Chapter Text
There’s a meteor shower starting in the next hour, and Tooru is going to watch it with her best and closest friends.
It’s a school night, but they’re staying out late anyway, with plans to sleep over at Tanuma’s house and head to school together in the morning. Natsume’s cat is snoring in Tanuma’s lap, and similarly Nishimura has nodded off against Natsume’s shoulder a few times, and that prompted Kitamoto and Jun to make a run to the nearest conbini for some coffees to keep them all awake.
Tooru stretches her legs out, content down to her bones.
“You look happy,” Natsume says, and she beams at him.
“Of course I am,” she says. “This is so fun!”
“It hasn’t even started yet,” Tanuma puts in, glancing up at the sky.
“Not that,” she insists stubbornly.
They’re alone in a field away from the noise and faint light pollution of town, a spot Natsume’s friends among the yokai helped him find, and if she were by herself it wouldn’t be comfortable at all.
But she’s here with her favorite people in the world, so she can’t help the smile unfolding across her face.
“Hey,” Nishimura pipes up suddenly, making Tooru jump a little– she thought he’d dozed off again. “Natsume, why are you shaking?”
“It’s a little cold,” Natsume says defensively.
“Touko-san told you to bring an extra coat!”
“It’s not that cold! Nishimura– oh my god, stop, get off.”
Nishimura looks wide awake for a boy who yawned the whole way here, flashing Tanuma and Tooru one of his brightest smiles, his arms wrapped around a struggling Natsume’s thin waist.
“Come help me warm this guy up. If he catches cold, we’ll never get to take him out again.”
“Oh, that’s true,” Tanuma says, trying not to smile at the look of betrayal Natsume is shooting him. He maneuvers Nyanko-sensei up into the crook of his arm and says, “Taki?”
“Of course,” she replies primly, and they sandwich Natsume and Nishimura between them snugly. Natsume looks like he doesn’t know whether to be touched or annoyed, but considering the strength he’s used to fend off mean ayakashi, he’s not putting up as much of a fight as he could.
Kitamoto and Jun find them that way a few minutes later, and their eyebrows shoot up. Kitamoto is quick to join in, all but throwing himself on the top of their comfortable pile, while Jun rolls her eyes and passes out coffee. Her fingers overlap around Tooru’s when Tooru takes a cup, and the touch lingers, and so does Jun’s smile.
It’s a cold night, but Tooru has never been so warm.