Disclaimer: I don't own Natsume
Pairing: Natsume x Tanuma x Taki
Title: Snuggles
Summary: All Natsume wanted to do was lay about in bed with his two lovers for the day. Unfortunately, Nyanko-Sensei has other plans.
Warning: Uh, fluffy?
...
"Natsume!"
He groaned, shifting his legs around underneath the blankets. Never one to be put off, Nyanko-Sensei repeatedly smacked him on the back of a head with a paw.
"Oi, Natsume! I'm hungry! Feed me!"
"...Feed yourself..." He muttered sleepily, curling closer to the warm body next to him with a groan. "'m tired."
"Na-tsu-me!" The cat crawled halfway onto his shoulder, curling his head closer to the human's ear. "I know you aren't sleeping. Feed me!"
It was the truth. Despite his actions to the contrary, he honestly hasn't gotten any sleep that night. He'd gotten caught up in the moment, because he was corny like that, watching them sleep, listening too them shift between soft, even breathes and loud snoring, and the next thng he knew Nyanko-sensei was clawing at his head and being fully aware that the moment had lasted too long and he hadn't slept yet. Honestly, he needed to get better at controlling his emotions. (Then again, Taki and Tanuma both would smack him upside the head if he even tried- He'd done too much pretending as it was, they'd say, he shouldn't force himself to pretend ever again. Then again, maybe that was his inner sap talking, and they wouldn't have noticed. The idea makes his chest tighten painfully. He shrugged it away for later consideration)
"Oi, get up! I'll wake them up if you don't!" A smirk crosses the cats face, because he knows that will get him out of bed, and it does. Every. Single. Time.
He sighed, pushing his blanket (he had his own blanket- he tended to hog them, so he bought his own out of consideration. It usually ends up draped across the other two- it's a really big blanket- and he's yet to figure out just how it happens) back while simultaneously brushing his hair down as best he could, cracking open an eyelid. He wearily pulled himself out of bed to get dressed, stumbling around the room as quietly as possible so as too not wake them (he's thankful nothing less than an natural disaster can wake them up on a night like tonight) and pulling on a long coat (it's not cold out normally, but it's still nighttime and he wanted to be as warm as possible), the cat humming far-to-cheerfully the entire way out the door.
"Onward- to food!" The cat cheers as he curls onto his shoulder, thrusting a paw towards the door. He grunts, rolling his eyes and carefully closing the door behind him. It wasn't the first time he'd been forced to leave early for food, as long as he came home before lunch they wouldn't worry.
Rubbing his eyes, he blurrily stared at the scenery around him. The small lights placed around town, the comfy feel of the houses watching over him, and the lack of people on the street. He yawned. "Nyanko-Sensei... it's still dark out."
"So?" The large feline shrugs, nudging the back of his head foreword with a paw. "I don't care. Now, mush!"
He sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets as he made his way down the street. Honestly, he must look like a mess; Bedhead, bags under his eyes, pale skin (as always), not to mention the brightly colored cat currently hovering on his shoulder, shuffling down the street in a way-to-big coat, arms limply hanging in his pockets. He hadn't looked this pitiful in a long time...
The soft lighting reminded him of his nights in the city. The puddles resting beneath his feet from the rain the night before startles up memories of running away in the rain, heaving for breath as he tried to escape from his family, from the Yokai, from everything. The nearby alleyway drags up memories of hiding, curled up against a brick wall, head buried in his arms, wondering if they'd even bother to look for him as he counted down the hours until sunlight with tears blurring his vision. The silence of the night reminded him of the utter silence dawn had held, when every sound would quiet for a moment- only a moment- before bursting out once again, loud and proud, sending him back into the arms of whatever family was forced to house him.
"Oi, Natsume." He jumped, the world distorting oddly for a moment before resettling into reality. Nyanko-sensei calmly watched him out of the corner of his eye from his man-made perch. "You stopped walking."
"Oh." He swiped a hand across his eyes, restarting the trek to the nearest bakery. "Sorry." He chuckled darkly. "Not sleeping makes me wander down places I don't like to go down."
"Then don't think." The cat grunted in reply. "Just keep walking. I'm starving!"
Warmly thanking the cashier and giving the man a tip, he shifted the extra bag of pasteries onto his other hand, ignoring the growl emitting from his stomach from the scent of the pastery in the cats mouth. The man chuckled. "He sure likes his sweets, huh?"
"Yeah." He smiled, watching the cat out of the corner of his eye. Giving a quick goodbye, he slipped out the door just as the sun began to rise. Sighing, he glared at the eating Yokai perched on his shoulder. It held no heat, but it made him feel better slightly. "It's to early for this."
"I don't care." He sniffed around the pastry in his mouth. "I was hungry."
"I'm going to start buying you cat food." He snapped. The Yokai whapped himself upside the head with a free paw.
"I'm not a cat!"
"You certainly act like one!"
The trek home went arguably faster then the trek to the bakery as he sleepily argued with the cat on his shoulder while it ate, rubbing his eyes as he went. Passing by Fujiwara home, he paused too talk with Touko-san as she hung the laundry.
"Are you feeling alright?" She fusses as she manually checks him over for signs of anemia. He allows the touches and pokes and prods, flinching only slightly as she worried over his state of being.
"I'm fine." He promised, gently grabbing her hand to guide it back to her side. A small smile tugs at the edges of his lips. "I'm sorry to make you worry."
"Not at all.. Hmm..." She murmured, brushing his hair off of the side of his forehead. "Would you like to stay for breakfast?"
He shook his head. "I wouldn't want too be a bother..."
"Well, okay..." She paused in consideration. Her face lit up. "I know, how about you all come over for dinner sometime this week? It'd be nice too spend some time with all three of you, and there will be plenty of food."
While his gaze was kept firmly on the woman he was speaking with, Natsume didn't need to see to know that the cat curled up on his shoulder was drooling. Attempting not to cringe- what if he left a stain?-, he scratched the back of his head. "I don't know, I'd have to discuss it with them, but... I'd really like that."
The rest of the walk home was uneventful as morning turned to afternoon. The sun was high in the sky- making him feel rather silly for his choice in outer garments- when he finally opened the doors to his home with his free hand. "I'm home."
"Welcome back!" Taki smiled. The familiar smells of lunch drifted about the room as she fiddled with the pan. While too sleep-addled to properly diagnose what she was making, somewhere, in the far back of his mind, he recognized that he liked whatever it was that was sizzling away. "Kitty wake you up again?"
"I was hungry!" He argued before glancing down at the bag in his hands. "Oi, Natsume, give me another one."
"These aren't for you, Sensei." He reminded the cat, holding the bag out for the woman to take. "I thought you might like something for your sweet tooth."
Tanuman's head popped out of his arms and off the dining table, blinking sluggishly as he twisted his head around. "I heard sweets..." Taki chuckled as he finally zeroed his gaze on the tired male. "Morning."
"Afternoon." He smiled before finally giving way to a building yawn, covering his mouth with a hand.
Tanuma raised an eyebrow. "Tired?" He nodded. Tanuma rubbed an eye, returning the yawn. "Then go take a nap."
"Planning on it." He admitted, glancing at the girl happily looking over the brought-home sweets with a smile. "Unless... you need help with anything?"
"Huh?" As though brought from a sweet-induced trance (he wouldn't put it past her) she blinked before shaking her head. "No, no, I've got everything covered." She shooed him away with two hands, the bag perched precariously on the side of the counter. "Go on now, go take a nap."
"Okay. Night." He nodded and stumbled off to their room, hanging his coat up in the closet as he passed by. Slipping into his pajamas,- something that took far less time than it had to take them off- he curled back under the covers, relaxing fully into the pillow.
After an undetermined amount of time he felt an arm wrap around his chest and a body press against his back. To tired to move, he squeezed his eyes tighter shut as the body curled closer against his back. "Tanuma?"
"Yeah." The boy grinned, pressing his head against his shoulder as Taki pressed her back against his chest, humming in contentment. "We thought we'd join you."
"Sounds good." He mumbled with a smile, sleep beginning to draw him in.
They didn't move the rest of the day.
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Told'ya it'd be fluffy. =)