Archive of Our Own

10th May - 10:20 p.m.

Mob knew his birthday was around the corner, but he wasn't exactly pumped about it. He acknowledged the significance of it, he knew why people celebrated birthdays, and why they were deemed a positive event. But he wasn't exactly looking forward to his one, yet he wasn’t dreading it. He never expects or even wants anyone to go out of their way to do something huge for his birthday, it feels like he's burdening them. It was just too much of a hassle to Mob.

Mob was carrying out his nightly ritual of pouring himself a glass of milk before bed (not like it helped him get drowsy, he just wanted to have milk as his final meal [drink?] of the day before sleeping). He didn't exactly know where Dimple was, he'd just assumed that the spirit had gone to sleep. It's not like he even needed sleep, so Mob wasn't quite sure why he did what he did. Mob held a glass in one hand and used the other to open the fridge door, pulling out the milk carton and shutting the door. As he did so, his eyes landed on the rip-away calendar supported by a magnet. More specifically the date circled in red, 12th May . His gaze slowly shifted a few squares back, to the current date. 10th May . Two days. Two days until his birthday.

Mob turned to face the kitchen island, setting his glass down and filling it with milk. Two days to get his thoughts straight and mentally prepare for whatever his friends had in mind for him. He didn't expect anything big, he was just a regular kid, afterall. Maybe one or two “Happy birthday” messages from Tome and Teru, maybe an overtly formal wish from his Shishou. He didn't let himself get too lost in thought. As soon as he finished his beverage and put the glass in the sink, he was off to go to sleep. He dragged his feet, heavy with exhaustion, to his room. His head hung low, forcing him to look at his stupid cat slippers that he got for his last birthday. He smiled to himself, if he had to choose, they were the probably best birthday gift he's gotten. Mob loved all things animals, call him basic if you will, but he loved cats and dogs most.

Dimple, however, had his own plans for tonight, none of which included sleeping. He zipped around the house as soon as Shigeo closed the door behind him. He made sure the kid was asleep, before going off to bother his brother. Ritsu was busy getting ready for bed, putting away all his school materials on his desk and subsequently tucking himself in. Just as he rested his head on his pillow, he heard the annoying all-too-familiar gratingly annoying voice. 

“Hey, kid, d’ya have any plans for Shige’s birthday? Cuz me and Reigen…” The green cloud trailed off, floating around Ritsu’s head irritatingly.

Did Ritsu mention annoying? Yes? No? Doesn't matter- he’ll say it again. Dimple's voice was annoying. 

He didn’t exactly listen to Dimple’s rambling. The mere thought of Dimple and Reigen actually working together to host some event was surprising, to say the least. More importantly, it was destined to fail. Dimple and Reigen being in charge of something wasn’t exactly the formula for success. Instead of letting Dimple continue, Ritsu interjected.

“Of course I’ve plans for his birthday,” He paused and turned his head to lock eyes with the spirit, who had summoned a pair of legs and was now sitting cross-legged in the air staring at him. Ritsu found the sight repulsive. “But I don’t like the idea of you and Reigen collaborating on something. That’s bound to go south. What’d you have in mind, anyway?”

Dimple grew arms just to cross them, narrowing his eyes at the boy. “Well, as I was saying before I was interrupted, me and Reigen were gonna hold a surprise party. All the kid’s friends are gonna be there, Teru, Tome, even Shou.”

That caught Ritsu’s attention. Maybe this wouldn’t be too bad. Despite his initial skepticism, Ritsu changed his mind.

“In that case, maybe we could find a way to.. Merge my plan with yours.”

That statement alone earned a smile from Dimple, getting Ritsu to agree with him on something wasn’t such an easy feat. He gave him an overly dramatic thumbs-up, followed by a corny That’s the spirit! Which earned an eye roll from Ritsu. They both agreed on continuing the discussion the day after, to let Ritsu catch up on sleep.

—

11th May - 3:45 p.m. ,

Mob had just gotten home from school. Shishou had called him at the last minute to say there was no need to come into the office; they weren’t open for business. Mob found it extremely odd, Shishou wouldn’t ever give up a business opportunity. Then again, maybe he was off to spend some time with his friends. Did Shishou even have friends? Maybe he was enjoying alone time- Mob did notice him saving up, anyway. He’d just assumed that they were for a holiday or staycation. Though, it felt like something was off; something was missing but he couldn’t put his finger on it. The house seemed quieter than it was before. It was nice, Mob liked the peace.

Reigen, on the other hand, felt like he was being put through the Lord’s greatest trials. 

“Hey, Reigen, don’t ya reckon that Mob would like that?” Dimple floated in circles around a giant plushie that would take up a quarter of Mob’s room.

“It’s material is too scratchy. He wouldn’t like the feel of it,” Reigen muttered, pushing the shopping cart exasperatedly. That was true, Mob wouldn’t like the texture, but what Reigen didn't mention was buying that would also be like putting a bullet through his wallet. In his cart was a ton of party decorations and novelties, trinkets and tidbits; ribbons, party poppers (not the loud kinds, Reigen knew Mob hated those) and the like. He paused in a snack aisle, placing a hand on his hip as he eyed the options, tapping his chin in thought. Dimple continued to suggest several gifts for Mob that Reigen turned down each time. His eyes landed on a pack of candy.

 “Yo, green thing,” Reigen called out, and Dimple immediately took his place on the top of the blonde’s head. “You think Mob would be willing to try these?” He grabbed the pack, tilting his head upwards in an attempt to look at Dimple. The cloud thought about it for a moment. Mob was always hesitant when it came to trying new things. 

“Maybe, but get some of those other snacks he likes too. Or just order the regular takoyaki, can’t go wrong with the kid and takoyaki.” Reigen hummed in acknowledgement, slipping the candies in his shopping cart. He grabbed other snacks too, a variety of the sweet-salty snacks that Tome liked and the spicy ones that Shou preferred. He was also careful with his selection of beverages, knowing that the kids (plus Serizawa) were choosy with which brand they liked and how carbonated the drinks were. Dimple was off getting miscellaneous items; cups, utensils and napkins, since those were what he was instructed to get. Or, that’s what Reigen assumed. He looked in the cart to find a lot more party hats than he expected. He sighed, but this time it wasn’t from exasperation. It was from amusement that Dimple had specifically chosen a design that screamed Mob. Maybe Dimple wasn’t that unreasonable with what he wanted to purchase. 

7:30 p.m.

Tome and Serizawa were in charge of picking up the cake for Mob. There wasn’t much conversation between the two, it was mostly Tome rambling about anything and everything while the older man listened. She spoke with her hands, their movements emphasizing every little detail. Serizawa found her enthusiasm both exhausting and admirable. How does one have so much energy? If she was going to ramble this much on the way back, Serizawa thought, then he should probably be the one to carry the cake back home. By the time they had gotten to the bakery, the sun was starting to set.

On the way back, Tome caught sight of a gift shop. Her eyes widened, they were practically sparkling. She dragged Serizawa along, justifying her shopping addiction by saying everything they’re about to get is for Mob. Serizawa could feel the money draining out of his wallet. Surely enough, by the time they were done, Serizawa was pretty much broke. Tome, on the other hand, left with boxes on boxes of gifts. 

By the time the clock hit 8, the cake was in the Spirits N’ Such office fridge that was originally for Reigen’s drinks and various other stuff that might need to stay chilled, but Tome had claimed it as her territory.

–

12th May - 7:15 a.m.

Today was the day. Mob pried his eyes open when his mother announced it was time to get up. He lazily sat himself up, rubbing his eyes. It was his birthday, but Mob didn’t feel any different.

He got dressed, brushing his hair hastily and making his way to the dining table for a quick breakfast. He pulls out the chair that was silently agreed to be his seat and notices something on it. He picked the object up- A fountain pen with a small and weirdly intricate illustration of a dog on it’s body. A tag was attached to it’s cap. Mob flipped it, to read what was written. He saw Ritsu’s familiar handwriting in a different gel pen. It was a very simple ‘ From Ritsu, to Nii-san. Happy birthday.’ , and yet Mob felt his mood immediately improve. He placed the pen in his pocket, making a mental note to use it (and very very subtly show it off) during classes. Mob takes his seat, and immediately notices that his breakfast, too, was a gift. Today, instead of the regular cereal, his mom had prepared him blueberry pancakes- his favourite kind. It was such a subtle act, and yet it made him feel so, so appreciated. After a moment of sentimental getting-lost-in-his-own-thoughts, Mob realised he was behind schedule. And so he scarfed down his breakfast, put his dishes away whilst simultaneously slinging his bag over his shoulder. Finally, he got out the door and made his way to school.

Meanwhile, Dimple and Reigen were up early at Spirits N’ Such. They were putting up decorations and bickering about what should go where. Balloons adorned every corner, and streamers hung from the ceiling. The main table had snacks and refreshments on it, they would settle the cake a few minutes before Mob came in.

“No, you idiot. I said you handle the banner, while i call Mob and tell him that we’re ‘back on business’. Don’t you dare mess it up!”

“Don’t get so heated, Reigen! I won’t mess it up!”

3:05 p.m.

It was a normal school day for Mob. A few acquaintances wished him a happy birthday here and there, but it was exhausting all the same. He struggled with Math, barely made it through Science as well as languages, and was overall overwhelmed by everything around him. So it was no surprise that when the school bell rang, Mob was extremely ready to get out of that godforsaken campus. His Shishou had already informed him to come to the office that day, so Mob wasted absolutely no time brisk walking to the office. He arrived at the steps of the building, and the off-putting feeling of how silent everything was washed over him once again. He brushed it off, holding onto the handrail and making his way up the stairs.

Mob stopped right in front  of Spirits N’ Such’s door. He found himself pausing and getting nervous, despite not really knowing why. Hesitantly, he took hold of the doorknob and twisted it. 

The door creaked open- Reigen had forgotten to get the hinges changed. Mob stood in the doorway, utterly confused. The lights were off and there was nobody around, at all. It was silent.

“Shishou?” He called out, taking a few steps into the office. He was about to call out again, when he suddenly got flashbanged by the lights, followed up by the sound of party poppers.

Mob blinked twice, his eyes trying to adjust to the bright light. He watched as confetti started to fall, and when his eyes landed on the squad in front of him. It was as if Mob’s gaze falling upon them was a queue to burst into life. 

“Happy birthday!”

–

Mob was at a slight loss for words. He glanced around the room. Streamers were hung up, and there was a banner stretching out over the table which read ‘ Happy Birfday Birthday, Mob!’ The kid had a billion and one questions racing through his mind at the moment, and was having very mixed feelings about everything at the moment. As if to pull Mob out of his thoughts, Teru jogged up to him and slung an arm around his shoulder, giving him that smile Mob was never able to say no to as he pulled him over to join the group.

As the party unfolded and everyone burst into cheers, Mob felt an overwhelming amount of both gratitude and confusion. His friends (at this point, family members) had really gone above and beyond for his birthday. He didn't fully understand why but that didn't mean he didn't have fun.

They started off with the snacks, as per Tome’s request, followed up by party games (everyone's favourite game of ‘Who could destroy Reigen’s ego the fastest”). Of course, there was a whole separate segment for gift giving. And that was when Mob realised that his friends may be a bit generous when it comes to gifts. And by a bit, he meant that Reigen had wrapped about 7 different gifts just for him. When Reigen saw his initial bewildered, astonished, absolutely flabbergasted look on his disciple’s face, he tried to explain himself with his signature move; ‘bashfully-waving-his-hand-around-while-trying-to-seem-cool-about-spending-all-his-money-on-his-kid ’. To which Mob smiled to himself affectionately and, without thinking twice, caught the older man in a hug. This surprised both of them; neither of them were that fond of physical affection. And Reigen was pretty sure he felt the eyes of everyone else in the office on them. He couldn't care less though, as he stopped his explaining and almost instinctively returned the hug. He wouldn't do this on a normal day but hey, it's Mob he's talking about. Of course he's gonna have to be nicer to his student. 

Finally, the time came for Mob to blow out the candles on his cake. growing up, all the other kids agreed that making a wish before blowing out your candles was stupid. If caught, they'd tell you to grow up, or mock you for simply finding joy in doing so. Mob fell victim to this mindset, he didn't make any wishes during his birthday. He didn't like making wishes in general, honestly. Be it wishing on a shooting star or tossing a coin in a fountain. He didn't like getting his hopes up, but that ended a few years ago. He distinctly remembers wishing for a strong circle of support, people who could understand him. And ever since then, that was his birthday wish.

Today was different. There was no more wishing, he was content with everything. So, Before he blew out his candles, he had one thought in mind;

‘ Thank you.’

It wasn't to anyone specific, he had nobody in mind at all. He blew out his candles and everyone else cheered, Tome immediately asking for his “wish” which prompted Ritsu to pull her away. The rest of the day was spent with laughter, joy and overall everyone enjoying eachothers’ company. 

Mob never expects or even wants anyone to go out of their way to do something huge for his birthday, it feels like he's burdening them. Today had single handedly changed that. Mob left the office not feeling guilty, but content. Happy. 

He doesn't feel like he burdened anyone. 

Everyone was joyful and laughing, having the time of their lives. They weren't burdened.

He felt loved. Mob feels loved.

Maybe those cat slippers weren't the best gift he's received.