Fic: Natsume Yuujinchou
Title: With Friends Like These
Author: kaworu_renritsu
Fandom: Natsume Yuujinchou
Pairing: Natori x Natsume
Rating: R
Summary: The prompt pretty much says it all. Youkai, a wedding, and Natsume and Natori in the middle of it all
Prompt: accidental marriage - With friends like these, who needs enemies?
Beta: harumi, littlebutfierce
Wordcount: ~2700
Warnings: crack
A/N: Thanks to both of my betas. The remaining mistakes are all mine, and some of them are there because I'm particularly stubborn about certain details.
~*~*~
"Sensei!" Natsume practically tumbled off the small hill, leaves and twigs stuck in hair that was poking out in all directions, panting. "There you are! Where have you been for the last three days? Touko'san and me have been worried!"
Nyanko-sensei narrowed his eyes, trying to focus his vision. "Ah, Natsume," the cat said with a slight slur. The red on his cheeks was clearly visible even through the fur, and the round body wobbled, struggling to remain in a sitting position. "No one ate you yet? Good, good. I'll be back in a day or two... or three." He hiccupped.
Natsume groaned and made his way to his drunk guardian, careful not to step on other youkai sprawled all over the forest clearing in various states of inebriation. A small masked one attached himself to Natsume's leg, rubbing his face against Natsume's shoe. Not a moment after Natsume removed the youkai, Nyanko-sensei came tumbling towards them, hissing. He knocked Natsume off his feet as he crash-landed against him.
"Don't touch my food!" It was probably intended as a threatening growl, but what came out was a drunken whine.
"Come on, Sensei, we're going home." Natsume tried to pick up the cat, but was stopped by a surprisingly strong, if unsteady, hand on his shoulder.
"Where do you think you're taking him?" came a low slur in his ear, and Natsume whirled around. There was a thump, and when he looked down, Natsume was faced with Urihime sitting on the ground, one hand still outstretched towards Natsume's shoulder. "You little..."
"Hey! He's mine!" Nyanko-sensei struggled in Natsume's arms.
"Sensei!" Natsume yelped. The cat was shredding his arm, trying to get to Urihime, and Natsume dropped him after a particularly violent squirm.
Nyanko-sensei landed on the ground inelegantly, rolling a couple paces before standing up on unsteady feet. Natsume couldn't suppress a snort at the grass and dirt in Nyanko-sensei's fur.
"We'll settle it in a drinking duel!" Nyanko-sensei declared, glaring at Urihime, which actually made him look myopic instead of the fierce look.
"Sensei, don't you think you've had enough?" Natsume tried to pacify his self-appointed guardian, but Nyanko-sensei didn't even blink in his direction as he made his way, in an intricate zigzag, to the spot where Urihime was still sitting.
"We need more sake!" Urihime bellowed, holding up an empty cup, but all that landed into it was a paper doll.
"What the..." Urihime peered at it, taking the small figure by the head between her fingers.
"That should be my line," a not-too-happy voice sounded from the hill, and Natsume turned to see Natori, frowning, arms folded on his chest. Hiiragi stood meekly at his side, and behind her was Sasago, mirroring her master's pose.
Urihime looked up at them, deep thought process wrinkling the visible part of her face. "Join us, Master?" she finally managed with a crooked smile.
Natori opened his mouth, but whatever he was going to say (or yell, more like) was drowned out by Nyanko-sensei's howl of "Sake!"
Half a dozen small youkai ran about the clearing, stumbling over each other, until one of them, looking suspiciously like a flea, kneeled in front of Nyanko-sensei. "W-we don't have any more," he stuttered.
"What!?" Nyanko-sensei's nostrils flared, and he loomed over the small creature. "I'll eat you if you don't get it! Who has sake!?" he yelled to the clearing in general.
"Shut up, cat!" Urihime snapped, a vein popping on her forehead. "Get it yourself, or ask the newlyweds!" She threw her cup, which landed square between Nyanko-sensei's eyes.
"Why you..." Nyanko-sensei wrinkled his nose, getting ready to leap, before he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck. A moment later he was looking into Natori's eyes.
"Would somebody care to explain what the hell is going on?" Natori asked in an eerily calm tone, his glasses glinting.
"Put me down, boy!" Nyanko-sensei swung his paws in the air, trying to get at Natori's face, but the human easily avoided the sloppy movements. "And don't crash others' weddings!"
"Yes, Master, it's not polite!" Urihime added from her spot just outside of Natori's reach.
"Wedding?" Both Natori and Natsume looked at Nyanko-sensei, then at Urihime, then at Nyanko-sensei again.
"Sensei, you..."
"Not us, idiot!" Nyanko-sensei shrieked. "Who'd want to marry this violent, rude--" he started, but was cut off by Urihime's indignant "Who'd want to marry this fat, dumb cat!?"
The two youkai gave each other an evil eye.
"Then who is...?" Natsume looked curiously around, trying to identify the happy couple.
"Who cares?" Natori said with a sigh. "Take this drunkard home." He handed Nyanko-sensei to Natsume. "And I'll take care of that one." His glasses glinted again when he looked at Urihime, and this time the youkai shrank under the glare.
"Wait, wait!" The flea youkai jumped onto Natsume's shoulder, his tiny arms flailing as he struggled to keep balance before Natsume supported him with a finger. "Thank you, Natsume-sama." He heaved a sigh of relief. "As I was saying, wouldn't Natsume-sama like to meet the newlyweds?"
And Nyanko-sensei didn't hesitate to add, "Yes, yes! And drink to their happiness!" He waved a paw in the air, imitating a cup. "To the newlyweds!"
"To the newlyweds!" the other youkai chorused, before...
"...where are the newlyweds?"
"I saw them yesterday, I think," one of the youkai said, scratching the back of his head.
"Yes, before the good sake was finished," said another.
"Then we don't have the newlyweds anymore..." A group of youkai sighed mournfully in unison.
"What are we going to drink to?"
"What to do, what to do?"
"Argh, shut up!" Urihime didn't look happy at the development, but a moment later her face was split by a particularly creepy leer. "We just have to marry someone else."
"You have a good idea for once!" Nyanko-sensei cheered.
"What's with 'for once'?!" Urihime shrieked, and the cat looked even more pleased.
"So, who do we marry?"
"Who do we marry, who do we marry? Hmm..." All in the clearing looked thoughtful. Some youkai were rubbing their chins, others, the backs of their heads, but all of the inebriated crowd looked comically deep in thought.
"Ah!" Nyanko-sensei grinned, looking at Natsume, then at Natori. "We marry the humans!"
Natsume didn't have time to protest before numerous pairs of hands -- some small as an insect, while others were half the size of his body -- grabbed him and Natori and dragged the pair to the centre of the clearing.
"Now, face this way." Nyanko-sensei poked Natsume in his side, nodding towards an improvised altar made of rocks.
Both humans were too stunned to say anything, watching, appalled, as Hinoe emerged from the crowd, her step only slightly wobbly.
"I'll do the honours," she said, stifling a hiccup. "So. We've gathered here today--"
"Wait, wait!" Nyanko-sensei yelled, getting a glare from Hinoe.
"What?" she asked, taking an irritated drag from her pipe.
"Someone, go to his side!" He pointed a paw at Natori who had, aside from the youkai holding him in place, only Hiiragi, Sasago, and Urihime at his side. The latter had a suspicious wet streak on the cloth covering her eyes. "You two!" Nyanko-sensei continued, baring his teeth at the one eyed youkai and his bull faced companion.
"We don't want to!" they wailed in unison, clinging to Natsume's arm.
Nyanko-sensei moved towards them in a threatening wobble.
"All right, all right, I'll go." Chobihige stood up, floating over to settle on Natori's side of the clearing.
"So? All set?" Hinoe gave the crowd a stern look. "Now then. We've all gathered here, blah-blah-blah, you know the drill... now, drink up!" She produced a bottle of sake from her sleeve along with three cups.
"Hey! You've been stashing it!" Nyanko-sensei again, jumping angrily and puffing his cheeks in indignation.
"Yes, yes, shut up already," Hinoe said in a dismissive tone. "Who would...?" She searched the crowd for a few moments, then sighed, grumbling, "I have to do everything myself, don't I?" and moved around the pile of rocks, the bottle and cups in her hands. "Hold them still," she instructed, pouring sake into the smallest cup.
"Wait, what are you--" Natsume tried to protest, but before he could say anything else, sake was unceremoniously poured into his mouth. He coughed.
"That's enough!" Natori finally snapped. "If you don't release us this instant, I swear, I'll exorcise you all!" He struggled against the unsteady hands, and several smaller youkai flew in all directions. "If you don't--" Natori growled, but the rest was drowned as someone shouted, "Everyone! Run!"
The resulting stampede looked more disastrous than any exorcism. The clearing was littered by smaller youkai, twitching or completely unconscious, and Natori himself, sprawled over Natsume, had a couple of footprints on his back.
"Are you all right?" Natori asked, and Natsume gave him a small nod, not really trusting his own voice at the moment.
"You two, it's not even your wedding night yet," Nyanko-sensei grumbled from somewhere to Natori's left, and the humans looked at each other, blinking for a few seconds, before Natsume turned bright red.
"Sensei!" Natsume said in a horrified tone. "You don't mean that we really...."
Natori flinched above him, and the next moment he was scrambling up, his usual smile plastered to his face.
"Of course not, Natsume-kun," he said, and if there was the smallest hint of a strain in his voice, no one would hear it besides himself.
"Ah, Natsume! You reek!" It was Nyanko-sensei, already in Natsume's arms, sniffing at the boy's face.
"No more than you, Sensei," Natsume returned, frowning, and it was apparent that only part of it was about the cat.
"Why don't you come to my place?" Natori offered. "That way your guardians won't worry so much, and there'll be someone to take care of the cat while he sobers up."
Natsume thought about it for a minute. He didn't want to intrude, but he also didn't want Touko-san to smell alcohol on him and worry more than she should. His train of thought was interrupted by a wave of alcohol stench. At first he thought that Sensei had belched, but then there was a hand on his shoulder, and a second later Urihime's face was right in front of his.
"Come with us, kid," she said before turning green and doubling over at his feet. The gurgling sounds that followed were unmistakable.
"You're a disgrace." Sasago lowered herself down to Urihime's side, stroking Urihime's back despite the harsh words. "Just wait until we get back. Master will make sure you won't drink ever again."
Natsume looked at Natori again. The older man was frowning, arms folded on his chest. It wasn't that Urihime didn't deserve his wrath, but Natsume still felt sorry for her.
"All right. I'm sorry to intrude," he said with a small smile.
~*~*~
After a call home Natsume took a long, refreshing shower, and it probably was the most pleasant thing that had happened to him all day. Brushing a damp strand of hair out of his eyes, he looked into a mirror hanging above the sink. The borrowed clothes hung loosely on him, so he took a moment to adjust them before going out of the bathroom.
The suite Natori had chosen wasn't the biggest in the hotel, but still it was big enough to house himself and all of his youkai. Speaking of.
"Where's Sensei?" Natsume asked, looking around. The cat had fallen asleep on their way to the hotel, snoring loudly in Natsume's arms, and as soon as they were inside, Hiiragi carried him away while Sasago dragged off Urihime by the scruff of her neck.
"Resting, I think," Natori answered. He was half-lying on the couch, a book in his hands. "How are you feeling?" He set the book aside, turning to Natsume.
Natsume was tired from a sleepless night worrying about Sensei followed by running around the whole day searching for him, but other than that, he didn't feel anything out of the ordinary.
"I'm fine," he said, smiling. "Still, I can't believe they'd think of something like that." He shook his head. "Why would they want to marry us?"
Natori's answering smile looked strained. He sat up, looking at Natsume.
"Why, indeed," he muttered, before continuing in his normal voice. "Do you find it disgusting to marry two men?"
"No, that's not it." Natsume frowned. There was something off about Natori's response. Wasn't he supposed to take it as a joke? But the older man looked weird, worried or maybe sad. "Natori-san?" he asked.
Natori stood up with a sigh.
"I didn't want to say anything until you're older, but..." He took a few steps, stopping when he was practically nose to nose with Natsume. "What would you do if I was really interested in you?" He searched Natsume's face, his own expression tense.
Almost a minute passed in silence. Natori waited while Natsume was furiously thinking about this sudden development.
"So that's how it is," Natori said finally. "I'm sorry, Natsume-kun, please forget what I've just said." He turned away, taking a step back to the couch.
"Please, wait." Natsume didn't even know himself what he was going to say. He just knew that if he didn't say anything, Natori would simply... go away. And he didn't want to lose another person in his life, not this one and not like that. "Please, wait, Natori-san," he repeated. "I-I don't know how to feel about it, but I... wouldn't be against it. I think." He looked at his feet.
Natori turned back slowly. He didn't want to hope for too much, but seeing Natsume's flushed face, he couldn't help a smile.
"Then wouldn't you like to make sure?" he asked.
Natsume raised his eyes, gulping as he looked at Natori for a few moments, then gave a small nod.
That was all the invitation Natori needed. He moved to stand in front of Natsume, as close as he'd been a minute ago, and put a hand on Natsume's arm. Leaning forward, he waited until Natsume looked up, still uncertain. And then a few moments more before touching his lips to Natsume's.
~*~*~
It was the dead of night when two figures made their way to the hotel, making rushes from bush to bush.
"Do you think they're here?" whispered the one-eyed youkai.
"They're here, they're here!" answered his bull-faced companion, nodding enthusiastically. "I can smell Natsume-sama." He sniffed the air to illustrate his point.
The pair sneaked behind the building and crawled to a door, sliding it open a crack to peer inside. The scene that greeted them was hard to confuse with anything. The moans and mutters were clearly heard even from their location, and there were two shadows moving on the bed. The smaller one arched his back, rising from the bed, and the bigger shadow's arms wrapped around him, bringing him closer.
"Ah, the married life..." whispered the one-eyed youkai wistfully, his cheeks turning pink.
His companion nodded in agreement.
"I want to get married, too," he said.
"Me too, me too!" his bull-faced friend agreed.
The two looked at each other.
"No, no way," the one-eyed youkai muttered, turning away.
"No way," the bull-faced one agreed, cringing. "So, leave them be?"
The one-eyed one sighed before sliding the door closed. "Let's go," he said.
~*~*~
Natsume woke up slowly. At first he was too warm and content to move, but when something touched his nose, he opened his eyes.
"Good morning." Natori was smiling at him, his cheek resting on a palm and his elbow propped on a pillow.
"Morning." Natsume's face turned pink as he remembered what had happened a few hours ago. "Erm..."
"I hope you're not regretting it?" The change in Natori's expression was slight, no more than a bit of tension in the corners of his eyes.
"No, I..." Natsume stopped, thinking. "I'm just surprised," he said. "More than surprised actually, but... I guess we'll have to thank our friends later." He smiled.
"I guess, we will," Natori agreed.
Author: kaworu_renritsu
Fandom: Natsume Yuujinchou
Pairing: Natori x Natsume
Rating: R
Summary: The prompt pretty much says it all. Youkai, a wedding, and Natsume and Natori in the middle of it all
Prompt: accidental marriage - With friends like these, who needs enemies?
Beta: harumi, littlebutfierce
Wordcount: ~2700
Warnings: crack
A/N: Thanks to both of my betas. The remaining mistakes are all mine, and some of them are there because I'm particularly stubborn about certain details.
~*~*~
"Sensei!" Natsume practically tumbled off the small hill, leaves and twigs stuck in hair that was poking out in all directions, panting. "There you are! Where have you been for the last three days? Touko'san and me have been worried!"
Nyanko-sensei narrowed his eyes, trying to focus his vision. "Ah, Natsume," the cat said with a slight slur. The red on his cheeks was clearly visible even through the fur, and the round body wobbled, struggling to remain in a sitting position. "No one ate you yet? Good, good. I'll be back in a day or two... or three." He hiccupped.
Natsume groaned and made his way to his drunk guardian, careful not to step on other youkai sprawled all over the forest clearing in various states of inebriation. A small masked one attached himself to Natsume's leg, rubbing his face against Natsume's shoe. Not a moment after Natsume removed the youkai, Nyanko-sensei came tumbling towards them, hissing. He knocked Natsume off his feet as he crash-landed against him.
"Don't touch my food!" It was probably intended as a threatening growl, but what came out was a drunken whine.
"Come on, Sensei, we're going home." Natsume tried to pick up the cat, but was stopped by a surprisingly strong, if unsteady, hand on his shoulder.
"Where do you think you're taking him?" came a low slur in his ear, and Natsume whirled around. There was a thump, and when he looked down, Natsume was faced with Urihime sitting on the ground, one hand still outstretched towards Natsume's shoulder. "You little..."
"Hey! He's mine!" Nyanko-sensei struggled in Natsume's arms.
"Sensei!" Natsume yelped. The cat was shredding his arm, trying to get to Urihime, and Natsume dropped him after a particularly violent squirm.
Nyanko-sensei landed on the ground inelegantly, rolling a couple paces before standing up on unsteady feet. Natsume couldn't suppress a snort at the grass and dirt in Nyanko-sensei's fur.
"We'll settle it in a drinking duel!" Nyanko-sensei declared, glaring at Urihime, which actually made him look myopic instead of the fierce look.
"Sensei, don't you think you've had enough?" Natsume tried to pacify his self-appointed guardian, but Nyanko-sensei didn't even blink in his direction as he made his way, in an intricate zigzag, to the spot where Urihime was still sitting.
"We need more sake!" Urihime bellowed, holding up an empty cup, but all that landed into it was a paper doll.
"What the..." Urihime peered at it, taking the small figure by the head between her fingers.
"That should be my line," a not-too-happy voice sounded from the hill, and Natsume turned to see Natori, frowning, arms folded on his chest. Hiiragi stood meekly at his side, and behind her was Sasago, mirroring her master's pose.
Urihime looked up at them, deep thought process wrinkling the visible part of her face. "Join us, Master?" she finally managed with a crooked smile.
Natori opened his mouth, but whatever he was going to say (or yell, more like) was drowned out by Nyanko-sensei's howl of "Sake!"
Half a dozen small youkai ran about the clearing, stumbling over each other, until one of them, looking suspiciously like a flea, kneeled in front of Nyanko-sensei. "W-we don't have any more," he stuttered.
"What!?" Nyanko-sensei's nostrils flared, and he loomed over the small creature. "I'll eat you if you don't get it! Who has sake!?" he yelled to the clearing in general.
"Shut up, cat!" Urihime snapped, a vein popping on her forehead. "Get it yourself, or ask the newlyweds!" She threw her cup, which landed square between Nyanko-sensei's eyes.
"Why you..." Nyanko-sensei wrinkled his nose, getting ready to leap, before he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck. A moment later he was looking into Natori's eyes.
"Would somebody care to explain what the hell is going on?" Natori asked in an eerily calm tone, his glasses glinting.
"Put me down, boy!" Nyanko-sensei swung his paws in the air, trying to get at Natori's face, but the human easily avoided the sloppy movements. "And don't crash others' weddings!"
"Yes, Master, it's not polite!" Urihime added from her spot just outside of Natori's reach.
"Wedding?" Both Natori and Natsume looked at Nyanko-sensei, then at Urihime, then at Nyanko-sensei again.
"Sensei, you..."
"Not us, idiot!" Nyanko-sensei shrieked. "Who'd want to marry this violent, rude--" he started, but was cut off by Urihime's indignant "Who'd want to marry this fat, dumb cat!?"
The two youkai gave each other an evil eye.
"Then who is...?" Natsume looked curiously around, trying to identify the happy couple.
"Who cares?" Natori said with a sigh. "Take this drunkard home." He handed Nyanko-sensei to Natsume. "And I'll take care of that one." His glasses glinted again when he looked at Urihime, and this time the youkai shrank under the glare.
"Wait, wait!" The flea youkai jumped onto Natsume's shoulder, his tiny arms flailing as he struggled to keep balance before Natsume supported him with a finger. "Thank you, Natsume-sama." He heaved a sigh of relief. "As I was saying, wouldn't Natsume-sama like to meet the newlyweds?"
And Nyanko-sensei didn't hesitate to add, "Yes, yes! And drink to their happiness!" He waved a paw in the air, imitating a cup. "To the newlyweds!"
"To the newlyweds!" the other youkai chorused, before...
"...where are the newlyweds?"
"I saw them yesterday, I think," one of the youkai said, scratching the back of his head.
"Yes, before the good sake was finished," said another.
"Then we don't have the newlyweds anymore..." A group of youkai sighed mournfully in unison.
"What are we going to drink to?"
"What to do, what to do?"
"Argh, shut up!" Urihime didn't look happy at the development, but a moment later her face was split by a particularly creepy leer. "We just have to marry someone else."
"You have a good idea for once!" Nyanko-sensei cheered.
"What's with 'for once'?!" Urihime shrieked, and the cat looked even more pleased.
"So, who do we marry?"
"Who do we marry, who do we marry? Hmm..." All in the clearing looked thoughtful. Some youkai were rubbing their chins, others, the backs of their heads, but all of the inebriated crowd looked comically deep in thought.
"Ah!" Nyanko-sensei grinned, looking at Natsume, then at Natori. "We marry the humans!"
Natsume didn't have time to protest before numerous pairs of hands -- some small as an insect, while others were half the size of his body -- grabbed him and Natori and dragged the pair to the centre of the clearing.
"Now, face this way." Nyanko-sensei poked Natsume in his side, nodding towards an improvised altar made of rocks.
Both humans were too stunned to say anything, watching, appalled, as Hinoe emerged from the crowd, her step only slightly wobbly.
"I'll do the honours," she said, stifling a hiccup. "So. We've gathered here today--"
"Wait, wait!" Nyanko-sensei yelled, getting a glare from Hinoe.
"What?" she asked, taking an irritated drag from her pipe.
"Someone, go to his side!" He pointed a paw at Natori who had, aside from the youkai holding him in place, only Hiiragi, Sasago, and Urihime at his side. The latter had a suspicious wet streak on the cloth covering her eyes. "You two!" Nyanko-sensei continued, baring his teeth at the one eyed youkai and his bull faced companion.
"We don't want to!" they wailed in unison, clinging to Natsume's arm.
Nyanko-sensei moved towards them in a threatening wobble.
"All right, all right, I'll go." Chobihige stood up, floating over to settle on Natori's side of the clearing.
"So? All set?" Hinoe gave the crowd a stern look. "Now then. We've all gathered here, blah-blah-blah, you know the drill... now, drink up!" She produced a bottle of sake from her sleeve along with three cups.
"Hey! You've been stashing it!" Nyanko-sensei again, jumping angrily and puffing his cheeks in indignation.
"Yes, yes, shut up already," Hinoe said in a dismissive tone. "Who would...?" She searched the crowd for a few moments, then sighed, grumbling, "I have to do everything myself, don't I?" and moved around the pile of rocks, the bottle and cups in her hands. "Hold them still," she instructed, pouring sake into the smallest cup.
"Wait, what are you--" Natsume tried to protest, but before he could say anything else, sake was unceremoniously poured into his mouth. He coughed.
"That's enough!" Natori finally snapped. "If you don't release us this instant, I swear, I'll exorcise you all!" He struggled against the unsteady hands, and several smaller youkai flew in all directions. "If you don't--" Natori growled, but the rest was drowned as someone shouted, "Everyone! Run!"
The resulting stampede looked more disastrous than any exorcism. The clearing was littered by smaller youkai, twitching or completely unconscious, and Natori himself, sprawled over Natsume, had a couple of footprints on his back.
"Are you all right?" Natori asked, and Natsume gave him a small nod, not really trusting his own voice at the moment.
"You two, it's not even your wedding night yet," Nyanko-sensei grumbled from somewhere to Natori's left, and the humans looked at each other, blinking for a few seconds, before Natsume turned bright red.
"Sensei!" Natsume said in a horrified tone. "You don't mean that we really...."
Natori flinched above him, and the next moment he was scrambling up, his usual smile plastered to his face.
"Of course not, Natsume-kun," he said, and if there was the smallest hint of a strain in his voice, no one would hear it besides himself.
"Ah, Natsume! You reek!" It was Nyanko-sensei, already in Natsume's arms, sniffing at the boy's face.
"No more than you, Sensei," Natsume returned, frowning, and it was apparent that only part of it was about the cat.
"Why don't you come to my place?" Natori offered. "That way your guardians won't worry so much, and there'll be someone to take care of the cat while he sobers up."
Natsume thought about it for a minute. He didn't want to intrude, but he also didn't want Touko-san to smell alcohol on him and worry more than she should. His train of thought was interrupted by a wave of alcohol stench. At first he thought that Sensei had belched, but then there was a hand on his shoulder, and a second later Urihime's face was right in front of his.
"Come with us, kid," she said before turning green and doubling over at his feet. The gurgling sounds that followed were unmistakable.
"You're a disgrace." Sasago lowered herself down to Urihime's side, stroking Urihime's back despite the harsh words. "Just wait until we get back. Master will make sure you won't drink ever again."
Natsume looked at Natori again. The older man was frowning, arms folded on his chest. It wasn't that Urihime didn't deserve his wrath, but Natsume still felt sorry for her.
"All right. I'm sorry to intrude," he said with a small smile.
~*~*~
After a call home Natsume took a long, refreshing shower, and it probably was the most pleasant thing that had happened to him all day. Brushing a damp strand of hair out of his eyes, he looked into a mirror hanging above the sink. The borrowed clothes hung loosely on him, so he took a moment to adjust them before going out of the bathroom.
The suite Natori had chosen wasn't the biggest in the hotel, but still it was big enough to house himself and all of his youkai. Speaking of.
"Where's Sensei?" Natsume asked, looking around. The cat had fallen asleep on their way to the hotel, snoring loudly in Natsume's arms, and as soon as they were inside, Hiiragi carried him away while Sasago dragged off Urihime by the scruff of her neck.
"Resting, I think," Natori answered. He was half-lying on the couch, a book in his hands. "How are you feeling?" He set the book aside, turning to Natsume.
Natsume was tired from a sleepless night worrying about Sensei followed by running around the whole day searching for him, but other than that, he didn't feel anything out of the ordinary.
"I'm fine," he said, smiling. "Still, I can't believe they'd think of something like that." He shook his head. "Why would they want to marry us?"
Natori's answering smile looked strained. He sat up, looking at Natsume.
"Why, indeed," he muttered, before continuing in his normal voice. "Do you find it disgusting to marry two men?"
"No, that's not it." Natsume frowned. There was something off about Natori's response. Wasn't he supposed to take it as a joke? But the older man looked weird, worried or maybe sad. "Natori-san?" he asked.
Natori stood up with a sigh.
"I didn't want to say anything until you're older, but..." He took a few steps, stopping when he was practically nose to nose with Natsume. "What would you do if I was really interested in you?" He searched Natsume's face, his own expression tense.
Almost a minute passed in silence. Natori waited while Natsume was furiously thinking about this sudden development.
"So that's how it is," Natori said finally. "I'm sorry, Natsume-kun, please forget what I've just said." He turned away, taking a step back to the couch.
"Please, wait." Natsume didn't even know himself what he was going to say. He just knew that if he didn't say anything, Natori would simply... go away. And he didn't want to lose another person in his life, not this one and not like that. "Please, wait, Natori-san," he repeated. "I-I don't know how to feel about it, but I... wouldn't be against it. I think." He looked at his feet.
Natori turned back slowly. He didn't want to hope for too much, but seeing Natsume's flushed face, he couldn't help a smile.
"Then wouldn't you like to make sure?" he asked.
Natsume raised his eyes, gulping as he looked at Natori for a few moments, then gave a small nod.
That was all the invitation Natori needed. He moved to stand in front of Natsume, as close as he'd been a minute ago, and put a hand on Natsume's arm. Leaning forward, he waited until Natsume looked up, still uncertain. And then a few moments more before touching his lips to Natsume's.
~*~*~
It was the dead of night when two figures made their way to the hotel, making rushes from bush to bush.
"Do you think they're here?" whispered the one-eyed youkai.
"They're here, they're here!" answered his bull-faced companion, nodding enthusiastically. "I can smell Natsume-sama." He sniffed the air to illustrate his point.
The pair sneaked behind the building and crawled to a door, sliding it open a crack to peer inside. The scene that greeted them was hard to confuse with anything. The moans and mutters were clearly heard even from their location, and there were two shadows moving on the bed. The smaller one arched his back, rising from the bed, and the bigger shadow's arms wrapped around him, bringing him closer.
"Ah, the married life..." whispered the one-eyed youkai wistfully, his cheeks turning pink.
His companion nodded in agreement.
"I want to get married, too," he said.
"Me too, me too!" his bull-faced friend agreed.
The two looked at each other.
"No, no way," the one-eyed youkai muttered, turning away.
"No way," the bull-faced one agreed, cringing. "So, leave them be?"
The one-eyed one sighed before sliding the door closed. "Let's go," he said.
~*~*~
Natsume woke up slowly. At first he was too warm and content to move, but when something touched his nose, he opened his eyes.
"Good morning." Natori was smiling at him, his cheek resting on a palm and his elbow propped on a pillow.
"Morning." Natsume's face turned pink as he remembered what had happened a few hours ago. "Erm..."
"I hope you're not regretting it?" The change in Natori's expression was slight, no more than a bit of tension in the corners of his eyes.
"No, I..." Natsume stopped, thinking. "I'm just surprised," he said. "More than surprised actually, but... I guess we'll have to thank our friends later." He smiled.
"I guess, we will," Natori agreed.