Hiyo! An update!

FYI, I swear Natsume and Mikan will stop having sex soon. Or, like, I mean, I'll stop writing about it all the time. It just keeps jumping into things annoying-ly. I don't actually enjoy writing lemons all that much, and I promise you all I will never write a lemon that I don't feel has importance in one way or another. Their first time was obvious, last chapter after the date was about their desperation, the train was about power-balances, and it's totes all good stuff, Kay-Kay?

I'm sure you have noticed as well as I have that the updates have slowed down a little, but I will cut off my ear (V-G style) before I let this story die. It will live on.

Enough of me though, let's hear from them.

"What the fuck," Natsume groaned as he woke up the next morning; Mikan's knee softly in his stomach and a hand sandwiched underneath his neck after they spent the night together, following their outing to the gig with friends (mostly hers).

"Ehhh?" she murmured sleepily.

"There's something poking me in the ass."

"Well it's not me," she replied. Natsume moved sluggishly, trying to slip a hand down under the delightfully warm duvet – holy fuck, there was something breathtakingly nice about sleeping naked with someone; you woke up and the whole bed was warm, and almost everywhere you moved your skin was in contact with theirs – and grab whatever it was that had embedded itself in his skin.

Natsume pulled up a small silver earring with a red charm.

"Oh!" Mikan squeaked as she recognised the thing being held in front of her face. "I wondered where that pair went."

"Pair?" he questioned. "There was just this one." He moved about. "Well, I mean there's nothing else else sticking into me."

"Oh, well... now that I think about it, I remember throwing the other out," she mused. Natsume rolled his eyes.

"Hey, hold still," she giggled, pushing herself up and taking the earring from him. She rolled on top of him and they were both reminded of how wonderfully, delightfully naked they were, and then she carefully reached for his ear.

"Uh, what are you..." he said worriedly.

"Hold still," she laughed, and Natsume realized that she was putting the earring on him.

"Am I some kind of giant doll to you?" he shot, as she clicked the silver hoop shut, and then toyed with the red bead that hung from it with a finger.

"It looks fine," she replied.

"I'm not your dress-up mannequin," he stated, reaching up to feel for the ear in question.

"You're the one who gets all possessive," she remarked. "Why can't I have something marking you?" Actually, that was an idea he could buy into; his hands trailed up the back of her legs to her ass, and he felt the warm skin yield under his fingers as he gripped her.

"Is that right?" he said seductively. "You want to 'mark' me?" He pressed his fingertips deep into the malleable mounds of her rear, and pulled her flush against him.

"Yep," she replied girlishly. "Make it clear you're mine."

Natsume closed his eyes and enjoyed a moment of pure bliss.

"I love it when you talk like that," he murmured adoringly – eyes still shut – and then it struck him that he'd said the word love, about Mikan, and she wasn't even asleep. He was quiet – had she realized what he had? He was going into dangerous territory.

Apparently not, or, if she did, she didn't care. Either way, her lips brushed his ear just above his piercing and she whispered in it.

"You know what I love?" she teased, and her legs slowly started to pull up, rubbing against him until she had a knee pressing into the mattress on either side of him.

"Yeah?" he said; Mikan wasn't usually the initiator for sex, but if he wasn't much mistaken then it was exactly what was happening now. She kissed his ear again, and traced her slightly-moist lower lip along the shell of his ear. He held her even more eagerly, and pressed his waist up against her; turning his face into her and capturing her neck with his mouth. He ran his palms up her smooth back to her shoulders, and drew one down the curve of her side to a soft breast, dusting his knuckles across the gentle slope before cupping it in his hanf.

They were kissing properly now; a well practised art that felt almost as natural as speaking to one another, and when Mikan sat up – still straddled over his growing erection – to grab a condom off the side-table (which had been stocked-up in case of this very situation), Natsume tried to roll them over to their usual positions.

"Uh-uh," she scolded, pushing him back down after trapping the corner of the condom packet in her teeth to free both hands. "Stay there." Natsume tried to move again; he was too used to being on top, and this was an unfamiliar development, but Mikan put a hand on his forehead and pushed him down by that.

"I told you; you are staying there," she said impatiently. "Just lie back and enjoy it," she told him cheekily, and without too much fuss, Natsume relented. It wasn't like it was hard.

Okay, well, it was hard, but that wasn't the same thing.

True to her words, Natsume didn't have to do a thing; she was the one who did all the work – picking on the quirks of his body with her hands and mouth: pleasantly surprising him by toying around with a little oral sex under the duvet,, and more or less running the show by herself.

He felt a bit lazy, but it was interesting to say the least. He rather liked not quite being in charge; usually he was uncomfortable not being dominant, but he knew and trusted her so well that it was something of a turn-on to surrender everything and let himself submit. It was Mikan who chose how everything went – squeezing her thighs against his sides as she lowered herself onto him – setting the pace and forcing him into a helpless bottom, who did little more than moan and gasp.

He didn't think there were many sights that could beat looking up at her as she rode him; breasts bouncing and her face lit up in ecstasy.

Natsume only wished this was his normal getting-up routine. In more ways that one, heh.

"Aren't you... supposed to be at Ruka's?" she asked; right in the middle of this sex.

"Is this... nng, really the right time to mention that?" he panted.

"If you're going to get in trouble... ah, ah; that's nice," she gasped, he reached for her neck and pulled her down close to him.

"It'll be fine," he said assuredly, and kissed her harder as they sprinted for the finish line.

Afterwards, Natsume decided they needed to wash together again, and this time he insisted that she washed his hair instead of himself; he'd liked it too much last time not to demand the favour again.

"I was thinking," Mikan said a little while later, after a phone call to Ruka had cleared up all their problems, in that Ruka's mother – a wonderfully romantic and sweet French woman – had been enlightened as to Natsume and Mikan's plight, and had nobly agreed to inform Natsume's mother Natsume had been with Ruka all evening, and – if questioned – had slept at their house. If she asked to speak to him, she would be told that they had both gone out for a walk. This time, at least, he was covered for.

"Really?" he taunted sarcastically, and she pulled his hair spitefully.

"I was thinking," she said again, "that maybe going on the pill wouldn't be so bad." To be fair, there was a growing surplus of used condoms developing, and although they were naturally throwing them away, Mikan was softening up to the advantages of alternative contraception.

"Of course it wouldn't," he replied assuredly. "Have you got to work today?"

"Uh, not until the evening," she answered.

"Good; we'll go today then?" He pushed for it – the sooner he could get rid of the condoms, the better. He'd never have to use one again hopefully.

Wait a second, what was that implying?

"Uh, there's one little thing..." Mikan said quietly, and Natsume's attention was directed elsewhere.

"What?!" he spluttered. "You want me to do what?!"

"Look!" she snapped. "I know you've had unprotected sex with people you barely know; thank god no one got pregnant, but how do I know you don't have anything?"

"I do not have an STD!" he snarled.

"Have you had a test?"

"No!"

"Then you don't know, do you! You've had unprotected sex, haven't you?"

"I still don't have a..."

"You don't know that!" she screamed, and entrants to the sexual health clinic were reminded of many good reasons to use contraception. Who wanted arguments (or kids) like that?

"I'm not doing this!" he roared.

"If you want to have sex with me again then you will!" she yelled back. "I'll going in there and get the pill, but you can think twice if I'm going to fuck you without knowing you're clean."

"You're disgusting," he hissed.

"You are!" she raged. "You're the one who had all the loose sex."

"I'm fine!" he said. "I'm not stupid, I know enough symptoms."

"You don't know them all," she contradicted. "Some things you can't notice. I'm not putting myself at risk because of your stupid ego." She pointed at the door. "Go in there and get a fucking test, okay? There's nothing wrong with it."

"It's degrading," he said.

"The funny thing is I don't give a shit," she spat. "I'm not doing anything with you until you get one."

"You overestimate your willpower," he retorted hotly, and she scowled at him.

"This is fucking bullshit," she muttered. "You are such a dickhead." She turned her back and walked a few steps away from him. "You know what, when you go in there to order a test you can pick up the pill; I'm not wasting my money."

"Leeching off my money?" he accused glibly, and she made a crude gesture at him with her fingers.

It irritated Natsume that he and Mikan could go from getting along so well – this morning, for example – to being no better than they were right when they first met.

"It's all your treat, babe," she said cruelly. "I don't actually need you or your money."

"Yeah?" he snarled. "You don't need me?" She returned his gaze as aggressively as he gave it.

"No," she said coolly. "I was single and fine before you showed up."

"Why don't you go on and fuck off then?" he said spitefully. "If you don't need me so much."

They carried on looking at each other more than was really necessary, and she turned back away from him and walked off, crying 'fuck you too' over her shoulder as she left.

Natsume was too pissed off to regret anything, but, half an hour later, he did not feel so assured. Perhaps he had overreacted, and as he wandered around – not wanting to go home, but obviously not being able to go back to hers – getting more and more annoyed with himself.

Eventually, with a great, sour scowl, he went back to the damn clinic and ordered the stupid test – in all honesty, they did make it seem very ordinary and easy. He also asked about the pill, and managed to explain himself well enough to buy a few months supply of it; there went his allowance for the rest of the month. Still, if it meant they could patch things up and he wouldn't have to use any more goddam condoms, he would do it.

He got out his phone and messaged her, putting a hand to his ear and feeling the earring – her earring – still in his ear. He wouldn't let them do this, not after that.

Where are you (this is so stupid)? N, x

He had to wait a few minutes before she replied – more anxious than he'd care to admit – but unfortunately she didn't seem in a sympathetic mood.

Why do you want to know?

He replied, 'Because. I'm not letting you go so easily. I want to talk. X' Thankfully enough, she appeared to be swayed a little, and told him in the next message where she was.

The café next to the dry-cleaners on the main street. XxX

He found the place within ten or so minutes, and walked straight into the small room and slapped his receipt down on the table in front of her.

"You win," he said begrudgingly, and she looked up at him in confusion. He sighed and sat down opposite her. "Considering how much of a pain my parents are to our relationship, I decided that being an ass about this was making a bad situation worse; I got your stupid test." She smiled at her victory, and he rolled his eyes.

"You better be about to kiss me soon, because I'm walking straight back out if you don't," he commented offhandedly, and – on cue – she leant across the table and rewarded him with a quick kiss on the lips.

"Thank you," she said with a smile. It didn't need to be said that they hadn't meant some of the things they said, it was enough to know they were okay now.

"So what are you drinking?" he inquired, reaching across the table and picking up her cup to drink from. "Ugh," he said sourly. "Green tea."

"You don't like it?"

"It just tastes like hot water." He sipped again, and they shared a tiny moment of closeness – with how intimate they had been with each other, the idea of sharing drinks or food was natural. But there was still something sweetly domestic about it.

"You could stop drinking it and give it back to me, then," she suggested sarcastically, and as he passed the cup back their fingers met. They stopped, and smiled at each other. Yes. Things would be all right.

"Where have you been all day, Natsume?" Aoi Hyuga asked when her brother arrived back home later that evening. Natsume looked into the main room over her head. "They aren't here," she told him as he visibly hesitated over his answer.

"I was with Mikan," he answered freely. "They think it was Ruka, so quiet about it." Natsume had established with Aoi that if she wanted to know things about Mikan – the two girls got along very well and often she did – then she was sworn to secrecy about everything to their parents. So far she had kept up her side of the deal, which was pretty good for a little sister.

"You were?" she said brightly. "How romantic!"

"When we're 'romantic' you say it's gross," he reminded her; ruffling her hair roughly and making his way over to the sofa.

"Well, I mean, some of it's romantic," Aoi said uncertainly.

"I peed in a cup for her; is that romantic?" Natsume said cuttingly, and Aoi squealed. It wasn't the most savoury thing to talk about with his little sister, but it was true, and today's act was one of the biggest things he'd genuinely done just because she wanted him to, even when he didn't.

"That's just disgusting!" she yelled. Natsume laughed. "Hey, Natsume?" she said after a little while.

"Yeah?"

"Do you love Mikan?"

"Uh..." He didn't know what to say; he should've seen this question coming, but he couldn't say he'd expected to hear it from Aoi first. "You think peeing for someone means you love them?" he joked feebly.

"No! I just meant because you laugh and smile much more since you started going out with her," she explained, and still Natsume didn't say reply. "I bet you do," she elaborated. "You act just like it." Aoi had watched the TV-Dramas; she knew what was going on.

"I..."

Aoi giggled as he trailed off, and then said, "You are hopeless, oni-chan. Have you told her?"

"You should shut up," Natsume said darkly, but they both knew it was simply because he didn't want to answer. No, was the answer to the last question, but the thought of actually doing it was scarier than anything he'd ever considered before. Natsume's head had always led things for him, but slowly his heart was overtaking on the inside lane. He wasn't sure if he liked it; he felt like he was losing control.

That didn't mean it wasn't true, though, and the point remained that he was probably in love with her.

Yes, Hyuga Natsume was in love with Sakura Mikan.

I am totally including other characters and everything :D

Oh yes, the earring Mikan put on him is the one we see Natsume wearing in the manga/anime. Silly plot details FTW.

Leave a review please, and et cetera et cetera. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, I read each and every one of them, and if want to know anything I'll definitely reply, okay?