The air around them seems to ripple in the heat, and if she were alone, Taki probably would have stripped down to her underwear an hour ago. As it is, though, she thinks that Tanuma and Natsume would probably have simultaneous aneurysms if she dared. The thought is as endearing as it is exasperating.

So she braves the heat and instead just plops herself onto Tanuma's floor, hoping for a breeze to come through the open doors. Natsume glances at her, and her heart melts a little at the way he smiles. It is small and gentle, and even with his face flushed and sweat glistening on his skin, that expression makes her want to pull him close and hug him tight.

It's too hot for that, though, so she settles for smiling back. He turns his attention back to the sight outside, eyes distant and thoughtful. He looks so at peace, his guard down and his breathing slow, and at the way his smile doesn't disappear even when he's not thinking about it, Taki's heart swells with some emotion she doesn't know how to put a name to.

She pulls her attention away from him, and finds herself locking eyes with Tanuma, instead. He's watching her with a knowing look in his eyes, his own smile small but sincere. His eyes flicker towards Natsume and then back to Taki, and they both share a grin at their friend's expense. Natsume remains oblivious to their silent communication, but maybe that's for the best.

After a second, Tanuma's dark eyes slide back towards the corner he had been staring at. Taki follows his gaze, but no matter how much she squints or how hard she wishes, she can't see anything. It's disappointing but not surprising, and she's spent far too long hoping for something that will never happen, so she turns her attention back to the boys and watches them instead.

Time passes in amicable silence. Birds sing, insects buzz, and the wind blows through the grass and trees. The world is filled with the sound of nature, and so far away from the city, it feels like they are the only people left.

The only thing that could make this day better, Taki thinks, would be if Natsume's adorable kitty was with them. Unfortunately, Nyanko-sensei had taken off the moment school was out, yelling something about festivities. She wonders if those festivities include ice cream, or some form of relief from the heat.

Taki doesn't even realize she is sighing until she notices Natsume turning to look at her from the corner of her eye. She glances back, curious, and then flustered as he crawls a little closer to peer down at her with a concerned expression.

"Are you alright?"

"What?" Taki laughs, pretending like the red in her cheeks is because of the heat and not the way his eyes go so gentle when he looks at her.

"You look flushed."

It is Tanuma who speaks this time, his brow creased with concern. He has moved to sit by Natsume's side, and it's honestly a little funny the way they wear the same expression of concern when they look so different from one another. Taki smiles, pushing herself up and brushing her sweaty hair out of her face.

"I'm fine, you two. It's just hot today."

Tanuma makes a soft sound, barely more than a huff of displaced air, but Taki recognizes it for the laugh it is. He pushes his own hair back, and she has the strange realization that this is the first time she's ever actually seen his forehead.

"That's a bit of an understatement," he says, and Taki huffs out a quiet laugh of her own. "I think my dad might have bought some ice cream last time he was in town."

Taki hums, and though the thought of ice cream is tempting, she finds herself struck with a better idea.

"Save the ice cream for later. Let's go to the river right now, instead!"

It is strange, how easily startled they can still be by her exuberance. Sometimes it's all too easy to forget that they had all grown up alone, in one way or another. When the three of them are together, it feels like this is how it must have always been; easy, and full of life and light and laughter. It is the kind of joy that makes her chest feel tight and buoyant all at the same time.

It is Natsume who nods, whose smile never wavers as he says, "That sounds like a good idea, Taki. Do you have a place in mind?"

She jumps up and leads them towards the back yard, scrambling into the grass in her bare feet. She laughs at the strangled little noise that Tanuma makes as he follows after her, like he wants to say something but is restraining himself. The sunlight catches in her hair, warms her skin even more, but as a breeze at last hits her face it only makes her concrete her resolution that it's nicer out in the open, instead of being cooped up inside.

She turns back to say something, heart already fluttering with excitement, only to pause. The words die on her lips. Natsume is still standing just inside the door, an expression she can't quite place clouding his features. Tanuma is a few paces behind her, though all she can see of him is a shock of messy black hair, since he is also turned to stare at their wayward third.

"Natsume?" he asks, voice full of gentle concern. Natsume's eyes snap towards them, and in the evening sunlight they seem to glow. Sometimes it strikes Taki just how inhuman he looks, and she is left stunned for a brief second every time.

"Is there…" Taki hesitates, because there will always be a part of her that wil feel at once ridiculous and useless every time she asks the question on her lips. Still, after only a brief hesitation, she plows on. "Is there something there?"

Natsume shakes his head, and his expression smooths out. Taki watches Tanuma's shoulders go stiff and straight. She's glad that she isn't the only one who feels something dark unfurl in the pit of her belly every time Natsume does this. She frowns and pushes her damp hair out of her face once again.

"It's nothing bad," he promises, face flushed red and eyes catlike and glinting. "Let's go."

Tanuma turns, and she sees the same concern she feels mirrored in his expression. They lock eyes, and she nods once, resolute and firm. His lips twitch into the ghost of that kind smile he had worn just moments before. She does her best to return it, and there is a promise in the silence between them.

When she turns back to Natsume, he is just stepping from the house. The grass is green and lush, barely seeming to bend beneath the soles of his feet. Taki wiggles her own toes, allowing herself a moment to enjoy the feeling of the cool ground and the tickle of the blades of incredibly green grass between her toes. In her mind, she runs over the lines she would need to create the only thing that would allow her to see, and to help.

She is watching Natsume's face carefully, concerned about the way his careful expression falters into something twisted and maybe a little ugly in an endearing way, like he isn't sure if he is amused or distraught. She doesn't notice the reason why, until she hears Tanuma's groan.

"The pond," he says, in the way someone does when they realize something that should have been obvious all along.

"The pond," Natsume agrees, and at last his expression settled on wry amusement.

"What pond?" she demands, just as she notices the way his pants have gone dark all the way up to his knees. Taki watches, entranced, as ripples of light play across the waterlogged fabric, and asks, "Youkai pond?"

"Yep," Tanuma sighs, but she can hear a note of fondness and longing in his tone.

Taki grins wide and reckless as she says, "I have an idea."

This, at least, is something she can do. This is something she can offer, and freely give to Tanuma and, in many ways, to Natsume, too. She can let the three of them see a tiny part of Natsume's world, together.

One large stick, thirty-seven minutes, and a thousand precisely placed lines later, the three are wading into an enormous, perfect circle of unnaturally beautiful water. Taki sighs in relief as the cool water laps at her ankles, then giggles as the mud squishes between her toes. Natsume steps from what should have been dry land into the circle of visible water.

Unsurprisingly, nothing really changes from one moment to the next for him. Still, seeing the delight on Taki's face and Tanuma's quiet wonder, his expression softens into something beautiful.

"This is amazing!" Taki sighs. On impulse, in a flash of bravery, she reaches out and catches Natsume's hand in her own. His skin is cool against the warmth of her palm, his eyes wide as he looks between their clasped hands and her smiling face. He doesn't pull away.

Tanuma is watching them from a few steps away. There is something distant about his expression that she doesn't like at all. Without a word, Taki holds a hand out to him and, after only a brief hesitation, he takes it. Natsume takes his other hand, joining the three of them together.

The three of them stand there for a long time, the sun glittering off the water that laps at their knees, hands interlocked. Taki tilts her head back and let the golden rays warm her face, enjoys the way she can tell so much about Tanuma and Natsume by the way their hands feel in her own.

Tanuma's is warm and a little damp, soft and large and strong. Natsume's hands are calloused in strange ways, cool and fragile and shaking slightly in her grasp. She squeezes both of their hands, trying to be as gentle in her motions as these precious boys are in their souls.

A fish swims between them, pausing for a moment in the circle their bodies create before darting away. Taki meets their gazes, one after another, and steps in to close the distance between the three of them a little more, never relinquishing her gentle hold on their hands. She feels as Natsume stops trembling and when Tanuma squeezes her hand in return.

Something bubbles up in her chest, so sudden and elating that she can't help but throw her head back and laugh. She lunges forwards, wrapping both of her boys up in a tight hug, one arm thrown across each of their shoulders. She screeches with a heady sort of joy as they go tumbling into the cool water with a loud splash, soaking them all through.

The rest of the day passes in laughter and the golden glow of sunlight.

Wow! Day four of Natsume Week! I'm not gonna lie; I'm honestly kind of amazed I've made it this far. This piece got unintentionally shippy towards the end there? Regardless, I hope you enjoyed it! Today's prompt was "Flowers/Nature."

And also hey, if you like this or any of my other Natsume works, please feel free to find me on tumblr! I'd love to take more prompts to write more for this fandom. It's so fun! You can find me there under the name daboyau. I've got anon turned on!