Ashy-note I got this weird idea for a fic set simply because I reread Just Another Night and ideas came to my head. Fic title was also taken from A Desire For Her's chapter 7. :D

Genres range from Angst to Humor and beyond, and there's only one pairing (NxM) but eventually I'll throw in some of the generic ones (maybe even until TonoRui - squeaaaaaal). I'll be chronological about this, so I'll start with ten years old, growing older and older every time. Chapters will be preceded by their ages, so you won't really get confused much. Aiming for 30 chapters at least. Any prompts you might want to suggest, write in a review or PM me, I'm happy either way!

Read, review, enjoy. (:

-/-

Nights Like These
Because often the best things in life happen at night.

Title: The Plus Side to Arguments
Age/Time Frame: 10 years old
Rated: K – K+
Genre: Friendship, Comfort
Notes: Change of omniscient view in the middle is intended, so it isn't just a grammatical mistake. (:

It had been weeks since she came to the Academy and reunited with her best friend. Weeks since she'd found her Alice. Weeks since she'd played the dodge ball game against Natsume. Weeks since her Single Star promotion.

Or was it months? She couldn't really remember, but she was sure it was a long time already. So… She was bound to get home sick sometimes, right?

Plopping out of her single-star bed, she clambered through her window and stepped out onto the rooftop of the Elementary Division Dormitory. The sky was a clear shade of dark blue, and the stars that littered all over its navy canvas glowed merrily at her.

She always loved the sky at night.

Everything was quiet and somehow, the place reminded her of her hometown.

I wonder what Jii-chan's doing? Hm… He's probably asleep, snoring loudly as always. She smiled a little at the thought, but no later had the tears made their way out again, and just like other nights before, she found herself crying.

It wasn't that she regretted her decision of coming here, and neither was it because she didn't think of the consequences before deciding to run off alone — hare-brained she might be labeled and intuitive she might be, but the choice of setting off to find Hotaru she actually gave a lot of thought. She knew she'd be leaving the comforts of home and the watermelons and the feeling of her own futon and blanket, and of course, her beloved grandfather. But still, giving the matter a lot of thought didn't stop it from hurting, or from making her lonely every now and then.

Sure, she was cheerful and strong and head-on stubborn as a mule, but still… she was only ten years old.

She missed the way her grandfather would sing her to sleep at night, even though he was barely in tune.

She didn't notice the sound of shingle-ish hitting bare feet, so naturally she was surprised to find the young man standing beside her, gazing up at the stars as well.

"Hello, Natsume-kun," she said in a tiny voice, wiping the tears off sloppily on her sleeves and propping her chin against her drawn knees, staring down at the bricks of the roof.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?" she heard him ask. He breathed out, then she felt him sit beside her and she looked at him curiously. He had one leg stretched out, the other folded at an angle, and his arms were supporting the rest of his body as he leaned back on them while keeping his crimson gaze at the starry velvet above them.

She thought he looked so relaxed it was almost as if he was a completely different person.

He flashed his eyes at her but she didn't look away. Instead of asking the same question again, he only spoke nonchalantly to her. "Why are you staring at me, ugly? Don't look at me like that, not while you're eyes are crying and your nose is spewing mucus."

She smiled wanly at him but didn't give a reply and she looked up at the stars as well.

"It's not like you to be so quiet."

Again, she smiled, this time punctuated by a little sniff; she was still crying, but only a little now. "It's not like you to be so persistent either, Natsume-kun," she told him, turning around to look at him with doe eyes that sparkled with tears.

"Hn."

They elapsed into a silence that surprised both… it wasn't exactly a comfortable silence, but it wasn't hostile either. It felt like the eye of the storm to her, and she thought it must be the same with him…

Nonetheless, it was a peaceful kind of sadness.

He, Natsume, however, was a little surprised about it. Never has a moment passed when they didn't exchange heated words, and a few weeks (days and nights both) of the same practice had led him to the inevitable adaptation to the routine.

He just watched her as she childishly watched the stars, and he felt a little nostalgic at the way her loose chocolate-blonde hair fluttered gently with the wind's midnight melody.

That exact moment, she reminded him, in an incomprehensible way, of his missing childhood.

"Something's wrong with you, polka dots," he said, in an attempt to strike up a conversation. It was unlike him, but somehow he disliked her being so out-of-character. Weird enough, he liked it better when she was Mikan-ly noisy. "What is it?"

He didn't expect her to answer properly, but now he was getting used to the idea that she was never going to be anything he could predict.

"I miss my grandpa," she told him in a squeaky voice. "I miss home…"

He sighed out before setting fire to her hair.

"Natsume-kun!" she screeched, patting the loose threads to kill the fire, "don't do that! You're wasting your Alice!"

He was a little surprised—even at that moment, she was still able to think of something other than herself?

"You've only been here for five months and you already miss home?" he said when he had put the fire out and resumed to his star gazing. "Don't you think that's a little selfish? It was your own mulish decision to come here after all."

"Mou, Natsume-kun," she mumbled, shifting slightly so that she was sitting exactly beside him, "I know what I did, I just…"

She sighed resignedly. "You're right," she said again. He subtly glanced at her and saw another threat of tears looming.

"I always am."

She snorted a little despite almost crying. "Arrogant jerk."

"Childish idiot," he said in reply.

"Perverted maniac."

"Strawberries."

She looked at him, "That's getting old, you know."

"Never with me," he told her, standing up and placing his hands inside his pajama's pockets. "I'm calling you that forever."

She stared up at him, eyes still watery, then flashed her usual heart-melting smile.

Seriously, how could she smile so much? The thought baffled him greatly.

He looked at her for no longer than a second then turned to look at the stars again. "Hn."

"Thank you, Natsume-kun," she whispered gently. He got a little confused, and he looked down at her and saw the smile still on her face. "Thank you for what? I didn't even do anything."

"You argued with me."

"Yes, and that's a gift from the gods, I'm sure," he said, rolling his eyes at her answer. Sometimes the girl was just so naïve.

"No, but it made me happy at least," she replied sweetly.

"I never knew you had such a messed-up humor system, polka."

She frowned then turned away from him. "Never knew you had such a thing for deflecting appreciations, pervert."

Out of her sight, he let slip a tiny smile. Of course, of course he knew their arguments were such a mood-lifter. He felt the euphoric effects of it as well! Well, sometimes…

Not that he really enjoyed it, of course, but there are always exceptions…

"Go to sleep," he said again. "You're grandfather will be fine. You, however, will not be if you continue sulking. So sleep. Tomorrow you'll be back to your stupid self again."

He stood behind her and she looked up at him again to flash him another vibrant smile. His insides melted a little.

"Thank you again, Natsume-kun."

He stuck out his tongue at her and left, but not before giving her one last thing to smile about.

"You're welcome, Youjo."

Hope you liked it!

~Ash.