Chapter Text
Mondo Owada was decidedly not a morning person- in fact, he absolutely despised them. Yet, here he was, up and moving before noon on a weekend. There was only one thing- well, one person- who could motivate him to even think of getting up this early on one of his days off. Kiyotaka Ishimaru.
Earlier in the year, he would have considered Taka his enemy, the complete opposite of his hyper-masculine biker leader persona he had so carefully crafted. But Mondo was now calling him by a nickname and dreading the thought of not seeing him for the 2 weeks of winter break.
The 2 of them had bonded in the sauna, and in the following months had had a variety of deep conversations and shared things with each other openly. Taka had shared that Christmas wasn’t the happiest time of year for him. This wasn’t necessarily surprising, it was no secret that the Ishimarus were in a dire financial situation, but the knowledge that his best friend in
Despite this, it was the weekend before exams and Mondo still hadn’t gotten Taka a Christmas gift. It wasn’t that he didn’t care! He just couldn’t think of anything good enough for the guy. And now he had left it to the very last minute, in typical Owada fashion.
Mondo padded out of the bedroom to grab his coat from the kitchen, walking in to Daiya sipping a cup of coffee. “Hey Mondo, you’re up early.”
“Yeah, just headin’ out to grab something.” Mondo said, reaching for his coat before Daiya could ask…
“Where’re you going?”
Mondo groaned inwardly. “Out.” he grunted, hoping the conversation would end there.
“Oh, he’s goin’ “out”, ladies and gentlemen.” Daiya remarked sarcastically.
“Yeah, yeah.” Mondo snarked back, heading for the door. He had his hand around the knob when he heard Daiya wheel over behind him.
“I’ll tag along, getting a little stir crazy. Besides, I feel like I never get any time with my bro anymore since you got accepted to that fancy shmancy academy of yours.”
Well, Mondo thought, this just got considerably more difficult.
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“So, remind me again why we rode all the way out here on a perfectly good Saturday?” Daiya asked as he dismounted the bike. Mondo scowled at him, “Cuz, I still gotta get Taka a Christmas present, like I told ya a million times already.”
“I’m surprised y’ain’t just giving him one of your wood carvings, you’re getting pretty good.”
Mondo finished locking up the bike. “Yeah, but I already carved him something for his birthday and I don’t want him thinking I don’t care enough to get him something nice.”
“Aw, look at that. My lil bro’s gone and grown up on me! Oh, how time flies,” Daiya wiped a fake tear from his eye, earning an elbow to the side from Mondo. “Seriously though, I’m sure you could carve that kid a thousand things and he’d cherish each and every one of them.”
“So, what exactly are we looking for here anyway?” Daiya asked as he wheeled his way through the doors of the mall.
“I dunno, just a Christmas gift.” Mondo deflected.
“Good grief, man, you’re so fucking lucky I came along. You are in obvious need of my expertise.” Daiya ran a hand through his hair.
“Well it ain’t like I haven’t thought about it at all! I was thinkin’ it might be best if I just asked him what kinda stuff he’d want, but he just listed off a lot of practical shit.” Daiya frowned disapprovingly.
“Well, I guess we’ll just have to do a bit of window shopping and get a feel for the vibe.”
The two continued window shopping for something decent to get Taka, Mondo shooting down Daiya’s suggestions with reasons why Taka would hate them and Daiya talking Mondo out of some financially irresponsible gambles.
“I’m tellin’ ya man, he doesn’t need a 20,000 yen rice cooker.” Daiya said exasperatedly.
“But- I just… Fuck!” Mondo stormed out of the store. Daiya hurried after him, shooting an apologetic look to the concerned-looking employee.
It didn’t take him long to find Mondo, wheeling through the crowds of preoccupied Christmas shoppers until he stopped next to the bench outside of the mall. Mondo was sat down with a lit cigarette resting between his fingers and his other hand fidgeting with his hair.
The two sat in silence for a moment before Daiya piped up.
“Wanna tell me what that freakout was about?” Daiya asked calmly.
“It’s just,” Mondo sighed, taking a drag of his cigarette. “It has to be perfect for him, okay? He’s put up with so much of my bullshit, the least I can do is get the guy a decent fucking present. He had a rough childhood and I just want him to be happy. I want him to know how much he means to me and I ain’t that good with words so I’m gonna get him a gift that represents even a tiny sliver of the light he’s brought into my life.”
Daiya exhaled, smoke spiraling up into the December air. “Does Taka know you like him yet?”
“Nah, I just haven’t found the right mome- you little bitch!”
“Hey, hey calm down. It’s okay. Kinda had a sneaking suspicion for a while.”
“Shit, man. How am I gonna confess to him if I can’t even pick out a damn Christmas present?”
“Don’t worry,I’ll help you confess. Let’s focus on that gift for now.”
Mondo sighed. “Fine. Got any better ideas?”
“Well, you know him best. What kinda stuff does he like?”
“Outside of school? Shit, man, not a lot. All he mostly talks about is his career and education. All he’d ask for is dorky ass notebooks and pens.” Mondo responded, fidgeting with his hair.
“Nothing says “I love you” like a new box of pans” Daiya quipped.
“Well, there’s no reason you can’t get him both. You’ve been saving up that school fund, right?” Daiya pointed out. “That way you can still take a gamble on a better gift but ya know you’ll still be getting him somethin’ he wants.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. See, this is why I brought you, you’re so much better at this shit than I am.”
“What can I say, I’ve got loads of experience.” Daiya smirked.
“‘Yeah, they do say age comes with wisdom or something like that.” Mondo teased.
“So, what does he like to do when he’s not studying? Think about the stuff you guys do to relax.”
Mondo paused for a moment, mulling over the question. Half the time it was like pulling teeth getting Taka to actually take a break, but he’d been getting better over the semester. Mondo had been doing his best to “corrupt” him and had been showing Taka all sorts of movies and shows since they didn’t have a TV at his house anymore.
Suddenly, an idea struck him and Mondo’s face split into a grin. “I know exactly where to go.”
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The brothers entered a retro pop culture store tucked into the corner of the mall. Its shelves were lined with memorabilia from some shows Mondo vaguely recognized from childhood, and many older than that. But he knew exactly what he was looking for.
Approaching the man at the store with his least menacing face, he hoped, Mondo cleared his throat. “Hey,” he started, catching the attention of the guy behind the counter. “You got any stuff from, uh, Kamen Rider?”
The man’s face lit up “Ah, a fan of the classics, eh? Yeah, we’ve got a few collector’s items in here. Who’s your favorite rider?”
“Uh, the red one.” Mondo answered quickly. The man wheezed out a laugh.
“Good one, buddy. Do you mean Blood Stalk? Amazon Alpha? Heart? Or someone else?”
“How many Kamen Riders are there even?” Mondo frowned.
The man beamed. “Three hundred twenty four!”
Daiya couldn’t help but snicker, doing his best to muffle his laughter after Mondo glared daggers at him.
“What the fuck?” Mondo stared at the shopkeeper, stunned.
Daiya cut in before Mondo dug himself any deeper or ran out of the store. “Don’t worry, he’s just looking for a friend.”
“Ah, understood. Well, let me know if you have any questions, I’ve been a fan since the pilot.”
Mondo looked at the shelf, scanning it for anything he could remember Taka ever mentioning. Then he saw it, a pristine red scarf folded with care in a small box. He recognized it almost immediately.
In the wake of one of their late-night movie marathons, Mondo woke up to Taka sitting on the edge of his bed, watching the TV with awe. The glow from the action scenes bounced off his pale features, highlighting his bright crimson eyes and slightly parted lips. When the episode ended, Kiyotaka snapped back to reality. He explained that, as a child, Kamen Rider was his hero. He would run around the house, shouting catchphrases and dreaming of serving justice in a crimson scarf like his idol.
It was the perfect gift. Simple, but sentimental. Plus, Taka looks awesome in red.
After several failed attempts at wrapping the scarf, he finally ended up with a decent looking present for Taka. He proudly showed it to Daiya.
“Looks great, bro! Now you just gotta give it to him and tell him how you really feel.” Daiya’s lips twitched into a smile. It was nice seeing Mondo so confident, it made his chest swell with pride and warmth.
“Yeah, yeah, don’t push your luck.” Mondo groaned. Even as he grumbled, he couldn’t help but crack a smile. He was ready to make this the best damn Christmas Taka had ever had.