Dedicated to: All the authors who updated for May Madness.
Disclaimer: I own nothing! Except this story of course.
SERENDIPITY
'-'
A photo was found by a little boy. Years later, she asked him, "Ne Natsume, why do you have a photo of me when I was a little girl?"
'-'
Present time
It was early spring.
The sun illuminated the earth with its stunning glow, bringing a smile on everyone's faces as they start a new day. But even though it was already spring and the ice start to melt, the arctic feeling that the past season left was still there.
The wind flew by the majestic Sakura tree as its petals fell harmoniously with the wind, kind of like dancing in the air. A raven-haired boy of twenty five stood under the tree as its petals continued to spread its pleasant fragrance.
He just stood there, staring at the tree as his hand made its way towards the rough bark. He eventually caught one of the falling pink petals with his free hand and stared at it as well. Natsume Hyuuga stared at it indifferently. He remembered something that made a light appear into his dark world. He remembered the light that helped him.
-;-
15 years ago…
Ten year-old Hyuuga Natsume slept under the Sakura tree with the manga on his face. He was slumbering in peace until he heard a familiar voice wake him up. "Natsume, wake up! Auntie is looking for you."
The person who interrupted his sleep turned out to be his best friend since pre-school, Ruka Nogi. Ruka, also ten years of age, was a blonde with cerulean eyes. Ruka's family was a long time friend of Natsume's. Since then, they were inseparable. "Auntie's looking for you. She wants you to come with me to the marketplace."
Natsume removed the manga from his face revealing rare crimson orbs. "Tch, what a bother." He said uninterestedly. Then he started to read his manga again. "Besides, what am I going to do in that place full of people? I might as well stay here than be cornered by a bunch of annoying girls."
Ruka sighed. "At least you get to actually help Auntie in decorating your house. Why don't you help out? Your sister is trying her best."
"Tch, let her do it." He said nonchalantly while reading his manga. Ruka sighed. This conversation is already going nowhere, so he might as well end it right now. "Fine, but Auntie said you should go back before dinner." He uttered then he left.
Natsume scoffed and continued to read his manga. This went on a few minutes until something flying came by and hit him square on the face.
He muttered silent curses as he removed the projectile from his face. It was an old photo. He prepared to throw it until his ruby eyes settled on the person on the photo. His eyes widened. Never in his life did he see someone this stunning.
It was a girl. She wore twin pigtails on each side of her head decorated by cute white ribbons. She wore a sweater that was a little big for her. But what made Natsume gape was her eyes and her smile. Her amber eyes sparkled with delight as she smiled brightly but beautifully at the camera.
Never in his life did he become this interested. He put the photo into his pocket and started his way back home.
-;-
5 years later…
"Hmph! You're so mean!" an auburn-haired girl pouted childishly while trying to pry Natsume from his precious manga time. "You always read your manga! Is that the only thing you like to do in the world?"
"Sleeping." He replied nonchalantly, not bothering to gape at the girl. Mikan was seriously infuriated right now with the way her cheeks puff cutely. As relentless as she was, she still tried to pry him away from under the shade of the Sakura tree. "Please, just this once!"
"What do you want me to do? Seriously, you're troublesome, polka dots." Natsume rolled his eyes. A vein popped on Mikan Sakura's forehead. "What did you just call me?"
Natsume smirked at her. "You want me to say it again, polka dots?"
Mikan instantly turned red as a tomato as she yelled, "Natsume, you pervert! Who gave you the permission to peek? You're the meanest person I have ever known!" Her cheeks puffed while she walked away, grumbling something.
Natsume tried his best not to chuckle. Truly, Sakura Mikan intrigued him immensely.
Ruka then appeared. He turned to look at Mikan's retreating figure. He couldn't help but smile. "I don't remember a time where you talked to Mikan without quarreling, Natsume. You should really treat her more nicely."
"She's an idiot. Can you just tell her to leave me alone?" The raven-haired male just snorted before turning to read his manga again.
-;-
"Ne Natsume, do you want some howalons? Hotaru miraculously treated me today! I wanted to share it with you!" Mikan said cheerfully, handing him a box of howalons. Natsume ignored it and continued walking. Mikan pouted, trying to catch up to his pace. "That's not very nice. You could have just said that you don't want some."
Natsume got fed up and yelled at her, "You're annoying, polka. So just leave me alone." He then turned to walk away again.
"Why are you like this?" Her question made him stop. Mikan stepped closer to him. "Why do you push people away? Why do you push me away? Did I do something wrong to you? Why do you want to be left alone?"
Natsume stayed silent. Mikan put a hand on his shoulder. "No person wants to be alone, even you, Natsume. You always act like you don't care but I know that deep inside, you're in need of someone's company. You just don't want to admit it. There's no reason for you to keep pushing people away."
"Why are still talking to me, even though I keep telling you to stay away?" He whispered. Mikan just smiled as she walked in front of him. "To be honest, I found you scary the first time I met you. But after seeing you at that orphanage, talking to Hijiri Youichi-kun, I thought that maybe you're cold side is just a mask, and I wanted to see your true side. I don't really care whether you hate me or not, but I won't leave you alone because that's what friends are for."
"You should be thankful that you have a best friend like Ruka-pyon too." She quickly added, with a tint of red on her cheeks. Inwardly, Natsume was deeply touched at her words. "I can never hate you." He whispered.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Mikan asked. Natsume just shook his head. Mikan fidgeted. "So, can I walk with you? It's getting kinda dark and I'm scared."
He just ignored her and continued walking. I'll take that as a yes. Mikan thought.
-;-
2 years later...
"What's the matter with you?" Mikan shrieked, clearly irritated. "What are you furious about? You didn't have to say those things to Tsubasa-senpai you know! You're really impossible!"
Natsume just gave her the deadliest glare he could ever give. Mikan just glared back with the same intensity. "Your temper is uncontrollable. You're getting more and more aggressive. What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Why are you even talking to that guy?" Natsume demanded. Gosh, his jealousy meter is clearly very high right now. Mikan just started hitting him. "What's the matter with talking to Tsubasa-senpai? Is it bad for me to just ask some help from him?"
Natsume seethed, "Why do you even bother asking him? There are a lot more people who can help you other than that guy. Take Imai for example."
Mikan sighed. "I don't want to disturb Hotaru right now because she's studying for their exam. I can't ask Ruka-pyon either because he's on a family trip. I can't ask you because..." Her voice trailed off. Natsume raised an eyebrow. Because what?
She shook her head. "Gah! Forget it! I'm going home." She took her bag and started to walk away, but Natsume grabbed her wrist and placed his free hand behind her neck as he pulled her towards him into a kiss.
Mikan's eyes widened in shock as she froze. She felt Natsume's lips move against hers. Then she managed to gain back her composure as she closed her eyes and responded back. She slowly wrapped her arms around his neck as he snaked his around her waist. Neither said a word as their hands and lips did the talking. Then they pulled away, grasping for breath. Mikan removed her arms around his neck and clutched her shoulders, her face as red as a tomato.
"T-The thing I asked Tsubasa-senpai... Um, how do I say it?" Mikan said to herself. Natsume just patted her head. "No need. Just promise me one thing, you're mine only, strawberries." Then he left her bewildered. She just yelled out of embarrassment. "NATSUME YOU PERVERT!"
-;-
5 years later...
"So, did you tell her yet?" Ruka asked. Natsume raised an eyebrow at his best friend. "Tell her what?"
Ruka just looked at him unbelievably. "You know perfectly well what I mean, Natsume. You've been together for 7 years already. Do you even have any plans to settle down?"
Natsume stayed silent and continued reading his manga. Ruka sighed. "Well, you are still my best man right? Just don't think about bailing out on me. You have that habit since we were kids."
"Not this time, Ruka. Even if I refuse, Mikan would still drag me to the church. Imai sure did choose a good bridesmaid." He commented nonchalantly. Ruka chuckled at his words. "You can't blame Hotaru. She is Mikan's best friend, even though she always hits Mikan with her baka gun."
Natsume couldn't help but smile. "So, do you have any plans of getting married?" Ruka asked out of curiosity. Natsume didn't say anything as he continued to read his manga. Marry her huh?
A few hours later...
"Hey! Can you stop dragging me?" Mikan tried to pry from his grasp. Natsume didn't say anything as he pulled her under the Sakura tree. As soon as he stopped, Mikan just glared at him. "Hey, what's going on? You know it's not polite to suddenly drag someone."
Natsume faced her, giving her an intense gaze. "Mikan, do you love me?"
"What's with that ridiculous question? Of course I love you! Sheesh, Natsume, it's not like you to ask things you already know." Mikan noted, crossing her arms. Natsume then pulls out a box from his pocket and showed it to her. "Marry me then."
Mikan's eyes widened in surprise. She didn't expect him to propose just like this. "Um, is that a question or a statement? Because I definitely need to think about this."
"Just say yes already." He demanded. Mikan groaned. "Do you have to be this blunt?"
Natsume glared at her which brought shivers down her spine. Although she's been waiting for him to propose, she didn't expect his proposal to be really direct. Mikan finally gave in. "Fine, fine! I'll marry you! Are you happy now?"
In a split second, she found herself being kissed by Natsume Hyuuga.
It turned out that a double wedding happened after 3 months.
-;-
Present time
"Natsume!" Mikan walked towards him. "What are you doing here?"
He crossed his arms as he leaned against the trunk of the tree. "I'm thinking of buying something new to read. What's that you're holding?" He stared at the picture on Mikan's hands.
"This? I found this on your desk. How did you get this?" She showed him the picture. Natsume's eyes widened. It was the old photo that he found when he was ten. It was the same old photograph that made him very interested with its owner. "Why do you have a photo of me when I was a little girl?"
"That's... you?" Natsume asked, still looking surprised. Mikan raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it obvious? I was looking for this for a long time because my grandpa took this picture of me." She stated. Natsume smirked. "I didn't realize it was you. I mean, that girl was cute compared to you." He teased.
A vein popped up on Mikan's forehead as she pouted. "You meanie!" Then she began walking away, muttering silent curses. Natsume grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him. "That's the reason I married you, idiot."
Mikan's pout turned into a smile. "Hmmmm, so it must be fate, isn't it?"
Natsume didn't say anything as he closed the distance between them into a kiss.
-;-
The girl in the photograph, was Mikan after all. It was fated that he found this picture and met her. It was fated that he fell for her and married her. It was serendipity.
-FIN-
Author's notes:
And so I got taxed for posting non GA-related stuff in AoGA. Well, I consider this my last contribution to May Madness, so yeah. I apologize if you get confused with the timeline.
Thank you so much for the feedback with "Make a Wish". So, I would like to hear from you again on what you think about this one. :D
~peps-chan ^v^