Work Text:
Whenever this time of year comes by, Daisuke's mood always manages to plummet. Or maybe he doesn't really have control over his emotions as he should.
He wonders briefly if he showed significant changes in attitude if the concerned looks from his co-workers were anything to go by. He couldn't help it. The years of loneliness must be catching up to him.
It was a rather dull day, with only paperwork to be done- something that he had finished quite early with the help of his AI. No fieldwork, no adollium cases. Maybe this was what he needed.
A change of pace. Time to actually think about what he wanted to do with his life since he became free.
Was he content? Was he happy? Would he be able to stay like this or will he revert to his old back once all of the drama blows over? Even if he arrested his grandmother and solved his mother’s case months ago, he still felt uncertain about everything.
As Daisuke was stuck in his own bubble. The members of the third division got to work. They noticed how aloof he seems to be today, more so than usual, and he doesn't respond how he normally would so naturally, the other members were concerned. And today was his birthday as well. No matter, they would remedy that.
Kamei and the chief locked eyes and nodded to each other. He then signaled for the door and Saeki and Teppei came with him while Kato was there to distract him in case he noticed anything.
“Chief! I’m gonna go buy something from the vending machine!” Saeki exclaimed loudly before darting out the door.
Haru sighed at their failure at being discreet. Still, the usually observing man hasn’t reacted so they were still good. Then, Kiyomizu stood up, going over to the lightswitch before promptly switching it off. He hoped that the young ones get to make their newest member happy. That boy deserved it after all he’s been through.
Daisuke jumped in surprise at the sudden darkness. Was there a power outage? He intended to call on HEUSC but then realized that the AI was also disconnected. How peculiar, since they had their own power supply. Unless there was an interference-
Long slender fingers covered his eyes. He felt himself relax with the familiar scent. He was nudged to stand up and was guided to a place in the middle of the room to sit on a chair. He could hear the door opening and various footsteps followed it. There was a slight noise, a clap, something being put on his head, then slowly the hands from his hands and was greeted to the sight of a birthday cake lit with small candles.
“One, two,” the familiar voice of his cousin reached his ears, “Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Daisuke, happy birthday to you.”
Daisuke was speechless. Aside from the cake, his coworkers were also holding out gifts around, presenting it to him like he was a prince. He- he didnt expect this. At all. He didn’t even notice the date. This may be the reason why Suzue was more cheerful this morning, and why she seemed to cater to his whims more so than usual.
“Happy birthday, Daisuke-kun! Come on, blow out your candles,” Saeki encouraged him, a soft smile on her face as she brought the cake closer to him. “We made this especially for you, we hope you like i- Daisuke-kun?!”
All of them looked at the man to see tears in his eyes, some cascading down his cheeks. Only the light of the candles illuminates the room making his face look more somber. This sent them in varying degrees of panic. Did they do something wrong? Was the surprise that bad that he had to cry?
“D-Daisuke-sama?” Suzue approached him hesitantly. “A-are you alright?”
Daisuke could do nothing but stare at them. There was a feeling clawing at his heart, one that he kept hidden inside of him for a very long time. He couldn’t remember the time when somebody actually put this much effort for him, one that is made with love and care. It has been a long time since he experienced something like this. Tears continued to stream down his face, then he felt a hand treading on his hair, caressing his scalp lightly.
“Hey Kambe, do you hate our surprise so much that you would actually cry?” He turned to look at Kato, a soft look on his normally annoyed face. “It’s your birthday, so why cry?”
Kato grabbed his handkerchief from his back pocket and wiped Daisuke’s tears away. “There. Why don’t you blow your candle, you big baby? Then open your gifts so we can eat.” Daisuke looked at the worried expressions on his co-worker and Suzue’s face before he took a deep shuddering breath and gave a small smile.
“I- I thank you so much for this, everyone.”
“It was no problem at all, Kambe-san. Actually, it was Kato-san who planned all of this with Suzue-san and we just went along with it,” Kamei said with a relieved smile. Thank god Kambe wasn’t horrified at their simple surprise. It wasn’t rushed, per se, but it was extremely mediocre compared to what he grew up with. “Quickly, Kambe-san! The candles are melting!”
Kamei’s shout jolted everyone from the moment to see that yes, the candles were melting, so Saeki brought it to Daisuke, and he blew on it gently. The lights flickered back on immediately, and everyone settled around him.
“Here are your presents, Daisuke-san. I hope you like them!” Suzue said as they piled their presents in front of him. “Food is in the food warmers, so we better distribute them out for everyone.”
Light chatter began as everyone was given food and started eating. Kamei and Teppei exclaimed as they ate their food, saying that it was so good, and asked Suzue where she got it. Suzue just giggled and said it was a special place.
There were simple dishes, some more familiar than the others, but there was something that caught Daisuke’s eyes. There was a bowl of natto, the kind which he had at Kato’s house when he asked him to help with the missing dog. He turned to the said man and was met with a secretive smile and a finger on his lips, gesturing for him to keep their little secret.
He took the bowl, said his prayers, before digging in. The comfort of the food getting him to relax, and before he knew it, he finished his meal. The cake was then divided and given around. Another round of compliments came for the cake as well, Teppei now persistent in asking where Suzue got the food from, saying that he would like to surprise his wife with it but Suzue just giggled.
“Wah〰 thank you for the food,” Kiyozumi said after a few minutes, sighing in appreciation. “Well, ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to clean up. It is getting late.’
“Yes chief!” came the unanimous reply as everyone began cleaning up. It was a few minutes when everyone said their last greetings and goodbyes.
“Enjoy the rest of the night, Daisuke-san,” came from a waving Saeki.
“Open our presents as well, yeah?” Yumoto clapped him on his shoulder before he waved goodbye as well.
“Yeah, Kambe-san! And tell us which gift you think is best,” Kamei said cheekily.
“Kamei-kun!’
“Sorry, Saeki-san. Hehe.”
They waved at the man before they all walked into the night. Daisuke turned his head at the inspector who was looking at him closely the whole time.
“I- thank you, really,” Daisuke said softly, “For all this. I didn’t expect anything to happen today."
The inspector just smiled at him, and Daisuke felt bright for some reason. “You more than deserve it, even if you are an absolute bastard at times.” Haru then reached into his pocket and gave him a small box.
“This one’s my gift. I couldn’t put it with the others because of the size,” he looked away while handing the present to the other. There was a slight flush on his cheeks, and Daisuke carefully took the box in his hands.
“Thank you, Kato. I am- extremely happy. Thank you. ” The admission took Haru by surprise, and he turned to look at Daisuke once again.
“Wow, that’s a lot of thanks today, huh, Kambe?” Haru just ruffled his hair. “Well, it’s getting late. We have work tomorrow.” Was he embarrassed? Daisuke found that endearing.
“It is. Goodnight, inspector.” Daisuke smiled genuinely. “See you tomorrow.”
There was a weird look on Haru’s face before he replied, “Uh, yeah, goodnight. You should hurry up, Suzue’s probably worried that you’re taking so long.”
Daisuke just hummed and watched as the other went to his own car and drove away. He then went to his own car where Suzue was waiting.
“Were you able to enjoy this day, Kambe-sama?” Suzue asked curiously.
“Yes, I did.” He replied in a soft voice.
She gave a small laugh, “That’s good to hear then.” and with that, they drove off back to their mansion.
When they arrived, Daisuke asked the maid to have his gifts to be delivered to his room. He then took a small shower, getting ready for the night, before he took the biggest gift of the pile. He gently peeled off the wrappings and saw a folded piece of paper on top of the gift box. He opened it and started to read its content.
Daisuke rubbed his eyes as tears started to form once more. He didn’t know what god he had pleased to have this kind of feeling once more, but he was grateful for it. He finally found his answers.
Yes, he was happy. He was at peace. He was content.
Because now, now he found something that he was missing from his life. He found a family that loved him. He set the box down, and placed the paper on his bedside table. Today was an emotional ride, one which he isn’t used to anymore. He laid down, and for the first time, fell into a calm, peaceful sleep with a smile on his face, the memories of his past now settled.
Dear Daisuke-kun,
Happy birthday! You’re 28 now! To be honest, we didn’t really know what to give you at first, so we wrote this letter. First of all, we wanted to say thank you. You’re the first person to treat us as equals even when you just arrived at our department. You took care of us and helped us in many ways, and we are forever grateful to you!
Even if you’re aloof at times, I love sharing my gummies with you and having you react to them. You’re also fun to be with, always teaching us about things that we usually don’t care to know about. You also have these little quirks that are so adorable, like how you would have this little wrinkle in your forehead when you see or experience something new, or if you smell something, your nose would do this little scrunch hahaha. You’re so cute, Kambe-san, really!
Hiya, Kambe-san, Kamei here! Thanks for being a good bro! You always support me with annoying Kato-san and you defend me even if I am more or less, a certified dumbass at most times. I truly appreciate your existence. I now dub us as best bros through this paper (please don't tell Kato-san that. He might be heartbroken hehe)
Yo, Yumoto here. Thanks for putting up with us, not many people actually do. Appreciate it so much.
Hello, Saeki here again. Unfortunately, Haru-kun is too shy to actually write anything (Kamei is teasing him now, and let me tell you that his face is so red), but besides that, he said some things about you that I will loosely translate. He said that you are smart, and you are a great person who carried a great burden since childhood. He said that you didn’t deserve to suffer so much (even if you were an asshole-his words, not mine) and that you deserve to be happy. He also said that you and he could be more chill if you didn’t always drop him off a bridge.
That’s about it, yeah.
Oh!
He said to write, as I quote, “You aren’t that bad, Kambe. Just stop spending so much money unnecessarily”
This ends our letter to you! You are one of us now. A part of our little family and you fit right in.
We love you.
A happiest birthday to you and we wish you the best in life.
With Love,
Your MCPTF Family