A/N: We are short of Natsume fics, dear fandom. I'd like to fix this problem, so please accept my first Natsume Yuujinchou fanfiction!

Rating: T (for now)

Pairing: Nyanko x Natsume (Nyanatsu)

Warning: If you don't like male x male, don't read it. Please.

/Happy 18th birthday to little me.../

''Natsume''

''Natsumeeee!!'' Nyanko exclaimed excitedly. Then he repeated for the third time, when he reached the boy, who squatted and welcomed him with a wide smile, and stroked his fluffy fur.

''I really missed you, Nyanko-sensei.'' He admitted. ''But where have you been? I was really worried – ''

''Oh, yeah?'' The spirit retorted, offended. ''It sure didn't seem like to me when you held that other cat.''

''Other cat?''

Nyanko turned up his nose. ''You know... that slim one.''

The blonde laughed. ''Oh, it's staying at our place only for a couple of days. Now, don't be so hostile.''

''You! Don't you dare sugarcoat it...''

Natsume just laughed it off, and hugged the spirit close to him.

''I really did miss you, Sensei. It's hard to say, but I felt truly lonely when you were gone.''

''Nnnn... don't-you-dare-sugarcoat-it..." Nyanko purred.

But the spirit couldn't say anything else as he sank into the warmth of the embrace. His anger evaporated all at once, and he didn't want to let go. Not anymore.

He couldn't help but purr on account of the comfort he felt.

''I-idiot! Let me go already. Let me GO!'' He shouted, really embarrassed of himself.

After the boy obeyed, Nyanko hurried away on his soft paws.

''Hn. I'm not a mere cat, human.'' He added offhandedly, not looking back.

Natsume just smiled at that, and looked after him. Nyanko-sensei, his cat, his guardian, his... friend?

He wondered whether he could call the spirit his friend. He was sure that if he asked his sensei, he would say he was with him only because of the Book of Friends. But, on the other hand, he knew that the spirit cared for him and protected him on several occasions.

There was one thing he knew for sure – he didn't want Nyanko to disappear again.

Natsume was leaning against the wall, fixing the window. The little, fluffy cat was sleeping in the corner on a soft pillow. Sensei's pillow. – The boy would have thought, if he had been paying attention to the unfamiliar cat. But no, he was waiting for somebody else.

Although it was better than the day before, because he now knew the spirit would come back, he was still a bit uneasy.

That Nyanko-sensei! He must be drunk by now... He thought to himself and intently continued staring into space.

Standing motionlessly, he realized it was twilight too late. He let out a heavy sigh. I can't believe I'm this worried... Why do I even care about his being late? He can come and go freely, for all I care.

Even still, he didn't move an inch, but waited.

The kitty now woke up and lazily yawned. It went up to the tense boy, and clinged to one of his legs. Natsume shivered at the unexpected contact.

''Oh, it's just you...''

He took the kitty in his lap and let it lick his face. ''You are really cute, aren't you?'' He laughed.

Natsume felt as if his tensness has subsided a bit. He stroked the cat's white fur and felt content hearing him purr.

He wanted to say something really badly, maybe because he was used to listening to Nyanko's rants, and no the surroundings were too solitary to his liking. It was only him and the kitty in the room now, the kitty, that won't say anything to him. At least not in a language he can understand.

That's right. Cats don't usually say anything to their owner. They express their feelings and mediate their needs through touches and cries. They don't speak. Cats don't speak. Nobody would take a talking cat seriously, that's fur sure. Look, cats' bodies weren't invented so that they could speak. Nature didn't want them to speak, so they don't.

Nevertheless, there's at least one cat that can communicate with him like a real human. And that one cat just means more to him than any other cat, or all the cats in the world all together. So yes, Natsume takes this certain talking cat more seriously than normal ones.

My dear mother in heaven... My thoughts are becoming more and more confused because of a speaking cat.

Natsume sighed.

''Let's go eat, shall we?''

He ended his stupid thoughts with this one little sentence, and he wasn't surprised at all when he didn't receive an answer.

He entered the kitchen holding the fragile kitten close to his heart, so he could even hear its heartbeats.

''Takashi-kun" The landlady greeted him smiling, looking up from her cooking. ''I see you two get along well.''

Natsume just nodded, almost reluctantly.

''Oh, you don't look too happy."

The boy smiled. ''I'm fine, sorry to worry you. It's just that... I'm a bit worried about my cat, Nyanko."

She looked at him as if she understood him a little. ''I'm sure he will come back. He always looked as if he had a great time with you, Takashi-kun. Maybe he just needed some time alone."

''Some time... alone?''

''Oh dear, look what I'm saying!'' She laughed, a little embarrassed. ''Cats don't usually need some time alone, now do they?''

''No, I think you are right." He said. ''Even cats need some time alone sometimes, I'm quite sure. Thank you for pointing this out."

She just laughed again, confused.

''I'm home!'' Came a cheerful voice from the entrance, cutting off the conversation. They could here some noise from that direction through the noises of cooking, then, after some time the man entered the room.

''Dinner's ready in a minute, dear.'' The lady turned to her husband.

''Thank you.''

He sat down next to the boy, and let out a content sigh. ''It's always a relief sitting down to the dinner table.'' He smiled, then turned to the boy. ''Still no news about your cat?''

He just shook his head, but thought otherwise inwardly. I wonder if I could call our little encounter 'news'. He has yet to make his appearance here, to be honest.

The dinner was nice, as usual, but he felt as if something was missing. His guardians seemed happy with him around, but this time he couldn't smile whole-heartedly. Yes, he did miss his gluttonous cat, because he was the first friend he had made here.

He left the table early and went back to his room. The door closed smoothly behind him.

The boy leaned against the cool wall again, and closed his eyes. He left the foreign cat behind, in the kitchen, so he could have a chance to be completely alone. Though he was sure it was having fun with the adults.

He didn't even bother to switch on the light, just stood there, thinking.

''Natsume''

He shuddered at the unexpected whisper.

A pair of glowing eyes pierced through the darkness of the room.

''Sensei!'' He let out a sigh of relief. ''Where have you been all this time? I thought you'd come back at last!''

''I'm here, aren't I? So don't you dare complain now!'' He sounded cheeky and impatient.

''You're drunk.'' Natsume stated dryly.

''I'm whaaat?''

The scorching eyes came closer. Nyanko jumped into his arms and snuggled up to him.

''You are drunk.'' Natsume repeated.

''No, I'm not. I'm not. I'm not, I'm not, I'm telling you, you human!''

''Then why are you repeating it over and over?''

The cat drew even closer. ''Caress me,'' He ordered.

''...''

''Natsume.''

''I think you should really turn in now, Sensei...''

''Fool. A mere human can never command a great spirit such as me. Instead, it's you, who should obey me...''

Natsume decided to ignore his blabbering completely, and walked to the cat's pillow in the corner, without a word.

He squatted and tried to put him down, but Nyanko thought otherwise.

''You'd rather be with him now, right? You haven't even missed me, but played with him instead, right? Don't you dare deny it, I could see you two getting on all too well!''

The boy blinked in surprise. ''Sensei, I seriously don't get what you're trying to - ''

He stopped when the cat, his spirit cat, licked his face for the first time. Ever.

He was now out of words.

Nyanko repeated the affectionate process. ''Don't say a word.'' He added in a low, serious voice. He transformed into his human male self, his voice now husky and full of lust in Natsume's ear.

The boy was suddenly pressed to the floor by the tall man.

Natsume moaned painfully at the sudden weight.

''I thought I told you not to say anything.''

Madara leaned even closer and looked into honey-coloured, perplexed eyes. Wet lips neared to the boy. Madara licked his face again... now in his human form. His disciple still couldn't say anything.

A rough tongue trailed down his cheek, moving closer to his lips.

''Sen – ''

...but he was cut off, when their lips met. It was obvious that Madara was determined enough to have his way with him, even if the boy didn't want anything from him at all.

Madara's hands tugged his honey-coloured hair, and pressed himself to the smaller body, almost painfully. He is rough. Natsume thought randomly, but he soon realized this wasn't the time to think about things like this.

A hot, hungry tongue licked the seam of his closed lips, waiting for some kind of permission to enter. Or rather, some way to enter.

The man pulled on Natsume's hair. The boy painfully groaned, and quickly decided to grant his wish on account of the pain.

The two tongues collided in wet hotness, and Natsume submitted himself to the greedy tongue exploring in his mouth. He gave in the sensation and just let his mind be blown away. He let go of his remaining intelligent thoughts, and the heat soon became unbearable.

Madara groaned into the kiss, or rather, he almost purred, forgetting he was in his human male form. When the two bruised lips separated at last, and only a string of saliva connected them, the boy averted his eyes, cheeks pink with embaressment.

The man tensed. He stood up, and started for the window. His hands now gripped the curtain. Everything happened so fast, so unbelievably fast that Natsume could only blink in surprise and pant painfully.

The man froze for a moment.

''I'm sorry, Natsume.''

''Wait!'' The boy stopped him from disappearing into the now bottomless darkness of the night. His shout resonated the whole environment, slowly fading away, leaving a painful gap behind.

''I..." Cheeks still pink.

Madara stood there, showing his back to him, still not daring to face him. He wouldn't dare hope anything. It was obvious he had done something unforgivable, something that could never be forgiven. Something, that will change their relationship, something, that could, no, will lead to problems.

Natsume finally caught his breath. He clenched his fists.

''You...'' But he still couldn't voice his thoughts.

''It's okay, Natsume.'' He shook his head.

''You don't have to say anything. Just... forget it, okay? Let's pretend, that..."

''No!"

His sentence was cut off by the angry shout of the shuddering boy.

''No! You can't decide everything by yourself! And what's that 'let's pretend'? What if I don't want to pretend?"

He kept talking, his bravery growing by word. He stepped closer to the man's back.

''You were gone for days, leaving me worried. You don't know what it feels like to be left behind and bearing all the burden left to you! I was so afraid I would... that I would..."

''I would lose you!" He exclaimed.

The spirit turned to him, eyes glowing with disbelief. ''Na-Natsume?''

''Would you just shut up for once? It's my turn to speak now!''

He paused to catch his breath nevertheless.

''Please, continue." Madara asked him politely, positively shocked about how Natsume just spoke to him.

The boy's cheeks flushed again. He looked away.

''You say you will come home, and then you leave me worried again... While you most likely drink cheerfully with your spirit friends, not even thinking about me. About how I feel. You come home when you feel like it, you even skip dinner, and when you return at last, you are drunk and you even a-attack me..."

He stopped to give an accusing look.

Madara tried to apologize again, but Natsume stopped him with a glare.

''You jump onto me – '' He looked straight into Sensei's eyes. ''Only to leave me hanging again, not even asking for my opinion. Don't you think you should ask me what I think from time to time?''

They stood silent for a bit, staring at each other.

Before the pause became too awkward, Nyanko break the silence.

''So...'' He cleared his throat. ''Would you tell me what you think now, Natsume?''

The boy looked away, cheeks flushed again.

''D-don't drink from now on.''

The man looked puzzled.

''Your kiss tasted like alcohol..."

Sensei finally understood. He grinned madly.

''...and I don't like alcohol... Besides, I'm still a minor." Natsume explained.

That being said, he considered the conversation over.

A/N: First of all, thank you for reading! I decided to write this fic because I find Natsume's character really intriguing: I can't decide whether he's straight, homo, or bi (canonically!). That's because he's quite comfortable with some female and male characters around, too. (You know I'm right.) If you ask me, I'd say he's bi, and when I say this, I mean canonically.

As for the pairing: I can hardly imagine Natsume with anybody else, but Nyanko, or rather, Madara. I know a lot of people say that Natsume will most likely end up with Nyanko's female form, but that's just not right in my opinion, and I'm pretty sure it will never happen. You might ask why. Well, first of all, Nyanko is a guy. Even if he transformed into his female form, he would still be ''just" a guy in a girl's body. I believe that Nyanko's transformation into a girl in the story serves as a humorous element only, and nothing more.

Phew, sorry about ranting so much, but I wanted to make this clear. I'm writing this fanfiction because I do believe Nyanko x Natsume has some basis.

Once again, thank you for reading, and read the next chapter too, if you have some time. Until next time. ~ Z