Siopao: (7/12/2024) Aww, only 1 review for my last chapter but I guess it's to be expected from a dead fandom, lol. I'll keep updating for now; hopefully I can stay motivated to keep updating~

Disclaimer: I don't own GALS!

Setting: Second year University of Tokyo, springtime.

ONLY YOU

Chapter Two - A Night Together

By: Screaming Siopao

"So that's it?" Miyu said with an eyebrow raised as she stirred a spoon in her milk tea. "That's all it took for half of the first year boys to fall for you? A simple magazine article?"

"Right. Isn't it absolutely crazy?" Aya sighed, vexed by her situation. She looked down at her teacup of green tea stared at her reflection. "Not to mention, there are more fans of Otohata-kun in the first year class as well. For the past few weeks, all I can feel are stares on me."

"I think you should own it," Ran suggested after taking a sip of her fruit smoothie. "It sounds like there are a ton of guys now who are at your beck and call; they can literally do your bidding!"

"Of course you would say something like that," Miyu sighed. "I think it'll blow over, Aya. Think of this as your '15 minutes of fame.' I bet your fan club dies down before the end of the spring term."

"I hope so. I can't have all these distractions. School work is hard enough to deal with. I've also joined the English club this year and will start tutoring sessions with underclassmen today. Not to mention, I have the formal that I have to prepare for, too."

"Didn't you say that formal was after the spring term was over? You've got tons of time to prep for that," Ran pointed out.

"Ran, you don't get it! I have to find the perfect dress, then have it tailored. Then I have to find the perfect matching shoes. I've got to go to the salon, get a hair treatment, a facial, not to mention my nails..." Aya droned on and on about her preparations and both of her companions simply snickered.

"You're really going all out for this thing, huh?" Ran said, raising an eyebrow.

"I have to look perfect. I'm meeting Otohata-kun's parents, after all," Aya replied, an index finger pointed in the air.

"Otohata's family will love you no matter what; how could they not? You're going to be such a cute daughter-in law to them," Miyu squealed, patting her brunette friend's back. Thinking about being in the Otohata family caused Aya to blush at the thought. "Ah, look at the time! I've gotta go, since my lovely in-laws were only able to watch the baby for a few hours," Miyu said, referring to her new bundle of joy. Miyu was still trying to get the hang of balancing the act of being a new mom while still maintaining somewhat of a social life.

"Oh, are you heading back to my parents' place? I'll come with, since I don't have to be at the academy for a little while," Ran said to Miyu. "I want to squeeze those cute baby cheeks, too!" Ran was more of a doting aunt than everyone had expected.

"Get back safely, you two. I'm heading to campus, now," Aya bade goodbye, wishing she could also see Miyu's sweet baby again. "Give her lots of kisses for me!"

Aya thoroughly scanned the room for the person she was looking for. She had just finished her classes for the day and, currently, she was in the vast main library on campus, looking for her first-ever pupil. This was where she had indicated to meet for their initial lesson. Yes, today would indeed be her first day of tutoring English to her designated student. She was looking forward to starting lessons, much to her surprise.

"Sho-kun," Aya made sure to call out softly, so that she would not disturb the other students in the area. She walked up to a study table where the brunette first-year boy was seated, books scattered all around him.

"Ah— Hoshino-senpai!" his golden eyes lit up as he greeted his senior. Prior to Aya's arrival, he had been focused on reading one of his textbooks.

"What a coincidence that I'd be assigned as your English tutor, right? When my club advisor handed out the assignments, I was surprised to see your name," she said with a cute head tilt and a smile. He admired how adorable she was without even trying.

"Yes, I had no idea that you were in the English club. Do all the upperclassmen club members get to be tutors?" he asked as he cleared the area next to him.

"Only if our English scores were good enough during first year," she explained as she took a seat right beside him. "I think it's great practice for me, too, so that I don't lose my skills."

"I see. I'm glad I signed up for tutoring, then. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu," he said with a slight bow. He was grateful to have this chance to interact with his senpai again; it had been about a week since their clash in the halls and Sho had only seen Aya in passing since then (most of those times, she had been accompanied by Otohata Rei, he noted).

"So, were you having any particular issues with English?" she asked as she leaned towards Sho, examining his books and his notes to see what he was currently working on. He blushed at her close proximity, suddenly feeling flustered. He could even smell her shampoo. Peaches, he noted.

"Uh, y- yes," he stammered, trying to focus. "You see... I'm a mathematics major, so numbers are my strength. I know it's only been a few weeks into the school year but I'm already struggling with some of the concepts in my English course."

"Well, that's why I'm here!" she said with a beaming smile. He inconspicuously blushed at how radiant she was. She flipped open her own reference book and neatly set up a notebook and pen in front of her. "Let's start with basic sentence structure, then."

After a few moments into the lesson, Aya's phone had vibrated a few times, indicating that she received a message. She glanced at her phone that was sitting on top of the table and her face lit up once she realized that it was from her beloved Rei.

"Sorry, Sho-kun, can I just reply to this message?" she asked as she clutched her cell phone.

"Of course, senpai."

Sho did not mean to overstep boundaries but since he was sitting so close to Aya, he was able to peer over and see that it was indeed a message from Rei that had come through. The second-year heartthrob was asking when she would be finished with her tutoring session, to which she replied: 'In about an hour or so. Should we meet at your apartment after?'

Sho inwardly sighed. He was not stupid. He knew that Aya was still seriously dating Otohata and that he had no right to feel jealous. He had also seen all the crazed first-year boys on campus who harassed and bothered Aya with their superficial affections and did not want to be affiliated with them in any way. He wanted to befriend Aya and also protect his senpai from those unwanted interactions. Sho felt grateful just to be in her presence like this.

He looked next to him as Aya continued with jotting down notes with her neat, feminine handwriting. He listened intently as she thoroughly explained concepts in her calming and gentle voice. He smiled to himself; he would be content with just this. It would be greedy to ask for anything more.

Rei sat on his living room sofa while flipping through his class notes from earlier that day. He knew that certain material would be on their next exam and really wanted to make sure he thoroughly reviewed the content from today. It was dusk now and his apartment was lit up by a few ambient lamps and some deep orange hues from the sun's final lingering rays. Beside him on the sofa, Aya had also been reviewing some of her own notes. Or, rather, she was prior to now dozing off.

Rei smirked at her form; she was still seated up, notebook on her lap, but her body was leaning to the side for support from the sofa's armrest. Her eyelids were closed and her head was bobbing from the constant battle to stay awake.

"Aya," he whispered as he inched closer to his girlfriend. He moved the notebook from her lap onto the adjacent coffee table. "It's been a long day. Get some rest." It had indeed been a long day for Aya. She mentioned back to back classes in addition to tutoring her new student. Did she even eat a proper meal today? He noted that she was looking fairly thin.

"Mm," she softly mumbled, half awake. Her eyelids remained closed and Rei appreciated her long, delicate lashes. He chuckled at her display.

Then, she leaned onto Rei's shoulder, snuggling into his warmth.

"Five more minutes," she mouthed cutely.

"Just stay the night, Aya," he said as he tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. This statement definitely got Aya's attention and she finally opened her eyes to look up at Rei. Her body was suddenly jolted awake by his suggestion.

"E- Eh? Stay the night?" she asked with mild shock. Rei had recently got this new apartment just a few months before the start of the school year and Aya had visited quite a handful of times, but never had she spent the night at his place. The thought of it made her mind race.

"It would be the best idea. You're exhausted from your day and have an early start tomorrow, right? I live closer to campus than you do, so it makes sense," he pointed out.

"But... my clothes, and my curfew..."

"You have some clothes here, I'm pretty sure. And your parents will be fine, just tell them you're with Kotobuki tonight."

"Ah, but—"

"Don't tell me you're nervous?" Rei teased his mousy girlfriend as he leaned in, closing the distance between their faces. The tips of their noses were almost touching, at this point. Aya gulped, feeling extremely self-conscious due to Rei's close proximity. "Is that it? Or is it you don't want to spend the night with me? I won't do anything funny, you know."

"Th-That's not it! Of course I do!" she admitted, her voice raised and her face flustered. Rei's teasing always had this type of effect on her and she couldn't help it.

"Then what is it?" he asked, his stare into her eyes intense.

"I..." she drifted off, not really knowing what to say. Of course, she wanted to be with Rei. If she could be with him all hours of the day, she certainly would. But to spend the night at his new apartment at such short notice? She had not prepared for this physically or mentally. She didn't know if her heart could take it.

"Well, then, it's settled that you'll be staying over. I barely got to see you today. Is it wrong for me to want to spend more time with you?"

Rei gently gripped onto Aya's wrist as he leaned in to plant a sensual kiss on her warm neck. His other hand snaked around her slim waist, securely holding her petite body closer to his. She instantly flinched at his touch and instinctively arched her back in response to his embrace.

"Aah, Otohata-kun—!" she softly yelped, giving in to his touch. He glanced up at her, noticing her flushed face and furrowed eyebrows.

"Promise me, Aya," he whispered in a sultry voice as he kissed the top of her ear, causing her body to shudder, "that you won't do anything like this with any other guy."

"Y- Yes, I promise," she whimpered cutely. "Only Otohata-kun can touch me like this."

"Good girl," he said as he moved onto Aya's forehead, giving her a sweet peck as a reward for her response. "I trust you."

Aya combed her delicate fingers through Rei's dark hair and stared lovingly into his eyes.

"Are you... jealous that I'm getting more attention lately?" she asked, curious.

"Maybe a bit. I don't like it when those first-year boys look at you like that," he spoke as he gently played with her dark hair. 'But I guess it can't be helped since you're just so cute and others were bound to notice,' he thought to himself.

"But you don't have to worry, Otohata-kun. I'm yours."

"Is that so?" he asked in a teasing tone. He leaned in closer to her, this time placing a soft kiss on her warm lips. Aya leaned into the kiss, completely submissive to his affectionate touch. She couldn't get enough of his intoxicating lips; they just tasted so good to her. She felt like she was melting where she sat.

"Otohata-kun..." she breathed once their lips separated. He quickly snuck in a quick peck on her soft lips, catching her by surprise.

"Hmm. It's getting late," he said as he noticed the time on his watch. It was almost seven o'clock in the evening and the sun had completely disappeared below the horizon. "Shall we get dinner? We can go out or order delivery."

"Now that you mention it, I am craving soba," she pointed out. Due to her busy schedule today, Aya's lunch consisted of mere vending machine snacks. She was just now realizing how hungry she was.

"Alright, let's go out," he said as he got up from the sofa. "We can get toiletries from the convenience store too, since you're staying the night."

This would be the first of many mundane nights like this for the couple. Although nothing remarkable was happening, both Aya and Rei were both just content from being in each others' company. After some drama and turmoil during their first year of college, things were finally looking like they were settling down. Due to the series of events that happened because of Hayate's arrival, the two were now more comfortable with being around one another and were also more open about their emotions. They had less issues about expressing their affections both verbally and physically, at this point. Rei was able to hold and kiss Aya without her losing consciousness and passing out, so this was a major win, in Rei's eyes. Aya was finally even able to hear those affirming words of "I love you" several times from Rei by now.

The two left Rei's apartment hand in hand, ready to face their future together. They were both looking forward to second year of college and whatever challenges this next phase in their lives would present. After all, their love was now stronger than ever.

ONLY YOU

Chapter One - A Night Together: End

Siopao: This chapter was a bit more slow because I'm really just setting the stage for the next scenes. More will be happening next~! If you gave this a read, please kindly reivew. :)