#ever since you sent the b.day messages i've been DYING to reply

[aaternum-a]

[ please pretend this is december 6 ] “Ah, Ryu-chan! Happy birthday!” Kakeru beams, only to subsequently pause with a few absentminded blinks rolling off his lone eye when it occurred to him he may have misremembered it. “Wait… I didn’t get the date all wrong, did I? Either way, I got you a little something.”

Sure enough, upon withdrawing an arm from behind his back, he’ll hand her a beautiful silver watch with turquoise gemstones embedded into it, which unlike his, was actually working properly. “Hopefully, you like it. I had it fashioned specifically for you,” he then sheepishly admits.

It was a busy day of work, visitors coming in droves for the holidays and shifts in the exhibit. But once the crowd lulled and the day stretched to night, she was finally free of responsibility. If it weren’t for the red circle over her calendar she would have forgotten it was her birthday by the night's end. But the marker’s ink only serves to remind her it would be another year spent without plans. Oh well. There’s always next year, maybe she could do better to plan before the holiday rush. A certain doctor could do for a night out, if he wasn’t too tired. She laughs at the thought, shaking her head as she readies herself to begin closing the gallery. But her name being called shifts her focus, a bright smile lagging behind as he wishes her a happy birthday. Was this one of those moments where thoughts shift reality? “  Oh, no, no! You .. you got it right.  ” Her eyes crinkle in slight disbelief, “   I just wasn’t expecting you to .. y’know– ” A bright grin curves at her lips, attention diverted to the arm hidden behind his back. 

She marvels at the gift, soft hands enclosing over the watch almost hesitantly. It wasn’t often someone remembered her birthday, let alone cared enough to hand-deliver a present. “  Like it? Are you kidding me, Hasegawa? I love it!   ” Her eyes glow with earnest delight, arms reaching up to wrap around his shoulders, gentle squeeze as she lingers to embrace for a moment or two. “   You really didn’t have to do this, my little lunches don’t even compare to this. But I’ll treasure it!    ” It’s nearly squealed laughter that follows as she presses it close to her chest. “   Are you .. doing anything? I mean, I know you’re probably tired ‘n all, but .. I’d love to invite you out. No hard feelings if you say no. " A small pause." I mean it is bad luck to say no to me on my birthday, but heh .. I’d really like it if you humored me a few hours more. I’m almost done here too. How 'bout it? ”

#ever since you sent the b.day messages i've been DYING to reply #thank you sososososo much for sending this #pretend its december 6th and totally not 3 months late #JKNFJKF #causalitylinked #( modern verse tbt )