Till There Was You
Shopping Adventures
Natsume walked down the aisle, his shopping basket still half-empty. He stopped in front of a line of different kinds of cheese and grabbed one. He then moved on to milk, but decided against it; it is just going to get bad in his fridge.
His hat hid his face from the many people also shopping at this evening hour, and even though anyone would recognize him if he as much as looked up, he did not worry about it. For years, he had been in this situation and he simply did not care about it. When he was younger, he enjoyed the attention; he still does, but not to that extend. He liked to go grocery shopping without cameras flashing his every move.
Now, years later he knew how to move and behave to stay hidden. Thank Kami for that.
He put a paper bag of apples into his basket and some bananas then went through the aisle with ingredients for cakes and biscuits. He stared at his list as he walked to avoid eye contact, which is why he did not notice a person crouching in front of a shelf of cake frills. The person stood up the moment Natsume walked past and he almost bumped into her. For a second he glanced up and heard a familiar voice apologizing.
He looked up and came face to face with a bewildered Mikan Sakura. She blinked at him, gaping, while holding a few packets of chocolate hearts for decoration. They stared at each other for a second before Mikan snorted. ''I knew you were stalking me.'' She joked and giggled softly. Natsume chuckled, surprised at seeing her here. He saw her in the library every week for a few months now, and meeting her here in a shop, felt strange.
''Yeah yeah, my fault. What are you doing here?'' he asked curiously. Mikan showed him her basket and he saw so many colourful packets of ingredients and cake decorations, he had to blink from all those bright colours.
''A birthday?''
Mikan shrugged. ''Nah… Just love baking. I always bake something and bring it with me to work. It usually disappears by the time you visit.''
Natsume smirked and looked her up and down. ''I see why.''
She gasped blushing, and glared at him, making a step away. ''I do not eat everything! And my figure is quite all right!'' she told him, crossing her arms in front of her chest. He stared at her in that strange way that made her nervous, and chuckled once more. ''It really is all right.'' He admitted, checking her out one more time, before he laughed.
Mikan rolled her eyes, her cheeks red. ''Ugh, men… One day you'll wake up in a hospital with a shoe heel in your nose.'' Natsume laughed more, but once a few people glanced their way, he quickly calmed down.
''Just joking, but you seriously have a fine figure, so…'' he scratched the back of his neck, unusually shy. ''What will you be baking?'' he asked.
Mikan smiled again. ''Chocolate biscuits. I'll bring them to the library tomorrow. I know we aren't supposed to eat there, but… You know…'' she grinned cheekily and shrugged.
''Sounds nice. Is there any special occasion for that?''
''Nah. No reason. I just feel like it. Not that I have anything better to do.''
''Nothing better to- what about socializing, have you heard of it?'' he teased.
Mikan rolled her eyes. ''I don't like to socialize much during week days. I've got to get up early every day and run a few miles with my dog.''
''Dog?''
''Yep, a black akita.''
''Nice. But I thought you're more a cat lady.''
''No I don-…'' she glared. ''You… You will seriously get a shoe in the face.'' She threatened but a small smile was playing on her lips.
''Yeah yeah, I get it. But I need this face you know.''
''Not my problem.'' She glanced around. ''Aren't you afraid someone will recognize you?'' she asked curiously, glancing around.
''Nah… They don't expect someone like me shopping here.'' He shrugged.
Mikan nodded. ''True. But what are you doing here?''
He showed her his basket. ''I'm hungry.''
She blinked. ''Why don't you go out and eat.
''Can't. Restaurants are too risky. I need to cook for myself.''
Mikan snorted and giggled. ''You can cook?''
He glared playfully. ''Haha, very funny. Of course I can. My mother taught me well.''
''I believe you. So, what will you have?''
''Curry rice. Yum.''
''Mmm… Sounds nice. Now that you've said it, I'm going to make that too. Where did you get that curry? I haven't seen it when I walked past that aisle.'' She wanted to know and they started walking.
''It's here.'' He showed her, noticing only now how petit she is. She was walking right beside him and he was a head taller. They stopped in front of a long shelf and Mikan had to choose between different types of curry. Natsume waited for her, while she chatted.
''Which one did you take? There are too many? Hmmm… I don't know… This package looks better, but then again the price…'' Natsume watched her and smiled to himself. The two of them looked like a married pair, doing grocery shopping.
''What do you think?'' she finally asked him, looking him right in the eye. He was not prepared for her huge eyes to practically swallow him in and was speechless for a second or two. ''Uh… The first one looked all right. I took the normal package.''
Mikan nodded and took it. ''All right. I have everything for the cakes, for curry, and dog food. That's it.'' She smiled at him. ''What else do you need?''
''Uh…'' he looked into his basket. He had his curry, cheese, and fruit. ''Cat food.'' He answered and made his way towards that aisle.
''You've got a cat?'' Mikan asked bewildered, walking after him.
''Yep, a ragdoll.'' He explained and put cat food into his basket. He heard the girl laugh. ''And you said I was a cat lady…'' he rolled his eyes at her as she still laughed. Then she suddenly stopped. ''Wait… You're rarely at home. Who takes care of her/him?''
''My sis, of course.'' They both walked towards the cashier.
''Of course…'' Mikan muttered and Natsume let her go through first. She paid for her things and waited for him. Once they both had everything they needed, they walked out of the shop and stopped outside of it.
''All right then…'' Mikan started, not really knowing if she should just say goodbye and go or chat a little. She wanted to invite him for a drink too, but she had no time for that; her dog was hungry and she was hungry, dammit. It seemed as if the man in front of her was also not sure what to do now. She was a little surprised at his awkward shifting. ''Which way do you go?'' Mikan finally asked.
''Shibuya.''
''Oh, we go the same way then. I'm just down this street actually.''
They started walking, passing people without anyone recognizing the star.
''Should I not walk with you? If anyone took a picture, the newspapers wou-'' Mikan asked in concern.
''Nah, no problem. I mean, yeah, it would be a problem if they caught me with someone, because it would make problems for you with all that press, but no one will recognize me. I know how to stay hidden.'' He smiled, glancing at her and Mikan had a hard time not blushing like the crazy fan she was. And like the girl she was. Quite honestly, she really had a crush on him. She did not know what kind of crush, romantic of just as a fan, but she had a crush on him – that was sure.
''Unless you want your five minutes of fame.''
''Uh… No, thank you. I'm happy being invisible. No reporters for me, please.''
Natsume laughed. ''Makes you feel uncomfortable, eh?''
Mikan shifted awkwardly. ''Well… I mean, it would be nice to have your name in the papers I guess, but not for that reason. I mean – if I were a famous writer and such, that would be a part of my job, I guess. But being a paparazzi victim… That's just… I don't know, has never happened to me before so…''
''Be glad about it… It is a part of the job, yeah, but not that fun to handle. Especially with all those people who'd do anything to get into the papers.''
''Must be tough being someone that known.''
''It is. But it's great too.''
''I can imagine.'' Mikan stopped in front of an apartment building. ''Well, here's my stop.''
Natsume looked at the building. It looked nice with a clean neighbourhood. It was also quite tall with a view on the park nearby.
''Thank you for the company and see you in the library.'' She smiled at him and he smirked back, saluting her in goodbye. ''See ya.'' He watched her walk into the building and then made his way towards his place. Only now did he realize that they did not address each other by names. Not once. He guessed she was considerate and did not mention his name in public, because it might stir unwanted attention. Still, her name was right on the tip of his tongue and he wished he would have an excuse for saying it aloud.
Maybe…
One of these days…
Who knows…
