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Niou starts off the morning of March 5th by tossing a plastic bag onto Yukimura's lap.
"What's this?" Yukimura asks, picking it up and squinting at it. The bag is light and the shapes inside seem like ordinary boxes, but Yukimura is automatically suspicious of anything Niou throws at anyone.
Niou seems amused.
"It's not a dead animal this time," he says. "I forgot what the date was 'til I looked at my phone, and by then I only had time to stop by the convenience store, so that's what you're getting."
Yukimura looks into the bag to find an assortment of strangely-flavoured KitKats.
"Thanks?"
"You can pawn them off on somebody else if you want," Niou offers. "As I said, I just picked them up this morning. I won't be offended."
Yukimura sorts through them idly, "You know, as far as birthday gifts go, I'd have preferred something like a promise to actually do all your laps today."
Niou grins, "Well, we can't have everything we want, can we?"
Yukimura sighs, "Go get changed."
Niou mock-salutes, "Yes, sir. Also, happy birthday."
---
When Jackal calls Yukimura over during morning practice, Yukimura briefly thinks it is something serious.
"So, buchou, it's your birthday today, right?"
Yukimura tries not to huff when he answers, "Yes. Can't this wait until after practice?"
Jackal's eyes go wide, "Oh, uh, well, sorry if you don't like talking about it-"
Yukimura sighs, "No, go on, I just thought it was tennis-related."
Jackal calms down.
"Well, okay, sorry about that, just wanted to say that if you wanna bring the team over for noodles anytime soon it can be all on the house."
Jackal's father hates giving out free meals. Jackal must have pulled quite a few strings to get the offer.
Yukimura manages a genuine smile, "Thanks."
Jackal scratches at the back of his neck, "No problem."
Yukimura walks off a bit happily at the promise of free good food and Jackal calls out after him.
"Happy birthday, by the way!"
---
Yagyuu catches Yukimura while he's saying goodbye to Sanada before classes.
"It's not much," he says, handing Yukimura a packet of seeds, "but I saw the beautification committee put in a request for these and nobody was paying attention to it."
"How considerate of you," more considerate than his doubles partner, at any rate. Yukimura accepts the packet and stuffs it in his bag for now, "Thank you."
Yagyuu adjusts his glasses, expression unreadable.
"You're welcome. Happy birthday, Yukimura-kun."
---
Marui walks over while Yukimura's eating lunch and deposits an entire cake in front of him.
He looks a little breathless.
Yukimura laughs, "This thing can't be that heavy."
Marui glares, "Hey! Even a genius like me has trouble dodging people trying to grab at it in the hallways. You should ignore that I'm breathing heavily and start being in awe of my baking skills."
"Aah, but as your tennis captain, I think I should be taking note of your physical condition too. You're going to be running lots of laps today."
"Meanie," Marui sticks his tongue out at him.
"Anyways," Yukimura pokes at the plastic wrap around the cake, "am I supposed to share this or eat the whole thing? Because I'm not carrying it home with me."
"That's up to you. You should probably share, though. You don't have my prodigious stomach."
"Nobody does, Marui."
Marui sighs, "Just get Sanada to carry it home for you or something."
That sounds like an ideal solution.
Marui turns around, "Anyways, I'd love to stick around but my classmates must be missing me by now."
"Oh, I'm sure."
Marui sticks out his tongue again, "They do! See you at practice. Happy birthday."
---
Kirihara drew Yukimura a card.
He shoves it into Yukimura's hands while he's leaving the clubroom after changing. His face is completely red without the usual white hair to match.
Yukimura smiles after Kirihara while Sanada looks at the paper curiously.
"He's so cute, getting embarrassed like that, " Yukimura comments, examining the awful pen drawing of himself with a party hat on the front.
Sanada frowns, "If the rest of the card looks like that, he has reason to be."
Inside the card, Kirihara has taped two thousand yen notes and written a short message.
"i coudnt think of anything and asking yanagi-senpai wat you wanted felt like cheaping. youre the best this year but ill definitely defeet you soon!"
Sanada reads it over Yukimura's shoulder.
"Tarundoru," he mutters.
Yukimura grins widely, trying his best not to laugh.
"It's Akaya's best work yet. I'm going to hang it on the fridge."
The most neatly-printed part of the card is the "Happy Birthday," but even that is on the back for some reason.
---
Yanagi waits outside the clubroom once practice ends.
As Yukimura exits with Sanada carrying Marui's cake behind him, Yanagi holds up a plain paper gift bag.
Yukimura smiles, "Waiting for the least obtrusive time to give me that?"
"Of course. You can even open it alongside your other gifts at home if you so please."
"I know what it's going to be, anyways," Yukimura points out.
"You give me a poetry anthology every year," is what you were going to say."
Yukimura rolls his eyes, "Well, you do."
Yanagi shrugs, "Giving you a poetry anthology has had a one hundred percent rate of pleasing you so far."
"Let's hope this year continues the pattern."
Yukimura takes the bag.
"Well, with that I'll be leaving," Yanagi announces, sparing a glance for Sanada trying to maneuver around the door so it doesn't squish the cake. "Goodbye, Genichirou."
Sanada grunts in acknowledgement and Yukimura moves to open the door fully for him.
Yanagi gives the pair a small smile.
"And happy birthday to you, Seiichi."
---
Sanada attends the yearly Seiichi Birthday Dinner at the Yukimura household, as he always does.
They have a full dinner of grilled fish with countless side dishes, chat amicably with his parents and sister, eat Marui's cake, go through all of Yukimura's family presents, and then finally Yukimura brings Sanada up to his room.
Sanada brings his school bag along with him.
Yukimura raises an eyebrow, smiling, "Doing homework tonight, are we?"
Sanada huffs, "You know what I brought it up for."
He extracts a rectangular package from the bag, handing it to Yukimura with both hands and his head bowed.
Yukimura takes it without a word, too interested in the contents to bug Sanada about his formality right now.
Everybody else's gifts are good, but Sanada's are always the best and he managed to keep it a secret this year.
In spite of his curiosity, Yukimura unwraps the package slowly, eyes flicking up to watch Sanada's expression, and then slides the contents out of its wrappings carefully.
In front of him now is a brand new sketchbook, exactly the size and brand that he likes best.
Yukimura smiles down at it immediately.
Sanada coughs.
"There's something on the inside cover."
Yukimura opens it obligingly.
Sanada was written "Yukimura Seiichi" in his finest calligraphy.
Yukimura smiles fondly up at Sanada this time.
"Thank you very much. It's lovely."
Sanada blushes and adjusts his hat over his eyes.
"You mentioned you were almost finished your current one."
Yukimura wants to see Sanada's face, so he puts his new sketchbook down on his bed walks right up to him, pushing the brim of his cap up with a single finger.
"And it was very thoughtful of you to remember."
Sanada is avoiding eye contact, but at this distance he's just staring at Yukimura's mouth.
"I pay very close attention to what you say you want," he says, quietly, possibly flushing even more red.
Yukimura removes his hat entirely. Sanada doesn't reach for it even though it's easy to reach, right by Yukimura's side.
"Then can I tell you what else I want?"
Yukimura cups Sanada's face.
Sanada finally makes eye contact.
He smiles slightly.
"I think I understand already."
Yukimura grins, "Good."
Yukimura doesn't have to wait another second before Sanada leans forward to kiss him.
He pulls back, though, and takes his hat out of Yukimura's hands when he does.
Yukimura pouts, "Rude. I wanted more kisses than that."
Sanada looks down at the ground, then back to Yukimura.
"If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to exchange a few more words with you first."
"That depends on what kind of words you mean."
Sanada takes a breath, steeling himself for something, and places both his hands on Yukimura's shoulders.
"Yukimura Seiichi, I love you. As such, on this day, I would like to thank you for being born."
Yukimura is the one blushing this time.
"You're so sappy," he says, smiling uncontrollably.
Sanada smiles back, and Yukimura drags him down for another kiss.
(Later, Sanada murmurs a more usual "happy birthday" in his ear.)