02 I Like Her
"Hey I called but none of you guys picked up," Mikan closed the door and heard it automatically locked behind her back. "So I just let myself in," she continued and walked inside the apartment, carefully bringing the two paper bags she had in one hand while the other was holding a tray of two coffees. When she finally looked up, she halted in her tracks, her one foot hanging the air awkwardly before it slowly descend back on the floor. She furrowed her brows and looked around. She got the right apartment, right? "Ammm did I get the wrong place?" Her question hanged in the air. She was talking to herself actually.
The person who she found standing near the kitchenette, wasn't Natsume nor Tsubasa. Strange, the man looked a lot like the Hyuuga brothers from the back. Only older. No wonder she mistook him as one. The man too, was startled to see her. That she could tell because the glass he was holding was hovering halfway to his half opened mouth. Furthermore, he was staring at her with raised brows and a blank expression.
"I don't think I got the wrong place though," she mumbled while looking around again. How could she? The surrounding was exactly as how she remembered it. She came here many times already. There's no way she would get the place wrong. Besides, the place got a passcode on the door. She got inside with the passcode they gave her so obviously it's the right place. But who's the stranger staring at her now?
"Ah, you must be one of my sons' friend." The man placed the glass down on the counter top. Finally getting the idea of what's going on.
Mikan's eyes bulged. Natsume's dad!? "Mr. Hyuuga? Ummm, Hyuuga-san." Now that she took a long look at the man, she could see the resemblance. His eyes weren't Natsume's shade because they're closer to Tsubasa's colour. Nonetheless, he had that infamous raven-haired colour that Natsume seem to inherit. He's definitely a Hyuuga. The elder Hyuuga. She awkwardly bowed down her greetings. "Please forgive my rudeness. My name is Mikan Sakura. I'm in the same class as Natsume."
"I see. So it's Natsume." He nodded his head in understanding. He stared at her and a very knowing but warm smiled crept up to the corner of his lips. "If you're looking for my son, he's over there." He pointed to the couch placed in the middle of the living room adjacent to the plasma tv hanged on the wall. "Come in and make yourself comfortable, Sakura-san."
Mikan walked into the place. As she passed the couch, she stopped to drop her bag on the floor and spotted Natsume sleeping soundly with his shorts on and both his hands placed on top of his head and his legs were sprawling wide at the end of the couch. He's not wearing a single shirt on and only had a thin blanket and even that didn't cover him up since it just ended up puddled around his legs. She shook her head at the sight. "Ugh his sleeping posture is ugly as ever," she mumbled under her breath and continued making her way towards the kitchenette. Takeshi mentally chuckled upon hearing it despite it was so low. His son befriended a very interesting girl.
She placed all the things on the small table. "Ah," she finally noticed something. She only got two coffees. She didn't know Natsume's dad would be here. She would've brought an extra one if she knew. No matter. She'll just go buy another one. "I brought breakfast and coffees. Please have some." She reminded herself to use polite and respectful terms.
"Don't worry about me," Takeshi politely refused. "I reckon you bought them for Natsume and Tsubasa. I came here unannounced after all."
"Have you had your breakfast yet, Hyuuga-san?" He already had his working attire on with the solid office look, white shirt, black slacks and dark maroon coloured tie so he must be getting ready to go for work. Didn't seem like he had any breakfast too as Mikan noticed the table and sink were spotless clean just how she left it a few days ago. The glass of plain water he just drank was probably his idea of early breakfast. This apartment had two lazy bachelors after all. They're neither the type to wake up early nor the type to make their own food. Doing groceries were too much work, they said.
Takeshi was a bit startled by the question. To be honest, he didn't see it coming at all. So he was bit flustered when he answered, "Err no, I haven't."
Mikan beamed. "Good! Then you can have some," she insisted while walked over to the cabinet and taking two plates from one of the drawers, she moved around so swiftly. Takeshi had his brows raised as he watched her moving so comfortably around the place. She opened one of the paper bags and took out a variety of breads before placing them on it. "I always bought too many because Tsubasa have a big appetite so he eats a lot for breakfast. So don't worry about it and have some. It's enough for everyone." She wondered if she's talking too much now that she's nervous. After all, she only met him. But she kept in her mind to be mindful of everything she said. She opened the other paper bag and piled the rest of the bread on another plate. Taking the coffees off the tray, she placed one in front of him. "Will cappuccino be okay?"
Takeshi didn't really know what else to reply for she kept on insisting since he already refused it the first time. At last he gave up and accepted it, knowing well she would continue insisting it if he refused again. "Ah yes, cappuccino is okay."
"Great. It's still hot so Hyuuga-san can have Natsume's." She grinned and motioned him for the coffee. Despite the grin she portrayed on her face, deep down, she's a bit nervous facing the man. "I'll just go and buy another one for him. It'll be too cold anyways by the time he finished showering. So you should drink it first." She crumpled the paper bags and went to throw them away in the dustbin located near the fridge. She silently cursed herself, forgetting that it's not really proper to do so—the throwing. "And breakfast, please have them," she stated nervously.
Takeshi smiled. The girl's indeed a nice young lady. Clearly she's restraining herself though. She looked somehow tense, despite trying to be friendly with him. "Alright then." He pulled the chair and sat down. "Don't mind if I do." He took one chocolate croissant from the plate and began eating it. He looked at the still standing Mikan. "Don't force yourself too much. Just be comfortable with yourself, I don't mind," he reminded her again with a very warm voice and a smile. With the way she moved around knowingly, he thought she must had been a frequent guest of his sons. She even called them by their first names so she should be a comfortable person to be around with. Ultimately, Natsume's very picky with the people he's close with.
Mikan's eyes gleamed and her tense shoulders, which she had not realized were tense in the first place when she moved around so much, immediately loosen up. She quickly relaxed herself as her body entered comfortable zone. Natsume's dad seemed like a nice person. A cool one too. How old is he, Mikan wondered. Probably younger than her father, she could tell.
"You're finally here, Mikan." Tsubasa announced as he came into the room, with his wet hair down and a towel around his neck. It seemed he just had his shower; he's wearing a bathrobe. He saw the food on the table. "Ah, you brought breakfast!" he beamed. Headings straight to the table, he waste no time and quickly grabbed a croissant.
"Don't I always?" Mikan rolled her eyes, slowly getting back to her usual real self. She finally felt more comfortable with Hyuuga-san's presence now that Tsubasa's in the room as well.
"Exactly," Tsubasa mumbled with his mouth full of food. He grinned widely but then his face crinkled in confusion as he watched Mikan turned around, heading towards the door. He gulped down the food. "Where are you going? If you're leaving, wake Natsume up. His alarm went off at 6 and now it's already 7. Do you guys have plans for today?"
"I'm gonna go and buy another coffee." She picked up her bag from the floor where she had left it before. "We're going to the airport today."
Tsubasa nodded. "Is it Hotaru?"
"Yeah. She's flying back with Ruka. Hotaru ordered us to pick her up."
Tsubasa mentally chuckled at her usage of words. Ordered, she said. Then again, it's Hotaru Imai they're talking about. "What time do they arrive?"
Mikan pondered. "Around 9 I think." Hotaru didn't exactly tell her when their flight landed in her email. She just told her to pick them up at 9. Well, Mikan didn't respond to her calls and text, so might as well put the blame on her for the lack of infos.
"Will you guys able to make it on time?" He tilted his head in the direction of the still sleeping Natsume.
"We're not taking the train today. My brother lent me his car so we actually have a lot of free time now." Mikan ignored the sight of Tsubasa raising his brows questioningly at her at the mention of her brother. She doubted Natsume had not tell him anything about her brothers sudden appearance at her house yesterday, which he didn't know the older brothers existed in the first place. But she's not gonna dwell about it right now, not with their father present.
She moved to the couch. Squatting down beside him, she flipped Natsume's bangs away from his closed eyes. She poked his cheek and pinched his nose. As her thought, he's dead to the world. If the alarm couldn't wake him up, surely these methods couldn't as well. "He's six feet under to the whole world, so just wake him up like you usually do," Tsubasa called out. "Otou-san won't mind. He actually enjoys seeing some drama." Tsubasa snickered.
Mikan thought he was joking but her mind quickly changed when Hyuuga-san spoke up, "Right, so don't mind this old man over here." She could see his full grin over the rim of the coffee cup he's drinking right now and his eyes were twinkling with mischief too. Mikan tried not to laugh. Their resemblance in personality was indeed uncanny, she finally concluded.
So she went back to the kitchenette. Getting herself a glass, she went to the fridge and filled it up with cold water and walked back to the couch. Without wasting a beat, she poured it down on top of Natsume's head. She was fully aware that his father was watching her from the other side of the room but instead of feeling guilty for doing so, she just felt like laughing out loud when Natsume's eyes sprang open and he immediately bolted up. "Shit! That's fucking cold! Fucking hell!" The effect was immediate as he started to shiver and his lips trembled. He wrapped his arms around his body.
His vision slowly clearing up and finally seeing Mikan standing there beside him, he glared up at her. "Do you wanna die that bad, baka?" he growled threateningly at the culprit.
Mikan chuckled. "It's already 7, Natsume," she informed him.
Natsume's eyes widen. His head spun around, looking at the watch hanging on the wall. It's now 7.03am. Finally realizing that he had actually overslept, he cursed, "Shit!" He didn't realize his alarm had gone off too.
Mikan placed down the glass on the coffee table in front of the couch. "I brought breakfast so get up and take a shower." Mikan leaned down and gave him a peck on his cheek, getting ready to leave. Natsume's eyes instantly lighted up at the touch and his hand instinctively went to grab for her hand. Mikan laughed. "Seriously, Natsume. Wake up already and go get ready. I'm gonna go and buy another coffee so I expect you to be at the table eating breakfast when I get back." Natsume wasn't budging though. Mikan quirked a brow at him and tried holding herself from grinning mischievously. "You're not cold anymore?"
Now that she mentioned it, he had forgotten about the cold but it finally hit him again and he let go of the hand to wrap his arms around his body to warm himself up. "Damn you," he growled with a shiver but the corner of his lips curled up at the end. Natsume watched her disappeared through the front door after giving him her full blow winning grin.
When he tried to get up from the couch, he saw the two looming presence at the kitchen and they were brazenly staring at him. He totally forgot about his father's presence in the house. His face glowered. "What?" he bristled at them both. Tsubasa was trying to keep a straight face but obviously he failed miserably as his shoulders were shaking terribly, a proof that he was enjoying himself with his little brother's live love story with a little pinch of an unfortunate event. But his father, he too, was trying to restrain himself from chuckling but it was obvious because the corner of his eyes went up and his eyes glowed brighter than usual.
He wrapped the blanket around him and headed for his room, planning to get a shower. As he passed the table at the kitchenette, he scowled at both his father and older brother. "Not a word," he scorned and went inside his room. He knew if one of them opened his mouth, they would be bashing him up with sarcastic comments and dry remarks.
"His girlfriend?" Takeshi mused to his other son. He had not seen his son like that before. Natsume wasn't like Tsubasa. While Tsubasa liked to socialize and befriending people, Natsume was the exact opposite. Certainly he didn't expect Natsume to have an interest in dating. It's surely a new sight to see. Though the girl did introduce herself as his classmate, they looked far more closer than just normal classmates to his eyes.
"Was," Tsubasa responded, giving his father an answer with a past term. As he pulled the chair to seat next to him, he saw his father's brows quirked, probing him to explain. So he did. "They broke up last week," he said nonchalantly. He grabbed for his cup of coffee and taking the lid off, he drank it slowly. The steam was still coming out from the top of the foam.
Takeshi sighed at his son's very brief explanation. He forgot he had sons instead of daughters. They're concise in every single thing. Nevertheless, he would just have to leave it at that. He picked up his coffee and took a sip. "Youngsters these days, it's a lot different back in my days." He actually meant the relationship. Back in his time when he broke up with a girl, everything just went awkward so they just ended up not talking anymore. Seeing how Natsume was with a girl who he just broke up with and yet, they didn't seem like they had broken up at all, he was thoroughly confused but he's not gonna say anything. Probably the time of his days differed a lot with this new century. And relationship these days work differently too.
"You sound like an old man," Tsubasa commented with a frown.
"I am an old man," Takeshi replied with an obvious eye roll. He finished his drink and throwing the coffee cup away into the dustbin, he went to wash his hands. "I'm gonna head out first. Tell Natsume to come back home once in awhile. The same goes for you. Your mother won't be that emotionally unstable if you guys do." He patted Tsubasa's back warmly. "And I would not have to sleep outside if her mood is good," he added with a sardonic tone. Tsubasa grinned at his father's cynical remark of his mother's temper.
He picked up his briefcase and his coat. On his way towards the door, he stopped and turned around. "That young lady just now, she's a very nice girl. A very considerate one too. I like her." He smiled and waved his goodbye to his son. Tsubasa watched as the door closed.
20 minutes later, Natsume came bustling into the room with his hair blow dried and tousled. He had a pair of black jeans on, paired with a pale grey stripe t-shirt. Tsubasa looked at him. "Man you're so plain and boring," he commented his attire drily. "Have you not seen how Mikan dress up? Go and put some colors. You're making my mood more gloomy the more I look at you."
Natsume glared at him but he went to change nonetheless. He came out later, looking a bit better than before. He still had his black jeans on but now he had changed to a black and red checkered open buttons t-shirt with a black Nirvana shirt inside. Tsubasa saw the Converse snapback he was holding and smirked. "What's the point of doing your hair if you're wearing a cap."
"I already changed my shirt so just shut up," he snapped. He didn't know why he bother listen to Tsubasa in the first place. He went to the table and took a seat. "She told me she went out to buy another coffee. Why did she have to buy another one?" He grabbed two french toast off the plate and stick them together.
"He gave yours to otou-san." Staring at his little brother eating, he grinned. "Sweet isn't she? Very considerate too. Otou-san said he likes her before he left."
"So does everyone," he put it in as a matter of fact gesture.
"I take it Ruka is not in that particular group then."
"At first," Natsume pressed as he corrected the story while giving him a scorching look. "He doesn't like Mikan at first. Now he's quite fond of her." Much to his annoyance.
"Thank god he's tied to Hotaru ne?"
Natsume glared at him. His French toasts now left forgotten. "What are you implying here, Tsubasa?"
"I'm just saying that Mikan is a very sweet girl. Now that you two broke up, it's a matter of time before she got snatched away by other guy."
He drummed his fingers on the table. Eyes seething, his patience's slowly thinning. "Then what does that have to do with Ruka?"
"You just don't get it, do you, little brother?" Tsubasa feigned, regarded bitterly with a small smile as he leaned forward. "If Hotaru had not tied Ruka to her side, he would have gone after Mikan as well. If she had that much effect on Ruka who's thick-headed about girls as much as you are, what do you think about other normal guys?" He leaned back and placed his arms behind his head. He tried to hide his grin. "But then again, that's only my opinion."
The door clicked with the sound of the passcode and swung open with Mikan walking in, holding a cup of coffee in her hand. She saw the two brothers at the table. "Ah good. You finally wake up." When she passed the couch, she tossed her bag on it and continued making her way towards the kitchenette. Tsubasa was the first one to greet her. "You took awfully long time buying a coffee."
Mikan placed the coffee in front of Natsume and took a seat next to him. "I saw your dad on my way back. We ended up having a small chat. He told me about being locked out of the house by your mum." Mikan laughed. "Your dad is a very cool and friendly man. I like him." Mikan looked at Natsume and noticed him being so quiet. "You're okay?" But Natsume's not answering. Instead, his brows wrinkled in vexation and he was clenching his jaw. Mikan turned to look at Tsubasa.
"We just had a brotherly talk between two brothers," Tsubasa explained, rolling his neck back and forth and smiling. He took his final sip of his drink and stood up. "Well, I'm done eating. I'm gonna go and get change for work." He went to throw the cup away. "Mikan, you can pack the rest and take it for your trip. You can eat them inside the car when you guys get hungry. Be careful on your trip. I'll see you later when you guys get back." He gave then a goodbye wave before disappearing to his room.
Natsume frowned. "What did he mean by car?"
Mikan noticed the leftovers on the table. Tsubasa's usually a big eater for breakfast. 'Eat like a king for breakfast' was one of his many life quotes. But there were still many left untouched on the plate. Did they fight while she was gone? Their father didn't mention anything just now when they were talking though. Mikan casted her attentions back to Natsume despite still being bothered by the sight of the leftovers. "Narumi nii-chan lend me his car so we're not taking the train to the airport."
Natsume mentally sighed. His shoulders slouched against the seat. Knowing she had older brothers after three years of dating is one thing he felt anxious about. In addition to it, he only found out last month that she had a younger brother and that's only because he transferred in the same school as them. Another thing is, he didn't understand why he got worked up so much by Tsubasa's words. Maybe he got so angry because everything Tsubasa said was true. He knew but he paid it no mind before.
Their relationship isn't exactly normal as it is. They had skipped the first part and went straight to dating. Instead of being friends first after meeting for the first time, they became lovers straightaway. The fact that they're both each others' first, that just made matters bad now that they had broken up. Not bad in the sense of fighting and all that but bad in sense that none of them really know which boundaries an ex should have. Let alone boundaries of friends from the opposite gender. They're each other's best friend from the opposite gender too.
So that's why, even if she's being chased around by other guys, he knew she's still his even if they had broken up because breaking up or not, they're still together like before. Nothing really changed much after the break up. They're together most of the time too like before. Literally, yes, they broke up. Imprecisely, they didn't really split from each other physically nor mentally. But that's only between them two who knew that. So that's why he paid it no mind before. But the thought of other guys having her still piss him off deep down.
After all, Natsume Hyuuga is possessive of what's his.
TBC.
