FASH: Just a little friendship fic for Sena's birthday. I don't know whether it's cute or lame, but I think it seems about right.
Disclaimer: Still don't own it.
""-speech
''-thoughts
With the days blurring together before the Christmas Bowl as they had been it was no wonder that, when Sena finally made it home after a particularly long and thrilling practice, he found himself a little shocked by the reception his mother gave him.
She'd thrown her arms around him, hugging him very lightly just in case he'd been injured during practice, and had kissed his forehead gently.
Sena, slightly confused, looked up into his mother's teary eyes.
"Happy sixteenth birthday, Sena." She said, her voice just as gentle as the touch of her lips had been.
Sena didn't say anything and apparently he didn't need to, because his expression enough was to make his mother's eyes widen incredulously.
"You forgot it was your birthday, didn't you?" She asked rhetorically but Sena found himself nodding anyways.
She slowly unwrapped her arms from around him and took his hand, leading him into the kitchen with a semi-amused smile.
"And here I was thinking that you'd be bringing some friends home to celebrate with. What fun is a birthday when no one knows about it?" She sat him down at the table and began to make tea.
"It doesn't matter." Sena replied, stretching his arms over his head and leaning back into the chair.
"Of course it matters, a birthday is an important occasion." His mother replied as she sat down opposite of him, setting down two tea cups in front of them.
"And you can't possibly tell me that somewhere in the back of your mind you're not wishing that you told at least one of your friends."
Sena carefully thought back on his day and found that he shook his head in denial to his mother's words.
"No? But all you did today was train."
"It's not just training." Sena stated, sipping at his tea calmly before decided to elaborate due to his mother's look of disbelief.
"For the first time in my life on my birthday I've been surrounded by people who wish me the best of luck, who want me to succeed, who care about me. I've never had a birthday like that before, it was always just you, dad and Mamori-neechan wishing me well."
"But certainly it would have been an even better birthday if they actually knew what today was."
"No." Sena shook his head again, a content smile on his face. "Everyone's trust in me and my team mates, the way we're all working together to become an even stronger team... In a way, it's the greatest birthday present I've ever received."
"What is?" His mother leaned in curiously and Sena felt his smile grow as his eyes drifted upwards.
"The knowledge that, after so many years of feeling secluded, I've managed to make so many friends."
