#this originally was spawned bc I could it get the image of Nicky as a gorgeous silver tabby out of my mind

[dearqueerdeers]

@raedear ok this was originally going to be a reply to ur comment but then it went on for too long for the comments section LMAO so bear with me .

ok SO. my worldbuilding is so so flimsy here but picture a generic medieval fantasy backdrop. joe runs a potion shop. on the surface he is a friendly guy who makes good potions and is known for giving out medicinal potions for free. but he's actually secretly a werewolf (bad, stigmatized, trans metaphor) and sneaks off into the forest to transform every full moon. one day this guy Nicky from a neighboring village moves in and from day one he is in Joe's potion shop the minute it opens demanding he get a non-medicinal potion for FREE. and Joe is like. literally WHAT is this guy's problem. he fucking sucks and I am not giving him his frivolous potion for free. and then this happens every SINGLE week. Nicky comes in demanding this potion and being a dick bc it isn't being given to him for free like the medicinal potions Joe gives out. and they both hate each other so so much and are absolute assholes.

MEANWHILE. on the werewolf front. Joe goes to the forest to transform for the full moon and he eventually finds a beautiful silver tabby cat hanging out and that's not super unusual so he's like whatever. but the cat is SUPER friendly, like weirdly friendly, like way more friendly than a cat should be towards a wolf and they both realize pretty quickly that the other is a wereperson. but again being a wereperson is like. dangerous and stigmatized so neither are super eager to say who they are. but they keep meeting up on full moons and keep having an amazing time together. important to me personally: joe nicknames the cat "silver" in his head. eventually Joe works up the courage to bring a letter with him to the forest on a full moon that's basically like "I'll tell you who I am if you tell me who you are. would really like to get to know you in person <3" Silver brings a letter back next time that's like "sorry but I really don’t feel comfortable revealing my identity. sorry" and Joe is like. ok that's fair.

human check-in : nicky is still an asshole weekly. Joe is so sick of his shit. everyone else in the village knows nicky as a kind and thoughtful man and joe is like ok so he just specifically has an issue with me, great.

back to the animal side: Joe and Silver keep hanging out during the full moons but one night Joe gets injured (potentially protecting silver? that would be so juicy) and will clearly need help getting home once he turns back into a human. silver LEAVES and joe is like "damn I can't believe he'd really let me die in the forest rather than reveal his identity" and passes out. he wakes up back in his bed in his home with a healing potion on his bedside table and a letter, presumably from Silver. the note is addressed to "Wolfie" (Nicky's nickname for Joe-as-a-wolf. my google doc of this fic is literally named "Wolfie & Silver") and it's basically very apologetically like "I'm so sorry I left, I was scared of you finding out who I was and then when I came back you were unconscious, I gave you a healing potion, I still don’t feel comfortable with you knowing who I am even though I know who you are, but I won't tell anyone tho. sorry."

then Nicky shows up (despite Joe closing the shop that day due to not feeling well) demanding his frivolous weekly potion and he and Joe have a massive argument and both say some very unkind things. but in the heat of the argument, Nicky reveals that he is buying these potions for his grandfather, whom he thinks will literally get sick and die if he doesn't get them. they are both VERY confused with each other until they eventually figure out that Nicky's grandfather has been smuggling the potions that Nicky was buying to a neighboring village and making a profit from them. they spend the day plotting to give him a big batch of placebo potions to ruin his business & for Nicky to get revenge basically, and they have a very good time hanging out and both feel exceptionally bad for being assholes to each other for what they thought was a justifiable reason but actually wasn't.

Nicky ends up MOVING IN with Joe to get away from his shitty grandfather who is now very upset at him for ruining his scam, because they actually get along very well now that they don’t hate each other's guts and lowkey start getting a little hesitantly romantic. Full moon rolls around and Joe and Silver hang out as per usual, but this time instead of going off on his own before sunrise, Silver sticks with Joe and they transform back into humans together, and lo and behold: Joe's moonlight bestie Silver is also his ex-enemy, now roommate Nicky. Joe is like. exasperatedly fond and nicky is deeply embarrassed for keeping it a secret that he KNEW who Joe was the whole time they'd been living together.

they kiss or whatever and live happily ever after the end <3

werewolf Joe werecat Nicky enemies to lovers. they’re not enemies because they’re a cat and a dog they’re enemies bc Nicky is an annoying prick 👍

^fic idea that is floating around in my brain