Walking through the town centre I brushed my hair from my face, smiling as I looked at the shortened locks. It was now touching my shoulders with a new style that seemed to suit my face rather well, the mauve indigo locks shining under the sun as I walked. I'd just picked up some presents for Wataru's birthday and I was heading home, however as if by design of the fates I saw Natsume in the crowd and he had already spotted me. He was walking towards me so I lifted my hand to signal that I had saw him and we stopped outside that same café shop that we had gone into all that time ago. "Hello." I said to him, smiling as I shielded my eyes to look up at him. "Are you all done with your conference?"

"Yeah I just got back, I was actually in town looking for some things I need." He said to me, gesturing to the bag he was carrying. "But since we're here, do you want to get something to eat?" Reaching out his hand Natsume tucked a lock of hair behind my ear and I blushed slightly, nodding my head so he offered me his arm for me to take and we walked together like that. It was both euphoric and nostalgic, walking side by side with Natsume and I naturally rested my head against him as we both looked completely contented. "So how are you feeling? No setbacks or anything?"

"Not at all, I'm all healed up and I actually started my job a few days ago. I'm really enjoying it though some of the shifts are going to be rather long. At least the pay is decent." I started before telling him all about the customers and the place. "Some people can be rather rude and have terrible table manners but I guess it's because our cultures are different, so I try not to be too unhappy with them though there was this one person who kept on trying to look under one of the waitress's skirts so I made sure to have one of the guys serve him instead. He wasn't too happy about that." With a sigh I shook my head. Honestly, some people were just too rude. Natsume listened to me talk all about the work and other things, not saying a single word until I realised I'd been going on for a while. "Sorry, I completely went off on a tangent."

"Don't apologise, it's good to hear your voice again." He said and I blushed as we sat down to a meal together. The conversation never seemed to die between us as I asked questions and discussed topics with him and I was surprised to learn that Natsume actually had a very funny sense of humour. He made me laugh more than one time that afternoon and we stayed like that for what felt like hours until I realised it had gone dark.

"Oh wow, I didn't realise it had gotten so late." I murmured as I stepped outside, looking at the night sky before relaxing. "At least it's still warm."

"True, this has been a very hot summer." Natsume agreed as he reached out and placed his arm around me to draw me close. "But the breeze is a little chilly so it's best if we walk like this." His eyes gleamed mischievously at me as I gave him a look but did not argue, walking with him to his car where we had stored our bags and he opened the door from me. "I'll take you home, sorry for keeping you so long."

"Natsu?" I began, feeling my stomach clench slightly as I slowly swallowed a breath, turning to face him before I had got into the car and I gripped onto the door for support just in case my legs gave out from the nervousness I was feeling. "I…I um…" Biting on my lip I forced myself to look him in the eye and grip onto his writs tightly, tugging him towards me. "I want to go home with you, Natsume. I…I want you to keep your promises." An initial reaction of alarm appeared in Natsume's face before it quickly disappeared and I closed my eyes, blushing brightly. This was stupid, I shouldn't have just blurted it out like that but how else was I supposed to say it? Besides, what if I chicken out at the last moment? I can't just force there to be the right atmosphere and everything, what if it's awkward?

Before I could apologise to Natsume he'd suddenly changed our grips so that he was the one pulling me forwards and his head ducked to my mouth and claimed it, kissing me with enough restraint that it was on the cusp of passion and just over the line of gentle. I shuddered euphorically at his touch and quickly gripped onto him as his hand gripped the back of my head and I felt his fingers grip onto my hair before all at once he pulled back. "How about we start with a coffee?" He suggested to me with a wink and I blushed before nodding my head and got into the car.

All the way back I didn't know where to look or what to do, fidgeting every now and then until Natsume reached out and placed his hand over mine, thumb brushing over my skin so I relaxed and simply leaned back, closing my eyes to rest a while as I listened to the traffic outside. When we got to Natsume's place I lost my nerve a little, the lump rising in my throat however as I got out the car I suddenly found myself being lifted up by Natsume who carried me over his shoulder. "Hey! Natsu what are you doing? I can walk my legs are just fine you know!" I berated him however he only chuckled.

"I was just worried that they might not yet be as strong as they used to be. Don't worry, you're not heavy or anything." He said to me and I pouted, leaning my chin on my fist as I let him carry me all the way up to his apartment. "You'll have to excuse any mess, I left in a hurry for my flight."

"It's fine, I can help tidy up if you need." I answered naturally and I blushed. A while ago I had asked him to take me back to his place in order to sleep together and now here I was offering to clean. Unless he was into role play and that kind of stuff, it would be a huge turn off.

"Don't worry about it. Here we go." Opening the door Natsume stepped inside and put me down from his shoulder, both of us taking off our shoes as the two cats rushed towards us. "Calm down you two, I'll feed you in a minute."

"Aw I forgot how cute you two were! Hey there guys, did you miss me?" I asked in adoration as I knelt down and they instantly climbed all over me, purring and rubbing their heads against me as I stroked their fur.

"It really astonishes me, they hate pretty much everyone. They even dislike me most of the time but they seem to really love you." Natsume mused as I hugged the one called Azusa to me, tickling his neck happily.

"What can I say? I'm a cat person." Natsume contemplated me for a minute before smiling and walking away, heading into the kitchen to get the cats their dinner and make some coffee. The moment they heard their food bowls clinking they dashed off with hungry meows, making me giggle and stand up whilst dusting myself off from all the cat hairs. I put my bag down somewhere out of the way before looking around the flat. It was a little messy so I started to pick up rubbish and throw it into the bin, neatening files and reports to stack them on his desk and also found a cloth in one of his cabinets to wipe away the dust.

"Hey, you don't have to do that." Natsume said to me as he entered with two cups of coffee, one of which he handed to me. "Come on, sit down and relax for a bit, we can watch a movie." I smiled at him thankfully, feeling touched by his consideration as I sipped my coffee. He'd made it exactly the way I liked it without even needing to ask. Did he just know or did he have his coffee the same way?

"Um, how did you know I liked my coffee strong with sugar?" I asked him and he tossed me a smug smirk.

"I notice things about you." He answered as he put the cats out after they'd eaten and they disappeared into the night to hunt and play. Surprisingly I found myself forgetting about the entire reason I wanted to come here as I made suggestions for a movie and once we had one set up Natsume sat down and pulled me down in front of him, legs curling around me as well as his arms as I nestled into him naturally. Without a word he placed a kiss into my neck and I wriggled slightly at the tickling sensation before settling once more, both of us turning our eyes towards the film. It was one that the both of us really enjoyed though I had only seen part of it before so Natsume warned me whenever something unexpected was going to happen so I didn't jump and throw my coffee all over him.

I was so relaxed in Natsume's home that all my nerves simply faded away, growing so accustomed to the sensation of his arms around me that when he got up to take our mugs back to the kitchen it felt rather cold without him there. As he did that I put the film away, neatly sliding it back into place. "Are you tired?" Natsume asked me however I shook my head.

"Not really, though it's a little colder now. Has the temperature dropped?" I asked as I stood up and looked outside to see that some clouds had rolled in over the sky.

"I'll close the window. I'm going to take a shower so make yourself comfortable. I'll be out soon." He said before disappearing and I frowned slightly. Something tells me that he was stalling. Shaking my head I sat down on his bed patiently and waited, chewing on my lip and fiddling with my hair until he emerged from the bathroom with a breath of steam, drying off his hair dressed in a shirt and shorts. Silently he walked in and closed the door, the sound making my heart jolt slightly as he came and sat next to me. "Listen, I know back at the hospital I might have sounded rather abrasive and arrogant, but I didn't mean for it to sound like you had no choice in the matter." Natsume said to me and I blinked at him, finally realising why he had been hesitating all night. He'd been worried about me forcing myself to do this just for him. "If you're not ready for this then I can wait as long as you-!"

Feeling a huge burst of love for him I grasped his face and kissed his lips to silent them, closing my eyes into the wonderful sensation of our mouths connecting so intimately. Natsume gave a small sound of surprise before leaning into my kiss and placing his hands upon my waist. He pulled me towards him so that I sat upon his lap and I dropped his head towel to the ground, feeling his damp hair through my fingers as I resurfaced for air and lifted my head to gasp, feeling flushed all over. Natsume instantly turned his head into my neck, gently pulling at the flesh as his fingers kneaded into my waist and slowly bunched up the skirt of my dress.

"Natsume." I whispered, closing my eyes into the sensations I was receiving before I looked down and gently tilted his head upwards to look at me. I was glad to see that his expression almost mirrored my own. Flushed and heavy lidded. "I love you." That snapped him awake however before he could react I kissed him and let my fingers begin to tentatively explore. I ran my hands down over the muscle of his arms and shoulders then lifted his shirt to pull it over his head and feel his exposed skin. At my back I felt Natsume slid down the zip to my dress so I lifted my arms and let him take it off, feeling a little awkward to be so exposed to him however my mind was soon taken off it as he turned me over into the bed and pressed loving kisses and touches all over my body.

Soon I was gasping and writhing beneath him, feeling my body react as it should to such attention and heat flared at the bottom of my stomach and I felt an odd warmth begin to appear at the apex of my thighs. Natsume pulled one hand away to reach for the wall, fumbling a moment before he turned off the light and the sudden plunge into darkness made me grip onto him more tightly as I opened my eyes and looked around but Natsume then pulled back and switched on the two lamps which gave a soft and golden glow to the room. "Just tell me at any point if you want to stop." He said to me in a soft whisper, nibbling at my ear. "This is completely your call."

"Don't stop." I pleaded him, enjoying the sensations all too much. Smiling down at me I felt his arms curl under my body and lift me up, turning me around so that I was pressed against the wall, his fingers undoing the clasps of my bra before sliding it from me and I fought the urge to hide myself from him. When he started to touch my breasts I began to react with a stronger voice, his tongue tasting the softest flesh of my body as his other hand travelled lower. "N-Natsu? What are you doing?" I questioned, blinking in surprise before suddenly I felt a pressure that caused my body to suddenly tighten and convulse, forcing me to cry out a little more loudly. "Natsu! Not so much, I don't want to disturb the…the neighbours." I breathed heavily, moaning as his hand continued to caress at the hot wetness between my legs.

"Screw the neighbours." He growled huskily before continuing his gentle and slow caressing, his hand pushed inside my underwear. My body began to demand more, wanting to feel that same heat and passion from before but it just wasn't there right now. His kisses were tame in comparison and soon I began to feel the sensations dull.

"Natsume…more. I want to feel more." I said to him, cheeks bright red but I didn't care. "Kiss me like before, like the first time." His eyes lifted to meet mine, carefully reading my eyes before suddenly he gripped my hair and pulled my head backwards, eliciting a tight gasp as his tongue plunged into my mouth and his grip between my legs tightened as his knees pushed mine further apart to allow him entry. My gaze went a little hazy at the delicate balance between pain and pleasure as my back was pressed even harder into the wall my arms clinging onto him tightly as I felt my entire body tense against the sudden burst of sensations that rippled through me. This was it, this was exactly what I wanted. Natsume was fierce and passionate, leaving no part of me unexplored as I dropped my head to his neck and bit down to try and relieve some of the building pressure I felt and he grunted, flinching slightly but didn't pull away from me.

"Rikona you need to relax." Natsume said to me a little breathlessly as he pushed me down into his bed, fingers running through my hair and rubbing my scalp to ease away the prickling sensation he had left behind from where he'd grasped it so tightly. "This is your first time, right?"

"I was saving it for you." I admitted a little bashfully however Natsume just smiled, kissing my face as his hands travelled down my body and pulled down my underwear, tossing them over his shoulder before he then pushed my legs wide apart in a rather scandalous position.

"You might want to grip onto the covers." He warned me and I blinked at him as he slowly pulled away from me before all at once his arms curled under my legs and he buried his tongue into the most sensitive part of my body. This time I did not hold back my voice as I twisted my fingers into the sheets, naturally arching my back as my vision burst with stars. Being inexperienced I hadn't even thought about people doing something like this before, it just hadn't really occurred to me but now that I think about it, there was so much I didn't know about this part of adulthood. I was far behind but I was determined to catch up.

With Natsume slowing down the pace a little I was able to relax and he whispered into my ear to keep me reassured as he embraced me, peppering kisses down my face as he then discarded his own bottoms and I lay for a moment, recovering my breath as my fingers remained gripped onto the sheets tightly. "Last chance Rik, are you sure you want this?" Nodding my head I opened my eyes and looked to him, surprised by how calm I was but I trusted Natsu with everything, so I reached out my hands towards him, opening them to his embrace.

That night was not one I ever forgot as Natsu made love to me for the first time but certainly not the last. It seemingly opened a whole new door to my life and as I woke up in the morning wrapped up in his arms I found myself smiling, happy that I had been giving the chance to have such a wonderful family and the chance to find that one person who I would make a family of my own with. Natsume kept all of his promises, never leaving my side after that and I enjoyed every day of my life through the good times and the bad because I knew that he was there with me all the way through our lives together until the very end.