A Long Night by bellrie
Disclaimer: I definitely do not own any part of Gakuen Alice. Any characters bearing resemblance to those created by the genius Tachibana Higuchi do not belong to me.
It was a day like any other in the Academy, yet Hotaru knew from a mile away that they were already arguing. She paused, then let out a long and exasperated sigh. Sometimes she just couldn't fathom, even with all the brains she had, how the two of them had actually managed to get together. She carefully contemplated using her Baka Gun (Version 5.6) to knock some sense in the both of them but decided against it; she would be making a loss if she wasted any more time and money on the pair of idiots.
She glanced at Ruka and watched with some satisfaction as her newest automaton worked its magic and snapped pictures of Ruka from every angle as it spun around him dizzyingly, capturing him from every possible angle. It still made a lot of noise and the flash was almost unbearably bright but Hotaru had recently created a poll and decided that photos of Ruka blushing or looking annoyed sold much better. The flash helped, it made him cringe and blush. The noise just served to annoy him.
Thus the crude invention.
Hotaru shook her head at the fast approaching squabbling figures and decided it was time to leave. She raised two fingers in the air to gesture at the helpless Ruka who unsuccessfully attempted to fend off the robot cum camera. "Have fun," she said, without a flicker, and the robot mole waved back as cheerily and wove back into the ground speedily, fetching Hotaru back to her lab in the matter of seconds.
Ruka didn't know whether he should be annoyed or submit to her shameless usage of him as a source of profit. He didn't even get twenty percent of the profits now. Her newest invention, the distasteful robot mechanism that flew about him, was taking this game too far.
He glared at the distant couple who were still bickering so loudly it almost hurt his ears, feeling unusually aggravated. Actually, only Mikan was talking, but she was speaking so quickly and furiously it seemed like a full-fledged argument with Natsume rolling his eyes, irritated, at her every sentence.
"… I don't understand why you just can't give in this once, Natsume. I'm your girlfriend and I have a right to these things, if not…"
Cue eye roll.
"I don't like it."
Ruka almost winced at his best friend's harsh response. He thought that Natsume would have softened over the few months with the role of the boyfriend of the most demanding girl on campus: Mikan Sakura.
He shook his head at the sky, wondering how a pleasant walk in the Northern Woods had culminated into such a fiasco. Ruka stared at the robot flickering rapidly about him and shut his eyes at the ridiculousness of it all. He had given up shouting for help. He was getting exasperated, and he didn't like it one bit. Once he got rid of the robot he would be taking some drastic measures on a certain violet-eyed inventor who had taken things much too far this time.
Thankfully Natsume arrived in time, although Ruka wasn't quite sure he was that relieved to see the both of them together in the same place.
"Natsume!" He all but shouted over Mikan's argument, ignoring the robot that had taken to whizzing above his head for a better angle. "Natsume, burn it. Kill it! Destroy it! Please." He was desperate. He felt dizzy and tired from a buzzing and spinning about his head for the past hour. Ruka thought that he would go mad.
Without even a glance or pause from him, the robot ignited into furious flames and for a long moment it continued whizzing around his head and Ruka had to restrain himself from screaming and flailing to get it away from him. He breathed deeply as the robot fell to the ground, its charred remains twitching as it tried to crawl in the direction back to Hotaru's laboratory. Ruka decided not to save this one, for once he would listen to the voice of logic rather than compassion. He tuned back to the argument, bracing himself.
"It's just one date! Why can't you ever commit yourself to anything? I'm your girlfriend and I should be entitled to such things!"
Ruka brushed the imaginary dust off his pants and looked up at the couple with renewed determination. Now the main source of annoyance had been tackled, he felt that he would be able to help them. So he listened in and tried to understand the main gist of the argument. "I don't see why I need to. Did we sign an agreement? Who says that I need to?" Natsume was quietly furious, although his voice didn't quite betray his fury.
"Excuse me? Are you saying you need a reason to date me?"
"You're excused," Natsume replied infuriatingly.
Ruka quietly wondered why Natsume was being so uncooperative. It was just a date, possibly to a theme park (Natsume hated theme parks) since it was Mikan, or to fancy restaurants (which he completely detested because he claimed they were, for the most part, expensive but lousy)
But it was just a date.
Ruka raised an eyebrow at the glowering Natsume, wondering just what it was that made Natsume so angry about the whole affair when Mikan said it –
"Screw you," she said calmly. It wasn't so much of what she was saying, but more of the steely annoyance in her eyes that made Ruka gape. This was Mikan, the ditsy pig-tailed girl that wanted to be a fairy? Fairies did not (or at least in his book) go around calmly scolding people. She was at her limit.
And he saw from Natsume's tight expression that the argument was over, as well. He was probably desperately trying to think of a way to salvage the situation, Ruka thought, and for a while he pitied his best friend. It was a heartfelt apology that would completely decimate Natsume's pride versus the heavy price of messing up their relationship really badly.
And as always, pride won over.
Like the stubborn obstinate person he couldn't help but be, Natsume walked away first. He spun on his heel scathingly and walked away. Ruka didn't look at her expression – he couldn't quite bear to. He was sure that she had dissolved into tears right now despite the tough-as-nails exterior she had displayed earlier.
Ruka stood between the both of them, feeling torn and slightly disoriented. Natsume was walking away and Mikan – Mikan was turning away as well. Disastrous. He felt like he was acting in one of those romance dramas that his female classmates (and Koko) loved to watch. It was one of those scenes where time seemed to slow down as he watched his best friend walk away from his first love.
It was so impressive, Ruka thought, as he bent down to pick up the charred pieces of the robot cum camera that was still pathetically trying to whir about. He shrugged. It wasn't his position to judge and nothing he did would change the situation. Or so he wanted to believe, he chided himself, as he left for Hotaru's lab as well, leaving behind only smoke trails that left any proof that they were ever there at all.
"She said that?"
Hotaru didn't seem particularly convinced, Ruka thought. For a person that stalked him daily with minute-checks, she didn't seem to understand that he didn't have any motive to lie. And not to mention, he was still rather annoyed about her obsession of taking photos of him. To sell. To obsessed fangirls who swooned over –
Ruka didn't want to think about it, so he gave up and decided to answer her.
"She said it. And the surprising thing is, she wasn't crying."
That was when Hotaru stiffened. For a couple of seconds Ruka had to make sure that she hadn't suddenly fainted in a sitting position, when she suddenly roused herself.
"Nogi – shut the windows. Curtains. Lock the doors. Now!" The last word was barked with such command that Ruka found it hard to resist against her orders. He obeyed, quickly making his way through his tasks as Hotaru disappeared in a blur.
"Cameras, check. Double barricade, check…"
Ruka dimly wondered why his girlfriend was freaking out, until there was a soft rap at the door.
"H-hotaru?"
He saw Hotaru roll her eyes at him, as if to tell him I told you so, and Ruka got even more confused. What on earth was going on? He would never, in his life, understand girls. Not Mikan, and definitely never Hotaru. They were such strange creatures with the strangest motives and purposes.
She put her finger on her lips, looking uncharacteristically wary. Shut up, she mouthed, and Ruka nodded grudgingly. He would have to talk to her about their relationship sometime, he decided. He was feeling more and more left out.
"Hotaru! Hotaru!"
Ruka resisted the urge to burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of the whole day's events until he received a quelling look from Hotaru. She pointed at the charred remains of her robot and then to him; and made a slit-throat gesture.
He gulped visibly.
Hotaru seemed to be satisfied at this point, for she swiveled around and continued on her work on the table soundlessly, completely ignoring Mikan's presence at the door. She could be so cold-hearted sometimes, Ruka thought.
"Hotaru… I know you're in there. It doesn't matter if you don't open up, I know you're busy…" Mikan sounded so distraught, he felt more than a little guilty for trying to ignore her. Hotaru shoved a whiteboard in his hands, and on it she wrote, 'DON'T FALL FOR IT.'
He looked at her and then at the words. 'But she's so unhappy,' he hissed.
Hotaru shrugged at this and quickly scribbled, 'I DON'T CARE.'
Ruka shook his head at this and watched as she swiveled back to her desk, thrusting the whiteboard to him.
"It's just… Hotaru, you know how Natsume can be so cold-hearted? I can't believe he didn't even apologise. We're already in a relationship, I just don't understand why he can't accept a simple date… it's not as if we're being too intimate; I mean, it's a couple date with Tsubasa-senpai and Misaki-senpai after all."
Both of them immediately understood why Natsume was annoyed. Hotaru was fuming silently, he could tell. He doodled absently on the whiteboard and wondered why Mikan was so clueless. He would wait it out, then let Hotaru take over the consoling part. Perhaps even convince her to cancel the date because he sure as hell knew that Natsume would never turn up for a date that involved Mikan and Tsubasa Andou.
He sighed. It was all so painfully simple it was horrifying. They were both so painfully stubborn it would be impressive if it wasn't so horrifying. He squiggled a rough mind map on the whiteboard, careful not to press the marker to hard in case Mikan heard. Or rather, in case Hotaru heard him make any sounds.
Natsume refused to give in to Mikan's request for a date, which was perfectly reasonable from each person's point of views. The only boon was that Natsume could not – or would not tell Mikan the reason, thus escalating the argument. The problem was his pride. And more so, perhaps, Mikan's ignorance.
Her voice drifted through the door, breaking his thread of thoughts. "I mean, I've always dreamed of going on couple dates too. I know Hotaru probably doesn't want us to intrude into private time with Ruka-pyon…"
His cheeks felt noticeably hotter at this and he looked over at Hotaru involuntarily to see her reaction, but she remained stoic as ever, continuing to tinker with something or another. He silently prayed that it wasn't Version 5.7 of the Baka Gun and wondered how long more it would take for Mikan to finally end her soliloquy to the door.
It didn't take long.
"…what did you call it? Private Pyon-ing time? That's really sweet, I wish –"
He didn't even have a chance to register his stupefaction at this when Hotaru got out of her chair with her Baka Gun, and in a flash, had slammed the door open, pointing her lethal weapon at her best friend.
Almost as if she'd expected it, Mikan had lifted her hands to cover her face. "Hotaru!" She burst into a beam and nearly leapt to hug her, only to be blown backwards by the sheer force of the Baka Gun. The violet-eyed girl stared at her in annoyance, barely revealing her sudden exertion or embarrassment. Behind her, Ruka hid a grin. This would make up for all the times she had forcibly taken photos of him. Private Pyon-ing time?
He just about burst into laughter, if not for Hotaru's sudden statement.
"If it makes you shut up, we'll go on a couple date. Tonight. Pick whatever fancy restaurant you want."
Mikan barely had any time to register this sudden development when the door slammed on her face, and Hotaru swiftly made her way back to the table. She glanced at him, then muttered. "You don't mind, right?"
He ignored the strangeness of the situation and grinned. "Just don't be late."
"Obviously."
It wasn't apparent, but he understood even without observing the way her shoulders immediately relaxed at his response. Slowly making his way out of the room and wondering how best to communicate with Mikan, he knew that she was glad.
It wasn't a nightmare, but Ruka thought it cut it pretty close.
Mikan had arrived, bright and sprightly as ever, encouraged by Hotaru's offer. They had been relieved that she had more or less forgotten her argument with Natsume and Ruka was even looking forward to some peace when Natsume turned up.
Annoyed.
He had ignored Mikan completely, his expression blank yet moody. Ruka groaned inwardly when he saw him. Something else had triggered him off.
"I had something to attend to," he said curtly, jamming his hands into his pockets as usual. Ruka grimaced at the familiar gesture – he was not pleased.
"Let's go," he suggested, and the three of them nodded, Mikan eager to disperse the sour mood. They entered the quiet restaurant and immediately Ruka calmed down with the relaxing music from the string quartet quietly playing in the background.
They sat down and Mikan began musing over the menu enthusiastically, eager to engage Natsume in conversation, but the said crimson-eyed boy only replied curtly, or not at all.
"Should I get the steak, it looks so –"
"Whatever," Natsume bit out.
Ruka almost felt the atmosphere freezing up as he recognized a steely light appearing in Mikan's gaze. It was that determination that made him feel like throwing down the menu and leaving the restaurant immediately. In the end he just ordered a cup of coffee, mumbling something about indigestion problems.
Not that anyone was bothering.
The quiet conversation between Natsume and Mikan had escalated in a loud, if not embarrassingly one-sided argument that sounded horrifyingly familiar.
"I didn't want to say this in front of them but why are you always so cold, Natsume? Do you really like me?"
There was a stilted silence in which, it seemed, everyone had frozen to wait for his reply. Even the waiter pouring the water paused for a second to anticipate his response.
Do the right thing, Natsume, he silently pleaded to his best friend.
All Mikan got for her efforts was an ambivalent, "Hn."
Ruka decided that she did, in fact, have the right to be shouting at his best friend at the moment. Given the scheme of things and how Natsume was reacting to her, even he would have exploded. He only wished that they had not picked such a quiet restaurant – now everyone was watching their table with unconcealed interest.
"I don't get why you always close yourself up to me! And everyone too! Don't you know we care about you?"
"I don't need your concern."
"I know you do, Natsume!"
As they slowly began to pick up the argument, he felt his heart sink. "For the love of the Northern - not again!" Ruka groaned, putting his face in his hands. This was too much to bear.
Hotaru was already on the move, signaling to the waitress discreetly for the bill. "Separate checks," she stated blandly while he looked on in stupefaction. He'd only ordered a cup of coffee. She smirked at his expression as she scanned through the bill. "Dinner at my lab, we're ordering pizza." He was caught off guard by this, and he stared at her, dumbfounded, before closing his jaw and grabbing her arm to leave the bickering couple behind.
"C'mon," he grinned, then paused for a moment as if to contemplate.
"I'll pay."
At this, Hotaru only chuckled.
"Ruka," she shook her head. "You're too easily manipulated."
He shrugged, then smiled. They walked out of the restaurant, onto the streets in a companionable silence without their argumentative best friends beside them.
After a while, Ruka finally spoke up. "Think they'll be okay?"
"I doubt they'll quarrel anymore when a string ensemble walks in later and starts playing Love Story."
He gaped at her, stunned. "Youdid that? I told the waiter direct bills to my card. I thought giving flowers would make Natsume jealous. And he doesn't like cakes, either. But he recently blew his allowance on Mikan's birthday present, so I thought I'd help out."
Hotaru made a brief sound of assent and nodded. "Whether it works out or not, though, depends on Natsume."
He studied her face for a moment, then looked up at the night sky, enjoying the cool air brushing past his face.
"You know, you never fail to amaze me. With Mikan, and with this again."
She smirked at this and snorted a little.
"Don't I always?" He chuckled at her words and they walked back to the Academy together in peaceful, amiable quiet.
The night was going to be long, but glancing at Hotaru beside him, he decided he didn't mind.
fin.
A/N: This is the longest one-shot I've written so far! I hope you liked it though, I enjoyed writing the RukaxHotaru pairing but I think I might have written them rather out of character. Plus, as you probably would have realised, it doesn't quite make much sense! It was completely random and written on a whim but really fun! As usual, please read and review! Flame me if you wish! And on a side-note, thank you to all who have reviewed my other stories: it makes me smile!
!bellrie.