I'll Always Be Waiting For You
A Gakuen Alice Fic By MB
DISCLAIMER: Gakuen Alice is owned by horribly brilliant minds that unfortunately lost their inspiration too fast. Though that does apply to me, I am not them, so save your hate-mail for cutting off the series. I'm probably inclined to send one too. I WANT MY WEEKLY DOSE OF NATSUME HOTNESS!
Authoress' notes: Suddenly I was inspired by something strange, and that something strange possessed me to think of something arcane, and that something arcane is now leading me to write this abstruse fanfic. This is a sweet one-shot, that I hope you enjoy.
For Natsume Hyuuga, today would be the day he was waiting for. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and his fellow student's alices were finally under control and fine-tuned to perfection. Beside him, a ditzy but incorrigibly congenial dishwater-blonde looked up at the perfect shade of azure that was the sky, and loosely clutched his hand.
"This is amazing! The sky is so beautiful today Natsume-kun!" Mikan said, sidling up to the flame-caster (again, Flame of Recca terminology used in another anime, but you'll forgive me for the reference.) in question. Natsume smiled wanly at his long-suffering girlfriend, but his luscious eyes betrayed his obvious contentment.
Today was their last day at The Alice Academy. As the two stood side-by-side in their graduation togas and caps, they smiled. Finally my grandpa can get all the letters I wrote him! Mikan thought wistfully. Then she snuck a glance at her "beau" and thought, At last, Natsume and I can be together! Not that we haven't been but…it's a whole new world out there!
Natsume was on the same train of thought as, out of the corner of his amber-ruby eyes, he eyed the dishwater-blonde ogling him, and gave her a quick smile. Mikan blushed at being able to catch his gaze, but the curl of her lips was a promise for later. The duo's relationship was already far from innocent, though their virginities were intact.
Natsume let his gaze wander through the crowd. He smirked as he counted the couples that stood around him. The predictably refined couple of Ruka, his best friend of many years, and the misleadingly cruel Hotaru Imai, stood slightly apart in a gesture of childish primness. The unlikely couple of the emotional Sumire and the shy Yuu were clutching each other's hands tightly. He had watched their relationships bloom soon after his own, and today the six of them would leave the walls of the Academy behind and begin a new stage on the outside.
Finally, as the graduation proceedings ended, the graduating students symbolically threw their caps in the air, signifying the end of their tedious stay within the Academy. The veritable stampede of students rushed to the now-open gates of the school, where their parents waited.
Natsume bore with Mikan as she exuberantly introduced him to her grandfather. The old man in question (who was pushing ninety-five), was still strong and gave Natsume such a stern talking-to that he could do nothing but make nods of respect. Mikan was gushing with obvious pleasure that the two men in her life were "getting along".
Next he was introduced to the parents of Ruka, who interrogated him on their son's conduct within the academy. Natsume mischievously hinted at past escapades, and laughed slightly at Ruka's obvious embarrassment. When Hotaru had finished her reunion with her parents, she joined her lover and Natsume was free to go.
After rushing through the crowds and meeting his friends' many relations, he retreated to his old hiding place under the sakura tree. He began to take on a pensive attitude…thinking about the happy reunions he had witnessed, and that there would be none for him.
His family was long gone, a victim of the village that was engulfed in flames, partially his own. It was not his fault, to be sure, that his parents died, and it did not often bother him. But today their absence was well felt.
Not one to cry, he sat in silence, staring at the sky that seemed so empty to him.
But the silence would not last for long.
---000ooo000ooo000---
Night was beginning to fall, and the families and couples were slowly dispersing. Some milled around outside the school gates, while others left on foot, by bus, chauffeured car, and…the strangest of all, helicopter. Natsume had fallen asleep, lost in his own memories.
But his sleep was to be interrupted. "Natsume…" a familiar voice whispered from surprisingly gently into his ear. Natsume groggily awoke, blinking twice before his vision began to clear. Shivering in the night wind, her hair (which she now often wore in either a ponytail or chignon) flowing around her shoulders, with a look of innocent concern on her face, was Mikan.
"Hey Polka-dots." Natsume smirked, hoisting himself erect. Mikan smiled. "You looked so peaceful, I didn't want to wake you but…it's time to go." Natsume smirked again, taking Mikan's outstretched hand. The two walked out of the gates where Mikan's grandfather waited. Grandfather and granddaughter exchanged words, and the old man soon left.
As soon as he was out of sight, Natsume took Mikan in his arms, scarred and scratched from the missions the Academy mercilessly assigned him. But even though he was scarred, scratched, and calloused, his warmth, from the Alice he once loathed, still radiated warmth. Mikan practically melted into his arms.
"Don't get to comfortable polka-dots, there are more things I can do than just hug you." Natsume smirked as he nipped gently at his lover's ear.
"Pervert." She joked weakly, then sneezed. Natsume gave her a rare smile, the very same smile that he gave her as the snows fell around them, the smile he gave to her and her alone.
"You stayed…" Natsume queried the blissfully content girl.
Mikan looked up into her lover's eyes. "Of course I would." Mikan said laughingly before nipping gently at the skin of Natsume's neck. He moaned softly as shudders of pleasure ran through him. He bent over to capture Mikan's lips in a kiss, and they…err...occupied themselves with that for a few minutes.
Finally they came up for air. Between gasps, Mikan asked, "Why did you walk away?"
Natsume stopped the diverting exercise of nibbling at Mikan's earlobe and let go of her. He turned his back, looking away. Mikan's concern grew. She rushed to his side and laid a hand on his shoulder. They stood that way for awhile, basking in silence.
Finally Natsume turned to face Mikan. He learned, in the course of his relationship with her, that it was next to impossible to hide emotions from Mikan. No one could look into those sincere hazel eyes and lie…at least, not for very long. He learned to open up to the sympathetic and emotionally perceptive girl, though it was a bit tough. He sighed, "You don't miss a thing do you?"
"No, I don't." Mikan said. She had matured a bit over the course of her stay at the Academy. But she sounded most like an adult that night, as she attempted to console her apparently depressed lover.
"Today," Natsume said gruffly, "today…everyone…their parents…and…no one was waiting for me. No one ever does. It's nothing." He closed his eyes, his tone emotionless, as he turned his head away from Mikan's eyes. But Natsume found the pressure of a soft hand on his cheek, guiding his gaze back to his beloved's face.
"That's not true." Mikan whispered gently in his ear, and proceeded to kiss him softly on the lips, a chaste peck that was reminiscent of the early days of their relationship. When Mikan finally pulled away, she looked into Natsume's eyes and smiled.
"I'll always be waiting for you…" Mikan said softly, wrapping her arms around him. Natsume pulled the girl close.
In the shadows of their last Alice Academy night, the unlikely duo slowly walked away, to their new home, new life…together.
End Notes: I'm writing with a very weak muse that's barely alive. Like a ghost of a premature baby. Nevertheless, it's sweet and fluffy, and though it wasn't my original idea…it's still so damn cute. I LOVE IT WHEN NATSUME GET SEMI-EMOTIONAL! (Hey, if you hang around Mikan that long you probably do.)
I hope this lives up, at least a bit, to the lofty expectations of my loyal reviewers! I have my pitfalls…but I hope you love this!
With Love,
MB