left it on top of a box about a dozen feet away. With a last smile, he turned and left.

"You know, it's really not that weird that I'm talking to you. I talk to Happy all the time when I'm home."

Natsu had his hands in his pockets as he walked along the road. He'd met the cat shortly after he started walking, and it had been with him ever since. Any time it heard people coming their way, it would run off while Natsu would point the newcomers in the wrong direction. Once they were gone, the cat would join him once more. It remained far enough away that he couldn't reach it, and he just talked to it as they strolled.

Natsu missed Happy when he wasn't home, so it was nice to have the cat around. He'd started going out for a walk every evening, and the cat always found him. Some days it would lead the men in the wrong direction first, and sometimes Natsu would find it waiting near the inn where he was staying. Either way, he spent an hour or two every night with the cat before returning and going to bed. He'd told Gray the first time that he was going for a walk, and the other man hadn't asked about his nightly habit since. Natsu found it funny when Gray would whine about all his wasted time at night when he knew where the cat had been the entire time.

"You know, it would be nice to at least know your name," Natsu said. The cat was closer today. Only a couple feet separated it from Natsu's feet. He had no delusions that he would be able to catch the cat, even with how close it was, but he appreciated that it had decided to trust him so much.

"It seems odd to talk to you without knowing your name. Would you mind if I came up with something to call you?"

The cat meowed softly while staring up at him, so he took that as a positive sign. "Hmm. Let's see. I don't know much about you, so it'll be difficult to come up with something good. How about Goldy? For the color of your fur?"

The cat growled quietly, making Natsu chuckle. "Alright, that's a no. Hm. How about… Brownie? For the color of your eyes?" The cat growled again, so Natsu continued to think about it.

After several negative responses, Natsu sighed. "Well, I don't know anything about your owner, so I have no idea what she would name you." He scratched his head. "How about I just call you Lucky? I know it's pretty generic, but I'm running out of ideas."

The cat continued to walk with him, staring straight ahead as it contemplated his suggestion. Natsu waited, until something suddenly touched his leg. He stumbled to a stop, surprised to find the cat rubbing against him. It purred quietly as it rubbed against both legs while he remained completely motionless.

"Okay, it is taking every bit of restraint I have to not pet you right now, so if that's not okay, I'm going to have to ask you to move away again."

The cat meowed and moved away after rubbing its face against him once more.

Natsu felt lighter than air as they continued to walk, extremely excited about having made friends with this strange little cat.

"I'm sorry, you what?" Gray punched Natsu in the shoulder, making his friend grunt. "You mean to tell me you've been hanging out with that cat all this time and you haven't told me yet?!"

"Yeah? What's it to you?" Natsu glared as he held himself back from retaliating. He needed the work and didn't want to get sent back early. "The cat's my friend, not yours."

"Dude, it's a cat."

"Still, it's my friend. Leave it alone."

Gray grabbed Natsu's shirt. Natsu almost shoved him off until he saw that Gray wasn't trying to fight him. The other man leaned in close and whispered, "Come on man, help me get the key."

Natsu jerked away. "What?! No!"

"Come on, Natsu! What's the point if you're not going to get the key? At least help me get it!"

"No," Natsu said as he pushed Gray off. "I'm not doing it."

"Why not?"

"Because that's not what our friendship is about."

"I'm gonna say it again, it's a cat."

"I'm not doing it, so stop asking!" Natsu stalked off to find somewhere else to dig. Gray didn't try to talk to him for the rest of the day, and he didn't try to either.

That night, Natsu almost didn't go out for his walk. They'd be leaving soon, though, and he didn't want to miss the opportunity to hang out with it again. He didn't care that it was a cat, it had a personality that he'd never found in another animal, and he vastly enjoyed their walks.

When he left, he didn't see it waiting for him, so he walked into town to their other meeting spot. It was waiting there for him, serenely sitting on top of a barrel. It meowed when he arrived, and he had to remind himself that he shouldn't reach out. He hadn't made it this long just to scare it away now.

"I think I'm a bit late, huh?"

The cat meowed before jumping off and landing at his feet. He held his breath as it wrapped itself around Natsu's feet before beginning to walk off. Natsu couldn't stop his smile as he followed after.

"You know, I'm going to be leaving soon," he said out loud. "I won't be able to walk with you and get you this peace time anymore once that happens." He glanced down and was surprised to see that cat had stopped. It's tail and ears were drooped as it stared up at him. He waited and eventually the cat caught up to him again and walked quietly at his side.

Natsu scratched his head. "You know, I've been wondering for a while now if your fur feels as soft as it looks. Do you think I could pet you once, before I leave? It doesn't have to be tonight-"

The cat meowed and Natsu paused as it got up on its back legs to rub higher on his leg. With its front paws on his leg, he didn't have to lean down far to be able to reach it. He savored that first touch, reveling in the kitten softness of its fur and the way its purr reverberated through his whole leg as he rubbed its head.

Suddenly, he was petting air and a yowl filled the air as he was knocked over. Another body was on top of him, one he recognized almost instantly. "Gray?! What the hell are you doing?!"

Gray cursed as the cat yowled and hissed. Natsu managed to get onto his knees only to see Gray trying to get the key off the cat. With a curse, Natsu reached forward to try and help the cat get away, but it managed to turn its head far enough to sink its teeth into Gray's hand, causing him to loosen his grip. The cat jumped away, its claws raking across both of Gray's arms before it bolted away.

"Lucky!" Natsu ran down the street, but when he got to the first intersection, he didn't see anything he could use to figure out which way it had gone.

"Shit that cat is vicious," Gray said as he joined him. Blood beaded up from the scratches, with multiple rivlets already making their way down his arms.

"What the hell man!" Natsu turned on his friend. "What was that?! I told you to leave the cat be!"

"Oh come on, that was the only chance I had of catching it! I wasn't just going to let it pass me by," Gray scoffed as he held his hands over his scratches. "Shit, what if that cat gives me something?"

Natsu completely ignored his comment. "You just ruined everything!" Heshoved his friend away before going to look for the cat again.

"What are you talking- hey, where are you going?!"

Natsu spent an hour searching every spot that he'd found the cat before. He checked in boxes, down alleys, on balconies, everywhere that he could, but he just couldn't find it. After he asked around and found out even the couple men out looking hadn't seen it, Natsu gave up. Too angry to go back, he ended up heading to the edge of town and sleeping in the woods.

The next day, he hoped he'd see it while he worked, but it didn't show up. When he went on his walk, he was let down once more when it wasn't there to greet him.

He didn't see the cat for the rest of the week, despite his efforts to find it.

"I'm sorry."

Natsu glanced over to see Gray staring at his fists. They hadn't spoken much since the incident with the cat. Natsu had come back to the room after the first night, but he avoided looking Gray's way as much as possible and avoided him while they worked. They'd sat with each other at meal times only because there weren't an overabundance of tables in the inn, and they didn't know anyone else. This was the first time Gray had tried to apologize, though.

"I told you I didn't want to help you catch the cat."

"I know." Gray scratched behind his neck. "It's just that you were petting the damn thing and you could have easily grabbed the key. I don't understand why you wouldn't do it."

"Because Lucky trusted me not to." Natsu fiddled with his food. "I'd only just gotten it to let me get that close."

Gray studied him for a moment before asking, "Why is it such a big deal that the cat ran off? It's just a cat."

Natsu sighed as he ran his hands through his hair. "It just is. That poor thing has been chased by greedy men every night for months. I just wanted to give it a break from all that, and the fact that it was willing to befriend me even when it would run from everyone else… it was nice."

Natsu expected Gray to say more, but he remained silent for the rest of the meal. They made light conversation that day at work, and when they were done, Gray disappeared. Too upset to do anything else, Natsu wandered around town again to clear his head.

He wondered if he should go talk to Lucy. Maybe if he talked to her, she could convince her cat to befriend him again.

With a groan, Natsu turned and started heading back to the inn. Why was he making such a fuss? They only had a couple days left before they headed back, he should be focusing on finishing up his work so they could go home. Happy would be missing him by now, and he didn't want to burden Lisanna for too long.

Still, he couldn't shake the emotions plaguing him, and after dinner, he made the trip across town to visit Lucy.

As the resident healer, and suspected witch according to rumors, everyone knew where Lucy lived. Many of the men he worked with had gone to visit her for one reason or another during their work days, and they always returned to the site gushing about how nice and beautiful she was. A few of them had even gotten hurt on purpose just so they could go see her.

Natsu stopped at the gate as he reconsidered, but a voice called out, inviting him in. He unlocked the gate, not sure how anyone would have even known he was there, and found himself in a rich, full lawn filled with a wide assortment of plants. There was a flat section of the yard covered in stone with a hammock hanging over it to his right that Lucy was currently getting out of.

"Hello," she greeted him politely. "Can I help you?"

Face warm from his embarrassment, Natsu realized just how crazy what he wanted to ask sounded. He was already there, though, so he was going to follow through damn it! "Uh, yeah. I don't know if you know, but I'm here with the group digging the new irrigation systems?"

"I knew you were new," she said, "so I expected as much. Did you injure yourself as well?"

"Huh? Oh, no. No nothing like that. Uh." He cleared his throat. "This is going to sound weird, but I've… well, I befriended your cat over the last few weeks."

Lucy raised an eyebrow at him, obviously surprised. "Oh?"

"Yeah. It wasn't intentional, I just tried to help it once, and then we sort of found ourselves together a few times after that and then we started walking together every day. I wasn't trying to do anything fishy, I swear," he said fervently. "I have a cat back home, and it was just nice to talk to it since I don't have Happy around right now."

He sighed. "The thing is, a buddy of mine has been trying to catch your cat for the key, and he found out what I've been up to, so he followed me and tried to catch it when it finally let me pet it, and I haven't been able to find it since.

"I swear, I wasn't trying to help him get the key. I just wanted to befriend your cat, but after that moron interfered, I can't find it anymore, and I'd really like to see it again before I leave in a few days."

Natsu pointed a finger at her, suddenly feeling the urge to share his thoughts about her stunt. "Also, that was a very foolish idea, to sick the single men of this town and the nearby villages on your poor cat. It hasn't had a moment's peace since then from what I hear, and that's just plain cruel."

Lucy contemplated him in silence, and it slowly sank in what he had just done. For a moment, he wondered what she'd do to him, if she really was a watch like the town believed her to be. "I'm sorry," he said. "Nevermind. I'm just, uh, I'm just gonna go."

"Wait." Lucy stepped forward and smiled. "What's your name?"

"I'm Natsu."

Her smile widened. "Natsu. It suits you." She sighed. "Thank you, for coming to apologize. It means a lot. I had started to worry, honestly, that you weren't what you seemed."

"Uh…. what do you mean?" He cocked his head. "Have we met before?"

"In a sense," she chuckled. She stepped closer to the door. "Would you like to come inside? There's something I'd like to talk to you about."

"Uh, are you sure? I was really just here to apollo-" His eyes lit up. "Can I see your cat? I'd really like to talk to it."

"Lucky? Of course you can."

Natsu excitement shot up. "Is that its name?! I had no idea, but it was-"

She cut him off with a laugh. "No no, that's not her name."

Natsu gaped at her. "I don't understand. Then how did you… know…"

Eyes wide and mouth slowly falling open, he watched as she slowly shrunk. Her blonde hair shorted and spread as her body morphed and twisted. Her eyes remained locked on him as she slowly changed into the little tan cat. With a meow, she came forward and rubbed herself against his legs before bounding to her front door.

"You're the cat." Natsu took a small step forward. "You're the one everyone has been chasing." Another step. "You're who I've been talking to."

He groaned as his hands dove into his hair. "Oh my gods, that's so embarrassing! You have to forget what you heard. All of it. I only talk to Happy like that, so don't judge me, please."

Lucy continued to watch him as she began to purr. The noise was so loud, he could hear it across the garden.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming."

When he reached the door, she moved over, but he couldn't get it open. He tried again before looking down at her. "It's locked."

She meowed and lifted her head higher, exposing the key around her neck. Natsu blinked rapidly before he squatted down, hand held out. "Are you sure?"

Lucy moved forward and bumped his hand with the key. He reached around and untied the string from her neck, taking the key as he stood. He studied it for a moment, but it was just an ordinary key. An ordinary key that he felt was about to completely change his life. Lucy curled around his leg, her purring sending vibrations up and down his leg. He looked down at her and stared into her big brown eyes as he made sure he was ready.

Then he reached forward and unlocked the door.