Work Text:
Another morning, another day to start.
Seth woke up early like usual before his team did. He stretched his body and washed his face before preparing the breakfast. His energy for the day was the same as any other day when preparing the food. His stoic presence and stoney face looked bored as if existence was a thing.
It wasn't like it affected the food's taste. If anything, he was the best cook of team SSAB (Stability). Speaking of team SSAB, they also began waking up as the ladies of the team, Blaze and Sakura, got up. The former was radiating her usual sunshine of hope and happiness and the latter was trying to get herself together after a rough evening last night.
The only one who didn't wake up, or didn't want to get up from his bed in a better term, was Cole. As Seth placed everything on the table, he approached the sleeping Cole and shook his body lightly to wake him up.
"Cole, get up for breakfast." He said with his usual energyless tone which was responded with a groan from his teammate.
Knowing Cole wouldn't get up, Sakura immediately grabbed her leader's staff and tossed it to him. Seth grabbed it without looking and lifted it before he proceeded to smack Cole's chest and the mattress as if he were dusting it off.
And he smacked HARD.
Hard enough to make Cole wake up and wheeze from the pain. "Get your ass up, Cole. I am not hearing any complaints about the food being cold." He said sternly, waiting for his friend to get up.
"Fine, fine." Cole groaned and threw the sheet off the bed as he got up and headed to the table. "It's Saturday, stone-face."
"I know but I figured you had plans with someone so I just woke you up based on what I heard yesterday. " Seth placed his staff back and took his seat.
Cole and Blaze froze before they swallowed the food inside their mouths and turned their eyes to the leader. Cole gulped his food and cleared his throat. "Uhhh, you know anything about it?"
"How the hell am I supposed to know and the last week you were speaking in Morse code?" Seth narrowed his eyes slightly.
For a moment, Cole and Blaze were relieved while Sakura stayed calm. The team continued their breakfast after that moment until Blaze grabbed Cole and went out without saying anything.
Seth looked at his fiery friend take the asshole friend away and shrugged as he began washing dishes. The other one that was sitting in the room was Sakura leaning against the wall.
"Why you didn't get out with them?" He asked.
"I am tired from yesterday. Might let Cole suffer a bit." Sakura replied with a cheeky grin on her face. Something unusual to see from his friend.
"So…shopping…? You guys never experienced true pain." He commented on what he assumed was them going to the mall and spending some time together.
"True…I never thought something like…buying clothes…testing them out…it felt like torture with each passing hour." She shuddered and rubbed her hand before pushing those memories of yesterday aside. "So…you know what day is today?"
"Training day…same stuff I do." He replied, shrugging nonchalantly.
Sakura's eyes were slightly wide opened. "Uh, no. It's not about training." She said, trying to give him a small hint.
Seth closed the water and hummed for a moment, trying to remember what he had to do. Did he plan on cooking something? Is it a holiday he barely knows anything about? He looked at the calendar and saw it was nothing.
"Nothing really though I promised to make some meatballs last week. I know you are very eager for it." He said before finishing the dishes.
Sakura blinked for a moment before she sighed. "I guess so." She let him walk and pulled her scroll. "Also bring us some confetti and chocolate on the way."
"Noted." He grabbed his scroll and staff before walking out.
After a couple of seconds, Sakura texted someone. [You were right. He's too blunt to notice somehow.]
…
A couple of hours later, Seth finally came back with a few bags in his hand. Spaghetti, Meatballs, Confetti, and Chocolate. He returned to the dorm and was about to open the door until he sensed someone’s aura nearby and before he turned around, he heard one loud “SETH!” before he got tackled down on the ground while the bags in his hands fell off.
Seth felt a crushing hug that was full of warmth and love and also had her ribs crushed. He flinched in pain and looked down at the person. “Hey, sis…was that tackle necessary?”
“Aww, I just came back from a month-long mission and that's how you greet your sister?” She gave him the puppy eyes before giggling and letting him go.
“That's certainly a dangerous way to reunite with others.” He pushed her off and got back on his feet, dusting his blue jacket. “How was the mission, Lisa?”
“It was…eventful. Nearly died by The Rabid Wolverine but Stan used his semblance at the last second to avoid death.” She replied, her expression turning a bit serious before sighing. “Aqua and Chris got to the Infirmary, with broken bones but knowing them, they will be fine in no time.” She said cheerfully.
“Good to hear you're still safe.” He hugged his sister, who was shorter than him by a few inches, and let her go to get the bags…only to find two bags were there instead of the four. “What the?” He muttered in confusion and looked around to see nothing…even Lisa was gone.
He groaned internally and picked up the spaghetti and meatballs before entering the empty dorm of SSAB. He began preparing the lunch and called his teammates to come over and have lunch. He made sure he COOKED them well and placed each plate on the table. The smell of the sauce mixed with the meat was alluring and for meatballs fans, that's an absolute win.
Soon enough, they arrived and looked the same as ever. Normally, he wouldn't care but he might have noticed a little chocolate marks on Blaze’s skirt. As Blaze sat down, she was met by a light chop on the head. "You're the one who took the chocolate, didn't you?”
“Ouch, that's for…important reasons.” She replied while rubbing her head.
“If important meant devouring it, at least tell me.” He said as he took his seat to start eating. The Lunch was nice and simple although Seth noticed his team speaking about…let's just say weird choice of words. Here they were trying their best to not reveal what they were doing the entire day. It was a bit annoying for the leader of SSAB but he figured it wasn't anything important. If it was, there would be a good chance they might get bonked.
After finishing their delicious and spicy meatballs, Seth went to clean the plates. He was focused on them, he forgot his teammates had gone away again. He tried to figure out what he wanted to do because nothing had been done before.
Training? Done.
Studying? Done.
Cleaning the dorm? Clean as fuck.
Checking his grandmother and what she was doing in the infirmary? Done.
He thought he should at least take a walk and maybe encounter his teammates and figure out what they were doing. It was 5 PM and the atmosphere was as romantic as it could be. He began walking in the courtyard, hands in his pockets, and glancing at the students walking around and having fun. It sure was awesome for them.
His expression didn't change at all. He was still the same stone-faced guy he was with his flat tone. His mind began to wonder about many things, including what the other members of SSAB were doing, and to his luck, he noticed them inside the supposedly empty ballroom from a distance.
Now that was his chance.
He began heading to the ballroom, curious to know what they were doing. He also noticed someone else in the group, Lisa. She had a grin on her face, a mischievous and excited grin as well.
Now something was going on. He closed the distance and finally, he made it to the ballroom. “What the hell are you up to, guys?”
Before Seth could predict, his teammates and sister erupted into a chorus of "Happy Birthday!" Surprised and overwhelmed, Seth stood speechless for a moment, his heart bumped quickly as he was caught off guard. Not only that, he noticed another person in the group, his big brother Ace, who carried the party popper and was smiling as well as his grandmother Emily placing candles on the cake. They had planned a surprise birthday party for him the entire time.
Before he could speak, he felt a hug coming from his side as Lisa hugged him to death. “Happy birthday, brother. I am so happy I was able to find out today was your birthday after returning from missions.” She squealed while crushing him with her muscular arms.
“Do you know guys I like you and hate you at the same time?” He groaned in pain as he was let go of that torture device that held him in his place.
Ace chuckled and patted his younger brother. “Well, it was my plan in the first place, knowing that we skipped like…3 birthdays, gosh that's a lot, I decided we should do one here. Hell, Mom and dad knew and sent this video.” Ace pulled his scroll and showed him a video of his parents, Zack and Regina, wishing him happy birthday.
“ Hey, son, I know we may or may not have been doing a lot for you sometimes but we want to let you know we still love you. We're sorry we didn't have the chance to be together for this occasion so please enjoy your time with your siblings and teammates.” Zack was the first to speak before his mother came in.
“Hiya, my baby boy, just like your father said, we’re sorry we couldn't do this together but just to let you know, I'm proud of you. You're a great team leader and knowing your stories with them, I couldn't keep myself from squealing with happiness. You still have 2 more years and I can confidently say you will be a great huntsman.” Regina said with a motherly smile and tone sending warmth and love to her son.
And if that wasn't enough, his baby sister Luna came in and wished him a happy birthday.
Seth was surprised by that and to say he was about to tear up was an understatement but funnily enough, it wasn't over.
“Big sis Azure also sent a video. She wanted to say hi, even if her duties were…a lot.” Ace brought the other video with his sister Azure. It showed his old sister looking at the camera, sleepy as fuck, tired, and ready to pass out at any moment but she kept forward for this.
“ Hello, Seth. I apologize for not visiting a lot lately. Carrying my third, fucking, child takes a lot of effort.” People were mostly caught off guard by the sudden yell but Azure was just like any mother, carrying a child would send her to madness. “ I know being a team leader isn't easy. Hell, I was the leader of team ABXD (Amberized) for four fucking years . But I'm still doing well. I wish you a happy birthday and Link says hi. She is eager to meet her uncle again. I know you're spoiling her secretly. ” Oh shit, she figured out. “ Anyways, love ya bye.”
This hit Seth deep. For the first time in a while, he couldn't contain himself and cried. Tears of joy slid down as he couldn't find any words to describe how grateful he was for his teammates and family. For spending time preparing something he forgot.
He was met with a big hug from his teammates, letting him know they cared about making their team leader happy, even if Cole wasn't showing that on his face. He was then met with a hug from Ace and Lisa, who were cooing teasingly and simply happy about their brother's special day.
Emily brought the cake. A nice vanilla and chocolate cake was prepared for Seth. All of them began singing “Happy Birthday to you.” and clapping. Seth wiped his tears and looked at the cake. He smiled and made his wish before blowing the candles.
All of them spent the evening together and enjoyed each other's presence while having a cake and a drink. For the next few hours, it was all joy and fun until night came around and everyone went back to their dorms.
As Seth lay on his bed, he realized that the true gift was the love and friendship that surrounded him. His siblings and teammates had created an atmosphere of warmth, happiness, and a sense of belonging that Seth would cherish for years to come. He didn't feel that on some good days or even old birthdays but hell, he didn't mind. His real gift was the family he made and the friends he made along the way
He closed his eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep with a small cute smile on his face after a great evening.