Look at that booty ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
show me the booty ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
gimme that booty ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
i want the booty ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
"Haru-chan, Haru-chan, guess what day it is next Friday?"
Haruka shrugged, "November 17th? What's so special about that day?"
"Oh my god, Haru-chan, you're horrible!"
"Is it some special holiday that you made up and I don't know about?" Haruka asked.
"It's Mako-chan's birthday, you dolt!" Nagisa exclaimed, "How could you not know that? And you call yourself Mako-chan's friend!"
"He never told me. And I never asked."
"Well, anyway, his family is planning a huge surprise party and we're all helping out, so are you in?"
"Sure, why not?" Haruka replied.
"Okay, but you can't breathe a word of this to Mako-chan." Nagisa whispered.
"Well, it's called a surprise party for a reason, isn't it? Don't worry, I won't tell; not like I can anyway."
A few days later, Haruka found himself at the lounge of his old swim club; along with Nagisa, Kisumi, Rin, and Rei.
"Now, I believe you all know why we called you here today..." Kisumi began, "We're here to-"
"We're gonna throw Mako-chan the best birthday party in the history of ever!" Nagisa cut in.
"Hey, don't interrupt me, Jackass!"
Rin groaned, "Can you guys cut to the chase already?"
"Anyway, here's the plan; we have a lot to do and only a week to do it all." Kisumi explained.
"So everyone will be in charge of something. Kisu-chan and I will take care of the decorations and whatnot, Rin-chan and Rei-chan will distract Mako-chan for the week, and Haru-chan will be in charge of the cake since he's the only one here that can actually cook."
"And don't forget presents." Kisumi added, "Presents are a must. And actually put some thought into it, please."
"Alright, alright, we got it."
"In that case, let's get to work, boys!" Nagisa yells, throwing his fist in the air.
"Haru, what do you think Makoto would like?" Rin asked, as he and Haruka were roaming around the mall.
"He likes chocolate and cats." Haruka replied, "Or something orca related maybe."
"Well, jeez, that helps a lot."
"Hey, do you think Makoto would like a handmade gift?"
Rin shrugged, "How the fuck would I know? You know him better than me."
Before he finished that sentence, Haruka had left his side for an arts and crafts store. Groaning, Rin quickly followed him in. He finds Haruka in the yarn aisle, closely inspecting two balls of white yarn.
"Which feels softer to you?" Haruka asked, holding up the yarn for Rin to see.
Rin looks a little confused, but touches the yarn anyway and picks one, "Since when do you knit?"
"My grandma taught me a few things." Haruka replied.
"Is there anything you can't do?" Rin says, rolling his eyes.
Haruka ignores him and goes to browse the cake decorating supplies. After Haruka had paid for his items, Rin still had no ideas for a present, so he just ended up wanting to wander through all the stores for ideas; much to Haruka's chagrin. God knows how long Rin had been looking around, but after a while, Haruka wanted to drop to the floor and just lie there. He swears Rin is doing this on purpose.
He was about to collapse in the middle of the electronics store until he heard Rin calling for him.
"You said Makoto likes cats, right?"
Haruka nodded in reponse, "Yeah, why?"
"Do you think he'll like these?" Rin asked as he held up a pair of sleek-looking headphones. They were black accented with green LED lights and they had cat ears attached to them. "Apparently the cat ears are speakers, so you can switch between listening to music privately and blasting it so everyone can hear. Sounds cool, right?"
"It does."
"And I remember he mentioned that his last pair of earbuds died, so it's perfect!" Rin flips the box over to look at the price tag, "16,035 yen?!" He groaned in disappointment, "Never mind..."
"Did you not see that?" Haruka pointed to the sign hanging on the window of the store, "Everything's on sale, so they're probably about 12,329 yen."
"I guess that's not so bad." The red-haired man sighed with relief, "I'll get this for him, then."
"Yeah, can you hurry up? My feet are starting to hurt."
The rest of the week was a blur to Haruka. He stayed up late nights to knit Makoto's gift and at the same time, everyone came running to him for advice, because apparently he was the one that knew Makoto the best.
There were two days left. Haruka had finally finished the gift and it was neatly wrapped in shiny blue paper with white polka dots. He was now staring at the screen of his dying, beat-up, dinosaur edition laptop; looking up chocolate cake recipes. He couldn't decide what Makoto would like. Chocolate peanut butter cake? No, someone might have a nut allergy. Chocolate mint, maybe? Might be more fitting for the holidays.
Finally, after hours of searching, Haruka found something he thinks Makoto would like. A chocolate fudge cake with white chocolate buttercream frosting. He wrote down the recipe and hurried to the grocery store.
He spent the entire next day baking. Next thing he knew, his kitchen was covered in flour and sugar and he got cuts and blisters all over his hands somehow, but he knew that the end result will be worth it.
Just when he was decorating the cake, he hears his front door opening, "Ruka-chan!"
He swore he had a mini heart attack, nearly messing up the words he was piping on the cake. How did Manami get into his house? Oh yeah...his parents gave him the key to his house and now she's been barging in here like she lives here.
Sighing, Haruka pretends to not notice she was there and continue with the cake. Though, that was short-lived when he suddenly felt Manami jump onto him, "Wow, that looks good!" she said, reaching for a taste.
Haruka quickly swatted her hand away and mouthed "No". No way he was letting her ruin his hard work.
Manami put on her signature cutesy pout as if it was gonna make Haruka change his mind, "But, Ruka-chaaaaan, can't I just have a little taste?"
Haruka reaches for his whiteboard, "No, because it's for Makoto's birthday tomorrow."
"Oh, that's too bad..."
Haruka tilted his head slightly, "What's too bad?"
"That's what I came to tell you about. My dad it throwing us an engagement party tomorrow." Manami said.
In that moment, Haruka could feel his face slowly draining. This was probably the only time he could celebrate Makoto's birthday, but now he can't even do just that, it seems. Manami seemed to interpret that as something else, though.
"You seem nervous. Don't worry my dad will love you! And my friends still haven't met you yet, so it'll be fun." Manami explained, "And my dad hired a sign language translator, it that's what you're worried about."
'Yeah, that does not make the situation any better.' Haruka thought.
"It's too bad we have to miss out on Makoto-kun's birthday, but we can always wish him a happy belated birthday, right?" Manami said, seeming slightly disappointed.
Haruka simply sighed and nodded in response.
Manami kisses Haruka softly on the cheek, "Well, I'll see you tomorrow then!"
As he watched her leave, Haruka thought he saw her smirking to herself.
Haruka shows up at the Tachibana house at noon the next day with the cake and his present. The others were already there, making last minute preparations.
"Oh, Haru-chan, you look...nice." Nagisa said, eyeing Haruka's tuxedo and slicked back hair, "But this isn't a formal event, you don't need to dress up."
"I know. But I'm going to have to miss out, so..."
"Eh!? Why?"
"Some stupid engagement party Manami's forcing me to go to."
"But can't you just ditch? You've done it so many times before." Nagisa replied, "And besides, don't you hate formal events anyway?"
"Yea, but my parents are gonna be there and they're expecting me to show up, so I don't really have much of a choice."
"Oh...in that case, I'll wish Mako-chan a happy birthday for you." Nagisa said with disappointment, "Thanks for the cake."
"I'm sorry."
Makoto stood on the front porch of the house. His mother had called him, saying it was something urgent and he rushed to Iwatobi as quickly as he could. Hesitantly, he gently pushes the doorbell and waits for an answer.
No one.
He tried again.
Still no one.
Fearing the worst case scenario, he attempted to open the door, which to his surprise, was unlocked. It was unsettlingly quiet when he entered the house. It was kinda creepy.
"Hello?" He called out. He could hear his voice echoing throughout the house, "Mom? Dad? Ren? Ran?"
Using the walls to guide him, Makoto found his way to the living room. Then suddenly-
"SURPRISE!"
Makoto let out a shriek as he heard noisemakers blaring and confetti poppers exploding.
"Sorry! Did we scare you too much?" Mrs. Tachibana asked.
The twins ran up to hug their older brother, "Happy birthday, Onii-chan!"
"You guys threw me a surprise party?" Makoto said with a laugh, "You didn't have to."
"Of course we do! What kind of friends would we be if we didn't?" Nagisa replied.
"But still..."
Rin wraps an arm around Makoto's shoulder, "Aww come on, don't be so modest. It's your day and you should spend it however you see fit."
"And since Haru-chan can't make it, I'm sure he would want you to have fun on your birthday."
"Haru can't make it? What happened?" Makoto asked, seemingly worried.
"He had to go to this engagement party that Manami-chan's family is throwing." Nagisa explained, "Conveniently, they decide to have it on your birthday."
"Oh...well, I hope he's enjoying himself there."
Haruka has made a terrible mistake.
He didn't really know what he was expecting from Manami, but as her family runs a rather large company, it's really not much of a surprise to him. They seemed well off enough to live in such a large estate. His parent's place wasn't that bad either, but it just never felt like home to him.
As for the party itself...it was a bit over the top in Haruka's opinion. Social events were horrible enough. Extravagant formal social events? Even worse.
It's only been three hours and he has had to endure judgmental stares from Manami's relatives and friends and nearly all of them asking, "Why doesn't he talk?" Did they not see the translator following him around everywhere?
His translator was a nice lady, at least. She was probably the only decent person in the room. Other than the butler. He was pretty cool for an old man.
He has yet to meet Manami's father, though. Apparently he was running late due to a business meeting. It was understandable, though Haruka wonders what kind of host shows up three hours late to his own party?
"Alright guys, let's get down to business!"
"To defeat the huns?" Nagisa asked jokingly.
Kisumi just blinks at him, looking absolutely done, "Nagisa...NO."
The first thing they did: karaoke. Nagisa had brought over a little old karaoke machine and they all spent about three hours loudly singing off-key. Most of them weren't really bad singers, though, especially Rin.
"Rin-chan, why do you sing like you're seducing someone?"
"I do not!"
"Onii-chan, why don't you sing?" Ren asked, offering the mic to Makoto.
Makoto laughs nervously, "I don't think I'd sound as good as you guys."
"Aww come on, Makoto, it's your birthday; there's no point if you're not participating." Kisumi said. "It'll be fun."
"Well, okay..."
"Ooh! This thing has a few OLDCODEX songs. It's your favorite band, isn't it?" Nagisa asked.
Makoto's face immediately lit up, "Yes!"
Nagisa scrolls through the menu and selects a song. Makoto's excitement spiked up as soon as he heard the song start up. He knew all the lyrics by heart.
"The things I couldn't give up on
were like a crystallized forms of my triumphs;
If I can just learn to face the end with a smile,
I'll never make the wrong choice again.
From this perfectly clear place,
I finally began noticing the shadows of the birds above;
I feel like at least one thought
will be able to change into a clear memory.
Now that we no longer allow ourselves to stop,
our respective doors will fly right open!
The present is brushed by a dry wind as sunlight leaps into our eyes.
Stay cool
He'll be fine, I'll be alright too
You can always come back home
When standing up to the eternal fame
Don't be afraid to go, holding you close."
Makoto was really getting into it; singing with as much passion as he could put into it. He sort of forgot that people were watching.
"So how was that?" Makoto asked when the song was over.
All he heard was silence. Makoto was beginning to take that as a bad thing, but what he didn't know is that everyone was staring at him, jaws dropping.
Finally, Nagisa spoke up, "DAMN SON."
"Was it bad?"
"Hell no! It was faaaar from bad, man." Nagisa replied.
"Sorry, we were just surprised." Kisumi said, "We didn't know how well you could actually pull that song off. It was amazing!"
7:30
Maybe if he prays hard enough, he can make the hands of the clock go faster. Haruka sighs and goes back to picking at his food with a fork. He didn't feel like actually eating it, though; it was awfully bland. He glances over to his right, watching his parents having a grand old time talking with Manami's father.
Ignoring Manami, who was insistent on following him everywhere he goes, he eavesdrops on the conversation.
"...I can trust that Haruka-kun will take good care of my daughter?"
"Ah, yes. I'm sure he'll be a good husband to her. He just needs a little guidance so he can succeed his father in running the company properly." Mrs. Nanase replied.
What? Haruka never agreed to this.
"I'm afraid his late grandmother had been too carefree in raising him. Now he's wasting his time pursuing art and that silly swimming hobby of his. We knew we shouldn't have left him in her care."
Haruka had a sudden need to destroy everything within a ten mile radius. How fucking dare they badmouth his beloved grandmother like that? She raised him better then his parents ever could.
He feels a tap on his shoulder. It was his translator, Miho Amakata he thinks her name was. "Are you alright?" She asked, seeming genuinely concerned.
"No, I'm not okay."
"Want to talk about it?"
Haruka hesitates for a moment. He wasn't one for pouring out all of his feelings to a complete stranger, but there was something about her that made him feel like he could trust her. She was the only one here that could actually understand him.
"I'm just tired...Just when I thought I could be free, I suddenly have my future planned out for me. I thought I would be okay with it at first, but...now, I know that I'm eventually going to have to leave behind everyone I care about and the life I've grown so comfortable with and I honestly don't know what to do anymore." Haruka said, "And if this ended up hurting him, I don't think I would be able live with myself."
"By him, you mean...?"
"Someone very important to me." Haruka replied.
"He must be quite a guy. What's he like?"
Maybe he was saying too much, but whatever. He needed to vent anyway. "Well, he's kind, gentle, and a bit awkward, but he tries. He's always putting others before himself. And he has the sweetest smile; I just have this warm feeling every time I'm with him."
"Ah, it sounds to me like you might have some certain feelings towards this person." Miss Amakata said. "As Francois Mauriac once said, 'To love someone is to see a miracle invisible to others.'"
Haruka tilts his head to the side in confusion.
"I'm sorry. I'm a literature professor and I tend to quote things out of the blue." Miss Amakata laughs sheepishly, "Being a sign language translator is just a side job because honestly, college professors don't get paid well enough, it seems."
"Hey, what are you talking about?" Manami cuts into the conversation.
"Oh...uhmm..." Miss Amakata glances at Haruka nervously.
"Lie to her." he signed, "Please."
Miss Amakata nodded and came up with something outrageous at the top of her head. Manami seemed to buy it, though. Haruka mentally thanked Miss Amakata. He liked her already. She knew what's up.
"Happy birthday, Makoto!" Everyone cheered as Makoto's mother placed the cake on the table. Haruka had decorated the top with blue sugar to imitate water and a little orca made entirely of chocolate, surrounded by gummy fish.
When Makoto got to actually eat the cake, he absolutely loved it and couldn't get over how good it was. It was Haruka's cooking, after all.
Then came the presents. Makoto liked to play a little game in which he has to guess what the gift was.
The first was from Nagisa. It felt soft through the wrapping and as he tore at the paper, he noticed that it felt a little fuzzy too. "Okay, I think this is some sort of clothing."
"You're getting there." Nagisa said.
Makoto unfolds the cloth and touches it some more, locating where the sleeves and neck were. He also found a hood, a zipper in the front, and some pieces of fabric sewed onto the back. "Okay Nagisa, I give up. What is it?"
"It's a kigurumi! An orca one."
"Oh! How cute. Thank you, Nagisa!" Makoto replied.
"Is it just me or is Nagisa getting really uncreative with his gifts?" Rin asked.
"Oh shut up, Rin-chan. I bet your gift isn't any better."
Rin places a box wrapped in shiny red paper in Makoto's lap, "Fight me, Nagisa."
"Hey, hey, no need to fight."
Makoto shakes the box lightly, hoping it would give him a clue on what it was. He gets rid of the wrapping paper and starts feeling the box to try and find a way to open it, which he eventually does. He lifts the item out of the packaging, "Hmm...are these headphones?"
"Yep! No more shitty earbuds dying on you."
"That's great, thank you!" Makoto suddenly feels something at the top, "What are these pointy things though?"
"They're cat ear speakers. There's a switch somewhere the lets you switch between the headphones and speakers." Rin explained.
"Wow, that is so cool!"
Rei's gift was up next. It was a CD of marine animal sounds, in case Makoto needed some sort of stress relief. Kisumi got him a big, round cat plushie, which was grey and white with black stripes. "Great, now Ori-chan won't be lonely!"
"Ori-chan?" Kisumi asked.
"An orca plushie Haru got me when we went to the aquarium together. I kinda gave it a name." Makoto explained, laughing sheepishly.
"And speaking of Haru-chan..." Nagisa hands Makoto the blue and white polka-dotted package. "His gift is last."
Makoto unwrapped the gift. It felt soft, but it was different than Nagisa's kigurumi and it was a lot smaller. "Is this a hat?"
"It seems like it." Nagisa said, "How cute; it has cat ears too!"
Kisumi raised an eyebrow, "You're getting an awful lot of cat related things."
"So this is what Haru spent the week working on?" Rin asked, "It's too damn bad the bastard can't actually show up."
"He took the time to make something for me. I think that's good enough." Makoto replied, a hint of sadness in his tone. "He should be worrying more about his fiancée, not me."
A couple hours after that, everyone started to head home. Makoto made sure to thank everyone and headed back to the train station, a large gift bag and the leftover cake in hand. Rin, however, waited until everyone was gone before running up the stairs to Haruka's house. The lights were off and the door was still locked.
"What the hell? He's still at that party this late?"
Sighing, Rin stood on the front porch for a bit. Suddenly, something in the recycling bin caught his eye. He picked up a scrap of paper from the top of the pile. On it, was a phone number labeled 'Mizuno residence'
Rin smirked to himself as he pulled out his phone, "Yahtzee."
Haruka doesn't know how much of this he can take. The more time he spent here, the more he felt like suffocating. He glances up at the clock, praying that maybe he could make it in time. But judging from the amount of people still dancing the night away, it seems that the party isn't letting up anytime soon.
Manami suddenly grabs on to Haruka's arm, "Ruka-chan, you wanna dance with me?"
Haruka shook his head no, hoping she'd leave him alone.
"Why not? It'll be fun, come on!" Manami said as she dragged him to the dance floor.
She grabbed onto his hand and guided the other one around her waist. Manami tried multiple times to move in time with the music, but with Haruka's lack of dancing experience, it just ended up looking like awkward shuffling.
About ten minutes of almost tripping over his own feet later, Haruka glances up at the clock again, now internally begging to whatever god that was listening that he can get out of this stupid party and celebrate Makoto's birthday like he was supposed to.
Extremely caught up in his thoughts, Haruka slips on the shiny marble floor and sends both him and Manami tumbling to the ground. Haruka manages to break his fall and not crush Manami under his weight, but then slowly realized he probably shouldn't have done that. Because now he's in a very compromising position. And everyone's staring. Well, shit.
He quickly gets up and ran out of the room, face red with embarrassment and now internally screaming. He didn't know where he was going. It just seemed like an endless maze of hallways. He eventually gave up and just shrunk back onto the wall.
'I wonder how Makoto is doing.' He thought, staring out the window. He notices dark clouds rolling in outside, hiding the moon and stars behind them. 'I bet he's having fun without me.'
He suddenly feels someone tap on his shoulder, causing him to jump slightly in surprise. He sighed in relief when he turned around and saw the butler.
"Pardon me, Haruka-sama, but there's a phone call for you. From a Rin Matsuoka."
Haruka nodded and he was shown the way to the telephone.
"Haru, are you there?" Rin asks on the other end.
Haruka taps the receiver once, meaning "Yes."
An audible sigh from Rin, "I'm gonna put this bluntly..." There was a long pause. "HARUKA FUCKING NANASE IF YOU DON'T AT LEAST WISH MAKOTO A HAPPY BIRTHDAY BY MIDNIGHT I WILL FUCKING STAB YOU WITH A RUSTY SPOON AND SCOOP YOUR GUTS OUT WITH IT I FUCKING SWEAR TO GOD."
And with that, the line went dead.
As he put the receiver back in its place, he looks up at the clock for probably the millionth time. It was 11:00. They were about five miles outside of the city. He could probably make it; if he ran without stopping. He hesitates, listening to the sound the party still going on in the other room...
Ah, fuck it.
He quickly looks around for an exit. He would have to go through the ballroom to get to the front door, so trying to sneak out through there is not an option. He tries a nearby window. The drop isn't that high, he noticed. He reached for the latches and pried the window open. Making sure no one was watching, Haruka leaped out of the window; landing on the grassy lawn below.
He climbed over the gates and then he makes a run for it. He should've done this sooner.
Haruka was so focused on getting to Makoto in time, he didn't notice that it was suddenly pouring rain, but when he did, he still kept going. Even when his lungs were beginning to burn and his legs aching, that still didn't stop him.
When he finally found himself in front of Makoto's apartment, he bangs on the door loudly. He stood outside, breathing heavily and shivering cold in a now soaking wet, mud covered tuxedo. He didn't have to suffer for long, because soon, he hears the lock click from the other side of the door.
"Hello? Can I help you?"
"What time is it?"
"Uhm...11:30 I think." Makoto replied, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." His body seemed to say otherwise as his legs gave out, collapsing into Makoto's arms.
"Whoa! That is obviously not okay. What happened?" Makoto asked, steadying Haruka on his feet.
"I snuck out and ran here. Five miles."
"You ran five miles straight?! Oh my god, Haru, in the pouring rain, at that. You're soaking wet!" Makoto said in disbelief, "Quickly, come inside."
He sends Haruka to the bathroom with a change of clothes and tells him to take a hot shower. It took him quite a while, trying to scrub all the gel out of his hair. Afterwards, Haruka curls up on the couch; wrapped up in a blanket that Makoto gave him.
"Are you warm enough now?"
"Yes, thank you."
"So how was the party?" Makoto asked as he dried off Haruka's hair with a towel.
"..."
"I take it you don't wanna talk about it?"
Haruka changes the subject, "How was your birthday?"
"Oh, it was a lot of fun!" Makoto answered.
"Did you like your presents?"
"Yeah! They were all great." Makoto said, "I really liked the hat you knitted for me. It's really soft and fluffy and cat ears were a nice touch. Thank you."
"It seems you had more fun than me."
"Oh and the cake you made was really good. There's still a lot left if you want some."
"Sure."
When Makoto brought the leftover cake, Haruka realizes that he probably made too much, but Makoto didn't seem to have a problem with it. Haruka honestly wasn't too fond of sweets, so he let Makoto have a majority of it, which resulted in a really bad stomachache and Haruka having to carry him to bed.
"I told you eating all that cake in one go was a bad idea."
"But it was so good." Makoto whines.
"But now look at you. You can barely move."
"Eh, it was worth it."
"Whatever, it's your birthday. Do what you want." There was a long pause, "I'm so sorry."
"For what?"
"For abandoning you. Especially on your birthday."
Makoto shook his head, "It's fine. You had more important things to attend to."
"But you're more important to me."
Makoto felt a blush slowly creeping up his face and lifted his hands up to cover it. Only to have the sudden movement upset his stomach even more, "Ow ow ow owww."
Haruka let out a small, breathy laugh and slipped a hand under Makoto's shirt, gently rubbing his belly, "Better?"
"Mmm, much." Makoto said, sighing contentedly.
He suddenly felt something heavy rest on his chest, "Haru, what are you doing?"
"Shut up, I'm still cold."
"But..." Makoto lets out another sigh, "I guess can't be helped."
Haruka snuggles a bit closer, "Thank you."
They lie there for a while, not saying anything to each other. Instead, they just found comfort in each other's warmth. Haruka looks over at the clock on the night stand, the bright red numbers reading "11:59"
"Hey, Makoto."
"Hmm? Yes, Haru?"
"Happy birthday...and thank you."
"For what?"
Haruka lets out a small yawn, "Thank you for being born."
5000+ word chapter. You better be satisfied, my children.
Axent Wear headphones are the most badass shit on this earth. I would order them, but they're so damn expensive ; 7 ;
12,329 yen= about 115 dollars
16,035 yen = about 150 dollars
Gather around, children. Let me obnoxiously tell you a story of my personal life that you probably won't give a flying fuck about: Okay, so the other day I saw the cops outside my house. I thought nothing of it, then I go into my room and look out window to the backyard. Turns out my cousin crashed the car into the neighbors fence. And as I was watching this, I was like
"Wow, the new grand theft auto game looks great."