@idoliized (you know who) -> it was late, the earlier fuss of the cake and presents long over, ren and tae having insisted on binnie making a cake and the others throwing just as much of a fuss as they had for the other birthdays they'd already celebrated for all that they didn't need to, that there were no cameras and no fans around to watch it (but he was theirs, theirs, a part of their family, a part of their pride, and so it was that everyone had insisted on celebrating him with the same exuberance they'd shown the others). there had been cake and presents (a practical new jacket with a variety of pockets and a handstitched saja pride patch stitched on the arm from bin-hae and beom-joon, some brand new top of the line sound mixing software from tae-hyeong and jae-byeol, a set of thick soft blankets from myst that were clearly modulated by song, tickets to a nice spa retreat in the mountains that sported pictures of a gorgeous stream and handwritten instructions for how to find a demon who could enchant rocks to stay ever warmed with foxfire and what to say to call in that favor as a gift from ren and his mates, and even a pair of headphones from sungwoon that would seem like a thoughtless gift until the originals would go missing a week later) but he himself had lingered back, not wanting to spoil the moment with the others, to marr what ought to be a happy day for the hunter.
until now - now that he was sound asleep, tucked up in the bed they'd taken to sharing, tangling up together like two puppies, his head buried in the reaper's pillow and clutching onto it in a way that left him gently shaking his head with fondness as he stroked back some of the soft hair that had fallen into his face. his heart fluttered in his chest, trembling with affection, and he let his fingers linger a moment longer before he carefully settled his own gift into his spot on the bed. when byung-chul awoke, it would be to the sight of coda's signature black leopard, the plush holding a notebook filled to the brim with jinyoung's careful hand, transcriptions of the songs the hunter had shared with him interspersed with his own commentary in blue, the beginnings of melodies trailing along the margins, and in the back, a message:
thank you for seeing me as more than my patterns could ever make me. i don't know if I could have ever done this without you. you are the brightest star in my sky, the one i rely on to guide me when i need it most.
@idoliized (and @heartpatterned and @theflexorcist and @outfcxed and @leadersaja by virtue of Fox Husbands) | Byu's Birthday was yesterday (10/30/2025)!
He'd nearly cried when he saw the gifts and the cake the others had made or gotten for him, smile impossibly wide as he'd given each of them a tight hug and thanked them profusely. Byung-chul had never experienced anything quite like this on his birthday, never this much fuss and nowhere near the level of thoughtfulness put into each gift (the usual gift cards from his parents and siblings would come in the mail by the end of the week, as they always were). His only complaint for the day would be how he'd barely seen Jinyoung all during the party, though the others had been quick to distract him and hold his attention until he practically had to drag himself into bed.
When the bed shifted with Jinyoung's weight he sighed softly, carefully nuzzling closer into the gentle touch without waking and only whining softly when he felt the weight shift out of the bed later. When he woke up and was met with the little glass eyes of the Coda plush he smiled sleepily, pushing himself up on one elbow to glance around the room for Jinyoung before his attention turned to the book in its paws. He blinked, carefully sitting up and taking the notebook in one hand even as he curled his arms protectively around the plush, fingers running over the cover before opening it. If he'd been close to crying the night before he may as well have cried looking over each detail written out in front of him, and that was before he'd found the note.
He'd kiss him later, if Jinyoung would let him. Even though he'd have rather the reaper be in bed with him when he woke up to give him his gifts in person, he couldn't help the way his heart swelled just thinking about all the time it had to have taken him to put something like this together, all of the love that had gone into every pen stroke. For now he settled on grabbing his phone, placing a soft kiss to the top of his new plush's head as he carefully typed out a short message to Jinyoung.
[ 2025/10/31, 9:25 am ] From Byu <3: I love you too