#nishimuras comment of seeing a new side of natsume too........nishimuras smile (that natsume talks about here) as he says natsumes kind of

[lunarcry]

????????????????????????

[goodlucktai]

put your empty hands in mine

chapter nine: family

natsume yuujinchou pairing: kitanishinatsu word count: 2145 summary: Kitamoto and Nishimura are soulmates, to absolutely no one’s surprise. But they’re also soulmates with a very shy boy who lives somewhere far away, who writes to them in tiny, careful letters right before bed, who apologizes when the mimicry of bruises pop up on their arms and backs because of him. And that’s a surprise to a lot of people. read on ao3

x

The marks and messages a soulmate leaves always fade within a day or two. Mom makes him wait three before Satoru is allowed to pull the bandages off his arms, just in case.

And in that time, Takashi wakes up, he’s cleared to leave the hospital, and they go back home to Hitoyoshi.

The detective pulled a lot of strings, and now Auntie has temporary guardianship of Takashi. It isn’t permanent, but it’s good enough while they figure out the next arrangement.

She made it pretty clear she wasn’t leaving the city without him. The detective looked one part cowed and two parts impressed, and in the end he was happy to arrange a rental van for them, so they wouldn’t have to take Takashi onto a crowded train.

The doctor said to allow at least six weeks for Takashi’s ribs to heal, and to take him to a clinic immediately if he has trouble breathing because that would increase the risk of pneumonia. Mostly he has to stay propped up in Atsushi’s bed with hot tea or soup on hand at all times, but that’s okay.

As much fun as it is to run through the lotus fields, and go fishing in the river, and climb the steps in the woods to visit Takashi’s favorite shrine, Satoru likes having Takashi right here where they can keep an eye on him all the time. He gets nervous when Takashi is gone.

The worst part is that his soulmates can’t crawl into bed with him at night, because they might roll over on him or something and he’s still so sore. It’s weird to sleep with him three feet away. Satoru is used to being miles and miles apart, or not apart at all.

Tsuji and Adachi come by with their classwork, the way they’ve done every day for the past week. Tsuji is determined not to let them fall behind, and Adachi likes the easy excuse to visit Takashi.

Shibata’s school had a teacher institute right before the weekend, so he’s here for three days and can hardly be pried from his best friend’s side long enough to take a bath or go to sleep. His eyes are red-rimmed from crying and he doesn’t look even a little bit self-conscious about it, clutching Takashi’s hand like he could make up for not being there when he was really needed if he holds on tight enough now.

Takashi, for his part, naps most of the time. Nyanko-sensei is his silent sentry, eating far less than a real cat would and watching everything with his dark intelligent eyes. The therapist who comes to talk to them every now and then said she was surprised the cat wasn’t certified already, and helped them get the paperwork filed. Satoru didn’t understand all of it, but basically Nyanko-sensei will be allowed to go wherever Takashi does, no matter what his next guardians will have to say about it. That’s a relief, even if nothing else about the uncertainty of Takashi’s future is.

“Hey,” Satoru says. “You have a house, don’t you?”

It��s Sunday night, and he has to go back to school tomorrow while Takashi stays home without him. It’s hard to fall asleep, knowing that. It’s hard to fall asleep for lots of reasons these days, and he’d rather be up late thinking about stuff than up late because a bad dream chased him awake.

He can almost hear Takashi’s surprised blink. In the futon next to Satoru’s, Atsushi shifts closer to wakefulness than sleep.

Takashi asks, “My parent’s house?”

“That one,” Satoru says. It’s very dark and his quiet voice cuts through the still room easily. “You know where it is?”

“I have directions written down. I keep them in my book. Why?”

“Because when I kidnap you, it would be a good place to go.” Satoru smiles at the noise of disbelief Atsushi makes, and tilts his head over to look up at Takashi, peering down at him with wide eyes over the side of the bed. “The three of us could stay there together forever and I’d never have to say goodbye to you again.”

Takashi doesn’t answer for a long time, but Satoru is used to his silences. He lets his eyes drift away, following the slant of moonlight spilling into the room from a crack in the shutters, but then Atsushi says, “Okashi, what are you doing? Hey, don’t get up-- “ and it snaps his attention back.

Takashi’s still moving, tugging back his blanket with deliberate, ginger slowness, like every move makes him ache. Nyanko-sensei grumbles in the back of his throat, displeased, as Takashi swings one leg over the side of the bed, and then the other. There’s a stubborn set to his mouth, even as his soulmates scramble to their feet and rush to him.

“Quit it, Bakashi,” Satoru snaps, pressing Takashi down by the shoulders. “If you have to go to the bathroom or something you’re supposed to let us know before you-- “

But then Takashi’s bruised hands are folding in the front of Satoru’s shirt, slowly and surely. It’s not so sudden as to be startling, the careful way he pulls Satoru down. Satoru doesn’t even realize what’s happening, keeps right on talking, up until the exact moment Takashi kisses him.

It’s just a brief press of their lips together, a touch as soft as a flower petal feels. It has absolutely no business making Satoru feel as dizzy as it does. He stands there stupidly when Takashi reaches for Atsushi in turn, and Atsushi is grinning almost too wide to kiss properly, a grin that very clearly is making fun of Satoru’s expression. Even Takashi looks like he’s about to laugh.

“I forgot to tell you,” their soulmate says, so sweetly. “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to say thank you,” Atsushi says, sitting on the bed beside him. His arm snakes around Takashi’s waist, and Satoru’s heart aches with joy when the two of them are together. “Nice kiss, though.”

Takashi turns faintly pink, like he’s just caught up to himself. “You kissed me first.”

“That was years ago! And it was a kiss on the cheek.”

“Hey, I’m not complaining. I’m the opposite of complaining.” Satoru has finally found his voice again and he crowds in closer, all but crawling onto Takashi’s lap, even though it makes Atsushi give him a pointed look to be careful. So Satoru minds his sore chest, even as he tugs Takashi’s hands down from where they’re hiding his face. “Pumpkin. I want one more.”

Of course, he’s not actually satisfied with one. And he has to kiss Atsushi, too, because he can’t live in a world where someone else has kissed Acchan and he hasn’t. And they’re awake a lot, lot longer than they should be, totally preoccupied with this newfound way to express all their impossible affection, so happy that sleep is just impossible.

Morning comes obscenely early and it feels like they only slept for about five minutes each. Takashi is sleeping peacefully when Atsushi and Satoru drag themselves around getting ready for school. Auntie gives them knowing looks over breakfast table in the morning, but mercifully doesn’t comment.

Their classmates are relieved to see them, but Sasada and Tsuji must have passed around pretty convincing threats beforehand, because Satoru and Atsushi aren’t mobbed on their way inside. Taki pulls them aside for a tight hug, squeezing the life out of both of them in turn, and a few other kids get away with murmured condolences and welcomes, but otherwise it’s easy to slip back into routine.

Satoru folds his hands together and watches the clock. His sleeves are rolled up so he’ll see a note the second Takashi leaves one, and his phone is on vibrate in his pocket. At his desk on the other side of the room, Atsushi is equally as tense.

Nyanko-sensei is home with Takashi, and no one in this entire town means him any harm, but Satoru has nightmares about what happened the last time they left him alone. It’s stupid, even though the therapist says it’s not stupid. She says it will take a lot of time to stop being scared.

Color appears from the corner of his eye. Satoru glances down at his hands in time to watch familiar handwriting fill the empty space, those neatly drawn characters that Satoru would be able to pick out of a thousand, a shade of orange that makes his heart beat a little faster.

You didn’t wake me up before you left, so I didn’t get to tell you, Takashi writes. Have a good day!

And just a tiny little bit of that senseless fear goes away. With every new day, it goes away a bit more. 

Ogata sneaks away from home to visit on the weekends, even though it gets her in trouble with her mom more than once. Shibata gets on the train to Hitoyoshi on any afternoon he doesn't have extra-curriculars, and on some afternoons that he does, and stubbornly weathers phone calls from his exasperated parents who say things like "just tell us when you're going so we don't have to find out from your teacher" followed by "and give Takashi our love" which takes any sting out of the scolding.

Takashi has had years to get used to his friends and how much they love him, but he still brightens when Ogata or Shibata texts to say they're coming over.

“Are you guys gonna be around after school?” Suzuki asks about a month later, while Satoru is snatching up his books and his bag. “There’s a new game at the arcade you should check out.”

“Next time, maybe,” Atsushi says, slinging his own bag over his shoulder. “Takashi has a doctor’s appointment this afternoon.”

“Hey, no worries,” Suzuki says with a wave, probably sensing the dark stare Tsuji is directing at the back of his head. “Bring him along when he’s feeling better.”

Takashi has been feeling a lot better recently, but it'll still be a few weeks before he's allowed to do more than walk around the house. Today they're taking him to the general hospital for x-rays, to make sure his ribs are healing like they should. Nyanko-sensei comes along, riding on Atsushi's shoulder since Takashi can't carry him yet, and Satoru holds Takashi's hand because the hospital gives him an uneasy feeling. The doctor is very nice, and tells Takashi he's doing well. There's a rattle in his lungs she doesn't like, so he gets a prescription for antibiotics just in case, but otherwise his progress is right where it should be. In another month, he should be good as new.

"Well, since we have to go out and fill Takashi's prescription, I don't see why we shouldn't stop and get donuts on our way home," Auntie says brightly, leading the way out. "We'll get one for Mana, too. Don't tell dad."

"Thanks, Aunt Mikako," Takashi says, smiling up at her. "For everything. Sorry I've been so much trouble."

"Natsume Takashi, if you say 'sorry' one more time, I'm gonna lose it," Satoru informs him with a scowl. "This is what family is supposed to do. Get it through your head already."

But he squeezes his hand so Takashi doesn't feel truly scolded, and Atsushi rolls his eyes at either what Satoru said or the way he immediately backtracked. Auntie looks amused by the three of them and starts to open the door to the lobby, when a sudden voice calls out, "Excuse me!"

Satoru turns, surprised. He recognizes the woman who hurries across the hall to them. She lives in the big house on the very edge of town, and the one time Satoru accidentally kicked a ball into her yard, she sent him on his way with a snack. She presses a flustered hand to her mouth when she reaches them, and beside her, the man that must be her husband smiles at them pleasantly.

"I'm so sorry for butting in," she says. "We're here to visit a friend, and we happened to overhear. Natsume?"

"It's no trouble," Auntie assures her. She puts a hand on Takashi's shoulder. "I don't think you've had the chance to meet my son's second soulmate. This is Natsume Takashi, and he's staying with us for a little while."

Takashi ducks in a quick bow. The woman claps her hands together, looking delighted. "Is that so? Shigeru-san, you were right!"

Her husband laughs, a kind sound. "It's nice to meet you, Takashi. I've heard your name before from a cousin of mine." When Shigeru smiles, the lines on his face fit it perfectly, worn into place from a long life of smiling. "I'm Fujiwara Shigeru, and this is my wife, Touko-san. As it so happens, you and I are family."