Synopsis: It's Thoma's birthday and you're determined to make it as special a day as possible for him. The only struggle is making sure everything is ready in time. And keeping Ayato in check.
Theme(s): Humor, Fluff
Relationship: Dating
Word Count: 3724
Enjoy! ;)
A Joyous Occasion
"How's it coming along? Oh that looks nice!"
Ayaka smiled modestly as she carefully folded the pink casing over the sweet rice filling. "Thank you, Y/N. I hope Thoma will enjoy it."
You nodded with confidence. "I think he will." To be fair, Ayaka was being so good, making a genuine effort to help you make this birthday meal for Thoma as beautiful as possible.
So far, your only concern for this birthday party was that your present you had ordered for him hadn't arrived yet.
And then there was Ayato.
Oh Archons, Ayato . . .
You had given him a cake recipe that you had ordered from Fontaine because he had never thought that maybe he could have bought something nice for his housekeeper while he was there . . .
You were getting off track. Today was all about Thoma and making sure this was the best birthday ever for him. And you were adamant that the Kamisatos were going to help. Yoimiya too.
You had it all planned out in your head.
Thoma was going to come to the Komore Teahouse that evening and see how you had decorated it with crimson streamers and big red balloons. If he somehow missed the banner at the entrance screaming HAPPY BIRTHDAY THOMA, the three of you would shout it out and present him with the all you can eat buffet, finished with the giant three-tiered cake scattered with candles.
And when you finished your delicious meal, you would go out for a walk, where Yoimiya would put on a fireworks display just for him . . .
You could see Thoma's face lighting up already. Oh Archons, you just hoped it would go the way you planned. You wanted it to be absolutely perfect.
It had to be. You had given Ayato a basic cake recipe and prepared all the ingredients for him.
He couldn't possibly screw this up . . . right?
"Tell me, Y/N. Is this cake mix to your standard?"
Let's see? You gulped and went over to check. And your heart immediately dropped when you saw what was inside.
"Why is it lumpy?!"
"Some of the butter wouldn't cream. And I didn't have a sieve for the flour."
"You didn't look for one?!" you cried.
"I imagined that simply sprinkling in the flour wouldn't make that much of a difference." Ayato said it so casually.
"No, no, no . . ." You grabbed the whisk and attacked the mix yourself. The batter resisted more than it should have. "This is bad! You're supposed to sieve the flour in, it makes it all airy! We can't give Thoma lumpy birthday cake!"
"Oh, I'm sure he's eaten worse. Actually, I know he has. You told me yourself." Ayato simply raised his eyebrows when you glared angrily at him.
"That's not the point and you know it! It's Thoma's birthday! This has to be perfect! He wouldn't serve you this, so I suggest you show him the respect he does for you and put in some actual effort!"
"Y/N . . ."
"Sorry, Ayaka," you sighed, dumping the mix in the bin. You wondered if Ayato was aware how lucky he was that you hadn't chucked it in his smug little face.
"Move. I'll do it myself."
"Well, if you insist." Ayato seemed more than happy to let you start this cake mix from scratch.
"Shall I make him something else?"
"No."
"A hotpot perhaps?"
"NO." You shuddered.
"What about his favourite food, Rice Cake Soup?"
"Ayato, I tried that before and it nearly killed you, so there's not a hope in hell I'm letting you make that for my boyfriend!"
"Y/N," Ayaka said, soft and timid. "I think he's only joking."
"Sorry," you muttered. But deep down, you didn't care if he was joking or not. You didn't feel like you could trust him with anything. Especially if Thoma was involved. You scoffed and chucked more weighed butter and sugar into the mixing bowl.
"I think you're supposed to soften the butter before adding the sugar."
"Then why didn't you do it when you first-" You growled, hiding your face in your hands. Honestly, it felt like he was doing it on purpose at this point. Shaking your head, you stormed out of the kitchen, grabbed a big box of birthday supplies and marched straight back to Ayato with it.
"Go to the Komore Teahouse and sort all this stuff out." You chucked the box into his chest, forcing him to take a hold of it.
"Oh, so I'm no longer on kitchen duty?"
"No way!" you cried. "You can arrange this stuff in the teahouse. I hear planning and arranging is more your thing."
"Hmmm." Ayato peeped down at the games, lights, chocolate fountain and streamers in the box. "I'm not quite sure how to set this stuff up. But I imagine Thoma would-"
"NO!" you snapped. "This is meant to be a surprise! Thoma can't know anything about this!"
"Really? Because I saw him earlier, and he-"
"Oh Archons, please no!" Your eyes widened in horror. "Don't you dare say you told him I was planning something!"
"All I told him was I'd like to meet him at the Komore Teahouse later."
"Later?" Your heart stopped. "How much later?"
The lord gave a lighthearted shrug. "Later today."
"Oh Archons!" You clasped your hand over your mouth. "We gotta go to the teahouse NOW! He could be there any minute and we're nowhere near ready!" You glanced at Ayaka almost pleadingly.
"I'm so sorry to do this to you, Ayaka, you've been amazing, but can I leave you with baking until I come back?"
Ayaka blinked at you. She then looked up at Ayato who (unbeknownst to you) nodded at her. She nodded back and gave you a big reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, Y/N. Everything will be alright."
"I hope so," you murmured, tugging Ayato on the arm. "Come on, you. We're going to the teahouse."
You stormed off in a fluster, Ayato casually strolling behind you. You tried to remind yourself that as long as you could reach the teahouse before Thoma, it would probably be okay. You had the decorations sorted. And you'd trusted Taroumaru to look after them. If you could just get Ayato to cooperate, you could get some of the party games sorted, and at least set up the chocolate fountain, that would be a win.
As you hurried out to the streets of Inazuma City, you constantly had to check if Ayato was following you. You had to scoff or scowl when you saw how cavalier he was being about this whole thing.
He could have at least helped you plan this better. Seriously, planning things was what he was famed for. You'd heard so many women swooning at how good he was at strategizing and calculating things . . .
If only he could use some of those "skills" to help his freaking housekeeper . . . Maybe while he and his sister had been soaking up the spotlight in Fontaine, they should have thought to bought some damn tickets to let Thoma go home for once-
You took a deep breath to simmer yourself down before you could boil over. You were nearly at the teahouse now. The teahouse would be decorated the same as you'd left it and everything would all be okay . . .
It would all be perfect . . .
. . .
You sucked in another deep breath as you entered the Komore Teahouse . . .
It wasn't perfect.
You didn't know what had gotten into him, but Taroumaru had left the HAPPY BIRTHDAY THOMA banner barely hanging by two little pins, and was attacking the last of the red balloons.
"Are you JOKING ME? Taroumaru, no! Bad dog!" You dove to the ground, just as Taroumaru plummeted into the final balloon, striking it perfectly, popping it before you could save it.
"No!" You dropped your head on the ground in defeat. "Taroumaru . . . Why'd you do that?"
Taroumaru wagged his tail and sneezed happily with himself.
"Hmm . . . I'm not a dog person, but I do know that dogs are inclined to play with things like this."
You scoffed and stomped back to your feet while Ayato simply placed the box on the counter. You were seriously reaching your breaking point with this guy.
"And especially since Taroumaru is a ninja dog-"
"Ayato, shut up and help me fix this banner before it-"
CREAK!
"No no no no no!" you shrieked, making a charge for it while Ayato looked up and stepped aside.
CRASH!
Down went the banner, collapsing to the floor, taking wooden chunks of wall and dust down with it.
"DAMN IT!" you cried, coughing and spluttering from the dust.
"Oh dear," Ayato muttered, his eyebrows barely raised.
"Oh dear? That's all you have to say?!"
"Well-" Ayato was too busy rummaging through his robes for something. "It was inevitably going to collapse. I could tell you hadn't pinned it down properly."
"And what did you do?" you snapped. "What have you done to help me all day- help me plan a good day for YOUR HOUSEKEEPER?!"
Ayato simply pulled out boba tea from underneath his robes . . . How had he even gotten it in there?
"Do you even care?"
The lord gave you his answer by taking a loud sip. And that was your final straw.
"I don't believe it . . . I honestly don't believe it! I've been working my butt off to try and make this day as special as possible! I have been back and forth like Idunnowhat trying to keep things under control. Your sister's been great! She's been cooperating so well, and now the poor thing's stuck making all the food because you can't be bothered!"
"And?"
"AND?" you shrieked. "This is for someone I care about! A person I've been seeing for over a year! And constantly want to keep happy! I've been constantly working so hard at it! Even pushing myself out of my comfort zone to please him! I have been working, and working . . . sometimes after long days when I'm already tired . . . Working to keep Thoma happy . . . and also working in the hope that maybe some people around here might start giving him SOME notice!"
"Mmm?" Ayato wasn't even looking at you. And he had the nerve to allow a smirk to appear on his face. "Proceed."
"Proceed? WHAT?!" You didn't know what he was thinking, but you were too emotional to care at this point. Maybe if you let him know how he really felt, you'd finally trigger a facial muscle in him.
"Maybe you don't want to, but I want to give Thoma the best damn birthday he'll ever have! Because he deserves it, alright? And I'm not gonna stop until I am satisfied that I've earned him the attention and respect he deserves! We're talking about someone I really care about! No- I love!"
"Pardon?"
"I love him!" you declared. "I love Thoma, okay?"
Ayato finally looked you in the eye. His eyebrows raised ever so slightly. Your face was flushed and you were panting furiously. Ayato took one last sip of his boba tea. And then waved. But not at you . . .
"Ah, Thoma, you're here!"
Your stomach dropped. "What-"
"Hi!" came the cheery soft voice behind you, their owner's warm arms wrapping themselves around you. "What was all that about?"
"Oh Archons, Thoma," you murmured, sliding around to hug him back. "I'm so sorry. You weren't supposed to hear that-"
"Awww, Y/N!" Thoma laughed, kissing the top of your head. "Awww, relax, my poor love!" He rubbed his hands up and down your tense aching back. "You're so tense! Awww, what did m'lord do to you?"
"Happy Birthday, Thoma," Ayato said, nodding nobly. "You've got a dedicated one there."
Thoma beamed, giving you a big tight squeeze in his arms. "What were you doing, m'love, huh? Were you trying to plan something?"
"Mmmm." You nodded.
Thoma was smirking at the collapsed birthday banner and scattered bits of red balloon down the teahouse corridor.
"Got a few steps ahead of yourself, did ya?" He chuckled. "And I think m'lord got a few steps ahead of you as well."
Ayato nodded a bit too proudly for your liking. You grumbled into Thoma's chest, gripping onto his jacket.
"It was supposed to be perfect."
"Mmmm, itwassupposedtobeperfect-" Thoma shook you in his arms and playfully pinched your cheek. "What is it with you and going out of your way, huh?"
"Well we all know that answer now," Ayato smiled, making you blush furiously and shrink into Thoma's body while he chuckled pleasantly.
"I love you too, Y/N," he beamed, planting a big loving kiss on the top of your head. He sighed happily and glanced up at Ayato.
"So what's the plan, m'lord?"
Ayato was eyeing behind the pair of you. Kirara had suddenly appeared at the door, carrying a box about half the size of her.
"A package for the Kamisato Housekeeper?" She was struggling to hold onto the heavy box and keep a smile on her face.
"Oh?" You blinked and quickly took it from her hands, earning a big sigh of relief. "Thanks! But I didn't order one . . . this big . . ."
Wait.
You whipped around and stared at Ayato.
"What's in it?" you asked him.
"Why don't you open it and find out?"
You rolled your eyes, but offered the box to Thoma who waggled his fingers in excitement and popped the box open. His entire face lifted when he saw what was inside.
"What is it?!" you asked.
With a beaming smile on his face, Thoma pulled the box apart to reveal a large three tiered cake, beautifully decorated with crimson frosting in a fire motif to match Thoma's uniform. Scattered across the cake were little flowers . . . were they real or fondant?
Based on Thoma's awestruck face, the way his eyes shimmered, fixated on those flowers (he seemed especially touched by the Windwheel Asters) . . . and how he leaned in for a sniff, his eyes shutting blissfully when the scent hit him . . .
Those flowers were probably real.
"The cake was made in Fontaine. With flowers freshly imported from Mondstadt."
"M'lord . . ." Thoma gazed up at Ayato who was happily slurping on boba tea. "Th- thank you!"
"Ye- yeah! It's amazing!" you had to admit. The cake looked better than anything you could have ever done. And then your face suddenly dropped.
"But Ayaka! She's still making-"
"She knows."
"Wh- what?"
Thoma raised an eyebrow at Ayato and gave him a playful smirk. "You planned all this, didn't ya?"
"I had a feeling your "beloved" wouldn't keep me in the kitchen for long. So I prepared Ayaka for the day. I let her know that as soon as we were out of the headquarters, she would be allowed to stop."
"Ohh!" Your face lit up. "So that's why she was so happy to let us go ahead!" And then you lowered your eyebrows. "You already had this stuff planned, but let me do all this anyway?"
"You were very determined to start your own party," said Ayato casually. "And I had a feeling you weren't going to take no for an answer. I do have to admit, it was quite amusing watching you exert yourself like that. Like I said-" His eyes swiveled between you and Thoma. "Quite the dedicated, passionate lover you have there."
You tightened your lips and let out a huff. "You sneaky little-"
"Ah-ah-ah!" Thoma slipped an arm around you and held you tight.
"But Thomaaaaa-"
"No-no!" Thoma gave you a playful squeeze. "You can fight with m'lord another time!"
You moaned and pouted at him. But Thoma smiled and gave you a peck on the forehead.
"We gonna have a nice party? No fighting?"
"I think that's a good idea," said Ayato. "In fact, I think the food from Wanmin Restaurant should be arriving shortly."
The two of you paused and stared at the head of the Kamisato Clan.
"Food?!"
A Few Minutes Later . . .
The four of you sat around the table, happily tucking into the delicious food: Golden Crab, Sashimi Platters, Thoma's favourite Rice Cake Soup . . . Ayaka's lovely take on Sakura Mochi. Ayato's ordered cake that (thank Archons) tasted just as beautiful as it looked. You were thankful that some of your dishes had managed to make it to the table. Thoma was even happy to share a new fish dish he had created with a marinade made from flowers from where else? Mondstadt of course!
He was so excited about it too- in fact, every time one of you took a bite and beamed (because it really was that delicious), it seemed to make him even happier than a mouthful of someone else's food!
Though the cake seemed to be his favourite. Every time he went for a slice, he wanted to take his time with it. Sometimes he would take a moment just to smell it. It must have really smelt and tasted like home to him . . .
"Did you make a wish?" you asked him.
Thoma raised an eyebrow at you. "Maybe."
You smirked. "Wanna tell me what it is?"
Thoma burst out laughing. "I can't tell you or it won't come true!"
Knock-knock.
"Oh?" Thoma blinked and looked over his shoulder. "Who could that be- Hey!" he laughed when Taroumaru tried to sneak a bite of food from his plate.
"I'll get it!" you said, hopping to your feet and heading over to the door with a skip in your step.
"Y/N! I'm so sorry!" said Kirara, handing you the little package. "This one only just arrived now! I hope I'm not too late!"
You gasped in excitement as you took the package. "No, that's perfect! Thank you so much!"
"You're welcome!" Kirara smiled. "I didn't want to invade, but I saw the cake earlier . . . and I heard it on the street . . . Thoma's birthday?"
"Yep!" you said, nodding happily.
"I thought so! There was quite a bit of word going around on the street!"
You cocked your head. "Really?"
"Uh-huh!" said Kirara. "I didn't catch all of it, but people are definitely talking! Arataki Itto's even planning a rap number . . ."
"OKAY, we probably won't need that!" you said, laughing awkwardly. "Thanks, Kirara!"
Kirara smiled and skipped off, leaving you with your precious package.
Finally . . . You glanced at Thoma who was feeding Taroumaru bits of fish and sausage. You strolled up to him and hopped down by his side.
"Who was that, Y/N?" Thoma asked. He immediately spotted the little package in your hand. The first thing he noticed was that it was decorated with another Windwheel Aster. His green eyes widened. "Is that for me?!"
"Who else?" you smiled, handing it to him. "I'm just so glad it arrived. I was getting worried I hadn't done enough after Ayato-"
"Whaaaat? Ohhh, no, Y/N!" Thoma wrapped his arms around you and pulled you in for a hug. "You've done plenty for me, alright, m'love? And whatever's in this package, I'm sure it'll be wonderful, okay? Besides-" He landed deep kisses on the top of your head. "You're my biggest gift of all."
"Thomaaaaa!" you cried, blushing furiously, melting in his arms. "Not in front of the Kamisatos . . ."
"Ohhhhh no, you're the best gift that's ever happened to me! Awww, lookit you, you're so cute!" Thoma cooed in a teasing baby talk voice, swaying you around on purpose to embarrass you even more. Ayato remained stagnant while Ayaka brought a fan to her face to hide her cheeks tinting pink (Thoma was probably giving her some ideas on how she was going to approach the Traveler the next opportunity she got).
"What did Y/N get you?" Ayato eventually asked.
"Let's see?" Thoma finally let you go (great, you actually had to thank Ayato for that) and examined the little package in his hands. He sighed at the Windwheel Aster.
"I always get nostalgic looking at these . . ."
"Are you gonna see what's inside?" you asked. "I think you'll like it."
Thoma smiled and gave you a quick peck. He then began to peel the paper away from the package. He did it so carefully, like there was a precious rare artifact inside. He peeped inside with caution, almost afraid to see what was inside. Very slowly, he peeled the paper apart. Your present slipped down on his lap.
"Huh?"
Thoma picked it up. He took one glance. He gasped and dropped the present as quickly as he had picked it up. His hand clasped over his mouth.
"What is it?" Ayaka asked.
Thoma's eyes were squeezed shut. The poor guy was actually trembling. You could hear him struggling to conceal his snuffles. For a moment you worried you might have possibly upset him.
"A- are you okay?"
Thoma nodded, slowly opening up his wet glistening eyes. He slowly picked up the present again. Sniffing, he presented it to Ayato and Ayaka with a big beaming smile on his face.
"She got me tickets to Mondstadt!" His voice croaked, he was that happy.
"Ohhh!" Ayaka gasped happily. "What a thoughtful heartfelt gift!"
"Indeed!" said Ayato. He lowered his head with his own little smile on his face. "So that's why they were all sold out . . ."
You would have said something to him, but Thoma threw his arms back around you and pulled you into the warmest, tightest hug you had ever received from you.
"Oh thank you, Y/N! Thank you so much!" When he wasn't thanking you, he was scattering kisses all over your head and face, and you were too happy for him to feel shy or embarrassed, even kissing him back if you could.
"I knew you'd love it."
"I think he appreciates that more than he does all this," said Ayato, smirking at all the leftover food that could last you all at least the rest of the week.
"Aww, Y/N . . . Aww, I love you, I love you, I love you-" Thoma had drifted off into a lovestruck trance, fixated on thank you and smooching you and telling you again and again how much he loved you, forgetting about everyone else around him. Stuck in his arms, you realized you would have to put up with this for a while.
". . . happy birthday . . ."
"Do you still want to go out with the Traveler?" Ayato grinned at Ayaka who was shrinking behind her fan.
That was love. You were glad the Kamisatos could see it, and you were certainly glad Thoma could see it more than anyone else . . . to the point where it was probably the only thing he could see right now. He didn't even notice Yoimiya creep into the teahouse to check if there was anyone inside.
"Are we still doing the fireworks?"
HAPPY BIRTHDAY THOMA! I'm so glad, I got that written because this blessed boy deserves everything good that happens to him, and he deserves a special day! He also deserves to go to Mondstadt so we can only wish Mihoyo will eventually listen and give him an event dedicated to that.
You might have noticed that I did go off on Ayato a bit here. I've mentioned before, I'm not a fan of him, and I'm still very unhappy with him travelling to Fontaine without him. But I tried to write him in a way that the fans would enjoy him.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this! And once again, Happy Birthday to our beloved Thoma!
See ya! ;D