He was late this morning, as usual - though today, it was deliberately done.
He survived a scatching remark from Terazuma, waved back at Wakaba (who proceeded to kick her partner's kneecap for being so mean again), barely dogded a maniacally grinning Watari (he did not feel like being the scentist's "guinea pig" today) and nearly collided with Tatsumi as he turned away from the coffee machine. Which was probably the worst part, since Tatsumi knew what today meant - but one look into wide violet eyes, a soft smile and a voucher for the new cake shop south of Tokyo was slipped into his pocket, and he was left alone.
He blinked, stared at the secretary's retreating back, then walked slowly towards his office, feeeling strangely relieved and melancholy at once.
A few feet from the office door, he halted, took a deep breath, and made sure his emotional shields were firmly in place before barging in as he usually did, with the grin and the greetings that quickly died on his lips as he realised that: 1) his partner was not in the room, and 2) there was a large box resting primly on top of his ever-messy desk.
Shoving aside his curiosity (and worry) of his partner's whereabout, he stepped closer to his desk, put down the donuts he snagged from the breakroom, wiped his hands a little and lifted open the lid. And blinked.
Inside, there was a beautiful triple-layered chocolate cake, complete with frostings and MMs covering its dark surface that read simply, "Happy Birthday, Tsuzuki."
"So, do you like it?" a quiet, familiar voice asked behind him, almost making him jump.
"How did you-" he didn't finish the sentence, too surprised and dazed and touched to even turn around. After all, not many people knew his birthday, if at all.
Hisoka sighed, almost in amusement as he closed the gap between them and stood by his side. "I'm empath, remember? Besides, I asked Tatsumi-san about it, since you apparently never mentioned it to everyone else, for some reason."
He hung his head. "Gomen, Hisoka..." he whispered. "I just - don't think it's important, that's all."
The eternal youth snorted. "And yet you were the one who insisted on dragging me halfway through Tokyo in order to find a present for my birthday... why should you think any less of yours?" He poked a finger none-too-gently at the taller man's forehead. "Baka."
He blinked for the third time this morning, then smiled sheepishly. "Gomen."
His partner rolled his eyes. "Come on. I brought some plates and a knife as well - we'll eat outside. And don't worry," he added as the other started to protest, "Tatsumi-san already knows. In fact, he's waiting outside with Watari-san. Said something about taking a break from Watari-san's madness."
He swallowed a lump that was forming in his throat, and gave the empath a real smile this time. "Arigatou, Hisoka."
The young man's blush and hesitant smile were rewards in themselves, he thought in satisfaction as he followed the other out of the building.
