Hey everyone! Sorry about the delay! It sure has been a while. To make up for it I've written a chapter chock full of sappy, ooey gooey, fluff. Not just any kind of fluff, but NatsuMikan fluff. I've rated it T+ for slightly heated scene toward the end, but no sex! I swear! If complete fluff isn't your thing, turn back now. But, without further ado, Chapter 19: Woman.

When Mikan woke up, the first thing her eyes saw was the creamy white color of the ceiling splashed behind a blue spinning fan. The instant, familiar smell of something excruciatingly clean filled her nose, and she knew she was in a hospital. She looked down and saw that her chest down to her toes was covered in a cloud white blanket, but most of the warmest heat she felt was in the palm of her hand. She turned her gaze to a someone holding her hand.

Recognizing the raven hair and handsome features immediately, she felt the need to cry. God, it had been so long since she had seen Natsume. It felt like forever and a day, and now all she wanted to do was curl up beside him and kiss every bit of his being. But he was asleep. For a split moment, she forgot about the fact that she was in the hospital. Last she remembered, she was in the back of a car being rescued from a kidnapping. But none of that mattered, now.

She let go of Natsume's hand, gently placing it on the bed, and ran her free hand through his hair. Several minutes later, Natsume's closed eyes twitched. He slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head. Mikan dropped her hand from his hair and froze. The last time they'd seen each other both awake, Natsume was nearly naked with another girl in bed. There was a fair amount of understanding in the air, but it mixed with a heavy dose of awkwardness, like the two hadn't seen each other in years.

"Natsume," Mikan started slowly. Natsume's heart caught for a moment. "I know that Scarlet tricked you. I'm not mad." He looked longingly down at her hand he grabbed in his, both scarlet eyes tinted with a bit of deprecating disappointment.

"You sure?" he muttered.

"I don't know how I'd be able to blame you even if I was mad," she said with a gentle smile. "Really Natsume, I'm sure." She tugged on his hand and pulled him to sit on the bed. As soon as he was within reach, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. She breathed in his scent, a mix of soap and fire meshing together to form a scent that she thought was just plain arousing. She pressed herself into him, pulling him as close as she could.

Natsume had to remind himself to breathe evenly. His arms lay flatley at his side for several moments as he tried to regain control of his mind, heart, and limbs. Then finally, he wrapped one arm around her, then another. His arms held her as tight as they could without breaking her, his hands gripping her shirt. Natsume dug his head into the crook of her neck, into her hair.

"I missed you," he muttered. "If anything happened to you..." He didn't finish. Mikan ran a hand through his hair and pressed a kiss to the underside of his chin.

"I always make it out somehow; I always do." He pulled back and ran a finger down her face. It reached her cheek, and poked her.

"You're an idiot sometimes," he told her. She gently nudged his arm, but then paused.

"Natsume, why are we in the hospital?" Natsume shifted himself so that he was sitting beside Mikan. He grazed the top of her skin gently, as he ran his fingertips up and down her arm. She hoped he didn't notice the chills it gave her.

"You fell asleep on the way back to the academy apparently. That Kenji kid said that his boss used his Pain Alice on you." Natsume faltered for a second, like the utter thought of Mikan in any sort of pain made him queasy. "The doctors wanted to just make sure it wouldn't have any lasting effects on you. Or me for that matter. They did some testing, and you'll be fine. You and I just slept for a while, is all. I woke up yesterday." Mikan frowned.

"How long have I been out?"

"Three or four days. Polka dots, not a lot of people survive what you went through. Of course you're going to be tired." Suddenly reality hit her.

"Are you okay? Natsume, he beat you in front of me. I was so worried, I could barely stand it. What Hotaru, and Tsubasa-senpai, and the rest of the DA, or what about-"

"Mikan, relax," Natsume interrupted. "Everyone's fine. It's over now."
"Kenji," she stated. "What about Kenji?" Natsume's look hardened a little. For a second Mikan thought he was a little jealous.

"I didn't care to ask, but he's awake and breathing if that's what you're wondering. You can ask him yourself in the morning."

"But-"

"For now let's just get you signed out, and go back to the dorms for bed." Mikan frowned, but nodded. He helped her out of bed, and the two of them hand in hand walked out of the door.

Mikan insisted that she spend the night with Natsume. At first, she tugged on his sleeve and gently asked if she could sleep beside him. He had said, no, she needed to get some real sleep and she wouldn't sleep well if she spent the night with him. But then she wrapped her arms around his waist, pouted her lips, and muttered "Please?" Natsume couldn't resist.

They decided on his room because, lets face it, Natsume's bed is so damn comfortable. But as soon as they stepped into the room, Mikan felt a sweet burning in her lower abdomen similar to the feeling she had right after the welcome back party. For several minutes, she stood at the back of the room inches away from the wall. She watched as Natsume changed from black jeans and a tshirt to just soft pajama pants and a bare chest. Natsume's exposed half made the burning even worse. Finally, he gave an exasperated sigh and looked at her.

"Are you just going to stand there all night, or are you going to get changed and go to bed?" She wasn't paying much attention, though. She found herself staring at Natsume, smooth and built. His long raven hair contrasted his creamy pale skin and ruby red eyes so perfectly, that they complimented each other. Even when he looked slightly annoyed, he was gorgeous. She knew what she wanted.

No, it wasn't sex. It wouldn't be sex for a while, but it was a line that she hadn't crossed before. She scolded herself, but that didn't stop her from saying the words she needed to say.

"You never kiss me like a woman." Natsume frowned, arching his eyebrow.

"What do you mean I don't kiss you like a woman?" Mikan tugged at the hem of shirt, feeling more than just a little uncomfortable.

"You know..." she tried to explain.

"No, I don't know."

"Like how french men kiss their women." Natsume was used to being able to translate her ramblings, but this was totally different. He was fairly certain Mikan had no idea how French men kissed their saw he didn't understand so she continued. "I was locked up for a while, you know? It gave me lots of time to think. I got to thinking, you probably didn't just take off Scarlett's clothes."
"For the record, I thought it was you," Natsume cut in.

"The point is, you probably kissed a lot." Mikan tried to push away the jealous she was beginning to feel. "The kind of kissing that leads taking clothes off and such. That kind of kissing is how I always thought a man kissed a woman."

Finally, Natsume understood. Somehow he wasn't surprised that the little incident had led to something like this. He hadn't expected it to just go away.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes."

Natsume took a few steps toward her. Mikan stared at him as he neared her, almost shaking from nervousness and excitement. He stopped a few inches in front of her, and stared down at her. She looked into his eyes and round they were dark, filled with a lusty desire. She'd never seen him like this. And then he cracked.

He shoved Mikan against the wall, and crashed his lips onto hers. Mikan almost gasped, but her mouth was slightly occupied. For a few seconds, she just stood there with Natsume's arms around her waist as he kissed away roughly away at her lips. The burning inside of her was at its highest, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. She could feel him smile against her, and smiled back. He took total advantage and used the opening as an opportunity to taste the inside of her mouth.

He pressed slow kisses on her, allowing her to keep up with his pace. She dug her fingers in his hair, and tugged gently. Mikan gasped when Natsume lifted his lips from hers and placed them on her neck. Dipping his head into the crook of her neck, he kissed, licked and bit at the sensitive skin. A small moan escaped her lips, and she was tempted to push his head closer to her. He kissed up her neck, and down her neck until he reached her shoulder. He brushed the hair away with his fingers and murmured in between kisses, "I love you...so...much."

Mikan was finding it hard to breathe. She tried to form a reply, but she couldn't get the words to form. He kissed at her collarbone before lifting her legs up, muttering for her to grab onto him. He carried her to his bed, and laid her down gently. This time, he knew it was her.

Before he bent to kiss her, he looked at her silky skin, and curly auburn hair. And this time when he kissed her, it wasn't forced or hurried, but slow. She made use of her hands as they grazed down his bare chest, and his own hands rubbed her legs and thighs exposed by her shorts. Gradually, the kiss got slower and slower until finally he pulled away and look at her. She was breathing heavily, her face as red as his eyes. Somehow, her shirt and slipped down leaving her shoulders exposed. He gave the exposed skin one last kiss and got up. They didn't need to say anything as Mikan got up and grabbed a big t-shirt and pair of pajama shorts she had saved for an occasion such as this.

Natsume sat at the edge of the bed, staring at Mikan intently as she stood in front of his vanity mirror. She lifted her shirt up and pulled down her jean shorts. In the soft moonlight leaking in from the window, Natsume was speechless. She reached back and unhooked one of her last pieces of clothing, and Natsume panicked.

"Mikan..."

"Relax Natsume, I'm just getting changed." Her curly hair fell down her bare back in lovely waves. He wasn't sure if she was aware, but he could see her front view from the mirror she stood in front of. His question was answered when she looked back at him from the mirror and smirked a little. She pulled her pajama shorts up and finally the t-shirt. Natsume laid back in bed and covered himself with his black and red comforter. Mikan curled in beside him and rested her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered, "You didn't have to do that." Mikan knew he was referring to her sudden boldness

"That's right, I didn't have to."

"So then why did you?" he asked.

"A chest for a chest."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Mikan started to laugh as she answered.

"I saw your chest, you saw mine. It's only fair."

"You really are an idiot."

The two of them laid in bed for several minutes before Mikan whispered, "Natsume where did you learn to kiss like that?" He had to stop himself from laughing.

"Instinct," he said. He received a solid "Oh" in response. Natsume was about to tease her, something about that she was a "woman" now, but when he looked down, Mikan was fast asleep. So he shut his eyes and let himself fall asleep too.

Wow! That was fun to write, I hope you enjoyed it. It's fun to explore Mikan growing up and dealing with her budding adult-like relationship with Natsume. Let us know what you thought in a review or two! c:

This chapter was written by Neverlookback756, and was edited by Sonic-Keyblade007 and EdwardElric108.