"Is there a mutant out there who can bake great chocolate cakes because it'd make this a hell of a lot easier," Clarice grumbled to herself, earning a curious whine from Zingo who lay curled at her feet. "Yeah real helpful right now, buddy."
It was John's birthday today and she wanted to do something special for him. She'd have loved to take him to a movie or a nice steakhouse, but that was clearly out of the question when Sentinel Services and the Purifiers were still hunting mutants out there. Besides, in the past couple of weeks, everyone in the Mutant Underground had been working hard to rebuild their headquarters at the Mutant Way Station. John had his plate full leading those efforts, and Marcos hadn't been quite himself since Lorna left. Caitlin, kind as she was, had suggested a surprise birthday party for John in order to lift everyone's spirits.
So here was Clarice, stuck with cake duty while John was off conducting combat training classes. "Not gonna lift anyone's spirits with this for sure," Clarice muttered as she tasted the mixture and grimaced. This clearly wasn't going anywhere. …But wait. She could. John had mentioned in passing once that he'd kill - figuratively - for a slice of J. Kirby's chocolate cake, and she knew exactly where that bakery was in town. She could portal herself in there and be back in seconds. No biggie. She'd be taking a risk venturing out there on her own, but it sure as hell would be worth it just to see the look on John's face later. No one deserved chocolate cake more than him.
Driven by the thought of seeing John happy, Clarice began picturing J. Kirby's in her mind and concentrated on pulling a portal open to the bakery. Zingo barked beside her and ran in circles excitedly.
"Stay, Zingo! We're not going for a walk. I'll be right back." Clarice ruffled the dog's furry head before disappearing into the portal she'd just created.
Stepping into J. Kirby's empty kitchen, the smell of confectioneries made Clarice's mouth water. It had been a long while since she - or anyone back at the Mutant Underground - had anything remotely close to sweet treats just for the fun of it. Life of a mutant on the run, she thought wryly, as she quickly opened the fridge and found what she was looking for. Working fast before her luck ran out, she packed up the cake and shoved a few candles into the back pocket of her jeans.
When J. Kirby's resident baker returned from his toilet break, he found dollar bills on the counter and a 'thank you' hastily scrawled on one of them.
"Alright kids, that's all for today. You guys did great." John looked around proudly at the dozen young mutants in front of him. Each of them looked just about ready to keel backwards. He had pushed them harder than usual today because he wanted - no, needed - each of them to be prepared. Once again, he thought of how the X-Men had chosen him to lead these mutants, and he felt the weight of that responsibility rest heavily on his shoulders. Some days, all he really wanted to do was leave this life behind, take Clarice with him and go somewhere else. Anywhere else.
Speaking of Clarice, where was she anyway? He realised he hadn't seen her all morning and already missed her. Damn it Proudstar, you've got it bad, John smiled to himself as he began heightening his senses to find the woman who had become his reason to stay.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
John spun around to find Clarice and the rest of the Mutant Underground with big smiles on their faces, a rare sight to behold in itself. Bigger than their smiles was the chocolate cake in Clarice's hands. As she set it down on a table nearby, she leant over to kiss his cheek before whispering, "Yes birthday boy, it's from J. Kirby's".
"….it's my birthday?" John asked, genuinely confused.
"Looks like T-Bird remembers everything, but not his own birthday," Marcos laughed.
"We thought we could celebrate something for once," Caitlin chimed in. Reed and Lauren were by her side holding up a handwritten banner which said 'IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!'.
"Hey Marcos, a little help here please?" Clarice gestured to the candles she had stuck on the cake. Marcos passed his glowing index finger above them, lighting each one up.
For the next hour or so, the ongoing war they were fighting so hard in was forgotten as the Mutant Underground celebrated one of their own.
"That was fun. And this cake is delicious," Clarice hummed approvingly as she polished off her second slice with gusto. John's birthday surprise had gone well, and the two of them had been charged with ensuring that there were no leftovers.
"I've been meaning to ask you this. How did you manage to get cake from J. Kirby's?" John asked, cocking his head curiously.
Clarice gulped. He wasn't going to be pleased to hear this. "Um…I might have portalled out to get it."
"You what?" John put his fork and plate down. "Clarice, you know how dangerous that is, right? How that could have gone?"
"I know, I know. But it's your birthday and I wanted you to at least have cake. I tried baking one, but it turns out I can make portals, but I definitely can't make a cake."
Despite his alarm, John smirked at the mental image of Clarice attempting to bake.
"If it helps, I did leave money for it," Clarice pointed out hopefully, as she looked up at him with those luminous green eyes. His heart went to pieces, and he couldn't help but to pull her closer and kiss her forehead softly.
"Thank you for all of this," John said quietly. "It's not much, but it's perfect and it means a lot to me." He paused to take a quick breath, feeling oddly nervous. "You mean a lot to me."
For a brief few seconds, Clarice didn't do much else but stare at him with the sweetest smile on her face. "If I'd known you were going to say that, I'd have portalled out for that cake much earlier," she teased.
"You mean a lot to me too. Now stop talking and come here," she said, before pulling him closer for one of the sweetest kisses either of them had ever known.