☆°.

Summary - When a snowy night tempts you into the courtyard in your white cat form, Regulus reluctantly follows as a sleek black shadow. What starts as a playful chase in the snow turns into laughter, warmth, and the first kiss that melts even Regulus Black’s icy walls.

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Snowflakes drifted down in lazy spirals outside the castle windows, blanketing the grounds in white. Most students huddled by the fire, groaning about frozen fingers and wet socks, but you had other plans. With a flick of your tail, you padded down the corridor in soft white fur, paws making no sound against the cold stone. The castle doors loomed ahead, icy wind already curling through the cracks.

A sleek black shape slipped after you, moving like a shadow. Regulus Black. He hadn’t exactly agreed to this little excursion; in fact, when you had darted past him in the common room, flicking your tail like an invitation, he had muttered something about ridiculous Gryffindor impulses. But of course, he followed. He always did.

The doors creaked open, and the world exploded into cold. Snowflakes landed on your whiskers, clinging to your fur until you looked like a little storm cloud. You bounded out happily, leaving neat pawprints in the courtyard. Behind you, Regulus stepped out slowly, placing his paws with deliberate distaste. His ears twitched flat, his tail lashed once. He looked utterly miserable.

You circled him playfully, brushing against his side. Too cold for the prince of Slytherin? His golden eyes narrowed, and he gave a disdainful flick of his tail, lifting one paw and shaking the snow from it like it had personally offended him.

You pounced.

One leap sent him sprawling sideways in the snow with an indignant hiss. He scrambled back up, fur puffed out, snow sticking comically to his whiskers. You batted his ear with a paw, chirped, and bolted away across the yard.

Regulus’s ears flattened. He stalked after you at first, every inch of him regal and deliberate, until he lunged suddenly and nearly caught your tail. You squealed and bounded away, the two of you darting across the snow like shadows. White and black streaks twisting together, prints trailing and crisscrossing in the glittering expanse.

It turned into a game of chase. You’d leap, roll, vanish into a snowbank; he’d track you with those sharp eyes, only to get ambushed when you sprang out and bowled him over again. By the time you finally collapsed, you were both coated in powder, little puffs of steam rising from your warm fur.

You curled yourself into the hollow of a snowdrift, chest heaving as you tried to catch your breath. Regulus slunk down beside you, his fur damp and his expression thunderous. He looked like he regretted every choice that had led him here, but he didn’t move away. You pressed your nose against his cheek, daring him, and he huffed in that long-suffering way of his.

You’re insufferable, his glare said. But his tail curled, twining around yours. Black and white, spiraled together in the snow.

You shifted first, body unfolding and stretching back into your human form. Your fingers dug into the cold, and laughter tumbled out of you, sharp against the quiet air. “Merlin, that was brilliant!”

Regulus sat up in the drift, now himself again too, pale cheeks flushed from the cold. His dark hair stuck damply to his forehead, and he looked more like a boy caught in the storm than the polished Black heir. He brushed snow off his robes with a sharp flick of his wrist. “Brilliant,” he repeated flatly. “I look like a drowned Kneazle.”

“You look cute,” you blurted without thinking.

His ears flushed pink. “You—absolutely not.”

Grinning, you leaned close and brushed a bit of snow from his lashes. His breath hitched, grey eyes snapping to yours, and for a moment the world hushed. The air was thick with winter’s stillness, every sound muffled by the snow.

Then you shoved a snowball into his chest.

Regulus stared down at the melting mess on his robes. Slowly, very slowly, his eyes lifted to you. “You did not.”

You were already scrambling up, laughing so hard you nearly toppled back into the snow. “Run faster, Black!”

His scowl dissolved into something sharper, hungrier, and he lunged. You squeaked and tried to flee, but he caught you easily, tackling you back into the snow. Both of you tumbled, arms and legs and laughter, until he pinned your wrists above your head. His knee pressed against your side, and his hair fell in wet strands over his forehead as he loomed above you.

“Yield,” he demanded, though his lips were twitching.

You grinned up at him, cheeks stung pink by the cold, hair full of snowflakes. “Never.”

His eyes softened. For a moment, he just looked at you, really looked, like he was seeing you for the first time. His gaze lingered on your smile, the snow clinging to your lashes, the way your breath rose in soft clouds between you. Then he bent, hesitating only a second before brushing his lips against yours.

It was quick, unsure, like he hadn’t meant it. He pulled back almost immediately, horrified at himself.

You didn’t give him the chance to spiral. Laughing breathlessly, you tugged him down again by the collar, and this time the kiss melted the cold away. His lips were soft and cautious, but he kissed you like he’d been waiting far too long. The snow beneath you felt warmer, the air sharper, your heartbeat loud in your ears.

When you finally broke apart, your noses touched, your hands still tangled in his.

“You’re not so bad in the snow,” you whispered.

Regulus’s mouth curved in a small, rare smile. “Only with you.”

The wind picked up, sending another flurry down over your heads. You both groaned, laughing as you struggled up and shook snow from your hair. He muttered about frostbite, but when you shifted back into your white-furred self and padded toward the castle, he was right at your side, black fur brushing yours with every step.

By the time you made it back to the common room, you were both dripping and shivering. Regulus shifted back and collapsed in front of the fire with a sigh, looking every bit the dignified prince undone. You trotted over as a cat and curled yourself against his chest.

He didn’t push you away. His hand found your fur instead, stroking in slow, careful motions until his eyes slipped shut.

Sirius: yeah, why?

Regulus: I wanted to wear that today!

Sirius: too bad bro, it’s mine now

Regulus: ……

Regulus: last night I rode your best friend so hard I could start calling him Nimbus and use him to catch the snitch in 0.3 seconds flat

Sirius: EUGH YOU DISGUSTING PRICK!!!

Regulus: made him scream my name so loud that if you’d heard him speak afterwards you’d have thought it was a toad croaking

Sirius: REGULUS WHAT THE-

Regulus: ate him up like a meal so good I could not eat a thing for a whole week and wouldn’t feel hungry for even a minute

Sirius: OKAY OKAY, YOU WIN, THE SHIRT IS IN MY BEDROOM, JUST SHUT UP

Made in Abyss - Manga spine illustration PNGs!

Each volume of Made in Abyss has a different character on the printed copy's spine, and these illustrations can be found on a glossy color page in the manga... save for the first three volumes, which may have been on a separate manga cover?

I've cleaned them up and erased the background elements, just in case you need some cute MiA chibi PNGs!

The first three volumes didn't have a digital version available, so I had to do a bit of smoothing and color correction in Clip Studio Paint. I did my best, yet they're a bit lower quality than the digitals.

Thanks to Onyx for sending me a good quality scan of the Volume 3 Nanachi! 💜