A Lifetime of Memories

Author's note: Gakuen Alice and all characters from it are, of course, the property of its creator Tachibana Higuchi-with the exception of any original characters that I may create myself.

Since a lot of people have already probably seen this later chapter of the story, I've decided to just add it on for now and re-edit the chapters into their chronological order as I progress. I'm not exactly certain but I'd guess that this would fall somewhere around the twentieth or maybe twenty-first chapter. (I plan to write a minimum of one chapter for every year of Narumi's and Misaki's life since they first met, so that would be my guess...)

Chapter 21: A Late Night Visitor

(Narumi and Misaki at 24 years old)

It was after one o'clock on Saturday night and Narumi was sitting up in bed comfortably propped up by a few pillows reading when a frantic knock sounded on his bedroom door and Serina-sensei abruptly opened the door without waiting for a response. The blonde looked at his colleague in surprise as it had never been like her to barge into his room and also much more conspicuously, she was standing in his doorway in her housecoat, soaking wet.

"Naru!" Serina exclaimed with water from her drenched hair dripping in her face, "A pipe in my room burst! It's spraying water everywhere! I'm sorry but-" she began to apologize but Narumi had already flung back the covers and gone past her, hurrying down the hall to Serina's room.

By the time Narumi had ascertained that the old pipe above Yamada-sensei's bed had indeed burst and gone down to the basement of the old historic house that served as the Elementary Branch's faculty housing and located the main water valve and shut it off it, her bed and room was completely soaked. Narumi dropped the wrench he had used to turn the stubborn old valve back into the toolbox and rushed back upstairs to check if the pipe had stopped. Fortunately it had and was quickly tapering off as the remaining water in the pipes ran out.

Narumi sighed in relief, "I think I shut off all the water in the house but at least it stopped. Serina-sensei, you can stay in my room for now and we'll call for someone to come fix this in the morning."

Serina squeezed the water out of a handful of her hair onto the already soaked floor of her bedroom and rubbed tiredly at her eyes, "Thanks, Naru, but where will you sleep?"

Narumi shrugged, "Don't worry, I'll find somewhere."

Soon enough Serina was comfortably ensconced in Narumi's room and he was headed down the hall in his robe over his light blue cotton pyjamas with his toothbrush, hairbrush and a change of clothes for morning in his hands. He knocked quietly and poked his head in Noda-sensei's room but to his disappointment the man was fast asleep and snoring softly. Of all the times for Noda to actually be there and not lost in the past somewhere- just when Narumi had wanted to borrow his bed for the night, too.

Oh, well, he thought with a sigh, but there's no way I'm sleeping on that lumpy old couch in the living room! Ah, the price of being a gentleman...

Narumi silently let himself into the room that was marked Misaki overhead and set his things down on a desk. The room's occupant was still sleeping, unaware of his late night visitor. Narumi took off his robe and hung it over the back of the desk chair in the dimness of the room and then made his way over to the bed where Misaki was sprawled out.

The blonde gave his friend a poke, "Misaki-sensei..." The man didn't stir and Narumi gave his shoulder a light shake, "Misaki-sensei..."

The man groaned, grumbled something unintelligible and started for a moment at the dark silhouette hovering over him in the darkness. "Naru?" he muttered irritably, having recognized the voice that had awoken him. "What is it?"

Narumi lifted up the corner of Misaki's heavy comforter and demanded blithely, "Move over, would you? You're sprawled all over the whole bed!"

Misaki half sat up, taken aback as Narumi got into bed with him without preamble. "What are you doing?" he asked in surprise as he automatically drew himself over to the other side of the bed while the blonde set his head on an extra pillow.

"I thought that was obvious, Misaki-sensei," Narumi said and Misaki heard the mischievous smile in his voice. "I'm sleeping in your bed."

Misaki frowned, "I can see that...but why?"

Narumi snuggled down beneath the comforter and smirked, "Well...I was bored so I thought that we could have a sleep over since tomorrow's Sunday and we can sleep in." The plant Alice could definitely hear the heart at the end of that sentence.

Misaki scoffed, "You're joking, right? What time is it?"

Narumi yawned, "I don't know- maybe close to two o'clock now." He pulled the cover up beneath his chin and turned on his side, with his back to the frowning Biology teacher and closed his eyes.

"You didn't answer my question." Misaki pressed when his unexpected bed mate didn't continue.

Narumi responded tiredly, ready to go to sleep, "A pipe burst in Serina-sensei's room so I gave her my room."

"A pipe burst?" Misaki repeated questioningly.

"Yeah, I just turned off the water for now but we'll have to call someone..." Narumi yawned loudly.

Misaki said thoughtfully, "Well, it's an old house. This whole place really needs to be brought up to code..."

"Ha!" Narumi exclaimed, "Tell that to Principal Kuonji! It's not like this school doesn't have the money; he's just being stingy."

"Yeah..." Misaki trailed off, thinking, "Couldn't you sleep in Noda's room?"

Narumi sighed inwardly, just wanting to go to sleep, "No, he's actually here- I checked...So, good night, Misaki-sensei."

Misaki glanced toward the dark form stretched out beside him, "Uh, okay...good night, I guess." It wasn't long before the sound of Narumi's soft breathing evened out in slumber beside his dark haired friend but Misaki lay awake for some time before finally drifting off to sleep.

A familiar scent was tickling the plant Alice's still half-asleep nose and his sleep fogged brain sluggishly tried to identify it. Misaki's eyes fluttered open slowly in the early morning light and settled on the source of the gentle scent that had stirred him to wakefulness. Narumi had turned towards Misaki in his sleep and his blonde shoulder-length hair was splayed out against the pillow. Misaki had awoken near the edge of his own pillow with his face inches away from his friend's sweet-smelling locks.

There wasn't any flower that Misaki couldn't identify by smell alone and he couldn't help but lean a bit closer in curiosity and as a challenge to himself. It was definitely a flower-like scent- it wasn't a fruity smell like some shampoos- it was...jasmine? The plant Alice carefully took another whiff to confirm his decision. Yes, he was sure; it was jasmine. But that wasn't all; that was only his hair...The most intoxicating scent was coming from Narumi himself and Misaki could feel his heart beating steadily as he fixed his dark eyes on his friend's sleeping face in the weak light that spilled in from the window.

It must be dawn, Misaki thought distantly as he drank in Narumi's softly illuminated face. He looks so angelic when he's asleep...you'd never guess what a demon he can be when he's awake.

Misaki's heart thudded against his chest and his breath came a bit unsteadily...he felt so...overwhelmed by the oblivious man sleeping next to him suddenly. It was as if he had abruptly awoken to find himself sharing the same bed as the most beautiful person he had ever seen...

Narumi's golden hair was splayed about his head like a halo and Misaki suddenly found himself wanting to touch it, wanting to see if it was as soft as it looked. His skin was pale and flawless in dawn's early light and his eyelashes were so long and full...Misaki found his hand moving of its own accord to tentatively touch Narumi's wavy shoulder-length tresses and they slid through his fingers like the finest silk. He wound a lock of his friend's blonde hair around his finger as he gazed at Narumi's face, at his pale pink lips slightly parted in sleep. Misaki sucked in a breath and bit down on his own lip...

Dear God, he thought as his eyes lingered intently on Narumi's enticingly full and soft looking mouth, I wonder...what must it be like to kiss those lips?

Narumi had stolen many pheromone-induced kisses from Misaki over the years that had sent him almost immediately into darkness but Misaki had never really kissed Narumi, had he? And swiftly, overwhelmingly...he wanted to. He wanted nothing more than to capture Narumi's lips with his own...wanted to possess every part of him. Misaki felt like his mind and body was suddenly ablaze and that the only thing that could put him out was to close the space between he and the exquisite being beside him...to be as close to him as was humanly possible...

Misaki supported his weight on his elbow and leaned in until he was so close that he could feel the warmth of Narumi's breath against his face and then slowly, softly let his lips graze over the peacefully slumbering man's mouth. Narumi didn't stir against the feather-light touch and further emboldened, Misaki pressed a gentle kiss to the soft warmth of his lips. Slightly breathless at the sensation, he reached with his other hand to cup Narumi's smooth cheek in his palm and simultaneously leaned in to capture his friend's lips with his own, darting out his tongue to trace the blonde's plump lower lip. Misaki felt Narumi's body abruptly stiffen beneath his own but he was too consumed with the feel of his lips moving over the golden-haired man's to think of anything else and when he felt Narumi gasp he took the opportunity to further deepen the kiss. He pushed his tongue past Narumi's parted lips and began to fully explore the wet warmth of his mouth while pressing his upper body harder against his friend's. Narumi's hands had moved to grip his shoulders tightly and when Misaki moaned into his mouth he felt Narumi's body shudder against his.

Misaki was kissing Narumi slowly and deeply, his tongue stroking the other's when he slowly became aware that his friend wasn't gripping his shoulders...he was pushing on them. Narumi was trying to push him away...trying to turn his head, his mouth away from Misaki's. The plant Alice froze and numbly allowed himself to be pushed away. Narumi was staring up at him with wide emerald eyes and flushed cheeks and his breath was coming in rapid and unsteady gasps. Misaki suddenly felt like the life was draining out of him and slumped back down beside his friend, his whole body abruptly limp.

The dark haired man's eyes widened with recognition. It felt like his body and mind had suddenly gone weak after an adrenaline rush...and the only thing that remained of the blaze that had been searing him was the humiliation burning in his cheeks. Although Misaki was still weakened he slowly pushed himself back in shock and dismay until he slid off the edge of the bed, hard, and just lay there panting and unable to move.

After a minute or so, but what felt like a lot longer to Misaki, Narumi poked his head over the side of the bed and looked down at him with a slightly strained sounding laugh. "Oi, Misaki-sensei, and people call me a pervert!" Misaki's face burned in embarrassment and he glared fiercely up at the blonde as Narumi folded his arms in front of him and rested his head on them with an amused smile.

"You..." Misaki growled weakly from the floor, "You used your Alice on me in your sleep..."

Narumi looked thoughtful, raising his eyebrows, "I did?"

The biology teacher glowered at him, "I don't believe you!"

The Human Pheromone Alice raised his head abruptly, face flushing, "Well, if I did it's not like I did it on purpose! I was asleep and...and you were the one molesting me!" Misaki's cheeks reddened and he sputtered unintelligibly at the accusation. "I would have been better off sleeping next to Noda-sensei...I never imagined I was sharing a bed with such a pervert!" Narumi touched his swollen lips and laughed.

Misaki slowly forced himself to sit up, glaring at his friend. "I'm not a pervert!"

The blonde looked down at him with sparkling eyes and a mischievous smile, "Geez, I'm just joking! Don't worry about it...these things happen with this kind of Alice. Get up from there..."

Misaki frowned, "What do you mean 'these things happen'?" He looked up at his friend apprehensively- had this happened to Narumi before? The pheromone Alice had been shocked at first but now he was acting like his having been very nearly physically assaulted by him was nothing...

"I thought you would have taken anti-pheromone medication- you usually do," Narumi continued as he sat up and extended a hand to help Misaki to his feet, "although I had no idea that I could even use my Alice in my sleep...Come to think of it, that might actually explain a few things..."

Misaki ignored the hand that Narumi offered and kept sitting with a frown, "Well, sure I take the medication during the day sometimes but not at night. You came in so late I didn't think about it..."

His friend shrugged dismissively and then yawned, "So, just take it now and go back to sleep...It's not even six-thirty yet." Narumi crawled over to his side of the bed, flopped back down and then buried himself once more beneath the covers, closing his eyes.

Misaki took a deep breath and, feeling a bit stronger, carefully got up and went to his bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. He popped out two anti-pheromone capsules from the aluminum packaging and turned on the faucet to drink them but just a little water came out. Right- Narumi said that he had turned off the water to stop the burst pipe in Serina-sensei's room. They would have to get that fixed right away- there was no way that a houseful of people could go without water. Misaki knew a Metal Alice from his Technical class that could easily fix the pipe but he didn't want to bother the kid on their only day off a week...

He used the small amount of water that he had been able to catch in his cup by the sink and downed the two capsules. Misaki lingered indecisively in the bathroom and caught his reflection in the mirror. His cheeks were still tinged pink...how embarrassing. Pheromones or no pheromones, Misaki still couldn't believe that he had completely lost control and kissed Narumi like that...

That kiss... He could still remember all too clearly the silkiness of Narumi's golden hair... the smoothness of his cheek...the heated softness of his mouth... and the way he had shuddered against Misaki's body... Misaki felt his heart speed up at the thought of it, beating like a drum.

Crap. His face was flushing again. Damn, he wished he had some cold water to splash on his face...He needed to get that pipe repaired A.S.A.P. so that Serina could go back to her room and Narumi could get out of his...

Misaki sat down on the edge of the bathtub waiting for his thudding heart to slow down and cursing the stupidity of his body. Intellectually he knew that what he had felt and done to Narumi was just a result of the man's overwhelming Pheromone Alice but his body...that was another matter. It wasn't like he actually liked his friend like that...but then why couldn't he stop thinking about what had just happened?

The dark haired man scowled at his own reaction. And Narumi had just gone back to sleep like nothing had happened...the twisted freak. Having been born with that kind of Alice maybe he had just become accustomed to kissing and being kissed by strangers. Not that he and Narumi were strangers- they had known each other almost all their lives. Misaki could scarcely remember a time when he hadn't known Narumi...that strange, arrogant boy with the piercing eyes and the Alice that could capture and control anyone; the Alice that could turn the deepest hatred into adoration by virtue of mere proximity.

Narumi had told him once, after Yuka had fled the academy and subsequently abandoned him to life alone in the school that had had no qualms about using him in any way that benefitted it, that his Alice was really just a joke. The cruellest of jokes, he had said quietly with such a cold look in his eyes and a smile of such bitterness at his lips that Misaki had been unable to do anything but stare. The irony of a boy born with an Alice that could make anyone love him and yet...because of that same Alice no one had ever really loved him.

But what did Misaki want from him anyway? A large part of him was just relieved that Narumi in his typical careless fashion hadn't really made a big deal about what had happened, other than calling him a pervert, but another part of him was...what? Annoyed...no...a little hurt, was it, that Narumi had basically acted like Misaki's kiss hadn't meant anything?

The plant Alice shook his head...what the hell was he thinking? It was just a pheromone-induced kiss: it didn't mean anything. It didn't.

It wasn't like he had kissed Narumi when he had been himself...he wouldn't kiss Narumi if he was himself, would he? No. What was he thinking? Misaki wasn't gay, he had never been attracted to men... but then Narumi had always been rather androgynous looking even before he had taken to dressing femininely. Narumi had always looked like that, since the first day that Misaki had met him when they were six years old. He'd always had those beautiful, powerful eyes with those ridiculously long lashes that any girl would have killed for. He'd always had that shining, silky hair...that delicate face and those pretty, pouting lips...

Oh, crap...Misaki's head sunk down into his hands in dismay and confusion at his thoughts. Narumi may have been a man but he was unlike any other man that Misaki had ever known. Narumi was just...Narumi. He was in a category of his own...in fact he defied categorization. Narumi puzzled him, he always had.

He infuriated Misaki... he pulled him in but pushed him away...he made him care but then hid himself away...Narumi could be next to him smiling one moment but run away the next...

Misaki had never forgotten that day...the day when he had truly begun to see Narumi for the first time. To see the face hidden beneath the mask...

The pain in Narumi's eyes when he had begged Yuka to let him come with her, to not leave him, still haunted Misaki. The childlike way he had clung to her hand in his sorrow and desperation and wouldn't let go... Narumi's feelings for Yuka weren't gone, Misaki knew, they were just somewhere out of his reach. Just like Yuka, who had gone but taken that crucial part of his heart with her...

Even though it had been Misaki who had watched and worried over him all these years...Narumi would never cling to Misaki's hand like that.

But the real question was: did he want him to?

Misaki rose numbly from the edge of the bathtub, turned off the bathroom light and got back into bed. Narumi had turned on his side once more with his back to Misaki but he didn't think that the blonde had fallen asleep yet if the sound of his breathing was anything to go by.

The plant Alice lay in bed silently for a long time before finally flinging back the covers in frustration. He was tired but he couldn't fall back to sleep- he might as well just get up. Misaki put on his slippers and pulled on an old fleece robe over the long-sleeved t-shirt and sweats that he wore, glancing back once at Narumi who hadn't stirred at all, before padding out of his room.