Work Text:
Jiyu
freedom
When Semi woke up that morning, to be completely honest, he had forgotten it was his birthday. No, it wasn't like he had tried to forget it. It’s just he had just woken up, and the day's event wasn't exactly at the front of his mind. Sure, he was aware that it was November, and that his birthday was rapidly approaching. Today was his birthday, a fact he was blissfully unaware of as he slept in.
He just woke up, cut him some slack.
He was made aware that it was his birthday, by the immediate tune of an ironically childish “happy birthday” song playing from his roommate's phone.
“Happy birthday, Eita!” Reon beamed, already dressed for the day. It appeared his first gift of the day was being allowed to sleep in. Which he decided to take full advantage of as he shoved his face underneath the covers once more.
“Let me sleep,” Semi whined, the warmth of his blanket contrasting starkly with the late autumn chill. “Please?”
“Eita, you have to wake up you know.” Reon chuckled, and Semi felt a weight dip on his mattress. “Come on, we’re heading out.”
“Fine.” Semi let the word ring out as he aggressively threw his blanket off of him, pouting at his friend. “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise, I can’t tell you yet,” Reon said, as he attempted some mysterious hand motions for added effect.
“Fine. Be that way you bully. I’m changing.” Semi grumbled, not actually in a sour mood.
“Wait,” Reon interjected, grabbing his wrist. He tugged Semi down, squeezing him in a hug. “I did get you something. You do not get to pick your outfit for today.”
“What?” Semi tilted his head as Reon got up, grabbing something from his closet. “What the-”
“Happy Birthday, Eita. Here’s your first gift of the day. Well, second, but the first physical one!” Reon excitedly thrust a bag into Semi’s lap. Semi peered inside, tossing aside the gift paper.
Inside the bright yellow bag, was an entire outfit. Black wide-legged denim jeans, a very comfortable-looking white long-sleeved, and a custom quarter zip. The quarter zip was grey on the torso area, and the sleeves were a lighter shade of gray. The cuffs were a subtle lavender, as well as the collar of it. The lining of it was a deep violet, the material soft and smooth to the touch. It felt velvety.
“Reon…” Semi began, at a loss for words. “What the– how did you– oh my, thank you. ” Semi stammered, knowing arguing was pointless.
“Well, what do you think?” Reon asked. Semi’s eyes scanned the sweater again and noticed the number 3 embroidered on the left corner of the torso. He flipped it around, to see many words on the back, with a large 30 decal catching his eye. He looked up at his friend.
“I think I won in the best friend department,” he grinned at his friend. “This is sick as hell!”
“I’m glad you like it,” Reon smiled back, hugging Semi once more.
Once Semi put on the outfit, Reon let out a sigh of relief. “Oh good, I got the measurements right.”
Semi quirked a brow in confusion, and Reon waved him off. “I just looked through the team records to see what size you got your jacket in, I wanted to make sure.”
“You’re such a worrywart,” Semi light-heartedly shoved his friend. “I love it, don’t worry.”
The two of them exited the room, and were surprised with the pop of a confetti cannon and the sound of party kazoos. “Happy Birthday Semi-Semi!” Satori crowed joyfully. Wakatoshi stood behind him, a party hat on his head and a kazoo in his mouth. He was holding some balloons, and let out another supportive blow of the kazoo once Semi blinked off the initial shock.
Satori scooped him into a hug, and twirled him around, shedding mock tears once he put him down. “They grow up so fast. Toshi-kun, Re-chan, Eita has finally joined us.”
“You’re barely older than me.” Semi deadpanned. “Still older!” Satori teased. “And here’s your gift!”
Satori pulled away from Semi, running around the corner to drag a fuck tonne amount of pocky in front of his dorm. “What the fuck.” Semi stared in astonishment as he realized that all of the boxes, were in fact real, and did in fact have pocky inside of them. “Satori.”
“A semi-tonne of Pocky for my Semi-Semi!” Satori waved his hands triumphantly. Wakatoshi let out another blow of the kazoo.
“How the fuck do you expect me to– no wait, what the fuck do you expect me to do with this?” Semi waved his hands in confusion at the large cube. Satori shrugged. “Eat them? Don’t worry I have a much more conventional gift,” and he somehow managed to grab a light yellow scarf out of thin air from behind him.
Semi wasn’t even surprised anymore. He was internally kicking himself for not expecting the unexpected.
Satori wrapped the light yellow scarf around Semi’s neck, and beamed at him, ruffling his hair. “There we go! That’s my hot piece of ass! My boy toy twink male wife in full glam!” He exclaimed happily.
“Nope, no, we aren’t calling me that today. Zip it.” Semi whacked him. Wakatoshi let out another blow of the kazoo, before removing it from his mouth. He had handed the balloons to Reon while Semi was looking away, and now had two boxes in his arms.
“Happy birthday, Eita,” he nodded slightly, handing the boxes to his friend.
Semi had no idea what to expect. Wakatoshi always got some elaborate gift for his birthday that frankly, Semi found too expensive. However, Wakatoshi always argued that there was no price tag to put on their friendship, and still consistently bought the gifts. Semi knew there was no stopping him, and that this was Wakatoshi’s way of showing his love. He couldn’t say anything about it.
Semi placed the two boxes on top of the cube of pocky boxes and shoved it into his and Reon’s dorm. The block of instant noodles that Satori had given Reon still sitting in the corner of the room, now had a companion. Semi unwrapped the boxes that Wakatoshi had gifted him, and smiled.
A new pair of shoes, and some headphones. Very typical Wakatoshi behaviour.
“Thank you, ‘ktoshi,” Semi embraced his friend, hugging him.
“Of course. Happy birthday again.” Wakatoshi bowed.
“Now, Semi-Semi, you wear everything we’ve given you!” Satori lazily slung an arm around his shoulders. “We basically gave you the gift of fashion! Now please, I beg of you, use it.”
“Ha ha, very funny, Satori,” Semi mocked him, but did end up wearing everything. His three friends smiled at the new look, and once again, they left the dorm. It was still 10 in the morning.
Once out of the building, right outside of campus were Hayato and Jin. Hayato was hiding behind Jin, who greeted Semi a happy birthday and gave him some keychains of a guitar and Studio Ghibli.
It was a known fact to all the third years, that Semi Eita was a sucker for Studio Ghibli. The keychains were of all the characters surrounding a pocky box. The other keychain was of the scarecrow from Howls Moving Castle , and the third was all of the most iconic characters surrounding a milk carton.
“Holy shit this is so cute,” Semi cradled the keychains in awe, before immediately grabbing his keys and putting some on them. He put two of the Studio Ghibli keys on, and saved two for his bag. “Thank you, Jin.”
“No problem! Here, I have this as well.” Jin handed him a poster, with nice wordings of music encouragement. “Thanks, Jin, seriously.”
“Of course, Semi.” Then Jin took a very large, exaggerated step back, to reveal Hayato on one knee, bouquet in hand. He was fully decked out in suit and tie, suspenders and all. Jin began to play some very sappy love songs in the background. Semi was very sure it was Careless Whisper.
“Eita, my starlight, the light to my nights, the epitome of beauty in man. You are my darling, my babe, my other half. You are my stars, the reason I wake up in the mornings. And now you have grown a year older, we must part, for fear of pedophilia is the boundary that separates us now. My love, I wish you the happiest birthday today, and for all the rest of your days. Till death shall do us part,” Hayato bowed, presenting a very large bouquet of flowers in his hands, with some of Semi’s favourite snacks inserted as well. Some of the flowers seemed to be handmade, and some robotic butterflies seemed to have been made in the robotics class were flapping their wings automatically. It was a very high-effort bouquet.
“Sweetness, sugar pie, pumpkin, you didn’t have to do this valentine!” Semi drawled with a playful seduction. The mirth the two of them emanated effected the rest of the group, all causing them to burst out laughing. Semi wiped the tears in his eyes, his face aching with how hard he was smiling.
I really don’t want this moment to end.
Hayato and Jin’s gifts were both a bit too big to properly hold in his arms for the rest of the day, so he and Reon quickly ran back to the dorm to set them aside.
“Man, you guys seriously outdid yourselves this year.” Semi observed to Reon, who shrugged.
“It’s our last year here at Shiratorizawa, and well, I know this is a delicate topic, but we all wanted to show how much we care about you after everything that happened in June.” Reon said sheepishly. Semi flinched, but waved him off. “Yeah… I see your point.”
“We made it to your birthday though!” Reon quickly changed the mood of the conversation, and Semi let out a sigh of relief.
“Also, I’ve been meaning to ask; Why the number 30?” Semi questioned. The number 30 he was referring to was the one on his back currently. Reon stiffened slightly, but relaxed quickly.
“Oh that? 30 means optimism, to bring you joy! Yeah, I’m pulling all the stops out for you, Eita.” Reon laughed, and Semi chuckled in response.
“Okay Mr Wise and Spiritual. You were always the sentimental guy.”
“I’d like to keep it that way.”
The two of them returned to the rest of the group, and they walked to a nearby hotpot place. There, they met Goshiki, Shirabu, and Taichi. Their kouhai all greeted Semi well wishes for his birthday, and the group walked inside. They had a great time, each of them recounting embarrassing stories about Semi. Semi didn’t mind though, it was a Shiratorizawa tradition. Every year, for all their birthdays, they’d each take turns telling a funny memory about the birthday boy. It was great fun, and Semi wouldn’t trade this tradition for anything.
After leaving the restaurant, the group of boys roamed around the town. At this point, it was past noon, and they had spent a long time at the restaurant. Jin looked up some festivals happening nearby, since it was November there was a large selection of places to go. Semi, obviously, went for the music festival. He felt a very slight sense of guilt, but it was so small to really have any sort of effect on him. He could enjoy the present, just for today, without the chains of the past trying to bind him.
At the festival, they all took turns trying to win Semi some obnoxiously priced prizes, and it was honestly very entertaining to watch. Satori somehow managed to win a prize by singing wildly off key at a so called “perfect pitch” booth. The person running the booth looked absolutely baffled as Satori stalked off with his prize.
At some point in the late afternoon, Semi had won a random raffle draw to go and perform with the band, and it felt freeing. The way the crowd cheered at him playing the guitar, how weightless he felt just singing his heart out, this spotlight, this stage. It felt like something he could be a part of.
The band did up finding out it was his birthday that day via his friends, and ended up gifting him an on the spot routine of a birthday remix.
“That's our Semi-Semi!” Satori cheered once he came back down from the stage. “Sign this random paper I just found, so I can sell it when you become famous.”
Semi did end up signing it, not without rolling his eyes. “No way that's happening.”
“Come on, Eita, you did really well!” Hayato barked from behind him, hopping on his shoulders. “I swear those girls were swooning.”
“I don’t care about that.”
“Sure you don’t, bisexual jackass.”
Semi rolled his eyes once more, and his stomach grumbled. All that performing must have gotten to him. “Where are we going next?”
“I’m glad you asked, Eita! Ask Reon, he knows where the place is.” Satori whipped his head back as fast as it had whipped over to him. Semi snorted.
“Okay ReRe, where are we heading?” Reon gave him a toothy smile. “You’ll like it. A lot actually.”
“Color me surprised, I’ll hold you to it.”
Semi did like the place they went to. A lot. It was a seafood/karaoke bar that they had somehow managed to rent out of the night. When he questioned it, Reon simply had explained that his aunt runs the place, and no payment was necessary.
Obviously, they ordered a large assortment of seafood, much to Semi’s surprise. “We’re a private school powerhouse,” Taichi snorted. “You do realize we’re technically the rich side of town.”
“So we’re the stereotypical upper class?”
“Nah, we ain’t fat.”
“Hayato-san is sure to get fat with how much he’s eating right now.” Shirabu piped in, ducking behind Taichi as Hayato chucked a pillow in his direction.
Semi’s relationship with Shirabu was a little strange. Ever since they had both initially confessed in June, they haven’t actually officially gotten together. Sure, they went out on dates and such, and treated eachother as much, but they still weren’t official. They were just hanging the edge between something more, and established.
At one point, Shirabu and Taichi disappeared from the restaurant, but Semi didn’t actually notice them leave. He was having too much fun singing his heart out to some cheesy songs off key with some of his best friends.
At one point, they even managed to get Goshiki and Wakatoshi to sing a duet with We Are Young.
Semi didn’t even notice when Satori also sneaked out, he was too busy watching Wakatoshi and Goshiki lean on tables, belting out the lyrics.
“So we set the world on fire !”
“ We burn brighter!”
The English was so cracked, but it was still telligible. Semi and Hayato joined, with Hayato singing an emotional breakup song that ended with the singer ending up proud of their ex's new relationship.
They played games, they ate more food, and they drank an unrecommended amount of sugar. It was awesome. Semi leaned on the tuna roll pillow Goshiki had gifted him, simply appreciating his friends and what they had done for him.
I’m glad I stayed alive for this.
At 11:55, Satori came back, grin so wide he was beaming from ear to ear. “Shiratorizawa family! Follow me!” He shuffled backwards, and Semi cocked his head. What could Satori be trying to pull?
They all walked into another room, the strobing lights still flashing, and a large box in the center of it. Taichi was sitting cross legged beside it, his hair very ruffled, looking extremely fatigued.
“Happy birthday, Semi,” he bowed. “Hope you like this, I almost got my face ripped off.”
“I— okay?” Semi cautiously surveyed the box, not exactly knowing what to expect. Knowing Satori, it could range from another cube of Pocky, to a rabid animal.
“Wait, Eita. Before you do anything, you need these!” Satori handed him some scissors, much to his confusion. “Why do I need scissors?”
“You’ll see.” He drawled his words out, running a hand through Semi’s hair as he bent backwards back to the rest finger group. All of them seemed to have stood back.
“Am I about to get pied?” Semi asked no one in particular. It was insane how much he whispered what the fuck to himself on a daily basis, and today was no different.
Unwrapping the box, he grabbed at the cardboard flaps. As he ripped it open, he had to hold back a laugh as he was met face to face with one Shirabu Kenjirou.
Shirabu was tied up on a chair with a purple ribbon, and a bow had been stuck onto his head. His outfit had obviously been changed, and he had a piece of tape over his mouth.
Even with the tape, Semi knew he was pouting.
Honestly, he looked kind of cute like this.
Not in the sexual way of course, in the way that he was wearing a bow.
Semi stared at him for a moment, flabbergasted at how the younger setter had even managed to have been caught in this situation. This felt illegal, like a child had just been kidnapped.
Which is essentially what had occurred, but no.
Registering Shirabu’s sweater, Semi noticed how it looked to be the exact same as his own, except instead of a 3 being embroidered, it was the number 10.
Huh.
“Okay, holy shit let’s get you out of that.” Semi gently held Shirabu’s face, taking off the tape slowly in a way that it wouldn’t actually hurt Shirabu. Thankfully, the tape wasn’t that sticky, but mostly a pain to try and pry off without hands. He could see why Shirabu hadn’t licked it off already.
Once Shirabu regained his ability to speak, he glared at Satori. “First of all, fuck you. Secondly, um, surprise?” Shirabu’s eyes flicked towards Semi’s and they both held eachothers gaze for a second.
“There’s no way you did this shit willingly.” Semi snorted, already cutting the ribbons to free Shirabu’s limbs.
“No shit, Sherlock.” Shirabu grumbled.
“Oh my fucking god you guys are so dense.” Taichi flopped onto the floor dramatically. Satori joined him, groaning as well.
“Semi-Semi has always been dense.”
“Shirabu did you forget your line?” Taichi asked, and Shirabu glared at him.
“What fucking line?”
“Oh shit I forgot to give him the paper,” Hayato patted down his pockets, quickly showing Shirabu what seemed to be his “line”.
“I am not saying that.”
“Oh come on , Shirabox! Trust us!”
“Last time I trusted you, we all almost got arrested.”
“Which is why I said us ! Don’t you trust Re-chan?” Shirabu seemed to whisper some complaints to himself, before swallowing nervously.
“Your final gift of the day… is me.”
“What.” It seemed like every member of the Shiratorizawa Boys Volleyball Club had grimaced at the exact same time at Semi’s reaction, but Shirabu simply bit his lip, and continued.
“I know we’ve been dancing on the edge of this for a while, and honestly I didn’t know when the time would be right to ask you. So much has happened and you’ve gotten so much better. I did mean what I said back then, and I still mean it now.” Shirabu took a shaky breath in. “I love you, Eita. Will you be my boyfriend?”
Semi froze, his throat closed up as his brain forgot how to comprehend thoughts. There’s no way he’s serious, no way-
“Just let me love you.”
“Yes.”
Semi closed the gap between them, his lips pressing tenderly against Shirabu’s as he lightly smacked his forehead against the others. Hoots of victory were heard throughout the bar, and Taichi smirked in the corner, camera in hand. Shirabu covered his face in embarrassment, and only then did Semi realize something.
“Oh. We’re matching!” He exclaimed happily. “It’s 30 because 3 times 10 is 30! Right?”
Reon laughed at Semi’s discovery, patting him on the back. “Bingo. Because you’re a couple, I snuck a little inside joke there. 3 x 10 equals 30. You bring the 3, Shirabu brings the 10.” Semi giggled happily, squeezing Shirabu into a hug.
“Called it, I knew Eita would be a sentimental sap who likes the matching couple fits. You owe me 100 yen, Satori.”
“Ha-chan you just ruined the moment.”
“Nah, they’re fine.” Hayato waved him off as Satori grumbled, shoving the money at him.
“Wait…” Goshiki interrupted quietly. “Does that mean your anniversary is Semi-sans birthday?”
“Oh fuck no, why do you think Taichi still has all his limbs? I only agreed to this as long as we did it at midnight. I’m not gonna be the shitty boyfriend who cops on out gifts by having our anniversary be his birthday.” Shirabu glared at him, but softened when Semi placed a delicate kiss on the crown of his head.
“You would never be a shitty boyfriend.” Semi reassured, and Shirabu blushed. The other setter then stuck another bow on Semi’s head as well, and Semi grinned. “Now we match even more!”
“Oh fuck, they’ve already started stage one; sappy declarations of love.” Satori covered his eyes. “Taichi, save yourself!”
“Congratulations Eita, Shirabu- er, Shirabox.” Wakatoshi nodded at them, before gesturing at a table. “Shall we eat cake?”
“I think it’s a bit late for that, Toshi,” Semi replied, but followed his friend anyway. As they all gathered around the table, singing and yelling shockingly harmoniously, Semi smiled to himself.
He was loved, and he was free. That was the best birthday gift he could receive.