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Haruka had been used to her uncle not always being able to pick her up from school. He was busy, and got into a lot of fights with street punks. But he always sent someone to come get her.
She just didn't expect it to be Majima.
"Ah, Haruka-chan!" He grinned.
"Hi, Majima-san."
"I'm sure you know yer uncle is the one who sent me here to get ya."
Haruka nodded, looking up at him as they began walking.
"Why you, though?" She asked him. Majima blinked, and glanced around as if there was someone watching, before eventually looking back down at her.
"Well, I offered to. Wanted to ask ya somethin'."
Her head tilted up as she stared at him, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Ask me what?"
He cleared his throat. "Well, ya know how yer uncle's birthday is comin' up?" She nodded again, "Yeah, well, I wanted to celebrate it with you guys, help plan a celebration. If that'd be alright with you."
She was silent as she processed what he was saying to her before eventually humming, "Okay."
"Good! And I came to ask because I need ya to help me." "Help you with what?"
"Help me find out what we should do. Look, there's the park," He pointed offhandedly, "Let's go over there and discuss what to do."
The pair diverted their path to walk over to the park, Haruka holding on to Majima's hand as they walked along the crosswalk, letting go once they reached an empty bench.
"So here's what I was thinkin'," Majima began revealing his plans, "We could buy him some gifts, take him out for some karaoke, then come back home for some cake."
"Uncle Kaz doesn't like cake."
"Haw?!" Majima exclaimed, "Whaddya mean he don't like cake?"
"Well, no, he's fine with it. But he likes other sweets more." Haruka quickly clarified.
"Ah, gotcha', gotcha'. So what desserts does he like?"
Haruka was silent, mind lost in thought.
"Well we don't go out for dessert a lot. Uncle Kaz says sugar's bad for you."
"Typical. Go on."
Haruka narrowed her eyes, "But I remember him liking, uh, I think it was a matcha crepe cake."
"Does he like matcha?" Majima perked up at the revealed information
"It's not his favorite." She shook her head.
Majima's brows furrowed momentarily before deciding, "How 'bout we make our way to the bakery and just pick somethin' up 'n hope he likes it?"
Haruka nodded and smiled, "Okay!"
------
They eventually found themselves in front of a small bakery, with pink painted walls and white writing in a cute font over the door. The bell rung as the two walked in, who breathed in the smell of freshly baked goods, vanilla extract, and rich chocolate. The cashier stared at Majima, which was fine, because he knew he was a fine piece of ass. His lips quirked up at the thought of him saying that to Kiryu, only to get punched in the arm. "Welcome." They greeted simply, and Majima could tell it wasn't as friendly as it could be, not that he particularly cared.
Haruka was already eyeing all the sweets, eyes darting from cheesecake slices to cookies. Majima smiled at her cuteness as he bent over to eye the foods with her, their gazes matching over the same foods.
"What about that?" Majima pointed to a chocolate treat which had sugar cone bits, blueberries, and raspberry sauce sprinkled on top. Haruka only shook her head, "No, uncle Kaz doesn't like stuff that looks too over the top." The cashier looked offended at the comment, but made no attempt to say anything.
Suddenly, Majima's eyes spotted a pastry, topped with powdered sugar and held a thick cream in the middle. "What about those?" He tapped the glass.
Haruka judged them silently, taking her duty of helping Kiryu get the best birthday dessert very serious. Eventually, she gave a satisfied nod, and the pastries passed her judgement.
"Great!" He clapped, shooting up so quickly it looked like the cashier had just recovered from a heart attack.
"We'll take six of those, uh..."
"Shu Cream Puffs?" The cashier filled in.
"Yeah! Six of 'em, please!" He shot a smile and they nodded silently, disappearing into the back before returning with a brown bag in tow, the bakery's logo printed in the middle.
"Once we pay for these, you're helping me find him a gift."
------
"He's still into Pocket Circuit?"
"Don't make fun of him."
"Haw? I'm not! I just think it's cute."
"Cute?"
"Adorable. Now he said there were pocket circuit parts in here?"
Haruka hummed. "Yeah, but he says he can't afford to waste money on them anymore."
Majima paused, turning his gaze away from the Don Quijote and towards Haruka. "Wasting?" He asked, almost offended, "It's not wastin' if it's somethin' ya like."
Haruka nodded. "That's what I thought. He hasn't been playing a lot, recently. I don't think I've seen him gone in the past two weeks... he seems sadder."
Majima's lips quirked into a frown on the outside. On the inside, though, his chest squeezed. His Kiryu-chan should relax and have fun once in a while. He shook the thoughts from his head before they escalated, instead leading Haruka into the store as they began their search. It didn't take long for them to gather up a few gears and wheels, Majima was even able to find a High Capacity battery.
Good fuckin' lord it was all expensive. Anything for Kaz the two of them had both thought.
------
It was around 2:00 that there was a knock at the door, and it was around 2:01 that Kiryu became instantly exhausted.
"If you're looking for a fight, then you're not getting one."
"Ouch Kaz!" Majima exclaimed in mock hurt, "What makes ya think I'm here for a fight?"
"You have your tantō on you, I can tell." Kiryu's eyebrows creased.
Majima snorted, "I always have my tantō on me. But that's not why I'm here."
"Then why are you?"
Majima tilted his head to look inside Kiryu's apartment, spotting Haruka on the couch, as well as a drawing on the fridge that said 'Happy Birthday, Kaz!!!'
Adorable.
"Well, me and yer girl wanted to take ya out for yer birthday."
Kiryu was silent, eyes staring at Majima's. Eventually he spoke, "You know my birthday?"
Majima sputtered, "'Course I do! Who do ya take me for?!" He then breathed deeply, quelling his anger. "How does karaoke sound?" Kiryu nodded, "It sounds good. Just let me get dressed." Kiryu said as he looked down at the white shirt and sweatpants he wore.
"Great, can I put this stuff away then for later?" Kiryu looked at the bag Majima had just held up, which he hadn't realized was there until now.
"Sure."
As Kiryu left the living room to go get changed into his regular suit, Majima took out the box of Shu Cream Puffs and put them in the fridge. (After taking off his shoes, of course.) As for the pocket circuit parts, they were wrapped in old christmas wrapping paper he had the construction squad use for their Secret Santa. (If you wish to know, Nishida had gotten Majima and gifted him Marseille soap, since he heard it helped clean gloves. Although Majima hadn't gotten him for the Secret Santa, Majima gifted him a pay raise.)
He moved to the couch where Haruka was and sat down next to her. "You think he'll like his gift?" He asked. She nodded and smiled up at him, "He will, I know he will." She was silent for a moment before finally asking, "When he does use his gift though, could you see if I could come with you guys to watch? I still don't understand what Pocket Circuit is exactly." He smiled down at her and ruffled her hair, "Awe, of course ya can!" She giggled and batted his hands away playfully.
Kiryu walked out at that moment, smiling softly at the display of the two people he adored most enjoying each other's company. "Ready to go?" He coughed, feeling bad for interrupting their moment.
Majima beamed at him "Yep! Let's get goin' you two!"
------
"...Seya kedo tekagen nashi ya na iku de! Kiryu-chan!" Majima finished off his song with a screech, which despite causing many patrons to clap their hands over their ears, earned him many applauses as well. Why does it sound like it would be better as applausi? Meh, whatever. Majima thought as he sat back down on the booth, spreading his legs and resting both arms on the back of the booth, not so subtly making it brush against Kiryu's nape, which trembled with goosebumps.
"Damn right, I'm amazing! Now what about you, Haruka? You want a turn?" She shook her head, "No thanks. I like watching you guys." She smiled, causing Majima to smile in return. "Alright then, seems like yer up next, Kiryu."
Kiryu blinked at him, "Are you sure you don't want to go again?" Majima quirked a brow at him, "Haw? What, no! It's yer birthday. I only went cause ya decided to be sneaky and order a drink first." He gestured to the glass of water on the low table.
"I was thirsty." He frowned, and Majima mentally facepalmed.
"Yeah, yeah, get yer a- get yer butt up there." He used the arm behind Kiryu to nudge him off the seat, causing him to stumble as he stood. He dropped his eyebrows at Majima as he made his way over to the Karaoke Machine and punched in a few numbers. Majima immediately recognized the song by it's sad tune.
"Baka mitai kodomo na no ne..."
They were in for a long night.
A long night filled of fun.
------
They had sung their hearts out, almost quite literally, as Majima screech-singing 24-Hour Cinderella is what got them kicked out. But it was getting late anyways. The entire way home, the three of them were all joking, talking, even laughing. He had gotten Kiryu to laugh! And god, did he wish he could hear it more. They had all basked in each others presences till they reached Kiryu's apartment, who had fumbled in getting the key in. They all flooded inside once the door was open, and practically collapsed into the couch, sinking into it as if they were to be consumed whole by it.
After a few moments of comfortable silence, Majima sprouted up, and grabbed the plastic bag and the box of sweets from the fridge. He placed them on the coffee table in the middle and sat back down, "So what'll it be, Kiryu-chan? Presents or dessert?"
"You got me a present?"
"Jesus! 'A course I did!"
"You didn't need to."
"But I wanted to, so pick one."
"Hm. Gift, so that way we don't have to open anything after we eat."
"Great!" Majima dumped the small wrapped boxes onto the coffee table, picking one up and handing it to Kiryu. Kiryu examined it in his hands, thumbing the, messily done wrapping paper. He started in silence before Haruka urged him to open it. He pulled the thin tape off and along with it the paper, hand faltering as he struggled to find a place to put it, not wanting to litter in his own home. Majima snatched it from him and told him to look at his gift, which he did. Kiryu felt embarrased, having Majima and Haruka stare at him while he opened a gift. It was humiliating--he was a grown thirty, almost forty, year old man. He didn't need gifts, and he shouldn't of made them feel like they needed to give him any. Yet...
The gift brought a smile to his face.
"You, ah, got me Pocket Circuit?"
"Of course, yer girl was the one who suggested it. Thank god they had these parts at the Don Quijote."
"You went to Don Quijote? That's expensive, Majima. You shouldn't waste-"
"Oi. I'll do whatever the hell I wanna do with my money, and what I wanted to do with it was buy ya a birthday gift. Relax Kaz, wasn't that expensive."
"I've seen the prices, nii-san."
"Well thank god the Don doesn't have a return policy. We got ya more, open 'em."
And so Kiryu did. Each one rounding up to an incredibly expensive total he could picture in his mind, making guilt weigh down on him. This much money wasted on a childish hobby...
"Ah, good, yer done. Let's dig into the dessert then!" Majima rushed to the fridge, only to zoom back onto the couch with the box in hand.
"Aight, so we didn't know if ya wanted cake or not, so we got ya these." Flipping the box open, Kiryu's eyes locked on to the Shu Cream Puffs. Majima and Haruka instantly grabbed their own, Majima grabbing a second to hold out to Kiryu. Kiryu blinked himself out of his daze and accepted the cream puff. "Thank you. Both of you." He smiled, earning both a 'No problem!' and a 'You're welcome, Uncle Kaz!'.
They quickly dug in, but as they were eating, Kiryu taking small bites, not even being closed to half finished with the sweet and savory treat in his fingers, all he could think of was Sunflower. Nishiki and Yumi. Yumi had gotten the recipe from one of her classmates when they were kids, prompting them to bake the food. They all loved it so much that they would bake it whenever they had money for the ingredients. He remembers Yumi's laugh as Nishiki got cream on his nose, or how in one of their first baking attempts the frosting came out so disgusting it made Kiryu wash his mouth out with sink water.
"These are just great, aren't they- Kaz, wait! Why're ya crying?" Majima abandoned his pastry back in the box, wiping the powdered frosting off his fingertips as he moved in close to Kiryu. He used his thumb to wipe the tears Kiryu hadn't realized he had shed. Haruka had abandoned her pastry too; also in the box. She curled up against Kiryu's side, pressing her head against the side of his ribs in an attempt to comfort him. "Uncle Kaz, what's wrong?"
He finally recognized the tears that were pooling in his eyes. He blinked them away, setting his pastry down to wipe his eyes with the heel of his palms, "Crap. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin this moment for you guys." Majima felt as if his heart broke then and there, and he pulled an arm around Kiryu's shoulders so his head was against his shoulders, the other one coming up to stroke his hairline. "No, no, ya didn't ruin anythin'." Majima murmured. "Yeah, Uncle Kaz!" Haruka interjected. Majima grabbed Kiryu's chin between his fingers and forced him to face Majima, "Ya wanna tell us what's wrong? Yer not hurt, are ya?"
"No, no. It's not that." His skin shivered at the feeling of Haruka nuzzling into him more. "It's just... these remind me of Sunflower."
"Oh. Oh. Oh, Kaz..." Majima rested his head on top of Kiryu's as he let go of his chin.
With a small sniffle, Kiryu regained his composure, despite reluctantly pulling away from the comforting touch of Haruka and Majima on both of his sides.
"It's getting late, how about we put you to bed, Haruka?"
"Are you gonna be alright, Uncle Kaz?"
"Of course. Now let's get you to bed." He picked her up, causing her to rest her head on his shoulder as he took her to her bed.
When he got back, Majima was still there, having thrown out all the wrapping paper and put the pastries back in the fridge.
"Ya alright?" He asked, face blank. But Kiryu could tell he was worried.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you... for helping me. And thank you, for giving me a fun birthday." Kiryu flashed him a warm smile, making Majima's heart jump and face heat up. He stood suddenly, and walked over to Kaz, grabbing his shoulders and spinning him around, leading him towards the bedroom. "Yer welcome, ya big sap. Let's go to bed, yeah?" Kiryu hummed, and started undressing once he was inside, folding his suit neatly and placing it on top of his dresser. Majima replicated his actions, minus the folding. He tossed his clothes around and laid down on the futon, making grabby-hands at Kiryu, urging him to follow.
Kiryu smiled but complied, lying down on his side next to Majima. He laid far enough away from Majima as to give him space, but Majima wasn't having any of it. Wrapping two arms around Kiryu, Majima yanked him forward so he was pressed comfortably against Majima's warm body. One of his arms rubbed Kiryu's back, while the other moved up to pet Kiryu's hair. Kiryu tangled his arms around Majima in turn. He buried his face in the older man's chest, and whined when those fingers in his hair pressed down on his scalp. He leaned into the touch, seeking for more.
It didn't take Kiryu long to fall asleep, not with Majima's calming ministrations. Majima followed suit, but not before pressing a kiss to the crown of Kiryu's head.
------
Majima woke up in a cold sweat, jolting out of the futon and panting heavily. His eyes were blown and wild, and his hands shook.
"We forgot the fucking candles!"