Author's note: It has been the roughest, toughest two days of work this week so even though it's not Friday, here's an update just so we can all have a bit of serotonin.
WARNING: SOME BRIEF TALK ABOUT KINKY STUFF / I wanted to make it clear that they both have talked about consent.
Mikan soon discovered morning was the best time to get her fill of Natsume. To her luck, she found out he naturally woke up hard most mornings. Not every day, but frequently enough that Mikan insisted on sleeping together in the same room.
"Because I like dreaming with you," she had said innocently, slipping under the covers with him. She pressed her legs against his. They had already fooled around for the night, Mikan using her mouth and Natsume using his hands.
"It's okay to ravish me in my sleep," he told her bluntly, bringing her closer.
Mikan bit her lip, pulling the blanket to her face. "Are - are you sure?"
The thought of waking up and finding Mikan already hard at work enticed him. "I'm sure."
"Well, I want you to know, it's okay if you want to do things to me, too." Mikan shyly added, in case it wasn't clear, "While I'm asleep."
Natsume brushed her hair away from her face. "What kinds of things?"
Mikan hadn't realized there was more than what he had shown her.
"Anything we've already done. I trust you." The accusations from before the Matching Ceremony, of him getting her alone to do naughty and licentious things to her seemed so absurd. "Just… if I wake up and tell you to stop, you stop."
"I promise. As long as you do the same." Beneath the blanket, he lowered his head to kiss her fingers. "I guess that means we should have a safeword now."
"A safeword?"
"Sometimes, when people get wrapped in their fantasies, they might… pretend to be other people. Or role-play some scenarios and say things they might not usually say. A safeword is a word you or I say to let the other know we don't want to continue."
"Oh, like 'Stop?'"
Natsume chuckled, pulling her face towards his so he could softly kiss the tip of her nose, barely visible in the moonlight. "There might one day come a time when you tell me to stop, but you don't really want me to stop. Or you might want me to stop what I'm doing, but you don't want to stop everything. It should be a word we normally would not say together, and if we say it, we immediately stop."
Mikan rolled the idea around her in head. "A word we usually don't say together? Like… Councilroom?"
Natsume groaned, burying his face in her neck. "Please don't bring your uncle into this."
"Sorry, sorry. You come up with a word."
In the long silence that followed, Mikan slipped her leg over Natsume's hip as she played with the strings of his nightshirt. Her latest orgasm had already made her body fatigued, and she was ready to sleep.
"Polka dots," he finally announced, his eyes flashing with smug mischief.
"Polka dots?" Mikan couldn't recall a time when she had ever said that to him. "Okay."
And in those next few days, Natsume was the first to use it as he usually woke up and found Mikan vigorously sucking him off underneath the blanket.
"I think I figured it out, Natsume. If I breathe just right, I can fit your entire cock in my mouth without gagging!"
Behind them, a tray clattered to the ground as a maid gasped, scandalized. "Lady Mikan?"
"Oh, did you hear that? I'm sorry. You weren't supposed to."
Natsume frowned as he scanned the letter from his mother once more.
The door opened, and Mikan entered, saying, "They found a bunny nest in the garden, and they said we could watch but not pick them up."
Deciding there was no beating around the bush, Natsume said, "I must return to my land. Mother says there's unrest among the people."
"What?" Mikan took the letter to read it herself. The first few paragraphs spoke of house affairs, but sure enough, the last couple detailed a restlessness among the people that could not be quieted. "Okay, I'll go with you. How many days of food should I tell the cook to pack?"
"You don't have to go," he insisted.
Mikan silenced him with a wave. "Of course, I'll go."
Easily surrendering to her, he said, "We'll most likely stay in inns on the way so we don't need to pack much food. Just something to munch on while we're on the road."
"When do you want to leave?"
"As soon as possible," he declared. From beneath the bed, he brought out a trunk to start packing.
Mikan peered out the window and saw good riding weather. "It's still morning. We can leave today. I'll prepare the horses."
With a newfound efficiency, Mikan left her betrothed with a kiss on the cheek.
Although King Kazumi was sad to see them off, he promised Mikan he would write a letter to her parents explaining where she went. He also insisted on sending a squad of soldiers to accompany them, but Mikan had saddled the horses and departed quickly enough that he hadn't managed to muster together the unit.
Mikan liked to spend time with her betrothed. (Alone.)
Without other people around, Natsume truly blossomed, singing her ballads and reciting stories and poetry as they rode.
True to Natsume's predictions, they stayed in an inn for each of the two nights of the journey.
On the first night, they found a family-owned inn and dined with the keepers, watching the little tykes run amok. Natsume had asked for a single room with one bed, and Mikan had grinned rather wolfishly at him.
On the second night, a sudden rain had caught them, and the two rushed inside, laughing at all the mud they tracked. They hurried to take a warm bath together, insisting they mustn't waste the water. They were together in bed before the water cooled.
As soon as they passed the farmlands, the people began to notice the two riders in the road. It was hard not to notice Natsume, straight-backed and looking more and more regal as they approached his home.
Soon, they had amassed a crowd of followers, pointing and whispering and gathering more by the minute. Mikan glanced about nervously: was that what Lady Kaoru meant by unrest?
Natsume merely shifted his horse closer to hers.
At long last, they arrived at the estate, and contrary to Mikan's expectations, Natsume dismounted at the gate. He extended a hand to help Mikan follow suit.
They turned to the crowd, who quieted under their gaze.
A seemingly random spokesperson shouted, "Is she your betrothed?"
Natsume nodded. "Yes, this is she, my betrothed. Lady Mikan of House Yukihara."
The information, "Lady Mikan of House Yukihara," rippled through the crowd. Children ran throughout, shouting it as they went so that all could hear. Women huddled together, most likely remarking on her appearance, though Mikan could not hear what they said.
She was very aware and self-conscious that her slender hips were not of proper child-bearing size.
"Of the north? Of Lord Izumi and Lady Yuka?" someone else shouted to confirm.
"Yes, those are her parents."
Nearby, Mikan heard an old man mumble, "Good decent folks. Lord Izumi's a smart fellow," and she couldn't help but smile at the affirmation of her family and house.
"She has a lovely smile!"
"A good coloring!"
"But she could do with a little more eating!"
"She needs wider hips!"
"Okay, okay, enough. I love her as she is," proclaimed Natsume, slinging his arm around her, though she wanted to hide behind him.
A laugh rippled through the crowd. Soon after, a chant began: "Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her!"
Pulling her close by her waist, Natsume grinned at her and planted a big kiss on Mikan, earning roaring cheers, and when they separated, Natsume held her hand up, almost in triumph, presenting her to his people. Mikan couldn't help but grin at the electric energy in the air, the way Natsume had so proudly shown her off.
The crowd dispersed in a frenzy.
Natsume began to walk their horses to his estate, and Mikan followed. "I thought Lady Kaoru said there was unrest."
"Yes, the people have grown restless not knowing where the future of their reigning house lies. We're very… impatient people," he said lightly, handing the reins to a stablehand who had rushed forward.
Mikan blinked, processing the information. "They… They wanted to see me?"
"And see what kind of Lady will be ruling over them."
"My son! Lady Mikan!" Lady Kaoru hurried out of the manor to greet them both with hugs, kisses, and a scolding. "You couldn't have been more inconspicuous?"
"How could I have known they would be out and about to see our arrival?" Natsume shrugged innocently, though he damn well knew the harvest schedule.
Lady Kaoru clucked. "Let me take a look at you, Mikan. I haven't seen you in weeks! Have you been eating well?"
Underneath Natsume's mother's scrutiny, Mikan blushed. Before she could respond, a ruckus at the gates drew their attention. A line of people gathered at the gates, and from the distance, Mikan could see each person holding something in their hands.
"Well, there goes the entire day," sighed Lady Kaoru in defeat. "Here comes the first."
"The first what?" asked Mikan, watching a group of women file through, carrying baskets.
"The first one to present an offering."
The news spread quickly, and the crowd that had been present during Natsume's announcement seemed to have tripled in size. Each household presented a gift: chickens, soft fabrics, cuts of meat, fertility potions. Even the children brought little handmade trinkets.
Knowing her duties well, Mikan responded gracefully, with Natsume at her side.
She joked, she kissed babies, she accepted generations-strong family recipes. Most of the commoners seemed relieved to hear Mikan desired and expected a big family; in return, they assured her the Hyuuga seed was most virile and exceptionally persistent.
The excitement of their arrival grew and grew and by the time the sun had set, Lady Kaoru declared they would hold a celebration.
The ensuing festival lasted well into the next day, but Mikan and Natsume returned to the manor when the moon was high, after the feast and the introductions of the lords of the lesser houses.
Afterwards, they had gone out to dance in the square and kissed once more for all to see. Several people asked about her lands, more asked about her intentions for ruling as their Lady. A brazen few offered suggestions on breeding positions to heighten the chances of conceiving.
In House Yukihara fashion, Mikan was ready to retire early (and was pleased to learn that Lady Kaoru intended for them to share a bedroom: Natsume's childhood room). But before, they had to take a bath, of course. And Mikan remembered what they had done in the bath in the inn.
"Your choice," said Natsume, escorting her to the manor with an arm around her shoulder. "We have a private bath in the manor, but there are hot springs on the edge of the estate, not too far from here."
A stroke of heat went through Mikan, awakening her and making her restless. "And I suppose the private bath is… divided for men and women."
Natsume continued her thought, "And the hot springs are not, yes. If you're planning to get handsy with me, I would recommend the hot springs."
The night made her brave. "Maybe I am."
Together they made their way to the hot springs. To Mikan's excitement, nobody else was there, and very quickly, she got very handsy with Natsume.
"This is the room you grew up in," murmured Mikan breathlessly as she trailed her fingers over every surface as Natsume lit the candle next to his bed. Though she had visited the Hyuuga manor before, she had never seen his personal room. It was plainly decorated, but his presence was visible in the pile of books on the desk, the clothing hanging in the wardrobe, his lingering scent.
Mikan yearned to rifle through all his drawers, to devour every scrap of him that was revealed to her. What was he like as a child? Would he pass on those same traits to their children? Did he like living in the estate? How had he envisioned his future? Had she been a part of it?
"The room where I fell asleep dreaming of you for years."
Mikan turned to see him smirking from the bed, already settled, and she could not help the broad smile the sight of him caused on her face. "You smooth-talker."
She clambered onto the bed to join him, just as she had been the past couple of weeks and, Mikan flushed and concealed her grin when she realized, just as she would be for the rest of her life when they married.
They kissed, and Natsume eventually rolled her onto her back, his hand sneaking up her thigh. No matter how many times he touched her, she would never tire of it. However...
"I'm getting sore," she confessed, placing her hand over his. "I don't think I'm up to it again tonight."
"Mmmm, we can just talk. Unless you want to sleep." He leaned over her head to blow out the candle. Soon their eyes adjusted to the darkness, and they snuggled together, his arms wrapping around her. His familiar scent made her relax, completely at ease falling asleep in an unfamiliar place.
"No, not yet. Can you sing me a song?"
"A song? You've already heard me sing many on the road here."
"One more."
As always, Natsume gave her what she wanted, singing a familiar lullaby, warning children to be good and to always listen. Mikan grew drowsy, her heart content, with the sound of his song and the rhythm of his breathing beneath her cheek. It was warm and cozy beneath the blanket.
She hoped every night would be the same when they married; she hoped to always feel as happy and as safe as Natsume made her in that moment.
"Will you sing one for me?" he requested, for he longed to hear her voice. "I don't think I have ever heard you sing before."
"House Yukihara rarely sings. We save it for only the most rare and most special of occasions."
"Oh? And falling asleep with your betrothed isn't a most rare and most special of occasions?"
Her heart pounded, and she knew what song she wanted to sing to him. "It is."
Fingers lightly tracing Natsume's chest, Mikan took a deep breath and began a soft song of glowing dawns and hushed nights, of stars and sky, of fire burning warm and golden in a home.
When she finished, Natsume asked, "What song was that?"
"A ballad. Girls in my house sing it," Mikan hid her face in his chest, blushing, "when they are in love."
"Oh, you are in love?" Natsume teased, though she could detect a gravelly rumble in his voice.
Silently, Mikan nodded, her heart bubbling.
"Do you know what House Hyuuga does when they are in love?" he whispered, nuzzling his nose along hers.
She shook her head. "Show me."
Natsume kissed her long and gently, so softly and tenderly, until she fell asleep.
