Work Text:
Prompt: “Jean prepares Levi a little birthday party.”
Written By: Brey
jaybird-snks Thank you for the request, dear! I am so so sorry it took so long! OTL (;;u;;) I hope it’s not bad. (;;0-0) lmao I suck at making titles
The gentle wind made the silver chimes outside sing a melodious song to announce the arrival of dawn. It had snowed heavily the night before and so snow dominated the outside world in its heavy, white entirety.
Houses and buildings everywhere were ceremoniously decorated in holiday colors of red, green, gold, white, and silver. There was a cozy, sleepy atmosphere around the neighborhood that soon melted away as children and adults gradually woke up.
As consciousness took hold of everyone who roused, utter excitement and joy engulfed them as they realized what day it was. Eager children raced from their bedroom to their parents’, jumping on their beds to rouse them and then continuing gleefully downstairs to their decorated tree.
(^o^)/*\(OwO)
I bolted upright at the sound of blaring duck quacks, realizing it was my phone alarm. “Nine?" I read on the bright screen. "NINE?!"
I fell off my bed in my haste to get up, and brought down all the pillows and covers with me. Tiny, my dog, lumbered towards me from his dog bed under the window as I struggled to untangle myself from the mess of bed sheets and a blanket.
“Wuf,” Tiny bent down towards my face and gave my cheek a good, sloppy kiss before quietly seating himself in front of me, his droopy eyes watching as I managed to get everything off of myself.
“Merry Christmas to you, too, Tiny,” I huffed as I stood to my feet. As always my brunet hair had a bad case of bed head, and somehow the white tank top I slept in had come off in the middle of the night.
Quickly slipping on a clean shirt, I rummaged through my pile of clean clothes by the closet to look for my pants.
Suddenly, Tiny began to whine with his ears flattened against his head, and his brown and white tail thumping anxiously against the carpet.
“Shit, Tiny, you gotta use the bathroom?” I mumbled, holding my comb in between my lips as I tried to walk out the bedroom while putting on the located pants. More whining ensued and Tiny refused to stand as I finally buttoned my pants and beckoned to him so I could take him outside to relieve himself
“Tiny.” I froze and my eyes narrowed as realization dawned on me from the way Tiny was acting. The Saint Bernard whined sheepishly on cue as it clicked. “Oh, hell, Tiny! Did you piss on the carpet?!”
The day was not starting off the way I wanted to. I had planned to wake up at seven in the morning so I could bake the cake, cook the food, and add some certain decorations to my already festive home. But I must have forgotten to set the alarm the night before. "You're an idiot, Kirschstein." I scolded myself, entering the bathroom and reaching under the sink for a glove and stain remover.
Marco was out of town visiting family, and Connie, to his dismay, was down with the flu at home. My other friends that I could call on were also busy with their own families so I had no help for this extra special day.
“Damn it, Tiny,” After scrubbing the stain on my carpet, I tossed the soiled yellow glove into the trash, throwing back the cleaning supply under the sink. “Please behave for today, Tiny. I need you to. Everything has to be set by exactly three.”
Having dressed and cleaned myself in the bathroom, I stepped into the kitchen and tied on a white apron, flipping the cookbook on the counter to the page I bookmarked the day before when I had looked through it. My deep brown eyes ran over the page, focusing on the ingredients.
“Milk, butter, cake flour, eggs,” I said aloud as I retrieved them from the fridge, the cabinets. “Vegetable oil, baking power and baking soda, salt and sug—fuck. There’s no more damn sugar?!”
I tossed the empty container into the sink, muttering curses. Sugar was essential for making cakes. Without it, the cake would be bland and wouldn’t taste as good. I could have taken a quick trip to a convenience store if it was any other day but it wasn’t. It was Christmas and so all of the stores were closed.
It happened to be a certain man’s birthday too.
“Birthday twins with Jesus,” I snorted, untying my apron and then bundling into a winter coat and boots.
The stores may be closed but I had kind neighbors. I trudged through the snow in my driveway, Tiny following behind him like a snow plow. The air was chilly and I regretted not fishing out my beanie hidden somewhere in the mess of clothes littering my room.
“I really need to clean my bedroom,” I thought. I know a certain person would scold me for sleeping in a ‘pigsty’.
“Ah, you’re a lifesaver!” I thanked my sweet, elderly neighbor as they gave me a whole container of sugar. I waved goodbye as we walked away, Tiny giving a deep bark of goodbye himself.
By the time the cake was baking in the oven, it was ten and I still had beef stew to make. Tiny had been guarding the kitchen floor for any cake batter that decided to jump out of the bowl but he now had wandered off to find a napping spot. Around the house, it’s evident where Tiny rests his large self when there’s a wide, brown and white path of fur on the carpet or couch. "I need to clean up his fur too." I murmured absentmindedly, stirring a pot of stew.
The kitchen timer went off and I turned off the stove, slipping on oven mitts so I could move the pot without burning myself. Unfortunately, the oven mitts had reached the end of their life; the fabric having been worn out from a longtime of use.
I dropped (it like it's hot, lol) the pot faster than I could process my mistake, and a shit-ton of swears erupted from my mouth. Tiny leaped to his feet, startled by the piercing clang of metal and my roaring curses.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…” I muttered, not letting myself grieve over the lost food splattered all over the kitchen stove and floor like a bloody murder scene. Thankfully, I had quick reflexes from years of playing sports. I had let go of the pot and jumped away the moment the searing heat pierced my palms. "That was the fucking main dish!"
Tiny came up behind me, his nose taking long sniffs of the fallen food. His pink tongue stuck out to lap up the stew but he paused with his tongue still out, his droopy eyes looking up at me for permission.
"Go ahead, Ty" I turned away and groaned, ruffling my hair in frustration.
Today was my lover's birthday. Levi was turning XX years old and this was my first time celebrating his birthday with him since he usually went home to his family’s. He had been away for a week to visit family and was coming back home this afternoon. Knowing him, he wasn't a social butterfly so I otped to throwing him a surprise birthday party with just the two of us and Tiny.
The cake that I was baking was flavored with his favorite kind of tea. Sweet, honey buttercream frosting would adorn it once its finished baking, and birthday candles would dot its surface. It was the same kind he'd buy at the baker's though this one was homemade with love from me. As for the stew, it was a simple beef stew but for some reason he really loved it. Maybe it reminded him of his childhood like vanilla milkshakes reminded me of mine.
With the stew gone, what else would I cook? I looked through my fridge and blanched. I had used all the ingredients on the stew.
"Shit, shit." I called to see if any of the stores were open though I already knew none would be but you never know. Throwing my phone to my couch, I paced the living room. "I-I guess a birthday cake would be enough?" I sweated nervously. This wasn't how I wanted it to be.
An image of Levi's usual stoic face being streaked with disappointment flashed in my mind, and my spirits sank even lower. I did't know how long I wallowed in self-pity and worry, but the kitchen timer went off again and I leapt to my feet. The cake was done and frosting it was fun; it'd lift my spirits a bit.
Licking the frosting spatula clean, I took a step back to admire the cake. The multi-colored birthday candles were arranged in a pattern of a heart with a red frosting of, "Happy Birthday, Levi!" in its center. Tiny whined as he stood on his hind legs, resting his head on the kitchen counter while eyeing the cake hungrily.
"Fuck, no, Tiny." I scoffed, pushing the cake away from the salvating canine. "It's not for you so you can't eat this. Even if it was for you, this cake would make you sick."
I sighed in relief. While I was sulking in the living room, I dreaded about the cake burning or Tiny doing something to fuck it up but it turned out well. It was about eleven now so it left me some time to put up a birthday banner and balloons. I stored the cake in a container to keep any pesky bugs and a dog from taking a bite of it. It was also safely pushed to the wall on the kitchen counter, the toaster standing in front of it as its sentinel just in case Tiny decided to be a bad dog and try to paw at the container.
Being a tall person, it was easy for me to put the birthday banner up but because of a certain person who lacks height, we have a step ladder stored in the hallway closet anyways. What makes it funny, is that the step ladder is shelved at the top which I purposely placed. I earn a few annoyed insults from Levi when he goes to get it sometimes.
Tiny pawed at the different-colored balloons that surrounded me. Instead of filling the balloons with my own breath, I used the air pump that came with the packet of balloons. Though I wouldn't mind blowing up a few of them with my mouth. I've had some nightly practice if you know what I mean. ;)
Soon all the balloons were blown up and Tiny was having fun with them, booping them into the air with his nose. I played along with him, passing back a blue balloon between us.
Out of nowhere, the doorbell rang and the blue balloon slowly landed atop my head as I froze and thought of who'd be at the door.
"I wonder who it is, Ty," I nudged the balloons scattered on the floor away as I went to the door. "Who do you think it is—"
The Saint Bernard's name died on my lips as I saw how his body was poised. Usually when the doorbell rings, Tiny would go beserk and start howling like a hound dog, saliva dripping from his barking jaws. But this time, he was relaxed and his tail was wagging rapidly. He even had that happy, puppy look on his face whenever a certain someone was at the door.
"Oh, fuck me," I whispered, serious butterflies fluttering through my stomach. It wasn't even three and yet he's here now.
"Why are you fucking early..." I quietly padded to the door. Peeking through the peephole, a short black-haired man stood there with a suitcase by his side and a scarf tightly wound around his neck, covering the lower half of his cute, rosy-cheeked face. Even his nose was reddened by the cold, and I felt the urge to give it a kiss. Restraining myself from throwing open the door and attacking Levi, I gingerly crept back to the kitchen to get the cake.
Knowing Levi, he'd ring the doorbell a few times before he'd finally try to open the door himself. I shooed Tiny away when he saw the cake and I dug around in the kitchen drawers for a lighter.
"Where the fuck is it, where the fu-ah ha!" Locating the lighter, I carefully lit each of the candles. It was nerve-wrecking because Levi wasn't patient enough to wait out in the cold, and I was caught off-guard with his early arrival.
I was planning to take a shower and freshen myself up since I smell like food, sweat, and dog but the shortcake arrived earlier than expected.
The candles were lit and the colorful balloons were spread around the front hallway. Tiny sat on his haunches among the balloons, his tail sweeping a clear space around him.
I put a finger to my lips at Tiny, who was now pawing the floor with excitement. I heard the doorknob jangle as Levi tried to force it open and my heart leapt in my chest. Quickly, I lifted the cake and made my way towards the front door.
I guess I was too slow. I wish I had moved faster knowing that Levi was not a very patient person.
Because the moment I stepped in front of the door to open it and surprise Levi with the cake, a strong force flunged it open and I, carrying said cake, was in its way.
Levi came stomping in to rid his boots of snow, a stinging winter wind following closely behind him. It slapped me in the face as if it were mocking me, and I slowly looked down at my chest.
The impact had smothered the flames, thank god, but the candles were pushed deep into the cake and the buttercream frosting was smeared all over the front of my shirt.
"Fucking hell, Jean. It's cold as balls outside that my ass is freezing over. How long does it take for you to open the damn door?" Levi shed his winter coat and unwrapped the scarf circling his neck with his back turned to me. "And what—hey, why are you crying? Jean, what's wrong?"
I flinched when he looked at me and I silently cursed myself. I hate crying and I hate it even more when I cry in front of others. I probably look like a dumbass right now, frosting smeared all over my front and still holding on to a ruined cake that was meant to surprise and make Levi happy.
I watched as Levi's concerned eyes traveled from my pathetic face down to the monstrousity in my hands. He looked over the ruined cake and my stained shirt. A pathetic "Birthday" somehow managed to remain legiable on the cake's surface and Levi then noticed the balloons littering our hallway and the banner I hung up.
His face paled and his mouth flapped open and closed. "Oh, Jean. I'm so sorry." He took a step towards me with his arms outstretched and I instinctively took a step back. Levi blinked at my movement, and his arms went down by his sides.
"I-I was gonna s-surprise you with a little birthday p-party but the whole day just wasn't going my way. I woke up late and then dropped a whole fucking pot of your favorite stew. And there wasn't anything left to make so this cake..." I sniffed, all my frustration pouring out in the form of tears. "This cake...a-at least with it we'd have a party but now..."
I set the cake on the staircase and took a seat at the first step. I wanted to run upstairs and hide but Levi suddenly kneeled down and hugged me, his arms wrapped around my neck. My head was pressed to his chest and I could hear the rapid beat of his heart. I warned him about the frosting on my shirt but he didn't seem to care at it stained his own shirt.
"Levi, your shirt's dirty now." I said to his chest, my voice muffled.
"I know." He replied, now hugging me around the chest. He straddled my lap, laying his head in the crook of my neck.
We sat there like that for awhile, our chests pressed together and heartbeats beating in rhythm. Now that I've calmed down, I felt embarrassed for bursting into tears but crying helps when you've been so frustrated and had a bad day. "Levi?" I murmured.
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry I couldn't throw you a proper birthday party."
There was a pause and Levi looked up at me before pressing his lips against mine.
"I didn't even want one, you idiot."
Lil’ Bonus Scene
“Levi, I need to change my shirt. It’s covered in frosting if you’ve forgotten.”
“Mm, I haven’t.”
“...then can you please let me clean myself up?”
“How ‘bout I clean it up for you?”
“/////...o h m y go d...”
Hehehe. I’ll leave it to your imagination as to how Levi cleaned it up ;) — Brey