A/N: Hi. I wrote this because I really think that Hotaru and Ruka are perfect for each other and that there should be more stories about them. Please tell me what you think. Thank you.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except the plot.

He smiled and pulled her closer as the sun began to set and the wind grew cooler.

"You feeling alright?"

The girl stifled a yawn and nodded, "Yes, thank you."

They watched in silence for a few minutes as the brilliant colors of the sunset faded, being replaced by the starry cloak of the night.

"Hotaru? I think we'd better go back, it's getting late."

The said girl shifted, removing her hands from his waist and straightening her skirt. She walked away, and Ruka Nogi soon followed.

Before they reached the cafeteria, the amethyst-eyed girl turned to him and reached up to give him a peck on the cheek.

"Thank you, Ruka. 'Till next time." She smiled briefly, her eyes shining before turning towards the dining hall, nodding curtly to those she considered her friends.

He followed after a while, smiling as always. He recited a well-planned lie when he was questioned by his best friend about his whereabouts.

No one had reason to suspect they had been together. And once again, all was well.

"Hotaru?"

It was one of the few instances wherein the inventor had allowed Mikan Sakura to accompany her in the laboratory. The ever-cheerful brunette had promised to be well-behaved and in a wave of good mood, Hotaru had agreed to let her in.

When Mikan spoke for the first time in a half-hour, Hotaru looked up from her newest invention and raised a questioning eyebrow, "What?"

"You seem to be much closer to Ruka nowadays." Mikan replied, a hand idly tracing Hotaru's prototypes.

Hotaru froze but recovered instantly. "What do you mean?"

Her friend stopped fiddling with the machines and looked at her with wide, brown eyes, "Well, it's kinda hard to explain. Your actions hadn't changed much. I mean, you still blackmail him and he still yells at you but—"

"And your point is?" Hotaru cut in quickly. Hoping to dissuade Mikan from pursuing the topic, she decided to change the subject, "Aren't you and Hyuuga supposed to meet ten minutes ago?"

But Mikan's streak of stubbornness kicked in and she shook her head, "Natsume can wait. Anyway, as I was saying, you both still act the same but there's….there's something different."

Hotaru rolled her eyes, "You're not making sense as always, stupid. The same but different?"

Mikan ignored the insult, knowing by that time that her best friend did not really mean it, "Seriously Hotaru, there's something. Don't worry, I'll figure it out soon."

And with that, the brunette waved goodbye and skipped out the door.

Hotaru shook her head. She forgot that Mikan could be very perceptive.

He smiled as he brushed a few strands of hair from her face, "You seem distracted lately, Hotaru. Anything wrong?"

They were lying on his bed and Hotaru shifted to face him, "Nothing's wrong. Ruka, can you believe that Mikan actually observed that there's something new with us?"

Ruka rolled his eyes at her tone of disbelief, "Come on now, Hotaru. Is that so hard to believe? I mean, it's unexpected but…"

Hotaru sighed, "Fine. She said there's something new about the two of us. She just doesn't know what."

"Uh, Hotaru?... Don't you think it's time we told them? I mean, it's okay if you don't want to…it's just…it's getting harder for me to pretend to get annoyed by you, you know."

Hotaru smiled in response. "Believe it or not, it's getting harder for me to annoy you too…"

Ruka chuckled. "So, this is it then? I guess, it's time…it has been two months."

She nodded and moved closer. "This doesn't mean I'll lay off with the pictures though. It really pays off."

He laughed and nodded. He had never expected to fall for the so-called Ice Queen but somewhere along her blackmails and his frustrations, he saw the caring, beautiful amethyst-eyed girl behind all her facades. And he was very thankful for it.

Now all they had to do was how to break the news to Mikan and Natsume.

They stared. And they stared for quite a long time. It was the first time Ruka had seen the Natsume Hyuuga wear an expression of total shock and he had to fight the sudden urge to laugh.

Natsume managed, with considerable effort, to close his mouth and return his eyes to their normal size. He let his gaze travel to their faces—Ruka's smiling and Hotaru's impassive—to their clasped hands and back to their faces once again.

Then he glanced at Mikan. Her eyes were wide and she was still holding her chopsticks in midair.

He cleared his throat, "Uh, Ruka, Imai…come and sit down."

Ruka almost laughed, Natsume actually sounded friendly.

"You look stupid standing there."

Or maybe not.

Ruka smiled, "Thank you, Natsume." He approached them, pulling Hotaru by the hand. They sat down and proceeded to unpack their lunches and eat.

Throughout this Mikan had still continued staring at them, wide-eyed.

Hotaru and Ruka acted as if nothing was amiss. Before long, Mikan had snapped out of her reverie and turned accusing looks at them.

"How long?" Her tone demanded an answer.

Hotaru looked up at her and said, "Two months."

At that, Natsume's eyebrow rose, "I never knew you were that good at hiding things."

Ruka merely smiled.

"Two months?! TWO months?! Two MONTHS?!" Mikan had stood up, "And you haven't even told us?!"

Ruka attempted to calm her down, "Sorry Mikan…"

But Hotaru said coldly, "Don't apologize. Why should we tell you, baka? Besides, you never told us about you and Hyuuga. Isn't this just fair?"

Natsume snorted while Mikan blushed.

"Hotaru! I-It's different with N-Natsume and m-me!."

The inventor rolled her eyes, finishing off the last of her lunch, "Whatever, Mikan."

She stood up and dusted her skirt, "I'm going to the cafeteria." Without waiting for an answer, she started to walk away.

Ruka also stood up and fixed his lunch, "See you guys soon then. Bye!" And he proceeded to chase after Hotaru.

Mikan faced Natsume with an expression that clearly said, 'What was that all about?'

He smirked, "It's about time anyway." His eyes continued to follow the pair and his smirk grew larger as he noticed Ruka holding Hotaru's hand once again.

.

.

.

The fan girls would be in for a nice surprise.

To Kisa-bun: Thank you so much for the review. I'm not really sure if it should be a multi-chapter story. What do you think?

To near05, windlady, and An Identified Nobody: Thank you!

To Hilaire: Thank you so much for your review. I'm really sorry about the punctuations, I get confused over them. But your review was really appreciated! I'm still thinking about making this a multi-chaptered fic since I can't seem to get my head into writing. I'm sure I'll get over it! But expect more oneshots soon. Thank you once again, sorry I'm redundant.

xXx

I would also want to thank those who read my story and who've added me to their fave list.