Work Text:
Mayoi tended to wake up at least a couple minutes before Mashiro did, as long as Mashiro didn’t have any unit practice or other business in the morning. The days he didn’t were the best mornings for Mayoi. He peeked out from under his covers, watching Mashiro’s calm sleeping face, thanking whatever deity out there for granting him the grace to witness such a miracle.
Mashiro breathed softly as he slept, the right side of his face squished adorably into his pillow.
“Fufu…” Mayoi was grateful Mashiro didn’t turn too much in his sleep, lest he be deprived of such a glorious sight. An innocent, vulnerable symbol of purity lay before him, and Mayoi wanted to soak as much of it in as possible, the typical fantasies in his head bubbling to the surface.
“Mngh…” Mashiro groaned a little as he stirred from his slumber.
Mayoi’s face turned red at the sound, and he buried his face into his bed to stifle his thoughts. His long locks blindfolded him, and he completely obscured himself under his covers, listening to the sounds of Mashiro’s content sighs as he stretched.
“Are you awake yet, Ayase-senpai?” Mashiro’s soft footfalls drew closer to Mayoi’s bed.
Mayoi couldn’t stand the thought of having to talk face to face with Mashiro. For someone as repulsive as him to be in the presence of someone as innocent and cute as Mashiro was already pushing it. Whenever the pair did talk, if it could even count as talking, Mayoi found himself frequently distracted by his impulsive thoughts, like how Mashiro would look so good dressed up in—
Mashiro sighed, sounding disappointed. “I guess he’s still asleep. I really wish we could talk more…”
Mayoi listened carefully to the sounds of Mashiro moving about the room, getting ready for his day. When the door opened and closed, Mayoi sighed with relief and lifted himself from under the covers. ALKALOID didn’t have any activities planned for the day, so he didn’t have an excuse to see Hiiro or Aira’s cute faces up close. Still, he could sneak around the ceilings and keep watch on them from afar. If he did that, he could bask in their purity without being blinded. The clover of ALKALOID giggled to himself as he anticipated what was sure to be a good day.
The ceiling tiles silently creaked as Mayoi moved atop them, the chatter of unsuspecting students below him seeping through the cracks. Nothing too interesting had happened yet, besides Isara dragging Ritsu through the halls, and Sakuma and Nagisa having a debate about the most efficient way to tear down a hierarchy.
“You are so smart, Shiina-san~♪”
“Hiiro-kun… I don’t know how to tell you this, but I don’t think Shiina-senpai—”
“Nyahaha~ Thank you, Otouto-san~!”
Mayoi perked up as he heard Hiiro’s innocently playful voice, followed by the voices of his roommates, Hinata and Shiina. He quickly maneuvered his way across the ceiling to match their stride, trying to watch them through the spaces in between the tiles.
Hinata sighed. “Hiiro-san, I can definitely tell you macarons won’t be able to act as stable material for your model. Besides, Kunugi-sensei said that the material has to be durable, and who knows what kind of animals will try to eat it when you bring it to school!”
“U~miu~ Then what can I do?” Hiiro asked, downtrodden.
Shiina chuckled conspiratorially. “That’s exactly why you gotta make it out of something that animals won’t wanna eat!”
“And what exactly is that?” Hinata asked skeptically.
“We~ll, I’ve actually worried about this kinda problem before, so I did some experimenting in the kitchen to find a way to add something to food to make it appealing to only humans ♪”
“How ingenious of you, Shiina-san!” Hiiro praised, so brightly that Mayoi wished he could see the sparkle in the young boy’s eyes.
“Maybe if you put as much work into your cooking as your schoolwork, you would’ve been able educate yourself past middle school…”
Shiina clicked his tongue. “Not like any of that stuff matters now. I can confidently say as a chef… and I guess an idol, that I haven’t used anything Otouto-san’s been doing ♪ All I need to know is how to work the kitchen and how to put on Crazy:B’s outfits. Seriously, you’re acting like Yuta-kun right now…”
Hinata giggled. “So, what is your plan?”
“I’m glad you asked, Hinata-kun~ You see, I’ve discovered a kind of cream that tastes delicious and isn’t unhealthy… but for some reason, animals kinda try avoiding it. Not sure why, but it just makes sure that everyone stays away from my delicious food ♪”
Hiiro hummed thoughtfully. “If the animals do not like the food, I am a bit worried about how healthful it is for people…”
“Yeah, I gotta agree with Hiiro-san. It sounds a bit concerning~”
“Hmph! Why are you guys ganging up on me!? Trust a chef, why don’t you!? You trust my cooking, don’t you, Mayo-chan!? Back me up here!”
“…Mayoi-senpai?” Hiiro asked as the trio stopped in their tracks. “Where is he?”
Mayoi gasped and stumbled backward onto a loose tile. Adrenaline pumped through him as the tile gave way and—
CRASH!
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!” Hinata screamed. “IT’S A GHOOOOOST!”
“Nyahaha, whaddya mean? It’s just Mayo-chan~!”
Hiiro leaned over Mayoi, innocent eyes wide with worry. “Are you okay, Mayoi-senpai?”
Mayoi shielded his eyes away from the blinding purity shining above him, hoping that he would be spared some mercy. “A-A-Ahhhh, I-I’m s-sorryyy! I d-didn’t mean to f-follow youuu!”
Hinata pointed an accusatory finger at Mayoi. “You were following us!?”
“Perfect timing too!” Shiina chimed in. “I need your help with something, Mayo-chan~”
“M-M-Meeee!?”
Hinata eyed Mayoi warily. “I dunno… Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Of course!” Hiiro proclaimed, standing proudly. “Mayoi-senpai is always there for the rest of us in ALKALOID, and he is always willing to do his best to help! Right, Mayoi-senpai?”
Uu~ Such a cute innocent face… “Y-Yes, I suppose…”
Shiina clapped his hands together with a wide grin. “Great!” He pulled Mayoi up from the ground and started dragging him off, ignoring the bizarre introvert’s wailing. “See ya guys later! Mayo-chan and I are off ♪” Shiina waved goodbye to his roommates.
Hiiro enthusiastically waved back. “Goodbye Shiina-san, Mayoi-senpai! I hope you two have fun!”
“It didn’t look like Mayoi-senpai was having that much fun…” Mayoi heard Hinata say before he was dragged around the corner.
“Sooo, Mayo-chan~ Are you ready?” Shiina’s eyes gleamed mischievously.
“F-For what!?”
“This!” The carefree chef pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and shoved it into Mayoi’s face.
The paper read the following: “ME!, (Tenshouin Eichi, Fushimi Yuzuru), Ayase Mayoi, Kazehaya Tatsumi, (Tomoe Hiyori, Saegusa Ibara), HiMERU, Oukawa Kohaku, Otogari Adonis, Shino Hajime, (Kanzaki Souma, Suou Tsukasa, Sena Izumi, Sakuma Ritsu), Mikejima Madara”
“…?” Mayoi stared at the list in confusion, also noticing that his name was on it.
Shiina grinned. “We’re going on a scavenger hunt~♪”
“W-What…?”
“Vice President told me about a cooking show opportunity that came up, and even though it was short notice, I knew it was perfect for me, nyaha~! Uh… but I wouldn’t be able to make everything I needed in time, or afford all the ingredients, so I asked everyone from my circle and the other food-related circles to help! Don’t worry, I’ll pay them all back with the money I make from the job, but I just really need to do this!”
“But why we are picking up the food from everyone else?” Mayoi could feel his social anxiety threatening to spike.
Shiina shrugged nonchalantly. “We~ll, most units are busy today doing their own work. I asked Vice President to drop off the food at my dorm, but he said that it would be ‘more time efficient for the one on break to go out of their way to pick up the contribution.’ I felt kinda bad when he said that, so I told everyone I’d pick up their food. But, uh, I thought it would be better if I had help?” He laughed shyly.
“W-Why would you want a disgrace like me to expose myself to everyone!?”
“’Cause you know all the secret passageways here! You’ll get everyone’s stuff wayyy faster than everyone else here, and without bothering too many people for help! I’m still cooking more than half the dishes myself too, so it’ll be good if I can save time from running around that way.”
Mayoi sighed as he thought it over. Logically, it was the smartest move. It was just… could he really do this task? Maybe if he could think of someone else that would help…
“So, Mayo-chan~ Will you help me out?”
That’s right, Shiina needed him. He couldn’t push this responsibility onto someone else when he was already a burden to ALKALOID. “I… I’ll help.”
“Nyaha~! I need I could count on you!”
Mayoi internally groaned, already wishing that he’d stayed in bed for the day.
Mayoi looked at his phone to see the description Shiina gave him. Mayoi decided to handle everyone at Yumenosaki Academy, while Shiina, who was unfamiliar with Yumenosaki’s layout, decided to handle the idols in the main ES building.
Shiina’s text read, “Fushimi has his and tenshouins foodstuffs with him at the student council office and shino will be with the rest of ra*bits on the track field and suou said the members of knights are taking the studio for the day! Dont worry about kanzaki since suou is his roommate he took kanzakis stuff with him to the studio.”
While Shiina’s grammar left a lot to be desired, Mayoi was sure he would be able to find all the mentioned parties rather quickly. The only ones he was worried about were Shino and Suou… He hated his intrusive thoughts. A part of him wished he found some excuse to have Shiina handle Yumenosaki instead. His grip on his phone tightened. I-I can’t make things harder for Shiina just because I’m so disgustinggg!
Mayoi would just… work up to it. He’ll leave the cute kids for last and start with Fushimi.
Mayoi peeked into the student council office cautiously. “H-Hello— AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!?” He narrowly dodged the book thrown straight at his head, stumbling backward, and falling on his rear.
“Oh, Ayase-sama, is that you?” Fushimi stepped out from the council room, looking down at Mayoi with worried eyes. “My apologies, I believed I had sensed a dangerous presence close by and I reacted instinctively. I am glad to see it is just you.” Despite his words, the butler still had an unsettling aura about him.
U~uu, h-he thinks I’m a dangerous person! And he’s righttttt, I’m such a piece of—
“Ah, you must have come for what Eichi-sama and I made, correct? Shiina-sama texted that you were coming.”
“Y-Y-Yes…” Mayoi stood back up, yet remaining hunched over in shame.
“Please wait a moment as I go and fetch it.” Fushimi stepped back into the student council room.
Mayoi’s phone buzzed, and he found a text from Shiina that read, “Got to vice president first!!!” with a photo of Shiina taking a selfie attached. Saegusa was trying to grab the phone while Tomoe was trying to fit himself in the frame. Mayoi chuckled to himself as he messaged back that he got to Fushimi.
Fushimi came back with two bags, one a butter cream yellow and the other a royal blue. “The tea is Eichi-sama’s and the bento box is mine. Hopefully these will suffice for Shiina-sama’s idol work.”
Mayoi nodded affirmatively. “I-I see. Thank you!”
His phone buzzed again.
Fushimi glanced down at Mayoi’s pocket. “Ah, is that Shiina-sama?”
“Probably?” Mayoi opened his messages and read it. “U~Umm… Shiina-san said Saegusa-san has a message for you.”
The air in the room suddenly felt a lot more suffocating.
“Oh, Ibara?” Fushimi asked, his eye twitching.
W-What’s with the atmosphere!? I-It completely changed!? Mayoi hadn’t heard Fushimi refer to anyone by their first name alone before either. “Y-Yes, u-um… Saegusa-san sends his condolences for when the Himemiyas realize how i-incompetent of a butler they have when they see your cooking next to everyone else’s, and he’s offering a position for you to be his butler for when that happens.”
Fushimi’s polite smile faltered, his voice sickly sweet. “Oh, is that so? Perhaps you should inform him that he should be more worried about losing sponsorships and business opportunities when people see that Ibara is delusional enough of a businessman to believe his cooking could ever be considered presentable to the masses, let alone compete with mine.”
Mayoi shakily typed in Fushimi’s message to Shiina and hit send, waiting until his phone buzzed back twice. When Mayoi read the message Shiina sent back for Saegusa, his eyes widened in shock.
“What did he say?” Fushimi asked, tensed in anticipation.
“I-I don’t think I can read this out loud…”
“May I take a look?” Fushimi moved to read off Mayoi’s phone, but the screen was shut off before he could catch a glimpse.
“I-I think you should text him yourself.”
The weary butler sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Impossible. We blocked each other.”
“In-person?”
“I would rather no civilians sustain harm from the collateral damage.”
“U-Ummm…”
Fushimi bowed deeply to Mayoi. “Please, at least lend me your phone so I can respond. I cannot let him have the last word.”
Half out of sympathy, and half because he was scared out of his mind, Mayoi let Fushimi take his phone. He turned around, trying not to imagine the kind of expressions Fushimi was making, only hearing a sharp intake of breath followed by rapid tapping.
“Ayase-sama, here is your phone.” Fushimi tapped Mayoi’s phone on his shoulder, returning it to its owner. “Do not worry, I instructed Shiina-sama to not allow Ibara to respond.” He smiled smugly before his smile turned more genuine. “Also… I apologize for insinuating that you were a dangerous person. Thank you, you have truly done me a great favor.”
Mayoi wasn’t sure if Fushimi genuinely meant that or if he was saying that just because Mayoi helped him out with… whatever happened, but he appreciated the comforting words nonetheless. “T-Thank you.”
Next was Shiino. And so, Ra*bits. Cute, adorable, little bunnies, all hopping around, working so hard…
“Fufu…” Mayoi felt himself flushing at the thought before stopping any possible fantasies from starting. Aughhh, I’m so disgusting… He peeked out from the side of the building to the track field, eyeing two members of Ra*bits’ members practicing.
From the looks of it, Mitsuru was dashing around Mashiro, who looked ready to pull his hair out.
Fufu, that pureness Mitsuru-san has while he runs…
“Um, c-can I help you?”
“Hihhhhh!?” Despite the meekness of the voice, Mayoi couldn’t help the small scream that escaped him. Scared twice in a row…
Shino clapped his hands together in apology. “O-Oh my, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you!” His eyes brightened as he recognized Mayoi. “Oh, Ayase-senpai, Shiina-senpai said you were coming.”
“R-Right…”
“Let me go fetch it right now ♪” Shino gestured for Mayoi to follow him across the grounds, where the benches sat in the ground.
“Mayo-chan-senpai, hello~♪” Mitsuru called across the field, pausing in his dashing to jump up and down waving.
Mayoi half-heartedly waved back to him and Mashiro, whom Mayoi could feel boring holes into his head as he walked.
“Y-You know…” Shino started, “Tomoya-kun really wants to talk with you.”
“H-Huh!?” W-Why me…!?
Shino waved to Mitsuru and Mashiro before turning back to Mayoi. “Mitsuru-kun talks about you sometimes, and he has some really nice things to say, but Tomoya-kun says you don’t really talk to him at all. It really weighs on him sometimes, thinking his roommate doesn’t like him that much…” He suddenly raised his hands in surrender. “N-Not that I’m trying to guilt trip you into talking to him or anything!”
“…”
As they reached the benches, the light blue rabbit grabbed a sky-blue bag, offering it to Mayoi. “Here, it’s the newest tea I came up with~ If you ever want some, I’m planning to have it added to the menu at Café Cinnamon soon ♪” After handing the bag to Mayoi, he gently waved goodbye. “I’ll go back to practice with Mitsuru-kun and Tomoya-kun, b-but please think about what I said!”
Mayoi watched as Shiino joined the other Ra*bits members, guilt starting to creep up within him. I made such an adorable pure joy dampen because of my own disgust with myself…
Mayoi’s phone buzzed.
Shiina sent the text, “I got mikejimewofjio3irjefiorjiorerjoo”
Mayoi stared at the screen in shock, wondering what could’ve possibly happened.
Not ten seconds later, Shiina sent a blurry photo of himself, which Mayoi could vaguely make out as Shiina screaming in the arms of Mikejima, who appeared to be laughing.
Shiina-san makes getting along with others seem so easy…
Last on the list was Knights.
Mayoi hopped out of the ceiling and dropped in front of the studio that Knights was scheduled to be shooting in. He knocked gently on the door, and only a few seconds passed before the door opened.
“Ah, Ayase-senpai, welcome!” Suou gave a polite short bow.
“H-Hello, Suou-san…” Ahhhh… His cheeks look so softtt. I wonder how it would feel to squish them and see the cute expressions he makesss.
“Mayoi-dono is here, de gozaru?” a familiar voice piped up followed by a blur of yellow.
“C-Chief!?” Mayoi watched in horror as the adorable little ninja stood in the doorway with Suou. Ahhhh, t-this is too much for meeee!
Shinobu bounced on his toes in excitement. “As my roommate, Suou told me that you were fetching some food from him, de gozaru! I wanted to see you earlier, but you didn’t answer my text, de gozaru!”
“Y-Your text…?” Mayoi gasped as he realized his phone buzzed twice before, but that he only saw Shiina send a single message through. He kept their chat log open the whole time, so he hadn’t even considered that… “I-I’m sorry, Chief! Y-You don’t deserve to have your texts left unanswered, I’m such a disgraceeee!”
Suou flinched away from Mayoi, a worried expression on his face. “Is… Is he OKAY?”
Shinobu nodded reassuringly. “Yup, this is normal, de gozaru. Don’t fret, Mayoi-dono, a ninja cannot be stopped by such a trivial obstacle, de gozaru!
A-Ahhhh, he’s so pure! I wish I could just keep him with me foreverrrr!
“His FACE seems to be heating up,” Suou said concernedly. “I suppose I should just GET Knights’ and Kanzaki-senpai’s contributions…” He stepped back into the studio, leaving Mayoi and Shinobu alone.
“Mayoi-dono, I have something for you, de gozaru!” Shinobu reached into his pocket and put something in Mayoi’s hands.
H-His handssss… They’re so soft and— “…?” When Mayoi opened his palm, there were a couple sweets in it.
The young ninja laughed in an adorably shy manner. “It’s a thank you, de gozaru.”
“Thank you? F-For what?”
“For always trying your best, de gozaru.” Shinobu put his hands on his hips assertively. “I can tell you’re always pushing yourself to help other people even when it doesn’t involve you, and I don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit, de gozaru.” He suddenly turned shy again, riddled with nervous giggles. “I’m still getting used to these hero speeches, de gozaru.”
Mayoi looked down at the candies in his hand. “Chief…”
“Here are the TREATS.” Suou proudly declared, holding two bags in each hand. One was a scarlet red, the other a calming violet, and the third a pure silver paired with midnight black. “The SWEETS are from me, the traditional seafood is from Kanzaki-senpai, the specially made COFFEE is from Ritsu-senpai, and the éclairs are from Sena-senpai ♪”
“That’s great and all,” Sena called from within the studio, “BUT HOW ABOUT WE GET OUR ASSES BACK TO WORK!?”
“Izumi-chan~” Narukami chided. “Let Mayoi-chan make some new friends. He’s quite shy ♪”
“New friends!? I wanna see! He might give me some inspiration, wahahaha~☆”
Suou smiled apologetically. “I really should be getting back to WORK. Please let me know how Shiina finds them.” He reentered the studio to intervene the increasingly loud shouting intermixed with Ritsu’s yawns.
Mayoi nodded. “O-Of course.” He texted Shiina, “I got to Suou, and he had the last of the dishes. Do you want me to bring them to the kitchen?”
Shiina texted back, “Yeah!! I got the meat dish from otogari-kun so I think this means we got them all!” Attached was a picture of Otogari popping a bubble on Oogami’s blushing face while a soapy Leon prepared to jump on them. Shiina fit a thumbs-up in the corner of the photo.
“I’ll be staying here, de gozaru,” Shinobu told Mayoi. “It’s up to a hero to quell the chaos before them, de gozaru!”
You’re so cute Shinobu-kyun… “I-I hope I didn’t make you wait too long for me…”
The ninja lover shook his head. “Actually, I was worried I would’ve missed you, de gozaru. RYUSEITAI is free today, but Morisawa-dono evacuated us out, de gozaru. Well… more like Morisawa ran out of the building screaming and we all followed him, de gozaru.”
“W-What happened!?”
Shinobu shook his head as if he were at a loss for words. “He said he heard someone scream something about there being a ghost, but we couldn’t find anything like that when we went back, de gozaru.”
Mayoi opened his mouth… and then promptly closed it. It was probably better to leave the conversation there.
“Mayo-chaaaaan~!” Shiina called from across the kitchen. He waved the clover of ALKALOID over, several ingredients laid before him. “You got everything we need?”
“Y-Yes,” Mayoi replied, resting all the bags he was carrying on the counter. “You need one more thing, right?”
Shiina nodded. “Yup, and that’s your delicious butter sablés ♪”
“I’ll go get them then, just wait right here.”
Shiina nodded solemnly. “Yup, I have to protect this food from anyone crazy enough to try to take it, like Rinne-kun. I swear, when we move out of the dorms, I’m making him sleep the whole first month back on the couch!” He accentuated his point by slamming his hands on the counter, causing Mayoi to yelp. His phone suddenly started buzzing, and he looked down at it, sighing. “That’s probably him, again.” The disgruntled chef took his phone out, looked at the caller ID, and clicked his tongue before putting it to his ear. “Rinne-kun, you know I love you, well, not really, but…”
Mayoi took that as his cue to slink out of the room.
Aha! Here they are! Mayoi held up his unsightly butter sablés. I wonder how Shiina finds these so delicious…
The door to the dorm clicked.
“O-Oh, Mayoi-senpai?”
Mayoi turned around dramatically, as if he were facing a final boss. “H-Hello, Mashiro-san.” Don’t focus on his cute face, don’t focus on his cute face. Ahhhh, but he’s so cute… He shook himself out of his thoughts, thinking back to what Shino said. That’s right, when Shiina sent him on this crazy quest, he’d been talking to so many wonderful people — people that he didn’t think he deserved to be around. But Fushimi’s words, Shino’s words, and Shinobu’s…
Mashiro seemed surprised to get a response from Mayoi. “O-Oh, do you—”
“Do you—” Mayoi cringed as he realized he spoke over Mashiro. “Hihhh, I-I’m sorryyyy, I didn’t me—”
“N-No, I— Ah, I just did the same thing!” Mashiro laughed self-consciously, his nose scrunching up adorably. “Uh, you can go, what I had to say wasn’t important!”
“R-Right…” Mayoi cleared his throat. “D-Do you want to watch Shiina-san’s cooking show together when it airs?”
Mashiro gaped at his roommate as if he couldn’t believe his ears, a wide grin beginning to spread across his face. “The one that Hajime made that new recipe for? Y-Yeah, that would be great!”
At that point, Mayoi was struggling to keep up the conversation anymore, so he silently nodded and left before he collapsed under his anxiety… He couldn’t believe he actually did that. He’d scarcely been the one to offer to spend time with someone, and even when someone else offered, he usually ended up declining. Maybe… Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all.
He approached the kitchen, butter sablés in hand, and… If I already found the strength to talk to Mashiro-kun, then maybe that means I can also—!
“Mayo-chan~ Nice to see you made it back ♪”
Putting down the food with the rest on the counter, Mayoi steeled his nerves. There was no way he thought he would end up here at the beginning of the day, but he knew now. He could. “S-Shiina-san?”
Shiina looked at Mayoi, tilting his head in question.
The anxious introvert swallowed nervously. “D-Do you mind if I… come with you to the show?”
“Huh~?”
“W-Well, the show is pre-recorded, so I’m sure if I make any mistakes, we can quickly fix it! A-And I’m not that bad in the kitchen, I t-think, and I, I want to help! I-I’ve already helped so far, and I think it would be better to do it with a friend, right?” Mayoi held his breath.
“Mm~ Okay, sure!” Shiina agreed easily.
“R-Really?”
“Yeah, why not? I’ve seen how good you are in the kitchen, and I’m sure nothing will go wrong,” Shiina said matter-of-factly.
Mayoi suddenly noticed that the master chef seemed to be shaking. “A-Are you okay?”
Shiina’s face scrunched in pain. “Y-Yeah… it’s just… I’m so hungry, and I’ve been trying so hard not to eat all this delicious food everyone made…”
“O-Oh, then let’s get something to eat,” Mayoi suggested.
The sound of a grumbling stomach echoed throughout the room.
“Y’know, Mayo~chan~ You smell really good right now… I don’t know if I have the strength to go down the street to grab something, so how about I just…”
Mayoi backed up as he noticed Shiina started approaching him. “W-What are you doing?”
Shiina started drooling as his hungry gaze fixed on Mayoi. “Just one bite can’t hurt, right?”
“S-Stay back! I’ll get some food, just— Wait, what are you, AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, SOMEONE HELP!”
As Mayoi caught his breath while Shiina happily munched on his treats, he couldn’t help but be grateful he had such patient and friendly people around him.