Gravitation/General/CUSTOM + Cake
Title: Making an Effort
Author: cuethe_pulse
Fandom: Gravitation
Prompt: Table 2:02-Cake
Character/Pairing: Shuichi x Eiri, Riku
Rating: PG?
Word Count: 514
Summary: Eiri makes an effort to use his still healing eyesight on Riku’s birthday.
Authors Notes/Disclaimer: Major spoilers for Gravitation Ex. Future fic. Gravitation and its characters do not belong to me.
Shuichi left work early to bring the cake home while Riku was still at daycare. He nudged the door open with his hip, key clenched between his teeth, hands holding the white box from the bakery.
“Yuthi!” He called as he closed the door with his foot. After a second of consideration, he spit the key out of his mouth and onto the floor. “Yuki, I’m home!” He made his way to the kitchen and set the box down on the table. He opened it and looked down at the cake, humming contentedly. It was perfect. “Yu-”
“Knock it off. I heard you the first time.”
Smiling, Shuichi turned and sidled up to Eiri as he entered the kitchen, slipping his arms around his lover’s waist. He cuddled into his chest and cooed, “I got the cake.”
“Great,” Eiri monotoned, as unenthusiastic as he had been when Shuichi had first mentioned celebrating the boy’s birthday. “How does it look?”
“You tell me.”
He was pushed away, as he thought he would be, and he looked up into Eiri’s scowling face.
“That isn’t funny.”
“I’m not trying to be,” the singer coaxed, taking the other man by the arm and leading him closer to the table. “The doctor said you have to try, Yuki, or you won’t get any better.”
“Don’t care.”
“I care. And Riku cares. And Seguchi-san, and Tatsuha, and your sister, and-”
“Stop talking.”
Shuichi obeyed and watched as Eiri stared down in the general direction of the table’s surface. He squinted and Shuichi wondered if that actually helped or if it was just the instinctive thing to do. After a long stretch of silence, he finally muttered, “I can’t tell.”
“Yes, you can,” Shuichi urged. “C’mon, Yuki.”
“Fine,” he sighed. Another moment passed and he said, “It has strawberries on it.”
“You knew that already, so it doesn’t count.”
“Dammit, brat-”
“Okay, okay!” Shuichi relented; he didn’t want to make him mad on such a special day. Glancing down at his watch, he clicked his tongue restlessly. “I have to go pick Riku up. When he gets here, can you at least act as if you like him?”
Eiri grunted in response, which Shuichi figured was as good as he was going to get.
When Shuichi returned, Riku in tow, Eiri was leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen, looking slightly anxious. Before Shuichi could say anything, he spoke, his voice gruff and curiously embarrassed.
“There are blue sprinkles on it. And a rabbit, for some retarded reason. Happy birthday, kid.”
Eyes filling with tears of pride, Shuichi seized Eiri’s arm in what bordered between an overzealous squeeze and a death grip and Riku, not to be left out, latched onto his leg. With his free hand, Eiri shoved at Shuichi’s face before reaching down to pat awkwardly at Riku’s head.
“Yeah, yeah. Get off. And go blow out the stupid candles I put on it.”
Only then did Shuichi notice that one of the kitchen chairs was in flames.
But, well, at least he’d made an effort.