I don't own GA

When I saw you, I fell in love. And you smiled because you knew.
-William Shakespeare

The Fourth Meeting: Eleven Years

It had been eleven years. Eleven long years. And there she was, looking like an angel with that innocent sparkle in her hazel eyes and with her long, flowing brown hair, staring directly at him. They were at a cafe, the one that they used to go to when they were still high school students, and a waitress was on her way towards their table. She stopped short though, and Natsume heard that audibly gasp.

"Mi-Mikan?"

He didn't want to take his eyes off of the brunette, but the curious voice was all familiar to him and it prompted him to look up.

"Anna?" He didn't mask the surprise in his voice, because meeting the pink-haired woman was one of the least expected things that he'd thought of happening. He thought that she went to a culinary school, thanks to Koko's source of information. Natsume didn't bother to keep in touch with anyone except from his other guy friends, and speaking of them, he hadn't seen Ruka for weeks.

The damn blonde would probably have his jaw hanging open too, like Anna.

"N-Natsume! Oh my god, it's been a long time! Wait, you're with... You guys have been together all these years?!" the cheery woman squealed. Natsume felt a pang to his chest and he contemplated whether to tell Anna that he truly just met Mikan by accident. Everyone in their class knew that Mikan transferred out of the school and never came back, and they were also there to comfort Natsume and Hotaru after the brunette's disappearance. They didn't even bother to ask what happened, and if they were to see him now, they wouldn't hesitate to ask him because eleven years had really passed by.

But it still hurt.

He couldn't bear the fact that he wasn't able to find Mikan in all those years, and had somehow given up because he thought that if she wanted to see him, then she would. That invitation never came though. It was like the only sign that he really should stop waiting or looking for her. He focused all his energy trying to get his medical degree, but now that Mikan was right in front of him, he could only look at her in wonder and fear that she would disappear once again. It was irrational, he knew, but he couldn't help it.

"How are you, Anna?" the hazel-eyed woman asked her old friend. She didn't seem bothered about Anna's question and she looked genuinely curious about the pink-haired girl's state of living. It must have been hard for her, seeing the people that she hadn't seen in years.

"I'm doing well. I'm a full-time chef in a restaurant that Nonoko is managing with Yuu, her husband. My friend called me today and asked me to cover her shift today, though, and I immediately said yes because I haven't been in this town for a really long time."

"That's good. I...I missed you guys," Mikan said, eyes were watering but she didn't let it fall. Natsume wondered if she was used to doing that—holding back and not complaining—and it must have been much difficult for her because of her situation.

"I missed you too, Mikan!" Anna cried out, throwing her arms to the brunette, who seemed surprised at first before she returned the hug. He was glad that she let out a few tears to roll on her cheeks because he knew that keeping all those emotions inside must have taken a toll on her. The chef slowly pulled away and regarded Natsume for a moment and she smiled at him. "I'm glad that you found each other. Next time I need some medical attention, I'll go to you, Dr. Hyuuga!" She saluted him before asking their orders. The raven could only chuckled and they said told her what they wanted to get. Anna went to the counter and the couple was once again on their own.

"So, you really are a doctor now, eh?" the brunette in front of him said playfully, a twinkle in her eyes as she met the man's reddish brown ones.

"Well, yeah. It took me a while but I made it."

"Never knew that you were actually that smart," she teased him.

He rolled his eyes at her, heart was light because there was only a serene atmosphere around them without the tension that he expected to come. "But I knew that you'll become an artist."

She laughed and it warmed him to hear that tinkling soft sound. It had been too long since he last heard it and yet, it was able to bring all the good memories that he once shared with her. It made him laugh too, and he wondered when was the last time he felt this carefree—like a dead weight on his shoulders had been lifted and he could finally breathe properly again. He had buried himself in his work that he rarely spent time for himself, least with his friends, and now the exhaustion was taken away from him upon the sight of the brunette.

And speaking of his meeting her, he had that sneaking suspicious that a certain silver-haired brat had something to do with this.

"Do you have to go somewhere after this?" Mikan asked, worry laced her voice. She really didn't have to, because Natsume was more than glad to give up his time for her and disregard whatever plans he had made. Not that he could think of any at the moment.

"I-I didn't see my sister tonight," he dumbly said. Okay, so maybe he was really losing his cool.

She blinked at him and asked, "What's your sister's name?"

"Aoi. And, uh, she's with Youichi."

"Oh! Youichi? I didn't know that he's acquainted with you." She grinned, and for a moment she looked exactly like the version of her when she was in high school—happy, carefree, and didn't give a damn about what other people thought of her. He really liked that side of her. He remembered the times that he would see her walk to the rooftop of the school building, even though it was clearly prohibited to do that, and then there was that one time he couldn't resist to go there because he knew that he would see her. That was probably the start of everything then. And he didn't regret it.

"Yeah. He...mentioned about you, actually," he said hesitantly. He pursed his lips, watching Mikan's face cloud with confusion and he really would be damned if he couldn't admit that her expression was adorable—eyebrows were meeting on the center of her forehead, a little pout on those lips, and head tilting on the side.

"Did he really?"

"Mhm..." He paused, didn't really know if he should tell Mikan why exactly he hadn't sprinted out of the restaurant and come meet her. Her confusion was smoothed into a reassuring one, a smile gracing her lips and it urged him to go on. "I was scared."

"Scared?"

"Yeah. I...didn't know what to expect. I knew that you're here and I feel like...I feel like you were so far away. The eleven years...has probably something to do with it." He wanted to look down at his fingers that were now clasped together on the table, but he was still frightened. In his mind, he had conjured up the thought that she could leave any minute, any second, and he was afraid that he wouldn't notice.

Just like how she disappeared before.

"I'm sorry." It was a quiet mumble but he heard it, and he saw the brunet look away from him, which sent a painful squeeze in his heart. What was she exactly sorry for? That she left him and their friends? That she was the reason of the nights he dreamed of her? That she was the reason why he wanted to try harder and become a doctor? Or...

Was it because she wouldn't be able to meet his expectations?

There were many questions swimming in his head and the conflicting emotions must have had shown in his eyes because the moment she glanced back at him, her face contorted in pain. He didn't want to see that expression on her, and he would hate it more if the reason for her to show that face was because of him. He wanted to see that frown turn into a smile that didn't fail to brighten his day. He wanted to see her happy.

Even if he had to let her go.

Then, she spoke. Stories in those eleven years they spend apart from each other had flowed from her tongue, springing tears in her eyes at some points, like when she told him the reason why she had left him. Natsume didn't know when it was when their hands held each other, not letting go until she finished telling him what happened. He encouraged her to continue whenever she thought that she would hurt him, like when she told him that she attempted to go to arranged dates because she wanted to help her father. It was very understandable, and he couldn't possibly imagine what she had to go through, adapting to an environment so alien to her and leaving the life that she was comfortable with. He was proud of her; she was able to make it through and she really looked like she was living well.

"And I...I just," she sobbed, "I missed you... I missed Hotaru, Ruka, and the others. I thought of going back twenty times, or more than that, but I had to stay away."

He raised his hand and gently reached out to her, caressing her cheek and wiping away her tears.

"I missed you, too."

She calmed down after a few minutes, and they realized that they never actually thought that no one came to bring their hot chocolate drinks yet. It might have been that Anna wanted to give them privacy and the crimson-eyed man was truly appreciative of that.

"Really?" she asked, nose was almost red and eyes were still teary but she wasn't crying anymore.

"Really."

Then, her lips tugged upwards, giving Natsume what he truly wanted to see and it made him smile back to her. Anna was probably watching them, because when the mood surrounding them had changed, she finally approached them with their hot chocolates. She quietly left after the couple gave their thanks. They contentedly sipped their drinks, and Natsume told his own story to her. She listened carefully, laughing at how he told her about meeting Youichi and commenting at how protective he was. He didn't deny it, and he looked at her teasingly when he said that he was also "possessive as hell." It brought her that familiar pink color on her cheeks, and Natsume's signature smirk returned.

"Well, I surely do hope that you're not taken yet," he said, trying to sound indifferent but he couldn't help the playful edge in his tone.

"Mhm...maybe. I might have had met quite...a few handsome men," she countered back, staring at him innocently.

He raised an eyebrow at her and retorted back, "But probably not as handsome as I am, right?"

She laughed, filling his ears with that sound he loved so much. "You're so full of yourself."

"Well, I have to or I won't be able to perform emergency operations on people."

"I doubt that being handsome has something to do with it."

He grunted, "I think I have regular patients because of it, actually. The hospital should be grateful of me."

"Yeah, yeah, Dr. Hyuuga. I bet there are women all over you now, eh?" She mimicked his raised eyebrow and she placed her chin on her hand, elbow propped on the table.

"So many," he told her confidently, snickering.

"I see." Mikan suddenly straightened herself up, a casual expression on her face as she picked up her purse. She looked like she was about to get up from her seat and Natsume had never done anything so fast in his life before as he emulated her action, making the chair screech painfully behind him.

"Wh-Where are you going?" he asked, panicking, and his eyes held anxieties that he hadn't meant for her to see.

The brunette suddenly burst out laughing. She put down her purse on the table, where it originally was, and she motioned for Natsume to sit down again. "Oh my god. I'm sorry. I couldn't help it."

"That's not funny," he scolded her. Upon hearing that, her laughter ceased and her hazel eyes softened as she placed them on him. She clearly regretted doing what she did, but both of them had realized how much Natsume cared for her and feared of losing her again.

"Hey, do you wanna...start over?"

The black-haired man couldn't help but blinked many times, trying to decipher what she just said. He forced his mouth to stay close even though it would've had hung open in surprise. He never thought that in this situation, it would be Mikan who would ask that question. He fidgeted in his seat and pulled his seat closer to the brunette. The damn table was really annoying him; it was preventing him to close the distance that he hated so much between him and Mikan.

"Come again?" he asked, and even if he knew that it sounded dumb to ask that again, he wanted to make sure. He didn't know when would she bolt out of there, leaving him in the dust, and he felt guilty thinking about her like that but the brunette had already exhibited what she could do. The only question now was if she wanted to.

"I want to start over with you again, Natsume," she said with much certainty in her voice that it tugged his heart painfully but welcomingly. He wanted to say those words to her, but her saying it was even better. He really needed some sort of reassurance because the loneliness that he felt in those eleven years she wasn't by his side was unbearable. He gave his heart to her when she left him, and now he could see her taking good care of it, preventing it from hurting again.

"I would really love that, Mikan."

Those words were the most sincere ones that he uttered in his life, next to what he told her in the gallery show. When he said those words to her, he really didn't get a reply and he wasn't expecting her to. There were certain things that time could change, and even if his love for her had merely grew and was set ablaze again, hers could've died off. However, the mere fact that she was there right in front of him and was asking that question could mean that he hadn't lost all hopes yet of gaining her love back.

Oh, only if he knew.

"Then," the brunette took his hand between hers and the caress of her warmth prompted him to raised their hands together and placed them on his lips. "Will you be with me again, Natsume?"

"I really should be the one asking you that, you know."

She smiled sadly and said, "But I was the one who left you."

"And I was the one who chased after you."

"I'm sorry if I keep disappointing you."

He shook his head. "You never did. We were both hurt, and we both need time to heal."

"We need each other," she added. He smiled at her so tenderly, just like how he used to, and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. Mikan, let me say ask you. Do you want to be with me?" He was desperate, but he didn't show it. The last thing he wanted was for her to accept him out of pity and not out of love. He wanted to convey that he really wanted this, and that she wasn't fighting alone. He wanted to be with her, support her and make her smile at all times. He'd seen the darkness before when Mikan, his light, was taken away from him, and he didn't want to let her go now that he found her again. He couldn't help but muse that it was the third time in this lifetime that they met each other by accident. He wanted so much to think that there was that red thread of fate binding them together because in his heart, he believed that he wouldn't be able to love another. It would always be her—that girl he had met on the rooftop of the hospital and on the rooftop of Alice Academy.

Meeting her on a rooftop would probably be the best, he thought. But he would never complain because he finally saw her again. Be it in the lake, or in a roller coaster, or in a coffee shop, he was just glad that she was with him now.

"Hey, do you wanna go to my apartment's rooftop?"

It startled him and he laughed because realized that they were both thinking the exact same thing.

He nodded to her and together, hand-in-hand, they waved goodbye to their friend and left the cafe. They entered the street lightened with lamps under the starry night, and the chilly breeze didn't bother them as they walked side-by-side, with their warmth shared between them.

It was the start of their another beginning.

A/N: Yayyy! They're together :) I hope you liked this chapter, and I know that it seems slow, but forgive me if it has been almost a year since I started this story so the plot I had in mind is definitely changed D: However, I hope that I still satisfied some of your expectations :) Thank you for reading and for your reviews! I may be planning to end this story in a couple more chapters, so make sure you stay tuned~
-CrimsonHazelEyes