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Shino stares in misery at the mess before him. The kitchen, once clean and organized, is now a chocolate-and-raspberry mess. The counter is covered in smears of flour, sugar, and cake batter. String-trails of egg flow towards the sink, the shells discarded near the drain. The sugar-sweet smell of a baking cake that should be hanging in the air is instead replaced by a slight burning smell, regardless that he’d opened the window almost ten minutes before.
Hamaji stands next to him, arms crossed and expression uncharacteristically blank. “So,” She starts slowly. “How did this happen?”
Shino shifts, not sure where to even start. “I tried to follow the recipe.”
“This is you trying?”
“You know I’m not a good cook.”
“I guess you’re not a good baker either,” Hamaji inhales, glancing around the kitchen. “You’re lucky I have a day off. I swear Kaname was going to cry when I told him I was spending it over here.”
Shino does feel a little bad about that. Hamaji’s schedule is so busy now that she’s in medical school she rarely has time to see her fiancé, and they live together. He wonders if he should have extended the plea for help to Kaname as well, but he also feels like Kaname would only make fun of him.
“Why didn’t you just buy a cake if you knew things would turn out this bad?”
“I didn’t know things would turn out this bad,” Shino mutters. “And…it’s their birthday. I wanted it to matter.”
Hanaji nods, taking another moment to survey the scene. “Alright. How long before they get home?”
“Sou said they’re coming in late, so.” Shino pauses. “A few hours, maybe.”
“Okay. Here’s the plan. I’m going to make your cake, and you’re going to clean all this up.” Hamaji gestures around the kitchen. “You can pour it in the pan. Hopefully that won’t be too hard for you,” She teases.
“I can do that,” He grumbles.
“Get cleaning, then.” Hamaji claps her hands. “And let’s see what we can do.”
-
It takes Shino two hours to get everything looking the way it had before his personal disaster had struck. Hamaji had stayed until the cake was done and decorated – something she hadn’t allowed him to try after he almost popped the pipet with how much frosting he’d stuffed inside – but now he was alone, waiting around the living room in a fresh change of clothes for the twins to come home. He knows they aren’t supposed to be back until that evening, but sometimes they come back early, and it is their birthday.
He picks up a few pairs of stray clothes. He rearranges the pillows on the couch. He even organizes their collection of movies and television shows. That kills another hour, but Shino is getting restless. He puts a glass cover over the cake – he’s surprised they even own something like that – and puts away the plates and silverware. He takes a bath. He changes clothes again. He flips through a book for a few minutes. Ultimately, boredom wins.
He flops back on the couch, throwing his legs over the arm and groaning. He really needs to find something to do with his days. It was becoming increasingly common for the boys to have work on the same day, when before at least their schedule had been staggered so Shino wasn’t alone all the time. He’d tried to find a decent job, but most places he applied to didn’t believe he wasn’t a little kid thanks to his height and admittedly soft features.
Shino shifts around, reaching for the small music player he keeps on the coffee table. He switches it on and settles back on the cushions, allowing the sound of strings and percussion to fill up the room. It’s easy to let himself drift with the music. He closes his eyes and taps his feet against the air, letting the world fade around him.
He’s not sure how long he lays there; time almost blurs and shifts around him. He can hear the key turn in the lock, and the door opening. He swings himself up, hanging half-way off the arm as the two men walk in.
Sousuke notices him first, blinking once in surprise before his expression softens to a smile. “Shino. We-”
“Happy birthday,” Shino blurts before Sousuke can finish. He’s been waiting all day to say it, so he doesn’t feel so bad. “Both of you. Happy birthday.”
Sousuke and Ao stare at him for a moment before twin smiles – and it’s a rare one from Ao – settle on their respective lips.
“Thank you, Shino,” Sousuke says as Ao toes off his boots and waltzes around the couch to flop on the cushion beside him.
Ao reaches out, pulling Shino flush against his side. “Missed us?”
“You always ask that,” Shino grumbles as Sousuke sits in the space that Ao had pulled him away from. “I always say yes.”
“I like to hear you say yes,” Ao says. “That’s why I ask.”
Shino rolls his eyes, settling his feet in Sousuke’s lap. “I made a cake for you.”
Sousuke blinks. “You made a cake?”
“….Hamaji made a cake, but I tried.”
Ao laughs as Sousuke smiles.
“So you didn’t really get us a present then, did you?” Ao muses.
“I tried.”
Ao hums, ducking his head to murmur in Shino’s ear. “I have an idea of what you could give us instead.”
Shino means to bristle, but instead he shivers. “Pervert.”
“Actually,” Sousuke wraps his fingers around one of Shino’s ankles. “I think Ao’s idea is…viable.”
Shino blinks, cheeks flushing. Ao presses closer, trailing his hand across Shino’s stomach. “What do you think, Shino? Can you go twice tonight?”
Shino squirms, realizing it’s a bit futile with Sousuke holding his legs and Ao securing his waist. “I-”
Sousuke smiles at him, bright and patient. “May we?”
Shino bites his lip, “Can we…here?”
Ao chuckles, pressing a kiss to his collarbone. Sousuke moves, leaning forward to kiss his mouth. “We can.”
“Then…” Shino inhales slowly. “Happy Birthday.”