Yeah.
Tsuzuki's birthday story!
It's pretty good!
Hisoka shivered and pulled his jacket closer to himself.
Why does it have to be so cold? He asked himself. Why couldn't Tsuzuki have been born in summer?
Hisoka had gotten up early so he could bake a cake and buy a gift for the man, but his luck seemed to be on the low side.
He looked up at his surroundings. He had been walking around Nagasaki for almost an hour in search of the perfect gift for his boyfriend.
His quest was harder than it should have been.
He had thought back to his own birthday and what Tsuzuki had gotten for him, but it hadn't helped.
Hisoka had always loved books, but Tsuzuki had never had quite the same feelings. He didn't dislike books, but he wasn't especially fond of them, either.
This fact did not stop Hisoka from walking into a bookstore.
You can get a great gift for anyone at a bookstore. Hisoka thought. I just have to look in the right place.
He walked through the mazelike rows of shelves, glancing around for the right place.
To his right, he saw something that caught his eye: books… with pictures of food on them.
He walked over to the shelf.
The first book he had seen… was a cookbook.
Hisoka shuddered.
He looked at another book.
"A Guide to Tasty Cake Restaurants", it read.
Not a bad choice… Tsuzuki loved cake… But…
It seemed so obvious to get him such a gift.
Hisoka's gift had to be something special.
But what? What could possibly be good enough?
Hisoka decided to leave the bookstore, as he couldn't imagine that Tsuzuki would really like anything the bookstore had.
As Hisoka walked into the street, he looked at his watch. It was nearly six in the morning.
The cake he had baked for Tsuzuki would probably be cooled.
So he could go home and finish getting it ready for later.
The shinigami teleported back to the Meifu, and quickly went to his house.
Hisoka was tired, but he knew he couldn't go to sleep. He still needed to ice the cake, buy a gift, wrap the gift, and get everything back to Tsuzuki's house before the man woke up.
He hoped that Tsuzuki hadn't woken up yet, as he would be unhappy to wake up alone on his birthday, but the blonde had had no other choice.
Hisoka iced the cake with the icing he had made the day before and put twelve candles on the cake. (He knew he couldn't put a candle for every year Tsuzuki had been alive, because the poor cake wouldn't be visible under so many.) He had chosen to put twelve because they had known each other for twelve years, and Tsuzuki and Hisoka had both expressed feelings of feeling reborn the day the had met.
He put the cake in his refrigerator and once again went out to find a gift.
--
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
If Hisoka had to guess who on Earth the hardest person to buy gifts for was, he'd say Tsuzuki.
He had gone to eight stores in search of the perfect gift, and none had had it.
So he stalked down the street, trying to find another store.
Unfortunately, he forgot to look where he was going…
He bumped into a young woman, and knocked her possessions to the ground.
"I—I'm so sorry!" She said, with the slight accent of a foreigner.
Hisoka shook himself out of the paralysis that had briefly taken over his body.
"N—No… I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention."
He bent down to assist her in gathering her items, which all seemed to be gifts.
"Are you buying gifts for someone?" Hisoka asked.
"Yes." The girl replied. "Today's… today's the birthday… of someone I really care about…" Although she seemed happy about the person's birthday, she seemed to have underlying sadness about it, as well.
"You seem to really care about this person," Hisoka said. "They're lucky."
She laughed mirthlessly. "I don't know if "lucky" is the right word to describe anyone connected to me… Especially him…"
Hisoka read into her emotions. She felt truly guilty about something she did to the man.
As he wasn't particularly interested in hearing the girl's life story, Hisoka changed the subject. "What did you get him?"
She looked down, a slight blush staining her cheeks. "I got him a stuffed animal. It's not much, but… I don't know… I've always thought that stuffed animals are great gifts… because they can be there for you when the person who gave them to you isn't around. I'm sorry. I give sentimental value to everything."
"It's okay." Hisoka replied politely.
A brief but awkward silence came upon them.
The girl sighed quietly. "I suppose I'd better get going."
She smiled at him as she walked away.
Hisoka had an idea…
--
Tsuzuki woke up, feeling a warm body pressed to his own.
"Mmm… Hisoka…?"
There was no answer.
The man rolled over to find his lover, curled up to him, fast asleep.
Tsuzuki smiled warmly. He was always happy to see the young man sleeping, as that was one thing he didn't do nearly enough.
He pulled the blonde closer and nuzzled his hair. "Hisoka… love…"
Hisoka murmured something quietly, but didn't otherwise respond.
Tsuzuki looked at the clock and found that it was nearly eleven. "'Soka… It's time to wake up…"
Hisoka's eyes fluttered a little, and then opened.
A questioning look spread across the empath's face. "Did… Did I fall asleep…?"
Tsuzuki smiled gently. "Yeah."
The blonde sighed. "I didn't mean to…"
"It's okay. You don't sleep enough as it is."
Hisoka shrugged. "I suppose." He snuggled closer to the man. "Happy birthday."
"Thanks."
Hisoka looked into his lover's eyes. "I have some gifts for you. I hope you like them…"
"I'm sure I will."
Hisoka kissed Tsuzuki briefly, and pulled him out of bed.
They made their way into the living room, where Tsuzuki was surprised to find a small box wrapped in emerald paper, and tied with a purple bow.
He opened the gift slowly, careful not to rip the paper or break the bow.
Inside was a tiny plush kitten with a chain around its neck. On the chain was a locket. When he opened the locket, Tsuzuki found a picture of himself and Hisoka.
"I know we can't spend every moment of every day together… But this way you can always see me when you're down."
Tsuzuki stared at the charm, but didn't say anything.
This worried Hisoka, as all he felt from the man was surprise. "I hope you like it…"
Tsuzuki looked up slowly, and Hisoka noticed tears in his eyes. "I love it." Tsuzuki whispered, as he hugged his lover.
He lifted Hisoka's chin and kissed him deeply, their tongues twining sweetly.
"I have a gift for you, too," Tsuzuki whispered against the boy's lips when they broke apart.
"But—"
"I know it's my birthday, but your happiness is more important to me than my own." The man explained. "Plus, your happiness brings me happiness."
He left the room for a moment, then returned, hiding something in his hand.
Tsuzuki moved closer to his love. "Hisoka… I love you, and I have for a long time… And…"
He knelt down on one knee and opened the little box in his hand, revealing a silver ring.
"…Will you marry me?"
Hisoka couldn't breathe. He couldn't think.
Tsuzuki took his silence as uncertainty. "I know it's still early in our relationship… And…" He looked down. "It's okay to say no."
Hisoka shook his head slightly. "No… No…? How could I ever say no?"
Tsuzuki looked into the boys' eyes.
"Yes. I will marry you."
"Really?"
Hisoka fell to his knees and pulled his new fiancé into a tight hug. "Yes."
Their eyes met, and they both realized that tears of happiness were streaming down their faces. Tsuzuki lifted the ring out of the box and put it on Hisoka's right ring finger.
"I love you, Hisoka."
"I love you, too, Tsuzuki." The boy pressed their foreheads together. "Happy birthday…"
Tsuzuki smiled. "It's the best I've ever had."
Hisoka grinned. "It gets better."
Tsuzuki tilted his head to one side. "Huh?"
"There's cake, too."
"Waiii!!!!" Tsuzuki squealed, as he glomped his boyfriend—no fiancé, and began to nuzzle his chest. "I love you so much, Hisoka!"
Hisoka smiled again. "I love you too."