Indigo's Corner
YOU CAN THANK MY HOPELESS ROMANTIC, HEARTBROKEN CONFESSION, AND ROMANTICALLY LOVELESS FOR ENDLESSLY PRESSURING ME TO POST BECAUSE THEY ALL POSTED TODAY. GEESH, I ALREADY UPDATED YESTERDAY. STOP RUSHING ME!!!!

Dedication
Yea, so this is Yuna's late late late birthday present, although she's received it prior to the post.

Disclaimer
Disclaimed, yo!

Over a Cup of Coffee

"Natsume! What a surprise!"

That had been what Kaoru exclaimed when her son showed up stressed and disarrayed at their door. He was tired, she could tell. He was pale and his eyes were dead. He looked like he hadn't gotten a night's sleep in years and his hair was more untidy than usual – though you couldn't really tell unless you squint – unless you were Kaoru, of course, because she knew her son like the back of her hand.

The enthusiasm had not been fake, nor had the shock. The mother had been completely taken back by how spontaneous the visit had been. After all, Natsume did report back to his family after the first week… month… semester… or so of his year at college. He told them he couldn't believe what he'd been missing out on.

"What brings you here today?"

"Well," replied Natsume, contemplating, "Probably because I'm not welcome at the Imais anymore, and the Nogis are apparently out to god knows where, so I'm looking for a place to stay and someone to vent to so are you going to let me in or do I have to invite myself?"

She could almost see his stress meter rise by the way his tone became more and more discourteous. It was like looking all the way back to the days where he'd been an angsty teen. But then back then, Mikan usually took care of it. "Of course." Pause. "After the last conversation between us, I never thought I'd see the day you'd be back," she added.

He pushed her arm aside and invited himself into the house. The familiarity of it was comforting. Finally here was something that never changed. Truth be told, he never thought he was going to end back in this house either. Not unless he ended up a bachelor. But Natsume had no intention of that happening, though he wasn't so clear on his future right now either. And even then, he would have at least been able to support himself.

The door shut behind him and Kaoru's voice spoke, "Well, Aoi's out with some of her friends to watch that new movie she's been wanting to and your dad's at work, as usual," she pulled up a chair and seated herself, "so I'm free for the day. Won't you take a seat and have a small chat over a cup of coffee with me? Just like how we used to do in the old times."

Natsume seated as she took two cups out from the cupboard and poured black coffee into two cups. She set one down on her side of the table, and one in front of Natsume.

"You want sugar?" she asked.

"Nah."

"Hmm, weird, you've never drank coffee black before," Kaoru commented, taking a seat.

"Yeah, well I find the bitterness of coffee nothing compared to the bitterness of life," he replied, taking a gulp.

"I see."

Long pause.

"Aren't you going to ask me about college? About how I'm doing?" Natsume finally commented.

"Should I?"

"Don't mothers usually?"

She took a sip from her cup. "I guess."

Natsume shifted in his seat uneasily. This had really not been his day. He had gotten a phone call earlier from Mikan, asking him not to call her anymore, or text her, or email her for that matter. She wanted to break off all ties with him. Then, after he came back to visit his small hometown, he got a terrible scolding from Imai when trying to explain the situation and his frustration to her. And now this…

"So…" Natsume sighed, "It looks like Mikan dumped me and eloped with a stupid freakin' twenty-six year old."

Kaoru all but smiled. She tiled the cup of coffee to her lips and took a long sip. "I see. I was wondering when you'd get to the point of this visit. Of course, as I recall, you never came to see me unless you absolutely had to." She chuckled to herself. "You never really were the type to share their problems. What's different this time, Nat?"

Natsume could not understand why she was so calm about this ordeal. "She dumped me. Me. For a freakin' rich-ass twenty-six year old that lives off of his parent's money!" Kaoru took another sip. She could not understand why he was so flustered. "He didn't know her since she's ten! He didn't do things all his life for her! I did! I just don't freakin' understand! I never thought she would be the type to go for a guy like that."

Kaoru sighed and placed down her cup. "Is that what you think of Mikan?" she drawled. "I never knew you were judgmental Natsume."

His eyes darted around guiltily to anywhere apart from his mother's face. Of course, that proved nothing, and Natsume knew it. He shut them, and reopened them. Kaoru's bored expression remained intact. She would have looked like a university student listening to a boring four-hour lecture and was dying to be anywhere else, had the aging signs not showed on her slightly wrinkled face.

"I'm not judgmental," he finally settled, "She's the one at fault. She can't just leave us here! What about her friends, like Umenomiya and Ogasawara and Ruka?! What about her mom? What about Imai? What about fudging Imai who's known her since kindergarten?! What does she do to grace that fact? Leave. Run away with that freakin' son of a b-"

"So what's the name of this twenty six year old SOAB that you've been ranting about over and over?"

Natsume rolled his eyes. "Tonouchi Akira," he said with contempt in his voice.

"Ahh, Tono was a nice kid. Too notorious for his ways though. I remember when –"

"I don't want to hear it," Natsume said flatly. "I guess I should've known that you were on his side too…"

"Hon, I never said I was taking sides."

"Right."

Kaoru snorted at her son's obstinacy. "Really, Nat, how should I react when you challenge me at everything I do? Even if Mikan left you for Tono, you can't just automatically dictate them as bad people."

"He turned her into a – a – a bitch," Natsume retorted flatly. "That's what she is now. She's eloping with the love of her life and leaving every other aspect behind."

"Yes, you've gotten to that part before."

"What I mean is," he attempted again, trying to retain the calmness in his voice, "What he's making her do is not right."

"Ah," Kaoru challenged him, "But have you any evidence that it was he who made Mikan do such things? Have you ever thought she might have done this according to her own will?"

Natsume's eyes clouded. "She would never do that. And even if she would, it's probably because she's under the influence of him."

"Really, I thought I understood you, but I guess I didn't understand you at all when you stated your purpose. I thought you came here to rant to me about what happened and ask for my advice, not to opinionate on their past actions. I'm your mother, not a judge. I can't just agree with you and say 'Oh, yea Mikan's such a bitch. She had no right to do that at all' just because she dumped you. What kind of godmother would I be to her if I did that?"

"A truthful one."

Ignoring his comment, she added, "You're eighteen, Nat, a legal adult. You don't even need me anymore. You're learning how to do well in this infinite world and I can't be there to help you every time you fall. You gotta learn how to stand back up."

"I am standing my ground."

Kaoru held her cup by its handle and moved her hand in a circular motion, spinning the coffee. "Hardly. You're collapsing. Anyone so much as an eye could see that."

"What about blind people?"

Kaoru frowned. "Don't make fun of the disable. Your sister was once blind."

"You know what, maybe I'm tired of all the things people condemn me for too! Maybe I just want to do something right for once! I don't know about the rest of you, but I for one really tried my hardest not to fuck up this relationship. And now she fucked it up, but everyone's still blaming me."

"I don't blame you. I believe in you, no matter what happens."

"You're my mother," he scoffed, "You're supposed to believe in me. You can only believe in me."

"But you know what Natsume? Even though I believe in you, I honestly think that you're being a conceited, selfish, whiny kid right now. If you would calm down and listen to me for once…"

As tempted as he was to yell at her and retaliate, Natsume released his anger, sighed and slumped back into his chair. He shut his eyes and tried to calm himself down. All was silent for a few minutes except for the sloshing of Kaoru's coffee. "Okay," he muttered, finally opening his eyes, "Then state your opinion."

This time, Kaoru smiled, still watching the black liquid slosh. "You know what I think Natsume? What I've always thought? You're trying to grow up too fast. You're rushing into things and letting your hastiness get the best of you. You've just graduated high school and now you're on top of the world. Slow down a little. See what's around you. Take a moment to think it out. Have more chats with people over cups of coffee. You'd be surprised how much you don't know about them because you've been trying to dash through life."

She sighed. "Life is like a cup of coffee. There's no point if you drink it in two gulps. Take a sip, make the flavour last longer. Remember the taste, because you only ever have one cup. You don't realize how short it actually is until you reach near the end. Then you realize how little you have left.

"Sometimes these days at home really get monotonous, Natsume. Sometimes I spend them wondering over what I could have done in my younger days, when I didn't realize how precious time was. Sometimes I reminiscence over what I did do. But you know what, I lived my life to its fullest. Of course there would have been more that I could have done, but I'm completely satisfied with it.

"Your father on the other hand, was a dasher. He always moved forward, never looking back, never stopping to admire the view. While I admire him for this feat, I also resent him for it. I know he's put a lot of pressure on you, but you have to realize how it is for him. One day, he looked back, saw you, and realized all the things he'd missed out on. He adores you, but he's also envied you. It's really not what you've thought of us over the years: we're not cruel to you, all we want to do is make sure you're taking the right path, that you'll become me instead of your father."

He stared hard at his mother. "I won't become either of you," he decided, "I'm me. I'll only ever be Natsume Hyuuga."

Kaoru extended her hand and ruffled his hair affectionately. "That's alright with us too. Be yourself. Be who you want to be. Make your own mistakes, but always, always stand back up. Never be overshadowed by your faults. Never be taken advantage of by yourself."

He clenched his jaw. "I think I better be getting back now."

"Isn't it too soon?"

Her son shrugged. "I came here to clear my mind, and… to decide my future."

"And you think that's decided?"

"Yeah," he muttered quietly.

Kaoru smiled and guided him to the door. Natsume followed in silence, almost dazed. They stood face to face, on either side of the doorframe. Their crimson eyes met, trapped in an intense glaze between mother and son. He never noticed how much he'd taken after his mother until now.

And he also had a newfound feeling in his chest.

Kaoru's son leaned forward and did something the adolescent Natsume would never have done.

He embraced his mother. In a tight, meaningful hug. He clenched onto her shirt as if he was a child, and she patted him on the back thrice, tears threatening to fall out as she realized how her baby finally grew up into the man he was now. He'd felt in that embrace what he'd never been able to feel in years – love. Family love. And also, respect.

When they separated, Kaoru's eyes were damp with tears. "You've grown," she half sobbed.

"Not if it hadn't been for you," he choked. Natsume wasn't on the verge of tears, but Kaoru could tell that he was just as emotional as she was. "Out of all the people in this world, I respect you the most. I love you mom."

"I love you too, babe. I always will. It's too bad I can't keep you."

"Yeah." It was faint. "Goodbye."

The door slammed shut. Kaoru walked back, overwhelmed, to the table. There were two cups of coffee. One was empty, which she recognized as her own. The other was half full – or half empty, whatever you call it.

"Oh Natsume," she sighed, reaching for a tissue, her face glistening with tears.

The End.

Quick and rushed. You can thank my fellow gods.

KAORU LOVERS, PUT YOUR HANDS UP IN THE AIR WITH ME!!!!

Anyway, review? :)

-aFrodite