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Kinich never celebrates his birthday.
At least, not after the tragedy that happened on his seventh birthday; It’s complicated.
He’s in his twenties now, well past the horrible stage in his life. He doesn’t not celebrate it because of that, it’s because he finds no reason to be all happy and cheerful over a single day, celebrating one getting older.
This isn’t him just taking “stereotypes” of birthday celebrations or parties into account. He’s seen how people celebrate them himself, it’s just an excuse to hang out with your friends, he thinks.
Like when Kachina invited all her friends over to her house for dinner. Or when his pixelated dragon, Ajaw, plastered posters of “a special event” across all tribes (he made sure he paid the price by making his clean all that up). And another time when Mualani invited him and a whole bunch of people he assumes are all her friends to go surfing.
A certain somebody, who’s hoping for him to kick the bucket every single day, wouldn’t let him forget about his supposed “special day” this time. Kinich woke up to Ajaw yelling something along the lines of Happy old day, you arrogant, lonely-ass-freak-who-doesn't-have-the-balls-to-ever-confess-to-his-crush and my future vessel. You might think that it’s a rude thing to say to someone on their birthday - not that you’re wrong - but this is one of the nicest messages he’s ever said on this day.
“Thank you, Ajaw.” half-sincere that he’s bothered to say something, and half-sarcastic at the names given to him.
Shortly after, when he’s heading off to work, he receives a notification that somebody has commissioned him to take a day off with a large sum of mora. Strange, but he’ll take it.
He spends his day off alone in his abode other than occasionally going out to swing across the Scions of Canopy‘s atmosphere. A few citizens who saw him shouted out happy birthday to him, to which he nodded in acknowledgement and, this time, offered a small, but genuine, smile.
Somebody knocks on the door at night. He takes light steps towards the door, then looks through the small hole in the door just in case he needs his claymore, and swings it open, revealing a girl close to his height, but a tad bit shorter than him and another, younger girl beside her. The two girls are none other than Mualani and Kachina, his close friends who he holds very dear.
“Happy birthday, Kinich!” Both of them yelled upon seeing him, then jumped at him, wrapping both their arms around him.
“And don’t think you’re going to get away with this by staying quiet and spending time alone!” The energetic one stuck her tongue out after pulling away from the embrace, then winked at Ajaw for some reason.
Before he even gets a chance to respond, the tour guide tugged on his arm firmly and started dragging him. He turns to Ajaw, who whisper-screamed “Simp!”, probably realizing he let this slide simply because it’s Mualani. Sounds of the beast’s and Kachina’s mischievous giggling, which only grew louder as they spotted the faint pink hue dusting his cheeks, filled in for the short-lived comfortable silence.
He figured she let go of his arm after a few minutes of walking as the additional warmth left his body, she was then nowhere to be found.
Kachina and Ajaw weren’t there either.
And the fact that it’s nighttime didn’t help, meaning it’s harder to find the group.
He supposes this is the part where he’s supposed to look for clues, a part of this whole “birthday” celebration. Well, he’s a saurian hunter, so he at least has better searching skills than the average.
The first clue he got was rather embarrassing, probably not an intentional one, but he was able to smell a whiff of Mualani’s floral perfume lingering towards the left, which was apparently where he was supposed to go as his handy hunter’s vision caught the fake saurian claw prints on the floor.
He follows the claw prints. From then on, each step he takes lights up the prints behind him and when he reaches the final one, the entire place lights up revealing a massive, verdant green curtain, draped around a spot he assumes they’re in.
So, he pulls the curtain, revealing two rectangle tables, one filled with food and the other filled with gifts, and an 8-bit themed cake with his name written on it in the middle. “Happy birthday Kinich!” They exclaimed again, but more of his friends joined this time.
Usually flat, thinned lips curved into a rare smile. This was going to be a huge price to pay back, to each and every one of them. But that’ll be for another time, he’ll worry about it later.
“Thank you, everyone.” He felt so small as everyone looked at him expectantly, waiting for a reply. “I… I don’t know what else to say. I’m very grateful for everyone who set this up.”
“How about you blow the candles on the cake?” It’s no surprise the Pyro Archon is here, since she gets along well with the six heroes of Natlan and is usually a part of occasions like this.
Kinich sits on the seat right in front of the cake.
Although a bit extra, this might just be the best birthday celebration he’s ever had. Growing up, it was either a cake and some gifts for his birthday or constant beating up for the rest of the day, then it was nothing at all after his seventh.
Everyone present, including Ajaw surprisingly, sang happy birthday as he sat in silence as he tried to enjoy the moment to his fullest; committing the moment in memory. From someone who got abused and growing up unfortunate for most of his life, this is one of the few cheerful moments so far he’ll forever hold dear too. His childhood may have started off unhappy, but it made him who he is today; one of the honorable Natlan heros who is surrounded with people he knows care about him. And he cares and cherishes them just as much. He’s hardly ever this sappy. But sometimes humans gotta acknowledge who or what they’re grateful for.
Flames on candles that were once dancing extinguished as blew it after making a wish.
Amidst the gleeful party chatter, he suddenly brings up a question that’s been on his mind for a while. “Who came up with the idea of this?”
Everyone fell into complete silence for a bit, almost as if they’re waiting for somebody to speak up.
“To be fair, everyone was a part of this but—“
“Mualani got everyone in touch.” Ajaw interrupted Kachina, sparing everyone with a direct and simple answer.
So it was as he guessed.
—
Kinich wasn’t a huge fan of social gatherings, he’d often find a quiet corner to stand in for the rest of the party. But one with his only friends is one he is willing to accept, a place where he converse with people he’s comfortable with.
As Mavuika finally finishes her story of becoming the archon, Xilonen yawns. “This is fun but It’s getting late, I better head back now. Happy birthday once again, Kinich.”
“Yeah, it’s about time for us to go too.” Most people said something along the lines of that.
He looks at the food table, now completely emptied. Then to the sky, which darkened a lot compared to when he first arrived. “See you guys,” he waved to her. “Thanks for celebrating my birthday with me and helping to organize this.”
Everyone waved goodbye as they headed towards their respective homes, leaving only him, Mualani, Kachina and Ajaw there.
Ajaw was still in the middle of telling Kachina sentence after sentence that make up an elaborate hoax, and she was listening intently as if she was really invested in the story.
There are a lot of stars laid out throughout the night sky tonight. Mualani believed in superstitions like horoscopes, so it was no surprise for him to see her observing the twinkling stars alone relatively far from where everyone else was.
Her lips curled into a smile as he joined her. “Did you enjoy your day today?”
He nodded. “Yeah, it was fun today.”
A hum escaped her as she shifted her gaze back to the night sky. She was admiring the stars, but Kinich was observing the details in her eyes. Her eyes were pretty. It wasn’t just because of the prussian blue and vermilion color combination, accompanied with a touch of baby blue fish shaped pupils, it was also the joyful glint that sparkles that make Kinich feel warm in his chest for some reason.
“Heard you came up with the idea of the surprise party.” That’s the way he is, direct and simple with words while being concise.
“Yeah.”
“You didn’t have to do that, you know?”
“I know, but I want to. And before you say anything, please don’t give me anything in return!”
He laughed at the thought that she’s already worried about repaying her before he could even bring it up. It’s an understatement that the saurian hunter was quite controversial for his utilitarian attitude and philosophy in Natlan. “Don’t worry, I will.”
“Won’t.”
“Will.”
“Won’t.”
“Will and that’s final.”
She groaned in frustration and whispered won’t under her breath.
For a moment, they did not talk and sat in comfortable silence. He carefully analysed her features, eyes going from her white locks pushed back by the wind, her unique tribal tattoos then finally landed on her face. Something about how Mualani looked at the night sky in awe made her so suddenly attractive. Not that she wasn’t before; she never looked ugly, not even once, in his eyes. Mualani is more than beautiful in both personality and looks. So gorgeous that he thinks she doesn't deserve him, her friend that’s been discreetly but madly in love with her for a while.
His body seems to be just as in love with her as his mind is, apparently. Since he finally registered how close he brought himself to Mualani by the warmth radiating off her skin and how his eyes lingered on her pink lips reflecting off the moonlight by her lip gloss a little bit too long all of the sudden and all on its own. And she was now locking eyes with him.
“I’m so sorry.” He jumped back in shock. Since when was he out of control of his own body? Has he lost his mind? He was too embarrassed to even look at her, or say anything else.
Mualani stayed silent. In this case, way too silent for his liking. He noticed how she never once moved further, even when he was so close to her, remaining still in her place this whole time.
By the time Kinich turned back around to face her, he almost jumped again. This time, she was the one leaning close to him. But this time, barely leaving any space between them.
Both were breathless. They are so close to each other that they no longer register the cool breeze brush past them, onlying feeling each other's warmth. Kinich could hardly breathe, subconsciously taking in sharp, short breaths almost as if he’s panting. He could hear Mualani do the same.
His heart dropped as she closed her eyes and leaned in even closer than they were (somehow). This was it. He followed suit and shut his eyes as well, his mouth slightly parted to welcome hers—
Oh. It was only a light kiss on the cheek. His only complaint is that he wished it was something more— wait, was she teasing him? Even then, the spot where her lips blossomed bright red and it was in no time his whole face did too. She let out an airy laugh, probably because of his flustered reaction.
“You’re so cute, you know that?” Unlike her usual self, the words came out rather in a whispery way. “Happy birthday. Sorry for teasing you like that—“
That made him pull her in almost automatically, their lips slightly brushing at the action for a split second, making him (somehow) more red than he is right now. He’s only half-conscious about what he’s doing. Although it was hard to see under the night light, her face was red too.
Is he even allowed to do this? He inched closer, searching for signs in her sparkling eyes for approval. All doubts left his mind as Mualani closed her eyes in response, beckoning him to be the one to initiate it.
It takes him a whole minute to figure out that this is all just some ridiculous pipe dream, only to realize it’s not. It’s all real, somehow, he finds it hard to believe but finally accepts the reality and fulfills his long-term desire by slotting his lips into hers.
Mualani jumped at the contact, as if she almost didn’t expect him to initiate it. But it didn’t take long for her to relax to the touch.
The insides of Kinich feels like it’s threatening to either melt or burst, his heart pulsating violently and rapidly against her chest (in the best way possible) although the kiss is nothing but gentle. Neither of them fought to take control; they let their lips move naturally; and melted into each other's mouth blissfully. That’s what he calls a fair exchange, the best one ever.
Both pulled away for a moment to gasp for their air before leaning back in for another one simultaneously. One filled with years of yearning, longing and want with each movement a level rougher than the gentle kiss before, evident with every so often sounds of lips smacking and sliding audible with a mix of barely audible or unspoken groans.
“You didn’t have to do that just because it’s my birthday.” Is all he says on their second break, still breathless and all.
“Take it as a birthday gift.” She said softly. “I should say a selfish gift for myself too, I’ve been wanting this for a long time.”
“Then, this would be the best birthday gift I’ll ever have.”
He didn’t realise he was smiling until Mualani ran a thumb on his cheek.
“You have such a beautiful smile, Kinich.”
Those words were one of the things he remembered exactly what his mother said to him when he was young.
But, Mualani was the one to talk. Hers has a glowing radiance, brighter than the Natlan sun perhaps. The first thing he noticed about Mualani, after her eyes, is the infectious, friendly and bright smile that adorns her already pretty face.
Perhaps he was too eager, he thought as he leaned in to initiate the third kiss. Mualani’s lips parted to let him fit in, until a certain loud, shrill voice from a distance startled both.
They both turned to the pixelated dragon, who was desperately trying to block Kachina’s view and distract her with his “true” stories. “Are you guys done?” Frustration apparent in his voice. “Honestly, get a room, you two! Look, Kinich, I'm glad you finally found the balls to do this with your Metzil crush you’re always talking about but there’s a child present! Foolish mortals these days.”
“Aww, you two are so cute!” Kachina giggled behind Ajaw, his face still flushed scarlett-red.
She poked his cheek with a finger while he was in his frozen state, clearly more than embarrassed at what Ajaw had screamed. “Meet me at the stadium’s restaurant tomorrow?”
“It’s a date.”