You spent the remainder of the day, of course with the exception of Katakuri's Merienda, preparing something for your husband and his brothers. They shared a birthday, and even though you were only married to one third of the triplet, you wanted to host something nice for everyone. Also, because you believed it was easier to keep Katakuri from leaving his own party if it was under the guise of a collective celebration.
Sitting on the floor with the purplette, you went over everything you needed for the party. From food, to decorations, to entertainment, as well as guests. Screw logistics. You wanted as many of his siblings to attend the party as possible. Not only because Katakuri and Oven were the two favourite brothers – poor Daifuku – but also because Katakuri would surely enjoy seeing his siblings, even if he showed it in his own mega tough guy Sweet Commander way, aka not at all.
At first Brûlée was a little hesitant when she heard how much you wanted to prepare. Not only was Katakuri not that fond of celebrations in his honour, but also because the party was only a day away, but you could eventually convince her to turn it up a notch or...twenty. Also, because you had promised to take the blame if it was too much for the first Sweet Commander.
Over the course of the afternoon, multiple siblings had promised to attend the party, and most importantly, keep their mouths shut and not tell anything to the birthday boy. Some had even offered to help you with the party, either offering to come help set everything up on the day, or to get something if you needed it.
It was lovely, really. Sometimes the Charlottes felt so different from your previous families, but in moments like these, there wasn't that much of a difference between them. Their mother still scared the shit out of you, but the rest was really growing on you.
Oven and Daifuku were also informed about their party. It was a necessary sacrifice. First of all, Oven knew about the party anyway, and secondly, you needed someone to escort Katakuri to the desired location at the right time. However, apart from that, they weren't allowed to help with any other preparations, even though they had suggested it. Even if Oven and Daifuku knew about the party, they should still be surprised as much as possible, and were therefore only allowed to enter the venue together.
As smoothly as the entire party planning went, there was one big issue, and it was you. All siblings could avoid Katakuri until the party, but you couldn't. Not only did you have to see him on the way to his Merienda and back, but you also shared a room with the man, and considering your body and face were very honest, it was incredibly difficult not to let him grow suspicious.
The fact that you had let out a startled scream when he knocked on Brûlée's door to pick you up for his Merienda also did nothing to make you appear nonchalant. While the purplette almost facepalmed herself out of Tottoland, Katakuri only quirked a puzzled eyebrow at your flustered and hyperventilating expression as you hid the guest list behind your back. Luckily, he had decided not to press it.
That was, at least, until you were back inside your suite.
During dinner Smoothie had pointed out that you had some glitter stuck to your hair, courtesy of Dolce and Dragée decorating a little banner and decorating pretty much every Charlotte in the room along with it. Whilst the others had the opportunity to shower between preparations and dinner, you hadn't.
Upon seeing the proofs of your surprise glisten in your hair, you quickly debated shaking your hair like a wet dog but eventually opted against it. If Katakuri hadn't noticed the glitter by then, your reaction would surely draw attention to it. However, showering was definitely your top priority as soon as you were back inside your suite. If only it wasn't for your husband.
Entering your suite with Katakuri following you, you made a beeline for the shower, grabbing your nightgown off the bedside table along the way. Although there was still plenty to prepare, the other siblings had offered to take over for the evening. Partly to let you rest, but also to keep Katakuri from growing suspicious if you had stalked off with his siblings again.
"What are you and Brûlée up to?"
Briefly tensing at his observation, you wrapped a hand around the doorframe of the bathroom whilst leaning back, peeking your head out of it.
"What do you mean?" With your voice squeakier than you had intended to, not even you believed your poorly feigned nonchalance. Mentally facepalming that your voice revealed that his question had made you sweat internally, you tried to mask your freak out with a smile. "We are just hanging out like we always do."
Katakuri let out an acknowledging hum as he came over to you. Once he had reached your side, he crouched down, taking a strand of your hair between his fingers and giving it a quick twirl before his eyes flicked back on yours. "And you and Brûlée always hang out with glitter, too?"
ASDIJHASJH
If he hadn't figured out what you were up to, he was at least this close to doing it. Screaming loudly inside of your head, you let out a bizarre chuckle as you tried to come up with a way that would make him drop the topic instantly. If he could spend even a few more seconds thinking about it, he'd figure it out and ruin his own surprise.
With your mind going into overdrive, you came up with different ideas to distract him, but ended up disregarding every single idea just as quickly as quickly as it had popped up in your head. It was either utter bullshit and would only entice his curiosity, or you'd have to be too honest.
Just when your excessive overthinking was about to make smoke rise out of your ears, an idea popped up in your head, and you blurted it out before your brain could filter it out correctly.
"Oh yeah that," you laughed as you flicked the glitter off your hair, "Brûlée needed my opinion on some new underwear she bought for herself, and one had glitter."
WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?!
Apparently, the trip to the clothing store had left a lasting impression. It wasn't necessarily how you had expected your afternoon curiosity to benefit you, but it was better than nothing.
Forcing your freak out to remain internal rather than external, you forced a smile on your lips as a drop of nervous sweat dropped down your temple. However, even though you were as stressed as Mont d'Or was when you did literally anything, you were also relieved to witness that your comment did what it was supposed to do.
Never before had Katakuri looked so mortified. Even though half of his face was masked, you could practically see his entire face cringe at the thought of the two of you buying underwear for his sister and then even judging it. In the meantime, you were busy making a mental note to either never tell Brûlée about the little white lie you had used her for, or to walk up to her and apologise.
However, even though you felt bad the second the words had left your lips, it still worked in your favour. It was the perfect combination of TMI, uncomfortable as she was his sister and as much as he loved her, he didn't want to think of that, and it was still believable.
Encouraged by your success, you continued in an effort to make it even more uncomfortable for both of you in hopes of making him forget about his suspicions.
"It was really cute. It had frills and everything, some lace and – "
"Please stop."
He sounded almost suffering.
Sorry, Kata...
Flashing him a smile and pressing a quick peck on his cheek, you disappeared inside the bathroom where you found a very mortified looking Brûlée looking at you through the bathroom mirror.
Apologise to her it was.
Sorry...
However, the interaction wasn't all bad. Even though you had probably mentally scarred the tall man for the rest of his life, and Brûlée looked like she was about to break down in tears, Katakuri hadn't brought the topic up for the remainder of the evening.
"(Y/N)-onee-chan, look at how pretty it looks!" Dolce bubbled, drawing in your attention as you were watching Anana cut some confetti out. Holding the little girl in your lap while you were sitting on the floor, you casted your eyes up and watched the two little boys hang some fairy lights up along with the help of Smoothie, Citron, and Cinnamon.
Perospero was somewhere else, where you weren't entirely sure, but he had promised to make sure that all the food would be set up in time. Mont d'Or gave the musicians a run down on what was expected of them, while Galette supervised the servants in setting up the tables. Brûlée was entirely unhelpful as she was too excited over the party to help properly, the purplette just grinning over both ears as she watched her siblings hustle all over the place.
Amande made sure to greet the siblings that arrived and give them a run down on what they were expected to do at the very beginning of the party, while Cracker kept an eye on the gift-table. He had even shed his biscuit armour for the day, and his firecracker hair was a party decoration in itself.
Sadly, not every single sibling was going to join, but the room was already bustling with over 40 of them, and based on the list that was currently in Amande's hands, some still had to arrive.
By the time the tearoom was almost completely decorated and set up, Anana jumped off your lap and handed each of her siblings some of her self-made confetti.
With a happy smile decorating your features, you got up from the floor, stretching your legs and rolling your shoulders out as your eyes skated across the room.
The banner the younger siblings had finished the day before hung right in the middle of the room, reading a large 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG BROTHERS!" with glitter and small drawings all over it. From little hearts, to smileys, to flowers everything was on there, as fairy lights were hanging across the entire ceiling, creating a makeshift artificial night sky in the room.
There was a huge table to the right that was stacked with presents from all the siblings, and based on the amount of presents everyone had gotten, you'd have to ask Cracker later to get a second table to avoid some of the wrapped-up boxes to fall off. Towards the back of the room the band was still setting up their instruments, and across the entire room normal roundtables had been set up, each of them carrying different dishes that accommodated the tastes of the many Charlottes.
With a quick glance to the clock, you sighed in relief. There was still one more hour until the triplets were supposed to arrive, and it was enough time to finish the rest, as well as for the few missing siblings to make it on time.
You had been a little bit worried in the morning whether you could finish everything on time, considering some siblings didn't know when exactly they could arrive and help with setting everything up, as well as your compulsory Merienda-break with Katakuri. Plus you had also spent some time on preparing some doughnuts to offer them to Katakuri during the party, but everything worked out just fine in the end.
"The room looks great, Candy," Perospero remarked as he appeared in the doorway, some chefs behind him as they carried a huge birthday cake into the venue. The eldest smiled one of his rare non-mocking smiles as he met your gaze, but just before you could return it, you caught some orange hair peeking out from around the door.
"Oven!" you scolded. "For the last time, wait until the party! Don't spoil your own surprise, big boy."
The orangette had tried to sneak into the venue a few times to get a glance of the party, but you had always ushered him out. By the umpteenth time, you had asked Raisin to guard the door and only let people inside that didn't look like Oven – also not like Oven with a hat and a moustache on – but since the door was open anyway, the tall man used his opportunity.
"Come on, Tiny," the orangette whined as Perospero hit him with his candy wand over his head. "Just one peek."
"No!" You turned to the young swordsman. "Raisin, could you please?"
"Already on it."
What followed was a small commotion outside, some yelping, as well as theatrical groans. You weren't entirely sure whether Oven was just making sounds to make you feel guilty at this point.
Drama king...
You rolled your eyes while Perospero and the chefs entered the venue, the latter setting up the cake right in the middle of the venue as the eldest walked over to you.
"Kukuku~ Is there anything else we need to do before the others arrive?"
Tapping your chin in thought, you quickly went over the list in your head. "If I remember correctly, all is done except for a few more dishes, as well as some siblings that still need to arrive."
"Do you want us to take over from here?" Smoothie remarked as she appeared from behind, a hand on her hips while her other brushed through her bangs. "You still need to get dressed and there's not that much time anymore."
"And don't forget to get Katakuri's present while you're on it, perorin~"
Get.
Smoothie and Perospero let out a hearty chuckle as they decided to take the lead from here.
Katakuri's.
Drifting their eyes to you, their laughter died as they saw your horrified expression.
Present?
Visually paling until every drop of blood was anywhere but in your face, you stared straight ahead as your head erupted in a circus of screams.
I FORGOT TO GET A PRESENT!!!
Catching on to your ghostly complexion, the eldest quirked an eyebrow at you, before he let out a laugh. "Don't tell me you forgot to get Katakuri a present."
"I fucking did," you half-whined, half-hissed as you were mentally headbutting every single wall in the castle.
Too busy with setting up the party and making sure that everything was ready for when Katakuri arrived, you had totally forgotten about getting the man a present.
How could I forget the present?
"How could you forget the present, perorin~?" Perospero chuckled, and in your frustration, you just grabbed the closest object in reach and hurled it in his direction. However, much to the eldest dismay, and your and everyone else's amusement, you had hurled the box with the remaining glitter in it at him, showering him in it and making him look like a real-life fairy.
At least now you both still needed to get redressed.
He's gonna kill me later for that.
Sputtering the glitter that had landed in his mouth out, the tall man dragged his hands over his face whilst glaring at you through the glitter in his eyes. As much as he had started liking you, in moments like these he still wanted to stick you to the closest wall and leave you there. The fact that you were very poorly masking your grin only annoyed him more. Next training session he'd get you reacquainted with a few trees across the island.
Batting your eyes at him as innocently as you could, you smiled at the Charlotte whilst your eyes were laughing wickedly about his misfortune. "I'm so sorry, Peros-nii," you apologised, obvious tease tinting your words. The other Charlottes watched the scene unfold in amusement whilst Smoothie pinched the bridge of her nose.
Sometimes she wasn't sure whether you were begging to get on the eldest nerves.
With your grin broadening the more Perospero's glare wrinkled his front, the eldest eventually decided to break the staring match you had engaged in.
"You're lucky it's Katakuri's birthday," Perospero snarled as he tilted your head up with his candy wand before he turned around to get redressed, but not before shooting you one last warning over his shoulder. "But tomorrow it isn't. Get ready to get your ass kicked then."
"You'd never Peros-nii."
"Watch me, Candy."
"You should get dressed, too," Smoothie remarked with a sigh in her voice and a hand on your shoulder. Tomorrow's training promised to be interesting.
With a towel wrapped around your form, your flustered eyes stared at the clothes that had been neatly placed on your bed.
While you were busy showering off the remainders of your kitchen escapades, Brûlée had crawled through the bathroom mirror, sending your soul into the afterlife and leaving it there for Mont d'Or to drag you back with his own two hands.
However, when you realised why Brûlée had decided to give you the scare of a lifetime, you wished Mont d'Or had just left you stay dead.
Smiling as innocently as ever, the purplette held out some clothes that she had picked out for you to wear for this occasion. This alone would have been sweet, if it wasn't for what exactly she had gotten you.
Namely yesterday's lingerie set.
A cold shiver ran down your back, shaking your entire body as you pictured her going back into the shop and buying the lingerie set you had eyed the day before. How exactly she knew your exact size was a mystery to you, and you weren't sure whether you wanted the answer to that.
Probably not, now that you gave it some thought. The only acceptable answer was that she had your measurements from when they had adjusted the wedding dress to your size, but considering it was Brûlée you were talking about, it probably wasn't that.
The woman herself didn't see anything wrong with it as she informed you that she had picked the lingerie set up just a few moments ago because you didn't have a present for Katakuri. In her words, you yourself could be the present now.
A crushed sigh left your lips as your entire face cringed up until you looked like Daifuku. If she had the time to pick something up to cover for your negligence, she could have also gotten something that wasn't lingerie. But here you were, holding the dainty fabric between your fingers as you debated whether or not you should slip it on.
Brûlée had left to join her siblings as you went into the living space to get dressed, and although you had been 100% convinced that you weren't going to put it on...it did look cute.
And you did, in fact, not have a present for Katakuri.
Why am I even entertaining that thought?
The lace frill of the bustier was soft against your fingertips, and whilst you were quietly tormenting your lower lip with a thoughtful frown decorating your features, you eventually let out a guttural groan into the quiet suite, your head falling into your nape in the process.
I'm going to hate myself later for that one.
But that was your future-self's problem. Throwing on the lingerie set before your senses could return to you and talk you out of it, you then followed up by getting dressed in a fresh set of your normal daywear. You had considered putting on a dress, but upon seeing that all Charlottes had decided to appear in their normal clothes, you decided to follow their example.
Plus, your normal clothes hid the lingerie well.
With a last look over yourself in the vanity, you checked whether everything was in place before you rushed to the tearoom, ready to surprise your husband with his birthday party.