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Vladdy wipes the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, finally putting the last batch of muffins in the oven before their little village wakes up. A light wafting scent of freshly baked goods settles onto the streets signaling the start of the day in Molniya. A place deep in the woods and can only be discovered if it wants to be found, brimming with magic from end to end.
Vladdy is one of a few witches who make their home in Molniya. A baker who bakes spells into his muffins. A muffin to avoid tripping for the day, a muffin with just a bit of luck to find a nice coin on the ground, even muffins to help make a connection with a special someone.
Vladdy loves seeing his neighbors drop by to pick up their daily muffins. Andrei, the garment-maker, always picks the blueberry basil for money and success with just a hint of protection. Misha, the gardener, who chooses the mint chocolate chip for prosperity and abundance with a dash of affection. Even Brayden, the blacksmith, fancies the rosemary orange for protection and wealth with a drop of comfort.
The most curious neighbor of all though lives three doors down and perplexes Vladdy to this day. Nikita, a former knight and current village recluse, picks up a tray of muffins every week from Vladdy. There doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason for his choices, everything from cinnamon to lemon lavender. Vladdy attempts to strike up a conversation with him every time he comes around but Nikita always keeps his answers brief, thanking him for the muffins and promptly leaves.
“At least he returns my trays,” Vladdy smiles to himself. He’s pulling the last batch out of the oven when he hears a familiar meow behind him.
“Oh, you’re here early,” he looks up to see a fluffy gray cat staring at him from the windowsill.
“Did the smell attract you?” Vladdy chuckles, running his hand over the cat’s head who returns the affection with loud purring and a tail flick.
The cat stands up to stretch before hopping inside Vladdy’s home to make himself comfortable on the coffee table. He visits Vladdy almost every day, taking up residence in any sun spots he can find.
“You sure know how to make yourself comfortable, huh?”
The cat meows in response, it’s a little gruff sounding but it’s playful. He then stretches and begins to clean his face with his paws. Vladdy can’t help but watch the cute display until the bell above his door rings signaling the arrival of another guest.
“Mornin’ Vladdy!”
“Good morning, Misha! You’re right on time, I just finished today’s batches.”
“I could smell them all the way over in my garden,” Misha places his hat near the door. “Here, I brought you some more herbs. Got a good bunch of basil and mint this time.”
“Thank you so much, I’d been meaning to come by and get some basil. Andrei’s always getting anything with basil in it.”
“Can you blame him? Guy just wants to keep his business successful!” Misha beams at him. “Why do you think I had him make this hat for me? He stitched a charm into it to keep me cool while I work outside.”
“Yeah, I don’t think that has anything to do with my muffins,” Vladdy chuckles at the thought.
“Didn’t you always say being a good witch was all about intentions? You both put your magic into what you do and in turn that keeps our little village thriving.”
“Magic is intentional, yes, but at the end of the day it comes down to our actions. You’re always diligently working your garden before the sun even comes up.”
“I could say the same for you,” Misha reaches out and squeezes Vladdy’s arm.
The sound of something hitting the floor pulls their attention away from each other. They look over and see the cat staring at them, tail flicking wildly.
“Oh, I was wondering where he went,” Misha walks over to pick up the mug that the cat knocked over. “He was following me around in the garden earlier, staring daggers at me the whole time.”
“That’s just his face, Misha,” Vladdy laughs.
“Nuh uh, he’s totally different with you,” Misha shakes his head. “He lets you pet him and he purrs around you too!”
“He lets Andrei pet him too.”
“All cats love Andrei, that doesn’t count.” Misha waves him off.
“He just takes time to warm up to people, that’s all.”
Vladdy steps over and runs a hand between the cat’s ear. The cat leans up into it, purring loudly. Misha shoots him a look.
“See what I mean?”
“Maybe the reason he stares at you so much means he wants you to pet him?”
Misha shakes his head and reaches out but the cat jumps off the coffee table and bounds over to the open window.
“I guess not then.” Vladdy bites his lip in a bad attempt to hide his laughter. He moves over to the kitchen area and begins packing up some muffins for Misha.
“He reminds me of our own grumpy and antisocial resident,” Misha chuckles. “Speaking of, you seen Nikita lately?”
“Not since last week when he came by to get his muffins. He’ll probably come by later this week to pick up a new batch though.”
“I saw him two days ago leaving the village at dawn, looked like he had a bow with him.”
“Yeah, he hunts quite a bit. Tony told me he always brings the extra game to him so he can use it in his shop.”
“He’s helpful, at least. Just wish the guy would hold a conversation with more than just a grunt sometimes.” Misha mimics the sound.
“He says way more than that,” Vladdy argues. “He doesn’t say much but we chat whenever he comes by, if only briefly.”
“Maybe you should put a spell on one of his muffins to make him friendlier,” Misha jokes but just as he’s about to laugh, the cat hisses at him.
“Woah, where did that come from?” Vladdy hands Misha his bag of muffins. “Don’t hiss at Misha, silly.”
He gently scolds him and the cat responds by purring and slowly blinking at Vladdy. Misha rolls his eyes and says his goodbyes with muffins in tow.
“Now, that wasn’t very nice was it?” Vladdy chuckles, bending over to pick up the cat. The cat doesn’t struggle even after Vladdy throws him over his shoulder like a sack of flour.
Vladdy takes the opportunity to carry the cat around and show him all his baked goods for the day. He swears the cat seems genuinely interested in listening to Vladdy talk because he doesn’t seem to budge. In fact, he seems to be getting super comfortable being in Vladdy’s arms.
“We probably won’t see a new customer for at least another hour,” Vladdy plops himself down on the couch. “Our sleepy little village hasn’t quite woken up yet.”
He readjusts the cat onto his lap and begins petting his soft ears. The cat purrs loudly, completely content with what Vladdy’s doing.
The urge to squeeze cuddle the cat is real but Vladdy refrains if only a little bit. Vladdy picks the cat up and lays down on the couch holding the cat above him, his little paws dangling just above Vladdy’s face.
“You really are cute, you know that?” Vladdy leans up and kisses the cat on the nose.
Poof.
Vladdy suddenly finds himself staring at Nikita.
An extremely red and wide eyed Nikita.
The silence that lingers between them last for barely a second before Nikita bounds off of Vladdy and backs into the wall.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Nikita repeats over and over.
Vladdy attempts to go over to him but before he can even move Nikita runs out the door.
“Nikita, wait!” Vladdy chases after him but there’s no way he’s catching up. The only thing he can see is Nikita’s back disappearing into the treeline from afar.
~~
Vladdy huffs as he throws himself down on his couch. Another unsuccessful day of trying to talk to Nikita after the incident.
Nikita doesn’t stop by anymore for muffins so Vladdy resorts to dropping off a few muffins every day for him at his home. Even though Vladdy never catches a glimpse of the man, the muffins are always gone when he checks later.
Despite Nikita avoiding him, he’s glad he’s still accepting his gestures. Vladdy needs to change his strategy but he’s not entirely sure what to do. It’s not likely to catch Nikita when he comes out of his home, there’s no set schedule and due to what happened Nikita probably leaves at ridiculous times to avoid Vladdy.
Vladdy’s lost in thought, not realizing a customer enters.
“Good morning, Vladdy!”
Vladdy jumps, looking over to see Tony.
“Oh, hey. Good morning.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Tony looks sheepish.
“It’s not your fault, Tony,” Vladdy shakes his head to clear it. “I’m just…distracted.”
“Anything I can help with?”
“It’s nothing for you to worry about but thanks,” Vladdy gets up and heads over to his kitchen. “You want your usual cinnamon muffins?”
“Yes, please!” Tony beams. “Can you throw in a couple extras?”
“Yeah, no problem,” Vladdy boxes up the muffins for Tony. “You’ve been getting extras for the last few days.”
“I give one to Nikita whenever he stops by with more meat for me. He’s been coming more than normal so I feel bad letting him leave empty handed, but I know he absolutely loves your muffins!”
Vladdy stops for a second before collecting himself.
“When does he drop by?”
“It varies, but it’s super early in the mornings. Sometimes I’ve barely woken up and I find him outside waiting on me.”
“Wow, and you’re usually up before everyone..”
“Right? Not sure why he’s been coming so early. He looks kind of exhausted so I’m sure he goes home right after.” Tony rubs his chin.
“Are you sure he goes home afterwards?”
“Pretty sure, that’s the direction he heads in, at least.” Tony shrugs. “Why do you ask?”
“Oh I just haven’t seen him in awhile,” Vladdy waves off the question. “Makes sense if he’s been out hunting so much.”
Vladdy hands over Tony’s box of muffins and they chat for a few more minutes before Tony says he needs to get back to his shop. Vladdy begins to formulate a plan to catch Nikita on his way home so they can finally talk about what happened.
~~
Vladdy spends the early mornings trying to figure out what time Nikita heads home from Tony’s shop. He peers out his kitchen window and watches for a very specific shadow lurking in the dark. Luckily after three days, he finally catches a glimpse of Nikita hurrying home. Vladdy attempts to catch up to him but Nikita is fast and he’s halfway down the cobblestone before he hears the door to Nikita’s house shut. No matter, Vladdy knows what time now so he’s better prepared.
Vladdy yawns and takes a moment to stretch before slinking back home and crawling back into bed for a few hours.
The next morning, Vladdy leaves even earlier and sneaks over to Nikita’s house. He waits on the side so Nikita won’t see him when he comes back. Vladdy feels anxious and tries to shake it off but he’s been so wrapped up and trying to get Nikita to talk to him he doesn’t even know what he wants to say to the man!
Vladdy rubs his temples and ponders a few of them until he hears footsteps coming closer.
Vladdy holds his breath and peers around the corner. Just as Nikita steps up to his door, Vladdy rushes forward.
In hindsight, it’s a terrible idea to sneak up on a former knight because Vladdy swiftly finds himself against the wall.
“V-vladdy?!” Nikita’s voice sounds frantic. “What the hell are you doing? Don’t sneak up on me like that!”
“Yeah, that was a bad idea, I’m sorry.” Vladdy releases a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “I feel like I blinked and you had me pinned.”
“It’s a reflex,” Nikita answers but shakes his head. “Never mind that, why are you here?”
“You keep avoiding me. I had to figure out a way to get you to talk to me!” Vladdy raises his voice. Nikita hushes him and pulls him inside the front door.
“Keep your voice down, people are still sleeping,” Nikita whispers.
Silence stretches between them as they stare at each other in the dimly lit room. Vladdy wants to say so many things but the words don’t come.
“I just want to know why,” Vladdy breathes in.
“I’m not…the most social person.”
Nikita shoots Vladdy a look when Vladdy stifles his laugh. Vladdy’s hands go up in apology, nudging him to continue.
“I like going around in my cat form, it’s…easier. I can act aloof and weird and no one questions a cat. It’s a cat.” Nikita shrugs and a small laugh escapes him.
Vladdy’s heart skips a beat as Nikita continues.
“And I like being around you but I’m not good with words…and I guess it’s easier to lay on your windowsill than invite you to dinner.”
Vladdy’s eyes widen when he notices the blush on Nikita’s cheeks.
“Don’t be foolish.” Vladdy lowers his voice and closes the distance between them, pressing their lips together. Nikita hesitates but kisses Vladdy back if only briefly.
“I have one question,” Nikita pulls back.
“What is it?”
“You aren’t weirded out by this whole thing? I mean, I pretended to be a cat to spend time with you.”
“You are a weird guy,” Vladdy throws his arms over Nikita’s shoulders. “But I’m weird too because I find your cat form just as adorable as your human form.”
Nikita smiles and it sends a warmth through his body. He’s never seen Nikita smile like that before and it excites him.
“I think you’re weirder then.”
“So, let’s be weird together.” Vladdy runs his fingers along the nape of Nikita’s neck as their lips meet once more in a passionate kiss.