Happy Birthday to… you?
Every morning was the same, but Dark Pit had slowly grown used to it. Ever since he and Pit confessed their feelings for each other, Pit had expressed his excitement a bit too loudly… He had found himself being woken up being tickled, with a sharp pain in his stomach as his clumsy lover fell atop of him, or even his nose being pinched so he would wake up gasping for air. However, for the first time in weeks, Dark Pit was being woken up rather pleasantly.
His crimson eyes slowly fluttered open upon feeling a soft pair of lips tracing gentle kisses along his jawline and the side of his neck. Still a bit drowsy, but completely aware of the person making these loving gestures, the raven slowly turned to the side in order to face his adorable lover, who seemed to be beaming with joy, even more than usual.
Pit tilted his head upwards, smiling upon the sight of Dark Pit having that usual happy grin spread across his face. ''Good morning~'', he nearly sang, right before leaning in a little bit to plant a sweet kiss onto his lips. Dark Pit didn't even put any effort in protesting, as he couldn't deny that this was rather pleasant as well as surprising.
Dark Pit moved his hand up to Pit's, which was resting on his chest, and entwined their fingers together. Pit's skin was soft beyond words. All night long he had been simply caressing him, enjoying the wonderful feeling and inhaling the lovely scent of his hair.
''It's unusual for you to be this… quiet'', the raven stated after disconnecting their lips. ''Didn't feel like jumping on the bed today? Or did Palutena finally give you a preach?''
Pit chuckled softly and pulled himself closer to the other without breaking the eye-contact. ''No, I just thought you'd enjoy this better. …You do enjoy this better, right?''
Dark Pit replied with a snicker and tightened his grip around Pit's fragile body. ''Yes, this is perfect…''
Pit released a sigh of relief. ''Oh, good.'' He then proceeded to bury his face childishly against his lover's chest, only to shower that part of his body with kisses as well. Much to his liking, his actions earned him a pleased hum from the other. ''I wasn't really sure if you would appreciate me bringing breakfast on bed. …Well, aside from the fact that I might end up burning it all'', the brunet explained, laughing sheepishly. ''I thought it would make you cranky to wake you up early, and that's everything I'm trying to avoid today. I only want to see you smile.''
''Why's that?'', Dark Pit asked while he let the other kiss him, simply stroking his brown locks while watching him leave such tender kisses with his perfectly soft lips.
''Well, isn't that a normal thing to desire on someone's birthday?''
At this point, Dark Pit paused his hand on the back of Pit's head upon hearing those words. For a moment, the angel seemed confused as if he was trying to sink those words in. However, that expression was quickly replaced by one that reflected pure horror when realization finally started to kick in. Today was… their birthday!
Dark Pit bit down on his lip to suppress a gasp, barely succeeding in that. He had totally forgotten about it! And Pit hadn't brought it up either, which was quite an unusual thing for him to do. Dark Pit had expected him to be all hyper about it at least a week in advance. Had Pit kept it a secret in order to surprise him?
Dark Pit was mentally scolding himself as the pace of his heartbeat sped up and small beads of sweat started to appear on his forehead. How could he have done this? This was their first birthday together and he intended to celebrate it with him. Hell, he had at least expected himself to buy him a present! Now what? Was he just going to tell him that he had forgotten about it? No, he absolutely couldn't do that. Pit would be so disappointed… It would make him think that it didn't matter all that much to him.
''Pittoo?''
The raven lowered his gaze, only to meet an innocent pair of eyes that were looking at him with a hint of worry. ''What's wrong?''
Dark Pit parted his lips in order to reply, but he just couldn't bring himself to tell the truth. He could only imagine how those beautiful eyes would look at him while he would try to hide how sad he felt.
Not realizing that he had been silent a bit too long now, Pit reminded him when he started talking again. ''Don't tell me…'' His sapphire eyes blinked in surprise, a look of disbelieve clear on his face. ''Have you forgotten…?''
''No!''
Without thinking, he had already shouted at him, and a little bit too loud apparently, as Pit flinched in surprise. This time it was Dark Pit's turn to laugh sheepishly while he slowly moved away from his confused lover and got up from the bed. ''I mean, no, of… of course I haven't.''
It seemed to be convincible enough to Pit as the smile reappeared on his face. ''Well then, is it okay if I give you your present now?''
The boy whose eyes were sparkling with excitement moved across the bed, drawing closer to the other. It was obvious that Pit couldn't wait to show him what he had gotten him for a present. It only made Dark Pit feel even more guilty.
''Well, you know…'' The raven took a step back, trying to slowly, but unnoticedly, go towards the door. ''How about we wait with that until… later on?''
''Why?'' Pit now getting up from the bed as well, he happily approached his darker half, whose only goal was still to get out of there as soon as possible.
''Because Palutena… She asked me to run an errand for her.'' On their birthday?! Couldn't he come up with a better, much more realistic, excuse? ''I just have to go down to the human realm real quick to pick something up for her. It'll only take a few min— An hour. It'll only take about an hour'', he corrected himself hastily.
Pit let out a deep, disappointed sigh while moving to wrap his arms around the other's neck in protest and an attempt to keep him from leaving, which Dark Pit thought was rather cute.
''I'll just take a quick shower and get this over with as soon as possible, alright?'' Not wanting to leave him too saddened about him leaving, he gently tilted Pit's chin a bit and captured his lips into a soft, yet passionate kiss that he was sure he would remember for at least a whole hour.
After their lips disconnected, Pit hummed in satisfaction and smiled softly at him. ''Alright… Just be back quickly, okay? I don't want to waste a single minute of this day.''
How could I have promised such a stupid thing?
Dark Pit continuously scolded himself in his mind while he wandered around the human realm at a rapid pace. After taking that shower, he didn't waste a single second to get down there. He was clever enough to do that as he knew Pit was very fascinated by humans and the way they lived.
How can he possibly be interested in this hell-hole? They sell nothing but crap around here.
The male sighed to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation.
But I know what I'm doing this for. As long as it makes Pit happy, it's worth being down here. There has to be something around here that he would like. Something practical or… something that's just nice to have.
Luckily for him, there was a market, so he was sure he would end up finding something. The only thing he hated was how noisy it was right now. There were too many people… And the way some were glancing or every staring at him didn't make him feel any less uncomfortable. Pit could make his way through the streets with everyone acting like it was entirely normal. They were looking at Dark Pit as if he was about to commit a terrible crime.
All Dark Pit was able to find were pieces of clothing, jewelry and things that just weren't of any use in the heavens. And maybe that would have been okay if they wouldn't have been so terribly ugly, in Dark Pit's opinion.
It took only a few moments for him to pause in his tracks when a particular booth caught his attention. One of the things it was selling were a few photo frames along with an empty photo album. It maybe wasn't much, and he wasn't sure if Pit would like the idea, but Dark Pit knew he had quite a few pictures of him and Pit together somewhere in his room. He had also snuck a few pictures of Pit alone when he wasn't aware of it. When he was covered in flour in the kitchen, when he was sleeping, even when he was undressing… Sometimes he wondered if Pit knew just how beautiful he was, so he planned to show him the pictures he took one time. And what better time to do that than on their birthday?
A rare, soft smile appeared onto his features while he walked over to the burly man behind the booth.
''Excuse me.''
The man looked up from the book he was reading when he heard the voice.
''How much is this?'', Dark Pit asked the man, who didn't really pay all that much attention to him as he simply looked back down at his book.
''Four pieces of gold'', he answered monotonous, which caused the raven's eyes to widen in disbelieve. This guy… He hated people like him.
''I'm sorry, I think I haven't made myself clear. I was trying to buy the photo album, not the booth itself'', Dark Pit replied, trying his very best to hide his irritation, though his cold and sarcastic voice didn't really help him with that.
However, he did seem to trigger a reaction from the man as the almost bald guy looked up once again from his book and this time turned his broad body to the angel. ''Look, pal, unlike your perfect little life up there, we humans are in an economic crisis here. My drunk wife just kicked me out and her savings were the only thing I could rely on. So if you're not gonna pay me, you'd better get the hell out of here.''
Dark Pit could feel his blood boil by the rude way the man spoke to him. If he wasn't here for Pit, if no one was around to witness him lose control, he would have taught him some manners in that big, empty brain of his. However, he couldn't afford to do something like that now. He was here for only one thing.
''It's not really a mystery to me why your wife started drinking…''
Dark Pit noticed how he had touched a nerve with the man, but before he let him react to his heartless comment, he already turned around and walked away from him. He wasn't going to lose control, but he still had his pride. And he refused to let anyone who spoke down to him go unpunished. With a sly, proud smirk on his face, he continued searching for something that he could actually afford.
It didn't take long for that smirk to turn into a look of concern. It had been two and a half hours now, yet he hadn't found anything suitable enough for his boyfriend. He knew Pit would love anything he would bring him, but he wanted to be able to picture his face when he would give him his present… He wanted to see his jaw drop and his eyes sparkle while he gave him that one, special present that he would always remember. Why was that so hard to find?
Dark Pit sauntered over to a bench on a square and let out a deep sigh while he sat down and looked down at his feet. He was aware that he had been gone for quite a while now. Pit was probably starting to worry… But he just couldn't bare to see him look so sad when he would share the bad news with him.
The raven sat up straight, letting his head rest against the tree behind the bench, looking up at the sky that was starting to turn grey as if it was about to rain. This wasn't right… This wasn't how he should be getting him his present. Hurrying all over the place until he would find something that was good enough to give him. He didn't want that. He wanted to take his time until he would find something that he just knew Pit was going to love and treasure forever. Something that was special and would make clear just how much he loved him, since he wasn't all that good with words…
Perhaps I'll find a way to make it up to him. I'll just have to think of something and hopefully spare myself the sight of that torn look in his eyes…
A good three hours passed. Pit was sitting at the kitchen table, anxiously tapping his fingers on the wooden surface to keep himself from biting his nails. With each passing minute, the question in his mind started to scare him even more: was Dark Pit mad at him? He was acting rather strange this morning… Now it was already close to evening and the angel still hadn't returned. Did he… not like the thought of celebrating this day?
The brunet let out a trembling sigh, standing up and pacing nervously around the room. What if the present he bought him was a total waste? What if Dark Pit didn't like it? Or the other things he came up with to make this day special?
Pit shook his head, trying desperately to get rid of all the negative thoughts that kept screaming in his mind, but couldn't them. Gods, all he wanted was for Dark Pit to be happy. If he had things differently in mind, then how come he didn't just tell him? Pit would understand. If Dark Pit had different plans for today, then he was more than happy to do it his way. All he cared about was being together with him, that was more than enough. After all, he couldn't picture himself being with anyone else.
Just when he was on the verge of losing hope, he heard the faint sound of the door opening and closing and without wasting another second, Pit dashed out of the kitchen and into the hallway, only to see that Dark Pit walked into the temple with a worried frown on his features. However, his concern went unnoticed by his lighter partner as the boy ran into his chest and wrapped his slender arms around his neck.
''Thank the Gods, you're back…'', he murmured against his chest, refusing to let him go for even a moment. It was like a huge weight was being lifted off of him now that Dark Pit had returned at last. For a moment he thought that he wouldn't even make it for dinner.
''What, you thought I would stay away all night long?'', Dark Pit asked him with a halfhearted smile as he stroked the back of the angel's head, causing the other to pull back slightly in order to look at him.
''What else was I supposed to think?'', he whispered quietly before lightly biting down on his lip. ''You said it would only take an hour. I was starting to think that—''
As Pit didn't finish his sentence, Dark Pit finally started to realize that he had made Pit worried as well. With a tilt of his head, he sent his hand to the other's cheek, gently running the pad of his thumb across it in an attempt to reassure him. Pit took a deep breath, leaning in to the warm touch of his hand.
''I thought that maybe you didn't want to be with me today… O-Or that I had done something to anger you. But, Pittoo…! We don't have to celebrate it if you're not comfortable with it or if there is another reason that you don't—''
Dark Pit didn't give his lover the chance to finish that sentence as he had captured his lips in a passionate kiss, refusing to let him believe his own words. Pit was clearly caught off guard by this action and it took him a moment to realize what was happening, but he soon enough felt himself become jelly in Dark Pit's arms and allowed him to just do whatever he felt like doing to him.
A little while passed before the raven broke the kiss between them and then looked down into the bright sapphire eyes with his own stern, crimson ones. It was obvious that he was trying to make a point and was determined to make his lighter half believe what he was about to say.
''Do you really believe I would do that to you? To just walk away from you and never come back, only because I'm upset about something?''
Pit's cheeks had flushed a light shade of red after the kiss and turned even brighter now that Dark Pit was looking at him like that. The brunet tried to answer, but found himself at a loss of words, so he allowed the other to continue.
''You of all people should know that I would express my anger quite differently, in a less subtle way… I'm sorry I made you worry, but I was caught in a battle with myself. I've done a terrible thing and I've been trying to fix it, but I suppose it's better to just come out with it.''
Dark Pit paused for a moment while Pit blinked in confusion, not understanding what he was trying to say right now. ''Well, what is it?'', he asked, trying to hide how fast his heart was beating right now, feeling rather scared. If it was something it took Dark Pit this long to think over, then it must be something really bad, right?
Not really having gathered the courage, but seeing no other way to say it, the raven took a deep breath and just blurted it out. ''I… I forgot about our birthday…''
There was a long silence between them. Dark Pit observed his lover's expression closely, but Pit seemed to be utterly speechless as he simply stood there, wide-eyed, and looking at him in confusion. He supposed that was natural. He guessed Pit didn't think it was something Dark Pit would do, but it happened anyway. He gave it another two minutes before Pit would either start yelling at him or would start crying softly.
Dark Pit let out a deep sigh and frowned lightly without breaking eye-contact. ''I feel terrible about this…'', he murmured quietly. ''I mean, it's our first birthday together and I can't believe I was stupid enough to not remember it! I hate myself for doing this to you, I don't even have a present for you… This whole situation sucks! I didn't know how to tell you and I didn't want you to think that it doesn't mean anything to me, because it does! I swear, it does! Please… Please give me a chance to make it up to you, I promise I will think of something.''
Once again, it was quiet for a very long time and Pit hadn't shown any kind of reaction yet, which Dark Pit wasn't sure of whether that was a good sign or a bad one. The brunet just stared in front of him as if he was trying to let it sink in.
''Our birthday…''
The raven frowned upon hearing the other mutter, wondering if he heard him correctly.
''Pit?'', he asked softly, finally able to meet Pit's eyes again when the brunet looked back up.
''Today… it's our birthday'', he repeated. Dark Pit was confused beyond words by Pit's behavior. Out of all the scenarios he had repeated constantly in his mind, this was one that had never occurred to him.
''Yes, that's… that's right'', Dark Pit replied quietly, ''Wasn't that what you had been planning to celebrate all this time?''
Pit visibly swallowed and then lightly bit down on his lip, his eyes still wider than they had ever been. ''I was planning to celebrate your birthday'', he finally replied.
This sentence dumbfounded Dark Pit to the point he had no idea how to react to it anymore. His look of worry now turned into one of utter disbelieve. If he was understanding correctly what Pit was trying to tell him…
''Are you saying…'', Dark Pit swallowed himself this time as well as he continued to stare down at the other, ''…that you have forgotten your own birthday?''
Pit pursed down his lips tightly, which was the clearest answer Dark Pit could possibly get from him.
''Are you actually trying to tell me that, even though our birthday is on the same day, that you only remembered mine? Not once it occurred to you that, since it's my birthday, it's yours as well?''
The more Dark Pit talked, the harder it was becoming for the both of them to keep their shoulders from shaking. When realization finally started to kick in, Pit wasn't able to help himself any longer and he suddenly started bursting out in laughter, only to be joined by his twin who started laughing just as loudly.
What a joke… Someone forgetting their own birthday, even though they had a small reminder. Of course, this didn't make Dark Pit feel any better about himself, but at least they had a funny anecdote to tell the others now.
''You are such a weirdo!'' With a wide grin, Dark Pit tightened his grip around the other and playfully ruffled his hair, earning a giggle from his lover.
When Pit regained a normal breathing-pattern and the laughter slowly faded, he tilted his head back up to face Dark Pit, his eyes beaming with joy. With each passing day, even though it seemed impossible, he started to love this beautiful angel even more. And he could feel that Dark Pit felt the same way. They understood each other. They both worried about small things, but neither of them cared about stuff like that. He couldn't believe Dark Pit had actually been punishing himself over something like that. Sure, it was a shame he had forgotten, but gee… What did he think he would do, kill him for it? Besides, the fact that Dark Pit had been worrying for so long over something like that only proved how much he meant to him. And that was all that mattered to him.
''I can't believe that was actually bothering you…'' Pit reached out to him with a bright smile caressing his cheek lovingly and felt happy when he felt Dark Pit lean in to his touch and placed his own hand over Pit's. ''You think I care about whether you do or don't give me a present? You're right: it is our first birthday together, which is why I'm glad that we're together, that we can celebrate it with just the two of us. We don't have to do that with presents, we can do something fun together. The other day I was walking down the human realm and I saw something that I just really liked and hoped that you would enjoy it just as much… That's why I got it for you. It's no use if we're forcing ourselves to buy something nice for one another, right?''
Dark Pit found himself smiling upon Pit's reassuring words, knowing he was right. Even though he still hadn't forgiven himself, he knew that as long Pit was okay with it, he would learn to accept it. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have such an amazing, considerate boyfriend.
''You're amazing'', he told him with a happy smile before stealing one more kiss from him that caused the other to chuckle softly.
''Wanna see what I got you? I've been waiting all day to show you this, but if you don't like it, you can definitely say so and we'll just find you something else.'' Pit's excitement was undeniable, but Dark Pit knew his lover well enough to detect a hint of nervousness in his voice.
''I'd love to see what you got me'', he replied before planting a kiss to his forehead.
Pit nervously bit down on his lower lip when receiving the kiss, but instead of wandering around in the hallway, he dragged Dark Pit into the living room by his hand. On the coffee table, there were two objects. One of them was a rather delicious-looking chocolate cake, which was rather surprising, considering Pit's cooking skills.
''Did you really make this?'' The raven looked at him, but the proud expression of Pit was enough to answer his question.
''It was my fourth sample and the only one that actually turned out fairly well! Even the icing turned out to be pretty tasty! And I know that because I can't resist dipping my finger in chocolate when I see some…'' He laughed sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck. ''B-But this layer is completely untouched! I promise!''
Dark Pit couldn't stop a small chuckle from leaving his lips before he slowly made his way over to the table to get a closer look at the cake with the words 'Happy Birthday' written on it in big, graceful letters. However, that was when his eyes fell on the second object right next to the cake, and it caused his smile to disappear almost at once. Not because he was any less happy, but because he couldn't believe his eyes at what he was seeing.
Pit happened to notice the sudden change of expression and it caused him to bite down on his lip and fumble his fingers nervously. ''I, er… I-I didn't have any time to wrap it up yet. And it may seem a bit goofy, but… I really liked the idea of it and I thought that maybe you would, too…''
Dark Pit furrowed his brows together while he picked up a rather familiar item and studied it closely. A photo album. On the very front of it, there was a picture of the two of them connecting their hands together, turning it into the shape of a heart. Pit was holding that usual cheerful smile in the picture while Dark Pit tried his best to hold one back, though he failed miserably. It was one of his favorite pictures, because he loved that particular smile of Pit.
The male opened the album to see what sort of pictures were in there. It seemed like he hadn't been the only one sneakily taking pictures of his boyfriend. Some of the pictures were the same as the ones Dark Pit kept in his room, but he didn't recognize the most of them. He hadn't realized that Pit had been taking pictures of him as well on moments he didn't realize.
Once again, since Dark Pit took so long to react, Pit was starting to become rather nervous. ''I just… thought you looked really cute right then, so I had to go and capture the moment. I want to savor it forever, the moments we have with each other. But I don't just want to hold on to the past, I want to experience new things with you and make more memories in the future. But I know one photo album isn't going to be enough… So I'm going to buy another one next year. And another one the year after that! I want to fill each and every page of those albums and look back at the beautiful things that we are going to experience together.''
His crimson eyes softened up while closing the album and placing it back on the table. The words touched him deeply in to that icy heart that Pit had managed to melt a long time ago. When everything seemed hopeless, when he started to question his entire existence, Pit was there for him and gave him a reason to live again. Pit was the only one who considered him a person and believed that Dark Pit wasn't lost. He was the only one who could tell how he really felt and knew what he needed. He couldn't believe he was granted the most beautiful gift in this world, which was this perfect, pure little angel.
Not wanting to let him wait any longer, Dark Pit finally turned around to the anxious angel and took him in a warm embrace. ''Thank you, Pit'', he whispered softly, noticing how his words made the other sigh softly in relief right before he returned the hug. ''This is absolutely perfect. I couldn't have wished for a better birthday.'' A soft, warm smile spread across his face. ''I guess we really do want the same things…''
Pit happily sank into his lover's arms, enjoying the embrace and the fact that this day had been, despite not entirely planned, a great one. Dark Pit was happy. All he ever craved for was to see his smile. And he succeeded in that. He could have stayed there for hours, simply savoring the warmth they shared, if it wasn't for a particular thought that he suddenly remembered.
''Actually…'' The brunet slowly pulled away from the other in order to look at him, ''There is… another present that I have for you.''
Dark Pit cocked an eyebrow in curiosity. ''Oh?''
He couldn't help but notice that a lovely shade of red appeared onto the angel's normally pale cheeks, which only aroused more curiosity.
''I, er…'' Pit slowly shifted his eyes down, not being able to look into his eyes at what he was about to say. ''Tonight, after we have dinner and a piece of the cake, I… I-I thought that you may like to hear that, er… I-I will do whatever you want me to do…''
Now that was something that sparked his interest. A sly, wide grin appeared onto his features. Pit sure knew how to seduce someone. Both the words and his adorable shy expression were priceless. On these moments, he grew to love him even more, if possible.
Dark Pit gently tilted Pit's chin, not wanting to miss another second of that bashful face, and pressed a light kiss onto his incredibly soft lips.
''Mind if I would take a picture of that?'', he asked him, which caused a shiver of excitement to run up Pit's spine. ''I do plan to savor that moment as well, anytime I want to.''
Pit's heart was on the verge of exploding at those words, having no doubt that Dark Pit would actually do such a thing. However, he didn't mind it in the least. Because every moment, every single one of them, was worth capturing and enjoying for the rest of their lives.