Chapter 141: Hearth

FieryKathy

Sam and I get home around six in the evening. My sister and Nikki are already busy doing work in the kitchen when we enter. 

“Spent some after uni time with your friends?” Lise asks with a big smile as I done off my jacket.

“Yep, we had some story time in the park.” I nod happily. 

“Outside? Isn’t that a bit cold?” Nikki asks. “I was at work with a scarf on.” 

“Ami is a pretty hot girl.” Sam jokes, making me blush. 

“That’s fair.” Lise giggles. “Nikki, I think we shouldn’t worry too much about their health. They’ll be okay with Ami around.”

Nikki shrugs with a smile. “I suppose so.” Then she starts putting plates on the table. “Are you eating with us immediately or are you going to wait.” 

“I don’t see why not.” Sam nods. “I’m pretty hungry, and Ami is always hungry.” 

“Yes!” I nod. “What do we have for dinner?” 

“Spicy Goanese curry vindaloo.” My sister states matter of factly. “Nikki wanted something Indian so I googled ‘random Indian spicy dishes’ and this is what I got.” 

“That’s a good way to find a dish to eat.” Sam laughs. “But it does smell delicious.” 

“You can also thank Nikki for that.” My sister smiles as she takes the pot of the heat. “It’s about done. If you can put down some glasses for us to drink and some utensils, that’d be greatly appreciated.” 

“On it!” Sam and I say in unison. 

After our spicy dinner, Sam and I clean up the dishes and the kitchen while Nikki and Élise drop themselves in the living room. 

“We didn’t ask yet, but are you two joining us for Turn of Destiny today?” My sister leans over the back of the sofa so she has a direct line of sight to Sam and I. 

Sam looks at me, I give her an affirmative nod. “Yeah, sure, why not. Speaking of which, what have you done when we were gone?” 

“Haha, that’s for you to see for yourself.” My sister laughs. “Don’t worry, we have not torched the city or anything like that. Everything is still more or less standing.” 

“More or less?” I ask, slightly concerned. 

“She’s joking, Ami.” Nikki clarifies. “We’ve mainly done some work on the house. Nothing too major but the interior does look quite a bit different now.” 

“I don’t know if that makes me more or less concerned…” 

“Are you doubting our decorating skills, little kitten?” Nikki teases me. “Both me, your sister and Hilda do have quite a lot of time in The Pims, you know? We are practically house decoration experts.” 

“Weren’t you arguing last time about colors? Or am I misremembering that?” Sam asks. 

“Those were but mere creative differences, Sam.” Lise replies. “Or would the two of you say that this apartment is badly decorated too?”  

“I always assumed you just got it with furniture and all.” I kick in a cheeky reply. 

“Oh ho ho. Nikki, I think someone doesn’t want us to randomly buy fishies for her to eat anymore. What a shame. I was just planning on buying a big fat tuna tomorrow. I guess some other cat girl will have to be happy with that.” 

“No! Please! Please forgive me!” I race over to the sofa. “I was just kidding! Kidding! I promise!” 

My sister smiles and scratches me behind my ears. “Never joke about the decorating skills of the person who buys you fishies, Ami. Unless it’s only Nikki you are joking about. Then I’ll allow it.”

“Jerk.” Nikki laughs and pokes my sister in the side with her elbow. 

“You do know Ami is fully expecting you to actually buy her a fat tuna for tomorrow, right?” Sam asks, just to be sure. -She is right though.- 

“I am fully aware of that, that’s just a sacrifice my wallet will have to make. Well at least we can get some sashimi from it too.” 

“Wait, I’m not getting the entire tuna?” 

My sister scratches me behind my ear again. “There there, Ami, don’t be too gready.” 

“Owkay.” I feign sadness but my purring gives my deception away immediately. 

“Hehe.” My sister chuckles again as she continues scratching. “Goddess, I do love having a cat girl sister. I love it so much. Come here so that I can hug you.” She stops scratching for a moment and turns around so she sits with her knees on the sofa before reeling me into a big hug. “I mean, cats are great. But having a cat girl sister is just that little bit better.” 

I don’t say anything as I just let myself get melted into her hug. 

“Having one as a girlfriend is even better.” Sam comments. 

-I like being one the most… though cat girl Sam in Turn of Destiny isn’t bad either.-  

Élise hugs me for so long that Nikki has to pause the program they are watching so she doesn’t miss all of it. But I can tell that she really doesn’t mind this sisterly bonding. 

When my sister finally backs away from me she wipes her hand over her eyes. 

“Are you crying?” I ask, a bit concerned. 

“No, well, yes, but these are tears of pure bliss.” Her big smile confirms this even more. “I was just thinking about the past and stuff.” 

“You don’t need to think about that, I don’t either.” I smile and give her a head pat in return. “The past is the past.” 

“I wasn’t really thinking about that.” My sister laughs. “I was just thinking about how little catgirl Ami would look.” 

“Oh my Goddess.” Nikki’s eyes grow wide. 

I can hear Sam spit out her water in the kitchen. She must’ve gone to get some water while we were hugging. “That’d be the cutest thing ever!” 

“I know right!” Nikki nods aggressively. “Why have you put this in my mind, Lise. Now I won’t be able to satisfy the urge to have seen that.” 

“Surely there must be some kind of magic for this. Just something that allows us to get a glimpse of that font of pure cuteness.” Sam scratches her chin. 

“I am kind of curious now too…” I admit with a blush. 

“Another thing to add to our list of things to do. Find some kind of photography magic that allows us to see smol Ami!” My sister calls out, almost triumphantly. 

“Let’s do that. We are now the fellowship of smol Ami.” Sam says matter of factly. 

“I would like to veto that name tho…” I continue blushing. My family starts laughing at my response. 

Our entire family decides to chill in the living room for a bit longer, turning the heating a bit lower and bringing out the cozy and extra snug blankets. Pocky and Mocchi join us as well, with both of them getting snug under Sam and mine blanket. Nice and toasty. 

“At times like these I miss having a fireplace.” My sister comments, she’s not really watching the television, none of us really are. 

“We can put on the fireplace channel if you want to, babe.” Nikki takes the remote and types in a four-number channel, immediately landing us on a nice crackling fire. 

“First of all, it’s not the same as having a real fireplace. Second of all, why do you know that channel’s number by heart?” 

“Because I like putting it on occasionally while reading a book.” 

“Huh…” Lise looks at the television. “I suppose it’s not too bad, but still.” 

“It does sound a lot like the real thing, doesn’t it?” Sam turns herself towards me. 

“It does.” I nod. “But I still prefer Hilda’s real fireplace. It’s the smell and the warmth coming from it that you just can’t beat.” 

“Mhmm, mhmm.” Sam nods. “Sadly a fireplace in an apartment is not really something that is being done. Fire hazards and all that.” 

“Yeah…” I lean in to lean my head on Sam’s shoulder. Of course she lets me. “This is good enough for now. We can sit by the real fireplace in Turn of Destiny when we get there.” 

“That’s a deal.” Sam kisses me on the top of my head. 

“Hilda is going to play too, right?” I ask my sister and Nikki. 

“As far as we know she is. She has done even more decorating than any of us. And she’s also managed to get our walker back.” 

“Ooh.” 

“It’s a bit beat up so she’s also spent a lot of time fixing it.” 

“Without any help?” Sam asks. 

“Of course. It wouldn’t be Hilda if she didn’t try to do it by herself first. She is a bit of a grease monkey.” Lise laughs. “You’ve seen her garage.” 

Nikki chuckles as well. “That lady wants to understand how everything works. It’s not a bad quality to possess.” 

“True.” Sam agrees. “I don’t think I’ve met many people who are more competent or intelligent than Hilda. She’s a great all-in deal.” 

“Don’t leave me to marry Hilda, okay?” I look up at my girlfriend. Putting on a playful pout. 

“I’d never.” Sam smiles and gives me a kiss on my forehead. “Hilda probably wouldn’t want me anyway.” 

“Wow.” I reply with an even stronger pout. “So you were actually considering it.” 

“Hehe.” Sam, the tease, gives me another kiss. 

FieryKathy

The discord linky for people who want to chat about my stories. -> https://discord.gg/wfCndrNQqJ

And my patreon to get quite some early access chapters for a low price! :p -> https://www.patreon.com/FieryKathy