You Made Me Smile
Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice. Higuchi Tachibana-sensei does.
Mikan and Natsume are about 22 years old now, out of college.
Third Person POV
**Klack**
Natsume walked into the house. "Mikan, sweetheart," he yelled, "I'm home!"
He waited for a response. However, there was no response; only silence greeted him.
Natsume called out again, albeit a little shakily, "Mikan?"
When still no one replied, Natsume began to panic. All of a sudden, images from months ago flashed through his mind, the horrific scenes sickening him as they arose from the dark space into which he had stuffed those ugly memories.
Natsume held Mikan's limp, bloody body in his trembling arms. "Mikan!" he sobbed, "Hang in there! Please! For me..." Shaking uncontrollably, he ran with his one and only love to the nearest hospital, the mere possibility of her death giving him the strength to move his legs to at an inhuman speed.
He waited. And waited. And paced frustratedly around and around, back and forth, constantly and sporadically, left and right, up and down the hall. All the while, restlessly staying next to the surgery room. The "Surgery in session" sign glowed unbearably bright red as one minute passed, and another...and another.
Finally, he wearily collapsed onto the wall, sinking down, until, when he had reached the ground, he was once more praying to the gods that Mikan would be all right. "Please, all of the deities above, someone, please save her. If only I hadn't left her alone...Dear God, if anything happens to her, I'll hunt down those brutes and kill them, even if it's the last thing I do! Please Mikan...Please pull through, please be ok..."
Natsume dashed to the kitchen. No one. "Oi, Mikan! You here?" he screamed frantically.
Next, he hurdled to the living room. Still, no Mikan.
Finally, the bedroom. As he dashed there, Natsume fervently prayed she would be safe and sound, asleep on their bed. "Please be there." He pushed open the door, and then almost collapsed. Mikan was nowhere to be seen.
Natsume fell against the wall, sliding down slowly, just as before. He put his head into his hands and sobbed, "Mikan...where are you?" I've lost her...again, to those vile, evil, disgusting...
"Natsume?" A quiet voice came from above. "Natsume, what are you doing?"
His ears, almost literally, perked up, and he flung his head up to see the love of his life, Mikan Sakura.
In utter relief, Natsume jumped up and threw his arms around her, bringing her as physically close to him as possible, sobbing into her strawberry-scented hair, "I thought I had lost you again..." (A/N: **sniff** so sad... :'(. Sorry a little OOC, but...well anyways, please continue reading. ^_^ )
Mikan was shocked (to say the least), but comforting Natsume was first priority at the moment. "Shhhh...Don't worry, I was just in the nursery with Hiroki...they're gone, Natsume. They won't come back to get me...so shhhh..."
Natsume had ceased his sobs at this point, and had regained a calm composure. "I'm sorry for freaking out, sweetheart. How's Hiroki?" he asked smiling once more. He was so proud of their son: a perfect combination of him and Mikan. At almost a year old, he had raven black hair, just like his father, as well as hazel brown eyes identical to the ones that Natsume loved so much.
It was Mikan's turn to smile. "Oh, he's asleep. He loves to nap just as much as you do," she teased.
Natsume scowled. "But I bet he's a heavy sleeper like you," he retorted. However, his frown soon softened into a grin again. "And that's just the way I like it." He hugged Mikan again.
His wife leaned into his embrace, and they stayed like that for what seemed like eternity, swaying back and forth, back and forth. Until...
"Hey, do you smell that?" Natsume asked.
Mikan wrinkled her nose and sniffed. "Yeah, I do. What...?" A second passed. "OH MY GOSH! THE STOVE!" And she subsequently dashed out of their bedroom to save the entire house from a fiery destruction. Natsume laughed, and leisurely followed her out of the room.
**Whoosh** The surgery room's doors swung open as the nurses hurried past him, pushing a still unconscious Mikan to the patient's room. A weary-looking doctor came out after them. While he pitied the poor man, Natsume nevertheless ran up to him and begged to know the news: "Jinno-sensei, will Mikan be all right?"
A tired Dr. Jinno smiled with understanding. "Yes, Ms. Sakura will be fine. Her operation was a complete success. When she wakes up, we'll give her a full-body check up to confirm that she's recovering. Don't worry so much. I can tell she's a strong girl with an equally strong will to live." After patting Natsume's back kindly, the surgeon gave him one last reassuring nod and then walked away...
Mikan and Natsume reclined in the comfy chair next to the fireplace, enjoying each other's company, the warmth, and the peace, not only in the house, but in their hearts.
Both remembered the horrors that Mikan went through due to Natsume's role as a special assassin: a prized mercenary of Alice Academy. He was coveted by many organizations and simultaneously hated by even more underground groups.
But here they were now, both safe and sound and in sweet love. That was in the past; their love and future was in full view in front of them. Having been through all that, the couple appreciated the silence.
Eventually, Natsume broke the silence. "Mikan?"
His wife turned to gaze at him with love shining in her eyes. "Yes, Natsu-chan?"
Natsume growled. "You do know I hate that nickname, right?"
"Hai, hai. But, you love me anyways." Mikan giggled girlishly.
He chuckled under his breath, then looked at her for a while, and then simply buried his face in her hair and quietly murmured, "Aishiteru. I do love you."
Mikan breathed, "Say it again."
He said it again, three more times in fact. One "I love you:" a peck on the forehead. Another: an eskimo kiss on the nose. And the last, a sweet kiss on the lips of his beloved.
When he pulled back, Mikan dreamily whispered, "What did I ever do to deserve you?"
Natsume pondered for a while, gathering his thoughts and trying to phrase his answer correctly. In the end, he decided on repeating what he told her when she asked him almost the exact same question while on their first date.
"Natsume?" Mikan had asked. "Why did you, heartthrob of the entire Alice Academy and man with, literally, a million fan girls, choose me, the boring, quiet, clumsy idiot?"
And in reply to both her innocent inquiries, Natsume only pecked her on the cheek, held her close, and told her:
"Because you're sweet, you're beautiful, and your simple-mindedness pulls me to you." That last part of his answer earned him a quick whack on the chest and a glare from his wife. He chuckled lightly, and continued, "And most of all...because You Made Me Smile."