𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐙𝐀𝐖𝐀

24

Friday arrived rather quickly, at least for Y/N. Maybe it was because the week had been pretty stressful and there was just so much to do every single day that Y/N barely had time to get ready for her date. She had hoped to be able to to her nails, shave, maybe get her hair fixed up and find some nice, cute clothes to wear. But with the way things had gone, she hadn't managed to do half of that. All she had managed to do was shave and pick out some half decent clothes from her wardrobe. But at least she could pay the heating bill again with the amount of work she had done.

It honestly seemed like Y/N having that picture taken with Shouta on her shoulders was a huge improvement for business. People just suddenly recognized her and - which was not fun - kept asking her about the cat. Of course she didn't have Shouta in his cat form with her anymore, so she just had to make up something on the spot. Maybe she really would have to get her own cat at some point, just so she could keep up her public image as that lady hero with the cat.

She didn't even know whether her apartment allowed cats or not and she was pretty sure that she would be kicked out if anyone figured it out, but it could be a good investment. Plus, she missed having a cat by her side when she went out to do hero work. Sure, she'd have to train that cat to sit on her shoulder and follow her around and basically behave like Shouta, but Y/N figured that she might be able to find a cat that would behave just like him and train him up.

Either way, she could think about that once she had saved up enough money to actually take care of a cat. Right now she had barely enough money to take care of herself, but it seemed like things were getting better. At least she could pay all her bills this month and she even had a little bit left over. Maybe, if this all kept up, she would be able to get herself a cat and take care of it properly. She figured that it might be a good idea to ask Shouta about it, because he seemed to know a good deal about cats. Y/N didn't know why and how and she figured she'd ask that at some later point, but she'd be glad about any guidance she could get on the topic.

And she got a lot of advice. Her and Shouta were sitting in the coffee shop for hours and hours, just talking or watching the people walk by. Y/N hadn't even realized that Shouta enjoyed people watching that much or that people watching was something that might be even more fun if she wasn't alone, but she was glad that they had figured that part out. They had met right after work and there were a lot of people that had left already and it seemed like they were the last two customers in the shop at this point. Y/N had no idea what time it even was...

"I'm sorry, guys, but we're closing soon. Could you finish your drinks by any chance?" one of the waiters said to them. Shouta looked at his watch and seemed almost embarrassed, before nodding.

"Of course. Sorry, we've completely forgotten the time." he replied. The waiter smiled and nodded.

"No worries, it happens. Thank you." he said. Shouta leaned on the table to be closer to Y/N and she leaned in as well.

"They've already been closed for the last ten minutes..." he whispered. Y/N's eyes widened. Shit, they were really overstaying their welcome. She really hated it when something like this happened. She remembered working at a coffee shop for a while and it was always really annoying when there were people staying until the last minute or even longer. Everyone just wanted to go home and no one had the nerve to ask them to leave and it was always a horrible situation.

"Shit, we better finish up and head home, huh?" Y/N wanted to know. Shouta nodded and started gulping down his coffee.

"Yeah, sure. I had a lot of fun today..." he replied. Y/N nodded in agreement. She really had a lot of fun and if she was honest, she didn't want the evening to end yet. She wanted to keep going, but she had no idea how to bring it up. Tomorrow was Saturday, so she technically didn't have to get up and do anything and Shouta only had a few classes to teach...

"I did, too... Say, what time do you normally go to bed? Maybe we can go somewhere else for a while... it would be a shame to just head home now." Y/N suggested. She had gotten much braver about all of this once she had actually gotten her date with Shouta. Something about it was boosting her confidence enormously and she loved it. She loved feeling confident enough to ask things that might come off as clingy or weird or... or whatever else it might look like.

"We could drop by the shop, grab a few beers and head over to my place, if you want. I have to get up earlyish, but it's not a long day for me, so it's fine. If you don't mind that is. We can also go for drinks somewhere else..." he said. Y/N shook her head. What he had suggested actually sounded perfect. She just needed to be clear about one more thing, before they left here...

"That sounds absolutely perfect. So... am I correct to assume that this is a datte? Like a proper date? Because that's what I've been seeing this as. I just want to make sure now, before this gets awkward." she replied. Shouta seemed somewhat flustered by the question and Y/N couldn't blame him. It was a pretty direct way to approach it. She just figured it might be better to have it out of the way now instead of later, when they were all cuddled up and comfortable and it would just ruin the atmosphere if they brought it up and they didn't see eye to eye on it.

"I mean... I was thinking of this as a date, to be honest. I'm glad you see it the same way, but seriously there is no pressure. We can go to your place, too, if you'd prefer that or..."

"No. No, no, no. Your place is absolutely fine. I just wanted to make sure that we're both on the same page here before we go any further with this. I mean I've been pretty sure that this was what that was. After all, we did live together for long enough. But I just wanted to make doubly sure. Would kind of suck to get my hopes up for no reason." she answered with a wink.

"Oh, there's absolutely no reason to worry. We were sleeping in the same bed for much longer than necessary. If I wasn't 100% sure about this, I wouldn't have slept in the same bed as you. And I also wouldn't have agreed to a date. I don't know if you've noticed yet, but I'm not really the kind of person for niceties. If I say something, I mean it. Whether you like it or not." Shouta told her. Y/N smiled at him happily. That was exactly the answer she had been expecting from him and she was glad that she was still able to read him this well, even after they weren't living together anymore.

"Brilliant. I'm glad we got this out of the way. Let's head out then and get some beers and watch a nice movie or something." she replied and finished off the last bit of her coffee. She wasn't really sure how many cups of coffee she had, but she felt like she could stay up all night. And she definitely wouldn't be upset if Shouta did keep her up all night in one way or the other. She'd be delighted about that.

"Right. I'll go pay, alright? So you can save some money for your heating bill." Shouta offered. Y/N laughed and shook her head.

"My heating bill is actually all paid for. Turns out that having you as a cat with me was really good PR. So I managed to pay for the heating and I'm doing fairly okay for myself at the moment. But if you still want to pay, I won't stop you, as long as I get to pay for the beers later." she answered. Shouta nodded and got up.

"Deal. I pay for the coffee and you pay for the beer. I'll be right back."

Y/N watched him head over to the counter to pay for their coffees, trying to suppress the dumb grin that was spreading on her face. She really, really loved this guy. She knew that it was early to say that, but she really enjoyed spending time with him and being around him and listening to him. It was perfect.