hugtopia_logs | someone's got a biiiirthdaaaaay

♥ Who: Undertaker and Astre Phantomhive
♥ Where: Undertaker's shared apartment
♥ When: Dec 14th
♥ What: Birthday shenanigans
♥ Rating: G

There are few days in the course of the year that he hasn't forgotten, and in truth he never could. Something so significant as the birth of one of the most important people in his life could never go by without notice, whether or not the one it revolved around cared much for its celebration or no.

What was once a joyous day had, in the end, become one of the worst over the course of a night's time. Funny how life can change on the drop of a hat as it does sometimes, but he is yet determined to associate this day with something memorable in any positive sense. There hasn't been a year yet since he and the young Earl arrived unexpectedly in Riverview's Quarantine that he hasn't made that attempt.

Gradually, Astre began to accept the lighter side of this particular date, if only to enjoy the baked goods that the mortician provided over its daylight hours. The night time, he kept to himself while the boy slept. Even he, as much as he valued humor over the terrible, could not let the day pass without marking the darker occasion that shared a place on their calendars with Astre's birthday. Both sides of the coin, valid for one day in a year. How beautiful; how awful.

But he is given to routine, and whether or not he wants, Undertaker rises early in the morning, carefully extricating himself from the teen's hold to slip into a bathrobe over his dark pajamas and into the kitchen next door. Pans are taken out and set aside, bowls are placed where he will need them. Ingredients are... not quite what he is used to working with, given the replicators and their abilities, but he will make do with what he has.

But before anything, he needs a good, strong cup of tea.

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It definitely wasn't a day he would have started paying any attention to if it hadn't been for the past couple of years. Between Undertaker and friends in Riverview, he'd started to open up a bit to the idea of celebrating.

He still wasn't sure how old he was exactly with this one, sixteen or seventeen and he didn't feel so old either way, but it didn't really seem to be important here. In a place where any contact helped them, the robotic natives didn't seem to care so long as no one was hurt and nothing was destroyed.

When Undertaker woke, Astre just made a little sound in his sleep and grasped after him for a moment before wrapping as much of the blankets around him as he could. It wasn't cold in their apartment, just that he liked being wrapped up. And he'd keep sleeping for awhile, until the smell of tea and the sounds of activity from the kitchen start to reach the bedroom.

There might have been a little destruction going on within the apartment's kitchen thanks to Undertaker's talents, as much as he had wrestled with the world's replicators and tested and done and failed and succeeded in days prior to today. Flour and sugar and eggs, such as they were, were obliterated and meshed together to become something more than they had once been. He could have gone about it all the easy way and simply requested a cake of the device, but he didn't trust the results, not when it took out the love and care he put into each of his treats.

In time, he had a small cake sitting on a plate and tea in a cup - his second of the day - slowly cooling while he carefully spread chocolate icing along the outside, swiping up every now and then to create a sort of design on the dark surface. What, exactly, he was making with that design, he didn't know, only that it was something ornate and pretty and about to be destroyed a second time once the young Earl woke and deemed it time to dig in.

At least he was safe in the knowledge that his roommate didn't mind the destruction. They'd caused similar in Riverview and he had no regrets about that. And he didn't regret it then, wouldn't now either but he might regret missing out on helping a bit.

He yawned and rubbed at his good eye, watching Undertaker with a smile as he stepped into the kitchen. And, admittedly, that cake was already very tempting. It didn't help that he knew Undertaker's baking and knew he hadn't yet failed to make something taste amazing.

"Morning." There was a little more energy in his voice than what might usually be there in the morning and he gives credit of that to Undertaker and the cake.

It wasn't just the same cake he'd made a dozen times before at least in his own world, though the methods had changed and the ingredients weren't quite the same. He'd been sure to taste test everything before he made the mix and set it to bake, something that could have been foregone entirely if he'd asked the replicator to make the cake for him.

But no, that wouldn't work. If he was honest, he had been worried the thing wouldn't be quite as good as he had hoped, as his usual product, but it was as good as he could make it. Times were different, techniques the same and not in this world. He'd have to make do, and so he did.

Just as well, he knew it the moment Astre stepped into the kitchen to join him. Without looking up from where icing kept his attention, he nudged an empty cup gently in the boy's direction, careful not to get the smudge of chocolate icing on his finger on the porcelain.

"Good morning, milord. You'll have to forgive me for leaving yours empty this morning. I wasn't sure when you'd want to leave the bed, but the tea is still good and hot for you in the kettle."

He was happy to watch for a moment until he saw that cup being nudged. And then he moves up to Undertaker's side, smiling, taking in a deep breath to enjoy the smell of cake and icing. And tea, as he picks up the kettle to pour a cup.

"That's alright. You look like you've been busy." Undertaker, he thought, was definitely aware of how tempting some of that chocolate icing was. How could he not? "Have you been up long?"

At least long enough to have a cake mostly finished, and such a tease that was. He fixes his tea and gives a light blow to it to get rid of a bit of steam and sips slowly at it, letting out a pleased sigh.

"I could start breakfast, if you haven't eaten yet."

It's already tantalizing enough to have to put together and bake the birthday cake on its own, and he would be lying to say he had been able to resist a few of the spare pieces of cake breading he had had to cut off in order to properly shape his creation. But it's kept him tided over for a proper breakfast while Astre slept.

Now that the boy is awake, however...

"Quite busy, milord. I've been at this for some time now. I found I just couldn't sleep."

Well, part of it was the truth. He'd been just as in anticipation of this day as he thought the Earl might be, and he can't help himself. He knows the boy well enough by now, and the near empty bowl of icing gets nudged toward Astre, too. Everything is almost done now, he decides with a nod, all but the candles and flame.

"Will you find that necessary? This is your decision."

Oh no, that was just cheating.

His eyes dropped to the icing for a moment and then back up to Undertaker, gaze almost questioning as he inched closer, taking another sip of his tea. And then smiling.

He'd definitely been a bit anxious for his birthday, moreso than he'd ever been before he'd left England. A level of excitement he'd only ever shared with his twin. And Undertaker had brought that back for him, it was an amazing gift on its own.

"I waaaaaas going to try to behave myself but you do seem to love tempting me, don't you?" He laughed, setting his cup down and dipping a finger into the icing. After a brief taste though, he looks to Undertaker and reaches to poke at his cheek.

"Whoops!"

Even at Astre's age, he might still playfully scold the boy for eating sweets so early in the morning, but not today. Today, he'll outright encourage it. To have seen the shift over the years, from sullen depression to the closest he had ever seen to giddiness. How subtle it had been, but the boy had been raised in high society, taught to behave in certain ways that even the years ahead of them wouldn't fully work out of him.

He thought it never would, but in truth he didn't care. As long as Astre was happy, as long as he was healthy, those things were his priority now.

So far, it seemed to be working. Undertaker lifted a hand, long nails sweeping the hair already tucked into a loose pony tail back behind his ear to keep it out of the icing now marking his cheek.

"Oh, now how did that get there? I really should be more careful with these things, especially on a day like today."

The utensil he had used to smooth the icing over the cake was an odd thing, something like a butter knife but without the edging humans of England would have come to expect. Still, moving it over to Astre's face and pressing a chocolatey edge to the nose was done with utmost care, slowly enough that he wouldn't cause pain. "Clumsy me. I do believe I'm getting loopy in my old age."

Really, it was thanks to Undertaker that he'd managed this. Left to his own devices, he more than likely would have just gotten more bitter and even less social. And he absolutely wouldn't have broken the contract with Sebastian. He wouldn't have had any reason to. Instead, Undertaker had stepped in and made a difference, helped and protected him in ways that Sebastian never had, never would have. Nightmares were mocked while Undertaker consoled.

Until Undertaker, he hadn't really remembered what being happy really felt like. Or safe. Properly safe. Made his birthday less of a hateful thing, even.

It makes him smile.

"I think today is as good a day as any to make a mess." He grinned up at him and then laughed when that icing and pressed to his nose. A moment after, Astre reaches up to wipe at it and lick it off his finger. "Haven't you always been just a little bit loopy though?"

It's asked fondly though. He desperately wishes he'd tried harder back in England than just going along with what Sebastian taught him.

someone's got a biiiirthdaaaaay

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