[closed to solsticeanew] Birthdays, what are those.

[inordertobelieve]

 [ Teru doesn't care for birthdays and thus, he's quite fine with the fact that nobody at university  really knew about which date it was today. Of course, Takada had known, somehow, but accepting well-wishings from just one person alone isn't all that hindering. By the end of it, studying is studying. Teru appreciates it, even if - or maybe especially so - it takes until late evening. But long days come to an end too and the sun is just setting when Teru pulls the keys out of his pocket to open up his flat. 'Yagami; Mikami' the nameplate next to the door reads. Teru assumes Light is home already. ]

I'm back.

[ He calls it into the hallway, slipping out of his shoes. ]

Comments

[solsticeanew]

[Birthdays are yet another social obligation without actual significance beyond what's socially ascribed to them, and all the same Light had excused himself early from the company of the idiots he's been blessed to call his "coworkers" in order to prepare dinner. It's not a grand gesture - he knows Teru well enough to know grand gestures aren't necessary here. Even so, it's technically the first birthday of Teru's that they've spent together, given that he'd been confined this time last year. Light dwells on this for a moment, then dismisses it's relevance. L is comfortably, happily dead now and the world is Light's to shape anew.

It's a simple meal - lightly salted mackerel, miso soup, vegetables in yuzu sauce, grilled tofu and freshly cooked white rice - and truthfully it's not much different from what's usually prepared for dinner, but Light does time everything so that by the time that Teru returns from university, dinner is already finished and the table is set. There'd been no need for elaborate calculations on that front - the rigidity of his boyfriend's schedule did have it's uses in the end.

As expected, he hears the door open and close, and Light looks up from washing the dishes he'd used for cooking with an unsmiling face but one that's fond all the same.]

Welcome home.

[inordertobelieve]

Thank you.

[ Teru hangs his jacket at the clothes hanger and turns to Light. As much as he likes staying at university, hours and hours buried in books and lectures, it's a good feeling to come home. It's been almost a year of them living together and he still notices it faintly each time. It's nice to return to a place where you are comfortable with everything around you. And everyone. ]

You cooked.

[ An inquiry that does not warrant a question mark. It's obvious after all, the smell of food is undeniable. ]

[solsticeanew]

I cooked.

[Light confirms readily, turning his attention back to the dishes and running tap water. There aren't many things left to clean after all. He answers the unspoken request for an explanation as he works.]


It didn't seem right that you should have to cook on your own birthday.

[inordertobelieve]

[ That's right, the idea of Light of all people forgetting would be bizarre even if they both only pay tangential attention to any festivities. It's strange how the mere mention of his birthday coming from his boyfriend feels very different from the pointed congratulations Takada had offered him earlier. Of course, Takada is also not God...

Teru follows to the kitchen. ]

... thank you.

[ Unlike earlier today, he means it more than the words do convey. ]

[solsticeanew]

[The gratitude in Teru's tone comes through with great clarity - at least to Light's ears which have now been trained to pick up on the varying shades of deadpan. It's uplifting - at least just a little.]

You're welcome.

[Is his own matter-of-fact toned response. Light spares a glance at Teru as he gets closer and closer in his peripheral vision, then turns off the water as the last dish is cleaned. He dries his hands on a kitchen towel, then closes the rest of the distance between them with a few short steps. Placing a hand on Teru's waist, he leans in close and breathes the words:]

Happy Birthday.

[inordertobelieve]

[ It's hard for anyone to make Teru feel something, but it's easy for Light. Of course it is. God cares about him - he's in front of Teru, touching him gently. Patience is rewarded, Teru knows this now. He'd been enduring, all his life and especially around this time a year ago... and now... Now, he's here. He's a young man who hardly smiles, but his lips curl upwards just a little. Birthdays don't matter. But Light's well-wishings do. ]

Thank you... God.

[ There is absolutely no irony in the title, no joke, but it's not meant to put any distance between them. God and believer as much as flatmates and lovers, those are their relations all together, all valid now. 'God' is a word that steadily becomes something familiar. Teru leans his head forward against Light's softly.]

[solsticeanew]

[God. The word ought to have been worn thin with familiarity, but it still confers a soft warmth, as though someone has lit a candle for his soul - small and precious and something that Light wants to hoard only for himself.

The title he'd claimed for himself at seventeen echoed back to him reverently, endearingly - even though he's no longer as whole as he was back then and no longer looks the part of Japan's most virtuous student ...

Outside he feels nothing but eyes staring at his face with a mixture of revulsion and pity. Light's learned to live with it. That's his reality now; he'll never get back what he was and took for granted for nearly eighteen years.

But sometimes with Teru, that's easy to forget. Light has a new life now, and somehow with Teru in the picture it all seems a hundred times more bearable. Coming home after so much time spent around fools to someone who understands what has to be done for the world, understands him, loves him.... Light won't make the mistake of taking this for granted as well.

Closing his eyes, Light leaves a gentle, lingering kiss on Teru's lips in response. Somehow the words "I love you" and "I need you" conflate to mean the same thing.]

[inordertobelieve]

[ This kind of contact had been frightening twice in Teru's life. The first time they kissed he felt like losing his grip on reality because there was something off, unpredicted, chaotic (though admittedly announcedly so) about it. The second time kissing became intimidating had been when reality came crashing down on him, destroying all his chaotic uncertainties. Only then it had occurred to Teru that a world in which he and Light are dating and a world in which Light is his God might not go well together. Persistently, the thought had lingered around for weeks.
Now, months later, there is little trace of it left. Closing his eyes and meeting Light's lips are reactions that come easily to him. Outweighing the pleasure from the physical act of kissing, Teru feels himself delighted by the unspoken value inherent in it.
He's proven his worth to God and he's been chosen - what they have now is nothing another human could easily get in between. Teru doesn't aim to be a real God. A God's companion, however...

He lets the kiss linger gently, returning it as long as Light stays close. When they finally break apart, the smile is gone from his lips but it is nothing more than a return to his commonplace expression. ]

Let's not let your work get too cold then.

[solsticeanew]

That would be a shame, huh.

[It's a further moment after the kiss is broken that Light lets the hand on Teru's waist fall away severing all physical connection between them, but he does let go and turns to leave the kitchen and walks towards the dinner table.]

I'd have prepared something more elaborate, but in the end 'simple' seemed more appropriate.

[He looks back at Teru over his left shoulder, the corners of his lips fractionally tuned up in a soft, ephemeral smile.]

Were my instincts right on that one? Tell me.

[inordertobelieve]

[ Teru nods at the question as he follows after Light to the table. ]

They were.

[ Not that this comes as any surprise. Teru's neither big on eating nor on birthday celebrations, so combining both to something fancy would have been off-putting - granted, coming from Light, that effect could be lessened considerably no matter what.
Teru's glad that's not how it is though, because Light does know him better. ]

I'm not really fond of doing anything large for such occasions, so this is certainly the most appreciated. [ Unlike mostly anything else, it does make him happy after all. ]

[solsticeanew]

[Light faces forward again and continues onto the table. There aren't any deviations from the usual in the way he has set up the table - no candles for romantic ambiance, no decorations that might suggest it's someone's birthday today, just a plain ordinary dinner set up with everything laid out neatly. As usual.]

I'm glad then.

[He takes his seat at the table, muttering the phrase 'itadakimasu' quietly before picking up his chopsticks.]

How did studying go?

[inordertobelieve]

[ The quiet 'itadakimasu' is mirrored in real time, but Teru lays off actually starting to eat for another moment so he can answer the question. ]

The same as usual. I do feel I was able to get a lot done, which is satisfying. There were astoundingly few people in the library today though.

[ Said with a bit of distaste. Why isn't everyone constantly studying, huh? Though he certainly doesn't mind when it's not crowded for himself personally. Teru stops speaking for a moment to take the first bite of food himself. ]

It's good.