With Me pt.1 (Natsuki Fic)

"In that case, I probably shouldn't do this, either..." I take Natsuki's finger and put it in my mouth, licking off the icing.
"W-w-what-? D-did you seriously just-?"

"A-ah-" She's so surprised that she can't even figure out how to get mad at me. Her face entirely red, she diverts her eyes to the finger.

"Anon... you really shouldn't do that kind of thing to girls... unless you really like them..." She looks back at me. "You know that right?"

"I know." My heart begins to race as I repeat the action, only this time, there's no icing as pretext. I move my left hand to meet her right, and our fingers intertwine. Her breaths are shallow now, her eyes opened wide in surprise.
"A-Anon... you..."

The moment is interrupted by the sudden blaring of the fire alarm. A sharp pain forms beneath my knuckles, as her nails dig into my skin, accompanied by an exclamation of "You idiot!" Confused, I resist the urge to clench my teeth from the pain as she reclaims both her hands, and proceeds to dart over to the oven. Natsuki grabs a mitt and opens the door, coughing and waving away the thin wisps of smoke coming from inside. Moving to shut off the alarm, I ask with both worry and puzzlement, "I thought you didn't put the cupcakes in yet?" She responds with a few subdued coughs and wider sweeps as I held the alarm's reset button.

...

It was a case of self-sabotage. Having left a dirty tray in the quickly-heating oven, I effectively killed whatever mood had been developing as a result of my "teasing". We work in silence as we wait for the cupcakes to finish baking, I having returned to whisking the icing, Natsuki cleaning up my mistake and keeping an eye on the oven. As the minutes pass, I want so badly to go back to that moment, to hear the words she would have uttered if not for my idiocy. Was she thinking the same thing? I could only hope, shooting a glance at her every now and then, but never catching her eyes turned to me. Eventually, a sweeter smell wafts through the air, a welcome change from the smoke prior. With it, a dissipation of the tension that has hung in the air for what seems an eternity. A smile forms on Natsuki's face as she sets upon the oven, her elation prompting a grin to appear upon my face as well.

As the evening goes on, I finish the icing and scoop it into several bags. Natsuki shows me the different nozzles she uses to put icing on the cupcakes. Examining the thinnest one, she explains that it can be used for stripes and writing, which in turn gives me an idea.
"Seeing as how it's a literature event, maybe we could use it to write a word on each cupcake? That way, people can choose their cupcake based on a word they like." Surprisingly, she begins to pout a little.
"Uu... I was kind of expecting you to say something really stupid... but that's actually... a really cute idea, so..." I can't help but chuckle.

"Maybe I'm getting it from you," I suggest, half-jokingly.

Crossing her arms, she retorts with reddening cheeks, "W-what's that supposed to mean? I'm not cute!"

"Come on... we're not at school, nobody's judging. You can't dress and act like this, and not expect me to think you're cute." Despite the somewhat playful tone accompanying the statement, there's nothing but truth behind my words.
"W-well..." She mutters something I can't quite hear. Before I can ask her what she said, she takes the bag from my hands, and equips it and the others with a nozzle. "There's a lot to do, so we shouldn't be wasting time! Here, I'll show you how to do it."

...

Finally done with my batch, I set down the nearly empty bag of icing, and stretch my arms. Natsuki, having finished before me, looks at them all, proud of yet another successful baking session. "Look at how pretty they are together!" Yet again, I can't help but look at her smiling face, and smile myself.
"Yeah, they are, aren't they?"

She bites her lip,  her smile dissipating a little as she continues to look at her creations. "...I wish I could have one now!"
"Well, there's no reason you can't, right?" She worked so hard on them, after all. She deserves a reward. "I don't see any harm in it."
"Yeah, but... my dad's making dinner tonight, so I really need to save my appetite."
"Ah, your dad must be a pretty great cook if you're willing to put off your own cupcakes, huh?"

She turns away from me, out of what I can only assume is embarrassment. I can't help but laugh. "What? It's not like you should be ashamed of eating what your dad cooks or anything."
A few seconds pass without a response, when she suddenly faces me with yet another smile. "Haha... yeah... It's just that, when he cooks... I need to eat as much of it as I can..." Strangely, she sounds... sad?
"Ah, well... You know, Natsuki..." I struggle to think of what I could say, but an idea manages to come to me. "If you like his food so much, I could always cook some for you... I'm not exactly a pro chef, but if you let me know what to b-" Catching me completely off guard, Natsuki rushes me, grabs hold of my shirt, and buries her head in my chest, leaving me confused and unknowing of what to do next.

"You're... you're a real jerk sometimes, y'know that, Anon?"
"Ah..." I really don't know how to respond to that.
"...but... you're also really nice to me... and you're always eager to look at my poems, or sit and read manga with me... so..." Her hands grab tighter onto my shirt. "...you don't have to do anything like that for me..." Now looking up at me, her eyes gaze into mine, dragging me deeper into affection. As I begin to wrap my arms around her, I recall a conversation with Sayori a few days before, where she asked what I'd do if Natsuki asked me to walk home with her instead of Sayori. I'd told her there'd be no way I'd go out of my way to do something like that, but now...

"Natsuki, tomorrow... I'll definitely be there to hear the poem you wrote for the festival. And... if it's alright with you, I'd like to walk you home..." I can see her face redden a little, and she turns her head ever so slightly to avoid my gaze, but she nods. We stand there, embracing one another, for a few more seconds, before I can feel her grip loosen and she starts to gently pull away.
"Well... anyway... I was hoping we'd have more time for manga, but I really need to be home for dinner..."

I rub my arm, mild disappointment setting in. "Already?" I ask her. "That's a shame."
A faint smile appears and quickly goes away, replaced instead by a pout. "It's your fault for working so slowly! You should've thought about that." Not breaking away from the usual, she lays the blame at my feet, but this time, there's some truth to it. "You can bring the cupcakes tomorrow right? If you and Sayori each carry some, you can probably do it in one trip."
"Ah, yeah. I can do that. I'm sure she wouldn't mind, either." I thought back to earlier in the day, when I went to check on Sayori at her house. She'd left the Literature Club early on account of feeling unwell, but pressed me into returning to meet Natsuki after I'd given her the basic remedies for an oncoming cold. She'd have been truly upset with me if I "wasted my time" on her instead of "those delicious cupcakes."

With my train of thought returning to the present, I see Natsuki getting ready to leave. Helping her to collect the miscellaneous baking tools, I silently appreciate these last few minutes alone with her, until we're out the door and on our way to the subway station. "Are you sure you don't want me to see you home today? It's getting kinda late." She nods.
"My dad would freak if he saw me with a guy, but he won't be home until late tomorrow, so... And if anyone tries anything on the way today, I'll just beat the crap out of 'em!" She has a wide grin on her face as she throws a fist into her palm. I can't help but laugh, to which to responds with a slight punch. A few more minutes pass as we talk about the festival, Parfait Girls, and the club event for tomorrow - and then we're at the station.
"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah," I assure her. "I can't wait."
We smile at each for the last time tonight, waving at one another as she boards the train. I linger until it's just a shining light off in the distance, then head home, desperate for tomorrow to come fast.