This fic is for the event JJ Style Week, for the eighth and final prompt: Birthday. Title comes from "Theme of King JJ."
JJ's twentieth birthday starts the same way his birthdays always do, with Hélène and Louis rushing into his bedroom and throwing themselves on his bed. "Happy birthday!" Louis yells at the top of his lungs. Hélène bounces up and down on JJ's leg.
JJ reflects that this was much more fun when Hélène and Louis were five and three, not fifteen and thirteen.
"Can you get off me?" JJ asks when Hélène and Louis don't move. They continue to stay where they are. "Guys, come on."
"But this is the last year we'll be able to do this!" Louis protests. "By this time next year, you and Isabella will be married, and you'll be living with her, and we won't be able to jump on your bed!"
"How horrible," JJ deadpans.
"I'll let you in to jump on him as long as I'm already out of bed," Isabella promises, stepping into the room. She leans down and kisses JJ sweetly. "Happy birthday, JJ."
"Traitor," JJ accuses with a pout, but he kisses her back anyway.
"So what are you gonna do for your birthday?" Hélène asks, still sitting on JJ's legs.
"I do need those, you know," he remarks, wiggling his legs under Hélène as much as he can. She ignores him.
"JJ and I were going to go out for brunch," Isabella replies, sitting on the edge of the bed. She, at least, has the decency to sit on the mattress instead of on JJ. "And then I think your parents might have plans for some sort of party."
"Oh, we know about that," Louis replies. "The party with-"
Hélène throws herself on top of Louis at the same time that Isabella hisses, "Shush!" Louis' eyes go wide and he clamps his mouth shut.
JJ looks at the three of them in surprise. "Is there something I should know about?"
"No," Isabella, Louis, and Hélène say very quickly in apparently accidental unison.
"Convincing," JJ tells them dryly.
"It's nothing to worry about, honey," Isabella assures him. "Where were we going to go to brunch again?"
JJ looks at her warily. He knows when he's being purposefully distracted, but on the other hand, he's not sure how much he cares. Whatever this is, he's going to find out once his parents throw his party. JJ's not always the biggest fan of surprises, especially when he knows the surprise is coming but doesn't know what it is, but he decides that he'll deal today.
"We're going to that pancake place you wanted to try out," he tells Isabella. "The one that's supposed to have really good French toast."
"I still think it's ridiculous that you're going to a place known for its pancakes and eating French toast," Hélène pipes in.
"And I still don't care," JJ retorts, because he's Hélène's big brother and he's pretty sure he's contractually obliged to snipe at her at least a little bit.
"You should get dressed," Isabella tells JJ. "We want to get going soon."
"I would get dressed if I could get up," JJ replies, glaring at Hélène and Louis. Both of them are entirely unaffected.
"Guys, come on, let him up," Isabella sighs.
"Fine," Hélène groans, finally getting off JJ's legs. Louis bounces off the bed as well.
"How did you do that?" JJ asks Isabella, looking at her with wide eyes. "Marry me right now."
Isabella laughs. "But if I marry you now, we won't have time for brunch," she counters.
JJ considers that. "Marry me later."
"Deal," Isabella agrees, her eyes bright with amusement.
"You two are gross," Hélène groans, as if she doesn't have a girlfriend of her own that she shyly holds hands with at school dances.
"Go away and let me get dressed," JJ huffs.
"Come on, guys, let's give your brother some privacy," Isabella scolds lightly, ushering Hélène and Louis out of JJ's room. JJ has no idea how she wrangles them so well, but he's definitely not complaining.
He gets dressed quickly and goes out to the kitchen, preparing himself for his mother's loving birthday assault. It comes exactly as he expected, with arms wrapped around him the second he's through the doorway.
"You're so grown up!" his mother cries, like she does every year. "Alain, how do we have a twenty year old son?"
"It is pretty amazing," his father agrees, smiling at JJ. "Happy birthday, King."
"Thanks, guys," JJ replies. "Um, Mom? Can you let go? Bella and I are going out for brunch."
"I gave birth to you," JJ's mother retorts. "I can hug you for as long as I want."
"Of course you can," Isabella says. She leans on JJ's back and kisses the side of his neck. "We're fine, JJ. Let your mom hug you."
"I like this girl," JJ's mother declares, as she does almost every time she sees Isabella. JJ's pretty sure his family actually likes her more than they like him. He doesn't blame them, honestly.
Finally, JJ's mother lets go of him, and Isabella takes his hand and brings him out to the car. "Are you ready to go?" she asks, sitting in the passenger seat.
"I am," JJ replies, sliding behind the wheel. "So, to brunch?"
"Yup," Isabella replies. She kisses JJ's cheek. "Happy birthday, JJ. I think you're going to have a really great day today."
After brunch, they wander around together for a while. It's a lovely day, so when Isabella drags JJ to the park, he doesn't fight her. He's got the feeling that she's distracting him so his family has more time to organize whatever surprise they have planned, but just like before, he lets himself be distracted. He's curious about what this surprise is going to be, but not enough that he wants it spoiled. He's happy to wait.
Finally, after wandering around the park for over an hour, Isabella lets them go back to JJ's house. "So, am I finally going to see what the surprise you have planned is?" JJ asks dryly as they drive back.
"I think you're going to like it," Isabella replies, apparently not even trying to hide the fact that she's got a surprise planned for him. "Your parents and I have spent quite a while figuring this all out, so you'd better like it."
"Now I'm really curious."
Isabella smiles mysteriously. "You'll see when you get home."
JJ doesn't speed on the way back, but it's only through a great deal of effort. There's an unfamiliar motorbike in the driveway. It's probably a rental, and JJ finds himself grinning widely, because he only knows one person who would rent a motorbike instead of a car.
"Happy birthday, JJ!" Otabek calls the second JJ steps through the door. He's sitting in the living room with JJ's family, but he gets up to walk over to the hall once JJ comes in. "Surprise!"
"You are the best," JJ tells Otabek, grabbing him and pulling him in for a hug. "After me and Bella, of course. Third best."
"Before all of us?" Louis protests.
"Otabek didn't jump on me this morning," JJ retorts.
"I couldn't get a flight early enough to get here on time," Otabek replies in a slightly mournful voice. It's only because JJ knows him so well that he knows he's joking.
"So this is the surprise?" JJ asks Isabella, turning around. "Because I love it. You're the best."
"Second to you?" Isabella asks, raising an eyebrow.
"No way." JJ shakes his head. "You, me, then Otabek." He gestures vaguely at his family. "Then all of them."
"Hey!" Hélène and Louis protest in unison.
"I'm glad you're happy to see me," Otabek says. "Just in case you weren't, I brought shek-shek."
"New ranking," JJ declares. "Isabella, then you, then me. Give me the food."
"JJ, you just had a stack of French toast," Isabella protests.
"I don't have to diet on my birthday, so I have to make the most of it," JJ counters, making grabby hands towards Otabek.
"It's in the kitchen," Otabek tells him, and JJ goes off like a shot. The first time he visited Otabek in Almaty, Otabek fed him lots of Kazakh cuisine, but the only thing JJ really liked was shek-shek. That, of course, he became basically obsessed with. He hasn't had it in quite a while, and he's not passing up the opportunity now.
"I was thinking we could go to the rink soon," Otabek suggests as JJ shovels shek-shek in his mouth. "I'd like to get freshened up, and eat something, then maybe we can go skate."
"You're not tired?" JJ asks. "Weren't you just on a plane for the last eighteen hours?"
"I slept a lot," Otabek replies with a shrug, because he's one of those people who can actually sleep on planes. "We don't have to go to the rink if you don't want to, but I thought it might be nice. Like old times."
"I'm definitely down with that," JJ replies. "Maybe I can even drag Isabella on the ice."
"So I can look like an idiot in front of two world-class figure skaters?" Isabella asks dryly.
"So we can skate together because it's romantic," JJ corrects. "Come on, babe, please? For my birthday?"
Isabella sighs, but JJ can tell from the look on her face that she's going to give in. "Okay, fine. Go do whatever you need to do, Otabek, and we'll go when you're ready."
"I'll be quick," Otabek promises as he ducks out of the kitchen.
"Go easy on me when we skate," Isabella tells JJ, trying to snag a bite of his shek-shek.
JJ twists so the plate out of her reach. "I love you, babe, but this is mine."
Isabella pouts, but JJ is unmoved. He loves her, but he only rarely gets the chance to eat shek-shek, and he's not going to give any of it up.
He does end up relenting and giving her a bite, but only because he eats so much that he doesn't think he can eat any more. JJ knows he's really really going to regret this when he has to start working off all the calories tomorrow, but as he said, he has to make the most out of the fact that he doesn't have to follow his diet on his birthday.
Otabek returns to the kitchen before too long, freshly showered. He eats quickly, then they all pile into JJ's car to go to the rink.
"So, how's your birthday so far?" Otabek asks as they drive. "Your mother said that you two went out for brunch."
"It was delicious," JJ tells Otabek, looking at him in the rear view mirror. Isabella called shotgun before he could, and even if she hadn't, she had fiancée privileges and would have ended up in the front anyway. "I got French toast and it was so good."
"How does it rank?" Otabek asks dryly.
"Hmm." JJ ponders that for a moment. "Probably the fourth best I've ever had. Maybe fifth."
"My fiancé, the French toast connoisseur," Isabella declares.
They get to the rink quickly. Otabek's phone buzzes as they get out of the car and he checks it with a frown. "Something wrong?" JJ calls.
"No, nothing," Otabek replies.
JJ grabs his skates out of the car and heads into the rink. "JJ, can you help me pick out skates?" Isabella asks, taking his hand. "There are so many and I don't know which ones I should get. What size should I wear?"
"We should measure your foot, babe," JJ explains. "Come on, I'll show you."
It takes a while to get Isabella set up with skates, and then she's not sure that they're tight enough and she reties them four times. JJ watches with amusement as she ties them very carefully, brow furrowed in concentration.
"Where's Otabek?" he asks suddenly, looking around.
"He must have gone inside while you were helping me with my skates," Isabella replies. "Let's go in."
JJ holds Isabella's hand, since it's hard to balance with blade guards on if you're not used to it, then they walk over to the door. "Is Otabek talking to someone in there?" JJ asks. "I swear I hear multiple voices."
"Let's see," Isabella replies. JJ knows her well enough to know when she's trying to hide a smile.
"Bella, what did you do?" he asks, a smile pulling at his own lips too.
"You'll see," Isabella replies, and she opens the doors to the rink.
"Happy birthday, JJ!" a chorus of voices yell. JJ actually staggers half a step backwards in shock. On the ice, holding up a giant banner, are a bunch of other men's skaters. Otabek is grinning at him from one end, and Yuuri is beaming at him as he and Viktor Nikiforov hold up the other. Yuri Plisetsky is scowling, but he's still standing with Otabek and holding up the end of the banner. Leo is waving, Guang Hong Ji next to him. Phichit Chulanont is taking a picture of his amazed reaction. Christophe Giacometti is doing a split under the banner, because of course he is. Even Celestino is on the ice, arms crossed as he smiles fondly at the antics in front of him.
"Oh my god," JJ whispers. He thinks he might be crying. "Oh my god."
"Surprise?" Isabella says, sounding a little worried. "Is that a good 'oh my god'?"
"That's the best 'oh my god,'" JJ tells her. "How did you even manage this? How did you all get here?"
"It was Isabella's idea," Otabek says.
"But Otabek helped a lot," Isabella adds.
"We thought it might be nice for you to have a party for your birthday," Otabek adds.
"They asked me to come, and then Viktor found out about it, and things got a little crazy," Yuuri adds.
"I thought it would be nice if we could have everyone from the Grand Prix Final come," Viktor explains. "And Otabek said that you were friends with Leo, and Guang Hong was training with him, so he came up as well."
"Celestino came to be our adult supervision," Phichit adds.
"We all worked together to save up enough for everyone's plane tickets," Leo says. "And then your family and Isabella helped us figure out how best to surprise you."
JJ's pretty sure he's crying, but he can't stop. "This is amazing, guys," he says, his voice trembling slightly. "This is the best birthday ever."
"Aw, he's crying," Phichit says, snapping another picture. "Group hug!"
Isabella gently pushes JJ onto the ice, then all of the skaters swarm forward and pull JJ into a hug. Isabella's behind him, her arms wrapped around his waist. Otabek is on his right, and Leo is on left, and Yuuri is wrapped around both him and Otabek, and even little Yuri is standing at the edge of the group and perhaps not scowling quite as much as usual.
"Surprise!" a new voice yells, and JJ feels a small body barrel into him from behind. He looks over his shoulder and sees that Louis has now joined the group hug, Hélène behind him. JJ's parents are on the edge of the ice with Celestino, smiling fondly.
"This is the best birthday ever," JJ says again.
"I'm glad," Isabella says softly, kissing the side of his neck. "Happy birthday, JJ."
"Happy birthday, JJ!" everyone else choruses again, and JJ's definitely crying now, but he's also beaming, and he can't imagine a better birthday than this.