Chapter 13: April 23rd

Author's note: A few chapters ago, I decided that my goal with this story was to pass 40,000 words. This chapter brings us to 40,011 words and, the way I have it formatted, exactly 100 pages. :) Thanks to Hikari Kame for pointing out that I'd been using Yao's last name as his first throughout the entire story. 'orz (It's fixed now.) Thank you all so much for your support! :D

There was a knock on the door. Arthur quickly finished pulling the meat pie out of the oven and went to see who it was. When he opened the door he found Alfred standing there, balancing a cake box on one hand with an envelope tucked under his arm. He was using his free hand to clutch something to his chest. "I know you're supposed to open your birthday presents after we eat, but I figure we can make an exception, right?" Alfred was grinning, clearly immensely proud of himself. He disentangled whatever he had clutched to his chest from his shirt and held it out gently to Arthur.

"Mew," the thing in his hand said, and dug its very small claws into Alfred's wrist. He winced.

Arthur stared. The kitten squirmed in Alfred's hand and he took it without really realising what he was doing. He cradled it against his chest, petting its head as he examined it. It was mostly white except for large brown spot surrounding its left eye and a black spot on its back. A red ribbon had been tied around its neck.

"Can I come in?" Alfred asked.

"Uh, right. Yeah," said Arthur, and backed out of the doorway, dazed. Alfred closed the door behind him and Arthur finally looked up to meet his eyes. "Is it, uh–" Is it really mine? Alfred looked at him, not sure of what he was trying to say. Arthur cleared his throat and changed his question. "Is it a boy or a girl?" A new question came to mind, and he looked horrified at the idea. "Has it already been named?"

"It's a girl, and nope, she's all yours." Alfred grinned happily. Arthur looked at the kitten and contemplated this.

Alfred tossed the envelope on the counter and headed into the kitchen to inspect what was for dinner. Arthur's head came up and he gave Alfred such a glare that he froze.

"Why," Arthur asked dangerously, one eyebrow raised, "Did you get me a kitten?"

Alfred looked like a deer in headlights. "What? You love it, right? You said you always wished you –"

"I said," Arthur hissed, "That I would have loved to have gotten a cat if the apartment complex allowed it. It doesn't."

"But –" Alfred said helplessly, gesturing towards the kitten.

"You're so thoughtless sometimes!" Arthur cried, clutching the kitten even more tightly. "What am I going to do with Spot now? I can't abandon her, and I'm certainly not letting you take her! You didn't even bother to think about the expense of cat food, or that she'll need a litter box and toys!"

"What kind of boring name is Spot?" Alfred asked incredulously, momentarily distracted.

"Are you even listening to what I'm saying?"

Alfred chuckled and Arthur looked as though he was going to murder him with his bare hands, holding a kitten or not. "Arthur, it's really okay. I already bought a litter box and food and stuff. They're just in my car because I couldn't carry it all up at once. I was thinking that we could go toy shopping tomorrow and make it like a date." Arthur's glare had faded into an expression of annoyance, so Alfred decided it was safe. He walked back over to Arthur and kissed him gently on the forehead with a smile. "Happy birthday."

Arthur looked down at the kitten, embarrassed. "Well, thank you. You still haven't mentioned how you're going to solve the issue about it not being allowed, though," he mumbled.

"Let's have dinner first," said Alfred, smiling in a suspiciously innocent way.

"Alfred," said Arthur warningly, but Alfred was already pulling out plates and putting things on the table. Arthur sighed and decided it wasn't worth it. He put the kitten down gently on the floor and she immediately bounded off into the living room. Arthur entered the kitchen and took the plates out of Alfred's hands. "Alfred, I'll take care of this. You go get the rest of the stuff from the car."

"Sure thing," said Alfred, and with a quick kiss, left the flat.

When Alfred came back, weighed down under about five different bags and boxes, Arthur had the table all set. Arthur helped him unpack everything, and Alfred went off to set up the litter box. Arthur filled the food and water dishes and set them in an appropriate place. They pointed out the litter box to Spot, who seemed to catch on, and then went to have dinner.

Arthur sighed as the familiar taste of the pie filled his mouth. They ate for a moment in silence, just enjoying each other's company. "So, how has your birthday been so far?" Alfred asked.

"Fine. My coworkers sang me happy birthday, and my parents and brothers called me right after work."

"That's nice," said Alfred.

Arthur shrugged. "It's not exactly a big deal."

"Of course it's a big deal!" Alfred leaned across the table and looked at him, wide-eyed. "It's your birthday!"

"I can't imagine what you do for your birthday," Arthur muttered.

"Have a huge party, of course!"

"Of course," said Arthur, not surprised in the least.

"Oh, I should give you your card." Alfred grabbed the envelope from the counter and tossed it to Arthur. Arthur couldn't help feeling a little bit disappointed; the way Alfred had been acting, he had figured there was something else in the envelope. He pulled out the card. It said "Happy Birthday" in rainbow colours on the front. When he opened it, it started singing the song by the same name. Arthur raised an eyebrow at Alfred, who grinned. "The best kind of birthday card," he said by way of explanation.

"Well, thank you," Arthur said dryly, and closed the card.

"No, don't thank me yet," said Alfred as he jumped out of his seat and pulled the cake out of the refrigerator. He looked around for a lighter, and snatched it up. He looked around at Arthur. "Er, close your eyes. It's supposed to be a surprise."

Arthur rolled his eyes but did as he was told. "Don't tell me you put candles on the cake."

"Of course I did," said Alfred, and Arthur heard the click of the lighter. He heard it click off, and then on again. Alfred seemed to be taking an awfully long time.

"You had better not set off the fire alarm."

"I won't. Okay, you can open your eyes now!" Arthur did, and saw Alfred setting a huge cake before him. It had to be huge, he supposed, because it was covered with candles. "There are 34. I counted," said Alfred happily.

"Alfred, you're not supposed to remind me about how old I am."

Alfred sat down and scooted over next to Arthur. "I think it's a great age." He kissed him on the cheek and Arthur blushed a little with pleasure. "Aren't you going to make a wish?" Arthur was about to refuse, but he thought about it for a moment, and then closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and blew out all the candles. Alfred looked at him excitedly. "What did you wish for?"

"Well, I can't tell you, can I?" Arthur said smugly.

"Aww," said Alfred. "Please?"

Arthur shook his head, smiling. He noticed another envelope sitting in front of the cake with his name scrawled across its surface. "What's this?" he asked, picking it up curiously.

"The rest of your present."

Arthur glanced at Alfred. He looked expectant and almost nervous. Arthur tore open the envelope and pulled out several folded sheets of paper that had been stapled together. Arthur smoothed them out. They were listings for flats, each one with a little picture and an address. "Pets allowed" had been highlighted below the first one. Arthur flipped through the pages. "Cats acceptable," said one; "All pets welcome," said another.

"I was thinking we could look for an apartment together," Alfred said, his voice suddenly uncertain. "I know that we haven't really talked about it and moving's kind of stressful, but I tried to find ones that are reasonably close to our works and stuff, so–"

Arthur pulled him into a hug, cutting off his nervous babbling. "Stop it. It's perfect."

"Perfect?" mumbled Alfred into his hair.

"The perfect present." Arthur released him and looked him seriously in the eyes. "I think it's a wonderful idea."

"Really?" Alfred's face lit up and he broke into a grin. "You'd be willing to live with me?"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Alfred, I practically already live with you."

"But, see me every day?"

"Alfred, I don't think you understand–" he broke off and sighed. Alfred was looking at him curiously. "Seeing you any day is a privilege," he whispered, looking embarrassedly at Alfred's shoulder.

Alfred pulled his chin up and kissed him sweetly. Alfred's hair was soft beneath his hands. His eyes fluttered closed. "Are you going to cut the cake?" Alfred murmured against his skin.

"Yes, I am going to cut the cake," he said dryly, opening his eyes. Alfred was still pressed against him. "I'll even let you lick the icing off the candles." Alfred grinned and released him. He proceeded to pull all the candles off the cake while Arthur got a knife. "Let's eat in the living room," he said over his shoulder. "I'm going to put on some tea."

"Sounds good," said Alfred, who obligingly served up the cake and it into the living room.

When Arthur entered a few minutes later with the pot of tea, he saw Alfred kneeling down in front of the curtains, apparently having a whispered argument with himself. "Alfred, what are you–?"

Alfred looked around guiltily, revealing the kitten with its claws dug deep into the fabric. Alfred had both kitten and curtain firmly in his hands and seemed to be in the process of disentangling them. There was a ripping sound. Alfred's head whipped back around to the cat and he hissed, "Stop it! You're really going to get it now!"

Arthur smiled slightly and put the tea down on the side table. He strode over to the two of them and knelt down at Alfred's side. He gently brushed Alfred's hands away and took hold of the kitten. "Now Spot," he murmured as he carefully unhooked her claws one by one, "you shouldn't do that." He tapped her gently on the nose. "Now, run along." He set her down and gave her a pat on the bottom for good measure. He looked up to find Alfred staring at him. "What?"

"Geez, Artie. I thought you were going to skin her alive there for a sec." Alfred grinned weakly.

"I don't make a habit of skinning kittens," Arthur said crossly. He stood up and brushed off his pants. "What kind of person do you think I am, anyway?"

"But she totally destroyed your curtains!"

Arthur sighed. "If I'm going to have a kitten, I'm going to have to get used to it, aren't I? And she didn't destroy my curtains. She just put some holes in them."

Alfred followed him to the couch and snuggled up against him, smiling. "You really do have a soft spot for small, defenceless creatures, don't you?"

"Who doesn't?" Arthur asked, blushing a little.

Alfred pulled Arthur against him. "I know that even when we move in together, there are going to be some days when I'll be at work and you'll be at home, or whatever, and I won't be with you. I wish I could be with you every second of every day, but . . . I hope Spot will keep you from feeling too lonely."

Arthur blushed. "I never feel lonely, prat," he said, pushing Alfred away half-heartedly. Alfred just held him more tightly and kissed him on the cheek. "Besides, Spot makes a poor substitute for you."

"But she's soft and fluffy," said Alfred grinning.

"And you're neither," returned Arthur. He picked up his cake and tasted it. Vanilla with raspberry filling, he noticed, savouring it. One of my favourites. They ate in silence, leaning against each other comfortably. Spot jumped up on the couch and curled up against Arthur, purring gently. Arthur put down his plate and rubbed her between the ears.

"So," said Alfred, also putting down his plate, "Are you at least going to tell me what you wished for when it comes true?"

Arthur smiled and kissed him gently, drawing it out, long and lingering. "I think it already has."