YouRiko One-Shots

Riko's Birthday

*Beep beep beep*

Riko could hear the agitating consistent blaring of her alarm sounding the room. The high shrill was nothing she could ignore, even in her deepest slumbers. It didn't take long for the weight of reality to gradually set in as her fatigue washed away. Her golden eyes slowly opened and before she knew it, it was already a new day.

She glanced over to her alarm as it flashed "6:00" over and over. Riko debated on waiting to see how long it would take for her mother to come in and turn it off herself. Though, that would just cause her trouble and Riko'd most likely receive a scolding as soon as she walked in. Releasing a groan, Riko sat up before hitting the snooze button. Surely a few more minutes of sleep would do her well.

Unfortunately, that didn't last long as she could already hear a flood of pings coming from her phone.

Riko searched beneath her many layers of blankets for the device. She had fallen asleep reading the latest online doujinshi so it wasn't on her countertop as usual.

Before she even opened it, she could see notifications all coming from the Aqours group chat. All of them read an assortment of things such as "Happy Birthday, Riko!" And "Let's celebrate after school!"

Riko unlocked her phone with a smile, typing in her thanks to her friends and planning the celebration. It was still quite early so not everyone was awake just yet, not that she could blame them. As soon as she hit send though, her phone was lit up by a phone call.

Across her screen was a picture of You, it was a simple picture of her sipping on a juice carton. Riko took the picture to get revenge for her own candid photo on You's phone of her eating a sandwich. That was the idea, until Riko soon realized You had quite the fast reflexes and never looked bad in any photo she took. That day, she gave Riko a quick smile for the picture, biting the straw and beaming with excitement. She looked beautiful to say the least, and though Riko didn't get her revenge, she definitely got something better in return.

Riko may have been staring too much at the photo though as she noticed the ringing had gone on for a while. She quickly tapped the green icon to answer before placing the phone to her ear,

"Hello?"

"Ohayousoro, Riko!"

You's cheery voice could be heard on the other end of the line as she greeted her. Riko could almost imagine her doing a salute with it.

"Good morning, You. You're quite energetic for it being so early in the morning."

Riko ended her sentence with a yawn, still fighting the tiredness from just waking up. You laughed on the other line,

"Ah, well, it is a special day. Say, could you come outside really quick?"

Riko's eyes widened, it was 6 in the morning, surely You wouldn't come to her house when not even the sunlight broke the horizon.

"Um, right now, right now?"

Movement could be heard on the other line before You answered back,

"Yes, and please hurry!"

The line ended and Riko suddenly became nervous. She had just woken up, she couldn't let You see her like this, she still had in her retainer for goodness sake.

Quickly, Riko threw her covers off of herself before she ran to her bathroom. She attempted to look presentable with some splashes of water at her face and patting down her hair while spitting out her retainer. She grabbed her toothbrush and began quickly brushing her teeth while running out of her room.

As she made it downstairs with minimal damage, she ran into her kitchen and spit out the remnants of toothpaste in her mouth. Riko finally took a deep breath, trying to calm her overly excited heart rate, before she walked over to her door.

As she opened it she saw You, her back was towards her though as her bag was on the floor. As soon as You heard the door open, she turned around in a flash, presenting Riko a single cupcake with one candle lit on top.

"Happy Birthday, Riko!"

You's eyes sparkled like the ocean mornings as her smile put even the sun to shame in the way it shined. Riko could only stand there staring at You. Her cheeks were lightly tinted pink as her hair was slightly frizzy, most likely from trying to rush her way to her from across town.

You only glanced from Riko to the cupcake, pushing it slightly more forward to get her to notice it. Riko finally looked at the cupcake, seeing it was a vanilla flavor with soft pink and white swirled frosting. The blue candle on top of it appeared to be nearly halfway melted.

"Aw, You, I love it!"

"Thank you, now hurry and make your wish before it goes out!"

You pushed the cupcake closer to Riko in a panic, cutting off their sweet moment. With a smile, Riko leaned down, drawing in her breath to blow out the candle. As the weak flicker finally went out, You was quick to ask,

"So, what did you wish for?"

"Nothing."

You's face dropped and Riko couldn't help but giggle at her reaction.

"What?!"

Riko only shrugged nonchalantly though,

"I already have everything I need, you... and of course the rest of the Aqours members. Why would I want anything more?"

Riko took the cupcake You had into her own hands before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around You's shoulders, giving her a hug.

"Thank you, by the way."

You leaned her head on Riko's shoulder, inhaling her intoxicating strawberry shampoo, as they embraced one another. The silence of an early morning surrounded the two, creating what felt to be their own tiny universe that neither wanted to break. That was before they heard a yell coming from the Takami Inn.

"Hey, no fair! I wanted to tell Riko a happy birthday in-person first!"

You and Riko separated, still slightly holding on to one another, as they looked over at Chika. She was still in her nightgown and her hair a mess.

You smiled though, as she yelled back,

"Better luck next year!"

Chika groaned in agitation as she went back inside, leaving You and Riko alone again. Much to both of their dismay, the mood to continue hugging was gone, but the mutual desire to be together longer still lingered in the air. Riko cleared her throat as she asked You,

"Would you like to come in?"

You nodded her head furiously before picking her bag off of the floor,

"I'd love to!"

Riko took You by the hand, guiding her inside. She let You sit in the living room as she quickly ran upstairs to change into her school uniform. Riko made sure to spray a little bit of extra perfume before she left her room.

Since Riko was up and finished getting ready early, the two of them were able to relax longer in Riko's home. They split Riko's birthday cupcake at her dining room table and Riko even found out that You had made the cupcake herself.

They shared a few laughs, and even received a bit of scolding from Riko's mother when she came downstairs to see them eating a cupcake for breakfast. Riko's mother was surprised when she saw You at their house so early, but soon understood when she found out it was to see Riko first on her birthday.

Before Riko's mother could bust out the baby pictures to You of Riko's previous birthdays in Tokyo, it was time to go to school. Riko couldn't be happier with her birthday luck.

As You and Riko walked the path to Uranohoshi, Chika tagged along later, making it a journey for three on their way to school.

Despite the day just barely starting, Riko would certainly put this birthday as one of her favorites.

Perhaps she should have used that wish, just to have many more birthdays exactly like this one.