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at first, niki didn't like birthday parties.
don't get it wrong, he loved his birthday. his parents showering him in his favorite snacks and helping his mother home-bake the biggest, most tastiest cake together to the ambience of the local radio and their own laughter, his father fondly taking pictures all the while. but when it's his birthday and he has to throw a party, it's not that great because while the kids from school can be fun when they refrain from their usual teasing in front of his parents, he doesn't actually like the part where he has to share his cake with them.
his slice is so much smaller when there are more people who want some! so he has one birthday party and exactly one birthday party and decides he doesn't want another. he wants to spend his special day with all his snacks and treats and big slice of cake (which is really just the whole cake minus 2 regular slices) and his 2 most favorite people in the whole world. except. at some point, his parents start traveling. a lot. and they don't make it back in time for his birthday. but it's ok because he knows where mom keeps the recipe book and now he's big enough to reach the stand mixer without having to use the stool and he's saved up his allowance enough to splurge on his snacks and buy his own candles and lighter and when he sits in front of the cake (a bit lopsided but it adds to the charm) he clutches a picture taken the year before to the day and thinks that they'll definitely be back for next year (they promised) and he blows out his candles and wastes no time digging into the cake as the light smoke curls into the darkness.
and next year his parents don't come back in time, again.
or the year after that. or the next.
but by then it's still ok because he's older he's so much more independent now he knows the cake recipe by heart and he no longer fumbles with the lighter and there's a new frosting recipe he wants to try because it looked so good in the store and he's good at celebrating on his own now!
but... some company would be nice. the cake doesn't taste as good in the dark so he turns the light on but it's still not the same without the sound of laughter so he turns on the tv and tunes into whatever budget romance is on screen and he wonders if he's lonely and if anyone would come for his next birthday if he threw a birthday party but all the other kids at school only think of him as the weirdo who eats a lot so they probably wouldn't come even if he promised a huge slice of cake for each of them and he has to remind himself he doesn't like having birthday parties, anyways. not having people around just means he gets more cake for himself so really the less people the better for him. then, there was rinne.
his memories of fun, laughter-filled birthdays celebrated with those closest to his heart are aged fine like wine; a bit bitter and acidic but it's sweet, and while he can't handle the bittersweet taste he'll drink it up all the same. at some point he stops expecting to have another one of those lively birthdays, starts thinking about cake flavors to experiment with and stops bothering with candles altogether (because they melt too fast sometimes and icing is no good with wax in it (because no wish he makes really comes true so why should he acts like it would? he'd rather use the money on a chocolate bar)).
the guy he picked up seems to question a lot of obvious things, like why the people in the tv are so small and why soap tastes so bad when it smells so good, but when niki tells him he's making cake for his birthday at least he understands what the occasion means. he doesn't expect him to remember it, really. but he does, and the next year niki walks into the apartment to the sight of his roommate holding a box of cupcakes from the fancy bakery down the road.
"got lucky today an' had some extra money for this!" he laughs.
niki watches as the older guy lights a candle stuck into one of the perfectly frosted treats and presents it to him.
"ain't this the part where ya make a wish or somethin'?"
he looks between the tiny fire and the box of cupcakes and his friend and blows out the candle thinking "it wouldn't be so bad if he stuck around for next year."