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Redd would usually feel a bit special when it’s his birthday. Sometimes he buys himself cake, other times he’ll just appreciate what people draw for him on Twitter for the day. And then everything goes back to normal again. It’s as if his birthdays are just duplicated over and over again, copy and pasted. Feeling the same amount of specialty, no more no less. And he didn’t have any problem with that, really.
That was until this year, this month– this week. Redd already received, like, two or three fan-arts on Twitter for his birthday. He feels thankful, to say the least. He’ll just sleep and wait for the next day, nothing too crazy. It’s just the same thing. Everyone would say ‘happy birthday’ to him tomorrow. Even if he appreciated it, he just wished there was something that’d change, though. Just a little hope.
He just slept normally, trying to brush off the thought. Tried to make sure he wouldn't wake up in a bad state. Tomorrow’s his birthday, after all. He can’t just wake up and immediately get flooded with anxiety. No, Redd needed to just stay chill.
When the morning came, and his eyes opened, he’s met with… well, just his room. It’s all normal. His phone was buzzing the heck out with notifications, and he checked most of them. Just as expected, it’s all just birthday blessings. Which he really appreciated, ‘cause at least everyone knows today is supposed to be ‘his’ day, at least. He shot up from his bed, walking towards the door of his room. When he reached downstairs, he saw his roommate checking the fridge around. He doesn’t wake up this early usually, maybe it’’s just coincidental…–
His roommate noticed his presence, and greeted him, “Hey, Dean. Good morning. Happy birthday.” Even when Redd expected it, he was somehow still startled at his words. Maybe he’s too tired.
“...Thanks, dude.” He replied. His roommate holds out a can of Corona to him. Great, he’s drinking Corona at 7AM in the morning on his birthday. That’s a bit tweet-able, to be honest.
He settles the can down on the table counter, glancing at his roommate who, strangely, seems more happy than usual. The man speaks again, “Soooo… uhh.. You want a cake?”
Redd’s pupils dilate, his focus fully on the man before him. A cake wouldn’t hurt, really, but it’s not that they have much money to afford a good one. “We’re broke though?”
His roommate chuckled. “Oh yeah, you’re right. But I really want to give you something though.” He stated.
“You don’t— I mean, fair enough, I guess. I appreciate that. But you really don’t have to.”
He closes the fridge, then approaches closer. “I, yeah, but I said I really wanna give you something. I don’t know, dude. You can’t just have a birthday with no presents. That’s depressing.” He leaned against the counter, looking straight into Redd’s eyes. It’s very unusual. Maybe his roommate is secretly gonna put him in a birthday party. Or anything else.
Either way, the guy was definitely planning something.
“Well, I mean… I’ll love a gift, especially from you, dude. It’ll be nice. But what would you even give me anyways? Legos?”
He had no idea why he had to say those words. ‘Especially from you’... It sounds weird, something is off in the air between them today.
His roommate laughed again, humming as he thought about something. Something that Reddoons cannot decipher. Then he said, “Well, it depends. Do you want expensive ones?”
“No way, dude. Just the average price is fine. We need to pay the bills bro.”
“Hah… Right. Let me think.”
He watched as his roommate turned around, still leaning against the kitchen counter— and became silent again as he went on a long train of thought. Redd just observed, sipping his drink from time to time as he stood still in a slightly-nervous state. He hasn't thought much about what his roommate would do on his birthday for him. He just thought about his mom, brothers, Ash, and his other friends and his fans. Just that. It felt like he was being a bit exclusive, honestly.
As he waited, his eyes glanced over at his roommate again— still thinking, but it seemed like he was slowly coming to a conclusion of sorts. He knows. He’s lived with him for more than three years. He knows the patterns to their thoughts. It always seemed like he was writing a mini essay in his head.
His roommate turned around again, an expression that tells him he’s unsure of something. He cleared his throat, then spoke. “I actually am not really sure what you’ll like, Dean. Uhh..–”
A bit expected, honestly. “Yeah dude, it’s fine. I’m alright with no gifts.” He repeated.
“Pfft, really? Come on, today’s your day, be a bit egoistic, would ya?” He teased him, “Birthday boy can’t just be chill with his roomie not giving him a gift.”
“Okayy, alright. I am a birthday boy, sure. Fine, give me a gift.”
“That’s what I wanna hear,” He chuckled, “So, what do ya want, Dean?”
“Anything. Preferably something free and sweet.”
“Aaahh… So like, a kiss or something???”
He tensed up, and his lips parted. It seemed that the other guy had also only processed what he’s said, and laughed hysterically. Redd was taken aback, caught off guard. He- He didn't expect that. Well, yeah, he's seen that man do jokes like that with others…just not with him. This is the first time.
The man had stopped laughing for a bit. “I- Okay, I don't know why I said that, sorry. Whatever. I'm just joking… I'll try finding something in my room, maybe?”
He stared at him, still not sure how to respond. It was so sudden, yet the thought sort of amused him. It was weird, yes, but if they see it in a normal way, then it wouldn't be. Maybe it's just… their true nature. Perhaps. Reddoons chuckled a little, “That sounds fun.” He blurted out. He didn't think twice saying that, honestly. But it was too late.
His roommate's smile widened, “I know right? Yeah, and I know you haven't done that, like, ever. So like… I could be your first kiss Dean. On your birthday. As a gift. Haha.”
At this point, he's not even completely sure if his roommate was joking or not. He seemed genuine. Like he actually wanted this. Redd took another sip of his drink, contemplating the words of the man. It might just be a joke, and he'd probably be better off with a real gift– but the thought slightly thrilled him. A first kiss, received by his roommate, as a gift for his birthday. One where he only started to realise how boring his birthdays were.
His roommate sighed, “Right, uhh, I guess I'll go to my room right now. Just, gift finding. Bye Dean–”
“Wait. No. Stay.”
Redd didn’t know what came to his mind. The sort of instinct that decided this action. Maybe it’s because he got too excited at the thought of getting a birthday gift like that, or maybe Redd just completely lost his mind. He looked up at the man yet again, breaking the short silence between them right after.
“That actually sounds…nice. A bit more unique than usual. I low-key want to do it now.” He admitted.
His roommate bursts into a quieter laugh, “Really, Dean? You’re really saying that?” He joked, “And you say you’re straight.”
He did say that… and he meant it— well, used to. You can never truly stay the same in this life, can’t you?
He put down the can of drink, still in a deep thought. He hummed, then responded, “well I… we could try, there’s really nothing or no one stopping us, so like… yeah.”
“Dang, you’re actually considering this..?” He snickered, a bit nervously.
“I thought you wanted to be my first kiss? Don’t you want to earn the title?”
A smug smile stretched across his roommate’s face. “Of course I do. Gladly.”
The man pushed himself off the counter, quickly making his way towards Redd. When he was close enough, he held his face— slowly pulling him closer until their lips met. His eyes closed.
It feels… unusual. Well, that was an obvious feeling, he never kissed anyone before. But it was nice. Even with how awkward it was, he would admit– the sweetness, the thrill, everything about this kiss just makes him a bit giddy. Like he wants it to never end. If he knew that this intense feeling would come like this, he would’ve tried kissing his roommate sooner. His roommate pulled him by the waist and brought him closer, deepening their kiss even further.
His roommate pulls away, and it ends just like that. The man took a few moments processing reality again, “Happy birthday, Dean.” He muttered, messing with his hair and making them more disheveled before he let go of him— the man stepped out of the kitchen after that.
Redd was still… so confused. He just got kissed, by his own roommate, just now. In this bright early morning. His first gift is genuinely just a kiss. He brought a finger and felt his lips with it. He could still feel the taste. The… holy shit. He genuinely got kissed by his roommate. He bit on his nails hard as his face turned red, both from fluster and embarrassment.
He sighed heavily. At this point, he might start having a crush on his roommate.
It’s alright. Redd just needed to be secretive about it. Just don’t accidentally tell someone that he kissed his roommate for his birthday and it’ll be fine.