Kai spends too long at the office, and comes home more drained than usual.
note/s: my first fanfic for tlc AND my first submission for the "Happy Birthday Emperor Kaito!" event hosted by @tlc-fan-events! just a lil fluffy blorbo with a sketch at the end, I hope you enjoy!
The day has finally ended, and Kai is exhausted beyond belief. He's been in meetings with the Eastern Commonwealth's leaders, the Earthen leaders, Torin and his court, and even the researchers in the palace labs. There wasn't even a moment where he could breathe or contact his beautiful wife, which might have been a relief for her since he blows up her messages with whining about not being able to see her.
He's resting his head on his desk in the Emperor's office—His office—feeling like the world is crushing down on him. Torin is still reminding him of the other responsibilities he needs to attend to, which he can't do anything but passively agree to, when suddenly he feels a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he blinks his bleary eyes to see Torin's soft expression.
"Your Majesty, let's continue this discussion another time," He says quietly, almost as if he's afraid to overwhelm Kai even further, "You should go to the Empress; she'll make sure you get some good rest."
"Are you sure?" Kai yawns as he stretches his arms out. He glances at the digital clock on his desk. 11:45 PM. "We can still continue, I just need some strong tea—"
Torin cuts him off, "To be frank, Your Majesty, I don't think your wife will allow that."
Kai chuckles and nods, standing up from his desk and dragging his feet towards the door. "She's a force to be reckoned with if things don't go her way, huh?"
"I wouldn't know, Your Majesty," The Royal Advisor quips, "She's your wife, not mine."
"Love? Are you awake?" Kai calls out as he enters the royal suite, toeing off his shoes and tossing them somewhere. The apartment is dark, save for the city lights glowing from the large glass window. He glances at the clock—12:00 AM—as he shrugs off his blazer and lays it on the couch—His wife bought it from a shop in downtown during their first year of marriage, saying that just because it's not from a reputable brand doesn't mean there isn't better quality somewhere else, Kai. He's about to enter their bedroom when all the lights suddenly blink on.
"Happy Birthday to you..."
Turning around so quickly that vertigo hits him briefly, the first thing he sees is a cake frosted messily with an assortment of colours, as if the creator couldn't pick one, and messy, colourful writing on the top, U R SO OLD. The candle is a glittery pink heart, more for Valentine's Day than for a birthday, and already half-melted from being lit too early.
The second thing he sees is his wife with a group of people. He knows them, of course he does; Thorne is holding the cake up with a shit-eating grin—probably because he decorated the cake himsef; Scarlet and Cress are singing out of tune on purpose, as Winter spins like a ballerina; Wolf and Jacin, shockingly, are doing an elaborate interpretive dance, and he's not sure what exactly they're interpreting; and of course, his amazing, devastatingly beautiful, very much pregnant and growing their child—their child!— Linh Cinder. She's watching their friends bumbling around with a fond smile, creating so much chaos in their otherwise calm home, with her metal hand cradling her baby bump.
Despite all this, Kai is completely confounded.
When the song ends, and everyone is looking at him expectantly, he only tilts his head and furrows his brows. "Whose birthday is it?"
Then all of a sudden, everyone is shouting at him—
IS HE DUMB OR IS HE DUMB—
"Okay, okay, guys!" Cinder calls out, stopping the crew's outrage. She turns to him–a blessing really, that she looks at him at all—and reaches to hold his hand like she's about to tell him something serious. "Hun... It's your birthday."
Kai's eyes widen, glancing at everyone and at the cake—his ugly, deformed cake—and he starts crying.
Winter and Cress start cooing, each flanking his side and rubbing his back. Scarlet, Wolf, and Jacin stand in front of him, looking deeply uncomfortable at his display of emotion, but still staying as support. Thorne and Cinder eye each other, like they're arguing over something, before the American sets the cake down on the coffee table, and his wife holds both his hands.
"Kai, what’s wrong?" Cinder asks him as she guides him to sit on the couch. The rest follow, either sitting on the ground, the sofa chairs, or on the armrest. "Did something happen?"
"N-No, it's just," Kai wipes the flowing tears on his cheeks, "I've just been so exhausted, and I didn't remember my birthday, and I'm just... I'm just so grateful that all of you are here."
"You know we'll always be here, your majesticness." Thorne bumps his fist on his shoulder. "Even if Beauty and Beast are busy at their farm, Snow and Doc are doing stars know what, and Moony and I are out exploring the world. Hell, you even have Mrs Robot here as your wife!"
Scarlet scowled at Thorne's nickname for her—Beast— and threw a pillow at his head. Actually, everyone threw a pillow at Thorne, which had enough force to knock him on his ass.
Kai huffs, and it's barely a laugh, but for some reason, that's what blows the fully melted candle on his cake out.
It takes a moment to process before everyone bursts out laughing, Winter howling alongside Scarlet and Wolf, Jacin facing away to hide his smile, Cress giggling behind her hand, and Thorne pointing his finger at Kai with the most boisterous and loud laugh ever.
But the most important laugh was the one next to him. Cinder's eyes crinkling at the side, smile wide and bright enough to blind him, both of her hands holding his to her pregnant belly, where he feels their child kick.
Kai looks at his loved ones surrounding him and feels like the weight on his shoulders isn't as heavy.
