#birthdaycheer

You shuffled your way out of the kitchen, making a mental promise to Sanji that you would come back and clean the natural disaster that you had left in his kitchen, and made your way to the crow’s nest.  

It was barely visible on the deck of the Thousand Sunny, only a few dimmed lights around the helm, and the radiating glow of the stars and the moon keeping you from tripping and landing face first in your cake creation. The moon was straight above, you, signaling that it was almost midnight.  

You were going to be the first person to wish Zoro a happy birthday. Normally, you would just say it when you saw him the next day, giving him his gift at whatever party was being thrown in his honor, but this time? You wanted it to be special. To have a few hours with your favorite Marimo by yourselves, to be able to be the first one to spend his special day with him. Even if he wasn’t one to really make a big fuss about himself, you were going to do it for him.

You finally made it up to the crow’s nest, wondering if it was by miracle, skill, or sheer luck that you had managed to climb up there without dropping anything, but thankful either way.  

The room was dimly lit, the light from the sky bouncing off the metal workout equipment, giving the space a silvery glow. You took a few quiet steps forward, squinting to make out any signs of life in the darkness. It took only a moment to find Zoro, his hunched over sleeping form sitting upright next to the window, snoring loudly. You smiled, realizing that the swordsman had fallen asleep during watch, tip toeing closer to him as not to wake him right away.  

Normally, Zoro was up this late working out, meditating, or keeping watch over the ship. He barely slept at night at all, preferring the light naps he took throughout the day. But? You were grateful that he was getting some rest finally, on a sleep schedule that a normal human being might have. With how the crew was going non-stop lately, he had to be exhausted—even if he would never be the first to admit it. You knelt next to him, taking the infamous Pirate Hunter Zoro in his most relaxed state.  

His face was illuminated in the moonlight, his chiseled features highlighted and more prominent on his deep tan skin, and his familiar moss colored hair a dark shade of green. He seemed so serious; a full scowl apparent on his face. You snickered, pressing your lips together to stifle your laughter. You wondered how someone could manage to look so peaceful and handsome, but angry at the same time as they slept. You lifted your hand up, tempted to trace the lines of his face, the scar on his eye, and to feel his warm skin on your palm—but you hesitated, retreating your hand.  

Maybe this was a dumb idea. Zoro was asleep, what was the point in waking him just to give him a few silly presents and a cake? You didn’t have the heart to disturb his peace. You sighed in disappointment, standing up to walk out. This could wait until the morning when he was awake and alert. Even if you couldn’t spend the time alone with him, you could still surprise him with your gifts, and give him the cake you had worked on—as long as Luffy didn’t get to it first. Besides, it gave you a chance to go clean up the kitchen, maybe get a little sleep yourself afterwards.  

You tried to get up slowly as not to make a noise, stepping backwards in slow, precise steps as you walked out. You kept your eyes on Zoro, making sure the swordsman did not stir and your getaway would remain unnoticed.

Suddenly, the heel of your shoe hit something hard, causing you stumble backwards. You tried to hold your balance, the cake and gifts still in your arms. You swayed back and forth in a clumsy dance, all a poor attempt to keep yourself upright. In your struggle to stay up, you knocked over just about everything in the room. Metal loudly clanked all around you, crashing onto the hard wood floor one by one, as if they were dominos. It sounded like one big explosion—an explosion that did not seem to end.  

Before you even had a chance to flinch, Zoro shot up from his seat, reaching for Wado Ichimonji. His eyes widened as he noticed you, opening his mouth briefly to begin scolding you, before you started tumbling backwards. He flew up in an instant, rushing towards you to break your fall. One strong hand was on your lower back, his other grasping your arm. The swordsman pulled you up on your feet, practically slamming your bodies together in the process.  

“What the hell happened?! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” He growled; a little tremble hidden in the harshness of his voice. He yanked you against his chest, his grip tight around your body, almost as if he were scared that if he let you go, you would still fall. “You could have gotten hurt, you moron!” His breathing was heavy, and you could feel his heart pounding against his chest. You didn’t know what scared Zoro more—the fact that you woke him up so abruptly, or the fact you were about to fall.  

You stammered, trying to find your words amid the near heart attack you almost had yourself, “I—it’s midnight, ha-happy birthday?” You breathed. He pulled back, looking at each of your hands—a cake that somehow still was not a disaster, and two presents in your arms. He cocked his eyebrow, his frown softening.  

“You caused all that racket just because you wanted to wish me a happy birthday?”  

“N-no! I mean…yes, kind of.” You winced, unsure of how to explain yourself. A devilish smirk graced his lips, and he burst out loudly in laughter; his whole body shaking in delight.  

“You could have just woken me up like a normal person you know.” Zoro teased, “Seems like an elaborate way just to surprise me.” His tone was lighter now, playful even. Almost like some form of payback for waking him up. It was your turn to frown.

“I didn’t do this,” you motioned at the mess around you, “on purpose! You were sleeping, so I figured I would let you rest and give you this later, and I wound up tripping on my way out.” Your words ran into almost one long sentence, both from panic and the wish to defend yourself.  

“Well it seems like you failed pretty badly then.” The grin on his face widened even more, another chuckle stuck in his throat threatening to escape. Oh, how he loved to make you squirm.  

You spun around in a huff, “You know what? Forget it. Maybe I don’t want to give you your presents anyway if you’re just going to tease me all night about a dumb accident.” You could feel the heat bubble up in your cheeks, a moment of fear now turning to embarrassment.  

“So…what, you woke me up for nothin’ then?” He asked mid yawn. You stood firm, until you felt a brush of his lips against your ear, “You should stop being so stubborn, you know? Besides, you scared the hell out of me and woke me up anyway—don’t you think you owe me just a bit?” He whispered, his hot breath causing shivers to run down your spine. You could almost hear that cocky smile of his, knowing exactly what to do to get his way.  

You puffed out your cheeks and stomped over to the bench next to the window, sitting down in a snit. As much as you did not want to fully admit it—he was right. You had woken him up anyway, so what was the point of missing the chance to do what you wanted to do in the first place? Even if he was being an ass. Zoro strutted over, proud to his success, and took his place next to you. He kept his eye on you, looking intrigued as you began placing all the things you had been carrying down in front of him.  

The first thing you slid towards him was a long, oblong shaped gift. The paper you had used to wrap it was crinkled around the shape; a poorly tied green ribbon tied around the thinnest part of it. Zoro reached for it, unwrapping it silently. His face lit up the moment the paper was peeled away, exposing a bottle of expensive sake. An ear-to-ear smile spread on his lips that made you grin alongside him.

You had spent a few weeks tracking down the bottle; going from island to island with the crew searching for the best they had to offer. It took talking to what felt like hundreds of people and familiarizing yourself with every alcohol store and bar that you could find in each new place. Finally, you had found this one—a recommendation from almost every person you had talked to—hidden in a dusty little shop on the last island you were on. It was a rarity, very few bottles ever made, and mostly sold to Admirals in the Marines. It was expensive; but you knew how much he would enjoy it.  

“Where did you find this?” He asked, inspecting the bottle. You could tell he was tempted to pop it open now. You shrugged.  

“Around; I don’t have to tell you all my secrets you know.” You replied, giving Zoro a wink. He didn’t question it further, only looking to you for the next gift you had.  

You picked the last present up, handing it to him. Zoro took the rectangle shaped package from you, not hesitating to rip the paper and ribbon off. Hidden behind it was a long wooden box, kanji burned onto the top of it. He slid the top off, pulling out an uchiko ball, a bottle of sword oil, a cloth, and a Mekugi Nuki—everything he needed to maintain his katanas.  

“You mentioned you needed new cleaning supplies for your swords, so I found this at a little swordsmith shop at the last island we docked on. Is it helpful? The shop owner made everything in the kit himself.” You questioned, unable to read the expression on his hardened face. Zoro nodded quickly in response.  

“It’s great. The quality is really good too—should last me a long time and give a nice polish to each of them.” He placed the box back down, leaning over and pulling your head to meet his. Zoro placed a gentle kiss on your forehead, before resting his against it. You fluttered your eyes shut, feeling nothing but the closeness between the both of you.  

“Thank you.” He finally spoke after what seemed like minutes, his voice low and deep. You hummed in reply, bringing your hands up to cup both of his cheeks.  

“You’re welcome. Happy Birthday.” You lifted his chin just a little and tilted your head down just enough that your lips brushed with his. Catching onto your hint, Zoro slammed his chapped lips against yours—a kiss filled with passion, love, and warmth all in one. You guys lingered like that for a while, pulling away only to catch your breaths.  

“Do you want some cake? Maybe you can break open your sake now?” You suggested breathlessly, trying to find your bearings back on earth again after all the heat. The same mischievous grin appeared on his face. Before you had a chance to even make a protest, he quickly grabbed the presents and the cake, laying them off to the side, pulling you onto his lap immediately after and into another heated kiss. You barely had time to process the motions before you felt yourself get swept back up in the electricity that seemed to be building in the air. He pulled away from you, leaving you yearning and craving more at the absence.  

“We can have cake later. Right now? I think I have another present to unwrap.”  

Ace let out a hum in response. Sure, you had a point, and sure, it sounded like a great plan, but was this really how you wanted to spend your birthday? It was nothing more special than any other day off, save for the special meal that he wasn’t even sure Thatch would have the time for. He looked at you as you turned around in his arms, your eyes bright with the expectation for him to agree with your (simple) plan. He simply couldn’t resist those puppy eyes and nodded, dipping down to place a soft kiss on your lips. “Sure, if that’s really what you want y/n” “Yes Ace, it’ll be perfect.”

Your last words were muffled a little as you nuzzled into his chest more, enjoying his warmth now that it was slowly getting colder outside. Already looking forward to a minimalistic birthday celebration, it did not take you long to fall asleep.

Of course, Ace followed suit, his talent to be able to sleep anywhere even when he didn’t get a narcoleptic spell kicking really fast with you snuggled up to him. But not before formulating a little plan in his head. If you didn’t want a big celebration, he’d accept your wishes, but he couldn’t help but try his best to make it a little more special than you had hoped for.

----

The days leading up to your birthday he assured you that he would take care of the meal and the choresswap, even taking over other people’s chores so yours wouldn’t be switched but taken over altogether. You were a little suspicious at his eagerness to arrange all the things for you, but you let him take care of it all without saying too much about it, you figured he was a little sad he couldn’t make his big plans come true and was now trying to compensate by fulfilling your smaller wishes as much as possible.

You watched as he haggled chores with fellow crewmates and even other commanders. You noticed how he spent quite a lot of time in the kitchen, trying to convince Thatch to spend a little extra time on something for you, just to make your day perfect. It was not clear if he had succeeded in his mission when the night before your birthday came up, but when he joined you in your shared bed, he had a slightly mysterious and satisfied-looking smile on his face.  You decided against interrogating him, enjoying some cuddles and already feeling giddy about having a day for just the two of you when waking up. It would be perfect!

The start of the day was in fact, perfect! Ace had gently woken you up with some breakfast in bed, singing some kind of happy birthday tune completely off pitch with a slight rasp in his voice, he had woken up a little early just to make sure his preparations were all done, and hadn’t spoken yet. You giggled at the whole thing, his morning voice was attractive, the breakfast delicious and the singing hilarious.

After you got dressed and ready for the day, Ace announced that he had one surprise for you. Your eyes immediately narrowed in suspicion.

“That wasn’t the deal Ace!” “Ssshhhhhhh, it’s your birthday, you deserve some special things! Don’t worry, it’s nothing too elaborate, I promise. ”

You sighed and followed him along the deck, only to end in a familar place: the back deck where his striker was. “Look, there will be something special happening nearby, so I figured we’d go on a tiny ride. It’s still following your plan of quality time, and we will be back in time to chill and enjoy your special birthday meal. ”

He seemed so enthusiastic, so full of hope, that even if you wanted to act a little mad for him not following your agreement, you couldn’t stop the corners of your lips from turning upward. “Fine, I’ll indulge you on your little surprised joyride. But only because that means I can hold you close for a little more.”

A slight blush tinted Ace’s freckled cheeks as he smiled widely, a triumphant ‘Yessss’ leaving his lips. He readied the striker for the ride, helping you get on as well. You wrapped your arms tightly around his upper body and got ready for the ride, you knew how reckless he got when he was enthusiastic.

Ace was indeed a little reckless in his steering, but never dangerous, not even when you neared a part closer to an island, the water shallow enough to have all kinds of rocks sticking out of it. He carefully maneuvered in between some of them, before stopping in front of one that was large enough for the both of you to sit on. He helped you up, and joined on the spot next to you in silence, and once you both were settled you looked at him with a questioning look.

“This is nice but wh-” “Oh! The show has already started!”

Ace pointed to a point a little further from you, and you saw something you hadn’t noticed before in your fear of him hitting one of the rocks. You had been too focussed on the potential hazard as well as the island nearing that you hadn’t noticed a huge school of dolphins, all rapidly swimming and leaping out of the water, almost as if to put on a performance for the two of you. Your mouth fell open in a surprised o-shape.

“They are always here apparently, I heard about it when we were on the previous island but didn’t think we’d get close enough in time. It was Marco’s idea to take the striker.”

You smiled.

“It’s a wonderful surprise, thank you Ace..” you turned to him to give him a proper kiss to thank him, when you noticed his eyes glazing over.

Shit. Not now.

It wasn’t the first time you had seen the subtle change that indicated that he was about to pass out, but you were too late calling out his name so he could prepare, and he slumped forward. You reacted on instinct, hooking your leg behind a protruding piece of rock and grabbed your boyfriend quickly, before he’d make contact with the seawater. You succeeded in your mission of saving your boyfriend,  but you heard a nauseating crack when you leaped forward, a white-hot pain spreading through your leg immediately. You let out a loud yelp, which woke up Ace immediately, completely disoriented and a little confused.

“Y/n! What happened?” He clambered back onto the rock, too confused to spot your leg yet, while you felt the tears spring in your eyes. You tried to bite them back, but your leg hurt a lot, you weren’t even sure if you’d be able to remove it from its awkward position without suffering. “You fell asleep and I helped you,” you replied through gritted teeth, the wonderful dolphin show now completely forgotten,  “Ace, I think I broke my leg.”

Ace then finally noticed the strange position you were in and his eyes widened in a panic. For the next few minutes the both of you tried to figure out what to do and how to get you back onto the striker without causing you too much pain. The best and seemingly only solution was Ace straight up lifting you up from the rock so you wouldn’t have to move much, and he held onto you as he got back onto the striker, apologizing through the whole ordeal.

“I am so sorry I ruined your birthday, it was meant to be a little surprise, and I just fell asleep like an absolute idiot, I am so sorry y/n.” He repeated it as if it was a mantra, and you felt back because you heard the agony in his voice. And while your leg was still hurting like hell, you didn’t want him to think that he had completely ruined your day. After all, it was only morning still.

“Tell you what Ace. You’re going to drop me off at Marco’s and he’s gonna help me fix that leg. Then, you will carry me to our room and we’re going to do what I had planned for my birthday all along: cuddle and be lazy together. If we’re feeling adventurous we can watch the sunset on deck. No need to do anything crazy” “Are you sure y/n? It’s not that exciting, and I had many more small things planned…”

“Ace, as long as I am with you, I honestly don’t care how we spend my birthday.”

You swore you saw his eyes gloss over momentarily before he regained composure with some new-found courage. “Okay, I will do whatever it takes to make this your best birthday still, even though I started out on the wrong foot”

“You sure you want to use that expression Ace? It’s not even correct” You raised a brow but let out a small laugh, almost forgetting the pain in your leg. “SORRY!!!!”

Nami had asked you a week ago to go party with her tonight. You agreed without any hesitation, eager to have some fun with your friend again. When you asked her what to wear, she said something cute but comfortable. Nothing too fancy, noting too casual. Nami often took you to the craziest bars and clubs, so you were excited to see where she’d bring you today. So when you got in her car and asked what place you were going to, you were shocked to hear it was Sanji’s house. Apparently it was his birthday party and Nami had decided to bring you along. You tried to argue that it was really awkward to bring a total stranger to someone birthday party, but Nami wasn’t having any of it, saying Sanji would be happy to have you over.

That’s how you ended up here, in front of Sanji’s house, with a mystery gift in your hands. You really wanted to turn around and just walk away, but you were in a part of town you didn’t know, and as a woman alone, you weren’t too eager to walk around unknown places in the dark. Glancing once more at Nami’s grin, you sighed in defeat and followed her to the front door. At least if you told her you weren’t interested after this, she’d leave you alone about it.

Nami ringed the doorbell with a self-satisfied grin and the door opened soon after. Your eyes widened at the sight. In the door stood a man with blonde hair which covered half of his face, wearing dress pants, dress shoes and a white blouse with the top button undone. What stood out most was the curled eyebrow, was that even real?

“Sanji! Happy birthday! This is Y/N, the girl I told you about.” Nami said happily as she gestured towards you. Sanji shifted his focus from Nami to you and you swore you felt an electric current run through you the moment your eyes locked. “I’m Sanji, it’s nice to meet you, Y/N. Nami has told me a lot about you.” Sanji smiled and took your hand to kiss the back of it. You felt your cheeks heat up and nearly forgot to answer him. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

Nami smiled at the two of you and gestured at you to give him the gift. Sanji thanked you and stepped aside, inviting the two of you inside. His house looked nice, simple but classy. Interior decorating tells a lot about a person, right? You were beginning to wonder why you didn’t accept to meet his man sooner. There was still a nagging feeling that he was a little too good to be true, but for now you figured you could get to know this man.

Once inside, Nami introduced you to more friends of her. There were so many you could barely remember their names. You just followed Nami around the party, talking with her and her friends while keeping track of Sanji from the corner of your eye. By the end of the evening, you realized what Nami hadn’t told you. Sanji was a total womanizer. What a let-down.

You enjoyed the party nonetheless. The food was great and they had your favourite drink and you had to admit, Nami’s friends were kinda nice. Certainly Luffy, he was a nice dude, although a little too loud for your liking. The time had come to leave the party and you and Nami searched out Sanji to say goodbye. When Nami told you the kitchen was the place to search for him, you were a little surprised. Sure, Nami mentioned he liked to cook, but on his own birthday? Really?

True to Nami’s prediction, Sanji was indeed in the kitchen, standing over a cutting board. He was so focussed that he didn’t even realise the two of you came in, cutting vegetables for snacks on the table with a small smile.

“Sanji.” Nami said. Sanji jumped slightly and looked up at the two of you. “Oh, Nami, Y/N. I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you come in. Is everything ok?” “Yes, we’re leaving though, so we came to say goodbye.” “I see, that’s too bad. I didn’t really get the chance to talk to the two of you.” “That’s because you’re always cooking on your own birthday, idiot.” “I can’t help it, sorry.” Sanji then turned his attention to you. “Y/N, I hope to see you again soon and properly talk to you. Maybe we could exchange numbers?” You thought his words over for a moment before answering. “No. Not yet, at least. But feel free to come talk to me at the next party Nami drags me to.”

Involuntary Arson

Ace would be the first to admit that he had an obsession with fire. He was a pyromaniac though he never lit any living thing on fire and nothing bigger than a flatscreen TV. However, he hasn’t lit anything on fire in the past nine months which is an accomplishment for him. He has found other ways to relieve his stress, some of them including you.

You had done much in the past to care for Ace and Mr. Freckles over here was dying to return the favor. Your birthday was at the end of the week and the genius that is Ace thought it was a great idea to make you a cake, even though there is a literal five-star chef in the friend group.

Ace pestered said five-star chef until he caved and taught him the basics of making your favorite: chocolate cake. Ace practiced in Sanji’s kitchen, writing down all the steps and committing each of them to memory. By the time the cake was done, Ace was confident, maybe overly so, that he could recreate the dessert perfectly the next day. He even suggested for Sanji to give away the cake they made together since his was going to turn out better. (A joke of course as Sanji is the most talented chef in the world.)

***

On the day of your birth, Ace was ecstatic to show off his baking skills.

Ace laid out the ingredients neatly in a row and got started on melting the chocolate chips on the stove first. Sanji suggested for him to use cocoa powder instead since the man was fire-prone but he refused and insisted on following Sanji’s recipe exactly. Surprisingly, he managed to melt the chocolate perfectly without burning it. Becoming a little more confident in his skills, he set the chocolate on the lowest flames (as some more had to be melted) and started sifting the dry ingredients in a bowl. Afterward, he folded the chocolate into the bowl, just as Sanji had shown him. Finally, he added avocado which was weird sure but he did trust Sanji with anything food-related. (The cook insisted on it as it was healthier than oil or butter and makes the cake richer in comparison.) Ace then spooned the mixture into a cake pan and placed it in the oven for thirty minutes.

Fifty minutes later Ace woke up to not only a burnt chocolate cake but the stove on fire as well as everything else between it, the kitchen sink, and the window. The smoke is what woke him up and his fire training kicked in as he immediately ran to get the fire extinguisher to put out the flames. He then called down to the station insisting that he was fine and there was no need for the team to come over, except maybe Marco who was a fire inspector.

Luckily they lived in a brick building so the structural integrity was saved. However, the same couldn’t be said for the kitchen. The entire thing had to be excavated and revamped. Anything metal and plastic melted. The rest burned to ash. It was found that the fire was caused by the oven being almost seventy degrees hotter than it should’ve been causing the cake to cook faster than intended. The entire process would take weeks and it cost thousands in repair. Ace considered just buying another apartment but that was cowardly as he would only be running away from his problem. Plus, he still had to pay for the damages regardless.

***

Ace was devastated. He knew you were indifferent to your birthday but he wanted it to be extra special for you because he was so damn happy that you were born. It took everything in his power not to start a fire in another part of the apartment due to how stressed he was. He kept a match between his teeth and flicked a lighter nervously waiting for you to come home from your half-shift.

After what felt like centuries he heard the click of the lock as you arrived home. The loud gasp you took as you walked inside reminded Ace that the kitchen was the first thing one encounters when walking into their home. That made him recoil into himself more in his place behind the couch.

***

Meanwhile, you took the time to survey the damage to the kitchen. It was hard to tell that the color scheme was navy blue and stainless steel as everything was charred black. The sink worked but just barely and most of the cupboards were...well...half were burned away leaving nothing but an imprint on the wall and the other half were hanging on by a nail. The oven was the worst of all. It was so badly burnt and mangled, it was only due to its place in the kitchen that you even recognized what it was. You stood in the kitchen until the smell aggravated your nose. Then you left to find your boyfriend.

You searched everywhere: in the bedroom, spare room, and bathroom before finding him behind the couch in the living room. He wasn’t crying but he was shaking. He had a lit match between his teeth that was dangerously close to burning his lips. This was an internal “game” he played when the stress became too much. He would light a match between his teeth and if he put it out, then he knew he wasn’t worthless. If he didn’t and got burned, then he felt as though he deserved every negative thing that happens to him, whether it was his fault or not. It took years for you, with therapy, to convince him that he was worth living and to stop this dangerous “game.” However, he still did it occasionally when his dark thoughts overcame him.

You crouched down next to him and blew out the flame. His unseeing eyes then snapped towards yours as he broke and started to cry. You scooped your boyfriend into your arms and soothed him as the tears freely flowed.

“I fucked up.” He sniffled into your chest.

“We all make mistakes Ace.” You combed your fingers into his hair allowing him to calm down after the tears stopped.

“What happened?” You whispered into his ear as to not disturb the unsteady peace that surrounded you two.

“Iwantedtobakeyouacake.” He squeezed you impossibly tight to muffle the words and to hide his shame.  

You looked to the island in the middle of the kitchen. Half was a beautiful blue. The other a smoldering black. You squinted and spotted a medium black disk in the center.

“Thank you. I bet it tasted delicious.” You were grateful for his attempt and the honesty in your voice sparked a new round of tears.

“Why are you with me?” He asked quietly after settling his face into the crook of your neck.

It broke your heart to hear the love of your life sounding so despondent as if he wasn’t worth every single star that speckled the night sky. You knew that he had issues of self-worth. That he appeared as confident and strong as a maverick wave but was just as turbulent as the ocean on the inside. Somedays, he felt as though he didn’t even deserve life itself and you always, always, contradicted that statement. Yes, he made be reckless and make idiotic mistakes but he had the biggest heart you’ve ever seen. No questions asked he would give you the shirt off his back. You’ve witnessed him give his boots to a total stranger and then proceed to walk the streets barefoot for half an hour in search of a shoe store. One time he missed a date with you because a child was lost in the park and he waited with them for over two hours for their parents to pick them up at the station. He became a firefighter because no matter how much he wanted to burn himself with flames he wanted to rescue people from them even more. His heart shone brighter than the sun and the world would be a much colder, let alone darker, place if he wasn’t around and you made sure he knew this.

“Because there is no one else I’d rather be with. Your heart rivals the sun and I’m eternally grateful for every single millisecond that I get to spend with you. Out of 7.5 billion people in the world, I choose you. And I will continue to choose you until the Earth drops out of rotation and the sun dies out. Do you understand?”

Ace didn’t say anything but gave a small nod into your shoulder confirming he heard all that you said. You two sat in a calm silence until an idea popped into your head which was sure to perk up your boyfriend. You softly shifted him out of your arms and he watched you silently in confusion. You went into the kitchen towards the fridge that was miraculously undamaged from the events of the day. From it, you pulled a small package that contained two chocolate snack cakes with white icing in the middle. You then went back to sit in front of Ace. You gestured for him to splay out his legs so you could sit on his lap and he did, albeit a bit warily. You unwrapped one of the cakes and placed a match in it. Then you took the lighter from Ace’s limp hand and lit it.

“Thank you for making this the best birthday ever,” you said holding the small cake between the two of you before blowing it out.

Ace studied you carefully as you took the match out and broke the cake in half exposing the icing. You took some and smeared it on your boyfriend’s lips, covering the various little burn marks on them, before kissing him. It was sweet and wet, reminiscent of the first kiss you two shared in the rain. You pulled back and though the smile you received was small, it was the most ethereal thing you have ever witnessed. You repeated this process with every single freckle on his face, including eyes and nose, before moving on to his neck. By the time you finished you completely rid the cake of its icing. The result was an Ace softly chuckling as your little kisses tickled him. He took you into his arms and laid back so your head rested on his chest. One hand was on your back while the other slowly massaged your scalp. You laid still in his arms until his arms went lax and his breath evened out. The stress of the day finally drained him of his energy.

Was this truly your best birthday? Well, that’s subjective but it does have the top spot as of now. Who’s to say what will happen in the future. What you do know is that you aren’t a liar and you loved the man beneath you more than life itself. Every birthday was the best if it was spent with him no matter what happened that day. With that, you kissed his chest, over his heart, and settled down to sleep on top of the man of your dreams.