Work Text:
5-15-15
Prompt: Someone keeps printing out cute cat pictures/messages on my wireless printer and I’m determined to find out whom au
Pairing: RinTori
Rating: G
It started about a week after Rin moved into his new dorm, and Ai immediately suspected Momo. The first one was an adorable cartoon of a sea otter, after all. But a couple weeks in when message number forty-seven arrived while Momo was in the shower and his laptop was on his bed, Ai crossed him off of his mental list.
By now, Ai was used to the cheerful messages from an anonymous sender. Most of them were vague enough to have been from anyone – cute animal pictures, generic notes reading “have a nice day!” and everything in between – but some were more specific.
When message number three hundred and sixty-four mentioned that his time was improving, Ai narrowed his list to members of the swim team.
When the duck pictures started showing up around message number five hundred and six, Ai’s list shortened to the twenty guys who had been on the hike over golden week, the one when the Great Duck Incident had taken place.
Ai kept track of all his teammates who could have been leaving the messages, but it didn’t bother him all that much. He was content to know that someone wished him well, and his curiosity was low enough and his ink supply high enough that he didn’t care to really search the sender out.
That was, until message number one thousand two hundred and fifteen.
I wish I could say these things to you in person.
Ai found that one sitting in his printer tray when he came back from swim practice and he puzzled over it. All the guys on the list were his friends; there was nothing in any of the messages that any of them should have been afraid to say to him.
He folded the paper carefully and set it in the drawer with the other one thousand two hundred and fourteen, wondering if perhaps he should work harder at figuring out the sender’s identity.
After that, the messages started growing more pointed. They were still full of the same cheerful well-wishing and the same adorable animal photos, but now they were mixed with tiny compliments as well.
You have the most amazing eyes
read message 1284.
The way you laughed today at practice made the entire room brighter
came from message 1353.
The more Ai received these messages, the more he was sure there was more behind them than he knew. Ai wished more and more that whoever was sending them would say something, if only so that he could assure them he was not bothered by it. He wanted to thank them.
The two thousandth message was the one that did it. It was the longest one yet, and it came on a weekend when Momo was out of town and sure not to find it first.
Ai,
I have sent you one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine of these messages, and I realize that that’s a lot. It’s excessive.
I know you’re probably sick of these, but I can’t figure out any other way to say these things to you. At first I thought it would just be a fun joke, and then you’d figure it out and we’d have a laugh and that’d be it. But if you ever figured it out, you never said something.
I figured you probably did it to be nice, if you did. I know I’m not exactly the man of your dreams – anyone’s really. And you are nice.
You really are the most incredible person I’ve met. I’m going away soon, but I wanted to make sure someone told you that before I did. You deserve to hear it, every day.
So if you do know who this is, don’t worry. I won’t bother you about it. And if you don’t, don’t worry about that, either. This is my last message.
I just needed to say that I love you.
Ai stood staring down at the piece of paper in his hand, the other clamped over his mouth. The door opened, and he glanced up to see Rin and Sousuke laughing.
“Ready for dinner, Duckling?” Sousuke asked. Ai looked up at them mutely.
“Ai?” Rin asked, stepping into the dorm. He spotted the paper in Ai’s hand and his face turned white. He backed out of the room and took off down the hall.
“Rin?” Sousuke shouted, looking after him. He turned back to Ai with a puzzled look. “What was that all about?” He took the paper from Ai and started reading.
Ai, in the meantime, was running through his list at top speed. He lunged and jerked the drawer open, pawing through the papers there. They were from Rin, they were all from Rin. Ai sat and stared at the pile in shock.
“Duckling?” Ai looked up at Sousuke, who raised his eyebrows. “Well?” he asked, holding out the last page. Ai took it numbly. “Go after him.”