birthday special (t. kuroo x reader)
there wasnât much that made you excited. save for the occasional premieres of new anime and the bubbly feeling youâd get at the end of every semester, there was hardly a time you were ever excited for things to come. perhaps it had to do with your loneliness. events are only memorable if you have someone to share it with, right? maybe itâs because you didnât have someone to be excited with that made you less than numb on days like today.
like your birthday for example.
for the past couple of years, youâve spent your birthday alone. before that, you had your grandma of course, who made you favorite cake by hand every year until her death. you never realized how many people you DIDNT have in your life until she was gone. now, you celebrate your birthday with a day old cupcake and the same candle youâve been using for the past two years.
this year wouldnât be any different. youâd think that with Kuroo now in your life youâd have at least somebody to celebrate your birthday with. instead, nekoma had a practice game with nohebi and he reaaaaaaally couldnât miss this one. he offered to let you tag along, to which you declined saying you had some test to study for and you really couldnât skip out on studying or youâd fail the class. kuroo only shrugged it off.
âalright, whatever you say.â
and then it was just you. again.
you couldnât blame him for not knowing. you guys had only started dating recently and you never came across the topic of birthdays before. besides, itâs not like you would have told him anyways. your birthday wasnât important then and it isnât important now. so why did you feel a strong pain in your chest.
even before you started dating, youâve always put effort into his team. whether it be yakuâs birthday or kenmas volleyball-aversery, you did your best to help make them feel special. gifts, balloons, at least a special shoutout on chatsnap, you did what you could to brighten up their day. because, thatâs what friends do, right?
well, maybe they werenât your friends. yet, at least. you only started hanging around tetsurou months prior, his friends joining you both along the way. at first you were only being cordial, them only having a connection to you via kuroo, who you could hardly call a friend at the time. but as the months passed, you felt as if you were part of the warm, deep bond that was his team.
Maybe you were jumping the gun. maybe you guys werenât really friends, only acquaintances. makes senseâ maybe you imagined your friendship with them all along. the moment kuroo came out of the picture, you would be back to strangers. thatâs how all your past âfriendshipsâ ended like. once faces you tried to brighten turn to blank canvases, like youâve never touched them before with the colors of your palette. like youâve never bought them gifts, set up balloons, made them cake. the whole nine hundred. maybe kuroos and his friends will end up the same way.
it was nearing midnight, the days drawing to a close. as per usual, none of the people youâve put so much effort in even thought to send you a birthday text. typical. you only sighed and lit up the used candle in front of you, readying you birthday cupcake to finish the night.
âhappy birthday to meâ
your voice cracked. itâs never done that before.
âhappy birthday to meâ
you felt warm droplets slip down your face. perhaps there was a leak in the roof?
âhappy birthday dear (y/n)...â
you paused for dramatic effect but ended up hiccuping on your own breath. when you looked at the clock, it read 11:58. two minutes until your birthday was over.
âhappy birthday to meâ
and you blew out your candle.
a knock on the door. this late at night? then loud banging.
âwhat the...â usually, opening your front door at 11:59 pm at night would seem like a bad idea. but you were in such a hysterical state you couldnât be bothered with logic and fear. so you got up, braced yourself for the worst, and swung the door open.
all of nekomaâs volleyball team stood outside your door. balloons, gifts, a piĂąata, they all had something to carry. and in the middle, tetsurou stood holding out a terribly decorated birthday cake with the words âHAPPY BIRTHDAY Y/Nâ in shaky frosting.
you could only blink. â...guys?â
âhappy birthday y/n!â your boyfriend sang proudly. âyou didnât think weâd actually forget.â
âhe did forget.â quipped kenma. he had a cat plushy with a birthday themed bow in his hands. âi had to be the one to reminded him.â
ânoooooâ tetsurou denied. you only giggled. you werenât mad at him. not at all. you were just surprised the whole team pitched in to help.
yaku, who was wrangling the balloons, chimed in. âeither way, weâre here now y/n. why donât you sit down and relax while we set up.â
as you were about to deny they work so hard, tetsurou silenced you with a kiss to the cheek and pushed his way in. and who were you to deny the whole team.
balloons, streamers, banners and homemade posters littered your walls and you couldnât be more grateful. and every member of the team had something to give you as a gift. yamamoto got you hair ties, fukunaga gave you a book full of knock knock jokes, kenma gave you the cat plushyâ you were thankful for it all.
finally, tetsurou presented to you his homemade birthday cake lit with candles.
the fire cast a glow onto his face. âiâm sorry we were so late.â
you smiled at him, a light water in your eyes. âyou guys are here now, so.â
everyone gathered around you both while inuoka turned off the lights.
âhappy birthday to youâ
âhappy birthday to youâ
yamamoto was a little too loud.
âhappy birthday dear y/nâ
kai was undoubtedly the best singer of them all.
âhappy birthday to you!â
you blew out the candles.
as the boys cheered in the dark, tetsurou leaned over to give you a kiss.
âhappy birthday, my love.â
before he smashed your face into the cake. and licked it off in private