Archive of Our Own

He was putting on his work uniform in the school’s changing rooms when his boyfriend showed up. Boyfriend… they have been dating since spring, but it was still kinda weird thinking about Takumi like that. 

“There you are”, Takumi said, kinda stupidly, since Gaku told him where he would be after classes. Gaku raised his eyebrow but didn't say anything about it.

“Yeah, I should be ready soon. Gimme a few minutes.”

Takumi leaned back against one of the lockers in the room and then looked nervously around before speaking.

“So, do you have your schedule figured out yet? You said you should have it by today.”

Ughhh, that was the talk Gaku was avoiding the whole day. He kinda hoped Takumi had forgotten. Though it would probably annoy him if he did. 

“Yeah, I have it… No Christmas date for us, unfortunately.”

Not that he expected to have the time for that. December was always a busy month for him. So, many seasonal jobs opened up. It was always frustrating how much his job cut into his time, but it was much worse now that he was in an actual relationship.

And to make things even more complicated, last month his ancient phone finally gave up the ghost, making connecting with both bosses and friends that much harder. Typically, by this point in the month, he had everything organised time-wise. But it was already the 14th, and he had only just barely managed to get everything finally set up yesterday. He hated it, but there was nothing he could do. Finding a phone on his budget was extremely hard.  

“Damn, that sucks”, said Takumi in a weird voice. Was he thinking about how few actual dates they could have? Not that it was only Gaku’s fault this time. Ever since Takumi started to save up for something and couldn't pay up to listlessly turn up at Gaku’s work just to hang out, their time together got much shorter. 

“Yeah, I got that seasonal job I was telling you about. So I will be stuck selling Christmas cakes from the 24th to the 26th.”

“Three whole days?! Do people even buy them after the 24th?”

“Don’t ask me, ask the boss. Personally, I think they're being a bit optimistic. Honestly, with that business strategy, I expect they will be gone next year, but what can you do?”

“Harsh, but I guess that's good for you. That’s more money than normal.”

Gaku knew Takumi said that to be nice, but he felt himself blush from embarrassment.

“Yeah…”

“Do you want me to go over, hang out and buy a cake?”

The blush deepened. Gaku hated it when his friends watched him work. It made him feel like a freak show. Unfortunately, sometimes those were the only times he could see them outside of school, so he tried not to let it show. 

“You can come see me if you want. But don’t buy anything, they're not very good, dude.”

“You don't get a commission for it?” 

“If I got commission, I would make you buy ten.”

Takumi laughed. “That's true… Wait, aren't the 24th and 25th school days? How are you going to do it for a whole day?”

“I’m skipping that week. It's just three days of school before break, so it won’t make any difference.”

Takumi shrugged. It was one of the cool things about dating Takumi. While he never quite understood Gaku’s need for work, he never made it a problem if Gaku ignored school for it. 

“Okay, what about the rest of your schedule?”

“I'm almost completely booked till the New Year’s. I was supposed to have two days off right before it. But Mimi, I’ve told you about her, got so pissy that they wouldn't give her the whole holiday off, she straight-up left. So I have her shifts now.” Gaku sighed. “You're not mad, are you?”

“No, we can go out after New Year's”, said Takumi, but it looked like his mind was miles away. He was probably thinking how nice it would be to date somebody with actual free time, or somebody who could pay for dates, or somebody attractive, or a girl or-

“You said ‘almost completely booked’, what about before Christmas?”

Gaku quickly smothered his spiralling thoughts. He didn't even think about that.

“I guess that could work. I have a few days where I only work mornings, so I could swing it in the afternoon. And I have a whole day off tomorrow. But I promised the kids we would do some Christmas baking. We're doing gingerbread houses… You could maybe join us?” 

Takumi looked a little panicked. “I probably shouldn't… With how our last attempt at baking went”, Gaku winced. It was admittedly pretty bad. Takumi was one of those unfortunate people who somehow managed to avoid learning even the most basic cooking skills. But it was getting better with Gaku’s help. If Takumi came to the baking session, maybe Gaku could finally teach him how to separate egg yolks from the egg whites. Before he could say so, Takumi continued.

“Plus, I don't want to make your siblings mad”, yet another thing Gaku tried not to think about. While the older half of his siblings fully supported his relationship, the younger ones hated Takumi. They got it into their heads that Takumi was going to steal him away. While their disapproval mostly consisted of looking at Takumi angrily whenever he showed up, they would sometimes pull pranks on him. It was still a mystery to Gaku which of them put snails in Takumi's shoes during his last visit. Takumi was right, they wouldn't let it slide if he tried to encroach on the sacred Christmas baking time.

Another notch in his desirability stat. Ugh, why was everything against him?

“I guess you're right. Well, we can still go on that Christmas date someday after I'm done with work.”

“I wasn't thinking about the date; we can do that after New Year's. I was trying to figure out when we can set the party”, said Takumi and then, as if realising he said something he shouldn't have, his eyes widened, and he blushed. He started sputtering, but Gaku was no longer listening.

Of course, this was about his labour, not his love. Why did he ever expect better? He felt anger rising, but it calmed just as quickly. This was not surprising; it's not like he had anything better to offer to Takumi. And he liked organising parties. This was normal, nothing to get emotional about

“It's fine, calm down, Takumi.”

“Sorry, sorry, I messed it up. I was supposed to-”

“I said it's fine! What kinda party do guys want me to do?”

“Ehhh-” Takumi wasn't saying anything. 

“Get over it, dude, you already showed your hand”, thought Gaku. He was thankfully used to uncommunicative bosses. He would figure it out. 

It couldn't be a personal ask. Mother's Day wasn't close. Same for his Mom’s and childhood bestie's birthday. Takumi wouldn't bother for anybody else. 

Club activity was out of the question, too. If Kurara wanted a party for the Cinephiles Club, she would probably order fancy catering and then flex how much better it was than whatever Gaku could do. 

Wait, why is he overthinking it? It was obvious.

“Do you guys want a class Christmas party or something? Did Hiruko put you up to this?”

They never celebrated it as a class before, but it wouldn't surprise him if they wanted to just to rebel.

This year, principal Sirei had formally forbidden any Western celebrations in the school.

“We cannot let the spirit of Japan wilt away. Only by safeguarding our sacred traditions can we stand the test of time. We cannot let the vile Western invaders influence our way of life”, he would say, along with some other nonsense during their first school assembly.

As if he didn't put on a western suit during all festivals where a kimono would be appropriate, and like his favourite cuisine wasn't Italian. 

The student body made a huge fuss, but it didn't help. The biggest point of contention was Valentine's Day.

It was just Gaku’s luck that it was banned at school the first year Gaku had a date. He could only celebrate at school. There was no way he would be free after classes during the “couples storm all the restaurants” holiday. 

Thankfully, Takumi just shrugged and said:

“I guess two boys should celebrate together on White Day after all”, which was very nice, and they were wondering about it, but in Gaku’s mind, White Day didn't have even half the charm of Valentine's Day. Especially now, when he knew he wouldn't even get a Christmas date.

“Ah…” Takumi made a weird face and then smiled awkwardly. “Yes… ugh sorry for that. We thought it could be fun and you like parties, so…”

“I can do it. If we find the time. When do you guys want it?”

“That's… could you just show me your schedule? So, I can look it over and see if there is a time that would work for everybody?”

“Ugh…” Gaku wordlessly took the notebook out of his bag and thrusted it at Takumi rather aggressively, but the other boy didn't notice. He happily took and opened it. Then he didn't look so happy.

“You're so good at calligraphy. Why is your handwriting always so bad?”

“Calligraphy is for work! It makes my wrist hurt. I can read my writing perfectly fine. You can give it back if you have problems!”

“No, no, I can read it. I just think you could stand to do something nice for yourself”, Takumi said before going back to Gaku’s notes.

Easy thing to say when you've always had nice things in your life. Gaku was glad that Takumi was busy trying to decipher his writing. It gave Gaku time to blink away angry tears. He hated that he was so prone to crying. 

Why did it even get him so out of sorts? It was true he liked throwing parties. Takumi was right, it would be fun for him. He gritted his teeth as he finished dressing up. This wasn't worth getting upset over. He couldn't afford to ruin things. 

“Are you ready? If we don't leave soon, you will be late”, said Takumi from behind him.

“Yeah, I just need my shoes and jacket, but they're at the school entrance.” As they left the changing rooms, he couldn't help but wonder.

“Did you actually remember my schedule, or did you just see it written down just now?" 

He didn't voice the thought.

It didn't take long for them to be ready to leave.

At times like this, he regretted listening to Moko. She took him aside after he had been dating Takumi for a month or so, and told him:

“You need to pretend that your bike is broken”, she then winked.

“What? Why?” 

“I heard you complaining that you don't get that much time together. Isn't that right?” 

“Well, yeah, but I don't see how lying about my bike would help.”

Moko shook her head and sighed as if it was so obvious. “You need transportation, right?”

Gaku nodded. “And without the bike, you would be lost, right?”

“I mean, I could just get a seasonal ticket for the bus, dude. They are not that expensive, even for me. I do that when a job is too far away anyway. I don't-” Moko put a hand on his mouth and shook her finger at him.

“No, no, no, without a bike, your bike-owning boyfriend would have to drive you around. With you squeezed real close behind him. Wouldn't he?”

So Takumi has been driving him around for the past few months after Gaku finally overcame his pride and pretended that his bike chain broke beyond repair. 

The fact that Takumi agreed instead of proposing that Tsubasa fix it was pretty nice. 

The fact that he had to get that bus pass because Takumi wasn't always available wasn't so nice, but he dealt. 

He wasn't sure if he could survive it till the end of the winter. 

Takumi wasn't as good a driver as Gaku was, and they'd already ended up in a snowbank twice. If it happened today, Gaku knew he would either lose his shit or burst into tears. Whichever would be more embarrassing. Probably both.

Thankfully for him, this time Takumi managed to get them to the restaurant with no problems. 

“See you at school on Monday”, said Takumi, giving him a peck on the cheek as if everything was alright in the world.

“Yeah, see you”, Gaku waved to him as he was driving away and went inside. 

It took him two hours before he realised that Takumi didn't give him his notebook back. Not a big deal, they would see each other soon. Takumi would give it back then. Tomorrow, he was baking anyway; nothing important to remember. He was shocked when his foster Mom handed him the thing while he was at home eating a very late dinner.

“Your special friend was here earlier today. He left this for you”, Gaku felt his face heat up.

“Don't call him that, it's embarrassing.”

“Sweetheart, I'm your Mom; it would be embarrassing no matter what I call him. I can't just call him”, here she mouthed the word boyfriend, “cuz the little ones will go spare, you know that.”

It was true, and they just set them down after the obligatory ‘staying up waiting for Gaku’ session, which always made him feel both guilty for messing up their sleep and annoyed because it delayed his after-work "relax".

“And they were already pretty miffed that he was here in the first place. Though he wisely brought a peace offering, and that helped a little”, Mom pointed with her chin to the bag full of empty candy wrappers next to the trash bin. Huh, he wondered where that came from. 

“I saved you one, since it’s from your… guy”, Mom slid him a candy.

Unlike what he or his parents could usually scrounge together for his siblings, this was a nice brand-name thing Gaku sometimes saw in the shops, but never tried himself. 

Ah, the joys of having a big allowance. However, it must have been a sacrifice since Takumi was saving now.

Not caring how it would mix up with his dinner, Gaku ate it immediately. It was a chocolate-covered jelly, ridiculously good compared to any knock-off version he had before. His Mom watched him with a smile. It was not her usual tired one; something was off about it, like there was some joke he was not getting. Come to think of it, she was smiling like that the whole time they were talking. Was his romantic life that funny?

“Thanks. I don't get why he wouldn't just bring it with him next time we'd see each other?”

Mom shrugged. “Maybe he wasn't sure if you had any plans for tomorrow?”

Gaku bristled. “I told him just today that I’m baking with the kids. He better not have forgotten already.”

Mom patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, honey. I’m sure he remembers. Now, if you're finished up, hop into bed. The kids will want you energised for tomorrow.” 

“Yeah, yeah”, he gave her a kiss goodnight and went to sleep. Three siblings, last seen sleeping in the communal futon, were in his bed waiting for him. Typical. He fell asleep in the resulting cuddle pile.

*****

The next day, the baking and decorating went great. Everything looked nice. For the first time in years, not a single gingerbread house collapsed. Nobody got a stomachache from eating raw dough. For an added bonus, their foster Dad even managed to take a rare, longer lunch break at the factory to show up dressed as Santa. 

It was a bit early, but all children who were old enough to understand the calendar were also old enough to realise that this may have been the only opportunity for Dad to do something like that. Gaku was in such a good mood that his annoyance from Saturday was forgotten entirely. He was even starting to look forward to preparing that Christmas party. 

Of course, his good mood didn't survive Monday.

“Soooo”, started Takumi as they were changing shoes. He was weirdly awkward the entire way to school. 

“Don’t be mad, but I can't drive you around this week.”

Gaku was almost relieved to hear that, considering they landed in the snowbank again just this morning, but it was suspicious. 

“Why? I mean, it’s fine, I can take the bus, but I’m curious.”

“I have a Physics project I need to do with Tsubasa. I will be dealing with that the whole week.”

Gaku felt an immediate surge of anger. He was right. This was super suspicious. How would Takumi have a whole project without Gaku knowing about it? Was Takumi cheating on him? He wouldn't think of Takumi as a cheating type, and Tsubasa even less so. But that’s how people got cheated on. They didn’t suspect it. 

Tsubasa had so much more to offer than he did. She was a girl. She was way more attractive. She had a family business that she was set to inherit. And she was so nice and personable, too. 

Gaku took a deep breath. He needed the whole story. If he poked at it long enough, it would either start making sense or Takumi would come clean.

“Since when are you doing any school projects on time?!”

“Hey, that’s unfair!”

“Need I remind you how our math thingy went last year?!” Gaku would rather forget that whole incident, but it was Exhibit A on how suspicious it all was. 

Takumi never did any homework before the deadline was almost there, or sometimes not at all. When this was combined with Gaku's perpetual lack of time for homework, it led them to do everything at the last minute, so badly that it would no doubt get the two of them to fail the semester if the teacher saw it.

Thankfully, Takumi’s friend Karua, as if an angel from the heavens, noticed the absolute garbage their equations looked like and spent a whole night with them correcting the entire thing. Gaku baked her a cake as a thank you and swore never to pair up with Takumi again.

“That was a long time ago!” yelled blushing Takumi. “Before we were dating, even.”

“Dating me, unfortunately, has not made you more hardworking. I saw Hiruko dragging you to the library by the ear when she had to work with you, and that was like last month.”

Takumi went even redder at that comment “Well, I guess my reputation precedes me then, because Tsubasa has been nagging me like crazy. I think she wrote some kind of program to send me messages around the clock. All about how she will sic Moko on me if I mess it up.”

Okay, that made sense. And for the first time Gaku felt good that he could never afford a phone new enough for something like that.

However, there were still holes in this story.

“I guess that makes sense. But why are you having a physics project right now? I haven't heard anything about it. Do I need to pair up with somebody, too?”

“No, no, no, this is something me and Tsubasa are doing for an extra grade. Well, she is doing it for an extra grade; she needed something to spruce it up after she botched that oral presentation", they both winced. Poor Tsubasa, Gaku couldn't imagine having a stage fright that bad.

“I have to do it kinda as a punishment… apparently I skipped a bit too much homework this semester”, Takumi looked everywhere, but at Gaku’s face as he said it.

“What?! That bad?! Wasn't that Karua chick keeping an eye on you?”

“Well, it’s not her responsibility…” 

“You said it, not me, dude. If I knew, I would have made you do your homework whenever you're trying to hang out with me while I’m working tables”, Takumi hanging out and taking up a table with one drink for hours would be way less embarrassing if he were doing his homework at the same time. Gaku made a mental note to nag him next time Takumi shows up. Though now that he was saving money, it was pretty rare. Maybe after Takumi's budget gets back on track.

But it was somewhat reassuring. While annoying, Takumi having less time due to laziness and inattentiveness was pretty on brand. Much better than Gaku’s initial suspicion.

“I knew about it in advance, but I didn't want to mention it before I figured out an alternative transportation for you.”

Gaku blinked, surprised, “Dude, I can just take the bus. Like I always do when you're not available.”

Takumi shook his head. “Yeah, but I feel bad, and I know you don’t like them that much. Kurara owed me a favour, so her driver will drive you around for a few days.”

Gaku felt as if he had landed on a different planet. “What? Like in… in one of her fancy cars?!”

Takumi nodded, looking pleased with himself.

“That’s a terrible idea, dude!” 

“Why?” Takumi was bewildered by his reaction. Of course, he wouldn't get it. He didn't know how real life worked.

“Do you know how awkward it will be to leave some kind of limousine just to go and work a minimum wage job. I will look stupid. My coworkers will probably make fun of me!”

Not to mention how it would feel sitting in a luxury car in whatever work uniform he would wear that day. It was already humiliating enough that he had to put them on and walk around dressed up at school. 

“Couldn't you have a deal with Takemaru! A motorcycle would at least give me some street cred!”

Takumi looked extremely annoyed at that “Not when you're riding on the back, it would not.”

“I already ride on the back when I’m driving with you”, now Takumi turned red.

“Come on, don't make a problem out of this! Kurara’s car is nice and warm, and the driver can drop you off wherever you want. You can park a bit farther away if it makes you that embarrassed.”

Gaku felt the wind leave his sails. Takumi tried to do something nice, and here he was being difficult. Making a problem. 

“You’re right, I’m sorry”, Takumi looked at him weirdly and opened his mouth as if to say something, but then the bell rang. Gaku didn't realise how long their argument lasted. 

They hurried to the class. Only then did Gaku remember that he was supposed to ask Takumi about the Christmas party.

Fortunately, it was Mr Nigou's class, and the guy was terrible with discipline. So Gaku just poked Takumi with his pencil a few times. Takumi turned to him and let out a questioning hum.

“What about the party, dude?”

Takumi looked startled at the question and started looking around weirdly before asking. “What party?” 

Gaku felt annoyed again “What do you mean, what party? That Christmas thing you asked me about.” 

“Ahhh, that thing”, Takumi’s voice was weirdly high-pitched. Somebody in the class who was apparently listening in giggled at that. Gaku looked around to see who it was, but everybody was politely looking away. Which meant that everybody was listening for some reason. Great.

“Yeah, me and Hiruko”, Hiruko kept impressively still when her name was called, “checked, and none of those times worked. I’m sorry, I know you were looking forward to it.” 

Considering that by this point, Gaku actually was, this was pretty depressing news. Gaku felt himself deflate a little. Takumi must have noticed, because he started panicking and tried to reassure him. 

“I’m sure we will find some time to do a Valentine's party when the time comes, that would be fun, right!?”

Gaku made a noncommittal noise. What a bummer this was.

Monday set the standard for the rest of the week.

The only bright point was Kurara's car. It turned out to be a pretty sweet ride, and the driver knew how to be discreet, so none of his coworkers noticed. It didn't make up for anything else.

At school, not only Takumi but everyone seemed too busy to hang out. It also looked as if some gossip was spreading about him. Whenever he walked into the room, everybody went quiet. 

What were they talking about? It was starting to freak him out. He always assumed they talked behind his back, but it was never that bad, and to avoid him, too, it was too much. What if everybody ends up hating and avoiding him? 

He couldn't take a repeat of middle school with no social life at all. Not now, when he finally had some friends.

All his regular work digs had something go wrong, too. 

Emi from the cafe sprained her ankle, so he had to do everything that required too much movement. 

Akihiro at the flower shop had an exam coming up and would blow up if anything distracted him from studying. 

And at the restaurant, he overheard the managers talking about incoming lay-offs. After which, he had his first panic attack since he started dating Takumi.

But it was at home where things sucked the most. Despite earlier promises that she could stay home till January, Mari’s doctor suddenly decided that it would be Christmas in the hospital after all, leaving everybody depressed. 

Then, some bullies cut up Sakura’s brand-new jacket, a miracle find during thrift shopping, leaving the poor girl in hysterics. Mom had to go to the school to deal with it, and Gaku had to try to sew it back together. Neither of those helped much. Bullies only got talking to, and the jacket, while functional, looked awful now.

On top of that, Yuki’s tooth started to move. It was a long way from falling out, but the boy started having terrible nightmares about swallowing it and dying. Gaku suspected somebody had told him a story about it. Unfortunately, this meant that Gaku had to wake up several times during the night to calm his little brother down. 

All that stress led to his Mom having an arthritis flare, and as always, when that happened, all the chores she couldn't do landed on him.

When he was opening the cafe on Sunday, he was totally ready for the week to be over. Even if it didn't get better at least from today till the end of winter break, he wouldn't have to go to school. 

He didn't know if he could take another week of whispers. Or maybe this was worse; maybe without him there, it would get really out of control. Ugh, he needed to stop thinking about it; it wouldn't help any.

At least Mom already felt better. Sometimes the flares would last weeks, so it was a great relief to see her up and about making breakfast for him this morning. And finally, there was someone else on shift with him other than Emi, so there was no additional work.

The day was amazingly boring. Till Tsubasa showed up, that is. 

It wasn't that surprising. She lived pretty close to the place and had enough pocket money to waste it on fancy coffee or juice from time to time. 

This wasn't the case that day. She walked brightly to the counter, a package under her arm, and asked.

“Can I talk with you if I don’t order anything?”

Gaku shrugged, “As long as we don’t get any other clients”, it was a slow day, and his coworker was too busy scrolling on her phone at the back to call him out. It would be nice to chat with Tsubasa even if for a moment.

“Great, this won't take long”, she looked around awkwardly before speaking again. “Sorry to do it, especially today, but can I ask you for a favour?” 

Was this never gonna end? Just grind after grind when he expected a little company. At least this wasn't like Takumi last week. She came out with it right away. He sighed.

“Depends on the favour, dude.”

She smiled weirdly, took the package out from under her arm, and put it on the counter between them.

“So, I’m sure Takumi mentioned to you the Physics project we’re doing… I mean, I know he did, he told me that he did. Anyway, I was supposed to bring it to school on Monday, but… we're having a small family emergency, my aunt is… It doesn't matter, but we're leaving the city to deal with it… today. Like, in an hour today, and I have the project with me, so I won't be able to bring it on Monday or to Takumi before I have to leave. But I know you have Kurara's driver for the week, so it won't take you long after work to go and drop it off with Takumi, right?”

Gaku opened his mouth to say something, but Tsubasa was still talking. “Please, Gaku. It would mean a lot to me!”

“Ugh, can't I just bring this to him on Monday?” 

“Aren't you skipping tomorrow?” she asked. 

“Oh, right, it slipped my mind”, it really did. That said, it felt weird that Takumi apparently told her about it. Maybe this was why everybody had been gossiping about him recently. Maybe they were already taking bets on how long it would take for him to become a total dropout. This thought did not make him any happier or eager to help Tsubasa, for that matter. 

“I don’t know, it's been a long week, and I still have work tomorrow. Can’t you ask someone else?”

“I don't have time for anybody else”, she brought her hand to her chin as if in thought. “How about this? If you do this for me, I will do you a favour and won't tell Takumi that your bike chain could be fixed in about five minutes.” 

Now that was completely unexpected. Gaku pointed his finger at her. “That’s not a favour, that’s blackmail!” 

Tsubasa shrugged. “I would offer to fix it as a favour, but I know you wouldn't want that soooo…” 

He took the package from the counter “Okay, fine, I will do it! Just don’t-” he didn't finish. So much of his life was already super humiliating; he couldn't stand the thought of Takumi knowing he would pull something like this. Why did he ever think it would be a good idea to listen to Moko? 

“Thanks!” Tsubasa said brightly, as if she hadn't just threatened his whole relationship. He honestly didn't expect something like that from her. As if she had heard his thoughts, she started apologising. “I’m really sorry for this, especially on your birthday. I just don't have any other options. Again, I'm sorry! And while we’re at it, Happy Birthday! Expect a present soon. Bye!”

“Thanks, bye”, he said, completely stunned. Through the glass doors of the cafe, he could see her immediately vomiting into the nearest trash can. But he barely registered it. He took the parcel to the store's back room and put it on the table there. He turned to his coworker. She was playing some sort of mobile game.

“I’m going to the bathroom”, he said. She nodded, not paying attention.

Good, she probably won't hear him. And then he locked himself in the staff's bathroom and burst into tears. 

He completely forgot that it even was his birthday. And it looked like everyone except Tsubasa had forgotten too. 

He tried to regain composure. It was fine, maybe he was just overreacting. His Mom probably waited for him to get back from work. She never could get him much, if anything, for his birthday, but she never forgot it either, same with his Dad. He was overreacting; they were just waiting for him to go back. 

His friends, other than Tsubasa? Well, he didn't have a phone anymore; they would probably send him best wishes that way if they could. They didn't say anything yesterday, so they must have been waiting for Monday. That's it, they wanted to wish him a happy birthday in person. 

He started sobbing even harder than before. Who was he kidding? Tsubasa knew he would be absent. If Takumi told her he must have told everybody. They were gossiping about it the whole week. They knew that Saturday was the last day they would see him before winter break, and they either forgot or just didn't care. 

And he spent the whole year making sure everybody's birthday was nice like an idiot. So many parties, outings and putting together group presents. He was already making plans for the January duo while nobody would spare a thought for him. 

And then there was Takumi. For his birthday, Gaku not only organised a party like he did for everyone else, but even used his limited funds to actually buy him something nice just from Gaku and… nothing. 

For the price of that stupid DVD, he could have gotten his siblings' brand-name sweets himself. 

It was just a suspicion that his friends knew he would be absent, but Takumi knew for sure. And Takumi saw his schedule, he knew where Gaku would be, and he had finished that stupid project, as evidenced by Tsubasa bringing it here. And yet after a whole week of ignoring Gaku, he couldn't find a minute to even wish him a happy birthday. 

Gaku took out some toilet paper and blew his nose. 

It was fine. There was no other way it could have gone. Even he himself forgot his birthday. Why would he expect anybody else to remember? Just his rotten luck, just his rotten life. It’s not like he deserved anything better. The fact that Tsubasa remembered enough to wish him happy birthday was enough. She even promised him a present. One whole present that's more than he got most years. He shouldn't be greedy. That's why people avoided him. Not nice enough, not smart enough, not attractive enough. He had nothing to offer, so why would he expect anything? He was lucky a cool guy like Takumi even wanted to date him in the first place. He should be happy with what he has and not expect more.

He washed his face in the sink and went back to work. No one cared that his eyes were a bit red around the edges. Soon enough, even that disappeared. 

*****

He really didn't want to go out and do it. Kurara’s car has been parked in front of Takumi’s house for several minutes now. Soon, he would have to leave and confront Takumi. 

Ugh, why did he agree? He should just let Tsubasa tattle, not like it mattered. If he dared to complain, Gaku could hit him with the "forgotten birthday card” and bam, that would win any argument. How's that for looking at things in a positive way?

He took a big breath. He had to do it. He owed it to Tsubasa. Not because she blackmailed him, but because she alone remembered his birthday. 

He took the box, left the car and finally walked to Takumi’s door. He had to take a few more breaths trying to gather enough courage to ring the doorbell. 

This was ridiculous. This was still his boyfriend's house; he's been here so many times before, and the last time he was this nervous was when Takumi was still an unattainable crush. Takumi was obtained now, and Gaku shouldn't act like that anymore. 

Gaku rang the doorbell before the temporary burst of courage left, and then, sooner than he expected, the door got opened… by Takumi’s Mom. 

Typical, he got stressed out for no reason.

She smiled, seeing him “Hello, Gaku! It's so nice to see you! What do you have there?” 

He didn't like talking with Takumi’s Mom. Not that he didn't like her, but she weirded him out a little. 

She used to disapprove of him rather strongly at the very beginning of his and Takumi's relationship, and then she suddenly turned around and liked him very much. He couldn't understand it at all.

“Ah, yeah, hi, Mrs Sumino. I got a package for Takumi. It's something for school. If I could just drop it off with you-”

“Nonsense, come on in, I will call Talkumi!”

“No need, I have the car waiting and-” behind him, he could hear the unmistakable sound of an engine starting. 

He turned. The fancy limousine that brought him there was driving away.

“Oh no.” said Mrs Sumino.  “I think you will have to stay after all”, she dragged him inside by the arm. 

“I can take the bus, there is no need to-”, but she wasn't listening to him, just pushed him towards the living room.

“Go on, sit down, I will get Takumi”, he had no choice it seemed. So he went to the living room. Weird, why were the lights gone?

Usually, they had them on there, even if there was nobody in the room. He thought of the luxury of wasting electricity as he turned on the lights.

“SURPRISE!!!” he actually jumped and almost dropped the box as a cacophony of voices assaulted him.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAKU!!!” all of his friends were here, smiling and giggling. 

Takumi stood in the middle with the biggest smile of them all.

“Wha-” he was still stunned as Takumi took the box out of his hands.

“It’s a surprise party! Do you like it?” he asked. Gaku looked around. This looked very much like one of his parties with handmade decorations and snacks. He noticed that some of the decorative paper chains definitely looked the same as the ones his siblings had to do for ‘homework’ recently. And among the snacks were his Mom's signature low-budget cookies. While he was looking around, somebody put on the music. It was his favourite song. 

Gaku burst into tears.

“You guys-” as he started speaking, Takumi gathered him into his arms. Gaku spent some time sobbing into his jacket, this time with happy tears. When he was finished, Takumi looked him over. 

“Erm, I’m assuming you would rather not hang around in your work uniform”, Gaku, in fact, had forgotten all about his uniform. If he wasn't already blushing, he would be now. Takumi continued speaking. 

“But don't worry, your Mom brought some clothes so you can change and then we can start the party for real.”

Gaku nodded, but before they could go, Kyoshika loudly coughed.

“But, Sir Takumi, you need to fulfil the ancient tradition first”, she was pointing to something above their heads. Gaku looked up. In the doorway hung a mistletoe.

“Oh, how did that get here. I guess we have no choice but to kiss Gaku”, Takumi started the sentence in a fake innocent flat tone, but failed to keep the smile off his face at the end. 

Gaku smiled too. 

“I guess we don’t, Takumi”, and so they kissed to cheers and applause before Takumi led Gaku to his room. Where Gaku's clothes were lying, along with a happy birthday note from his Mom, Dad and siblings. 

As he began dressing, Takumi spoke.

“Do you like the look of everything? Kurara wanted to have it professionally catered as your birthday gift, but after thinking it over, we decided you would probably prefer something like this.”

“Yeah, dude, it’s awesome! I saw stuff from home, too. Did you talk to my Mom when you brought the schedule last week?” Takumi nodded. “No wonder she was smirking so much that day. I didn't expect this at all!”

Takumi let out a sigh, “I’m glad, especially since I almost let the cat out of the bag too early. Thankfully, I had a good excuse.”

“That I made for you!”

“Yeah, that’s why you're my MVP”, said Takumi earnestly. Gaku felt himself go red. 

He was now fully dressed, but decided not to go down to rejoin the party just yet. 

He was avoiding confrontation this whole week. It was so unlike him, but now he could finally admit why. 

He was just so scared of the inevitable break-up he was expecting. 

And it was unnecessary this whole time. Takumi wasn't avoiding him because he was tired of him, and Takumi wasn't avoiding him because he was cheating. He was just making a surprise for him. 

Gaku hated surprises.

He sat down on Takumi’s bed, took a deep breath and spoke.  

“I really like the party, and I’m very grateful. But please, dude. Never. Ever. Do something like this again. Let this be the first and last surprise party for me.”

Takumi looked taken aback. “Okay, but why?”

“It’s nice now, and I’m happy now, but this whole week I’ve been going crazy. You were avoiding me so you could hang out with Tsubasa on some pretence that barely made sense. It looked like everybody was avoiding me! And gossiping about me to boot.  And that was on top of me having a really shitty week in general. I was stressed I was jealous... I wasn't having a good time”, he sighed and looked away from Takumi. “And then on top of that I thought you all forgot about me today and… man, I don't want to talk about it anymore.”  

Takumi sat next to him and put an arm around him. “I’m sorry, Gaku. We… I just wanted to give you a nice surprise. I should have figured that you would have freaked out with how paranoid you are.”

“HEY! Are you cheering me up or not!” 

“He he, sorry, I was just trying to relax the atmosphere, but I mean... nevermind. I'm really sorry you were having a bad time. Next year we will do something else. And I’m sorry you thought we all forgot. We were going to wish you a happy birthday yesterday at school, but your Mom said that you never register your birthday, so we thought it would make for a better surprise if we didn't mention it at all.”

“I guess that makes sense. It would probably work, but Tsubasa wished me a happy birthday when she saw me.”

Takumi facepalmed. “She was not supposed to do that. Ugh, she must have panicked or something.”

“That explains why she vomited right after”, thought Gaku.

“She was supposed to get me here, right? What if I didn't agree? To bring the package.”

“Oh, Kurara's driver would have brought you here anyway. We just figured you would be less freaked out that way.”

“Dude, you do realise that you could have just asked me out on a date at your house today. I would have come here, and I wouldn't feel like you were blowing me off the whole week.”

There was a moment of silence before Takumi groaned and put his head in his hands. Gaku laughed at the absurdity of the situation.

“See, Takumi, this is why you need to leave party planning to the pros.”

“Yeah, I guess so. Let’s not talk about it any more. I will know better for next year. But I want you to know, if you were jealous about Tsubasa, I'm not apologising for that!”

“I guess that's fair. I shouldn't think badly about the two of you.”

“That's too, but I'm not apologising because of your comment about Takemaru!”

“What comment?” 

Takumi’s face was now completely red. “That I should get him to drive you around on his motorcycle.”

Why would that anger Takumi? Then, in Gaku's mind, an image of a stereotypical biker with his babe formed, and then the biker and the babe got replaced by Takemaru and him.

His face instantly turned red. Was this what Takumi had imagined?!

“You were jealous of Takemaru?!”

“Of course I was! He is taller, more muscular and very nice. And he has a proper motorcycle. Just imagining you driving around with him was driving me insane!”

“Dude, come on. Takamaru also has anger issues, terrible taste in clothes and tells me to man up on the reg. You're way better than that! I would rather you get us in another snowbank than leave you for him.”

It was kind of relieving to hear that when he was freaking out over nothing, Takumi was too. He held out his hand. “We can talk about it more later. The party is waiting.”

Takumi took his hand, and they went downstairs. Their friends made them get another mistletoe kiss and then made fun of them for obviously making out in Takumi’s room. They played along. 

Then Takumi’s Mom brought out the cake. It was a round white cake decorated with melted chocolate. In the middle was a fondant circle with his age, seventeen, spelt out. The borders were decorated with dollops of cream, two types of cookies, blueberries, strawberries and edible pearls. There was just one small candle (that Gaku recognised from his home) on it, but that was because next to it were two sparklers shaped like the numbers one and seven, respectively. 

“Takumi tried to make the cake himself”, said Mrs Sumino as she lit the candle and sparklers. “Let’s just say it went badly, so I had to take over. Maybe you will have him properly trained by next year.”

“MOM!!!” 

And then Gaku stood around holding the cake as Takumi’s Mom took pictures with him and everybody. It took so long that the soot from the sparklers got onto his cheek. Then he could finally put out the lone candle. Thinking about his wish very hard as he did so. They ate the cake. Despite its white colour, it turned out to be chocolate. And then it was time for presents. 

First, surprising Gaku, went Kurara.

“Rejoice, peasant! For you already got a taste of my gift! As long as there is snow outside, you and your boy toy, if you wish it, can enjoy the service of one of my drivers.”

She made a face between sad and disgusted. “I saw that idiot drive you into the snow so many times this winter, I just couldn't stand for it!”

“Hey, that was only twice!” yelled Takumi. 

“Trice”, corrected Gaku.

“Any number above zero is not acceptable, moron! If anybody with higher standards was dating you, you would be single by now!”

Despite this technically offending him as well, Gaku giggled as annoyed Takumi kept yelling excuses. He thanked Kurara.

Next, it was Kako and Ima who gave him a crime novel. 

“I know you don’t read much, but I think you will really like this one if you give it a chance”, said Kako.

Ima gave him a thumbs-up. “Sister dearest, choose, and I sourced it!”

Gaku thanked them and wisely didn't ask how he sourced it.

Yugamu gave him a nicely packaged box, winking as he claimed that it was a present for both Gaku and Takumi. Gaku decided not to open it right then and there. Maybe he would never do it.

Following that Darumi gave him an Eroge VN. 

“Don't worry, there is almost no gore in it! And it’s yuri!” She yelled out. It seemed that she was fully aware that he would have to go over to her house to actually play it.

Next, it was Kyoshika, surprisingly, with the best one so far. Several volumes of classic yuri.

“I have travelled far and wide through internet listings and antique shops to find this treasure for you, Sir Gaku.”

“Thank you, Kyoshika”, he was almost in tears again. Unlike Darumi, this one was even safe for work enough that he could keep it at home. 

Then it was Shouma who gave him a hoodie. It was a perfectly nice hoodie, clearly expensive and high quality. But it was also one of those garments meant to resemble an animal. A dog, in this case. Aside from the regular patches of colour in the shape of a dog's belly, there were puppy ears sewn to the hood and a tail at the bottom.

“Agh, I'm sorry this probably sucks, but I know you like clothes, and this was so cute. I'm probably wrong about that, but there is a receipt there if you want to return it.”

“No, no, it is very cute, dude. I will put it on right away”, it was admittedly pretty cute; the kids at home would like it. He just hoped that people wouldn't think he was a furry if he wore it.

Then it was Takemaru and a homemade coupon for scooter lessons. 

“I figured this would be more convenient than your bike. You could get jobs farther away and stuff. One of the old guys I know used to teach driver's ed and still has some friends there. Let me know when you have some free time, and we will hook you up for lessons. If you get a licence, we can all pitch in for a scooter for your next birthday”, as if they had already talked about it beforehand, everybody nodded. 

Gaku was touched. While he would probably prefer something cooler, a scooter was a really good idea. 

“Thanks, Takemaru and thanks, everybody!” 

As if continuing with the spirit of pitching in, next was a joint gift from Nozomi, Moko, Hiruko and Eito. A gift that almost brought him to tears again. It was a freaking smartphone.

“Wow, guys! This is so awesome, you really didn't have to!”

“We absolutely did”, growled Hiruko with annoyance. “I was getting tired of having to notify you with separate messages for everything.”

Nozomi hit her lightly with her elbow before speaking herself. “We figured that if you got a new phone yourself, you would get another old model, and we wouldn't be able to add you to any group chats.”

“It would be a crime to let an event organiser like you to flounder like that. But with this phone, your possibilities are endless”, said Moko and sent him a kiss as if to punctuate her statement.

“I was going to get you an educational book, but was forced to join in on this one”, Eito killed the mood at the end.

Then there was a last present from Takumi and Tsubasa. Despite how nice everything was, Gaku felt a ping of annoyance seeing Takumi take it out of the same package Gaku delivered. 

It was another smaller box, this one wrapped in a really fancy gift paper.

Takumi started, “I would prefer if I could give it to you by myself, but I wanted it to be really special, so I had to get Tsubasa's help.”

The girl in question nodded. “Yeah, this was all Takumi’s idea, and he paid for the materials, but I built it. Though he helped out as much as he could.”

Only after this speech did Takumi hand the box to Gaku to unwrap. 

In the box there was a pair of headphones. 

“Those are Tsubasa's originals. No one else has a pair like that. I guarantee their quality”, assured Tsubasa.

“I remember you saying that you always have to use headphones from work and school if you want to work on your music. Now you have a pair all to yourself. And it can connect to your phone so you can also just listen to stuff if you want,” Takumi said all of that as if he wasn't sure if this whole thing was a good idea.

For the second time that evening, Gaku burst into tears of happiness. Thanking them purposefully. 

Then the party could start for real.

They had fun deep into the evening, and Takumi even organised things so that Gaku could stay the night.

The next day at work, despite being tired as hell, Gaku couldn't stop smiling for the whole of his shift.