Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice is not mine.

Night

Sometimes, in the dead of the night, she missed him more than anything.

She was scared.

It was late. Perhaps it wasn't much of a reason for her to be hiding under her blankets with her eyes tightly closed, but Mikan had always been just a little apprehensive of what the darkness held for her ever since her few months of confinement in elementary school, and the fact that tonight was Halloween night didn't really help.

She had heard all those stories. True or not, she didn't know. It didn't matter, since true or not, she was still shaking over them.

She would like some comfort, Mikan thought, pondering over who she should go to on this night. Who would be most willing to take her under their wing?

Certainly not Hotaru. Mikan didn't have a death wish.

Yuu? No, he wouldn't do, he was already too uptight most of the time. He deserved the chance to let loose and have fun on Halloween night, and having Mikan turning up at his doorstep would just stop him from joining Nonoko and Anna on their midnight Trick-or-Treat trip.

Oh yes, that meant Nonoko and Anna had to be striked off the list too.

Mikan heaved a sigh under her blanket. Koko wouldn't do either. He was too fond of making fun of people. She would probably return even more scared than she was at the start.

And Ruka-pyon would be busy with Piyo, surely...

Mikan moved through the dark, isolated hallways of the boys' dormitory, making sure that her footsteps were feather light so there wouldn't be any chance of ghosts or monsters discovering her. She shuddered at the thought and kept walking, hoping to get to her destination sooner than later. It was so close to midnight...

She came to a stop in front of a door, rocking back and forth on her heels in trepidation. He wouldn't welcome her, she knew.

But he was the only one she knew who was anti-social and grumpy enough to not get invited to any parties, or refuse even if he was invited.

She slipped the small, golden key he had given her out of the pocket of her nightgown, remembering what he had said to her when he had dumped it unceremoniously onto her lap - "This doesn't mean you can sneak into my room in the middle of the night. It's just... just in case."

Just in case.

She smiled to herself as she pushed the key into the keyhole and turned.

The room was dark, and she almost thought there was no one there. Her heart started on its slow plummet of disappointment – and then she noticed the lump in the middle of the bed.

He was there.

He was back.

Mikan stepped forward lightly, careful not to wake the slumbering boy as she dropped her blanket on the floor next to his bed, climbing in beside him. His breathing was slow and steady, and he was warm, despite the cold October night. She snuggled up to his side gingerly, and caught a sneek peak at the features she hadn't seen for a good whole week.

His impossibly long lashes were fluttering lightly against his cheek as he slept, and Mikan silently congratulated herself for being sneaky enough to escape his notice – she wasn't nearly as graceful to accomplish feats like this without waking him, he was awfully alert, even in sleep.

Mikan frowned a little as she thought about how fatigued he must be, to sleep through her infiltration without waking up to make a snide remark.

She hadn't thought that he would be back today. His missions were longer now, and more dangerous, she suspected. Sometimes it took weeks.

It bothered her that he still had to do those things. Things that he hated doing.

Mikan settled her head onto his shoulder, finding it hard but comforting and incredibly comfortable, as usual. She found touching him really easy. She used to find it difficult to even look him in the eye after she had been particularly close to him, but not any more, because she understood.

It wasn't perverted at all, to look at someone and think he was possibly the best thing in this world.

Because Natsume was the best thing in her world, and everything more.

She listened to the steady beat of his heart as she slowly felt the drowsiness coming to her. Sleep always came easily with Natsume by her side, Halloween or not.

They were not a couple. They had always been something more than friends, which was clear enough to them and everyone that no one ever tried to make a move on her. Although that certainly didn't stop his fangirls from drooling all over him and coming after him on Valentine's Day, she thought grimly.

They were always something more, but never really quite there yet. Maybe because both of them were just too stubborn to put down the petty insults and go for lovey dovey stuff instead. But then again, lovey dovey wasn't them.

They were a dysfunctional pair, both having seen enough of the world to make them jaded and just a little scarred. They could spout insults at each other easily, but were forever skirting around the subject of them.

Mikan closed her eyes. She doubted that they would ever really get to dating. No, she knew.

They didn't need those things. They didn't need those things when she could simply lie in his arms and listen to him mutter about how idiotic she was, while he could give her the key to his room and then tell her that she wasn't allowed to enter his room, at all.

And she could sneak into his room on a cold Halloween night seeking warmth, him, and pretend that she was simply scared of the dark.

She was far happier that way, and she thought he was, too.

"I hope the monsters scare the hell out of you in your dreams, Natsume," she muttered sleepily as she felt sleep overtake her.

Mikan didn't see the soft, relaxed line of his mouth turn up into a smile, but she felt it.

A/N: I'm awfully sorry I left my other story un-updated for a whole year, haha. This is a short Halloween one-shot that is not so Halloween-y, for the readers who may or may not still be following that poor story. I'll be back soon when the monster that is my GCSE exam leaves me. :)