Salutations Earth dwellers!

This here is a little one-shot in honour of my Vithiya-chan's birthday. Just a little something for my loverly chickie babe on her special day, her time. So this one is for you, Shiva'sGirl! Happy Early Birthday! (does weird crazy ritual dance so that bad luck doesn't happen)

Summary: It is Harry's birthday, and Severus is unable to make it to the party. Or is he? HPSS established relationship (that means SLASH for you prudes; male on male; Harry's a whoopsie, pouf, bundle of sticks). AU after OotP.

Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that I own only the idea. Though I desperately wish I owned Severus. Would sure as hell make my birthday parties a lot more entertaining.

Disclaimer pt. 2: The WWWWWWW is an actual story, but belongs to Tim Noah. Loser Americans such as me, myself, and I will recognise it immediately, but for everyone else just nod your head and smile. I don't know how it popped into my story, but it did. I blame Mr Tim's Imagination. He's a right bugger.

Gentle sunlight brushed across Harry's closed eyelids, causing him to wake up with a smile on his face. Turning over in bed he opened his emerald orbs to catch a pair of onyx looking at him. He thought he caught a glimpse of fondness in their dark depths, but it was quickly snuffed out with a sneer.

"Finally awake Potter?" the voice of his lover queried impatiently.

Sitting up with a yawn and a stretch Harry placed his glasses on his nose to smile at the older wizard that stood by the bed already clothed in black robes. He stuck his tongue out immaturely. "Well, what do you expect? I was awake until midnight, counting down the seconds. And I'm a growing boy, I need my rest," he pouted, sticking his lower lip out and batting his eyelashes.

"If you didn't stick to your foolish behaviour you would have gotten to bed on time," Severus replied, the only sign Harry's attempt at ruffling him worked was a slight shifting of his weight and lower body.

"Come on Sev, it's my birthday! I'm eighteen!" Harry grinned, before frowning. "You could have stayed awake and counted down with me."

"I refuse to take part in your juvenile stunts," Severus sneered. Of course, he had lain on his side during the night, away from Harry, eyes open silently counting down with his beloved, though he would never tell him that. Nor that after the boy had finally drifted off to sleep he had wished him a happy birthday.

"But it's my first birthday with you," Harry moaned. He crossed his arms and glared at the scrolls in his lover's hands. "I still can't believe you'd rather go to a stupid potions conference than spend the day with me."

"I spend practically every day with you," Severus replied exasperated. "You never care when I take days to myself, so why should today be any different?"

"I always care," Harry muttered quietly, looking away. He hated when Severus wasn't near him, but he knew Severus would grow to resent him if he smothered him. "Besides," he whined, turning back to Severus. "It's my birthday!" His eighteenth birthday in fact, and as he had previously stated, the first one with Severus as an official, legal couple.

"You'll survive," Severus sneered. "Now I must go, I'm running late. I'll be back tonight, don't wait up." And with that he swept out of the room, not bothering to reply to Harry's plaintive call of 'I love you.'

Scrubbing furiously at his prickling eyes Harry let out a harsh sigh before swinging his way out of bed. He didn't know why he was expecting anything else out of his stoic lover. Even after all the time together, Severus was still irrevocably Snape.

They had secretly been dating ever since the Christmas hols of Harry's sixth year, and had confessed their love towards each other in his seventh, right before the final battle with Voldemort. As soon as Harry graduated they publicly began dating, as well as moving in together.

Looking around their summer home (a moderate cottage by the coast not too far from Hogwarts, their home during the school year) Harry gave a small smile before taking a shower. Once he was sufficiently squeaky clean he told Kreacher he would like a light breakfast in the gazebo overlooking the waters while he waited for his friends to arrive.

Harry was drawn out of his potions book (his reading material of choice when Severus was gone to feel a little bit closer to his absent lover, though he never told Severus this) by Kreacher announcing the arrival of guests.

"Thank you Kreacher. If you could please bring more tea out, I would greatly appreciate it," he replied kindly.

"Of course Master," Kreacher answered readily, popping out just as Hermione, Ron, Luna, Ginny, Neville, Draco, and Pansy walked down the path leading to the gazebo.

Standing up Harry smiled at them and bade them to sit down as Kreacher popped back with more tea. "Thank you again Kreacher," Harry smiled as he sat back down. He turned to his friends. "Good morning, I trust you are all well?" he queried with a raised eyebrow, unconsciously mimicking Severus.

"As well as could be expected, what with the Dark Lord gone and everything," Draco rolled his eyes.

"Draco," he fiancé Pansy admonished him. She turned to Harry and offered a smile of her own. "We are all fine Harry, though some of us," she gave a pointed look at Draco, "could do with some more manners."

"Goodness," Ginny breathed as she leaned in towards Harry as the couple started to bicker. "They're almost as bad as Hermione and Ron." She smiled at him. "Happy birthday, by the way."

"Thank you," he smiled back at each of them after they wished similar greetings, though he could have done without the lewd comments about being pushed out of his mother's favourite orifice from Draco.

"Ginny, Luna, Neville, where are your counterparts?" he asked after a moment.

"Oh, they're with the twins applying the finishing touches to the party," Ginny waved it away with her hand.

"You mean to tell me you left my party in the hands of the twins?" Harry paled. "Remind me not to eat anything there..."

The continued to talk for a few hours, and had an early lunch. If any of his friends noticed his distracted appearance, or the looks into space, or even the way he would likely stroke the potions book still in his lap, they didn't mention it. In fact, they purposely tried to keep the conversation topics neutral, and focused more on the planning of the party than who would or would not be there.

"Hanna even got Tom to supply the party with free drinks," Neville grinned. Harry laughed at his starry-eyed expression.

"I bet having a bartender for a girlfriend leads to interesting...conversations," Ron waggled his eyebrows.

"Ronald!" Hermione smacked him upside the head.

"Ow!"

"We should probably get going, or the Wazzie Woodle Woo might eat all of the cake," Luna asserted standing up.

Blinking Harry had to fight with the urge to chuckle. "Ah...The Wazzie Woodle Woo?"

Sighing and rolling her eyes as she placed hands on hips Luna nodded. "Of course! You know, the Wow Wow Wibble Woggle Wazzie Woodle Woo?"

"Oh, uh...yeah..." Harry scratched his head, before he also stood up.

Draco, however, just looked confused. "But...I though the Woodle was just the fellowship of a boy and his imagination, or rather any child and his or her imagination?"

"It is," Luna replied, already walking away.

Now the one in confusion Harry looked at Draco with furrowed brows. "What?"

Shrugging Draco just shook his head as they all followed the petite blonde girl. "It's a muggle American thing."

Not sure he wanted to know, Harry wisely kept silent.

Soon they arrived at the Burrow where the party was being held, but for all of the festivity Harry couldn't help but feel a little blue. The man that meant the world to him was not here to celebrate the day with him, and in fact hardly cared.

Pushing back the pain in his chest at that Harry plastered on a smile and joined the celebration.

"Oi! Potter! Get your arse over here!" Draco called.

Grinning Harry followed his friends the makeshift dance floor, dancing in the failing light of day and dusk.

"We were going to get you a stripper, but then decided that having a half naked chit or bloke jump out of a cake was a bit superficial, not to mention unhygienic," Neville informed him as they paused in dancing a little while later to get a drink. "Besides, Snape would kill us."

Smirking Harry shook his head. "It's Severus's own fault he isn't here. I wish you did hire a stripper so that I could take pictures to show him."

"Still smarting that he had a conference to go to?" Neville questioned.

"This is my first birthday with him, that we could have been together! It's like he doesn't even care!" What was meant to sound angry and accusatory came out sounding weak and pained. Huffing he swallowed a gulp of firewhiskey, taking comfort in the way it scolded his throat on the way down.

"I'm sure he just had other important things to do," Neville shrugged. "He was the creator of the potion that saved hundreds of lives after the final battle."

"So you're saying he has more important things to do than me," Harry moaned.

"No! Harry, as weird as it is to think about it, Snape loves you. He said so himself. I mean, he bloody kissed you in public! With Rita Skeeter right there! If that isn't love, then I don't know what is," Neville smirked.

Smiling a little Harry nodded, swirling what was left of his drink in the glass. "I suppose. And I know he doesn't think much about birthdays but...I just wished he realised how much I do." Sighing he finished off his drink and headed back to the dance floor, leaving Neville to his girlfriend who was behind the makeshift bar. "Take good care of him Abbot!" he called back.

"I intend to Potter!" she called back before pulling Neville forward by his robe collar and snogging the daylights out of him.

Snickering Harry cut in between Dean and Ginny. "Come on Gin, for old time's sake," he grinned, spinning her away.

"Oi! Potter!" Dean called after him. "Stop stealing my girl!"

"I can't steal what doesn't want to be stolen!" Harry crowed back, as he and Ginny stuck their tongues out.

Soon it was time for cake and Harry was forced to sit down, unable to keep active to keep his mind off of Severus. However, when the cake rolled in his eyes grew wide. The cake was chocolate and massive, almost as tall as he was and layered. The candles were magical sparklers, and hovered a few inches above the surface of the cake and flashing between red and gold, and green and silver, and variations in-between.

"Whoa, you guys outdid yourselves," he breathed, just as a little tune started playing from the cake. Confused he leaned forward, not noticing the hidden smirks and giggles behind hands as his friends tried to keep from outright laughing.

It was when he was just inches from the cake that it exploded.

"WHA!" Harry exclaimed jumping back in his seat as the top of the cake exploded out, and there, standing within it was none other than a certain dour looking man in typical black robes.

"Ta-da," Severus droned out without emotion, arms crossed and single brow raised as he stared down at the stunned young man before him, who was currently gaping like a fish. "That's extremely unattractive Mr Potter, though wholly tempting. I suggest you close your mouth before you catch a fly," he stated sardonically. Flipping a hand out and waving it in dismissal he sniffed. "Oh, and I suppose a 'Happy Birthday' as well. Though if you're expecting a lap dance for the birthday boy you are sorely mistaken."

Harry was unashamed to find his eyes tearing up, staring into the black orbs that held warmth and affection that only he could see. "Oh Severus," he breathed, slowly standing from the chair before running and jumping into Severus's arms, bowling him over and out of the fake cake. He then began to plant kisses all over his face.

Severus ignored the laughing around them and instead wrapped his arms around the lithe waist of his lover, capturing the elusive lips in a fierce kiss. To which, of course, Harry eagerly responded.

Breaking for air Harry pushed himself away, or at least as much as Severus's hold on his waist allowed him to, to stare into his beloved's eyes. "Severus," he breathed happily. "You came."

"Of course I came. You didn't honestly think I would leave you on your birthday did you?" the sardonic man raised a mocking eyebrow.

"But your conference," Harry pressed.

"There is nothing more important than you, Harry," Severus replied softly, turning his head a little to scowl and glare at those who dared 'aww.'

Pressing his face to the dark man's collarbone he took a shuddering breath. "I thought you didn't care. That you didn't care that I was b-born this day," he choked back on his tears. "That you didn't want to c-celebrate it," he whispered.

"Oh Harry," Severus moaned. "Of course I want to celebrate it. I'm so profoundly happy that you were born. For fear of sounding like some clichéd saying, or bad song lyric, I would be empty without you. My life would be meaningless and dark without you there," he murmured just so Harry could hear. Snorting he shook his head. "Now that the sentimental rubbish is out of the way, can we please get up off the floor? I'm not as young as I used to be."

Smirking Harry helped his lover up, wiping at his eyes. "Yet you still leave me breathless in bed," he breathed out, eyes turning dark with passion.

Had Severus been any other man he would have blushed. As it was, he simply tightened his old on his young lover and captured his lips in a much softer kiss. "So that must be why you steal mine," he whispered back.

Tears once more came to Harry's eyes, and he hugged the man he loved for all he was worth. "I love you Severus."

"I love you too Harry," Severus murmured as he placed a kiss on the younger man's brow. "Now come, let's have some real cake, hm?"

Grinning Harry nodded happily and led the way to where the actual birthday cake was finally being brought out, though he did not release his love's hand for the rest of the night. Not that Severus would have let him anyway.