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It was 11:55 p.m. when the doorbell rang.
Not just a polite ding-dong, either—one short, sharp press that jolted Bachira out of the warm haze of half-dreams.
He blinked against the darkness of his apartment, the glow from the digital clock on his nightstand stabbing at his sleepy eyes. Who the hell…?
Dragging himself off the couch, he padded barefoot to the door, rubbing at his face. The bell hadn’t sounded again, which somehow made it worse—like whoever was out there was waiting.
He unlocked the door, and there he was.
Rin Itoshi, standing in the hallway like it was the most natural thing in the world to show up at this hour, dressed in a plain hoodie and sweatpants, hair slightly damp as if he’d just showered. One hand held a plain cardboard box, the other a small black gift bag with silver tissue paper peeking out.
Bachira’s brain was still booting up. “…Rin-chan?” he mumbled, voice rough from sleep. “You know it’s almost midnight, right?”
Rin didn’t answer right away—just gave him that unreadable look, like he was sizing up whether Bachira was awake enough to process whatever was about to happen.
Finally, he shifted the box in his arms.
“Am I gonna be let in or what?”
Bachira’s expression softened, his mouth quirking in a small, sleepy smile as he stepped aside, rubbing at his eyes. Rin brushed past him without a word, the faint scent of soap and rain clinging to his hoodie.
Rin took off his shoes without using his hands, rubbing them together heel to toe until they slid free. He straightened, glancing around the dim apartment like he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to exist here.
“Wait—” Bachira’s voice was still scratchy, but lighter now. “You can go to my room, okay? I just need to grab my blanket from the couch.”
Rin didn’t respond, but his eyes lingered on Bachira for a beat before he nodded and moved toward the short hallway.
Bachira turned back toward the couch, scooping up the crumpled blanket he’d been wrapped in earlier. He could still feel the weight of sleep tugging at him, the edges of his thoughts fuzzy. This was weird, right? Rin, showing up unannounced in the middle of the night, with a box and a gift bag. But somehow… it didn’t feel bad-weird.
When he padded into his bedroom, Rin was already sitting at the edge of the bed, box resting neatly beside him, gift bag still dangling from one hand. He looked strangely… still. Like the moment was balanced on a thread.
“Didn’t think you’d actually be awake enough to open the door,” Rin said finally, voice low.
Bachira shrugged, curling the blanket around his shoulders before sitting cross-legged across from him. “Guess I’m lucky you didn’t just break in.”
Rin ignored the jab, setting the gift bag between them—taking his phone out of his pocket and clicking it open to check the time.
“You’ve got three minutes till your birthday. I just uh, figured you shouldn’t spend it alone.”
He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, placing the box he was holding on his boyfriend’s nightstand
Something in Bachira’s chest squeezed, sudden and unsteady. He searched Rin’s face for the usual teasing edge, but there wasn’t one—just quiet sincerity under the dim light.
Bachira moved Rin’s gift bag from in-between them and jumped into Rin’s arms, tears welling up in his eyes the Rin quickly hugged him back, before he remembered that there was probably a minute till the the older one’s birthday.
He pulled back from the hug, his face slightly breaking as he watched Meguru wipe his eyes. He grabbed the cake box opening it to reveal a small pineapple decorated cake, Rin had requested the baker to make little Chibi versions of themselves on the cake as well—the small black cursive writing stood out the most though having “happy birthday meguru, my love ~ ” Barely squished onto the cake.
Bachira was barely holding back more tears now, squeals coming out of the shorter boy's mouth.
[ 11:59 ]
The candle was already on the cake, so all that’s left is to light it—Rin took a lighter out of his pocket. The tiny flame caught with a click, warm light dancing over the frosting and the little chibi versions of them. Rin leaned forward, shielding the candle with one hand so it wouldn’t flicker out too soon.
The timer on Rin’s phone went off.
( meguru was touched that he even had a timer for his birthday. )
“Happy birthday. Make a wish,” he said, his voice softer than usual—like this moment was something fragile.
Bachira stared at the cake, lips pressing together. He could feel the burn behind his eyes again, and he hated that it was happening in front of Rin, but… he didn’t look away.
He closed his eyes small tears beginning to stream down his face. For once, he didn’t wish for something wild or distant. Not to be the best striker in the world, not to meet his dad again. Just… for this. For more moments like these.
“Meguru? Are you okay?” Itoshi asked with concern,
then the candle’s flame had disappeared in a single breath.
Rin set the lighter down, carefully moving the cake back onto the nightstand before Bachira could accidentally smudge the frosting with his blanket. “You gonna open the other one?” he asked, nodding toward the gift bag.
Bachira’s fingers trembled just a little as he reached for it, pulling out a small, carefully wrapped box. Inside was a simple bracelet, the bracelet itself looked insanely expensive. The clasp was shaped like a tiny dolphin, its tail curling into a loop.
“I noticed you liked.. dolphins,” Rin said, eyes lowering for a moment, scratching the back of his neck pink dusting his cheeks. “I… saw it at a store and just.. I thought you might like to keep it on you.” The words spurred out awkwardly, trying not to shatter his ego.
Bachira looked up, blinking his tears away. “Like… a lucky charm?”
“Something like that.” Rin’s mouth twitched, not quite a smile, but close. “Just… don’t lose it.”
Bachira slipped it onto his wrist instantly, then launched himself at Rin again, nearly knocking him back onto the bed.
“You’re not getting rid of me, Rin-chan,” he mumbled into his shoulder, voice thick but happy now. “Not this birthday, not any birthday.”
“I won’t leave you megs I promise.”
He mumbled, feeling Bachira beginning to sob in his shoulder once again
“Why are you crying? Did you not lik—“
Meguru pressed his lips against Rin’s, cupping his cheeks letting go after a few seconds.
“I LOVE YOU!!! I REALLY LOVE YOU SO MUCH.. fucking hell..” he sobbed hard, Rin ddin’t know how to help. He froze for a split second, Bachira’s words still ringing in his ears like the aftershock of a goal-scoring cheer.
The shorter boy’s hands trembled against his cheeks, his eyes glassy and raw, but his smile—his smile was the kind Rin hadn’t seen in weeks.
“I really… really love you, Rin-chan,” Bachira hiccupped between sobs, as if saying it once wasn’t enough to get the weight of it out. “You don’t even know—no one’s ever done something like this for me before. Not like this. Not when it mattered.”
Rin’s chest tightened. He wanted to say something—anything—but words felt clumsy in his mouth. So instead, he just pulled Bachira in again, arms firm around his back, holding him like maybe that could speak for him better than language ever could.
Meguru’s sobs came in uneven waves against his shoulder, his breathing stuttering. Rin kept his voice low, almost a whisper.
“You matter everyday meguru, not just today..”
Bachira made a small, choked laugh that cracked into another sniffle. “You’re so bad at this,” he mumbled, voice muffled against Rin’s hoodie.
“Yeah,” Rin admitted quietly, one hand moving up to gently comb through his hair. “But I’m not bad at making you happy, yeah?”
They stayed like that for a while, cake forgotten on the nightstand, the only light in the room the faint glow from the candle’s smoke curling in the air. And maybe—just maybe—that was enough for Bachira to feel a little less alone inside his head tonight.