That damn cat.

That damn, lovable, awesome, bad ass cat that he was so proud of, that he practically bragged about nearly every single day to his coworkers, was gone.

Poof, right out the window, like the black shadow he was. And Gajeel was close to tearing his hair out just trying to find the cat on his own. Two weeks had passed and he was terrified that Pantherlily was dead, in a shelter, or worse; in a little kid's bedroom with a pink as fuck bow around his neck. Pink was not the cat's style, and he was worried that if the cat retaliated, he would end up in a shelter.

Still, it was nerve wracking as the days went by, with not a single hit from the local shelters or anyone calling from the flyers he put up. 'Who even does that anymore anyways?' He thought, grumbling under his breath as he hooked up the safety line to the building. He should've just stuck with Facebook and hoped for the best. But then again, he didn't use the site as much as some people he knew, and hated when his friends urged him to go on it more. It was a waste of time and energy when he had barely any for a social life, let alone killing time on the net. He was better off doing his own thing, like looking for his cat.

He sighed as he began scaling the building, dragging the sponge and squeegee over the glass panes that overlooked the busy city beneath. Window washing was a part time deal that his uncle had saddled him with, mostly to keep an eye on his idiotic and rather destructive cousin, Natsu. The guy meant well, he supposed, but had far more fun swinging than cleaning, causing more mayhem and shenanigans than they could handle. Thus far, only Gajeel had managed to make the situation slightly less of a hazard for them, mostly by promising him to spar once they were on the ground and off the clock. Which seemed to have worked so far; there were fewer accidents now than then.

Natsu had even helped with the search for his cat, declaring that there was no replacing such a friend like his cat, touching the normally surly man. Yet, another day had passed and there was still no sign of the asshole. He bit his lip as he descended another level, worry beginning to gnaw at the back of his brain. What if he wasn't alright?

A tap on the glass startled him, making him almost drop his sponge. He cursed as he whipped to the glass, only to nearly drop his jaw.

A girl waved at him from the other side, grinning mischievously as he recovered, scowling at her as he pointed at the ground then shook his finger at her. She ducked her head bashfully, mouthing the word "sorry" as she bit her lip. He shook his head as she turned back to her apartment and whatever she had been doing. He had to admit, he mused as he stared after her retreating figure, that this job had its good days along with the bad days. She was cute, and a bit of a distraction with her short, wild sky blue hair and short petite body. Washing her windows was definitely the highlight of his life, despite the subtle teasing and jabs from others about her.

As cute as she was, he still had to focus on finding his cat. It was getting too depressing at home not seeing the cat or hearing his annoying meows for food. And it was worse at nights when he couldn't feel the tiny weight curling up on his feet in bed, purring lightly after spending minutes kneading the blankets before settling down. He sighed as he descended another level, almost done with the blue haired girl's apartment, vaguely registering the black ball of fuzz that stared at him.

He was in the middle of dragging the squeegee across the plane when he did a double take, staring wide eyed at the cat. Sure enough, there was the familiar scar that crossed the cat's brow and scraggly looking whiskers. This time, his jaw did drop, and indignant rage pooled in his gut as he pointed at the cat.

"YOU ASSHOLE!"

If his roar didn't shake the foundation of the building, the verbal spew that erupted from his mouth would have. He cursed, ranted and raved, waving his arms almost comically as the cat sat calmly, watching him in a bemused fashion. Something behind the cat startled him, and he turned to flee as the girl approached the windows again, her eyes wide with curiosity.

'Great, just great,' he thought, snapping his mouth shut and blushing. He pointed at the cat, who looked at him from behind a chair and shouted as loud as he could, "That's my cat!"

She blinked, confusion crossing her face as she turned to Pantherlily, then back again. He groaned when she whirled and walked to a table, pulling a piece of paper out of a pile nearby. He glared at the cat as it returned to the window, bunting the glass as smugly as you please.

"Just you wait till I get you home, you little butt," he said, poking the glass. He couldn't quite believe it, his cat was alive and well. It was somewhat of a shock that he was here of all places, tucked away in the girl's apartment as if he had planned it. Maybe he had, the cat was far more clever than he appeared. But if the girl had taken him in, then maybe she was worth more than a few wistful stares and waves from the other side of the glass.

She was coming back to the window, paper in hand as she knelt in front of him, stroking the cat's back. Now that she was closer than before, he could see her better than he ever could hope to. And good god, she was prettier than he expected. She smiled shyly as she held up the paper to the window for him to read. He squinted as he leaned forward, then broke into the biggest grin that he had in two weeks, laughing delightedly as he nodded at her.

'I assume that this is your cat, so whenever you're done, come to 609 so we can talk?'