"Happy?" Natsu called, cupping his hands around his mouth so his voice would echo through the small apartment. He paused, waiting to hear some noise in response, but the whole flat was silent. Grumbling, Natsu began to trek through the cluttered rooms. He moved the blanket on the couch, but his cat wasn't under there either. He checked the kitchen and the litter box, even the small hole in the wall, but the blue cat was nowhere to be seen. 

"Seriously?" Natsu muttered, pausing and gazing around with scrutiny. "Where did that little sneak go?" 

Just then, Natsu heard a noise. He frowned and followed it into his bedroom. He looked past the door and felt his eyes widen. "There you are!" He walked into the room, smirking down at the little cat. Happy looked up at him with innocent black eyes. Just as Natsu began to suspect something wrong, his foot landed on something wet. 

Natsu's whole body froze, his muscles stiffening. Slowly, he looked down at his foot. He gulped, closing his eyes as he tried to keep his anger in. 

He had conveniently stepped in a puddle of pee, Happy's pee, which his delightful pet had left for him. 

"Happy," Natsu growled, but he opened his eyes to see the cat scamper out of the room. Natsu could swear he was smiling as he padded away, his tail flickering at him mockingly. "HAPPY!" 

...

Natsu tried to ignore the pee stain. He cleaned it up, of course, but the smell still lingered and permeated his room. He thought it just needed some time to clear out, so he spent two days sleeping on the couch, letting the odor escaped through the open bedroom window. That plan didn't work too well, and eventually the smell leaked through the rest of the house. 

It was hard to eat with the scent of piss in your nose all the time. No body had ever told Natsu how bad cat pee smelled. He'd always assumed that kitty litter was just so they didn't have to pee outside, but he could now see that it did so much more. 

Finally, a week later, Natsu couldn't take it anymore. Despite his limited funds, he found himself parking in front of a small carpet store. It was one of those tiny stores that weren't able to stay up on their own, so they were connected with another shop. The other shop happened to be a starbucks, much to Natsu's dismay. 

Sighing, the pink haired boy exited his car and, avoiding the people milling around the coffee store, slipped into the carpet store. Samples of carpets hung all over the walls, and a rack in the middle of the room completely obscured the view of the store. The store smelled like fresh fabric and dust, much to his nose's chagrin. He sneezed as soon as he entered, alerting his presence to someone past the carpets. . 

"Oh! I'm over here!" A girl with a squeaky voice called out. Natsu reluctantly walked over to her, his plans of milling around for a few minutes ruined. As he stepped around the carpet rack, resisting another sneeze, and stopped at the counter. A small girl looked up at him with large amber eyes, her light blue hair pulled up with an orange bandana. She had a young look to her face, but Natsu assumed she was his age. She had to be, otherwise this was child labor. "Hello! I'm Levy, how can I help you?"

"Uh, I'm looking for a carpet," he said lamely. Mentally, he slapped himself. Of course he was looking for a carpet, why else would he be here for? 

Levy giggled, looking somewhere beyond him. "Hold on a minute, sir. Let me just grab one of our assistants," she assured him, slipping around the counter and disappearing between racks. Natsu stood awkwardly, rubbing his arms. This was exactly why he didn't go out. Too awkward. 

Levy appeared a minute later, this time with another girl. Natsu had to resist the urge to gape. The girl she brought back with her was taller by a good foot, and had long blonde hair, complimented by large brown eyes. She wore a bit of her hair up to the side and her name tag read 'Lucy' in cute cursive. Everything about her screamed 'popular girl' and 'duck'. He tried not to flinch away from her when she stopped in front of him. 

"Hi," she said, her voice surprisingly shy. She was shorter than him by a good four inches, but that didn't make Natsu feel any better. "I'm Lucy," she introduced. "You're looking for a carpet?" She smirked at that, making him frown. 

"Um, yeah," he nodded. 

"Great!" She waved at the bluenette as she walked away, turning her eyes on Natsu. He was prepared to see disgust in them, but she just smiled. Her eyes seemed to sparkle under the lights. "What are you looking for?"

Natsu described his carpet to Lucy as best as he could. She told him to follow her as he talked, and began to pull samples off of different shelves. Natsu watched her warily, trying to remind himself that this wasn't high school anymore. He was an adult now, and things such as cliches didn't exist anymore. Still, that didn't make him feel any better around the pretty girl. 

"So what happened to your carpet?" Lucy asked while he was examining the samples. None of them seemed to match his carpet, much to his annoyance. 

"Huh?" Natsu gaped, looking up in surprise. 

"I've heard all kinds of crazy stories," Lucy admitted, smiling. "One guy accidentally glued his shirt to his carpet and ended up pulling the whole thing off, both the shirt and the carpet." 

"He sounds stupid," Natsu commented. 

"Oh, he is," she agreed with a giggle. Natsu looked at her curiously. She turned to him. "So what happened to yours?"

"My cat peed on it," he admitted with a sigh. 

"Oh no!" Lucy gasped, covering her mouth to hide her laughter. He glared at her, but she only smiled. "Doesn't it have a litter box?"

"He does," Natsu sighed, "but Happy never likes to do what he's told."

"Your cat's name is Happy?" She asked curiously. 

"Yeah? Is something wrong with that?" Natsu challenged. Lucy shook her head with a big smile. 

"Nothing at all," she agreed, tilting her head. "I think it's cute. Speaking of which, what's your name?"

Natsu blushed, realizing he never introduced himself to either of the girls. "I'm Natsu," he told her. She smiled.

"Summer?" She questioned, and he realized she meant his name. 

"Um, yeah, it's when I was born," he rubbed his neck in embarrassment. He had been made fun of plenty for his name. 

"Really? Me too!" She exclaimed, suddenly looking down at the samples. "Do none of those match?" 

Natsu, too shocked to respond, just shook his head. The blonde pouted and then brightened. "Do you have any pictures with your carpet in it?" 

He thought about that for a minute. He did have a couple of pictures, but they were of...

"No," he denied, feeling his neck heat up with embarrassment. Lucy smirked at him. 

"I don't believe you," she sung, looking entertained. Natsu felt his blush deepen by her tone, but he shook his head. 

"I really don't," he repeated.

"I think you're lying," she hummed, leaning forward. The soft smell of vanilla filled his nose, wafting from her hair. She smiled. "Come on. Show me."

"What? N-No way!" He backed up, suddenly feeling cornered. 

"Ooh, I see. They're those kind of photos," she smiled evilly. Natsu didn't know what 'those photos' were, but he didn't think it was good. 

"No, they're not," he defended himself. 

"Good," she nodded. "Why can't you show me then?" 

"I just...it's...you...." Natsu sighed, feeling defeated. Reluctantly he pulled out his phone, opening his photos. He selected the photo and held it up for the blonde to see, turning away. He waited while she examined it, feeling like a stack of bricks had been placed in his stomach. He waited for her to start laughing or making fun of him, and her silence unsettled him. 

"I know just what matches," Lucy said, making him look over at her curiously. She wouldn't look at him. "I'll go grab it," she murmured before rushing away. 

Natsu sighed to himself, leaning against the wall. She probably thought he was a freak now, god knows how many other people thought so. Why did he expect real life to be different than high school life? 

Lucy returned faster than he expected. In her hand, she held the exact same piece of carpet as his at home. "This right?" She asked, holding it out. 

"As if you took it from my house," he confirmed. She nodded, still not looking at him, and told him to go to the front counter to check out his order. 

"One of our workers will be over to your house within the week to replace the carpet," Levy told him, handing him a slip of paper. Lucy had disappeared after dropping him in front of the bluenette, murmuring something about shipping placements. She'd darted away after that, making Natsu's stomach sink even lower. 

"Thanks," he said, turning away. 

"Ah, wait!" He looked back to see the bluenette holding out the tiny square of carpet to him. "Free sample," she smiled. 

Natsu frowned but didn't question her, taking the tiny square. "Thanks," he repeated awkwardly. This time Levy didn't stop him, smiling and waving as he walked away. Natsu took a deep breath of fresh air, shaking his head. He walked back to his car and slid in, glancing at the carpet store. The sign 'Fairy Carpets' flashed brightly across the top. 

He leaned back in his seat and looked down at his free sample. He probably would've thrown it out if something didn't catch his eyes. Carefully, he flipped the square over and stared. 

'CelestialMage' was written in familiar cursive, and under it a small message that made Natsu's eyes widen. 

Add me on steam. P.S. I like your manga collection! I love Fairy Tail! 

Natsu smiled down at the carpet square. For once, he didn't feel ashamed of being a nerd. 

Sorry I didn't post yesterday, but I couldn't find the time. You know, thanks giving and all. I'm super thankful for all my followers and fellow writers! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!