You enjoyed your birthday as much as the next, average person did. You believed that birthdays were a chance to make goals, resolutions for another year, even more so than New Year's was. This was ironic to many given that your birthday was only a few days after New Year's. But you liked to have a nice, no-pressure, genuine reason to get your friends together, to share food and drinks and laughter.
What you didn't like was being sung to on your birthday.
It was debatable where this hostility towards the 'Happy Birthday' song started. Your mom had photographs from many birthdays of your younger years, where your hands were clamped tightly over your ears, with a lit cake in front of you. The earliest one showed you at age 7, but she swore it started even before then.
As far as you were concerned, it was just a lifelong thing. Now, even at 25, it was not an event you wanted to happen, and you made your friends know as much. Many had threatened to make sure it occurred, but none had followed through. More than one had used it as blackmail to make you do shots with them.
This year, you were celebrating your birthday in Japan.
It was being a close friend of Matt Jackson's wife that had brought you into the world of wrestling. You were by no means an expert, or even a huge fan, but you enjoyed it, and liked all the unique people you'd gotten to meet over the years. It was entertaining and different, and while you weren't always the calmest during big moves, you understood why others fell in love with it.
So when you were asked to tag along to Japan for a period of time after New Year's, to help corral the Jackson kids when the guys weren't available due to work, you had decided to use some vacation days and go. Getting to see a new country, with close friends, would be fun and memorable. You knew whatever the wrestling show was, was a big deal for the boys as well and their company, which meant it would be good.
And then there was Kenny Omega.
Most of what you knew of him was through the boys, having only met the man a handful of times. He had always been polite, almost a bit shy. By the third or fourth time together, he was cracking jokes with the best of them. You had, admittedly, felt an instant attraction to him. Something about his presence just felt right when it was around, though you weren't sure why or what caused it.
As soon as he had been informed it was your birthday the day after their second show, he had unbeknownst to you co-organized a birthday dinner with your friends. Which is how you found yourself at some Japanese steakhouse, in a back private room, surrounded by people you loved and wrestlers you barely knew. It was a full Bullet Club outing, complete with a smattering of girlfriends and wives. The kids had been left with the Jackson's parents, giving the adults a genuine night out.
Everything was going well, as you sat between Kenny and Matt. There was tons of food, and just as much alcohol. Though half of the table weren't big drinkers, or drinkers at all, the rest of the crew made up for it, you included.
You should have known when Nick and Matt disappeared together that something was going to happen. But your partially inebriated mind hadn't caught on to a thing. It was when everyone suddenly seemed to come out of separate conversations, and focus on something behind you, that you picked up on a change in the atmosphere.
But it didn't entirely click for you until you heard Nick's loud voice behind you declare it was your birthday.
As soon as you realized what was occurring, you attempted to get up and make a quick getaway. Unfortunately for you, Kenny was quicker. You'd barely gotten off your seat before his arm was around you, pulling you back down and into his side. His grip was iron strong, his hand clamped onto your side. It was like he knew what to expect, and had been ready to grab you.
"Let me go," you groaned. He said nothing, just sang loudly with everyone else, as a dessert plate was placed in front of you. With no escape, you buried your head against his shoulder, attempting to bring your own shoulder up enough to block the sound from entering you other ear.
It barely worked.
You just had to sit and suffer as your friends all took clear pleasure in ruining your night.
It ended soon enough in reality, though in your world it felt like eternity. A horrible, off-key, cringe-worthy eternity. Everyone cheered and laughed at the end of their song, pleased with what they had pulled off.
"Fuck you all," you declared, removing yourself from where you had attempted to meld in to Kenny's being. He squeezed his hand on you affectionately, removing his arm a moment later.
"That was worth whatever ass-kicking I'll be getting," Matt decided, resuming his seat next to you. You promptly jabbed your elbow into his ribs.
"That's only the start," you assured him, to which he laughed as he rubbed at his side. Conversation resumed, as you drank beers and laughed, the entire episode put behind everyone. After a little while, Kenny got up from the table, and you assumed it was to use the restroom.
Your now-more-than-slightly inebriated brain decided to follow him. Waiting a couple moments, you excused yourself from your party, and headed out of the room. You turned a corner and came to a hallway, finding Kenny exiting a door as soon as you did.
"You're Satan," you hissed as soon as you were close enough. Kenny just beamed happily at you, clearly proud of himself. "I know you had a big part in this."
"You'll live," he replied. "And you're right, I did convince the Bucks this was something that should happen."
"You'll pay for this."
"Will I?" Kenny challenged, raising his eyebrows, amusement swimming on his face.
"Severely," you confirmed.
"It's not smart to threaten me."
"Oh, that wasn't a threat. That was a promise," you snickered.
"Cool," he smirked back, stepping closer to you. "What are you gonna do then?"
"I'm not giving away my retaliation plan," you gasped dramatically. "Do you take me for a fool?"
"…are you mocking me?" You just shrugged, struggling to keep a straight face. "You're mocking me." Another shrug, and a more Cheshire-type grin came to your lips. "I don't think I like this."
By this point, the two of you were standing mere inches apart, playful smiles on both of your mouths, gazes directly with the others. You could feel his body heat radiating towards you. As much as you had not liked being sung to, it didn't bother you as much as you thought it would. You almost appreciated that such a weird, minor detail of your life, had stuck with Kenny. Granted, he had gone against your wishes, he had remembered all the same.
"Seriously though, that wasn't so bad, right?"
"Have you heard Nick's voice?" Kenny laughed.
"I'll give you that," he conceded. "But it was worth it."
"Yea, yea, it's hilarious to watch me squirm," you brushed away.
"Well, there's that, sure," he agreed. "But what I meant was, you look pretty happy right now despite it. And you're really pretty when you're happy."
At his statement, your cheeks warmed, and you bit your bottom lip, literally holding back a squeak.
"Hey, can you two just kiss and then get back in here? The wife is demanding her 'drinking partner'," Matt interrupted. Both you and Kenny immediately looked over at this voice. He was at the end of the hallway, and even made air quotes at the end of his sentence.
"We're coming," you replied, taking a step away from Kenny, breaking whatever moment you two had been indulged in. Matt scoffed, then turned and left. You looked back to Kenny, who was already looking at you, his face softened, his gaze gentle.
"When are you leaving?"
"Couple days," you answered. "Why?"
"Tomorrow…I want to take you somewhere," he explained. "As an apology for my part in tonight."
The coy smile immediately came back to your face at his offer.
"Sounds like a plan."