The walk home had been as romantic as you could get when handholding meant Maki brushing Nico's hand with her warm furry shoulder and serenading meant Maki howling what Nico suspected was an approximation of "It's De-lovely." The night was almost young, the air was nearly clear, Fangs' tech was done for the day, and Nico could go home, collapse on the couch and ACTUALLY relax, at least until tomorrow when she had to wake up early, head to the Cup o' to work a shift and prep the Sunday/Monday food, and then go back to the theatre for a redo of Fangs tech. Nico was not looking forward to that, having to rework cues was boring. Yes, Nico knew it was necessary, but that didn't make having to be there while it happened any more fun.

Maki was having a slightly less relaxing night, every time she snuffled at any part of Nico, she smelled Nico PLUS Kashima, which in wolf form, was bringing out the urge to chase Kashima down and...Maki raised her snout, sniffing the air, she could smell Kashima halfway across campus, going home with some woman other than Nico. Maki glanced at Nico, tempted to sprint off and return quickly. But then Nico ruffled the fur behind Maki's ear and said, "Nico is happy to see you, pretty girl. I was feeling lonely."

Maki sniffed Nico's hand. Besides a huge dose of Kashima and a surge in vanilla and magic, there was fatigue and frustration and not so much of the delicious and delirious mix that would always entice Maki Nico-ward. A little more than half the moon shone brightly and Maki could feel that tug again, although not in any way she could currently articulate. She howled, full voice, then drifted a little ahead of Nico, wary of potential dangers. Maki had been eager to see Nico, practically desperate to push Nico toward her apartment so they could...Maki shook her head, that thought was a bit blurry, mostly an urge to roll around on Nico's couch in her current form while Nico...Maki stopped, letting Nico catch up and stood taller when she felt Nico's bare hand on her shoulder, the connection a magnet between them even if something in the atmosphere pricked at Maki's primal instincts, friction seeding cantrips of doubt. It was probably only that Nico smelled so different, stage makeup and strangers, people Maki couldn't make a mental map of from trace fragments. And Kashima, smelling bold and...forceful. Maki whined.

"What's the matter, Maki?" Nico nudged Maki with her hip, "We're almost home. You can tell Nico all about it, then Nico will tell you exactly why she smells so much like Kashima...Nico only wishes it was a funny story instead of a list of how many places can Kashima accidentally put her hands wrong. She was so busy trying to…"

Maki snarled. Nico stopped. Lavender eyes were glinting too green for Nico's liking. Something was off…Nico smiled, hands back in her mittens, clapping them together to signal a new scene starting, one where Nico fixed the mood by talking about Nico.

"Come on, Maki, let's hurry up. Nico is too too cold," Nico very dramatically hugged herself while shivering, directly in front of the werewolf's nose, Nico concentrating on memories of last night, Maki at the piano, Maki sprawling underneath Nico, no human sounds passing those lips carved out of perfect pink...Maki pushed forward, sniffing eagerly, and Nico could feel the change, Maki's renewed interest in her. Nico trotted past Maki, only two more streets to cross, then Maki gets the "don't be jealous" lecture and Nico gets to brush her lips against something more yielding than the starched fabric of Dracula's collar.

Nico was great at planning. Pick any strategy game, any historic battle, and Nico's thinking would be the mirror image of the winning general. Nico knew how to identify a problem, create a plan to solve that problem, and put that plan into action. Easy peasy. Got Nico where she was right now. Which was up against the wall that was the realization that a stubborn werewolf girlfriend might not exactly be a problem Nico could use her strategic resources to solve.

Maki was sitting in front of Nico's bedroom, obstinately blocking Nico's passage. And trying to actively shove Nico toward the bathroom. When Nico refused to move, Maki would sniff Nico and whine, eyes lavender and pouty over a drooping snout.

"Maki is jealous, huh? Upset because Nico smells like Kashima." Nico dropped back into the couch, wooly socks propped up on the table in front of her, "That's cute for maybe 10 seconds, pretty girl, but we can't have this. Nico is in a business where in order to maximize Nico's talent and cuteness, I'm going to have to get close to sweaty, possibly hairy people who are not you."

Maki whined, adding a particularly pathetic howled series of notes at the end. Then she leapt over the table and landed across Nico's lap, rocking the couch.

"Oooooppphhh...ow, Maki, Nico wasn't ready for that." Nico spread her arms across the back of the couch, refusing to encourage Maki with petting. Maki took advantage of this to lick Nico's face from chin to ear, then dragging her rough, wet tongue across Nico's nose to slobber from the other ear back chin-ward, then nuzzling into Nico's neck, softly whining.

"Uuugghhh" Nico pushed against Maki, but the werewolf had settled most of her weight on Nico's lap and was snuffling her way down Nico's sweater, distending the neckline, "This is ridiculous. Nico has better ways to spend her Saturday night than being a sponge for werewolf saliva." Nico grabbed under Maki's snout and forced the redhead to make eye contact. "MAKI."

Maki froze.

Nico dislodged the werewolf from her lap. "Good. Nico is going to go shower, to get the smell of Kashima AND YOU off her." Nico sighed as Maki whimpered. "While Nico is doing that, find something to wear. Nico needs to get you a werewolf backpack full of clothes." Nico stood, arms crossed, "Actually, Nico will be right back." Nico disappeared into Umi's room, Maki shuffling after her, puzzled. Nico came back with a dark blue corduroy shirt, muttering, ""Girlfriend who never brings clothes" surely falls under the "joint resources in case of emergency" clause." Nico draped the shirt over Maki's back, "Wear this. It'll be a little tight, but Nico deserves a perq after all this. And no peeking at Nico in the shower."

Maki sat back on her haunches and nodded. Nico chuckled, hands mussing the fur between Maki's ears, tone playful, "Don't worry, fur, red, standing up, eyes, jealous, green."

Maki snorted, brow furrowed, suspicious.

Nico ignored her and continued. "Nico has an idea about how you can make this up to her."

Human Maki might have wondered why Nico smelling brash and confident was such a draw, wolf Maki just clamped her jaw closed to stifle the thirsty whimper.

Smirking, Nico tapped her nose on Maki's, voice a low thrill, "See you soon, pretty GIRL."

Pleased. It was an odd feeling, Nozomi thought, her face open and cheerful, her loving fiancee on her arm, snuggling as close as she could because after dark, and a difficult tech done for the day. Satisfaction surrounded the two of them like a precious bubble and Nozomi slowed her steps to enjoy every breath of it.

"I was looking forward to a free day tomorrow," Eli sighed.

Nozomi patted her hand, "You were looking forward to more time to study for midterms."

Eli sounded hurt, "While lying in your bed, next to you, Nozomi."

Nozomi, "Ah, you wouldn't have gotten much studying done then, Eli-chi. You were very distracting on stage today. I'm glad Shalin's running the light board not me, I'd be missing cues while you slink across the stage being sexy."

Eli's grip tightened, "It's fun playing a villain. It's so physical, looming over Micah, trying to snatch Harker before Dracula ruins the party."

"Dracula, the Party Ruiner." Nozomi started to cross Sheridan Road, but Eli pulled her north.

"Remember, Nozomi, we have to meet Hanayo. She's in a panic. Someone saw Rin on the Lakefill."

"Poor Rin."

Eli shrugged. "More like nasty 'People Threatening Rin'."

"True." Nozomi swung her hand down to grasp Eli's and picked up the pace, "Let's go help some cute girls."

Rin's eyes were a curious mix of two greens Nozomi thought as the small woman stared at her from her perch on the desk. Eli had just finished shaking Hanayo's hand and was about to ask a question when Rin spoke, "Just tell 'em, Kayo-chin."

"Rin!" Hanayo turned, ignoring the other two women in the room.

"Everybody else you talk to seems to know," Rin sounded peevish and Hanayo paled. Rin stood, anger altering her pixie cute appearance so she looked feral in the shadows of the half lit room. "Hi, I'm Rin. I'm a werewolf. If I don't get captured by Kayo-chin's STOOPID bosses, maybe I'll rip something off you."

"Rin." Hanayo's voice snapped back fiercely. Eli stepped back, hand reaching for Nozomi.

Rin shrugged, and climbed into the lower bunk bed, "What's the point?"

Eli squared her shoulders, voice calming. "We're here to help both of you. Thank you for trusting us with your secret, Rin."

Rin flipped her hand, tossing off Eli's offering, "You're scared. Of me. And "They" get to do anything they want."

Hanayo knelt in front of Rin, "No, they don't. I'm making copies of everything for Professor Põder. They'll be expelled; there might be criminal charges. It'll be a better case…"

"I DON'T WANT TO JUST SIT AND WAIT FOR SOMETHING BAD TO HAPPEN TO SOMEONE…" Rin shouted, hands gripping Hanayo's shoulders. "Maki'll bite through walls if they do anything to…"

"Rin…" Hanayo hissed, frantic; Rin paled, suddenly nervous.

Nozomi tried to mirror Eli's posture, with the addition of a mostly truth, "Nico-chi already told me. Don't worry."

At that, Rin, though still angry, relaxed and Hanayo's stir of panic calmed. Nozomi's curiosity to see Maki in action as a wolf increased.

Hanayo pulled out her chair and offered the bed opposite the bunk for Nozomi and Eli to sit.

Nozomi kept an eye on Rin, while Eli began trying to coax what had happened out of Hanayo.

Hanayo hiccupped, "Two girls took a picture of Rin, we think. Anju has a "lost dog" story posted in some NU social media groups, with a reward. It's the screenshot of Rin Tsubasa showed me."

Eli nodded, taking care to continue to exude calm, "So you think they'll get in contact with Anju?"

Hanayo nodded, hands atremor as she fidgeted, "And if I'm in the picture…"

"Just text Anju that you saw the dog this afternoon." Nozomi leaned her head on Eli's shoulder, "At the very least it will confuse them."

"Sneaky." Rin said, sounding impressed.

"Yep." Nozomi waved her fingers in the air as if an invisible card trick were happening, "Delay, staying on the attack, and an honest face are your friends."

Hanayo gulped, pulling out her phone and looked to Rin who nodded. "What do I say?"

Nozomi moved to lean over Hanayo's shoulder, "Just that you saw the post somewhere and that dog ran up to you this afternoon."

Hanayo typed with one finger and all of her concentration. Rin sighed and laid back on the bed.

Anju was staring at her phone, eyebrows very low, eyes narrowed and moving back and forth between the text from Hanayo and the email on her computer screen with a jpeg of Hanayo on the Lakefill, next to what looked a lot like the werewolf Tsubasa had been searching for. Anju had posted that picture around, frustrated by Tsubasa's obsession distracting her from coming up with solutions to the transmitters crashing the Wirtz electrical infrastructure. Anju just needed everything to go exactly as planned once. For that, she needed Tsubasa focused on her problem, not the werewolf. And Koizumi had been too good to be true, it turns out. Now, and pale purple eyes gleamed with the strategies gelling behind them, how could Anju use this to her advantage?

Maki was pacing. In human form. Wolf would be a bad idea right now, Maki was restless enough, the moon still prickling under her skin...damn Neruda...and the nightmare...so many Kashima notes in the air around Nico earlier that Maki could still pick them up, which had led to waking in a cold sweat from a dream of Nico in white gown, offering her hand to a glowing eyed Kashima, who started to transform with a howl when Maki woke up. Nico had mumbled something, but not woken, and Maki had grabbed Nico's fuzzy, oversized, pink bathrobe and fled to the couch, her heart racing, breathing out of control. At least Nico had put her outfit from earlier in the laundry hamper so Maki wasn't actively confronted by it. She pulled Nico's bathrobe up around her mouth and nose, concentrating on taking in as much sense information on Nico as she could absorb. She fell into the couch, kicking her legs in the air, then pumping them as if she were cycling a bike. She didn't want Kashima to make her crazy; rationally, Kashima was low on the competition scale, Maki had NEVER sensed any hint of attraction from Nico when Kashima was around...but on a more primitive level, Maki was jealous. She pushed the imaginary bike to a sprint pace, legs flying, then flopped out full length.

"Maki?" Nico was standing in the door of her bedroom, nightgown back on.

Maki huffed, "I'm jealous."

Nico sounded sad, Maki could smell the disappointment, "Nico knows, but…"

Maki flipped on her side, eyes glinting green at Nico, self awareness subduing her tone, "I'm jealous of the time Kashima gets to spend with you, the duet, the work you do together…"

"Oh." Nico came into the room, sitting on the coffee table once again, "Nico is more interesting than writing papers."

"Yeah." Maki admitted. She had finished the paper, but pre Nico Maki would have considered her effort a rough first draft.

Nico tenderly stroked the line of Maki's cheek, "That song you wrote for me was better than Porter. Please tell me you're at least minoring in music."

Maki sat up, taking Nico's hand in hers, "We never really had this kind of a talk did we?"

"Nope," Nico yawned, "There were too many conversations where Nico had to lecture you about taking proper care of your dog. Or wearing warmer clothes. Nico has given up on that."

Maki laughed as she raised Nico's hand to her lips, "Hi, I'm Maki Nishikino. I'm a freshman, I haven't picked a major yet, but…" Maki slid Nico's fingers so the tips were resting on her lips, "I live for playing the piano. And touching you." Maki nipped at Nico's fingers, "Oh, and I howl, very tunefully, pitch perfect, always in the direction of the moon."

"Not true, sometimes you howl at Nico." Nico tapped Maki's nose, then ran her hand up in to Maki's hair.

Maki leaned in, "It's your skin that the moon lives in, Nico." Maki swept Nico's hair back behind her ear, "You glow. Brighter than anything. You're amazing."

As much as Nico thrived on compliments from discerning audience members, this was a conversation train she had to derail. "Nico has an early morning. And has already expressed her appreciation of your songwriting skills." Nico winked, "Remember?"

Maki laid back down on the couch, robe falling open at the waist, enjoying the delicious mix of want starting to stir in Nico, "I can still feel your..."

"Good." Interrupting her far too smug and unclothed to be that hot girlfriend, Nico stood, reciting her near death scene lines over and over again in her head, forcing herself to look away from Maki, "Nico likes to be thorough."

"Nico?" Maki let a plead of a whimper out, her own hand tracing the line of her hip.

Nico turned, but her eyes were on the wall behind the couch, not Maki, "This is an important week to me, pretty girl. You said you'd help. So help."

Maki started singing, staring at the ceiling,

"I've got you under my skin

I've got you deep in the heart of me

So deep in my heart, that you're really a part of me

I've got you under my skin

I've tried so hard not to give in

I've said to myself this affair will never go so well

But why should I try to resist, when baby will I know so well

That I've got you under my skin

I'd sacrifice anything come what might

For the sake of having you near"

Maki knew Nico was moving closer, and amused, but she let Nico's kiss surprise her, "We can get much nearer tomorrow night, pretty girl. Come to bed when you're ready to sleep."

A quick glimpse into the depths of ruby swirling with so many emotions Maki hadn't identified yet, a finger tingling from a brief touch on Nico's bare leg, the smell of contentment and sensuality and comfort filling the air of the room. Not all that Maki'd hoped for, but so much better than the nightmare,

"Don't you know, silly fool, you never can win

Use your mentality, wake up to reality

But each time I do, just the thought of you

Makes me stop before I begin..."

Good night, Nico." Maki whispered to herself.

A/N: Right, and now I get this back on track.