#setsuna/saji/louise friendship ftw!

[eigwayne]

Happy Birthday Choriisu Setsuna!

Gundam 00 Week, Day 6 - April 7th Can also be interpreted as: Setsuna’s birthday, UC Gundam crossover/AU, Gunpla, Mobile Suits

Saji and Louise discover it’s Setsuna’s birthday. The world’s tamest birthday party ensues, but ‘tame’ doesn’t mean Setsuna knows what to do. Birthday fluff, chorii~su!

———–

It’s set toward the end of the first season and there are some references to events in Season One, so mild spoilers. There’s also a reference so a drama track but you should be able to get the joke without it? I hope?

Or you can watch/read these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXKA_9RoRY8

http://dramacdtranslations.tumblr.com/post/55193324939/cd-drama-special-mobile-suit-gundam-00-another

Oh, and the AO3 mirror for the story is here.

———–

“Sa~ji~” Louise whined. “But I don’t like him!”

“Louise,” Saji said, who resisted the urge to whine himself and instead tried to placate her, somehow. “You do not not like him. Plus, it’s his birthday, and Sis said he was all alone over there.” He didn’t know how or when Kinue had gotten their taciturn neighbor’s birthday out of him, or even when they had talked at all, but she had.

“Oh. That’s sad.” Louise’s expression fell and she stopped kicking her feet against the couch. “No one should be alone on their birthday.”

She said it with such a melancholy tone that Saji suspected she had been alone for one of hers. It wasn’t the last one; she’d been with him for that and the date they’d gone on had cost him an arm and a leg. But she’d smiled the whole time so it had totally been worth it. Louise’s smile was like sunshine.

“So does that mean you’ll go next door and get him so I can finish decorating the cake?” Saji asked gently.

“I’ll do it,” she said. There was a pout in her voice and she bounced off the couch with more force than was strictly necessary, but she headed to the door, her hair swishing against her back.

Saji sighed heavily, wishing she wouldn’t put on such a show all the time, and turned back to the cake.

*~*~*~*~*

Louise knocked loudly on the neighbor boy’s door. “Setsuna?” she called. She waited, not exactly patiently, for him to get to the door. She could hear him moving inside so she wasn’t leaving. She told Saji she would get him, so she was going to get him.

Finally the door opened a crack and Setsuna’s gold-brown eyes peeked out. “Louise Halevy,” he said by way of greeting.

“Good afternoon, Setsuna,” she said, putting on her brightest smile. “I’ve come to invite you over to Saji’s.”

“Thank you. No,” he said, and started to close the door.

Louise was a smart girl. She’d already tucked her toe in the crack, expecting him to shut the door at least once. Instead of closing shut, the door was stopped by her shoe.

“Saji has been working really hard on this meal,” she scolded. “And I know you’re not doing anything for your birthday, you’re too quiet to be doing something. So you are going to come to Saji’s and have some food and cake and I bought you a present so you’re coming over.”

Setsuna was a smart boy. He’d already picked up that he shouldn’t refuse Louise, especially when she got that tone. “All right. Let me put on a shirt.”

Louise’s eyes widened at the thought that he might not be dressed. Her gaze fell and she caught a glimpse of a bare arm (what on earth did he do to get such muscle definition as a just-turned-seventeen-year-old!?), and she quickly looked away from the crack in the door, her cheeks getting hot. But she didn’t move her foot in case he tried to close the door and escape. There was a soft rustling and he came back to the door with a plain, high-colored button down shirt that he was swiftly doing the buttons on.

“Are we going?” he said in the same flat tone as always. Louise let out a small, annoyed huff, and whirled on her heel. She had half a mind to close Saji’s door in Setsuna’s face.

*~*~*~*~*

Setsuna hadn’t had a real birthday party since he was eight or so. There was a few attempts to exchange gifts in the interim years, but they were mostly hushed, hurried affairs, the other boys in the KGB giving him tokens, and him returning the favor when he could. Those gifts were useful and therefore used, or destroyed in the fighting. Gone.

So he was completely out of his element even though his ‘party’ consisted of himself, Saji Crossroad, and Louise Halevy. Louise chattered to fill up the quiet, and Saji played host, and Setsuna sat like a lump.

The food was great, though, and he happily cleaned his plate and nodded when Saji asked if he wanted another helping. Saji beamed at him and went to get him seconds. Louise leaned over and whispered, “See, I told you. Saji’s the best cook.” Setsuna nodded again, although he was fairly certain Kinue was the better cook. Still, the Crossroad siblings had made him the tastiest meals he’d had in a long, long time.

(In the years that followed, he would think back on those meals as he ate MREs and energy bars to survive. They were a precious, painful memory of the world he was trying to protect.)

“Open the presents!” Louise said after Saji cleared their plates from lunch. “And then we can have cake!” She seemed far more cheerful than when she had pried him away from his nap. Even though it wasn’t her birthday, she was enjoying the festivities. Good food, some TV show they were all ignoring in the background, Saji waiting on her… It must be everything she wanted, Setsuna thought.

(Setsuna didn’t know, but in the years that followed, she would look back on this as the day Saji’s weird neighbor was almost human, and Saji was an angel. It was a precious, painful memory of the world she could never have back.)

Saji deposited a box on Setsuna’s lap. “Here. It’s from my sister. She had to work today so she couldn’t be here, but she left this for you. I guess Celestial Being is keeping her busy again.”

“Celestial Being is keeping a lot of people busy,” Setsuna muttered. He tore the tape on the box. Inside was a photo of Exia in exceptional quality, a print from a newsreel about Azadistan. The Gundam stood in the palace courtyard, hand extended. The shadows were long, showing it was late in the day, but the whole thing had a serenity to it, the calm of a clear sunset.

He’d slipped when Kinue was talking to him once, probably the same day he’d let his birthday out, and Kinue had found out that he didn’t entirely hate the Gundams and liked ‘the blue one, that rescued a religious leader in the Middle East.’ Her description, not his, but at least he hadn’t given away anything else.

“Oooh, that’s a cool shot,” Louise said. She sighed. “Remember when they did their first thing, and it didn’t seem so bad? I mean, they did stuff like this back then.”

“Louise, that was only six months ago,” Saji pointed out.

“Yeah, but it’s like they’re two completely different people now! Ever since the red ones-”

Setsuna stiffened and wished he’d grabbed his gun. Did she know? He could probably take one of them bare-handed if there was trouble, but that would give the other time to call for help or escape. He’d have to take Louise out first- she looked like she could scream louder and run faster than Saji.

“Let’s not ruin the party with politics,” Saji said, waving his hands. Setsuna relaxed, just a little. Saji’s eyes were guileless as always. The only thing Saji could threaten was a sink full of dishes.

“Oh my god, she gave you that, too?” Saji’s face fell and he pointed at a video in the box.

It had been underneath the photo frame. A video of classic Japanese comedy, a compilation of the best stand-up and variety acts from 300-200 years ago.

Setsuna groaned inwardly. Damn Personality Type R35 and it’s idiotic verbal tick! At least he had talked Sumeragi out of making him use it more than once (he vaguely remembered saying ‘This is supposed to be a safehouse, not a madhouse!’ in a rare act of rebellion), but he’d had to explain his personality shift to Kinue and now she thought they shared an interest in this… drivel.

“I’m sorry, choriisu,” Saji said, patting his shoulder. Setsuna didn’t like the laughter in his tone and scowled. If he never heard that sorry excuse for a catchphrase, it would be too soon.

“We’re not watching it,” Louise said with authority. Setsuna silently thanked her imperial attitude for the first and only time. “Do Saji’s next! We’ll save the best for last.” She grinned and winked, and Saji flushed.

“Sorry it’s not very flashy,” he said as he gave a slim wrapped package to Setsuna. When the paper was off, Setsuna held a book of recipes for college students.

Saji awkwardly had a hand behind his neck, a pose that Setsuna had come to equate with Japan in general and Saji Crossroad in particular. “Sorry,” he said again.

“It’s fine,” Setsuna said, thumbing through it quickly. “It will be useful.” It would, with all the tips on cooking fast and buying cheap and adding nutrition to near-garbage.

“And now mine!” Louise plunked a box in his lap. It was a clothing box and very lightweight. Saji let out a low whistle when he saw the emblem on it, some expensive brand name Setsuna wouldn’t recognize until he looked it up later.

It was a scarf in a creamy beige color. Setsuna gingerly stroked the fabric. “Soft.”

“Mm-hm!” Louise said, still as excited as if the present was for herself. Setsuna would learn later that she loved gifts. Giving was as good as receiving (unless it was Saji and then she expected to receive). “It’s nice and light for summer! So you can keep your look even when it’s hot out. Don’t think I didn’t notice you’re always in one!”

“Thank you,” Setsuna murmured, unsure of how else to respond. “And thank your sister for me.”

“Sure!” Saji said, beaming.

“Saji, Saji! Take a picture!” Louise held out one of their phones- Saji’s probably, from the lack of cutesy straps dangling off it- and once Saji took it, she picked up the scarf and wrapped it around Setsuna.

Saji squeezed closer to Setsuna and held out the phone. Louise grinned and flashed a peace sign.

“Happy Birthday, Setsuna!” they both said as he took the picture.

Setsuna’s cheeks felt warm and he wondered if he was over-exhausted or if the pair were just too close, snugged up against his sides. He found that he was okay if it was the latter, and hid his smile against the silk of his new scarf.