"I may have accidentally sort of adopted five cats."
"Wait, WHAT?"
Natsu winced, holding his phone away from his ear on instinct.
"I said, I-I may have accidentally, uh, sorta adopted a couple of cats." He repeated. "And, I think on the way home, um, how do I put this…"
"Natsu," Lucy started sharply over the phone. "Why would you 'adopt' five cats? And how did Igneel even agree to it?"
"He doesn't exactly know yet." The boy confessed. "It's just, they were all looking so sad and so hungry when we took them in at the shelter that I just couldn't help myself. I mean, someone has to take care of 'em right?"
"That's what a shelter there is for, Natsu!" Lucy cried exasperatedly, pinching the bridge of her nose. "And it's not like you don't have a cat, I mean did you forget about Happy?"
"I didn't forget about him!" He insisted. "But I just felt so bad that couldn't help them out. Even guilty because -"
"This is worse than that time when you wanted to house a shark we saw at that aquarium because it looked 'lonely'!"
"Huh, when was that?"
"Did you forget?" Lucy's voice turned steely again. "That was our first date."
"Oh, yeah…" Natsu replied hurriedly. "That. Anyways, the reason I was calling you was…" He trailed off again.
"What?" She asked suspicion laced in her voice.
"I can't find two of my new cats."
"Once we find the cats, I swear I will skin you alive!" Lucy vowed, tucking her phone into her pocket. She held up a hand against her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun, glancing at her idiot of a boyfriend. "Remind me again why I agreed to help you with this?"
"Because you love me?" Natsu grinned impishly.
Lucy slapped the back of his head, raising her eyebrows. "Trust me, these are the times when I doubt it."
She glanced around Magnolia Park for any sign of the furry felines once again. They had been hunting for the cats for half an hour, but no avail. It was starting to get really annoying.
"At least Erza went and returned the other three!" Natsu reminded her enthusiastically. "Don't worry Luce, we'll find the rest before ya' know it!"
"Yeah, yeah." She agreed half-heartedly. "We can always just put up some posters?"
"Ugh, I'm not making them. It's too much hard work!" He complained.
Before Lucy could snap another sarcastic reply, his phone rang.
"Yo, stripper. Wassup!" Natsu greeted with an American accent.
"Fuck you, Natsu." A loud voice replied. "Fuck you!"
"Huh, what happened?"
"Did you pay two kids near my apartment to throw this bucket of weird oil on me?" Gray Fullbuster growled.
"Uh… Hehe… About that…" Natsu laughed nervously. "I'm sorry?" He offered.
"You're dead once I get my hands on you, Dragneel, don't forget." He warned.
"Uh huh." Natsu disconnected the call. "Now, where were we Lucy?"
The girl placed a hand on her hip. "You pranked Gray?" She guessed. "Again?"
"Uh… No?" He offered lamely.
"Come on, let's check the shelter again, maybe they ended up back there." Lucy said, annoyed.
