Disclaimer: God, do I really need to say this? I do not own Gakuen Alice.

A/N: Happy New Year! To celebrate, I'm going to do a series of ten short drabblyoneshots on ten pairings/groups of people, one for each countdown number. One will be posted EVERY SINGLE DAY until the 11th, which is the deadline for the Gakuen Alice Club at deviantART's New Year competition. Title from "The Perfect Year" from "Sunset Boulevard".

First up - Hayate/Hotaru. The whole thing is set five years in the future, so Hayate is 20 and Hotaru is 15.

XXX

TEN - X - 10

It's much too late at night to be working, thinks Hayate. Still, Hotaru - or Cool Blue Sky, as he likes to call her in his mind - is not in her room. Instead, Hayate found a note saying, "I'm working late tonight. I'll be in my workshop if you want me. -- Hotaru," on her desk.

Oh crap, Hayate thinks. Where the hell is her workshop? He had been there before, true, but he's completely forgotten the way ... Although he graduated from the Academy two years ago (making it two years since he and Hotaru started going out, seeing as she had only accepted him on his very last day), Hotaru had shown him her lab once or twice. But he still couldn't remember.

"Let's see ... it was definitely down this corridor, up one of these stairs ... or was it down that one? Oh great, now I'm talking to myself." He takes a deep breath. "HOTARU!! COOL BLUE SKY!!" he shouts down a random corridor. They all look the same ... Hayate is beginning to regret not going with Hajime to visit Rui's place, or at the least forcing Hotaru to come to his apartment for New Year's. There was a reason why students were allowed to get out of the Academy this time of year. Hayate sighs.

A door opens somewhere. "Hayate?"

Hayate whirls around and still doesn't see her. "Blue-chan? Where are you?"

"I told you to call me Hotaru," she says. Hayate can practically hear the frown in her voice. "Down here; hurry up."

Finally. Hayate sees a movement down the corridor that he came down, and rushes towards his girlfriend. "What're you working so hard on? You planning on missing the new year?" he says as he walks into the cluttered room.

"I haven't missed it yet. By my watch, I still have exactly one minute before this day ends."

Hayate laughs and says, "Yeah, whatever. So what's the big project then?"

"Just something small for you. A late Christmas present," says Hotaru. Her mouth twitches in an almost-smile.

"But you already got me a present ... but's that still cool," says Hayate. He's wearing that present, an electronic scarf which changed colour with mood and temperature, right now. "And how did you know I was going to get here before midnight?"

"I'm sure you're desperate to be with me for New Year's Eve, seeing as you gave up having fun with Rui and Hajime," she says. "Besides, my sensors could hear you running around the building for the last half-hour, so I knew exactly where you were all along."

She knew? Hayate is torn between laughter, frustration and confusion. He closes his eyes and tries not to think about it. "Ugh ... right. Cool. Yeah."

There's a "ting" from somewhere in the room, and then the sound of footsteps and someone (or something, knowing how many robots Hotaru has in this room) moving.

"Happy new year," Hotaru says just before she kisses him. Hayate's eyes are still shut.

XXX