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”He’s gonna fucking love it.” ”He’s going to hate it.” ”I’ll love it then.” ”Remember who this party’s for, Albatross.” “Pffft, you have no idea…” It was true, despite it originally being his suggestion, Piano Man really didn’t have any idea. In fact, none of the Flags would ever suspect that Albatross had been devotedly planning this party for months now. Ever since it became clear that Chuuya was not only going to pass his first year in the Port Mafia with flying colours, but in time, was likely to surpass all of them. “Bunting?!” ”What? Everybody loves bunting.” ”Is it not a bit much?” Lippmann asked, eyeing the colourful flags with a look of pure distaste. By ‘much’, Albatross assumed he meant ‘tacky’. He supposed it made sense, the guy was used to spelling ‘celebration’ with red carpets and floral arrangements rather than garish pieces of cardboard. ”No-pe,” Albatross shrugged, popping the ‘p’ with a wild grin and shaking his head so vigorously his braid flew from side to side. “Nothing’s too much for our baby Chuu. We’ve got a piñata too — don’t look at me like that, you know he’s never tried one before. And streamers for his arrival,” if possible, his grin grew wider. Lippmann thought he looked like a shark. “Basically all the things he’d pretend to hate given the chance.” ”Will there be party hats?” ”Yes, Piano Man, obviously there’ll be hats.” Tch, it was like they all expected this party to be a disaster. True, Albatross had recently heard a story from the Colonel about a kid who’d grown up in similar conditions to what they’d gleaned Chuuya had so far. Neglected for a good part of his early life but still incredibly strong and dangerous in spite of it, if not because of it. A fighter. He’d probably thrive in the Mafia for that reason. Rumour had it the kid had almost obliterated a room full of people when they’d turned the lights out to bring him his birthday cake. It was what could only be described as the most extreme case of fight or flight Albatross had ever heard for such an innocent situation, but that didn’t mean the same thing would happen with Chuuya. After all, the youngest member of the Flags had a firm handle on his emotions. Perhaps too firm… for the most part anyway. Albatross made it his life’s mission to give the kid’s scowl a break. That was what today was for.
Baby Chuu, Ickle Chuuya, Nakahara-sama. Real name: Nakahara Chuuya, but Albatross would never call him that. Too formal. Too… bleugh. A true diamond in the rough, not unlike the jewels he handled on a daily basis, and just as precious. The grumpy facade hid a serious and diligent member of the organisation. And yet, the cool attitude carefully concealed a kid eager to please, scared to fail. A kid who wanted a family, wanted to belong, more than anything else in the world, and would likely rather die than admit it. Albatross took a second to survey the room, arms crossed and expression a picture of seriousness. It was almost perfect. Almost. Something was missing though… ”Where do you want the banner, ‘Tross?” Albatross spun around in delight, slapping a hand to his forehead and clipping his sunglasses. ”Doc! You fucking genius ! I almost forgot, how did I-? ” “Hehehe~” Doc had the banner raised up high for Albatross to inspect, the top half of his face covered by the sheet of flimsy plastic. As a result, he didn’t quite manage to see the uncharacteristic look of disappointment that had fallen over Albatross’ brow like a dark shadow. “Was this all they had?” he asked, careful to keep his voice from sounding too tyrannical. ”Why?” Doc poked his head over the top, signature wide-mouthed grin on full display. “What’s wrong with it?” ”It says ‘Happy 1st Birthday’…?” Not that it wasn’t adorable. The baby blue colouring clashed wonderfully with the vibrant shades of the piñata, and the cartoon whales and starfish just added an extra little something to the meticulously planned decor that Albatross couldn’t put a name to. A certain charm that would’ve been absent without the garish banner. ”Well I did ask, but they said they didn’t have any ‘Happy 1 Year in the Port Mafia, Chuuya’ banners”, Doc shrugged, still grinning like a goddamn macaque. Albatross stepped back and took another second to eye it all in its entirety. It looked like a kids party had thrown up over the shabby stone walls and concrete floor of the Old World. And honestly, it kinda worked. Lippmann however, looked like he wanted to scream, despite the reassuring smile and thumbs up that he gave to nobody in particular. A sharp slam rang suddenly through the pool hall, causing them all to whip around whilst grabbing the nearest weapon they could find. For Albatross, that was the knife he’d been using to curl pieces of ribbon. Doc grabbed the gun he’d strapped to his drip stand. Piano Man pulled a wire from his sleeve and aimed it in the direction of the door. Lippmann simply raised an eyebrow in warning, intent deadly. The intruder, brushing flecks of rain off his trench coat, slowly raised his hands in mock surrender, before pointedly dropping one of them to take the cigarette out of his mouth, blowing a small cloud of smoke in their direction. All of this performed with a quiet confidence whilst actively bleeding from a gash on his forehead, which he didn’t seem to notice. One by one they lowered their weapons. Lippmann’s glare quickly turned into a relieved smile. ”Well?” Shuffling silently over the threshold, Iceman made a beeline to the bar where Piano Man already had a drink prepared for him, arm outstretched for him to receive. He slumped into a stool and took a few sips before leaning into the solid oak behind him, every ounce of tension seemingly leaving his body behind as he closed his eyes in the comfortable silence. And yet everyone was waiting for him to speak. Doc took that as a cue to begin subtly fussing over his injury. ”How did it go?” Piano Man asked, no doubt hoping for something a bit more to work with this time. Iceman opened up his unobstructed eye to search for Piano Man’s before simply nodding, drawing a thick file out from under his trench coat and throwing it blindly onto the bar behind him. Piano Man immediately snatched it up and began rifling through whilst Albatross hung over his shoulder, grin getting wider with each turn of the page. ”So that’s… everything then?” He asked, matching everyone’s gaze in turn, grappling for some sort of confirmation. ”Yup.” ”… We did it?” ” Yup. ” ”Holy shit,” the blond breathed. There was no way… no, but there was. This was it. ”How do you think he’ll react to all of this?” Lippmann asked, voice quiet amidst the documents loudly spilling secrets in Piano Man’s hands. They all looked to Albatross, who, as luck would have it, had painstakingly ran this very scenario through his head about a million times already. “Oh, you know how it’ll go. He’ll be touched but he won’t admit it. He’ll storm off. We’ll give him the old reverse psychology to get him to stay, he’ll see right through it but end up staying anyway.” “How can you be so sure he’ll stay?” ”Come on, it’s Chuu~ya. You’re seriously gonna pretend you can’t read the kid? It’s been a year.” “I was here,” he murmured drily, pausing for a moment. “Maybe some time alone to digest would be helpful. It’s quite the bombshell after all, no? The room is quite loud, ‘Tross.” A bombshell, right. If they only knew the half of it. Chuuya was a literal force of nature. The force of nature, science would argue, and in more ways than one. With this information he could no doubt be the bombshell, if he was so inclined. Of course they knew he was human. That much had always been obvious to those privileged enough to know him. But Albatross knew more than anyone how much this gift would mean to the kid who had inspired all of this. Those rare occasions — Chuuya drunk enough to lower his guard, drunk enough to ramble — were evidence enough. One half would never remember, the other half always would. A bond unknowingly deeper but keenly felt, regardless. Albatross would carry those words, never repeated sober, to the grave if he had to.
The news could break him.
But fuck if he didn’t need a break.
In fact, Albatross had considered leaving him be. He really had. That the suggestion had also come from Lippmann spoke volumes — the guy was fluent in many things, but reading the human soul in particular was something he understood innately. Time, space, peace and quiet. All things Chuuya would want, Albatross would agree. But not necessarily what he needed. “Fuck that — he’s staying. What he needs are his friends. Someone to celebrate on his behalf. You know I’m right.” Nobody could argue with that. Albatross took it as a win. “And what if the boss finds out?” ”Not a problem,” Piano Man said, like the answer was obvious, “I’ll take the fall.” It was impossible to hear any individual reactions when the subsequent cries of protest, in various degrees of defiance, each blended into one. All aligned in what they were saying but, when put together, barely discernible. Piano Man must have gotten the point anyway. ”Alright, alright, if you’re all so desperate to die with me, we can all take the fall.” And that was the end of the matter. They all nodded in agreement, despite the fact that it was clear nobody believed a word he said. Piano Man was like that. Reckless. Protective. Made everything his responsibility for God only knew what reason. ”Let’s see the picture again, Piano Man,” Lippmann asked, eyes bright in the dimly lit pool hall. Piano Man obliged, sinking his hand into his pocket and withdrawing a small envelope. He passed it to Lippmann, who carefully pulled out a small square of photo paper and held it up to the light. The rest gathered around to take a closer look. Even Doc had stopped dabbing at Iceman’s forehead, having both crowded behind Lippmann. Every single one of them smiled fondly at the picture. The only sounds to be heard were the occasional amused “hmphs” at the simplicity of it all. A kid. Nothing extraordinary. Nothing alien. Just a kid. A kid with squishy cheeks and red hair. Clothes far too big. Expression free and absent of responsibility. Just their Chuuya. ”Do you think he’ll be mortified when he finds out he was an adorable child?” Albatross felt like the organs in his chest were trying to rearrange themselves beneath his ribs. It gave him a funny lump in his throat, a tight, constricted feeling that made his eyes burn. Maybe he was getting sick. He pushed the lump to the side with a swift change of topic. “Can you remember the first time we met him, Doc?” Doc’s eyes immediately glazed over as he grinned into the far distance, now tending to Iceman again with a patch of gauze. His patient seemed to be leaning into his touch. If Albatross knew any better he’d think he was almost enjoying it. Impossible though, Iceman didn’t really enjoy things. That was except cigarettes, whiskey and old music records. And yet… ”I’ll never forget, he was in quite a state, wasn’t he?” Albatross grinned, turning to address the rest of the group. “Evidently our dear ickle Chuuya had taken on mission after mission until he eventually collapsed from exhaustion. He ended up being carried into Doc’s infirmary by his partner, that bandage kid — you know the one all the grunts are terrified of even though he looks like a scrawny cat?” They all nodded in solemn understanding, exchanging knowing glances and smirks, before Albatross continued. “Anyway, I was there being patched up by Doc at the time, when this tiny punk was unceremoniously dumped onto the bed and Doc had to rush to get him an IV. Kouyou-san had been furious with him for not looking after himself better, berated him forever for not learning how to say no. Kid couldn’t get a word in.” “She was worried, of course — that’s just her way,” Doc chimed in, nodding in a way that suggested he’d probably have done the same. Albatross remembered her eyes softening when she’d noted her small protege muttering an apology into his knees, tubes still sticking out of his arm. She’d given him a brisk shoulder squeeze and had immediately left to seek an audience with the boss. “I was the first one who talked to him when he came around. He reminded me of a puppy with raised hackles, all bark and bravado,” he huffed at the memory. It wasn’t something that needed to be said out loud, if only for the sake of Chuuya’s pride, but he looked nervous. He didn’t take kindly to medical settings. “I can’t remember what I said to piss him off but he ended up punching me in the arm and I couldn’t feel it for about a week afterwards. I begged Doc to let us keep him, and what did you say?” ”Ask your mother.” Piano Man spat out his drink while the others roared. ”You didn’t tell me that,” he choked through tears. “Obviously we kept an eye on him after that. For all he wears himself taller than he is, you can’t help but wanna root for him. He’s the best of all of us. He’ll go far I say.” And still to this day the boss thought Chuuya’s initiation into the group had all been his idea. A fortuitous turn of events, really. Albatross could hardly believe their luck. As if they all shared the same thought, each raised their glass.
”You know, I heard him laugh the other day.” Albatross sprayed his toast. “AND YOU’RE ONLY TELLING US NOW? WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” ”Hehehe.” ”But…” Lippmann began, “haven’t we all heard Chuuya laugh?” ”My dear Lippmann, Doc doesn’t mean the usual type, where he’s half holding back, worried about professionalism or whatever,” Albatross couldn’t stop the fevered smile as he maintained eye contact with Doc, “he means the full, uncontrollable, kid-whose-had-too-much-sugar kinda laugh, don’t ya Doc?” Doc nodded, the corner of his eyes crinkling like he was savouring every inch of Albatross’ barely concealed envy. ”So? What happened?!” “Hirotsu-san stumbled on a loose rug.” The others simply gaped at him. Whiskey, wine, beer. All abandoned. “He laughed… because Hirotsu-san fell over?” “He did hehehe. They were walking past the infirmary when it happened.” The silence told him to continue. ”Of course, Chuuya immediately scrambled to pick him up, asking if Hirotsu-san was okay. Full of honourifics and as attentive as he always is to his superiors.” Albatross could see the whole debacle as clearly as if he’d been the rug. ”Go on…” ”Then Chuuya had this strange expression on his face. Like he’d just bitten into a lemon, his eyes were watering like mad. Hirotsu-san stared him down for a few seconds before nodding, almost like he was giving him permission….” Doc gave a toothy grin, black eyes glittering playfully ”and that was it. Chuuya hit the deck — at one point I considered bringing him an air tank.” Piano Man looked like all of his Christmas’ had come early whilst Lippmann looked like he’d cracked a rib — a sentiment wholeheartedly shared by Albatross, who thought he’d never heard something so perfect in his whole life. Iceman went back to his beer with pursed lips, his shoulders shaking. ”Right, that’s it. New secret mission gentlemen!” ”Huh? —” ”But we’ve only just finished the last secret mission—” Albatross shushed them and waved his hand up to deflect further complaints. “Yeah yeah yeah, but this one is just as important.” Only Lippmann seemed to believe it. He looked ready to hear more at least, perking up and tucking his hair behind his ear — a habit he always maintained in any mission briefing. ”What is it?” Today was a celebration. A celebration of their first year knowing Chuuya. A celebration of friendship, above all else. And, perhaps most importantly for Chuuya, a celebration that he was exactly what they’d known him to be all along. What better way to honour that than to… ”Make Chuuya laugh,” he said simply. Piano Man opened his mouth to speak, but Albatross cut him off. ”Properly.” He kicked a balloon up and caught it, absentmindedly bouncing it from hand to hand. “This is a celebration, right? We don’t get a lot of opportunities like this, so we have to make them count when we can.” Albatross had no idea why he was being so cheesy all of a sudden, and honestly it made him feel a bit sick, but it was all coming out like word vomit. Thankfully, no-one was calling him out for it. Rather, they were hanging onto his every word. Years of friendship, knowing they too had a sentimental side despite growing up in the dark, meant he wasn’t entirely surprised. “So let’s keep on celebrating, let’s keep on reminding him, reminding all of us, let’s never take it for granted-“
We don’t know when the next celebration will be.
“-let’s make him laugh.” The suggestion was met with the quiet sound of a car door thudding to a close, followed by light footsteps crunching on stones outside, getting louder with each step. Albatross threw the balloon to the side and quickly scurried towards the door, doing one final sweep of the room as he took his place. Whether they were ready or not, the time had come. He beckoned for the others, who quickly followed his lead and got into their positions, as rehearsed. Albatross asked again, wordlessly this time. Through a nod to each of them. Each of them nodded back, mouthing their agreement. “You’re on.” Secret mission accepted.