Chapter 2
So, what are you doing for your boyfriend's birthday?
Ann
Came the text that Akira had woken up to, blinking sleepily. The message hadn't fully gotten into his head until after a couple of seconds passed, with Morgana moaning about it being too early, and his eyes widen.
Shit, he thought. It's Ryuji's birthday.
In all honestly, it can be forgiven that Akira had forgot; Ryuji had never liked his birthdays, and had stopped celebrating it long before Akira was around. It wasn't until Ann had decided to drop the bomb on all of them that July 3rd was Ryuji's birthday by giving him a slice of strawberry cake.
"I'm not surprised he never told you," She'd said. "When his father was still around, he celebrated his birthday less and less."
After that, Akira made himself sworn to always celebrate the delinquent's birthday, as a reminder of how much he is loved - no matter what his father had to say about it. It had worked, with Akira and the others planning dates and hang outs, given him presents he always wanted, but never could get or afford. It was a little after the third date that Akira confessed his feelings to Ryuji, and made them a relationship - which was the best gift Ryuji has ever gotten.
"Honestly, man, I'm just happy bein' with you." Ryuji had said with a small smile on his face, cheeks pink. It's been a little over a month since the Phantom Thieves fiasco, and about five since he and Ryuji got together. The idea still makes his heart skip a beat.
I'm thinking of brining Ryuji back to my hometown. There's an event going down.
Akira
An event? Like a festival?
Haru
Something like that.
Akira
That sounds nice. Hope you two have fun ^.^
Ann
Should we tell Ryuji to go to the station?
Makoto
If you would.
Akira
Alright, have fun!
Makoto
After that, Akira got up from his bed, ignoring Morgana's hiss of complaint, and went to get ready for the day.
"Hey man." Ryuji said, standing against a pole. Since the Phantom Thieves business had ended, Ryuji had stopped dying his hair, leading the bright yellow color Akira came to know to wash out, hair fading back into its original color - black. It kind of made Akira sad, having to grown fond of the color, but he understood and still accepted Ryuji the way he is. Akira kissed him, smiling when he heard him squeak, blushing. The noise caused a few heads to turn, but otherwise, people kept moving. "N-not out in public!"
Akira chuckled.
"Sorry." He said, though the smile on his face probably gave away that he wasn't sorry at all. Ryuji glared at him for a second before grabbing his hand and held it tightly.
"So, what's on the agenda today?" He asked, cocking his head to the side.
"Wanna go back to my hometown? There's a festival happening at the moment." Akira said. Ryuji's eyes widen, mouth drop into a small 'o'.
"Festival? Heck yeah! Sign me up!"
Akira smiled, eyes shimmering with delight.
"Thought you might say that."
Ryuji was not at all surprised at how small and quiet this piece of Akira's life is; the ex-Phantom Thief leader had said that he lived in a small town where everyone knows everyone, but most kept quiet and stuck to themselves. Even when Akira had joined the town's only baseball team, Akira rarely talked to people. He had said that living in Tokyo changed that for him, and it always made him happy that whenever someone mentioned 'friends', his thoughts automatically went to the Phantom Thieves and Sojiro. It made Ryuji's heart swell up in pride to know that Akira could always count on them for something, even more so that Akira thought of them as his friends, and family.
"So, what do you want to do, birthday boy?" Akira asked, pushing his glasses up with a small smirk on his face. Ryuji rolled his eyes and shoved him half-heartedly, his lips pulled into a grin.
"Wanna see how good I am at ring toss?" He asked, and Akira's smirk widen just a fraction.
"I would, actually, because I know you suck at those." He said, laughing as Ryuji sputtered.
"D-Dude!"
But Akira had already walked away, leaving Ryuji to run after him.
Hours went by as Akira and Ryuji spent most of their time at each game stall, with Akira winning the most prizes. It should've pissed Ryuji off, but then Akira would turn around give his gifts to him, grey eyes twinkling with innocence and love, and Ryuji knew that whatever he had to say could wait. Butterflies flutter in his stomach each time Akira looked at him like that. Another hour in, and it was time for a lunch break, Akira paying.
"You didn't have to do this." Ryuji started, but Akira shook his head.
"It's okay, I wanted to. Happy Birthday, Ryu." He said, placing a kiss on Ryuji's forehead. Ryuji smiled, blushing.