Ciaossu!

Here's a little one-shot as a sign of thanks to people who still support me despite my hiatus. I know I shouldn't be doing this as I have far more important things to do, but the spirit of the Holidays (or is it laziness?) is rather overwhelming, so here you go!

Note: this is set on an alternate universe where Yuka did not die. I figured that if I were to add the consequences of Yuka's death, drama would certainly follow, and that's the last thing I want in my fics, not unless I wish them so. So for this fic, none of what happened in GA's latest chapters happened here.

Disclaimer is a word that speaks for itself

Crimson Confessions

Because when he confessed, all there was was red. Either it was his red orbs or the red fluid that suddenly dripped from her nose, she will never know. But the idiot was smirking anyway. "Hn, crimson now, huh, Polka?" Egoist.

Mikan was appalled.

Then and there, she was gaping. A good deal of attention from other students was upon her, for indeed she looked utterly idiotic. Her stressed physique was outlined by her expression of sheer aghast, as her arms were frozen in mid-air for she was flaying them violently and wildly, moments ago. Her bag was dropped and rather discarded on the snowy flooring of the sidewalk, as she stared at her best friend, who nonchalantly shrugged in return.

She awkwardly eyed the passersby who, in turn, stared at her incredulously, before she sheepishly dropped her head, grabbed her bag, and walked shakily toward Hotaru. The latter kept an impassive face, but with a playful smirk tugging on the corner of her lips. "You heard me, Mikan" she spoke.

"No! You can't be serious! That is outrageous!" she shrieked, walking rather too quickly that Hotaru had to jog to catch up with her. When the former did, she placed her hand sternly on Mikan's shoulder and forced her to stop. "Hotaru, tell me you're kidding" she spoke shakily, her breath visible in that cold, December night.

"No, Mikan, I'm not" Hotaru shrugged offhandedly.

"But-but—it can't be true! It just can't! In so many levels, it can't!" Mikan whined, clutching her then throbbing forehead. Soon they had reached the building of Alice Academy's dormitories, and Mikan increased her pace once more, now that the snow was no longer of any threat to her—or so she thought, of course. Soon enough, she tripped and flatly landed on her face. "Oooooow!" she whined.

"Jiving with the Christmas season now, are you, Polka? Or rather, Gingerbread man—are you serious?" abruptly, she sat up and forced her skirt to lower. She seethed and glared at the intruder, before her eyes subconsciously fell upon the girl behind him, and a blush coated her cheeks slowly, thereafter. She lost her glare and her gaze timidly fell to the ground. Natsume raised a speculative brow. "Oh?"

"G-go away, Natsume" Mikan breathed weakly. Natsume shrugged and walked away wordlessly. Hotaru smirked.

"What did I tell you? That, dear, was just sign number one"

"Sign number two; you get all fidgety around him. Sign number three, you suddenly feel so conscious about yourself when he's near. Sign number four, you—"

"I get it!" Mikan shrieked, grabbing the book from Hotaru and chucking it away. The latter glared at her. "I get it, alright. I do. Now stop rubbing it in my face" she huffed and sat back down with a soft plop. Hotaru stood up and picked up the book, before she resumed her previous position by the foot of Mikan's bed.

"It would not seem that way if only you acknowledge it—if you truly get it, that is" she said softly, grabbing Mikan's math book and skimming it briefly. "Look here, you've got homework. How about you do this first?"

"It's Friday, Hotaru" Mikan simply said.

"And, so what? I've never heard of Friday being a national holiday of not doing home-works" she shrugged as she took Mikan's math notebook as well, handing both math objects to the owner, who, in turn, eyed them disgustedly and grabbed them, hauling them away towards the general direction of her bag and other school things. Hotaru glared again. "It's no wonder you fail class, you idiot" she commented, and sat on Mikan's recliner. "Now, going back to the topic at hand—"

"Stop it, Hotaru! Why are you so persistent, anyway?"

"This makes good blackmail material, Mikan" she smiled evilly.

"That doesn't! And since when did you resort to blackmailing me? You know I do what you want in a whim!"

"Not you, idiot, but Hyuuga"

"What does this have to do with him!" Mikan's cheeks were reddening as she spoke, and she quickly grabbed a pillow to hide her embarrassment with, letting out a shrill shriek of frustration as she did so. Hotaru eyed her incredulously.

"Everything," she began, "about this matter, has something to do with Natsume."

"No it doesn't! And when did you guys get on the first-name terms, huh?" Mikan removed the pillow and accusingly glared at Hotaru.

"For six years, we have been classmates. I believe it is highly unlikely that I stay too formal with him, don't you think so?"

"Touché" Mikan said thoughtfully. "But that's beyond the point. Remind me again why you were suddenly so into the idea of…of—agh! I don't want to say it! The mere thought is appalling!"

"What is? That you are in love with Natsu—"

"Don't say it!"

"—me Hyuuga? You are, Mikan. What's not to say?" Hotaru shrugged nonchalantly.

All Mikan wanted that Friday night was to hang out with her best friend. She invited the latter to a sleepover, and was beyond surprised when Hotaru agreed. She wondered, of course, as to why Hotaru would agree so easily, but thought that she simply just must have missed the times when they would sleep together as kids. Indeed, it was partly true. But then again, it wasn't entirely. Hotaru was up to something, as per usual, and she was laying her cards now.

"Look here; I don't know where you got the idea that I am—ugh—"in love" (air quotes) with Natsume, but it's not true" she said. "Besides, I find no reason why I should be" she stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest.

"And I find no reason why you shouldn't be" Hotaru shot back. Mikan glared. "You have been together through thick and thin, and certainly something must have developed, right? You even said so yourself"

"I was ten!" Mikan shrieked. She sighed and mumbled meekly, "Why are you so into this, Hotaru?" Mikan suddenly asked, intently staring at Hotaru's dull amethyst orbs. She shrugged.

"Like I said, this makes good blackmail material" was all she supplied, leaving out the deeper reason as to why she wanted Mikan to get together with Natsume in the first place.

Mikan was almost lightheaded as she mindlessly entered the classroom.

She greeted her classmates absentmindedly, for the routine itself had been engraved in her system. She fell down her seat with a soft flop, as her fingers pocketed the paper once again. It was stuffed haphazardly deep within her jacket's pocket, yet she feels threatened in a way—almost as though it would fall out and someone would see it, thus she felt there was a need to check up every now and then.

"Stop being so paranoid" Hotaru commented dryly, looking back at Mikan with a bored expression.

"How could I not be?" she shot back, in which Hotaru simply shrugged and smirked, before she looked away.

A few moments afterwards and the door opened once more. In walk Natsume and Luca, as the usual posse of what little fans they have left in their homeroom, squealed in delight, acknowledging their presence. Mikan whipped her head to the direction of the commotion and scoffed. 'Six years!' she thought, exasperated, 'For six years we have been together. The transfer students, I can understand, but for Pete's sakes, Wakoko and Sumire! Aren't they tired of Natsume's face already?' she looked at the aforementioned lad briefly before blushing, and quickly ducked her head just in time to avoid the lad's curious gaze.

'That was so freaking close' she breathed heavily, her heart thumping loudly in her chest, as the blush gradually subsided. 'What the hell was that!" she dared not look up to see Hotaru smirking contentedly, on her forehead metaphorically was bold, neon letters which said 'I told you so'.

All day she tried to avoid him.

Why would she not? After that ridiculous revelation Hotaru had said so offhandedly, the epiphany certainly knocked Mikan off guard. Confused and distressed, she had no other choice but to avoid Natsume so as to spare herself from more confusion and distress. She was worn out from trying to clear her thoughts and avoiding him for he seemed to be everywhere.

"Everywhere!" she shrieked. "Every-damn-where!"

She lolled her head back against the concrete wall. The roof top was peaceful. Rarely anyone came up here, for no one really had bothered themselves climbing 20 flights of stairs or so. She was exhausted beyond words after her little escapade, but the tranquility she was basking in now was definitely worth all the troubles earlier.

A place where she could clear her head was all she needed and the rooftop served that purpose.

What was wrong anyway?

Nothing was. Everything was perfect, in fact. She got her mother back (though she was quite opposed with the idea of a step father initially, she had learned to accept it—Uncle Shiki was nice after all), Koji was gone from Alice Academy—from their lives. Sakurano-sempai now handled the elementary division, (almost immediately prior to his graduation). Everything was back to normal—better, even.

Indeed everything was perfect. So what the hell was wrong?

Natsume Hyuuga suddenly comes in the picture—that's what's wrong!

Suddenly, his all-too-handsome face would come into her head. Suddenly thoughts of him would plague her all day. Suddenly she'd be dreaming about him. Suddenly she would find herself unconsciously taking note of his impossible "breathtaking" features. Suddenly. Suddenly!

Suddenly her heart would pound wildly against her chest. Butterflies would infinitesimally flutter about in her stomach. Her head would throb painfully, yet not quite. Beads of sweat would trickle down her forehead. Her breathing would be ragged. A thick blush would coat her cheeks. Suddenly she would be so self-conscious because suddenly Natsume Hyuuga was right beside her.

"Oh my goodness, I'm losing it" she looked heavenward and stood up, dusting off her skirt. She pivoted and walked away, oblivious that the aforementioned lad was just a few feet away from her with an impassive face and arms crossed over his chest. He smirked.

Because suddenly, too, she blurted out how "my heart would pound wildly against my chest…when Natsume Hyuuga was around".

Thump, thump; her heart roared and soared wildly in her chest.

She dared not look up, most certainly not when a thick blush coated her usually ashen cheeks. Her angelic face was outlined with a frown, and her beautiful features were scrunched up in a contemplative manner. Balling her fists so tightly, her knuckles paled, she sighed warily.

This must not go on.

She mentally gave herself a beating, and almost smirked.

But really, who was she kidding?

This was suddenly a routine. She did not know when it began, but when it was there, it was awful. Hell, I tell you! Embarrassing beyond human comprehension, and she almost wallowed away in self pity, willing to crawl into the deepest caverns of earth. Never in her life had she imagined—not even in her wildest dreams—this day to come; never anticipated it. And so when it hit her—hard, might she add—she was completely dumbfounded, appalled, and even aghast.

Her fingers twiddled nervously against one another.

"Polka, what are you doing?" his husky voice nearly made her jump out of her skin. Completely caught off guard, Mikan did not expect anyone to be in their classroom this time of the hour. It was seven already.

She pensively looked up, apprehension glistening in her olive orbs. 'Just great.' His lips quivered ever so slightly as he wondered what was wrong. His eye brow shot up inquisitively, as her voice cracked with nervousness. "I-I-I was…I was doing some thinking…" she admitted abashed. He eyed her curiously, but said nothing as he flopped down on his seat beside her, and closed his eyes. He propped both legs on the table and used his arms as pillow as he lolled his head backwards. "What are you doing?"

Natsume fluttered an eye open. "The same as you" he said almost standoffishly as he closed his eyes once more. Mikan looked away. The awkward silence stretched afterwards, and it was killing her. The ambiance was far too heavy for her liking, yet her feet did not seem to be receiving any brain signals for the moment, so she was glued to her spot, nervous, fidgety, and awkward. "Stop that" Natsume whispered.

"What?" clueless, she wondered.

"Your fidgeting; stop it" he commented, sitting up straight and staring at her.

Mikan quickly craned her neck to the side, profusely refusing to make any sort of eye contact. 'Gosh, that could blind me' she groaned softly, 'why do his eyes have to seem like they're freaking sparkling when I look at them? Damn it, who the hell has red eyes, anyway! I swear, they must be contacts' she smirked to herself.

"What's so funny?" a smirk of his own outlined Natsume's lips. A flicker of amusement glittered in his orbs as he studied her subtly, resuming his previous position. Mikan blushed, very much embarrassed that he caught her.

"N-nothing." She lied. As she stood up, she suddenly felt her hand being rudely yanked, forcing her back on her seat. "Ow, what was that about?" she demanded, making a move to stand up once more when a warm, almost scorching, pressure was applied on her thigh—unsteady, rigged. Her olive orbs widened as they subconsciously trailed towards the callous hand of none other than Natsume Hyuuga, then to the boy himself who was staring—glaring, almost—at her, rather intently.

She blushed ten shades of red.

"W-what?" she squeaked.

"You were avoiding me" he stated, not tearing his gaze from her timid one. As she made a move to look away, he firmly held her chin with the hand that previously held hers. She wanted to close her eyes then, but realized that by some god damn force, she could not.

"No I wasn't"

"Hn" he scoffed, "You're a bad liar"

"What is to you then?" she ought to applaud herself for having the guts to talk back at Natsume at this very moment of vulnerability, but that would come in later—that is if later were to come in the first place. Natsume scoffed again, this time rolling his orbs heavenward. The dim room was lit only by the moon light which casted soft shadows upon them. His chisel features were outlined very beautifully with the light of the moon, much to Mikan's delight, and embarrassment, as she found herself slowly taking in the beauty that was Natsume.

"Take a picture, it lasts longer" and there goes the serene moment. Mikan tried to break free of his grasp, but he held her firmly and refused to let go of her.

"Let me go!"

"Why were you avoiding me?" he reiterated, this time his voice a bit firmer, albeit the littlest bit shaky. Mikan scoffed, but was rigged nonetheless. So he noticed? She wouldn't be surprised if he did, actually, for Natsume took note of nearly everything around him. At least Mikan thought so. She would never think, much less acknowledge, the fact that Natsume only took note of her.

Cheesy.

Mikan dared to look at his eyes. She suddenly felt her heart somersault infinitesimally in her chest. Her entire posture went ramrod, and her thoughts jumbled in mayhem. It felt as though she was blinded with red—nothing but red that slowly engulfed her entity. She was very much overwhelmed by the lad (or, as Koko puts it, 'incarnation of a god') in front of her, and her body was reacting on its own.

He was just so handsome, it was blinding her. 'Goddamn it, what happened to my brain?' she direly thought as her futile attempts of trying to wrench her hand free were put to naught once more. Damn. She could not breathe properly as the proximity hit her. He was close, for crying out loud! She tried to move away but he only moved closer. Her head drooped low, abashed. He smirked in satisfaction.

"Just answer my question" said Natsume as he tightened his grip on her wrist. "It won't hurt" he continued with a sly shrug and a subtle smirk. Mikan did not have the guts in her to look up—most especially not with this much proximity between them. It was simply nerve-wrecking, and she was going to lose it soon if he did not stop.

'Fu-dge', she thought, willing herself not to curse, as dire the situation was.

"I-I…" she stammered as her body trembled in what she could only deduce was fear. Natsume's facial expression hardened as he leaned in closer. His breath danced with hers invisibly, though both could feel it. He was so close. The tip of his nose touched hers, before he moved his face to caress hers. Mikan unconsciously close her eyes as she savored the moment. She whimpered softly, as Natsume clicked his tongue.

"Heh, you're enjoying this" he scoffed, stilling his actions yet not quite pulling back. Mikan pensively fluttered her eyes open, but stopped halfway, slightly lightheaded.

"N-no" she retaliated feebly. Natsume clicked his tongue and rolled his orbs heavenward.

"Really…?" he challenged. Mikan snapped back to her senses and pulled away almost immediately, surprising Natsume as she did so. She successfully retrieved her hand and pivoted, making a mad dash for it, when not long after she realized her way out had been barricaded by a thick wall of fire—not quite harmful, but not entirely harmless either. She couldn't nullify it as well—her mind was too hazy for her to muster enough energy to terminate such a strong fire. She was trapped.

She craned her neck backwards when she heard light, echoing footsteps. Apprehensively had she spoken, "H-hey…l-let me o-out" she knew for a fact that her face was most likely as red as a ripe tomato now, and much to her chagrin Natsume was enjoying the effect he has on her. He smirked coyly as he gingerly placed a hand underneath her chin—softly, almost lovingly.

"Answer the question, Mi-kan" he stressed out her name and Mikan almost fell to her knees. Gosh! He was making a mushy mess out of her.

"W-w-what?"

"Why were you avoiding me?"

That was it. The way his crimson orbs seemingly penetrate her very soul destroyed her resolve. She found herself slowly uttering the words she dared not acknowledge, even around Hotaru, and much to her horror, Mikan did not even know how to stop. It was like Natsume bewitched her—like how he always does. "I…I…"

"You?" he mused and smirked, pushing Mikan gingerly against the wall as he clasped both her hands in his and held them against the concrete behind her. She tried her best to loll her heads further backwards just so she could avoid his gaze (though this was mostly subconscious on her part), but to no avail. Her actions pleased Natsume as he dipped his head lower to the point where his tongue could feel her collarbone.

She moaned.

(A/n: Holy shit! This could turn into a lemon or something!)

He growled against the hollow of her throat. He felt the slight vibration as she spoke. "I…I was t-trying to—ah—think"

"About what?" Natsume felt the painful throb of his crotch and he smirked. He continued his ministrations as Mikan struggled to answer him, and this was very much enough to inflate his already humongous ego.

"Y-you…"

"Me?"

"You…heart…pounds quickly…when…you're around—ah! Stop!" she screeched when he bit her neck hard. He stifled a chuckle as he proceeded to lick the now swollen area next.

"Sensitive?"

"No!" she shrieked. "Natsume, stop!" she wildly thrashed against him but his grip as his will was firm. He held her in place, not budging the slightest.

"Aren't you going to confess or something?"

This awakened what little of rationality was left in Mikan. For the briefest moment, her orbs widened as they trailed downwards awkwardly to meet his crimson ones. "Confess?"

He scoffed. "I know it, polka. You love me don't you?"

Mikan felt her temper flared—it seemed like rationality was taking its toll again. It was also probably because Natsume had stopped whatever…thing he was doing, and simply resorted into holding her captive, all the while intently gazing at her. "The nerve of you!" she shrieked and glared accursedly at him.

"The nerve of me? You think I didn't know, did you?" he smirked once more. "That you love me"

"Shut up! I don't!"

"Well I do" he whispered solemnly, his head dropping low, his bangs cascading and obscuring his orbs. He spoke almost shakily and even his hands trembled. "I do…I've always had…for six years…" he continued, seeming to muse more than converse. At this, Mikan's thoughts were in mayhem once more. Not believing what he had just said, her olive orbs remained as wide as saucers, and she was gaping.

"W-what…?"

Natsume looked up, confident. "You said you don't love me right? Well, I do. I love you." He spoke flatly.

"WHAT!"

"Are you deaf, idiot! Not only are you stupid but your hearing is impaired as well" Natsume commented sardonically, rolling his eyes heavenward.

"Well excuse me for thinking that the world is ending then! What you said, Mister Hyuuga, was simply unbelievable and rather inexplicably impossible so pardon my reaction, because I bet normal people would just say 'oh I love you too' when the most cold-hearted bastard they have ever known, just suddenly blurted out 'I love you'—"

As soon as she finished her sentence (or most of it, anyway), Natsume smirked and quickly ducked his head to meet her lips passionately. He crushed his lips against hers as his tongue began to lick her bottom lip, in an urgent need for entrance (A/n: oh my gosh…the grammar! Where do I get these corrupted stuffs!). She complied meekly after he tightened his grip against her, almost threateningly. He briefly smirked in satisfaction before he entered his tongue in her wet caverns, exploring, exploring, exploring.

She moaned unconsciously when he began to nudge her tongue with his, encouraging her to even try to go against him. It takes two to tango after all. Natsume released her hands and snaked one arm around her waist, the other on her nape, forcing her further against him. She whimpered as she clutched shakily on the fabric of his polo, needing for support before her knees gave up on her.

It took a while before they panted for breath, but as soon as they parted, Natsume began to caress Mikan's cheeks with his tongue, thus eliciting under pleasured moan and shudder from her. "Enjoying this?"

"Mmm…" she mumbled, incoherently.

"You're bleeding" he stopped abruptly and pulled back, though he kept his embrace. Mikan looked up, dazed and confused.

"What?"

"Your nose—it's bleeding" he retrieved his arms from her, and almost immediately, she placed hers on her nose. Indeed it felt wet. Indeed it was bleeding. Her eyes widened as she quickly groped for her handkerchief, but Natsume beat her to it, dabbing his own on her skin gently, as he nudged the back of head, forcing her to lower her head.

"Hey! You're supposed to—"

"Tilt your head back? I don't think so. Let the blood flow" he said as he guided Mikan over to the teacher's desk and sat her there swiftly. The nosebleed did not seem to stop anytime soon.

"R-right."

Red. At that precise moment as her gaze gingerly fell upon his, all she saw was red.

Because when he confessed, all there was was red. Either it was his red orbs or the red fluid that suddenly dripped from her nose, she will never know. But the idiot was smirking anyway. "Hn, crimson now, huh, Polka?" Egoist.

She glared feebly at him before she smiled. The bleeding now seemed to have subsided. He retrieved his drenched handkerchief and pocketed it. "Oh! Your pocket will get dirty!" she motioned to grab the offensive object that was his bloody handkerchief, but he pried her hands away.

"Hn; let it be. Answer me, Mikan" he said seriously. Mikan's head tilted in confusion, but as his gaze slowly began to "penetrate her soul" once more, she realized what it was he was talking about. She almost gasped. Her gaze fell to the ground, abashed.

"I…"

"Yes, you love me too. I know" she looked up in fury, as she jabbed an accusing finger against his chest.

"You idiot! Way to ruin the moment! So you think you know everything, huh! Well what if I suddenly said that I did not love you! Then what—your ego will be bruised up, won't it? Damn you, Natsume for ruining that moment! Do you know how precious it is for a girl when she is about to say to the man of her dreams that she loves him! Of course you don't! You're a boy for Pete's sakes! And damn it, that was my first kiss—well, not technically, but then again, it was also you. Damn you, Natsume! If I didn't love you so much—"

He laughed.

It was a quiet sound that was barely audible, but Mikan could hear it anyway—see it in fact. His shoulders shook lightly with his mirth as a wide grin tugged on his lips. His eyes were unfocused, though they were still on her, and his fists were trembling gingerly as well. He was laughing. Mikan could not possibly be wrong.

"Oh, you're laughing at me you jerk? Damn you! I hate you!" his mirth subsided gradually as he gazed at her with a small smile.

"No you don't"

"And how would you know?"

"Because you just said how much you love me"

"Natsume, damn you!"

And he wins their argument once again.

Sequel?

Well, we'll see about that.

I'm still a bit sour on what had happened last GA update. I could not believe it. So to put off what misery remains within me, I decided to indulge in happy GA NxM fics. And I came up with this. I've wanted to post a story similar to this plot but never found the time and motivation to do so. Anyway, I suppose it is only proper that this be labeled the first on my K-POP ANTHOLOGY fics, even though this is not what I had initially wanted to be the first. Oh well.

On a lighter note, I had enjoyed writing this while listening to K-pop songs repeatedly. I believe that this story would have more appeal if you were to listen to SNSD's Gee as you read this, just as how I made it.

~ Mickey no Kimi ~

Please do show your love! 3

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