Unhappy Birthday

Birthdays have never been Shizuo's shtick. In fact, he hated them. Even from an early age, birthday cakes with colorful candles and presents all wrapped up nicely with ribbons and bows never phased him. The chants and cheers and birthday songs fell dead upon his ears. He hated it. He hated all of it. Regardless, as he would ease his chair forward to blow out those small, flickering flames, he would wish for the same and only thing each year.

For his birthday to not be celebrated the following year.

It wasn't until he had moved out of the house and into an apartment of his own that his wish was partially granted; only partially for every year, without a doubt, Tom would remind him of the date—as if he had somehow forgotten—and wish him a happy birthday, made complete by gifting him a pack of his favourite brand of cigarettes. Shizuo didn't mind this gesture as much as he had in past years. After all, Tom was his senior and he respected him. There was no way he could turn him down.

And how could Shizuo forget the small text messages that he would receive from his brother, simply stating "Happy Birthday, brother" and nothing more. Shizuo's replies were just as curt in nature. "Thanks" and that was all.

As he put out his smoke and stuffed his cigarette pouch into the front pocket of his coat, Shizuo sighed checked his cell phone. January twenty-eighth blared back at him, taunting him into remembrance. Luckily, he hadn't received any texts from Kasuka…yet.

Shizuo fished around for his keys, before unlocking the door to his apartment and stepping inside. It felt wonderful to be surrounded by warmth, but at the same time, a sudden pain formed in his wallet. He'd told Izaya time and time again not to fiddle around with the thermostat in his absence, but it was just wasted breath. He should have come to learn that that "flea" would never listen to him.

"I'm home," he called out, placing his jacket beside Izaya's. When he didn't hear a greeting in return, he listened a bit harder. Water ran through the pipes, signaling that someone was in the shower. Judging by the whaling protest from behind the walls, Izaya was probably showering in water that was way too hot for his own good. "Tch, he's running me dry," Shizuo scoffed, uncoiling his scarf and slipping out of his shoes.

He walked into the kitchen, rubbing his hands together in an effort to warm them up. He'd forgotten his gloves on the way out the door this morning, something that became a cursing matter throughout the entirety of the bitter cold day. Opening the fridge, Shizuo's eyes widened. Delicately splayed out on one of the racks was a small, convenience store cake, still encased in the plastic bag and everything. Next to that was a carton of strawberry milk and a few bars of chocolate candy that tasted better when chilled—or so Shizuo claimed.

Torn, he didn't know whether to be happy or to be angry. Izaya knew that Shizuo did not enjoy birthdays, yet was this technically celebrating? There was no note, no wishing of a "happy birthday" of any kind; just some milk and some food.

"Oh, you're back," Izaya realized, stepping into the hall. With a towel wrapped loosely around his neck, he asked, "I wasn't expecting you for a few more hours. What happened?"

"It's freaking negative twenty-four degrees outside. I decided to come home early," Shizuo sighed, pulling out the convenience store bag. Placing it onto the counter, he turned to face Izaya with a look of question. "What's this?"

"A cake," Izaya replied, using his towel to continue drying off his hair.

"Yeah, I know it's a cake, but why?" Shizuo wasn't exactly in the mood to deal with Izaya's sarcasm right now. Nonetheless, a shoulder shrug and a turned back was all he had been granted as a response.

"Hey, answer me, Izaya," Shizuo pestered, following the man as he rounded the corner toward the front door. "Wait, where are you going?"

"I have a meeting tonight, so I won't be back before you go to bed. As for the cake, it was a gift from my sisters. Same for the chocolates and the milk. They figured that if they gave you nice presents, you would let them meet Kasu-chan. Anyways, I've gotta bounce." Izaya had been busying himself with dressing up into his winter attire throughout the course of his speech. "See ya, Shizu-chan."

A bit dumbfounded, Shizuo watched Izaya leave. Even after the door had been closed and locked, he continued to stare. Was he serious? So, Izaya hadn't been the one to get those things…but his sisters? Slugging his feet back over to the kitchen, he quickly took the cake out of its plastic bagging. Sure enough, "Happy Birthday, Shizuo-san" was written on the top, whereas, in a much smaller script, "Please let us meet Yuuhei-san!" was written on the bottom.

"Huh…" Shizuo noised, placing the cake back down. Had he really been expecting Izaya to do something like this for him? Was he stupid? Sure, the two had been dating for quite a while now, but Shizuo had figured that when he had told Izaya that his birthday was his least favourite time of the year, that up-to-no-good flea would use such a perfect opportunity to his advantage. It was a bit more than shocking that he wasn't.

Just as Izaya had said, he had returned home well after Shizuo had already gone to bed. Turning on only a few lights to brighten his path, Izaya decidedly scoped out the kitchen. Just as he had suspected, the miniature cake had been left in eaten ruins, the carton of strawberry milk gone empty, and the only sign of such chocolate candies having ever existed was their crumpled up wrappers.

After cleaning the kitchen, Izaya stretched and yawned. It was twenty-three forty, and although he was famous for being able to stay awake into the late hours of the night, his meeting had really worn him out.

With brushed teeth and soft pajamas, Izaya quietly climbed into bed with Shizuo. He knew that he could have jumped under the covers, kicked Shizuo in the face, and maybe even set off an atomic bomb or two without waking him, but he figured it was always best to be cautious, so as not to unleash the man's "how-dare-you-for-waking-me-up" wrath.

Izaya took the time to watch Shizuo's sleeping expression. It wasn't flattering, and it wasn't the face that he had fallen in love with. Shizuo drooled in his sleep; he also slept with his mouth wide open. When they first began dating, Izaya had been tempted to stick his finger down Shizuo's throat. That temptation was long gone now, and in its place was mere repulsion.

Izaya edged the slightest bit closer, and with slender fingers, he brushed back Shizuo's messy bangs. He was hesitant at first, but after a few moments, he pressed a soft kiss to what was exposed of his lover's forehead.

In the depths of the night, no one would hear him when he said it. Shizuo wouldn't hear him, Ikebukuro wouldn't hear him, and Izaya wondered if he would even be able to hear himself as he whispered, in the most precious of undertones, words that maybe even Shizuo could grow to appreciate.

"Unhappy birthday, Shizu-chan."

Hello, everyone! Chappy here! :D

Today is Shizuo's birthday! Whoohoo! *cracks open the party poppers*

Last year, I was absolutely devastated when I had forgotten this lovely man's birthday, so I made a huge promise to myself that I would write something for his birthday this year! :D

I hope you all enjoy it, and thank you for reading! :D

- Chappy