Happy birthday

Title: Happy Birthday
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Time-Frame: 358/2 Days - Riku and Xion's month of eloping.
Characters: Riku, Xion
Summary: She asked what the term even meant; he never expected such a precious gift in return.
Note: Candylanger's request.

---

It was understandable for the girl to be distracted, really, the young man by her side knew that very well. For the past couple of weeks he traveled with her as she sought her answers, tried to come to terms with even her own existence, and maybe, just maybe - find a way to please everyone.
It was only natural that she'd be in a daze, but then again - now it was getting ridiculous. Riku had no other way of putting it as he held the girl tighter against him, back pressed against a tree for stability. She on her part stared at the cliff she almost fell down, the blood flowing rapidly and pounding in her ears.

"…maybe we should take a break." He suggested, and Xion could only nod in terrified enthusiasm.

"Let's."

–

The two stopped next to a small clearing and Xion sat down on a large rock that served as the perfect chair replacement. Riku found himself another tree to lean against and he watched the girl in black from behind his blindfold. Of course, now Xion had more to be preoccupied with, what with that near-death experience, but seeing as that's what it came to - a near-death experience, Riku could no longer afford to let her think things through at her own pace.

"Munny for your thoughts?" He asked eventually and Xion let out a tiny giggle at the offer.

"You can't afford it."

Riku nodded. "Probably not."

Xion giggled again but the smile she offered him was tired and distracted.

"Wanna talk about it for free, then?" He tried again, making the girl sigh and rest her elbows on her knees and her cheeks over her wrists.

"Just- thinking, I guess."

"Hard enough to make you miss seeing a cliff, Xion."
He ignored the flustered blush on her cheeks.
"This is more than just thinking."

Though disgruntled at being berated, Xion nodded and sat up before holding her hands over her lap.
"I just… I feel like I'm forgetting something, and it's slowly driving me insane."

This didn't really come as a surprise, but the way in which the girl seemed distracted by it was certainly new.

"Was it really that important?" Riku asked with a tilt of his head. "You almost died there. What can be this haunting?"

"You'll laugh." Xion complained and winced when he nodded.

"Possibly." He let himself be honest. "But I'll still hear you out to the end and try to help you once I calmed down."

At the sincere reply, she felt her cheeks paint a bit and looked away, but knew he meant every word.
"Well… just remember it might seem silly to you."

"Will do."

Xion nodded and pressed her hands down over the rock by her sides.
"I keep thinking about it, but I always come short when I recall this word, so I… I was wondering if you could explain it to me."

"So long as it's not too embarrassing."
Riku had bad experience on the matter where the girl was concerned.

"I… don't think it is, anyway." Xion admitted and looked up at him.
"Riku… what's a birthday?"

Riku raised a brow. Well, this certainly was better than what he feared.

"I understand the, um, literal sense…" And finding it blush-worthy, it seemed… "But not the related traditions. That's a mystery to me."

That made sense, Riku reckoned. He had a hard time believing the Organization celebrated birthdays, least of all that of their least favorite tool - even if Xion was a year old, which she wasn't.

"You mean the cake, and the presents and all that?"

The question earned him a look not unlike a deer's caught in the headlights.
"Cake? Presents?!" She cooed with awe, and Riku scratched his cheek.

"So we need to go over it from the top…"

Xion wiggled excitedly. "Yes, please."

Riku sat down; this was bound to take a while.
"Well, you overall know what a birthday even is, right?"

Xion nodded. "The day you came into the world on."

Riku nodded back. "Right. And you celebrate your birthday on the same day of the same month every year after."

At that, she frowned. "But you're only born once… right?"

"Yeah, but you become a year older."

Her frown deepened. "Is that really something to celebrate? I mean, you grow old…"

Riku shook his head with a snicker. "That's a very philosophical question, and the answer depends mostly on who you ask. But people prefer the celebratory aspect and hogging the presents."

"And the cake part?" She couldn't really hide her excitement.

"You put as many candles on it as the years you've been alive."

She gasped. "Old people must get really big cakes!"

He couldn't help it; he laughed himself silly.
"Most people stop putting candles early on… otherwise it's both too depressing and too dangerous." He replied once he finally could.
Well, he did warn her he was likely to laugh, Xion concluded and nodded.

"Fire hazard."

"Something like that." Riku confirmed and let himself catch his breath before noticing the quizzical look in her eyes.
"…what?"

"How many candles are on your birthday cake, Riku?"

She didn't really hear him state his age; no sooner did he open his mouth to answer did it all come together in her mind and her lips settled into a perfect round shape.
"…oh!"

Riku blinked at that.
"It's not that much of a shock, i-"

"Today!" The girl exclaimed, holding both hands up at face level.

"Today…?" Riku asked, making Xion frown.

"…today?" She asked with narrowed eyes and looked away.
"Need to buy a cake… no candles, ok? Sixteen is too many, I think… and a present… would a new blindfold work? That one's kind of old…"

Riku blinked and laughed nervously. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Oh, he had an idea. Didn't mean he liked it any better, just like how the girl disliked his response.

"Your birthday!" Xion exclaimed and Riku struggled not to hunch his shoulders.
"It's today, isn't it?! That's what's been bugging me!"
She looked at him expectantly; he in turn looked down at the black he was clad in.
Ah; so she did get some of Sora's memories of Riku, after all… It was a fact he liked to ignore for the most part, but couldn't - least of all on times like that when it was staring back at him. It was even harder to attempt then as he knew full well those were Sora's memories talking, and before even that - who it was that voiced them, that raven-haired girl with the determined look and honest eyes. Sora used to give him similar looks - but not identical ones, and that was what made the difference as far as he was concerned.

"…yesterday." Riku corrected suddenly, making the girl blink.

"Huh?"

He let out a sigh and leaned his head back against the trunk. She couldn't quite see it but she knew well enough he closed his eyes.

"My birthday; it was yesterday."

So that was why it bothered her that much - she didn't just forget about it, she missed it.
"Happy belated birthday!" She cooed and clapped her hands.
He snorted.

"Thanks."

One nod was offered before the girl put both her fists to her lips.
"I'm not too good with cakes… do they even make sea-sa- oh right, you don't like it. Um, lemon cakes?"

"Chocolate'll do fine."

Xion nodded and hummed thoughtfully, blissfully unaware of the boy's growing frustration.

"That's that… then, about the present-"

"Xion, can we continue forgetting about it?" Riku interjected, voice loud and more than a bit bitter.
The girl winced at the demand.

"Wha- why?! It's your birthday!" She argued and Riku bit his lip as he looked away.

"I don't really have that much to celebrate this year."

The silence that not only fell but also stretched made it seem almost like the matter was concluded. Xion stared down and held a hand to her chest while Riku, feeling more uneasy the longer the awkward silence stretched, finally pushed himself up.

"Let's-"
He stopped mid-sentence and turned to look at her as she avoided meeting his veiled gaze at all costs.

"…what did you say?"

"I said-" She began with almost bravado but turned away once their gazes met. Frowning at herself in frustration, she looked up at him from behind her bangs.

"I said that… that I do. Have something to celebrate."

The two stared at each other for a moment before looking away at the same time. She played with her coat while he tugged at his hair in frustration.

"No you do-"

"Yes, I do!" Xion put her foot down once she was standing. "Why wouldn't I?!"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Riku hissed, only to wince at the adamant nod she offered in reply.
He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as he turned away.

"I'm why we're in this mess."

He began rounding the tree, and she knew he meant more than just their eloping escapade. She thus let him enjoy a moment of silence while she picked her words with care.

"I can't believe… it's all your fault if any of it is. And I really can't believe things would've been that different with you gone. The Organization still would've gone after Sora, so the chances of it all happening, with or without you, are high. So do-"
She sucked a deep breath in before looking up at him with her best stern look.

"Don't flatter yourself!"

He finally turned to look at her for that and she offered in return the tiniest of smiles.

"But, you know? There is one thing that would've changed if you were gone."
There was a bashful touch to her voice and she hunched her shoulders. She knew full well just how embarrassing what she had to say was, but he needed to hear it - and so, she had to say it.

"You wouldn't have been here with me like this."
She began and looked down, refusing to see even the will to argue on his face. He was silent, however, and so she continued.

"I'm sure I'd be caught by now on my own, and bad things would've happened to everyone. But before that, if you weren't here, I-"
She stopped to swallow.
"There'd be no one to help me like this, or support me, or cheer me up. There'd be no one to listen to me, or… or hold me."
She ignored that blush.

"I know!" Xion exclaimed next and hugged herself. "I know that this is all so selfish and, and one sided, but still… maybe because of that, I…"
She looked up finally and smiled a bit wider when she found him with parted lips and a lost expression.

"I know… why you're doing this." The girl admitted and took one step closer. "You miss your friends, you miss your home. I know that, but…"
She spoke silently and closed the distance between them. He ended up with his back against a tree again, and she pondered exactly how terrified his eyes must've been behind the black fabric. It would take more than that to stop her, however, now that she said that much, and before he even had the chance to reply she reached her hands to his lips, silencing him with three gloved fingertips.

"Can I still be grateful for having you?"

He gasped behind her hand and she withdrew it in favor of pressing against him, arms wrapped tightly around his waist. She could feel every shiver that rocked his body, heard just how quickly his heart was pounding in his chest. And then she heard it, after a long moment of silence - that hasty intake of breath, that gasped sound not unlike a sob.
In a sense, it was comforting - to know he was human enough to break.
She couldn't help but smile and press closer still, relishing his warmth and vulnerability.

"Happy birthday, Riku." Xion whispered and let him hold onto her as tightly as he could, as though his life - no, his existence - depended on it.
It was the least she could do.

"Thank you for being alive."