Archive of Our Own

Nemu walks down the street at a snail's pace. The action of her practically dragging her heels into the ground has brought upon stares from several people at this point, but she can't bring herself to care. There is a much more pressing matter at hand.

She wants to talk to Keigo. No, she has to.

They had met just the night before, but as most things go between the two, things unraveled... a little too fast. She's not particularly upset about how their meet up went. But the more she thinks about it... surely anyone else would classify that get-together as a disaster.

Their evening began with a meet up at a dessert cafe and ended with Nemu leaving early and Keigo walking back home in the rain. An apologetic text from Keigo lit up her phone in the middle of her bedtime routine, but Nemu was much too tired at that point to properly reply. After typing up a response, she ended up falling asleep, resolving to drop by the Otogi household the next day and casually wave it off. She hasn't received a text back though, and something inside her just knows that Keigo is ruminating over her words- most likely over-analyzing them to the point of self despair.

As Nemu draws near to said house, she starts to feel somewhat self-conscious. And the closer she gets, the more she begins to second guess herself.

Well, I already told him it's okay. Maybe Keigo's over it by now too. What am I even worried about?

She's practically just around the corner when she's starts to slow her walking pace.

It's not like it could make anything worse, especially if it's just between me and him. I doubt he would have told anyone what happened either.

Her destination is in view now. Nemu's steps are almost digging her feet into the earth at this point.

I won't stay very long anyway, so it wouldn't be that crazy to not even bring it up.

Nemu stops mere centimeters away from the door. Taking a deep breath, she prepares her best, "Hello!" face, and prepares to ring the doorbell.

"Okay... I can do this. Just like I... eh?"

The door has been left slightly open. It's not the first time she's seen it happen- one of her friends might leave in a rush and actually forget to fully shut the door. But typically Morihito would have gotten up to close it the rest of the way, citing how a draft will cut through. And yet... here it is, open by just a crack. If there was any real sign of danger from a warlock, Nemu's alert definitely would have been triggered awhile ago. But it could always be something else. She readies her wand and steels herself, cautiously opening the door to let herself in.

"He-hello..?" Nemu takes another step into the foyer, closing the door behind her. "Is anyone home?"

She's surprised to find only one pair of shoes left by the doorway. A men's pair- clean, but well worn-in. They actually look a lot like...

Suddenly, a voice rasps out from another room, "Is someone there?"

A voice that Nemu recognizes all too well. "K-Keigo?!"

Poof!

From a cloud of smoke, a kitten instantly appears where Nemu once stood. Although she's promised herself to do this less, being in kitten form is more reassuring for dire (or rather, awkward) situations such as this. With her heart beating fast, almost every strand of fur on Nemu's body stands straight up, frazzled. While her vision in this current form had sharp eyes, her particular stature didn't exactly do much to help. She hears a dry cough. Another. Some more hacking. Then from around the corner of the kitchen, Keigo appears, stepping into the hallway. Clad in one of his subtle designer shirts and a pair of sweatpants, he looks dazed and disheveled- definitely just waking up even though it is well into the afternoon.

"Oh, it's you, little kitty. But I could have sworn I heard..." Keigo clears his throat and shakes his head. "Nevermind that. Someone left the door open, huh? Have you come for a nap?"

Nemu licks her paw and glances around. While she isn't able to peer into the living room with her stature as a feline, the lack of shoes and noise from her surroundings tells her Keigo is home alone. After properly shutting the door, Keigo turns around and heads toward the living room. Nemu follows closely behind him. He places his cell phone onto the coffee table and plops down onto the sofa.

"Sorry it's just me." A yawn escapes his mouth and he pats down on the cushion beside himself. "C'mere though, best seat in the house."

Nemu hesitates. She could just leave now and stomp out the butterflies that erupt within her from being completely alone with Keigo, but she can't bring herself to budge. Something seems more off about him today than usual. Curiosity gets the better of her and she leaps up onto the sofa and bows to stretch before curling up to get comfortable, taking care to not form a perfect crescent-like shape. Keigo's hand reaches down to scratch underneath her chin, eliciting purrs before she can stop herself.

Well... I guess this is okay. And he doesn't seem too down about last night.

"You are one pretty kitty," Keigo muses, "and I have you all to myself today." With that, he reaches over and scoops her up in his arms.

Nemu feels her cheeks heat up from such a simple phrase, as ambiguous as it is. And now, nestled in his embrace, she can't help but let her mind wander.

All to himself?

They stay like that for a moment, at least until Nemu finally musters up the courage to take a peek up at Keigo. He has always had dark circles under his eyes, looking sleep deprived, but he seems worse for wear today. Upon closer inspection, Nemu can see that his face is slightly flushed and lips are chapped as well. Unruly bed head ties his frazzled look altogether. Right on cue, Keigo covers his mouth with a fist and coughs.

He's... sick?

The rain from last night! Nemu's tail swishes about with guilt. Sudden summer showers are normal enough here for people to keep an umbrella in hand, and the forecast yesterday did predict heavy clouds and drizzles. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like Keigo had checked the weather before leaving the house.

While lost in thought, Keigo's phone vibrates on the coffee table. Nemu's eyes widen in surprise as Keigo practically jumps out of his seat, reaching for his phone on the table. He quickly unlocks his phone to check his notifications. Nemu hisses at him for the startle, but moves back to settle down on his lap, wanting to keep him from making any more sudden movements.

"Ugh, it's just Kanshi..." His arm goes limp, phone falling out of his hand and onto the sofa cushion. "Figures I won't get a text back."

Nemu eyes the cell phone suspiciously.

Is he expecting someone? Unless... no... it couldn't be...

Nemu realizes in that moment that she hadn't actually pressed "Send" in (a reassuring) reply to Keigo's text from last night- effectively leaving him on "Read." This entire time Nemu had been fretting about how he would react to her reply... when she had been directly exacerbating the situation!

Her paw snacks her own face. And to her surprise, Keigo actually does the same.

"Man, I feel like crap. Of course I'd be the one to catch a cold in the summer. That's what I get for not having an umbrella though..." Keigo sighs, throwing his head back to stare at the ceiling. "Maybe this is karma though. I really messed up, kitty..."

While she isn't exactly here to play therapist, the regretful tone of Keigo's voice sends a pang of something akin to pity to wash over her. Nemu lets out a tiny mew to encourage him to continue. When Keigo looks back down at the kitten in his lap, he runs a hand down it's back to give another stroke. Nemu blissfully shudders under his gentle touch, inwardly waxing poetry about his caress. Under her, Keigo's breathing runs ragged as he coughs, sniffles, and sighs.

"There's a girl I like." Keigo's voice barely comes out to a whisper, as if one of his housemates could burst through the door at any moment. He shakes his head then. "No... I'm in love with her... but I think I've made her mad at me."

Nemu practically chokes on a hairball.

A g-girl?! He l-l-l-likes..?! She pauses. LOVES?!

As Keigo continues, Nemu's heart nearly stops from shock. Her tail twitches anxiously, smacking hard against herself, Keigo's thigh, and the cushion of the couch. She isn't sure if she's willing to hear any more- not only due to prying into something so intimate, but out of fear of the possibility that Keigo...

Nemu blinks. Keigo... what, exactly? She's never fully given into the thought that he might have feelings for anyone romantically. Wolf propositioning her to be his mate is one thing- she knows there's a difference, but as for Keigo..? Sure, she's felt some annoyance (and perhaps even jealousy) here and there when he brings up a female classmate mid-conversation... her own crush on this frumpy boy certainly hasn't wavered and is constantly making her hyper-aware of his presence. But now, with the real anticipation of hearing about Keigo's actual romantic troubles, Nemu's heart is caught between fluttering and aching.

Keigo breathes out a sigh and groans before pressing the palm of his unoccupied hand to his forehead, massaging out some tension. "I asked her out to this cutesy cafe that I thought she would like..."

Wait. It was just the other day that Keigo had messaged Nemu, inviting her to try some trending pop-up cafe that opened up nearby. He sent pictures of sweet, overflowing parfaits and delicately decorated fluffy pancakes. But yesterday was the day they decided to meet up for it.

"But all I could do was blab about some stupid indie horror flick I wanted to catch on streaming..."

Wait, wait, wait. She recalls Keigo frantically typing away on his phone, only to turn it around and show her movie posters and scenes from some foreign movie. He had talked her ear off about it being available online now and how it was a "certified cult classic."

"Then of course, a crescent just had to show up and bring Wolf out... all I know is that he made a mess of the table with the bill I was footed. And can you believe it- when I came back to, I was just standing in the middle of the street in the rain."

WAAAIT! As Keigo was served his iced coffee, a small creamer was brought to him- it's handle in the slim shape of the crescent moon. In an instant, Wolf appeared, scoffing at the drink Keigo had ordered and stealing half of the pancakes from Nemu's plate, before hollering down at the wait staff to satiate his appetite. Wolf's teasing and rowdiness drew too much attention for Nemu's liking, so she simply excused herself and left. In hindsight, she should have told Wolf off a bit and waited for Keigo, but there were way too many people around to make such a spectacle. But from his lamenting, it sounds like Wolf actually got booted out of the cafe.

"Now she won't even text me back. I've definitely done it this time."

That's just a misunderstanding though?! KEEEIGOOO?!

"I just ended up embarrassing her. She probably didn't even see it as a date at all."

Ah. Nemu's stomach feels as if it's flipped all the way over.

So it was a date. Slowly his words begin to sink in. Her growing acceptance starts to come out as crescendoing purrs. She covers her eyes with her paws and takes a deep breath. A date because Keigo likes me... no... he loves me!

If not for some extensive training, this revelation would be more than enough to break Nemu's concentration and transform back into her witchy self. She almost cannot help herself though. She feels so light, as if she's floating- flying even. She feels something akin to relief wash over her. She feels... feels..!

As prose flows freely in her mind, Nemu squirms about in Keigo's lap, purring loudly. She chances a glance upwards to check on Keigo's own expression, only to find him looking as if he's ready to pass out. Keigo begins to slump forward and squeezes out a cough. His breathing becomes labored and his eyes are close to drooping shut.

Keigo lets out a small chuckle, "I can't... I can't believe the way she can get to me... under my skin like that." There is a fondness laced between his words.

The hand stroking Nemu's back slows to a stop, snapping her fully out of her elation, slightly embarrassed that she hadn't noticed Keigo's worsening condition sooner.

I should have done this from the beginning. This boy never knows what's good for him.

She leaps out of Keigo's lap and scrambles up the stairs and towards his room, making enough noise along the way to catch his attention. She bounds down the hallway and once she reaches his room door, begins scratching and meowing loudly.

"Wha... huh? What are you up to, kitty?"

She listens for the thudding of his footsteps and the creaking of the floorboards getting louder as Keigo draws near.

"You wanna go into my room?" Keigo sniffles and pushes the door open. "I guess even you can tell I'm not doing too well."

He reaches down and picks up the kitten, once again giving it a scritch under the chin. Nemu closes her eyes, falling almost limp in his arms.

"Smart kitty."

Once Keigo steps further inside, Nemu squirms out of his arms and hops onto the bed. She circles around the mattress before finally laying next to the pillow, kneading at it's softness. Keigo wipes his tired eyes and staggers toward his bed, uncovering his blanket before sliding in. He checks his phone one last time before shutting his eyes. It doesn't take very long for Keigo to finally knock out, as his soft, stuffy-nose snores fill the room.

Feeling satisfied with her work, Nemu carefully slinks over Keigo and quietly exits the room. She casts a last glance over her shoulder to see that he is still asleep. As soon as Nemu makes it to the hallway, she transforms back to normal and slowly closes Keigo's door halfway to minimize any disturbance. Finally, back against the wall, she sinks to the floor.

Ohmigosh.

Her hands come up to clasp either side of her face in a poor attempt to collect herself.

Did all that really just happen? Keigo is actually in love with me?

White hair, bright piercing eyes, and a sharp grin flash through her mind.

But then...

She remembers Wolf's voice as clear as day.

"Something inside of me says it's gotta be you."

Nemu presses the heel of her palms against her eyes.

"I don't want just anyone."

Even though she considers Wolf fully as his own person, how much of those feelings interlap with one another..? How can she even think about responding to Keigo's feelings like this? While she's giddy to know Keigo holds her dear, Nemu can't help but worry about how he and Wolf may clash now. She loves Keigo and Wolf... but not because either one is connected to the other.

A sharp cough from behind the door snaps her back to reality. Nemu has never been in a position to care for someone sick, let alone someone she has a crush on.

"I should call Momochi..." Nemu reaches for the phone in her purse, but freezes just as her hand touches the clasp. When it was her in Keigo's position- sick and weary, Keigo and Wolf made sure to stay with her through it.

"No... I can do this much, at least." Nemu unclasps her purse and digs for her phone. Not to call the older witch, but to make a list of what she'll need to pick up at the nearest pharmacy.

About half an hour passes before Nemu returns with lozenges, a throat numbing spray, and some cold medicine. She pilfers the kitchen cabinets to find some tea leaves and a serving tray. It takes another ten minutes for the hot water dispenser to come to temperature for the tea, which leaves Nemu some time to whip up a story to excuse her unannounced arrival. After steeping the leaves to perfection, she pours a cup for Keigo and arranges the rest of the tray and heads up the stairs. "Okay. Some tea, medicine, napkins... that should be more than enough."

From down the hall, she hears a muffled groan and a series of coughs. Keigo must have woken up. Nemu pushes the door ajar with her shoulder to announce her arrival. "Excuse me..."

Keigo lays on the bed with his head turned to face the wall. He's rubs a hand against his throat, likely still sore and definitely in need of some liquid. He doesn't seem to have noticed her entering, so Nemu tries again, lightly clearing her throat. "Ahem. How are you feeling?"

At the sound of Nemu's voice, Keigo flails about on the mattress, turning over to look at the doorway. Nemu steps inside with the tray, taking care to appear calmer than she actually feels.

"Whoa, Nemu?!" Keigo props himself up on one arm and covers the lower half of his face with the other. His voice is a bit scratchy still- but nowhere near as bad as it sounded earlier. "Why are you here? How did you get inside?"

The witch in question chuckles nervously, eyes darting around the room. Mentally, Nemu re-re-rehearses her spiel that was thought up earlier. "I was on my way over to see if Nico wanted to practice some magic. No one was answering the door and I felt something was amiss, so I let myself in. With, um... magic."

Yeah. There's no way he bought that.

She places the tray down onto the small table in the middle of the room and slowly offers him the teacup. Though still on edge from Keigo's indirect confession earlier, her hands tremble while passing it to him.

Keigo fully sits himself up slowly, still somewhat groggy from his nap. "I see... oh- be careful."

He reaches over, allowing his hand to brush against Nemu's to steady the cup. The tips of her ears heat up just from his touch.

Ohhh, get it together, Nemu!

Keigo sips on the hot tea, sighing blissfully as the warm tea soothes him. "Thanks for this. My throat has been killing me."

Nemu takes a seat closer to the foot of the bed and nods toward the tray she placed on the small table. "It sure sounds like it. I brought some throat spray and cough drops just in case. Make sure you take that medicine too."

Keigo rubs the back of his neck. It's painfully obvious that he's just as nervous as she is. "I owe you big time, Nemu. You didn't have to do all this for me."

"It's no big deal, really. But, I am sorry I kind of barged in unannounced."

"No way, don't worry about it. I'm glad you're here actually." The words leave Keigo's mouth before the can even realize what was said. Unfortunately, he backtracks. "I mean, 'cause I'm not feeling good, so... oh, uh- not that you have to care of me or anything. B-but also, not that I'm being ungrateful here..!"

A heavy air of silence falls over the room. Nemu shifts her eyes to the side awkwardly, almost regretting not placing the tray down and leaving before. That is, until Keigo pipes up once again.

"B-by the way, did you see a cat when you got here? I let it inside for a bit but then I fell asleep."

"Oh," Nemu laughs nervously, completely having forgotten to think up some narrative to cover that. "You mean that little tuxedo kitten..? Yes! Yeah! I, um, it actually ran out when I opened the door!"

She mentally kicks herself for making her eventual transformation reveal even more difficult. Brushing that note aside, Nemu tries taking a page out of Keigo's book and opts for some more casual conversation. "So... where is everyone?"

Keigo grabs his phone and begins to open up an app. "Some friends from school invited us to the beach today." He turns his phone towards Nemu. The screen shows various text exchanges between Nico and Kanshi, no doubt in a group chat for the current Otogi residents. The very last message Nemu can see is a photo taken of Nico and Morihito, both clad in their swimwear and waving to the camera. "I was supposed to tag along, except I got caught in that shower last night and ended up... well, like this."

"Oh, I had no idea," Nemu says, "about the beach trip I mean... I guess I should have texted Nico first before coming over, huh?"

A second awkward silence is shared between the two. Keigo drinks up the last bit of his tea whilst Nemu once again peers around the organized clutter of his room, praying that he'll believe her. She twiddles her fingers resolving to address the elephant in the room. "Um... speaking of texts, Keigo... last night, I was-"

Keigo raises a hand to stop her from speaking any further. "It's okay, really. I know that whole thing was-"

Nemu only raises a hand back up at him. "No, no! I just forgot to press send!"

The pair stare at each other in silence before slowly lowering their hands. Keigo's lips press together tightly while Nemu pinches at the bed sheets. Her mind races frantically thinking of topic after topic to change the subject until Keigo speaks up first.

"Either way, Nemu... I'm sorry about our da- err... how I acted at the cafe. I barely let you get a word in the entire time. Plus, even after all that you had to deal with Wolf. And he didn't even tell me what happened. I hope you weren't too embarrassed, and... ah..."

Keigo averts his eyes and his cheeks become an even deeper tinge of pink. Nemu can see his brow furrow underneath his long hair. His voice lowers to a mumble. "You... had to walk home alone."

Nemu shakes her head, attempting to reassure him. "I do it all the time though. Don't forget, I'm a witch too."

"I know, I didn't mean-" Keigo lowers his head while fidgeting with the cup in his hands. Nemu can hear him swallow a lump in his throat. "I wanted... to walk you home though..."

Nemu shuts her eyes and inhales deeply, unable to directly take in the puppy-like sight of Keigo actually pouting. If only she had a spell that could stop time.

Ohmigosh. I've never seen him be so... no, focus! No poems now!

She tries her hardest to keep a straight face from seeing his bashful side and waves a hand in the air.

"That isn't necessary." While Nemu is concerned about what her mother may think, she mostly wonders how her heart would have been able to handle it. She briefly imagines themselves walking side by side, perhaps even sharing an umbrella, under the soft glow of the street lamps. To look like a couple from an outsider's perspective... She shakes her head. "B-but thank you for the offer."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry," Keigo chuckles sheepishly, "geez... I keep showing you such an uncool side of me."

Nemu can't help but simper at this. Especially after seeing how much he's grown. "That isn't true. And there's no need to apologize, Keigo."

She takes his empty tea cup away, setting it onto the tray. Feeling emboldened by knowing that she isn't the only one fumbling about with her feelings, Nemu scoots closer and presses the back of her hand against Keigo's forehead.

"W-whoa, Nemu..?" Keigo squirms about, averting eye contact. "You don't need to do all this!"

Nemu ignores his protesting. He still feels warm, but he doesn't seem as bad as before. With his hair out of the way, she catches a glimpse of the scar high on the side of his temple and gently brushes over it. With a soft smile, Nemu takes her hand away from his forehead and moves it upwards to pat the top of his head.

"If you still want to walk me home... then, maybe the next time we-"

Keigo reaches up and seizes Nemu's wrist, lowering her hand from atop his head. She gasps, but doesn't pull away. His hand is so warm. And his hold on her is light, tender in taking care to not startle, yet firm, as if she could disappear at any moment. His gaze is on her now, and it isn't until he speaks that Nemu realizes that she had been holding her own breath.

"Next time?"

His voice almost pleading and nearly cracks upon delivery. Keigo keeps his eyes fixed on Nemu's, wide awake to ensure this isn't a dream. Nemu feels almost feverish herself. She's sure that her face is beet-red at this point, but doesn't dare to hide it. She decides Keigo deserves at least one win today.

"Yes," Nemu nods, trying her best to not look away. Her heart is a drum inside her chest. Inwardly, she prays that Keigo is unable to feel her rapid pulse in his grasp. "On our next date."

While Keigo is busy short circuiting, trying (and failing) to stutter out a response, Nemu pulls her hand away, watching his own fall limp onto the bed. She rises from the bed and brushes the wrinkles off her dress. "But you'll need to get better before then." Nemu points to the small cup left on the tray. "You better drink that to get over this cold."

Keigo nods almost mechanically. "I think I'm starting to feel better already though."

Nemu playfully rolls her eyes. She makes her way to the door, but stops just before fully exiting the room. With her hand on the doorknob, she hesitates, unsure if she should bring this up. "You know... earlier, when I saw how you were doing, I actually thought about calling Momochi to come and take care of you."

Behind her, Nemu can hear Keigo shift on his bed. He clears his throat before asking, "Why didn't you?"

Her grip on the doorknob tightens. "You... and Wolf too... you've both always done so much for me." Nemu feels like her voice will give out before finishing her sentence. "And it's more than just returning the favor. I want to be someone you can rely on as well."

She isn't even sure if Keigo heard her until the sound of a relieved sigh answers.

"You already are."

And with that, Nemu feels her face grow hot for the umpteenth time today. "Well then. T-take it easy now!"

She shuts the door behind her and speeds down the hall, making a beeline towards the front door. Outside, she presses her back against the front door and seriously considers transforming herself into a mole to bury herself out of embarrassment. "What is wrong with meee..."

Keigo swallows the syrupy medicine with a grimace before laying back down.

"Take it easy, huh?"

He rolls onto his side to face the wall. Then rolls over the other way. Then finally settles on his back, staring at the ceiling. The sweet sound of Nemu's tittering replays inside his head, over and over again. And on top of that-

"On our next date."

Keigo kicks the blankets off of him, suddenly feeling much too warm. His hands rake through his hair, trying (and failing) to make sense of what he is to Nemu. Only a moan of frustration comes out.

"As if I could do that now!"