#apparently it isnt. i just listen to it and think. wow romance KANENNDN

[alienaiver]

Birthday Pancakes

Tsukishima Kei x gn!reader

warnings: its a genderneutral reader but there’s jewelry involved! wordcount: 1.8k content: birthday fic, gender neutral reader, fluff, post-timeskip, ‘baby’ and ‘my love’ used as nicknames, tsukishima is v stressed at the grocery store lmfao

notes: ITS 12AM HERE and therefor february fifth!!! i made this for @opulencexx ‘s birthday, happy birthday my dear!!! its based off this tsukishima birthday post she made over on @strawberrytsukkixx ! (i hope its alright i wrote this off of it....<3)  opal luv i hope you have an amazing day and get something delicious to eat, i wanted to give u smth to make u smile, i hope it serves its purpose!! <33 (also this was supposed to be like....600words LMFAO it got out of hand, whoopsie)

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Tsukishima thanked his lucky stars that going for runs on the weekend wasn’t out of character for him. So when he sneaked out of your shared apartment Saturday at 6.45AM you simply slept through it comfortably, none the wiser that his tracksuit was still sitting neatly folded in the closet as he walked down to the supermarket.

He could just imagine you right now, hugging his pillow tight as you’d tangled your legs with his duvet, pretending he was still next to you as you lightly snored and got your well-deserved rest. Tsukishima rarely said it out loud, but your sleeping face was probably one of his favorite things about you – when you slept next to him at least, you always looked relaxed and comfortable and the first time you’d slept next to each other, you’d drooled a ton on his chest, but at the time he couldn’t help but lightly chuckle and go back to running his fingers through your hair. He’d always prided himself in you feeling so safe with him from early on and the happiness that rose in his chest every time he thought about it put a blush to his cheeks – one he currently hid by burying his face more in his scarf.

Running in the early morning was one thing but walking? He dreaded it in the winter cold, but it was really important to him that his plans had stayed secret – you were out grocery shopping together yesterday, getting the ingredients for your birthday dinner but if he’d started filling the basket with eggs, cream, chocolate chips and strawberries you’d definitely realize where he was going with those and ruin the surprise he’d planned for months. He’d even been afraid that he had gotten rusty with his famous pancakes since he hadn’t made them for at least a year so he’d made his first practice-batch in early December, telling you that Friday evening that he was simply impulsively in the mood for them (he wasn’t) and the next time was during the holidays, trying out how the chocolate pieces would fit in the recipe or if it needed further adjustments, putting it down as holiday treats.

As he entered the supermarket, he first noted how few people there were, probably due to the time he arrived. On his way down to the dairy products, he only spotted an older man and the cashier on his way in. He’d never really understood why they opened so early but he sent yet another silent thank you to the Gods that must have been looking out for him because this way he could get the ingredients without alarming you at all.

He filled the basket as fast as he could, only stopping momentarily to change the song playing in his headset a few times. He wanted to get home to you as fast as possible and get started before you had any chance on waking up. You were luckily the type to sleep in on Saturdays, but he really didn’t want to take any chances today – the past week had been trying for you as if the world was bent to see you break so he really wanted to spoil you today and make you feel special. As he passed the tea aisle he quickly put in a pack of your favorite tea – he’d noticed you only had a few bags of it left in the cupboard and didn’t want you to run out.

As he reached the fruit aisle, he felt his pulse rise as he couldn’t spot any strawberries at all. He looked around twice more, feeling panic settle in his ribs – when you’d both been here last night, he’d taken stock and seen a few so why weren’t there any today? He’d have to stop by the convenience store on the way and hope that they had any that looked halfway decent.

As he got up to the cashier and put the ingredients on the cash register, he silently went through his shopping list and double checked everything was there – he seemed to be in the clear and the clock said 7.15AM which meant he still had a solid few hours before the risk of you waking up would rise exponentially. The cashier was a teenager chewing on bubblegum who spent ages ringing in his things making him tap his food in impatience. It wasn’t their fault; they were just working a shitty shift, but Tsukishima hadn’t planned time to stop by the convenience store, so he really wanted to get a move on so he could get home to you.

As he lightly jogged to the convenience store, he went through his plan in his mind – he’d bought you a necklace this year. After being promoted at the museum he could afford to splurge a little more. You’d both decided a price cap on Christmas presents so he’d just given you those fluffy socks you wanted and a new kettle (though that was basically for the both of you).

The necklace was in silver, a longer but slimmer chain that what he’d usually seen you wear and with a crescent moon attached. He’d found it unexpectedly one day window shopping and after a few days he couldn’t stop thinking of how good it’d look on you, so he went down to buy it.

That was three months ago and keeping it a secret from you had been harder than he’d expected since you lived together and touched every part of each other’s spaces - so he ended up bringing it with him to the office after a few weeks. Right now, it was settled nicely in his jacket pocket, his hands reaching down to cup it once, just to make sure it was still there.

Tsukishima was getting tired of sending thank you’s to unknown deities on this trip but upon finding fresh and good-looking strawberries at the convenience store he was just about ready to go down on his knees and offer his entire life to whatever higher power was making this possible for him. He sped up on his way home, listening to Guillotine by Jon Bellion – the song always reminded him of you.

 Upon entering the apartment, he heard shuffling from the bedroom so while putting the groceries as quietly down as he could he went in to check on you, feeling his heartrate rise when he saw you standing, “baby what’s up? Why are you up?” he tries, walking over to give you a kiss. He sees you rubbing your eyes, a pout visible on your lips, “had to pee…” you mumble, accepting the kiss on the cheek before lying back down in your bed, “come cuddle Kei…” you make grabby hands at his standing figure with the pout on your face is still very visible. He leans down and kisses you again, “I will, have to shower first,” he lies, wrapping you in your duvet again. You grumble something incorrigible as you get yourself comfortable. He smiles at you, “happy birthday,” he whispers before going out to grab the groceries in the hallway.

He waits 20 minutes in the kitchen in silence, afraid you’d wake up again the second he started cracking eggs so when he hadn’t heard a sound from you in a while, he feels confident he can continue. Making the pancake batter went smoothly but whisking it by hand took a while longer than he thought it would – clicking his tongue at the incessant lumps of flour. He’d want to save using the electric whisk for when he needed to make the whipped cream just in case it’d wake you up – he wasn’t sure how deep you’d be sleeping when you’d technically already been up, so he wasn’t risking anything.

 He looks triumphantly at the dinner table in front of him, hands at his waist. The table was set with the perfectly cooked pancakes, two cups of coffee freshly brewed, cut-out strawberries, home-made whipped cream and syrup at the ready next to your usual seat.  He smiled before snapping a quick picture, pocketing the phone and walking into your bedroom. You slept peacefully still, hugging his duvet cover and drooling on your pillow. He quickly snapped a picture of you there too before leaning down above you, kissing your cheeks and caressing your warm arms. You steered only a little, so he kissed your forehead too, ruffling your hair softly. You turned to him slowly before raising your arms and winding them around his neck, “Happy Birthday, my love” he smiles at you, kissing your lips. You mumble something against his cheek before trying to pull him on top you. He lets out a warm laugh – the one that makes the butterflies in your stomach flutter and talks again, “there’s no time to cuddle right now baby, the breakfast’s gonna get cold,” and your eyes open more, waking up that much faster. “Breakfast?”

“Mhm, you better come up and eat it while it’s still warm.”

 As you enter the kitchen clumsily, your eyes still covered by Tsukishima’s slender fingers, the scent hits you and you have a feeling of where this is going. Nonetheless it doesn’t stop the surprised – and excited – gasp that leaves you as he removes his hands from your eyes. In front of you stands the most glorious breakfast you’d seen in a while, coupled with a delicious – and still hot, it seems – cup of coffee. Next to your plate lies a neatly packed present in light orange packaging and blue ribbon tied with a nice bow on top. You look back at him with the biggest grin, “is all this for me?” you hurry to sit down before he replies, hearing his chuckle behind you as you scoop up the first pancake to be the victim of your stomach.

After decorating your pancake, you take your first bite only to hum in delight and bounce a bit on your seat upon tasting the chocolate inside as well. As you look up at your boyfriend, positively with stars in your eyes, he blushes and looks away from the sheer happiness radiating off you as he scratches his neck sheepishly, “Happy Birthday… again,” he tries, smiling almost shyly at you. You laugh excitedly as you take another bite, “thank you so much for this Kei, it’s amazing!”

 Tsukishima turns off the light in the kitchen, listening to you hum as you walk down towards your bedroom with a pep in your step. When he enters the bedroom you’re already on the bed, making the same grabby hands at him as you did this morning and with a small laugh he complies this time, crawling in next to you and wrapping you in his arms before letting his hands run through your hair. He’s about to ask if you liked the present he gave you, but a small snore alerts him, and he sees you’re already asleep again. He snuggles closer to you before reaching his free arm to take off his glasses, blindly putting them on the nightstand behind him and leaning down to give you a kiss on the top of your head, “I love you so much.”