A/N: Request from the RikuRoku community on lj that I owe from FOREVER AND A DAY AGO. I am such a slow writer. But, hey, I got it done!

The prompt was "first birthday," with "Bonus for awkward and cute? I'd bet Roxas doesn't know much at all about birthdays but it'd be nice for Riku to surprise him."

October 13 was a very important, very significant date to Riku. It was the date he'd broken free from Ansem's influence. It was the date he'd finally righted all the wrongs he'd done to Sora, Kairi, all the worlds and its inhabitants. It was the date the worlds were restored, the date Kairi and all the Princesses of Heart had their hearts returned to them, and, most importantly, it was the date Roxas had been born.

It was a fluke. Nobodies were never meant to exist. But by giving up his heart to save Kairi, Sora had created Roxas on that date of October 13.

Sora probably didn't even remember the date. Then again, Sora had more important things to do than look at calendars. But Riku had a habit of remembering every little date that held some sort of significance to him, positive or negative, and Roxas was quite possibly the best thing that had ever happened to him.

Their relationship wasn't something publicly known. Riku wasn't even sure if it constituted as such.

It had started with one question, just one little question that Roxas had asked on January 17.

"Can I kiss you?"

Riku had been so caught off-guard by the question that he just stared for a long moment before finally choking out, "What?"

Roxas turned away, looking embarrassed. "Never mind."

"No, wait, sorry," Riku said quickly, mentally kicking himself. Roxas was...well, he was naïve. He couldn't blame him; after all, though the Nobody had been "born" at the age of fifteen, he was technically three months old right now. "It's just..."

"No, it's okay," replied Roxas, shaking his head. "Forget I asked."

"Roxas, I was just—I mean...why?"

Roxas fidgeted uncomfortably. "Well, I see Sora and Kairi kissing sometimes and I just wondered what it...felt like."

Riku shook his head a little, bemused. Then, for uncertain reasons that he himself would later question, he said, "You can kiss me."

Roxas stared at him with those wide, innocent eyes of his. For a moment, he looked like he was debating back and forth in his mind. Then, he leaned forward and planted a kiss on Riku's lips.

It was just a small kiss, soft, sweet, and altogether too short. Roxas pulled away, red-faced, and licked his lips, regarding Riku in a sort of nervous, almost cautious manner. "That...that was nice," he murmured after a moment.

Riku smiled at him, slightly amused and staving off a blush of his own, and that was the start of their sort-of relationship.

It never really became anything more—just an innocent kiss every now and then, maybe they'd hold hands sometimes. But never more. And they never told anyone about it.

Roxas was just experimenting, Riku often told himself. After all, the Nobody had had no experience in the romance field—he'd had no experience in a lot of things—and if Riku was getting hurt by it, then it was his own fault because he was stupid enough to let himself be the guinea pig to satisfy Roxas's curiosity.

But fate really must enjoy messing with him if it made him fall in love with Roxas.

He digressed.

The date was October 13, morning. Exactly one year since Roxas had been born into the world. Exactly one year since Riku had met the Nobody-with-a-heart (Riku didn't really get Mickey's explanation, but he accepted it easily enough; there was't really anything to be concerned about, anyways.). A year ago, Riku most likely wouldn't have believed that Roxas would grow to become such an important part of his life, but he had anyways, and now here he was, in the grocery store, picking out a cake for Roxas's first real birthday.

Riku mulled over the arrangement of various cakes. Which one would Roxas like? As he reached to pick up a small red velvet cake, he heard a familiar voice calling his name.

"Riku!"

Riku started and turned. "Oh, hey, Roxas," he greeted, his tone betraying only a trace of guilt. "What're you doing here?"

"Sora and Kairi," Roxas rolled his eyes, "wanted some stuff. Here's a tip: Never tell those two if you're going out. You'll be landed with a shopping list faster than you can say 'Keyblade.'"

Riku smirked. "I could have told you that. What do they want this time?"

"Um." Roxas pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and shook it open. "A pack of Star Candy for Sora, stationary paper and some envelopes for Kairi... And microwave popcorn. I think Sora said they were having some movie sleepover with Kairi or something, 'cause they asked me to buy a copy of Tangled, too."

"Slave drivers. Lazy slave drivers, that's what those two are," Riku announced.

"They gave me the munny to buy it," Roxas pointed out.

"Still. Aren't you getting anything for yourself?"

"Not this time."

Those two were so lazy they would send out Roxas when the poor guy didn't even need to go out shopping. How low would they sink?

"Want me to tag along with you?" Riku asked, admittedly more amused than pitying.

Roxas shrugged indifferently. "Sure."

"Just let me grab this first." Riku turned to look at the cakes again, picking up the red velvet one. Roxas's eyes locked onto it immediately.

"What's that for?"

"It doesn't matter," Riku answered dismissively, moving the cake around and grinning as Roxas's head turned to follow it.

"Are you gonna eat that all by yourself?"

"No."

"Can I have a slice?"

He started walking towards the candy section. "Nope."

"Who's it for?" Roxas pestered.

"It's a secret. Now, let's go."

Roxas stared at Riku with mingled curiosity and disappointment and trailed after him down the aisle.

Kneeling down to pick up a pack of Star candy, Riku couldn't help but comment, "Sora's such a sap."

"Huh? Why?" Roxas asked, finally tearing his gaze away from the red velvet cake.

Riku waved the packet in front of Roxas's face. "He's gonna watch a Disney movie with Kairi. Andpaopu-shaped candy? Bet he's gonna share these with her." He paused, realizing that Roxas probably didn't know the Destiny Islands myth yet. "Do you know the legend of the paopu fruit, Roxas?"

Roxas shook his head, no.

Handing the pack to Roxas, Riku said, "It's said that if two people share a paopu fruit, their destinies will become intertwined. They'll always be a part of each other's lives."

Roxas blinked. "I don't get it."

"It's just a legend for romantics," Riku explained, a bit sheepishly. "Come on, what else do we need to get?"

"Er, Kairi wants stationary and envelopes," Roxas replied, checking his list again.

"Hmm, wonder what she wants that for," Riku mused, leading Roxas out of the aisle.

"Writing letters?"

Riku raised an eyebrow at him. "Clearly. But this is a small island. Anywhere you can't walk is only a short boat ride away. So why write letters?"

Roxas shrugged. "Does it matter?"

"Not really. I was just wondering." Roxas wasn't one for small talk, Riku remembered, and he looked at the stacks and rows of paper in front of them. "Let's just get one of these sets. They come with envelopes already."

"Okay," agreed Roxas.

They picked a set, then went to get the microwavable popcorn and a DVD copy of Tangled.

"Why don't you get something for yourself, too?" Riku asked as Roxas picked up the movie.

Roxas made a face. "No munny."

"I'll buy you something," he offered.

"Nah, it's fine. Were you gonna buy anything else?"

Riku shook his head. "I'm good."

"Okay. Let's get out of here, then."

Riku nodded in agreement, and they went to the checkout line.

In retrospect, they really didn't get that much. The cake went into one bag, and everything else fit into a second. Roxas grabbed the bag with Sora and Kairi's things, and Riku took the cake.

As they walked back to Sora and Roxas's shared house, a thought occurred rather belatedly to Riku, and he asked, "So, wait—if you didn't need to go shopping, why'd you go out in the first place?"

Roxas sighed. "I dunno. I just wanted to get out of there. It's kind of awkward, sitting there with Sora and Kairi. I couldn't tell if they wanted me out or were just totally oblivious to it all."

Riku clicked his tongue. "Knowing them, oblivious. Well, Sora, at least. He's a bit dense about these things. If Kairi noticed, she was just too nice to say anything." He smiled a little at the irony that it was Roxas who noticed the uncomfortable air.

Roxas didn't respond, and they walked on in silence. Riku saw an opportunity arising, and debated with himself whether or not he should seize it. Finally, as the house came into view, Riku decided to take it and asked, "Want to hang out at my place tonight?"

"Hm? Why?" asked Roxas.

"No particular reason," he lied, shrugging nonchalantly. "Just to give those two some space, you know? I'm guessing they want the night to themselves."

"Yeah, I guess," Roxas replied thoughtfully.

"Like we agreed, they're either too nice or too oblivious to kick you out themselves," Riku continued. "You know how they are."

Frowning a little, Roxas said, "That's true. And it's not like I have anything better to do anyways."

"Right? So, how about it?"

The smile returned, hesitantly. "Okay."

Standing aside as Roxas fiddled with the lock on the door, Riku said, "So, come by this afternoon or something?"

Roxas nodded. "I'll tell Sora."

"See you then." He turned and stepped down from the porch.

"Later."

Riku had been prepared for questions, but Roxas's inability to understand the concepts that other people accepted as common knowledge could be very frustrating sometimes. Such as when he tried to explain the present, which he'd promptly shoved at Roxas the moment he'd stepped through the door.

"Wait—huh?" Roxas shifted his load, tucking it under one arm so that he could accept the parcel. "What's this?"

"It's a present for you," said Riku, leading Roxas into the living room.

"Oh. Why?"

"Because it's your birthday."

"Huh?"

Riku sighed patiently. Of course Roxas wouldn't know. "It's the anniversary of the day you were born," he explained carefully. "One year ago today, on October 13, you were born, Roxas."

Roxas nodded slowly in understanding. "And this is..." he began again, indicating the box in his hands.

"It's a present. People give their friends presents on their birthday."

Roxas tilted his head slightly in confusion. "Why?"

Riku tried to find the right words to explain. It was just something they did. "We do it to celebrate. Celebrate your birthday, I mean. The present is a sort of 'thank you' for being a good friend."

"But why do we celebrate birthdays?"

Riku raised his eyebrows. "To celebrate you being alive."

Roxas took a moment to process this information before slowly sinking down onto the couch.

Shaking his head helplessly, Riku said, "Just open it."

"Okay." Roxas pulled the ribbon off from the gift box, then carefully started peeling off the tape. Then, slowly, hesitantly, he let the wrapping paper fall away. His eyes widened when he saw what the gift was. "This...is for me?"

There was no stopping the smirk. Roxas was just too cute. "Yep. It's all yours."

Hugging the complete box set of Sherlock Holmes books to his chest, Roxas grinned widely and said, "Thank you!"

Riku smiled. Roxas had a fascination with books and fiction, and he'd seen him staring longingly at the Sherlock Holmes collection in the past. He figured it'd be the perfect gift. "You're welcome."

"How can I repay you?" Roxas asked.

He just didn't get it, did he? "It's a present. You don't have to repay me. Oh, yeah—I've got something else for you."

"R-really? What?"

"Wait here." Riku went into the kitchen, then returned, holding the red velvet cake he had bought earlier. A single candle sat lit in the center.

Roxas was practically salivating at the sight of it. "So it really was for me!" he said, a bit accusingly.

"Naturally. I didn't want to spoil the surprise." Riku flicked the lights off before returning to the sofa. He knelt down so that he was level with Roxas and held the cake towards him. "Close your eyes." He waited as Roxas did so. "Now," he murmured, "make a wish...and blow out the candle."

Roxas cracked an eye open at him, looking as if he didn't quite believe what Riku was saying. But Riku nodded encouragingly, and the other closed his eyes again before gently blowing out the flame. "Now what?" he asked, blinking.

"If you wait," replied Riku, setting the cake down on the coffee table, "then your wish just might come true."

He pulled the candle out of the cake, then cut a large slice for Roxas, humming quietly to himself. Riku wouldn't tell Roxas this, but he'd made a wish, too, selfishly.

I wish I'll be able to spend every birthday with him.

It wasn't his birthday wish to make, but if whatever deities existed were kind, maybe they'd grant this one for him anyways.

And—he instantly berated himself for taking advantage of Roxas's naïvety, but he was just dying to know—he couldn't help but ask, "What did you wish for?"

Roxas flushed. "Do I have to say?"

"...No," Riku admitted.

Roxas turned away and sifted through his bag and pulled out a familiar star-shaped fruit. "I hoped you would...share this with me."

There was no stopping the smile that spread across Riku's face as he realized that, starting today, he'd probably have to start remembering every day of the year.