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Chifuyu scans the refrigerated section of the convenience store for the third time. “They don’t have Baji-san’s favorite drink here.”
From somewhere in the aisle behind him, a voice pipes up. “Yeah, they don’t have the chips that Taka-chan likes, either.” Hakkai pops his head out and shrugs. “They’re out of everything!”
It shouldn’t be a surprise that the only Lawson in the area was already running low on stock - they had walked quite a bit to the middle of nowhere. But Chifuyu doesn’t want to come back from their errand empty handed so he pulls his phone out to send Baji a quick text.
Chifuyu: they dont have ur black tea here :(((
Chifuyu: do u want anything else?
He walks over to Hakkai who is probably texting his own Captain a similar SOS. The snack shelves look barren, nearly cleared out of anything name brand.
Hakkai’s message has just finished sending, which gives Chifuyu an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the other boy’s phone before he puts it away.
The image has him doing a double-take as he rushes over, startling his friend by leaning into Hakkai’s personal space, trying to get a better view.
“Your background is Mitsuya-kun?! ” He says a little too loudly, then remembers there’s no one in this store besides them. “Dude, why do you have a picture of him as your phone background?”
Hakkai doesn’t even look offended. If anything, he looks a little confused.
“You don’t…” he hesitantly asks, “you don’t have a photo of Baji-kun as yours?”
“Huh, why would I?”
He gets a long stare from Hakkai as an answer. “I just thought…no, forget I said it.”
“Wait, answer my question!” Chifuyu demands, releasing the taller boy’s arm so that he can finally put away his cellphone.
Now that he’s gotten a good look at it, the photo of Mitsuya isn’t actually too bad. It’s most likely candid, but Hakkai has definitely gotten his good side.
The Second Division Captain looks so serious, focused intensely on something offscreen, his side profile giving off a mature and dependable vibe. It matches everything Hakkai has always bragged about.
“I like looking at Taka-chan,” he admits, “and now I can see Taka-chan’s smile everyday, even if we don’t see each other. It just makes sense, yeah?”
Chifuyu supposes this does make sense.
Not necessarily setting your phone background to Mitsuya, but for setting your background to something you like looking at often.
It was why he had his set to Peke J after all - but there are other things Chifuyu likes to stare at as well.
“Taka-chan is so strong. He’s always taking care of me and others.” He explains. “But I can’t keep letting Taka-chan do that. So looking at him reminds me of my own strength.”
That’s the most Chifuyu has ever heard from Hakkai - was he getting an answer here or some kind of random life coaching? Why does it sound like Hakkai is talking about something else entirely?
Maybe Hakkai was trying to encourage him to change his phone background.
Chifuyu is kinda confused. “Do you think I should set mine to Baji-san then?”
Hakkai gives him a half shrug. “If it reminds you of something important, why not?”
Chifuyu looks down at his own phone.
There are new text messages waiting for him.
Baji: damn
Baji: just gimme half of w/e u get
Baji: thx :)
Chifuyu feels warm inside, despite the cool air condition of the convenience store blasting on them.
For a moment, nothing else exists in this world except for him and the implications of the message on his phone. He’s going to pick the biggest drink they have, so that they can share it for longer. And without a cap, so that they're forced to finish it together instead of bottling it up - like his feelings.
If he picks a cold drink, then he’ll know the warmth of the rim will be from Baji’s mouth. The thought immediately makes him feel exposed.
Chifuyu is overthinking this. He just needs to pick a damn drink. They always share food together, but it’s not often they get to share a beverage. Somehow it feels more like sharing an indirect kiss when there aren't disposable utensils between them.
“It’s weird though, right…” says Chifuyu, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice, “having a picture of another guy on your phone?”
Hakkai gives him another unreadable look, like he’s trying to figure something out.
After a while he breaks eye contact, going back to sort through the chips on the shelves.
Chifuyu thinks he’s being ignored or maybe he said something wrong, but then Hakkai speaks up, his tone deliberate like he was choosing his next words carefully.
“Yeah, a little bit, I guess,” says Hakkai, with a quirk of his mouth. “My sister makes fun of me for it. My brother doesn’t know.” His smile gets softer around the edges. “I think Taka-chan knows, but he doesn’t seem to care. Or at least Taka-chan never told me to change it.”
When Chifuyu doesn’t say anything back, Hakkai bumps his shoulder.
“You don’t gotta tell Baji-kun, if you think he won't like it.” Another nudge. “You can always change it back later, too.”
He’ll think about it.
—
Chifuyu snaps the tab of the can, handing the drink over to Baji so he can have the first sip.
The other boy accepts it with a quick thanks, takes a swig, then hands it back almost immediately. The metal is still cold in all the areas touched by Baji, not that Chifuyu is disappointed or anything.
“Chifuyu, what is this?”
“The label said citrus tea, ” Chifuyu says, taking a sip. Immediately he understands why Baji asked him. “What the hell, this doesn’t taste like citrus at all?” He hurriedly stands up, ready to go running back to the store. “Baji-san, you don’t have to drink this! I’ll go buy another one!”
He’s stopped by the hand on his shoulder as well as loud laughter. “It’s fine, you already bought it, dumbass! Let’s not waste it. I wanted to share a drink with you anyway.”
Baji grabs the can back, taking another sip. “When we’re older, let’s share a real drink, Chifuyu. It’ll probably taste just as bad as this trash.” He says with a grimace. “Actually this might be worse.”
Even with everyone sitting around chatting as a group, the only person Chifuyu notices is the one in front of him. He watches every facial expression Baji makes as he forces the liquid down, watching the way his throat works.
“It’s ok,” says Chifuyu, still admiring his captain. “You make drinking it look cool. I wouldn’t have known it actually tastes like vinegar.”
Baji laughs at that again, droplets spilling from his mouth before he wipes them away with his sleeve. But not before Chifuyu memorizes the wet trail they leave behind.
They take turns trying to finish the tea, but somehow the drink never seems to get empty. It can’t just be Chifuyu’s imagination that they’re prolonging the end. Because the taste really is awful.
“Taka-chan, these chips are so salty!”
Hakkai offers to find a different store so that Mitsuya can eat something he actually enjoys. But he gets pulled back down into his spot next to his captain again. “Eh, it’s Peh-yan’s turn to run errands anyway.”
Pah speaks up for him, “Hey don’t just go around bossing other people’s Vice Captains!”
“Yeah! Pah-chin’s brain is so small, that’s why he doesn’t have a lot of orders in there!” Peh complains, waving his arms around. “Don’t go filling his head with more! I’m the one that has to do them, see?”
“Just make Chifuyu do it, he’s the fastest one here.”
“Hey, what was that about bossing other people’s teams around?” Baji snaps back.
“Man, don’t give me that! Don’t you boss Hakkai around all the time? He’s not even in your division, Baji!”
Chifuyu doesn’t want another fight to break out and he honestly thinks a walk might clear his head. He keeps drinking but he feels so thirsty staring at Baji.
“It’s fine! I’ll be right back!”
Baji gives him a weird look, but he’s already on his way. They’ve been forcing themselves to share a drink that neither of them want to finish.
The rest of the group yells their orders and gratitude to his retreating back. But as he rounds the corner, he hears footsteps catching up to him.
“Chifuyu, I’ll go with you.”
He’s thrilled to see Baji running up beside him. “Sorry about that.” Baji says, while not actually looking too bothered about it. “Having you go on another errand again, just because everyone there is slow as hell. They’re so fucking annoying.”
Before long, they’re almost at the store. The long trek had done absolutely nothing for his head or troubled heart. But he’s still happy Baji decided to walk with him.
It’s at this peaceful moment when they hear noises from an alleyway. Well, it’s Baji who hears it first, since he’s always been in tune with animals around them.
Chifuyu stops mid-stride before he can accidentally run into the protective arm Baji throws out. His other hand is raised with his pointer finger against his lips to signal them to be quiet. Chifuyu takes the cue to follow behind Baji, stepping carefully so that his shoes don’t make any noise on the pavement.
What greets them is a bunch of stray cats.
They're fucking adorable.
Bajij approaches the closest orange tabby, extending his arm in a non-threatening way. Chifuyu watches as Baji slowly crouches down before attempting to make contact.
Chifuyu stops breathing the moment the feline headbutts Baji’s palm. He watches as the cat nuzzles the hand, then sniffs every individual finger, inspecting them for treats.
Chifuyu is too afraid to move, to breathe, to look away.
He wants to stay in this moment forever.
And then he remembers he can, technically, at least capture this moment.
Slowly, so slowly, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone, flipping the screen open in one solid movement and opening his camera app. He discreetly raises his screen until Baji is centered, his side profile looking peaceful as he pets the cat.
His thumb hovers over the shutter button.
Baji doesn’t know he’s going to take his photo.
But it’s ok.
Chifuyu taps his screen.
Actually.
It’s not ok.
Shit .
—
Chifuyu and Hakkai are at the family diner a day later, waiting for their food to arrive at the table. He had called Hakkai out as an emergency, specifically looking to be comforted with kind words and treated with dessert from a fellow comrade.
Unfortunately, Hakkai is doing a terrible job and is the absolute worst friend as he won’t stop laughing at Chifuyu’s misfortune.
“So you tried to get a photo of Baji-kun, huh?”
“Uh-huh.”
“And he didn’t know?”
“Nope.”
“And you were gonna take it…” Hakkai snickers into his hand, “but then a stray cat came and attacked you? In the middle of the photo? Really?”
Chifuyu won’t look at him. He’s miserably laying his head on the table, trying to become one with the surface to avoid any further embarrassment.
“You don’t believe me?” With one hand, Chifuyu struggles to dig his phone out, then slides it across the table to Hakkai with the image gallery already open. “Take a look for yourself, asshole.”
“Holy shit.”
“Yup.”
“This timing is amazing.”
“Yeah, tell me about it.”
“Ok. You could really become a nature photographer, Chifuyu. This shot is incredible. I could see this in a magazine. Or a documentary.”
“I was joking,” he huffs, “Don’t."
Chifuyu accepts his phone back from Hakkai, looking forlornly at the screen.
At least the cat is cute.
—
“When you said we should share a drink when we get older, I didn’t think you meant a few days older, Baji-san.”
Chifuyu could get lost in Baji’s easy going smile, he’s so susceptible to all of Baji’s grand schemes whenever one gets thrown his way.
Which is how they find themselves in the same alleyway again sans any stray cats.
“What, you don’t wanna try it?” Baji holds the beer teasingly out of reach, forcing Chifuyu to lean into his space to grab it back. “Don’t be a smartass, Chifuyu. Let’s just try one.”
He says this despite bringing a whole six-pack with him.
Chifuyu doesn’t call him out on it, instead he says, “You know if we waited like a couple days, I’d actually be one year older. Not that it makes this any less illegal.”
That earns him a swat on the head for the chiding, which later turns into some unexpected hair ruffling. Chifuyu leans into the touch, much like the kittens had yesterday with Baji.
“My mom won’t notice a couple missing,” says Baji, his hand still threading through Chifuyu’s fringe. “We don’t have to finish these, we can put some back. Or we don’t have to drink them at all if you don’t want to. I just...wanted to share a drink with you.”
Chifuyu offers an easy going smile back. “You sound like an adult when you say it like that.”
“Well, I am older than you.”
“But we’re in the same grade, since you were held back.”
“Don’t get too full of yourself.” The fingers in his hair tighten playfully. This is probably supposed to be his punishment and Chifuyu isn’t supposed to be enjoying this nearly as much as he does - oh god he’s definitely enjoying it way too much. “I’m still ahead of you in every way, don’t forget that. I’m going to become an adult before you do.”
Chifuyu tries to keep his voice from cracking. “Ok then, Baji-san, what do you plan to do as an adult before me?”
“Hmm?” Thankfully, Baji removes his hand, holding it against his chin instead as he thinks. “I’m not really sure. I just know I wanna be strong, strong enough that others can rely on me.”
Finally coming down from his high, Chifuyu processes Baji’s words slowly and says, “Don’t people already rely on you now? You’re the Captain of the First Division.”
Baji shakes his head. “Not like that, I meant more like...”
He cracks open one of the beer cans, jolting when it immediately foams up. They’re both able to scramble out of the way as most of it spills on the ground. Baji brings his hand up, slurping the foam running down his fingers.
“You probably shook it on your way over,” says Chifuyu, watching his Captain respectfully.
“Yeah, I know.” Baji says with his mouth still open, sucking the rest of the overflowing foam from the top of the lid. “But I guess I meant - more like that, you know?” He points to Chifuyu with the beer.
“I’m always relying on you to tell me these things. I don’t wanna keep bothering you in the future.” He transfers the can to his other hand, shaking his wet fingers out. “I wanna be able to make it on my own. Not have to…I dunno, have you or someone always bail me out all the time.”
He hands the slightly damp can over to Chifuyu, which he dutifully takes.
“You guys are always taking the blame for the things I do, and I just - I don’t wanna cause you guys any more trouble, alright?”
Chifuyu swallows the words in his mouth, forcing them back into his heart.
They pass the can in between them until the beer is gone, which doesn’t take long since most of it had evaporated earlier. Baji extracts another two cans this time so they can properly share drinks like adults do.
“I guess we were right. This tastes pretty bad, but not as awful as the tea.”
“Yeah,” agrees Chifuyu. “Not sure how people can just drink this everyday.”
He looks at the rest of the cans in the pack, unsure if he really wants to keep drinking. Although it does feel nice, this sense of companionship, and sharing a drink with Baji. He thinks adulthood might not be that bad.
“Do you think those cats will show up again?” He asks.
“Nah, I guess not. Sorry for bringing you all the way out here.” Baji squints at something in the distance. “Wanna do something else?”
“Like what?”
“You ever set a car on fire before?”
“What?!”
Baji gives him that smile again, the one that could get Chifuyu to do absolutely anything he asks. Which means they’re probably going to set a car on fire. Chifuyu hopes the car won’t belong to anyone important.
He watches as Baji approaches the unfortunate vehicle. The lid gets popped open and the beer gets poured all over the engine compartment. Chifuyu hands over his own can when Baji motions for it, watching the liquid get emptied out too.
“This doesn’t have enough alcohol content to start a fire.” Chifuyu comments, recalling the labels on the back.
“It’s fine, when Kazutora and I did this, we actually just used the gasoline from my bike.”
“Wait, what?”
“I’ll go get some,” says Baji, already leaving.
“No, I mean…” starts Chifuyu, hesitantly, “you did this with Kazutora before?”
Baji chuckles, like he’s thinking of a fond memory.
“Yeah, now that I think about it, that was during Kazutora’s birthday, too.” He looks at Chifuyu with a twinkling gleam in his eyes. “Let’s make it a tradition then.”
Chifuyu isn’t sure how he feels about that.
“I’ll let you pick the car next year, Chifuyu,” he says conversationally, coming back with a match from who knows where, “but for now let’s just settle for this one.”
“What makes you think I wanna do this again next year?” Chifuyu laughs nervously, “I’m not too sure I even wanna do this right now.”
But it’s too late and the car is engulfed in flames before Chifuyu can think back on any more life decisions. At least the fire keeps them warm. But now he doesn’t have an excuse to huddle close to Baji - not that he was going to anyway.
Speaking of being subtle, which was never actually Chifuyu’s forte to begin with, he wants to immortalize this moment forever because Baji’s silhouette against the fire is stunning. He’s vividly reminded of why he chose to follow this man for the rest of his life.
How could someone make arson look so hot .
He waits until Baji is distracted. Chifuyu pretends to check his phone, then snaps a quick shot just as Baji looks back over his shoulder.
His smile is as dazzling as the blazing flames behind him.
—
“HAKKAI!”
When no one comes out right away, he starts banging on the door of the classroom, uncaring that he doesn’t even attend this school.
“Hakkai, you fucking bastard! Come look at this!”
Chifuyu yells with the force of an army, ready to charge into a battle. His confidence is overflowing, he’s assembled a thousand men to fight a battle that’s already been promised victory.
He’s going to make Hakkai eat all his words, and then eat his fucking phone afterwards.
“Chifuyu, what? ”
Hakkai emerges looking very harassed and like he’s going to slam the door on Chifuyu in five seconds. But his annoyed tone doesn’t even faze Chifuyu, he’s in too good of a mood.
“You gotta see this, I’ve got the best shot of Baji-san!” Chifuyu proudly shoves his phone into the other boy’s face.
“Hmmm… what exactly am I looking at?”
“Huh? It’s Baji-san, obviously. What do you mea- oh fuck.”
Chifuyu stares at his phone disappointedly.
“It’s blurry.”
“Oh, that’s Baji-san?” Hakkai asks mockingly, a sneer on his lips. “I couldn’t even tell. Hah, I thought you were just taking a picture of property damage. Gonna turn yourselves into the police later?”
Chifuyu ignores him, frustration spreading into his previously good mood. “Ugh, this is probably from when I caught on fire.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
He waves it off like it’s nothing. “Baji-san wanted to try drinking, but the beer tasted like absolute piss.” Chifuyu explains, trying to remember the details. “So we ended up using it as fuel and we started a car fire, but then the embers got in my hair - it’s, uh it’s a long story. We were also maybe a little drunk.”
Hakkai awkwardly says nothing back.
Chifuyu lets out a deep sigh, feeling completely defeated.
“Alright, time to try again.”
—
He had honestly thought Baji had been too plastered that night to even remember the promises he made about the future, least of all this weekend.
So when Baji drags him out Saturday morning, he’s pleasantly surprised and also incredibly thrilled and nervous and terrified and - actually he might be having a breakdown.
“Baji-san, where are we going?” Chifuyu says out of breath, for more reasons than one. He looks at their clasped hands, Baji tugging him along down the streets with no concern for what it’s currently doing to Chifuyu’s heart rate.
“Shut up, it’s a surprise.” Baji says without answering the question. “A surprise that we’re going to be late for if you don’t hurry up! What the hell, I thought you were a good runner?”
His heart is already running a mile a minute, the rest of him can’t keep up!!!
He’s luckily saved from an answer when they finally stop in front of the karaoke lounge. They’ve been here before, but not just the two of them. Is it going to be the two of them? Should Chifuyu have dressed up more?
Feeling self conscious, he runs his free hand through his hair, trying to straighten out his bangs a bit. Maybe he should tuck his shirt in. At least his accessories are stylish today.
“Is this…” he swallows nervously, “...a date?”
Baji stops in his tracks, “What?”
“Ahaha, forget I said anything Baji-san!”
He lets go of Chifuyu’s hand as if he wasn’t even aware he was holding it - and Chifuyu is able to breathe for the first time since their journey.
“We’re here,” says Baji. “Wait at the front, I’ll go check in on…things.”
One glance at the glass windows of the building tell him that his cheeks are flushed red and it won’t be going down anytime soon. He can hardly blame the cold air or their unexpected run for that.
Some time passes before the receptionist gets a phone call and then waves him over, gesturing to the hallway to the left and holding up four fingers with a smile. Chifuyu nods his understanding, quietly thanking her and then heads down to the fourth room with anticipation.
He’s not sure what he was expecting, perhaps he was hoping for a private room with Baji, but he certainly wasn’t prepared to see the most extravagant disco themed lounge or all the Captains and Vice Captains hiding behind the booth.
“Surprise! ”
Well Chifuyu certainly is - and he’s suddenly pulled into a dozen hugs from all different directions, as well as a couple of heavy claps on his back. His laughter joins everyone else’s as he realizes that he just waltzed into his own surprise birthday party.
“He doesn’t look that surprised,” remarks Nahoya.
“Yeah, he looks like he was expecting something else.” Souya comments, peering at him. “Sorry, are you disappointed, Chifuyu?”
Chifuyu waves their concern off with a chuckle, “No, no. I’m definitely surprised! I’m so glad to see you guys, really!”
He looks around the room and what appears to be gaudy decorations all set up along the expansive room. There are multi-colored lights running up the walls and even along the trims of the ceiling. Some flashing wires with extra bulb lights are converging in the middle to provide power for a spinning disco ball.
“Um, exactly how much did you guys spend on this room?” He asks nervously, hoping that Baji wasn’t the only one who had to splurge.
Mikey speaks up from one of the tables, mouth full of sweets. “Don’t worry about it, Draken knows a guy who knew the owner apparently…” He’s already helping himself to the rest of the snacks, completely uninterested in their guest of honor when there’s food in front of him.
“Hey! Those are for Chifuyu - come on, it’s not your birthday!” Draken throws a punch at Mikey, which he easily dodges.
Baji appears next to Chifuyu’s side, or maybe he was there the whole time but Chifuyu hadn’t noticed because of all the excitement earlier. Baji fist bumps his shoulder, “Let’s sing Judgement together.”
He nods enthusiastically.
“Whoa, no, hold up.” Mike interjects. “That song belongs to me and Ken-chin.”
Baji raises an eyebrow as well as a challenge. “Oh yeah, says who?”
“Says whoever wins this fight.” Mike doesn’t make a move to stand. “Ken-chin, you do it.”
“Chifuyu and I are literally sworn brothers.”
“Ah, Baji-san…you don’t have to keep bringing that up.”
Pah grabs the song booklet off the table. “If you guys are still deciding, we’re gonna do ‘Pride from Despair.’ You put the code in, Peh-yah.”
His Vice Captain is already entering in the digits to the console. “You got it!”
“Taka-chan, let’s sing ‘As Long As You're Happy.’”
“Let’s not,” laughs Mitsuya awkwardly, “Hakkai, you always cry during the “I love you” part.”
Hakkai visibly deflects at the rejection.
Meanwhile, the Kawatas are flipping through the pages of the song catalog.
“Do you wanna sing ‘Disco Queen’ or ‘Heart Break Mermaid?’” Nahoya asks his brother, “Actually you like doing the clapping part better, don’t you?” Souya nods.
Pah and Peh have already started their song, which means everyone has to raise their voices to be heard over the karaoke system.
“Whoever loses this match has to give up ‘Judgment’ and sing ‘24-hour Cinderella’ instead!” Draken declares loudly, already putting his right arm in position on the table.
Baji grins and matches his pose, grasping the other boy’s hand and preparing himself for some old fashion arm wrestling. Chifuyu supposes this is a much less destructive way of settling the dispute. Also this method puts Baji’s biceps on full display.
His joy quickly passes when Baij loses three rounds in a row.
“Fuck, sorry, Chifuyu.”
“It’s alright, Baji-san.”
A tambourine gets passed to him. When he looks at Baji, the other boy is scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
“I lost this one for us, so I’ll sing it. You can just do the voice calls.”
“Sure.” Chifuyu laughs, he won’t complain about that.
“Hey, let’s get some drinks! It’s unlimited soda for the first two hours right?”
“Hakkai, I want a melon soda!”
“Wait, why do I have to do that for you asshole? Angry is closer to the phone!”
“I want one too, Hakkai.”
“Of course, Taka-chan!”
From across the room, Hakkai picks up the service phone to place all their drink orders. When he’s finished, he plops himself back into the booth, pushing Mitsuya between the wall and himself. There isn’t much space since Hakkai is so lanky and the two boys have to shuffle around each other.
The result is that Mitsuya is forced to throw one arm behind their booth, his hand casually hanging on the other side of Hakkai’s shoulder.
Chifuyu makes sure no one is looking, then discreetly shoots Hakkai a thumbs up. His friend's eyes widen and his cheeks turn bright red, even in the dim lighting his coloring is visible.
“Are you having fun?” Baji asks, leaning in closer to him, so that they don’t have to shout over Peh belting his song.
“Yeah, plenty. Did you put this together, Baji-san?”
“I had help from some of the guys,” he says, “but you looked kinda off when you first came in.”
Chifuyu didn’t think he had noticed. “I was just, uh I didn’t really expect everyone else to be here. That’s all!”
Baji looks like he doesn’t buy it. “Would you have wanted it to be just us?”
The question seems too direct.
“If I can spend time with Baji-san, then I don’t mind how I spend it!”
“It’s not about that, it’s about what you want to do.” He explains. “Did you want us to spend your birthday together? Or did you want to spend it with your other friends? With your mom?” Baji sighs. “Am I causing trouble for you again?’
The fact that Baji seems overly concerned about giving Chifuyu the perfect birthday is already a gift in itself. He’s basking in the other boy’s attention. He wants to soak it all up for himself like he’s drowning in it.
But all of that is gone in a second when Baji asks his next question.
“When you asked if this was a date earlier,” he says slowly, “was it because you wanted it to be?”
Chifuyu is going to die.
It’s almost his birthday and he’s going to die, right here, right now.
He’ll never make it to age 13.
“Baji, you’re up! Don’t back out now!”
Actually he’s saved from answering by Draken handing the mic over to them.
Baji doesn’t look too happy, either from having to sing or from having their conversation be interrupted.
Probably both.
He must have been expecting Chifuyu to say yes and then have to reject him right then and there. On his birthday weekend no less.
“Chifuyu, I’ll make up to you.” Baji suddenly says. “Tomorrow, I’ll come over and-”
But then both Mikey and Draken are dragging him away now to the makeshift stage.
“Ok, just the two of us!” Chifuyu, shouts back before he loses his courage.
He didn’t know what was going to happen when Baji came barging into his apartment earlier. He didn’t know what to expect when he was told to get dressed and hop on a motorcycle so suddenly.
But he’s not disappointed at all.
Chifuyu is surrounded by his friends, together on his birthday. Most of them are sharing a drink in his honor. Baji is also currently fighting half of them. He hopes things can stay this way forever.
The sentiment grows when Baji starts singing, going all out on his punishment song for losing to Draken earlier.
It’s too obvious to take a video, although he wishes he could, so he settles for the most blurred, hurried picture ever.
—
“Chifuyu, out of all the photos you showed me,” starts Hakkai, “this one is definitely the worst one.”
He gets his phone handed back to him.
“...yeah.”
__
The next day, Chifuyu thinks he’s going to be spending his birthday alone with Peke J until he gets a text message from his mother.
Mom: Honey I’m running late. There’s dinner in the fridge and I asked Keisuke to pick up the birthday cake for you. Love you!
Well that would explain why the most important person in his life wasn’t here yet.
He clears off the table in front of the tv and starts setting the dining plates for two. After finding the pre-made food in the fridge and heating them up, he grabs the tea kettle to fill it with water.
Over the sound of the faucet, he hears the knock on the door and then a muffled, “Hey, birthday boy! My hands are full so come get your cake!”
Excitedly, he opens the door to see Baji with both hands clutching a birthday cake much too large for three people.
“About damn time, I was gonna eat this cake by myself,” he says, despite not having to wait very long. He passes the pastry box to Chifuyu, mentioning that it probably needs to be refrigerated.
“Your mom asked me to pick this up for you, looks like both our moms are stuck working late tonight.” He toes off his shoes at the entrance and joins Chifuyu in the kitchen. “My mom said happy birthday by the way - she’d say it in person but she’s working retail season. I probably won’t see her until tomorrow, probably.”
“Thanks for coming,” says Chifuyu, secretly excited that he gets to spend time alone with Baji. “I’ve heated up dinner already and we can watch a movie if you want.”
This is what people do on dates right? He’s still not sure if this is a date. They never talked about that conversation at karaoke again.
“We’ll do whatever you want, dumbass. It’s your birthday.”
Chifuyu takes the remaining bowl out of the microwave as Baji grabs the condiments out of his fridge. He’s about to be seated at the table until he notices Chifuyu still by the stove.
“I’ll make the tea, you go sit down.” Baji pushes him out of the kitchen to take over.
They end up not watching anything as Chifuyu is too absorbed in Baji’s story recounting how he and Mikey had a bet on who could take out the most guys. Baji was sure he would have won if Draken hadn't intervened.
Chifuyu feels full and content, watching Baji fill up his cup and the spaces of his home.
“Is there anything else you wanna do on your birthday? Other than making me get all the drinks for you this time?” Baji jokes, but he’s the one offering a refill every round.
He shakes his head, then remembers about the cake still in the fridge. “Do you wanna eat the cake now, Baji-san? I don't know when my mom will be back, so we don’t have to wait for her.”
“Chifuyu, it’s your birthday and your cake.” Baji is already getting up from his seat, making his way to the fridge. “You can eat it whenever you damn want.” Baji is rummaging through his kitchen drawers now. “Where do you keep your candles anyway?”
Chifuyu distractedly says, “It’s in the cabinets near the sink.”
He’s too focused on getting the angle right for the picture of the cake - he’s learned a lot about photo composition the last few days - which is why he doesn’t notice Baji sneaking up behind him.
“Hey, is that a photo of me?” He asks, after Chifuyu is checking his image gallery.
The blond freezes.
“That’s…” Baji is too quick for him. The phone is snatched out of his grip.
Time stands still as the other boy thumbs through Chifuyu’s entire album. They’re all photos of Baji with various, but mostly low, quality.
He’s suddenly very thankful his photography skills means that all the pictures are too out of focus, too blurry, not centered, and not at all representative of the thirst trap he was trying to capture.
“Baji-san, I can explain!” Chifuyu makes a dive for his personal gallery of sin, but Baji moves out of the way effortlessly.
“Are these actually supposed to be pictures of me?” He asks. “I can’t really tell, uh they’re actually all kinda bad shots - Oh, that’s a cute cat though.”
Chifuyu buries his head in his hands. His life is over.
A hand petting his hair gets Chifuyu to relent a little, but only because Baji is calling his name.
Nervously, he looks up, expecting Baji to be totally creeped out by it.
Of course he would be. He’s been stalked and photographed and obsessed over by one of his friends.
Chifuyu is supposed to be his right hand man, but now he’s completely broken Baij’s trust by doing something so invasive.
“Baji-san, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have…oh my god, I shouldn’t have taken those photos, or saved them, or kept them from you. I’m-”
“Delete them.”
Chifuyu flinches at the command. “Yes, of course! I’ll do it right away.” But when he goes to grab his phone back, Baji is holding it out of his reach again.
He waits until Chifuyu shamefully makes eye contact again before he says, “You can take better ones.” When Chifuyu’s eyes widen at the words, it’s Baji who looks away this time.
“Huh?”
It must be his imagination that Baji is glaring at his phone.
“You can just ask me, you know?” He mumbles. “Didn’t I tell you I wanted you to rely on me more? I can help you with something as simple as this, so why didn’t you ask me?”
“Because it’s embarrassing…” admits Chifuyu, blushing. “I couldn’t just ask you because-” He’s not sure if he can say it. That he’s been planning on using Baji’s picture as his background. That he wants to see Baji every time he opens his phone.
“Chifuyu, you can just ask me now.” Baji points out, a slight flush appearing on his face, too. “I’ll say yes because it’s your birthday. You don’t have to be embarrassed about it.”
The both of them stand in the middle of the kitchen. Their faces matching as they awkwardly shuffle around each other and Baji gives him back his phone.
“What if we took a photo together?” Chifuyu hesitantly suggests. “For my birthday I mean. We can take a celebration photo?” Baji nods and then grabs Chifuyu around the shoulders, pulling him up against his side.
“Do you want Peke J to be in it?”
The cat is already ambling up to them, ears perked up to attention at hearing his name called. Chifuyu can’t help but think this is like taking a family photo.
They’re really taking a portrait with their son.
Baji holds their joint custody cat up in between them as Chifuyu tries to angle the camera with his unsteady hand. He can barely get the cake in the frame.
He can’t hear the sound of the shutter going off because his heart is beating too loudly.
“It’s a nice photo of us,” remarks Baji, looking at the image. “Chifuyu, send it to me, too.”
—
“Eat your fucking phone, Hakkai.” Chifuyu says, proudly showing off his display.
The other boy snatches the device.
“Holy shit, how did you-” The screen is centimeters from his face. “This is insane! You’ve got serious balls, Chifuyu.” Hakkai swats away Chifuyu’s grabby hands, continuing to hold the phone just out of reach above him.
“Hey, that’s enough. Give it back!”
“I don’t know how you can have this as your background, man.” A hand is pushing the blond’s face away, as Chifuyu fights back unsuccessfully. “It’s really scandalous, what if one of the other guys see this?”
Chifuyu has resorted to jumping and flailing in order to retrieve his phone. He curses their height difference. “It’ll be their fault for looking, then!”
“How did you even convince Baji-kun to take a photo like this with you?”
He huffs. “I just…asked him.”
“And he said yes?”
“I said it was my birthday and that I wanted a photo of him,” Chifuyu corrects himself, “I mean, a photo with him.”
Hakkai whistles between his teeth. “You guys are really shameless, you know that?”
“Well you and Mitsuya-kun are always - you know!” Chifuyu says vaguely, too embarrassed to put anything into words. Not when Hakkai is already calling him out about his own situation with Baji.
“Yeah, but Taka-chan and I don’t have any photos together.” Hakkai contemplates. “At least not any photos like this. I’d probably die before I ask Taka-chan to do this with me.”
Hakkai drops the phone into Chifuyu’s waiting hands, which he cradles tenderly to his chest. Even though his prized photo of Baji is digitized and backed up in multiple save files, he can’t help but want to keep this particular image safe.
“Ah, there’s something else I need to tell ya.” Chifuyu smirks, ready to lay it on Hakkai and shatter their unspoken battle once and for all.
He pauses dramatically for effect.
Hakkai is rolling his eyes, waiting for him to get on with it.
“Baji-san has the same photo as his wallpaper, too.”
