Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.

Written by: Tearless Sonnet

Marry Me

In which Mikan decides to go as a five year old Godzilla Bride on her wedding day and little Natsume has to put up with the drama. "Why wait for the rest of their lives? I bet we'll be grandparents come third year high school." "KAORU!"


Hi! My name's Mikan Sakura. I'm five and a half. You know what? I went to a wedding today! I was the flower girl. Being a flower girl is really neat. You get to wear a pretty dress (mine was pink with a big purple bow) and carry a basket filled with loads of flowers. I gots to throw 'em all over the eye-cell (that's a really long path with a red carpet on it; my mummy told me) and I didn't get told off for making a mess! I absolutely love being a flower girl!

After I went 'cross the eye-cell, the bride walked across it too. She was soooo pretty! She wore a white poofy gown with bows and sequins and there was a blanket on her face, 'cept it was see-through and very prettiful. And then, she wents up to the groom and the priest (he's the guy who marries them) holding a bunch of flowers. The priest says a whole lot of long stuff like 'moley matrimony'. Then, they bride and groom says 'I do' and then they kiss, which is really sweet of them. And then, the priest says 'I now denounce you man and wife'. I asked my mummy what that meant and she said that they were going to be stuck together forever, like glue. Or PB&J.

After they got married, there was a lot of dancing and eating. The bride and groom cuts a really big, fancy white cake and I thoughts they were going to eat it, but they just smooshed it in each other's faces. I don't know why they did that; if it was me, I'd eat it all for myself and not waste it like that, but maybe that's what married peoples are supposed to do.

And then, my mummy and daddy says we gots to go now 'cuz daddy needs to go to a meeting. So we drove home and daddy wents to his meeting while mummy broughts me over to our neighbor's house, the Hyuugas. The Hyuugas are real nice. Mrs. Hyuuga makes me cookies and Mr. Hyuuga lets me play with his paints sometimes. They've got two kiddies, Natsume and Aoi. Aoi's really small, she's only one years old and can't play with me yet. Natsume's five years old, just like me. He really looks like his mummy and daddy, but he's not very nice. He always teases me and calls me names like 'stupid' and 'ugly'. He's not supposed to say that! They're bad words. I always check to see if his mummy's there to hear him, but she's always sitting with my mummy and talking. You see, my mummy and Natsume's mummy are best friends. Just like me and my Hotaru!

Hotaru's my bestest friend in the whole wide world! She's super duper pretty and smart, but sometimes she doesn't act like a best friend. She calls me names, too. But it's okay because she's Hotaru!

So, anyways, I'm here in the Hyuugas' backyard. Their backyard is really big. It even has a Sakura tree in it, like my name! I brought my favorite doll—Rebecca—with me. She's the prettiest doll I've ever had. She's got long brown hair (like mine) and brown eyes (like mine) that close and open when I make her lie down. I got her from mummy for my birthday.

Natsume is sitting under the Sakura tree, playing with his toy truck. It's a red fire truck, and it's his favorite. I know so because it's red and red is Natsume's favorite color, just like his eyes.

I went up to him, Rebecca safely in my arms, and smiled. Maybe he'll play with me! Maybe he'll let Rebecca ride his truck! Rebecca likes trucks. He saw me coming from a distance away and for some reason, climbs up the tree as fast as he can go. I looked up at him from under it and wave.

"Hiya, Natsume!" I yelled up at him. His little face pops up from behind the branches. He frowns at me.

"Go away." Then he disappeared in the pink branches again and I can't see him no more. I frown. And I frown some more.

"Natsume!" I yelled. I don't know if he can hear, so I yell louder. "Natsume!" He shows up again and he looks like my mummy when I leave my toys around the house. He stuck his tongue out at me.

"What?" he said, all annoyed-like. I stuck my tongue out at him too and wrinkled my nose.

"D'you wanna play?" I asked hopefully anyway. Natsume's eyes went all cat-like and he stuck his tongue out again.

"No."

I scrunched my fists tightly and I glared at him. How can he say that?! I was trying to be as nice as I could to him, and he's still so mean! Well, that's meanie-poo Natsume for you. I really wanted to play with him, but he has to be so crabby!

I squared my shoulders and made up my mind. If I wanted to play with him, I will play with him. And so, I tried to climb up the tree too. Natsume watches me while I climb and I don't know what he's thinking at all. I think my mummy called it a 'pooky face'. He's probably going to laugh at me when I can't climb up. The Sakura tree was really big and tall, so it's kinda hard for me to reach for the branches. How did Natsume do it? He was so fast in scrambling up, just like a cat. I gave up climbing, so I just slid down back onto the grass again and sat under the tree. I crossed my arms over my chest and pouted. I know when I do that, I always get my way. It works all the time. And I was right! Hoorah!

Natsume jumped down the tree without a bump or scratch on him at all and sat down beside me. I smiled and turned to face him.

And I get the most wonderful idea.

"Hey Natsume," I asked, "You wanna get married?" Natsume's face scrunches up hard, like he was thinking about it. I think he doesn't want to, but I pouted again and he sighed in defeat.

"Why?" he asked. I frown and think some more.

"Because it's fun," I said. "Your mummy and daddy are happy, right?" Natsume nodded. I jumped up and clapped my hands together. I always do this when I'm excited.

"Then it's settled!" I announced. "We're getting married!"

--

"What do we need that for?" Natsume asked as he stared at the rings in my hand. They weren't real rings, just loopy elastic rubber bands, but he doesn't need to know that.

"It's important if we're going to get married," I said confidently. Natsume stares at it again and I bet he's thinking twice about our marriage. He reached out to grab it, but I slapped his hand away. He looked up at me accusingly.

"What was that for?" I frowned at him and tutted. A peasant like him shouldn't be questioning Princess Mikan! He should be lucky that he even got to marry a pretty princess like me in the first place.

"For being a spaz." I don't really know what a spaz is, but I hear Permy, my other bestest friend, call Koko that sometimes when he's being real naughty.

We were sitting in the backyard, under the big Sakura tree. We decided we were getting married there. Actually I decided, because Natsume didn't really care, which I think isn't very nice because married peoples are supposed to care where they were getting married. Natsume was sitting beside me and reading his manga while I was thinking of our wedding plans.

"Do you have a long red carpet somewhere?" I asked. Natsume didn't look up from his manga.

"Hn."

Maybe Natsume isn't very good help after all. So, I walked up to Natsume's mummy and my mummy talking to each other and sipping tea and smiled at them. Mrs. Hyuuga smiles back at me and winks.

"Hullo, Mikan," she said.

"Hullo," I said. "Do you have a long red carpet here somewhere?" Mrs. Hyuuga thought about it for a moment, putting her finger on her chin. That's the 'thinking pose'. I don't really know why she does that, since I think my best when I'm in the potty and making poopy.

"I think so," she said finally. "Let me go check." She goes inside the house and comes back a few minutes later and gives me a rolled up carpet. It isn't red.

"It's not red, sorry, but it's closest to what you told me," said Mrs. Hyuuga apologetically. I unrolled it and it turns out to be pink with fluffy white bunnies on it. It looks a little bit like the eye-cell carpet in the church, so I don't mind.

I thanked her and walked back to Natsume.

"What do you think of this?" I asked him. He doesn't look up from his manga even once.

"Hn."

I was a bit mad at him for not caring, but mummy told me not to lose my temper or I'll get acne (whatever that is), so I don't. I laid down the long carpet starting from the front of the tree and it stopped a few feet away. I smiled at my work and put down the rings on the start of the carpet. I have to get our wedding clothes now.

I ran back to my mummy and Mrs. Hyuuga. "Hullo again." They smiled at me.

"Hullo again."

"I need a wedding dress," I said. They seem pretty surprised to hear me say that. My mummy blinked really fast and Mrs. Hyuuga looks like Natsume when I talk to him about boobies.

"Why?" asked my mummy. I looked at her and frowned. Isn't it obvious when someone asks for a wedding dress is because they're getting married?

"I'm getting married," I said matter-of-factly. After a while, I add, "With Natsume." Mrs. Hyuuga and mummy start laughing really hard and I don't know why. Tears are coming into their eyes and they are banging their hands on the table. What's going on?! Why are they crying?

"What's wrong?" I asked worriedly. They stop crying and laughing for a while before giggling at me.

"Nothing," choked out my mummy. "I'll go get you a dress, love." Mrs. Hyuuga laughs a little too and sips a bit of her tea.

"Ooh, yes, Yuka. I think that dream of ours about getting grandchildren is coming true after all. Though I've got to say, I didn't realize it would be this soon," she said. Grandchildren! Me and Natsume are going to get grandbabies! I clap my hands together again.

"Grandbabies! Me and Natsume are going to have plenty of grandbabies after we get married!" I exclaimed happily. This is going to be great! I can feed them and play with them and Natsume will be their daddy and I'll be their mummy... Mummy and Auntie Kaoru (that's Natsume's mum's name) started laughing very hard again, harder than a while ago.

My mummy stops first and said she needed to go home to get me my dress. I ran back to Natsume to wait, and grinned at him. He looks at me and I know he's confused because he has a really weird look on his face.

"What?" he asked. I grinned wider. He frowns and pinches me on the arm. I yelped in pain and glared at him. He pinched me! And it hurt, too! I looked down at my arm and there's a red spot in the place where he pinched me.

"Hey, that hurt!" I said angrily. Natsume doesn't seem to be bothered at all by this and he goes back to reading his manga.

"Mikan!" I looked around to see my mummy waving at me, holding a pretty white dress. It's the frock I wore once to church but never wore again because it was itchy. I didn't really want to use that one, but it was the closest mummy could find to a real wedding dress. I ran over to her and she gave me the dress.

"Be careful," she warned. "It's white, so it's easy to get dirty." I nodded at her and went inside the house to change. I popped back out wearing the dress, and I've got to say, I looked mighty pretty in it. I ran back to my mummy and Auntie Kaoru to show off my dress. They 'oohed' and 'ahhed' at all the right places and clapped for me.

"There," I said after mummy tied the ribbon at the back of my dress. "Ain't I a doll?" Mummy and Auntie Kaoru smiled at me and agreed. And then, a loud honking sound was heard outside the house. We all looked behind us and it was Ruka, Permy, Hotaru, and Koko waiting outside. I think they're all here for our play date. Mummy and Auntie Kaoru went out to greet them, and I came along too because I wanted them to see how nice my dress was.

I ran outside and saw them all get out of the car with Hotaru's mummy. They all looked at me as I twirled to show off my dress.

"You like?" I said. "Ain't I a doll?" Sumire snorted and turned her nose up on me.

"Your dress looks cheap," she said snootily. Permy is really rich, but I try not to think about it much.

I noticed Hotaru standing there, looking at me, and I ran over to her. I missed her, even though we saw each other yesterday at kindergarten. Hotaru's the best! I opened my arms wide to hug her, but she stepped away. I almost fell on the ground, but I steadied myself so my dress couldn't get dirty. Phew! That was close! I almost dirtied my bridal gown.

"Why are you wearing that, idiot? You look stupid," she said. She didn't have any emotion on her face whatsoever. Sometimes, I think Hotaru's an android. But it's okay, because best friend androids are cool. I think I'm the only one who's got an android for a best friend besides Ruka, because he's got Natsume as a best friend. I pouted and huffed and twirled in my dress again.

"I'm getting married," I declared. Hotaru frowned, Ruka blinked, Permy hissed, and Koko laughed.

"To who?" Permy asked. I dusted my dress without looking at her and stuck my nose in the air proudly.

"To Natsume," I said haughtily. "We're going to get married and have tons of grandbabies."

Ruka smiled at me. "Really? Can I come see?" Ruka's really nice. He's got shiny blonde hair and blue eyes. Before I actually met him close-up, I thought he was Prince Charming. And then I jumped on his back and commanded him to save me. Ah, good times, good times...

"Idiot," said Hotaru irritably, "Why are you spacing out?" I blinked at her and grinned.

"You wanna help with the wedding?" I asked. Permy sniffed and she didn't say anything. Ruka nodded and Hotaru smirked. Koko just laughed. He's weird like that.

I motioned for them to follow me to the backyard, and they followed. Hotaru's mummy joined my mummy and Auntie Kaoru for tea. We kids all gathered at the base of the Sakura tree. Natsume looked up at us from his manga (seriously, what does he get in reading that? I can't even read yet!) and nodded curtly, like he didn't care. Sometimes he makes me so mad! Ruka went up to him and sat down. He's Natsume's best friend, 'member? That means he can go up to him and not get pummeled.

"Okay!" I announce and give them all a glare. Except Hotaru, because she's my bestest friend. "Now, you're going to be ring bearer—" I gave the elastic rubber bands to Ruka, "—and you're going to be the priest—" I pointed to Koko, "—and you're going to be flower girl." I ran around the backyard picking some flowers for Sumire and me. And then, there's only one left. That's Hotaru. I think and I think and I don't know what to make her.

"Hotaru," I said, and faced her. She looked at me and didn't seem really concerned that I haven't thought up anything for her to be. Really, my Hotaru is so self-less! "You'll be bridesmaid," I said. I didn't know what a bridesmaid was, but I heard my mommy say something about that.

"Then who's the best man?" asked Permy. I looked at her.

"What's a bess man?" I asked, my nose wrinkling. "I thought Bess was a girl's name."

Permy sighed and her eyes went all cat-like like Natsume's. "No, you idiot. Best man, not bess man. He's like the boy version of a bridesmaid."

I blinked. "Oh. . . Okay." I turned round to look at the others. "Fine. Ruka, you'll be ring bearer and bess man."

"Best man!" said Permy irritably. I decided to ignore her.

"What's the bess man do?" asked Ruka. I didn't really know, but I told him that a bess man walks down the eye-cell with the bridesmaid.

"Best man!" screeched Permy again. "Can't you get anything right?" She huffed and crossed her arms. "Since you can't do anything right, I'm gonna be your wedding planner."

I gasped in shock. Permy can't be the wedding planner! That's not fair! "You can't be the wedding planner!" I said angrily. "I'm the wedding planner already!"

Permy looks at me and turns up her nose real snooty-like. "You're the bride lady. Bride ladies can't be wedding planners."

"Why?" I asked. I mean, what's wrong with bride ladies being wedding planners? I see the ladies on the telly plan their own weddings all the time. Permy looked a bit confused there, but then she stomps her foot on the ground like she owns it.

"Because," she said finally. Because? That's not a real reason!

"I want to be wedding planner!" I scream. Whenever I throw a tantrum, mummy gets real stressed and gets me whatever I want. It works all the time.

Permy just shoots me a real evil look. "That's not gonna work on me, you baby."

"I am not a baby!" I screamed again. "And if you don't let me be wedding planner right now—"

But Permy's already gone. She's pointing at the others and telling them where to stay and where to put stuff. And so, my face gets real red and I sit down under the Sakura tree beside Natsume. He's not helping either.

When I sat down, Natsume looked up at from the comic he was reading. "What are you doing here?" he said. I get the feeling he doesn't want me here. But that couldn't be, right? After all, we are gonna be married.

"Nothing," I said. He looks annoyed and goes back to his comic. I wait a few minutes before I say anything and then, "What 'cha reading?" I asked. He doesn't say anything. I frown. And frown some more. "What 'cha reading?" I asked again in case he didn't hear the first time. Natsume's eyebrows crinkle together. "What 'cha reading?" This time Natsume looks really mad. . . almost as mad as the time I took his Retro Boy action figure and made it marry Rebecca. I invited Natsume to go to the wedding, but he didn't. He just went to the play room (that's the church) and got his Retro Boy back before we even got to the 'I Do's! And that was really mean of him, I know.

So anyways, I leaned forward and grabbed the comic he was reading and lifted it up into the air to see better. I couldn't read, but I saw that there were a lot of pictures. The first one was a picture of a man punching another guy, and then a dog comes out wearing his panty inside out. The dog barks (I think) and then the sound of the bark makes the other punching guy knocked out. Then another guy (he wasn't wearing his underwear inside out, but he did have a cool robot outfit, with the laser sunglasses and everything) pops out of nowhere and blasts another guy behind the doggie, which I didn't even see there before!

"What's this?" I asked him. Natsume looks even madder than before! I never seen him so mad. He's like, really, really angry—the super maddiest he's ever been. And he's been angry a whole lot. I like making Natsume angry. Mummy says that making people angry is bad, but I like doing it. His face gets real funny when he gets mad. His eyebrows go together, and let me tell you, he's got really short eyebrows. I asked him about that once and he said to go put my head in the toilet. I didn't, of course. I told him that only barbaric poo poo sissies did that and told him to dunk his head in the toilet. I got a big owie after that, but mummy put a nice band-aid on it so it would go away. The band-aid had Spongebob Squarepants on it, which was my favorite show ever! I stopped crying a little too.

Anyway, Natsume grabs the comic from me and glares. "These aren't for babies like you, you baby. Go away." I looked at him with 'The Stare'. It makes people uncooftable. I saw it on Wizards of Waverly Place on Disney Channel. It's my favorite channel ever! Nickelodeon is my second favorite. I used to like Cartoon Network until Permy said it was for poor people. I stopped watching it.

Natsume looked at me weirdly. "What are you doing? You look weird." I tilted my head and made my eyes look really big. My mouth becomes a thin line.

"That's because it's working," I said, copying Harper. Natsume just snorts and goes back to the comic.

"You're weird," he said.

"It's okay," I said reassuringly. "Mummy said being weird is being special. I think you're weird too, Natsume-kun. My mummy said your mummy dropped you when you were a baby, so you're weird even without learning to talk yet!"

I got another owie for that and Mummy didn't have any more Spongebob band-aids. I had to get stupid Blues Clues instead.

--

"IT'S TIME FOR THE WEDDING!" shouted Permy. I fixed up my wedding gown and practiced saying 'I do' in the mirror.

"I do," I said. I tried to make it look like I was gonna cry, because all the brides look like they're gonna cry.

And then I tried saying, "I do" like I was happy, because married peoples are supposed to be happy, right?

And then I said "I do" like I was sad because I was getting married to Natsume. And it was Natsume, so I had a reason to be sad.

And then I gave up on it and just said "I do" like normal.

"Okay," I said to myself in the mirror. My mirror me looked really beautiful. Just like a princess! My mummy even curled my hair right! She never curls my hair right, but now she got it right for once! I held my flowers in my hand and looked at myself one last time before walking towards the eye-cell.

Oh wow! The eye-cell and the wedding church looked sooooooooooo prettiful! Like, super duper prettiful! It had a whole lot of flowers, all in different colors, and streamers and balloons like a party! I don't know how Permy did it, but maybe she could be a good wedding planner. I don't see Natsume anywhere yet, and I just walked anyway down the carpet to wait for him beside Koko, the priest, who was already there.

And then Permy shouts, "NO!" I looked at her like she was crazy. "It's not your turn yet, stupid! Wait for the flower girls to come out! OH MY GAWSH YOU'RE RUINING MY—I MEAN YOUR WEDDING!"

I high-tailed back towards the back shed where I'm supposed to wait, which was really hard because I got my mummy's smallest heels, but they were still too big. And then the shed was really dark! I didn't like it in there. It smelt like dust and. . . oldness. Yeah. It was that bad. All these pots and plants and boxes were everywhere! My daddy gardens sometimes, and he keeps all his stuff in here. I didn't want to stay in here, but Permy said I had to.

So, there's only one window in the shed. It isn't even a big one. It's the small old-fashioned kind, you know, the one that's always in your grandpa and grandma's house? There were even cobwebs and everything, too. It was put high up on the wall of the shed.

And then, all of a sudden, the music starts (it was the Barney theme song, since we didn't have the real music). Oh no! I won't be able to see the wedding! I looked around me and piled some dusty old boxes one on top of the other so I could climb up and see out the window. They were really heavy and it was hard to lug them all the way from the back of the shed towards the window, so I was really sweaty and dirty and dusty. I climbed up the boxes and peeped out the window.

It was hard to see and I only barely made it, but I was able to see Permy walking down the eye-cell and throwing flowers everywhere. I kind of wanted to run there and shout "THAT'S MY JOB!" but I remembered I was the bride and stopped myself. After Permy, Hotaru and Ruka walked down the eye-cell together, their arms linked. Oh boy. I felt really sorry for poor old Ruka.

Then I saw Natsume at the altar and he was wearing these really nice clothes. . . He looked so nifty in them I nearly fell off my box! I didn't notice him at first since I wasn't paying attention, but wow! Natsume could sure clean up good! I waited to see what was happening next, but nothing happened.

Permy looked fit to kill. The problem was, I didn't know why.

Tick tock, tick tock.

HOLY COW! I was supposed to be at the wedding right now! Heh heh, I made a rhyme. . . I jumped off the box and landed on a pile of hay. I ran towards the door, but the heels got caught so I threw them off and rushed out the door.

I remembered the flowers, thank goodness, and ran down the eye-cell. Permy looked really scary now. Like Medusa. She mouthed "DON'T RUN!" at me from the sidelines. I slowed down and began walking really slowly so the Barney song could finish. So, in this measurement of time, I looked down at myself. My hair was a mess and my frock was torn a little bit. It was smudged with dirt too. And I was barefoot! I had no shoes! I must look like a Godzilla Bride! Natsume won't want to marry me now!

I got to Natsume but he didn't say anything. He looked wide-eyed. Maybe because I was such an ugly bride.

Koko began, "We are gathered here today. . ." He stares off into space for a moment, like he forgot his lines. "Do you, Natsume Hyuuga take Mikan Sakura as your law flee wedded wide? In sickness and in health, in diaper rashes and in boo boos? Till death does you part?"

Natsume stared at me. "NATSUME!" shouted Koko. He whipped his head at him in surprise.

"What?"

Koko sighed. "I said—"

Natsume rolled his eyes. "Oh, yeah. That marriage mumbo jumbo. Whatever, I do."

What's mumbo jumbo mean? Koko continued. "Do you, Mikan Sakura—"

I couldn't help it. I started bawling. Natsume stared at me again like I was an alien. "What's wrong now? I thought you wanted to get married?" he said in exasperation.

"I—hiccup—look l-li—hiccup—ke a monster! You d-don't—hiccup—want to m-m-marry me!" My face was red from crying and my nose was snotty. Natsume sighed and patted me on the head.

"Stop crying," he said, "or you'll turn into an even uglier monster." I cried harder.

Permy shouted from her seat, "NOT HELPING HYUUGA!" Natsume rolled his eyes.

"Fine, fine. I do want to marry you, okay?" he said.

"Really?" I hiccupped again. He nodded.

"Really."

I beamed and turned to Koko. "I do!" I said proudly. Koko sighed.

"Finally. You may now kiss the bride."

Natsume rolled his eyes again and pecked me on the cheek. My face felt really hot all of a sudden. Koko whooped and cheered.

"WAIT!" shouted Permy. Ugh. I'm getting tried of her capslock-y rage all the time.

"What now?!" said Koko angrily.

"THE RINGS! YOU FORGOT THE RINGS!"

Poor Ruka hobbles forward with the two loopy elastic rubber bands and Natsume puts one onto my finger, while I put one on his.

Natsume kisses me again and Hotaru says, "Cake time."

And I feel like this was the best wedding in my life. I can't wait till I do it for real!

I stared at Natsume out of the corner of my eye as he eats a slice of cake with his comic in hand again. And I can't help but think that he would make a real nice husband, actually.

Maybe marrying Natsume wouldn't be so bad.

--

A distance away, Yuka and Kaoru sipped tea happily as they watched their children frolic in the sun. Yuka sighed.

"Aren't they going to make beautiful children together, Kaoru?" she said dreamily.

Kaoru smirked. "My boy's going to make me proud. Babies left and right."

Yuka laughed. "Let's see if they can manage the rest of their lives first before they can think about children."

Koaru wiggled her eyebrows. "Why wait for the rest of their lives? I bet we'll be grandparents come third year high school."

"Kaoru!"

The two women shared a bounty of laughter as the sun set over the clouds, shrouding the sky with a black blanket filled with stars, the children's laughter ringing in the air like bells.

Wedding bells.

The future didn't look too far away, come to think of it.

Fin


This oneshot was pretty fluffy to me. :)

Hope you liked it anyway, even if it wasn't angst-ridden or dramatic. Yeah, sad to say but I'm still on a semi-hiatus. It's not a complete hiatus since I come and update once in a blue moon, but I rarely do. Since my first term exams are done, I felt like celebrating a bit, so I wrote this. Otherwise, you wouldn't be hearing from me in a long time. You'll see there are quite a bit of grammatical errors in here, but it was written in a five year old's point of view! And since it's five year old Mikan, I don't think I really need to explain on my behalf. ;)

I'm feeling good today, so I'll be writing a bit more on the next chapter of Running to Stand Still (RSS), which I have totally big plans for. Unfortunately, there won't be an update soon, but I swear, I'm writing. Okay, angry mobs? I am writing.

-Isa