Archive of Our Own

"Do you really think he'll like this?"

"I fucking KNOW he'll love it. Especially with your twink ass helping me out."

"I... I don't know how to respond to that."

"Good."

Well, if there's one thing that Daniel can say that he'd never expected to be doing, it's helping a sixteen year old bake a cake for someone's birthday. Not just 'someone', even. Pretty much his effectual landlord's.

Last he checked, it was around one o'clock in the evening on a Thursday. March. The first of it, to be exact. He hadn't exactly been made aware of it being David's birth date, but then again, he'd never thought to even ask.
He didn't work today, luckily enough for Max. The kid's typical antisocial hateful nature had done a complete 180 for the occasion, and before Daniel knew it, he was being dragged along for the ride.

They'd started decorating the house at eleven. Hanging streamers up, blowing up balloons, choosing party hats- you name it. All of it had been a blur, and Max's strange insistence in him being involved in the first place was just making everything worse.

Daniel wouldn't really consider himself to be a complicated person. Aside from his evident mental issues, of course, but he refuses to think about that right now. Not when Max is thoroughly explaining how to make cake batter in a way that very much so reminded him of a gruff yet patient teacher.

No, he was a simple guy. Most people seemed to think of him as an enigma of some sort, though, and it could be amusing at best. Confusing at worst. Whenever he was in casual conversation, be it with people he knows or complete strangers, people had the tendency to flinch away from him. To stare.

To be unnerved.

Now, Daniel would be lying if he said he didn't find it.. satisfying. Was that the word? He couldn't be sure, but it felt right. He found being intimidating to be a rather satisfying experience.
However, what he didn't find satisfying was being out of his element. Being put into a completely alien situation and expected to already know what he was doing and why he was doing it.

It happened all the time back at the compound. Being placed into vague meetings. Talking to strange people and asked personal questions.

'How are you feeling now? What are you thinking about now? How do you feel about your family? Is your relationship with Our Lord well and untroubled?'

It happened even more so now that he'd left and cut off his affiliations with the society. Except, this time it's different.

This time it was all his choice.

He had wanted to be in this alien place. He had wanted to be an abnormality. He had craved the freedom and the ability to explore and invent and create.
The outside world so far has been nothing like the sterile clean compound.

White walls, white floors, white buildings, white clothes. Pristine, perfect, good, pure.

These thoughts, all of them, flooded into his head without his say-so. It was... alarming, to say the least, but something he'd grown used to. Thoughts that were not his own finding their way into his head as if on autopilot in some way was commonplace.

Unfortunately, it was also distracting. It made it so hard to focus whenever he was placed into a new situation and overloaded with new information.

Xemüg doesn't change. Why should his followers?

"-with the eggs. Honestly, Freakshow, haven't you ever fucking-"

Max's voice filtered in and out as if Daniel's head was being submerged in water. With a jolt that he masterfully suppressed, he understood then why everything had gone by in such a blur. Why he'd simply gone ahead with any and all of Max's odd instructions without question.

'Birthdays' are... Well, they're an oddity. Unheard of, really. At least back home they are. They're unnecessary and they single out a single person for no good reason.
He's familiar with saying 'happy birthday'. He's done it before.

Planning a party, hanging up streamers, and baking a cake pretty much out of the blue? He'd much preferred having been asked to disassemble a computer.

Getting fed up with himself, Daniel shook his head to block out the 'static'. It's what he'd grown to call these unwanted thoughts and meaningless conversations he often had with himself.

His peripheral vision had gone shot- everything around him had become blobs of color and occasional sound. For the while, it helped him focus on the task at hand; which was mixing something into a bowl.
He couldn't recall for how long he'd been 'listening' to Max and helping mix the batter, but from the ache in his hands, it was likely almost finished.

"-then. I was thinking chocolate, since he liked it last year. I also don't wanna be an unoriginal hack, though. I dunno, what do you think?"

"What," Daniel had to pause and swallow the bile rising in his throat. His voice came out much too stiff for liking, and it had bothered him a great amount. "What do you think is best, Max?"

Agh, it's no use. He's so beyond lost now that if he starts asking questions he'll just get dragged further into this mess. However, letting himself fall into the steady calm of following someone else's commands could help him avoid that.

Help him avoid needing to be mentally present so he can stop feeling so... fuzzy.

But.. On the other hand... Thaaaat's kind of something he's been trying to stop doing.

Realizing he needed to quickly make a decision, Daniel ignored the scornful voice in the back of his head and chose to default.

"I fucking asked you for a reason, dipshit," Max retorted with grimace. "You've been more weird and more quiet than usual, so the least you could fucking do is tell me what flavor to make the cake. I guess. Fuck, I dunno, just trying to be 'nice'."

'Right. And that's what's making me kind of uncomfortable', he wanted to say. He didn't.

"Well, I was just using logic and following your lead, Max. You know more about this ritual than I do. I assumed you would know best. That, and David is your father. I don't know his likes and dislikes that well."

"Jesus. Could you sound any more like a fucking robot? And... And did you just fucking call a birthday party a goddamn 'ritual'??? The fuck??"

Worried that he'd done something wrong, (even though he currently held no care whatsoever for this 'party') Daniel turned his head to look to Max. Ready to explain himself. Or, ready to put up walls and lie through his teeth just to get the kid off his back about this. About all of it.

Which one would benefit him best in a situation that has only been 'do this, do that, of course we need this' with no rhyme or reason?

Well, no... No, he understood the reason behind all of this. To make David happy. Obviously all of the bright colors and the cake were to emulate fun and excitement. He got that part, but overall, he couldn't shake the feeling of all of this being just so tedious, and...

His eyes trailed over to a nearby balloon with a crude face drawn onto it with permanent marker. Things were still shifting their focus, and admittedly he did have a mild headache, but he was slowly beginning to.. 'calm down'. Was that the phrase? Hmm...

"W-Well..." He hadn't wanted to stammer like that. "I-I just don't know what you're expecting of me here, Max! How much work is necessary for a 'party' with only two people?"

Max had been reading something off of a paper he'd printed out earlier in the morning. Half paying attention to Daniel and half still working on the cake. Likely trying to figure out the cake flavor himself.
However, he was drawn completely from his thoughts the moment Daniel voiced his concerns. The expected scowl was upon him in mere seconds.

"What the fuck are you- 'Two people'?? So much for you helping me with my fucking math, Freakshow."

Daniel had been ready to object. He knew basic arithmetic like the back of his hand! And besides- this all had nothing to do with the fact that he tutored Max on occasion!

Luckily, he stopped himself from saying anything after realizing that Max was just insulting his stupidity. Of course. If he's helping out, then he would also be expected to be-

"Did you take some retard pills this morning or something??" 'Retard pills'. Very clever, Max. "You're acting like a goddamn alien who's never heard of 'fun'."

Blinking a few times in an attempt to clear his hazy vision, Daniel pulled his mouth into a straight, uncomfortable line. Thinking.
Articulating himself in social situations used to be so easy. He never even had to think, usually. Just act. But he's not aiming to manipulate or gain anything from this conversation.

... Well, okay, he wants to better understand the reasoning behind Max's.. He doesn't want to say 'friendly' attitude, but even despite their less rocky relationship in the later months, the boy has certainly been acting friendlier.

He refuses to believe that this is all because of David's birthday.

"Max," he began slowly, still unsure of just how he wanted to act. What he wanted to say. "I know you put a lot of effort into-" he paused and shot a glance at the balloon beside him- "putting faces on things..."

"Yeeeaahhh...?" Max drawled, clearly not really following Daniel's thought process. "It's funny. He loves it."

"Right," Daniel was quick to reaffirm. "Yeah. Of course. BUT!" He gently sat the mixing bowl on the stove and reached over to grab onto said balloon. He chose to ignore the fact that his hand was trembling slightly.

"Don't you think David is a little.. mature for this type of ritu- uh, er.. Party..?"

God, the look Max was giving him made him feel like he'd just walked up to his own father and punched him square in the face.

"It's. A PARTY," Max stated carefully yet with evident force. "It's SUPPOSED to be stupid and childish."

"Why?" Daniel couldn't stop himself from asking. Damn his curiosity.

"HAVE YOU NEVER THROWN A FUCKING PARTY BEFORE?!"

"NO!" That was partly a lie. He's held meet and greets in order to boost morale and ease tensions with people. Mostly high ranking council members.

They were always ungodly boring and left him feeling empty for some reason.

Max seemed to have had enough of his, as the boy would call it rather vulgarly, 'bullshit'. He reached forward and knocked the balloon out of his hands. Most likely just a petty action to let off steam.

"You and your fucking cultist-" he's going to say it- "bullshit." There it is. "You're seriously telling me that you were never allowed to throw a fucking party??"

Daniel just shook his head. Slowly, to avoid making the room spin. Though, as he did so, it was beginning to sink in with him. The fact that he'd never thrown or even attended a party before.
At least, not one centered around a birth date. Not one like this.

It disturbed him greatly, but he tried to work past that and just continue focusing on Max. The kid would get even more upset if he knew he was being ignored.

He would work past it. Not forget it.

"Why?? What's the fucking harm?"

"No harm. Per-say. Just unnecessary. It draws unjust attention to people and is rather sinful in nature, actually. Indulging in careless acts for the heck of it leads to impurity of thought, and could start the dangerous path to blinding you of Xemüg's set course for you and your-"

Max reared back and slapped Daniel as hard as he could.

"OW!" Daniel hissed on impact. It was honestly just a knee jerk reaction. Max was strong, but he didn't actually feel any pain. His cheek was just numb. Weird.

"NO. None of your weird cultist ideologies. You quit that shit, remember?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Then don't fucking give me your 'impurity' bullshit, and just fucking tell me what flavor to make the goddamned cake."

"Why does my input MATTER in any of this, Max?! Just- Just do what you normally do! I'm sure David doesn't really care about my involvement-"

"That's the whole POINT of this, you asshole!" Max practically exploded. It had Daniel taking a step back; body tensing just in case he needed to suddenly start dodging blows.

Thankfully, especially with how physical Max could get sometimes, none came. Hopefully that slap would be all there was to it for the day.

"David LIKES you! He WANTS you to stop feeling like the only reason you're even HERE is because he feels sorry for you! It's not!" Daniel flinched.

"Wha- Who says that's how I'm even feeling?!"

"It's fucking OBVIOUS, Freakshow! He's TIRED of you never doing anything."

"That's not-!"

"All you do is work your ass off! You're either being a neat freak and vacuuming the floor for the tenth time this week, or you're out making money and begging David to let you help pay rent! It's not fucking HEALTHY, and he's worried."

He was taken back by all of the insanity spewing from Max's mouth as if it had been obvious from the start. Daniel was an observant man. He couldn't be anything else. So, why, then, had he never seen this coming? The growing strain between them he had picked up on.

The eventual explosion, he had not. At least, not in this way. Not over something that had been more of David's concern. David should have been the one coming to him about all of this. Not Max.
David should be the person who had smacked him and told him outright about his strange worries.

He knew it would be uncharacteristic of the soft-spoken former counselor, but it's what SHOULD have happened. Not this.

Daniel was at a loss for words. Max's shouting hadn't exactly done his headache any favors, and though he'd been trying to avoid it, the room was beginning to lurch. He absent-mindedly reached out to steady himself on the nearby stove to avoid potentially collapsing.

He was acting out of line. Yelling back and attempting to defend himself. Refusing to just let Max instruct him and not let himself get riled up. That wasn't any way to behave. He shouldn't be so stubborn about all of this.

He shouldn't be so dizzy.

"Daniel?" Max's voice was still taut with anger, but the absence of the cruel nickname he'd chosen for the man was enough to pull him out of his stupor. Barely.

"It's fine, Max." The kid's name had been an afterthought. His voice had come out more quiet and reluctant than he'd intended it to.

"I... I suppose I just don't.. I don't understand why David didn't just come to me about this. It's not your responsibility to get enmeshed in the personal issues of adults."

"Don't fucking patronize me, Freakshow." There it is. "I knew David would be too much of a pussy to risk upsetting you, so I dragged you in here and did it for him. Honestly, you two are gonna end up mortal fucking enemies if I don't step in and do something about it."

Well, THAT was alarming. 'Mortal enemies'? Had he really upset David that much just by trying to be useful?

"It's like two middle schoolers constantly avoiding each other because they're scared of scaring the other off- Jesus fucking Christ."

Oh. Max was exaggerating to further express his emotions.

Scoffing to himself, Daniel couldn't help the incredulous smirk forming on his face. Seeing Max be so invested in something as ridiculous as David's reluctance to express himself was pretty adorable, he had to admit.

"Don't fucking laugh at me, you bitch! I'm being serious!"

"N-No, Max, I get it-"

"HHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGG"

And just like that, Max was faceplanting himself onto the, thankfully, turned off stove. They hadn't even started to preheat it yet, Daniel noted in the back of his mind.
The welcome distraction from the birthday ritua- custom was doing wonders for his dizzy spell already. It awarded him enough clarity to fully take in his surroundings for the first time since they settled down on the decorations.

Hesitantly taking his hand off of the stove, he turned halfway with wide eyes to stare at the banner he and Max had strung up by the front door. Bright and red with bold yellow words that screamed 'Happy Birthday', held up with nails since there was nothing to really tie it to or anything like that.
They hadn't stuck to the kitchen either, oh no. Streamers hung along the walls in inviting rainbows. Blues, yellows, greens, purples, oranges.

He took extra care to appreciate the balloons that Max had tied down to certain places like the plant in the corner of the living room and to David's bedroom door. Not all of them had been drawn on, but the ones that had been wore smiley faces of varying degrees of childish and stupid.

It made Daniel feel... surprised. Surprised? No. Elated? No, too.. That was too something. Too intense, maybe?

He didn't know what it made him feel, but it certainly wasn't bad. Not by a long shot. His chest felt.. warm, he finally decided.

He wanted to feel like this more often. He should have felt like this a long time ago. At least once.

Turning back around to look at the burnt out child before him, he felt he now had a better understanding of the upcoming 'party'. A newfound appreciation for it that actually made him wish they were still working on that cake.
He felt... bad for being so difficult with Max. For not realizing how much the kid was trying.

He wanted to apologize, but it felt too insincere. Years of being 'remorseful' made his tongue taste acid. Max was a 'show, not tell' kind of person. Perhaps there was something he could do to make it up to him..?

Quickly scanning the stovetop and countertop nearby, Daniel soon managed to eye the cutting board that Max had been using earlier. Freshly sliced tomatoes lay on it still, waiting to be used for whatever Max had needed them for. Likely for another dish that Daniel would help with preparing once they got around to it.

Beside the tomatoes lay a dirtied knife. His fingers latched around the handle without the thought even entering his mind. Max didn't look up as Daniel pulled a white cloth from his back pocket and began cleaning the blade as if he owned it.

Clean. Pristine. Good.

"..." He wasn't really too sure of what to say. So many things were going through his head at the moment.

"How about... strawberry?"

Max made a grunt that sounded vaguely like a question. Good enough.

"My-" Daniel cleared his throat, "-My parents," he cringed at the word, "we used to make pecan pie with sliced strawberries when I was a kid. Thinking about it made me wonder if maybe David would like a strawberry cake for his birthday?"

Max seemed to consider this for a few moments. There was a calm between them, then. A storm having passed over and leaving everything feeling new. Better. Daniel liked having his hands busy. Mind preoccupied.

"Yeah." Max pushed himself up from his bent over position with a sigh. "Yeah, okay. That sounds okay."

The look of pure exhaustion on the boy's face had Daniel's heart skipping a beat. His hands paused in their work, though he wasn't sure why. Not really.

"Are.. you alright-"

"I'm fine," he snapped much too quickly for comfort. "Don't fucking read so much into it- we need to get this thing done."

For once, Daniel found himself agreeing. David usually got home at around six or seven in the afternoon. If they wanted everything to be perfect when he arrived, they had to get back to work.

Inspecting the knife and admiring a job well done, he reached back over to the cutting board to put it back where he found it. He knew very well that Max still needed to use it, and that cleaning it had been ultimately pointless.
He found that he didn't really care.

However, the moment he laid it back down, he felt.. strange. The blade leaving his hands had sent a rush through his body. A sickening one that had him seizing up.

He... hadn't liked setting the knife down. He hadn't liked it leaving his grip. His hand felt so.. cold now. The kitchen and the apartment itself are fairly warm.

That.. doesn't make any sense..?

"I'll start cutting the strawberries. Go ahead and set the oven to three-fifty."

Max's voice, though it made him jump, normally would have been a welcome thing. He just couldn't understand why it wasn't anymore. He couldn't understand why his focus had shifted from the party and the cake at the flip of a switch.

Pulling his hand back from where he'd set the knife as if he was afraid he'd be burned, Daniel forced himself to turn back around to face the stove. The knot in the pit of his stomach wasn't important. He had a job to do.

Max didn't appear to notice his unease as they both set back to work. With a goal for the cake now in mind, they had no reason not to return to the rhythm of things. The bad blood between them had been eased for the time being, and he wasn't about to give it any more excuses to return.

Preheating the oven at the temperature that had been asked of him, he resumed his attention to the abandoned mixing bowl. He was never really one to cook, so he wasn't quite sure if the batter was supposed to look the way it did or not. He'd trust Max's judgement, though.

Silence fell on the two before he'd noticed it. Without any further instructions, and with Max busy, he was left to his own devices when it came to preoccupying himself. Aimlessly stirring the cake batter would have to suffice.

The blur in his vision and the unexplainable vertigo had all but vanished. Whether it was from the distractions or not was hard to tell. Questioning a good thing didn't sit well with him, though, so he didn't. Instead he tried to focus on something else. Something good.
Focus on the sounds of Max's knife against the cutting board. Focus on the nearby banner and the jarring colors. Focus on how David will react upon coming home. Focus on a blade cutting into flesh.

...

... Wait, what was that last one-

"Hey," Max tentatively began. Daniel stopped toying around with the batter at once. "Uh, so... You.. never even had a birthday party before? Seriously?"

"Yeah." He jumped onto the opportunity of a new conversation topic that wasn't just in his head. Hopefully it would be more than enough to distract himself from.. whatever that intrusive thought had been.

It sent a shiver down his spine just thinking about it, so he decided not to.

"Fuck. That's rough, buddy." He couldn't really tell if Max was being sarcastic or not. He figured that he wasn't.

"It is what it is. Are the strawberries-"

"When's, uh- When's your um. When were you born?"

Daniel paused, then. Max's question was like a punch in the gut. For some reason, it had never occurred to him beforehand to really delve more into birthdays. To never really see their apparent importance outside of the compound walls. The fact that he'd been disoriented and confused while helping to plan the party had been all his fault.

He understood that, now, and it made him feel like a bad person. Like he'd done something wrong and he needed to make up for it. Just wanting to understand them hadn't been enough.

"November 2nd. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. Geeze." Though the bluntness stung, something told him that that wasn't the complete truth. "Let's just get this shit done already, yeah?"

"Sure," Daniel mumbled, stepping away from the bowl so that Max could slide the freshly cut strawberries into it. While he watched, the wet sheen of the knife had been the one thing that truly stood out in the quickly executed motion. He really wished it hadn't been.

"It'll only take a couple minutes to make the puree," Max explained once he'd finished. "After that's in the oven, we can start making dinner and whatever else. Sound cool?"

Max was looking at him. Green eyes staring up at him and questioning him on his future response. Why he'd even stopped to take Daniel's thoughts into account was beyond him, but perhaps he'd waited to make sure he wasn't still confused? That could be it, though he doubted it.

Max showing consideration for anything that has to do with him is still something that's relatively new. He now knew that the kid had ulterior motives to doing so, but that didn't stop it from being.. nice.
He liked seeing this side of Max whenever he was able to.

Nothing just seemed to want to work, unfortunately. He felt like a robot or machine that severely needed oiling. It was a numb feeling. Very reminiscent of the slap he'd gotten only a couple minutes ago.
His skin still tingled from it. A funny thing that he surprised himself by kind of enjoying.

It was a nice thought that only lasted for a few moments. His incessant mind wouldn't leave him be, and instead continued to work against him.
A rush of adrenaline. A new goal to achieve. It would all be so easy. Max wouldn't even know what hit him. All he needed to do was get the kid off his guard thoroughly enough, and then-

Then... Then what? What kind of goal is that? Why was he even thinking about that right now? Where had that all come from?

'You're a prophet. You need to start acting like it.'

'Your lack of self-restraint is going to get you in serious trouble.'

Daniel brought a hand up to his head as the room began to tilt.

"Freakshow? Earth to Daniel- hey."

He was going to be sick. That was the only thing that he was certain of. He was going to be sick, and all over nothing. His own delusions, maybe.

God, he hated to say it, but maybe his father had been right after all.

"Daniel!"

Reality came crashing down, and it came crashing down hard. It was like something in his brain had short-circuited. One moment he was contemplating excusing himself to take a moment in the bathroom, and the next Max had one hand on his wrist and the other on his waist.

Processing the contact between them was something else that knocked him off his feet entirely. Thankfully not literally, but he didn't stop himself from instinctively pulling away from the boy's hands as if he'd been scorned.
He was too quick in doing so. Too harsh. Max recoiled away just as fast, though, so that made him feel a bit better.

Peculiarly enough, the place where Max's hand had touched bare skin burned from the loss. Not in the way letting go of the knife had- this was different. He didn't dwell on it, but it was something to take into consideration later.

"What," he stammered for a moment, "what are you doing??"

"You were damn near about to fall over!" Max barked back in reply. "What the hell was I supposed to do?!"

"What??" was all he could really say to hearing something like that. It made him feel like a broken record, although he supposed it was better than saying nothing at all.

Having been roughly yanked from whatever spell had taken hold of him, the room had gone back to staying fixed to one place. His heart was still racing, but now for an entirely different reason.
He couldn't hear his father's voice anymore. Couldn't feel the urge to hurt anymore. That had to count for something, right..?

"You fucking heard me! Don't play dumb, you piece of shit!"

"I'm not," he paused to swallow, "I'm not 'playing dumb', I just.." Just what? Just what, Daniel? Think, you idiot!

"I-I just- I don't know. I don't know what that was. I'm sorry."

Maybe... Maybe if this all had happened more discreetly, he would have been open for further discussion on the topic. He really could have seen himself answering whatever questions Max threw his way, because he was certain the boy would. However, that hadn't turned out to be the case.
He felt himself wrap his arms around his body out of general discomfort and an illogical need for affirmation. As much as he disliked those damn episodes, there was very little he could do to stop them.

What good would continuing to think about them do? Especially now. He didn't feel.. 'safe', he guessed was the word.

He didn't feel safe enough to be around Max. Around anyone. Maybe not even.. himself?

Nails dug into his skin without so much as a second thought.

"Don't fucking apologize, just... Jesus- Are- Are you okay??"

No. "Yes! I'm.. FINE. Everything's fine, Max. Let's just.. Let's just get back to work on the cake, yeah..? It's not gonna bake itself-"

"You better be fucking joking."

"I'm really not."

"You are not taking another fucking step into this goddamn kitchen until you can convince me that you won't keel over! Fucking- I'll take care of the shit, just.. GO. Sit down somewhere."

"Max-"

"GO."

Max wouldn't take no for an answer, he could tell. Any other attempts to argue with him would just get another slap in the face or something equally violent. Though, he realized he'd messed up the moment he let go of the knife. Figuring out the extent of the 'how' kind of topped anything the kid could do by a landslide.

Still, he refused to listen to what he was being told. Like he ALWAYS does. He disobeys any logic or common sense and goes against the grain all because he wants to.
Brooding over the 'what ifs' wouldn't fix anything, he knew. Brooding at all and suffering in silence is something that failures do.

He hasn't failed yet. With everything else, sure, but not with this.

"Max. I'm fine. It won't happen again- can't we just-"

"I'm THIS close." Max holds up his right hand, thumb and pointer finger absolutely touching. "I'm this close to taking that fucking knife. And stabbing you. RIGHT. In your GODDAMN. Eye."

"Go ahead," Daniel counters, ignoring his own internal hysteria. It was dying down. Slowly. "You'll just have to clean up the mess later."

Right away he could tell that that had been the wrong thing to say. Max's right eye twitched and his fingers quickly curled into a fist. Daniel tensed for any incoming hits or further discouraging comments purely on instinct.

"I," he began in a terse tone. "I... I am going to kill you."

"You're going to what?"

"I'm going to kill you."

"Over what?"

"Being a fucking FREAK. Being a fucking goddamn confusing fucking socially awkward freak who doesn't even know what the fuck BIRTHDAYS are!"

Daniel hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to continue his approach. "Fair enough.."

"The MOMENT I catch you asleep, I am going to break your neck and burn your body."

Same feelings going on. "Alright."

"BUT UNTIL THEN, we are going to FORGET about WHATEVER THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED. And we are going to celebrate David's GODDAMN birthday. And he's never gonna know who the hell murdered you when the time comes."

"Completely reasonable, but-"

"We have a strawberry cake to make, and some stir fry and rice afterwards. If you're serious about not being a spacey bitch anymore, then shut the fuck up and help me get the cake in the oven already. I'm not dealing with your bullshit on this kind of level today, Freakshow."

For a moment, he... He really didn't know how to react. Blinking quite roughly a few times shockingly didn't seem to do anything to help with that.

"Three seconds before I kick your ass and change my mind."

Aaaand suddenly the confusion doesn't really matter anymore, does it? Daniel felt himself unfreeze from his uncomfortable position; nails leaving dents in his skin that he could care less about.
However Max came to the conclusion he did, he certainly wasn't about to question a good thing. His 'episode' had long gone. He could feel the static passing.

As long as he kept himself busy, he shouldn't be a danger to himself or anyone else. As long as he stuck to taking action and asking questions later, everything should be fine. He had to believe that.

"Okay. Alright. Yeah." Already he was walking past Max and hurriedly moving to pour the cake batter into the pan that they'd gotten out beforehand. They'd wasted a lot of time sweating the small stuff, so he needed to get his head back in the game.

"Let's celebrate David's birthday."

_______________________________________________

It ended up being about seven thirty by the time David's truck door could be heard closing outside. Max had poked his head out of a window just to make sure that it was him. They hadn't been waiting too long by that point, thankfully, though knowing the day was finally coming to a close was a major relief. For him, anyway.

Daniel had helped Max decorate the cake and write 'Happy 32nd Birthday, David!' on it in purple frosting. Much to Daniel's distaste, Max pushed for adding a crude 'You're old!' beneath it. So much for this celebration being about positive emotions...

... But... Yeah... He had to agree. 32 is kind of old.

... Moving on: Once the cake was fully completed, they (mostly Max) made a large pot of chicken stir fry. Apparently it was one of David's favorite meals that Max tends to make whenever they have leftovers. Interesting.

That hadn't taken long at all to whip up, so while Max was busy in the kitchen, he was tidying up the house.

Small little miniscule things had begun to get to him when he took the time to do a triple check of all of the decorations. Food may be Max's deal, but planning and rearranging was his.
The bows tied to the legs of the coffee table were uneven just a slight. The balloons kept grouping together in a way that made his skin crawl. The banner refused to stay perfectly upright and kept sagging a bit.

Max said that he'd called Gwen earlier in the day and that she'd be over with presents and a couple of Max's friends, but so far they hadn't shown up and that was just dandy. Though, somewhere in the corner of his mind, Daniel found himself not really wanting to see any of the Campbell Campers if he didn't need to...

Sure, the two that were coming already knew about his general presence, but explaining himself to David had been hard enough on its own. Taking Max, Gwen, and some other kids into account really wasn't settling well with him.

... What were their names again, anyway..? Uhhhh, the taller one is Neil... And the shorter scary one is...

Girl... Neil...? It starts with an 'N', he knows it. It's not Neil- that doesn't make any sense. Why would Max have-

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAVID!!" a piercing shrill voice cut in from practically out of nowhere. It made Daniel let out a little yelp and accidentally tear the ribbon he'd been fixing clean off.

Taking a moment to realize what he'd done, he couldn't help the pathetic "aww" that escaped his lips due to his dumb mistake.

"Nikki! Don't CLIMB on him- we talked about this!"

Ohhhh... 'Nikki'. That was it.

He doesn't like Nikki.

"BUZZKILL!"

He really doesn't like Nikki.

"Guys, guys, it's fine. You didn't have to do all of this-!"

Oh shoot, that's David's voice. They're already in the hall- they have to get into positions.

Funnily (or annoyingly) enough, the moment that finally clicked with him was the moment Max raced past him and jumped behind the couch in one quick blur. He didn't make it entirely and most likely ended up hitting his head based on the loud 'thump' and the mumbled 'shit' that came as a result.

Daniel felt a smirk find its way onto face as he watched the boy grunt and kick his legs in order to push himself further down into his hiding place. With how gangly he was, you sort of figured he wouldn't have to put any effort into fitting into small crevices.

"You got the party popper?" he asked in a harsh whisper, poking his head out just barely once he got situated.

"Yeah. I think I understand what to do. Is everything ready??"

"Why the hell wouldn't it be ready? Gwen, the bitch, is most likely out there with everyone else. We just gotta surprise 'em."

"Right."

Their pause in conversation allowed them just enough time to hear the jingle of keys just outside of the door.

"Hide yourself, fool!" Max hissed before ducking back down.

This is it. This was it. David is home, the party is set, the food is prepared; all he has to do now is not screw this all up. The success of all of Max's hard work rested on his shoulders. He needed to execute this flawlessly and perfectly, or else the ritual will fail.

Mentally prepping himself, Daniel did the only thing he could think of and crouched down onto the floor facing the door.

He could have been smoother than that, admittedly. Hiding in a separate room seemed kind of silly, though, and Max had already taken the- oh, he could have hidden in the kitchen, shoot-

"I just hope Max doesn't mind me not really planning a party or anything. He's probably used to that, though."

"Hasn't he thrown you a party for the last, what, three years now? Four? Shit, has it really been over five years since he moved in with you?" Daniel recognized that as Gwen, undoubtedly.

"Hah, yeah... Time flies, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so.. Wouldn't underestimate the kid, though."

If David or anyone else added anything to the conversation, he hadn't heard it. The doorknob turned, and before he knew it, a pale light was flooding into the dark living room.

All he needed was a brief deep breath before springing up from his position and digging a hand in his pocket.

"Surprise!!" he attempted to shout without being self-conscious about it. Grabbing the 'party popper', he half-heartedly threw it in David's direction.

Now, it SHOULD have exploded with confetti (which he personally saw as dangerous and not something you'd bring to a semi-formal gathering). However, all it really did was hit David square in the forehead and flop to the floor rather pathetically.

That... is the exact opposite of its namesake. Maybe he did that wrong...? Oh, wait, or maybe he should have-

"Daniel..??"

David's confusion and surprise had him holding his hands up apologetically almost on instinct. Since the 'party popper' hadn't done what was planned, he... had no real excuse for standing in a dark room and acting like a lunatic. The nervous smile on his face likely wasn't helping anything, either.

If David found his actions to be uncalled for, he didn't state it. Instead, his attention was more focused on the banner above them and the balloons spread about the room. He seemed to be in minor disbelief.

Curiously enough, Neil was the next one to speak up from his position just behind David. He appeared to be holding a green box-shaped present. Seeing the gift in the teen's hands prompted a negative response in the back of his mind.

He hadn't even stopped to think of getting David a gift. Dang it.

"What the fuck was that supposed to be??"

Daniel opened his mouth to reply at once. He quickly closed it when he really had nothing left to say. Max had been his guide, and without Max telling him what to do, he was pretty much a fish out of water.

Oh, and speak of the devil, something being pelted at his head reminded him that he, in fact, was not alone and had panicked over nothing. Looking down to where it landed at his feet told him that it had been Max's blue kazoo.

"What the HELL, Freakshow?! You weren't supposed to throw it- it's a goddamn party popper! There's a STRING attached to it for a reason!"

"Oh..."

"OOH! OOOH, I GET IT!" Nikki interrupted like an unwelcome car alarm at four in the morning. She impatiently wrestled her way past David (who was still standing in the doorway with a dumbstruck expression) and reached blindly for the light switch. Why she fumbled and slapped the bare wall several times was beyond him. It really wasn't 'blind as a bat' dark.

Even so, she found it before anyone could protest. Not even taking a second to readjust to the obnoxious change in brightness, she dived straight for the failed 'toy'.

"It's for the party!! He threw confetti at us! Literally! Funny joke, Daniel!"

"Ha.. Ha ha..?" Yes. Yep. A joke. That had been purely a joke for the entertainment of others. Yeah. "Def- Definitely! Ha- Happy, um.. Happy-"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVID!!" Nikki finished for him, properly using the party favor and showering the surrounding area in brightly colored paper. Brightly colored paper that will surely be a pain to clean up later.

Trying to act like this all had been planned, Daniel bashfully cleared his throat and began to clap. Because clapping at the vivid array seemed to be the best course of actions.

He was the only one clapping. Aside from Nikki. She joined in enthusiastically while spinning around in a circle and laughing hysterically.

Someone help this child.

"Um... Riiiiight... So.. Uh.. Max. I'm gonna.. leave the gifts here, and uh.. head home for the night, cool? Cool, alright-"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but be nice, Neil," Gwen scolded in a tired monotone, grabbing Neil by the shirt when he attempted to leave.

Throughout this all, Max had been struggling to get back out from behind the couch. Daniel couldn't tell if he was still upset about the confetti thing, or moreso upset with being stuck. Or both.
Heck, he couldn't even tell if he'd screwed anything up or not! David has just been looking around the apartment as if he'd truly been expecting to find it empty or something of that effect.

Most of all, though, he kept sneaking glances at him like he shouldn't have helped out with the event in the first place. It wasn't- David wasn't upset. That much he was aware of, at least, but...

"You-" David stammered for a moment before pausing briefly to recollect his thoughts. "You guys did all this?"

"I-"

"Stop acting so surprised, you fucking moron!" Max spat before Daniel could seldom get a word out. "Of COURSE we did! What do you take us for- unappreciative little shits?"

"You are a little shit."

"Not now, Gwen!"

"Th-This.." David looked like he was going to cry, which sent alarm through Daniel the second he noticed it. Knowing David, the man cries whenever he's overwhelmed with emotion, so he's not so sure why he immediately took it as a negative action.

He shouldn't have judged so quickly. David hadn't even bothered to finish his sentence before he was dropping his keys and running over to pull Daniel into a hug. A TIGHT hug more reminiscent of being crushed by a bear than a gentle embrace of a friend.

Max was dragged into it before long, which gave Daniel some respite, but not much. The room had been decently warm beforehand, but with David's body up against him, it had gotten even hotter.
Not to mention the fact that he was just inexperienced with such physical affection in general.

Everything was being processed way too quickly for his liking. David's hair in his face. The pine-scented cologne the man wears. The fire blooming on his skin where bare fingers touched him. The electricity swarming through him akin to infuriated bees.

Too much- the touching was too much. He wanted to push David (and Max, for that matter) off of his person. He didn't want to be touched anymore. He liked it too much. He hated it too much.

Not wanting to be rude, though, he settled for a shaky awkward couple of pats on the back. David should have known not to initiate something so.. sensual, but he'll let it slide. This time.

"You guuuuuuyyys~!!"

"David, you're crushing me..!" Max complained with a grimace in his tone. Daniel couldn't see it, but he sensed it for sure.

"DOG PILE!!" Nikki shouted in a booming voice, effectively ruining the moment and pile driving into David's back, sending all four of them sprawling out onto the floor.

"NIKKI, NO!" someone had shouted too little too late. It sounded like Neil, but honestly, it's kind of hard to tell when your ears are ringing and you've just been slammed down onto your back.

Yep. He reeeeeeally is not liking Nikki right about now.

Now, this is about the time where Daniel would have absolutely forgotten to not be rude and just do whatever he needs to in order to get out of the stressful situation. No one could blame him at this point.

And he would have, if not for the sudden and abrupt closer proximity with David.

Max had already wriggled his way out from underneath Nikki and was telling her off- though what all he was saying specifically was as good as gibberish. Daniel was sort of preoccupied with having someone's face nestled beside his neck; not to mention that he's heard enough expletives to last a lifetime already.

David hoisted himself up from the uncomfortable position with the rambunctious girl still on his back. He'd expected that to ease some of the tensions, and low and behold, it just made it all worse.
He couldn't describe the discomfort that snaked along his body in waves. Couldn't even begin to really comprehend it himself. That alone was reason enough to be more than irritated.

Catching a glimpse of David's flustered gaze was his breaking point.

"D-Daniel-! G-Gosh, I-I'm s- so sorry, I-I-"

"nOPE. You're- It's- No, you're fine, just-" God, he can't even form coherent sentences. "OFF. Please."

"Alright, alright, that's enough. Nikki," Gwen intervened. "Down- o-or, up, I mean. Get off of them."

"But-!"

"Nikki."

"Fiiiiiine..."

Daniel didn't have any common decency left to spare. Being touched crossed more than one boundary. The SECOND he felt Nikki get off of David's person, he gave a forceful shove and dragged himself away from the previous crime scene.
Fortunately, David caught himself and was able to stand up with little to no trouble. He pretended not to see the hurt look on his face as he did the same and dusted himself off.

"O-kay," Max began once everyone had taken a moment to calm down. "Are we done being hyper pieces of shit?? Can we throw a party, now?"

Everyone in the room, including himself, directed their attention to Nikki in silent understanding. She'd been innocently picking at something underneath her nails and hadn't been paying nearly enough attention to notice their silent scorn.

Sighing in defeat, Neil walked over and patted her on the back regardless. They must be good friends.

"Right. Happy birthday, Camp Man. Come eat your cake." Max had been making his way to the kitchen as he spoke, but paused as he raised a hand to gesture for David to follow. The look he threw over his shoulder told Daniel enough to know to expect trouble.

He couldn't make heads or tails of it, even given the previous events, but he could swear that David's face was fairly flushed. Likely from embarrassment, but that explanation didn't sit quite right with him.

"Freakshow made it, so if anyone keels over, NOT my fault."

"Max! Take that back!"

"Make me, blondie."

Rather than making another retort, Daniel took a deep breath and put his hands up false apology. If Max wants to be a jerk and Nikki wants to cause physical injury, then they can. He'd just rather not be involved.

"I- H-He- H-He was joking. Right?" Neil speaks up rather anxiously. Again, he's insulted, but it's not his issue. He just shrugs.

"Pfff. Of course he's joking; he's Max!" Nikki reassures, suddenly much less absorbed in herself. "Did'ja even have to ask that, Neil?"

"W-Well!! I- Him-" Neil stammers, gesturing emphatically to Daniel's person. As if he's not standing not even five feet away, seeing and hearing everything. Thanks Max.

"Daniel's funny! He wouldn't poison anyone."

"Right. And he didn't put us all into gas chambers and try to make us kill ourselves."

Daniel couldn't help himself then. The glare he sent Neil's way was his own version of toxic.

Neil saw it and took a step closer to Nikki. As if she'd be enough to protect him- what a laugh.

Nikki scoffed at his words. "C'mon, Neil, now you're just being ridiculous. Everyone knows he made a sauna. Waaaay different."

"But-"

"Neil," Daniel began.

"Neil," David continued, "Nikki's right. It was a sauna."

Nikki stuck her tongue out at her friend.

"But she's also right about the other stuff. Daniel's not here to hurt anybody, and I'm certain that he didn't do anything to the cake; aside from make it super tasty!"

"David, no-"

"Aw, don't be so humble, Daniel! I'm sure you and Max made it together, right? He's a great baker, so he must have given you some pointers-"

"Nope! He made it all by himself!" Max 'corrected' from the kitchen with a smug grin. That little brat.

"Even more reason to be afraid-"

"Even more reason to be ecstatic!"

Daniel didn't know what to do about the almost adoring smile David was throwing his way, so he cleared his throat and attempted to redirect the attention. He was undeserving of it, anyway.

"Hah, yeah... Y'know, standing around and talking about it is nice and all, but there's more than just cake in the kitchen. Why don't you all help yourselves and we'll start to light the candles?"

"Sounds good. There are more presents in the car- want me to go get 'em?" Gwen offered, hitching a thumb over her shoulder.

"If you wouldn't mind."

"Not at all," she reasurred with a shrug. "Neil. Go get the presents out of the car. Bring Nikki with you."

"Awwww, but-"

"Sure thing, Gwen!" Neil was all too eager to reply. He quickly sat his green present on the side table beside the couch and grabbed Nikki by the wrist. "C'mon, let's get out of here."

"If we have to..."

Daniel watched the kids leave the apartment, unsure of whether to find what Gwen did humorous or cruel. The look he gave her was rewarded with nothing, as she was already heading to the kitchen and likely didn't see it.

David seemed much more relaxed by now. He still held the stars in his eyes, but he was admiring the decorations around the room and not staring at Daniel some more, so he considered it a plus. Hopefully it would stay that way.

He wasn't adverse to the man's attention- not at all. He just didn't... know what to do with it. Especially when he was receiving it based around a lie.

Subtly shaking his head, Daniel decided that now was the best time to return his full focus to the party itself. The guests were all getting settled and the presents could be arranged and opened later. Max and Gwen were in the kitchen- one likely lighting candles and one likely already helping herself to some food.

Normally he would have walked in there and assisted Max in that activity, but something about two people already being in a slightly cramped area had alarms going off in his head. It seemed like the wrong thing to do despite him knowing that it was the correct thing to do.

What he could only describe as a 'malfunction' in his thought pattern upset him greatly. As upset as he was, though, just standing around while near David bothered him even more.

Forcing himself to remain calm and unperturbed, he quickly went about trying (and repeatedly failing) to move some nearby balloons around to his liking. The poorly drawn faces, well, facing, in opposing ways was just one more thing to add to the list of things that irrationally pissed him off.

Keeping himself busy was his last chance at sanity right now. He couldn't explain it. He couldn't explain anything, really, but he couldn't explain his feelings the most.
Feelings, thoughts, emotions- those all fall under the category of 'alien'. 'New'.

Something in the back of his mind wanted to say 'wrong'. He let it.

There is something inherently wrong in being able to allow such things to overwhelm you. To be your leading drive in life and your everyday itineraries. There is something inherently wrong in not being only one thing throughout your life.

Clean. Pure. Static.

"This is incredible, Daniel."

"What is, David?" He chose to ignore the multiple things that went through his head the moment the man spoke. Adjusting the streamers on the wall by the TV was much more important.

"Just.. everything, I guess. You guys did a great job decorating."

"Max did most of it," Daniel deflected unthinkingly. "The balloons were his idea."

"I had a feeling," David admitted, wamrth in his voice as he inspected a particularly bright yellow one by the front door. If memory served him well, that was the one that Max had scribbled a middle finger onto. It had taken everything in Daniel not to just pop it.

"But don't sell yourself short! I'm sure Max really appreciated your help in making everything just right and adding the finishing touches."

"What?" Daniel asked, giving David a brief glance once he'd finished retying a ribbon on the table beside the TV. He felt his face heat up as he soon realized what he was doing.

"W-Well... Yeah, I guess, but no one would even notice, really. It doesn't matter as much as.. everything else."

"No, it does," David insisted. "I noticed it."

He didn't want to deal with this right now. He was supposed to blend into the crowd and just.. casually wish David a happy birthday. He wasn't supposed to be dragged into a petty conversation about who will appreciate what.
In fact, he would have gladly turned right around and asked if David had anything else better to do, like he knew he did, but something Max had said before stopped him.

'David LIKES you! He WANTS you to stop feeling like the only reason you're even HERE is because he feels sorry for you!'

Daniel felt himself wincing involuntarily. The harsh scolding might as well have been administered by David and not the kid by how much he wanted to hang his head in defeat.

"That's," he had to take a moment to cough, "nice of you, David. I- Thank you."

"You're welcome! You deserve it!"

Yeah, right. "And you deserve to have a good birthday. Only the best for my friend, right?"

David's nervous laughter wasn't a very comforting thing to hear. Had he said the right or wrong thing?

"I suppose, yeah. It's.. It's kinda funny, when I think about it, really."

Daniel didn't say anything, though he did resist the urge to continue his meaningless obsessed actions and turn to fully face David.

David bashfully looked over his shoulder before taking a step closer to Daniel's person and resuming. His face was looking a bit red, again.

"I-I mean... I hadn't really expected you to be here, if I'm being honest."

"What?" That had taken Daniel by surprise. "What do you mean? Of course I'd be here for such an important event."

David snorted and waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "I-It's not really THAT important, Daniel. Trust me. I'm sure you had.. better things to be doing tonight.."

"Couldn't think of one," he lied smoothly.

David kept his eyes firmly on the ground. He was smiling, though, so that had to be good.

"You're too nice to me. I don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything. Your happy smiles are thanks enough."

"Oh, stop. You're making me blush!"

"I can see that. Do you need to sit down?"

"Wh-What? No, no, I'm fine! I'm fine. I-I just.. I just wanted to talk to you, I guess. Before everyone gets settled in and we have cake and everything else. I feel like we don't do that often."

"... Have cake...?"

"Talk," David clarified. "You know what I meant, you little trickster. Don't start taking pages out of Max's book, now."

Daniel drew a hand to his chest in mock indignation. "David, we all know Max has been the one taking pages from my book. I've always been this funny and you know it."

"I do," David admitted through his chuckles. "I guess that's what sort of.. drew me to you..?"

"Oh?"

"I-I mean like- I-It's what I liked about you, back when we first met. You were so.. charming and funny and sweet.. And very helpful during your short stay with us!"

"Very short stay. Because someone got a little jealous~"

David raised his hands defensively, apparently worried that he'd hit a nerve. "N-No..! No, I didn't! I-I just.. I-I was just... WORRIED that Camp Campbell wasn't your fit! That's all!"

"David."

"I-I would NEVER fire a co-counselor just because of petty jealousy! That's not the Camp Campbell way!"

"David, it's okay."

"I-I'm so sorry you felt that way! I-If there's anything I can do to make it up to you, just let me-"

"You could stop getting so worked up about it. That'd be great."

David clamped his mouth shut at once. Daniel could only shake his head and snicker to himself, despite his annoyance just burning beneath his skin.

"You don't have to lie to me, David. I was trying to get you fired, too, remember? You're not the only one who has to apologize."

Not being able to argue with that, David gave a solemn little shake of his head. His ashamed frown soon turned into a smirk, and then a smile as a forced laugh escaped his lips.

"I should have been better to you, regardless. If we hadn't have had that sing-off, then maybe you wouldn't have had to go to the hospital-"

"Water under the bridge," he quickly assured. The hospital is the last thing he wants to think about right now.

"I'm.. glad you feel that way. I was really... worried." David brought a hand to the back of his neck, cringing a bit at his last few words.

"For.. me?"

"Sort of... I was.." He paused to take another look over his shoulder. The paranoid action made Daniel lean closer out of instinct.

"I-I was.. worried that you'd.. I was worried that you'd be leaving soon."

"'Leaving?'"

"Yeah. Like. Finding someplace better. I-I figured you were.. getting sick of me- us, and that you had.. somewhere else to go..."

While he talked, Daniel found himself watching David's hands. Fingertips tapped against each other for a few anxious moments before fingers carefully, apprehensively, intertwined with one another. He couldn't help but to feel a dull sting in his chest at such pathetic body language.

He couldn't help the way his voice caught in his throat as he began to feel something more than pity. Something familiar. He's felt it before. Once. He can't really describe it outside of an ache that's actively spreading out through his body, but he's felt it before.

It's warm. Pleasant. A bit painful, yet euphoric in and of itself.

It's making him not want to see David like this anymore.

Second-guessing himself five times each second, Daniel robotically, cautiously, reached out and laid a hand on David's shoulder. David flinched under him.

"David. Don't be so drastic. I have nowhere else to go at the moment, and I have no intention of leaving anytime soon."

He hesitated.

"At least, not unless you want me to."

David looked up, then. Daniel's never noticed how vibrant his eyes are before. Even with faint tears just threatening to fall down his face, the lively green speckled with orange was enough to make him forget his own name for a moment.

It felt... wrong. But nice.

"No! I-I mean- Y-You... Y-You can do whatever you want, Daniel." David let out a small sniff and attempted to wipe the wetness from his eyes.

"I-I'm sorry... I'm not.. I don't know why I'm crying. This is embarrassing."

Daniel removed his hand from David, then. All at once, his mind was screaming at him again. Telling him that he shouldn't have moved and needed to put his hand back where it had been.

A dizzying rush of adrenaline coursed through him for no good reason. He lacked the 'drive' and the sadistic intentions, but the sensation in and of itself was enough for him to 'shut off' his brain, so to speak.

Without stopping to think about it, Daniel did as his mind instructed, but differently. With Nikki being preoccupied outside, he saw no risk in being the one to initiate a hug this time around.

Hugs are more socially acceptable outside of the compound. Maybe it's what David needs?

"No, it's not. You're fine, David. Your fears are valid."

Much like he had, Daniel could feel David's body lock up at the peculiar action. It was only for a split second, though.

David's arms wrapping around his person weren't as uncomfortable as they had been the first time around.

"I... I-Is.. Is this okay?? W-We don't have to-"

"I'm fine, David."

"I-I know you don't like being touched. We can-"

"You looked like you needed it."

Thankfully, David quit arguing with him at that. Any longer and Daniel might have accidentally snapped at the man- which is the opposite of what he wanted.

The whole point of the party was to make David happy. To celebrate another year of him being alive. The self-deprecation of the normally jubilant person wasn't unexpected, but it felt uncalled for.
He had needed to do something to put an end to it. That's all the hug was. That's all it needed to be.

David nestled his head into the crook of Daniel's shoulder. Whether or not he'd stopped crying he couldn't quite tell. Though, he supposed it didn't matter. Heck, crying might speed up the process of making David feel better. He'd recently learned that it releases negative energies from the body, after all.

"Thank you, Daniel..."

"No problem. Are you-"

"WE GOT THE PRESENTS!!" someone shouted practically out of nowhere, ending their little 'heart to heart' quite abruptly.

Daniel hadn't been so sure of how long he'd be comfortable hugging David, but that didn't stop him from feeling a bit rejected at how quickly David pulled himself away. He didn't understand why David was being so self-conscious in a society that accepts regular touches on a daily basis.

Sighing to himself, he decided it was best to just drop the subject. It was over with, now. No need to dwell on it.

Nikki and Neil entered the doorway- Nikki carrying six differently colored presents (yes he counted) on one arm, and Neil holding two smaller ones. They were all stacked rather hazardously, and it made Daniel hope that nothing fragile was in them.

Gwen took a step out of the kitchen the moment Nikki announced her return, apparently her worries much the same as Daniel's.

"Ah- Nikki?? Maybe be more careful with that crap? David, could you-"

"Don't worry about it, Gwen!" Nikki stated carelessly, brushing off her friend's very valid concerns. "Neil and I have everything under control!"

No one believed that for a second. Even so, Nikki managed to wobble on over to the couch and settle the gifts down onto it without dropping a single one. Neil remained by her side every step of the way just to make sure her claims remained true.

He could see Neil, Gwen, and David breathe sighs of relief at roughly the exact same times. Although he didn't join them, it was a pretty big 'mood'.

"Welp. Looks like everything's all set then." Daniel counted on his fingers as he listed the things off. "The decorations, the food, the presents, the guests-"

"The candles are lit!" Max called from the kitchen. "Also they're on fire!"

"Boo. Get some better jokes, Max."

"My jokes are fantastic, Neil. Get your ass in here."

"Language," David scolded under his breath. Likely a force of habit.

"Ready to blow out your candles, Birthday Boy?" Daniel couldn't help but to tease. With more company in the room, the tensions between them had lifted tenfold; if not been forgotten completely.

David's eyes were a little red around the corners. He'd definitely been crying, but again, it could be seen as a good thing. A sort of natural cleansing, if you will.

Taking one last look around at the rainbow-adorned room, a smile like none other began to make its appearance. Of course, David smiled quite often. Every single day of his life. To say that this one felt different from the others had to be a lie, but Daniel surprised himself by full-heartedly believing that it wasn't.

He could only affirm his suspicions as David's gaze fell onto him.

"Yeah," he answered with a deep sincerity. Daniel decided at once that he was going to do everything in his power to see David like this more often. He liked it too much not to.

"Yeah I am."