When I got back from my latest mission I went straight to Mikans room. For the past few years she has been like my babysitter, always making sure I didn’t overuse my Alice and patching me up from my missions. I tapped on her window, finding it unlocked and slipping inside. Almost before my feet touched the ground, small arms snaked around my waist pulling a miniature body to mine. We were in our second year of High school and Mikan doesn’t even come up to my shoulders. “Welcome back, Natsume…” I hugged her arms to me. “I’m back Mikan.” She pulled away to smile up at me but frowned when she saw the bruise and bit of blood on my face. “Sit.” She commanded, pushing me down onto the bed while she rummaged through her dresser for the first aid kit hidden there. While her back was turned I took a minute to really look at her. She had gotten a bit taller since elementary, but her voice had gone up a lot, and I couldn’t call her flat chested anymore… I cleared my throat quietly, blushing and trying to clear my head of those thoughts. It was weird, to realize that your best friend since primary school wasn’t little anymore. She came and sat beside me, gently dabbing an alcohol soaked cotton ball to my cheek.
After she had cleaned the cuts on my face, she went into her bathroom and quickly grabbed a washcloth, wetting it and using it to clean the blood off my face. She straightened back up and smiled at me, drawing a reluctant one from me. “Thanks Strawberries.” She glared playfully at me, slapping me lightly on the chest in retaliation. She grew serious when I grunted, though, watching me from her keen brown eyes. “Shirt of Natsume.” I blushed and after a second, so did she, but I did as she had told me too, hissing when I reached above my head. She gasped when she saw my chest, reaching behind her to grab the washcloth, walking closer and running it over my chest. “Oh Natsume…” I winced at her tone, knowing what she was thinking about, even though she didn’t say anything else. We had talked about my missions before and have both told the other our opinions. “I know, Mikan. We’ll be leaving here soon, so I’ll have to tough it out for just a little longer.” Mikan was wringing the cloth in her hands, shifting from foot to foot like she does when she’s nervous. “Natsume, promise me that when we get out of here you’ll go easy on your Alice.” I narrowed my eyes at her, almost scowling which she threw right back at me like always. “Mikan you know I can’t promise that. You never know what’s going to happen.” Mikan nodded, dropping the cloth and wrapping her arms around me instead. I hesitantly put mine around her, not used to her being so touchy feely with me.
“Natsume…” She sighed, burrowing her head into my chest. I blushed, glad she couldn’t see it. My head was running away with fantasies. We both know we like each other, but she’s scared I won’t admit it (Which I probably wouldn’t out loud) and I’m not sure if I could admit them to her face, then have her watch me slowly die as my Alice kills me. Either of us wants to risk ruining our friendship if it doesn’t work out. Our relationship is kind of on the fence at the moment. We have moments like these that if anyone saw us would think we were a couple, and then we have moments that we don’t even brush arms when we walk together. She pulled away, turning to grab the alcohol and cotton balls again. I cleared my throat when I saw her red tipped ears, trying to will my blush away. She started to dab at the cuts on my chest, thankfully ignoring twitches when she hit a particularly tender spot.
She finished with my chest much more quickly than my face, probably because she was feeling as awkward as I was. “Thank you Mikan.” She smiled at my thanks, and I knew what she was thinking just by that smirk. Somehow she got this notion I was bashful, and loves to tease me for it. Just as she was opening her mouth, no doubt to tease me, when we were interrupted by a knock on her door. “Ms. Mikan. Are you awake? I heard voices.” Our eyes widened in alarm, turning to the door that hide the Dorm Managing robot from our view. “The bed!” She whispered quickly. I nodded, sliding in one side as she slid into the other. She curled up as small as she possibly could next to me, making it look like we were just her sprawled out. There was gentle knocking before the door slid open to revel the robot. Apparently she didn’t find anything amiss, because after a few seconds she closed the door, locking it back to how it was. After a few seconds, Mikan giggled, then started outright laughing when she saw me smirk. She calmed down after a minute and I realized how close we were. When I was about to move to get up and go back to my room, her arms wrapped around my waist for the third time tonight. I looked down and saw her mouth was slightly open and she was breathing deeply. Great. She had fallen asleep clutching me, so I wouldn’t be able to leave without waking her up, and a grumpy Mikan is a mean ass Mikan. Sighing I made myself comfortable, wrapping an arm around her waist. After a second of debate I leaned in and quickly kissed her forehead, blushing immediately after. I closed my eyes, but they popped open when Mikan whispered ‘I love you’ sleepily, cuddling even closer. I blushed even harder, whispering it back before closing my eyes again. I just barely caught the smile that was spreading across her face before I fell asleep.
Maybe falling in love with Mikan wouldn’t be such a bad thing…
