Helllooooo! My computer has been fixed! Hi, sorry for the delay posting but I lost a LOT of stuff with the crash and subsequent fixing of my beloved computer.

Thank you for your patience!

Kit

p.s. I totally don't own this, I'm just playing in someone else's sandbox

XXX XXX

After a week of everyone hanging around the guild to make sure the dragons turned kitties where ok after the somewhat pitiful kidnapping; most were back to going out on jobs. The Thunder Legion had departed two days ago without Laxus, Team Natsu (Minus Natsu) had taken a few day jobs here and there, things where mostly business as usual. This made it more difficult for the members of the guild that spent a lot of time in the guild hall because the dragon slayers where getting restless.

"I am NOT taking you to the library with me. End of discussion!" the guild doors blew open with the exceptionally sharp exclamation from Levy.

"Yer not going alone Shrimp." The growl came from down near her feet. She didn't even bother responding instead marching strait up to Lily, scooping the cat up and dumping him in-front of his partner.

"It's not like I can keep you in my bag while I'm there." She snarled at the floof on the table.

"Yer not even taking speedy and mulch, so I'm going with you." Levy sighed at the response form the slayer.

"I'm leaving. Keep an eye on him. He is getting ornery." Lilly was slowly getting tired of the fur-ball that was currently his friend and partner. It didn't matter if they were on the job or skulking around the guild to keep an eye on Levy, the Iron Dragon was plenty capable of draining anyone's patience. As a cat, it was better and worse. Better because he was smaller and somewhat easier to maneuver around and dodge, worse because he was smaller and harder to spot. This made the now appointed task of being his keeper harder on the Exceed. The Iron Dragon Slayer could be quite slippery despite his rather brash personality.

"You know she is going to stop letting you sleep in her apartment if you keep this up." Lily mused in the direction of Gajeel.

"I just-she is important. I don't want her to get hurt." Gajeel's ears flattened a bit at the confession. His soft fur fluffing up a bit to convey is unease.

"She isn't even leaving town Gajeel. The worst that can happen is she brings back too many books." Lily chuckled at his now smaller partner.

"She could fall, or get hurt, or kidnapped, or-" Gajeel's frantic muttering and fluffing of his fur was cut off by a small hand rubbing behind his ears.

"Nothing bad will happen. We can walk her home if it helps. But if you get caught in the library she might get kicked out. This is important to her."

"All right." Gajeel sulked "But we are going with her on her job tomorrow!"

"I will see what I can do." The deep voice of his partner and slow head pats began to lull Gajeel into a calmer state and soon he was purring on the table, mostly asleep.

XXX XXX

Levy sighed deeply as she left the library much later then she had intended. The tome she needed was in a different ancient script than she normally used, so translating the needed passages had taken a while. On top of that she had to argue with Gajeel just to get access today. If he had tried to go too, she probably would have been kicked out! That being said, she missed him. He was a great person to bounce ideas off of. He also made sure she was safe walking home. As a mage from a well-known guild she was frequently safe by herself, or could keep herself safe if needed. Idiots abound however and she heard the drunken calls of Idiots.

"Hey Kitten!" the drunken slur from behind her was followed by lots of laughter. From the bar in the center of town there came a staggering pile of idiots that reeked of booze and bad ideas. She flinched at the call and the nickname.

In Magnolia most people where-if not wary of- at least aware of the reputation that the fairy tail members carry. She was normally safe by herself, or with Gajeel, Jet and Droy, or Lily. But there was an exception to every rule.

Levy became incredibly aware of a few things. She was smaller than most people in general, and there was more than one of them. They were MOST definitely drunk. And she was alone, in the dark, tired from a long day of work. A small tickle of fear curled in her gut as she turned and prepared to defend herself.

It turned out it was not to be.

Fear turned to laughter, stress melted away, and her mood over all improved at the sight behind her. Lily was fearsome to those he was displeased with, and his shape change made him larger and more dangerous than the drunks accosting her. But what she found more humorous was the fluffy black and grey cat with its Claws out as it planted its ass in the face of the Jerk who called her Kitten. People flew really, really well when propelled by Lily. And Gajeel made short work of anyone dumb enough to stick around.

She smiled at her furry friends and carried both of them back to her rooms at fairy hills.

XXX XXX

Wendy knew that lots of people found her fur cute, her little meow adorable, and the little bow that held her guild mark made her look absolutely precious. It was not something that she made the most of, but on this day in particular she was feeling sneaky.

At the coffee shop in town there was a new lemon pastry. And there was also a lovely Strawberry cake that had Erza's name on it. Quite literally! The sign in the window said "cake reserved for Titania Erza" and no one questioned it because the entire town had seen the denial of cake and its outcome. It was the cuteness and cake combo that had her hopeful of getting a pastry of her own.

"Erza! Look! Look!" Wendy bounced around on the ground by the Café "they have a cake for you can we stop please?" the bouncing was stopped as she stared up at the Reequip Mage with the saddest most pleading eyes possible in a kitten. Erza was obviously moved by the combo.

"Of course Wendy," she scooped the little blue cat up and placed Wendy on her shoulder "onwards for cake and victory!" sword out, they marched in together and settled for an excellent afternoon.

XXX XXX

Laxus Dryer was a man of action. He worked hard to redeem himself of the Fairy war and had for the most part succeeded. He was proud of how far he had come, and of all that he had become in the name of Fairy Tail.

That didn't mean he got along with everyone all the time.

To be fair, as a cat it was easy to get into trouble, Easy to troll people, Easy to be a pain in the ass in general.

Of course this did not deter the thunder legion. They had decided unanimously to troll the furry troll. This meant that they were rubbing their feet on carpet for static shocks to his ears and nose, using Bixlow's Tikis' to poke and bug and play with him, and the water spraying runes to keep him off the counters and away from the still incensed Mira. Of course the best thing of all was the light chase.

They discovered it on a day when it was slightly dreary and he wasn't able to leave the guild hall or risk another bath to clean the substantial amount of fur he had. Evergreen was fixing her make up so she "wasn't going to flirt with Him you damn nosy fuzz ball!" and the light caught her compact mirror. The reflection on the ground immediately caught Laxus's attention, and then it was a wiggle and a pounce. The sudden movement startled Ever and she jerked, causing the light to shift on the table. He lunged at it again. And again. And again.

Now, two weeks later, it had evolved into something much more intense. Now it was a mess of flying Tiki figures to climb and jump off of, and flashes of light for him to chase and burn off some energy. And it was much loved by everyone. Because a restless Laxus was an annoying Laxus and if he teased one more person about who they were dating or wanted to date or "really not dating! God damnit Laxus! If you keep this up-" someone was going to die.

And if you listened to Mira it was probably going to be Laxus.

So play time became a frequent thing. And Evergreen's compact played a huge roll in it. Of course it was nice for the members of the guild to know that he trusted them enough to let his guard down like this around them. To show them that he did actually trust them enough to play and muck about. But it was also a way to burn off steam so no one (Mira) actually followed through on any of their threats. Including the one to "skin your furry hide and make a hat, I swear to Mavis Laxus!"

No one actually thought she would follow through on it but it was always good to be prepared.

One particularly strenuous bout of play time had him flopped on a bench in the guild, napping away, when another fuzzy body climbed up next to him. One bleary blink later and his eyes focused enough to see Wendy in all her kittenish Glory curled up against his sprawled form. He wrapped his much longer body around her and waited for her to fully settle in to sleep. Once he was sure she was comfortable, he relaxed and settled himself. Her head wound up tucked under his chin and a soft rumble resounded in their relaxed bodies. Their nearby guild mates quieted down a bit to watch the much larger dragon slayer cuddle his younger sibling. This past month had shown everyone that even if they had no blood relation, the five of them where definitely family.

Five siblings together as a part of the greater whole that is the family of Fairy Tale.

XXX XXX

Natsu was no stranger to the desire for physical comfort and affection. Igneel had always made sure to keep him safe and warm and happy. And only part of that had simply been the closeness they had shared as a father-son bond. The other part had been literal physical affection in the best way that Igneel knew how to give to this excited human child he now called his own.

That translated quite nicely in his Fairy Family. He had no qualms about hugging someone just because he felt like it, or because they needed it, or something happened and they needed comfort etc.

He also didn't hesitate to punch someone (like Grey) because sometimes it was the best way to show you care. Maybe not the only way, but the best way for them.

With Lucy it was different. It felt different. Made his heart do little flip-flops in happiness and his stomach swoop and soar like it was full of fiery little butterflies. Made him think about all the stories Igneel told him, about all the books he read learning from Erza, made him remember as much as he could about what he had seen from others and wanted for himself.

He loved her. It was etched into his very being. A part of everything he felt was important. He even had plans to tell her. To show her. To see if she would be interested in dating, in being more than just partners; or being partners in a more complete sense.

Being a cat made that much more difficult.

That was in part because she didn't really clock him in her space the same way and kept taking her shirt off to get ready for bed. Natsu was now the master at the pillow dive. Where he dove under a pillow to keep from seeing anything she wasn't comfortable sharing, and would probably smack human him for seeing.

His body was a cat, but his brain was definitely NOT. And she could deal with him as a human, taking up space and being around and generally being underfoot. He was sturdy and she was very, VERY clear about her boundaries. As a cat it was different. She sort of forgot, and then when she remembered, oh boy was she ever uncomfortable. Natsu didn't want to make her uncomfortable like that. So he hid under a pillow. He couldn't see anything, she was comfortable, and she didn't give him to Loke to bath. AGAIN.

Tonight though, tonight things felt different. Lucy looked different. More contemplative then Natsu had seen earlier that day. She picked him up and gently carried Natsu over to the bed before heading to the bathroom to get ready. Natsu pawed his scarf into a more reasonable mound to sleep on. When she came back she slipped in next to him and pulled him close.

"Natsu?"

"Yea Luce?" she didn't look down at him, choosing to cuddle him instead. His heart tripped a bit at the feeling but she was silent for a bit before continuing.

"I think I owe you an apology-" Natsu jolted and tried to get up but she tightened her hold "I haven't been very fare to you, especially at night when we are getting ready for bed. I'm sorry I made you that uncomfortable, so much so you felt like you had to hide. And I'm sorry I was too selfish to let you go back to Happy so you can sleep in your own bed and have your own space. I have been comfortable and happy with you here. So, I'm sorry you didn't feel the same."

The hesitant silence that came after her soft words made Natsu think hard about his reply. Finally as she seemed like she was getting ready to let him go he spoke softly back.

"I was actually gonna apologize to you too. When I was human again so you could retaliate without feeling bad." This time is was Lucy's turn to jerk in surprise.

"What? Why?!"

"Cus there are times when I can't help but get an eye full, and I liked it and felt bad because it was like I was taking advantage of you. You are important to me and I want to make you happy. Making you that uncomfortable was the last thing on my mind. So that's why I was diving under the pillows and the couch and stuff. I didn't want to peep without permission or a way for you to get back at me."

"Oh." Her voice was small and fragile. Like she wanted something but also was sure she wasn't going to get it. Natsu knew right then that cat body or no cat body he needed to at least tell her.

"I like you Luce."

"I know Natsu, we are partners remember. Just like you and Happy." A frustrated growl met those words. It sounded strange from a cat but it definitely got his point across.

"Lucy, I don't like you the same way I like Happy-" her eyes got big as he wiggled around to face her "I like you the way Juvia likes Grey, just without the majority of the creepy stalking. I like you the way Erza likes Strawberry Cake. The way Gajeel likes Levy. I really like you. And I didn't wanna do this as a cat but damn, I'm committed. I hope that, even if you don't like me the same way, we can still go on adventures together, still be friends and partners. And if you do, then maybe we can be a couple, and do coupley things, like get that cake you wanted from the new shop, or go to the book launch of that author you like, or maybe do some missions-" Lucy cut off his ramblings with a finger on his nose.

"Yes." Derailed he blinked up at her. The reply catching him off guard before he processed the word.

"Wait, yes to what?"

"I like you too Natsu. I want to go out on adventures with you, and sometimes I want those adventures to be just me and you. I want to show you more of the things I am interested in, and learn more about the things you like too. I want to be your friend and partner and girlfriend. I just. Didn't know how to ask you myself." She smiled down at the incredibly elated fuzz ball in her bed. "So yes. With one stipulation."

"What?"

"If for some Mavis-forsaken reason we break up. I still want to be friends. Still want to have adventures and share them with our friends. I don't want you or them to feel like they have to choose between my happiness and our friendship."

"I don't really understand what you're saying Luce, but we will always be friends! No worries about that at all! And if a guild member says otherwise? Knock 'em out, they are being mind controlled." Her laughter filled the room and Natsu felt light hearing it.

Finally they settled down to sleep and the last night of the kitty curse passed in contentment.

XXX XXX

The following afternoon at the guild was remarkably quiet with all four dragon slayers and their caretakers being absent that morning.

Gajeel was the first to arrive. Bright red and thankfully human, he was grumbling about being watched; and everyone could witness his reaction to Levy coming in five minutes later. She too was blushing right down to the neckline of her dress, and she met his eyes for a moment before squeaking and scurrying off to the table they share not looking at anyone else in the meantime. They seemed happy together despite their embarrassment, and it made the entire guild wonder if they got any closer to settling the bet on when the two of them where actually going to start dating. Lily's amused expression gave them hope, but no other actually proof came forward leaving only speculation and grumbling in its place.

Laxus was the next to arrive with the Legion right on his heels. Other than a case of the "don't tell ANYONE" Laxus seemed normal. Though he did bring a large box of Mira's favorite chocolates to place on the corner of the bar.

Wendy and Erza arrived shortly after that, and the ribbon that had held her mark as a kitten was braided with two more into a bracelet with the Fairy Tail charm hanging off of it. Wendy took a look around the guild and went up to both Laxus and Gajeel to hug them and thank them for taking care of her as a kitten.

Both men looked slightly embarrassed but neither turned down the hugs and sisterly affection she offered. A few soft "Dawww." Sounds made their way through the guild hall but no one with any brain cells made one loud enough to warrant attention from either male Slayer.

The arrival of the final missing former cat was heralded down the street, with shouting being carried on the wind flowing through the open door.

"Natsu if you don't put me down right now, getting a chance to brawl with Grey will be the least of your worries!" the three present dragon slayers laughed at whatever his response was. All three moved to a front table to watch the ensuing entrance.

And it did not disappoint.

Natsu came strolling in with Lucy in his arms in a full on princess carry. His obvious strength on display as he held her easily with her bag over once shoulder and no strain at all showing in his arms as they made it through the doors.

She was also wearing his scarf.

"Oh, and how is that my fault Luce?" there was an obvious gap in their conversation from the shouting to now but her reply came back loud and clear in the guild hall.

"I only tripped because you startled me!"

"I was just doing what you told me to." his wicked grin made several people try to hold back snickers

"I told you to let me know when you put on pants! Not scare me into almost falling into the river! I was trying to give you privacy after you, you know, woke up naked in my bed!" dead silence.

"Sweetheart, I have seen all of you at least once, and as my siblings can agree, I have no shame. At all." here Gajeel did actually snort, but like the other two he seemed to be waiting for something.

"I did know that about you. It is something I like about you. I also like your sense of humor. But was carrying me and my stuff for Levy like this really needed?"

"Hey, you must have guessed this was going to happen." Lucy sighed, and the three slayers leaned in closer.

"I guess I just wasn't expecting it to be the same day we started dating." Her words carried in the silent guild. A few smiles broke out as everything registered.

Then the guild hall exploded.