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"Hurry, hurry-! Don't drop that, or I'm going to drop you, do you understand?! Be more careful- Hey! That banner needs to be straight–"
Hiyori was barking orders at half of CosPro, visibly stressed by the general lack of coordination. Niki had baked a lovely cake earlier, and iced it with Kohaku's help- Himeru was busy decorating, as he was one of the tallest people aside from Shu, who wasn't willing to lend a hand- and Ibara was busy with work already, so he decided to let Hiyori take over the birthday planning just this once. Rinne's birthday was today, and in his distractibility, Hiyori had forgotten to prepare the party until about an hour ago. Jun was currently off at a catering place to get drinks, because despite being too young to drink, he could order things under CosPro's name with relative ease. And this was a CosPro party, so it wasn't a lie either.
Ibara sat in his office, watching from afar with an amused glint in his eye at the noble's anxiety. Hiyori usually took a leadership role with people who knew him well and respected him, as well as generally being far more competent; this was a wild change, as Crazy:B was known to be the exact opposite of those things. 2wink was also helping out a bit, mainly with fetching things, but Yuuta had given up before long, as he wasn't a big fan of Rinne and felt no need to help with his birthday party.
This left Hina to play gopher on her own, until she dragged Hiiro out from their dorm where he sat reading peacefully. By the end of it, most of the people helping weren't even part of CosPro, as Hiiro had asked Aira to come and help Himeru with the decorating. Mayoi decided to come along upon hearing two of her unitmates were there, asking Niki if he needed any help in the kitchen, so that she could help without being put in a commotion-filled room.
Hiyori demanded Mika come and help organize the food tables, and begged him to stay for at least a little bit of the party– while Rinne enjoyed his company, Mika felt greatly intimidated by the older idol's outgoing behavior at times, and tried to avoid being in proximity of him for more than a few minutes at a time. But with Mika came Arashi, who brought a gift on behalf of all of NewDi.
Well, all except Madara, who showed up on his own, guitar in hand. He promised he wouldn't play any cliché party songs, and informed Hiyori that he'd spent the week learning to play an acoustic version of Crazy Anthem, so he was allowed to stay as entertainment and a sort of friend.
"Okay– so we have food, we have a few gifts… Could someone ask if the ASOBI club is free? Aside from Yuuta-kun, he's already left, right? And, Kanata-kun is keeping Rinne busy, so we can't ask for his help right now… Kohakun! Could I bother you to head to my dorm and find the remainder of my gifts, please? Take Ai-chan or Hiiro-kun if you feel so inclined, just ensure we have all the gifts we need!"
"I have something for nii-san too, could we stop to get that on the way, please?"
"Of course! You still have about an hour before the party begins, and Starmony is just across the street, more or less, isn't it? So shoo, shoo, be careful crossing the roads!"
"You look stressed, Your Highness!" Ibara commented, stepping out of his office and watching Hiyori visibly relax upon the sound of his voice. He had been frantically giving orders and asking favors all morning and afternoon, so the familiarity of a unitmate was welcome, even if it was just that snake.
"I am… How do you do it, Ibara? Almost every month! Or… Every month? I don't remember most people's birthdays very well, but you–"
"It's part of the job for me! Some people are very thankless, but having the twins to help– or, namely Hinata-kun, I suppose– can be quite a weight off my shoulders! Usually, Yuuta-kun is more willing to lend a hand, but I suppose he isn't Amagi-shi's biggest fan, unlike some people here."
Hiyori just swatted dismissively in response, rolling his eyes and glancing back at the decorating crew. Himeru had fetched a chair for Aira, who kept looking at the mysterious idol with an awed look on his face. Mika and Arashi were laying tablecloths and bowls of food out, and Arashi had even brought two flower vases that seemed somewhat color-coded to Rinne and Crazy:B as a unit. Hiyori admired her go-getting attitude, especially when it pertained to someone she didn't know well at all.
"Yes, well… Do you have any advice for me, snake?"
"So cold! Though, it seems to me like you're managing well on your own, Your Highness. I don't think you need my help, hahaha! If I may make one suggestion… How about inviting the rest of Flambé? Amagi-shi seemed to love working alongside them all. I may hate to look at Yuzuru's face, but it's not my party, so what I like doesn't matter!" Ibara spoke with his usual displeasure-laced, fake happy tone, smiling up slightly at Hiyori. The noble only nodded, ruffling his junior's hair in a show of partial affection and partial spite, as was par for the course with their relationship.
"Then, I'll try to do that! Tori-chan may come with Yuzuru, and I know she gets along with Rinne… I'm not sure what Subaru-kun might be doing, nor Tomoya-kun, but I could ask Nazuna-kun… Yes, yes, I'll give it my best! Ensure you're done work before the party, won't you?"
"As you wish, Your Highness."
Satisfied now, Hiyori headed back to overseeing everything, texting everyone that he wanted to attend and keeping up-to-date with Kanata's distraction. He'd asked Rinne to accompany him to the aquarium under the guise of that being his birthday present, so as not to imply anyone had forgotten his birthday. The two of them seemed to be having a great time, as Kanata kept sending blurry videos of Rinne excitedly pointing at all of the animals who got close to the glass.
Before long, the time for the party had come. Everyone who helped with the arranging of it all was there, and Hiyori had managed to invite the rest of Flambé too– as suspected, Tori tagged along with Yuzuru, and Wataru actually came with Subaru, presumably because they were roommates and Wataru couldn't resist a good party. Tomoya came very hesitantly, as he felt out of his element at first, but seeing Wataru seemed to set him oddly at ease despite their weird relationship.
Jun had successfully gotten some alcohol for the grads and Rinne to enjoy at their leisure– though the grads were technically underage, a few of them had lax or upper-class parents that allowed underage drinking, so they dabbled in it when there was a party.
Sora and Shinobu had also come, and were excitedly chatting with Tori, Kohaku, Aira, Hina, and Hiiro. Nagisa came solely to see the fruits of Hiyori's efforts and to wish Rinne a happy birthday, and planned to leave soon after that. And of course, Niki and Himeru were still around, chatting to each other as well as other guests. Mayoi was allegedly still here, but Hiyori couldn't see her… Mika and Arashi hadn't left either, as Mika insisted he wanted to pick up all the wrapping paper when Rinne opened his gifts.
"Kanata-kun will be here with Rinne-senpai any moment now, so everyone, please get into positions, okay?"
Though it couldn't be a very surprising surprise party, Hiyori wasn't sure how to host it any other way. Everyone hid, and the lights were shut off as they all went quiet. Aira's excited whispering was one of the only audible noises for a few seconds, before the sound of Rinne's footsteps ( and quieter, Kanata's ) could be heard emerging from the elevator.
"I can guess what I'm here for, but lemme see anyway– did Hiyori-chan go and turn this floor of the CosPro building into a stage just for ol' Rinne-kun, or…" Pushing the doors open, Rinne was greeted immediately with the lights flicking on courtesy of Himeru, and a loud "SURPRISE!". Rinne only laughed his signature loud, energetic laugh, looking at everyone with a large smile on his face. It was genuine, not one of his mildly terroristic idol persona, which warmed Hiyori's heart to see.
"Jeez! This is more than even I expected, I didn't think it'd be anyone but my bees and roommates, and maybe Snakeyboy too…"
"Yes, well! His Highness Hiyori was hard at work inviting everyone he could think of and orchestrating this whole thing, so you have him to thank for that!" Ibara chirped, taking this opportunity to get away from Yuzuru and greet Rinne before anyone else could. Hiyori felt his cheeks heat up a bit, not expecting the sudden mention.
"Of course Hiyorin was behind all of this! Thanks princess, it looks like a real blast!" Rinne went over to Hiyori and gave him a comically big kiss on the lips, squishing his cheeks and grinning at the younger idol's flushed face. "Did Rinne-kun's kiss really stun ya that much? Cute. Love ya, Hiyorin!"
"I– … Ah?! I love you too, don't do that without warning or I'll stomp on your foot and see how you like being caught off guard!"
"Whatever my princess wants is all good with me~! Now, lemme go greet the other guests, then I can harass ya some more!" Pecking Hiyori's cheek and slapping his ass playfully, Rinne headed off to do exactly what he said he would, socializing with everyone gleefully. He made sure to ruffle Hiiro, Aira, Kohaku's hairs equally, and picked up and twirled Sora, Hina, and Shinobu.
He sat and listened to Madara play Crazy Anthem, then dragged the rest of Crazy:B to sing it with him, putting on a little show for everyone. After that, he requested Fusionic Stars, inviting everyone to sing along and dance to their hearts' contents. Mayoi even finally showed her face for that, standing at the back of the room and simply projecting her voice to be heard without being in all the commotion.
Then, he grabbed a drink and offered some to the grads, continuing to tour around the room and chat with everybody. Rinne even approached Mayoi, letting the others socialize amongst themselves while he spoke to her in a quiet corner of the room, thanking her for coming and staying despite the noise, as well as thanking her for helping Niki with the food. She seemed somewhat at ease with Rinne, handing him a small present, to which he looked surprised.
"For me?"
"... Yes, it is your birthday, and… You're Hiiro's big brother… And Shiina's boyfriend, so… I would consider you important to me by proxy… As well as your friendship with Chief– Ah… Shinobu… And… You've been kind to me, even though I'm unworthy of it… So… I made you something… And I was going to deliver it to you at your dorm, but… Since Tomoe hosted a party…" Mayoi trailed off, toying with the end of her braid anxiously and looking at the ground while Rinne opened the gift.
It was a small, crocheted bear, with light purple jewel-ish eyes and black 'fur', as well as a light blue ribbon tied around its neck. The soles of its paws were white, a nice contrast from the black of the rest of its body. Rinne looked from the bear to Mayoi, noticing the common threads between the two of them… And held his arms out for a hug, not wanting to startle her.
"It looks amazing! Real well made, I can tell ya put lots of love into this. It even kinda looks like you, real cute… Your eyes aren't purple, but your hair is, and you wear a lot of black. The blue looks more like Niki's eyes, but you're wearing earrings kinda that color right now! Maybe I should start calling ya Kuma-chan, instead of Mayoi-chan?" He spoke as Mayoi embraced him hesitantly, inhaling deeply to get his scent. When he suggested a new nickname, she withdrew immediately and flushed, waving a bit frantically.
"No, no, that won't be necessary…! You shouldn't waste such a cute nickname on someone like me, it's–"
"Perfectly fitting! Cute nickname for a cute li'l Kuma-chan!" Rinne interjected, somewhat sad at the idea of Mayoi putting herself down. He knew she seemed to view herself as subhuman, but it upset him to think of, because she was so talented and pretty… Niki and Hiiro loved her lots, so he knew she must be a really good person, even if the two of them weren't that close yet. Rinne had hoped they'd get to spend some time together, but Mayoi never seemed to be easy to find…
Mayoi just blinked slowly and nodded a bit, trying to accept his words rather than fight him on it. "I'm very glad you enjoy my gift, then… I was worried… I didn't know if you were the type to enjoy plush animals… But Anzu-san told me you were an expert at crane games, and… So, I thought I could make you something that you might win from those…"
"This is a thousand times better than those mass-produced things! Really, thank you, Kuma-chan." Rinne gently took her hand, looking at her expression to ensure she didn't look frightened, then pressed a little but shockingly loving kiss to the lacy glove that kept her hand safe. Her cheeks turned pink, something that was very noticeable against her nearly white skin, but Rinne didn't pick on her for it like he might with Hiyori or Niki.
"I'm gonna go back to the party and leave ya to your own devices, 'kay? But come and get me, or bug Niki or something, if you need anything! Rinne-kun will tend to all of his guests with lots of care, especially the real pretty ones~!"
Mayoi only nodded timidly, offering a slightly awkward smile and waving as Rinne headed back to the crowd, sitting beside Madara again. The brunette looked up with a large grin, slinging an arm over Rinne's shoulder and holding him close.
"Real good ta see ya again, Rinne-chan! Happy birthday, what'cha got there?"
"A li'l toy Ku- Eh, Mayoi-chan made for me! Isn't it real well made? I can tell she put all her love for Rinne-kun into this!"
"It does look real lovingly made, aye! Wonder if I could get her ta teach Mama how ta crochet, I only know how ta sew fer now… Anyway, anything Mama can do fer the birthday boy?"
"Nah, I've said hello and thanks to basically all the guests, so I'm gonna relax here for a minute and if anyone wants a piece of me, they can come get me! I'm sitting smack in the middle of the room, so…"
Reclining slightly and bringing Madara down with him, Rinne felt his muscles release a tension he didn't know they held, exhaling softly in relief.
"So, got any fun stories for me, Mam?"
"Mm… Kohaku-kun an' I went shoppin' fer clothes the other day, got a real good deal on some new boots– actually, I'm wearin' a pair now, whaddaya think? They suit me?" Madara lifted his jeans slightly and revealed some clean, dark brown cowboy boots, patterned with all sorts of elegant spirals and whatnot. Rinne nodded in approval, touching them to see if they were genuine leather or anything. They weren't, but animal cruelty didn't seem Madara's style, so that made sense as well as making Rinne happy.
"They look good! Makes me jealous, wish I didn't spend all my money so fast… Got a bit of a gambling problem, so I don't buy new shit too often, unless Niki or Hiyori-chan lends me some money. One expects me to pay him back though, and the other doesn't, so I feel bad either way! Gotta learn to keep my own money!"
"I see… Mama used ta know some people like that, maybe he could reach out an' ask if they got any tips fer recovery? If ya think it's impactin' yer life a lot."
"Maybe." Rinne looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully, then over at Madara. His expression seemed to be one of genuine concern, so Rinne felt like he wasn't being mocked for his issues. It was nice to be understood, even if Madara personally couldn't sympathize with it.
"I appreciate the offer. I'll let'cha know if I want to take you up on it, yeah?"
"Sounds fine ta me!"
Rinne was going to open his mouth to make some more pleasant conversation when Hiyori's voice rung out over the commotion, loud as ever.
"Hello, hello everyone! Thank you for gathering here today!"
Silence slowly fell over the room, and all eyes turned to look at the noble. He stood with a wine glass in hand, and clinked a plastic fork against it.
"Now, I believe it's time for gifts, and then cake-cutting, don't you think? So, if we could all gather around the birthday boy… I'll have Jun-kun bring his gifts over, so everyone just go sit by Rinne!"
A few minutes of commotion passed as everyone gathered and Jun brought over the small pile of presents, dumping them all before Rinne. There were already a bunch of chairs by the makeshift stage, but enough were brought over for everyone to sit and watch Rinne open his gifts.
Once everyone was seated, the redhead smiled out into the sea of friendly faces, touched by their presences. He didn't know how many people were actually invited and how many simply showed up out of something akin to affection for him, but he'd like to think even those invited weren't just there out of obligation.
"Well, uh– I guess I'll start now, then! I wanna show this one off, I was given it early and I opened it then-" He held up the bear from Mayoi, and the group went ooh and ahh, some even clapping lightly. Mayoi looked flustered, sitting at the back of the group, directing her gaze elsewhere. "Mayoi-chan made this, it's real cute! So I hope the rest of my gifts are gonna live up to her super high bar!"
The next half hour or so was spent opening gifts and commenting on them. Among the gifts were a suit from Ibara, that came with a pocket square embroidered with Crazy:B's honeycomb logo; a board game from the ASOBI club, which apparently Yuuta was instructed to deliver but had decided not to; and some international sweets from Niki, namely American ones, that seemed very novelty-ish and Rinne knew he'd have to share them; a CD from Madara, with a recorded version of his Crazy Anthem cover with and without vocals; and a signed 2wink t-shirt from Hina ( and Yuuta, apparently ). Rinne loved to wear merchandise from his loved ones' units, and often sported an ALKALOID embroidered jacket, or an Eden pair of socks, as well as his own unit's t-shirts and whatnot.
There was also a custom made bee-themed deck of cards from Arashi, or rather all of RhyLin ( though she had said that it was likely Rei came up with the idea, and strong-armed Keito into making it real ); a mer-fox plush from Kanata, which he said was custom made as well, due to Rinne's fondness for animals primarily extending to land animals; a scrapbook from Hiiro, which Rinne imagined must have taken immeasurable effort to get mementos from their childhood, and allegedly Kohaku had assisted with this; and finally, Hiyori's gift, a beautiful silver ring that would blend in nicely with Rinne's everyday jewelry. He slipped it on almost immediately and gave his dormmate a kiss on the cheek, as he had done with Niki upon receiving his gift as well.
"Thank you again, everyone, for coming to my party and bringing such great presents. I didn't really expect a lot… I know a lotta people aren't my biggest fans since my arrival here, and all the problems I've caused, but I'm glad to have a bunch of friends that understand I'm not a bad guy! I wanna really thank Hiyori-chan and Niki, my princess and my personal chef, for arranging the party and cooking for it. I love ya both, thanks for everything. I'm super excited to taste Niki's cake, 'cause he doesn't bake much! So I'll stop being sappy, and we can all have some cake!"
Everyone clapped and some people cheered for Rinne's little speech. It was mostly Hiyori, Hina, and Arashi that seemed to be cheering, but Rinne didn't mind who cheered as long as they knew he was being genuine. Truly, he was touched by the affection from everyone. He had thought for so long that he must have done something to become irredeemable at some point in his life, or to deserve the hardships he'd had thrown at him, but since coming to Starmony he'd made some good and irreplaceable friends. Glancing at Niki, the gray-haired man nodded a bit, heading to the table where the cake sat and calling everyone over.
The group migrated, and Rinne hummed as he went to the front of the line, standing with his hands clasped innocently behind his back. "What'cha got for me, Niki?"
"Chocolate! It's rich and delicious, Kohakun helped with the icing, see? He did pretty good! My talent is making the food, I'm not as good at decorating, so I let him lend a hand." The cake looked moist and very chocolatey, and in black icing on the top was Happy Birthday Rinne, with Don't Die This Year written beneath it in smaller text. Upon reading that, the redhead could only laugh, prompting a playful sigh from Niki.
"I tried to get him not to write it, but he insisted you would find it funny, so I let him keep it."
"He was right! Kohaku-chan knows his leader real well, kyahaha! I think my unit should be first for a slice, then Hiiro, Kanacchi and Hiyorin, then it can be a free-for-all!"
Niki nodded, cutting the cake up into as many pieces as he could without sacrificing the ability to have decently sized slices, and put one onto a plate for Rinne. The older man took a gleeful bite, looking extremely pleased, then reached over and kissed Niki deeply without even finishing his mouthful. Most people might find it gross, but Niki didn't mind at all, despite being slightly caught off guard by the sudden kiss. He took as much of the cake as he could, earning a pinch from Rinne, who only released the kiss a few seconds later.
"Greedy Niki! You want the cake so bad you'll eat it outta my mouth?"
Niki only made a noise of protest as he finished swallowing his mouthful, but Rinne didn't let him defend himself. "I'll be sure to let ya have lots of cake later, 'kay~?"
"Gross. Shut up and serve the cake." Kohaku interjected, suddenly standing beside Rinne and reaching up to slap him across the head. Himeru laughed on Rinne's other side, and Niki just snorted as he served cake to everyone else.
"Sure, sure, jeez… No pleasing some people. Anyway, let them eat cake, or whatever that French woman said!" Rinne exclaimed, turning to the group and throwing his arms up. There were excited cheers from the younger guests, while the older ones mostly made excited small talk while they waited for the line to dissipate.
After about four hours or so had passed, everyone was quite content with the party, and the majority of the guests had left. Niki, Hiyori, Ibara, and Kanata were the only ones remaining, as most people either had school or other obligations to tend to, or generally didn't want to overstay. Himeru had opted to go home early, walking Kohaku and Jun most of the way back to the Reimei dorms, before coming back to Starmony for the night.
"Right, so… I guess we should go back to our dorm, yeah? Niki, you wanna stay with us tonight? You can sleep with me, obviously!"
Niki rolled his eyes, but nodded. "Sure, I'm kinda tired anyway. We can put on a movie or something, is that okay with you two?"
"I don't mind… Perhaps an ocean documentary would be nice to set us in a calm mood… We can 'puka puka' along with the fishies…~"
"Yepyep, sounds alright to me!"
"I'll finish my work for tonight before I go back to my dorm, too! There's hardly any point in leaving to finish it there, so–"
"Come on, take a break for the night! CosPro isn't gonna burn to the ground overnight if ya leave some work undone." Rinne chided, slinging a friendly arm over Ibara's shoulders. The younger man just ducked and shrugged it off, prompting a small laugh from everyone else.
"You don't know that, but I appreciate the concern. You sound like His Excellency Nagisa!"
"Nagi-san's real smart, I'd listen to him if I were you! But I can't stop ya, vice prez snakeyboy, do what ya wanna." Rinne waved dismissively, patting Ibara's head. With each pat Ibara did… Something akin to a flinch, but not out of fear, maybe instead because he was unused to the touch. Either way, Rinne noticed and withdrew before long, shrugging a little and turning to the others.
"Thanks for helping and coming to the party, vice prez! Maybe I'll help plan your next bi-"
"No thank you! The offer is very kind, but Amagi-shi is a busy man. Go on, go to your dorm, get out of my office now! Please and thank you!" Ibara sounded mildly at his wit's end, earning a snort from Rinne, who just wrapped an arm around Niki and Hiyori's waists.
"'Kay, okay! Don't worry about it, then. We'll get outta your hair. Don't stay up too late, you're still a minor!"
Ibara could be heard cursing quietly under his breath by Hiyori only, who was well used to such a sound, and fought off a smile at the mild frustration. Ibara was out of his element in genuine social interactions that couldn't be maneuvered in a business way, so watching him speak with Rinne was always a delight.
Kanata led the way as Rinne walked with his boyfriend and 'friend'/other dormmate in his grip, excited to spend further time with them once they got back. It had been an amazing birthday party, and sounded like it would only get better, spending the rest of the evening with some of his favorite people. He'd forgotten to grab all of his presents, but it wasn't like he wouldn't come back to the building in the morning, so Ibara didn't see a reason to call him back. Just letting him leave would be easiest for now, especially when he seemed to give off such an excited energy.
"I love all of you guys a lot, by the way."
"I love you too, Chief…~"
"I love you too, you menace."
"And of course, I love you more, Rinne!" Hiyori chirped, not fully serious, and mostly referring to 'more' than Kanata.
"Yeah, Hiyori-kun can have that. He loves you more."
"Eh?! Niki, you bastard, you're my boyfriend, don't let my dormmate say he loves me more than you!"
"Ahh– I was joking, I was joking, please let go of my hair–!!"