Tokyo, Thursday Morning

[withoutverona]

Veteran's Day wasn't a holiday in Japan -- and neither, despite his wishes to the contrary, was Romeo's 20th birthday. The result was that he had to sit through a dismal economic theory lecture, and a slightly less dismal hour discussing the history of Enlightenment philosophy.

He came home to find a large box from Verona, and ripped into it to find a handsome suit with a note from his father referring him to a tailor a few wards over. Benvolio, for his part, had tucked in a miniature billiards game and a bottle of good wine.

Romeo shucked his coat and modeled the new jacket in front of the mirror, reflecting that this wasn't a bad way to start his third decade.

[OOC: Open for calls/texts/that girl who lives here.]

Comments

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

Well it was a holiday in the Montague-Dōjima household, that was for sure.

"Tanjoubi omedetou!" Yurika didn't cook. Romeo knew Yurika didn't cook. Which is why instead of a typical cake, she'd gone out and gotten BIRTHDAY CUPCAKES.

Three dozen Pina Colada cupcakes, to be exact, topped with Malibu rum buttercream and toasted coconut with bright umbrellas in Vernoa colors and balanced on a tray as she sauntered in.

[withoutverona]

"Thank you, love!" Romeo turned toward her, looking utterly delighted.

Possibly in part by the fact she hadn't tried to cook, but mostly buy the cupcakes. All the cupcakes. "Are those truly just for the two of us?" he asked.

He might have been turning 20, but in some ways Romeo was, and would ever remain, five.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Hai!" Yurika tossed off a cheerful salute. "All for you, aijin, unless you want to share them with someone! Like, oh, me!"

[withoutverona]

"Of course!" Romeo said indulgently. "I get two dozen, you get one dozen -- there's a fair bargain."

He might have been laughing a bit. Hard to tell, when he was intent on cramming the first of his two dozen into his mouth, scattering coconut shavings on the new suit.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Ai-ya! Are you twenty or two?" she cried, quickly trying to take the tray away. "Shoo! Out of your suit, first! Go! Go!"

It was a very nice suit! It looked very, very, very good on him! And while Yurika was tempted to simply rip it off and have her way with him, getting it rumpled or covered in frosting would be a horrible plan.

[withoutverona]

Romeo only whined a bit as he set down the cupcake, wiped his hands on a napkin, and carefully took off the jacket.


"The sleeves need to be taken in, but it's nice, isn't it?" he said eagerly. "My father sent it as a birthday gift."

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Hai, very nice," she joked. "He has a good eye for a suit, very grown-up. Are we sure he's not confusing you for some adult Montague cousin we don't know about?"

[withoutverona]

Romeo laughed and pretended to swat her. "Aye, one very elderly and grave," he said. "I'll have to be sober, of course. I cannot smile in such a suit."

[the_merriest]

Hark! Lo! Round about midday, there was a very excited knocking on the apartment door! With some very excited rustling of packages and possibly excited rustling of luggage, and some definitely excited whispers hinting that perhaps there were not one, but two people in the hallway!

Dojima had called the rest of the Posse, and the rest of the Posse was not going to disappoint. Not on Romeo's birthday.

Knock knock!!

[withoutverona]

Romeo finished his third cupcake and went to get the door. He tried to sweep Rikku into a hug before he'd even said anything. "Is there a greater holiday than my birthday, or do my eyes deceive me?"

[raspberryturk]

"Looks to me like your birthday's comin' in first place, yo," Reno noted, smirking a little from just behind Rikku. "Anyhow, I don't pay a hell of a lotta attention to the other shit. Birthdays? They make sense enough, zoto."

What was with those other Earth holidays, anyhow? Reno didn't get it.

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Happy birthday, aijin." Oh yes, Yurika was laughing. "Why did you think I got us so many cupcakes? You aren't allowed to eat them all!"

[the_merriest]

"Your girl is very sneeeaky," Rikku laughed, squeezing Romeo back for all she was worth. "It's all messy because you're in the future, so we had to leave last night? I don't get the time weirdness."

She had lived on this planet off and on for the better part of three years. You'd think she would have managed "time zones" by now.

"But we're here! For your birthday! Happy birthday!"

[withoutverona]

"It is a happy birthday!" Romeo agreed. "Even if it means I get nine cupcakes, instead of two dozen. Did your travel go well, other than the time travel?"

Romeo had been on the planet for 20 years. He had only a cursory understanding of time zones himself.

[raspberryturk]

And Gaia didn't really give three shits about what time of day it was. When you lived in Midgar, it was always nighttime.

"We ain't been given nothin' to complain about. The food they give you when you're travellin' always sucks, anyhow."

Not that Reno was actually picky about what went into his mouth, but really, he needed something to complain about, right?

"We're here now, yo. Mission accomplished."

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Mission not accomplished yet!" Yurika chirped. "Come in! Don't stand outside! We have cupcakes!"

[the_merriest]

"We also came for the cupcakes," Rikku teased, letting go of Romeo long enough that she could take two steps inside and hug his way-awesome girlfriend instead. (Not that Romeo wasn't way-awesome. They both were. Obviously.) "I mean, how were we supposed to pass up cupcakes? I suppose we can stick around for birthday celebrations, so long as the cupcakes are involved."

[withoutverona]

"The cupcakes are pina colada flavored," Romeo supplied helpfully, clapping Reno on the back as he stepped back to the living room. "And ... we have drinks! Whatever you want. Or I've finally figured out making coffee." Yes, he was proud of this. "We hadn't made plans for later in the evening, but a few phone calls would sort that."

[the_merriest]

"I'm not supposed to have coffee," Rikku grinned, letting Domija go in turn and dropping her duffel bag onto the floor. "I get hyper. I don't care if we stay out or go in, I'm just happy to be here. We can sit around and catch up and talk, or we can go parrrrrrrrty. I'm easy like that."

Someone else could make the obvious joke. Anyone?

[raspberryturk]

"Well, unless I want her to talk dirty," Reno replied, cracking a grin.

He had to. It was wide open, and he was... you know. Reno.

"I ain't got no preference either, but I gotta admit, I'm startin' to miss city life, yo. Bright lights, traffic, people steppin' on you..."

It was downright homey, really.

[withoutverona]

"Cupcakes," Romeo decided. "Cupcakes, drinks -- then the city is ours. I don't have Friday classes, and Dojima goes into work late anyhow."

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Dojima resembles that remark," she retorted cheerfully. "Maybe I'll take you all on a tour of the office once we get up, just to annoy Amon!"

[the_merriest]

"I'm good at annoying people," Rikku chirped happily. "But I'll play nice if there are people I shouldn't be obnoxious around. Warn me."

Seriously. She didn't want to get Doji in trouble with actual authority figures that shouldn't be pissed off.

"So we're going out?" she bounced. "I'll even wear something all the same color, so I don't embarrass you guys."

The sacrifices Rikku made, for friendship!

[raspberryturk]

"Hey, don't look at me," Reno chuckled, shaking his head a little. "I ain't gonna dress up nicer'n this, yo."

He shot a sideways look and a grin toward Rikku, and then winked. "We go to the right part of this city, babe, eventually we'll find a place where what you're wearin'll fit right in. Every big city has 'em."

Reno just wanted to get out on the town so that he could take Romeo drinking even more, yes.

[withoutverona]

The sacrifices Reno was willing to make for Romeo were truly dizzying.

"You'll both pass for fashionable and more in Harajuku," Romeo suggested, with a glance to Dojima to see if she had another idea. "Sometimes it seems as if everyone on the street there is in some vast competition to see who can look the most outlandish -- not that either of you looks outlandish."

He'd caught himself just in time.