Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.
Author's Note: Practice safe sex. Talk to your partner beforehand about what you want and what you expect. There are several differing opinions about the circumstances surrounding and the reasons for an abortion; the one expressed in this story is merely one of them and is subjective to personal beliefs, culture, and societal values.
The full moon was out, spilling silvery light gently over the town. Long ago, it would have illuminated nothing but stillness and sleepiness, the only movement caused by insects and shadowy animals.
But this was a different time, a different era; things had changed. Artificial lights polluted the night sky, humans stayed out longer, noise carried until the very edges of town, bordering the wilderness.
In her car, Mikan hummed lightly, taking the windy twists in the road slowly and carefully, meticulously observing everything the headlights scanned over. Using the light on his phone, Natsume pored over his manga quietly in the passenger seat.
Him and that stupid manga. He flipped the page, head turning slightly to continue reading.
She broke the comfortable silence. "Are you almost done?" she asked.
"Hn."
She pouted at his noncommittal response. "The light makes it hard for me to see out and look where I'm going."
"You know where to go." Nonetheless, the boy clicked the light off and put away his manga. He opted to look outside the window for entertainment, and he noted that they had just passed the turnoff for the lookout, a popular makeout destination for hormonal teenagers who couldn't do it inside their houses. He suspected if they pulled in at that moment, they could probably find more than a few of their friends there.
They spent the rest of the drive in silence, reaching the destination after a couple of minutes. Mikan parked in their usual spot, which really was the only space to park on the small grassy cliff that overlooked the town, the highest point around. This time, she had made sure to park the car farther away from the edge since there was no barrier to stop anyone from falling, just as Natsume almost had a few months ago.
Natsume reached behind his seat to pull out the thick blanket that smelled like gasoline and Mikan after so many visits to their spot. This time, the musky scent was masked by the fragrance of lavender and sunshine as Natsume remembered they had used this blanket recently for a picnic.
He set to work laying the blanket out on the hood of the car as Mikan turned off the car and the headlights, opened the door, and just stood there, halfway out and halfway in, to look up at the sky. A beatific smile spread across her face as she saw the big, beautiful moon, and she inhaled strongly, closing her eyes for only a moment before continuing to observe the moon. Natsume swore she absorbed the moonlight because she would always glow, with her loving smile and creamy skin, and be so ridiculously happy.
Still, whatever made her happy made him happy.
He climbed up onto the hood of her car, still warm to the touch from the recently running engine, taking his usual lounging position, hands cushioning his head. No matter how thick the blanket was, he always thought it was hard to relax comfortably on the metal.
Mikan thought so, too, but she never complained as clambered up and settled next to him because she enjoyed these moon-gazing excursions too much to ruin the moment with any grumbling (unlike Natsume).
"Isn't it just so beautiful?" she breathed out, entranced by the sight. Sometimes, she swore it was trying to tell her something, remind her of something that happened a long time ago… It triggered something pleasant inside of her, something that filled her as warmly as Natsume did.
Natsume stayed silent. He didn't need to respond in words at that moment; she knew he felt the moon's significance as strongly as she did. Several months ago, when this was still a tradition in the making, he had whispered to her that when he lay there with her in the moon's shimmering glow, he knew they were meant to be, all his doubts and all his jealousy washed away. In those precious moments, he knew, with such clarity and with such certainty, he would always love her for as long as he lived.
And for some reason, knowing that and feeling that always made Natsume so ravenous for her.
So she wasn't surprised when she heard him roll over to her and felt his lips kissing her neck and his hands start to wander. He was ready for some serious making out, but she wanted to look some more, completely unperturbed by the nips on her collarbone, the hand steadily unbuttoning her blouse, and the leg now moving sensually in between hers. One of her hands went to softly stroking his hair, which poked in and out of the bottom of her vision as he worked his way up and down and around her neck, the other resting on Natsume's upper back, feeling the muscles of his shoulder.
She inhaled deeply again, enjoying the smells carried by the summery night breeze and the smell of Natsume's cologne. She loved these small pleasures.
This time, Natsume had brought the condoms. Long ago, Mikan had boldly confessed she didn't want to use any protection, except for the birth control pill she had been taking since they started dating.
She had insisted ambiguously, "I don't want any barriers to our love. I want to be one with you, I want to feel it."
"We're still teenagers with a high risk of getting you pregnant. We need to be realistic, not romantic right now," hissed Natsume, prompting a long, extensive conversation of what the two of them would do if she were to become pregnant. Mikan ruled out an abortion for many of her own personal reasons, and Natsume refused to give up any child of his, especially their child, for adoption. In the event of a child, Natsume would move in with Mikan and her sure-to-be disapproving grandfather, they would get married, Mikan would take a gap year before going to university during which Natsume would get certified to teach, most likely elementary school ("If I'm a shithead troublemaker, I do not want to see what the next generation of high schoolers will be like."). This tenuous plan started another long, extensive conversation about their future together, which brought them back to the present topic.
They tried it without condoms the first couple of times. Although Mikan loved the sensation of having all of Natsume, and Natsume very much enjoyed the feeling of being inside her so intimately, they worried too much in the days after, even knowing Mikan was on the pill and had taken Plan B as soon as she could.
They both happily agreed to the condoms.
Suddenly the image of the glowing moon was replaced by Natsume's face, snapping her out of her thoughts. He hated being ignored, especially by her.
"You're my moon," she cooed goofily, hands reaching up to cradle his beautiful face, with an unstoppable grin, which Natsume made sure to claim.
His mouth was insistent and hungry, mumbled against her lips, "and you're my sun."
She smiled at his words, kissing him back with as much love, wrapping her arms around his neck as she felt his hand slip between their bodies and rub his covered erection against her wet folds before pushing into her.
The moon didn't make them love each other; no, outside of these visits, Mikan and Natsume were any ordinary couple falling in love while growing up in a small town: childhood crushes who hadn't been able to shake off their infatuation, first loves with an uncanny amount of knowledge about each other, high school sweethearts who fought and got jealous and sometimes verged on breaking up; but being together underneath the moon, loving each other so freely, giving up all of themselves to each other, they felt like they were more.
They were destined; their love would endure past any test of time or space or magic. They were promised to each other, and gazing at the moon together reminded them of that; it made Natsume overcome his insecurity about losing Mikan to someone else, it made Mikan have the courage to discuss touchy subjects. The moon encouraged them to strengthen their love, a reminder of their blessed memories and of their commitment to one another.
Maybe in some other universe somewhere, they were different people with different stories with different lives with different romantically significant objects, but in this one, they were two horny, carefree teenagers screwing on the hood of Mikan's car underneath the bright moon, renewing their unspoken vows.