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Birthdays are a waste of time and energy.
That’s been Kaiba’s opinion since childhood. Well, growing up in a household that valued success over one’s entire life didn’t really encourage an enthusiasm for birthday celebrations.
Kaiba has tried to make Mokuba’s birthdays enjoyable, however. A gift, some favorite foods, a trip to Kaibaland, whatever made Mokuba happy, Kaiba did it.
To him, a birthday is just a marker that you’re one year closer to death. It’s a way to know the passage of time, nothing more. So he woke up early, put on his suit, made coffee, and went to work. Just like any other day.
Of course, you had texted him an annoyingly sappy happy birthday text right at midnight, but he hadn’t heard from you for the rest of the day. He noted the strange change from your usual constant messages.
Work was frustrating, like always. It’s exhausting to deal with incompetence and stupidity, and even harder to deal with running on two hours of sleep and four cups of coffee. How many people did he fire today? He lost count. Well that’s on them. Shouldn’t have acted dumb around him. He still doesn’t care what his employees have to say about him.
“Man, I really thought today would be the day Mr.
Kaiba acts like a normal human being for once. Isn’t it his birthday?”
“Yeah, I thought so to. I guess it’s just like any other day, stay clear of Hurricane Kaiba!”
The chatter of two employees nearby amused him. They can talk all they want, they’ll probably make a fatal mistake and be fired next week.
Walking into his office, his phone rang. A call from you. He answered it as fast as humanly possible.
“What is it?” His usual harsh greeting.
“Oh, thank goodness you answered! Seto, you need to come to Yugi’s game shop right now. There’s been an emergency, we’re kinda panicking, and we need you here. Please come!!” You rambled, not breathing between each sentence.
Kaiba could hear hushed voices in the background. Remembering you and Mokuba had gone there in the morning, his mind started racing, anticipating the worst.
“What? What’s happening over there? Are you okay? Is Mokuba okay? Did he get kidnapped again?” He screamed your name into the phone, trying to get an answer. You responded by hanging up.
‘Damn it,’ He thought.
Rushing to grab his coat, he ran out of the KC building and drove to Yugi’s as fast as he could.
The first thing he noticed was the lack of lights in the shop once he got there. It looked like they were closed, but he knew the door would be unlocked anyway.
He let out a deep breath, preparing for the worst.
With an aggressive kick, he slammed the door open, the sound of the door echoing through the eerie store.
Suddenly, the lights flashed on, and 8 people jumped out.
“SURPRISE!!”
He should have seen this coming. He knew you, he knew you were going to pull something like this. He hated surprises, and he especially hated surprises involving the nerd herd.
Silence ensued for a solid few minutes before
anyone dared to move or speak. The expression on Kaiba’s face soured slowly, turning from worry to disgust.
Finally, you laughed awkwardly. “Um, happy birthday, Seto!”
Yugi and Mokuba quickly wished him, both looking as if they felt doing this was a mistake.
He glared at Joey and Tristan, who stood there with shit-eating grins. Téa, Bakura, and Duke looked awkward, probably wondering why they agreed to do this.
“I’m leaving.” Kaiba muttered, embarrassed by the situation.
“Hey! No, no, no! Me and Bakura baked you a cake! It’s vanilla, with a Blue Eyes White Dragon on it!” You rushed after him, grabbing his sleeve and giving him your puppy-eyes stare.
He raised an eyebrow at you and looked over at Mokuba, and then back to you.
“Fine, I’m only staying a few minutes. Don’t get excited.” He grumbled, barely audible.
Yugi’s head snapped up to look at him, smile
growing. The rest of the gang looked satisfied to some extent, except for Joey, who secretly wanted Kaiba to leave so he could eat all the cake.
Upstairs, the group had split into smaller groups,
Tristan and Duke fighting, Bakura and Joey playing Duel Monsters while Mokuba watched,
laughing at all of Joey’s blunders, and finally
Yugi, Téa, Kaiba and you sitting together near the snack bowls. It was more like Yugi, Téa, and you with Kaiba sitting nearby.
“So Kaiba, what do you usually do for
your birthdays?” Yugi asked, trying to include Kaiba in the conversation.
He glanced at him before looking back at Mokuba. “Nothing.”
“Oh, actually? Surely you do something?” He asked again.
Kaiba thought for a second before replying.
“I let myself get two hours of sleep instead of one.”
You sighed at his response, and Téa frowned.
“Well, I guess that can count as celebrating for you.” Yugi chuckled, pushing his bangs out of face.
“I don’t celebrate.”
“Are we not celebrating right now?” Téa asked,
a deadpan expression on her face.
Kaiba shrugged. “I’d be ‘celebrating’ more if Wheeler wasn’t here.”
You snorted softly, completely expecting him to say that.
“Come on Seto, he kinda makes everything more
lively, don’t you think?” You nodded at the blond, who was currently raging over losing 1000 LPs.
“I feel my brain cells evaporating everytime I’m stuck with him, but sure, more ‘lively.’”
Yugi and Téa grinned at his words. Mokuba had gotten up and was walking over to your group.
“Hey, Joey’s about to lose it, so we should probably give him a dueling break and cut the cake now.” Mokuba snickered, telling the group that Bakura was only a few turns away from an easy victory.
Yugi checked his watch and nodded, beginning to get up.
“What do you mean ‘cut the cake,’” Kaiba groaned, “I’m not five years old.”
You stuck out your tongue at him and pulled him up, holding back your laughter.
“Oh, it’s alright Seto, play along with us just this once.” Mokuba spoke softly to his older brother. Kaiba grunted in response, meaning “fine” in Kaiba language.
You hadn’t lied, the cake was… something. His beloved Blue Eyes was on the cake, with sunglasses on her face. He stared down at her, face neutral.
Shuffling over to his side, you grabbed his face and pulled him down to your height to put an obnoxious “birthday boy” party hat on his head. Joey burst out laughing, followed by Tristan and Duke trying to stop themselves from laughing.
“If we weren’t dating, I’d kill you.” Kaiba said quietly to you, his voice monotone.
“Aww, how romantic!” You grinned adjusting the hat. “Keep it on.” You growled, voice suddenly intimidating.
His eyes widened and he nodded slowly, a little bit afraid of you. You gave him your brightest smile and whipped around to face the others. Bakura handed you the candles from next to you, and you set up the cake. On Kaiba’s other side, Mokuba used a small red lighter to light the candles.
“Alright we’re ready.” The youngest member of the group cleared his throat, “Choir, begin.”
Mokuba pretended to direct the group as they sung “Happy Birthday” to Kaiba. Kaiba felt physical pain from having to stand and listen to it. It took all his self-control to not knock over the table, take the cake, and leave without a word.
The song ended and everyone cheered, encouraging Kaiba to make a good wish. He closed his eyes and quickly blew out the candles, feeling embarrassed.
You hugged him tightly and gave him yet another long and overly affectionate speech about how much you care for him.
“Okay. Thanks.” Was his response.
You beamed up at him, expecting him to say that. In social environments, he tended to shut down, so you expected the dismissive response. You made a mental note to yourself to take him home soon and let him relax.
“Here, try some!” You took the plate Tristan offered you and tried to feed him.
At first he backed away, but then took a bite, hesitating. He chewed the small bite for three seconds before nodding.
“I like it. I can tell you made it because it is good.” He observed your radiant smile at his words. You gave him the plate and got yourself your own as he took the hat off.
Although he certainly didn’t act it, you could tell he was feeling calmer, and maybe he was even enjoying himself? He listened to the conversations of the others, his face showing his reactions to every piece of gossip Duke shared with the others.
“Are you… having a good time?” You questioned, wanting to know his answer.
He finished chewing before nodding his head. “The cake made the whole thing okay.”
You sighed, smiling softly at him. “Alright, I’m glad. I know you don’t really love surprises, and I’m sorry about that. I just wanted you to have a good birthday. Mokuba told me you don’t care for your birthday, so I wanted to make this year good.” You pushed his brown hair away from his eyes.
He kept his gaze down on his plate, but you could see a small, genuine smile on his face. You felt immense pride seeing him smile, a rare sight. He didn’t smile like that often, only smiling when his brother was involved.
“Thank you.” He murmured, glancing at you.
You kissed his cheek and felt yourself falling for him all over again.
“Of course. Happy birthday, Seto.”