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If you had asked Akhiko Shirashi a year ago if anything is possible, chances are he would say no.
It’s not because he didn’t believe that dreams don’t come true, or that wishing upon a star was hopeless wanting, but rather because he didn’t know what he was capable of. He didn’t know what other people; his friends, his family, his classmates, or even his brother saw in him. He didn’t know what parts of him were truly himself, and what parts of him were just another part of his act. An act he put on in front of everyone around him, an act that felt impossible to keep up, an act he could never afford to drop. Although he feels constrained to be the person everyone sees him as- or what he wants everyone to see him as, he knew it was better for his own good to be that way, and to never stray from the path given to him… But was it truly what he wanted?
This “path” is not a path at all, you see. It’s a tight rope that he has to balance on, and a shift or a mistake of any sort will evidently become his downfall, making everything he worked for ending up to have been for nothing at all. He knew every smile, word, action that he took, was being observed by everyone around him, determining whether or not he will manage to carry on his façade for yet another day.
He always felt numb, knowing that there was probably nobody else within arms length of him to be able to comfort him and let him know he is not the only one putting up a rigorous act, day after day, being anyone but his very own self, because he knew the truth. He knew that being himself was not enough, and it never would be enough. So instead of being himself, he decided to become someone else. He doesn’t recognize himself that often, being the center of attention, having the spotlight on him, saying things that he doesn’t actually want to say. Every day for him was another day he lived surviving, trying to stay afloat, and keeping himself in check.
But, he realized that maybe, just maybe, that’s not everything he has to live for. Because the very face he thought would become his worse nightmare, his downfall, was the very thing he learned to cherish and love dearly. The person he was supposed to go to war against in front of everyone else who cheered him on while not truly knowing him, was the person that made him realize that his true self was even more special than the person he showed everyone else. This person was the person who showed him that there was more to his life than achieving his goals to please others and showed him that the people that loved and supported him unconditionally. The moments that we live through without really taking note of them until it’s too late, are the most beautiful things in this life. That these are the gifts that we get to experience and embrace with our spirits, things that we should hold on to dearly without taking them for granted. One single person had managed to show him this and so much more. His name was Harumi Kurose.
They both got along very well, fitting together like pieces of a puzzle, both of them a part of a whole. They both managed to fill the voids in their hearts that had been created from their own experiences in life, even if it only filled it for a little. They lived like they were in a completely different world, one where their anxiety and fears would not be able to posses them, a world where they could be themselves without wondering whether or not they will be judged, a world where they would laugh freely and release their tension, without any consequence. For what was a hang out for a couple of friends, was a serene escape for them. And while they got to escape from all of their problems, Aki found himself with yet a new problem. He got feelings for his friend.
He didn’t know what it was (if it was the way the setting sun made Harumi’s hair pinker, his cheeks colored warmly by the sky, his eyes releasing a glint from the giant star that made daytime possible, or if it was the way the moonlight would illuminate his face to a pale blue, and darken the shadows to make him seem colder than he actually was, his smile was still brighter than the moon itself), but it made Aki’s heart flutter like a hummingbird, his stomach tingle with butterflies, and it made his cheeks slightly warmer, no matter how cold it was outside. He felt some sort of energy surge inside him, like a spark hiding within his heart that’s about to be lit that didn’t actually exist, as if it wasn’t actually there, but it was. In some lingering moments, he felt like time slowed down, the trees moved to the wind slower, the birds flying with ease, the sounds around him becoming a gentle hum. All this and more, because of the boy he walked home with almost everyday at some point.
The fact that this person walked into his life at the right moment made him suspicious, wondering if this was some sort of trick fate had played on him only for all of it to come falling down on him at some point. He didn’t want to count on the hope that his life will stay like this, and that the moment he lets his guard down, he will lose everything. To one, this would be a miracle from the universe itself, but to Aki, this was just far to good to be true.
That was until he learned the thing that he needed to know the most: That when all fails and he feels like he will lose everything, he won’t ever be alone. He has people who will support him, and he knows that he is so much more than what he deems himself to be, and so much more than what he shows to the world. If it had been up to Harumi, he would show everyone to the real Akhiko Shirashi is and how amazing of a human being he is, and he knew that everyone would still love him for it.
So, no matter what happens next, Akhiko Shirashi knows he is not alone, and that he doesn’t need to show anyone that he is an honest and hardworking person, because there is nothing he needs to prove to anyone at Suisha or Higasa, and he has nothing to hide.
If you asked Akihko Shirashi today if anything is possible, he’d say it definitely is.
…
“Think about it,” Harumi said as he was blowing up balloons in the living room while Aki cooked in the kitchen.
He glanced up from the pot he was stirring and groaned, “I don’t want to think about it.”
“You probably are thinking about it. Anyways, if you’re age is counted when you are born, then that means your age was negative in the womb.”
Aki rubbed his temples, unfortunately thinking about it to find a logical answer to comfort himself, “Harumi, shut up”
A red solo cup hit is head as a response. How it hit him perfectly(Harumi was specifically aiming for his head), we shall never know.
“Also, while you’re at it, can you come over here and see if this tastes good so far?”
“Can I taste you?”
Aki turned around in slight shock, “What?”
“Hm?” Harumi looked at Aki with a shit eating grin, as if he was saying you heard wrong… or did you?
Aki rolled his eyes and laughed, beckoning Harumi over “Come on, I need a taste tester.”
Harumi walked over, attempting yet failing miserably to hide his excitement for getting to try the food.
Aki put the spoon into the pot and scooped out a small amount of the delicacy that simmered inside. He blew the spoon carefully, making sure not to let any fall. He gave it to Harumi, who held the spoon slightly less carefully, but took a small taste.
His eyes lit up, trying some more, “This is really good!”
Aki watched him in surprise, “Does it need salt or anything?”
Harumi hummed, “Well, now that you mention it, this is missing a little something.” He leaned in closer to Aki, “Maybe it needs a little love.” He leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lips.
Aki snatched the spoon away, red faced and all, “You little–”
Harumi grinned once again, “You know what, you do taste better.”
“Get out of the kitchen before I throw this spoon at you.” He said as he ushered his misbehaving taste tester out of the kitchen.
“Wait– this is my kitchen though.”
“Not anymore.” Aki huffed as he went back to tending to the food.
Harumi chuckled and went back to blowing the balloons scattered across the floor in the livingroom.
As he attempted to tie a balloon and watching it fly around the room deflating for the nth time that day, he heard a knock on the door.
Aki looked up from the stove in excitement, “Ooh, it must be Ueno and Yamamoto!”
Earlier that week, Mari and Ryouhei agreed to to be in charge of bringing streamers and confetti to Harumi’s place. They had said they were on their way a while ago, so Aki assumed it must be them.
Harumi walked over and opened the door, only to be greeting their guest with, “Hey big sis.”
Aki almost hissed when he heard the familiar voice of his sister, “Bunny, where you?”
He heard the door close while Harumi said, “Oh, chef bun bun is in the kitchen preparing the food. He kicked me out already, I think he’s grumpy today.”
He turned around to be greeted with the two of them smirking with their evil cat faces (>:3) as they watched him over the counter. He grimaced, “Chef bun bun? Find someone else to nickname!”
They both began to giggle simultaneously as he glared at them with a dramatic pout. He knew that ever since his sister and Harumi met, he knew they would become a very troublesome duo (for him specifically) and tries to keep them from being in the same room for the sake of his own sanity, but that’s not working very well.
Harumi finally spoke up, his face red from the laughing, “But–” he began to laugh again before fully maintaining his composure, “My little bunny chef is so cute that it suits him so well~”
Aki felt his face heating up again and screamed, “No, no, no! Not you with your stupid voice right now!”
His grin became wider, and he leaned into his ear, “You know you like it~”
That’s when Aki bonked Harumi on the head with the wooden spoon, “Get away from the kitchen!” He watched him and his sister (he’s decided they’re not related for the next thirty minutes) laughing their asses off at Harumi’s successful attempt of flustering Aki.
Once he decided they had their fun, he coughed loudly to get their attention, “Jokes aside, why are you here?”
Akemi lifted up two paper bags from the ground, “I got more supplies for you guys.” She gave Aki one bag, which had more ingredients for the food he was making, “I also got Harumi more balloons.”
Aki groaned at that, “Why?”
Harumi has a strange obsession with balloons, which Aki tried to stop him from getting 30 packs of them just the day before, but he still got his way in the end.
He took the bag from Akemi innocently, grinning as he cooed a “Thank you~”
She looked around and shook her head, “Oh nonono, you cannot finish these alone.” She walked over to the couch and grabbed a balloon that was peeking out from the plastic bag. She stretched it out once, twice, three times. Then, she huffed loud breaths as she made a good size for it. She finished tying it with ease, her fingers quick and nimble as she did it, making the balloon in less than half a minute.
Harumi only gawked. He successfully produced one balloon every two minutes (he cannot tie them), and he had only gotten through two of the fifteen bags that they had (not including the ones Akemi bought).
She tossed it aside and threw a deflated one at Harumi, “You blow them up, I tie.”
He nodded and got to work.
Aki selected the ingredients he needed and grabbed a bowl. Not only was he cooking a meal, he also wanted to make a cake from scratch.
He had most of the main ingredients that he had brought from home, he just needed the vanilla extract for the cake, as well as some sugar (Harumi doesn’t have anything in his kitchen that isn’t ramen or eggs (but hey there’s eggs)).
As he finished pouring the mixture into the cake pans and putting them into the oven, Harumi and Akemi had already gone through three more bags of balloons and were more than halfway through the fourth.
They all perked up when the doorbell rang, and Harumi looked through the peephole, he yelled out, “It’s Euno and Yamamoto!” And opened the door.
Shortly afterwards, there were loud footsteps and Mari was running in, confetti poppers in one hand and streamers in the other, “Who called for Mari??”
Akemi smiled and put her hands on her hips, “Now that’s a good vibe”
Yamamoto walked in with bags in his hands with Kazuki following from behind, “We went to see if Akemi had come here yet, and we realized she hadn’t brought him along.”
Aki’s little brother bolted into the living room in excitement, “Can I help with the balloons?”
Harumi chuckled and ruffled his hair, “Sure kiddo, let’s do these ones first.”
Mari noticed them blowing up balloons and decided to help Akemi out by tying them up afterwards too.
Yamamoto went into the kitchen and began to clean Aki’s mess as he cooked. As the six of them were bustling and working on the apartment, hanging up decorations, tying up balloons to chairs and doors, taping streamers to hang from the ceiling, folding paper flowers, tying up ribbon bows, setting up the coffee table.
They weren’t even halfway through when they heard pounding on the door. Aki yelped and jumped almost a foot above the ground. Before Harumi could react, Mari practically teleported to the door and opened it. Then the iconically rowdy duo of Ono and Furuta barged in with even more bags in their hands (what else could they be missing??) as Ono bellowed, “It’s game time!”
Furuta bonked him on the head with a roll of toilet paper (there’s so much wrong with this scene) in response, “Nobody needs to know that! Let’s just help out first you goon.”
They found some decorations lying around and began to assist setting up. While everyone was completing the decorations, Aki was applying the buttercream onto the cake, putting it between the layers of each gap evenly and surrounding the surface of the cold bread with cloud white, smoothing it out until it was nearly flawless. Then, he added blue stars out of frosting for some color surrounding the bottom and top of the cake, creating pink flowers around it. Then he wrote on the cake with red, and once he was done, everyone had gathered around to see the finished product.
They all peered at the cake in awe, amazement glowing in their eyes as if they were looking at a masterpiece (and to be fair they literally were) and they all carefully carried the cake to the center of the coffee table, where there was food that Aki had devoted an entire seven hours to make. As they all looked over Harumi’s apartment, Aki felt an arm wrapped around him, he looked up at Harumi and smiled. This point in his life may have never been possible if it wasn’t for him, and he was so grateful for it.
He looked around and enjoyed the scene in front of him; Akemi has Kazuki in a playful bear hug as he ruffled his hair while he laughed, Yamamoto behind Mari and being hugged, his chin resting on her head, Ono and Furuta jumping up and down side by side excitedly, and lastly, him and Harumi looking at each other, his arm wrapped around his shoulder.
Then they got to the last part: getting dressed for the occasion.
They decided to take turns in the bathroom and in Harumi’s room. They had either brought their clothes along or were already dressed. Aki of course was in desperate need of a shower and an outfit change, as he had been running around all day in the kitchen.
He came out wearing a white button up with gray plaid pants, wearing a tan long coat with it. Harumi was wearing a white T-shirt with baggy camo pants. Akemi and Kazuki were wearing T-shirts with khaki trousers. Yamamoto wore a polo shirt and black pants while Mari wore a white blouse with a navy blue skirt. Ono was wearing his track jersey over a shirt with dark blue sweats. Furuta was wearing a pastel orange v-neck sweater with a white button up underneath with jeans. (TLDR: Let’s just say they all looked fire that day.)
They grabbed confetti poppers, squeaky chickens, and bright colored party hats as they awaited his ultimate arrival, the one they spent all day preparing for.
A short amount of time later, they heard a muffled voice outside the apartment door. They all panicked and went to hide, Aki and Harumi hid in the kitchen, Mari and Akemi hid behind the couch, Kazuki hid under the coffee table (how the hell did he down there in the first place?!), Yamamoto wasn’t able to find a hiding spot so he crouched behind the coffee table, his head still visible. Furuta stood on one side of the door, and Ono insisted (god knows why) to hide in the bathroom.
While they waited for him to enter (they had told him beforehand that the door was unlocked), Aki and Harumi were grinning nervously as the moment stretched out. Their eyes were locked on each other and as the seconds passed, they stopped laughing, instead gazing lovingly at one another. Aki’s eyes lingered on Harumi’s lips faintly, and before he could look away, he felt them land on his softly. It was so tranquil and sweet, he never wanted this moment to end. However, he knew that he won’t be disappointed when it does end, because it leaves an opportunity for another moment to begin. They pulled apart and smiled at each other, grateful for the solace they give one another.
Then, time left his grasp as easily as it came, but he was glad. Because he was here.
“Hello..?” Jay called out timidly as the door opened slowly.
Aki looked back at Harumi, and he only nodded.
1…
2…
3…!
Everyone emerged from their hiding spots, setting off the confetti as they all yelled out, “Happy Birthday!”