i was made for loving you [w/ taro]

[Centuries]

from: idiot
come to my house right now :)

subtle was not a word kane would use to describe his friends. it was his eighteenth birthday, and he couldn't help but assume that his friends had prepared some sort of surprise party for him. he wasn't getting his hopes up. this had happened for the past five-ish years, more or less, so it was more of a prediction than anything. they all did it for each other, anyway... but kane hated things he didn't have time to prepare a good reaction for. he was pretty emotionally constipated, as one of his friends had so eloquently put it, and he didn't enjoy feeling like he'd disappointed the people around him by giving a subpar response... because somewhere on the inside, he really did appreciate all of their efforts.

to: idiot
i hope you haven't got anything weird planned

from: idiot
shut up and come over here bro

a little sigh was let out, but kane found himself smiling all the same. he rolled off of his bed, fixing his messy hair before putting on a simple grey crewneck and tight fitted jeans. it didn't matter that it was his birthday, or that it was the weekend - he wasn't going to turn up to his friend's house in is pyjamas, and that was that.

perhaps being with his friends would distract him from thinking about the whole soulmate thing. it was his birthday, and when it passed his time of birth, he would possibly be able to see who his red string of fate led to. all his life, kane had been more of a friendship-only kind of guy. there weren't many instances where he felt as though he was romantically attached to anyone, and in his eighteen years of living, he'd never been in a relationship. (with girls. of course. because he was straight.)

to: idiot
i'm coming now :/

when kane came to the doorstep, the door swung open and his friends all started to belt happy birthday at him so loudly that the neighbour came outside and glared at the group of them. he had to admit that it was quite funny... and the setup for his 'party' was actually really nice. kane's friends had figured out that balloons and streamers and loud music didn't really fit with him, so this year, they'd just put a whole arrangement of snacks on a table (gosh, they'd probably all die from too much sodium intake after this) and a whole collection of games they could play, all multiplayer.

there was a grin on kane's face, big and genuine. "hey, thanks a lot guys. i really appreciate all of this," he stated happily, taking a seat next to shoji.

 

[joonie]

Was Shoji a mastermind when it came to surprise parties? ​

No, not really.​

​

Luckily, though, he had a lot of practice. Having the same best friend since childhood meant Shoji had helped plan many a surprise party, and it had only taken a few tries before they'd all realized that there was no point in using money on gaudy, over the top decorations for Kane. So at least for these past few years, their small group had been able to hit the nail on the head pretty well when it came to celebrating their "emotionally constipated" friend's birthday. Video games and snacks, and some good old merciless teasing about how Kane was becoming an old man just because he was a few months older than Shoji. All of which Shoji considered himself a professional in, if he did say so himself.​

​

The fact that it was Kane's 18th birthday didn't go unmentioned, however. Another friend had wondered aloud during their scheming whether they should try something more elaborate since most people thought this was the most important birthday you could experience. Shoji wasn't sure if he agreed with the latter statement, but he supposed it was different than one's previous birthdays. Even then, they had all been pretty sure Kane wouldn't want to make a big deal about being able to see his red string of fate. More often than not, the string was much too long to figure out who exactly it led to, signifying that it could quite possibly take years for you to meet your soulmate. Others were a bit more lucky, finding out upon turning 18 that their next door neighbor was actually the one for them. Kane hadn't been very outspoken about which he'd prefer, and in all honesty Shoji, who'd known Kane the longest out of all of them, hadn't the slightest idea what his best friend really thought about it. In all their years of friendship Kane had never really expressed romantic interest in anyone, making Shoji wonder who on earth his red string would lead to. ​

​

Well, he supposed they would find out in due time. For now, the younger of the two was busy making his way through a bag of popcorn that he'd opened an hour before the guest of honor had even arrived under the defense that "party planning burns a lot of calories". Beaming as his best friend sat beside him, Shoji couldn't help but feel relieved now that Kane had arrived and seemed relatively at ease. Not that he'd thought anything would go wrong, but there was always a little bit of suspense when planning surprises. ​

​

"You know Kane, no matter what anyone else says, I still don't think you look a day over seventy," Shoji told him, jokingly earnest while placing a light hand on his best friend's shoulder. ​

 

[Centuries]

the tone of his best friend's voice had been so earnest that kane didn't completely register what had been said; it was only when a bunch of his other friends started sniggering that he replayed the words and it clicked. he turned to shoji with the slightest pout, taking his hand off of his shoulder and shoving him lightly, and then throwing bits of popcorn at all of their friends who'd laughed at the joke.

"mhm. and you're still the cutest three year old around, shoji," kane replied, mocking his friend's tone and looking very solemn. it was a running joke that he was an old man, which annoyingly rooted from the fact that he was the oldest person in his particular friend group. gosh, they didn't even want to let him live on his own birthday. the comments didn't actually hurt his feelings. he knew that they were just good fun, and he was confident enough in his looks, so he just reacted for fun.

"fight! flight! fight!" their friends had started to chant in the background, and kane flashed them a little smile.

"i have an idea... we should play a game. i could beat shoji at any of the games we have," he said with confidence, scanning over the titles. it was a lie, really. kane was good at games, but shoji was even better. all he did was get really competitive, and in the end, show really bad sportsmanship. whoops. he was pretty sure that shoji let him win sometimes. he wasn't going to admit it, though. his friends all knew the truth anyway.

"i'll let you choose the game," kane said with an innocent grin, all while pointing quite obviously at super smash bros in contrast to his words. it was one of the only games he actually had a chance in.

 

[joonie]

Shoji could practically see when his teasing remark registered across his best friend's face, laughing even as he was shrugged off and popcorn was thrown about the room. Such banter was all too common, though obviously he meant nothing by it. Of all his friends, Kane had simply become the easiest and most amusing to tease due to their long history. However, Kane was hardly one to just accept being the victim of Shoji's jokes, and his retort made Shoji narrow his eyes at the darker haired boy, scowling in response. ​

​

"As rude as that was, I'll let it slide because you at least acknowledged that I'm cute," Shoji decided with arms crossed in false indignation. Naturally, this mostly led to rolled eyes and more laughs from the others, consequently leading Shoji to break in his act and chuckle along with them. In truth, he was hardly the arrogant type or even the sort of person who focused very much on looks to begin with, but it was always fun to mess with Kane for comedic effect. Ignoring the chants for them to fight for the moment while he reached across for the bag of popcorn that Kane had used as ammunition just seconds ago, Shoji's eyebrows shot up at the mention of a challenge. While most everyone in their small group of friends enjoyed video games, Shoji liked to think he was one of the better players overall. Sure, he had his weakness (puzzle games were the bane of his existence), but games that involved playing with or against others, especially against his friends, typically went well for him.​

​

"You're getting a little too confident in your abilities now that it's your birthday, Kane. But I don't mind knocking you down a peg to keep you humble," Shoji shot back, eyes already lighting up at the opportunity to go up against the other. Kane was more competitive than Shoji, probably, but that didn't mean Shoji didn't prefer to win. There had been more than a few instances where he and Kane had gotten into arguments over video games, though nowadays Shoji just admitted defeat or suggested they have a rematch even if he'd won fair and square. ​

​

Even though Kane said he could pick the game Shoji would have known what he'd wanted without having the other point so blatantly at it. Super Smash Bros. was the ideal game for get togethers like these to compete with friends, and Kane actually put up a good fight against him whenever they played. Their ratios of wins to losses were at least more even when it came to this game. "Wow, so many options it's hard to pick one. But I guess since it's your birthday..." he trailed off, grabbing the game and not even bothering to hide his eagerness as he rushed over to the tv. ​