White Black Pink
by: Vanilla Coated Love
An unexpected reunion, a pink bunny costume, and a promise to be fulfilled.
Author's notes: This fic has relation to And She Wondered but you may still opt to continue on with this one even without having to read that. Again, sorry for the typos and my grammar issues. I wrote this while I was in class and edited it in a rush.
PS: I got the whole idea of this story from a Facebook post today. So yeah.
Dedication: a belated birthday present for Annabelle Rae (heart heart heart) :)
This was one of those rare moments in life where Ruka Nogi had to stare at his own reflection in the mirror for more than just a few seconds. Ruka never cared that much about how he looked. But right now... he looked ridiculous. He grimaced for the nth time. His wife was going to kill him for this.
There was a knock on the bathroom's door.
"Ruka, we're going to be late."
He heaved a sigh. "Yeah, babe. Be out in a few."
Ruka straightened his bunny ears once more and opened the door to find his wife, who was wearing a plain white dress, waiting for him.
Her eyes widened for a nanosecond before saying, "What in heaven's name are you wearing?"
"Uh..." Ruka paused as he looked down on his furry rabbit shoes that were twice the size of his feet. "A bunny costume?"
She narrowed her eyes at her husband and said nothing. She was waiting for an explanation. She wasn't going to ask for one.
"I can't tell you."
"That says a lot."
"Look, Hotaru. Just..." Ruka sounded defeated, he couldn't think of the right words to say. "...okay?"
He could feel her eyes on him but still Ruka refused to look at her.
Hotaru let out a breath. "You obviously cannot drive with those shoes on. I'll get the keys. You go get Haru."
"Papa! Is it Halloween?"
"No, Haru. It's only July," Ruka answered, his arms wrapped around his four year old.
"Then why are you wearing that? Are you allowed to wear that? Mama! I want to dress up as well!"
Hotaru gave her daughter a small smile from the rear-view mirror. "Alright but later, okay? Mama's driving."
She beamed and giggled. "Okay! If you say so." Haru turned her attention back to her father. "Why is it pink? Is pink your favorite color? I thought you like blue."
Ruka avoided his daughter's first question. "Don't you think pink suits me?"
"It does! And you're so cuddly, papa." Haru rested her head on his shoulder and yawned.
Must be nice to be a kid again, Ruka thought.
...
"We're here."
A smile was the last thing Ruka expected from Mikan despite the bags under her eyes. But there she was, smiling in her black dress at the sight of him.
"How do I look?" he jokingly asked as he opened his arms to hug her.
She laughed as they embraced. "It's been so long. Natsume warned me that you might be wearing something-"
"Indecent?"
She shook her head. "Something worth laughing at," she finished.
"I try."
"You look adorable."
"Why thank you. Nothing like a grown man in a bunny costume." He grinned. "Natsume also mentioned that you might want to pat me on the head or check out my ears."
"You sound like you just came from a 70's film," Mikan laughed but mimicked his tone as well. "May I? He knows me so well. And it's pink too. Like cherry blossoms."
Pink. So that's why.
Ruka lowered his head. "This is all his doing after all. Sneaky bastard."
"I bet." Mikan reached out and felt the rabbit ears. "God. Must be like a sauna inside that thing."
"You have no idea."
She snickered. "Poor Ruka. So, where's the wife?"
"In the car with Haru. The wife refuses to be seen with me as long as I wear this."
Mikan rolled her eyes. "Typical." Her voice dropped when she said, "You know you're lucky Haru's not an Alice."
Ruka, not knowing what else to do or say, stayed silent.
"At least they allowed the kids to be here today." She forced a smile. "Everyone's inside. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone. Talk about a reunion, eh? It's about to start anyway, you should go inside. I'll go find that moody wife of yours." Mikan tucked her hair behind her ear. "Thanks, Ruka... I mean it." She patted Ruka's head once more and left.
"No problem."
Before Ruka pushed the wooden doors open, he closed his eyes, prevented his shoulders from shaking as he remembered that silly promise that he made with his best friend back when they were still in high school.
...
"Hey, Ruka."
"Yeah?"
"If I end up with Mikan-"
"Ha. Right."
"I'm serious. If I end up with Mikan... you... have to wear a pink bunny costume on the day of my funeral. Just to get her mind off of things."
Silence.
"That's not funny, Natsume."
"It's not supposed to be funny."
"You're not going to die."
"Everybody dies."
"You know what I mean."
"Yeah, well my Alice type's not buying it. C'mon just agree. Do something fun for once in your life."
"It's stupid, not fun."
"..."
"Fine, I'll do it. Whatever."
"Thanks, Ruka."
...
At the time Ruka only said that to make Natsume stop talking nonsensical things, but now...
Ruka took a deep breath and whispered to himself, "A promise is a promise, Natsume."
The End
Friendship is a wonderful thing, don't you think?
-Vanilla Coated Love; 4/10/13