Espresso Cookie/Espresseleine Oneshots

Oneshot 17 || Angst + Fluff

E + L's age: 9

"Espresso..?" Latte whispered as she stepped into the bedroom. "Are you in here?" She glanced around the room, turning on the light.

Espresso was sitting in the corner of the room, quietly sniffling as he hid his face. His body was shaking.

Her eyes widened, and she hurried over to him, plopping down next to him. "Don't cry. It's okay."

He shook his head, wiping the tears from his face.

"What's wrong?" She asked, a frown creeping onto her face. She hated seeing Espresso sad like this. "...Is it cause Mother and Father forgot it was your birthday?"

A sob escaped from Espresso's lips as he pulled his legs closer to his shaking body, trying to take up as little space as possible. "I was so excited... I was gonna have the best ninth birthday ever. I was gonna have yummy cake and fun presents," He sobbed. "But they pretended I didn't even exist!"

Latte rubbed his back, trying to comfort him.

"They celebrated your birthday today, though." He sniffled, rubbing his eyes. "How do they even pretend I didn't have a birthday today? We have the same birthday..!"

Latte shrugged.

"It's not fair. It's not fair! You got all the stupid cake and all the stupid presents." He scowled, wiping the tears off his face.

"Maybe you should go tell them that it's your birthday and you're sad they forgot," Latte suggested. "They might give you some cake too!"

"They didn't forget," He said bitterly. "They knew. They knew and they chose not to celebrate it."

"Oh," Latte said, frowning. "Well... Maybe you should tell them anyway! I'm sure they'll give you some cake."

He looked at her. "You think they will..?"

She nodded.

A shaky sigh exited Espresso's lips. "Okay." He stood up. "I'll go tell them."

Latte grinned as she gave him a thumbs up. "I bet you'll get a lot of cake!"

He smiled, stepping out of his bedroom. He walked down the stairs, trying to calm his nerves. He was kind of nervous about telling his parents that they had chosen to ignore him on his birthday. Sometimes, his parents' mood could be unexpected. He didn't want to make them mad.

Then they'd yell at him.

He made it to the bottom of the stairs, listening to his parents' voices. They didn't sound like they were in a bad mood, so maybe they wouldn't yell at him. He cautiously stepped into the kitchen, glancing up at his parents.

His parents stopped their conversation and looked down at him. Espresso shivered at the expression on their faces. They looked angry just to see him. "What do you want, Espresso?" Father asked, crossing his arms.

"I-I, uh... You..." He stammered. "Today's my birthday."

They looked at each other, staying silent until Father rolled his eyes. "Yes, it is."

He nodded. "Did you forget..?"

"Forget?" Mother asked. "How the hell would we forget? I birthed you minutes after Latte, how the hell could I forget?!" Her voice raised as she stepped towards him threateningly.

Espresso backed away, his eyes wide. "I'm sorry. You're right. But... Why didn't you even talk to me today..?"

A scoff came from Father. "You don't deserve a birthday. Why would we spend money on cake and presents and decorations on you? That's such a waste of valuable time and money."