tinyf1re | (no subject)

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[it's birthday time! Axel is 19 years old today, and while that's not considered a milestone age much of anywhere, it's still a birthday and he's still celebrating it. the first part of the day was probably spent with Kai and his older self, but now it's approaching sunset and he's taking a short break to text lil' Kairi. he's been busy loading up the wagon/cart that attaches to Kai's bike, with firewood, food, a sleeping bag, and an extremely compressed little pop-up tent that he'll never get to collapse again and will probably just leave behind tomorrow.

"So how about that Agrabah campout we talked about? 2nite?"

he'll go regardless, and if Kairi's not up for it tonight they'll go some other time, but.]

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It is!

[ So confident. Once she has the hats adjusted she leans back to observe, and, satisfied, claps her hands together. ]

Perfect. One more thing, then you can open your eyes.

[ That's a boost of nerves, but she's gotta lean forward and press a gentle kiss on one side of his mouth. It's not that she wants to overwhelm him or make him cry, she just wants him to feel loved! ]

[!!! wait, don't go yet, he's gonna turn his head just enough before she pulls away and give her a chaste little smooch right on her mouth, because he appreciates her! like nothing ever happened: ]

I want a picture of myself now. They're like ears, right?

[ Oh no, she can't fluster him so easily anymore! This is tragic when she's still the one blushing!!! She's happy he's so happy, though, and crashes back on her butt to fold her legs under her and pull out her phone. ]

A little more than you think. I'll take a video and pictures. You can open your eyes now.

[oh she can still fluster him, just not with that. he might get flustered right now, depending on what's in all these presents. what's in the box he's currently holding?]

I can use them for intimidation if anything shows up to bother us.

It might work.

[ The best presents, first of all. Food! Mostly. She snapped a photo but she is recording now.Inside the box in his lap is a classic, round, two-tier birthday cake. It's a vanilla confetti, with rainbow puffs of frosting all over it and soft, circular, shimmery sprinkles in a circle on top. The inside of the cake has pure white vanilla frosting, and a filler layer of whatever kind of jam Axel might like best. On top of the cake and around the sprinkles is a circle of candles, unlit, because he's the fire person here, and inside the cake in small frosting letters of white (with gold edible dust) it says Happy Birthday.

She's wearing a party hat with a little puff on the end, in sparkly purple, and his are red, with gold glittery tips. Festive! The envelope in his lap is addressed to him, and the present is small, wrapped in shiny, cloud-print wrapping paper with a curly yellow bow. ]

[does this make him a Gryffindor? also hopefully her adoptive family won't show up out of the ether for someone saying a bad word around her, because—]

Holy shit, Kairi! This looks so awesome, it must've taken a long time to decorate.

[it's so awesome he almost doesn't want to eat it ever. he admires it a little more, deeply impressed by her cake decorating skillz, and then gently sets it aside like he might break it, away from the fire so all the icing doesn't melt or anything. what's in the envelope? that's what he's going for next.]

[ Please, he was already Gryffindor. Kairi looks incredibly pleased by his reaction. This is what she was going for, after all. ]

I made cookies for the older yous, so I just decorated it while they were in the oven. It wasn't hard, just so tedious. We might have to put it in the cooler if you don't eat it all.

[ She was happy to do it, though. The card is one of those pop-up kind, simply designed with a small message about omg it's your birthday hope it's a blast, signed by Kairi with smaller signatures on the opposite page from Ienzo and his Kairi, with good wishes. ]

[he's a dipshit who would jump in front of a train for most strangers, so yeah, seems about right. he's only slightly wibbly over the card because he appreciates having people who care about him, and he also sets the card VERY far away from the fire, popped up so he can admire it.]

I almost don't want to eat it, but that's almost. I think we'll manage to demolish it, between the two of us.

[he gets his own phone out to take a photo of the cake in its magnificence before anything happens to it, and then reaches for the remaining box.]

You better eat it after I spent so much time on it!

[ She's laughing, though, because she knows there's no way Axel will actually not eat the cake, with or without her help. Kairi scoots a little to the side, and rests her face in her palm, arm balanced against her knees. Inside the second box is his second cake!

This one's made of meat. Two layers of cooked and sliced steak, mostly, but there's also grilled chicken, and roasted (not mashed) potatoes, and probably vegetables for garnish, with bacon sprinkles. ]

I always wanted to make one of these.

[ohhhHHHHHHHH. this is what's happening in Axel's brain right now, except the chill guy doesn't exist, it's just the guys freaking out. he's speechless for a solid thirty seconds, and then recovers enough to set the box aside, scoot over to her, and wrap his arms around her in a big hug.]

You're the best.

[he definitely didn't get closer so she wouldn't immediately see that this has actually gotten him rather emotional. it's just that he's only a little over ten years out from when everything was godawful and food had recently become rather hard to come by in the amounts he needed, and that's not far enough out for him to have really put it aside like his two older selves have. let's not even talk about how birthdays back home were mostly just approval for having not died over the course of another year.]

[ Just when she was starting to get worried she'd broken him! Kairi is actually genuinely surprised by this reaction, and cracks up, appropriately. ]

I should've guessed you'd like this one better than the birthday cake, but tradition's tradition, Axel!

[ So he gets two cakes. So there. She does return the hug though, probably with difficulty if her arms are pinned to her side, but hugs feel good and she's happy he's happy. It makes her feel warm and affectionate. ]

[he wipes his eyes with his t-shirt sleeve when he pulls away; he's not full-on crying, but he definitely got a bit damp, this is. a Lot. his problem is being overwhelmed by 110% happiness that was handed to him by a cute girl who he really really really likes.]

I hope this isn't starting a tradition of two cakes for my birthday. I think the novelty might wear off, and then you'd have to do more every year.

Nah, then I'd have to come up with bigger and better ideas every year. But I might make you another meat cake one day. It was hard!

[ Harder than the regular cake? Probably. At least she has experience with that. A carnivore Kairi is not, so who knows who helped her cook that. She looks a little shy, but most of all very pleased. ]

You really like it?

I love it, thank you.

[Kairi gets a friendly smooch on her cheek! and then he's scooting back towards his original spot near the fire so he can stick some more kindling in around the edges.]

At least we'll have plenty to eat while we're here.

[ She's gonna press both hands to her cheeks, delighted and also relieved. Of course he would like it, but she wanted confirmation. ]

Yeah, I might've gone overboard. Happy birthday anyway.

[he likes it to a degree he can't even properly express, how about that. one of his hats is slightly askew from the hugging, but he hasn't noticed. he's too busy keeping an eye on the fire and also remembering the teeny present he has left, which is just sort of laying in the open.]

And I'm not even through! I'll get that one in a sec, hang on.

[gotta get up and get an actual log out of the wagon to plunk on top of the fire, and then the entire cooler he brought so stuff is within reach for both of them.]

Take your time. That's the last part.

[ It's probably dirty up here because sandstorms and stuff, but she's gonna lay down on her back and look up at the sky. Oop, and gonna take off her galaxy scarf to cushion the back of her skull. It's comfortable and warm, and she'll end up with new freckles after this. ]

[it's dry dirt, at least! the warmth will fade pretty fast once the sun's all the way down, which is why he wanted to go ahead and get the fire going. if Kairi's looking up at the sky (which has lots of stars visible already, even though it's still that weird blue that you get around sunset), she'll hear him puttering around and grousing at the fire, rummaging in the cooler for a bottle of juice, and then finally parking himself near her and picking up that last present.]

Okay! The fire should be good on its own for a little while.

[what's in this present he's unwrapping?]

Good!

[ It's Kairi's present-present! The non-edible present that you can keep, for memories. It's some pretty simple shiny wrapping, and whatever is inside isn't too heavy, and kind of soft. She sits up when she sees him doing that, wrapping her arms around he knees so she can watch. It will turn out to be a dark leather drawstring pouch, with a very colorful sunset embroidered into it. ]

Ohhh wow, it's so pretty! I love it, thank you.

[he'll have to figure out what he can use it for so that he'll see it all the time. did Kairi do the embroidery or was it just a lucky find? (is there anything currently in the pouch?)]

[ She did do the embroidery! She found the pouch, but it's so easy to find anything, a little customization is necessary on gifts, in her opinion. The sunset ranges in color from blue to purple to pink, red, and orange, with a little yellow for the sun itself. It's also empty, freely open for his imagination. The pouch isn't huge, so it's good for toting around in whatever, but he could fit his whole hand in there. ]

I'm glad you like it. I wanted at least one thing not for eating. Happy birthday.

[he holds it up to compare it to the fading sunset visible over the city wall for a moment. let's see, he doesn't have to worry about money, he's got his phone but that's what his pocket is for, or one of those douchebag armbands when he goes running so he can control his music. hmmm.]

I'll have to figure out what I want to keep in it. Hmm, do I want regular cake or meat cake first? Which do you want?

[ Obviously he should just keep snacks in it. Jerky, or bones. ]

I want cake cake! But I can wait, if you wanna try the meat cake first. Or you can have both! It's your birthday.

Nah, I think I'll start with cake cake also.

[time to rummage around in the wagon for the paper plates and entire roll of paper towels that he brought! there's some regular metal silverware here too, because plastic forks are useless. hopefully there's a knife as well, let's see.]

It's tradition.

[ To eat cake before anything else on your birthday evening, obviously. Or just to prioritize cake in general. Kairi stretches her arms way above her head, then leans back, holding onto her ankles so she won't tip over. ]

Did you think about everything? What else did you bring?

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tinyf1re - 2021-07-12 22:48 (UTC) - Expand

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princessofhearts - 2021-07-16 04:47 (UTC) - Expand

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