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So he hadn't realized the date, sue him. He'd been working ridiculously long shifts, and March is also one of those months that sneak up on you completely out of the blue(seriously, February could stand to be at least a little bit longer).
It was his birthday. He had forgotten it was even coming up, and certainly hadn't expected his friends to remember.
It was Kurapika's first year 'back with them(both mentally and physically)' so to speak, and so surely he had more important things to focus on(even though Leorio had to push him constantly to do so), and he doubted it had ever been an important date in his mind anyways. Kurapika had never cared much for meaningless celebration.
Killua likely didn't care enough to remember either, other than realizing a few months later that he had, in fact, gotten older, and teasing him about it, as he had always done. Leorio had half a mind to try to come up with some kind of comeback eventually about him having white hair and that making him look older, but it'd have to wait a while, because he still had baby fat in his cheeks so it would clearly be a lie.
Alluka, bless her, had probably never even been told his birthday, to his knowledge. So if Killua didn't remember, there was no way she would.
That left Gon. If Gon remembered his birthday, he would make sure to wish him a Happy Birthday and make a fuss over having only just remembered and not been able to visit in time, because oh boy was he bad with dates, he was so scatterbrained about things like that.
At least all of these things were what Leorio thought would be the case, evidenced both by previous birthdays and his insider knowledge of how his friends worked.
He really, really did not expect to come home to he and Kurapika's newly shared apartment after a grueling shift on what his sleep deprived and overworked brain had previously assumed was a regular old day to a surprise party of all things.
When they'd all popped out and yelled 'Happy Birthday, Leorio!' at him the first thing he'd done was gape like a fish then look lamely down at his watch, like it could tell him the date instead of just the time. (He didn't miss the way Killua laughed at him for that.)
He then realized, oh, their small living room was decorated to the nines, streamers, balloons, and a large 'Happy Birthday' banner(with a small piece of paper that read 'old man'(really loved pushing that one, didn't he?) taped below it)strung along the back wall.
They had remembered, even when he hadn't remembered himself. They'd thrown him a surprise party.
They cared.
He still wasn't sure how to respond, standing there in a bit of a daze, as, one by one, his friends came over to greet him and wish him their individual Happy Birthdays.
Gon came first, barrelling into him with a loud "Leoriooooo!!" as if he wasn't getting too big for that. Leorio had to force himself out of his own head to concentrate on not falling over as Gon clung to him, squeezing him in a tight hug, burying his face in the collar of Leorio's scrubs(when the hell had he gotten tall enough to do that?!).
"Happy Birthday, Leorio!!" Gon's voice was muffled in his shirt, but he was understandable enough, and Leorio found himself smiling fondly and hugging him back, petting his hair and watching in wonder as the spikes bounced back up as if they hadn't even been touched.
Gon finally pulled his face up to speak clearer. "I can't believe it's already your birthday!! Happy Birthday!!"
Leorio laughed fondly. "Thank you, Gon. You know you just said that."
"Oh! Oops!" Gon stuck his tongue out goofily. "Anyway! We got here as fast as we could! And we got you presents! And we made you a cake!!" He was grinning from ear to ear, and Leorio reminded himself how happy he was to see Gon smiling like this again after a few difficult years. He also didn't miss the way he used 'we' in place of 'I' for everything. He'd have to look more into that later.
"You made me a cake? Is it edible?" Leorio teased.
"Don't worry, we only let him mix it and taste test." Killua piped in with a grin, wandering over slowly, clearly walking in a way he deemed 'cool'.
"Like you did much more, brother! I did all the work and I kept having to bat you away from the cake batter!" Alluka walked over, hands in her hips and nose in the air.
"She's gotten into baking, recently."
"It's a good thing, too, now Nanika and I don't have to listen to you whine about how there aren't enough sweets around all the time anymore!"
"Whatever! I still had to endure all that crap you made at first that wasn't even edible!"
"Be quiet, brother! You still ate it!" Alluka's eyes snapped away from her brother's and to Leorio's, and her expression changed so fast it was rather amusing. "Happy Birthday, Leorio!"
Leorio laughed as she tugged Gon back by his collar, ignoring the way he almost fell backwards as she flung her own arms around Leorio.
"Nanika wanted to wish you a Happy Birthday too, but she's feeling shy today." Alluka pressed her cheek against Leorio's chest, expression a bit sad, but more sympathetic for her other half.
Leorio stroked her head with one hand and wrapped the other around her shoulders. He still didn't quite understand much about how Alluka and Nanika's relationship worked, but he had grown quite fond of them both, now, even if they weren't around as much as he'd like. "That's okay. Tell her thank you for me, alright? If she wants to tell me herself later then she can."
Alluka's smile retuned. "Okay!"
After a moment she pulled away, moving aside so that Killua could have his turn, probably knowing that if she didn't he would just wander off without wishing Leorio a Happy Birthday himself.
"Happy Birthday, can't believe you managed to get even older. I thought dinosaurs were extinct."
"Very funny, brat. You really come to my house, on my birthday, and have the nerve to insult me?"
"This isn't a house, it's an apartment."
Leorio was suddenly really mad. The nerve of this kid.
He was about to go off, but then Killua hugged him, and his anger vanished. He was pretty sure Killua had never hugged him.
"Wow! A hug? From you? Maybe I am going senile. Am I on my death bed, imagining all this?" He teased, hugging Killua back.
"Shut up, don't get used to it." Killua didn't look at him, and his cheeks were pink. "I maybe missed you a little. And since it's your birthday, I figured I'd let you have one hug."
"How kind of you." Leorio ruffled his hair, grinning from ear to ear. "Maybe in a whole year I can have another one!"
"Don't count on it."
"I'm gonna go get the cake!" Gon spoke up excitedly from behind them, breaking the moment.
Killua pulled away, eyes narrowing at his friend(?). "Like I'd trust you not to drop it!"
"I won't!"
"You don't know how to handle anything with care!"
"I don't trust either of you not to drop it! You'll probably get too distracted by makin-"
"Shut up, Alluka!"
As all three kids trailed into the kitchen, Leorio decided he definitely needed to interrogate them before the night was over. Something was going on there and he wanted the 'deets', as the kids say.
He was so busy watching after them he didn't notice that Kurapika had walked over to him until he spoke.
"Happy Birthday, Leorio."
Leorio turned to him, smiling fondly. "Thanks."
Kurapika looked almost as tired as he did, despite the fact he wasn't the one working almost all hours of the day. He had plenty of other reasons to be tired, though, and Leorio was pretty sure he himself had things easier, right now, despite how tiring work had been.
The dark bags under his eyes greatly contrasted the soft smile on his face. He clutched a mug of tea in his hands, thin fingers wrapped tightly around it.
"I know you have other people you are fond of, but, I'll be quite honest, I don't have any of their phone numbers. I also thought that you wouldn't want so many people here after you had worked such long hours, so something more intimate would be better."
"You planned all this?"
Kurapika raised an eyebrow. "Of course. Who else would have?"
"I dunno, figured the kids nagged you or something." Leorio scratched behind his ear with a light chuckle. "I didn't think you'd remember."
"Why not?" Kurapika stared at him, a challenging look in his eyes.
"You've got a lot more important things to worry about right now, and-"
"Don't underestimate your importance to me, Leorio." He had a steely look in his eyes, now, and Leorio adored him. So much. One day maybe he'd tell him so.
"I wasn't, I just…" He sighed. "Thanks."
Kurapika gently set his mug down on the small side table beside the sofa(making sure to use a coaster, of course. Leorio couldn't count the amount of times he'd scolded him for not doing so).
He walked closer to Leorio, slowly, slippers padding along the hardwood floor. Leorio had given him those slippers for Christmas, but he hadn't actually expected him to use them nearly every day.
He was within hugging distance, now. So close, but yet to reach out. Leorio found it poetic, in a way, similar to how he'd been for so many years….so close, but yet to reach out.
He loved all the hugs he'd gotten today, but he couldn't deny one from Kurapika would mean the most. They'd hugged before, sure, but it had been quite a while, and, because of Leorio's feelings for him, hugging Kurapika just hit different.
After seemingly contemplating it for a moment Kurapika finally surged forward and wrapped his arms around Leorio, pressing his face into his chest. Leorio practically melted, wrapping his arms around him right back. It was undeniably more intimate than his hugs with the kids, but he wouldn't be the one to voice it.
After a few moments, which Leorio would treasure until he died, thank you very much, Kurapika pulled his face back a little bit so that he could speak, although he made no move to unwind his arms from around Leorio's waist.
"I feel as though it hasn't occurred to you before, so I am going to say it more explicitly. You mean the world to me, Leorio."
Kurapika stared up at him, a slight red tint behind his eyes. Leorio felt his face grow hot. Oh. Maybe Gon and Killua's relationship wasn't the only one that needed to be unpacked tonight.
Speaking of which, as if they knew the exact time to come back in and ruin the moment, the kids walked back in the room, accompanied by fake gag noises from Killua and 'awww's from both Gon and Alluka.
Leorio and Kurapika broke apart. They'd talk about this later, for sure, when they were alone. Leorio was not letting things go unspoken any longer.
But right now, he had a birthday to celebrate.