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For the past four years, Nico lived a double life he was forced into. His mornings were spent at work, only able to do his job for a meager amount of hours before he’d need to leave before noon. Many times his coworkers would see him racing outside, and they wouldn’t be able to find him after that.
That was because at noon, every day, he would turn into a cat. It was an uncontrollable part of him and, like most of his other uncontrollable parts, he despised it. Of course there was nothing he could do since Nico barely made enough for his rent. There was no way he could hire a magic user to cure him.
For one, he didn’t trust people with magic. Four years ago, a witch cursed him. His life fell apart, and he fled from all of his problems. A witch gave him this problem, and he could not trust any of their kind to get him out of it.
Since he was in cat form for half of his day, he made sure all of his food and drink was accessible. No surface was too out of reach for him, and he could even go out of a flap on his apartment door. He would unlock it as soon as he got home, allowing his cat form access to the outdoors.
When he was finished eating his lunch, Nico decided to go outside. The world was much grander when he was small, and he could appreciate sun beams so much better when the warmth soaked into his black fur. Still, he always found himself wishing he could get rid of this curse. His life would be so much more stable.
He passed through a bustling marketplace, avoiding people’s paths and ducking under clothed tables when he needed to. His wide brown eyes glanced around, looking out for any stalls that sold good food. Sometimes, he would be able to beg his way to a free meal. The people he would target most commonly were people who would hand feed him, because there was no way he was eating off the floor.
Soon, he found the perfect target. Across from the stall he was currently ducked underneath, he could see a blonde couple selling food. They both had light colored eyes that struck him as soon as he saw them for the first time. The colors gray and blue initially put him off of interacting. However, he saw the kindness from the couple towards a stray dog a while back. Nico knew he‘d be okay.
The woman was always holding a book, and the man was always the one preparing the meals for whoever asked. He knew the man exhibited a soft spot for cats and dogs from past experience—this was the perfect place to grab a free meal.
With a shameful amount of excitement, Nico ran towards the stall. After he was already halfway there, a foot was suddenly above him. He froze up, and before he knew it a stranger had stepped on one of his legs. With a yowl of pain, he limped forward and away from the fiend. If that man caused any significant damage he was going to be in a lot of trouble.
There was no way he would be able to afford a hospital right now.
“Jason!”
Was that the woman from the stall? It had to be, the lady approaching him and calling out was holding a book. The name rang a bell, it had to be the man’s name. He was always so bad at remembering those… The book at a closer look seemed impossibly thick. He would never enjoy reading something like that.
His mind focused on the most random of things when he was bored. Trying to salvage his sanity, he stayed upright despite his injured leg.
“Oh!” Jason, he assumed, ran over and knelt down in front of the cat. “Annabeth, isn’t this the black kitten from a few days ago? Poor thing, their leg is hurt.”
Suddenly, his feet were off the ground, and he was being carried in very strong arms. He had to repress some thoughts as he was carried over to the couple’s stall.
“Don’t we know someone who could help him?” Annabeth asked as Jason placed him on the stall. Instantly, Nico was limping over to some fish Jason recently cooked. Jason didn’t seem to mind when he sniffed it, so he started chowing down. “What about that one friend of yours?”
The fish was delectable, he barely listened until Jason stopped petting him and used his hand to pick up his phone instead.
“Hey, Percy. Can you come to the marketplace? There’s this cat I think is injured. I know that’s a bit in your wheelhouse.” A grin appeared on Jason’s face; Nico could see his nervousness ebbing away. “Oh, you’re nearby? Perfect! Yeah, we’re near the surfboards… Got it. See you soon!”
When Jason set his phone back down, Annabeth sat down with her book again. “That sounds like it went well.”
“Yep! He’s coming!” Once again, Nico found himself scooped up, but he was more annoyed this time. He didn’t get to finish his fish! He tried clawing at Jason's arms, but he only managed to inflict white lines on the man’s skin. Begrudgingly, he gave up and let himself be held by this man.
It was shameful to admit he enjoyed it when his head was scratched. It helped him calm down, though the couple calling him a kitten really got on his nerves. He was 22, his cat form shouldn’t be that short, or was it? Whatever, these people were still delusional in his book.
“I heard you need help with a cat?” Nico was lifted up as Jason stood up and headed to the front of the stall. In front of him was a black-haired man with striking green eyes. Everyone he’s been meeting has such pretty eyes, Nico was starting to get jealous.
Jason held him out to the stranger, and Nico was apprehensive. Something about this guy felt off…
“I’m sure with your magic that leg will be healed in no time!”
That’s it. There was no way that was simply a turn of phrase he just heard. This was a witch. He could smell the magic disguised by the scent of salt that reminded Nico of the beaches nearby. No matter what, he was not letting himself be captured by a witch.
With a new boost of strength, he kicked out of Jason’s arms with his hind legs and launched himself onto the stall table before quickly jumping off that too. He landed hard on the concrete, his injured front leg screaming in pain. It didn’t matter, he needed to get out of here.
He was out of practice running as a cat, one of the likely reasons he got stepped on in first place, and his injured leg did him no favors. Jolts of pain consistently ran up it, making him shudder even as he maneuvered decently past people and obstacles. As soon as he couldn’t see the witch behind him, he let himself stop running and pant like a dog. Looking around, he was in an alleyway away from most of the people heading to and from the market.
Just as he was about to limp home, the scent of the sea hit his nose again. Shit.
Nico was given no chance to react before tanned hands picked him up. He was exhausted from his run, so his clawing and even his biting resulted in nothing.
“Hey, hey. I know you're scared…” The witch tried to reassure him, petting Nico even as he kept trying to bite his captor. “I just want to help you with your leg. Trust me, you’ll feel better soon.”
Nico let out a yowl, trying another tactic. If he annoyed this witch enough, he could be left alone. The guy didn’t seem to care though, carrying him past the market and into another area of the town. This place, which he never went to often, was closer to the beach. Of course this witch lived near the sea, he reeked of it!
Even if he managed to escape now, it would be hard for him to navigate home. Still, he shouldn’t give up on escaping this witch! Scratch, bite, yowl. He started making this a pattern.
His body was jostled a little as the witch went up some steps, going inside a small blue house near the beach with Nico still trapped in his arms. The house was cold inside, which Nico didn’t actually mind—it felt good after being outside for a while.
“Okay, you’re finally calm now.” The witch let out a sigh of relief as he carried Nico further into the house and down some steps. Nico hadn’t calmed down, his fur showed his terrified state. He really did not like magic users, for obvious reasons.
The basement of this witch’s house was pretty much what he imagined. A giant cauldron at the center, books on the walls, and potions lining many surfaces. It looked whimsical, and he was sure a younger him would love looking around, but now he knew to be wary.
“Sorry, you’re going to try to escape and I don’t have many places to contain a cat…” He listened to the witch’s explanation as he was set down in the cauldron with hesitance. “I don’t want to keep calling you cat or kitty… how about I call you Nina? Hi Nina, I’m Percy.”
Nico yowled at that, trying to show his distaste. Percy shrugged and grabbed a book, walking away from the cauldron. All Nico could see now was the ceiling above the cauldron. He tried to climb out, but his claws could not grip onto the metal surrounding him.
He was left alone in the there, but at least the metal was cold. He rolled on it, trying to scratch an itch on his back. Soon, Percy returned and giggled. Embarrassed, Nico quickly got back on three paws.
“I realize Nina is not a good name for you now—I assumed you were a girl cat.” Percy was flipping through a book, and Nico tried to focus on the title of the book instead of what Percy was saying. It said something in latin. “I guess we should stick to kitty.”
He went away for a moment before coming back with a vial of red liquid. Nico instantly backed away, pressing his side to the part of the cauldron furthest from the witch. There really was no escaping Percy though, as he was scooped up by his belly and the red liquid was dumped on his leg.
At least he got a good kick in, causing the vial to shatter on the floor. Percy gasped, but kept enough of a hold on Nico. The pain in his leg started to ease, but Nico still did not want to trust magic.
“You are one fiesty cat!”
Percy put him back in the cauldron, where Nico tested his leg. It… was healed. It was so strange since it was just broken…
“See? You’re healed! Will you be nicer to me now?”
Nico stared down at his leg and the cauldron he was in. If he wanted to get out of here before he detransformed he, sadly, needed to act nice. Begrudgingly, he sat down and stared up at Percy, letting his tail sway side-to-side slowly. When Percy reached towards him, he didn’t even hiss.
It was really hard to suppress his instincts, but he did it. He let Percy gently pet his head while staying quiet.
“You did a 180,” Percy spoke quietly, “I’m going to take you out of the cauldron now, okay?”
Nico hated the idea, but it wasn’t like he could refuse. He needed to get out of here before midnight. No matter what he wanted, his transformation would trigger. Nico wasn’t sure if Percy would be as nice to a cursed human as he was to a cat.
Hands wrapped around his middle, firm but gentle, and picked him up from the cauldron. He was cradled in Percy’s arms as the witch spoke loudly. Nico couldn’t understand why the man was such a chatterbox when no one was around to respond to him. He begrudgingly listened to the rambling before one statement made his ears perk up.
“I’ve always wanted a familiar,” Percy scratched behind one of Nico’s ears. “Maybe you can be mine?”
That was yet another idea Nico hated, but he couldn’t express his displeasure when that would risk being trapped in the cauldron again. He laid in Percy’s arms and was carried upstairs. As soon as he saw sunlight, his head swiveled towards the window it was coming from. It looked to be locked, much to Nico’s disappointment.
He was carried into the kitchen and gently placed on a countertop which did feel strange to Nico. As a human he wouldn’t let a cat on his counter, but witches could be different and not care for the cleanliness of their cooking surfaces. Soon he was being offered some fish from a tupperware.
Nico leaned down his head and sniffed the food before hesitantly eating some of it. He wasn’t very hungry after being kidnapped—catnapped, maybe—by a witch.
“Not hungry, bud?” Percy was watching him closely, and Nico really did not like it. If that man got any closer he could find signs Nico wasn’t an ordinary cat; Nico was sure of this.
The effects of him getting up early for work were starting to hit him at this point, but he tried to stay awake. He couldn’t let his guard down around a witch, even when the witch carried him to the couch to watch some random show about a guy trying to escape the underworld.
When the character started flirting with another man though, Nico’s ears perked up. Being gay always felt wrong to Nico. There was a sense of shame that came with it. However, this character on the TV seemed shameless and the witch looked to be unbothered.
It felt so wrong.
Was it really not something to be ashamed of? But that shame got him into this situation…
He did not want to think about it further, so he fell asleep.
Nico wanted to wake up before midnight, when he would turn back, but he ended up waking many hours later.
Yawning, he sat up and looked around. He expected to see his usual living space, but instead he saw a witch peering down at him. Startled, he let out a yelp and pulled the blanket that was covering his lower half over his torso like it would protect him.
“You’re that cat,” Percy spoke softly. He didn’t sound judgemental or angry, like Nico expected, but rather confused.
“Uh… no?” Nico’s sleepiness was getting to him.
“You are. You have the same eyes. I didn’t think a fellow witch would be stupid enough to stay as a cat even when injured…”
Nico felt anger taking hold of his wits. “I am not a witch! I’m human!”
“Human?” Percy knelt on the ground, getting on eye-level with Nico. “That’s impossible unless you were cursed. Were you cursed?”
All Nico could manage was a silent nod. Having the man’s breath touch his face made his brain short circuit. Percy stood up, offering a hand to Nico.
“I could fix that, but I would need to know how the curse was inflicted. What made a witch mad enough at you that they would do such a thing?”
Admitting what made him this way was out of the question. “No.”
The witch looked confused, his eyebrows furrowing as he stood up and stared Nico down. “No?”
“I’m not telling you why I was cursed. It’s private information.”
Percy frowned. “If you’re not going to let me help you, you’re going to be stuck as my familiar.”
At this point Nico was not comfortable laying on the couch, so he sat up and grabbed his phone out of his pocket. He tried to switch it on, but it was dead. “What? Why? Can’t you just—un-familiar me?”
“That’s not how it works when we’re tethered, kitty-cat.” The witch started walking into the kitchen, but Nico was not going to let the conversation end so suddenly.
“Don’t call me that.” He followed.
He swore he spotted a smirk on Percy’s face before a fridge door was opened and obscured his view. “Well I don’t know your name, so kitty-cat is what I’m going with until you give me that bit of info.”
The fridge closed, a pack of bacon strips now in Percy’s hands. As much as Nico craved the food, he wasn’t going to lose his focus.
“Nico. That’s my name.”
“And I’m Percy,” he got out a pan, “but you knew that.”
“Can you stop being insufferable for one second and explain why you can’t—as you say— untether me?” Nico held back a groan. He didn’t even know what the word meant exactly, but he could infer the meaning.
Percy paused his movements before putting a hand on his chin and tilting his head upwards. “We’re connected now so… if you or I leave each other's vicinity for too long we’ll get extremely tired. We supply each other with energy. When you’re with me, my powers are amplified. This is the trade-off of having a familiar.”
Having his question answered only made Nico more confused. He spotted a clock behind Percy and held back what would have been an embarrassingly loud gasp.
10:25
“Shit! I’m late for work!”
The worst part of being late wasn’t even the being late part, it was the fact he couldn’t call them to make up a half-decent excuse. His phone was still dead, and without it he likely couldn’t even go to his job. He didn’t know a good route from this beach house to the workplace. There was no chance he could make it to work and not have to do overtime, which would be impossible for him with his curse.
He put a hand on his face. “Do you have a phone charger?”
Percy started putting the bacon he prepared on two plates. “I do have one. Do you need it?”
“Why else would I be asking??”
His anger didn’t hit Percy at the right angle because it seemed to just bounce back at him. “I don’t know if you think witches are uncivilized or whatever! People ask weird questions to witches all the time just for the fun of it, not for any good reason. Like oh where’s your hat or oh shouldn’t you call yourself a warlock instead?”
Nico would die before he would admit those questions did swirl in his mind, so he gave a very witty comeback. “Just get me a charger!”
“It’s in my bedroom on my nightstand, get it yourself.” Percy’s tone was oddly cheerful as he got to work on some eggs. Nico resisted the urge to lick his lips.
“Aren’t you worried I’ll snoop?”
Percy didn’t look up from his cooking, but a small smirk emerged on his face. “If you open anything—drawers, the closet, you name it—there are curses placed on each and every one of those. I don’t think you’d want to be cursed twice, right?”
Walking into Percy’s bedroom, he did steer clear of anything that required opening, but he still looked around. Anything to show this guy had malicious intent could give him an excuse to make a run for it. He didn’t need his curse broken, he could live with it and less energy.
You’re barely living now.
He told that part of him to shut up and grabbed the charger he needed from Percy’s nightstand. Storming back into the kitchen, he plugged in his phone as Percy was scrolling on his.
“Oh, Jason wants to know if the kitten he gave me is okay. That’s sweet.” Percy giggled and set down his phone to start plating the eggs. It was only now that Nico caught on that breakfast would be for him too. “Are you okay, kitty?”
“Please don’t call me a kitten or kitty when you know that isn’t accurate. I’m a grown man.” Nico tried turning on his phone impatiently, but it still seemed to need a few more minutes on the charger.
“You are, but you’re also really short which does make your cat form look kitty-like.”
Nico put down his phone to stand up fully. “I’m not even that short! You’re just tall!”
“Me? Tall??” Percy sounded genuinely offended. “I’m hardly average height, Neeks!”
At least Neeks is better than being called a kitten.
Ugh, he couldn’t stay here. Even as he consumed some frankly delicious eggs and bacon that was still the biggest weight on his shoulders. His distrust for Percy would likely be for the best, he was right many times before.
While eating and having Percy cheerfully invite him to lunch at some restaurant nearby before his transformation triggered, Nico decided he would be leaving tomorrow.
After the next day, he thought the same thing.
The day after that, he thought the same thing.
Two weeks later, he thought the same thing.
Then he truly gave up.
When his transformations would trigger, Percy would still talk to him. He ended up learning a lot about spellcasting and being a familiar. Apparently he needed to wear a tiny witch’s hat for spells to be amplified? That’s what Percy told him anyway, and he did trust Percy.
He ended up quitting his job. Percy made enough with his witch black market and occasional lifeguard duties. Nico would watch, in human and cat form, as Percy made sure no one drowned in the sea he lived near.
Then Nico started to get antsy. He was not made for doing small household chores and lazing around all day. He was more human than feline, at least he liked to believe that to be the case, but his cat curse still got in the way of many job opportunities.
So, he finally told Percy the truth. It was one month into their arrangement, and Nico found himself ten minutes away from transforming.
“I was cursed because I’m gay,” he blurted as he sat next to Percy on the couch. He watched Percy’s thumb freeze over his phone screen. Percy set it aside calmly on the side opposite to Nico before turning around.
“…What?!”
“My shame.” Nico pulled his legs up. “It’s because I’m gay.”
Percy’s eyes were wide and for a moment Nico felt genuine fear. Should he have not said anything? “There’s nothing wrong with being gay!” Okay, Nico let out a small breath of relief. “Why would a witch curse you for that?”
“There isn’t anything wrong with it…?”
“No! Who gave you that idea?”
“Uhhh… School, parents, grandparents, my boyfriend being a total dick—“
Cutting him off, Percy scooted a little closer to him. Their legs touched and Nico jolted like he was struck by lightning. Percy didn’t mind and continued speaking, his face getting closer to Nico’s. “Okay, let’s back up. What was the particular event that caused this witch to give you the curse?”
Nico rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I hope you uncurse me after this…”
“Of course I will but I need to make sure I get all of these details before making an attempt.”
“Fine… so me and Will—my ex—were having a nice time at the park. I was having a bad day and Will really wanted me to feel better, so he kissed me. I didn’t really like that so we got into an argument. After that, a lady just popped out of a bush and turned me into a cat.”
Nico looked at the clock, 11:59.
Percy made a bit of a grimace, “I think she missed.”
“What? That doesn’t feel right. Why would she—?” Before Nico could finish his sentence, he was back in cat form. Percy liked to call it kitty form to spite him, but Nico refused to use the same vocabulary.
An affectionate smile appeared on Percy’s face as he picked Nico up and set him on his lap. Nico resigned himself to laying between Percy’s thighs, facing the TV’s dark screen. He hated that it was turned off, he would love a distraction from his current state and this conversation.
“She missed.” Percy spoke to their reflections on the TV as he petted Nico’s back. “She was aiming for your boyfriend, not you. Most witches aren’t homophobic, we’re not ones to hate on people peacefully breaking social norms.”
He was suddenly picked up and let out a yowl of surprise as Percy got him settled in his arms. “Okay, now we can take away this curse of your’s.”
As he was carried down to Percy’s basement, he started to feel a little sad. He would miss this, but there was more to life than being carried around easily and tiny hats. Nico wanted his curse broken for years, and even the pleasant aspects of his transformation didn’t change that desire.
Nico was placed at Percy’s work table as the witch started flipping through pages of a book. Laying down beside it, Nico rested his head on a page as Percy read over a list of ingredients. Whiskers brushed against the page, and Nico readjusted a bit. Some of these words he recognized, others not so much.
Percy started pulling down crystals from shelves and herbs from cabinets, putting them all around Nico like he was building a wall around him. When Percy was finished collecting items, he couldn’t help but giggle at his work. Nico let out a mrow of amusement before stretching and nearly knocking a crystal off the table with his feet.
The witch snapped to attention and grabbed it before it could fall off. “The positioning is actually important, so be more careful. Ready?”
Nico moved to stand on the table, his paw pads touching wood. He was tempted to claw at the wood to let out his excitement, but settled on meowing loudly.
Percy took a breath and patted Nico’s head before putting both hands out in front of him. “You should close your eyes. Changing someone forcefully from a cat to a human looks a bit disturbing from what I’ve heard. It won’t be painful physically, but visually it’ll be uncomfortable.”
Taking a breath, Nico closed his eyes and waited for pain. Only it never came. What came instead was numbness all through his limbs and even his brain before he blinked open his eyes and realized he was a human sitting on Percy’s table
Percy kissed him, and his human feet hit the floor.
“That was… part of the spell right?”
Percy grinned, but it felt apprehensive. “Nope, I just wanted to do that. Was… was that okay?”
Pressing his lips against each other, as if his opinion on the kiss would change at all from him doing that, Nico smiled. He nodded slowly before arms wrapped around his waist. Suddenly, he was being pulled into a hug.
“That’s good. I felt like celebrating and I was high on adrenaline and you’re really hot and man is this too much I’m sorry—”
Nico grinned and put his arms around the witch’s neck. “Don’t be. You helped me, and I’m grateful.” He kissed Percy’s cheek before blurting, “I think I love you.”
“I love you too, Nico.”