Trio Going on Thirty

Author: Hotarukat
Rating: R, just to be safe because of hints of threesomeness

Summary: Everyone turns thirty eventually, even the members of the Mabudatchi Trio. Each of their birthdays. Each of their reactions.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket and whatever I do with the characters, I do for fun with no profit.

A/N: I have no idea when Hatori's birthday is in comparison to the others. I wrote them as Shigure, Hatori, and Ayame in order from oldest to youngest. (It was funny for me to think of Shigure as the oldest.)

Fifiteen Days after that Particular Day in April

Birthdays were not something Hatori looked forward to. His reasons didn't stem from a fear of turning old (even at the ripe old age of thirty.) He simply preferred to pretend that it was the same as all other days. Even though Hatori never wanted to forget, birthdays made it too easy to remember.

The doctor looked down at the single envelope sitting in his lap. He had carefully read through all of the other pieces of mail, which consisted of various bills, and medical documents he had requested, but he had missed the small letter until it was the only thing unopened.

"Kana," he whispered, reading the name neatly written on the return address. Then he winced and dropped the letter onto his desk as if it caused him physical pain to keep holding it. Hatori knew he should have expected this. Kana always remembered to send a card for every holiday, especially birthdays. It was simply part of her personality not to forget to send a warm-hearted greeting for a special occasion. Hatori sighed and grabbed the letter opener to slit the top of the envelope.

Once opened, the card was not any different from the various other cards he had received from her since she married. It had a picture of a kitten sitting in front of a birthday cake and licking frosting off its whiskers. Inside, underneath the printed "You can't have your cake and eat it too," Kana had handwritten: "I think you can! Have a wonderful birthday, Dr. Sohma!" and signed her and her husband's name with "love from both of us."

Hatori put the card down, and after only pausing for a second, he pushed it into the wastebasket beside his desk. A quick glance at Kana's picture on his bookshelf, however, caused Hatori to reach into the wastebasket and pull the card out and place it beside the picture before he started working again.

XXX

"Hari is going to be so surprised!"

"Not if you don't keep quiet!"

Hatori looked up from his reading as soon as he heard Shigure and Ayame's hushed voices drift in from outside. For a brief moment he considered just sitting there to wait for whatever sort of interesting surprise (or annoyance) they had planned for his birthday, but curiosity forced him out of his seat. He walked to his open porch door, feeling something like relief unknot in his stomach at the coming distraction, but that feeling quickly disappeared as soon as he saw no one was outside.

"HARI!" Ayame, who had glided in silently from the other entrance, wrapped his arms around Hatori from behind and rested his head on his back. "Happy Birthday," he mumbled into Hatori's shirt.

Shigure trotted up next to Hatori and poked him in the side. "Did we surprise you?"

"No," Hatori said evenly.

"Yes, we did," Shigure replied slyly. "You were expecting us to come from outside. Welcome to the thirty-year-old club!"

Ayame finally unlocked himself from Hatori and squeezed between Shigure and the doctor to stand in front of them.

"We brought you something!" he beamed, sticking the wrapped present underneath Hatori's nose. "Open it! Open it!"

"Yes, open it, open it!" Shigure joined in on Ayame's childlike chorus. Hatori rolled his eyes, snatching the present as the dog and the snake cheered ecstatically and moving to sit down on the ledge of the porch.

"It was Ayame's idea," Shigure said proudly, seating himself on Hatori's right.

Ayame sat down on his left. "'Gure, you give me too much credit!"

Hatori's fingers slipped beneath a crease, and he carefully tore the gold wrapping paper, deliberately taking as long as possible. Beside him, Ayame and Shigure held their breath.

"Faster!" Ayame pleaded.

"Hari always likes taking his time," Shigure leered.

Hatori ignored both of them and finally peeled the wrapper paper away, leaving a gold picture frame in his hands that showcased a photo with Shigure and Ayame arm in arm in front of the lake house, jovially giving peace signs with their free hands.

"Thank you," Hatori said slowly, almost making it sound like a question.

"I don't think he understands, 'Gure." Ayame rested his head on Hatori's shoulder. "Perhaps you should explain."

"Better yet, I'll show him!" Shigure jumped up and trotted into Hatori's office. As he waited, Hatori ran an absent hand through Ayame's hair, causing the snake to hum happily and nuzzle against him.

Shigure returned in an instant and, after pausing for a second, pulled Kana's picture from behind his back as he sat down.

"…We thought it was about time you added some other pictures to your office," he said, holding Kana's picture next to theirs, which Hatori still held uncertainly.

Hatori stopped stroking Ayame's hair and glared warningly at Shigure.

"Hari, we're not suggesting you get rid of this picture. It's just that…"

"Just because you never want to forget your happy memories doesn't mean you can't make new ones!" Ayame chimed in after a moment. "Really, 'Gure, I thought you would be able to explain better than I could."

Shigure smiled weakly. "Writer's block, I guess."

"I suppose you saw Kana's card." Hatori stood up after shrugging Ayame off his shoulder.

"Kana's card?" Ayame looked at Shigure in confusion. "Why didn't you say something?" he shot to Hatori, who took Kana's picture out of Shigure's hands and began walking back into his office. Distressed, Ayame scrambled up and followed, leaving Shigure on the porch alone.

"I'm sorry," Ayame apologized to Hatori's back as the doctor leaned over his desk. "I hope I didn't make things worse."

Hatori ignored him as he placed Kana's picture gently back on his desk, but he still held onto the picture of Shigure and Ayame and simply looked at it. Ayame snuck to Hatori's side, craning his neck to see what had caught Hatori's attention.

"I'll…just take it back," Ayame whispered and reached for the photo.

Hatori moved his arm out of Ayame's grasp.

"I don't know where to put it," he said simply and looked down at Ayame. After managing a careful smile, the snake took the picture when Hatori offered it to him and placed it beside Kana's.

"It looks much better this way, don't you think?" Hatori asked quietly.

"Yes, it certainly does," Ayame agreed, leaning back and admiring his work.

A second later, Shigure came in and slung his arms around the two other juunishi. "Everything better?" he asked with a smile.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Shigure," Hatori said and spared a glance to the dog. Shigure shook his head and released Hatori and Ayame.

"I think I need a cigarette. Hatori?"

"If you want some of mine the answer is no."

"But…"

"You do know that smoking causes premature wrinkles," Ayame pointed out distastefully. Shigure simply waved the comment off cheerfully.

As the group moved toward the porch once again, Hatori and Shigure exchanged a look before turning to Ayame.

"You're next, you know," Shigure said darkly.

"Next?"

"All of us turn thirty eventually," Hatori agreed mildly before taking out two cigarettes and lighting them. Shigure took his happily, and Ayame remained surprisingly quiet.

Birthdays were not something Hatori looked forward to. To him, they should be like any other day, just as meaningless and with little chance of better things. He didn't want to remember; he didn't want to forget. But, most of all, Hatori didn't want to hope, and he realized how hard it was to remain realistic with the dog and the snake beside him.

"I want a picture of all of us," Ayame said suddenly and pulled his cell phone out of a pocket.

Shigure shrugged noncommittally and slid closer to Hatori. Ayame sat down on Hatori's other side and smushed himself as close to Hatori as possible, with Shigure following suite so they would fit in the picture. Hatori looked at the cell phone held in front of him.

"Say cheese!" Ayame caroled before the flash went off and Hatori was momentarily blinded.

Hatori knew Ayame would cherish this picture. Ayame always kept everything he loved close to him, even if he couldn't do it physically. It was simply part of his personality not to let anyone he loved down. This picture would be like many Ayame had in his scrapbook, which was decorated with old pieces of his favorite fabrics and detailed the span of their lives together.

Hatori sighed and turned his head to brush his lips over Ayame's cheek.

"Thank you," he whispered. Ayame turned golden eyes on him.

"Would you like a copy?" he asked in a tone that betrayed a hint of confusion.

"Yes."

"Me too!" Shigure raised his hand, and Hatori, deliberately misinterpreting, kissed his cheek as well. Shigure laughed.

"I meant I wanted a copy, but that would work too," he declared with a sultry smirk.

Hatori felt Ayame's lips on his ear and saw Shigure lean toward him before closing his eyes. He knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't help hoping, at least this once.