A/N:
Alrighty, it's mochi man's birthday.
This is a non-canon tie-in to my main book 'A Taste of Forever'. I just really wanted to write a birthday special even if it doesn't tie into the story.
Now, although this tie-in isn't canon, it could be situated either right after chapter 29, or chapter 36. It wouldn't make sense considering the timeline of events, but in those cases, it's not interrupting a storyline in the main book.
Also, this tie-in uses information established in the main book. Those things aren't super necessary if you stumble across this tie-in on its own, but some things will make a little more sense.
That being said, enjoy 😊
"What are we doing here again?" you asked your sister-in-law, redirecting your attention from the candied apple in your hand to the purplette walking beside you. The Charlottes preference for sweets rubbed off on you quickly, and with another bite into the apple as you kept watching the spiky hair of the woman not move a millimetre despite her walking, you made a mental note to brush your teeth more often.
The purplette let out a short chuckle at your question, her face morphing into something you could only interpret as amusement as she met your gaze. "You really don't know, do you?"
What were you supposed to know?
With your eyebrows furrowing in concentration, you tried to remember whatever she was hinting at.
Had someone mentioned something around you? No.
Was it a national holiday? No.
Were important guests going to arrive on Whole Cake Island soon? No.
Could Brûlée just be wanting to annoy you? Probably.
Were you going to annoy her back if it was just that? Definitely.
The longer you thought about it, the more you were sure that you hadn't missed anything of importance and that you, in fact, couldn't remember something you didn't even know in the first place.
Your face must have translated your thoughts as Brûlee let out another chuckle. "Don't worry, it will dawn on you soon enough."
Or...how about you just tell me?
A quick dismissive roll of your eyes later, you gazed back into the busy streets of Whole Cake Island.
You had spent the better part of the morning by Brûlée's side. She had asked you to join her in some important shopping, and since Smoothie and Perospero were busy with their duties as strategist and Sweet Commander, and you therefore couldn't train with them, you joined the tall woman in whatever she was trying to get.
The first stop on her list that reached the floor – you had agreed on joining her before you knew how long the list actually was – was a flower shop, followed by bakeries, decoration stores, and the rest you couldn't even remember anymore.
The morning stretched on for hours, and your feet were screaming in pain by the umpteenth shop she had dragged you into. At least your quiet whining that grew more persistent with every stop you had crossed off the list had swayed her to get you something to eat, and that had at least shut you up for a little bit. Maybe it was also the super sticky candy on the apple sticking your teeth together and rendering you mute, but Brûlée considered it a success, nonetheless.
A soft chime of a bell later, you were inside the last shop on Brûlée's list. It was a clothing store, carrying everything one could think of in every single size possible. Normal daywear, accessories and even underwear were beautifully displayed in the little shop. However, nothing seemed to fit Brûlée's style.
Brushing your fingers along some pants that were hanging on a rack next to you, you voiced your bewilderment.
"Are you switching styles?"
"Oh no," the woman laughed, "I just need to get something for Katakuri-onii-chan and then I'm all good."
For Katakuri?
Her remark made you stop your actions. With your fingertips still touching a black pair of pants, you turned to your in-law, quirking an eyebrow in confusion, but instead of her, you were met with her holding an assortment of different belts into your face.
"Which one do you think he'll like the most?"
Taken aback by her question, you forgot to ask her why she wanted to get Katakuri something, and instead pointed at a belt you thought he'd like.
It was a greyish belt with dull studs all over it. Considering your husband wore belts literally everywhere he could think of, you decided against the ones that had spiky studs that could poke him depending on where he wore them. Plus, the greyish colour fit his usual colour palette, as well as the colour of the spikes he wore all over his legs and arms.
"Great, thanks (Y/N)," the purplette chimed before she rushed off to the counter.
You were left in the store, watching her figure disappear between racks with an expression on your face that had somehow perfectly morphed confusion and bewilderment into one. Nothing you had done all day had made any sense, and worst of all, no one cared to tell you what it was all about. You also hadn't failed to notice that multiple people had asked you to deliver their warmest congratulations to the first Sweet Commander, and whilst you promised them that you would with a gentle smile on your lips, you couldn't help but wonder what they were all on about.
And now even Brûlée was getting something for Katakuri.
Did I miss something?
This day was getting increasingly more confusing, as not to say irritating. Dismissing your confusion with a brief shake of your head, you roamed the rest of the shop for yourself as you waited for Brûlée to come back, and you stopped when you reached the lingerie aisle.
With a quick glance in every direction, you entered the aisle to browse whatever they had. You weren't necessarily planning on buying something, but it was nice to check out what they had. Since your family had rendered an existing love life impossible for you as they couldn't keep their nose out of your business, you had never owned something cute.
But now you had a husband, and you'd have lied if the idea of getting something didn't pique your interest. Even if just a little.
Does Katakuri like stuff like that?
Your face flushed a deep red as the thought crossed your mind, and whilst part of you wanted to evaporate into thin air out of embarrassment – all of this was entirely new territory for you – an even bigger part kept dragging you into the aisle, and before you even realised it, you were browsing through the assortment they offered.
Most things were cute, others were rather neutral, and some were scandalous. The aisle carried everything from briefs, to bras, and things that would only to be worn just to be removed a few moments later.
One set in particular caught your attention. Not necessarily because you wanted to show it to Katakuri, but more because you yourself liked it.
The bra was skin-coloured and it looked extremely comfy. The shape of the cups was your favourite, and the straps of it crossed across the back. The cups were also lined with a black floral lace that also served as the band across your chest. It also extended a little under the cups, resulting in an almost bustier design. On top of that, a band made of little crystals stretched over each cup, presumably laying on top of each breast when worn.
The briefs used the same kind of lace as main fabric, and it had a cute heart shaped accessory made of the same crystal right in the middle on the front.
"Yeah, if anyone gifts him that, it better be you. If it comes from me, it's rather weird," Brûlée remarked nonchalantly from beside you, drawing a blood-curdling scream from your lungs and scaring your soul into another dimension.
"BRÛLÉE!" you scolded once your soul had found its way back into your body, your voice nothing but a mere shriek as you tried to keep your heart from beating out of your chest. Whipping your head to the side and almost poking an eye out on her spiky hair as she had bent on her waist and was now leaning over your shoulder, you tried to glare at her. "Brûlée for the love of everything, you really got to stop scaring me like that."
"I already do my best, but do you want to get it?" she pointed at the lingerie set, and that reminded your face that it could do more than just look scared. It could also look absolutely mortified, and that's exactly what it did.
With your cheeks matching the colour of Oven's pants, you wouldn't have minded it if the floor had swallowed you in that instance. First of all, now that you looked at it with Brûlée beside you, it looked more than just a little romantic, but it looked downright erotic. Secondly, her previous remark had made it clear that she thought you were getting it for Katakuri and as much as you loved her, you didn't want her anywhere close your bedroom activities, neither physically nor mentally.
An array of absurd sounding noises left your lips as you hung the set back on the rack and took Brûlée's hand into your own, practically throwing the woman out of the shop with you flying behind her.
By the time you had arrived back inside the Château, your face had stopped challenging the sun, although the slightly mortified expression had never really left your face. The fact that Brûlée kept on bugging you about it and told you that she thought you'd have looked cute in it, didn't help.
Not.
At.
All.
You loved her, but apparently no one had ever taught her what privacy is. The fact that she out of all people owned the Mirror-Mirror-fruit was either a cruel joke from the universe, or Big Mom.
You were happy once you were back inside the castle. Finally allowed to leave Brûlée's side without breaking any of Mont d'Or's rules, you quickly gave Katakuri a call along the way to let him know you were back. He had stayed inside the castle and did some extremely fun activities on his own. Paperwork for Komugi Island.
Even though the Charlottes were a family of pirates, they had managed to build Tottoland from the ground up, and they were extremely good at managing everything. Sadly, that also included some tedious tasks that needed to be performed out of necessity. One of those things was paperwork, and Katakuri had plenty of it.
Not only was he the Minister of Flour, but he was also the governor of Komugi Island and the first Sweet Commander, and everything came with its own set of duties.
On your way back to your suite, a booming laughter caught your attention, the sound echoing through the maze of corridor that intwined inside the castle. There was only one possible owner of that voice, and even for his standards he sounded extremely amused.
Taking a turn from your usual route, you headed to the tearoom, where you found Oven almost suffocating on his own laughter, while Perospero pinched the bridge of his nose, defeat written all over his face.
Through teary eyes the orangette caught your figure standing in the doorway, and with superhuman effort, he waved you over with one hand while the sounds he made still reminded you more of a suffocating seal than a human.
"(Y/N), tell Peros-nii that it's funny!" the orangette chocked through his laughter, the hairline on his face gone as they matched in colour.
Carerfully eyeing the orangette, you drifted your eyes over to Perospero with a puzzled quirk in your eyebrow.
"What are you even talking about?" you questioned, your comment urging the youngest of the triplet brothers to finally recollect himself, at least somewhat, and pull a chair back in a silent invitation for you to join them.
After some help until you were sitting on the elevated chair, you gazed at Oven cautiously. "So, tell me, what's so funny?"
"You know that Daifuku has the Hoya Hoya no mi, don't you?"
"I do," you confirmed, your voice rising in pitch as you dragged on the last syllable in confusion. What was so funny about Daifuku's fruit? Sure, his fighting style had cracked you up the first time you saw it, but that was about it.
"Then I'm sure you know the stories around Genies and where they reside," Oven continued, either not noticing or not caring about your confusion.
"I do."
"Well then let me show you this." Bending to the side and reaching down, the orangette picked something off the floor, hiding it between his clasped hands before he held them out to you.
"Look what I got him." The shit-eating grin on Oven's face matched the tone in his voice, and as soon as the words were uttered, he opened his hands, revealing a golden toy wish lamp.
You guys are big children.
Your eyes rested on the toy for a moment before the thought drew a light chuckle from your lips.
"You see?" Oven jeered over the table at Perospero, apparently thinking the little wish lamp had made you laugh, "she thinks it's funny too!"
"She doesn't think it's funny, she just cares too little to tell you," Perospero remarked, sporting his signature mocking grin on his lips again.
Oven's head whipped back at you, the grin from his face dropping in record speed as he looked at you like you had just told him his favourite muffin was out of stock.
"You don't think it's funny?"
"I..." you didn't have the heart to break Oven's "...do."
"There you go, Peros-nii. I'm hilarious."
Oh, Oven...
"Even Tiny agrees."
OVEN!
In response to the boasting of the Minister of Browned Food, Perospero just turned to you, raising his brows as he quietly judged you. He didn't even need to say a word as you already knew what was going on inside of his head: 'Really? You even humour his stupidity?'
You just shrugged at the eldest before Oven's voice drew your attention back onto him.
"I'm going to give it to him on our birthday tomorrow."
You gave him an encouraging pat on his shoulder.
"That's so nice..." the gears started to turn inside of your mind.
"...of..." Daifuku and Oven were triplet brothers, so if it was one's birthday, it was automatically the others.
"...you..." and therefore also Katakuri's.
WHAT THE FUCK?
"IT'S KATAKURI'S BIRTHDAY TOMORROW?!" you yelled across the table as you slammed your hands flat on its surface, quickly startling both men with your outburst. The two men exchanged a quick glance among themselves before they looked back at you.
"So, he didn't tell you, perorin~." Perospero observed, an amused glint in his eyes that you wanted to smack off if you didn't like him too much for it.
Before you could glare Perospero to death, Oven interjected. "Sounds a lot like him."
"What do you mean by that?" you questioned as you sunk back into the chair, followed by a frustrated huff leaving your lips as you folded your arms over your chest in a silent pout.
"We are so many siblings. We don't celebrate birthdays that much. Too much logistics and everything. Most of the time only the ones closest with each other host celebrations, if at all," Oven explained calmly as your face continued to deflate.
"Katakuri usually just joins other's parties, but for like the past 40 years or so, maybe a little less, he didn't want one for himself. He says he doesn't care about it, and we should save ourselves the effort," Perospero continued matter-of-factly.
Dropping your face on the table, you grumbled quietly. Partly because you were frustrated that you had learnt one day before the actual date that tomorrow was your husband's birthday, but also because you felt so heartbroken for Katakuri.
You were plenty of people on the Moby Dick, and although it was impossible to celebrate everyone's birthday, at the end of each month you threw one collective birthday party for everyone that had successfully lived through another year.
To think that Katakuri didn't have a proper birthday party for almost 40 years because he presumably didn't care was heartbreaking. Maybe he really didn't care, but part of you knew that it was just one of the many things he had given up on after he had declared himself the protector of the family.
"We thought you knew since Brûlée took you birthday shopping today. She still organises something for him even though he doesn't want to."
Wait, what?
Shooting back up into a sitting position, you first looked at Perospero who had uttered the sentence with an intensity that almost melted his face, before you looked at Oven, only to find him visually confirming that you had understood the eldest correctly.
BRÛLÉE I'M GOING TO MURDER YOU!
At least now the shops, the belt, and all the well-wishes of the residents made sense.
"I reckon she didn't tell you either," Oven observed, suppressing a chuckle because he didn't want your gaze to grow even more intense and maybe really melt his face off.
"No, she fucking didn't," you hissed through clenched teeth.
"First of all, Candy, language," Perospero interjected, earning himself another death glare from you. "And secondly, that was kind of dense from you."
That comment didn't raise your overall mood, but you decided not to rip his head off. Today. That would have ruined Katakuri's mood for tomorrow. Also, because he was right.
"So let me get this straight," you started, drifting your eyes between the men to make sure they were listening, "tomorrow is your," you pointed at Oven, "Daifuku's and Katakuri's birthday." The orangette nodded. "Brûlée took me shopping for a little celebration without telling me and most likely giggled on the inside." An affirmative hum from Oven confirmed your thoughts.
"Okay. In this case, please excuse me. I'll first strangle your sister and then I'll call you guys." You jumped down the elevated chair and already sprinted out of the tearoom, shouting one last request over your shoulder. "Please keep your Den Den Mushi's by your side."
You were already out of the door when Oven glanced at Perospero, an amused smile on his lips. "That's going to be chaotic."
"As long as she doesn't bake, we are all good, perorin~."
You pretty much teleported yourself into Brûlée's room, where you jumped at her and tackled her to the ground. Grabbing the edges of her dress, you pulled her up, glaring at her smiling face, and the broader she smiled, the more your eyes narrowed.
"I see you have figured it out." Apparently, the purplette wanted to poke the bear.
"Brûlée that isn't fucking funny," you huffed into her face. "You could have told me instead of letting me remain oblivious."
Holding her hands up in mock surrender, she smiled at you. "Alright, I'm sorry. But now that you know about it, do you want to help me prepare everything?"