Work Text:
"My birthday is coming up." Terzo sighed, setting his pen down and drumming his fingers against his desk. "I feel like I'm becoming an old man."
Omega let out a small laugh, leaning back in his seat across from Terzo and raising an eyebrow. "You feel old, deliciae? You're still so young for a human."
Terzo shrugged, looking up to meet the ghoul's eyes. "I suppose it just feels weird that so many years have passed by... nearly 50 birthdays, hm? Thinking about it just makes me feel like a frail old man."
Omega nodded, considering Terzo's words. 50 years might be a lot for a human, yes, but it was barely anything for a ghoul like himself. "I've never really understood birthdays." He admitted, tilting his head as he spoke. "How do you remember the day? How do you remember how long it's been? I suppose it's easier with a short lifespan, but... I don't know. I just don't see the appeal."
Terzo raised his eyebrows at that, leaning forward in his chair and propping his elbows up on his desk. "You don't remember your birthday, mio caro?"
Omega shrugged with a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't even remember how old I am, love. There's no point in remembering it. All I know is that I'm probably at least... 200-something."
Terzo let out a low whistle, a grin on his face. "Wow. Forgot how ancient you ghouls can get."
Omega chuckled with a shrug. "It's still young for a ghoul. And I don't know my exact age. I don't really remember the day or year I was born, so I probably won't be able to figure out my exact age."
Terzo tilted his head, propping his chin on the back of his hands. "So you just know you're old, then. Is there any date you do remember?"
"I remember my summoning." Omega offered. "May 5th, 2010. I've been on the surface for 7 years."
Terzo hummed softly. "7 years you've been in the ministry, hm? That's quite an achievement, I think. Will it be 8 this year?"
Omega nodded, watching Terzo's movements intently as his tail twitched. "Yup. 8."
Terzo smiled, leaning back in his seat and picking his pen up again, just to tap it against his desk. "Interesting."
When Omega returned to his room a few days later after an unnecessarily long practice, he was surprised to find a letter set neatly on his bed. His glamour fell as he took his mask off and stepped forward, his tail swaying inquisitively behind him. He picked it up, a small laugh leaving him when he saw the name addressed on it:"il mio bellissimo diavolo," scrawled in Terzo's loopy, cursive font. He gently opened the letter with his claw, being careful not to tear the beautiful black parchment.
"Today is special, is it not?" The letter began with, a small heart doodled next to the words. "I felt the need to celebrate this date with you, darling. Come to the eastern woods, I'll be waiting there for you." Another heart after this, as well as a two toned kiss mark pressed onto the bottom of the paper. Omega wondered briefly how much lipstick Terzo had to apply for the mark to stick, but quickly dismissed it in favor of the excitement building in his chest. He didn't think there was anything special today, and a part of him worried that he had somehow missed some important anniversary between the two of them.
He set the letter back down on his bed with a small smile, not bothering to put his mask on as he left his room. The eastern woods. Those were the isolated ones, the ones past the greenhouse and closer to the lake; perfect for if you didn't want the rest of the ministry to know about your gathering there.
He got there quicker than he expected (he would never admit that he was practically speed walking down the halls to try and keep Terzo from waiting) and entered the woods, not having to travel far into them before he saw Terzo. The man was sitting in a clearing on a blanket, wearing a simple black vest over a red button up shirt. Omega felt suddenly self conscious about the fact that he was still wearing what he was wearing from practice, but it was too late to turn back and change now, as Terzo had noticed him and turned around.
"Ah, Omega!" He grinned, rising to his feet and approaching the ghoul. His face paint looked neater, as if he had paused between now and practice to clean it up. He cupped the taller man's face and pulled him closer, pressing a brief kiss to the ghoul's lips. "I see you got my invitation."
"Of course I did." Omega smiled against Terzo's lips, one of his hands finding the man's waist. He looked past Terzo, taking in the different objects littered across the blanket. There were various foods - fruits, a cake, and a bottle of wine - and a small box wrapped in a silky purple bow. "What is all this for?"
Terzo pulled back, raising an eyebrow as he looked up at the ghoul. "For your summoning day, of course." He smiled, and oh, of course Terzo would celebrate such a day. Omega couldn't help but return the smile as the man continued. "I felt bad that you don't remember your birthday, and I really wanted to make you have a day where you were treated special and like royalty. So-" he gestured at the blanket behind him. "I'm doing just that. Treating you like royalty."
"Love, you didn't have to do this." Omega said as Terzo's hand found his and the smaller man led him to the blanket. The two sat down on it and Terzo shook his head.
"Nonsense. Of course I did. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't celebrate you every chance I got?" He tilted his head to the side, looking up at Omega through his lashes before looking back down at the display of foods. He plucked a grape and raised it to his mouth, taking a delicate bite before glancing up at Omega. "Don't be shy. Take some."
Omega reached out and took a strawberry from the bowl, taking a bite of it and pausing for a moment to savor the taste. "You're too sweet to me, love." He sighed, and his words did nothing to hide the way his tail had practically began wagging behind him. "I don't even celebrate my summoning day this much."
"Well, I'm a human." Terzo shrugged, reaching up to brush away a trickle of juice from the fruit that had run down Omega's chin. "And we humans celebrate everything."
Omega laughed a bit at Terzo's words, placing hand on top of Terzo's. "I suppose you do." He hummed, and the two leaned forward to meet in a soft kiss. It lasted a moment before Terzo pulled away, the excitement obvious on his face.
"Oh, there's more!" He grinned, turning to grab the other things. "There's wine, obviously. And I got a cake. It's nothing too big or grand, just a small one." He set it between the two, obviously proud of the display he had set up for the two. The cake was indeed small, but it looked delicious. It was covered in black frosting with violet flowers decorated onto it with frosting and fondue. "It's vanilla, because I remember you mentioning that that was your favorite."
"Dear..." Omega said, brushing a finger against the plastic packaging around the cake to keep the frosting intact. "You remember so much about me. I don't even remember saying that."
Terzo shrugged with a soft smile, reaching over and taking the small box into his hands. He absentmindedly ran his thumb over the bow as he spoke. "If I had the time, I would've gotten you a grander gift. A while ago, you got me these beautiful earrings that I love so much." He tilted his head, and the gothic black and red earrings caught the light shining through the leaves briefly. "And I know that you enjoy jewelry too. So, I got you this."
Terzo handed Omega the box, and Omega took it gently in his large hands. He glanced up at Terzo, who tilted his head as if encouraging him, before looking back at the box and carefully undoing the bow. He took the lid off and set it to the side, wanting to be nothing but careful with everything Terzo had gotten him. He moved the purple tissue paper out of the way and let out a small gasp when he saw what was sitting in the box.
"Oh, love..." It was a large ring. To a normal human, it may just seem like an ill fitting bracelet, but Omega knew what it was. It was a ring for one of his horns, and one that looked like it fit perfectly. In ghoul culture, rings were worn on horns, specifically the right one, to show that the ghoul had a mate. The ring itself was made of silver, and Omega knew Terzo had picked that specifically so it didn't clash with the silver rings he wore on his hands. There were stars engraved on the outside, reminiscent of the ethereal and celestial nature of quintessence ghouls.
"I wasn't 100% if you would like it." Terzo admitted, watching as Omega gently took it out of the box and turned it over in his hands, admiring it. "You know, if maybe you didn't want to announce to the other ghouls that you were in a relationship, or if you didn't like wearing jewelry on your horns-"
"It's beautiful, darling." Omega whispered. "I love it so much. Thank you, Terzo." He held his hands out, offering it to the human. "Put it on?"
Terzo smiled, taking the ring from Omega's hands. The ghoul bowed his head, and Terzo slipped the ring onto his horn. His hands brushed against Omega's head before moving down to cup his chin. He lifted Omega's head, his heart melting at the pure adoration on the ghoul's face.
"You're so beautiful, mio principe." He sighed, pressing his lips against Omega's forehead. "Ti amerò fino ai confini della terra."
"Amabo te donec cor meum sistit, et tunc." Omega whispered back, his eyes closing briefly. He found Terzo's other hand, squeezing it. "You're perfect, my love."
"As are you." Terzo hummed, squeezing Omega's hand back before sitting up. He clapped his hands together, a smile on his face. "Now, what do you say we finish all this food together, love?"