Ebon let out a large snarl as he stalked towards an unused subway entrance. Once again, his gang had lost a fight against Static, and the shadow man was completely pissed. The only good that came out of it was none of them were actually caught. The scatter tactic that they had used was something Ebon had used back when he was still going by 'Ivan' and he had Adam to take care of. Ebon snarled again, cursing wildly, when he heard Adam's voice calling to him. The villain turned and posed, ready to strike at his little brother if need be. In all honesty, Ebon never wanted to hurt his brother, they had both lost so much and were literally the only family each other had. The shadow man hated to be on opposite sides, secretly terrified that Adam would get hurt without him there to protect him. The thoughts of Adam possibly getting hurt didn't help to improve his already dark mood at all, though he'd keep most of his rage inside as Adam came to stand in front of him, panting slightly from exhaustion. Ebon's white eyes narrowed at his brother, calculating to see if he needed help. In doing so, his pose relaxed greatly, making Adam feel more at ease.

"What do you want Rubber Band man?" Ebon asked harshly.

"Not coming to you as a hero, only your brother, Ivan, here," Adam replied as he shoved a shoddily wrapped, square shaped package at him. Ebon didn't move to take it. Though he had a feeling it didn't have a tracking device in it.

"What's that?" Ebon asked suspiciously. Adam let loose a sigh before putting the package on the ground, looking as if his whole world collapsed. Ebon's gut clenched at the sight.

"Do I honestly have to have a reason for giving you a present on your birthday?" Adam asked softly. Ebon's narrowed gazed widened in shock.

"Birthday?" Ebon asked, surprise. He had forgotten what today was, not that he cared or anything. Ebon tried to remember the important things, like plans for his gang and Adam's birthday and well-being.

"Of course you'd forget your own birthday big brother. Happy Birthday Ivan," Adam said sadly before bouncing off. Ebon stood there silently for a few moments before leaning down to grab the package. It kinda looked like it might be a spiral note book, but it was too thick to be any note book Ebon ever saw. Not that he'd complain if it was, it helped him to write plans out. Ebon disappeared through the subway tunnel entrance, clutching the package to him semi desperately. When he got to the Meta breed's hide out, the others were already there, all of them knowing to meet there in case of Static ruining their fun.

"Hey boss, what took you so long?" Shiv asked, his tone annoyingly chipper. Ebon ignored his small lover in favor of going to his sectioned off peace of subway, not wanting to be around anyone when he opened Adam's gift. He sat down, putting the packaged in front of him, staring at it as if it held the mysteries of the universe. Twenty minutes later, that's how Shiv found him, staring at the package his brother had given him, still unopened. Shiv frowned delicately before walking quietly into the 'room'. In-spite of popular belief, the asian male was a lot more observant than people thought. One of the things he was most observant of, was Ebon's moods, especially since they had been lovers for so long. A small treat was balanced in Shiv's hand, with one small candle dead center. Shiv put the cupcake next to Adam's package and lighted it, still not saying a word. When the hyper gangster retreated, reaching all the way to the door, he spoke.

"Happy birthday boss," Shiv said before leaving. He'd make sure to properly celebrate at a later date, but now was the time for Adam. After Shiv left, Ebon opened Adam's present. It was a simple sketch book, something that was so secret, Adam was the only one who knew about it, and a signed copy of Adam's new CD. The back was facing out word, the back with the list of songs on the disk there. ONe of the songs on the back, the first one, was circled in black sharpie. Ebon stared at the words for several long moments before they registered. The first song was one dedicated to him, titled 'For my Brother'.

Ebon turned to the sketch book, opening it to check the pages and got another shock. The very first page was written on, Adam's somewhat sloppy hand writing scrawled over the first page in slow deliberate strokes. The words making Ebon's dark heart clench as he read the short not on the first page of the thick sketch book.

"Dear Ivan, I know that we have had our differences, but I hope you have the time to still enjoy your life, and I hope today goes better then most. Happy Birthday Ivan,"

Adam.

P.S. Never forget that I'll always have faith in you, regardless of out differences.