Happy Birthday, Atsushi.

Birthday Surprises

"Shut up, Gin", Akutagawa grumbled as they sifted through racks and shelves of clothing. They had been roaming around the store for at least an hour by now, and Akutagawa was growing tired of Gin's commentary on how long it was taking her brother to pick out a gift for a special someone's birthday. "I'll shut up when you finally pick something", she said while rolling her eyes dramatically. She secretly thought it was rather adorable, seeing her brother take such care when picking out a gift for his boyfriend, Atsushi. She was mostly there to give him a hard time though. "What about this, Ryuu?" Gin asked with a smirk on her face. Akutagawa turned his head and immediately Gin could see the pink tint flushing his cheeks. In Gin's hand was a pair of women's thigh-high socks that had been haphazardly tossed in with the men's clothing by some other shopper. Akutagawa whipped his head around in embarrassment so he was facing away from his sister. "I will not hesitate to kill you right here." Akutagawa mumbled in a tone that let Gin know he was only mostly serious. She took that as a sign to tease him further. "What, Ryuu? You're telling me you don't want to see Atsushi in these?" She said with a sly tone in her voice. She raised her eyebrows in mock surprise, "Or maybe you want to wear th-". Before she could finish her sentence, a t-shirt came flying at her face from across the table of clothing with enough force to have knocked her over if it were anything heavier than a ball of fabric. Akutagawa had crimson patches dusting his cheeks as he glared heavily at his sister. "Go home, Gin." he said bluntly. She feigned sadness as she flattened out the shirt her brother had launched at her head. "You don't have to be so uptight, Ryuu. It was only a joke." As she smoothed out the shirt, it caught Akutagawa's eye for the first time, he had thrown it without paying much attention to it's design the first time. "Give me the shirt back," he replied in a tone that failed to sound uninterested. Gin decided she had teased her brother enough for right now and tossed the shirt back without a response. She was used to her brother's lack of manners, anyway. Akutagawa caught the shirt effortlessly and upon further inspection gave a satisfied nod and turned to leave without saying anything to the girl across from him. Gin shrugged and decided she would go find the original location of the socks she teased Akutagawa with earlier. Unlike her brother, she enjoyed the idea of wearing such cute socks.

Akutagawa roamed to another section of the store he and his sister had visited to find a gift bag for Atsushi's birthday present. As he was scanning the isle for Atsushi's favorite color, he felt a vibration in his pocket. Akutagawa tried to stifle a smile when he saw the screen.

Jinko: Will I see you tonight, Ryuunosuke?

Akutagawa felt his cheeks grow warm at the sight of Atsushi using his first name, he was still getting used to that. He quickly typed a reply, his gift for his boyfriend draped over his arm.

"Of course, my love. It's your birthday. I hope you like your gift."

A purple gift bag with a small yellow ribbon caught Akutagawa's eye as he looked up from his phone screen. His expression soft as he thought about how it reminded him of Atsushi's eyes. Feeling satisfied with his choices, he went to find Gin so they could leave. As he turned to leave the isle Akutagawa felt a vibration in his hand and stopped to read his text.

Jinko: Of course I will love it, it came from you. <3

Akutagawa's stomach felt fluttery and he stood there for a moment, lost in thoughts. He couldn't remember the last time someone other than his sister had cared for him so much.

——

Later that night, Akutagawa found himself standing outside of the apartment door that stood between him and the birthday boy. He had been standing there for a few minutes, trying to calm his nerves. He mentally scolded himself for being so nervous in the first place. He took a deep breath and lightly knocked on the door. "Coming!" he heard ring from inside the apartment. His heart seemed to skip a beat at the melodic sound of Atsushi's voice. Moments later the door swung open and Akutagawa was met with a smiling Atsushi. "You're here!" The slightly shorter boy exclaimed. Before Akutagawa could respond, his boyfriend grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him through the doorway and into a hug, almost causing the taller boy to drop the birthday cupcake he had seen in a store window on his way over. However, he quickly regained his balance and moved slightly to set the gifts down on the table nearby. Once his hands were free he returned Atsushi's hug, a smile tugging at his lips. "Sorry I'm a little late, I saw that on my way here and thought you deserved it. To celebrate." Akutagawa said softly as he motioned to the cupcake sitting next to them. A small smile crept across Atsushi's face in response, a slight mischievous grin dancing at the corners of his mouth. he turned his head back to face the taller boy again, "I think since it's my birthday and you were late I should get one more gift." Atsushi said in a silky sweet tone. "Oh, I- I can go to the store or get another cupcake or-" Akutagawa was cut off mid sentence by Atsushi's soft laughter. "What's so funny, Jinko?" Akutagawa asked a little more defensively than he meant to. "Nothing, you're just cute." Atsushi hummed in response. Akutagawa's cheeks burned at the compliment and he looked at his feet to hide his embarrassment. Atsushi placed his fingers gently under Akutagwa's chin, lifting his boyfriend's eyes to meet his own. "This was all I wanted, Ryuu." Atsushi spoke softly before lightly placing his lips onto his boyfriend's. Akutagawa stiffened slightly for a moment in shock before relaxing, he placed his hand on Atsushi's cheek gently and returned the smaller boy's kiss.

——

"Happy birthday, Jinko" Akutagawa said in a loving tone reserved only for Atsushi as he placed the cupcake in front of him. "Don't move, okay?" Akutagawa instructed as he turned off the lights and used the moonlight shining in from the windows to fin his way back to Atsushi at the table. He carefully lit the single candle on top of the cupcake before stepping back, proud of his work. "Make a wish, my love." Atsushi was uncertain for a moment, he seemed to have anything he could want right now. He thought for a moment before blowing out the candle with a satisfied smile creeping onto his face. "Did you make a wish?" Asked the taller boy, who had been watching Atsushi from across the counter happily. "Yes, I did. I can not tell you though. Or it won't come true!" Atsushi said with a tone childlike finality. Akutagawa thought he was adorable. Suddenly Akutagawa was brought back from his thoughts by the feeling of something cold on his nose. "Gotcha!" Atsushi excitedly yelled. He had scooped some of the icing from the cupcake on his finger and smudged it onto his boyfriend's nose. "Jinko!" Akutagawa shouted in mock anger before they both erupted into laughter. Atsushi took a moment to appreciate the beautiful sound of his boyfriend's laugh. It was not something many people heard, and Atsushi felt lucky to experience it. Once both the boys had caught their breathes, and Atsushi had helped his boyfriend clean his face, Akutagawa handed Atsushi the purple gift bag. "I found this while shopping with Gin and it made me think of you and I thought you would like it..." Akutagawa rambled on, obviously becoming more unsure of himself and embarrassed the more he spoke about his feelings. His cheeks tinted the perfect light shade of pink that Atsushi just wanted to kiss. "I'm sure I will love it, Ryuu. I would love anything you picked out for me." Atsushi said confidently. He had truly believed that too, that is until he pulled the t-shirt out the tissue paper in the bag. He unfolded it slowly to reveal a generic printed tiger design on the front. It was very cliche and Atsushi had to contain his laughter. He was holding it up in front of him, taking extra care to examine the design. In reality, he was giving himself time to compose his giggles in an effort to to hurt his boyfriend's feelings. Atsushi thought the shirt was sweet but it was definitely not his style. "Well, do you like it, Atsushi?" He heard Akutagawa say in a hopeful tone from the other side of the shirt. Atsushi dropped his arms so he held the shirt in his lap. "I love it Ryuu, it's a very sweet gift. Thank you so much." Atsushi said, a small giggle tugging at the corners of his mouth. Akutagawa smiled in response, and Atsushi was breathless at the sight of the beautiful boy in front of him. Atsushi watched his boyfriend smile to himself, obviously proud of his gift choice. The smaller boy's face was soft as the taller boy looked over to him. Akutagawa whipped his head down to hide the blush in his cheeks when he noticed Atsushi watching him. "What are you staring at Jinko?" Akutagawa mumbled. Atsushi rose from his seat at the table and glided over to his boyfriend, snaking his arms around the taller boy's waist. "I'm looking at my beautiful boyfriend," Atsushi hummed into Akutagaw's neck, leaving a small kiss above his collarbone before pulling away slightly and looking into his boyfriend's eyes. "I love you, Ryuu. Thank you for my birthday gift." Akutagawa's face turned the brightest shade of crimson they'd been yer at the sound of the grey haired boy's words. He stumbled on his words in his brain before managing to get out an "I love you too, Atsushi." Atsushi rested his head in the crook of his boyfriend's neck, smiling contently. Akutagawa brought one of his hands up to Atsushi's head and gently smoothed out his hair in a loving motion. These were the soft moments they both longed for after lifetimes of pain and sadness. Atsushi was sure his wish would come true, he thought to himself as he and his boyfriend stood holding each other in the moonlight.