Notes: During the last few days of NaNoWriMo, I had several thousand words left to write, but I was running out of projects to work on. So, I started jotting down ideas and hadcanons for Waiting for Rainbows which I had never considered substantial enough to write on their own before.

The result, in addition to a NaNoWriMo win (!), was a collection of disjointed scenes and ficlets that I thought would be nice to post daily to my tumblr during December for an advent calendar sort of thing! So that's what I've been doing (my tumblr URL is umekopyon, and I've literally posted nothing else this year so you can't miss them). I'm crossposting them here in batches of six, and, well... it's December 6. So here's the first batch!

Door 1

Chihiro Fujisaki was a bit proud of how far he had come.

His teachers had constantly fretted about how he wouldn't be able to cope in the real world if he kept missing classes, opting to instead stay home with his father and bury himself in programming work, away from any would-be tormentors. In the end, though, his extensive portfolio of personal projects had gotten him a job offer at a game development studio right out of high school. At the age of eighteen, entering the workforce in an environment where he was surrounded by like-minded individuals, and allowed to focus on the kind of work he had always loved, he felt that he truly thrived for the first time in his life. He was even becoming more comfortable with appearing to dress as a man in public—though, in truth, he still wore women's slacks, if only because they fit him better.

It wasn't exactly an ideal success story, and he wouldn't suggest that same method to anyone looking for guidance, but it had ultimately worked out well for him. He'd just been a little bit lucky.

Interacting with coworkers outside of a work setting, however, still begged for improvement. He tended to gently turn down any invitations to mixers or to go bar-hopping, and on the occasions that he couldn't find a suitable excuse, he tried to stay quietly on the sidelines, far from the center of attention.

So he had come to really dread his birthday.

"Hey, Fujisaki!" Chihiro had barely taken two steps into the office when one of his coworkers from the programming team clapped him heartily on the back. "Happy birthday! Ready for the big party after work today?"

Chihiro grimaced, but he knew there was only one answer he could give without being branded a social outcast. He was starting to wish he had called out for the day—it was a Saturday, after all. "I guess so," he said carefully. "But, I mean, it's not going to be a big party, right? Just, um, drinks and stuff...?"

"Well, yeah!" His coworker grinned widely as they walked together to their workstations. "But this year, it's the entire studio going out, you know."

Chihiro paused halfway through setting down his bag. "The whole studio?" he repeated, hoping his voice wasn't shaking too noticeably. "What for? Usually it's just the programming team..."

"Apparently one of the testers in QA has a birthday today, too." His coworker shrugged. "So might as well just make it a big group gathering!"

Someone else's birthday... Chihiro wasn't sure if that information was encouraging or not. On the one hand, he'd be stuck in a much larger and rowdier crowd than in previous years... but on the other hand, there was someone else who would be receiving attention. And maybe they were the type of person who enjoyed parties and socializing. Chihiro certainly wouldn't mind giving up his share of the limelight to them.

"Well... okay," he agreed finally. He just hoped the experience wouldn't be too unbearable.

Door 2

"And don't fucking follow us, okay?!"

Peko stood silently just outside the koban as she watched her young master walk off with Hinata. His words didn't hurt her, really; that brash way of talking was simply the norm for him, and it was perfectly understandable that he would want to be left alone with his lover. So she didn't feel betrayed, or even lonely.

She just felt... somewhat lost.

The door creaked open beside her, and the other officer stationed in Kibougaoka looked outside—Kyoko Kirigiri, if Peko remembered her name correctly. "He's quite attached to Hinata-kun, isn't he?" she commented.

Peko regarded her for a moment before facing dutifully ahead. "Yes. I'm glad that my young master has found someone that makes him happy."

Kirigiri was silent a beat, then leaned against the frame of the door, her shoulder inches from Peko's. "Are you, now?"

Peko turned a glare in the officer's direction. "Do you doubt my devotion to Young Master's well-being?"

"Of course not," Kirigiri sighed, pulling a pin from her bun to let her silvery hair flow freely. "But you're still human, aren't you?"

Peko didn't answer. Sometimes she wondered about that.

The two women were silent for a few long moments, before Kirigiri pushed herself away from the door frame, standing upright. "I still have some paperwork to do, but I think I'll leave that for tomorrow morning and lock up now. You're not going to just stand there all night, are you?"

Peko shifted on her feet. "If you would like me to relocate, I'll do so. I'll simply let my young master know where to find me should he need me."

"That's not what I mean." Kirigiri had grabbed her jacket and was pulling the door closed, locking it securely. "Regardless of where you are, it's a shame for you to be standing by yourself. Would you like to go get a drink?"

Peko simply blinked, having difficulty registering the words. "Young Master told me quite clearly not to follow him. And besides..." She fidgeted just slightly. "A place like Kagayaki... that's not exactly..."

"Oh, I'm not fond of pubs like that either," Kirigiri assured her with a slight smile. "Are you opposed to going to the next town over?"

Door 3

"Hey, Hinata. Ever been to Ni-chome?"

Hinata froze. "Um," he said hesitantly, "have you?"

Kuzuryu cocked an eyebrow. "Why would I ever go to the gay Mecca of Tokyo if I didn't think I'd be into guys before you?"

"Right, of course." Hinata laughed nervously. "So, uh... why do you ask?"

The yakuza sighed, leaning backwards against the desk. "It's just that we've got nowhere to go, you know? Nowhere where we can, like..." He waved a hand in the air ambiguously. "Be normal together. But Ni-chome isn't that far, so maybe we should go there sometime?"

Hinata grimaced. "Um... that's an idea, but the guys stationed in that area of Shinjuku live on the same floor as me, so..."

"Ughhh." Kuzuryu threw his head back dramatically. "You and your dumb boys in blue club. Why do you know so many people?"

"Sorry," Hinata laughed. "It sort of comes with the job, so..."

They were silent together in the koban for a moment or two, before suddenly Kuzuryu sat up ramrod straight and spun around to face Hinata. "Wait, you never answered the question!"

Hinata averted his eyes. "What question?"

"Have you ever been to Ni-chome?"

"We've already eliminated the possibility of going there though."

"Yeah, but you're dodging the question!" He pointed at Hinata accusingly. "You have been there, haven't you? And you must have done something there that you don't want me to know about! Did you hook up with some other guy after all?"

"What? No!" Hinata shook his head fervently. "No, it's nothing like that! Look, I went there once or twice in college, okay? But it's, uh..." He faltered a bit. "I just don't know what to tell you beyond what you've probably already heard? I didn't really venture too far into the culture there, I just had some drinks at a generic izakaya. I mean, I was still sort of coming to terms with my sexuality at that point."

Kuzuryu peered at him suspiciously. "Generic, as opposed to...?"

"Uh..." Hinata averted his gaze again. "I mean, a lot of the places in Ni-chome's underbelly are targeted towards... specific fetishes and tastes. All that was a bit too heavy for me back then."

"Hmm..." Kuzuryu stared at him, deep in thought. "And now?"

"Huh?"

"You have a better idea about your tastes now, right? So what are your fetishes?"

Hinata flushed to the tips of his ears. "Excuse me?!"

"You heard me." Kuzuryu grinned wickedly. "What are you into? This isn't something you should be keeping secret from your boyfriend, is it?"

Hinata stammered for a bit before managing to form words. "Kuzuryu, I'm at work."

"Oh bullshit. No one else is here." Kuzuryu propped himself against the desk to lean in closer. "And don't you dare try to argue that it's none of my business, because it definitely fucking is."

Hinata fidgeted nervously. "I mean... well, I guess if I had to say..."

"Yeah?"

"Maybe I have... a Kuzuryu fetish?"

He glanced at his boyfriend experimentally, and was pleased to see him turning just as red as Hinata himself had been. "Wha— what are you—" He spluttered indignantly, trying to find his words. "That's not a fucking fetish, you dumbass!"

"Quiet down, people will hear!" Hinata said, even as he broke into laughter.

Yeah, that was the best way to describe his tastes.

Door 4

Mondo Owada's first impression of Makoto Naegi was that he was small, scrawny, and really not cut out for construction work. It was a wonder to him what he was even doing there, but his site manager had insisted that the kid was well-known for his work ethic, so he gave him a chance.

And as it turned out... Owada had been absolutely right. Naegi sucked at construction.

He struggled to move materials, even with the aid of a wheelbarrow or other equipment. He had a tendency to trip over anything strewn about the site. And by god, there was no way in hell Owada would trust that walking disaster to operate any sort of power tools.

"Hey," he grunted on Naegi's second night on the job, after pulling away a hand saw that Naegi could barely get to move. "What are you even doing here, anyway?"

Naegi blinked up at him owlishly, and Owada'd be damned if the kid didn't look just like a little puppy right then, but puppies didn't fucking belong on construction sites. "I'm... trying to do my job?"

"No, I mean..." Owada sighed deeply. "What are you doing here? Do you really think you have what it takes to work construction?"

"Oh... that." Naegi laughed sheepishly. "Honestly... no. At least, after yesterday and today, I'm positive that I don't. But, well, I was looking for overnight work, and I thought I might as well give it a try, right?" He grinned back up at Owada weakly. "But I'm not a quitter. As long as I'm still employed here, I'm going to try my best, even if it doesn't go as well as I'd hope."

Owada stared down at the kid. That was... a pretty manly declaration to make. He wouldn't have thought Naegi had it in him, but it was definitely something that he could respect.

He slapped an encouraging hand on Naegi's shoulder before heading back to his own assignment. "I still think you're out of your element," he said, "but I'm rooting for you, kid."

Two days later, Naegi was dismissed from the job.

Owada was actually sad to see him go.

Door 5

[Door 5 is a rather poorly-drawn comic; since I can't post images here, you'll have to go to my tumblr or AO3! But only if you REALLY want to see my art. I don't blame you if you don't. Especially in this case.]

Door 6

Just as Chihiro had expected, the outing was large and crowded, to the point that he felt like he was almost drowning in a sea of people. He was just glad that, being a weekend, there had been several absences at work that day; if it really had been the entire development studio there in that party room, he had his doubts that anyone would have enough space left to breathe.

Within a cacophonous chorus of "happy birthday"s, a drink was pushed into his hands, and Chihiro took a hesitant sip as he tried to navigate through the crowd. His nose wrinkled and he began to cough; he had been of legal drinking age for exactly one year now, but he still couldn't get used to the bitterness at the back of his tongue and the slight burning in his sinuses. He didn't let go of the glass, though—he knew that a fresh one would immediately appear in its place, and it was better for the drinks to go to people who would actually consume them.

Eventually, he managed to find himself in a crowd that was significantly less concentrated on him, but with far less people he actually knew by name. Hesitantly, he wandered through them, hoping no one would flag him down for a chat, when he saw a young woman with shoulder-length light brown hair sitting at one of the tables, being inundated with drinks and attention just the same as he had been.

So that must be the QA tester with the same birthday. Chihiro hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should sneak off elsewhere lest he be caught up in her own wave of attention, but then he realized—

She looked just as perplexed and lost as he felt in the situation.

Chihiro gripped his glass anxiously. He wanted nothing more than to get out of there, but it just didn't feel right to leave her to metaphorically drown... Before he could rethink the his actions, Chihiro stepped forward and sat himself be next to her. If they were going to be the focus of unwanted attention, they might as well be in good company. He cleared his throat, suddenly a little unsure, and greeted her. "Um, hi."

She looked at him sleepily for a moment before finally bobbing her head in a slight bow. "Fujisaki-sempai. Happy birthday."

"You know who I am? I mean—" Chihiro bit his lip nervously, worried that he had already messed up at social interaction. "Uh, happy birthday to you too. And, um... I'm sorry, what's your name...?"

"Oh, right." She smiled gently. "I'm Chiaki Nanami, from the QA team. But I want to do programming someday." She sipped the drink in her hands cautiously, then frowned down at it in distaste. Either she had a similar aversion towards alcohol, or their coworkers were serving them really bad booze. "That's how I know your name, by the way. And also because I've seen it in the tickets."

"Oh, uh... right." Now that she mentioned it, he'd frequently seen the name "Nanami" in their bug tracking system, too. His ears burned from the embarrassment of never trying to place faces to those names, and he tried to think of some way to change the subject. "Um, so, you're probably a little disappointed to be in QA instead of programming, right? It won't be too easy working yourself out of there."

Nanami hummed thoughtfully. "Not... really? I actually kind of like testing." Her smile grew a little wider. "I just really like playing games, I think. And I've always played games over and over again anyway, so I don't really find it boring to—"

"Wait, wait wait wait!" Chihiro raised his hands, gesturing for her to stop talking. "Nanami-san, you can't say things like that!"

She cocked her head to one side. "Why not?"

"Because that makes you the perfect game tester!" He leaned towards her, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "No one actually likes testing. If you ever want to make your way out of QA Hell, you can't let those in charge know that you enjoy it!"

Nanami blinked slowly. "Oh... I get it. I think."

"Yeah." He sat back again, returning to a normal volume. "Still, it's hard to get into programming from QA. Are you working on your own projects in your free time?"

"Yeah, whenever I'm not working or sleeping. Or... dragged to places like this." She flicked at her glass boredly. "Sometimes I forget to eat though."

Chihiro laughed. "I've had times like that. But you should take care of yourself!"

"Uh-huh." Nanami looked at him again thoughtfully. "You know, the rest of this party is kind of boring, but it's pretty fun to talk with you, Sempai."

He chuckled again. "Well, that's probably because we seem to be alike in a lot of ways."

"Like our birthdays?"

"Yeah, there's that too." Chihiro grinned. "Maybe next year we should try to celebrate just us, then. I think that would be more fun."

Nanami smiled. "I'd like that, I think."