Disclaimer: All Characters from Gakuen Alice belong to Tachibana Higuchi.

A/N: Natsume is slightly OOC at some points but meh

11 - Blind Love

He felt a hand clasping his own, occasionally shifting from side to side before settling back down comfortably on the bed. He knew he was in the Academy Hospital, could tell by the sterile smell attacking his nose, but he was unsure of how long he'd been there.

"Is he awake yet?" it was an unknown voice, and Natsume assumed it was one of the nurses

"No… He- He hasn't moved or anything…" Mikan. He'd recognise that voice anywhere. Her hand tightened around his own and he heard a quiet sob, "Will he be okay? He will wake up, right?"

"Sure he will, don't worry hun." There was another cry, and Natsume felt a pain in his heart at the broken sound, "Just come tell me if anything happens."

He heard the door creak shut and Mikan removed her hand from his own before returning it, except now it was slightly damp. She was crying. Natsume wanted to console her, tell her he was fine and that she should cheer up, but no matter how hard he tried to open his eyes, he was always staring into blackness.

"You're going to be alright, Natsume." She sounded tired, her crying causing her voice to wobble, and he wondered how long she'd been next to him, gripping his hand, "You have to be alright, you have to come back to me."

He tensed his hand and a gasp sounded around the room, letting him know he'd successfully managed to clutch her hand back.

"Don't – Don't cry… Mikan," His voice was hoarse and he fought to open his eyes, to see her, "Don't get upset… upset over me."

The sobs still coming from her grew louder, but now there was a hint of happiness in them and he felt her throw her arms around him, crushing him in a warm hug.

"Ow, Polka Dots." He hissed, pain shooting up his side, and when her weight disappeared he sat up, "Polka Dots?"

"I have to get the doctor," her voice was further away, and he began to reach out to her, tell her to just stay for a few more minutes, "I'm so happy, Natsume. I thought you'd never open your eyes again!"

The door shut with a bang and Natsume stared into the darkness, frowning at her words. What did she mean, his eyes weren't open; He couldn't see anything. A slight panic set in and his hands shot up, rubbing at his eyes and finding that they were in fact, wide open.

"Ah, you're finally awake." It was a man's voice, the doctor, "How're you feeling Hyuuga?"

"I can't see anything," Natsume muttered, rubbing his eyes again as if the action would help, "It's all black…"

There was a high-pitched shriek of 'what' and warm air blew over his cheek. Reaching up his hand, he felt a face directly in front of his own, eyelashes fluttering slightly against his fingertips, and placing his hand in their hair, he realized it was Mikan, though he knew as much from the beginning, no one else would get so close to him, even if he couldn't see.

"Get away from my face, stupid." He pushed her away until he couldn't feel her face under his palm any more, "I can't see, don't get so close… It's unsettling."

"But you can't be blind! You're Natsume!" She was crying again, and he felt the urge to pull her back close, if he could find her

"I'm not some superhero, Mikan…" Natsume sighed, facing the direction he thought she was in, "Bad things happen to everyone."

"Hopefully your sight will return after a while," the doctor interrupted. Natsume had almost forgotten he was there, "We'll have to run some tests, but after that you're free to go, accompanied by Sakura."

"Ah! It's such a nice day! The Hospital was so stuffy!" Mikan breathed in loudly, then exhaled, "We could just sit by the Sakura tree for a while, if you like? Lessons are still going on, and I guess you don't want to go to them… It really is a nice day though; I wish you could see it…"

"Whatever." Natsume sighed, the darkness beginning to annoy him; He'd never wanted to see a nice day so badly. His hand was yet again clutched in Mikan's, but he was gripping hers back just as tightly, a small part of him afraid that she would just leave him alone, unable to see anything. She dragged him along, pulling him left or right if he was ever walking the wrong way, as she babbled on about things he didn't particularly care about, though he half-listened anyway.

"We're here, Natsume." He continued walking forward a few steps, his free arm outstretched to feel around him, but his forehead collided with something hard, and when he felt forward, he realized it was the trunk of a tree.

Mikan asked if he was okay, but he could hear her attempting (and failing) to hold in giggles, and he turned in the direction of the sounds and glared, hoping he was actually facing her. Her laughs quietened slightly as she offered to help him sit down, and they ended up side by side, their backs leaning against the tree with their connected hands lying on Mikan's thigh.

"How aren't you affected by this?" Mikan asked suddenly, shifting around and making their legs and shoulders knock together, "You don't see bothered by being blind at all…"

"The doctor said it'd go away in a few days…" Natsume shrugged, he wasn't that bothered by his inability to see, the only big disappointment was the fact he couldn't read his books, "Anyway, You have to be by my side every hour of everyday until I can see again, I see no downside there."

"W-W-What?!" Mikan squeaked, and Natsume smirked at her flustered voice, refusing to let go of the hand she was trying to get free, "I'm not staying with you every hour of everyday!"

"Oh, you're going to leave me all alone? Unable to do anything, unable to see…" She stopped struggling in his grip and fell silent, and Natsume knew he'd made her feel guilty, "I'm joking, you don't have to stay with me if you don't want to…"

She was quiet for a moment, before he heard a whispered 'Maybe I do want to," and he felt his stomach flip-flop, despite the fact he knew he wasn't meant to hear what she had just said. Being blind had really heightened his other senses.

"What was that?" He asked slyly, bringing up his free hand and feeling around until he found her cheek, grinning at the heat radiating off it, "I heard you say something…"

"N-Nothing! I said nothing!"

Natsume moved his face towards the hand on her cheek, and he felt her eyelashes brush again his thumb. She had closed her eyes and wasn't moving away, was actually letting him get this close to her. His own eyes closed and he pressed his lips against her own, pulling away quickly when he realized he'd missed her mouth and had kissed her chin instead. A giggle erupted from Mikan's mouth, making Natsume turn away from her in embarrassment, hiding his face behind his bangs as his cheeks heated up. It was his one chance to kiss her, something he'd wanted to do for a while, and he went and messed it up.

"Nat-Natsume," she was trying to control her laughter, and he felt her lift their intertwined hands and place a swift kiss on his knuckles, "Don't worry, I'll stay with you."

And something in her words made him think she meant more than just staying with him while he was blind.

A/N: If you see any mistakes or have a problem with any parts of my writing, please leave a review and tell me... It would be really helpful! :3 Thank you!

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