Tanuma bundled up his jacket a little closer to his body as he waited for Natsume outside of the school. Winter was definitely here as the snow was already piled up pretty deep. He wondered why he just didn't wait inside until Natsume was finished cleaning the classroom, but he didn't want to make him feel rushed either. He would do virtually anything for Natsume, though, so waiting outside was nothing.

"Oh hey, Tanuma, why are you standing out here in the cold?" A familiar voice called out to him and he turned his head in the direction of where it was coming from.

"Hi, Taki. I'm just waiting for Natsume. I'm fine, I'm not that cold," he lied, but gave a lighthearted smile.

Taki hmphed at the obvious lie and unwrapped the scarf around her neck and pushed it towards Tanuma, "Take this if you're going to stand outside in the cold then."

"I can't take that! What about you, Taki?" Tanuma shook his head and tried to push the scarf back towards her.

"You know I live close by so it won't be an issue," she threw the scarf around Tanuma's neck. "You and Natsume have been hanging out a lot together lately."

Tanuma blushed a bit and allowed Taki to wrap the scarf around his neck. He and Natsume hadn't told anyone about their relationship since they started going out a couple months ago, and he felt bad from holding that information from their best friend. But he knew he'd tell her eventually – he just wasn't ready yet.

"I'm sorry, Taki, that we don't include you sometimes…" he mumbled under his breath.

Taki shook her head with a smile, "Its fine, really. Just because we're all friends doesn't necessarily mean we always have to be together." She stepped back from Tanuma and went to turn on her heels until she stopped halfway. She turned her head with a smirk, "Natsume told me anyway – about you two."

Tanuma's eyes widened a bit and he could feel his mouth gaping open, "R-Really?"

Taki giggled and pushed some hair behind her ear, "I always knew that you two had a special relationship. Sometimes, even when all three of us are together, I felt like you two were in your own little world. But I didn't mind very much since I know how much having friends meant to Natsume. Honestly, I wasn't very surprised when he told me you two started to date. I'm happy for you two," she said in a kind voice.

Tanuma actually felt a huge sense of relief at her words. And with that, Taki waved a goodbye and turned away to walk home.

Tanuma gave a weak smile and let out a sigh once Taki was out of sight.

"Jeeze, Natsume. You should've told me that you told her…" he said to himself out loud.

"Hm? Did you say something?" Tanuma jumped a bit and looked back to find the person he was waiting for.

"Ah, Natsume… no, I was just talking to myself," Tanuma looked at Natsume's face and smiled.

"Sorry that took so long, Kitamoto and Nishumura kept messing around which kind of created even more work for us," Natsume gave a chuckle despite the complaint.

"Its fine, I wasn't waiting long," Tanuma replied.

"Good, I can't believe you waited outside though! It's so cold out here," Natsume rubbed his arms as the two began to walk.

"I'm pretty resilient when it comes to cold weather," Tanuma fibbed again.

"Isn't that Taki's scarf?" Natsume asked.

"Oh, yeah, I saw her while I was waiting for you. She insisted I wear it," Tanuma fiddled with the end of the scarf that hung down in front of him.

"So you really were out here a long time," Natsume frowned a bit.

Just like how Natsume never liked to worry Tanuma, Tanuma felt the same way when it came to Natsume.

"No, no! Seriously, you came right after she left," Tanuma shook his head. "A-And you never told me you told Taki about… us."

"Oh, yeah, I only told her today," Natsume blushed slightly. "She kind of had the feeling we were, so I told her. Sorry for not letting you know first."

"It's okay, I think it's only fair to let Taki know so she doesn't think we leave her out when we do things as just the two of us," Tanuma replied.

"We should go out for dinner tomorrow then – the three of us," Natsume smiled. "Since she's so supportive of us… not many people would be."

Tanuma felt a slight twinge in his chest. He never considered dating Natsume would be a burden, and he knew Natsume was constantly concerned about involving others with youkai, but he supposed he never really considered how they would be viewed by others as two males dating. This town was small and old fashioned – some people might not be as accepting as Taki. Tanuma himself knew he'd be able to take any criticisms, and he knew Natsume would probably be able to as well, but that didn't mean he didn't worry about what that would do to his feelings.

The two neared the wooded area near Tanuma's home and Tanuma gently reached into the pocket of Natsume's jacket where his hand was and grasped it lightly.

Natsume glanced over at Tanuma who smiled warmly. "If we can deal with youkai, I think we can handle anything."

Natsume's eyes widened a bit, and a slight smile formed on his lips, "Mhm, you're right."

The two were nearing Tanuma's house, their hands still linked in Natsume's jacket pocket. Natsume was content just holding Tanuma's hand, but tonight he was actually staying over at Tanuma's house. He had been to Tanuma's place quite a few times, but this would be the first time he stayed the night since they started dating, so he was a bit nervous.

As they walked further down the path, Natsume couldn't help but notice someone up in the trees.

"Hi-!" Natsume had to stop himself from shouting, the entire name, but it was probably already too late for Tanuma to have not noticed.

"Natsume?" Tanuma stopped walking and looked over at him.

"Oh, it's Natsume!" Hinoe smiled and floated down gracefully from the trees. She froze in her approach soon after and her expression soured on her face.

"It's nothing," Natsume tried to play it off, hoping Hinoe would just leave them be, but of course that wasn't going to happen.

"Don't 'nothing' me! Why are you so close to this boy?" Hinoe hissed. "Are you two in a relationship? I thought maybe I was going crazy, but I knew I felt a faint sense of lust on you as of late."

Natsume's face instantly turned red at her words.

"What's wrong, Natsume? There's a youkai, isn't there?" Tanuma said in a worried voice.

"N-No…" Natsume tried to lie again, but Tanuma probably already knew there was one nearby.

"Grr, why couldn't you just come to me, Natsume? Hinoe could've taken care of you," now the youkai seemed a little saddened as she played with a few strands of Natsume's hair.

"Leave Natsume alone!" Tanuma shouted, pulling Natsume towards him.

"Ah!" Natsume was startled as he was jerked away.

"Can't you just tell that boy I'm not going to hurt you?" Hinoe growled.

"Its fine, Tanuma, it isn't a bad youkai," Natsume patted at Tanuma's arm, hoping he'd let go of his death grip on him.

"A-Are you sure?" Tanuma asked hesitantly.

"Yes, I see her often. She's… a friend," Natsume said, and could feel the grip on him let up.

"If you say so," Tanuma still didn't seem to trust the unknown youkai.

Hinoe simply sighed, smirking a little.

"I don't have time to talk, so could we save this for later?" Natsume turned to Hinoe.

"Fine, fine. I guess a romance between a youkai and a human never works out anyway," she sighed, "Although you remind me of her, you aren't Reiko." There seemed to be a bit of longing in her eyes.

"Thanks… I guess," Natsume said warily.

"Sorry, about that, but I'm not going to let Natsume get hurt," Tanuma said, although he probably felt her presence, Natsume knew Tanuma couldn't see her.

"Hmph," Hinoe crossed her arms. "I guess you picked a good mate."

"Don't call him that…" Natsume sighed and started to walk away.

"Eh? What did she call me?" Tanuma followed along.

"Nothing…" Natsume mumbled.

"Hmm, as matter of fact, I was really sensing a bit of your lust before you noticed me, too," Hinoe continued to follow them. "I have to wonder if you have had intercourse with him yet. It could be that you are pent up. You should take care of that," Hinoe said with deviousness in her voice.

Natsume's face reddened once again, "Just go away!" He shouted and swung his arms in her direction.

"Ahah!" Hinoe giggled and went back to resting in a tree. "I'll leave you alone, sheesh." She brought out her pipe from her sleeve and gave it a puff. "But I'll just let you know this – that boy feels the same way."

Natsume growled, his face redder than ever, as he stomped away faster.

"Ah, wait up, Natsume!" Tanuma chased after him.

"I'll keep that cat away from you for the night! I've got a nice bottle of sake," Hinoe shouted after him.

Natsume sighed as he felt the heat from the kotatsu warm his body. He couldn't believe Hinoe said those kinds of things to him. He and Tanuma hadn't done much past kissing, and he was really fine with that. But he knew in the back of his mind, he wouldn't mind doing more with Tanuma, but he wasn't sure if he was necessarily ready.

The two had been dating for a couple months now, ever since Tanuma confessed to him on a fall day. Natsume felt silly because he made a bit of a fool of himself thinking Tanuma was going to move away, but maybe his urge to beg him not to go was the thing that helped him realize his feelings for his friend.

"Um, are you feeling alright?" Tanuma asked as he walked into the room with two cups of hot tea.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Natsume gave a reassuring smile and grabbed a cup from Tanuma.

"I'm sorry about what happened with the youkai. You said they were your friend, but it seemed like they were harassing you," Tanuma sat down across from Natsume.

"That's not very new for her to do, though," Natsume sighed.

"Err…" Tanuma shifted in place, "Can I ask what she was saying? You looked really mad… or embarrassed… or both."

"Umm…" Natsume really didn't want to tell Tanuma. Anything but that. "She just… noticed how close we were and was teasing a bit. That's all." He tried to shrug it off.

"Oh, alright," Natsume could tell Tanuma knew there was more to it, but since he was such a nice guy, he didn't bother asking further. "Are you warmed up now?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, thank you," Natsume took a small sip of his tea.

The evening started to turn dark, and the two decided to start on dinner. The mood seemed to lighten up as they chopped the vegetables and got the curry ready.

"I'm surprised I haven't seen Ponta yet," Tanuma said after all the ingredients were added to the pot and the curry was left to simmer.

The two lingered around in the kitchen where the stove kept the room warm and sipped at newly filled cups of tea.

Natsume chuckled a bit; Tanuma never got the cat's name right. "Nyanko-sensei is probably out drinking sake as we speak."

"Ah, I never understood how a cat could drink alcohol," Tanuma scratched his head.

"You know he's not a regular old cat," Natsume replied.

"Oh yeah," Tanuma tilted his head a bit, "I guess since I've never seen him in his spirit form it's hard to picture him as anything but a cat. Even though he talks. It was really weird seeing him turn into you and your grandma, though."

"Hah, I still can't believe you had to go through that incident though," Natsume sighed, thinking of the time Tanuma had to actually rescue him, how Tanuma got injured in the process, how Tanuma got more involved than he ever should be in the spirit world…

Natsume shook his head, setting the tea aside on the counter. He didn't want to think about those things. It took his all not to think about how their relationship now, more than ever, could bring Tanuma into more danger. Was he being selfish by being with Tanuma? If he loved Tanuma… would it be better to distance himself?

"Natsume?" A kind voice broke Natsume out of his thoughts, and a soft touch cupped the side of his face. "Are you alright? You suddenly didn't look so good."

Tanuma had a worried look on his face. See? He was already worrying him.

"I'm fine… Just thinking," Natsume placed his hand gently on top of Tanuma's.

"About what?" Tanuma asked.

"Nothing important," Natsume looked to the side, avoiding Tanuma's eyes.

"Something unimportant wouldn't cause you to make that face," Tanuma's voice was low and serious.

Natsume looked back up at the other boy. "I just… never want to see you go through another situation like that again…" He said softly.

"Like the one at the Omibashira mansion?" Tanuma replied, his thumb gently stroking Natsume's cheek.

Natsume slowly nodded, and he felt Tanuma pull him into a hug.

"Natsume… I know all these things about you, because you finally feel comfortable with telling me about them. I felt so happy when you allowed me into your world, even just a little," Tanuma embraced him a little tighter. "When I started having feelings for you, I was prepared to deal with all of that. I want to be the one by your side. I want to be the one that can help you. I know the situations you get into can be dangerous, and I know that could affect me – and I'm okay with that."

"But I wouldn't be able to take it if you got hurt because of me…" Natsume said, his voice cracked slightly and was muffled into Tanuma's chest.

Tanuma left their embrace to look at Natsume face to face, his hands holding on to Natsume's arms. "I'm prepared for that," he repeated. "Anything is worth it to be with you."

Natsume was speechless. He didn't know Tanuma felt that strongly about him. He almost felt like he didn't deserve it. Until recently with the Fujiwara's, no one had really shown him affection. Tanuma's feelings were almost overwhelming.

He felt a large tear slide down his cheek and he realized his chest and his throat felt like they were clenching so tightly.

Tanuma gently wiped the tear away before another began to fall, and another.

"Don't cry…" Tanuma said almost lightheartedly, his face getting closer to Natsume's.

As if on instinct, Natsume closed his eyes as he felt the warm lips of the other boy. His sobs were quiet and subdued by the gentle kisses left on his lips as he wrapped his arms around Tanuma's neck.

Maybe he was scared of being loved, and here was Tanuma, offering all of himself just for him. It was still scary; it was scary how happy he was. It almost felt like it was something that shouldn't be happening, like it was a dream.

But Tanuma's lips felt clear as day, Tanuma's hands gave off a heat as they rested on Natsume's hips. A heat that proved they were real, this was real.

Natsume sighed as Tanuma deepened their kiss. He could feel his heart start to pound and even more heat flush through his body.

"…I knew I felt a faint sense of lust on you as of late."

Hinoe's words echoed through his head as he felt Tanuma's tongue run against his lips.

"…that boy feels the same way."

Natsume didn't want to admit it at the time, but he knew she might've been right. And apparently… Tanuma also had the same feelings? But… was he really ready for something like that? He and Tanuma would be alone all night, and…

A beeping sounded through the quiet house, causing the two to stop, their lips separating.

"I guess the rice is done," Tanuma said in almost a whisper, his face was slightly flushed pink.

"Y-Yeah…" Natsume fumbled a bit over his words, adjusting his clothes that got slightly jostled and wiping the wetness of the tears from his face.

Tanuma went to check the curry, stirring it a bit. "Looks like it's time to eat," he said with a meek smile.

Stuff like wondering if they should take their relationship further… that wasn't something that should concern Natsume right now. He was happy like this in this moment. He was happy knowing how much he meant to Tanuma, even though it might take some getting used to.

Natsume smiled back. "Good, the smell is making me hungry."

Natsume padded towards the sliding door of the side room as he waited for Tanuma to get out of the bath. He had just taken one himself, so it probably wasn't a smart idea to open the door, but he wanted to see what the pond looked like.

As he slid open the door, a rush of cold air came him, causing him to shiver instantly. In the dark, he could faintly see the pond frozen over from the cold winter. He wondered if the fish that lived in it were okay.

"Natsume, why is the door open?" Natsume turned his head quickly at the sound of Tanuma's voice.

"Sorry," Natsume slid the door closed. "I just wanted to see the pond."

"Oh yeah, could you see it in this darkness?" It was barely even lit in the room – just a single lamp was on.

"Barely, it was frozen over," Natsume said, rubbing his arms for warmth.

"You'll catch a cold like that! Your hair is still damp too," Tanuma scolded and pulled Natsume over to the kotatsu.

"Sorry that it's a little chilly in the room now," Natsume apologized as he got under the warmth of the blanket.

"Its fine," Tanuma said with a kind face.

He looked around the room and walked over to the record player. Natsume watched him shuffle through the records until he pulled one out.

"Mind if we listen to something? It gets really quiet out here so I like to have music on when I'm alone."

"Sure, please do," Natsume nodded.

Tanuma pulled out the record, set it on the record player, set the needle on, and hit play. It seemed like a pretty old record… Some sort of jazz or swing music?

"I know it's kinda goofy, but something upbeat seemed good," Tanuma said a little bashfully.

"No, I like it," Natsume smiled softly. He liked a lot of instrumental music himself.

"Wanna dance?" Tanuma rubbed his neck a little nervously.

"Huh?" Natsume stiffened a bit.

"Might warm us up," Tanuma shrugged.

"Um," Natsume hesitated for a moment.

The song picked up as more instruments joined in on the upbeat tune, the trumpets blaring and the bassline playing right on beat.

"Come on!" Tanuma said, trotting over to Natsume with a grin, his hand outstretched.

Natsume sighed, but smiled nonetheless. "Fine, fine," he took Tanuma's hand and was helped up.

Tanuma led him to the spacious part of the room and grabbed Natsume's other hand.

"Do you know how to dance?" Natsume asked.

"Nope," Tanuma answered quickly with a chuckle.

"Huh…" Natsume didn't know what to expect.

Tanuma began swinging their arms, "You just have to move your feet, right?" He began to shuffle his feet a bit awkwardly.

Natsume stifled a laugh. "I guess you aren't a natural at this."

"I bet I actually am," Tanuma let go of one of Natsume's hands and wrapped his arm around the other boys back and began to sway.

"Ah..!" Natsume was forced to move his feet with Tanuma and his erratic and, not to mention, bad dancing.

"See, I'm good right?" Tanuma said as he continued to lead Natsume in his dance.

"Hardly!" Natsume said with a laugh despite his hesitance earlier.

"Okay, it's time for the spin!" Tanuma announced, holding Natsume's hand in the air.

Natsume laughed as he did a less than graceful spin.

"Now fall and I'll catch you," Natsume felt his sense of gravity naturally lean towards Tanuma's open arm and leaned into it.

Tanuma grabbed him in his arms, and helped him upright again. "Maybe we should take dancing lessons," he said with a chuckle.

"Maybe," Natsume grinned as the two continued to dance through the song.

Once the song was over, Natsume felt just about as out of breath as being chased through the woods by a youkai. It didn't seem like it was very taxing on the body, but apparently those few minutes of dancing with Tanuma was more of a workout than he realized. And it really did warm him up.

Natsume sat back down, Tanuma following him as the next song started. It was a much slower song. Maybe they should've danced to that one instead. He sighed as he rested his head on the table and closed his eyes.

"Getting tired?" Tanuma asked

"Yeah, I think so," Natsume felt the tiredness in his body, but the adrenaline from the dancing was still pumping.

"I'll go ahead and lay out the futons then," Natsume could hear Tanuma getting up and dull footsteps leading out of the room.

As Natsume rested his head on the table, he could feel himself already slowly falling asleep.

"Natsume…" he could feel himself gently being nudged on the arm.

He groggily looked up and slowly started to get up on his feet. Tanuma grabbed a hold of Natsume's arm to help him.

"I guess the dancing also wore you out," Tanuma commented as they walked to his room.

"I guess so, all of a sudden I started feeling really sleepy," Natsume said with a yawn.

Tanuma lightly chuckled. They entered the room and two futons were laid out side by side. Natsume walked towards the further one, pulling the blanket back and lying inside. It was comfortable, nice, and warm. He let out a content sigh.

Tanuma did the same after turning out the light. There was only a sliver of moonlight that shown through the room from the window.

Natsume was now a little more awake, although still feeling the sleepiness taking over again quickly. He turned on his side to face Tanuma.

He guessed this could be some sort of romantic moment. The two had fun all day, earlier they got some things out to each other, quickly followed by some pretty intense kissing. Tanuma even saw him cry…

But Natsume just wanted to look at Tanuma; to be near him. That's all. There was no rush to do anything bold, because Tanuma made it obvious today that he wasn't planning to go anywhere. Even if that was a little scary for Natsume, thinking of the potential things it could put Tanuma through, he knew it made him happy.

"What is it?" Tanuma turned his body a bit more to look over better at Natsume.

"I'm just… happy that I'm here. Thank you," Natsume said in a soft whisper, a small smile on his face.

Tanuma reached out to delicately run his hands through Natsume's hair. "Me too… I really like you, Natsume, and I'm so glad I get to be with you."

Natsume's heart started to pump a bit faster. He wanted to hug Tanuma; hold him in his arms. "I like you too," he said, and without thinking, Natsume was grasping at Tanuma's futon.

"Um… do you… want to come in…?" Tanuma asked hesitantly. Even with just the dim light from the moon, Natsume could see he was blushing.

"Y-Yeah…" The words left Natsume's mouth as if they just spilled out.

Tanuma meekly lifted the covers of his futon, and Natsume found himself crawling in next to Tanuma. As the dark haired boy let go of the covers, he rest his arm around Natsume's back. Natsume reached out and embraced Tanuma as well, his heart starting to beat faster.

The two looked each other in the eyes, and Natsume closed the small gap between their lips, lightly kissing Tanuma.

Tanuma smiled and gently rubbed Natsume's back.

"I'm happy just like this…" Tanuma said in a near whisper.

"Hm?" Natsume hummed.

"Well… earlier…" Tanuma paused for a bit. "When we were kissing in the kitchen… I have to admit, I wasn't sure if I wanted to stop just there…" Natsume could see Tanuma blushing again; he himself felt his face heat up a bit at the other boy's words. "B-But I'm not in a hurry. Honestly, just being with you makes me so happy, so lying here with you is like total bliss." Tanuma buried part of his face in the pillow.

"I feel the same way," Natsume comforted. "We have a lot of time, so I'm happy just like this for now."

Tanuma turned his face away from the pillow and let out a sigh, closing his eyes. "I'm happy we have so much time."

"Mhm…" Natsume closed his eyes as well, his sleepiness winning out over him.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight…"

Natsume felt an uncomfortable pressure on his back. He tried to move a bit to shake it off or see if it would go away, but it did nothing. He grumbled as he opened his eyes and was met with blinding sunlight.

"You're finally awake! Boy, you two are lazy," a smarmy voice was heard from right behind him, and Natsume nearly jumped at the sound of it.

"S-Sensei!" Finally he found the strength to shake off the large mass and the fat cat went tumbling.

"Nya! Don't toss me around like that!" Nyanko-sensei scolded.

"W-What are you doing here?" Natsume became a little embarrassed. The cat had seen him sleeping in the same futon with Tanuma when there was clearly an empty one next to them.

"What else would I be here for? I have to keep an eye on you!" The cat grumbled. He apparently didn't have that plan the entirety of the evening before.

"Nn, what's all the noise for?" Tanuma said in a raspy morning voice as he propped himself up on his elbow.

"Although, Hinoe told me you were both in heat or something, and I wasn't about to witness that, so I came in the morning," Nyanko-sensei added as he scuttled towards the hallways.

"T-That's not what happened at all!" Natsume shouted, his face beet red as he grabbed the pillow and threw it at the cat.

"Don't you throw things at me!" The cat hissed.

"Ponta?" Tanuma seemed like he was barely awake as he looked over at the round cat.

"Good, you're awake, make me some food," Nyanko-sensei demanded as he escaped the room.

Natsume let out a long sigh. He hoped Hinoe wasn't telling the whole forest those lies…

"Good morning…" Natsume heard, and looked over at Tanuma who had a slight smile and a lot of bedhead.

"Good morning," Natsume replied, not being able to help but smile himself.

Tanuma quickly leaned in and gave Natsume a peck on the cheek. "I guess I should go make breakfast, huh?"

"I'm sorry Sensei came in and woke us up," Natsume grumbled as he got out of the futon.

"It's fine. Err, is Hinoe that spirit you were talking to yesterday?" Tanuma tried asking casually as he stood up.

Natsume groaned. Tanuma did end up hearing what the cat said. "Yeah… Sorry, she's kind of a gossiper."

"Well, I guess that ended up letting us be alone for the night in the end," Tanuma rubbed the back of his head.

Natsume let out a small laugh, "I guess you're right."

"Can you hurry it up? I'm starving!" The annoyed cat's voice sounded from the kitchen.

Tanuma chuckled, "Come on," he said, grabbing on to Natsume's hand.

Tanuma's hand, his warmth - it was like Natsume could sense the other boy's feelings when they touched. A warm, comforting feeling. Something that made him feel like maybe it was okay to want to feel like this forever.

The End.

My first fic I ever wrote was a Natsume Yuujinchou one called "Fall's Confession" and I've finally written a sequel to it! I hope that since then my writing has improved and it continues to do so. ^^ I really love this pairing a lot because I truly feel like the person that would understand Natsume the most and care for him the most would be Tanuma. I hope you've enjoyed reading this story! I'm thinking of making stories for the other seasons too (and hopefully it won't be a two year gap in between every time).

Anyway, thank you so much for reading and see you next story!~ :*