Work Text:
Gatto Nero was as busy as ever. Which, Shiki wasn’t complaining—that was definitely good! But…
“Hey. Sorry it took me so long.”
“It’s okay. Waiting wasn’t so bad. All that matters is that you’re here now.”
That ‘now’ seemed so far away, and every minute she was stuck at work felt like she’d gone right back to the years of waiting. She knew better than to worry, yet she couldn’t help it. What if something happened? If he disappeared again, or if the past week turned out to be just a dream…
“Heeey, Shiki! You in there?”
Shiki blinked. Eri stood in front of her, waving a hand under her face.
“Oh, good! I thought you’d turned into a zombie on me!”
“I’m sorry—what?”
“Just with how you were zoning out,” Eri said as she sat on a table in the small photo studio they were using. “Were you thinking about Neku again?”
Was it that obvious? Wait, though…
“‘Again’?” Shiki asked. She was pretty sure she hadn’t gotten to do that much with Eri since Neku got back.
“Of course!” her best friend responded with an all-knowing grin. “He’s what you’re always thinking about when you make that googly-eyed face.”
“B-but I haven’t really done that before…”
“Oh come on—you totally have. Miki, you’ve seen it, too, right?”
She glanced back at one of their employees. She was a beautiful young woman with long black hair. Her eyes were glued to the phone in her hand, probably still trying to figure out where her friend was—and the one who’d be modeling today, Honoka. “Yep, Eri’s right. Is he almost here with that hat, by the way?”
Shiki’s heart hammered as she looked down at her own phone. No new updates from him, either—not since he found the hat she’d asked him to pick up from the Shibuya branch store. It was supposed to be part of their shoot today, but, of course, she’d forgotten the one she had all prepped, dropping it at home as she’d rushed out the door this morning.
“Not sure… He said he’ll be here soon, but not how soon.”
Yeah—soon. She’d see him again, see that he was really here… That he’d finally made it back to them…
“Annnd there she goes again.” Eri chuckled. “Young love is so sweet!”
“You say that like you’re an old man,” Miki teased.
“I can’t help it! Shiki and Neku have been the cutest thing these past three years.”
Past three years?
“W-what do you mean?” Shiki asked, her words failing her. Eri knew about the UG—Shiki and Beat had told her. She knew that Neku was stuck and couldn’t come back, and she’d been sad for Shiki. So why was she talking like this now?
“Well that’s as long as you two have been dating, isn’t it?” Eri replied. “I still remember how he asked you out in front of Hachiko. You two were so adorably awkward back then!”
That…that isn’t how it happened. Oh crap—Neku said something about how his parents acted like he’d always been there. Had Eri’s memories also been changed?! And wait—why like that?! Yeah, they’d both admitted that they liked each other right away, so they were dating, but they were still so new at it and trying to figure it out on their own.
“Almost wish I could’ve seen them back then,” Miki said. “They’re both so confident now that it’s hard to imagine.”
More like ‘so complicated.’ ‘Confident’ was one thing they definitely weren’t. But how could Shiki even begin to explain that those memories were a lie and that she and Neku had only just started to sort out their feelings?
At the same time, Shiki’s curiosity got the better of her.
“Three years is a long time… What would you say our best date was?”
That wasn’t the smoothest way to ask. Luckily, Eri was way too into her fangirling to notice.
“Ohmygosh—definitely our class trip to Osaka! You two broke away from the class and had your first kiss!”
First…
First kiss?!
Of all the things Shiki had expected Eri to say, that wasn’t one of them. She hadn’t even thought of—okay, well, maybe it crossed her mind a little bit—especially over the past three years—but still! She wasn’t ready for that yet, and they still had so much more to figure out about their relationship, about their lives now—about everything before.
“Shiki? You okay? You turned kinda red there…”
“Maybe she’s embarrassed you saw her first kiss,” Miki pointed out. “Let me guess—spying again?”
“W-well yeah, but that was like a year or two ago! We’re way over that now—right?” Eri checked over at her best friend for confirmation, but Shiki didn’t know how to even give that right now. So instead, she grabbed the Mr Mew hoodie dangling on the rack next to her and slipped it on, hoping to hide her burning face.
“Oh c’mon, Shiki! You don’t have to hide. Everyone thinks you two are precious!”
“T-that’s not why I’m hiding,” Shiki argued, even though it kinda was the reason. Cute as the idea of them being highschool sweethearts was, this had gotten way more tricky than she’d expected. If it was just Eri here, then maybe she could tell her—somehow—that everything was all weird and changed. But with Miki and the whole photography crew hanging around, there was no way she could bring up the UG.
“Sure it isn’t.” Eri brightened, throwing up a hand to wave at someone past Shiki. “Hey, Neku! Come join us—we were just talking about yours and Shiki’s first—”
“F-first date!” Shiki quickly finished, prompting a puzzled look from Eri.
“That wasn’t your first… You guys went out a number of times before that.”
Trust Eri to be the textbook embarrassing best friend. Shiki couldn’t even begin to guess how flushed her face had gotten.
“You were?” Neku’s confused voice asked behind her, but Shiki didn’t dare turn around. Instead, she buried herself further in the hood.
“Y-yeah, Eri brought it up—and how we’ve, um, been dating for the past three years?”
Now she actually had to look at Neku. She needed him to see what she’d realized—that they were talking about memories neither of them had.
“Oh, uh… right. Guess it has been a while.” Neku scratched his cheek, as if that’d get rid of the slight blush that’d formed. It was a good thing they really did like each other or this would be even more awkward than it already was. His sapphire eyes met Shiki’s, working to figure out a distraction from that topic. Yes, a distraction would be perfect—
“Is that why you’re dressed like a pig?”
…except that one.
“Neku!” Shiki huffed. That got rid of her blush, at least, now replaced by a pout as Neku laughed.
“Anyway, I got the hat.” Neku held it up to show her. “Is your model here yet?”
“Nope,” Miki commented with a sigh. “She had to drive from her last gig, and she got stuck in traffic.”
Eri groaned, dropping her head into her hands. “We only have this studio rented for another thirty minutes! And I already tried an extension. They’re completely booked after us.”
“What happens if she doesn’t show?” Neku asked. He curiously glanced over the files and pictures spread across the table, shifting one to see the kind of modeling work they were doing.
“We lose the studio and record this as a loss. We’d then have to book another modeling session for a later date—whenever they have slots available again…”
Neku abandoned the picture, his focus flicking over to the designers. “So… why doesn’t someone else model?”
The three girls looked at him as if he’d grown a second head.
In response, Neku patted Shiki’s hood between the ears. “Looks like this one’s already dressed up. What better way to show fans how much you care about your product than having one of the designers model it?”
“N-Neku! I’m not a model,” Shiki protested, pulling the hood further over her face.
“Why not? You look nice.”
“Yeah, but modeling’s different! It takes a whole other set of skills, and besides, Honoka’s a huge name!”
Shiki looked over to her best friend for help, but soon realized that was the furthest thing on Eri’s mind.
“No, Neku has a point. We can use this!” Eri flipped open her folder, searching for some blank model release forms. “Better yet, we also need to book a guy model at some point, so why not do some duo pics now? Once Honoka gets here, we can use whatever time left we have to get solos with her.”
Duo pics?!
Oh gosh—like couple pictures?! For her and Neku—professionally?!
Eri slid a model release form and pen over to Neku. “What do you say? You and Shiki can try your hand at modeling. I’ll even let you two decide which ones can go public!”
Surely Neku of all people wouldn’t agree to this. He was handsome and all, but also, he was the furthest thing from a fashion model—
“Sure.” Neku picked up the pen, filling out the form.
Hold on, he was actually doing it?!
“I’ll try it… if it’ll get Shiki to come out of her hood.”
Out of… her hood? Was she really hiding that much…?
Neku soon set the pen down, then glanced over to Shiki. He offered her a smile soft enough to melt her heart. “Just tell me what to wear, okay?”
Modeling… with Neku. And better yet, they’d just come out with some matching designs.
“Okay,” Shiki finally agreed, pushing herself up to her feet. The very idea of being the one to model was mind boggling, to say the least. Especially when there were better options here, like Eri—
No. Shiki closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.
Maybe that was true. Even after everything, Eri was still the popular beauty who easily worked in all the high fashion couture she wore. But Shiki didn’t need to catch up with her anymore.
Because… she’d found her own type of beauty. She could carry that cute, comfy charm all on her own, without standing in anyone’s shadow. And maybe even for this session, she could make use of that.
She picked out the buckle-sleeved shirt and a new, slightly longer asymmetrical skirt to go under her hoodie. Luckily, they’d brought extra clothes, so it wasn’t hard finding a second hoodie for Neku. She shoved it at him, along with the zippered shirt and asymmetrical jeans. Finally, a pair of ankle boots for both of them completed the ensemble.
Cozy, comfy—but still stylish. That would be her theme, both for modeling and for herself. Because she didn’t need to be like Eri to be proud of herself.
She and Neku each went to a changing room. It didn’t take long for Shiki to get dressed, and this time, she secured the hoodie properly over her—belt and everything. She paused to look at herself in the mirror, making sure everything was perfectly in place, with no wrinkles.
This was it, then. This was her first real photoshoot with Neku. As the embarrassment about it subsided, she was left with giddy feelings of hope and excitement. The ears and tail on her hoodie perked up, as if reacting to her emotions. But that had to be her imagination, right? No way could clothes actually do that. It was probably just part of how she moved, though she didn’t remember sewing anything that’d do that.
Well, either way, it was time for the shoot! She exited the room, her eyes immediately landing on Neku. He leaned against the table the other two sat at, stunning in his own Gatto Nero outfit. Though the hood covered his orange spikes, the bangs peeking out managed to match the collar of his shirt nicely. The shirt itself fit snug over him, and his asymmetry on his bottom half was nicely opposite of Shiki’s.
“Alright, you both look great!” Eri cheered. “Now get out there and show us some moves!”
Neku rolled his eyes at her energy, but still offered Shiki a hand. “You ready?” he asked, his eyes calmly watching her.
“Y-yeah,” Shiki said, placing her hand in his like they were at some high class ball. He pulled her into the lights, and she practically tripped against him. He caught her, holding her in his arms. With the graffiti backdrop and spotlight just on them, it felt like they had jumped planes to a world all their own—
A flash interrupted Shiki’s thoughts. All their own and the camera man’s, apparently. Her face turned red again as she realized—just what sort of picture did they get?! She hadn’t even posed, or…
“Calm down,” Neku’s gentle voice whispered. “It’s okay… Just act natural, alright?”
He then moved away from her, yet kept her hand snug in his. He bowed, then pulled her close to lift her up in the air. The flashes were only a minor inconvenience now, hardly worth noting as Neku’s gaze captured her completely.
These were their pictures… and this was their time to figure things out. Nothing else mattered. Not the camera crew, not what anyone else thought of them… Their opinions and gossip didn’t matter in the end.
All that mattered were the beating hearts between the two long lost partners.
She eased down into Neku’s arms, resting her own on his shoulders. With a small giggle, she reached up to play with his ear. A few flashes later, and he set her down.
“So now what?” Shiki asked, more prepped to pose however she needed.
“I think it’s time to show them what partners really can do,” Neku said, that glint in his eye telling her all she had to know.
“Ready to go?”
“Let’s go!”
They both moved at once, in perfect sync. It was almost like they were battling Noise again, their fluid movements practiced and perfected for any attack that might come their way. Or to dish it out, if that was better.
And all too soon, the battle—or well, the photoshoot—ended.
“Great job, you two!” Eri said as she hurried over. “You’re naturals at this—maybe I should book you for future photoshoots!”
“Don’t get used to it,” Neku replied. “I just wanted some pictures with Shiki.”
“You could’ve just asked for some another way, you know,” Shiki teased.
“Could’ve. But figured I might as well take advantage of things.”
Yeah, and in the end, Shiki was glad he did. She glanced past Eri to see Honoka already dressed in her Gatto Nero outfit for the shoot—which meant it was time for her and Neku to exit stage right.
Shiki pulled Neku off to the side, away from prying ears. Luckily, Eri had far too much work to do in what little time they had left to even notice the couple. So no one saw as Shiki gave Neku a tender hug.
“Thanks, Neku… You were amazing out there…”
“So were you,” he said, hugging her back. “Guess we’re still in sync after all, huh?”
Shiki grinned, nodding. “You know it!”
That’s why they knew—even after all these years, they knew they were perfect for each other. They could take the rest at their own pace, feeling out when they were ready for things like their first kiss or whatever.
Because as long as they were in sync, they could face any challenge.