Title: Happy Birthday
Author: snowwinter486
Pairing: In you squint, perhaps there are pairings.
Genre: humor, angst, drabble.
Summary: Birthdayfic!for Kaku. After the Independent Report Arc, Kaku wonders what's so happy about a happy birthday.
Disclaimer: Don't own anything in this story.
Late? Early? Birthday gift to Kaku? :D
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"Happy Birthday to you..."
At CP9, no one really cared for your birthday. It was a good excuse to get you started on other training, or missions. Kaku was born and used to it. It never really bothered him and he never thought it ever would. Then he went to Water 7.
Because at Water 7 was something he had never expected. Friends. Love. Shenanigans. Emotions. And Kaku... Kaku didn't really understand how to swallow all of that?
"Happy Birthday, Kaku!" Paulie grinned as he pushed a cake towards him.
This is a lie, his birthday wasn't suppose to be happy. That's impossible. He's a weapon. Weapons aren't supposed to be happy, he was suppose to cause happiness by taking people away from the equation. He... That's impossible.
But then, it was Paulie, it was Iceburg, and it was Galley-La. It was everything that CP9 was supposed to be training to protect. It was everything Kaku had ever wanted.
When Kaku had first turned five, he had to kill one person with nothing but rankyaku and had to drag out the death for three hours. The numbers only moved up from there.
(And the screams will never leave his ears, but now, they're not alone.)
"Uh... Thank you..." Kaku whispered back, a blush crossing onto his face as he looked at his fellow shipwright, his hand moving to scratch the back of his head.
"Ah, you know," Paulie grinned back, "Anything for my friend, right?" A large arm came over his shoulders to pull him closer and Kaku smelled alcohol.
(Honestly, it was still noon too.)
"ALRIGHT! Bring out the drinks Blueno! We're going all out today!" Paulie had grinned and Kaku remembered smiling back.
(He started to have ideas why it was called a 'Happy Birthday' but nothing concrete yet.)
Kaku refused to remember the rest of the memory as he shot out of his bed and rolled onto the floor, panting heavily like he was running in a battle and not from a memory.
"Kaku!"
Surprisingly enough, the CP9 burst through his door, probably to check on him.
Wasn't that ironic? A week ago, they wouldn't have care what had happened to each other. (Except maybe himself and occasionally Kumadori, but for the most part, why would any of them care for each other? What's there to care about?)
He was dry-heaving, trying hard to get bright, happy laughter out of his mind and a hand came down to squeeze his hand.
He looked up and saw Lucci staring back.
"S-Sorry," he apologized quickly, keeping his head down and swiftly getting back onto his feet, "Bad dream," he gave a half-hearted grin.
Lucci continued to look at his face, so Kaku continued to look away from Lucci's eyes.
"Geez, Kid, I thought you were under attack or something," Jyabura yawned, obviously too tired to do anything really, "Go get some sleep and if you're so scared go sleep with Lucci."
Kaku's cheeks burned at that, but quickly ignored it, looking back at the ground and finally noticed that Lucci was still holding his hand.
"That's sexual harassment," Kalifa sighed as she left, "Come, come, there is nothing to see here."
"Yoyoi...? Well, if Kaku's okay..." Kumadori yawned as he walked out of the room.
"Chapapa! Jyabura looks jealous!" Fukurou stated before quickly disappearing and Jyabura sighed.
"Lucci...?" he looked up at the older male, who finally let his hand go, and watched as the male left with the rest of the group.
He momentarily paused, after everyone had left, and then turned back to the long-nosed male, "Yes?"
No emotion whatsoever appeared on his face and Kaku looked away once more.
He felt ashamed (for remembering fake things that was supposed to be nothing).
"...I-I'm sorry," he ended up blurting out once more.
Lucci stared at him, and moved to leave the room, the door closing behind him and Kaku received the feeling of doubt that maybe CP9 didn't really change at all.
Maybe they were never as close as Kaku had dreamed of. It wasn't like they were family or anything.
(But that never stopped his dreams of waking up to Jyabura arguing about seasoning with Lucci and Fukurou blabbering about the latest gossip in town. Or shopping with a loud Kumadori and conversing about which vegetables they should force the remains of CP9 to consume while Kalifa and Blueno had deep conversation about the music around the town.)
No, they were just a collection of weapons, not even assassins, that just ended up in the same tool box.
Nothing more.
Kaku sighed at the thought, he was too exhausted to cry, or anything else. He sat down on his bed, so comfortable and soft compared to the rocks of Water 7 and hard wood and-
No, that was a very dangerous train of thought that Kaku could not allow himself to go down.
"Shit."
Kaku fell onto his back, and hoped his dreams would be kinder.
(They weren't.)
Kaku's eyes opened to the world when the sun glared down at him and he sighed, wondering why he had decided the window room was a good idea. He sat up, old scars throbbed on him and he quickly ignored it.
It looked like it was noon.
Jeez, how had he slept so long?
His legs swung over the bed, and then he sat there. He listened, but all was quiet. Far too quiet for their particularly loud group and Kaku made for his knives, small kitchen bread knives but right now it's all he had.
He slowly opened the door, careful not to make any noise and slipped out of the room.
He may not be as stealthy as Lucci, but he was definitely as stealthy as Kalifa.
(Hey, at least he knew how to keep his mouth shut unlike a certain man who needs a zipper on his face.)
A deep breath and he ran into the kitchen, the only place with light on and some movement, ready to strike when six figures stood up and the lights went out. He sucked a breath in anticipation, ready for a battle and-
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
The knives fell from his hands and he stared at the group, eyes blinking in complete surprise as he saw matching grins between Jyabura, Kumadori, and Fukuro, and soft smiles from Kalifa and Blueno.
What was going on?
Then Lucci came forward, a lazy smirk on his face as a cake was presented in front of him. It was a tiny cake, he could probably hold it all between his two hands, light pink with strawberries on the top.
It was everything Kaku had ever wanted, literally in the hands of Lucci, or so Kaku believed.
Kaku blinked. This was why everyone was quick to leave his room after a nightmare, this was why Jyabura didn't put up much of a fight, this was.
It was his birthday.
Kaku felt tears welling in his eyes and he gulped hard, looking up at the surprise in his teammates (because jeez, how long had it been since anyone of them saw each other cry?) and he nodded.
His wish, his 25 year old wish that he had almost given up many, many times, had come true. He had everything he had ever wanted, he just never really realized that.
Then, he listened to a poorly sung Happy Birthday song, the same one that Water 7 had sang to him, the same one that he had been dreaming for, and Kaku laughed as he was forced to sway along to the nonexistent beat. Jyabura and Kumadori fighting over who could go the highest and the loudest and for once, Lucci looked more amused as his friends (who knew that Rob Lucci, of all people, who have friends?) than annoyed and Kaku was trying hard not to break down in hysterics as he laughed along.
Then, Kaku finally understood what it meant to have a happy birthday.