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Tenma found Taichi on the other side of the bookstore. They’d gone in on the way back from university because Tenma needed a new notebook and a copy of the book that was getting a live-action adaptation he was preparing an audition for. Taichi tended to follow him around in stores if he did not need anything, but there was a magazine tucked under his left arm. It was a fashion magazine that Tenma remembered doing a short interview for. Currently, Taichi was looking at a new display for stationary bundles. Tenma remembered Tsuzuru telling the younger kids that they were overpriced packs of cute but cheap-quality supplies. They were good in a pinch but for durability, there were better options. Tsuzuru would know; he’d worked in several bookstores before.
“Do you need this kind of stuff?” Tenma asked. The bundles had things like multi-colored paper clips, little notepads with flowers and animal prints, delicate plastic pens, and washi tape with stripes and stars and polka-dots. Taichi was one to follow fads, but Tenma had never seen Taichi use anything that he would associate more with Yuki or Muku. The rough and lackadaisical way Taichi tended to handle his belongings meant anything small would get lost easily and anything fragile would be broken within days.
“No, not for me,” Taichi said, but then he picked a pack of bear cub themed stationary and took it to the cash register with the fashion magazine. Tenma paid for his notebook and book without further comment. After all, Taichi had a younger sister who probably liked that kind of stuff. He didn’t have any siblings, so he didn’t know; maybe siblings bought each other gifts all the time. Tenma had certainly seen Kumon dote over Juza as if their ages were reversed.
Back at the dorm, Taichi followed Tenma to his room. It made Tenma’s heart race a little. Taichi was no stranger to being forward, but usually they cuddled after dinner or after a late night homework session - in other words, after they’d fully settled in for the night, not immediately after school. But that was the kind of thing that one could expect when one had a boyfriend, Tenma reminded himself. Sometimes the desire for affection meant breaking routine. Yuki was already back, mending a part of his jacket at his desk. Taichi made a beeline for him.
“Here, Yuki-chan! I got this for you!”
Yuki took the stationary pack and turned it over in his hands. “Hmm. This is cute...I’m surprised you didn’t break anything on your way back.”
“Of course not! I made sure to hold it super carefully.” Tenma was taking his belongings out of his bag on his side. He felt Yuki glance over, and seeing that Tenma was not looking directly at them, Yuki pulled Taichi down for a quick kiss on the cheek. Taichi chuckled self-satisfiedly. “I thought of you when I saw it, so I thought you’d like it.”
“Is it your birthday?” Tenma asked.
Yuki couldn’t have given him a more withering look. “We celebrated my birthday months ago...I can’t believe you forgot. And you call yourself a troupe leader?”
Tenma wanted to say something mean back, but Taichi was still there. Taichi was good at mediating their conflicts, but it usually meant cuddling all together and that would be distracting especially if Tenma had forgotten an important occasion where he should have done something for Yuki. “Oh,” he said instead, ending that chain of thought awkwardly. Surely if Yuki expected something from him, he would have heard about it.
“I need to go to a quick troupe meeting for the market promotion next week, but let’s meet on the balcony to do our statistics homework?” Taichi said. Tenma nodded. Yuki had returned to mending his jacket, the cute stationery pack sitting on his books.
After Taichi left, curiosity got the better of him. “Did you do him a favor or something?”
Yuki looked up. He stared at Tenma for a moment, confused, before looking at the stationary pack and then back at Tenma. “Oh...you mean about this? Don’t tell me...celebrities have everything they need, so the idea of giving gifts just because is a foreign concept?”
“Wha--of course not! I’ve given gifts.”
“It’s like when the Triangle Alien gives us triangles...I’ll put it simply. For normal civilians like myself, it makes us happy when the people we’re dating surprises us with things we like. It’s probably a wild phenomenon to you.”
“Shut up! I know what you mean.” After all, hadn’t he felt giddy when Taichi had bought him snacks after school even when he’d had his wallet with him? Taichi had bought a pair of leather bracelets that came together and had given him the other one; his mother had asked why he had such low-quality leather on his wrist, but he’d still worn it because - that’s what boyfriends did. True, he was new to dating, especially when it was still supposed to be a secret because his agency didn’t want him at the center of any scandals. And it was his first time being in a relationship involving multiple people. But he’d played enough boyfriend roles and had done enough research for them that he knew about it in theory.
Yuki rolled his eyes and returned again to his sewing. Lately, Tenma remembered seeing some new patches on Taichi’s jacket and his hats. In retrospect, they had to be handmade products from Yuki. So Taichi and Yuki were already used to this sort of gift exchange thing. The more he thought about it, the more Tenma realized that he hadn’t really gotten Taichi anything. They went on dates and spent a lot of time together too, but it wasn’t the same, was it?
“Here,” Tenma said, thrusting a shirt at Taichi. Taichi had already spread out his books on one of the balcony’s tables in the time it took Tenma to gather his courage. “I was...cleaning out my closet and uh...looking at things I don’t really wear anymore and thought...maybe you’d want this or something. I was going to throw it out or whatever, but maybe it won’t be a waste if you like it.” He knew it was wrong to ask Igawa to run errands that were unrelated to his job for him, but Igawa hadn’t complained and he was actually quite supportive of them dating. Taichi held the shirt up; it was loose in the style he liked, with tasteful trim and bold color-blocking that fit his personality.
“Wow, I do like it! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear this?”
“Er...I just never found a reason to and I...don’t think it really matches me, the more I look at it. It’s more your style, isn’t it?”
“I guess so! You always wear cool things, though, so I’m sure it would fit you if you wanted to wear it.” Taichi lowered the shirt to look at him. “Are you sure I can have this?”
“Yeah. If you don’t like it, you can throw it away or something. It’s just a hand-me-down, after all. I mean, not like super worn or anything, just something I don’t want to wear anymore.” The shirt definitely felt very new to Taichi. If Tenma said he’d just gotten it off the rack, Taichi would totally believe him. He recognized the brand name on the collar too; it was from a chic collection that wasn’t found in regular stores. His siblings would be so jealous that he’d gotten something straight out of a real actor’s closet.
“Okay! Thanks, Ten-chan! I’ll wear it.”
The next day, Taichi was going to school by car with Banri. Banri had borrowed his sister’s car for a weekend trip with some of the members of the music appreciation club at his college. Before, he might have asked Itaru since they were closer and Itaru’s car was already at the dorm. But after a stint where they’d gone for a midnight release event and Banri nearly took out one of the rearview mirrors in his haste while Itaru was playing a raid in the passenger’s seat, Banri had been temporarily banned from driving. Banri was waiting in the car as Taichi hopped into the front.
“Huh,” Banri said, glancing over. “Didn’t think you were working enough hours at any part-time job to afford that ‘fit...and I’ve seen you home a lot. What kind of job did you get?”
“Oh this?” Taichi pulled at his shirt. “Tenma just gave this to me. It’s just a hand-me-down, though, so it’s old.”
“Old? Bro, it’s from the most recent seasonal release.” Banri stepped on the gas and Taichi felt the momentum press him into the seat even with his seatbelt on. “I think it just hit stores maybe three weeks ago. There’s no way he could have owned it for any more than that...and if he had, he’s holding out on me.”
“Really?” Banri hit a turn and Taichi felt his shoulder press up against the door. His heart was racing a little bit, because it was pretty clear he might not arrive at university completely unscathed. But he was also excited. Getting Tenma a gift that matched the attention to detail and appreciation he felt over the shirt was definitely going to be a challenge - and Taichi loved challenges. Not even the slight whiplash he got from Banri’s sudden stop was going to dim his fire.