Title: Happy Birthday to Me

Fandom: [K], Project K

Characters: Totsuka Tatara, Kushina Anna, cameo by Yata Misaki

Disclaimer: [K] does not belong to me, nor do I make any profit out of this work.

Warnings: unbeta-ed, grammar errors ahoy, possible OOC-ness. Speed writing, woot!

A/N: Written in the late, late hours of February 14th 2013. I had four minutes before February 14th ends, here's the real birthday fic, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOTSUKA TATARA.

A [K] Project Fanfiction

Happy Birthday to Me

Tatara thinks this was the cutest thing he's ever seen.

"What are you doing?"

Anna looks up at him, silent and expectant, but her hands are moving, up-down-sideways; her lips making a tighter line as Tatara stares longer, uncomprehending.

"Anna?" He kneels so she can stop looking up, and her lips start curving in a subtle pout. Tatara feels bad because he still can't understand what Anna's trying to tell him by moving her hands like an orchestra meister, but he can't help the chuckle slipping out of his lips at the sight because yes, it's really cute.

Anna stops her movements and clutches her skirt, hesitant.

"What are you doing?" Tatara repeats, and stifles his laughter when Anna throws him an annoyed look. "No, really, I don't understand what those mean. Sign language? Though I think sign language involves more movements than just moving your hands up and down and sideways."

He wishes Anna would speak more to him. It's been months since the events at the facility, and while Anna is slowly opening herself to HOMRA members, she still doesn't talk much. Sometimes Tatara wonders if it's mere stubbornness of her not to talk, because when she does talk she seems fine and Tatara loves the sound of her voice. It'd be nice if he can make her talk more often, and maybe laugh, but everything starts with small steps, right? He shouldn't force her.

"Totsuka-san!" there's a holler from the bar, excitement and urgency lining the voice. "Come here, quick! We got you a cake!"

Oh, so that's what Yata's been doing out and missing lunch. Tatara feels his lips twitching up into a smile, amused and fond, then calls back with a simple "okay!" before turning back to Anna and says, "should we go now, Anna?"

To his surprise, Anna looks down and folds herself back.

For a second, he panics, because Anna hasn't been closing herself from him since they got back from the facility, and now he isn't even sure what he's said wrong, but Anna is drawing away and he hastily grabs her hands. "Doesn't Anna like sweets?" he tries, covering his slip with a tight smile. "Don't you want to try the cake?"

Then his eyes catch Anna's, and—oh.

She's sulking. The childish type of sulking, because her lower lip is trembling faintly in disappointment and she's frowning ever-so-slightly, and the sight is so normal that even Tatara has to fumble for a reaction.

He settles for a pleading look. "Are you mad?"

Anna shakes her head.

He smiles. "It's okay if you're mad, Anna," he pauses, searches her eyes and wonders if Anna remembers the color of his own. "Do you want to tell me why?"

"Totsuka-saaaan!" Yata's voice is louder now, impatient. "Come on, it's your birthday, we can't start without you!"

A small hand covers Tatara's hand, and Tatara looks up to a determined eyes now. Anna opens her mouth, closes it again, swallows, and opens it again to say, "your birthday."

"Huh?"

She steps back, moves her hands up and looks straight at him.

"Sing."

"Huh?" Tatara says, but Anna's moving her hands again, this time slower. Down, sideways, then up. Down, sideways, and up. And then it hits Tatara, because oh, he's dumb. Anna is moving her hands like an orchestra meister, because that's what she's doing.

He grins, wide and free and relieved, and begins, "Happy birthday to me."

The look in Anna's eyes brightens.

"Happy birthday to me," he continues, wishes that he can record this because this is unbearably cute and thoughtful of Anna, and he wants so badly to etch it into something tangible, to freeze the memory into something he can touch, he can see over and over and over again. "Happy birthday, dear Tatara…"

He thinks he sees the corner of Anna's lips twitch up in an aborted smile.

And really, that's enough of a birthday present, isn't it?

"Happy birthday to me."

He should buy a video camera.

—-o0ofinitoo0o—-