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Shaking his hand vigorously, Mao put down the pen he'd been using endlessly. The setting sun cast a pinkish glow on the student council room— he hadn't realized how long he'd been there.
He began to pack up his things, stopping when he noticed the two little oddities from earlier.
He smiled at the pale green envelope sitting on his desk— such a simple gift, with such a detailed meaning. With great care, he peeled off the fold to reveal the contents inside; the paper was basic, just plain old lined paper, but even before taking it out, he knew what it was.
A birthday card. Or something of the sort, anyway.
Various writings scattered the page, some looking similar, and others vastly different. All of them, however, wished him a nice day, some going further to wish him luck. He didn't see anything from Ritsu, though Mao figured he'd been too lazy to join in. Mao didn't mind— Ritsu would probably give him a small gift, perhaps a peck on the cheek like when they were younger.
After reading through the 'card', he placed it back in the now-unsealed envelope, turning his focus to a small, pretty bag. Chocolate candies filled it, some simple, some detailed. A tag linked onto it read his name, signifying the sweets were for him.
He looked on the other side of the tag, seeing that the sweets were from Narukami. They, too, had left birthday greetings, along with the words, 'take care of yourself too today.' Narukami had always been rather observant, spotting all the little details. Mao assumed that their note was referring to his selflessness. Perhaps they were telling him to be selfish today, to get something he wanted? He wasn't sure, but it's not like he could ask them— it was certainly too late for anyone else to be at the school, and Mao didn't have Narukami's contact information.
Too bad it was too late to do much— it was nearing six, meaning dinner was soon, and he had homework on top of that.
He finished packing his things, switching off the lights to the student council room as he passed them.
The brisk air nipped at his nose during his walk home, the spring time weather having not quite yet arrived. He wove through crowd after crowd, until the people lessened and he neared his quite and quaint neighborhood. Mao knocked at Ritsu's door before waiting on the porch.
He watched as Sakuma opened the door, a soft smile spreading across their lips as they recognized the figure before him.
They exchanged hellos, and Sakuma stepped out of the way to allow Mao to make his way into the house. He thanked the older individual, setting down his bag momentarily to hang up his coat.
"Ah, Sakuma-san, Ritsu is upstairs, I assume?"
He watched as the other nodded, now sipping a glass of tomato juice. Mao wondered how they'd gotten it that quickly, but figured that Sakuma had set it aside to open the door, then retrieved it once more.
With another thanks and a smile, Mao turned away and headed up the stairs, making way for Ritsu's room.
Upon reaching said room, he knocked thrice before opening the door, knowing Ritsu wouldn't open it anyway.
"Ahh, Maakun came to see me?~" the lethargic boy smiled, his legs idly hanging from his unmade bed. Glowing red peeked out from his half-lidded eyes, and Mao thought Ritsu seemed almost intoxicated with his expression.
When Mao didn't respond, Ritsu simply gestures for him to sit on the bed, which he does. Ritsu lays his head into Mao's lap, looking up at the green-eyed birthday boy.
"I didn't forget, y'know," he started.
"I know," Mao replied, looking right back at his friend.
They stayed like that, chatting about everything and nothing at once. Mao had forgotten all about his troubles, and floated off to a relaxed fantasy of normal teenage life.
He could miss his homework for a day, it was his birthday, after all.