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As a rule, David didn’t love his birthday, and for good reason.
In the past, his birthdays tended to be very lonely days, even as a child. More often than not he spent them alone. He hadn’t been kidding when he told Patrick a few months back that he never had an embarrassing childhood nickname due to a lack of copious social interaction. He had a few friends growing up, but no one whom he would have chosen to spend important days with. And certainly not a best friend, not until Stevie.
His childhood was filled with birthdays acknowledged only through gifts and cards left on the kitchen table by the staff who had placed them there in his parents’ absences. Once Alexis reached her pre-teen years, he couldn’t even count on her to be around, instead more often than not, receiving a vague phone call from some far-off location in between photoshoots. A shouted “Happy birthday!” through a crackling phone was the most he ever received.
The moment he was able to, David moved out on his own and then his birthdays were filled with loud parties at whatever club was the trendiest at the time, filled with too much alcohol and too many drugs. And always filled with too many people who didn’t even know that it was his birthday, simply that he was paying and that’s all that mattered. Most nights ended with David alone, too sad and too stoned to be bothered to bring someone home. And if he happened to be seeing someone on his birthday, he never bothered to tell them. It was easier to ignore it, than be disappointed yet again.
Two years ago, a blue blazer, terrible mozzarella sticks, and a picture frame changed all that.
The last two birthdays David had spent with Patrick. Though David loathed to admit it, he didn’t even hate the idea of their anniversary falling on his birthday. He just assumed it meant that Patrick would buy him two gifts to mark the occasion. Last year, just a few days into their engagement, (“Why didn’t you wait to ask me on our anniversary? You love anniversaries!” “It was my last day before the show. Also, the rings had finally shown up the week before and I was going insane. I almost asked you the day before while we were brushing our teeth before bed.” “No. Incorrect.”) the celebration had been small.
Patrick, exhausted from the first few nights of Cabaret, and David, exhausted from dealing with an emotionally strung out Moira, had ended up ordering in and eating dinner at Patrick’s apartment, talking about wedding plans and drinking in each other, slowly, in a way they hadn’t had time for in ages.
But this year, David was officially done sharing his birthday. They had a new anniversary now and he was finally with someone and had friends who made his birthday feel special. After so many years of lonely days and sharing, David wanted his birthday to be his own.
When Patrick had asked him one evening as he stood at the stove making dinner, what David wanted to do for his soon approaching birthday, David only had one request.
“I would like for it to be just my birthday.” David sat on the bench seat of their kitchen table, the big bay window behind him, as Falkor, the small black labradoodle puppy they had adopted a few months prior, slept quietly next to him.
“Meaning?”
“Meaning we don’t need to celebrate it as our anniversary anymore. We have our wedding anniversary, that’s plenty.”
“You don’t want to celebrate our anniversary anymore?”
“Not that one, no. They’re relatively close together and I, for one, would like to not feel pressure to buy you a gift on my birthday.” David continued to scroll through his phone, refusing to look at Patrick. He knew that if Patrick really wanted to keep celebrating both anniversaries, he would use awful, terrible tactics like sentimentality, his doe eyes, and affection.
Patrick placed the wooden spoon he had been using to stir the pasta on the counter and wandered over to the table. He sat down in the chair closest to David and leaned forward, attempting to catch David’s eye. When it became clear David was not going to give in, he sighed and sat back.
“So, you do know that you never have to buy me a gift, right?”
“Yes, I am aware.” David nodded primly, refusing to look up still.
“But you would like to eliminate all relationship based celebrations from that day.”
“Yes, I would.”
“So, you don’t want two presents anymore.”
David finally looked up to see the smirk sitting across his husband’s face. “I would forgo any extraneous benevolence if it meant reclaiming that particular day in the name of my actuality.”
Patrick quirked an eyebrow at him. “Did you talk to your mum today?”
David’s face shifted quickly to a look of annoyance before he looked back down at his phone. “Okay. We’re done with this conversation.”
Patrick smiled, laughing softly as he stood, moving back to the stove to finish their dinner. “Okay, David. We can stop celebrating our anniversary on that day and only celebrate our wedding anniversary.”
“Thank you.” He reached down and ran his hand through Falkor’s soft fur. “Can we also stop celebrating all minor anniversaries? Just save it all up for September?”
Patrick paused in thought. He knew David hated all the different anniversaries that Patrick managed to come up with throughout the year as markings of different milestones in their relationship. David’s annoyance was truly the only reason Patrick continued to find mundane things to turn into an anniversary, his last one being only last month. David had scoffed at Patrick’s declaration that it was the anniversary of the first time they had discussed what exactly body milk was.
“Hmmm, I’m disinclined to acquiesce to your request.” Patrick smirked as David’s eyebrows rose towards his hairline.
“Excuse me?”
“Means ‘no’.” Patrick grinned as David rolled his eyes. He picked the dog up and, rolling his eyes again as he passed by Patrick, walked into the hallway towards the living room.
“Impossible man.”
“Love you!” Patrick called after him, laughing as he moved about the kitchen and finished cooking.
*****
David woke up for the second time on the morning of his birthday, stretching lazily and sighing deeply. He was alone in bed, though considering it was closer to being afternoon than being morning, he wasn’t surprised. Patrick had woken him up early that morning with a spectacular orgasm and an agreement to let David fall back asleep for as long as he wanted.
David stretched again before rolling out of bed and making his way into the bathroom to get ready for the day. He took a long, extremely hot shower, using all of his most luxurious products that he saved for special days, products that despite their most recent influx in cash he still couldn’t afford on a regular basis. He loved the products they carried at the Apothecary, and used them twice a day, but sometimes he just wanted to use the expensive French eye cream.
As he got dressed for the day, David stood in front of his knit wear in his closet and contemplated. Having a summer birthday meant it was always on the warmer side but being David, it never stopped him from wearing a sweater. And today he was feeling particularly sentimental. He pulled one down and smiled softly to himself. He hadn’t worn this particular one in a while, but it seemed fitting.
He slipped the black sweater with the bright white lightning bolt over his head and, checking his hair in the mirror quickly, made his way down the stairs.
The house was starkly quiet. Patrick had insisted that David take the day off, but had gone in for just the morning himself. The fiscal year had only closed two days prior and Patrick was deep into tax preparation for the quarter. Having witnessed Patrick prepare their taxes for the last three years, David said a quiet thank you to whoever was listening that his business partner was so competent. And as he opened the top oven, per the instructions he found on the kitchen counter, and found a plate of waffles keeping warm, he sent another thank you that his husband was so thoughtful.
After finishing his breakfast, or rather brunch, it was noon at this point, David headed into the living room, intending on catching up on one of the reality shows he loved that Patrick couldn’t stand, before Patrick was due home in another hour or so. He smiled as he saw the package waiting for him on the coffee table.
He sat on the couch, pulling the present into his lap. He slipped the card out of its envelope to find a tacky bright card with a giant “40!” emblazoned on the front. He opened the card with disgust and immediately narrowed in on Alexis’s signature. He should have known. Only Alexis would send him a card several years before he actually turned forty. He was still comfortably mid-thirties, thank you very much even if was in the last year that he could reasonable categorize himself as such.
He tossed the offensive card on the coffee table before carefully removing the wrapping paper from the box. His eyes lit up when he saw the name Neiman Marcus printed on the box. He hadn’t been expecting anything from his sister after the spa day they had spent together in Los Angeles back in May, but he supposed the Roses were, as a whole, still working towards making up their past mistakes to each other.
He carefully removed the top of the box, and even through the white tissue paper, could make out the dark material and the white lightning bolt. He couldn’t believe it. Alexis had somehow managed to afford another Neil Barrett piece to add to his collection. He peeled the tissue back carefully wondering if she had gone for one of the newer pieces in the collection, he had after all shown her the long-sleeved tee just the other day exclaiming that it might be nice for the warmer days, or if she had gone for a vintage piece. As he pulled it out of the box he realized just how off base he had been.
The item was a sweater, in fact it almost perfectly matched the one he was wearing, but it was significantly too small to fit him. He held it up and rolled his eyes. He placed the item back in the box before pulling out his phone and FaceTiming his sister.
Alexis picked up after a ring or two, her grin wide as she sat in what was obviously the office space at Interflix that they often let her use when she was working on projects for them. “Happy birthday, David!” Her voice rang out through his quiet house.
“Thank you, Alexis.”
“Did you get my present?” She grinned, the hand not holding the phone folding under her chin.
“I did. I’m not sure I’d call it my present, though. Would I?”
“I mean… I had it made special. For your birthday. It was a custom job, David. Bespoke.”
David rolled his eyes at his sister. “It’s a dog sweater.”
“Yes, but custom made to look like yours!” Alexis protested. “I had it made to look just like the one you wore on your first date. I know for a fact it is a perfect representation.”
David tilted the phone down, allowing Alexis to see that it indeed matched the sweater he was wearing. “Awww! You’re wearing it!”
“Purely coincidental.”
Alexis pouted at the screen. “And now you and your son can match!”
“Okay, we are not doing ‘son’.”
“But Falkor’s your son.”
“No. Patrick and I have a dog, not a child.” David glanced past the screen to where the dog in question was sleeping in the chic dog bed Marcy had purchased over by the fireplace. His head raised slightly at the sound of his name, but after confirming that nothing was happening, the dog huffed a sigh and fell back asleep. “No one will be calling me ‘Dad’.”
Alexis snorted a laugh, brushing her hair over her shoulder. “Wanna bet on how long it will take Patrick to do just that?”
David looked away in annoyance, grumbling. “He already has. Two days ago.”
Alexis attempted to control the smile breaking out across her face, but failed miserably. “Really?”
“Yeah.” David rolled his eyes at the memory. “I came home to find him sitting on the couch with the dog and was greeted with, “Look Falkor, Daddy’s home!””
“Awww.” Alexis managed to somehow both pout and smile, a skill she definitely picked up from Patrick. “That’s kinda sweet, David.”
“Incorrect.”
They hung up a few minutes later and as he sat on the couch, David looked around the room in astonishment. In the last four years his life had changed so drastically that he didn’t think early-thirties David would recognize it. He much preferred the life of mid-thirties David, by far.
*****
He was still in the living room a little over an hour later when Stevie stopped by. Patrick had texted, letting him know that he had gotten stuck at the store, but was going to be heading out soon, and that Stevie was on her way to see him.
She walked in, without knocking and yelling “ding, ding!” as was her custom, before collapsing on the chair next to the couch. She smirked as the dog trotted over to her for a quick head scratch before he moved over to sit next to David on the couch. “Happy birthday.” She grinned as the dog rested his head in David’s lap, his hand immediately finding its way into the dog’s fur.
“Thank you.”
“So I know it’s going against all precedent, but…” She pulled a slightly wrinkled gift bag out of her messenger bag and placed it on the coffee table. “In celebration, or whatever.”
David eyed the bag suspiciously before reaching over to grab it. “Thank you. This is…” He pulled the tissue out of the bag, revealing the contents inside. “Okay.”
Stevie smirked as she watched him pull two dog dishes out of the bag. They were a beautiful stark white, with the Rose Apothecary label painted perfectly in black both along the side and in the dead center of each dish.
“What, did you and Alexis plan this?!”
“I don’t know what you are talking about, David.” She responded with false innocence. “I just thought you’d like properly branded dishes for when you take Falkor to the store.”
“What makes you think I’m going to let him into the store?” He questioned, refusing to admit that Falkor’s current track record of two full weeks without an accident in the house meant he was preparing to do just that.
“Please. You are about two seconds away from getting a baby sling and wearing him all day long.” Stevie deadpanned.
“How dare you.” She lifted her eyebrows to the sight of the two of them, the dog still fully sleeping on David’s lap. “He’s Patrick’s dog.” David insisted.
“Yeah. Have you bothered telling him that?” She questioned, gesturing to the dog. David had no come back for that.
*****
By the time Patrick walked in the door, Stevie was long gone and David was three quarters of the way through an episode of some real housewives of some city that he watched whenever Patrick wasn’t around. David tilted his head over the back of the couch slightly from his position lounging sideways against the couch’s arm, to see down the small hallway that lead to the front door. He smiled as he watched Patrick place his bag and keys down before toeing off his shoes and walking towards David.
“Hi.”
David’s smile deepened. “Hi.”
Patrick walked over and leaned over the back of the couch, angling to kiss David softly. David sat up slightly to meet him halfway, jostling the sleeping dog across his lap. Patrick leaned his forehead against David’s, his hand drifting down to rifle through the dog’s soft fur. “Happy birthday,” he whispered softly, his eyes still closed.
“Thank you.” David whispered back before leaning in to kiss him again. He leaned back to look Patrick in the eyes, reaching his hand out to cup his husband’s cheek. “How was the store?”
Patrick hummed and turned his head to kiss David’s palm before standing up to move around the couch. He sat on the edge of the coffee table and leaned forward slightly, his fingers reaching out to continue petting the dog. “Busy. But I stayed in the back mostly. Maggie has running that place down to a science, even during a rush.” He paused smiling softly. “I don’t know what we’ll do if she ever decides to leave.”
“Mmmm, didn’t I tell you?” Patrick raised his eyebrows questioning. “I’m divorcing you and marrying her to make sure she sticks around.”
“Then who will do your taxes?”
“You’re co-owner. You’re contractually obligated to stick around.”
“I’m pretty sure you’re contractually obligated to stick with me.”
“Am I though?” His voice raised up an octave.
“Don’t you remember?” Patrick grabbed the dog and lifted him off David’s lap before climbing into David’s lap himself, straddling David’s hips. “Shortly after you sobbed uncontrollably during your vows…”
“Okay…”
“We did that whole, signing of the marriage certificate thing. That, my love,” he leaned down, cupping David’s face in both hands, “was a binding legal contract.”
“Binding me to what, exactly?”
“Binding you to me.”
“Huh. Knew I should have read the fine print.”
Patrick smirked as he leaned down and kissed him softly before whispering, “Next time.”
*****
Several hours later, Patrick bounded down the stairs, his hair still slightly damp, as he fiddled with the sleeves of his button up. He rolled his sleeve up his right arm, matching the position on his left arm as he walked over to stand in front of David in the living room.
David sat patiently, or as patiently as David could, on the couch as he slowly scrolled through his phone. He was still in his nostalgia inducing white lightning bolt sweater but had changed into a pair of leather pants. The very sight of him made Patrick want to cancel all their plans, a frequent thought when confronted with a David Rose who was dressed to impress.
David smiled up at him as he walked over. “Ready?”
“Just about. One last thing…” Patrick walked over to his piano and lifted the top of the bench, pulling out a dark blue gift bag. He turned back to David and handed the bag over, smiling widely. “Happy birthday.”
David grinned at the bag and took it from him. It seemed they were both feeling particularly nostalgic. He placed his phone down on the coffee table and pulled out the tissue paper. To absolutely no one’s surprise, David found himself pulling out a sleek black picture frame.
It was smaller than the one he had been given three years prior, a small square instead of a rectangle, but the concept seemed to be the same. He placed the bag down next to him as he looked at the small faded piece of paper trapped beneath the glass.
“I kept waiting, wanting to find the perfect occasion to give it to you. But nothing ever seemed right. And then I forgot I had it. I found it a few months ago, pressed into the pages of the novel I had been reading at the time.”
David smiled down at the frame, as he drifted his finger tip over the glass, tracing the tiny ticket. He could only just make out the faded B13. “This is…” he cleared his throat, pushing the emotions back. “This is very sweet.” He tapped the frame gently before bringing it up to cradle against his chest. “And I love it. I do. But…”
“But?”
“But I feel like this holds more meaning for you than me.” David grimaced slightly, hoping Patrick wasn’t too offended.
“Oh true. It’s going in my office.”
David blinked up at him for a moment. “So your gift to me, for my birthday, is a frame for your office?”
“That is correct.”
“You know I bought you an entire piano for your birthday.”
“Huh. Did you?” Patrick smirked as David leveled a look that could only be interpreted as unbelievable. Patrick leaned down and kissed him softly, pulling the frame from his hands before standing back. “Come on, don’t wanna miss our reservations.”
David narrowed his eyes at him and allowed himself to be pulled up. He followed Patrick out of the house and down the walkway to his car, waiting for Patrick to turn around and laugh, telling David he was only joking. But Patrick’s smile remained annoyingly neutral as he held the door open for David.
*****
In a surprising turn of events, Johnny and Moira Rose were the first people to send David a present this year. The week prior, David had stood in shock as their mail carrier delivered a large envelope with a Los Angeles return address to the store. He was further floored when he opened the envelope to find a beautiful handmade card inside, a long note artfully curling around the paper in Moira’s expressive handwriting. Though the letter was mostly about her, the show, her ever blossoming friendship with Nicole Kidman, and his father’s business prowess, buried deep in the text was a lovely message wishing him another happy year of existence.
At the bottom of the envelope had sat a gift certificate of more than enough to cover a dinner for two at the upscale steak house two towns over. David had mentioned it to his mother at Christmas, it had only just opened it at that point but David and Patrick had managed to score reservations within the first week, the head chef’s wife was a big fan of Rose Apothecary’s body milk, and David had raved about it to his mother. He never would have thought that she would remember their conversation so many months later, let alone do something about it. Patrick had only been a little disappointed that they wouldn’t be having their customary dinner at the café, but conceded that David’s reclaiming of the day as only his birthday, meant new traditions were in order.
They had enjoyed a slow, relaxed dinner. The food had been just as good as they had remembered and David had drunk more than his share of his third favorite bottle of wine. The restaurant’s expanded wine selection was one of the reasons he had been looking forward to claiming this as their new tradition. The other being its fantastic red velvet cheesecake. David wanted to write sonnets about that particular dessert.
They sat in comfortable silence on their ride back to the cottage. An hour drive each way would have made early thirties David pale at the idea. But mid-thirties David simply enjoyed it and the extra time it gave him to sit quietly with his husband, sappy music floating around them.
As they neared Schitt’s Creek, David heard a familiar strain of strings play over the speakers and hummed happily. He leaned forward and turned the volume up on the soothing sounds of Peter Gabriel as he sang softly about the book of love and its contents.
“I love this song.” He smiled as Peter sang about where music came from, and loving it when his partner sang to him. “Makes me think of you.”
Patrick smirked. “Wow. Who would have though David Rose would be so sentimental?”
“Ummm, you. From like day one. You gave me a receipt on our first date. The sentimentality of which is literally the reason Stevie convinced me it was date.”
“Wait… what?” Patrick glanced over at David for a moment before returning his attention to the road. “I mean, I know Stevie was the one who clued you in finally but I didn’t realize it was because the gift was sentimental.”
“Yes. Well.” David shifted slightly. “When you left to have your little panic attack in the bathroom…”
“It wasn’t a panic attack.”
“Sure.” David waved his hand through the air. “Panic attack, break down, hyperventilation, whatever you want to call it.”
“I washed my hands and took a few deep breaths.”
“Same thing.” David smirked. “While you were doing that she pointed out that if the gift you bought me was sentimental, it was a date.”
“So if I had bought you a gift card to Target…”
“We would not be married right now.”
“Wow. I had no idea our entire marriage rested on a receipt for a scarf.”
David simply smiled as Patrick reached out for his hand. He laced their fingers together as he turned on to their street. He kept their hands threaded together in his lap as he smoothly pulled up their street just as Peter Gabriel’s voice began to sing wistfully about his partner giving him wedding rings.
He pulled into their drive as the last few lines rang out. Moving the car into park, Patrick pulled their clasped hands up to kiss David’s wedding ring gently.
“Now who’s being sentimental?” David lifted his eyebrows at Patrick and smirked.
“Me. Always me.” He turned the car off before leaning over and kissing David softly.
They made their way into the house, Patrick’s hand trailing behind him as it kept a tight hold of David’s. He made his way further into the house, halting David’s movement as he attempted to start up the stairs. David allowed Patrick to pull him back into the hallway towards the kitchen, a questioning look on his face.
“So I have one more thing. For you.”
“For me or for your office?”
Patrick rolled his eyes. “I know you don’t think that was your actual birthday present.” David simply continued to look at him. “Close your eyes.” David cocked an eyebrow suspiciously. “Trust me.”
David sighed but closed his eyes nonetheless. He felt Patrick move behind him, steering him into the kitchen by the shoulders. He let Patrick push and prod him until he was exactly where Patrick wanted him, and then waited.
Patrick wrapped his arms around David’s waist, hooking his chin over David’s shoulder and whispered, “Okay. Open.”
David opened his eyes, blinking a few times, to find a sleek new Nespresso machine where their coffee maker had stood only a few hours ago. An ostentatious red bow sat on top of it. David grinned as Patrick began to explain.
“I know it’s not the fancy espresso maker you’ve wanted, but it does make espresso. Plus this new model is made from more than 50% recycled plastic and the coffee is sustainable. And I can still make a regular cup of coffee without us having to have two machines.”
“What’s that?” David pointed to the little cylindrical device that stood next to it.
“Well. I wanted to make sure this thing could do everything that espresso maker could do, and more. So I may have talked to your sister. And Stevie.” He disentangled himself from David and walked over to open the cabinet above the machine, pulling down a rack filled with coffee pods, several different flavored syrups, and a new travel mug. “We may have all gone in on it together.”
David, desperately tried to ignore the tears streaming down his face as he scowled at his husband. “So you got my sister and my best friend in on your little troll game.”
“Yes I did.”
“You’re terrible and I hate you.”
“You’re amazing and I love you.”
David pouted and pulled Patrick up against him. He wound his arms tight around Patrick’s shoulders, pulling in close and buried his face in Patrick’s neck. His voice was barely a whisper. “Happy anniversary.”
Patrick grinned and kissed David’s neck, laying claim to the spot that had been his for three years now. “Happy birthday, David.”