EXODUS

Chapter Five: These Times Together

A/N: Need I say that this was beta read by stardrop...again?

------------------

Natsume was not sulking.

Natsume did not sulk. Natsume brooded. Lurked. Plotted.

Henever sulked. Ruka was just insane. Just because he was sulking didn't mean that Natsume was too. Even though they were good friends, that didn't mean that they did everything together.

He combed his fingers through his raven locks to get rid of the pink Sakura petals on his head and continued sul...erm, brooding on top of his Sakura Tree.

He was definitely NOT jealous. He was disgusted, that was what. Disgusted that such a pervert like Andou actually existed in the same area as him. Breathed the same air as him. He was shocked that he was actually breathing, period.

Bright red eyes glinted in displeasure. "I can do something about that." But his day dream about torturing Tsubasa in the many ways that he knew how was cut short by the sound of rustling leaves. His stomach jerked in surprise, but his face stayed as impassive as ever when Mikan's face appeared in front of his, eyes bugged out, tongue lolling to the side.

Hanging upside down with her knees wrapped around one of the branches, she beamed excitedly at him. "Scared you. Nyahahaha."

"You did not."

"Yes, I did. You did that little twitch thing."

Natsume gave her an arrogant stare. "I do not have 'a twitch thing'."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't."

"Yes," Before he continued their all around immature way of fighting, his eyebrows snapped together. "Wait, what the hell are you doing here? And get down from there. You'll fall and break your neck." Natsume winced. Che, I do sound like her mother. He reached for her waist and held on while she flipped and her feet touched the branch that he was sitting on.

She was still in her pajamas, so she straddled the branch and looked at him while he was doing his best to ignore her.

"Why are you mad?"

"I'm not mad."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not and stop distracting me. Why are you even here? You're supposed to be in the hospital."

"And you're supposed to be in class. So, we're even." When Natsume glared at her, she pursed her lips. "So? Why are you mad?"

"Quit it. I'm not mad."

"Then why is that vein on your forehead sticking out?"

Natsume slapped a hand on his forehead and felt nothing. Mikan grinned. "Hah! Gotcha!" She peeked at Natsume's expression, but he looked away from her. "You're mad because I kissed Tsubasa-senpai, aren't you?"

Surprised, Natsume blustered and huffed. "Why the hell should I get angry because of that?"

"I don't know. Hotaru said so. She said you're angry because I gave senpai a kiss for keeping me company, but I haven't given you anything for saving my life."

"Che, I wouldn't be so…" Natsume blinked, her words were just starting to sink in. He sent her a sidelong glance. "So, what? You're here to thank me?"

She shrugged, looking a little embarrassed, but she leaned over.

"What?" She asked when Natsume leaned back before she could kiss his cheek.

"I saved your life. Don't you think I deserve something more than what your stupid senpai got for keeping you company?"

Mikan frowned. "Well, what else…"

"A kiss."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm giving you a kiss."

"Not a peck on a cheek. A kiss."

Mikan blinked, her cheeks suddenly tinged with pink. "You mean on the lips?"

Heart pounding, Natsume wiped the sweat off his palms on his pants, but he shrugged as cool as ever. "It's only fair." He eyed her through the corner of his eyes and saw her biting her lip. "Well, if you don't want to, that's fine. Although I don't see what the big problem is, it's not like we've never kissed before…"

Natsume's heart felt like it was about to burst and his brain was screaming in silence when he realized the warm, soft thing that was stifling his words was Mikan's mouth. He felt her lips move against his and he felt as much as he heard her soft sigh. His heart tripped and spun and trembled when he felt her eyelashes fluttering, tickling his cheeks.

Mikan felt the shock that ran through Natsume in the way he stiffened and froze, but he was never one to stay inactive for long. When she felt him relax, she unconsciously sighed into the kiss and was about to suck it back again when his lips came alive against hers. His touch was soft, so soft and gentle, almost dreamlike. She felt the warmth and strength of the palm of his hand on her face, cupping her cheek, his thumb moving softly.

At first she was nervous and suspicious that this was just one of his perverted schemes, but now she was glad that she did it. Her heart felt soft and she didn't know why. His touch made her want to cry, but not because she was sad. She couldn't understand it, but she was beginning to get used to the fact that her thoughts and feelings about Natsume would never be as clear as her feelings and thoughts about every body else. He didn't fit into just one part of her life; he was not just a friend, not just a special person in her life, and not just family.

A cool spring breeze swept through the branches of the Sakura Tree, showering them in a storm of soft pink petals, falling over the two teenagers, lost in each other and the first stirrings of awakening desire.

Natsume let Mikan set the tone, thankful for anything that he could get and following her every move, he kept it light and almost chaste. Already giddy and lightheaded on her trust and surrender, how she opened her mouth without pressure from his, but still he kept it soft and affectionate. Showing his appreciation towards her gesture, her willingness to touch him, to give something as precious as a kiss to him, he closed his eyes tightly, overwhelmed by his emotions, and savored it.

When she lifted her lips from his, he let her…and missed her.

He watched her silently, watched her eyelashes flutter open and her amber eyes nervously met his. She saw the question in his eyes and smiled shyly in answer. Looking at her, smiling, her cheeks as pink as the Sakura petals that was streaming above and all over them, her amber eyes bright, her caramel hair fluttering in the wind, he was dazzled yet again.

Mikan saw the gentleness in his red ruby eyes, beautiful just like his face, peeking out from his 'in-need-of-a-cut' raven bangs. Sitting in front of her, looking as pensive and quiet as ever. A dark and hard figure in a setting of nature's softness, yet it fit him somehow. Rather than handsome, Natsume was closer to beautiful without being feminine. Years made that beauty colder, edgier, and some even said cruel, but Mikan saw him differently and always did; lonely, strong, gentle, and sometimes even a little bit shy.

She kept her eyes on his face when he lifted a hand to her hair, his eyes following the downward trail of his fingers through the strands of her hair. When he lifted that hand in front of her eyes, there were several pink petals inside his palm, he opened it and they watched as it fluttered away.

Mikan touched his hand and his eyes returned to hers. "Thank you, Natsume."

He didn't offer up a smile or say anything; instead he leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes.

She hadn't said anything to anyone about what happened to her yesterday, and that the sole purpose of her calling her senpai was because she was afraid to be alone. But now, now, everything felt all right again. Natsume could be a great pain, but strangely, he was one of the most calming influences in her life…and she should've known that Natsume would've felt compelled to ruin this perfect moment.

"So," he began, "you're not going to start thanking every one like this, right?"

"Natsume…."

He smirked, and then turned his back towards her. "You have to go back to the hospital."

She moaned miserably, but she hitched herself on his back anyway. "Do I have to?"

He jumped down, landed lightly on the ground in front of startled underclassmen, who choked on their lunches. "Yes."

She inched down on her feet and hunched her shoulders when he frowned at her, or more precisely, at her feet. "Where are your shoes?"

She scowled. "The nurses have it. They think I'm a flight risk."

Natsume rolled his eyes and turned his back again. People blinked when they saw a slip of a girl still in her pajamas climbing onto the back of the notorious Natsume Hyuuga.

"Giddy up, Natsume-kun."

His left brow twitching, he started to walk after securing her weight with his hands on her thighs. "Keep that up, polka, and I'm going to tell the doctor that you need a flu shot."

The sound of her inhaling sharply made him want to grin, and so did the disbelief and betrayed tone in her words. "You wouldn't dare."

"Just try me."

She circled her arms on his neck. "I'll just tell them you're lying."

"Oh?" Just by his voice, Mikan knew his right eyebrow was up. "And who do you think will they believe? A two star, who ran away from her room or a special star, who caught her sneaking out?"

"You did not catch me sneaking out."

"But they don't know that, do they?" By the sudden weight he felt on his shoulders and her sudden quietness, he knew she was pouting. "If you stay there until tomorrow, we'll see about getting you out."

He regretted his show of kindness when she squealed into his ear. Deaf in one ear, he yelled for her to shut up, but Mikan merely snickered and hugged him tighter.

And if along the way, people stopped to stare at the bouncing, squealing, hugging girl on Natsume Hyuuga's back, both of them ignored it.

Natsume sighed. "You're such a pest, oujo."

--------

Hotaru frowned at her camera. "Good thing I brought extra batteries or I would've missed some good shots. I have to remember that."

"I can't believe you dragged me here to tape them." Ruka hugged his knees, his heart breaking at the need and affection that he saw on Natsume's and Mikan's faces. He leaned his chin on his knees. Ruka had known of course, he knew, but...he couldn't give up the hope. As long as there was a chance, even if the odds were against him, he…Ruka pressed his fingers on his eyelids, hard.

Guess there was no use on hoping anymore.

"Better you know now than later."

The cool and steady tone from the girl sitting beside him pulled a smile from him. "Trust you to be so...realistic, Imai."

"Would you rather not know?"

Ruka's blue, blue eyes shifted towards his all-time tormentor, her hands busy with the contraption in her hands. "Yeah, I guess."

The motion of her hands didn't stop; they kept fiddling with pieces of machinery and for a little while, the only sounds between them were the whispering of winds and the metallic clink of her screwdriver while Ruka watched the gentle swirl of Sakura petals.

"That's stupid."

Ruka blinked at the nonchalant tone and just started laughing until he almost toppled off the tree they were sitting on. He chuckled. "Yeah. Yeah, it is."

----------

"Oujo. I swear to Kami, if you ask me that one more time, I'm going to tell the doctor you need shock treatment. Now, go to sleep," Natsume whispered harshly.

The hospital room was dark, but here and there were the white glow of blankets and silver glints of sleeping bags zippers. The pack had settled to sleep on their choice of floor except Hotaru, who conquered the other empty hospital bed and Natsume, who vetoed the room's only couch. Deep breathing and light snores filled the night just as shadows crept in along with the silver fingers of moonlight.

Natsume sighed, burrowed deeper into his blanket, and closed his eyes…then opened them again when he felt them. Them, as in her eyes, staring straight at him, prodding him awake. "Oujo, stop staring at me and go to sleep."

"I wasn't staring at you."

"Yes, you were."

"No, I wasn't."

Knowing that this is just a ruse to distract him, he settled and closed his eyes. "Fine, so you weren't. Go to sleep."

He should've known that she wouldn't quit that easily. She started humming.

He ignored it. She started tapping her toenail on the iron railings.

He ignored it. She started to scratch her fingernails on her blankets.

He ignored it, although he was wishing very hard for Hotaru's baka gun.

She started whispering his name, which grew louder and louder.

"Oh for Kami's sake." He sat up and tossed the blankets from his legs." Why won't you go to sleep?"

She sat up to and pouted at him. "I can't. I already took a nap this afternoon and if I take a nap, I can't go to sleep at night."

"Then why did you?"

"It's not like I meant to. I fell asleep."

"Fine." Natsume sighed. "What do you want to do? Are you hungry?"

She gave him a glance, as if trying to figure out how much leniency he was willing to give her. He sort of liked that look on her. "A bit."

Natsume rolled his eyes. "Figures. You're always hungry. Fine, I'll raid the hospital kitchen, but no whining. You eat what I get, alright?"

She beamed at him and nodded. "Yes, Natsume-kun."

He looked at her suspiciously. "I mean it."

She nodded. "Okay."

He walked outside, but still kept her in his sight, not used to the biddable side of his.

"Don't forget dessert, Natsume-kun. It's chocolate cake today."

"Chocolate cake, huh?"

Mikan smiled to the waving hand at the door.