Waking up with a dull headache Hank groaned at the blaring sound of his alarm playing an old boy-band song from the 90's and smashed his right palm over the intrusive clock to silence it. Sitting upright in the bed Hank groaned as the motion caused his headache to suddenly flare and forced himself to throw aside his warm comforter and sheet before standing up. Smelling the faint and welcoming aroma of coffee wafting through the air Hank sighed in relief as he opened his bedroom door. The aroma grew stronger as he neared the kitchen and it suddenly blended with another delicious scent that threw Hank for a loop. Instead of smelling eggs being fried in a pan or bacon being sizzled, Hank smelled the all too distinct aroma of a cake.

A birthday cake.

Inside the kitchen Connor hadn't only spent the early morning hours baking a cake for Hank, but had frosted it and decorated it in blue and white frosting. The deviant sensed Hank walking into the kitchen behind him and placed the round cake down in the middle of the kitchen table for him to see. The circular cake was a dark blue in color and had white icing that perfectly spelled out 'Happy Birthday Hank' over the surface. One would've thought the cake had been baked and decorated by a professional, not a deviant roommate who just wanted to do something nice for his friend.

"Good morning, Hank."

"Good morning, kid." Stunned by the cake Hank felt an amused grin creep over his face as Connor put a plate and fork down next to the cake. "You did this just for me?"

"Yes." Pouring fresh coffee into Hank's new 'World's Greatest Friend' mug Connor put in the appropriate sweetener and sugar according to what Hank liked rather than what was healthy for him. "You encouraged the precinct to celebrate my birthday last month, so it's only fair that I help you celebrate your own."

"Uh..."

"Don't worry, I didn't request anyone at the precinct to do anything special. I understand you'd prefer to keep things simple."

"Damn right. Thanks, son." Accepting the new mug with hot coffee from Connor with a grateful smirk Hank sipped at the hot beverage and felt his headache already beginning to ease up. "I appreciate it."

"Also, you should be able to get through the day without needing to deal with anyone trying to make a big deal out of your birthday."

"Oh? Why's that?" Putting the mug down Hank beside the cake Hank used his right index fingertip to taste the frosting. It was store bought but still a delicious flavor of vanilla. "You didn't threaten the bullpen to keep quiet, did ya'?"

"Not at all." Extending his right palm Connor played a holographic projection of a memory cybernetically sent to him from Lucas for Hank to see. The image showed Gavin and Aaron standing before one another in the chapel exchanging vows. "Yesterday evening Gavin and Aaron were married."

"Perfect! Everyone will be bothering Gavin today and leaving me the hell alone!"

"Isn't it customary to give newlywed couples gifts?" Dropping his hand Connor picked up a small but sharp knife and handed it to Hank so he could cut into his cake and have a slice. "They didn't register anywhere, but it feels like a gift should be given."

"Send 'em a toaster."

"...They don't need a toaster."

"Waffle iron, then!"

"That seems like an unnecessary appliance."

"You never know." Slicing himself a small slice of the cake Hank placed it on the plate and took a bite. It tasted amazing. "They might actually want a waffle iron, but just didn't say anything about it."

"...I'll take your word for it."

Before leaving for his first shift as a married man Gavin made sure to spend the morning with Aaron and remind him that he was incredibly happy to finally be married to the love of his life. After enjoying his own breakfast with his husband Gavin left Aaron's apartment and returned to his own apartment to shower, and get dressed appropriately. Envying Lucas since he had the day off Gavin sat on the couch beside his roommate and attempted to tie his shoes with four energetic kittens running around at his feet. By the time he get the second shoe tied his first shoe had been untied by the kittens pulling on the laces, and he had no choice to but to deal with it.

Tossing a toy mouse to distract the kittens Gavin managed to finish tying his shoes and then leaned back against the couch for a moment. Before the week was over he'd be moved in permanently to Aaron's bigger apartment just down the hallway, and Lucas would be left alone. Feeling a little guilty about essentially bailing on his roommate Gavin tried to gauge how Lucas was going to handle things on his own.

"Are ya' going to be lonely without a roommate?"

"No, I'll be fine." Watching as Magnus managed to awkwardly wrap his paws around Gavin's ankle and begin to playfully bite at the abrasive detective, Lucas grinned at the sight. "I'll have these guys to keep me company for a while."

"Yeah, well, at the end of the week Honeycomb will be going to Tina." Motioning to the golden kitten rolling around and chewing on the toy mouse Gavin was glad to know at least one of the kittens had a guaranteed home. "What about the others?"

"Well, since Magnus seems to be attached to you..." The kitten tightened his grip around Gavin's ankle as he continued to try to engage the human in a small wrestling match, and made Lucas smile brighter. "Literally at this point. I assumed you'd be taking him when you moved into Aaron's apartment."

"I do like the little guy. He's a tiny pain in the ass with a lot of spirit, reminds me of Tina." Picking up the kitten Gavin held him against his chest and rubbed at the kitten's chin causing him to purr loudly. "But what about Lucky? I can only have one cat, not two."

"I'll keep Lucky and take care of her." It sounded like Lucas had been thinking about the arrangement for a while. "Since you're only going down the hallway you can still freely enter the apartment and see her, too."

"Good point..."

"You take Magnus, I'll keep Lucky, Tina will take Honeycomb and I know that Noreen will take either the calico or the maine coon kitten."

"That just leaves one kitten needing a home."

"They'll be taken care of. You focus on moving in with Aaron and changing the apartment leases, I'll handle the kittens."

"Right. Too bad I couldn't talk Chris into taking one of the kittens for his kid." As Magnus snuggled up under his chin Gavin sighed and looked at the time on his phone. "Oh, well. Take him." Passing Magnus over to Lucas to take Gavin got up from the couch and made sure he had his car keys. "I'm going to kiss Aaron goodbye again and head out. Uh, thanks for being cool."

"It's okay, Gavin." Letting Magnus climb all over him and seek affection Lucas watched as Gavin left the apartment in a very good mood. "You go be with your husband and I'll stay with the kittens."

Arriving at the precinct right on time Hank and Connor went to their desks and clocked-in as per usual. The officers all acknowledged their arrival and gave Connor a relieved glance seeing the deviant back on his feet after being shot in the courthouse. The successful arrest of Richard Perkins, the now infamous trial concluded and the inevitable sentencing on the horizon, had all left the bullpen in high spirits as they now focused all their energy on the mayor's case. The sleazy politician was undoubtedly going to try to pull an underhanded ploy to escape justice, and the detectives weren't about to let the mayor sneak away right from under their noses.

As the two detectives sat down behind their desks Hank watched from the corner of his eye as Ben discreetly placed a small box down on his desk for him to take. Without saying a word Ben acknowledged Hank's birthday and went about his business without accidentally drawing any unwanted attention toward the rather private senior detective.

"Good ol' Ben..." Opening the box Hank peered inside and smirked at the offered gift. Inside was a golden watch that had been a group gift from Ben and from Captain Fowler. The watch wasn't necessarily his taste, but Hank wasn't going to reject the high quality gift from his friends. "Not bad."

Peering at the shining watch curiously Connor noted the watch and the kind gesture behind it. "That was kind of Ben to give you a gift."

"And Jeffrey. His name is on the small card inside."

"Are you going to wear it?"

"Only during special occasions. I'm a little paranoid about breaking something nice like this during a possible chase."

"Understandable."

"What're we working on today?"

"There was a disturbance downtown at a Digital Sentience store." Sifting through their case files quickly and efficiently Connor noted the only case that required any immediate attention. "The clerk states that a drunken human attempted to break into the store at three-seventeen this morning. After the man was taken to the Eastern Precinct's drunk tank to sleep it off, he returned to the store at seven twenty-two, and used a switchblade on one of the deviant associates inside the store."

"We need to go talk to the poor guy who got cut up. Is he at the store or his own place?"

"He's currently at the store. He wants give his statement and work with the store's owner to improve security measures."

"Tough employee. All right," rising from his desk Hank tucked the watch into his pocket to keep it safe as he walked. "we'll check it out and make sure no other knife wielding assholes are lurking around."

A chorus of cheers and small applause filled the bullpen as Gavin walked in to begin his shift. Unable to keep himself from blushing Gavin's eyes swept over the floor and immediately fell on to Tina as she strolled casually out of the breakroom and took a smug sip of her tea.

"Traitor!"

"What?" Feigning innocence Tina didn't deny that she was the one who told everyone. "It's not like the marriage wasn't going to be announced in the local news, anyway!"

Hank was grateful for the distraction and motioned for Connor to head toward the door. "Now's our chance. Let's get outta' here before someone says anything to me about my birthday."

Accompanying his partner out of the bullpen Connor agreed to keep everything quiet for the day. "I won't say anything to anyone."

"Thanks, kid."

From the apartment Lucas sent Noreen a live feed of the kittens running around the livingroom floor to entice her into finally making up her mind on which kitten she was going to adopt. Choosing between the two tiny kittens was a difficult decision but Noreen promised she'd give one of the kittens a loving home. Her apartment also had a single pet clause that limited her decision to only one of the two. Being able to see the kittens through Lucas's eyes as he played with them and got them to run about, chase yarn, chase toy mice and wrestle with one another, quickly melted Noreen's heart.

"The two kittens are both female." Lucas confirmed as he spoke with Noreen cybernetically. "One will have long fur and the other will have short fur. They're both very energetic and playful."

'I love fluffy kitties, but the calico is so pretty!' Gushing over the line Noreen was really struggling with her choice. 'I'm glad Tina took the golden one and that Gavin is going to keep the little rejected one for himself. That makes this a little easier...'

"Would you like to come over and visit with them? That might help."

'If I go to your apartment I'm going to walk away with ALL of them, including Lucky, and then I'll be in search of a new apartment.'

"Well, if you change your mind I'll be here until five o'clock."

'More stuff with Gavin and Aaron?'

"No, today is Hank's birthday and I promised Connor I'd stop by the house this evening to celebrate with him."

'Don't take this the wrong way, but Hank doesn't seem like a party-person.'

"He's not. It's just going to be the two of us spending the evening with him."

'Sounds nice. Think the kittens will be okay without someone in the apartment to watch them?'

"They'll be fine. They stay in their barricaded area and have plenty of room to run around and play with one another. I'll just leave them some fresh food and water before I go."

'And how're Gavin and Aaron doing with being married?'

"They are both quite happy." Dragging the red yarn over the floor Lucas managed to lead all four kittens back and forth while Lucky watched the moving string from afar. She wanted to play too, but let her kittens enjoy the string without her. "I think he's finally moving on from his rather traumatic childhood."

'Good. No one deserves to suffer their whole life because of what other people did to them.'

"Agreed."

'Let me think a while longer on the kittens and I'll make my final decision tomorrow morning.'

"That'll work. I'll be taking the kittens to their new homes in three days, so you have time."

'I'll see you tomorrow morning and I'll tell you which one stole my heart.'

"Okay. Goodbye, Noreen."

'See ya' later!'

Ending the call Lucas continued to dance the yarn about and watched as Magnus easily kept up with his sisters despite only having three functional legs. The little kitten was a prime example of being born with a challenge and overcoming it brilliantly. If a tiny helpless creature could beat the odds and survive the cruel world it was born into, then anyone who had been dealt a bad hand could still find a way to succeed and come out on top.

"You're a true fighter, Magnus."

Dragging the yarn over to the laundry basket Lucas watched as the kitten managed to climb up over the side and climb into the basket without any problems in pursuit of the taunting yarn.

"I know you and Gavin are meant to be friends."

Arriving at the house after their shift ended at six o'clock Connor remained very cooperative with Hank in regard to his decisions throughout the day. Never bringing up how Hank always put too much sugar and sweetener in his coffee or reprimanding him for choosing to eat a massive Philly-cheese steak sandwich for lunch, Connor just let the senior detective have the whole day to himself. As the two detectives passed through the front door Hank was met by Sumo, who was happy to see his masters, and the smell of steaks being grilled out on the back patio.

Knowing that Connor had done something when he wasn't looking Hank patted the deviant's shoulder and made his way through the livingroom and the kitchen to open up the backdoor. Spotting Lucas out back with two thick t-bone steaks on the grill made Hank grin with appreciation. "Hey, Lucas."

"Hello, Hank. Happy birthday."

"How long have ya' been out here?"

"Just over an hour. I already took Sumo for a walk and I gave him a treat to keep him from begging while I grill."

"Yeah, I love the mutt, but he's not getting one bite of those steaks!"

"Just so you know I'm using a special blend of spices that Aaron recommended me to use." Four steaks were simmering on the grill. Two looked a healthy charcoal brown while the other two were a dark blue. "It may not taste like any steak you've had before."

"I'm looking forward to it. Thanks, son."

Lucas's green eyes brightened up when he was referred to as 'son'. It was an endearing term and one he knew was special to Hank. "...You're welcome."

As Hank stepped back inside the house Connor stepped outside and joined his brother on the patio. The tomato plant was still growing a few ripe tomatoes and Connor decided to pluck them before the autumnal change killed the plant off. "I appreciate you coming out here just to cook dinner for Hank."

"I don't mind at all. I enjoy spending time with you and Hank. I wish I could do it more often."

Connor had an idea of what Lucas was gently hinting at in regard to Gavin moving out of the apartment, and he declined the offer. "It's good that Hank has company like this. He shouldn't be left alone."

"Yeah... I guess you're right about that."

"If you feel lonely after Gavin moves out of the apartment you can come over to visit us any time you wish."

"I know that." Turning over the four steaks to ensure even cooking Lucas gave Connor his full attention. "And I appreciate that. It's just more convenient to return to my apartment and know that I will have company in the evenings or throughout the day. Maybe I'll seek a new roommate after a few weeks have passed, and I know that Gavin and Aaron are comfortable together in Aaron's apartment."

"Do you get lonely often?"

"No, only on the rare occasion. Do you?"

"I prefer being in the company of other people, but there are times where I need to be alone to think."

"I understand that."

The backdoor opened up again and Hank called out to the two deviants. "Hey, Lucas, are you two going to have dinner tonight, too?"

"Yes. I managed to procure to slices of Thirium-based steak. The meat is artificial but it's supposed to taste exactly like an organic steak."

"Uh... I'll take your word for it. Why don't you come inside for a moment? Steaks don't need to be watched every second that they're cooking."

"Very well. I can keep track of their current temperature cybernetically."

Setting the grilling utensils aside Lucas and Connor returned to the house through the backdoor and joined Hank in the kitchen. While Connor washed up the tomatoes in the kitchen sink Lucas observed Hank popping a few aspirin into his mouth to stave off his headache. The deviant could tell that Hank was struggling to not cave to the foul mood he wanted to be in because of his birthday, and decided to offer some form of distraction.

"Is there a game on tonight, Hank?"

"Not tonight." Swallowing the pills with a gulp of water Hank gave Lucas a vaguely disappointed glance. "It'll be a few more weeks until the next season starts."

"What about an interesting movie? Anything worth watching coming on tonight?"

"Not that I know of." Crossing his arms over his chest Hank gave Lucas a studious glance as he walked into the livingroom. "Lucas, are you asking if you can stay over again?"

"Actually, I can't. I need to return to the apartment tonight to ensure the kittens didn't eat all their food or spill their water bowl." Shrugging his shoulders casually Lucas gave Hank an honest answer. "I just wanted to see if you were interested in spending a few hours together before I had to leave for the night."

"How about I find a weird-ass movie from yesteryear, and we can eat dinner in here?" Pointing to the couch and coffee table Hank plopped down on his back over the furniture to rest for a moment. "We'll just keep Sumo in the kitchen so he doesn't beg."

"That sounds like a nice idea."

From the kitchen Connor agreed and proceeded to slice up the tomatoes to put in a small salad. He wasn't going to criticize Hank's dietary choices for the day since it was the senior detective's birthday, but he wasn't going to miss out on the chance to get him to eat something healthier before the day was over.

"I'm going to check the steaks." Lucas announced as he went outside again through the backdoor. "I know they won't burn, but it's best to ensure they are being cooked evenly and thoroughly."

Without saying a word Connor resumed making the salad with the fresh tomato scattered through the cool, fresh green lettuce leaves. Contemplating the way Lucas was dealing with his own changes in his personal life Connor began wondering if it'd be safe for him to leave the house and live on his own in the near future. He didn't want to leave Hank alone while the man was still overcoming his own depression, and he didn't want to risk the ire of the deviant community that still didn't trust him.

"Hey, Hank?" Finishing up the salad with slices of onion, olives and few cucumber slices Connor went to speak with his friend in the livingroom. "Do you think it'd be possible to expand on the house?"

"...Expand the house?"

"You stated before you wanted to set up a small area to be a personal gym, so why not add onto the house and create additional rooms?"

"I can understand wanting to add ONE room for a gym, but why two?"

"...Maybe create a guest room. After all, Lucas sleeps on the couch when he visits and I know that he'd be more comfortable in a guest room."

Hank's blue eyes gave away that he like the idea of having an extra space for the deviant but reality soon set in. "That'd be great, kid. But you need to go through the city to get the plans approved, contractors, inspections AND a shit-ton of money for such an expansion project."

"I could put up the money. I managed to get a good deal on my motorcycle and I was going to save the money that has been leftover to look for my own residence. Perhaps it'd be best to remain here for a while longer until the tensions between humans and deviants dies down, then I can move in to any apartment or buy any house that I want without needing to worry about disagreeable neighbors."

"It's your money, son." Rubbing his hand along Sumo's ears Hank stated key and logical points. "I can't ask you to spend it on my house."

"I volunteered my finances. I want to do this so that it'll be easier to have friends and family visit."

The way Connor said 'family' immediately held Hank's attention. The deviant was now aware of how he and Lucas as brothers was a true familial bond. "All right, if you want to go through all the bullshit red tape to get the approval and hire the right people to work on the house, then... knock yourself out."

"You approve?"

"I do, but it's up to you to get the city to approve, too."

"Thank you, Hank."

"You're welcome."

The backdoor opened up and Lucas returned to the kitchen with four perfectly cooked steaks on a plate. Two of the steaks were for Hank since it was his birthday, while the other two were to be split between Connor and himself. Setting the plate down Lucas called out to the two detectives in the livingroom to let them know dinner was ready. "The steaks are finished."

"Great timing, Lucas." Standing up from the couch Hank patted Connor's shoulder and smirked as Sumo barrelled into the kitchen as the smell of the grilled steaks was too much for the dog to resist. "Let's have a nice family dinner."

-next chapter-