A.N: Almost forgot Kaede's birthday. Alternate universe to main story, so yea (I was gonna make this relevant, but I like making one shots to take a break from main story. i think its CUTE to write when they have a crushes on each other !! after i was done writing, i was like "wouldn't it be cool if this was another universe?" and here we are). College AU, they all know each other because they share classes. Ultimate Talents don't exist, but their hobbies are pretty much the same (Kaito wants to be an astronaut still). Kaito and Maki are dating. Shuichi and Kaede are friends that met this year and he doesn't wear a hat (not that important, ik).
As the instructor ended his lecture, she stared at her friend, Saihara. She was definitely gonna invite him, he was definitely a fun person to be around. He was generally really kind to the pianist, although they had just met this year. They sometimes hung out, though not often and almost always not alone. She was thinking of asking him to hang out later. A date, but she wouldn't admit it.
She was ogling at the boy, though she hadn't realized it. He didn't notice either, as he picked up his backpack and walked out of class.
She tried to get up and catch up to him, but he already left. He blended in with the crowd, curse the hallways for being so cramped! She let out a sigh of disappointment as she walked to her dorm. Although the two were friends, she hadn't even gotten his phone number. She felt too nervous around him to ask; it was definitely strange because she never had problems with talking to people. She only hoped that he would ask instead.
He didn't.
As she arrived at her dorm, she fumbled for her keys as she opened the door. Her roommate, Harukawa, was sitting at the couch, studying for an exam. Their dorm was surprisingly large for the two of them, not that they could complain. Harukawa always had a lot of money for some reason and Akamatsu likes the space so she can have a piano. She tossed her backpack off and collapsed next to her friend.
"Class sucks!" she complained.
"I thought friends make up for it?" Harukawa responded without looking up. Akamatsu always lectured her roommate that friends make up for the struggle of schoolwork, so for her to use it back to her..
"Yea, I said that.. But I barely have any time to talk with them." the pianist groaned.
"Well, it's your birthday tomorrow. That gives an opportunity to invite everyone," Akamatsu faced towards her friend in shock as she continued, "as long as we aren't too loud. Maybe don't invite Kaito if you don't want complaints."
Her eyes widened. "It's my birthday tomorrow?"
Harukawa finally looked up. She gave a concerned look. "You.. You don't remember your own birthday?"
"Oh my god, I haven't looked at the date in so long!" she slapped her forehead. "I've been-"
"Playing piano?" she finished her sentence.
Embarrassed, she nodded. Harukawa let out an exhale. "Well, it's not like it's bad. Can't believe you forgot your birthday though." the pianist swore she saw her snicker.
"Shut it." she groaned.
"So? You wanna have a party?" Harukawa asked. "If so, who are you inviting?"
Akamatsu put her index finger and thumb to her chin as she thought. "Hm.. Amami, Hoshi, Tojo, Yonaga, Chabashira, Shinguji, Iruma, Gonta, Oma, Momota, Shirogane, Keebo, Yumeno, of course you.." she let out an awkward smile as she continued. "And u-um, maybe someone else!"
"Saihara, huh.." Harukawa took a sip of her coffee as she looked at her notes.
"H-How'd you know?"
"I'm just smart like that." she puts a finger to her noggin. Akamatsu rolled her eyes in response. "I'm just kidding. If you're inviting someone like Shinguji, I'm sure you'd invite Saihara. He's like, Kaito's sidekick." she pointed out.
"Yea.. Saihara's my friend, so of course I'm gonna invite him!" she said with confidence. "He's in most of your classes, right? How is he?"
"Yea, I have classes with him in the morning and afternoon. I don't really pay attention to him. I assume he's fine though, why?"
"Just curious!" she said quickly.
Harukawa put an eyebrow up in suspicion, but she didn't ask.
Akamatsu laughed awkwardly and tried to change the topic. "Um, can you invite Momota for me? I'll invite everyone else tomorrow."
Her roommate nodded as she got out her phone.
MakiRoll: hey, Akamatsu is having a bday party tmrw. Wanna come?
Kaito (idiot): YRS
Kaito (idiot): Yes* sorry got excited.
MakiRoll: whats got you excited
Kaito (idiot): To see you, duh. Also, perfect opportunity to get Shuichi and Akamatsu together.
MakiRoll: oh yea, akamatsu was talking about him earlier.
Kaito (idiot): How oblivious do they gotta be to their love for each other? Its almost pathetic...
MakiRoll: you took 3 years to ask me out
Kaito (idiot): w
Kaito (idiot): Why u gotta do me like that
MakiRoll: dont be such a baby.
Kaito (idiot): Well, I know u love me so all is forgiven.
Maki Roll: Do you wanna die?
Maki Roll: not that it isnt true tho
Kaito (idiot): ❤️
The next day, Akamatsu invited everyone to her party later. Though it was so short notice, they all agreed. If at least one person declined, she would've scheduled it for tomorrow but luckily everyone so far could go. It wasn't much of a party, more like a get together. The most they had to offer were some chips and punch. Everyone that she wanted to invite were in her classes so she didn't have to chase them all over campus. They all agreed at meeting up at 5:00 PM and it was a weekend so they could hang out as long as they wanted!
Final period came and the only person she needed to ask was Saihara. Unfortunately, he had only one class shared with her. She was a little late so she couldn't ask him as soon as she got there. She took a seat and got our her laptop started typing notes.
After class, Saihara swiftly walked out. The pianist's eyes widened as she saw how fast the boy walked out, it was almost like he was avoiding her! She ran out as well, and unfortunately, he was already gone. She pouted in disappointment, why was he running off so fast? Suddenly, someone put a hand on her shoulder making her instantly turn around.
"Momota?"
He smirked when she finally caught sight of the astronaut-in-training. "Yo, Akamatsu!"
"Oh, hey!" she smiled at him. "What's up?"
"Were you trying to get Shuichi?" he asked her.
"Oh, um.. Yea." she responds with an awkward laugh. "I was gonna invite him to my birthday party, but he left too quickly."
"Sick! Even if you didn't, I would've brought him over anyways!"
"Eh?" she looked at him with a weird look. I guess he was with sidekick, so maybe he didn't want to leave him behind. "Well, can you invite him for me? I know you two are roommates."
"Of course!" He runs out the room, looking back at Akamatsu with a smirk on his face. It immediately disappeared when he ran into the wall, making a loud thump. The pianist looked at him with concern. He rubbed his forehead as he yells back at her. "I'll see you later with Shuichi!" he lets out a thumbs up and then disappears behind the door. She giggled at his enthusiasm as she walked out of class as well.
Saihara arrived at his dorm room. A big exam was on Monday, so he decided to spend at least 2 hours every day studying. He was gonna get his daily 2 hours in right now. Hopefully he could get some peace and quiet. He went to his room, put on some music, and took a seat as his desk as he reviewed his notes. He didn't want to risk getting bad grades..
Suddenly, he hears the front door practically smash open. He hears rapid footsteps approaching his room as Momota crashes in. He looked out of breath. I guess that peace and quiet was over.
"M-Momota??" he looked at his roommate with a surprised look. Why was he so out of breath, did he run here?
"Shuichi, yo!" he waved as he knelt down, trying to catch his breath. "You walk fast.."
He chuckled. "My bad. What do you need?" he turned off his music to let his friend talk.
"Get ready." Momota let out his signature grin.
Momota didn't say anything else after that, warranting Saihara to ask, "For what..?"
"For Akamatsu's birthday party, bro! A perfect opportunity for you to make a move on her!"
The detective immediately blushed. "W-What are you talking about? I wouldn't make a move for her!"
"Man, we all know that's not true."
"I was aware that it was Akamatsu's birthday though.." Saihara said as he pulled out a pink giftbox. He had a slight blush on his face. "I was gonna drop by and give this to her when I got a chance, but I guess I forgot. I can try again on Monday, though."
Momota had a smug smirk. "Why do you know her birthday if you don't got feelings for her?"
"Shut up." Saihara looked down, embarrassed.
"But yea, you're not giving it to her Monday cuz you're giving it to her later."
"Eh? I can't, I gotta study!" he states as he points to the notes on his desk. "I got a huge exam on Monday!"
"Come on, man. You're better than like 90% of the students here, one day of partying won't hurt. Partying should be the main focus of college anyways!" Momota blurted out completely incorrect information.
"But... I don't think Akamatsu would want a shy kid like me there. She didn't even invite me. Even if I did come, I'd stand in the corner looking at my phone." he said as he leaned back in his chair.
Momota let out a disappointed sigh as he shook his head. "Don't be like that! Come on, bro. She told me personally to invite you, because you left class so early."
"Wait, really?"
"Of course, dumbass." he playfully punched his friend on the shoulder with a laugh. "Akamatsu definitely wants you to be there, so you better come." he snatched his friend's notes, letting out a 'Hey!' from Saihara. "Banned you from studying."
"W-Wha?!"
"So now you gotta come!" he smirks as he walks out his room.
Saihara sighed. It looks like he had no choice except to go.
After Saihara got dressed, he wore a dark blue hoodie and some jeans. He wore a white undershirt and stuffed his gift in his pocket. He really hoped she would like it, it took a lot of effort to pick out.
Momota was wearing his usual outfit as he opened the front door. Saihara followed behind as the two went to Akamatsu's dorm.
He was nervous, hopefully his gift wouldn't disappoint her. He noticed that his friend didn't have a gift. "Momota, what's your gift to Akamatsu?" It wouldn't be bad if he didn't get one, but he just seems like the type of person to make an effort to give a gift to everyone.
He responds as he keeps walking. "Oh, my gift. You'll see pretty soon."
A worrying answer; knowing Momota, it would definitely be something too reckless. At his own birthday party in high school, Momota had learned how to pilot a jet (Saihara didn't even know where he got a jet) just so he could spell out "HPY BDAY SIDEKICK." He would've really appreciated it if he hadn't almost crashed into a building.
The two arrived and Momota violated the front door, repeatedly smacking it. Harukawa opens it quickly with an annoyed look. Akamatsu comes from behind, with a party hat on. She smiles at the both of them, warranting a blush on Saihara's face.
"Momota, you got Saihara to come!" she exclaims with an excited smile.
"Of course! Never underestimate a promise from the Luminary of the Stars!" he puts up a thumbs up. "Hey, Maki Roll!" he gives her a big hug, making the girl blush and try to escape. After realizing she couldn't escape, she sighed and accepted it, hugging back with a blush.
The two walked over to a couch and sat by each other, leaving Saihara and Akamatsu by the door. Momota tripped Harukawa on accident, and in revenge she started choking him. She places a hand to her mouth as she laughed at their goofiness.
"They're perfect for each other, don't you think?"
Saihara laughed with her. "Definitely."
Though, if they didn't know their relationship together, they definitely would've thought Momota was getting murdered..
As the rest of the members arrived, they each gave her a gift. Saihara still hadn't given his gift yet, and he felt kinda bad. He sat stiff at the couch, next to Momota and Harukawa. Momota gave a weird look to his sidekick.
"What're you doing? Akamatsu is over there." he pointed at her, she was talking to Shirogane, it seemed she was giving her gift.
"Well, um," he gave an embarrassed blush, "she seems busy right now so I'll just talk to her when I get the chance." he then questioned his friend. "Why are you even trying to get me to talk to her so much?"
"Reasons!" he let out a laugh. "You should totally go, bro!"
"I agree. Just go." Harukawa said with a sigh.
Saihara shook his head. "I'd probably make things awkward. She seems fine talking to Shirogane. I'll talk to her when I get a chance later."
Harukawa shot a glare at Saihara, making him stiffen up than he already has. He gulped.
"O-Okay.. I'll go." Harukawa gave a satisfied nod as she leaned back in her couch.
"Nice save, Maki Roll!"
Saihara grabbed his arm and rubbed it awkwardly as he walked up to Akamatsu. She gave him a gentle smile as he gave a nervous one back. He didn't mean to pry on their conversation.
"Hello, Saihara." Shirogane waved to him too. "You here to give a gift to your girlfriend?"
The two of them blushed.
"We're not dating!" the two of them said at the same time.
Shirogane had a genuinely shocked look on her face. She put her hand to her cheek. "Really? It's plain to see you two at least have some chemistry together."
"No, we met this year." Akamatsu explained to her. "But we're good friends!"
Shirogane got up. "Whatever you say!" She walked over to Iruma and Keebo for some reason.
This gave a good opportunity for the boy to talk to the pianist. He took a seat next to her. "How are you enjoying your birthday so far?"
"It's pretty good!" she said excitedly. "Though, I almost couldn't invite a certain someone." she faced towards him with a stern look. When seeing his shocked face, she immediately laughed. "I'm just teasing!"
"A-Ah, yea my bad.."
"It's okay! I'm glad you came, I was a little disappointed when I didn't get a chance to invite you."
"You were?" he gave a faint blush.
She blushed too as she tried to cover her face. "A-Ah, I mean, I just want to see any of my friends! Not in like a, 'I want you especially' kind of way, you know?"
He was a little disappointed, but of course that was the truth. He chuckled. "Ah, alright.."
"But I do enjoy our time together, so of course I wanted you to come! You're a cool guy."
"Y-You're fun to hang out with too." the two of them blushed as they smiled.
Momota snickered in the background, though the two didn't see it.
They continued talking to each other, just enjoying each other's company. The others were messing around too.
After a while, Momota yelled out to everyone. "Yo! We should give our presents now! We all got some, right?"
"Eh? I didn't bring a present for Akamatsu!" Oma said with a scared expression. "Just kidding, that's a lie! I bought something real quick."
Saihara didn't get out his present yet, he thought it was better to give it personally.. Although, it wasn't that special, he just felt it was right.
They all huddled down on the floor and sat in a circle. "I feel like a kid again." Harukawa sighed.
"But gift opening is the best part of every party!" Momota aruged.
Akamatsu just laughed as she opened Amami's present first. It was a pearl necklace he got from overseas. "Aw, thanks Amami! This is really cool!"
He smiled as he nodded his head. "No problem." She got up and quickly gave him a hug as she moved to the next present.
"Next, Hoshi's present.." she opened it and it was a pack of gummy bears.
"Sorry, I couldn't get much. I haven't been getting much money recently." he apologized as he pulled down his beanie on his head.
"No, it's okay! You didn't have to get a present in the first place."
He gave a nod as he chewed on his candy cigarette.
"Ah, may you open my present next? It's a little big, so I didn't bring it in yet." Tojo said as she got up and walked out. They all tilted their heads, what could she have gotten her?
She came back rolling a huge box in. It was almost bigger than Akamatsu. Her eyes widened as she placed it on the table and revealed what was inside.
"T-Tojo! Y-You really didn't have to go through the efforts to make this!" she exclaimed.
It was a gigantic cake, decorated with fondant music notes and a piano design. "When did you even have time to make this?!"
"Hm.. As soon as you told me it was your birthday, I decided to skip class and make this. It's my duty to make any friend as happy as possible." she said as she bowed.
"I don't think you need to go that far though.." she awkwardly laughed. "But really, thank you! I'm definitely gonna need some help, though.."
"Open Angie's next!" Yonaga exclaims as she pulled out a present.
"Dang, everyone has presents.." She said as she opened up Yonaga's present. It was a magnificent self portrait of the pianist, her eyes widened. These were the best gifts she's gotten in a while. She was aware that Yonaga was an artist, but she didn't know she was this good. "Thank you, Yonaga!"
"No problem! On my island, it's tradition the birthday girl-"
Momota interrupted her, "Oo, I know! Gets punches based on how old they are, right?!"
"Close! I get to take pints of blood depending on their age!" she said happily. All their heads turned to the artist and gave her a nervous look. "So please, let me drain 20 pints from you." she said as she got out a huge syringe. Akamatsu gulped.
"Um.. Can I ask to spare me as an extra present?" she pleaded.
Yonaga put the syringe down. "I guess! Only because Akamatsu is such a great friend!" Akamatsu never felt so relieved she was kind to everyone.
"Akamatsu! Akamatsu! Open mine next!" Chabashira exclaimed.
"What are you, 5?" Oma snickered. In exchange for his joke, Chabashira punched him in the face.
"Oh, um.." she opened her gift and it was a ticket for a free lesson at her dojo. She couldn't really risk injuring her fingers because she plays piano so much though.. She didn't want to disrespect her, so she smiled. "Thanks..!"
"I know, I'm the perfect gift giver." she said with pride as she closed her eyes.
Shinguji passed Akamatsu his gift with a proud expression. "I hope you do enjoy this, I personally do very much. Kehehehe.."
"Oh, thanks Shinguji!" she opens the present.
A rope.
"Uh." she looked at him strangely. She didn't know what she would do with just a rope.
"I'm sure you'll find a use for it when you find a special someone," he hugs himself, "you will thank me eventually. It takes you to another realm of plea-"
"Stop, please stop, this is getting weird." Chabashira shivered. He stopped talking after this.
She got out the next gift and she immediately got nervous as she saw who it was from.
She saw Iruma smile deviously in the corner of her eye as she slowly opened her present.
She closed her eyes as she revealed the gift.
Please don't be lewd, please don't be lewd, please don't be lewd, please don't be lewd, please don't be lewd, please don't be lewd.
It surprisingly wasn't lewd!
It was a cute panda plush, with eyes that blinked. It was as big as a regular teddy bear. She hugged it and squealed. "Aw, it's so cute! Thanks a bunch, Iruma!"
"Hells yea! I knew you'd enjoy that gift. Oh yea, and before I forget! If you press the button on it's back," Iruma demonstrated as she pressed the button on the back, "it'll grow a di-!"
Akamatsu screamed in fear as she felt something touch her stomach. She threw it at Iruma's head, knocking her out.
After recovering from that traumatic experience, she moved on to the next present. Saihara comforted her by putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Akamatsu, please open Gonta's gift next! Gonta just knows you'll love it!"
He was such a gentleman, so she was sure he would give a really sweet gift.
She opened it with a smile,
releasing hell on the world.
Millions of bugs came flying out of the box and surrounded all of them. Akamatsu screamed in fear as she hugged someone random. It was a habit of hers to hug Harukawa whenever she got startled.
Everyone else ran around too, Oma was already outside as he had predicted this would happen.
"You must really like bug, huh?!" Gonta smiled. "Everyone so excited that they running around! How nice!"
Everyone was screaming in terror. Tojo quickly protected her cake by placing a box over it, it was crazy how fast she moved.
Amami had convinced Gonta to contain all the bugs. He made an excuse, "Hey, if there's too many bugs, we'll get too excited and get distracted from Akamatsu's birthday! Let's put them away for now so she can have fun with them later, okay?"
Gonta didn't want to make his bugs to distract Akamatsu's party, so with his bug catching skills he put them all away.
After that was all over, Akamatsu had finally noticed she was hugging Saihara. She immediately blushed as she separated from him. "A-Ah, I'm sorry!"
He was blushing too. "N-No, it's okay!" the boy didn't admit he knew it was her from the start and didn't separate for reasons..
"O-Okay, next present now I guess.." she was still shaky over what just happened. She made a mental note to never accept gifts from Gonta again.
"Oh, that's mine! I bet you'll really enjoy it." Oma smiled.
She didn't trust him at all. She hesitantly opened the box..
A timer ticking down from 3 seconds appeared. A sadistic smile appeared on Oma's face. "Oh yea, it's a bomb. Might want to dispose of that."
Her late reaction time doomed her, it already hit 0 seconds. Saihara picked up the box and threw it towards Oma. Instead of an explosion, a bunch of confetti appeared.
"Aw man, Saihara! You ruined the joke.." he sighed in disappointment.
Akamatsu let out a relieved laugh. That had definitely taken 20 years from her life. "Thanks, Saihara.." she told him. "Even though it wasn't a real bomb."
"No problem.."
"Oma, that is too rude!" Keebo scolded him. "I have a gift that I'm certain you'll like, Akamatsu!" the robot said proudly.
Akamatsu always wondered why a robot went to college, but she never questioned it. She opened the present and there revealed a cutting board.
Not what she was expecting at all.. She thought it would've been motor oil or maybe even a battery. It was a little lackluster, but not that she could blame him. After all, he didn't have to get her a gift.
"Oh, um.. Thanks, Keebo!"
"No problem! I searched on the internet for the perfect gift, so I'm glad you enjoyed it!"
"As expected of a robot to not understand what real people enjoy." Oma said with a sigh.
"Hey!"
She moved on to the next gift. It was from Shirogane! She quickly opened it to show a bunny costume.
The squad gasped. Saihara's eyes widened (Definitely interested.)
"You should try it out now!" Shirogane says with a lustful expression. "Akamatsu would definitely look good in a bunny suit.."
"U-Um! I'll try it on later, but I don't want my body to be looked at like that because everyone is here.." she tells her as she puts it away. Shirogane let out a disappointed sigh.
"Aw, alright then.."
She decided to never wear it.
She took out Yumeno's gift next. It was a pack of playing cards. She had remembered that Yumeno liked doing magic tricks occasionally, so it made sense she gave her this. "Oh, thank you!"
"No problem. In addition to my gift, I will perform a magic trick."
"Yayy, Yumeno's magic tricks!" Chabashira cheered.
"Lame." Oma said blankly. The aikido-master glared at the boy.
Akamatsu handed the magician the playing cards. She asked her to pick a card and she did. A queen of hearts. She put it back in the deck after picking the card.
Yumeno flicked her wrist and all of a sudden, all the cards disappeared.
"Woah, what the hell!?" Momota yelled out. He was behind her so he should've seen where the cards went but he didn't. "Where did the cards go? I thought this was gonna be a 'is this your card' sorta deal!"
"Nyeh.. Be patient." she said. Suddenly, from the ceiling rained down a bunch of cards. All their eyes widened. She picked a random one mid drop and gave it to her. "Is this your card?" she showed a king of hearts.
"Umm.. No.." she shook her head.
"So it was a failure after all!" Oma laughed.
"That's because.. It's in Saihara's mouth!" Yumeno pointed at the confused boy.
"Me? No it's no-" Saihara started but then he suddenly gagged. All their attention focused on him, concerned. He coughed a bunch and out came a card covered in saliva.
A queen of hearts.
All their eyes widened. Especially Saihara's.
"W-What the heck?! I wasn't even involved in this trick, how'd that get there!?" he yelled out.
"Magic."
"No, for real?! How did that get there?! And that's my card too!!" Akamatsu asked, eyes wide opened.
"Magic."
"Sidekick, are you trying to trick us?!" Momota shook his friend. "This is kinda scaring me, so be honest with me!" he shook his head. "What else could it be then?!"
"Magic."
"There's no other possible explanation! Saihara must have been involved, that's not possible through regular means!" Keebo stated.
"Magic."
"..Seriously, how'd that get there?" Harukawa asked. She looked more uncomfortable than she usually does.
"Magic."
"It's magic, alright! Definite 100% magic!" Chabashira backed up her claim. She looked around at everyone and gave glares to the males but gentle looks to the females. They decided not to question it further. Saihara took a while to recover from the shock.
"My gift to you, Akamatsu.. Is this dorm." Harukawa told her with a blank expression as she pointed around the room.
"Aw, thanks Harukawa." she giggled.
"Sorry, I didn't have time to get you anything." she said, playing with her hair.
"It's okay!"
"Gee, Momota, Harukawa, and Saihara didn't get Akamatsu anything! What bad friendss!" Oma exclaimed.
"Hey, that's being too rude!" Keebo scolded him, but Oma ignored it.
"Thanks for the gifts, everyone!" she let out an adorable smile, making Saihara blush.
"Don't mention it.." Momota smiled back.
"Wait, you didn't even give a gift." Shirogane pointed out.
"Nah, I just haven't given it yet! I'll give it when the time is right." he smirked.
Iruma got up, rubbing her head. "Ugh.. What the fuck just happened?"
"You died." Oma said quickly.
"No way! My inventions haven't changed the world yet!" she said in distraught, as she fell on the floor. "Wait, no the fuck I'm not! You lyin' abortion I'm gonna fuckin'-" she walked up to the boy before getting cut off.
"Come on, don't be like that! Let's just party again." Akamatsu went between them to stop the fight.
"I fuckin' guess!" Iruma huffed.
The party continued, and they took some slices of Tojo's cake. It was pretty good, Akamatsu didn't expect her to be the type to bake. And it was so professional too, she was surprised it took just a few hours.. And she skipped school to make it, she felt bad for making Tojo miss classes.
Saihara stood lonely on the couch again as everyone was talking, until Akamatsu sat by him. "Huh?"
"Heya, Saihara." she said with a smile. "Sorry there's not a lot to do here, I just didn't have any time to prepare." she laughed.
"No, it's okay! It's fun to hang out with others once in a while, I'm just a little tired." he reassured her that he wasn't bored or anything.
"I see.." she says as she nods.
"Hey, I actually did get you a gift.." he plays with the gift in his pocket as he told her that. "Um.. It's not anything special but I kinda just wanted to give it to you alone."
"Oh, why?"
"I don't really know.." he responded. "But I can give it to you now." He pulled out the gift box and handed it to her.
"Aw, thanks, Saihara!" she opened the gift quickly, she was excited to see what her friend had gotten him.
She gasped as she saw what it was. It was a gold hairpiece in the shape of a treble clef. "Saihara.. I've been eyeing this for so long now! How'd you know I wanted it?!" she asked him with stars in her eyes.
He awkwardly chuckled. "Oh, I'm glad. I saw it in the store, and I figured you wanted it."
A lie, He couldn't admit that he spent hours trying to find the perfect gift and after he couldn't find anything he begged Harukawa to tell him what Akamatsu would most want for her birthday.
She quickly hugged him. A blush went on his face as he hugged back. "Thank you!"
The two detached as Akamatsu put on the hairpiece. "Do I look good?"
"Of course." he smiled at the girl (he really wanted to say "but you always look good" but he restrained himself). "Why are you sitting with me, by the way?"
"Can I not sit with a friend?" she teased.
"G-Good point.." he said with an embarrassed blush. He just didn't want her to sit by him for mere pity.
"And, I wanted to get out of there." she laughed as she pointed to the other side of the room.
On the other side of the room, Momota was carrying around Harukawa bridal style and spinning around while the others cheered. He couldn't even fathom what the two were doing.
"But don't worry, the main reason is because I wanted to hang out with you. We don't spend a lot of time together, just the two of us." She then blushed. "O-Oh shoot, I totally said something super embarrassing, huh? I'm so sorry!"
"N-No, it's okay! I like hanging out with you too, I like your company."
Her blush faded as she smiled at him. "You're a really sweet guy.. If only we could date."
Time stopped for the both of them. Saihara slowly turned his head towards the pianist.
"U-Uh??"
Akamatsu immediately blushed and frantically moved her arms as she tried to explain herself.
"I did not mean to say that! I'm so sorry! Oh my god!" she grabbed a pillow and hid behind it. "I just made things really weird, and um, I'm sorry!"
"I-I mean.. I wouldn't mind dating you!" he grabbed her hand to calm her down.
Again, the two blushed. He pulled back his hand, embarrassed.
"Eh?! Are you confessing?!" she threw the pillow aside and faced him with a shocked look.
"U-Uh?! I don't know?!" he said just as shocked.
"I mean, 'cause I totally wouldn't mind if you did!?" she said, still embarrassed.
"Um?!?!"
"This is the worst confession I've ever seen." Oma walked up to the both of them. He grabbed both of their heads and pushed them together, making the two touch lips. "Oh my godd! Akamatsu and Saihara are making out!" he announced. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the two.
The color on their face was pink, but now it was red. A very noticeable shade of red.
The two immediately separated and glared at Oma. He winked at the two.
"Oh my god, Bakamatsu and Shyhara are getting it on in front of all of us!?" Iruma cackled.
"You male! You're taking advantage of her kindness by making her feel bad for you and requesting a kiss from her!" Chabashira pointed at him.
"Why is that so specific, I don't think he'd do that." Amami chuckled.
"Alright, looks like my gift has finally come!" Momota said with the biggest smirk they've ever seen.
"W-We weren't!" Akamatsu tried to explain, but she was too flustered to even talk. "I-I-I-I u-u-um.."
"Oma pushed us together, I swear!" Saihara pointed at the mischievous child.
"What, how could you accuse me of such a thing?!" he said with a surprised gasp.
"Wait, wait! Squad, huddle up!" Momota clapped his hands together as everyone except Saihara and Akamatsu huddled in a group circle. After a lot of discussion and quiet whisper, they faced them.
"We've decided we're going to get boba tea for a bit, you two stay here!" Momota told the two.
"Oooh! Can I come?" Akamatsu asked, she really liked boba tea..
"N-No, we can't force the birthday girl to get out for us! We'll get something for you, don't worry. Okay bye!" they all walked out quickly. They slammed the door behind them, leaving Saihara and Akamatsu alone.
Saihara groaned when he realized what they were doing.
"Oh my god, they're trying to get us together!" Saihara ruffled his hair with an embarrassed blush.
"Shoot, you're right! I didn't even notice!" she slapped her forehead. "Ugh, and Oma made things even weirder!"
"..Hey, I'm sorry that you're being shipped with a guy like me. It's probably making you uncomfortable, I'm gonna talk to Momota after this.." he sighed.
"What?!" Akamatsu yelled out as she looked at the boy's eyes. "That's far from the truth, I'm not uncomfortable! Don't be down on yourself like that, you're a cool guy!"
"O-Okay.. Thanks." he said, still leaning back because of how close she was to him.
"And besides.. Like I said earlier, I wouldn't mind being in a relationship with you." her pupils looked everywhere except him. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
"..Really?"
She sighed. "Okay, I'm just gonna say it. I think you're really cute and I think I've been crushing over you for the past year now.." she stared at the floor disappointedly. "I understand if you don't reciprocate those feelings, but I felt now would be best than ever to get it out there."
"Are you serious?" he looked at the girl with serious eyes. With an embarrassed look, she nodded.
Oh my god, he's gonna reject me, he's never gonna hang out with me again and-
"I've had a crush on you too!" he yelled at her, staring directly into her eyes.
"...Eh?"
"..Yea.. I was too scared to admit it because I didn't know if you shared those feelings, but I'm glad that you did." he looked at the ground too. "So..?"
The pianist giggled as she looked at her crush. "Can we date?"
He quickly nodded his head. Akamatsu let out a genuine smile as she wrapped her arms around him. Happy tears flowed out. "I'm so happy.. That you reciprocate my feelings.."
"I can't believe you liked me back.." he said as he hugged her back.
"Of course I would! You're really cute and sweet and kind and cool and adorable and hot and smart and yea!" she said with an assertive tone.
He merely chuckled. "T-Thank you. But you're so perfect, kind, and adorable. I didn't know I matched up to all of that."
She gasped in offense. "Of course you do, Saihara- I mean Shuichi! Don't be so down on yourself like that, or else I'll make you."
Saihara blushed to see his crush call him by his first name. "Sorry, Kaede.." he chuckled. She looked happy as she hugged him once again.
"I'm really happy right now." she whispered in his ear.
"..I'm really happy too." he whispered back, his soothing voice almost made her squeal.
"I love you.." she said in his ear.
"I love you too.."
The two looked into each other's eyes. They both leaned in and..
"FUCK YEA!" Iruma burst in the room. "GOT YOUR ASSES, WE NEVER WENT TO GET BOBA TEA!" she pointed to the both of them as she laughed. The two immediately separated, completely embarrassed.
Momota let out an excited smile. "Okay, now here's my actual gift! A boyfriend! For real this time!"
Harukawa sighed. "Well, it was bound to happen. It was Momota's plan to leave you two alone, but some insisted on watching."
"By some, she mean alll!" Oma laughed.
The two covered their faces as their friends continuously made fun of them.
She sighed with a blush. "Yes, Shuichi is now my boyfriend."
"..Yea" he said quietly.
"Hell yea!" Momota cheered. "You like my gift, Akamatsu?"
"Why are you still treating me like an object?" Saihara chuckled.
"Thank you, Momota!" Akamatsu gave her a thumbs up, he gave one back. Saihara just sat there, blushing.
As the rest of the party progressed, everyone left leaving Saihara and Akamatsu alone. Harukawa went to her room. The rest of the party had been hell because of the constant teasing.
"I had a lot of fun today.." Saihara says. "Definitely one of my best days."
"Right?" Akamatsu giggled. "I got a bunch of presents.. And I got my ideal boyfriend!" she said as she hugged her new boyfriend. He immediately smiled as he hugged back. "Can we continue where we left off before we rudely got interrupted?"
"Huh, what do you mea-" he then realized what she meant. She gave a smile to him when she noticed he realized. "O-Oh. Yea.."
"We don't have to if it'll make you uncomfor-"
He cut her off with a kiss. Her eyes opened wide but she closed them as she accepted the kiss wholeheartedly.
Today was definitely the greatest birthday for Kaede Akamatsu.
The two separated to look at each other. "S-Sorry.." he said with a pant.
"N-No, it's okay! I thought it was.. Kinda attractive." she purred. "I still can't believe you like me back."
"It shouldn't be a surprise," he laughed, "I sneak glances at you all the time."
"Woww." she just laughed. "I'm not gonna lie, I did too.." The two shared a laugh before looking into the other's eyes intimately.
"Was Momota's present good?" he said with a smile.
"Definitely. Probably the best one by far."
"Well, it's deserved.. You're a special pianist, so you need a special present."
"That was pretty smooth.." she said with a blush.
"I'm glad I can be.." the two shared one more smile before they kissed again, establishing a future they were both excited for.
A.N: oh my god, i REALLY need to start writing the main story, i've been so hype to do it. But, I had to write for kaede's birthday bro u already knoww. main story next chapter for real, sorry for getting so side tracked. I hope you at least enjoyed it.