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Goro let the boxed cake drop on his coffee table with a defeated sigh. Well. That didn’t work. Not that this wasn’t the first thing not to work out for him lately, but at least everything else could have been said to be his own fault. This was just bad luck, but obviously it had to come right on top of him messing things up for himself. He thought at least he had some control over buying the cake he wanted. They always had one of those really delicious looking layer cakes on display at Yon-Germain, and he’s had his eye on their alternating selection for ages, changing between different fruit toppings and colourful frostings.
He just never dared to actually buy one because … well, first of all, it seemed indulgent. But more embarrassingly, what was the point of buying such a big cake when you had no one to share it with. When he was still always alone and on his own, he used to promise himself to get one of those cakes with someone on a special occasion one day. The thought alone made him feel silly in retrospect. Who looks forward to having reason to eat cake? And yet there he was at the bakery this afternoon, being let down again when the lady behind the counter told him that a middle schooler bought it right in the after school rush. Goro had to accept her apologetic smile and pick a generic cake instead, more to have a polite exit from the situation than from any genuine desire to eat it.
It shouldn’t be like this anymore. That awful time was behind him now. He wasn’t alone anymore, he had real friends now. Friends with whom he didn’t have to hide who he was anymore. It felt like there was some kind of justice to the world now. But apparently he still couldn’t get that fucking cake and share it with his boyfriend like he wanted.
Letting himself fall into his armchair, he got out his phone. Might as well ask now and hope for the best. It’s not like things could get much worse. (Or could they?) He picked the contact named cher de lune and typed:
Goro: I’m home from school! I hope your day went well. I know you’re buried in assignments, so I better should say I hope it wasn’t too bad. Don’t overwork yourself!
He anxiously waited for a few seconds before typing the next text.
Goro: In fact, why don’t you take a break today? I’m free the rest of the day, you could come over and we’ll have a quiet night in.
Goro: I have cake! ^_^
He cringed a little at that last text, because he didn’t really feel any of the enthusiasm for the cake in front of him, but there really wasn’t any reason to drag Yuuki into that. Once he was here, it would all be fine.
Of course he had also failed to mention why he was inviting Yuuki over. Besides the fact that he hadn’t seen his boyfriend in a few days, and that he would honestly spend time with Yuuki every free minute of his life if he could, and that Yuuki really did deserve a break of course. But selfishly, he mostly just wanted to spend his birthday with his boyfriend and eat cake. He felt sort of bad for neglecting to mention that fact again, but at that point it would have been just awkward. Better to tell him in person, when he’s here, and he can properly explain why.
How had he maneuvered himself into this weird situation where his own boyfriend didn’t know that today was his birthday? He couldn’t blame Yuuki for it - the question had just never been brought up at all. Yuuki was always very careful about prying into personal questions like this, and usually Goro was very thankful for that. It was more that he was mad at himself. At first, their relationship had just started and he had a million other things on his mind at the time, not to mention that birthdays weren’t on his radar in the first place. He’d never celebrated it since … and so it was only when June was coming up that he realised he actually did have something to celebrate right now, and someone to celebrate it with. It turned out he actually really wanted to celebrate his nineteenth birthday, and how his life had taken a turn for the better against the odds.
He should have just told Yuuki that his birthday was coming up a few weeks earlier, and it would’ve been fine. Except he couldn’t. Celebrating his birthday, for the first time ever really, suddenly felt like such a huge important thing that it somehow became too much to ask for. Casually dropping that information felt like manipulation. Making it a big explicit thing felt like pressuring. It’s ridiculous, it’s just a birthday and some cake, the most normal thing for everyone else. And yet, asking for it felt presumptuous. But he still wanted it.
The phone vibrating in his hand startled him out of his rut.
Yuuki: uuuuughhhghhhh I’m dying Goro
Yuuki: Kawakami clarified some requirements today and now I have to revise tons of material. I think she’s trying to kill me
Yuuki: wait
Yuuki: I take that back. If I die, don’t investigate her for murder. She only wants my best.
Yuuki: I think.
Yuuki: but unfortunately that means I don’t really have time today :(
Yuuki: Coming over sounds great. I considered ditching my work but you know me. I think I’d just be an anxious mess the rest of the day because I’m losing so much time and that wouldn’t be fun either
Yuuki: :(
Yuuki: sorry
Yuuki: we can do it on Friday! Save the cake for me, yeah?
Yuuki was cute as always, but in the end it didn’t help Goro’s disappointment. Now this day was officially, entirely fucked. And it wasn’t remotely Yuuki’s fault. Goro knew he would have made time for him if he’d known in advance. He’d probably even ditch the assignment if Goro told him right now, although that was clearly a bad idea. All Goro had to do was ask. But once again, he couldn’t. The closer his birthday had gotten, the greater the weight of asking became, and at this moment it was entirely insurmountable. He let it come so far, so he probably did deserve this.
Goro: Of course! Stay strong. And I will spare Kawakami, for now.
He didn’t manage to write anything more, and just tossed his phone to the nearby couch and tried his best to choke back that traitorous lump that had decided to settle in his throat. He was weighing his options of what to do next, but going to bed early and cutting this disaster of a day short was the best he could think of. Before he could contemplate sadder alternatives, the phone buzzed again.
He hated how quickly hope welled up inside him again as his brain supplied the idea that Yuuki might have changed his mind after all. It was probably just a quick see you later and nothing more. Still, he reached over to retrieve his phone, but to his surprise the text wasn’t from Yuuki at all. Instead the contact read Makoto Niijima.
Makoto: Hello Akechi, sorry if this bothers you, but I have to ask you for a favour.
Makoto: I accidentally packed some of my sister’s files when I was getting ready for school this morning. She says they are really important (I haven’t looked inside, of course), and she may need them while she is working late today. Can you maybe pick them up and get them to her? I have a different appointment and can’t make it to the other end of the city in time, and you’re the only one I could trust with police documents.
Makoto: I’m at Leblanc right now.
Makoto: I know this is a huge thing to ask and probably very out of your way. It’s clearly my mistake! Please help me out, I feel really bad for making things harder for Sae, they are tough enough for her as they are. I’ll find a way to make it up to you.
Goro allowed himself an annoyed huff that he was glad Makoto couldn’t hear. Of course his jealous mind first went to the fact that she was apparently hanging out at Leblanc, which meant that his friends were having fun on his birthday without him. But also, and contradictorily, at this point the last thing he wanted to do to leave his apartment and face the outside world again. If he could just bury himself in his misery he would get this day quickly over with. But it looked like even that wasn’t meant to be. He couldn’t let the Niijimas down right now, so he texted back a perfunctory message and headed out again.
* * *
It was one of those nice warm early summer evenings, and as Goro was making his way to Leblanc, the city was buzzing with people making the best of it. Everywhere he looked were full cafes, people sitting outside in the sun, groups of friends meeting up. In other words, the last thing he wanted to be exposed to right now. As he exited the Yongen-jaya subway station, Goro decided to give Makoto a quick call. If she was in a hurry, it was probably good to know that he would be there soon.
“Makoto-san? It’s Akechi. I’m almost there to pick up the files.”
“Oh! Akechi?” Makoto sounded weirdly surprised. “You’re fast. Right, the files … You can come pick them up. I’m ready.” Her voice was somehow stilted. Goro furrowed his brow. What was up with that?
Makoto hung up on him before he had the chance to consider asking about it. He made the rest of the way to the cafe and found himself in front of Leblanc’s door. The inside was surprisingly dark. Had the cafe closed already? It was stupidly early for that, but then again, this wouldn’t be the first time Goro was puzzled by Boss’s business decisions. He quickly wondered if that’s why Makoto had sounded off? Maybe she was irritated at having to stay behind with the cafe being already closed. Well if that was the case, it was hardly his fault. He had made it here as fast as you could reasonably expect.
Goro shook his head and sighed before pushing against the cafe door. Let’s get this over with. The inside was as dark as he’d expected from the outs-
Wait.
For the fraction of a second, realisation began to dawn on him. Then, immediately, all hell broke loose.
“SURPRISE!!!”
The light was flicked on, and the room was revealed to be full of his friends shouting in unison at the top of their lungs. Goro was flabbergasted. Before he could get a sound out or even form a coherent thought, he was tackled from behind and a pair of arms closed around his chest in a tight hug. He could hear Yuuki squeak an excited “Happy birthday Goro!” from behind before burying his face in his neck. The others didn’t leave him one millisecond to get a grip on the situation. Before he knew it, a cacophony of “happy birthday!”s came from the room and he was bum-rushed by the rest of the group.
It was too much. He didn’t even know what he was feeling right now, if it was surprise or shock or happiness, he just let it all happen to him. Yuuki let him go and Goro got a quick look at his wide satisfied smile before he was basically handed around from one friend to the other like he was a puppy that everyone wanted their turn to pet. He couldn’t say he had much objection to that.
Ren was first. He offered his hand, which Goro confusedly took, before being pulled into a hug. Ryuji was right behind him and settled for enthusiastically patting his back. Morgana decided to climb his shoulders right during this mess. Next came Ann and Shiho, who hugged him from one side each. Yusuke and Makoto offered actual handshakes, Yusuke with a very formal expression, Makoto while showering him with best wishes (and apologies for lying to him). Haru gave him a little peck on the cheek.
“Now it’s my turn, Haru!”
Goro could barely turn to face Futaba before she jumped into his arms to cling to his behind with her legs. Goro was thrown off by her momentum and could only save both of them from toppling to the ground by doing an almost 360 degree spin. Futaba was cackling the entire way and he eventually put her down on the counter before they would actually fall.
All of that must have looked very funny, as he heard laughter behind himself, including Yuuki’s giggle. He turned back to face the room, where the initial chaos had died down a little. Everyone was assembled into almost a circle, looking at him with expectant smiles and the remnants of small laughs, obviously waiting for him to react. Goro still had no clue how to react. He felt his mouth open, but his brain failed to submit anything to say. Before he could further embarrass himself by stammering something nonsensical, Yuuki broke the silence.
“You look like a mess!”
More laughter from the group. True, his jacket was ruffled from all the commotion, and he didn’t even want to imagine the state his hair was in right now. He looked back at him. Yuuki was beaming with pride, his smile still wide as his face, and he had that little glint in his eyes he got from teasing him. Goro couldn’t help but smile back.
“You! All of this is your doing.”
Yuuki tried to put on an innocent face, but failed immediately as he couldn’t contain his pride.
“Yeah! And it worked! You should have seen your face!” Even more laughs. Yuuki took a quieter, more inquisitive tone. “Ren and Makoto and her sister helped. You really had no idea?” He sounded almost hopeful.
“I - uh… no” was all he got out. It’s true, he had been full on tricked. Should he have seen this coming?
“Sounds like our detective prince s’gettin rusty!” Ryuji interjected. Goro’s face must have been pretty funny, and he earned more snickering at his expense. Usually he was really sensitive to this sort of thing. There was nothing worse than being ridiculed. But somehow, this felt warm and inclusive. He sensed a soft smile settling into his face. Still, this was all very overwhelming.
“How … how did you know …?” The fact that they all knew of his birthday was slowly setting in, along with a pleasant feeling in his belly that went beyond the surprise he just experienced.
“You’re not nearly as mysterious as you think,” Yuuki spoke up with a triumphant grin. Goro raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. Let him have this. “First of all, I’m your boyfriend, so jot that down. But second, you were getting weird a few weeks ago, and I had to figure out what was going on. Sae Niijima also had her suspicions, so it wasn’t that difficult from there. Still, I’m really glad it’s just your birthday. I was worried for a minute, you know.”
“Also, it was kind of obvious that you’re a gemini,” Ren added with a grin, prompting another pleasant round of laughter at Goro’s expense.
They shuffled over into the booths from there. Goro still mostly let everything just happen to him, and so he wound up squeezed between Yuuki and Ryuji. Usually he didn’t like close contact, even with his friends, but this was surprisingly comfortable. Maybe it was because he wasn’t really processing anything that was going on right now. Yuuki sneakily grabbed his hand and gave him a few comforting squeezes.
Boss was suddenly in the room, and Goro couldn’t tell if he just missed his later arrival during all the commotion or if he had been here from the start. He was getting everyone drinks, starting with Goro’s usual coffee. One hand came to rest on his shoulder.
“Happy birthday, kid.” Somehow Goro could feel that he really meant it.
He could have just settled into this situation, then and there. He had everything he wanted. He was with his friends. Yuuki was right here next to him. He could just slowly enjoy his coffee, sink back a little, and just watch as the others talked and were up to their usual antics. But as he was contemplating that, Ren was getting up again.
“Okay everyone! Time for presents!”
“Presents?” Goro blurted out. Yuuki looked at him as if he was stupid. “It’s your birthday dummy! Of course there’s presents.” He really did feel stupid now. He had been so caught up in his desire to celebrate his birthday at all that he didn’t even consider the part where you get presents. Not that he was objecting now.
Again, Ren went first. Goro made a show out of inspecting it from every angle before delicately opening the wrapping paper and teasing out the actual gift. It was a portable chess set. “It’s magnetic,” Ren explained, “So you can really bring it anywhere. For example, here, if you’re up for the challenge.”
“You won’t stand a chance,” Goro retorted confidently, and Ren just gave him a satisfied smirk and nod.
Ann and Shiho had a sort of joint present: a hand knitted scarf and hat. “I know it’s summer, but we picked up knitting recently and thought it would still be useful. Sorry for the scarf, it’s not perfect, I’m still learning.” Ann’s apology was met with a playful jab from Shiho. “It’s fine. The scarf is fine.” They insisted on him wearing it right then and there. Goro thought it was more than fine, it had a pretty bright red colour that complemented his hair and eyes. He had to fend off their attempts to mess up his hair by wearing the hat, though.
Haru presented him with a see-through box that had a lot of little bottles and other containers in it. “It’s coffee flavours!” she hastily added. “I looked up what people like to put in their coffees. I know you like yours sweet,” she added in a conspiratorial whisper. “It has cinnamon, vanilla, and all sorts of alcohol. You should try it!” Her last comment was met by a disapproving noise from Boss, who was suddenly right behind Goro. “Uh, later, somewhere else.”
Yusuke unrolled a beautiful painting of a crow spreading its wings as it was taking off. It was monochrome and entirely in ink. Goro really had to admire the detail he was able to portray with that sort of style. “Besides the obvious thematic connections, I also took into account your personal taste. From what I heard, black and white art harmonizes with your other interior decoration.” Goro studied the painting and politely listened as Yusuke continued to explain his process. He noticed how the crow beak resembled his old phantom thief mask.
As Yusuke’s elaborations didn’t seem to come to an end, Ryuji thankfully elbowed himself into the conversation. His present was not wrapped, and he handed it over kind of awkwardly. It turned out to be a set of sweatbands, two for his wrists and one for his forehead, red like Ann and Shiho’s present. “Ya know, it’s sort of a symbolic present. I know you like sports, so if you wanna go runnin, I’m always ready.” He grinned and shot Yuuki a quick glance. “Also I heard ya get sweaty an-”
Before Ryuji could continue, Makoto bonked him on the head with her present (“ow!”). It was a quite expensive looking notebook wrapped in leather. “Sae mentioned your notebooks being quite messy and rundown. You should have something nicer.” Goro couldn’t disagree.
Futaba’s present was an old 3DS that she found lying around and got ready to use for him. “Enough backseat gaming when I’m on mine! And only ever show your face here again once you’re ready to face me at a pokemon battle!” And so, another challenge was accepted.
At the end of all this, Goro found himself with a huge pile of presents and discarded wrapping paper in front of him. After the whole unwrapping show, a natural pause in their conversations occurred, and everyone’s eyes were on him again. Goro knew he should say thank you. He was immensely grateful; this was beyond anything he could have ever imagined. Maybe that’s exactly why he felt so inadequate at putting his feelings into words.
He struggled a little to find his voice. “Thank you. I-”
“So, are you done now? Can’t keep this in the back forever,” Boss’s gruff voice interrupted him. Another thing to be grateful for, he supposed.
But when he turned around to see what Boss was referring to, he was floored again. As everyone scrambled to move his gift pile out of the way, what was put in front of him was nothing else but the cake he thought he’d been snubbed on earlier today. And it was so pretty too. The icing was white and pink and formed an intricate pattern. On top of it was an arrangement of strawberries, cut and placed in such a way to look like hearts.
He couldn’t. He couldn’t anymore. He felt tears of happiness form in his eyes and he knew he must look like a complete idiot, being stunned at the sight of a cake. He turned to Yuuki.
“Did.. you? Did you get it? My… the cake I wanted?”
Unlike before, he didn’t react with a face of pride, but seemed to be genuinely surprised by Goro’s intense reaction.
“Yeah? I know you love Yon-Germain and so-”
Fuck it. Goro didn’t care anymore that everyone’s eyes were on them right now, he just grabbed Yuuki by the shoulders and pulled him into a deep kiss. It was nice to feel him melting against him, even as hollering and applause broke out from his annoying friends.
When Goro pulled back, that proud smile was back on Yuuki’s face again. That felt right. His gaze lingered on him and he smiled right back.
Yuuki pulled his hand. “Hey,” he said softly, gesturing his face at the door. Goro understood and let himself be gently pulled out of the booth. Of course, that just led to more cheering from the ranks. Goro turned around to them as he clumsily followed Yuuki’s footsteps. He didn’t care if they saw how happy he was right now. He watched Ann pull Shiho closer. Futaba was whistling. Ren wagged his eyebrows at him. What an asshole. He loved them all so much.
* * *
“I can’t believe you did this!” Goro was still beaming. The air had significantly cooled down by now, and he could feel how hot his face was.
“You deserve it.” Yuuki was all of a sudden solemn and serious. They were standing apart holding both hands, which put some distance between them. “I mean it. You deserve to be celebrated.” He was avoiding eye contact and showed sudden interest in the pavement instead.
“Don’t you wanna see my present for you?” He looked up at Goro’s face expectantly.
“There’s more? The surprise party, the cake … that’s already so much …”
Yuuki’s eyes lit up. “Yes, there’s more.” That confident tone Goro loved to hear was back again. “What kind of boyfriend would I be if all I had for you was a party …” he said while taking one hand to rummage in his pockets. He made Goro open the hand he was still holding and put something inside. It felt familiar, but it was hard to make out in the dim street light.
He held it closer to his face. It was a wristwatch. A delicate women's wristwatch. It’s … no way.
“That’s. Yuuki. That’s my mom’s watch.”
Yuuki was avoiding eye contact again. It took him a few moments before his eyes returned with a sheepish smile.
“I found it. I hope you’re not angry that I took it.” His eyes darted away for a heartbeat. “I had it fixed. The band is new. I know it’s for women technically but I know you don’t care about those things.”
Goro felt a happy tear running down his cheek.
“I … I just thought you shouldn’t keep it stored away. I think she’d want you to wear it.” Yuuki sounded so anxious.
“I want to.” Goro’s answer was barely a whisper. He held out the watch with his left hand and offered his right wrist. Yuuki took a step forward. He was suddenly really close. Goro watched fondly as he fixed his patient gaze on his right arm and tied the watch around his wrist.
“I love it,” Goro said softly. Yuuki moved in even closer, and then they were kissing again. After Yuuki pulled back, they were just standing there, holding hands, not saying anything.
Goro wanted to feel exactly like this forever, and he didn’t dare to make even the slightest change to his current situation.
Finally, Yuuki stirred. “We should get back inside,” he whispered. “The others have probably already started coming up with ideas of what we are up to.” Goro felt himself wince at that thought. He squeezed Yuuki’s hands one more time.
“I still can’t believe you did this. You tricked me. You lied to me.” He made sure his voice sounded as impressed as he was.
Yuuki just gave a nonchalant shrug in response.
“At least it means you’re not actually about to fail Kawakami’s class because of this.”
Now it was Yuuki’s turn to wince. “That part wasn’t a lie, actually. I’m probably dead by tomorrow.”
Goro was speechless as Yuuki moved past him to head back inside.
“Well, let’s enjoy this night as long as it lasts.” His voice was back to cheerful again.
“Let’s have your cake.”