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Riddle walked around Heartslabyul's Rose garden, taking in the scent of hundreds of roses present. The gentle wind blew past him, he tucked the unruly strands of his hair behind his ear as he wandered around some more. He admired the perfectly painted roses, his fingers trailing along the flowers as if to check whether the paint was already dry or not. He held an absentminded expression, not glancing at them, as he continued to trail his fingers against the petals- slowly making his way to the stems, he flinched and retracted his hand as soon as he felt a sharp pain on his index finger. He looked at the rose and saw a single thorn on its stem, frustration rising up from the pit of his stomach. "Didn't I make it clear enough to remove the thorns?" He muttered to himself, removing his gloves to inspect his small wound. Blood trailed from the tip of his finger, it was a minor wound but it hurt nonetheless.
He brought up his finger into his mouth and sucked on slightly to stop the bleeding. The metallic taste of blood greeting him as soon as he does, he brought out his finger after a few seconds- staring at the small red dot on his skin. He was lost in his own thoughts, the moon shining brightly upon his figure. Only an hour was left before his birthday ends. A melancholic expression takes over his face as he recalls his past birthdays. A bitter taste rose inside his mouth as he recalled his Mother telling him off every single time he tried to tell her it was his birthday. Riddle chuckled bitterly to himself, his mother never really bothered to remember his birthday.
Riddle put his glove back on, preparing himself to go back to his own room in the dorm building. He took slow steps- his movements were clearly tired and forced. He was tired from today's events, what was it about today that made him more tired than usual? Everything was normal, his daily routine was unchanged. Perhaps it might be because of the fact that it's his birthday? How silly of him to get bothered by that- it's just like any other day. The tightness Riddle felt in his chest only got tighter as he felt the need to break down into tears. "It's just a birthday." He told himself, clutching his chest tightly as he clenched his other fist. He almost had no pleasant memories about his birthday- every single time, it would just be forgotten by his mother. It would always be just like any other ordinary day. There was only one exception to that, it was when Trey and Chenya, his childhood friends, decided to help him escape from his house and ate his favourite tarts together. Of course, it was only a matter of time before his mother caught him and dragged him home. Nonetheless, it was one of his most memorable memories back then and of his birthdays. Reminiscing, a small smile appeared on his face- he touched his lips with the tip of his fingers before whispering to himself. "Strawberry Tarts…" perhaps he could indulge himself just this once and eat a few.
His small trip down memory lane was suddenly disturbed when he heard footsteps approach him. His back straightened and he immediately got his usual composure back. "Who's there!?" Riddle barked out. He heard the footsteps go slower and soon, you appeared in front of him- Riddle's tense shoulders relaxed. You let out small pants, out of breath from all the running. You were looking everywhere for Riddle! In a hurried frenzy, you grabbed his wrist and quickly dragged him away, running. Riddle couldn't refute back at your sudden actions, instead, he shouted. "W-What do you think you're doing, (Y/N)!?" You didn't even bother answering his question, "Do you have any idea of how long it took me to find you!? The fact that the rose garden is like an actual maze didn't really help me at all."
Riddle perked up when he heard you say that you were looking for him. Why in the world…? The both of you continued running with not a single complaint from Riddle- which was rare because of that big mouth of his. You glanced back at Riddle for a second, a dazed expression on his face. He wasn't acting like himself at all and that kind of scared you. You tightened your grip around his wrist and tugged him towards you, his chest suddenly bumping against yours and that was enough to make him snap out of his daze. Riddle quickly put some distance between the two of you, a light blush dusting his cheeks. "(Y/N), What's up with you today? You've been acting really odd, besides- where are you even taking me?"
You chuckled, "We're already here." You were at the entrance to Heartslabyul's dorm building, pointing at the door as you shot an encouraging look at Riddle. Riddle was clueless, were you asking him to open the door? He had no idea but, he did it nonetheless. The hallways were dead silent and the lights were all closed, it was dark. "What in the world...?" He muttered to himself as we walked further into the hall before arriving in front of the door to the common room. You ran towards Riddle, catching up to him and stood by his side- already feeling giddy.
Riddle opened the door to the common room, as soon as he did- the lights turned on and a bunch of party poppers greeted him. He flinched a bit, closing his eyes from the sudden surprise but when he opened it again- he saw Trey, Cater, Deuce, Ace, and a lot of the Heartslabyul students gathered in the common room, shouting "Happy Birthday!" You left Riddle's side to go in front of him, holding out your hand towards him as you greeted him. "Happy Birthday, Riddle."
Riddle was speechless, he scanned the room- the decorations, the food, and everything else. Was this party for him…? Is this why you looked for him this late at night? Riddle felt euphoric, tears were already forming in the corner of his eyes- blurring his sight as he brought his gloved hands up to his eyes. Wiping his own tears away as a huge smile started to form in his face. Cater was the first one to speak out, "Ehh!? R-Riddle is crying?" He put down his phone, suddenly rejecting the idea of taking a photo. Trey only let out a small laugh, "Haha! It seems like Riddle is really happy about this whole surprise."
The other students started to start the celebration as Riddle suddenly started to cry, his sobs drowned out by all the noises only the ones close to him could hear him- it was festive. The first-ever birthday party prepared especially for him. It brought him to tears, his heart felt like it was about to jump from his chest as he grabbed a hold of your hand. Muttering a small 'thank you' as he wiped some of the remnants of his tears from his face. You gave him a small nod as you let go of his hand, letting him get dragged away by Trey and Cater as they celebrate. The Heartslabyul Dorm has never been this noisy and festive before- it was always dead quiet at this time but since it was his birthday, perhaps he could let it slide just this once.
Everyone celebrated the whole night until most of them were tired enough to pass out on the spot or some of them retreated back to their rooms already after greeting Riddle once again, he looked so happy the whole time- a huge unmistakable grin plastered on his face as he ate his beloved tarts. You took a bite of your strawberry tart before steeling yourself and walked up to Riddle- tapping him gently on his shoulder as he turned to look at you. He shot you a curious glance as you dragged him by the wrist again and guided him just outside the dorm building- Trey and Cater just shot the two of you a confused glance before looking at each other and shrugging it off.
Riddle shot you a curious glance, his smile still not wiped from his face- he looked cute this way. "What is it?" The way his voice goes up at the end of his question made your heart beat faster, you could tell that he was really happy and that, by itself, made you happy. From the preparations to chasing down Riddle all over the campus- all the effort you put in was worth it when you saw his smile. The more he smiled, the bolder you felt and that's how you ended up dragging Riddle outside. You walked up to Riddle gingerly and closed your eyes, placing a quick peck on his lips- you could tell he was shocked. His eyes widened and he froze. Embarrassed, you managed to mutter out "H-Happy Birthday, Riddle!" Before running away back into the dorm, face burning hot.
With a face as red as his hair, he touched his lips with the tip of his fingers before licking his lips, whispering to himself. "Strawberry Tart…" This was sure to be a birthday to remember.
おまけ！
Cater slapped his own hand over his mouth to stifle a gasp. He didn't mean to eavesdrop, he just wanted some fresh air outside- He didn't mean to witness your small kiss with Riddle! 'This is big news.' Cater thought, his phone already ready to post something about it. That is until someone suddenly grabbed a hold of his shoulder- Cater almost shrieked, "AH-! Trey?"
Trey just gave Cater a tight-lipped smile, "Don't you dare post anything about what you just saw."
