This is a story for Marui! Happy Birthday!!

Disclaimer: I do not own POT...sadly. uwaa

+birthday present dilemma+

A yawn escaped from Jiroh's lips. He was waiting for the timer to ring telling him that the cake he was baking is done.

"This is taking so long…" with another yawn, he fell asleep. A few moments later, his sleep was disturbed by a pungent smell. He reluctantly opened his eyes, only to see his precious cake burning. He hurriedly opened the oven and got his cake out. "Aaw…now what am I going to give, Bun-chan?"

He pouted, putting the burned cake in the trash. There was only two hours left before he was going to meet with Marui. He was in so much trouble. He had no clue what to give him. If he tries to bake again, it will only result in another burned cake.

"Oh no…what am I going to give him?" he paced around his house. "If I can't bake one…I'll just buy one!"

He smiled happily. He rushed out of the house and went to Marui's favorite bakery. The people who worked there already knew him. He ordered a strawberry cake. He knew it was Marui's favorite. He sat down and waited for the cake. This time, he repeatedly told himself not to sleep. When the cake arrived, he smiled brightly and paid for it. It was an hour before he meets with Marui. He decided to go to the nearby park for awhile and rest. He had drained his energy rushing to the bakery. He sat down the bench, feeling the breeze pass him. This didn't help him any as he began to fall asleep. He tried not to but of course, sleep got the better of him.

He woke up from the laughter of passing children. He rubbed his eyes and looked around. Then, he looked at his watch. Oh no! He was already 30 minutes late. To top it all off, it seems that he had crushed the precious cake while he was sleeping. He was in such a dilemma. He now had 3 problems: 1) he was late 2) he had no gift 3) his clothes were dirty with the cake. He was in a very big trouble now. He was thinking about it so hard when he heard a familiar voice call him.

"Jiroh! There you are!" Marui walked to him. When he saw Jiroh, boy, was he craving now. He had delayed eating his sweets because he was worried about Jiroh.

"Bun-chan! What are you doing here?" he asked surprised. Marui stopped before him and poked his forehead.

"I was worried and came looking for you. You're late, you know that" Marui said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Yeah…well…uhm…happy birthday…?" Jiroh handed the once beautiful cake, smiling nervously. He didn't know if Marui would still accept it. The cake was now ruined and it was his favorite.

"Thanks Jiroh" he got the cake, smiling at Jiroh and sat down beside him. Jiroh looked at him dumbfounded. He hadn't thought that Marui would accept it like that but he was extremely happy he did. "Now, what happened?"

"Well…I was supposed to bake you a cake but it got burned. So I decided to just buy you one. I went to your favorite bakery and bought your favorite cake. I went here because I was tired of rushing to the bakery. But I fell asleep and well…I kind of ruined the cake while sleeping…I'm sorry…it was an accident. I'm sorry if my gift to you was a mess…" Jiroh bowed his head in apology. Marui lifted Jiroh's face and kissed him then licked some icing that was on Jiroh's cheek.

"Mmm…strawberry…" Jiroh blushed at this act. Marui looked at him in the eye, smiling. "Anything from you is the best birthday gift especially when I get a chance to kiss you and lick some icing from you."

Jiroh blushed again but smiled brightly at Marui. "Happy birthday Bun-chan!" he hugged Marui, forgetting all about his cake-stained clothes. When they broke apart, Marui had cake on his clothes too.

"Now, we're both dirty" Marui said and they both laughed. "Come on, the others are waiting."

Marui stood up and held a hand to Jiroh. He accepted it and stood up. They walked to Marui's house holding hands. There was a party held at his place care of the Rikkai regulars. They had a great time at the party. When it was time for Jiroh to go, Marui walked with him to the porch.

"Night Bun-chan. Happy birthday!" he smiled and pecked Marui on the cheek.

"Thanks Jiroh" Marui smiled and pulled Jiroh to a kiss. They broke apart and Jiroh went home smiling.

And if you're all wondering what happened to the clothes…I don't have any idea too. Maybe Marui lent Jiroh some spare clothes.

Yeay! If it isn't good...that's cause the author was on crack and that her oh-so-beloved brothers kept on teasing her the whole time she was writing so the plot bunny kept on running away. uwaa plot bunny! anyway...review are much appreciated seeing as the author's mood will lighten up and will help in creating a better story. Thank you!