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Author Note: After reading the reviews again, I am worried that this chapter might be a bit of a let down :(

Its what seemed right to me, so I am posting it, but I really hope that no one will be disappointed. Thanks for reading and do review! Oh and I think the next chapter will be the last chapter of this story. I think. I might get some inspiration, but I dunno. Inspiration doesn't like me these days.. *sigh*



Ruka's POV:

"So what did you want to talk about?" Mikan asked.

I had a feeling she was not going to go easy on me, not that I could blame her.

"I wanted to tell you that I am sorry for what I did. I know that you will never forgive me, but I still had to say that to you. Thank you for telling me off as well. I needed to be reminded that I can't fix one mistake by making another one." I said quietly.

She was silent for a while, her face completely stoic.

"You know, I am amazed that I did not realize how big of an idiot you were." she said with a smirk and I stared. What the heck was going on here?

"Do you really think that you're important enough to me for me to forever hold a grudge? Get real. I moved on, and I am not going to dwell on the past. Period. So the next time we meet, we're strangers." She said with a ghost of a grin.

I honestly could not believe what I was hearing. She was giving me a second chance.

I felt a smile spread on my face. "Thanks." I said, my voice choked.

She shrugged. "I dunno what you're talking about."

I stood up. "I'll see you later Mikan. There is someone else here who wants to talk to you." I said heading to the door.

She did not reply, and I hadn't expected her to. She had already given me more than enough.


Natsume's POV:

I had been watching Mikan closely the entire time she had been talking to Ruka, and I had seen the difference. Something fundamental had changed in her since the last time I had seen her, or maybe she had just returned to her old self.

After noticing all the changes, I wasn't surprised that she forgave Ruka, but I was surprised that she was going to allow him to start from strangers again.

Maybe my position was not as hopeless as I had initially thought.

Mikan was waiting patiently for me to speak. The only problem was, I had no clue what to say.

"Talk Natsume. Isn't that why you brought me here?" Mikan said coldly.

I guess I wasn't going to get off as easy as Ruka.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" I asked her point blank. Subtle was not my forte.

I saw shock on her face. She had not been expecting this. Maybe that was good. Oh God, please let it be good.

"Why should I say yes?" she asked me quietly.

"Do you have any reason to say no?" I countered and immediately regretted it.

"Other than the fact that you lied to me, broke my heart, left, and did not come back?" she asked me casually.

"I am sorry that I lied to you, and I promise that'll never happen again." I said, but there was nothing else I could say. Nothing was a good enough excuse for what I had done. I had broken her heart, and I hated myself for it. So I couldn't really blame her if she hated me too.

"No more reasons?" she asked me, all the casualness was gone now.

"No reason is good enough to excuse what I did. I should have been honest right from the start." I answered, and I saw a single tear roll down her cheek. I wanted to reach out and wipe it away, but she would not want me touching her. How could she?

"D'you remember when you hugged me in my store until I stopped crying? When it was just a comfort thing? Just that with nothing else entangled into it?" she asked.

"Yeah." I said, my voice slightly hoarse.

"I think I started falling in love with you then." she said with a small smile. I felt my heart still, and then I was next to her, holding her hand in both of mine, and my heart was pounding now.

"Will you give us a second chance too? Please chica!" I whispered.

"Do you want to start as strangers too?" she asked me softly.

"No. I can't do that. I want to rebuild your trust, I want to make you fall in love with me again, and I can't just forget the time I spent with you. Every moment with you is too precious for me." I answered, and tears trembled on her lashes again.

"Won't it be easier, if we could just start again? As if you never lied to me?" she was whispering now.

"You still won't trust me as you did, chica, and then you won't even be able to talk to me about it. I don't want easy, I want you." I told her.

She was silent for so long that I thought I had blown my chance, but at the end of the day I could not just act like a stranger to her. I could not just erase my mistakes and start over. I had broken her heart, and so I had to heal it. I could not just pretend that all was fine when it wasn't. Not when it came to her.

"So we won't start over?" she asked me, whispering now.

"No." I answered with a confidence that I did not feel.

"Your panic is very obvious Natsume." she said calmly, and I winced. I guess my act had failed miserably.

"Will you take me home now, or should I call a cab?" she asked me.

"Will you not give me an answer?" I asked, but she stayed silent.

"I will take you home, chica." I said softly as I stood up. Nothing in my voice gave away the fact that my heart was breaking.

She was silent the entire time after she gave me the address.

"We're here." I said before getting out of the car and opening her door for her. She stepped out of the car, as graceful as ever.

"Won't you come upstairs with me?" she asked, and I felt my jaw drop. What was she planning?

"Do you want me to?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Then yes, I will come upstairs with you." I said as I placed her hand on my arm. I again got the silent treatment until we were both seated on the couch in her place.

"So what are you doing now?" she asked me.

"Still writing that stupid book. I had to go on an assignment, and thats why it took me so long to find you." I answered.

"Stalker!" she said with a wicked grin.

"Agreed." I said with a straight face.

And thats how it went. She chatted with me about random things, asked questions, and she even answered my questions about her life as a teacher, but in all that, she said not a word about what I really wanted to know.

After nearly three hours of idle chatting, she suddenly threw me off again.

"What am i worth to you Natsume?" she asked right in the middle of a conversation.

"Everything." I answered before I could stop myself or think of a proper response. She was silent after that for a full minute.

"Are you mad?" she asked softly.

"No. I just feel like there is a sword hanging over my head, and I don't know if it'll fall or not." I answered honestly.

"Yet you did not ask me to answer you even once." she stated.

I did not say anything, but she did not need my answer.

"I am more insecure, more paranoid than I was. I'll doubt you, I'll be childish, spoiled, moody and annoying. I can't see and you'll have a lot of trouble you might not want because of that. I'll be jealous, and I'll be possessive. You still want me to be your girlfriend?" she asked, her voice quavering.

"Yes." I said softly.

She stood up and came to me. "My answer is also yes." she said before leaning down and lightly kissing me. My arms went around her, and I pulled her onto my lap, before kissing her again.

When we parted for breath, I held her tightly to me.

"You should have checked me too, before you said yes, chica." I said softly. "I am annoying, arrogant, and possessive. I'll be over protective, and there will also be times when I will not be here because of my job. I would spoil you until even you get tired of it, and I will never ever let you go."

She smiled. "Who would have let you come back if I didn't intend to keep you?" she asked me with a teasing smile and I chuckled.

"I'll never hurt you again." I vowed, and her smile became brighter.

"I believe you." she answered, and those words made me feel like all was once again right in my world. I guess that was true, because I had no world without her. If she was there, all was indeed well.