Chapter Text
"Thank you for dinner, Tsukasa-kun." Rui hums as they walk into the Tenma household, a now familiar place for him.
"No problem! Now it's time for your gift!" Tsukasa leads Rui up the stairs to his room. Said gift has been kept a secret the entire day, and Rui would be lying if he said he wasn't immensely curious. "Close your eyes first!"
"Oya? Tsukasa-kun must have quite the surprise for me."
"Of course! It's your birthday gift! I'd be a disgrace of a boyfriend if I didn't have one."
"You're already the perfect boyfriend for me, Tsukasa-kun. Gift or no gift." Rui says fondly.
"Hey! None of that; it's your day." Tsukasa pouts and waits for him to close his eyes.
Rui obliges and waits as he hears some ruffling in the room, most likely from Tsukasa’s closet area. His eyes aren't closed for very long until his boyfriend says something.
"Okay, open your eyes!"
Rui does and what greets his vision is Tsukasa Tenma, his beloved boyfriend and best friend, holding up a medium-sized platypus plushie. Its beady eyes stare back at Rui blankly while Tsukasa smiles brightly.
"I started sewing it half a year ago, though I had to ask Shizuku for some tips because I struggled around its beak." Tsukasa says as Rui continues to stand there, frozen. "It's not my best work, because I had to rush it a bit— are you crying!?"
Tsukasa steps forward to check Rui's teary eyes. "Are you okay?? What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, Tsukasa-kun!" Rui hugs him tightly. "I'm so happy!"
Tsukasa relaxes immediately and hugs him with one hand and the plush in the other. "Here," He hands it into Rui's hands. "It's your gift after all.
Rui reluctantly takes it, like he's scared that it'll fall apart in his hold. His eyes widen as the plush fabric touches his skin. It's so incredibly soft and dreamy in his hands…
"I was gonna make it glow in the dark, but the fabric didn't arrive as early as—"
"You were gonna make it glow in the dark?!" Rui gasps excitedly. "You listen to my platypus facts?"
"What wouldn't I!?" Tsukasa proclaims. "As your boyfriend, I have a duty to make you happy and— ack—!"
"Thank you, Tsukasa-kun!!" Rui tackles Tsukasa into his bed. He gives a big kiss on his lips with a giant smile. "I love you so much, and I need to tell you that more!"
"You tell me that plenty of times!" Tsukasa says while giggling. "Do you like your gift?"
"I love it!!" Rui's eyes gleam with excitement and wonder.
Tsukasa kisses his nose gently and sits up. Rui keeps the plush in his arms and lap. "We still need to brush our teeth, y'know?"
"Don't wanna…" Rui mumbles into the platypus.
He sighs and stands up. "I'll be back in a sec."
Rui nods and looks back at the precious creation in his hands. It's so cute, and it's so well-made. He can't help but look straight into its little bead eyes in awe.
A minute later, his boyfriend comes back. "Rui, you have to brush your teeth before we can sleep."
"Okay…" Rui stands with his platypus in his arms.
"You can't bring it with you." Tsukasa says. "It's gonna get wet."
"That's okay; they're semi-aquatic…"
Tsukasa stifles a chuckle. "How about I hold for you if you're so insistent?"
The next scene is very weird because Tsukasa hasn't watched someone watch their teeth since he was a child. He's also never seen the laid-back Rui brush his teeth so fast.
Tsukasa just laughs and pecks the back of Rui's neck. They make the venture back down the hall to Tsukasa’s room. Cuddling in Tsukasa’s single bed is never as easy as they want it to be, but after tangling their limbs together, they make it work.
"Thank you, Tsukasa-kun…" Rui whispers, cuddling both the plush and Tsukasa.
"No problem… did you notice that the underside of its tail has your two blue streaks? I wanted to make it personalized— hey, don't cry again!!"
The next school day, Tsukasa sees Rui arrive with his backpack larger than usual. Which says a lot considering this boy has carried robots and fireworks in there before.
"Rui, what do you have this time?" Tsukasa questions upon his entry to their classroom.
"Nothing, Tsukasa-kun." He says earnestly.
Tsukasa scrutinizes him for five whole seconds before unzipping his bag himself. Rui has no qualms with it at this point.
What greets him is his plush creation taking up eighty percent of Rui's bag. "Told you." Rui's expression turns cheeky.
"Rui, why—" Tsukasa sighs. A part of him wants to give up his hall monitor status sometimes.
"My beloved boyfriend gave it to me."
Tsukasa groans and just takes his seat in front of Rui who is giggling to himself. Later at lunch, they go up to the rooftop with a new fuzzy friend.
As Rui opens his lunch box with the platypus in his lap, he looks longingly at Tsukasa.
His shoulders droop. "You don't love me enough to eat some vegetables?"
His puppy eyes only intensify. "Tsukasa-kunnn—"
"Oh, fine!" Tsukasa grumbles as he reaches over to pick at Rui's lunch. "This is gonna be the rest of my life, isn't it."
Rui presses his face into the soft fur of his new friend, muffling his laughter.
"Have you given it a name yet?" Tsukasa asks casually on a weekend hangout at his house again.
"No, I don't know what to name her. All the names I had before don't fit her personality." Rui murmurs.
Tsukasa laughs to himself. "Did you think about having a pet platypus before?"
"Yes, but I quickly got rid of that thought. I would never dream of keeping a platypus in a less than perfect habitat." Rui's voice stays serious as he pets the soft fur.
Tsukasa snorts and sits beside him, putting his chin on Rui's shoulder. "How'd you find out she's a girl?"
Rui's eyes sparkle. "Male platypuses have a venomous spur on their hind leg while females don't. Males are also bigger, but she can be different."
His boyfriend hums. "Maybe I can make a male version for your next birthday or—"
"What!!" Rui flicks his head to the side so fast, he definitely got whiplash.
"Or Christmas…" Tsukasa just kisses his cheek. "I should probably order than glow in the dark material now, huh?"
Rui's lip trembles, and his mouth opens, yet nothing audible leaves. "I… W-Would you…"
"Don't worry about it, Rui! I take my boyfriend duties very seriously, and that includes giving the best gifts!"
He maintains eye contact for the longest period of his life then giggles into a kiss. Tsukasa isn't immune to his laughter and smiles into the kiss as well.
"I love my Tsukasa-kun…"
"I love you too!!"
A very affectionate (and embarrassing in Tsukasa’s opinion) cuddle session later, Tsukasa goes down to get them some food.
Meanwhile, Rui smushes his face into his platypus friend. He's so incredibly happy whenever he looks at the plushie especially because Tsukasa made it.
The dumbest, giddiest smile graces his features. One day, he'll be able to make it up to Tsukasa for all the happiness this one little gift gave him.