Prompt: Surreptitious - Acting in a stealthy way.

Word Count: 676

Character(s): Kris, Tao

Synopsis: Kris is not a ninja and birthdays are a lot easier to plan in his head than accomplish in reality.

A/N: It's no where near Tao's birthday, but this has been sitting in my files for a while and I wanted to finish it off.

Kris was make a horrible ninja and he knew it. Everyone is envious of his height, but they don't understand how difficult it is to coordinate such long awkward limbs in everyday life let alone in super-secret ninja mode. It seems when he wants to be more elegant his body likes to do the exact opposite just to spite him. "Well you for making my down that disgusting beer last night. IT WAS THE 8TH ONE" his body thinks as his hip hits the edge of the table trying to navigate the dorm after a late night out. " you for running 5k this morning. I told you I was tired after the third round" screams his body as his awkward flailing and grappling ends with a lamp desk and pens littering the floor when arriving home from his daily jog. "I NEED SLEEP. Why do you only give me 5 hours!!!" it vents as he trips over his own feet in the middle of walking down the stairs (thank god he was near the bottom already or else that wouldn't have ended well).

So yeah Kris is a horrible ninja in everyday life, yet here he was trying his best to sneak around the dorm a precarious stack of food and presents in his hands. Please. Please. Please. Kris begged to whatever divine, malicious, or supernatural force would listen (he would take any divine help available) praying he wouldn't drop the stack of things in his hands and fall on his face. He tiptoed his way into the kitchen avoiding the mess of sneakers, clothes, and other paraphernalia that covered the floor. God no one ever cleans up in here.

The light of the kitchen shined in front of him. Thank the heavens, god, devil, or whatever it was that got him here because he was in the kitchen, safe. Heaving a sigh of relief he stepped into the kitchen… and promptly fell tripped over the chair near the entrance. He could see it happen in slow motion. His body jerking forward as the objects in his arms jettisoned into the air. His arms trying to grasp at empty air and the cake that he tried so hard to protect falling on its side. Kris stood in the entrance  just staring at the mess in front of him, frozen.

"Kris?" Tao's voice came from behind him. Kris jerked around facing the sleepy boy. Tao's dressed in a simple tank top and shorts. His hair is ruffled from the pillow and is already beginning to stick out in odd directions. He rubs his eye blinded by the kitchen light letting out a light yawn. "Is everything all right?"

Kris stand frozen in the middle of the mess he created. The cake is on its side, the wrapped present is dented and the paper bag's contents are spilled across the floor revealing the ribbons, confetti, and other deco rational items Kris was planning to decorate the dorm with. Kris looks up at Tao who is still rubbing his eyes and squinting against the harsh artificial glare of the kitchen light.

"Y-yeah I'm fine just tripped over some stuff. You know how clumsy I can be." Kris tries to fake a smile as if the mess of streamers and cake weren't there. Tao mumbles some indiscernible reply as he ambles back to his room. Kris lets out a huge sigh and assess the damage. The cake is still edible albeit squished on its side, the present should be fine nothing fragile there, and the decorations are up in no time. Kris falls into bed a job well done; patting himself on the back for that fantastic feign when Tao walked into the room.

Down the hall Tao lies in his bed a huge grin splitting his face as he goes to sleep. When he wakes up he pretends to be surprised and excited for Kris's sake because surprise or not the fact that Kris is there to celebrate his birthday is all he needs to be happy.