This is a present for Riley (Queen Violet), because today is (drumroll, please) HER BIRTHDAY!! Happy b-day, Riles! Have a good one!!
Disclaimer: Beyblade is the intellectual property of Aoki Takao (?), and Trouble is the intellectual property of Queen Violet!
Unexpected
"Hey, Trouble," Oliver sleepily greeted the growing white kitten jumping on his chest. "You're up and about early, aren't you?"
Trouble mewed happily and swatted at a strand of hair hanging over his owner's left eye.
Smiling, the French teen chuckled wearily and lifted the kitten off of his chest. "Alright, alright, you got me. I'm up," he said, tossing his comforter off of his legs. With a yawn, he picked Trouble up off his pillow and headed down stairs to the kitchen.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," a teasing voice called from the kitchen table, scaring the living daylights out of the sleepy teenager. "Was wondering when you'd finally decide to grace the world with your presence."
"Enrique," the Frenchman whined, clutching the kitten to his ribs. "Don't do that! And aren't you supposed to be at school, anyway?!"
"Outbreak of some virus in my dorm—anyone who wasn't sick got sent home early, and anyone who was can't leave until they're healthy again. I didn't want to go home, and I couldn't think of anything else to do, so I decided to just come bug you." Seeing Oliver start to roll his eyes in exasperation, Enrique added quickly, "Before you say anything, let me add—I come bearing gifts."
"Huh," Oliver asked intelligently, setting Trouble down on the table and lifting an eyebrow in confusion.
"Oh, come on," the Italian cried in disbelief. "You don't mean to tell me you've forgotten what today is, do you?!"
"Yes, that's exactly what I mean to tell you. Care to jog my memory?"
Dropping his head to the tabletop, Enrique groaned at his best friend's cluelessness. "June 2nd, Oliver. What happens every year on June 2nd?"
"…Oh."
"Yeah." Brightening, the blonde said enthusiastically, "Anyway, presents! The few I brought with me from Italy are already with the others."
"Others?"
"Yeah, all kinds of shipping packages were just piled in the library. I even saw one return address that looked like it said 'Scotland' on it, but the handwriting was so squashed that I couldn't really tell. So, what's for breakfast?"
Laughing, Oliver went to go open the fridge. "Let's see what I can do… Waffles, maybe? I can make the blueberry kind."
"Yes, waffles! I haven't had waffles since last Christmas!"
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"Who's this one from?" The boys were sitting in a less-than-dignified manner on the floor, leisurely eating breakfast and digging their way through the mound of boxes and envelopes (Oliver had been altogether stunned at the sheer number of boxes; of course, he had forgotten it was his birthday).
"I don't know. There wasn't a return address on the box," the Italian shrugged, taking another bite of his stack of waffles. "Open it; there's got to be a card inside."
Taking a silver letter opener off of the coffee table, the green-haired teenager sliced open the packing tape and opened the flaps of the box. An envelope andthree leather-bound books were cradled in the packing peanuts. Oliver curiously pulled the envelope out of the box. After opening the envelope, the somewhat befuddled Frenchman read, "'Dear Oliver. Happy fourteenth birthday; I hope you have a wonderful day. I regret not being able to present this gift in person, but several familial issues will detain me in Munich indefinitely. These books are blank sketch books that I trust you will put to good use. Enjoy your day, and make this next year the best yet. Sincerely, Robert Jurgen.'"
"Really? Robert sent you something for your birthday? I didn't peg him as that kind of guy," Enrique said in mild surprise.
"Yeah," Oliver agreed distantly, pulling the books out of the box and flipping through the top volume of the stack before setting them in the pile of opened gifts.
"This is the one I thought was from Scotland," the blondesaid, handing his friend another, smaller box. "But I still can't tell; see, the writing's too squished to make it out."
Nodding, he accepted the mystery box andsaid, "Well, only one way to find out." He opened the package andslowly pulled out a picture frame. Five pictures, one of each of the Majestics andanother of them all together, were stacked one on top of the other, each one a little larger than the one above it. The wood was stained a rich, buttery gold that glowed in the sunlight from the window.
"Who's it from?"
Shaken out of his admiring stupor, Oliver set the frame on his leg and reached into the box, retrieving a simple piece of notebook paper. "'Dear Oliver,'" he read, "'Hope you have (or had) an awesome birthday, and sorry if this is late—there's no telling with the Scottish postal service, some days. Anyway, I had an old friend of mine make the frame, and I picked out all of the pictures myself from my special shoebox. I hope you like it, and I hope you have an awesome fourteenth year. I'll be in Paris in a few weeks for my cousin's wedding—I guess I might see you then. Either way, stay in school, stay out of trouble with the cops, and forget smelling roses—pick up an ice cream in the park once in a while. And there was something else I wanted to say, but I just can't think of what it was. Ah, well, it'll come to me eventually. While I'm walking this box down to the mailbox, knowing my luck. See you soon, Johnny.' Wow, I didn't think he'd even know when my birthday was, much less that he'd send a gift."
"Yeah, I thought he didn't want anything to do with us, beyond what little contact with us Robert forces on him. Can I see that frame?"
Handing the picture frame to his friend, the Frenchman smiled and read over the letter again.
"Wow, I don't even remember seeing a camera any of these days. They're good pictures—I wonder if he took the first four when we weren't looking?"
"It could be. It's a special gift, either way." Oliver sighed happily and accepted the frame back from Enrique. "This is a good day."
And I had no idea what Oliver's birthday actually was, so I made it June 2nd. If anyone knows his real birthday and is feeling generous with the knowledge, I'd appreciate it.
Please review.