Summary: Tanuma never had an initial period of awkwardness in his friendship with Taki, probably because they were brought together by their mutual desire to help Natsume with his youkai encounters. But that didn't mean he wasn't clumsy when he was alone with her in his kitchen. Inspired by Chapter 78. One-shot.

So, I was planning on writing the epilogue for my other Natsume fic, Bygone Days. While procrastinating with that, I ended up with this one-shot :P.

Quiet Evenings

Tanuma was sitting outside the entrance of the temple, steadily working on his homework. It was the perfect spring weather today, so he'd decided to take his textbook outside. He felt slightly guilty about leaving the doors and windows open. The breeze would probably carry some dust in. But his dad wasn't around today to scold him and he felt particularly rebellious. It was fine. Tanuma was planning on cleaning the floors tomorrow anyway.

The day gradually grew darker as the sun slinked downward to the horizon. Tanuma gathered his study materials and was about to step back inside when he spotted a familiar figure in the path just underneath the temple steps.

He hesitated for a few moments. He could barely see the figure from this angle. If it turned out to be someone else, he would feel incredibly stupid.

Finally, making up his mind, he called out, "Hey! Taki!"

Already feeling idiotic because she didn't seem to hear him, he quickly stood up and ran to the top of the temple steps before she could disappear down the path, "TAKI!"

Taki looked startled but her face broke into a smile immediately upon spotting him. She skipped up the steps lightly, two at a time.

"Hi, Tanuma-kun! How's it going? I didn't realize I was passing by the temple. Otherwise I would have said hi!"

"Running an errand?" he smiled back at her with his textbook at his side.

"Nope! I was just taking a walk, but sometimes I stray off my course and end up at random places." She gave a sheepish grin.

Tanuma rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Do you, um, want to stop by for tea? Since you're here." He hastened to add, "If you have time, that is."

"Sure," Taki replied brightly. "I can help you make it."

He felt unusually clumsy in the kitchen around Taki today. She'd helped him in the kitchen before, but that was when Natsume had been de-aged by a youkai as an (unwanted) favor. At the time, their mutual concern for Natsume had drove all discomfort out the window. But today he was completely alone with Taki in his house, at his own invitation no less. He was anxious to please her, and also a little surprised by his own boldness.

Well, 'boldness' was the wrong word. Taki was his friend. A good friend. His closest friend, really, after Natsume. It wasn't that surprising he had invited her?

For some reason, he'd never had an initial awkward stage with Taki when they first became friends, unlike how it had been with Natsume. It was probably because they had been driven together by their mutual desire to help Natsume bear the burden of his youkai encounters. Before they knew it they'd become friends themselves.

Even today, the initial awkwardness didn't last long. He could attribute some of it to Taki's cheerful, welcoming disposition. She had the ability to make anyone feel at ease. Ironic that today it was in his own home.

She was sipping her tea now while swinging her legs under the kotatsu, talking animatedly about school events. Soon, they were having a lively discussion about their classmates, Natsume, youkai and various other topics.

"Your dad is away on a service trip?" Taki asked him at one point in their conversation.

"Yes. He'll be back on Wednesday."

"Oh. It must be hard taking care of the temple yourself." Taki said thoughtfully.

"It's not too bad, really. I only have to clean the floors every other day."

Tanuma blushed when Taki looked impressed. Admittedly, the temple was quite big.

When the clock chimed seven o'clock, Tanuma suddenly remembered herself. "Ahh, I forgot, I need to start dinner."

Looking surprised at the time herself, Taki said, "Oh wow, I didn't realize what time it was. I better get going too."

Tanuma felt a wave of disappointment. He had been really enjoying her company. She was leaving already? He racked his brains for something, some excuse to make her stay longer, but he couldn't think of anything.

Taki was standing up to leave already, and he felt his heart sink.

Wait.

He remembered Natsume mentioning that Taki's family were rarely home. Her dad and brother worked overseas, and her mother usually worked late. In that case…

Instead of overthinking it like he usually did, he blurted out, "Do you want to stay for dinner?"

When Taki paused, Tanuma found his palms start sweating in anxiety. Was my question inappropriate?

Taki tilted her head from side to side, and looked torn. "Umm, I don't want to bother you…"

Tanuma let himself relax. "It's no trouble at all. I was going to make stew, and I'll have way more than I can eat."

"You really like stew, don't you?" She was smiling.

He laughed self-consciously. "Probably because it's one of the few things I can cook."

She decided to stay, but they ended up making curry because Taki had a "secret" family recipe that she was proud of. She said she would teach him.

He was truly glad Taki was here because dinner really was best eaten with other people. It always got dreary when his dad was away on his service trips. Tanuma loved helping his dad cook or cooking for his dad, but he hated cooking for himself. And, Taki was a great kitchen companion.

Last time she was here, he had given instructions for stew, and she had helped. Today, their roles were reversed, and Taki truly looked in her element. Every time he completed any of her instructions, she gave him the widest smile that made him blush. She gave him a smile even when he cut the potatoes too thin. She was too nice. Still. They made a good team.

If Tanuma ever got married, which was perhaps unlikely considering his social ineptitude, he'd imagine his relationship with his wife to be somewhat like this.

He suddenly cringed at where his thoughts had taken him. Kaname, what are you thinking?!

Taki was his friend. Not someone he suddenly developed a crush on just because they were alone together at his house. How could he have such impure thoughts at a temple, no less?

But over the next half hour, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't keep the blush off his face whenever Taki accidentally touched him.

Undeniably, it was hard not to have a crush on Taki. She was pretty, had good fashion sense, smelled great, and had the most dazzling smile. When you spoke to her, she would give you her full attention as if you were the most interesting person in the world. She did that for everyone, but secretly Tanuma liked to believe that she gave him just a bit of extra attention.

Okay, fine. He would confess that he had a slight crush on Taki. It was just heightened today because of the circumstances. Everything was fine!

He offered to walk her home after dinner.

Taki laughed. "You don't have to be such a gentleman, Tanuma-kun. I can get home by myself. It's quite out of your way."

"It's the least I can do after you cooked for me. It's late."

"We cooked together." She corrected, but conceded to his offer to walk with her anyway.

"Say, do you want to walk by the river?" Taki asked. "It's a bit of a detour but…"

"Your thirst for walking not satiated yet?" he smiled.

"Not quite!"

After a period of introspective silence, she admitted, "I really love walking. My mom comes home really late and I feel creeped out in that big old house by myself sometimes, so instead I'll go out for walks. At first it was just a distraction, but I grew to love it."

"This town is fairly safe, but you probably shouldn't walk by yourself late at night." Tanuma was genuinely concerned. Even his dad would have a heart attack if he went around town too late, and Tanuma was a guy. Then again, his dad was fairly superstitious because of his profession.

When he turned to look at Taki, she had a secretive grin on her face, as if amused by an internal joke. "What?"

Facing front now, but still smiling, she said, "Maybe you can come with me next time then!"

It took him a few seconds to process that, but when he did, he was left speechless. Was… was Taki actually flirting with him? Or was he just completely clueless?

He belatedly realized that Taki was giggling at him. He probably had a stupid expression on his face.

They resumed their leisurely stroll along the river on the way to Taki's house in companionable silence. Meanwhile, Tanuma tried not to let his thoughts get ahead of him and just enjoy Taki's presence.

Tanuma struggled to think of a conversation starter. He was curious about Taki's mom but didn't know if that was a sensitive topic. He tried to recall her profession.

"Your mom works at the hospital, is that right?" He asked casually.

"Right. She's a surgeon." Taki must have sensed his curiosity because she supplied, "I don't see her very often. She doesn't get home until 3 or 4am, and she's asleep by the time I get up for school."

"She has days off though?"

"Not really. They don't have that many doctors here, so she doesn't like to take days off. She says bad things always happen on her days off. And even if she takes days off, she gets called for emergencies."

"Wow… that sounds really rough. It must be taxing for her health."

Taki laughed lightly, but it rang hollow. "She's a workaholic, so she loves it."

What a great topic you chose, Kaname-baka.

"I'm sorry, Taki…" He didn't know what else to say.

"It's totally fine. I don't mind." Her smile was tinged with sadness as she said, "She's saving a lot of lives and I'm really proud of her."

He struggled to find his next words. "Um... you're welcome to come by the temple any time to have dinner. My dad would love to have you over. We always cook more than we need anyway."

Taki squeezed his hand lightly. "Thank you, Tanuma-kun. That means a lot." Her eyes, as usual, seemed to bore holes into him.

"Although, next time," she added, "you should come over. Since, I ransacked your kitchen this time."

"Thanks for inviting me over, Tanuma-kun. It was really fun," she said once they were at her front gate.

He gave her a sincere smile. "Thanks for spending the evening with me."

Before they parted ways, Taki unexpectedly gave him a hug. It was the most intimate contact he'd ever had with Taki, not to mention any member of the opposite sex.

He was in such a daze on the way home that he jolted when he suddenly found himself back at the temple entrance.

He couldn't wait to see her again.

End Notes:

I've always thought Taki and Tanuma make a great team. It was adorable how they took care of De-aged! Natsume in Chapter 78, letting him nap while they made stew for him. I bet Tanuma was a bit awkward then too. I actually read that chapter very recently, and then I had to write this!

Tanuma is fun to write because of he is an awkward guy with a heart of gold, but an awkward, crushing Tanuma is even more fun. Haha, hope you enjoyed this and that I was able to do the characters justice. Comments welcome and very much appreciated!

And now, I must finish Bygone Days… *more days of procrastination ensues*