Work Text:
Celebrating birthdays as an idol was part of the job, Haruka had come to know. It was a regular day, only unnecessarily infused with flair and fanciness, and to Haruka’s opinion, extra work. Planning her own birthday concert, pretending to act surprised for a birthday party she obviously planned with the rest of ASRUN, attending birthday live streams, meet and greet with fans, talking with other famous figures, and other related activities – it was all work, though she did enjoy some of them.
She recalled the few times she managed to invite friends to celebrate with her but in most scenarios, celebrations were just with the ASRUN management and members. She hardly remembers what she felt back then.
After spending some significant birthdays in the industry, her birthday was technically a normal work day, as far as Haruka was concerned.
“Haruka-chan,” Haruka heard Minori calling out, intently looking at the idol sitting at her study table, focused on writing something on a yellow pad. Minori continued, “What are you doing? You’ve been writing something there for a while now.”
“Planning for our stream tomorrow,” answered Haruka, sparing a quick glance towards Minori, who was sitting in the middle of Haruka’s bed with her legs crossed. “Do you think we should have the question and answer portion after singing ‘Happy Birthday’ or sing first and then address the fans with the Q-and-A? I’m fine either way.”
“But it’s your birthday,” Minori said instead. “Don’t you think we should do something fun?”
Haruka laughed lightheartedly before putting down her pen, turning her body to look at Minori, putting her elbow on the top rail of her chair.
“Are you implying that our streams aren’t fun?” Haruka raised an eyebrow at her.
“What?” The brunette’s eyes widened. “No, no, of course not!” Minori made flailing hand motions. “I think our streams are very cool and all but…”
“But?” Haruka urged her to continue.
“Don’t you think,” she paused, putting a contemplative finger under her chin before continuing, “Maybe, I don’t know, we should take a small break since it’s your birthday?”
Haruka blinked repeatedly at her, her mouth slightly hanging open as if she was going to answer an extremely ridiculous question.
Before the other idol could speak, Minori beat her to it.
“I mean!” She yelled out as she situated her feet on the floor. “It’s just, we’ve been working so hard the past few weeks, and birthdays are supposed to be the time people unwind and have fun! And I know we’re idols and all and I also know we’re very busy because of that but you’ve just been working so hard and I don’t want you to overwork again because I want you to rest and–”
“Minori.”
The brunette shut her mouth when she heard the other idol speak. While Minori was rambling about, Haruka proceeded to sit next to her, slightly startling the newbie idol.
“Thank you for worrying about me,” declared Haruka, putting a hand on top of Minori’s, softly caressing the brunette’s knuckles with her thumb. The ministrations managed to calm Minori down as Haruka’s expression softened, smiling at the way Minori’s hand felt warm on her own.
Haruka never really thought of that, if she was being honest with herself and she felt somewhat guilty. Ever since Shizuku and the rest of the group intervened, she has been mindful of taking slow but steady steps in abating some of her more intensive routines. She hadn’t realized that with the way they have been working hard in the previous weeks, she might have gone overboard again tonight.
And she was entirely grateful to Minori for pointing it out.
Haruka sighed before she continued, “Perhaps you’re right, that maybe we should take a break for a while, no?”
Minori stared at her, a small smile on her lips, nodding.
Haruka always liked it when Minori smiled. Something as superficial as a person’s smile should not be that big of a deal but Haruka never thought of Minori’s smile as something trivial. After all, it’s that same smile that gave her her dream back.
“We probably should tell Airi and Shizuku the stream is canceled tomorrow, huh?”
“About that,” Minori said sheepishly. “I may have already told them to reschedule it, you know, do a belated birthday stream instead, so that we can have fun and relax tomorrow and they both agreed! I’m sure our fans would understand.”
Our fans. Whenever Minori referred to their fans, she always used to exclude herself, opting to say ‘Shizuku’s fans’, ‘Airi’s fans’, or ‘Haruka’s fans’ instead. After their first live performance with Nanami, something shifted within Minori, it was noticeable.
And, Haruka. Well, she definitely liked this new development.
“Okay, then,” giggled Haruka. “Since I’m not really sure what to do, what do you want to do tomorrow? Anything interesting you have in mind?”
“I was worried you would say that,” said Minori, fetching her phone from her pocket. She scooched over closer next to the other idol before she leaned her head onto Haruka’s shoulder, causing the smile on Haruka’s face to widen a bit.
Haruka saw that the brunette opened her notes app and her eyes almost jumped out of their sockets when she saw a list, no, a whole itinerary , laid out before her.
“That’s why I have some suggestions!”
Haruka thought that that maybe is an understatement. More than an understatement, if anything, really.
“Yeah, you definitely have suggestions.”
“Okay, so!” Minori began enthusiastically. “Since I’m staying over for tonight, I figured I would wake up first tomorrow and make you some pancakes so you get to have breakfast in bed!”
“Breakfast in bed?” Haruka giggled shortly. “Isn’t that a bit too much?”
“Nope!” Minori supplied for her. “It is your birthday so you deserve nothing but the best.”
She felt the tip of her ears heat up at Minori’s statement. Haruka always wondered if the other idol knew of the effect she also had on her.
“I would be like the wife who goes into her wife’s room and goes ‘Honey, it’s breakfast in bed!’ and then the birds outside our window start singing or something.”
Haruka laughed loudly at the imagery, throwing her head back slightly but not without her cheeks getting flustered because of the scenario and because of how casual and how certain Minori was when she said it.
It wasn’t like she hadn’t imagined being married to Minori. Of course, she had, especially after hearing about how Airi almost fainted seeing Shizuku in a groom’s tuxedo. Haruka wondered if she could ever pull off a tuxedo or if Minori could. Then, all of a sudden, the image of Minori in a wedding dress came to mind. The thought of it sends her head in a flurry and her heart beats ecstatically that she needed to change the topic immediately.
“What’s next on the agenda?” Haruka asked as she raised a free hand before tucking the hair strands blocking Minori’s face behind the brunette’s ear.
Minori hummed appreciatively before replying, “After breakfast, I was thinking we could go and fetch Samo-chan and we could take a walk in the park. He could even wear one of the penguin beanies you gave him!”
“I like that idea very much,” Haruka’s voice grew softer. “Samo-chan and penguins really do mix well.”
“There’s nothing in the world I want more than for you to get your own pet penguin for your birthday, Haruka-chan,” said Minori seriously. “The only things stopping me from getting you one are the laws of penguin nature and the laws of the country.”
“Minori,” said Haruka, biting her lower lip to contain the laugh that was threatening to slip out yet the same amount of seriousness in Minori’s voice was present in her own.
“That’s literally the sweetest thing someone has ever said to me.”
Unfortunately, Haruka’s laugh forced its way out, the brunette followed afterward.
Haruka barely gets to have these types of moments alone with Minori. The demands of being in a freelancing idol group can be very heavy and alone time is often scarce, even if she shares the same group with her significant other. That’s why, whenever the rare time of being alone with each other comes up, Haruka is glad she is able to cherish every single one of them.
“Alright, what’s next?”
“Next,” the brunette scrolled down as Haruka rested a cheek on top of Minori’s head. “We bring Samo-chan back to the house and we call Shizuku-chan, Airi-chan, Kohane-chan, and An-chan and we hang out at Weekend Garage. And we can invite all of Leo/need too if they don’t have a gig or practice! And Mizuki-chan if they’re free! There’s a cake shop near the café so maybe, with our collective budget, we can buy a penguin-themed cake!”
“Café hangout with all of our friends,” Haruka repeated, mostly to herself. “That sounds,” her voice dipped a bit, trailing off the last word.
“Haruka-chan?” She knew Minori noticed the sudden change in her tone. The brunette carefully slid her head from the idol’s shoulder, causing Haruka to sit up straight. Haruka immediately missed her warmth.
When Haruka was celebrating her birthdays while she was still in ASRUN, she wanted to invite An, one of the only true friends she had at the time, but work always got in the way. She wasn’t sure if she ever did feel lonely when she wasn’t able to celebrate some of her birthdays with her friends or if she was still struggling to admit it but she did acknowledge that it did leave a somewhat gaping hole in her heart as time progressed.
Maybe she was lonely when she celebrated her birthdays with only her ASRUN group mates, managers, and fans. Maybe that loneliness contributed to how she perceived and celebrated her birthdays for the following years to come. Maybe she was just celebrating alone, all those years.
But, not this year. She was certain about that.
“Really nice,” Haruka finished, feeling a weirdly gratified sense of solemnity when she said that, as she smiled at Minori, watching the other idol release a quiet sigh of relief. “That sounds really nice. I like the idea of celebrating with everyone I care about,” she added.
“Me too!” Minori grinned widely. “Birthdays should be fun and should be spent with people that love and care about you and you with them.”
Haruka immediately wondered if the people she spent her birthdays with within the industry cared about her, if they celebrated her birthday because they wanted to celebrate her and not because of ulterior motives.
She shook her head, mostly to herself, not too noticeable, reminding herself that those days are long over and hopefully, long gone. She’s not in that place anymore. She has Minori, Airi, and Shizuku with her. She cares about them and they care about her. She can celebrate her birthdays with them now knowing they’re genuine and sincere.
“Can I lie down on your lap, Haruka-chan?”
She hummed in confirmation before watching Minori situate herself properly on the latter’s bed. One of Haruka’s hands flew to Minori’s head as she played with her hair.
“Next up is,” declared Minori while holding her phone up from her face, continuing reading from the contents of her list. “We go to Phoenix Wonderland with everyone!”
“With everyone?” retorted Haruka as she continued mindlessly playing with Minori’s hair. “We’re bound to stand out since we’re going to come in as a pack.”
“It’d be very funny if the guard there recognizes Shiho-chan since she comes there more often than most of us,” giggled Minori.
“It would be,” Haruka laughed as well. “I assume we go on rides and win some prizes?”
“We can play games in the booths and I can try to win you the giant Phenny plushie as a birthday present!”
“That’s really sweet, Minori,” blushed Haruka as she continued playing with Minori’s hair before she continued, “But all I want for my birthday is you,” Haruka said in singsong, in the tone of Mariah Carey’s hit Christmas song, even when it’s still the beginning of October.
Minori groaned out loud and buried her face in her hands, disregarding her phone on Haruka’s bed.
“That’s so bad, Haruka-chan, please never say pick-up lines ever again, for the good of my heart.”
It was all muffled but Haruka understood every bit of it as she laughed at Minori’s sentiments. She grabbed hold of the hands blocking Minori’s face before removing them, laughing quietly at the newbie idol’s flamed expression while her eyebrows were furrowed and her lips were pouting.
“You have anything better?”
“Of course, I do!”
“Alright, hit me.”
Minori hummed contemplatively for a few seconds before she responded, “Baby girl, you’re my wah wah world.”
It took her a few seconds to process that. Haruka laughed out loud once more, hearing the brunette chuckle with her a few seconds later.
“Maybe you should stop with the pick-up lines,” she teased Minori as she continued to play with the brunette’s hair. “What would Miku and Rin say when they hear that?”
“At least mine is not cheesy unlike yours! And, Kohane-chan told me that worked on An-chan!”
“What’s wrong with being cheesy? Being cheesy isn’t so bad!”
When their laughter subsided, Haruka sighed in contentment.
Haruka’s eyes softened as she gave a small smile at the girl who was looking at her. She saw how Minori’s flustered face vanished, the brunette’s expression matched her own, smiling softly at Haruka.
Haruka can never get tired of staring into Minori’s eyes. It was impossible to not get lost in them. Minori once told her that her eyes were like the ocean, easy to drown and get lost in. But Haruka thinks Minori’s were better than hers. She thinks they are soft, luminous, and gloriously yet expressively calm. If Minori could get lost in her eyes, then Haruka will unyieldingly venture into the unknown in Minori’s.
“May I kiss you, Minori?” Haruka shyly asked, her voice almost a whisper.
She saw Minori nod as she smiled gently at her before she brought her head down and connected their lips, feeling a sense of delicacy and softness wash over her, her sense unfolding in the softest of dispositions and hopefully, Minori felt the same.
When she pulled back, she saw Minori’s eyes half-lidded before grinning widely at her, Haruka reciprocating the gesture.
“What’s next on the agenda?” asked Haruka, almost breathless, prompting Minori to pick up the phone next to her.
“It says here,” began Minori, seemingly as breathless as her. “We go on a ferris wheel ride, with just the two of us, hopefully.”
“Ferris wheel ride with my amazing girlfriend at Phoenix Wonderland on my birthday,” repeated Haruka, her voice trailing off as a contented smile settled on her lips before she continued, “I like the sound of that.”
“We could watch the sunset together and eat the big cotton candy they sell,” grinned Minori, letting her phone down for a while to look at Haruka. “Then we could watch the fireworks display at night with everyone. You know, a good way to end the day.”
Haruka made a sound of affirmation before answering, “Sounds like a plan.”
She felt strangely at peace at that moment. In the comfort of her penguin-themed room, Minori with her. She knows it won’t last long, that peace but that’s what the rest of MORE MORE JUMP! had taught her – how to cherish every moment, not be constrained by the chains of logic and the uncertainty of tomorrow.
Besides, it’s almost her birthday anyway.
“Hey, Haruka-chan” Minori called her attention once more.
“Minori?”
“It’s five minutes until midnight,” she added after looking at her phone before she looked at Haruka once again, “It’s almost your birthday.”
“It is, isn’t it?” hummed Haruka.
A few seconds later, Haruka felt Minori sit up and give a quick kiss on her cheek, the gesture flustering the other idol, before scrambling to the latter’s study table where her bag is.
Haruka craned her head and saw that the brunette was rummaging through her bag, probably looking for something.
“Minori, what are you doing?”
Just as when Haruka was finished asking her question, Minori walked over in front of her, a slightly nervous but big grin on her face, both of her hands behind her back. Haruka raised an amused eyebrow at her, having the perfect idea of what the newbie idol was hiding.
“As your girlfriend,” Minori declared rather proudly and fondly. “I want to be the first person to give you a birthday present.”
“Oh?” expressed Haruka, unable to contain the excitement seeping from her voice. “What is it?”
Minori brought both of her hands in front of her and Haruka saw a quite messily wrapped present. Haruka chuckled to herself when she realized Minori must have taken a long time to perfect that. It was a small box, almost the size of a person’s palm, and it was wrapped in a shiny blue wrapper with an orange ribbon donned on top of it.
“Okay so, maybe, you’re right,” Minori shyly began after she handed the gift over to Haruka. “Maybe being cheesy isn’t so bad.”
“What do you mean?”
“Open it,” Minori prompted her.
Haruka could only raise an eyebrow at Minori before diverting her attention to the gift in her hands. It was really light and as Haruka shook it, not too much as to not damage the contents inside, she heard especially small thuds. She carefully removed the orange ribbon before undoing the tapes of the wrapper.
“You can just rip that, you know,” the brunette told her.
“I can’t,” said Haruka as she continued to undo some of the tapes. “Knowing you were the one who wrapped this.”
She heard Minori groan again before answering, “Haruka-chan, you and the pick-up lines, I swear.”
Haruka merely laughed before she removed the last tape. After parting the wrapper, she saw a cardboard box painted in black and a small drawing of a penguin and otter holding hands. Haruka grinned at the display, knowing fully well that Minori even took the time and effort to draw that.
When she opens the box, the first thing she sees are colorful paper shreds. Haruka put aside the shreds and could not stop the gasp from being let out of her throat when she saw what was under all that paper.
“You got me a penguin necklace?” whispered Haruka, picking up the cardboard the golden charm was inserted. “Minori, this is so beautiful.”
Haruka loved the simplicity of it. She was so used to receiving extravagant gifts with more than extravagant uses from people that she doesn’t even remember that she had come to find out that most of those gifts weren’t of no use to her anyways.
But this one, this necklace Minori gave her, she feels Minori’s feelings in them, despite being such a simple accessory, stronger than any of those gifts people gave her in the past combined.
She felt Minori sitting next to her before she faced the other idol. Haruka saw a toothy grin from Minori, the tiniest tints of pink visible from her cheeks.
Haruka heard Minori let out a short chuckle before she saw the latter flip her head back, revealing something on her neck that Haruka hadn’t noticed earlier. It had the same hue as Haruka’s but it had a different figure as opposed to Haruka’s penguin.
“I have an otter one,” giggled Minori before she showed the golden charm from her neck. “Mizuki-chan helped me find it and they thought you and I could maybe match. I thought it was a really cute idea.”
“Minori…” Haruka thought she might have whispered her partner’s name, hoping that it managed to convey the gratitude and admiration she has for her.
“Put it on for me?” asked Haruka after she found her voice, offering the necklace to the idol as she held her hair in a ponytail, facing away from Minori.
“Of course!” grinned Minori.
She later felt a slight cold contact a few moments later, Minori’s fingers brushing against her neck, unintentionally leaving tinges of warmth on. She heard a quiet click sound seconds later and Haruka thought that Minori must have clasped it.
Haruka sighed in contentment as she faced Minori, grinning at the way their matching charms reflected the light from Haruka’s room.
“Hey, it’s one minute before your birthday!” she heard Minori enthusiastically declare after the latter checked her phone.
Minori cleared her throat and held her phone in a way that imitates interviewers holding their microphones. With a feigned serious expression, she held up her ‘microphone’ near Haruka’s mouth.
“Kiritani-san,” Minori tried to make her voice gruff and deeper, causing Haruka to laugh lightly. “Do you have any messages to yourself this past year?”
“Well, interviewer-san,” chuckled Haruka. “I guess the only thing I have to say is,” she trailed off once more, pausing but not hesitating as she pondered contemplatively.
What was her message to herself this year? She was so sure time was unforgiving of its pace that she had reached this moment, wondering how just a year could be one of the most transformative periods of her life. From their first live performance to the first song that they received to their first training camp, what did she achieve?
MORE MORE JUMP! was clearly the best thing that has happened to her, she now realized. As she looks back on her days on ASRUN, she noticed that she is now more than the idol she used to be. Perhaps she was more confident and more accepting now.
She shook her head, she surely is more confident now. But it was no individual feat, she thought. Shizuku, Airi, and Minori were all there, to remind her and help her, and she feels that with every help she accepts from them, every moment she relies on them, she continues to improve and it was evident in her performance.
And now, as a person, she feels more at peace now compared to how she was before.
Haruka liked that very much.
“I suppose I am proud of myself,” she finally settled with that answer as she caught a glimpse of Minori’s widening smile.
“I don’t know, I had to continuously look back on my past and compare myself to the me in the present and thought, ‘I can’t believe this is me now. I’ve gone so far,’ and it’s because I have MORE MORE JUMP!. And when I think of that, having you guys by my side, I just know I, Haruka Kiritani, can still be better,” she paused before she unceremoniously gave Minori a wink, giggling at the way her partner reacted.
“More and more,” she finally finished.
She stumbled a bit to the side of her bed when Minori wrapped her arms around her neck and tackled her into a tight embrace, causing the both of them to get knocked down on the bed, Minori’s clutch on Haruka tight yet gentle.
Minori started ranting incoherently but Haruka mostly made out, “Haruka-chan! I’m so proud of you! MORE MORE JUMP! will always be here to have your back! Gah! I love you so, so, so much!”
Haruka laughed, her lungs inundated with an oh-so-familiar feeling, that same feeling that coursed through her that day, she saw Minori reach her hand out for her from the stage, bringing her dream back.
“I love you too, Minori.”
After a few seconds or so, Haruka sighed as Minori calmed down. The former buried her face in the brunette’s neck, the smell of lilies emitting from Minori’s hair providing her comfort more than anything else, their matching charms tangled in their comforting embrace.
Haruka thought she could stay in that position forever, Minori holding her. There was just that certain warmth she feels only with Minori, something she can’t find in other people.
“Hey, Haruka-chan?” Minori was the first to break the comfortable silence. “I can’t believe I almost forgot to say it.”
“Hm?”
She felt a warm contact on her nose, her eyes fluttered shut as a small and contented smile settled on her lips when she realized Minori left a kiss on the tip of her nose. She opened her eyes and caught the way Minori pulled back before glancing back at Haruka.
“Happy birthday.”