Disclaimer: I do not own GA or any of its characters.

Thanks a lot for reviewing:

Fallen-Angel-RM

babee-angel

chainedheart999

cj-the-greatest

natsumelover - i got 3 reviews from u coz thats the only way u could reply.. hehe.. works for me :) and yes i know what protagonist means =P jeez. and i agree. when u become one, call me into the story too! Please :) I'll settle as a side character as long as I get a guy like Natsume ;)

yuuki36

kara'mel'-chan

JadedPixie18

A

LilBlueBear

claracrazed

manga-girl-freak

() - humm yeah I gave Natsume longer hair than usual. So from the front its almost the same as the anime/manga, (with bangs) but there is a ponytail in the back. I guess its as long as Tono-sempai's in the manga. Better example - its a lot like Haruka from tactics. Natsume just prefers to keep it tied. I hope this does not ruin anyone's image.

mai-chaan7

Author Note: Hmmmm I dedicate this chapter mostly to manga-girl-freak. If I hadn't been talking to her, I would not have written all this tonight. But I say mostly because I was already in an awesome mood :) My cousin started reading WC, and he said he liked the start! and I visited my grandma to wish her a Happy B'day :) she's awesome!

So when I had a chance to write, and procrastinate, rather than study.. i kinda took it.. yes i know.. i set a bad example.. so just ignore me :)

Happy reading and DO Review!

"Will you stop pacing?" Narumi asked Mikan testily.

"Nope. He's late!" she said angrily.

"You mean his flight is late." Natsume drawled from where he was leaning against a pillar.

"Same difference!" Mikan scowled, as she kept on pacing. When she next passed him, Natsume caught her, and picked her up.

"I. Am. Not. 10. Any. More." she said coldly and deliberately.

"If you act like one, you get treated like one." Natsume said easily, and he grabbed her wrists in his hand, before she could throw a punch at him.

"Will you stop molesting her already!" said an amused voice.

"RUKA!" Mikan screamed and jumped from where Natsume was holding her and ran to hug him. Ruka laughed and grabbed her in a bear hug, and then twirled her around a few times, lifting her cleanly off her feet.

"I take it you missed me?" he said with a sweet smile when he finally let go.

"Of course I did!" Mikan said giving him another hug. He chuckled, then Natsume was there and they high fived.

"You still want me to punch him?" Natsume asked Mikan, amused.

Mikan stared doubtfully at him for a moment then shook her head.

"Pity." Natsume said with a mock sigh and Mikan laughed and then dropped a kiss on his jaw where she had punched him a few days ago. Then she twirled around Ruka and came to stand in front of the girl who had come with him.

"Mikan Sakura." Mikan said with a brilliant smile as she extended her hand. The girl smiled back. "Hotaru Imai" she said and then shook Mikan's outstretched hand.

Ruka grinned and then introduced Hotaru to Narumi and Natsume. It turned out that even though her parents were initially from Japan, this was her first visit here, and her Japanese was not very good. She was here as an exchange student and had become friends with Ruka at the airport where she had been stranded because of the blizzard.

It seemed that Ruka hadn't told her how much he liked her yet.

Mikan and Natsume exchanged evil looks. Ruka would be painfully easy to harass now.

"You say one thing to Hotaru, and I swear Natsume, i'll tell Mikan exactly what you have been upto these four years." Ruka snapped as Natsume teased him about telling Hotaru how Ruka felt about her.

Mikan's eyebrow rose. "What has he been up to?" she asked.

Ruka smirked. "He told you nothing?"

Natsume scowled, but before he could threaten more, they were joined by Hotaru and Narumi in the living room. It had been 2 hrs since they had come back from the airport, and while Hotaru had probably taken a nap, the only break Ruka got was when he went for a shower. Other than that, someone would have to use pliers to remove Mikan from his side. And Natsume was just as stuck to Mikan's other side.

"You grew up to be really clingy." Ruka grouched and immediately Mikan let go of him. He sighed and then wrapped his arm around her.

"I'm kidding silly." he said sweetly. Mikan sighed.

"Its gonna take a while, isn't it?" she said unhappily.

"We'll manage." Natsume said quietly, his grip tight on her hand. Mikan smiled faintly at him.

Narumi cleared his throat, and got glares from the three. Hotaru chuckled.

"I am worried that we are boring our guest." Narumi said ignoring them.

"Please. I am fine. I know how excited Ruka was to see his family and so I do not mind at all." she said sharing a sweet look with Ruka. Mikan and Natsume shared a smirk.

"Actually, since you guys don't seem to be tired, how about we give Hotaru a tour of the city?" Mikan asked.

Natsume nodded, and Ruka rolled his eyes. "Its up to you Hotaru. She has decided I am not tired and so I cannot be tired."

Hotaru agreed and so they all left in Natsume's car. Mikan rode shotgun while the other two sat in the back. It took a lot of effort for Mikan to not giggle when she saw that Ruka was holding Hotaru's hand, and even though she was looking out the window, there was a small blush on her cheeks.

Mikan smiled a little as she lay on her back on the grass, watching the sky.

"Whats so funny?" Natsume asked as he sat down next to her. Ruka was off giving Hotaru a tour of the University while these two were waiting for them outside in the grounds.

"Seeing Ruka like this. I just.. kinda.. wasn't expecting things to have changed, you know. I guess in a way though i grew up, my outlook was that of a 10 year old.. and so I... um... seeing him in love.. well, its just a shock. A good one, but it still feels.." she stopped at a loss for words.

"Different?" Natsume supplied.

"Yes! different." Mikan agreed.

"Different good or different bad?" Natsume asked.

"Good, I think." Mikan said softly.

Natsume said nothing for a while, and Mikan wondered if the conversation was over.

"Its different to see you all grown up too. I know you were 14 when I last saw you, but you were a brat. Now.." Natsume sighed.

"Now what?" Mikan asked sitting up.

"Now I get to glare at other guys when they stare at you." he said off handedly, but Mikan could see it bothered him.

"So you did.. I am not what you were expecting?" she said trying to hide the hurt. Natsume scowled at her.

"You are what you are. I just never realized how much you might have grown, or that you'd become such a lady rather than the tomboy you used to be. It does not mean that I don't like you, baka. Its just that, as you said, it'll take time." then he smiled wryly, "I'll probably know you inside out again as soon as I am finished with the journals."

Mikan smiled slightly but Natsume could see she was still bothered.

He sighed but before he could say anything, Ruka and Hotaru were back, and then all four of them headed home.

That night, Mikan jumped at the knock on her door. When she opened it, she was surprised to see Natsume standing there.

"Hey?" she greeted but it came out as a question.

Natsume smiled softly. "Can I come in?"

Mikan nodded and stepped aside. Natsume went in and sat down on the couch he liked that she had pushed against a wall. Mikan sat down on the bed, and hugged the huge stuffed dog he had given her all those years ago.

Natsume's smile turned sad.

"I figured we needed to finish our talk." he said gently.

Mikan nodded, though he noticed the tightening of her shoulders. She did not want to do this.

"I don't hate you for changing Mikan. Everyone changes with time, and some more than others. Kids grow up a lot faster when you can't see them. You grew up, and i wasn't there. That's entirely my fault. Not yours." he said, his voice still gentle.

He saw the sadness of Mikan's face. "I keep thinking that if you had been there, maybe I would be different, and then maybe things would be less awkward, and you'd like me more." she whispered, not looking at him.

"Somehow I don't think its possible to like you anymore than I already do. You are more precious than anything else." Natsume told her, and he saw her head snap up.

"But you... you left." she said and there were tears in her eyes.

"No Mikan. I did what I had to, to make sure that you were safe." he answered.

"I would be safe even if you talked to me over the phone at least." she said, her voice still filled with hurt.

Natsume shook his head. "Not just from things like that. I needed you to be safe from me. If I was always there, protecting you, it would turn to smothering you. You needed to become your own person, one who could stand on her own, and who did not need me to live." and for a moment his anguish showed on his face. "After what happened to my parents, I understood when Toushrou said that I could not let you be dependent on anyone. Not even me. I am no longer naive enough to believe, I would always be there." he sighed and then gave her a weak smile.

"Seems like a pathetic excuse, huh? But at that time, I was terrified that I would screw up your future. You were always strong Mikan, and we just had to show you that, although the way was extreme. As it turned out, you fared better than me. Guess I needed your scruffy presence even more than I thought." he said trying to make her smile. A single tear slid down her cheek and she hugged her dog tighter.

Natsume leaned his head back. "Things have changed all right. There was a time when holding me was something comforting for you."

With a soft cry, Mikan ran into his arms. She hugged him tightly, crying, while he hugged her back. Murmuring utter nonsense that was filled with one thing and one thing alone, how much he cared for her.

Mikan sat in his lap, her feet dangling off the arm of the couch, and she held his right hand in both of hers. Natsume had his left hand wrapped around her shoulders.

"You will never send me away again?" she asked in a hoarse voice. She had cried for nearly an hour before he had been able to calm her down.

"No."

"You will never leave me again?" she asked.

"No. I promise that you will always be able to reach me." Natsume vowed.

"You'll be there." she whispered and she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Yes. I'll always be there for you." he murmured. Mikan smiled and then held her hand against his, palm to palm.

"Still so much bigger than mine." she said softly.

"Yours used to look tiny next to mine. So fragile that I was always worried I would hurt you." he answered.

"You taught me how to fight." she retorted.

"Of course I did. That does not mean i want you to be in situation where you'll have to, and I can still be worried." Natsume said then snorted, "Who else can i worry for? Ruka? Damn, in his case, I'd rather worry about his opponents. That angel face gives him unfair advantage."

Mikan giggled "No one knows how bad his temper is." then she smacked Natsume's hand lightly, "You get angry way too easy."

Natsume shrugged. "Whatever."

Mikan giggled again.

"Don't forget, you get underestimated even more than Ruka. Want me to tell Narumi whose bright idea it was to mess with his wardrobe?" Natsume said in mock threat.

Mikan laughed and Natsume relaxed. Anything to get her happy again.

"That seems forever ago!" she said when she finally stopped laughing.

Natsume said nothing. To him it was yesterday, because the days without her blended into each other, until he could not even tell them apart.

"Sleep now?" Natsume asked and Mikan's grip tightened on his hand unconsciously.

"Want me to stay?" he asked easily.

Mikan nodded. Natsume carried her to the bed and tucked her in, then he grabbed an extra blanket and lay down on top of the covers next to her and pulled it over himself. Mikan smiled and took his hand in hers. She was still holding onto him when she fell asleep.