vatheon | Happy Birthday!

It had been a relatively quiet day for Shizuo. For the most part, he tried not to think about his birthday. At his age, birthdays weren't a huge deal, and to top it off, thinking too much about it made him miss Ikebukuro, which ultimate made him wonder how his family - especially his brother - was doing. He thought about what Zelda had said about Vatheon, and wondered if he was actually missing, or if, upon turning home, life would resume as though he hadn't left.

And so he had tried focused on other things, like Vatheon itself, the Defense Force, and future potential threats. He wasn't expecting the soft knock, but he put out the cigarette he had been smoking and opened it...to find Zelda holding a cake.

It would have been impossible for Shizuo not to smile, even surprised as he was. He stepped aside to let Zelda come in and set down the cake, as he said, "Thanks. I didn't know you knew." He eyed the cake, and added, "That looks really good." And he meant it.

"Oh, I hope so." She laughed. "You know, I think I'm bad at baking. It collapsed on me the first two times!" The princess had done a good job decorating it at least; the frosting was coated on smoothly and his name was written out clearly in dark blue... though, she had written it in Hylian. It probably didn't matter, the translation spell took care of it most likely.

"I didn't put candles just yet, I wasn't sure how old you are. How many should I put?" She looked mischievous as she set the cake down. Poor Shizuo was never going to be able to blow out her magical flames, but that was the point. Huffing and puffing was a birthday tradition for her as a child, and she wanted to share it with her friend.

Edited 2012-01-29 03:46 (UTC)

Even if the cake hadn't seemed as appealing as it did, it would still have looked good to Shizuo. He was moved by the unexpected gesture. And, of course, sweets were his favorite; the frosting looked especially good. "You didn't have to work so hard for me," he replied quietly, but even so, his tone was light - happy.

"Oh. I'm twenty-five." He wondered if Zelda would actually put that many candles into the cake, and didn't quite catch her mischievous look.

She'll do better than that. Zelda starts to sing her world's variation on the Happy Birthday song, calling on her magic. With a wave of her hand, twenty-five small flames float above the cake. She can't wait for him to try to blow them out.

"Go ahead~"

((OOC: She sounds like this if you haven't played Skyward Sword. Scene is from the very beginning, so not really a spoiler: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4Qh3lulMng ))

Zelda never ceased to surprise Shizuo, and the impressive flame trick was no exception. Coupled with the glow from the flames, the cake looked perfect.

Zelda's voice was very soothing, Shizuo thought to himself. Not that he expected anything less; her company alone was comforting. It seemed, according to his logic, that it made sense for her to have a pleasant singing voice. He wore a small smile as he listened. Then, once she finished, he leaned toward the cake and tried to blow them out.

They remained lit. He considered that he hadn't blown hard enough.

He tried again. And again.

After that third try, he was wary, but he gave it one last attempt and blew with some force. They stayed lit.

He pulled back and turned to Zelda, finally catching onto her mischeviousness. "They're trick candles, aren't they?" His tone was happily amused. No one had ever used trick candles on him before, probably due to wariness of his temper, and so it was kind of nice to be tricked so good-naturedly.

"They are! Ahh, I remember the first time Impa used them on me. I kept blowing for so long that I passed out!" This was evidently a good memory for her, because she was smiling about it. "She panicked. My father yelled at her, too. I thought it was funny, though. She had them for me every year after that."

Zelda dispelled the flames and sat down near the table with the cake on it, either on the floor or on a chair depending on the style of Shizuo's room. She also took out two thermoses containing some of the milk that Sola had delivered to her (carefully filtered for bug's legs and goddesses knows what else).

"Would you like to cut it, or shall I?"

"That was fun," Shizuo replied. They were funny. It was nice to have someone with whom he could share his birthday. Someone who didn't feel the need to tiptoe around him. He grinned, eager to try a piece of the cake.

"I'll do it," he told Zelda, grabbing a knife, utensils, and a couple of dishes, which he set on the table. Taking a seat across from Zelda, Shizuo cut into the cake and served them both.

"It's good," he said after his first bite. "Really good. Thank you."

"Are you sure?" Zelda tried it warily. Hmm. It certainly wasn't gourmet, but it wasn't a disaster. Nothing like the monster that was the first cake she'd tried to make.

"I was happy to do it. You can return the favor if you like. My birthday is the third day of the third month. I will be 18 this year," she said, looking thoughtful. An adult already. How quickly time flies...

"I'm sure." It definitely tasted good to him, and even if it didn't, Shizuo still would have thought the whole thing was perfect. He hadn't felt this happy in a while. Then again, he hadn't really done much for his last couple of birthdays. It was nice to share it with someone.

"I won't forget," he promised. "I can't promise I'll be able to bake, but I'll make it special." He thought about how time moved quicker on Zelda's planet. "Eighteen is an important birthday," he agreed. Though he thought that Zelda seemed more mature than her age. "How'd you find out about mine, anyway?" He hadn't told her, and it wasn't exactly Vatheon common knowledge. Unless the communicator stored that information.

Zelda looked like a deer in the headlights for a moment. Oh, she trusted Shizuo not to hurt her, but she didn't want to ruin his birthday by bringing up his least favorite subject!

"Well, ah, Izaya told me, actually... is that alright?" She seemed concerned.

Edited 2012-01-29 06:56 (UTC)

For a moment, Shizuo wonderd if he asked something that he shouldn't have. He considered apologizing, but then Zelda answered. And Shizuo himself was caught surprised by that information.

"He...why would...that damn flea..." He didn't complete his thoughts. Shizuo tried to imagine what Izaya was trying to accomplish by sharing that information with Zelda. To annoy him? To play some sort of game?

And Shizuo did, for a tense moment, look irritated.

But he let it go. Izaya wasn't around to cause trouble and Zelda was there. Sharing his birthday. That's all that mattered. If anything - and Shizuo would refuse to look at this way - Izaya had helped.

"Yeah, it's fine." He took a bite of cake and then chased it down with a sip of milk. "It doesn't matter. I like this." All of it, whether Izaya told her or not.

She smiled, relieved that he didn't mind - or at least, didn't mind so much that it ruined the fun.

"I do, too. I wouldn't have known otherwise. I don't think anyone else from your Ikebukuro is here."

Zelda knew Celty a little, but she hadn't asked where she was from. She would be quite surprised to find out that a mytical creature like Celty was from a seemingly magic-free world like Shizuo's!

Shizuo nodded. It made sense. He'd worry about the other implications later.

"There's someone else. I haven't seen her around lately, actually. But she's only lived in Ikebukuro for a while." Well, years, but Shizuo didn't want to make assumptions about what Celty claimed as home.

"Truly? I would like to meet her as well, sometime. I would introduce you to other people from my world too, but you already know the only other person here."

Unless you counted Sheik as a separate person. Zelda continued to nibble at her cake daintily.

"Perhaps someday, more will show up. This place can bring people back, after all."

"I'll introduce you at some point," he told Zelda with a nod. "She's nice." After all, she listened to Shizuo whenever he needed to get something off of his chest. Her missing head had never bothered him - if anything, it made her all that better of a listener.

"Maybe," he agreed. "I've run into a couple of new people. I think I'm bad at welcoming them."

"Why do you think that? It is simple enough. There's a welcome center in the plaza, you can get a brochure that explains the situation in there as well as a towel for them to dry themselves with."

Zelda loves welcoming new people. They are, after all, quite happy to listen to an explanation of what Vatheon is and she does so love explaining things.

"Yeah, I should just leave it up to the brochure," he said. "I met a girl," or angel, she had wings, "the other day and I think I upset her. I mean, being here is kind of upsetting, but I probably didn't help much." Shizuo just wasn't good at comforting people, though he really did have good intentions.

"Most people are on edge when they arrive. It's perfectly normal. They will be grateful later when they remember being greeted by a friendly face," she assured him. After all, she was still grateful to Prince Siegfried and she hadn't even spoken to him since the day she arrived!

"I guess so." That made him feel a little better about it, though he would still try to leave the greetings to people like Zelda, who were a bit better at introducing people to Vatheon. "Yeah, you're right," he amended after a moment. "That's how we got to be friends." Then he looked down at his cake, still feeling a little self-conscious when it came to that word, though very grateful for Zelda.

"It is, isn't it? Strange how that turns out. I've greeted many people, but did not become close with any others."

Only Shizuo and Zelos, really. And Zelos had not been voluntary. Shizuo was just easy for her to talk to. Easy enough that she considered telling him about Sheik, even. Zelos and Lysunder already knew, but only because of the circumstances. She hadn't chosen to tell anyone yet. Isn't that something you do with friends? Share secrets?

"I haven't either. I don't ever really get close with others." Shizuo wasn't exactly chatty, and more or less kept to himself. That, coupled with the fact that most people back in Ikebukuro were terrified of him, left Shizuo without many close friends. In fact, Celty was the only person he had ever really opened up to, and, ironically enough, he had spent some of that conversation talking about how he was alone, and didn't have anyone he could really call a friend.

And he had, at that moment, also realized that he and Izaya were similar.

Funny, how he'd remember that now.

"I'm glad we are, though." Having a friend, especially in Vatheon, was nice. Shizuo, contrary to what others may have thought, didn't like being alone. It wasn't a choice he had made; things just had worked out that way. Zelda was different. He had been able to talk to her about what happened between him and Izaya, and that was big. And Zelda had never once judged him for what he was.

Zelda hated to be alone as well. It was very likely part of the reason that she continued to think of Sheik as a separate person in some ways, it made it feel like she really did still have a Sheikah guarding her.

She decided to tell him.

"Can I... show you something a little strange? It's, ah, part of how I defend myself. If the city does ever fall under attack, I would want you to know that it's me if I take this form..."

"Yeah, of course," Shizuo replied quickly. He didn't know what exactly Zelda was getting ready to do, but Shizuo wanted her to feel like she could come to him with anything. Because that's exactly how he felt about her.

She held up the hand with the Triforce inside it. It flashed briefly, and then a young man sat across from Shizuo instead of a young woman.

"This is Sheik. My proper Sheikah, Impa, is no longer alive, but she taught me to take this form to disguise myself. She also taught me how to fight." His voice is still soft, but it's deeper.

Shizuo had seen a lot of weird things in his time. Celty was headless, for one, but even he himself was an anamoly, something outside of a normal human being. Though the transformation was surprising, Shizuo accepted it in stride.

"Wow," he said, and he smiled. "That's...impressive. But really good, I think. A diguise can really come in handy, and it's good that you know how to fight." Not that he would ever want Zelda in such a position, and if Shizuo had any say, he'd want to make sure she didn't have to. But he never doubted her ability to fend for herself, and he especially didn't now.

Still smiling, he said, "We're kind of alike, I guess." It made him feel closer to Zelda, knowing she could do this. "We're both different."

"Quite." His eyes were smiling, but the rest of his face was covered with that characteristic mask. "I think it's a good thing. Any person that got pulled here who wasn't a little different would be in a great deal of danger."

Sheik cleared his throat before looking back at Shizuo somewhat seriously. "Please don't tell anyone, though. I'd prefer to not be assaulted with perverted questions."

"You're right." And Shizuo was trying to come to accept that his own strength might come in handy, if they were under an attack. There were benefits that came from being out of the norm. Once he finally managed to control himself, it would be easier to accept that.

"I won't." Of course he wouldn't. He'd never betray her - or, well, his, in this situation - trust. "Don't worry." And Shizuo wouldn't even think about asking perverted questions.

"I'm not worried, but you wouldn't know not to say anything if I didn't ask!" The transformation faded away. She was really more comfortable as a woman, especially when sitting cross-legged like this. It reminded her of things that she'd rather not think about.

"It's actually sort of a relief to tell someone about Sheik," she admitted. "I don't really entirely think of him as myself. It's like I've been hiding someone all this time."

It's true that Shizuo wouldn't have known it was a secret, but he also wasn't the type to talk about other's business to anyone. The knowledge of Shiek was safe with him.

"I'm glad you told me." He really was, feeling closer to her as he did. "I bet it's hard to keep something like that secret, though." Especially if she were ever in a position where it was necessary to transform. He wondered if that had happened.

"It's not particularly difficult, but I did end up revealing it to my roommate during the curse week." She sighed. Zelos had revealed quite a bit to her too, so it's not like she had to worry about him tattling on her, but still.

"Other than that, I expect to only have to reveal it if I need to protect myself." She's just not even going to mention how Lysunder took it. It made her want to throttle him with his own damn horns, except he might like that.

Oh, that curse. Shizuo hadn't been a fan of it at all, and wasn't surprised to hear that it made Zelda reveal something like that.

"Hopefully you don't have to." Shizuo had been thinking about the potential threat a lot since deciding to join the defense force. He had talked to Celty a little about what happened before. It made him wary.

There was no point in telling Shizuo that she would fight to get out of Vatheon someday, it was just depressing. Instead she smiled and nodded, finishing her cake off.

"I really should have brought more than just sweets, shouldn't I have? We're going to make ourselves sick if we keep eating like this," Zelda said with a laugh.

Now that Zelda mentioned it, they did have a tendency to eat sweets together. Shizuo couldn't complain; they were his favorite. Sweets and milk. He joined in on the laugh. "It's really good, though I probably eat too many sweets." Especially now that everything was pretty much free. "Maybe next time we can go somewhere with real food." Dinner, or at least something a little bit healthier.

Zelda looked over at his kitchen, briefly contemplating trying to make something. She wasn't stupid, she wouldn't cause it to explode disastrously or anything like that... but she also wasn't sure that she wanted anyone to see her fumbling her way around the culinary arts.

No, cake would be enough for tonight. She cut herself another slice. "I've not had proper meat in a long time. Not since arriving here, actually! Just seafood."

Come to think of it, Shizuo hadn't either, being that his diet usually consisted, beyond the sweet component, of seafood. "That's what we'll have next then." Surely they could find a restaurant that served meat. If not, there was always cooking...not that Shizuo could lay claim to any culinary ability. At all.

Zelda clapped her hands together. "Alright! That sounds good. Ah, it's a shame that the market doesn't have beef from Lon-lon Ranch as well as the milk... it's delicious."

Cows in Hyrule are sang to all day long. The most tender of meat!

"I bet it is." The milk itself was delicious, so Shizuo wouldn't have been surprised to find that the meet was as well.

"Thank you again, for all of this," he said quietly after taking the last bite of his slice of cake. Zelda had really made his day better.

"It was no trouble at all, really. I've always wanted to learn a little baking, anyway." Zelda reached out and patted his shoulder. Hugging wass a little too much for her, but the thought was there.

Happy Birthday!

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I am too lazy to make up a birthday song, LET'S PLAY PRETEND!

Works!

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1/2

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I KNEW I WOULD DO THAT ONE DAY

What, Mello's not invited to Shizuo's party? I see how it is.

They'd probably fight! It'd be disastrous.

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