✦ dicks out for hope

Though her fluster may be mild, his is anything but. The vivid blush on his cheek is all too obvious, and the way he smiles- so appreciative, and so quietly adoring underneath it -does nothing to help him seem composed. Being Mr. Calm And Collected has never been Naegi’s strong suit, but his ability to be less of a goofy dork than usual always falls apart when Kirigiri’s eyes are on him. They’ve known each other for so long now, and the effect she has on him is still catching him pleasantly by surprise every time.

“Y-You didn’t have to do anything like that, Kirigiri-san,” is what he manages to find the words for first, gingerly taking the box from her. He’s not going to be so rude as to refuse her gift, but he feels bad all the same that she went out of her way like this. Kyouko has been at least twice as busy as he has; she works so incredibly hard herself. That she found time to do something like making chocolate for him is amazing enough in itself.

Actually making it is what gets to him more than anything, truthfully. He’s never gotten hand-made chocolate from a girl before, not even on Valentine’s Day. But here she is, going out of her way for him on a day no particularly special than any other, just to reward effort that is meager compared to her own.

“Thank you for thinking of me.” Being the open book he is, there’s not even an attempt to mask the genuine gratefulness in his tone-- though in truth, most of it is directed at Kyouko herself than at her gift, despite his appreciation of it. He really is so incredibly, impossibly fortunate to have someone like her in his life.

this is his backpack bc do you think this kid is lucky enough to get one that doesn’t suck? no

idk if it’ll ever come up but he’s been grabbed from sometime during SDR2, during the Neo World Program stuff-- which he can’t remember, ofc. so he’s a lil on the almost grown up side but not quite

It’s a bath bomb! See? I wasn’t joking at all! It might still blow up, though. I made it myself.

Did you really make it yourself? That’s... pretty impressive, actually.

Ta-da! Here we are!

C’mon, c’mon! Hurry, I put a bomb in there!

You did not. You wouldn’t be standing this close if you were gonna blow my desk up. Don’t joke about that kind of thing anyway, it’s not--

  Happy birthday, Naegi-kun! I put a little surprise...

Of course! It wouldn’t be much fun if I didn’t get to see your reaction.

“It was sweet of you to think of me at all, Kirigiri-san. Thank you.”

Late or not, he’s touched she’d go through the trouble of remembering his birthday, much less actually getting him a gift. Unable to resist seeing what’s inside the box, he goes ahead and opens it up right there, taking a moment to appreciate the article inside. She definitely knows him well. He even opens the card, beginning to read it, but stopping once he realizes the contents of the message inside. It might be embarrassing if he read it all right there in front of her, he assumes, so with some difficulty he sets it aside, trying not to give anything away about what he’d seen.

Instead, he opts for removing his well-loved and well-worn hoodie and putting on the one she’d given him instead. It feels a little strange to be wearing something new instead of his own familiar jacket, but it was a gift from Kyouko, so that makes it special.

Despite her knock, he’s briefly started by her sudden entrance. That quickly melts away as soon as he realizes what’s happening: It’s his birthday. He’d completely forgotten somehow, but of course his mother never would. It’s impossible not to grin as she sings, and the moment she’s done, he’s crossed the room and reaching out for a hug, mindful of the cake in her hands.

He’s taken by surprise at first, not quite fully accustomed to Kyouko being so familiar and affectionate with him like this, but he raises no objections to it, only laughing quietly and leaning into her touch. Is it weird to be enjoying it? Maybe a little. Doesn’t make it any less nice, though. Just watch out for that ahoge.

Oh, he wants to question it, but he’s not going to. Not that he isn’t curious about her suddenly dropping into his lap- because he is, very much so -but more than that, he’s taken quite by surprise. Kyouko isn’t exactly known for being the most touchy-feely person, and physical displays of closeness like this are especially rare from her even with that in mind. But it would be a lie to say he wasn’t okay with it, or that he didn’t get a twinge of happiness in knowing she was comfortable enough in his presence to let her guard down like this.

“That’s something we can both agree on! I have some pressing matters to attend to pretty soon, anyway, so we should just drop it.”

“’Please don’t call me a good boy, Enoshima-san. Something about that feels weird.’ That is exactly what you said! I didn’t even say it in a special tone of voice or anything. I just said, ‘you are a very good boy.’ Therefore, this is not my fault!”