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Knock. Knock.
Associate Special Class Arima Kishou lifted his head from the report he had been reading. Strange. He glanced at the clock and wondered who might be knocking on his door at such a late hour. He had assumed that all but a few had already left. Nobody worked this late except Special Classes and certain Associate Classes with higher responsibilities.
“Enter.”
The door opened quietly and a man with light brown hair peeked in before entering. He closed the door slowly before turning to face his superior. He was holding something in his hands.
“Take?” Arima was surprised to see him. It wasn’t like him to stay at the office at this hour. He knew that he took care of his dog and sometimes visited his grandparents after work. “Why are you still here?” He inquired.
Take was silent for a moment, staring at his hands. Finally, he looked up and spoke. “Happy birthday, Arima-san.”
Oh.
His heart pounded. He didn’t know how to respond. “Ah… Thank you, Take.”
No one, no one, had wished him a happy birthday before.
It had been almost a year since Take had been partnered with him. He was quiet and could be written off as unremarkable at first sight. Nevertheless, he had visibly improved since when they had first met. As expected of partners, they spent a lot of time together; however, he didn’t think he had done anything to deserve this nice gesture.
Take extended the package he was holding to him and Arima stared at it for a moment before taking it, his hands shaking a little. No one celebrated birthdays in the Garden. He had only learnt that such a thing existed after he became an investigator. Even after that, neither Tsuneyoshi nor Yoshitoki had celebrated it. He barely knew them so at first; he had been okay with it. It was a foreign custom to him anyway. Only after getting to know the outside world he had realized that it was an important thing to normal people. They celebrated it with their friends and family. It was a gesture of love in a way. He had stopped waiting for it after coming to that realization.
He swallowed hard, emotions piling up inside.
“I wasn’t sure what to get so I…” Take trailed off. Though he was seemingly wearing his usual unreadable face, Arima could see that he was shy. He averted his gaze from his subordinate. There was an ache in his heart he couldn’t understand. He looked back at the package in his hands instead.
It wasn’t big; it was a small box with a smooth black surface. He opened to see what it held inside. Ah.
A pair of cufflinks…
“I’m afraid it’s a little classic.” Take mumbled, looking away.
Arima simply stared at the box, his fingers trembling. It wasn’t a very personal gift for sure but he didn’t care about that even if for a second. The fact that Take had bothered at all…
“A-Arima-san?” Take blinked in surprise when he saw that Arima was crying.
Unable to tear his gaze away from the tiny present, Arima swallowed hard. “T-Thank you, Take…” He didn’t know what else to say. He could barely keep himself from falling apart before him. He observed the delicate ornaments gracing the cufflinks, trying to see through the tears and despite his shaky hands. He felt as if there was a storm inside of him. A stinging feeling in his chest, a burning sensation bordering on painful… It didn’t hurt him, however. On the contrary, it made his chest swell with something warm and fuzzy; making his heart beat like it was going to burst.
It was a good feeling.
“Arima-san…” Take spoke softly and quietly as if speaking louder would hurt Arima. He just looked so delicate. Vulnerable in a way he had never been before. His cheeks wet, his eyes reddened and lips trembling… There was such a beauty in this display of honest emotion. It was a sight to behold and Take was a lucky man to witness such a rare occurrence.
“Let me,” He mumbled and leaned forward to gently let his fingers encircle Arima’s wrist, slowly removing the old cufflink to replace it with the new one. One by one, he took them off and attached the new ones in their places. When he finished he looked up and their eyes met.
“Happy birthday,” He repeated and hesitantly took Arima’s hands in his. He offered him a smile which Arima returned with his eyes gleaming. No longer crying, his smile widened when he looked back at the beautiful gift adorning his sleeves- a symbol of hope and sweetness, linking him to his own humanity.
“Thank you.” He said again, his voice barely a whisper this time. He touched them so gently as if he was afraid they would break. “Thank you.” He couldn’t say that enough.
After all these years, they were still the only cufflinks he wore on his sleeves. Hairu had asked about them before, wondering if they held some sort of significance to him, and he knew that Akira and Ui had noticed.
To this day, every day, CCG’s Reaper had worn his heart on his sleeve, visible only to those who dared to look with their own hearts.