Ooo let’s all blame the girl who was sick for a month for not posting this on his actual birthday ooooooooh
♡ ╭(“Happy birthday, Ikki.”)╮─── 0.9k.
Ikki Niko x GN Reader.
The ambiance of cake candles lit the fire in his heart too.
You stood in front of him, apartment behind you decorated with all his favorite themes. Blue and yellow streamers, rose petals on the ground (?), and… cutouts.
“Are those…?” He pointed behind you.
You glanced over your shoulder and grinned, turning to him and chuckling. “Yeah! I know your favorite animes are Madoka Magica and Banana Fish, so I stole some cutouts from Animate.”
“Sto-“
“No, no, I’m kidding,” you laughed, waving off his clearly concerned aura. You could feel his eyebrows shoot up.
Honestly, he wouldn’t put it behind you. The cardboard looked too professionally made.
“All the way in Ikebukuro?”
“Yeah!”
So… you did steal them.
Niko squeezed his hand and tried hard not to tear up anyway. Your glow was all he wanted around for his birthday, but you did all of this. You remembered his favorite character was Sayaka, you remembered his favorite animanga was Banana Fish. He could cry if it were not for your type in strong guys.
He breathed your name, stepping closer to marvel at the cake in your hands.
It was lined with blue swirls and heart shaped, making his chest thud. Reading “Happy B-Day, Niko!,” he could only inhale sharply as your tune filled the soft room.
He waited till your song was finished, before wishing for you and blowing his candles out. You doubled and coughed, waving away the smoke with a giggle as he shook his hands slightly, trying to help.
The smoke cleared eventually and you sighed. He never liked when you looked so troubled. On his birthday, no less. What was bothering you?
“Niko, you really are my best friend,” you told him, placing the cake on the counter. Your tone left him guessing what big confession you’d make.
“I’ve never known anyone who gives me so much laughter,” you step towards him, and he meets you halfway, “and understands me so well. I could call you my friend, but…”
Your words catch in your throat and you start to breathe heavier. The heartbeat in your ears prevents you from remembering all that you’ve rehearsed. Your eyes are going dry, the floor suddenly feels hot— god, it’s Niko! It shouldn’t be this hard! The worst he could say is “uh, no.”
He notices your shift in demeanor when you started to look at him with a faraway expression. It’s as if you were running through three thousand scenarios of whatever you needed to say.
Niko steadied you, a hand on your arm as he watched your eyes shift back to meet his.
You couldn’t help but still marvel at the fact he decided to keep those eyes hidden.
“I…” spit it out. “I love you a lot, and-“ he knows this, come on!
“I’ve loved you.” Your voice came out smaller than how you wanted, but it was so quiet in the apartment that you swore he could hear your heartbeat too.
“I’ve loved you, more than as a friend, and this might be the shittiest birthday gift from me to you like ever but it’s how I felt— how I feel— I couldn’t keep myself quiet and it was eating me alive, not that these feelings are bad I just wanted to tell you instead of being silent, because I really do like you and our friendship, but it’s not what I planned it to be like my feelings and everything? I just wanted to tell you and I’m sorry—“
Niko’s not the suave type who can cut someone off with a kiss. He is the type to sniffle and swallow back every worry that he had regarding what he thought you might say to him, making you pause and wonder if you did something wrong to make him cry.
Your rambling only got worse as he didn’t say anything. Especially so when you spotted a tear dotting the corner of his eye.
“Niko! Please, please don’t cry I’m so sorry I really hope this doesn’t ruin our friendship, I just— I don’t— Niko—“
Niko thought you were going to say you hated him. That this friendship was tiring. Unfulfilling, maybe. He’s not the most outgoing person, or even friendly. He thought you’d tell him that he’s a waste of space, that his cards were dumb and his interests are childish, that he was creepy and nothing but an otaku loser. He wouldn’t care if it was anyone else, but even the thought of it being you hurt him more than even he knew.
He said your name clear enough for you to pause and lower your head slightly. You thought he would reject you?
“I… love you. Too.” His own confession was choppy and short. That’s the only way he can properly express it in words.
You swallowed the lump in your throat, and looked at him in minor disbelief, but for the most part, it was relief that set you in motion. Your arms came to wrap around Niko tightly, his own arms pinned to his sides as you couldn’t get enough.
Niko best birthday gifts have always been you. Even when he was three years old, still finding his flow of realizing that human connection was not his strongest suit, he wished for a best friend.
When he was 11, he didn’t wish for any friends, but he wished that you would stay for a little longer.
Today, he couldn’t have wished for anything better.
There's a certain way that Gabe looks at Nolan. It's nice and protective and probably very loving but Nolan doesn't really focus on that. It's more just... nice to be watched.
Headcanons under the cut.
Gabe has a teddy bear that Nolan got him and Gabe dresses the teddy bear up like Nolan and calls it Nolan-Bear and takes pics of it in positions similar to pictures he has of Nolan
Nolan draws constellations between Gabe's moles, birthmarks and freckles
Nolan takes a lot of pictures of Gabe and keeps them in an album labeled 'my love'
They have cutesy pet names for each other and they are the kind of couple who speaks in code around each other
Gabe cooks a lot, mostly food his mother cooked for him but with a lower spice level as Nolan can't handle spice
Neither of them drive so they both really enjoy taking public transit. They also bully Liam into driving them places they want to go because bullying Liam is one of their love languages
They are both cuddlers and they spend a lot of time sitting with each other and cuddling or wrapped up in each other
Nolan is the little spoon and Gabe is the big spoon
They are both pillow hogs in their sleep so their bed is mostly pillows
