Months passed but time only seemed to increase the bond between Amber Auclair and Five Hargreaves. Five has been more patient and calmer with Amber as to not trigger her panic attacks when it came down to her powers. He's come to realize that despite what her family claimed, they didn't help Amber master control of her powers. Sure, she could fight and use her fire in a multitude of ways, but their spar showed that emotionally Amber could lose control and had potential for serious damage. He spent some of their spars just coaching Amber with her emotions and coping with her past so that they could prevent any power surges from happening. Thinking back on it, Amber did realize when she was feeling distressed or feeling extremely low or mad internally, her powers did find ways out. That did explain some weird occurrences from her childhood like her pillows being stained with scorched tear streaks or fiery and scorched footprints behind.

Spars also got better for the two as Amber was picking up on moves and combos that would help her in hand to hand combat. She had even won a few spars against Five which made her feel more assured in her fighting abilities even if just slightly more assured. Five didn't hold back with Amber as she was right and needed to be trained much more intensely to ward any threats off. They never sparred to make the other person hurt or bleed because they vowed never to do that to one another. On days they didn't spar, they would often scavenge and loot for materials they needed, which more often than not meant food. Five didn't micromanage Amber anymore but Amber was starting to form better food habits as a whole. Even in an apocalyptic wasteland where food wasn't a luxury, she knew that with Five they would always have a meal.

Five got up first on a day he knew would be important for them both. He looked to Dolores and he couldn't help but smile at her.

"Thank you, Dolores, be sure to wish Amber a happy birthday when she gets up too." Five commented softly.

He and Amber were 16 now which made Five wonder how many more birthdays they would spend in the landscape. Unlike Christmas where he didn't think anything would be special about it, Five was going to be hopeful and make sure that Amber had a good 16th birthday. He knew that for girls 16 was a big deal and he knew that nothing could ever compare to a proper sweet sixteen but he would try nonetheless. He first went to check the food they had to see if there was anything special they could have for the day to celebrate. After going through their copious supply he grinned when he saw that they had some canned salmon, canned potatoes, canned bread, and stale Oreos. They had other good selections for the day like some canned white beans, canned chicken, and some canned cranberry sauce just to name a few. Five thanked himself for saving these away in his hunts so he could treat Amber today.

Five was preparing their breakfast when he heard Amber getting up. She yawned loudly and went to sit beside Five. The fire was out but that was no problem for her as she released a stream of fire from her hand and reignited the campfire.

"You seem chipper this morning." Amber commented.

She looked to Dolores and her eyes widened at what she told her. Amber turned pink in embarrassment since she didn't know that today was her birthday.

"Is it really my birthday?" she asked.

Five chuckled and nodded.

"And mine too."

This made Amber go even pinker but Five just took her hand and stroked it softly. It was okay for her to forget they had the same birthday since they don't talk about that aspect of their past that much. Amber soon smiled and said,

"Happy birthday Five."

"Happy birthday Amber."

Five gave Amber two cans of bread, and two cans of cranberry sauce for her to cook with her powers. Amber enjoyed using her powers to heat up their food since it made her feel she was helping them both in their survival. The food tasted much better cooked than they would be just eating them out of a can. Five especially liked that Amber was able to heat their food to perfection and they had just enough heat without making the food soggy or tough. Their breakfast this morning was toasted canned bread, beef jerky, and cranberry sauce. It was a little fancier than what they normally had but Amber understood why Five picked this out for breakfast today.

"So, what should we do for our birthdays?" Five asked Amber.

Amber giggled at that since he was trying hard to play off this day like a normal birthday even though it was anything but in this wasteland.

"No sparring since we did a lot of that yesterday. By the way, how's your back doing?" Amber asked.

"It's fine like I told you yesterday. You needed to try to flip me so that you can do it when a much bigger threat comes to attack you. Now you have that skill in your arsenal."

Amber scoffed at that statement as she munched on the bread.

"Any person I see can't be nearly as dangerous as you are Five." she sweetly told him.

"Not always true but I like the sentiment and compliment." Five grinned.

Both teens ate their breakfast as they talked about what they would want to do today. They decided to just hang around the town they were in and go 'shopping' of sorts, gathering stuff for the other on this rather calm October day. Five took Amber's hand in his as they roamed the streets in the deserted town. They stopped in a destroyed bookstore to see if there was anything of interest to them. Five noticed some mystery novels and he thought Amber would love these. Amber found Catcher in the Rye, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Treasure Island and thought Five could use books to escape for a small bit. When both teens traded the books to each other, both of them smiled.

"These will surely get my mind going and I love a good story to keep me guessing. Oh, and one looks to have a romance plot too, the fun!" Amber expressed.

"And I see you went for two adventure books and a coming of age story of sorts. Holden is a bit of an asshole though but I can relate in some ways."

Amber giggled and shook his head.

"Yes, you can be an asshole, but you're my lovable asshole." Amber teased.

They brought the books to Amber's cart and continued their walk down the streets. They did come across a wrecked clothing store and stepped in to see if there was anything they could take. As they looked at the clothes Five couldn't help but peek over at Amber while she was looking over some dresses. A smile came to his face when she managed to find an intact red dress, recalling when he first met her. She rarely wore dresses now since she knew that she needed to be dressed for comfort and mobility. She noticed Five looking and she blushed a bit.

"I know it's not practical or even what we need right now but it looks so pretty." Amber told him.

"It's your birthday Amber, you can splurge and take this dress with you. You never know when a dress like that can come in handy."

Amber's smile grew wider as she hugged him. He hugged back and he felt his arms wrapping around her lower back. He felt an urge to perhaps travel a bit lower but he fought that temptation. He cursed to himself since he was having impure thoughts about her. It was hard not to since Amber was simply a stunning girl and the only girl in this world now. Amber pulled away and she stroked his face with his cheek.

"You treat me so kindly."

"And you fill my heart up with warmth." Five retorted.

Amber chuckled and added,

"Your heart and your body."

She winked at him as she looked with Five through the men's clothing. Nothing caught his eye until Amber noticed another nice-looking suit with minimum burn or holes in it. Five took one look at the navy suit and raised an eyebrow.

"Do I look like I can fit into this suit?" he teased.

"Someday you will Five. You still have a few years of puberty left. In time you will be able to fill out the suit and you may want to keep this in case you want to go on dates with a fine young lady." Amber teased back.

The only lady I would and can only ask out is you Five thought. Still that wasn't a horrible thought, in fact it was thought he hoped for as he took the suit from Amber. He glanced at it again and Amber did have a point. He still could grow in height and who knows how his body would change in the years so having this suit would come in handy. A grin slowly formed on his face and he nodded in agreement.

"Thanks Amber."

"Anytime mon tendre."

My sweet he thought and that made him blush. He knew he was developing feelings for Amber, romantic feelings. It was hard not to since Amber had both the looks and the personality that made him swoon. He wasn't going to ruin this day for them both by blurting out how he feels. In fact, he wanted to wait awhile until he built up the confidence to tell her. They both needed each other and if things went south if she didn't feel the same, the rest of their time would be unbearable.

After they spent the remaining day 'shopping' in the town, Amber and Five decided to go back to their temporary home and start making their dinner. As Amber was cooking up their canned salmon, an interesting idea came into her head.

"Would you say that you're a dog person or a cat person Five?" Amber asked.

This was random he thought, but he knew what he would prefer.

"I'm more of a dog person myself and I always found dogs to be wonderful animals. Father never liked children enough to make us happy otherwise I would have gotten a dog. Why do you ask?"

Amber smiled a bit as she finished heating up their canned salmon and started to channel her fire to her hands.

"You know how I would make animals out of fire in the circus?" she continued.

"Yes tigers, bears, lions, a lot of wild and fearsome animals that you would have to avoid or have them parade around the rings of the circus. Wait are you thinking..."

Amber placed down the salmon and asked,

"What dog breeds do you like?"

Five's eyes widened and his mouth dropped.

"Y-You...you can make a dog of fire?" he asked.

Amber giggled and nodded sweetly.

"It should be very simple for me. Now dog breed?"

Five thought for a moment and answered,

"Maybe a terrier, something small but can be protective when they need to be. I also find them cute as well."

Amber nodded as she pictured a cute little terrier in her mind. She swirled the flames onto the ground and shaped the flames into that of a small terrier dog. She kissed the dog on its head and made its way to Five, barking and wagging its tail at him. He stood there astounded as the fire dog barked happily at him and went to cuddle at the fire.

"Amber that was amazing." Five expressed.

"He can't be out forever though. But now that I willed him into being with my fires, I can summon him at will whenever you need a fiery companion. You do need to name him."

Five smiled and watched the dog rest at the fire.

"Pennycrumb, come here boy." Five called.

The dog raised its ears and went to him, barking and smiling at him. Amber decided since it was her birthday, she needed a fiery friend on occasion too. She smiled as she created a cat out of fire and stroked it ever so softly as it purred. Amber could touch flames with ease and never had to worry about burns.

"Tybalt will be a lovely friend for Pennycrumb and for us as well." Amber said smiling.

Five looked at the fire cat and he smiled. Pennycrumb went to the cat and sniffed it. Tybalt sneezed causing Pennycrumb to jump a bit. The cat mewed and he and Pennycrumb went to chase each other around the fire. They watched their animals play as they munched on their dinner. They both ate a little more than usual, but they knew it was because today was just a happy them for them both.

"This might just top my fifth birthday." Amber mused as she finished off her salmon.

Five was going to answer her but instead let out a loud and long belch. Amber chuckled at that as Five's cheeks turned red with embarrassment.

"Excuse me."

"It's fine. Least we aren't having chili or beans since you really have some bad gas with those. I mean man what a stench. Though that belch was very stinky too. P" Amber chuckled.

Five rolled his eyes. Two can play this game he thought.

"Oh really? If I recall sometimes, I have to worry if your gasses become a bit fiery themselves. Remember when we did have those cans of the Texas chili two weeks ago. You had set the blanket on fire during the night with your farts. They are not only loud and stink, but they are fiery too." Five teased and chuckled.

Amber turned red.

"Five! I thought I told you never to bring that up again! I truly felt bad about that!" she squealed.

"Hey you brought up my bad gas so I will bring up yours." Five retorted.

Both teens ended up laughing as they moved on to the roasted can potatoes and Oreos. Amber smiled as Tybalt was cuddling next to Pennycrumb seeing how she made such sweet pets for them both.

"To think I would almost be here a year...time just flew huh?" Amber mentioned.

Five gulped his food and looked to the fire. He always wondered something and he finally asked,

"If you knew what you know now, like if things carried out the same way and you could time jump again but you would be in this...would you still do it?"

Amber took his hand and nodded, which shocked him.

"How can you ask me that if you know I could never want to be without you? If I knew you were in this time alone with no one and I could use my powers to go to you, of course I would. You're the first person who has helped me to really understand my powers. I've told you before, I don't see me time jumping as a regret as soon as I got to know you. So yes, despite knowing my jump would trap me in an apocalypse, I would make the same jump every time for you."

Five smiled at her and stroked her hand.

"Don't we sound like an old married couple." Five joked.

"Yet this is also part of the conversation where we mention my fiery farts and your loud, stinky chili belches." Amber brought up.

"I didn't say we were a mature married couple, did I?" Five chuckled.

Amber chuckled as well and nodded in agreement.

"Give us a few years and we will get there Five, I can bet we will be closer than close can be."

Someday they would both grow up, more so then they had to, and she hoped that maybe Five would grow feelings for her. Amber knew she loved Five just for everything he's done and no man could ever compete with that. His voice was becoming slightly deeper and sometimes even the way he said her name made her swoon. Five being the last guy on this Earth meant she needed to be careful as to not ruin things, but her desires were burning deeper by the day and Five was growing more handsome by the day too.

"What did happen on your fifth birthday? You never told me that story." Five asked.

"Nothing much. It was a travel day which meant I didn't have to perform. I had my favorite foods, was able to read and just relax. Maude even baked me a cake and started giving me fortunes. It was one of the only birthdays where I felt normal and not a circus freak. This birthday is better because I have you."

"I have to agree that this birthday is special because I have you too."

Both teens decided to end their day early since they had a big day of scavenging and moving ahead of them. Five wrapped his arms around Amber both of them drifted off to sleep. Their greatest wish came true with this day, having someone care for them deeply. They were both straddling the line of if they will be more than just really close friends or not. Amber and Five wanted the other but more time needed to pass to see if they felt this way. This was a game both teens needed to play to see if they would be more, the only question was who would make the first move.