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acacia-may · 4 months

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Make A Wish [Vanessa's First Birthday With the Black Bulls Fic]

When Yami, Gordon, and Finral realize they have somehow missed their newest squad member's birthday, they take it upon themselves to celebrate with her late even though none of them know the slightest thing about throwing a birthday party...It's the thought that counts though, right?

Happy Birthday, Vanessa!

Relationships: Finral Roulacase, Yami Sukehiro, Gordon Agrippa, & Vanessa Enoteca Friendship; Early Black Bulls Found Family

Genre: Early Black Bulls Friendship Fluff, Attempt at Humor, Pre-Canon, Slice of Life, & Wholesome Found Family Bonding

Rated: G

Word Count: 5,397 (A/N: It's actually shorter in length than some other one shots I've written but divided into "chapters." The entire work is posted below the cut of this post because it's really not that long though 😅)

A/N: Wishing the happiest of birthdays to the lovely Vanessa! 💕I wrote this story about her first birthday with the Black Bulls way back before I had a Tumblr so since I never actually posted it here (and I think I exhausted all of my Vanessa's birthday story ideas for this work 😅) I thought it might be an appropriate to cross-post here in celebration and for any of my lovely Tumblr friends who may have missed it on AO3. Hope you enjoy it! Cheers!!

Link to Entire Work on AO3. Full Text Below the Cut. Thank you for reading! 🎂

CHAPTER 1: What's a Birthday Without Leeks?

“Captain Yami!” exclaimed Finral as he suddenly appeared through a portal in the wall. Yami huffed and narrowed his eyes.

“We talked about this, Finral,” he grunted though Finral’s confused expression did not inspire the slightest bit of confidence that he remembered. Yami tilted his head pointedly towards the door. “Knocking…”

A faint blush filled Finral’s cheeks as he shuffled his feet almost sheepishly. “Sorry… I did knock a couple of times, but you didn’t answer.”

Yami’s brow furrowed. “So you just came in anyway…?”

Finral stared intently at the floor and leaned forward—seemingly curling in on himself. “Sorry, Captain…” he began to apologize again. Sighing, Yami shook his head. This kid would apologize for breathing if he let him. Yami didn’t think his squad members’ pasts were any of his business, but he did occasionally wonder what kind of hellhole Finral had come from that made him feel like he had to apologize just for existing.

“We talked about this too, Finral,” he said with a pointed tilt of his head. Finral’s eyes widened, and his face flushed.

“Sor—” He stopped abruptly. He must’ve remembered at least one of their ‘stop it with the excessive apologizing’ talks. “Um…” Fidgeting, Finral’s brow furrowed thoughtfully. “I…uh…didn’t mean to interrupt, but it was important.”

“What’s important?” Yami asked against his better judgment and instantly regretted it as Finral began twisting his hands almost nervously.

“Well, you know Vanessa—”

“Finral,” Yami interrupted with a huff. “Aren’t you two supposed to be friends now? I thought we were past all this…” Or at least he had hoped they were. Perhaps his relief that Finral and Vanessa had seemed to reach some sort of understanding was a bit premature, but in his defense, Finral hadn’t brought any more flowers into their hideout or otherwise tried to flirt with the poor girl in weeks—naturally, he had hoped this signaled the end of that drama, or at least his involvement in it.

Confusedly, Finral tilted his head and blinked at him. “Past what, Sir?”

Yami quirked an eyebrow at him and debated whether to respond or not. The last thing he wanted was to be caught in the middle of whatever Finral had going on—or perhaps more accurately whatever Finral thought he had going on—with the newest member of their squad, again. He was their magic knight captain not their parent for crying out loud—was it too much to ask that they work these things out on their own without involving him? However, if he knew Finral at all, he knew that he was just going to tell him anyway so they might as well get it over with.

“Just spit it out, Finral.”

“Did you know it was Vanessa’s birthday last week?” Yami’s eyes narrowed. This was not what he had been expecting…

“Her birthday?” he repeated. “How do you know that?”

“Well I heard her telling some guy in the market how old she was, and when I asked her about it, she said her birthday was last week so she’s older now.” Finral paused and sighed. “We completely missed it, Sir. We didn’t even have cake.”

“And Vanessa’s upset about this…?”

Finral shrugged. “I don’t know…I don’t think so. She didn’t act like it was a big deal. I don’t think she’s ever celebrated her birthday before.”

Yami twisted his mouth to one side. Finral had a point. After all, the poor girl had been locked up in a cage when he had found her—he couldn’t really imagine the Queen of Witches bringing her cake and presents once a year, but… “Not sure what we can do about that now. We’ve already missed it.”

“Well, what we if celebrated it late? We could get a cake and some decorations.”

Yami snorted an almost guttural laugh. “Decorations? Who’s decorating? You?”

“Gordon has some ideas…”

“Gordon?” questioned Yami raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, he’s—” Finral paused, and his face flushed. “Oh shoot, he’s waiting out in the hallway. I completely forgot.”

Before Yami could protest, Finral had rushed over to the door and ushered Gordon into the study. Mumbling quickly and indistinguishably, Gordon handed Yami a piece of paper with a long list of items beginning: decorations, cake, presents…

“You think we have the money to pay for all this?” Yami huffed, and Gordon immediately set a pouch of Yul on the desk in front of the Captain murmuring something Yami couldn’t quite decipher but assumed was probably encompassed in Finral’s next statement.

“If we all pitched in, we could put together something nice, right?” With a slight shrug of his shoulders and an earnest smile, Finral pulled out a bag of Yul from his pocket and put it on the desk beside Gordon’s money. “And we could use a lot of what we have already. Gordon has lots of craft supplies, and we should have most of the ingredients to make a cake, I think. The only thing we’d really have to buy is a present and if we’re missing a few ingredients or something…”

Yami’s brow furrowed. These dumb kids… they made it sound so simple—conveniently forgetting the fact that they didn’t know the slightest thing about decorating and could probably burn water on a good day. Yami couldn’t imagine what they’d do to an actual cake.

“Please, Sir,” continued Finral. “It wouldn’t have to be fancy or anything, maybe just a nice dinner with cake—but if Vanessa’s never celebrated her birthday before, we really should try to do something for her, shouldn’t we?”

Finral fidgeted with his hands, but he and Gordon both stared at their captain with an almost pleading earnestness. Yami shook his head. Knuckleheads…both of them…

Shifting, Yami raised a questioning eyebrow, but his mouth twitched in the corners just barely. He sighed.

“Alright. Fine,” he conceded. “But you morons had better not burn the place down.”

Finral and Gordon visibly brightened as Yami pulled out a small bag of Yul from one of the desk drawers and added it to the growing pile of Yul on the desk. “I’m putting you in charge of shopping”—he held out the money to Finral—“Remember this doesn’t grow on trees, got it?”

Finral nodded solemnly though his face was bright with a wide, excited smile. “Yes, Sir.”

“Gordon will stay here and decorate, and I’ll fry up some meat for dinner. As soon as you get back here, we’ll all try our hand at that cake…”

Before Finral and, probably Gordon too though Yami couldn’t understand him most of the time, could start with their reassurances that surely, they could manage baking a cake, there was a knock at the door. Finral jumped but quickly calmed himself as an apologetic Vanessa appeared in the doorway with pink in her cheeks.

“Um…I’m sorry for interrupting,” she said with downcast eyes. Yami sighed. Between her and Finral—and for all he knew, Gordon too—he ought to make an apology swear jar…

“No. No, it’s fine. You’re not interrupting anything, and you don’t need to apologize,” Finral hurriedly interjected. “We were…um…just…um…talking…”—he nodded repeatedly as if trying to convince himself— “about…um…you know…guy stuff…”

Blinking, Yami shook his head at the ever-reddening Finral. He had at one point rather foolishly wondered if his influence might make the kid a better liar, but he seemed to be getting worse and Vanessa seemed to be a getting a bit wise to it.

She furrowed her brow and tilted her head inquisitively at Finral. “Guy stuff?”

As Finral rubbed his hand across the back of his neck and stumbled his way through some “Um…well…uh…”s, Gordon stepped into Yami’s line of sight and started whispering something or other and pointing at a line item on his list that read, “Get Vanessa out of the house so we can surprise her.”

He placed a hand on Finral’s shoulder, and Finral looked up at him with wide, grateful eyes—clearly indebted to him for saving him from further shoving his foot in his mouth. “We were just talking about how we need a few things from the market.” Yami waved his hand almost dismissively. “You wouldn’t mind going to pick up a few things would you?”

Vanessa brightened. “Not at all. I’d be happy to go. What do we need?”

“Leeks.” Yami resisted the urge to roll his eyes at a blushing, fidgeting Finral who, naturally, decided to try to salvage his faux pas by adding, “And…and soap.”

Yami shut his eyes and took a deep breath. This kid was a lost cause. He opened his eyes to find Finral staring at him seemingly realizing, in some mixture of horror and confusion, what he had had just said. As he began to mouth Sorry… Yami glared at him, and he shut his mouth abruptly. Yami sighed.

“Yeah…leeks and soap…also some milk.” He quirked an eyebrow pointedly at Finral before turning back to Vanessa. “Pick up some cheese if you want some too and uh…”—Gordon held out the paper to him again and Yami read aloud—“Strawberries.”

If Vanessa questioned their impromptu shopping list, she didn’t show any indication of it as she repeated back to them, “Okay so leeks, soap, milk, cheese and strawberries. Anything else?”

Yami whipped around to glare at Finral as if to make doubly sure that he would not be adding any other random items to their shopping list. “Nope. I think that’s it.” He gave a handful of Yul to Vanessa, mentally lamenting how much they were going to spend on groceries they didn’t even need. What the hell were they even going to do with those leeks?

“It looks like it’ll storm later,” he continued glancing out of the window at the few clouds in the sky. “So take a magic item with you and give us a call when you’re ready to come back, and we’ll have Finral open up a portal for you.”

Luckily, Vanessa didn’t seem to pay much attention to Finral was gaping at them, Yami assumed, in awe and amazement at the ease of his captain’s lie, and she didn’t seem to notice Yami’s pointed tilt of his head and glare which was directed at the young spatial mage until he finally managed, “Yeah. Um…no problem. Just let me know when you’ve finished shopping, and I’ll come pick you up so uh…you don’t have to walk home in the rain…?” His tone lifted and his voice squeaked as if he was asking a nervous question, but it was too late to worry about that now.

Vanessa blinked at him. “Okay…but I really don’t mind walking.”

“But the leeks—the leeks could get wet,” interjected a fidgety Finral. Vanessa’s brow furrowed, and Finral’s face flushed as Yami, once again, resisted the ever-intensifying urge to roll his eyes. “And you—you could also get wet…and…um…just please call…please…”

“Okay,” answered a visibly confused Vanessa. Yami honestly felt bad for the poor girl. It was a wonder she wasn’t onto them what with Finral’s extreme inability to keep a secret.

Gordon handed Vanessa the wicker basket they often took to the market to carry their groceries and promptly ushered Vanessa out of the room, clearly confused to say the very least.

As soon as she was gone, Finral, still red in the face, sighed with relief. “Well…that could’ve gone worse…”

Yami narrowed his eyes at him but huffed. “Just get going. We don’t have a lot of time until Vanessa gets back.”

Finral nodded as he opened his grimoire and made a portal for himself. “Yes, Sir.”

“And Finral? I hope you like leeks because you will eating them until they are gone.”

Twisting his mouth to one side, Finral nodded apologetically before he disappeared through the shimmery portal.

CHAPTER 2: Requiem for Decorations

The pan sizzled as Yami seared the meat he was cooking. He sighed. If all else failed, at least they’d have an entrée. Yami glanced over at the clock on the wall. Finral really should have been back by now, but knowing him, he was probably still indecisively perusing the store and debating what to buy or had completely forgotten about shopping the minute he saw a pretty shopkeeper or beautiful store patron. Finral was so distractable and indecisive they probably should’ve sent Gordon. Yami resisted the urge to roll his eyes and mentally conceded that, unfortunately, Gordon couldn’t just portal to and from the store. Of course, this only mattered if Finral managed to use his spatial magic to shorten the shopping trip—looking at the clock on the wall now, Yami wasn’t so sure if it made much of a difference.

Yami scooped some of the cooked meat onto a nearby plate and conceded that Gordon was probably better suited to decorating and arts and crafts, anyway. Of course, a wall currently blocked his view of any of the decorations Gordon was currently making and hanging up in the Hideout’s common room.

“Hey, a little help here?” called Yami at the ceiling as he pat the wall with his hand. There was a long pause as Yami brought the stove to a low simmer and scooped up some more of the crispy, thoroughly cooked meat. Then, the wall began to move. Where it moved to, Yami wasn’t sure, but it did allow him to see Gordon and his decorations which were rather dark and gloomy for a birthday party.

Gordon had hung strips of dark fabrics from the ceiling like bunting and had strung dark streamers and papers with cut-out designs from the rafters. Yami supposed the doom and gloom was partially his fault for insisting Gordon only buy craft supplies which were on sale and such sad, dreary colors were often in the bargain bin—but, he conceded with a sigh, it was too late to worry about that now.

“Woah…um…this is…um…” stumbled Finral appearing through a portal in the wall—a small bag in one hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other.

“Gloomy.” Yami shrugged, and Finral sheepishly shuffled his feet before admitting quietly.

“I was going to say ‘a little frightening’ but yeah, gloomy too. Did we not have anything colorful?”

Yami twisted his mouth to one side. “Guess not.” His eyes narrowed Finral. “What took you so long?”

“Well, it was hard to decide what to get…”

“So you chose flowers”—Yami quirked an eyebrow at him—“after I specifically told you not to bring any more of those in here?”

Finral fidgeted. “Sorry. But it’s only this once—for her birthday, and yellow roses are her favorite.”

Yami huffed as he stirred some of the meat around in the pan so it would crisp on both sides. “It’s fine,” he grunted. “But just this once.”

Yami turned to glare sternly at Finral who nodded very solemnly and set about filling a vase for those flowers. “I got something else too,” he added as he arranged the yellow flowers in the vase and set it in its place of honor on the counter. “I can show you—”

“I’m sure it’s fine. You can show us after we make this cake.” Yami tilted his head towards the cookbook and ingredients he and Gordon had gotten out earlier.

“Right,” answered Finral, nearly jumping as Gordon suddenly appeared beside him. He quickly calmed himself as he perused the recipe. “This doesn’t seem too hard.”

Yami blinked at him. He had to admire the kid’s completely unwarranted optimism.

Finral’s brow furrowed as he began gathering ingredients. “The recipe says ‘Baking Powder,’ but we don’t have any.” Gordon who had been put in charge of dry ingredients, promptly provided a container marked ‘Baking Soda,’ and Finral tilted his head. “Do you think we can just use this Baking Soda instead?”

Yami frowned. “Hell if I know.”

“They both have “baking” in the name so they have to be similar right?”

Apparently, a nod from Gordon was all the reassurance Finral needed as he promptly substituted baking soda for baking powder. Gordon mixed together the rest of the dry ingredients as Yami finished up his meat and prepped the oven to the sound of Finral’s increasingly more frustrated mutterings to himself. Yami was almost afraid to ask, but he asked anyway.

“What’s goin’ on, Finral?”

Finral had half an eggshell in one hand and the other half in the other as he carefully tried to separate the egg whites from the yolk—the evidence of numerous failed attempts scattered around the counter in various bowls, cups, and other less conventional dishes.

“Just trying to get these egg whites…the recipe calls for four of them. Why does it need so many?” Finral lamented as he sighed sorrowful at the collection of broken eggs.

“We’re gonna run out of eggs,” Yami huffed. “Just use whole ones instead.” Yami had no idea what that would do to the cake, but at least it would stop Finral from breaking every single egg they had. “I’ll fry up these busted ones—scramble ‘em maybe. If our cake doesn’t turn out, we’ll have meat and eggs at least.” Yami shrugged, but Finral nodded almost gratefully as he added four full eggs into the cake batter.

Yami pulled his frying pan back out and fried up those eggs until thunder began to crash loudly outside bringing all baking to a halt. Gordon and Finral rushed to press their faces against the window.

“Woah. It looks like it’s going to storm.” Finral turned back towards Yami with a tilt of his head. “Wait…how did you know it was going to rain?”

“I didn’t.”

“But you told Vanessa—”

Yami cut him off. “That was a lie.” He quirked an eyebrow at him. “You should really learn how to tell one before we end up with more leeks.”

Finral flushed and twisted his hands. “Do you think Vanessa’s already bought everything on the list?”

“It was a strange list—might take awhile to find some of that stuff.”

The lines in Finral’s face softened before he sighed in concern glancing out the window at the darkening sky. “She’s not going to get caught out in the rain, do you think?”

Yami shrugged. “We told her to call. If doesn’t want to get wet, she will. Now let’s hurry up and get this cake in the oven. How many more ingredients are there?”

“I think this is the last one,” said Finral holding up a tiny spoon. “3 ½ teaspoons of vanilla, but I can’t remember how much I’ve already put in.” Finral’s brow furrowed. “Did you see how many spoonfuls I put in?” Yami and Gordon both shook their head, and Finral sighed. “I’ll just start over I guess.”

Yami’s eyes narrowed at him, but at this point, there was no salvaging whatever they were making here so he didn’t see what it mattered if there was twice as much vanilla. Once all the ingredients were added—despite most of them, perplexingly, ending up on Yami, Finral, and Gordon’s clothing—Yami stirred the batter quickly and poured it into the cake pan he had greased earlier. It was a miracle the thing had even made it in the oven, and Yami felt proud of himself for that much at least. He thought he deserved a nice, long rest and a cold beer. Reclining on one of the sofas in the common room, he popped the top off of bottle and put his feet up.

“Ah…” he sighed taking a nice, long, and refreshing sip. Then, another and another. Eventually, he opened his eyes and turned to Finral who was practically bouncing off the walls with nervous energy and whose unsettled and anxious ki was getting harder and harder to ignore. “Alright kid. You can show us what you bought Vanessa for her birthday now.”

Visibly brightening, Finral pulled out the small bag he had brought home with him earlier. “Alright so I didn’t know what to get, and I spent a lot of time looking at different things. I got the flowers, but they didn’t really seem like enough to be a whole birthday present but then I saw these…”

Yami raised his eyebrows at the small velvet box Finral handed to him. As he opened the lid, his eyes widened. He shut it again immediately. “How did we afford these?”

Shuffling his feet, Finral stumbled, “Well…we all put our money together right? And they weren’t as expensive as you think and…” His voice trailed as his blush deepened. Yami blinked at him. They were really going to have to do something about that lying thing… But as it was now, Finral just fidgeted and downcast his eyes as his cheeks flushed more and more red and he stumbled with an almost unbelievable earnestness, “Do you…do you think she’ll like them?”

Yami sighed. He wasn’t sure if Finral was incredibly stupid or incredibly generous—probably a little of both. He didn’t bother asking Finral how much of his own money he had contributed to cover the difference as he was sure Finral wouldn’t tell him even if he did, but he gave him a quick pat on the shoulder and a slight, lopsided smile. “Yeah. They’re great.”

Finral’s cheeks flushed an even deeper red, and he began to sniffle as if he was genuinely moved which quickly turned to an almost confused sniff. “Do you smell something?”

Yami sniffed the air. It was almost acrid like something was burning… “The cake!” Yami rushed to the kitchen with Finral and Gordon in tow and quickly opened the oven. Smoke billowed out and filled the room causing them all to cough. “Open some windows,” Yami called as he swatted at the smokey haze with his hands. Once Gordon and Finral had returned from their window-opening mission, the three Magic Knights starred dejectedly at their sorrowful excuse for a cake.

“It’s kind of…” Finral paused as if trying to think of the proper word. “flat, isn’t it?” Flat, burnt, lumpy and disaster were all words which came to mind while inspecting the cake. It didn’t look appetizing and possibly didn’t even look edible. “It looks like it didn’t rise at all.” Finral looked to Yami apologetically. “It looks burnt too. Do you even think we can eat it?”

Yami shrugged. He certainly wouldn’t want to if he had a choice. They probably should’ve just bought one, but it was too late for that now. Gordon brought a kitchen knife and scraped a piece off of the top of the cake, which was the least burnt, for them to taste. It was dry, grainy, and still a little burnt but not nearly as bad as the bottom half of the cake which might as well have been ash—still it left Yami with a parched, unpleasantly dry mouth. He reached for his beer, only to find it empty far too soon. He definitely needed another.

“It’s not…that horrible is it?” questioned Finral who was washing down his taste of cake with copious amounts of water. Gordon nodded in agreement and mumbled something before cutting off the least burnt parts of the cake which crumbled on the plate. He and Finral tried to put them back together with icing, but only succeeded in making a mess. They were certainly lucky that Vanessa had no frame of reference otherwise she would probably be disappointed.

“I don’t think it’s gonna get much better than that,” Yami shrugged once Finral and Gordon had shaped the crumbling cake pieces and icing into a sort of blob.

Finral tilted his head at the plate and sighed. He shivered as a gust of wind blew in from the storm that was obviously brewing outside, and as Yami turned to close the window, the wind blew water droplets onto his face from the rain which suddenly turned from a sprinkle to a torrential downpour. As he wiped his face with his hands, an almost unsettling rustling and wuthering sound came from the common room followed by Finral’s exclamation of a string of colorful language Yami thought, a bit proudly, he had picked up from him. He may not be able to teach him how to lie, but he could make sure he had the proper vocabulary for instances when a day’s work of decorations get drenched and destroyed into a soppy, soaking mess by a window that was left open during a rainstorm.

Gordon had picked up a pitiful wad of mushy, sopping papers that had once been hanging from the wall and was cradling it almost mournfully in his hands. Finral joined Gordon in his sorrowful requiem for the decorations, and Yami exhaled before he shrugged.

“At least it can’t get any worse right?”

He had, of course, spoken too soon as Vanessa burst through the door soaked to the bone and taking in the scene in utter confusion.

“Vanessa!” exclaimed Finral sniffling and quickly straightening his shoulders. “Um…uh…why didn’t you call?”

“I did,” she said as she pushed a sopping piece of pink hair out of her face. “No one answered so I just started walking back. It was fine until the really heavy rain.” Finral, Gordon, and Yami looked amongst themselves almost guiltily. If Yami had to guess, Vanessa had probably called in the midst of the burning cake and ruined decorations, and they hadn’t even noticed. She pulled a bundle out of her basket which was carefully wrapped in her Black Bulls robe. “I protected the groceries though. Especially the leeks like you said. I don’t think they got too wet.” Vanessa smiled brightly and earnestly as she unwrapped the bundle to reveal their extremely random shopping list of items kept relatively dry by her cape which should have—at least partially—been protecting her from the rain. Gordon and Yami both turned to look at Finral, but the poor boy was trembling and eventually broke down.

“I’m so sorry, Vanessa! It was all a big lie. We didn’t need leeks or soap or any of that. We were just trying to get you out of the Hideout so we could surprise you.”

Vanessa’s brow furrowed, and she tilted her head. “Surprise me? Why?”

“For your birthday,” Finral explained. “We felt really bad that we accidentally missed it so we were trying to do something to celebrate it, just a little bit late. We tried to make a cake but it got burned, and we had decorations but they got ruined. We still have presents though and part of the cake is okay and…” He stopped as Yami placed a hand on his shoulder so he would notice Vanessa’s widening eyes.

“You wanted to celebrate my birthday? You did all of this for me?” she asked almost in disbelief. Finral nodded. Gordon mumbled, and Yami shrugged.

“Don’t look at me. It was these knuckleheads’ idea. Now why don’t you get yourself dried off. We’re having meat, eggs, and leeks for dinner.”

CHAPTER 3: My Wish

After dinner, Gordon and Finral almost sheepishly brought out their cake blob; however, when Finral insisted that Vanessa open presents first, no one protested. If Yami was being honest, Finral seemed more excited about the presents than Vanessa though she was so pleased with the flowers, Yami couldn’t help but wonder if the other gift was even necessary.

“There’s something else,” Finral beamed and practically bounced up and down as he reached for the velvet box from earlier which Gordon had since tied with a shiny silver ribbon. “It’s from all of us. Well, the flowers were from all of us too, but they were kind of a decoration and a present and this is just a present and…” Finral rambled but stopped himself as he held out the box to Vanessa. She tilted her head inquisitively at it before she carefully untied the ribbon and opened it.

She gasped. “These are… beautiful…” she stumbled as she held up one of the earrings—the beautiful purple, diamond-shaped gem sparkling as it dangled from her grip. Finral’s cheeks flushed pink, but he positively beamed as Gordon held out a mirror for Vanessa to try on her new jewelry.

“Thank you so much!” Her face seemed to light up as she looked at herself in the mirror wearing her new dangling earrings.

“You should thank Finral,” Yami insisted, and Gordon nodded in agreement. “He picked ‘em out.”

“It was nothing,” Finral answered—shuffling his feet as his blush deepened. “We…uh…still have to have cake…” The words seemed to tumble quickly in an attempt to change the subject. “Or uh…at least you need to make a wish.”

“A wish?”

Finral nodded as he absent-mindedly began looking around. “Yeah. You make a wish and blow out the candles…” His voice trailed before he looked up perplexedly at Yami. “Do we not have any candles?”

Yami gave the kitchen a quick once over before twisting his mouth to the side with a shrug. Luckily, Gordon appeared with a large, white candle from goodness only knows where which would have to do for now.

“Usually the candles go in the cake…” Finral explained before Vanessa interrupted in confusion.

“In the cake?”

“We take them out before we eat it,” he added quickly. “But we don’t have candles that small so we’ll just have to use this big one and keep it off to the side.”

Gordon handed Yami a matchbook, and Yami lit the candle before Finral continued his instructions with a reassuring smile. “Alright now close your eyes, make a wish, and blow the candle out.”

Vanessa nodded and closed her eyes—for a long, long pause. The longer Vanessa kept her eyes closed, the more Finral began to fidget. “Do you…do you think my directions were confusing?” Finral whispered to Yami who just shrugged.

“Is everything alright there?” he asked. Vanessa slowly opened one eye and then, the other. She downcast her gaze and began to twist her hands.

“I’m sorry…I…”

“None of that apologizing,” Yami waved his hand and eyed the vase currently housing those yellow roses as a future apology jar.

“Right…um…” Vanessa’s voice trailed. “It’s just…you’ve all been so kind. You did all of this for me…it’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. I couldn’t wish for anything else…”

Yami chuckled. “Well it’s your day. Your birthday only comes once a year, a wish for something you want isn’t going to hurt anybody.”

Vanessa’s cheeks flushed. “I know. It’s just…” She paused and looked up at Yami, Finral, and Gordon with a kind smile. “I already have everything I could wish for.”

Yami blinked at her, almost disbelieving that a real person could say something so saccharine with such a genuineness. Vanessa didn’t seem to notice how unusual a statement this was and bustled a little as Finral sniffled and Gordon moved towards her with fervid mumbling. “Oh um…I…” she began as if she was going to apologize again, but it was Finral, in a twist of irony, who motioned for her to stop and interrupted.

“I’m so glad you’re on our squad!” Gordon mumbled something that must’ve been concurrence, and Yami was fairly certain both of those knuckleheads were wiping tears from their eyes as Vanessa stood up from her seat and wrapped her arms around them. Yami shook his head at them, but his face softened. Morons.

As Finral wiped his arm across his face and Gordon dabbed at his eyes with a handkerchief, Vanessa smiled up at Yami almost expectantly. Yami blinked at her, but eventually sighed and conceded to joining their group hug, throwing an arm around Gordon and Finral. Vanessa just beamed as she smiled back at her squad mates, and when she met Yami’s eyes, he couldn’t hold back his lopsided grin as he said, “Happy Birthday, Little Birdie.”

Bonus: Epilogue

Once they had somewhat recovered from the soppiness and realized the candle still needed to be blown out, Yami shrugged his shoulders and quipped dryly, “How about you wish for a chef for this squad so you can have a real birthday cake next year?”

Vanessa smiled brightly, closed her eyes, and made a wish.

#vanessa enoteca #finral roulacase #yami sukehiro #gordon agrippa #early black bulls #black clover fanfiction #happy birthday vanessa!!#thank you for reading

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belltrigger · 1 year

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Happy Birthday Riso! (uwah, it's supposed to be 7/31 but I'm so so late) 🎂🎉🎁

Anyway, you've been pretty interested in ddEmmet lately, so I thought this might be the perfect opportunity to give you what you want! I hope you enjoy! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

This takes place shortly after ddEmmet escapes his universe, falling into the Normal AU universe via a portal.

Title: A New Start Word count: 2,222 Synopsis: Emmet from the Dead Dove AU has escaped his universe and found himself in the Normal AU. Due to his experiences, Nobori makes him extremely nervous. But will he have to continue feeling such fear? Dynamic: KudaNoboEmmet

Nobori had gone through life with absolute certainty that he had everything he could have ever wanted. At only 27, he had the job of his childhood dreams, wonderful pokémon companions, and excellent employees that he considered to be friends. Most importantly, the love of his life was by his side throughout all of it.

Early on, he and Kudari had realized the depth of their feelings for each other, although they did stumble somewhat clumsily through their early teens around the obvious. They confessed at the same time, pausing in surprise before hugging each other in relief that they'd once again matched each other.

They were a two-car train, and Nobori had long thought that's how they would stay. But that was before a strange occurrence happened in their Subway which changed the tracks upon which their train traveled.

Their shifts were always pretty busy with challengers coming to attempt a win against the Subway Masters. Kudari was extra excited that day - he'd seen several trainers at his last challenge that day. No one had managed to best him, but many of them had been on Kudari's radar lately and he was thrilled to see their improvement. As Kudari happily talked about who he thought would finally beat him first, they were making casual rounds through the Subway. It let them check on their agents, make an appearance amongst the regular travelers, and generally stretch their legs.

However, they spotted an Agent hesitating by a restroom that wasn't frequently used by the passengers - it was too far out of the way to see much in the way of traffic. Asking what was going on gained them the answer that a strange unidentifiable sound had been heard, only to be followed by choked sobbing. The agent was in the process of encouraging himself to step inside; if someone was hurt, he needed to help, but it could just as likely be a strange, dangerous pokémon.

Kudari didn't need any more details after the word 'sobbing.' He stepped past the agent without pause, large steps quickly taking him inside. Nobori dismissed the agent with an encouraging word, and followed Kudari in. The confused stiffness of his twin's shoulders as he stood at the doorway of one of the bathroom stalls had Nobori peeking past him.

There, huddled on the floor and completely without clothes, was a young man who looked nearly identical to Kudari. If Nobori had been alone, he would have confused them for the briefest moment until he noticed all the little differences that starkly contrasted his brother from this scared and shaking man in front of him. His brother never looked this harrowed, for example, as though he were tired beyond measure. Not that he let his gaze linger, but he spotted various markings on the man's bared skin; amongst the abrasions and bruises there were also what seemed to be tattoos.

When Nobori's presence was noticed, however, the young man's eyes widened and he hyperventilated himself into passing out. It froze Nobori in place. Nobori knew some people thought he was stern - but that had been the first time anyone had looked *scared* of him. Thankfully, his twin was quick to act, and Kudari's call of "Nobori!" snapped him out of his stupor.

A short hospital stay later, the young man agreed to stay with Nobori and Kudari in their home; though he didn't talk much, it seemed to be accepted as the only option he had. They brought some of their own clothes for him, which fit him perfectly. After he changed out of his hospital gown and into an outfit that mixed black and white, he said his name was Emmet. He knew his way around Raimon, trailing after the two of them as if it was expected of him. Even though he looked longingly at the various display foods in restaurants they passed, he softly denied any offers to grab something for him. It was difficult for Nobori to not give someone who looked like Kudari everything they wanted, but it was also rude to insist. The walk to their home felt longer than ever before, and Kudari carried the conversation the entire way.

For the first few months, not much of their normal life changed. Emmet did everything he could to be unobtrusive. Except for meals, he spent much of his time in the guest room they set up for him. Emmet's relationship with the pokémon was confusing; interactions with them were mechanical, but he was immensely knowledgeable of all their partners food, health, and wellness needs. He offered to do the chores while they were at work; when Nobori and Kudari insisted he should focus on his recovery, his simple answer of 'I still need to be useful' worried Nobori to his very core.

Questions asked of Emmet by Kudari gained a gentle, timid answer; when Nobori would offer the same type of query, Emmet stammered out quick, self-sacrificing responses. Even with matters as trivial as asking for suggestions for dinner were met with a desperate need to answer with whatever would please Nobori. Kudari even confirmed that it wasn't such a way when he was alone with Emmet. It was as though Emmet wanted to avoid upsetting Nobori at all costs. Nobori himself didn't want to upset anyone, especially not someone who looked almost identical to his twin.

Curious, too, was how Nobori noticed Emmet sneaking peeks at him. If Nobori was alone in the living room, the feeling of eyes drew his attention to the hallway, only to catch Emmet dipping back into his room. Shy, or maybe nervous, glances up through his eyelashes when Emmet would join them for meals at the dining room table. More than once, Emmet had settled himself on the floor near Nobori's legs, expectant look in his wide, silvered eyes. Emmet's confusion with Nobori's inaction was mirrored by Nobori's confusion on what was expected of him.

One day, Nobori and Kudari had a split shift which left Nobori at home during the day. Thinking he could bond with Emmet over food, he began to make them a lunch with foods that usually cheered Kudari up right away. Not long into his preparation, he felt eyes on his back. Making sure to be as casual as possible, he smiled over his shoulder at the shy man peeking out from behind the kitchen doorway. Asking if Emmet would like to help, a relief warmed Nobori's chest when Emmet nodded and stepped into the kitchen fully. Although Emmet stayed mostly quiet through it all, they made the food together, and shared a pleasant lunch.

It was the first time he and Emmet felt like twins; despite sharing Kudari's face, Emmet felt as though he wasn't quite sure how to be a twin. Nobori wasn't sure what made him think such a thing - up until a few months ago, they were complete strangers. Perhaps he'd just always expected an inherent connection with his twin, and to feel that lacking in a man who was identical to Kudari challenged what he'd always known.

But, he felt the lunch had been a good start. Hopefully, Emmet would find comfort in being around them and be less hesitant to share his needs. With that in mind, Nobori very excitedly told Kudari of his shared lunch with Emmet when his twin came home.

--~~*~~--

When Emmet had dragged himself through the portal, he had no idea what he would find or that he would even survive it. But, it was an improvement either way, because something within him knew he was not going to survive where he was. And so, he'd fallen through, hoping against hope that he could be free.

Finding himself once again in the Battle Subway, he felt the hiccup holding back his tears escape his throat, interrupted only when someone with his own face (and white clothes) stared back at him. The moment of confusion was shattered when his brother peeked over the shoulder of Himself, and everything went black.

The realization that it was not actually his brother came when he awoke in the hospital. The person was Nobori, not Ingo, and the Him he saw was Kudari. Still, they looked almost exactly like he and his brother, though Ingo's gaze was more neutral and less like a glare.

But that could be a farce.

How many times had others believed in Ingo? How many times was he ignored because Ingo's natural expression was a frown and everyone knew it? He himself had been fooled. Thinking that maybe *maybe* this time his brother would be kind for once.

The soft tones that Nobori tried to use were sweet but what was hidden behind it? Did Kudari believe him? Was Kudari safe? Kudari's smile seemed real. Kudari chatted happily with him and Nobori and never held back his words. Kudari was firm with Nobori sometimes. They discussed things and shared input. Kudari easily held Nobori's hand - it was not forcefully taken.

But it could still be a farce.

He took to watching Nobori when he could. Most of the time, Nobori would try to smile to him, and invite him to join whatever he was doing. Nobori offered sweets and attention and kind words. He gently helped Kudari take care of their pokémon, and laughed along with his brother. Chores were shared, when Emmet himself did not complete them, and never was Emmet even expected to contribute.

Nobori never touched him without asking, inappropriately or otherwise. Nobori did not regiment his day or restrict what foods he could eat. Nobori did not take advantage of Emmet sleeping, or when he was not feeling well. Nobori's concern for him felt sincere, but he struggled to accept it was real. Nobori looked confused at him anytime he offered himself to him - his certainty that Nobori would try and gobble him up just like Ingo seemed to take the man by surprise.

But it could still be a farce.

Trust in Kudari was easier - they had the exact same face, the same smile though Kudari's was brighter. Emmet felt a strange connection to Kudari, as though he were looking at himself. When Nobori would ask something of him, checking Kudari for approval helped navigate conversations. Taking Kudari's hand felt safer.

Kudari's smile made him feel... happy. And soon, with Kudari's assurance allowed him to believe that he could trust Nobori too. That Nobori would not try to hurt him. That Nobori was good and kind and Kudari loved him with all of his heart. Nobori was his strong and brave older twin, and Kudari trusted him with no question.

It was strange, but welcome. Emmet wanted to trust Nobori, and with Kudari there, he could try.

And then, Kudari said he had a good idea.

--~~*~~--

Emmet was scared of Nobori. Kudari thought that was verrrry surprising. After all Nobori was definitely not scary. Nobori liked bad puns and cheering people on. Nobori took his coffee so full of cream and sugar that it might as well not be called coffee. Nobori cried in joy when Chandelure made an especially cute sound. How could that be scary?

But. Emmet was still scared.

He didn't want to talk about it but Kudari was patient. After months and months, Emmet finally admitted that he wanted to trust Nobori even though he was scared. And of course Kudari would help! He didn't want anyone to be afraid of his older brother. And Nobori was so sad every time he talked of Emmet shrinking back from him. The enthusiasm Nobori showed when Emmet actually made and ate lunch with him was sweet. It was proof that Emmet was ready to move forward on the tracks.

Kudari wanted to form a harmony between his brother and Emmet.

So he decided on an excellent strategy! It took a little set up but Kudari was determined. The concept was simple. Kudari and Nobori would go to bed like normal. After Nobori fell asleep, he would get out of bed and switch places with Emmet. Kudari knew it would be lonely without Nobori in the spare bedroom. But he could manage it for one night. And if Emmet could switch back if he wanted to at any point.

In the end, Emmet did not switch back until early in the morning before Nobori woke up. He worried that if he stayed longer Nobori would notice. It was probably true! But Nobori didn't seem to notice. Nobori's soft, sleepy smile upon seeing Kudari as he woke up was normal. He gave Kudari a good morning kiss like normal before they sat up in bed. Nobori stretched and suggested breakfast like normal. His enthusiastic "Good morning!" to both Kudari and Emmet was normal.

But this time, Emmet returned the good morning with just as much fervor. Kudari smiled into his morning protein shake as Nobori noticeably perked up. Encouraged, Nobori began to talk excitedly with Emmet as he continued to make breakfast. In fact, Nobori talked with Emmet even through eating breakfast too. Watching them both, Kudari thought it was good that he planned this for the weekend. Otherwise, Nobori would have talked until they were late for work.

And this time, Emmet was more than happy to reply.

#glassesblu #blankshipping #submas #Bell fic #reference to past abuse #dead dove AU Emmet/ddEmmet #Normal AU Nobori #Normal AU Kudari #This is mostly fluff but there is mention of some things from Emmet's first life.#uwah... this is so late... OTL

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