Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice is not mine. Never was, never will be.
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They walk silently, hand in hand.
Head titled to the side, eyes gathering everything else before lying on her. A long glance, and before he knows it he has been caught, the hint of a smirk tugging at her lips. He immediately looks away, his face reddening in embarrassment.
He mentally kicks himself, deciding to be more careful in future. Eyes staring blankly at the beautiful scenery on his side, he lingers over the image of her formed in his head. Her remarkable simplicity, her down-to-earth style, her trademark expression -- everything reminds him of the day he decided that he really was infatuated with her, and it wasn't really his mind playing tricks on him.
But he is quite proud of himself for being truthful to his self. And for being courageous enough, not just to actually approach her, tell her his feelings, and brace for her reaction.
But for braving her refusal. And persisting on, until she has no choice but to cave in to him. Because when he's in love, he can be as stubborn as a mule (or even as his best friend).
So even if she does trouble him and make his life hell, it doesn't really bother him. Not much, anyway.
He decides to take the chance, and looks once again at her, admiring the silent beauty. If this is love, he tells himself, I am loving it.
This time she doesn't hesitate and looks directly at him, an expression of admonishment on her face, as if she can read his mind and knows very well about the corny lines he comes up with. He grins apologetically in return; a look on his face that very well says that he won't admire her again.
He grins inwardly, having observed the slight reddening of her cheeks. So she does get embarrassed easily!
She fumes silently, trying hard to ignore his stare. What if other people see them? She asks herself. Her reputation will be at stake, blown into smithereens by that simple stare of his.
And that infuriating smile grates on her nerves.
So she gives him a look, which makes him compose himself immediately.
It still hurts to remind herself of the day she actually gave in, actually agreed to be his girl friend. A huge blunder, she reproaches herself till this date, to not have foreseen this happening. Innocent, shy, sweet and docile as he may act, he still has that dark side which scares her the most.
That side, which makes her act like a complete fool.
The mind works so strangely, she contemplates. For her to be attracted to him seemed such a distant possibility, just a year ago. But now, she's - she shudders, her mind still refusing to admit any hint of feelings for him.
Instead, she pacifies herself. Because she never really fell for him in the first place, she reasons. Rather, she just wanted to blackmail him. Why else?
Deciding not to pursue the thought further, she glances at him. One look at his naive expression and his slightly feminine looks, and she struggles to keep the smile off her face. It's just impossible to believe that someone can be so sweet...
And that someone that sweet may want to be with her.
This time he catches her glance, and he looks at her, smiling widely. "You know, if you want to look at me that much, you can just take my picture."
She just smiles coolly, a retort ready. "Oh, no need." Her hand breaking away from his clasp, she takes out something from her pocket and tosses it at him.
A photo.
A photo of him looking lovingly into the eyes of a squirrel, hands gently stroking its soft fur.
"Hotaru!" He cries, his face beet red. He watches in horror as she removes more copies from her pocket, a rather happy smirk on her face, mumbling something vaguely about 'selling to fangirls' and the like.
"Hotaru!" "Hey, come back here! You can't just-"
Because even if they might take a long time to admit it, or if they keep humiliating one another in their own little ways, Hotaru and Ruka do love each other.
And so, life goes on for yet another happy couple.
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Hope I got the characterization right D:! I did fumble on Ruka a bit...