happy birthday, @stevesbipanic! i am glad you were born, you amazing human being. I hope you get to drink the coldest, most delicious, bougiest milo you can have. ILY broccoli! 💛
-
Steve has never had a birthday cake. He doesn't count the first six cakes his parents had for him, because he's pretty sure it was only for appearances.
He remembers his seventh birthday. How badly he wanted to have a Flintstones themed birthday party, and how his parents called it tacky. Instead, Steve had a lavish tea party with all of their investor friends. He remembers hating it.
After that, there's— nothing. There were Nannies or Babysitters that tried to make him feel better by bringing him to Benny's and he's thankful for that. But there's always that heart wrenching rip in his system when he sees a child. Surrounded by family, singing happy birthday as they wait to blow on a cake.
And the thing is if Steve never gets to have that, it’s okay. It’s really, really, really, okay. That also means he’ll do his best to give all the kids the best birthdays they can have, so they can never feel what he felt. If El wants a day just full of craft making? Sure. Dustin wants to visit this damn planetarium in Indianapolis? Okay. Mike wants to dress him like him for an entire day? Alright.
Steve is happy that way, until Eddie Munson comes crashing into his life with a broken bottle. And okay, maybe it’s not a great idea to lie in the biggest and probably the most important relationship he has right now, but he’s not going to tell Eddie his little sad secret.
What he forgot to account for is the fact that his boyfriend is the biggest snoop to ever exist.
“Wha— What’s this?” Steve stammers as he enters his house. It’s almost always dark when he comes home, the house dull and empty.
Tonight, it’s different. After having his birthday dinner with Robin, Steve drives them back to his house so they can have movie night. Supposedly.
Instead, Eddie’s standing behind the long wooden dining table that never gets used, with 20 different cupcakes, all lit with a candle. There’s food and banners and balloons with streamers.
Robin pushes him forward with a smile, “So…” Eddie walks towards him, “I found some of your childhood pictures.”
“Oh.” Steve breathes out.
“Look, maybe I am wrong. Maybe I got it all wrong. Maybe your parents just weren’t the kind of people that liked taking pictures and having to develop them. Maybe someday, you’ll tell me why you only have one childhood photo album or why there’s no pictures of your birthday parties past the age of six.”
Eddie says, hands nervously twisting around his hair, “But, on the off chance that I am right,” He shakes his head in disbelief, “On the off chance that you haven’t had a birthday cake or a birthday wish in 14 years, I got you 20 birthday cupcakes.”
Steve can barely hold himself anymore, tears threatening to spill from his eyes, “Why 20?”
Eddie smiles at him, and his eyes sparkle at Steve like he hung the damn moon and stars, like he fucking created the whole universe, “One for every year my favorite person has been alive.”
Steve chokes down a half sob, half whine as he slaps a hand on his mouth.
“Oh, sweetheart.” Eddie whispers as he wraps Steve in a comforting hug. They stay like that for a minute before Eddie says, “I am so happy you were born. There’s a few more people that are happy, they’re all hiding in the kitchen right now.”
“What?” Steve pulls back, hastily wiping his tears.
“The kids are all here. Nance, Jonathan, and Argyle.” Eddie tenderly wipes a stray tear off his cheek, “Even Wayne, Hop, Joyce, and Mrs. Henderson is here.”
Steve’s not sure if he wants to know, but he still asks, “Why?”
Eddie visibly softens, but before he can answer Robin answers for him, “Because we all love you, Dingus.”
“So, here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to sit behind the cupcakes and they’re going to come out from where they’ve been eavesdropping.” Steve laughs when Eddie emphasizes the word, and there’s a clatter in the kitchen followed by whispering, “They’re going to act normal. And we’re going to sing you a song. Okay?”
Steve smiles, nodding, “Okay.”
“Okay.” Eddie says as he runs to the kitchen and as Robin ushers him to sit in front of the cupcakes. She forces a birthday hat on his hair, and he doesn’t even argue.
They all come out from the kitchen, all smiling and wearing ridiculous birthday hats. Even Hop and Wayne are wearing them and it might actually be the funniest thing he’s ever seen. The kids have blow horns that fill the silent house with joyous sounds.
They sing him a birthday song. It’s loud and it doesn’t exactly sound good. Dustin’s trying a new other pitch and Lucas has never been a good singer. Max is drumming on the table and El has a small tambourine. Mike and Will are trying to do some kind of duet in their own little bubble. But it’s the most beautiful, harmonious sound to Steve.
And as they all urged him to make a wish, Steve is struck with awe and disbelief, a feeling of realization sparking in his veins. Steve’s got everything he’s ever wanted right in front of him. He just wants all of them to be safe and sound.
He smiles at his family, as he lets his eyelid flutter shut.
And for the first time, Steve makes a birthday wish.
-
Edit:
Steve smiles, happy and content, as everyone chitchats around him.
"Hey, Eds?" Steve calls out for his boyfriend who's busy stuffing his face with bread rolls.
"Yeam?" Eddie replies, still chewing on the bread.
"Can I have a Flintstone themed birthday next year?"
Eddie swallows his bread with water, before turning to Steve with a smile so bright it could blind him. He moves closer to give his temple a light kiss.
"You got it, sweetheart. I'll be Fred, you'll be Wilma. It will be perfect."
2K notes
·
View notes
(concept art of young taigen - source ; art credit: @abigaillarson)
i cannot get over this concept art of young taigen. god.
just look at this angry bratty boy, too many feelings that he doesnt know what to do with! an abused 9 year old kid in poverty always playing with sticks in the dirt, obsessed with greatness and dreaming to escape his decrepit village—and he does!
he does escape. he runs away. this angry little boy, all claws and teeth and biting words uttered with a lisp, going on the run into a world he's never seen before until he makes his way to kyoto. and knowing him he probably forced his way in to be accepted by the dojo, growling and kicking even as he's thrown out, back into the streets, too stubborn to take no for an answer and never knowing when to give up.
taigen calls mizu a dog, weak, an orphan, a scrawny street urchin. but i can't help but think that he feels so bold to use those words because he had them spat at him too.
because taigen had the idea of "this is how the world is" beat into him from birth. he learned quickly that if you couldn't beat the world you could join it. but that meant losing your way, your values, your principles. and isn't that what true honour is? not just titles and status and glory?
we don't get to see what taigen, as a child surrounded by peers encouraging and goading him on, would've actually done if that meteor hadn't fallen right in front of them at that very moment. would he have really tried to throw that stone on mizu, killing her? we don't know.
but we do see what taigen (his true self, with no one around) does, when presented with the same opportunity. when mizu passes out in front of him, unconscious and near death, vulnerable, the path to restoring his honour lays itself out for him on a silver platter. and he wants to take it, wants to kill mizu, to claim what is his and return to kyoto and get back everything he'd worked tooth and nail for. he feels like it's what he should do. but he doesn't.
and later, again he is presented with the chance to betray mizu, likely offered by heiji shindo to get his rank reinstated within the shindo dojo. and again, taigen doesn't take it. he refuses. "stupidly loyal," fowler calls him later. loyal, like a dog.
because now, pulled away from the sneering looks and jeering words of people around him, telling him that this is what the world is, taigen had met ringo and mizu, two outcasts who refuse to follow a predetermined path to greatness. and so inside something blooms in him. something like hope. a chance to live in a world that doesn't kick you down every chance it gets, to live in a world where genuine kindness and and love and friendship and even weakness is possible, allowed to simply exist without fear.
because he'd been running away from the very idea of it the whole time. when he ran from kohama, he never looked back, never wanted to remember what it was like to be a child, afraid and hungry and angry and hurting, without the words to make sense of it, desperately wishing for something. something more. he doesn't know what. but he hears stories of great swordsmen and decides, yes, this must be it. this is what i want: glory, greatness. the twisted seed gets planted and thrives in this barren land.
and when he returns to kohama with mizu and ringo, he at last is forced to stop running. he must face the child within him again, and he tells that child to put down the stones in his hand, tells him to stop barking at anything that moves or looks at him wrong.
the child drops the stone, and taigen buys dumplings instead, gives them to mizu. the child within him, wide-eyed at the prospect of friendship, moves him to pick up a hammer and toss it to mizu. he's smiling inside even as he does it; giggling like a kid hiding a silly prank. as soon as mizu drops the hammer after him, he leaps at her, tackling her to the ground and they wrestle and laugh unbridled like two children playing while the adults aren't around to barge in and yell at them.
and then his gaze catches on mizu's lips, he stares into mizu's eyes, a sparkling blue, inviting like the open sea in good weather.
it's a man's desire that takes hold then, the child in him sinking away again, and he curses himself for it, because it ruins the moment.
everything goes to shit from there, and then it's back to being a man, back to putting on his grown-up's armour to play hero.
it fails. the shogun dies. fowler's beatings reopen all the wounds left by heiji shindo's torture. "honour is meaningless," mizu tells him. "nothing comes from being a samurai but death."
the words follow him, and he follows the words.
as everything burns down, he runs, leaving the fire behind him, and sees akemi, as well as the verdure of spring behind her, calling him. he does not hesitate then to hold his hand out to her, inviting her to come with him. "i don't want to be great," he says. "i just want to be happy."
what is happiness to him? perhaps he doesn't know it yet, or perhaps he does. but really, i believe happiness is what the child in him always wanted but never received. happiness is a home.
161 notes
·
View notes
is this ooc for kya and hakoda? yes but HEAR ME OUT neglected sokka
sokka seeing katara waterbend for the first time. sokka dragging katara back into their igloo like "mum! dad! look at this look at this!!!" and being so excited because his little sister is a waterbender, that's so cool, and his parents are making a really big deal about it and hurrying katara out to see the elders and sokkas falling a little bit behind but that's ok, because katara's a waterbender and they need to tell the elders
and so they host this celebration - nothing big because they may still get traders but they don't want this to go out to the fire nation - and hakoda and kya are doting over katara and making sure she's had enough to eat and everything and sokka... feels a little weird. he knows its kataras special day but he just feels a little lonely, but when he goes up to his parents they tell him they're busy, so he tells himself that he'll talk to them tomorrow.
but then the next day, his dad is in meetings all day - that are about katara, he gleans from gilak and bato, who look a little confused as to why sokka's alone - and when he goes to find his mum, she's with katara and she's watching her shakily try to bend on command, instead of by accident. so he goes up to her to say hi but she tells him that she's busy and not to distract her. sokka frowns because it doesn't look like she's doing anything and can't he say hi? but then katara loses concentration to say hi to sokka, and though his mum smiles at katara, she doesn't spare another glance at sokka.
which. is fine. he thinks. obviously life is different now that his little sister is a waterbender and he had sooo many adults tell him as such when their village celebrated it, so... it's fine. maybe it's just because his parents look a little worried, he thinks, as they sit down to eat before bed. they do look worried.
and then katara says that she's tired, and his parents wish her good night and their mum goes to tell her a bedtime story and it's exactly as it should be. except that sokkas still eating and they usually wait til both of them are in their cots before the story happens. so he tells her to wait while he quickly shovels his food into his mouth, and he thinks it's fine but then once he's eaten and moving towards his cot, he hears the end of the story
he pouts, saying that he wanted to hear it too, but his mum tells him not now, sokka. she sounds tired. he doesn't care, he wanted to hear it too. she sounds a little angry when she tells him to be quiet, because kataras sleeping, but he doesn't care, he wanted to hear the story and why didn't she wait? it's his dad that scolds him this time, telling him that katara needs her rest. sokka goes to say that he was only a few extra minutes, but he's shut down. his parents tell him that they won't be speaking to him when he's being so rude, and sokka doesn't understand but hes too tired so he cries in his cot before falling asleep.
the next morning, his dad isn't there and neither are katara and his mum. and he learns. he learns through his parents ignoring him when he asks a question and scolding him when he wants something that he's selfish. what else could he be, trying to put himself above his sister, who could be targeted by the fire nation (which he didn't originally know, he finds that out when his dad yells at him one day and, oh ok maybe he is being a bit selfish) and katara needs her parents more anyway because shes the only waterbender, she needs guidance in connecting to her culture and her history. he wonders whether it's technically his history too, but he doesn't ask. he stopped asking a while ago, stopped talking a while ago.
he thinks he hates katara a little. bato tilts his head and asks him why, when he tentatively tells him after the man prods and prods because "I haven't heard you speak for ages kid, you ok?", and sokka doesn't have an answer for him because he doesn't know why he hates katara but he doesn't want to hate her, it's just that his parents like her more cause she's a waterbender. bato tells him thats silly, of course his parents like him, and he ducks his head and mumbles an apology and doesn't notice the way bato frowns and glances over to gilak, who sports an equally worried frown.
the next day his dad takes him fishing. he's so excited but he's nervous too, he doesn't want to upset his dad and his dad is already looking at him weirdly that morning so he answers the questions his dad awkwardly pushes towards him and doesn't ask for help even when he can't get the bait on his hook, and eventually his dad takes the rod from him and does it for him, and he apologises but his dad looks at him weirdly again and so he doesn't speak again on the trip. but... it's nice. his dad claps him on the back everytime he catches a fish and he proudly displays his three fish to him at the end and gets a laugh for his efforts. so. it's nice.
the following week, there's a raid on their tribe. sokka runs towards their igloo, having lost katara in all the chaos. he pulls to a stop by the entrance, hearing his mum talking to some guy about the waterbender and... what is she doing?
he freezes. the man stomps out of their home, sees sokka and throws him aside. sokka doesn't feel the bruises til the next day, and when he does he doesn't care.
there's no point. he's got to take care of katara. that's his job now
22 notes
·
View notes