1. The start of a "normal" day

It starts exactly how Nicholas doesn't expect — which is to say, completely normally.

No suspicious whispers over breakfast.
No K glaring extra hard at him (which usually means he's hiding something).
No Taki accidentally blurting, "It's your day— I mean uh, pass the salt!"

Just Fuma quietly humming by the stove, Yuma fiddling with his phone, Harua reading on the couch. Even EJ only gives him a standard nod of acknowledgment.

Nicholas narrows his eyes.

Because he knows them.

This can only mean one thing: they're hiding something huge, and he's determined to catch them at it.

2. The secret group chat

Which is entirely accurate.

Because at that very moment, there's a separate group chat lighting up on everyone's phones — except his.

🎉 "nicholas day MASTER PLAN 🤡🎈"

FUMA: he's starting to look suspicious

TAKI: i accidentally winked at him to throw him off

YUMA: ...how is winking less suspicious

K: this plan was flawed from the start

HARUA: just stick to the schedule

EJ: he's not allowed in the dorm until 6. i will physically block him if needed.

3. The decoy operation

So the decoy begins.

EJ invites Nicholas out for coffee — a two hour coffee that somehow includes "checking out a bookstore," "stopping by the river," and finally, "oh look there's an art market, might as well walk through."

Nicholas is not dumb.

At one point he levels EJ with a look, iced coffee halfway to his mouth.

"You're stalling me, aren't you?"

EJ doesn't even flinch. Just sips his own drink coolly.

"I would never."

Meanwhile, the dorm is a madhouse.

4. The prep chaos

Fuma's trying to bake the cake. Taki's in charge of streamers and absolutely tangling himself in them. Harua's handwriting an oversized birthday card. Yuma is testing the playlist but keeps getting distracted watching videos of puppies. K is blowing up balloons with the most begrudging expression imaginable.

"Taki, no, those go on the wall— not on your head."

"But it's festive!"

Half an hour later, the kitchen smells slightly burned, Yuma's discovered a confetti cannon ("JUST ONE, I SWEAR"), and Harua has accidentally dripped marker ink all over the kitchen counter.

K mutters something about never doing this again, even as he carefully arranges a banner that reads:

"HAPPY NICHOLAS DAY, YOU DRAMATIC PEACOCK 🎉"

(That part was Taki's suggestion.)

5. The reveal

At precisely 6:04 PM, EJ guides Nicholas back into the dorm.

Nicholas steps inside, rolls his eyes dramatically.

"If this is another lame—"

"SURPRISE!!!"

Confetti goes off (Taki's doing). Streamers fall a little crooked but still bright. Someone hits the music — way too loud, an instant party playlist — and Harua pulls Nicholas forward by the wrist.

Nicholas stands there blinking, surrounded by people he loves more than he'll ever admit, trying desperately not to smile too wide.

"You're all idiots," he finally says, voice cracking just a bit.

Yuma cackles.

"Takes one to know one."

 6. The gifts and glorious disaster

The cake is only slightly burnt. Fuma gives Nicholas a dramatic bow anyway, and Nicholas digs in like it's the best thing he's ever tasted.

Jo gives him a hand-drawn portrait of the group that makes Nicholas go suspiciously quiet.
K gives him a new set of sleek rings.
Taki hands over a tiny box with tickets to a silly themed amusement park.
Yuma gifts a collage video he's spent weeks secretly editing, full of clips of them laughing, practicing, and traveling.

Nicholas opens EJ's gift last — whatever it is you decided (a sleek chain? a photo album? a hand-written letter?).

He doesn't say much, just pulls him in by the collar for a crushing hug, burying his face in his shoulder.

"Okay fine," he mumbles, "this is the best."

🎈 7. Post-cake chaos

The night spirals exactly as expected.
Taki tries to start a whipped cream war and fails spectacularly.
Yuma makes Nicholas dance to a ridiculous remix of one of their own songs.
Fuma ends up frosting K's nose by accident.
EJ sighs but ends up taking pictures of it all with a fond little smile.

Nicholas, for his part, is soak it all in mode. He tries to tease them, sure, but it's all softer around the edges. He laughs until he's doubled over, tries to give a dramatic toast and almost spills soda everywhere.

At some point Maki catches him off to the side, scrolling through his phone. He's not texting — just going through all the pictures, lingering on the videos Yuma made, the group selfie Taki forced them to take.

8. The final soft

Later, when things have calmed down, Nicholas finds EJ in the kitchen picking stray confetti off the counter.

He leans against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching him.

"So. You really went all out, huh?"

He shrugs, trying to play it cool.

"Someone had to make sure your giant ego got properly celebrated."

He snorts, but then his grin fades into something smaller, warmer.

He steps forward, hooks a finger into EJ's belt loop, pulls him in close until there's barely an inch between them.

"Thank you," he says, quietly, sincerely.
"For today. For... making me feel like I'm allowed to be this happy."

EJ bumps his forehead against his.

"You are. Always."

And in the living room, you can hear the others calling for you both — probably planning round two of cake or maybe a movie. The night isn't over, and Nicholas isn't done soaking it all in.

🎉 Final line

He takes his hand, threads his fingers together, and tugs him toward the noise.

"Come on. It's my birthday. You're stuck with me the rest of the night."

And honestly? That's exactly where he wants to be.