Of Notes and Photos
(Tsubasa x Misaki)
Disclaimer: I don't, and never will, I own Gakuen Alice.
The warm ray of sun on his face woke him up. He opened his eyes to realize that it was already past 7. He overslept again. Or rather, he stayed up late which led to him waking up late.
He turned to face the clock at the side table and saw that the time was 7:14. He went up with a jolt, the light pink sheet covering him falling. He took his bag that was by the foot of the study desk and gathered his things; a notebook, a canvas, some pencils, T-square, a pen, and a Snickers bar. Wait, he didn't remember having a Snickers bar last night, or if he did, he would have finished it while working.
He studied the pen and smiled.
"You're late, sleepyhead! Here's a chocolate since there's no more food in the hall," a note placed inside the pen said. He placed it in the pen's specially designated pocket in his bag and turned towards the small balcony of Misaki's room. He went out and started climbing the roof, going towards the area of his room to prepare for the day.
He took a quick shower before getting his backpack again and going out of his room. He passed by the dining hall and as expected, the cook of the dorm had already cleaned up since it was already past 7:30. He took out his instant camera which he always has in his bag and took a picture of the Snickers bar before opening it and eating it on his way.
When he got to the lobby of the dorm, he noticed the bulletin board transformed into a freedom hall, decorated with lots of hearts. The front desk was also full of deliveries of bouquets of flowers. He just shook his head and went out of the dorm.
"A-Andou-k-kun," a petite guy in big glasses nervously said when he passed by him. The guy tried to run at the sight of him but he was able to immediately step on his shadow and stall him.
"Good morning, nerd, I see you're also running late like me, which is weird since you're goody-two-shoes," he teased him. He stretched his arms and lifted one of his feet. The guy followed suit because of the shadow, but all of his books fell, one even hitting his foot hard. "Ouch, that's gotta hurt." FLICK!
He took a picture of the guy's funny reaction. "Heh, better collect lots of these today-" he then noticed a couple pass by, the guy leading a blindfolded girl along. They stopped in front of a line of people, each holding a card, reading 'I love you'. The guy slowly removed the blindfold of the girl who was so touched by the surprise.
"Really cheesy, that kind of thing," he commented. He then looked at the photo in his hand which now showed the picture he had taken fully. "Not funny enough. Oh, I ate all of it. Better thank Misaki later, she gave this on perfect timing."
He realized he had already eaten the whole Snickers bar.
"Ano, A-Andou-k-kun, aren't you late already?" the nerdy guy he was still holding in his shadow nervously told him. He looked at his watch and ran in panic, finally releasing the guy who immediately ran the other way.
"Tsk, tsk, Andou, you're late again," the professor said when he got to class. "Just because you're a triple doesn't mean you can be a slacker. This isn't Gakeun Alice anymore, Andou. This is Alice University. You are a college student already. If you're going to slack off anyway, why proceed on to a university for Alices instead of a regular one?"
He just allowed the professor to go on and on and took his seat, his thoughts immediately drifting away from the lesson. Outside the windows, he could see lots of the Valentine activities happening. There were lots of confessions, giving out chocolates, and running away from not-trustworthy-looking chocolates going on. Well, it wasn't as bad as it was during high school. He remembered dreading the cursed day every year in Gakuen Alice, being chased by lots of crazy Alices, female and gay alike, who insisted their 'special' chocolates on him, which might result to you growing just about anything, like a pig nose or chicken talons or whatnot. It was still a dreaded day in college, but mostly because there can be unwanted "love" potions mixed in the chocolates.
The class went on and soon it ended. He immediately went to the cafeteria to have lunch. He opened his notebook while eating, he has an exam for the next class. The photos he took that morning were there. He saw the photo of the Snickers bar again.
"Oi, you got any chocolates so far?" a friend, also from the same course, came to join him in the table.
"Nah, remember I told everyone I was allergic to chocolates last year," they both laughed. It was the same day last year when he said that to those chasing him to give him chocolates.
"So you're eating chocolates by looking at them," he noticed the picture of the Snickers bar.
"Misaki gave that," he just said and continued reviewing for the test. He took his pen to write a marginal note on his lecture. He smiled again upon seeing the simple note written inside his pen.
"Your best friend is smart. She just bought you a chocolate so that you'd eat it," his friend said. "But you know, I still don't get why you always have something written inside your pen. And it's different everyday."
He just smiled at him and looked at the pen then the photos again. That's when an idea hit him. "Hey, do you know where's baldy right now?"
"Lunch time's almost over, probably on his way to this building. Oh god, Andou, you plan on him as victim of the day, don't you?" he just grinned before heading outside the building.
He didn't have to wait long. A guy with thinning hair came rushing at the building.
"A-Andou-k-kun," the guy nervously said when he saw him waiting outside the building.
Before the guy could run, he immediately stepped on his shadow. "Hey baldy."
"Andou-kun, you're going to make me do something funny aren't you? And I am not yet bald!" the guy tried yelling at him, but stuttered.
"Well, you're nearly there. It's a pity you have the Plant Alice, you can make plants grow but not your hair," he said. "So let's get down to business. You have a crush on Misaki, don't you?"
The guy sweated nervously. "N-no I don't," he looked away, his face getting red.
"Oh yes you do," he smiled evilly and took out his camera. "So, I!" He made an 'I' pose which the guy had to copy. FLICK! "Heart!" He made a heart pose and again the guy had to copy him. FLICK! "M!" FLICK! "I!" FLICK! "S!" FLICK!
The guy's face got even redder. "A!" FLICK! "K!" FLICK! "I!" FLICK! "Thanks for the cooperation, dude, I'll make sure she gets your message," he tapped the guy before heading off.
"No!" but he was already inside the building.
Later that night, when he got back to his room, he immediately took out his notebook where the pictures were inserted. He laid it out on his desk and arranged them. He also took the pen and removed its fill to get the note. He opened his closet where a jar with lots of colorful notes was and placed the latest note inside. He took out a few to re-read them.
"Rise and shine!"
"Here's an inspiration for the day: we're having a delicious dinner later."
"Your presentation will go well today. Ganbatte!"
He smiled and placed them back inside the jar and the jar back inside the closet. Misaki was the only friend he has from back in Gakuen Alice that was in the same university. Most of the others either went to work immediately, or took up college in a regular university, or were sent to other campuses of Alice University, some even abroad. And as he often did back in high school, he always slept in Misaki's room, bringing his homeworks and working on it there, or just having a movie night with her before sleeping. Because of that, the people around them here in college thinks they're dating. Well, their friends before back in high school also insisted they were dating but mostly it was because they were always together. He's known Misaki for practically all of his life that it wasn't awkward at all to sleep at the same bed. Well, it almost never ended well. They usually found themselves still fighting while asleep, kicking each other and snatching the sheets.
He gathered the photos then went to her room. Since it was dinner time, he knew she was at the dining hall and was probably looking for him there. He placed the first 'I' picture on her desk. Then the heart on the door to the balcony and so on. He then patiently waited on his favorite spot on the roof. While he did so, he again reminisced all of his memories with Misaki since they first met as kindergarteners in Gakuen Alice.
"Tsubasa?" he turned and saw her standing in front of him, a puzzled look in her eyes and the pictures in her hand. He gestured her to sit beside him which she complied with.
"Look over there," he pointed to the view. Since the university had an elevated landscape and the dorm was 4 floors high, a view of the city skyscrapers and night lights can be seen, complementing the bright stars above the sky.
"Wow," she just said. A little bit later, he felt her head rest on his shoulder, and they stayed like that for a while.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Misaki," he said softly. "And thanks for the Snickers. But if you're gonna give chocolates for Valentine's, shouldn't it be homemade? Is that what you gave to all your other guy friends?"
"At least someone gave you chocolates for Valentine's! And you know I don't give out chocolates for Valentine's."
"Hey, I could have gotten so many if I didn't say that I was allergic," he defended himself. "Chocolate from Alices are scary."
"But you'll eat this one, right?" just then, she held out a ribbon-tied box to him. He opened it and saw handmade chocolates inside. He tried one and it tasted okay. "Don't you dare say it tastes bad, I tried that before wrapping it!"
"Yeah, yeah, it's alright, not bad for a first try," he said. Misaki laid down the pictures in front of them.
"It's not a funny picture this time," she said. While she always left a note in the morning inside his pen, he always takes a funny picture of whoever victim he chose for the day and left it for her during the night. She leaned her head on his shoulder again. "Thanks, Tsubasa. And Happy Valentine's Day too."
They stayed like that for quite some time again before they finally decided to go back to her room to have a movie night before sleeping.
"Ah, by the way, that guy's actually got a crush on you. Poor him," he laughed and flung his arm around her shoulders.
Author's Note: Happy Valentine's Day, readers! Here's a little gift to the Gakuen Alice community. I wrote this in one sitting down, and I really wanted to release a Valentine's special so I went with this. Anyway, I hope you spent today happily like our resident married couple did in this short fic (unlike me). As I mentioned a lot of times in my profile, I will be releasing a long fic this coming summer, I hope you look forward to it. And please check my profile for a new teaser photo-slash-Valentine's treat. Please do leave a review, too. Ja ne!