79 - Drabble - Post TWEWY [Without NEO]

xxxxx

Ambiguous

It had been a peaceful few years if Shiki would say so herself.

She went to high school, started Gatto Nero with her best friend, Eri, and now was enjoying a period where they were established enough for her not to worry.

It wasn't that it was sunshine and roses all the way but compared to what she had experienced when she was fifteen…life was good.

Especially with a cat in your lap.

The calico cat purred as Shiki scratched under its chin. This was pure bliss. She was sitting on a comfy sofa at a trendy cat cafe with a delicious cup of coffee within arm's reach. She didn't used to be as fond of the drink but she acquired the taste as the years passed.

Neku, who had always been an advocate for coffee, sipped his own beside her. "Not bad."

"I thought it was really good," said Shiki.

"Not saying it's not. Just not as good as - "

"Hanekoma's?" she finished his sentence for him.

"Of course." The white cat on his lap meowed as he set down his half-finished cup on the short wooden coffee table beside him.

It struck Shiki how much she liked the interior of the cat cafe. Yes, it pleased the eyes enough through PincSta photos alone but it wasn't uncommon for the real thing to look a lot less impressive. It was a cosy yet modern take on a cafe and everything seemed to aim to be designed to provide any customers comfort.

"Thanks for taking me here," Shiki said. Neku had said he was sure he would like the place and she adored it. "Did you know? I haven't been to a cat cafe before."

This caused Neku to stop stroking the back of the white cat. "Not even with Eri?"

"No…she's actually pretty allergic to cats," said Shiki.

"Right, I think you have mentioned that before, now that I think about it," said Neku. She had told him probably more than a few times. Some details slipped past his mind. "Which is why you haven't gotten a cat." Some details didn't.

"Yep," she said, wistfully. "I always wanted one. It's not just Eri's allergies but I think I wasn't ready yet. I mean, taking care of a cat? That's a big responsibility. I needed enough money and time…Well, I've got both now but I mean as long as I'm living with Eri it's probably a no-go."

"Could always move in with me."

So.

Cat cafes were regularly known as date spots.

There were many people in this room who were on dates. Just one look around and you could spot at least four couples.

However, there were just as many friends who were here just to hang out.

Shiki and Neku were supposed to be the latter.

At this point, they had been friends for years.

And nothing was supposed to chage that, right? Friendship was stronger than anything, right?

Friend could move in with other friends, anyway.

That's what Eri and Shiki were doing.

Still.

Still.

When Shiki heard those words from Neku she thought of other possibilities. She thought of cute little matching mugs for both of them. Thought of lazy afternoons spent watching tv curled next to each other. Thought of beds that were big enough for two.

And why did her mind jump to those things in the first place?

Well, it was his fault.

Neku Sakuraba.

He had been acting weird lately. Or more like, he had always been a bit weird, and she always chalked that up to him learning how to make friends properly. But because it's been years, there were certain moments here and there when she thought that he was acting particularly weird just when it came to her.

Neku wasn't exactly like this with Beat or Rhyme.

It was just with her.

"I've been thinking of getting a cat too," he continued, with seemingly no concern or awareness of the inner turmoil going through her head. "Since I'm looking for a new place anyway." Shiki vaguely recalled him saying he was. "If you want, we could move in together."

Shiki couldn't decide whether he was very obvious without coming right out and saying how he felt about her, or if she was just suffering from the biggest delusion her brain could even come up with.

It wasn't…completely out of the question for Neku to just suggest moving in together out of nowhere. As friends.

Before she could respond, one of the attendants of the cafe came up to them, informing them that their session was over. They went up to the counter to pay the final bill, splitting it as usual. They received a voucher, that the cashier promoted as being a couple's discount.

When accused of being lovebirds when they weren't, years ago, she was embarrassed and he, not really familiar with her yet, was openly irritated. It was a far cry from right now, where she just nodded politely, since it would be a waste of energy. Neku, on the other hand, smiled, pocketed the voucher and then started to walk out of the cafe.

That had to allude to something.

Something non-platonic, unless she was going crazy.

Unless she was just making a big deal over a simple offer.

Unless Shiki was the one who was -

"Sorry," Neku said, abruptly. Only now, they were in front of the train station without her realising they got here. "Was that out of line to ask?"

"No," she answered. A bit too quickly, it seemed, because Neku's eyes betrayed him in spite of the smile. Was that worry that she spotted? "No," Shiki said, more firmly. "I just don't…know what you're thinking."

"I still have to work on that, looks like," he said, with a quieter laugh. "I meant it normally. Like I said, I'm looking for a place and if you really want a cat and wanted to move in to get one, we could move in together. I meant it in a friends way."

Oh - okay. Yeah…yeah, that definitely had to be it -

"But," he scratched the back of his head, "I guess it's hard to take it that way considering how I feel."

Eh?

"I'll…I'll leave for now. You're going the other way right? I'll see you tomorrow."

EH?

It took a lot for Shiki to be left stunlocked but Neku took off quicker than she had probably seen when they were running away from Noise.

He ran away?

That..that chicken!

Oh she was going to have some words with him.

Shiki didn't even get to get one word in about how she felt.

Wait…what was it that she felt, anyway?

Damn.

Maybe it was a good thing that he left first.

TADAA! SPEEED I PUBLISH WITH SPEED. THE PROMPT FOR NESHIKI WEEK 2023 DAY 04 WAS 'FAVOURITE HEADCANONS'

- Dina (04/12/2023)