Chapter Text
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Barou arrives at Isagi's apartment a little later than six in the evening.
In fact, there are only five minutes left before the clock strikes seven. He has promised to come over around six in the evening — apparently Kunigami and Bachira have made him some birthday cake — but the traffic for the day was so hellish that the usually short drive to Isagi's apartment has taken him at least thirty minutes. He actually feels bad making everyone wait and after they have taken time to prepare for his birthday, too
No matter, he's already on the thirtieth floor of the building now, and he only needs a couple of steps before he reaches Isagi's penthouse.
"I wonder what those guys are up to this time," Barou mumbles to himself, remembering the previous birthdays he has celebrated with Kunigami and those idiots — his idiots, the part of his brain that has been greatly influenced by Kunigami over the years, corrects — and how crazy each one has been.
If Barou is being honest, he'll say that he has never expected to form a bond with anyone from Blue Lock. That hasn't been his goal when he signed up for the project, but fate has always been a funny thing, and now, years later, he has found himself a tight circle full of bastards and Kunigami, whom he sometimes (always) calls friends. It still feels like a fever dream most times though.
"Well, here we are," Barou mutters as he presses the doorbell next to Isagi's door, raising an eyebrow as he hears loud shuffling from inside, suddenly feeling very apprehensive.
Although before he can turn back, the door swings open, and Barou is immediately assaulted by the sound of horns and a shower of confetti.
"Happy birthday, Barou!"
"What —" Barou splutters as three pieces of paper confetti ends up in his mouth.
"I know we told you not to eat before you come here, so you're probably hungry, but you don't have to eat confetti like that," someone says from the living room, and Barou feels his eyes twitch when he recognizes Shidou's voice.
Barou lets out a growl, "Why are you here?"
Shidou, unaffected, just rolls his eyes at him, "I don't know, fake Simba. What do you think?"
"He came here with Reo and Kunigami," Isagi explains, and Barou deflates. If Shidou is with Kunigami and Reo, there's no way he can kick him out now, so instead, Barou ignores him in favor of marching towards the couch where Nagi and Chigiri seem to be snuggling.
"Hey, move over a bit, and let me sit," Barou says as he stops in front of the two.
Chigiri's response is immediate, "No."
"It's my birthday," Barou reasons.
"I don't care," Chigiri waves him off casually, looking up at Nagi, "Do you care?"
"Not really," Nagi shakes his head.
"I hate both of you," Barou grumbles, having no choice but to flop himself down on the carpeted floor as he looks around, "Where's Reo?"
"Ohhh, Reo ," Shidou teases, wiggling his eyebrows at him, and Barou has to resist the urge to throw the elephant ceramic in front of him at his occasional friend-slash-occasional enemy.
"Shut up!"
Thankfully for him, he doesn't have to worry about dealing with Shidou any longer because Reo steps out of the kitchen, wearing one of the brightest grins Barou has ever seen.
"Oh! You're here!" Reo basically runs towards him, flopping himself next to him before turning his head to glare at Nagi, "I told Nagi to call me when you arrive."
"I forgot," Nagi shrugs, looking unapologetic.
Reo frowns at his friend for a few seconds before he lets out a sigh, turning back towards him, "Anyway, you must be hungry,"
"He is. He tried to eat confetti," Shidou relays with a snicker, and the glare that Barou has sent his way only serves to make him laugh louder.
"The food's almost done," Kunigami announces as he walks towards them, effectively cutting off any argument between him and Shidou before it can even begin.
Behind Kunigami, Bachira is nodding enthusiastically, "They're delicious!"
"Ah, but before you eat, maybe you should see your gift first?" Isagi offers almost reluctantly, and Barou doesn't understand why his friend is acting fidgety.
"Good idea!" Reo exclaims, and Barou has to blink at how excited he is compared to Isagi. "Hold on, I'll get it."
Barou isn't even able to get a word in as Reo scrambles to stand and get his gift, wondering what exactly it is his friends would give him this year. The last birthday gift they have given him was a hand-painted shirt that he can't even wear because Nagi and Shidou have added letterings of profanities in it.
Barou is really hoping that this year's gift is at least better than last year's.
Then, Reo returns carrying his gift, and all Barou can say is:
"What the hell is this thing?"
Barou honestly and genuinely has no idea what he's currently looking at.
The thing, the abomination , in his hands seems to be a torn page of a scrapbook filled with various stickers, writings, and pictures.
'Where did they get this?'
Barou can't help but wonder as he continues to try and make sense of what's in front of his eyes. The pictures that are taped to the paper are definitely his pictures, but they are his pictures during his Blue Lock days. Aside from his pictures, the paper also looks like it has an accident with an entire bottle of glitter, and that's not to mention all the messages and doodles all over it. Oh, did he mention the chains, too? Because there are actual metal chains super-glued to it.
"Your gift," Reo tells him, still bright-eyed and beaming.
"My gift?" Barou repeats because that's the only thing he can say at the moment. In fact, he hasn't even registered Chigiri and Shidou trying to hold back their laughter.
"Do you like it? We made it for you," Reo presses forward, still smiling innocently — bless his pure heart.
Barou blinks, Reo's words finally registering in his brain, and opting him to look at everyone in the room, making sure to study everyone's expressions.
The first person he noticed is Bachira, and now that he's looking closely, Barou can see Bachira grinning brightly at him. In fact, Bachira is sparkling . No really, Bachira looks like he bathed in a tub full of glitters, and ah, the appearance of his gift finally makes sense. Then, there's Isagi, who's half-smiling, half-wincing, and Barou has to stop himself from letting out a snort as he realizes what Isagi has done. Of course, there's also the banes of his existence, the trio who love to tease him; it's easy to figure which notes belong to Shidou, Chigiri, and Nagi respectively. These three aren't subtle at all, and Barou appreciates that, even if he's currently thinking of ways to remove those smirks from their lips. Moving on, Barou actually lets out a sigh of relief at Kunigami's simple greeting — he can really count on Kunigami to keep things normal despite the craziness going on around him — and Barou makes sure to send him a grateful smile, one that Kunigami returns in kind.
And then, there's Reo.
Reo who's still looking at him with big, hopeful eyes, and who has smudges of purple ink on his cheeks. It's easy to tell which doodles are his, and Barou finds himself looking down at his gift again, a newfound form of appreciation in his chest.
This thing in his hands is made by his friends, and he's sure that they have spent some time making it, too.
And Barou smiles, and smiles, and can't stop smiling.
It doesn't matter what his gift looks like.
It's always the thought that counts, after all.
"Yeah," Barou breathes out with a genuine shine behind his eyes, "I love it."
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