The morning although cold was rather blissful. I awoke in the company of two purring cats who were pawing at me with meows for attention and I could think of no better way I would rather wake up. They were so cute. I tickled their ears and they nuzzled into me. Maybe it was something to do with my usual soap that they like? Though to my understanding, it doesn't have any scents of fish in it. "Morning." I whispered to them both, assuming Natsume was still sleeping. "Did you sleep well?" They meowed back at me so I smiled, giving a sigh before I slowly sat up and looked down to the floor.
It was completely vacant and I blinked, glancing around before calling out. "Natsume?" There was no answer so I untangled myself from the blankets with the cats following after me, bumping against my legs as I looked around. When I got to the kitchen I found a note stuck to the fridge and I looked at it, seeing it was from Natsume. It said that he'd gone for a run and not to worry if I wake up and he's not there and he'd be back soon. Glancing around his kitchen I started in search of food, however when he had said he didn't have much, he really meant it. There were two eggs, some limp celery and some cheese that could do with being throwing out in the fridge, the cupboards mostly sported quick make noodles and nothing much more.
"Your owner isn't very good with keeping his food stock up to scratch, is he?" I questioned his two cats who meowed at me. I picked one up and it looked at me blankly, as if surprised that I had actually lifted it off the ground however when I tickled its chin it purred. My clothes had been tossed into the drier for me, even my underwear and I blushed slightly. He didn't have to do that. That's so embarrassing. All the same since he was out of the house I went into the bathroom and started to get change, closing the door behind me. I noticed it didn't have a lock, Natsume probably thought it unnecessary since he lived alone.
Just as I'd pulled on my jeans and was reaching for my shirt, I heard the door go and footsteps approached. Before I realised it, the door was opening and I gave a shriek. "Natsume!" Instantly Natsume stared, catching me in my bra and I turned lobster red, hurriedly lifting my shirt to cover myself. "Close the door!"
"Sorry!" Quickly he snapped it up and I shivered, listening for a moment before I heard him walk away. Oh god, that's just what I need. Not only did he see my underwear, he saw me wearing it. Today is just going to be one of those days, I guess. Fighting back the blush I finished getting dressed. Exiting the bathroom I found Natsume in the kitchen feeding the cats, however when he saw me standing there, he stood up with an apologetic expression. "I apologise about that, I thought you'd still be asleep and didn't really think."
"No that, that's fine. Just please don't tell anyone." He promised he wouldn't tell a soul so I exhaled, lifting my head to look at him. He was wearing running clothes and he looked like he'd only just caught his breath back. Of course, the note had said he'd gone for a run. "How was your run?"
"It was good, keeps me in shape." He said as he began to move towards me, touching my shoulder as he passed. "I'm going to take a shower, I know there's not much to eat but…"
"Do you have time to go to breakfast before work?" I suddenly asked, feeling a spark of confidence though Natsume looked at me quickly. "I'd like to thank you properly for all this, besides I'm hungry too and being brutally honest, Natsu, super noodles aren't a proper breakfast." After a moment or two he chuckled, rubbing his hair as he did so.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I don't have to be in the office for a while yet, but you don't have to pay me back for letting you stay one night you know." I just smiled at him, giving a shrug of my shoulders. I guess it's going to be a battle over who gets to pay the bill, but we'll get to that when it comes to it. Natsume showered and changed whilst I tried to brush through my hair with my fingers into some sort of orderly fashion, however as I went to tie it up Natsume's voice stopped me. "You should leave it down, it looks good that way."
"Usually I tie it back because it gets annoying when it's windy." I answered him truthfully before looking out the window. It didn't look too bad today, maybe I will leave it down. Grabbing my bag I said goodbye to the cats, stroking them affectionately before I followed Natsume down to his car. He glanced across to make sure I was strapped in before pulling away. "Is there any place in particular that you like?" I asked, hoping to learn a little more about him in the process.
"Well I don't really eat out much so it's your choice. I was just going to park near the office in town and let you choose." He said to me. "Is there a place you had in mind?"
"Not really, though I do know of this pancake place that Wataru likes, whatever you can think of it comes in a pancake. I'd quite like that." I admitted, thinking about a pancake with strawberries and cream, or syrup and bacon, or practically anything else I could think of. "It's in town so it shouldn't be too far to walk depending on how far we walk. How much time do you have? If you need to be in the office sooner then we can always just go to a café or something." I suggested to him, however when Natsume looked at his watch he only glanced at it briefly.
"I've got time." Was all he said before continuing to drive. He parked near his offices and I gave him brief directions on how to get there, however despite it being early morning it was fairly busy. Once or twice I got a little separated from Natsume however I quickly managed to catch up, however when he noticed that I was struggling he stopped and held out his hand. "Here, don't want to lose you, do I?" I looked at his hand and suddenly felt a little nervous. We'd look like a couple if we walked like that, and I don't think I'd be able to handle it if I had to hold his hand for long. Although I liked it when he was close, he still had a very visible effect on me.
"Um…how about this?" Stepping closer I slipped my arm through his and gripped onto his sleeve lightly, looking up at him. "Is this okay?"
"Whatever you're comfortable with." He assured me warmly before moving forwards. His body seemingly cut through the rivers of people like a salmon swimming upstream and with me now holding onto his arm I found it almost impossible to be separated from him. We got to the pancake place and went inside, looking at the orders. Natsume ordered something savoury whilst I went for something sweet, licking my lips, however as Natsume reached for his wallet I already had my card in hand.
"Here you go, thank you very much for your time." I said to the young girl who beamed at me, allowing me to pay for both meals with my card. Though mostly I use cash, I was glad I had this handy. I'll get money out later if I need it, however at least I'd kept my word and treated Natsume to breakfast.
"You know eventually you're going to have to let me pay for something." He said to me however I just gave him a one sided grin, slightly challenging as I looked up at him.
"Says who? Come on Natsu, let me treat my big brother to breakfast." Our pancakes were brought to us when they were done and I could already feel my mouth watering. "I'm guessing you really aren't a fan of sweet things." Noticing the preference for savoury, Natsume nodded his head. "You're like my dad then, he's not a huge fan of sweet things like I am. He says I get that from my mother." I hadn't realised what I'd said until it was out of my mouth. In some ways it was both true. Both Miwa and my birth mother do like sweet things. It made me chuckle inwardly.
"What's your mother like?" Natsume questioned, trying to engage in conversation but I could only shrug.
"I'm not really sure, she died when I was very young. My dad told me a few things about her but I didn't like to ask too often, I could tell that it hurt to talk about her." Slicing into my pancake I ate a little whilst thinking to myself. I hadn't really thought about it much, but I really didn't know anything at all. I knew what she looked like and I didn't look anything like her, I looked like my grandmother on my dad's side more than anybody else, though apparently I'm far more docile than she was. Natsume looked at me for a moment and I realised that he felt bad for bringing it up so I smiled at him. "It's alright, I don't get sad about it anymore. I'm sure if my birth mom were here, she'd be telling me to go figure out what to do with my life and things like that."
"I'm sorry about that. I didn't know." I nodded my head in understanding, eating a little more of my pancake and almost squealed. It really was good, I'll definitely suggest bringing Wataru back here, maybe Yusuke would like to come too, he loves sweet things even more than I do. Before I knew it we'd both finished with very little conversation and I couldn't help but feel like Natsume was holding something close to him. His jaw was clenched tightly and his movements weren't as calm as they usually were, in fact I think he was barely holding himself together.
"Hey Natsume?" I said to him, stopping in the street and he turned around to look at me. Slowly I stepped forwards before I placed my head against his chest, resting my arms around him. "It's okay if you need to be angry, just don't be angry at yourself anymore. It makes me sad to think that I'm leaving you in this kind of state, so try to relax a little." I said to him before pulling back, stepping away from him so that he could see my face clearly as I was stern faced and serious. "If you want to be mad at someone, then by all means be mad at me because I won't mind. Stop keeping your emotions all to yourself, it's selfish. You should let people know how you feel more often so that people know how to respond to you instead of just letting you push them away." His face slackened slightly, staring at me with a cool contemplation as I turned my head away, fighting against the butterflies in my stomach as I made to walk past him.
The breeze lifted a little, pulling back at my hair so I tugged the collar of my coat closer around my neck to keep warm however I felt Natsume's hands touch my shoulders, gently asking me to stop before he then turned me around and I found myself in his safe embrace once more, hands tucked into my neck and my eyes slid shut of their own accord. "I don't know how you do it, but you sure have a way with words." He said to me softly, his hand beginning to run over the top of my head soothingly. "I'm glad you came running to me for help, you know. It makes me feel good to know that you trust me on that sort of level. However next time you get into that kind of situation, please just call the police or someone. Don't go jumping out of anymore windows." I couldn't help it, I laughed a little.
"Okay, it's a deal." I agreed as I pulled back, nodding my head as Natsume patted my head.
"Take care kiddo, I'll see you at Christmas." Ugh, kiddo. However before I could turn around and tell him not to call me that, he'd already disappeared into the crowds. It took me a moment, but I realised that he'd left me at the end of the main road where I was only a few minutes away from the condo. He'd walked me practically out of town, now he had to walk all the way back, surely that meant he'd be late for work? Though at the thought, I smiled at his caring nature. He's a good person, he really was, and I loved him all the more for it.