Work Text:
It was a week before their birthday. Yuichiro had noticed Mui hiding something recently. When Yuichiro would come back from selling enough wood, Mui would hide something quickly behind his back. Yesterday night, Yuichiro awoke to Mui getting some water and noticed how he went to his usual corner looking at something for a moment then going back to his futon.
Yuichiro couldn’t ignore the fact that he was actually kinda happy, maybe bashful at the fact that he knows Mui is making him a gift. It’s typical of him. But he doesn’t have anything for him. They haven’t been talking recently and Yuichiro has been an asshole to him ever since their parents died yet Mui is still thinking of him.
Yuichiro is walking, carrying wood. It’s causing his back to hurt but he ignores it, as usual.
That’s when he comes across a food stand selling furofuki daikon. That’s it! He’ll make some for Mui. It’s his favourite food. He’ll surely love it!
____
It’s now early in the morning; the day of their birthday. Like 5:00am. Mui gets up at 7:10 exactly every morning. So he’ll make the daikon which usually takes 30 minutes to an hour and then he’ll go and do his usual routine.
He gets up and starts making Mui’s favourite exactly how he likes it which isn’t hard. He knows Mui like the back of his hand.
After he finishes he puts a little happy birthday thing around the chopsticks and walks out to start his usual routine.
1.Take down trees.
2.cut up the wood
3.organise the ones they keep vs what they sell.
4.They get everything to bring to town
It’s 7:30am by the time he’s tired and needs some water. He enters the house to find Mui in his corner. He’s eating the daikon with a smile on his face. And when his eyes catch Yuichiro’s, Yuichiro can practically see he’s about to burst with happiness. Yuichiro then follows the way Mui’s eyes lead over to Yuichiro’s futon. Right there is a knitted cat. His favourite animal. (Mui’s too. Actually, they share the same everything, not just birthdays. Except the one difference where Mui has freckles and Yuichiro doesn’t and Yuichiro has one red eye and Mui doesn’t)
Yuichiro walks over to the knitted stuffed animal and picks it up. It’s calico. Orange, black, and white. And absolutely adorable. Subconsciously Yuichiro clutches it to his chest as he slowly walks over to Mui sitting beside him.
“Did I at least do a good job making it,” Yuichiro says, not looking at him.
“You did,” Mui says nonchalantly. “I knitted the stuffed animal the right way, did I?”
“You did.”
They sit there in silence for a minute but Mui breaks it. Yuichiro was silently happy he did.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Happy birthday Yui.”
“Happy birthday Mui.”