Work Text:
First thing Zayne hears upon waking up is the distinctive sound of his alarm, which, far from irritating him, saves him once again from some terrible nightmare. With his forehead covered in sweat and the sheets being a complete nuisance, he gets up to start his day.
The last few weeks have been busier than usual, with his calendar having no space left to write in and hardly any time to eat or sleep, which has caused Zayne to lose track of time.
The only thing that still keeps him grounded is the person with whom he has decided to share his days, a person who, by the way, hasn't spoken to him since the previous day. However, Zayne doesn't have time to figure out why, due to the little time left for him to get to work.
His schedule was so tight that he had calculated the minutes it took to walk from his office to the conference room to eat his lunch along the way, something not exactly healthy.
While finishing his morning routine and leaving his house, he noticed that he hadn’t received any message from Sylus since the night before, which left him a bit puzzled since Sylus always wished him "good night" early because of his inverted schedule. Still, Zayne probably attributed it to the other being busy with his own bad people business and let it go.
He stopped for a few minutes to check his phone while walking to his car, still curious about his boyfriend's absence, since, due to their reversed schedules, Sylus always sent him a “good night” message early in the morning, then went to sleep.
It wasn’t until he was in front of his car that he saw a small note stuck to the driver’s window.
“You look cute today, the new age suits you. The first gift of the day is in the glove compartment.
Happy birthday, love.
—Sy”
And there it was, the sign of his presence in every part of his life, that little burst of energy waiting for him every morning. Zayne looked at the note again; he had apparently forgotten his birthday, so he had to correct the date on his phone.
September 5th.
He really forgot.
To his defense, he never had the inclination to care much about his birthday. His parents were far away, and he never had anyone to celebrate the anniversary of his birth with.
Until now.
Despite himself, he found himself smiling as he got in the car and opened the glove compartment. Inside was a small black velvet box with a tiny blue bow on top.
Zayne carefully opened it, tracing the texture with his fingers, and looked inside, where he found another folded note along with a silver necklace ending in a finely cut snowflake-shaped pendant, small and elegant.
It was the most beautiful necklace he had ever seen.
When he recovered from the shock, he unfolded the note and read:
“This is your first gift. I would have loved to be there and see your expression when you saw it and put it on your neck.”
“Why aren’t you here, then?” Zayne wondered.
“Why am I not there? You must be asking.”
Zayne let out a mocking huff.
“The truth is, I know how much you value your routine, and how busy you’ve been these days, so I’d hate to interrupt something so important to you. Still, I wanted to find a way for you to know what it means for me to be a part of days like these, so I organized this.
Also, I’m pretty sure I was technically the first to wish you a happy birthday, since I wrote this at midnight, which is another point in my favor.
Love you.
—Sy.”
Zayne was speechless, still staring at that fine piece of jewelry. He decided to wear it right away, even with the feeling that it was too beautiful for someone like him, and he almost sent Sylus a message.
He stopped himself before doing so. Sylus had prepared a whole series of gifts through notes, almost like a treasure hunt, so he decided to play along and head to work, expecting anything.
When he arrived at the hospital, he was immediately surrounded by his colleagues and some of the senior residents, and as usual, congratulations rained down, since everyone had known about his birthday ever since that year when they had to write all the dates on a board and promised they would never forget.
This wasn’t something that bothered him; he just disliked being held up for longer than necessary. However, this year was different, as one person in particular lifted his spirits so much that he found himself genuinely smiling at the compliments from those around him.
“Dr. Zayne, I think something is waiting for you at your desk,” said his colleague, appearing behind him with a shy smile.
Zayne frowned, apologized to everyone, and went to his office. It could only be from one person, but that person wasn’t known by anyone at the hospital. It wasn’t that he tried to hide it, he just liked to keep his private life separate from work, except for that time when his car broke down in the middle of the road, and conveniently, Sylus was nearby and took him to work on his motorcycle, causing curiosity and admiration from both patients and doctors, especially when he came up to knock their helmets together in a strangely tender kiss.
Yes, it could only be from no one else.
When he reached his office and approached his desk, another slightly larger square box, this time made of cardboard, was waiting for him.
He settled in his chair and opened the box to find another folded note and a snow globe containing a tiny photo of the two of them from the first time they went to Snowcrest, lying in the snow, both with red noses. That day, Sylus was freezing, and he noticed that the cold never seemed to affect Zayne no matter how much they played outside, so he pinched his nose until it turned red, and then took the picture.
It was also the first time Zayne had said anything about his powers, his nightmares, and his thoughts about himself. It wasn’t much, but Sylus’ scarlet gaze, softer and a little congested, told him how much he understood and how grateful he was to share that important aspect of his life.
When he opened the note, he was already smiling.
“You’ll probably think this is super cheesy of me, and maybe it is, but that was one of the funnest moments of my life. Being by your side was already awesome, but watching you, the ice king, fail miserably at making a snowman was pure glory.
I want to treasure all those moments together, and that’s why I’m giving you this. If you shake it, little silver snowflakes will fly around.”
Zayne didn’t know what to say; he felt relief that Sylus wasn’t standing in front of him because he wouldn’t have known how to react properly.
“By the way, this gift comes in pairs, so look under your desk.”
“Love you.
—Sy.”
Following the instructions, he discovered another box, this time more rectangular and thinner, also black.
Sylus had always been a bit eccentric, liking to give expensive gifts and take him to fancy restaurants, and even though Zayne thought it wasn’t necessary, he understood. It was his way of showing love.
That’s why he thought that for his birthday, Sylus would give him a fancy jacket or some expensive branded shoes, and the adventure would be over. So when he unwrapped the box that looked like a shoebox, he thought the “Sylus-style” gift had arrived and would end the whole ordeal.
However, he couldn’t have been more wrong when, upon opening the box completely, he found a blue stethoscope with designs and a matching cap.
He quickly read the card that was also inside.
“A few weeks ago, you mentioned you’d been visiting the pediatric ward more often and that you saw your colleagues using cute things to get the kids’ attention, but you didn’t have time to buy such things, even though you’d like to.
So, this is your third gift of the day. I know you’ll be attending to kids today, so if you like it, wear it.
See you tonight.
I love you.
—Sy.”
Zayne had his heart melted. Sylus was his boyfriend, and he certainly remembered many things about him, but he didn’t expect Sylus to do the same, which made him feel so loved he wanted to cry.
He put on the cap and hung the stethoscope around his neck, matching it with his new necklace, and went to the pediatric wing while his colleagues looked at him curiously or with amusement.
None of that mattered. Not when the kids smiled at him and complimented his cap, or when the pediatricians said it was unusual for him, and Zayne just said it was a gift from his partner. Not even when he ate his quick lunch and entered the conference room still wearing the cap.
Because he was happy.
...
The night was falling when Zayne finally finished work, and with it, the time for Sylus to wake up. They usually met at some restaurant, or Zayne would arrive home to find Sylus waiting with a movie, then they would sleep in the same bed.
Those were the moments when he felt most comfortable, since Sylus always knew how to help him with his insomnia or nightmares.
Their routines were opposite, one living by day and the other by night, but they had managed to build a dynamic that worked for both of them. However, today was different, so Zayne wasn’t sure how to move forward from here.
His signal came in the form of Yvonne, who approached with a smile and handed him a folded note, then left without saying anything else.
“We’re almost done, just a little longer, babe.
Go to the place the GPS shows you, it’s already set, you just have to drive. I’ll see
you soon.
Love you.
—Sy.”
Even though he didn’t like the unknown, the mysterious air that Sylus didn’t even bother to build attracted him greatly, so he simply followed the instructions.
Zayne didn’t have time to protest, in fact, he didn’t even have time to dress properly, but it no longer mattered.
He drove to the location the map indicated, and when he arrived, to his surprise, a cabin awaited him with a path lit by warm lights. He entered the cabin, which felt cozy and much more to his taste than Sylus’, but still lovely.
And there, in the middle of the room, was the man who had kept him guessing all day, dressed in an outfit that combined black and wine-red, ridiculously handsome.
The usually dominant and dark aura that surrounded Sylus was, on this occasion, softened by some inexplicable tenderness. When their gazes met, the bright red and green connecting between them, Zayne felt complete.
Zayne was breathless, not reacting until Sylus wrapped him in his arms and greeted him with a slow but heated kiss, only interrupted by the need for air.
“Happy birthday, gorgeous,” Sylus whispered in his ear before pulling away and inviting him to the table. “I’ve prepared some things for dinner.”
By “some,” he meant the entire table was filled with different dishes Zayne loved, some of which must have taken a long time to prepare. He had probably been awake all day making them.
They sat down to eat in a pleasant silence, occasionally interrupted by talks about how their day had been. Zayne told Sylus how everyone loved his cap and how much he adored the necklace.
Toward the end of the evening, Sylus excused himself for a moment, and Zayne assumed he was going to the kitchen, but returned with a cake covered in yellow icing and lit candles.
“Blow them out,” Sylus said.
And Zayne did.
“You can try the cake, it’s made specially so it’s not too sweet,” Sylus added.
Zayne was moved, he dipped his finger into the icing and tasted it. Though it was still a bit too sweet for his taste, he could bear it.
“And now we get to the main gift,” Sylus said, pulling out a slightly large bag from under the table and handing it to Zayne.
Zayne was quite confused, as he thought the birthday gifts were over, but he smiled and opened the bag, pulling out what was inside.
It was a white hospital gown.
“Before you say anything, let me explain,” Sylus interrupted his thoughts. “Some time ago, you said your gown was a little beat up, and you were right, it’s completely wrecked, so I wanted to get you a new one. But then I thought you wouldn’t be able to use a modified gown for work,” he added, lowering his voice a bit, almost embarrassed.
Zayne didn’t know what he meant until he looked at the gown more closely and noticed subtle snowflake embroidery, somewhat rough around the cuffs and lapels, giving it a beautiful personal touch.
“Did you… embroider this yourself?” was all Zayne could manage to say, his body still frozen in place.
“Yes, well, I started practicing in my spare time, and I’m happy with how it turned out, but now that I think about it, maybe you can’t use it.”
“Damn it,” Zayne thought, “to hell with everyone, I’ll wear this until the day I die.”
Sylus knew Zayne’s powers, he understood what it did to his body and soul, and even though he hadn’t dared to tell him about his own past yet, due to his own secrets, Sylus understood.
He understood the contradiction of carrying this power, wanting to use it for protection but not wanting to be consumed by it, having to endure, having to fight.
Losing control.
And here he was, the leader of the most dangerous organization of these times, giving him a gift embroidered with his own hands, handing over his heart, showing his vulnerability.
Zayne had his heart in his hands.
He didn’t understand how it was possible to love this man so much, or if there was a limit to it, or if he was willing to cross it.
He also didn’t understand how Sylus could show him so much affection, how he could remember every little detail that came out of his mouth, but he hadn’t realized that it was something he needed until he experienced it.
“And with this, we get to the last gift.”
“And what’s that?”
“Me.”
Zayne smiled as Sylus wrapped him in his arms again and led him to the bedroom. He laughed loudly when they fell into the sheets, and his heart felt at peace when they merged together, in an act that was more than just carnal, marking what might be the beginning of his downfall.
Maybe they didn’t know each other’s pasts, maybe this was temporary, or maybe this bond would transcend lives, incarnations, and all the other barriers of body and mind, but what no one could ever take from him was that little spark of happiness that would forever be etched in his heart.