The carefully wrapped birthday gifts lay discarded on the bed as Shidou holds you in a tight embrace. Despite your attempts to pry yourself free, his arms refuse to relent, holding you firmly in place.

"Later, later," he murmurs, nuzzling the back of your neck. The gifts can wait, he seems to say, his focus solely on you in this moment. With a three-day leave from Blue Lock, he has no intention of leaving your side until he has to return.

"Stop moving so much, I'm trying to cuddle," Shidou grumbles, his voice tinged with a playful petulance. There's a needy quality to his insistence, as if he's a kid unwilling to share his favorite toy. “You have to let me… it’s my birthday.” It is his birthday after all.