It was turning out to be a lonely birthday.
Alice was supposed to be in New York this time of the year so they could celebrate Christmas at the same time, but Tatsuro had a last minute urgent mission to participate in, and not wanting to leave her alone in a foreign country, decided instead to cancel all their plans. To make things worse, Ranko and her friends in the Black Foxes all had engagements to attend to, leaving her curled up on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa and cocooned in a warm blanket watching yet another mindless TV show by her lonesome self.
When the news first broke, she had sat with her head in her hands at LRN, relaying to Atsumu how disappointed she was at the turn of events for she spent most of the year looking forward to when she would finally see Tatsuro again when the rest of the gang filed in.
“How about spending your birthday with me instead?” Riki asked, one arm thrown around her shoulder, giving her a cheeky and confident smile. “By the end of it, you won’t even remember who he is anymore.”
Takuto clicked his tongue in annoyance, wrenching Riki’s wayward arm off her shoulder before Alice had any time to react. “Nobody wants to spend their birthday staring at your ugly face. You’ll just ruin her day.”
Yet in the end, all of them ended up being involved in some sort of Christmas Eve party and the mini birthday celebration suggested by Kenshi at LRN was shelved as well. With a resigned sigh, she pushed herself off of the sofa after turning off the TV to stop moping and get herself out of the house when her phone rang, the happy tune of her ringtone breaking the silence of the night.
Could it be Tatsy calling her to wish her a happy birthday? A check of her phone revealed the number to be private but she decided to pick it up anyway. “Hello?”
“If you ever want to see your friends again, you better do as I say.”
That was certainly the last thing she expected to happen. Was it another one of those scams where they trick you into paying for your loved ones released when they were actually perfectly safe? Her doubts were erased when she heard the unmistakable scream coming from Ranko, causing the mug she was holding to fall on to the ground and shatter into pieces.
“Hiro, get your fat head off of my shoulder! It’s uncomfortable enough being bound as it is!”
Alice smiled wryly despite the mounting worries in her heart over the safety of her friends. Even though they were in danger, Takuto was still his same usual grumpy self. How did the usually careful Black Foxes land themselves in such a predicament anyway? Which cunning mind had they offended smart enough to capture them all in one fell swoop and how was Ranko involved in all of this?
“Just do as he says Alice!”
“Well, girly, what do you say? If you want to ensure the safety of your friends, bring the box you stole from the museum last week to Tres Spade. We have left an outfit for you at LRN so make sure you are dressed suitably to avoid raising any suspicions as well as to allow our men to identify and guide you to where we shall have the exchange.”
Before Alice could even demand for more information or the well being of her friends, the caller immediately cut off the phone call, leaving her yelling futilely into the receiver. Now wasn’t the time to mull over how and why it happened. She had a bunch of friends to save.
Not even bothering to change out of her pajamas, she threw on a fluffy coat, immediately making her way to LRN where they kept the box hidden. It was a good thing Riki had taught her how to access the hidden compartment when they were stowing the box away for later else she would be stumped right now.
An hour later, she found herself standing in front of Tres Spade, dressed in a navy blue halter gown and silver heels with her hair haphazardly thrown up into a bun. It was a good thing they were meeting at a public place where she could escape if required, but was it really necessary to choose a dress that exposed her back and had a high slit up her left thigh. She was nervous enough as it is without feeling like she was going to trip over her own two feet.
Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself and walked into the majestic hotel, clutching her bag tightly to her waist. Tres Spade was indeed a beautiful and grand place, and had she been here under other circumstances, she would have liked to spend time marveling at the various art pieces on display as well as observing the celebrities that frequented this place and ooh, was that the famous F1 racer Noel Ajima?
Her train of thought was broken by someone’s hand being placed on her shoulder, followed by a deep voice that spoke to her in a low breath against her ear. “Hi pretty lady, you must be Alice.”
She responded with a gentle nod of her head, too scared to even move. He was so close she could feel him smile at her response, and with a hand on the small of her back, led her away from the bustling crowd, and up to one of the many suites in the hotel and not once did she dare sneak a glance at the mysterious stranger by her side.
“What are you waiting for?” The voice asked once again, amusement clear in his voice. “Go in.”
Her hand on the knob was trembling despite her best efforts to stay calm, but she tightened her grip. Now was not the time to be her coward. Her friends needed her help. With renewed confidence, she pushed the door opened, ready to demand for their release only to see a grinning Tatsuro standing right in front of her.
She blinked twice, wondering if she was seeing things.
But he was still standing there in front of her, even after she rubbed her eyes and pinched her arm to make sure she wasn’t dreaming, with that familiar goofy smile of his she loved.
“So how was your birthday celebration?” Atsumu asked with a knowing smile, placing a steaming hot bowl of ramen in front of her. Her cheeks coloured at his question.
“I’m sure it was wonderful.” Riki piped in with a cheeky grin. “After all, he did devise an elaborate plan simply to surprise her as well as prepared a romantic candlelight dinner for two. When a man and a woman are alone together in a room… Well!”
“Disgusting.” Takuto commented from his corner before returning to slurping his bowl of noodles.
“By the way,” Alice managed to choke out after swallowing down her embarrassment, turning to fix her gaze on Riki. “What happened to the dress Tatsy bought for me?”
“It wasn’t the one you were wearing?” Kenshi asked curiously. “Well I guess that wasn’t surprising. To be honest, I was shocked he chose such a bold dress for you.”
“I thought it was him finally revealing his true nature and wanting to see Alice in something sexy. ”
“Stop looking at me like that.” Riki protested, but Alice was not deterred, still staring intently at him until he finally gave in. “Fine. Fine. With the dress he got you, you might as well be wrapped in a dumpling and still show more skin. It’s a special occasion, why not be a little more daring and give him a surprise?
While Alice chased Riki around LRN with a mop, Takuto continued eating his pork ramen nonchalantly, occasionally muttering, “Tch. What a pervert.’
Happy Birthday @obsessivealice! I hope you are having a lovely and enjoyable birthday so far <3!
germansingergirl
romaincrisis
gummygunk
discoholicmusic
theartofmadeline
ellievsbear
