Special requested HonoMaki by revengermajestyliberator. 4.19 Happy Birthday Maki!

*Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!

She knew. She knew not to get her hopes up. It's just another day, she kept telling herself over and over again. That's what she did to calm herself down before a test or before her first performance. It shouldn't be any different to pretend like today was nothing special, right? The girl let a melancholic sigh as she answered her own mental question.

Of course not.

This day was far too special to simply downplay it and act like it's nothing. It was supposed to be one she could look forward to, be excited about. A day that should amount to more than just a little bit extra at dinner.

After all, it was her birthday.

Maki let out another sigh as she looked at herself one last time in the mirror. She had fidgeted with her hair, adjusted her ribbon, brushed off any stray dust from her uniform all for about the tenth time that morning. None of it needed fixing, but she kept cycling through them unconsciously while preparing herself for the day.

Finally finished with her morning preparations, Maki got up and left her room. The house was empty as her parents had already left for work, allowing her footsteps to echo loudly throughout the otherwise quiet house. Waiting for her outside was one of the family's many drivers and the typical black car.

"Good morning," was her simple greeting before slipping into the back seat of the car.

As usual, the ride to school was silent, leaving Maki to her thoughts. Her thoughts were still about her birthday, but this time in regards to her friends, the other Muse. She still hadn't told them.

Of course Rin and Hanayo know, or at least should know, since they've been classmates and friends for a couple years now. But would they have told the others? After all, they knew how adamant she was about not drawing attention to herself before they joined Muse. Assuming they remembered that as well, they wouldn't say anything and let Maki be the one to tell them if she wanted to.

Which meant that it was most likely going to be a seemingly normal day at school. Going through classes, lunch with Rin and Hanayo, and practice with Muse afterschool. The only chance for something different again lay with her first-year companions.

She let a sigh escape under her breath so her driver wouldn't hear as they continued along.

Unfortunately for Maki, most of the school day went as she had predicted. Nothing exciting happened during morning or afternoon classes. Lunch was normal as well, if not a little upsetting to Maki that neither of her friends greeted her about today. Not that she'd ever admit that, of course.

And now it was a typical afterschool Muse practice. Eli made a few announcements before warm-ups, and then they got straight to work. Maki could appreciate that focusing on the moves and timing kept her mind distracted for the most part, but the thought didn't completely go away.

The one thing that stood out during practice was the behavior of some of the other Muse, most notably Honoka and Rin. They were pretty energetic as it was, but to Maki it seemed like they were even more excited and high spirited than usual. A little bit of hope rose in Maki, but she quickly brushed it off.

As practice came to an end, the other Muse hurried to grab their stuff and descend from the rooftop. Only Rin, Maki, and Hanayo were still there, as Maki was asked by the others to wait for them. They seemed to be taking their time, not in as much of a rush as the others, so Maki waited patiently for them to finish.

"Are you okay, Maki-chan?" Hanayo asked as they descended the steps and hit their desired floor.

"Yeah… I'm fine," was her simple reply.

"Really? But you seem less like yourself than usual-nya," Rin said from her other side.

"I'm really fine. Just had a few things on my mind, that's all."

"Oh, we'll maybe we can do something to help," Hanayo suggested.

Even just a Happy Birthday would do, Maki thought to herself. But outwardly she just smiled and said, "Thanks for the concern."

"Ah, we're here-nya."

Here meant the clubroom. Maki was expecting Rin to bust through the door first, but she didn't. Instead, Rin just stood still, looking expectantly at Maki. A quick glance to her other side showed that Hanayo was also giving her an expectant look. She wasn't quite sure why, but decided that she didn't want them to just stand there longer than they needed to. So she turned the handle and opened the door.

And nearly jumped as she was greeted by a loud series of noise.

She didn't really know how to react. It was only until she felt confetti fall on her that she recovered from her shock. She looked around, noticing the decorations that lined the walls, the table with the computer in the back with drinks and paper cups, the table in the middle of the room with paper plates, and a cake with 16 candles already lit at the very center of the table.

"Happy Birthday, Maki!" chorused six voices.

"Everyone…" was the only thing Maki could manage. She was quite overwhelmed, frozen in spot. Tears started to form in her eyes, startling the others.

"Maki-chan? Are you alright?" Honoka asked, worried.

"Yeah… I…" Maki shook her head, wiping a tear from her eye and smiling. "Thank you, everyone."

Seeing Maki smile made everyone's doubt disappear as quickly as it had appeared. Rin and Hanayo led Maki further into the room. Eli met them, placing a crown on Maki's head. Maki recognized it from the drama room, but didn't say anything as she didn't really mind at this point. All the while Kotori was taking pictures.

They sang and let Maki blow out the candles to start. Per Umi's request, Maki cut nine thin slices and passed them out to everyone. It was a chocolate cake with ice cream inside and white frosting around. Nico had made the cake, and wasn't sure what Maki would like, so she used chocolate to be safe.

From that point on it was a pretty simple party. Surprisingly there wasn't any party games lined up, but they were more than happy to just talk with each other while enjoying the cake and drinks. The small couch in the room was declared to be Maki's for the day. She was allowed to just sit there and relax while the others came up to her for conversation.

"Hi, Maki-chan," Hanayo greeted as she sat next to Maki on the couch.

"Hey Hanayo," Maki returned. "Thanks for the party, by the way."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"You planned this party, right?"

Hanayo shook her head. "No, I didn't plan any of this."

"Eh? Then, who did?"

"Honoka-chan."

Maki was stunned for a few seconds. "R-really?"

"Yeah. Didn't she tell you already?"

"No…" Maki looked over to the ginger, who was happily chatting away with Rin. "Actually, she's the only one that hasn't come to talk to me yet."

"Hmm… That's, odd… I would've expected she would be the first one to try to talk to you. She seemed pretty excited about the plans leading up to today."

"She was excited?"

"Yeah, from the moment she asked about your birthday about a week ago."

"Hmm… Well that answers how she found out."

Hanayo only just realized what she had said. "Oh… I-"

"It's okay. Actually, I'm happy for what's happened here."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"I just wish she would come over here…" Maki still hadn't stopped looking over to Honoka.

"Oho… Maki-chan has a little crush I see," came Nozomi's usual teasing voice.

"O-of course I don't," Maki replied, turning away as she crossed her arms. "I just want to thank her for this party, that's all."

Nozomi gave her a knowing smile. "You know, Honoka-chan was the one who came up with the rule for the couch."

Maki turned back to look at her senpai. "She did?"

"Yes, she did. She got a lot of help with planning from Kotori-chan, but that was one of her sole contributions."

"Hmm… I wonder if that means she is trying to avoid me…"

"You could always ask her yourself," Nozomi suggested.

"How? It's not like I can-"

"It only applies to the party, which is ending in a few minutes." Without waiting for a response, Nozomi walked away toward Honoka and Rin.

"Things will work out," Hanayo said as she watched Nozomi cross the room.

"You think so?" Maki asked, a little doubtful.

"Well, it is Honoka-chan after all. It's not like she's ever really mad."

They both looked at the ginger in question. "I suppose you're right…"

True to Nozomi's words, the party soon came to a close with Eli saying that everyone should head home while there was still some light out. Maki stood from the couch, taking a moment to stretch. Then she remembered what she needed to do.

It only took her a moment to spot Honoka. She was talking with Nozomi, although looking very anxious. Meanwhile Nozomi seemed like her usual, amused self. Maki made her way straight for them.

"That's great, Nozomi-chan," Honoka said with a hint of urgency. "But I have to go-"

"Ah, but I haven't told you the best part yet." Nozomi noticed Maki approaching. "Hello, Maki-chan."

Honoka flinched at the name, nervously glancing over and meeting the redhead's gaze.

"H-Hi, Maki-chan," Honoka stammered out.

"Honoka, I'd like to talk to you for a minute," Maki said directly.

"Ah... Uhm… Well you see-" Honoka turned at the sound of the door opening. She turned in time to see Nozomi already closing the door.

"Have fun, you two," she said as the door clicked shut.

Honoka realized she was out of options. With a sigh, she turned back to Maki. "Sure, we can talk for a bit."

For the next few moments, the room held silent. Maki was surprised, as she wasn't expecting things to go in her favor so easily. She saw Honoka fidgeting where she stood, and decided that it was probably best to end the silence.

"I heard that this party was your idea," Maki started.

"Y-yeah, it was."

"Well, I wanted to thank you for the party. It was… nice."

Honoka seemed to relax a little bit. "Oh, well I'm glad that you liked it."

"But then, how come you didn't tell me sooner?"

"You were the only one that didn't come up to me during the entire party," Maki pointed out.

"A-ah… You noticed, huh?"

"Are you trying to avoid me? Did I do something wrong?"

"No!" Honoka replied almost immediately. Maki recoiled by the sudden volume. "Ah- No, Maki-chan hasn't done anything wrong."

"Then… Why?"

"I… I just wanted to do something nice for Maki-chan, since you haven't looked that happy lately."

Maki was surprised to hear that. "I… I didn't?"

Honoka shook her head. "You were acting like the first time we met… When I asked Hanayo about it, she mentioned that your birthday was coming up and that you don't make a big deal about it because of your family. So I thought, maybe throwing her a surprise party will cheer her up!"

Maki started to blush. "I-I see... Well… Thank you for cheering me up, then."

"You're welcome, Maki-chan," Honoka replied, smiling.

"But, you still haven't answered why you didn't just tell me during the party."

While Honoka was still smiling, Maki sensed less energy behind it. "I… I can't tell you that."

"Why?"

"Because it's wrong… It's weird… And if I said it, Maki-chan might not be friends with me anymore."

Maki was starting to get impatient. She walked directly up to Honoka until they were face to face. Honoka grew nervous very quickly.

"Tell me."

Honoka shook her head.

"Honoka."

"I can't."

"Honoka!

In one swift motion, Honoka held Maki's face in both her hands, bringing the redhead closer to her while also closing the short distance until their lips met. Maki's eyes widened slightly from the sudden actions, while Honoka had shut hers while plunging for the kiss.

Maki's first reaction would have almost definitely been to push Honoka off, back away, something to create space. But none of those thoughts ever crossed her mind. In fact, she couldn't help but feel relaxed by the warmth of Honoka's hands on her cheeks and their connected lips.

I… I actually like this, Maki realized.

But just as she was about to fully enjoy the warm feelings, Honoka separated from the kiss. Her eyes slowly opened, but they didn't look up to Maki's, they just focused downward.

"I… I like you, Maki-chan." Honoka's voice was barely above a whisper. "I don't know when it started, but it's grown to the point where I can't stop thinking about you."

"Honoka…"

As she looked up, tear-stained blue pierced violet. "It's silly, isn't it?" Honoka tried desperately to keep her voice from breaking. "It would never work out. We're both girls, after all. And Maki-chan comes from a completely different world than I do. It's pretty hopeless."

Maki felt a bunch of different emotions shoot through her, but she had little time to process them.

"I'm sorry, Maki-chan. I hope we can still be friends."

Honoka tried to turn and run. But before she could turn completely, she felt her hand get caught. She turned, seeing through her watery hands that it was Maki's hand grabbing her.

"I… I think it could work."

Disbelief made Honoka look up from their hands, where once again blue met violet.

"I-If you're willing to try, at least."

"Maki-chan… Are you sure?"

Maki nodded slowly. "None of those things really matter. You taught me yourself that if you really want something, you should go after it with everything you got. So why would this be any different?"

Honoka slowly smiled. "Well… If you're willing to have me…"

Maki was smiling as well. "I'd love to. Honoka, would you please go out with me?"

There were no words needed. Honoka turned back to Maki to give her a tight hug. Rather than returning the hug, Maki took Honoka's face in her hands and initiated her own kiss, which Honoka happily accepted.

The school was completely empty, which benefited the two greatly as they decided they would keep themselves secret to start off with. Without anyone to notice, they walked through the hallways hand in hand.

As much as she wanted to skip out of pure happiness, Honoka controlled herself to the leisurely walking pace Maki had set.

"So, no more being sad," she told her new girlfriend.

"I know…" while most of her emotions had calmed down, Maki was still feeling embarrassed from the events of the clubroom.

"Don't worry, I won't let you feel lonely or ignored or anything anymore."

Blushing, but smiling. "I know. And no more crying for you. It doesn't suit you at all."

"Eheh, you got it!"

There was silence in the air for a few moments before a thought occurred to Maki.

"So, if we're keeping this a secret from everyone, how are we going to spend time together?"

"There are lots of ways, Maki-chan. Here at school, our houses, the park, the movies, there's lots of places we can be alone together."

Maki smiled again. "Good."

"Yup! I'll text you later, alright?"

Maki sighed when she realized they were at the front. "Okay, don't take too long, though."

"Of course. Don't have too much fun."

Maki didn't get a chance to ask Honoka what she meant as her family's driver came into view. They waved each other goodbye as Maki got into the back seat of the car.

She would only have to wait until she got home for her question to be answered, as she was greeted with a shorter series of loud noises as she opened the door.

"Happy birthday," her parents greeted her.

Maki couldn't believe it. "W-what's all this?"

"Well, originally we were going to have dinner like always, but we were told that you wanted a bit more of a celebration this year," her mother explained.

"I see… Tell me, did a girl with blue eyes and ginger hair tell you that?"

"Actually, yes. Why?"

Maki shook her head. "Just curious."

"Well, come on inside and we'll do your cake."

Maki nodded. As she stepped into the house she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out, seeing an unread message from Honoka. Quickly unlocking her phone, she opened the message.

[One last present from me. I hope you like it!]

With a smile upon her face, Maki placed the phone back into her pocket and followed her mother to the dining room.

Hey guys, nobodD here!

I was requested to write a HonoMaki fic for Maki's birthday. And of course, since it's me, I absolutely could not refuse the chance for more HonoMaki X3 I actually wrote this ahead of time, since I just finished chapter 21 for An Unusual Princess, and I definitely needed something ready our lovely redhead's special day X3

It's the 18th as I post this, but because other timezones will hit 19 way before I do, I'm posting this early.

That's all I really have to say about this oneshot. Reviews are appreciated as always. Hope you enjoyed~

I'll see you next time~