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Series Name: Vulpinicity

Story Name: The Birthday Blues

Story Theme: Gay Relationships, Love, Birthday

Story Audience: General

Summary: It's Alpha's birthday and Rik has a nice get-together party planned for him and his friends.

Story:

The 29thday of the 10thmonth. Alpha's birthday. Rik got up and leaned over the side of the bed, carefully sliding a pile of presents out from under the bed. After hoisting them into his arms he crept out of the room and down the stairs before promptly dropping the topmost present with a tremendous rattle. He froze, listening to Alpha's snuzzling upstairs, then continued to creep to the living-room when the coast was clear. He set the presents down on the table and rummaged through the stack of documents on the table - newsletters, bills, cheques from Furtube, that sort of thing - until he found the checklist he had made a week or two prior to today. He used a pencil to tick all of the boxes.

"Now all I need to do is get all his friends together," he whispered to nobody in particular. He didn't have their phone numbers on his phone, so he supposed he could have a sneaky peek at Alpha's...?

No. Invasion of privacy. He'll ask first. He stashed away the presents under one of the floorboards before sticking the carpet back down again in time for Alpha to come yawning into the room. Rik smiled and wished him a happy birthday.

"Thanks," Alpha replied, giving him a quick hug before getting himself some breakfast, which was planned to be jam on toast. He put the bread in the toaster and started it. He liked dark toast, though he hated charcoal, so it was never in there for too long. Rik came up behind him and gave him a longer hug, feeling the hair and the fur mingle in his hands.

"Do you mind if I use your phone for a bit? I'm just gonna call your friends over to celebrate."

"No," Alpha replied, then hesitated. "I mean no as in... yes I do mind and no you can't."

Rik frowned.

"Why not?"

Again, there was a pause. A longer one.

"We had a falling out," he replied.

"_All_of you?"

"Yeah, it was messy. Jamie wanted one thing, Adam wanted another, Tom yet another, that sort of thing. It's best we didn't have them around."

"Surely they'll sort out their differences for your birthday? I mean, it's common courtesy to at least grin and bear it."

"You'd think they would but they're all very stubborn."

"Well, alright. Just the two of us then."

Of course it wouldn't hurt to surprise him, just as long as nobody was bitter about it. He made a mental note to call them up and talk about it to each of them, hopefully becoming their counsellor.

"Can I at least have their phone numbers? Just for future reference."

"Ugh... sure."

Rik got the checklist and the pencil and wrote the numbers on the back. Meanwhile Alpha leaned over the sink in either a contemplating or sick position, Rik couldn't really tell. Sadly it turned out to be the latter, and he hadn't even had the jam on toast yet.

"Oh, poor thing," he said softly, rubbing his broad back, "I'll get you some water."

"I hope you've noticed that I'm right by the tap and I can have as much water as I want."

"Then I'll get you some honey and lemon."

"But -"

"No. Hush. Go back to bed, we'll celebrate later. Cake is off the table."

He felt Alpha's forehead and jumped at how hot it was. He got some kitchen roll, tore a piece off and wetted it before gently wiping his forehead to cool it down.

"I'll be up in a minute with the drink," he told the worgen as he trudged back up the stairs. There was a grunt in reply before he heard the bedroom door click shut.

So, it seemed the party was now out of bounds. As much as he wanted them to get back together again he didn't want Alpha's friends to catch whatever winter bug he had. God, all the things he'd planned was going down the drain. He spooned some honey into a mug as the kettle boiled, and squeezed a lemon into it. Once he had stirred the drink after adding the hot water, he took it up to Alpha who was busy diving his head into a bucket that had previously been used for weeding the garden. Rik usually did that.

"Do you want me to get you anything else?" he asked, stroking the thick mane of hair on Alpha's head.

"Just my dignity," he said after a while.

"Don't be stupid, you've still got your dignity. I won't tell anyone anything," Rik replied with a wink.

Alpha groaned and disappeared into the bucket once more as Rik walked back out, taking out his phone and moving downstairs so that he wouldn't be spotted doing something Alpha didn't want him to do. In a way it felt dishonest, going behind his back, disobeying him and...

Was something burning?

Rik sniffed the air and recoiled in disgust at the overpowering stink of burnt toast filling his nose and momentarily stunning him. He dashed into the kitchen and switched the toaster off at the socket before fanning and blowing away the smoke to reveal two slices of charcoal. He took them out with a knife and his shoulders sagged as he saw just how burnt it was. He chucked them in the bin and opened the windows to filter out the smoke. The alarm blared and it was a job not to throw the loaf of bread at it to stop it wailing and piercing right through into his eardrum. He stepped outside and put the phone to his ear, which felt weird considering it was now higher up on his head.

"Hello, is this Jamie?"

Yeah, who is this?

"It's Alpha's... friend. Rik Blackwell. We met at the café."

Oh, that smallish fox dude with the cap?

"I'm 6' 4", but yeah, him. Anyway, I was wondering if you could come over for his birthday."

I dunno... things got pretty heated last night.

"I heard. What actually happened though?"

It'll sound stupid, but there was this girl with big tits, right? Well, she was struttin' her stuff on the stage at the bar and Tom was all like, "Dude, I so wanna tap that ass, I'm so hard right now!", and Adam was like, "Nah dude, I'mma ask her out first", and then we all got in a fight. We were sent out.

"So you guys split up just because of some girl you liked the look of? You're right when you say it sounds stupid. ... Was Alpha involved in the fight?"

Nah, man, he wanted everyone to get along, tryin' to stop the flying fists of fury. Weird considering he's usually happy to get in a scrap. Big guy and all.

"So I'm smallish and he's big yet there's only three inches difference?"

Do you want me to come or not?

"Good morning, it's Alpha's friend Rik calling. Is this Tom?"

Yeah, I guess...

"So you're not sure whether you're Tom?"

What the Hell do you want at 7 in the morning?

"I was wondering if you could come over to Alpha's house for his birthday."

... Fine. Should I bring anything?

"No, but I suggest you leave the attitude at home in bed."

Damn, dude, snarky much?

"Hey, this is Alpha's friend Rik calling. Is this Adam?"

Who the fuck am I talking to right now?

"Gee, it's as if I didn't just tell you who I was."

Tell me what you want right now or I swear I will come and find you.

"Actually that's what I'm calling about. It's Alpha's birthday and I was wondering if you could come over for the party."

... Will any of his other quote-unquote 'friends' be there?

"Apart from me?"

He thought long and hard. If he said 'yes' there was a chance he wouldn't turn up because of the frostiness evidently still present in their relationships with each other. If he said 'no' he would be lying, and he didn't like lying.

"... We'll see."

Tricksy little bugger, aren't you?

And with that, the phone went dead.

About an hour later Alpha trudged downstairs and remade his jam and toast. He was obviously feeling better judging by the copious amounts of jam he spread thickly onto the toast, leaving little behind. He looked back and saw Rik fully dressed and holding five rectangular objects, which he very quickly hid and continued to stand there, grinning awkwardly.

"Good morning," he squeaked, clearing his throat, "how're you feeling?"

"If you're planning a party I don't want one," Alpha growled, "I don't like the attention. Makes me feel uncomfortable."

"That's... good," Rik replied, "I wasn't planning one anyway, just you and me having a good ol' time, y'know?"

Alpha didn't look impressed.

"You're planning a party, aren't you?"

There was a long pause.

"Yeah," Rik sighed, looking like a child caught in the act of breaking a china vase, "but I promise it'll be super fun."

Alpha sighed a heavy, exasperated sigh, then clapped a hand on the fox's shoulder. It wasn't a nice feeling; his grip was tight and his claws were digging in. Rik squirmed but his hold was firm.

"I don't appreciate being lied to. Even if it's a minor thing."

Rik nodded and failed to make eye contact.

"I'm not angry with you this time, but next time I will be. Three strike system, and you're on strike one."

He let go of Rik's shoulder and munched on his toast like nothing had happened. Rik was still a little taken aback by such a sudden show of irritation, so he called the worgen's friends back to tell them that the party was cancelled, just within earshot so that Alpha knew for sure that it was done. Rik sat on the sofa and had a think. If that was strike one, what were strikes two and three? He didn't even want to guess. He turned to Alpha, who was still nonchalantly eating his breakfast.

"How about you open your presents now and let's go to the bar to hang out. I promise there'll be no rude surprises."

"You also promised that any surprises would be super fun."

"I swear we're not having a party. Honestly, it'll just be you and me. And whoever else happens to be at the bar, because, y'know, public place and all that."

He laughed nervously under the cautious glare of his boyfriend, who finished his toast and sat next to him, implying he was ready to open the presents now. Rik looked under the bookcase to the right of the door leading into the kitchen and withdrew the presents, setting them down in Alpha's lap. He opened the smaller ones first.

The first one was a watch, then a notebook (complete with pencil), then a pair of cute little clay figurines in their spitting image - one of himself and one of Rik. He opened one of the bigger presents to find -

"A_PC?_"

"Specifically a gaming PC but yeah. Gotta pamper my boyfriend for his birthday, right?"

"Jesus, Rik! You really didn't have to..."

"I know, but I had surplus money from Furtube profits, so I saved up and bought this ASUS Republic of Gamers G20BM PC with 2TB of hard drive and 12 GB memory."

"How much was it?"

"£649.97. It was on sale so I saved £150.02. Go on, open your last present."

Alpha tore the wrapping away to reveal...

Alpha put on his coat and helped Rik into his before setting out into the cold winter evening at 6 o'clock. They quickly dove into the car and started the engine, turning the heater on full blast before they got too cold. Rik could already feel the waves of heat gushing past his sensitive nose after a few seconds of chill.

"So how did you find your presents?" he asked as he turned out of their driveway and into the dark street beyond.

"They were fantastic," Alpha replied graciously, "thanks again."

"No problem. Next stop: the bar."

They soon arrived in the car park of the local bar, where three other cars were parked next to each other. The lights were on and music thumped through the walls, silhouettes having a wild time. They opened the door and to Rik's horror every single one of Alpha's friends was sitting at the bar counter, drinking beer and chatting. They turned their heads to see who came in then cheered raucously. Alpha gave a hard glare to his boyfriend who was giving his own to the 6 or so men sitting on those awkwardly high stools.

"You said they wouldn't be here."

"I know, I told them specifically to_not_ be here or to celebrate whatsoever," Rik snarled at the drinkers.

"We thought you wanted us to come," friend one replied.

"I called you back and told you not to, you blithering idiot!"

"Ugh, let's just get some drinks and get out of here," Alpha huffed irritably, striding forward to the bartender who leaned away slightly in apprehension.

"One cider and one mocha," he instructed, "and don't dawdle."

They sat at the middle two seats which had clearly been reserved for them as the bartender whizzed around behind the counter, turning on the coffee machine and dispensing the cider while it warmed up. Coffee of any sort was rarely ordered at this bar, and the machine was only really for show nowadays, so it was never turned on. Alpha's friends and Rik were all snapping at each other, giving the birthday boy a headache.

"I told you not to even go near us and I told you over the phone!" Rik hissed.

"It's hard to take you seriously if you're so snarky all he time," friend two hissed back.

"He was pretty nice to me, don't know what's your problem," friend three retorted.

"I am not snarky. I'm_cynical_. There's a difference."

"If that's what you call cynical," friend one growled, "I don't want to know what the Hell your version of snarky is."

Alpha was getting increasingly irritated and he was scowling as hard as he could, yet there were tears in his eyes. He hated parties, he really hated them. Why would Rik not know that? Why would he insist on this damn celebration that wouldn't get the relationship anywhere if there was a triple-layer double-chocolate cake with royal icing packaged with it?

Oh, damn it - the cake. It had tasted so delicious yet so bittersweet, the candle smoke burning his nostrils as he nibbled at his slice bit by bit, under the unnervingly watchful eye of those damn kids...

The 29th day of the 10thmonth. Alpha's birthday. He got up and rubbed his eyes, sliding out of bed and bounding down the stairs and into the living-room to open his presents. His whole family was there on the sofa and looked up to welcome him in. They wished him a happy birthday as he ripped open the wrapping for present number one, revealing one of those sought-after action figures from one of those sought-after movies. He hugged his father then proceeded to bury himself in all the presents he was opening. 3, 5, 10 presents in all, and only one or two of them he had to feign gratitude for - they were pairs of socks or a new vest. His grandmother's idea.

"Right, off you go to the kitchen to have your breakfast, then up and change so you're ready for the big party."

Alpha froze.

"I - I - But I said I don't want one," he stammered, suddenly overtaken with mental images of infinite crowds of people watching his every move and laughing at him for being different.

"Oh come on, old sport," his father replied, "I even got that Bella girl to come!"

"She hates_me, Dad," Alpha whined, "I don't want to go!"_

"If you don't go, all the guests will be disappointed," his mother quite rightfully pointed out. If the man of the hour wasn't there, there would be nothing to celebrate, and all the decorating and invite-making and the journeys people had to take to get to the venue would all be for nought. Alpha nodded then sullenly got his breakfast and went back upstairs to get dressed.

The playground in the neighbourhood next door was packed with screaming, cheering and laughing children and their parents who were chatting on the sidelines. Alpha shrunk into himself as he was led in through the gate, on full display for everyone to gawk at. He was gangly with above-average muscle mass and was a few inches taller than most of the kids there whilst being the same age. His thick, dark hair was close-shaved at the nape of the neck and got thicker as it neared the crown of the head, ending in a gelled fringe that was pulled up off his forehead like many boys did these days. He felt the beady little eyes of the demon children around him drill into his very being, judging him but finding no words to express such judgements. In the middle of it all stood Satan herself, Bella Lovely, who was very quick to make undoubtedly hurtful opinions of him and expressing them even in front of his parents.

"God, it's that mongrel again," she sighed disgustedly, "careful not to soil my clothes, would you? Wouldn't want your germs all over my skirt."

She absent-mindedly took out her phone and started texting, chewing her chewing gum and fiddling with her purse clip with her other hand. She was spoiled, an adult mind in a child's body, with frilly skirts, crop tops and feather scarves.

"I wanna go home," Alpha sniffed, tugging on his father's sleeve.

"At least stay until we've eaten the cake," his father replied.

Alpha looked even more dejected. All he could look at was the floor when he was ushered to the table where a tablecloth and various sandwiches and other party treats were set. He sat at the end nearest the play centre and reluctantly strapped on his party hat. He felt like a real dunce just wearing that stupid thing, his size completely belittled and undermined by such a childish accessory. The other children sat around the table and the parents stood behind them. It was a long while before anything happened.

"Get on with it, puppydog!" a boy jeered. Alpha looked embarrassed, blushing furiously, not sure what he should get on with. It was only when his mother offered him the sandwich platter that he took about three triangles.

"Greedy much?" another girl flouted. He put two of the triangle sandwiches back but his mother shook her head.

"Don't listen to her," she whispered in his ear, "take as many as you want."

He took back the other two sandwiches and munched on one, officially starting the feast.

"Finally! He really is a slow one, isn't he?" one of the parents scoffed to another.

"It's like he wanted to starve them," his mate agreed.

Alpha stopped and hid his face in his hands as he started to cry. Everyone looked at him, watched him, seemingly unconcerned by his misery. Nobody actually cared about him, did they? They were just there to take all the food, to get a free meal. They were just there to save some face, they didn't actually give a damn about what the celebration was for.

"What's got him in a fuss now?" Bella barked, "He's such a whiny so-and-so!"

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Alpha roared suddenly, his voice trembling as badly as he was. He stood up, upsetting the table, and hurried away, hiding his face from the world. He dodged into the toilets of the play centre, sniffling, scrabbling at the toilet roll for something to wipe his eyes with, half blinded by the tears.

After a moment of gratifying alone time, his mother came in and gave him one of her big, warm, comforting hugs, the ones she reserved for when he was upset. Other than that it was just a warm hug.

"There, there, sweetheart," she said softly, "don't cry. Shhh..."

"Why didn't you guys say anything?" Alpha sobbed.

"Oh, you know how fussy and argumentative that Bella girl's parents are. All they would do is make it worse. You're being very brave, dear."

Alpha looked at her in the eyes.

"If I'm so brave," he replied, "why am I crying?"

Alpha was now full-on crying, and nobody had noticed. They were still arguing, turning heads and getting unwanted attention. After a few minutes of trying to think things through in his head, Alpha stood up so violently he tipped his stool right over and floored it with a clang.

"_ SHUT UP! _"_he roared, absolutely livid, " All of you! _"

The bar went deathly silent. Everyone was looking at him, judging him just as badly as when he was at his 10thbirthday party. He didn't care this time, though, as blood rushed to his head and making it feel stuffy. He could feel his temples pounding.

"Do you have _any_idea how hard it is for me to deal with a party, let alone one where my friends argue about the most stupidly trivial things?" he demanded, "Rik, you put all this time and effort into making this party seem like a million pounds even when I told you _explicitly_that I didn't want one!"

"But I -" Rik began.

"Not finished!" Alpha interrupted, a dangerous look on his face, "Why did you even bother? This party is what is tearing you guys apart. Tearing us_apart. Yes, I said it, _fox. You wouldn't have to bicker about whatever the Hell you're bickering about, and I would have to feel like I was lied to by my own boyfriend!"

"I'm so -"

"It_disgusts_me to know I indirectly created these problems. I am sick and tired of you trying to make my day when I just want to be left alone. Is that concept too much for you? Because congratu-fucking-ations, you have officially made this my worst birthday ever. Now get out. Yes that damn well includes you, fox. I don't even want to look at you right now."

"Alpha, I -"

"_ OUT! _"

Without another word, they made themselves scarce. When they were at a safe distance away, Alpha's first friend turned around.

"I've never seen him so upset," he breathed.

"I feel awful," Rik mumbled, "look at us. We're only out here because we were arguing at our friend's party. Isn't that tragic?"

"Not to mention you lied to him, and to us," friend two growled.

"When did I lie to you?"

"When you called us up you said you were his friend, when in fact you're his boyfriend."

"I only said that to protect him in case you were homophobic. And way to rub it in and make me feel ten times worse, pal. God, I hope he's OK..."

"Go check on him if you're so worried," friend three replied. Rik shook his head. That would be disobeying Alpha once again, and hence getting his third and final strike. He didn't want to know what that was. But then again he could hardly go anywhere because he drove Alpha here and he didn't want to leave him behind. He hesitated at the door then pushed it open again. He was given dirty looks by pretty much everyone present. The bartender was nowhere to be found.

Rik checked the toilets and sure enough, Alpha was stewing in there next to the sink. He was in the contemplating position. He whipped his head around then looked away.

"Not even ten minutes," he grumbled bitterly, "and the fox comes crawling back."

Rik said nothing, only giving him a big, warm, comforting hug. He had tears of his own streaming down his face.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, "I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"It's going to take more than an I'm sorry to fix this fuck-up, mate," Alpha snapped suddenly, knocking Rik to one side, "I thought I could trust you, but then you spout some bullshit and now look at you. Snivelling your drivel and expecting to kiss-and-make-up. The real world doesn't work like that."

"Is there anything I can do?" Rik snuffled.

"No. Just... fuck off, would you?"

Rik hugged him again, but this time Alpha didn't react. The fox could feel his intense breathing, his growling, his muscles working to prevent themselves from making his arm fly out and punch Rik in the face, from which tears were dripping onto his stone-grey fur.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered again.