[ Neko!England ] Backfired Chp. 2 [ Reader ]

It took a while but both you and Arthur finally managed to gather your wits enough and stop panicking. So, here you were, an hour after the rather rude awakening, sitting on the couch across from your British friend who was now half cat. He was sipping his tea, wincing every once in a while whenever there was a particularly loud noise. Honestly, he’d wanted to go back to bed and die after what had happened last night and how he’d embarrassed himself in public. But, you weren’t going to let that happen because you had to figure out how the hell he’d managed to do this. Your arms crossed over your chest as you let out a huff.

“Well, you’ve certainly done it this time, Arthur.” You commented, not being able to stop the words before they escaped your lips.

He glared at you, but his heart wasn’t really in it. He was still reeling from the information and the awful hangover he had wasn’t helping the matter.

“So, how did you manage to turn yourself into a neko?” You asked, raising an eyebrow at the Brit. You were extremely curious as to how he’d managed to do this…You’d always heard rumors of his magic but never really believed it.

“I-It must’ve been a spell, of some sort.” He mumbled, the look in his eyes seeming a bit…far off.

“Yes, I think I know this genius.” You said sarcastically, rolling your eyes.

Honestly, you were pretty sure it was a spell you just wanted to know WHEN he cast this spell and WHAT spell it was so it could be reversed because, honestly, seeing him like this made you uncomfortable. You’d harbored a tiny crush on the Brit ever since he’d taken you in when you hit a rough spot and this situation was by no means helping. Your eyes, against your will, were drawn to the fuzzy ears on the top of his head that twitched each time a noise was detected. And then there was his tail, which poked out from the top of his pants and wound around him, the end twitching nervously, revealing his true emotions no matter how much he was attempting to cover them up. Then, you saw him snap his fingers a bit away from your face.

“Um, love? Hello?” You shook your head and snapped back to reality.

“Sorry, what did you say?” You asked, a light blush dusting your cheeks once you realized he’d snapped you out of staring at him. He gave you a bit of a questioning look before shaking his head with a soft sigh.

“I said that I guess I’m stuck like this until I can locate the spell that I’d used last night.” You nodded; it seemed like a simple and sensible plan.

“Okay, so that shouldn’t take too long, right?” You asked. He gained this sort of…look on his face, a look that unnerved you.

“It won’t take long, right?” You asked again, your voice showing that you were getting a bit panicked.

“Well, love, it’s not as easy as it sounds. I have to find the spell and then I have to hunt down a way to reverse it, there’s not an exact way to reverse the spell listed along with it in the books I own.”

“H-How long will that take?” You asked slowly, worried about the span of time you may have to stay here.

“I don’t know, it depends on when I find the spell…Months…weeks…maybe a year.” As he spoke, his voice got quieter and quieter. If he was busy doing this, you wouldn’t be able to leave the house! You were the only person that could talk to all the other nations…If they decided to drop by for a ‘surprise visit’, you’d have to cover for Arthur since he couldn’t very well let people see him like that.

“A YEAR?!” You yelled, jumping out of your seat. “B-But, Arthur! There has to be another way, a quicker one…I’m finally got a job after I was laid off two months ago! I-If I don’t show up for my first day…” Your expression dropped at the end of your sentence, a blank stare on your face. You sank back down into the couch, placing your head in your hands.

“Bloody hell…” You muttered, your voice muffled by your hands. Then, you sighed and pulled your hands away, looking at him.

“Okay, so, what do you expect me to do?” You asked, crossing your arms.

“I suppose it’s best if you stay here, in case any of the other countries stop by…I’ll need your help around here. Since I can’t go out in public, you’ll have to do the shopping.” You sighed softly and rubbed your temples.

“Fine, but I cook around here, not you.” You said. An angered look appeared on the Brit’s face.

“And what’s that supposed to mean? There’s nothing wrong with my cooking!” He shouted, and then winced in pain at the volume of his own voice.

“Shall we discuss what happened last time I ate your food?” You retorted, giving England a look. You’d ended up in the hospital for a night and you had to get your stomach pumped. All the other nations found it rather amusing, once you were out of the hospital that is. Though every time it’s brought up, the nation that mentioned it, namely Alfred ends up with a rather large and nasty bruise on his face…and it wasn’t England who’d give him that bruise. The same can’t be said for France though…

Snapping out of your memories, you saw England wince at the memory. Before he said anything, you decided to end the argument before it went any further.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” You then sighed. “I’m going shopping, I guess, and I’ll also be stopping by my place to get some more clothes since I have no idea how long I’ll be stuck here. I’ll be back in a bit. If Alfred stops by, call me and I’ll run over. You have my number, right?” As you spoke you’d been walking toward the stairs but you stopped, looking back at him when you asked your question.

“Yes, I believe I do.” He replied, sipping his tea after he finished speaking.

You were pretty sure his tea was cold by now but you didn’t dare ask, you had other things on your mind to worry about than Arthur’s cold tea. Going upstairs, you went through the dresser and pulled out a (f/c) short sleeved shirt and a pair of blue jeans. You brushed your hair and teeth before you finally deemed yourself presentable to the public. Then, you went downstairs, grabbed your phone off the kitchen table that you’d left it at last night. You were about to find your keys when you realized that Alfred had driven you here in his car.

“Oh hell,” you hissed between grit teeth. “Arthur,” you asked, going back into the living room where he was still sitting.

“Yes, love?” He asked, his head snapping up toward you. Was it just you or had he been staring at the ball of yarn he had in the basket by the table? You brushed this thought aside and returned to asking your original question.

“Can I borrow your car? Alfred was the one to drive the both of us here so I don’t have mine.”

He nodded and then stood up, going over to a small hook where his keys were hanging. He then handed them to you before walking toward a bookshelf.

“While you’re gone, I’ll begin looking for the spell that turned me this way…Maybe I can find it while you’re out, though I highly doubt it.” The last part of his sentence was mumbled and said so quickly, you couldn’t really make it out. He ran a finger along the row of book bindings before stopping at one and quickly pulling it out, opening it and scanning it.

You nodded toward him before heading out the door.

-         Le Time Skip     -

After gathering the things you needed at your home and purchasing the groceries you needed, you were about to make your way back to Arthur’s house when you noticed a store that caught your eye. A pet supply store…Your mind went back to when you saw Arthur staring at the ball of yarn earlier. Could it be that, along with the cat ears and tail, he also gained a cat’s instincts?

A devilish grin spread across your face. You could have fun with this. Quickly going inside, you bought an assortment of cat toys and other things to test out on Arthur. You’d even bought him a collar with the British flag printed all around it. That same devilish smirk was on your face as you bought the items, earning a weary glance from the lady at the register.

“With all these supplies, I’m guessing you’re a new cat owner, hm?” The lady asked, attempting to start a conversation.

“I guess you could say that. I don’t want my little Artie getting bored at home, now do I?” The lady chuckled softly and nodded at your words.

“Oh, trust me, the more toys the better. If a kitten runs out of toys, it starts destroying your furniture and making a mess of your home.” You nodded and smiled as you handed her the money.

“Thanks for the tip; I’ll keep it in mind.” You said as she handed you the bag of your cat toys. After saying a polite goodbye, you left the store and put the bag in your trunk.

-         Le Time Skip     -

Once you arrived back at Arthur’s place, you set all the bags down. You’d kept the bag of cat toys in the car, just for now. You’d have plenty of time to go back and get them.

“Arthur~” You chimed as you stepped into the house, a mischievous grin on your face. In your back pocket you had a little bag of this wonderful substance called cat nip. You had two options that you were debating. Option one, give Arthur a bit of the drugs for kitties now and begin your experimenting…or just laugh your ass off at the sight of the Englishman rolling around on the floor.
Or, option number two, hide it in your dresser drawer and save the best for last or for when Arthur catches what you’re up to and you need to distract him.

“Arthur?” You called again, seeing as you hadn’t received a reply from him. You raised an eyebrow and made your way from your spot at the back door to the living room. What you found there made you snort in an attempt to stifle your laugh. There Arthur was, crouched on his hands and knees, and staring intently at the ball of yarn. The moment you’d appeared was the moment Arthur had pounced on it, making a quiet growling noise low in his throat as he did. Though, when he rolled onto his back, he finally realized you were there.

Huh, that was odd…You didn’t know a face could turn that shade of red.

You stared at the Brit on the floor, clutching your stomach with one arm while the other was over your mouth to keep from bursting out laughing.

“Um, Arthur? What are you doing?” You asked, little giggles escaping your lips as you spoke. He quickly stood up, untangling the yarn from his hands.

“I-I…uh…Nothing, I was doing nothing.” He stuttered out quickly and nervously, his face going even redder, if it was possible.

You snorted again at the attempt to keep the laugh in and he glared at it. He was murmuring something about you being a ‘bloody wanker’ under his breath and glaring holes into you. Eventually, you took a deep breath to calm yourself and managed to ask him a question.

“So, did you find the spell?” Although you’d managed to keep yourself from laughing, there was a large, goofy grin on your face that, you had to admit, was starting to make your cheeks cramp up.

“No, no luck…Though, I was only able to get through one spellbook. As I started another one something…” he glanced off at the light blue ball of yarn. “…distracted me.”

You giggled again. “Why don’t you go back to playing with the ball of yarn while I fix supper?” You asked him and his face flushed yet again.

“I was not playing with the bloody ball of yarn, you wanker!” He yelled, causing you to laugh.

Once you’d caught your breath, and your side stopped hurting from laughing so hard, you said,

“Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that, Artie~” You chimed as you made your way into the kitchen.

“My name is Arthur, not Artie. Please, do not stoop to levels of that bloody git America.” He said almost immediately after you finished speaking.

You turned back toward him and stuck out your bottom lip in a pout.

“But Artie~” you whined. “You make such a cute kitty, I thought you deserved a cute little nickname too~!” You said, causing the Brit to turn another unbelievable shade of red as he yelled at you.

You just laughed loudly as he ranted, keeping the thought of the cat nip in the back of your mind as you began to make dinner for the two of you. While you weren’t an amazing cook, you were definitely better than your British friend who had nearly burnt the house down last time he’d cooked.

Eventually, you called Arthur down for dinner, since he’d retreated to the attic to escape your constant teasing of him.

You ate your (favorite food) in silence. But, among you and Arthur, it wasn’t an awkward silence. You and Arthur had been close friends for a long while so it was a sort of comfortable silence, just the both of you enjoying each others company.

The rest of the night went on as it normally did…well, er, about as normal as it could get with Arthur being half-cat. He spent the rest of the night in the attic, flipping through spellbook after spellbook in an attempt to find the spell that had made him that way. 

You spent most of the night downstairs, reading the book that Alfred had so rudely interrupted your reading of last night. When you heard Arthur’s bedroom door close, your evil smirk returned as you quietly made your way out of the house and to the car. You grabbed the bag from the car and quickly went up to your room to look over all the toys you’d bought.

Then, once you decided on the toy that you were going to use, you left it in the top drawer of your dresser but put the rest of the bag under the bed.

-         Le Time Skip      -

The next morning, you woke up before Arthur. When you went poked your head in his room, you saw the Brit passed out on his bed, a spellbook next to his head, laying wide open. He was curled into a ball, his thick, fluffy tail wrapped snugly around his own body and his ears twitching now and then. You even heard the faint sound of him purring. A smile spread onto your face and you cooed,

“Oh, Arthur~”