A/N: Usually, I would have broken up this chapter as it got long, but I felt that there was no good point to put in said break to get two individual chapters. Maybe I should just make a mini chapter the next time this happens? If you have a preference, feel free to let me know.

Finé opens the door to the dining hall. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a large cloth covering the table but she does not pay much attention to it as she steps in.

Then party poppers go off from the sides. Finé yelps as she puts her arms up instinctively, but the streamers just glide down harmlessly onto her.

"Happy birthday, Princess!" a chorus erupts from the members of the Royal Service that pop in.

"W-Wah?" Finé brushes the streamers on her away so that she can see around the room properly. In addition to the many members of the Royal Service around her, the ceiling is filled with decorations as well.

The cloth is pulled off the table to reveal a feast. Then Finé's father rolls up to her with a big gift box. "Happy birthday, Finé," he smiles as he hands the box to her.

"T-Thank you, all of you," Finé blinks rapidly as she looks at everybody. Then she turns to the box. "A-Am I supposed to open this now?" she falters as her hands reach out.

"Yes," her father nods, "This is just one of many, but you should see this first."

"O-Okay…" Finé breathes out as she lifts the lid. Then she squawks as she sees the countless number of birthday cards stacked inside. With a maid taking the lid away for her, Finé picks up a card and reads through it. Then she gets to the name and signature, but she does not recognise it.

"This is from…"

"A citizen of Eylstadt," her father clarifies, "As are many more. Your gifts and wishes from us and the ministers are in another room, but we wanted you to see this first. The citizens sent these in of their own volition. If there was any doubt in your ability, you've cleared them all with what you did in Texas. You're not only capable, but you've shown that you will prioritise the wellbeing of the people. You're a leader that people can be happy for, one that they are willing to celebrate with."

Finé's vision blurs as she feels wetness on her cheeks. "Eh…?" she drops the card back in to free her hand to feel her face. Another maid takes the box away from her, freeing her other hand. Finé rubs her face but her vision does not clear up and she starts snivelling. "S-Sorry, I…"

Finé's father brings her into an embrace. "There there," he soothes, "You did it, Finé. Happy birthday."

"…It's not just that…" Finé mutters as she buries her head into her father's shoulder. 'I'd forgotten how it feels to celebrate my birthday… For years I was locked up… away from everybody… unable to do anything… And now I'm surrounded by friends and family that would go so far to celebrate for me…' Sucking in a deep breath, Finé utters the only words she can, "…Thank you, thank you all so much…"

"There," Izetta huffs as she scrapes off the last strip of microbots on the pipe. "That's the last of them here, right?" she turns to the woman in the thick coat as the glow and knife in her hands dissipate.

"Yes, let me inform the people up there…" the woman confirms on her tablet and takes out her phone.

After a short conversation, the pipes whirl to life and the lights in the tunnel turn on. The soldier looks around with wide eyes, amazed that everything is working again. Then it all shuts down.

"What happened?" Izetta asks as she looks around. "Is there another problem?"

"No, you did it," the woman pockets her phone. "Energy output is back to normal. But if we leave it on, the microbots at the nearby plants will detect the enormous heat here and split off, disabling this plant again. We'll have to clear those plants first before we can leave this one running."

'Right…,' Izetta sighs in her head. "Okay, where to next?"

"Huh?" the woman blinks repeatedly. "Don't you need to rest first? You just did what would have taken an entire platoon at least a day to do."

"It's only been an hour or so. I'm not tired," Izetta dismisses as she steps forward. "And these people are suffering due to the cold, so I should do as much I can now."

"O-Okay, let's get back to the surface then. The coordinates of our next destination will be sent to your pod so you just have to turn on the autopilot."

"Wait," Izetta stops in place. "Our destination?"

"Yes, I'm coming with you in another pod. I'll be the best person to give you advice regarding the microbots, if you need any."

"Oh…" Izetta thinks aloud as they begin walking back. "Then if you need a break, maybe…"

"No," the woman shakes her head vehemently. "I don't, so we can continue as long as you can."

The group remains silent as they return to the surface. Then the two of them go into their pods and speed off.

Izetta looks at the estimated time remaining. Deciding that it would be long enough, she presses another button and the windows turn black and opaque from the outside. "Private mode engaged," a mechanical voice intones.

With the glass now being only transparent from the inside, Izetta transforms back into her normal clothes. She reaches into a locked compartment to retrieve a food bar and unwraps it. Taking a bite, she takes out her phone with her other hand. 'Of all the days, why did this have to happen today…' she laments as she looks at the screen. Seeing a message from Finé, Izetta almost drops both items in her hands. Fumbling with one hand, she manages to unlock the phone and hastily opens the message.

"Don't worry about my birthday," the message from Finé reads, "We can celebrate it at any time, on any other day, as long as we are together. Just take care of yourself. I will always love you."

"Finé…" Izetta feels her throat dry up. Placing the items on her lap, she takes out her bottle and takes a big gulp. Letting out a refreshed gasp, she takes another bite of the food bar. Then she puts the bottle down to pick up the phone to type her reply. "I don't know how long this will take. Don't wait up for me. I'll do things properly, but I will celebrate with you once I can, I promise." With trembling fingers, she manages to finish, "I will always love you too."

"Bianca," Finé calls out as Bianca enters the study.

"Yes Princess, how may I help?"

"Well…" Finé drums her fingers on her phone. "I just got this text from Izetta… So I was wondering… if you could…"

"Tell you what the White Agent is doing?" Bianca completes.

Finé jumps in her seat. "Y-Yes, but how did you know?"

"Well," Bianca strides over to take a seat, "Normally you wouldn't summon me directly as I can't help with politics. So I guessed that it was either related to security or a personal matter. The moment you talked about Lady Izetta, I knew that you were concerned with what she's up to as the White Agent."

"Wow, okay," Finé swallows. "So… are you able to find out for me? Or would that be abusing your power?"

"I already know," Bianca shakes her head. "Since the Royal Service and the Secret Service are connected, we are able to see the outstanding issues to provide any aid if we can. When I heard that Lady Izetta was sent out early this morning, I took a look at the most severe issue and sure enough, that was where she was assigned. But before I tell you about it, I have to ask you not to blame yourself for anything. Please promise me that you won't beat yourself up over it."

"Oh god…" Finé mutters. Then she exhales slowly. "Okay, I promise. Could you tell me now?"

"As I'm sure you know from your follow ups, the power situation in Texas is not getting better, but only worse. They've finally found out why, and it's due to heat eating microbots that went out of control weeks ago. The microbots escaped their lab and attached themselves to the power plants at the outskirts of Texas, draining away all the heat energy which left the plants dysfunctional. As the days went by, the bots spread throughout Texas, leaving just enough at each site to consume all its energy."

"…Then…"

"If the Texan government had investigated sooner, they would have found the mass of microbots festering at the outskirts. They could have contained the problem and alerted the scientists in charge to start deactivating them earlier. Now the bots form thin lines along the pipes, making them barely visible yet widespread throughout, shutting down many plants throughout the country."

Finé puts a hand to her lips as she bites her lower lip. "If I had… from the start…"

"Which is why I asked you not to blame yourself. You did an incredible job of convincing them to investigate within days. But this whole thing happened because of their stubbornness that spanned for weeks in the first place. Yes, if you had managed to convince them to start the day you found out, the situation would be better. But you should not blame yourself for their short sightedness. In fact, you should lift your head high, for you made them take action earlier. Because of you, the situation is not absolutely horrible. Although they have to rely on the White Agent, they should have it under control by today or tomorrow."

Finé closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Then she lifts her head to look at Bianca directly. "Thank you, Bianca. I understand now. You're right, I shouldn't blame myself. I did what I could and although I don't like it, it's Izetta's turn now."

Bianca slightly bows in acknowledgement. "It is a shame Lady Izetta has to be dispatched on your birthday."

"Oh it's not that," Finé shakes her head. "Like I told her, I don't mind when we celebrate, as long as we are together. I just worry for her when she has to carry such a heavy burden."

Izetta exhales deeply before bringing up her knife to the black trace on the pipe. 'How many has it been already? Ten? Fifteen?' With a swipe, the last patch falls off the pipe and Izetta turns off the magic in her hands for nth time. "Okay, I'm done here. Can you ask them to test it?"

"Right away," the woman complies as she takes out her phone.

Everything turns on, then shuts down again.

"Are the next coordinates sent to the pods?" Izetta asks as she strides ahead of the woman, going back the way they came from.

"No," the woman quickly says as she catches up. "This is the last one for you. Your job is done."

"Huh?" Izetta slightly turns her head but keeps walking forward. "What do you mean, for me?"

"W-Well, the numerous platoons of soldiers have been working on clearing the plants by hand as well. With this area of plants now functional, Texas should have enough energy to tide them over until the scientists can shut all of them down from afar. It'll still be rough on Texas for a while, but that's because they can't get reserve electricity from other countries. But the soldiers will maintain the perimeter and make sure that the other microbots don't invade."

Izetta remains quiet for a moment as she processes the information. She does not know that other countries cannot provide electricity to Texas because of the decentralized power grid, but she understands that people would still be suffering. "Wouldn't it be better if I cleared all the plants now though?"

"That would be…" the woman gulps, "A humongous task, even for you. Now, your work here has been nothing short of exceptional, but we only cleared around fifteen of them in a day. Even if you didn't need me, you would have to work for many days straight to clear the whole of Texas. And even if you did do that, we don't know if the microbots are hiding somewhere else. It would be better if we just hold down the fort until the shutdown program is ready so that we can wipe them out on a large scale."

Izetta faces forward. "…I see…"

"If you're worried about people dying, we've done the calculations. Many of us have gone over it as well, so as long as they ration their energy, everybody will be fine."

When Izetta remains silent, the woman blurts, "Besides, we shouldn't rely on you to solve all our problems. You've made a completely dreadful situation become bearable in just a day, and we can't thank you enough for that. I'm sure the Texans will be immensely grateful to you as well, as they have been freezing."

"…Right… I'll check with my superiors up there if there's anything else I should do then."

They arrive back on the surface to see people still focused on their tasks, with nobody really taking note of them. As Izetta walks to her pod and passes by some people, they slightly bow to her but say nothing as they rush to their stations.

After getting in and activating private mode so that the pod is soundproof, Izetta lets out a long breath. Tapping on her helmet, she opens the communication channel to Command. After confirming their identities, she double checks, "Is there really nothing more I should do here?"

"Yes, the situation is manageable now thanks to you. We needed to get Texas some power for tonight and the power plants you liberated can do just that. Sorry we had to call you in, but we needed a sure-fire way to relieve some of the Texans' suffering. You can leave the rest to us and have a well-deserved break."

"…You aren't being overconsiderate for me, right?"

Command pauses for a second. "No…? We don't have a reason to…?"

'Okay, they don't seem to know about Finé and me yet,' Izetta muses, 'I didn't tell anybody, but Finé has been more open about us so I thought they caught wind of it and were giving me less work so I could go back to celebrate her birthday. Guess not.' Shaking her head, Izetta clarifies, "Sorry, it's just that you finally called me yet I feel like I haven't resolved the issue."

"…Understandable. But calling you up is different from when you volunteer to come. We know that everybody has a life outside of this so when we make emergency dispatches, we try to reduce the amount of work for the called agents so they can get back to their lives faster."

"Wait… then you did…?"

"We didn't give you any preferential treatment. But if you did have a personal emergency, we would try to reduce your work more. Even if you were on a volunteer mission, we can reroute resources to cover for you in cases of emergencies, as we would for any other agent. All of you are human, not machines. You can rest easy knowing that you carried out your job to perfection, that nobody will die and it's because of you."

Izetta holds her head with her hand as her shoulders deflate. "I understand. Thank you for talking to me again."

"Thank you for your service. Have a nice long break, you've earned it. Command out."

Izetta signs off as well. Then she reaches into the locked compartment to get a towel and retracts the visor to wipe her face that is damp with sweat. But instead of putting in coordinates to go back to Eylstadt, she finishes wiping, puts the visor back on, turns off private mode and steps out of the pod.

Looking around the area, she sees no sight of the woman in the thick coat. Then she spots the other pod that she came in all by itself and heads towards it. Although she was not expecting to find her there, the woman is slumped against it with her head low.

"Hey…" Izetta calls out.

"Huh?!" the woman jumps and looks up at Izetta. Scrambling to her feet, she bursts out, "Yes Sir! What do you need, Sir?"

"It's nothing," Izetta calmly says while raising her hands in a pacifying manner. "I just wanted to say goodbye. Although it was purely professional, we did spend a day together so I didn't want to just leave without a word."

"R-Right," the woman clears her throat. "You're right. It was a pleasure, Sir," she nods as she extends her hand.

They shake hands curtly.

"So you're going home as well?" Izetta asks as their hands retract. "You look tired."

"O-Oh, no…" the woman looks down. "…I should still be here… In case people want me to look at something…"

Izetta looks around without turning her head. There is still nobody else nearby. "…I don't think you need to be so on edge… Nobody's looking for you and you were by yourself until I came along. You must be exhausted after following me for the whole day."

"No, you don't understand…" the woman utters as she takes a step back and leans on the pod. "It's nothing you should be concerned about though. I don't want to waste any more of your time. You should just go back to your life."

Izetta taps her helmet, displaying the time for her briefly. 'There's barely any time left today… But I can't just leave her like this… She's clearly in a lot of distress, so how can I just leave her alone? Finé would understand, right…?'

Izetta walks over to rest on the pod as well. "I have time. I may not understand your problem, but I can at least hear you out."

The woman looks at the White Agent at the corner of her eye. "…These people hate me…" she sniffs as she slumps down onto the ground, "Everybody does, and you will as well once I explain."

Izetta slowly lowers herself to sit on the ground as well. "Why?" she asks in curiosity, without any judgement.

"…I was the creator of the microbots," the woman reveals as she hugs her knees and buries her head. "I just wanted to share my invention that would prevent machines from overheating. But my stupid, stupid bots went out of control and caused this whole situation…"

Izetta remains silent and unmoving. "…I see."

"Heh, I knew it," the woman snickers. "You had to hold yourself back there. I thought I could make something ground-breaking, something that everybody would sing praises about. Now I'll be known as the person who brought down a country, almost killing hundreds or thousands, screwing up so badly that the White Agent had to be called in. All those years that I put my heart and soul in, only for it to turn out like this…" With her voice finally breaking down, she sobs, "…That's it. I'm done. I give up."

"I don't hate you," Izetta puts in firmly as she turns to face her. "Everybody stumbles somewhere. You messed up. It happens to all of us. It's a long, dark road to weather, to not know if it will pay off. But hard work never goes to waste. Even if the current results are bad, the next attempts will go better as more experience is accumulated. When you finally make it, you'll realize that all the struggles and setbacks were worth it."

"…I'm sorry," she chokes out as she heaves, trying to get her breathing under control. "…But it's hard to take that from you. You're this super powerful being that has never struggled. Everything you do is a massive success. Can you really talk about how failure feels? Not all of us are just gifted with talent..."

'It should be okay to talk a little about my past, right?' Izetta's fingers clench ever so slightly as she looks at the ground. 'Finé's father did tell me that all the old records were wiped when the project was cancelled. Even the guards that didn't believe me and shot Finé were told the explosion caused me to lose my magic so I was let go. So to the outside, I'm just a girl who lost her parents in a freak incident so I moved to a farm to take my mind off it and recover. Then when Grandma passed away, I told the village that I would be leaving to travel by myself soon.'

The Secret Service had also gone through what comes next. When Finé was rescued, Izetta wanted to see her childhood friend again so she moved back to Eylstadt. Taking in her experiences throughout the years, Izetta would decide to formally train to join the Royal Service which would allow her to keep her confidentiality. 'They also gave me a slightly modified version of my past to use, so between the White Agent's altered past and my omitted past, people wouldn't think that we are one and the same, even if they disregarded the gender…'

"…It took me months to squeeze out a trickle of this power. Then the place I was at was attacked and many people died, including my close friend who got hurt protecting me. I didn't want to, but they told me to flee for my life, along with my mentor. We spent years in hiding, continuing to train and hone my powers, but my mentor didn't make it to the end. I'm here, right now as the White Agent, but it has been a journey for me, and I don't intend to mark this as the end yet."

The woman takes a few deep breaths. "…I'm sorry. I mean it this time." She lifts her head to look at the White Agent, "I was frustrated and took it out on you. I shouldn't have assumed anything about you. Especially not when you're doing so much for us out of your own free will."

"Apology accepted," Izetta nods. "It's easy to forget that I'm part human. I know I did."

"…But you found them, right?" the woman prods with a small smirk, "People that love you, that will remind you?"

"Yeah. They do. All the time," Izetta looks fondly at her hands, although the woman cannot see her expression under the helmet. "Today was supposed to be a special day for them, but when I got called in they just wanted to see me off."

"Oh god…" the woman sharply inhales as she turns away. "I took you away from your loved ones on a special day…"

"You don't have to fret, they sent me a message later. They told me not to worry about the day, that even if I didn't make it back in time, they would always love me." Leaning back, Izetta rests her head on the pod. "I feel so incredibly blessed to be loved by them, that sometimes I need to remind myself that it's actually real."

The woman sneaks a peek at the White Agent, to see his head towards the sky, as if he was counting his lucky stars. "Thank you, Sir, for talking to me," she lifts her head and straightens her back. "You have all this power, yet you're just as human as any of us. You even spent time to sit here and encourage me although you had something else on."

Wiping away the remains of her tears, she affirms, "I'll ask if I can get some rest, so I can properly help afterwards. Then when I've finally made up for my mistakes, I'll continue working on the project. I'll start from scratch if I have to. I'll be sure not to mess up this time, because I don't really want to give up on this dream."

"You don't have to worry too much about screwing up. I'll be there to help out, as will others," Izetta pats the woman on the back. "But I hope the next time I see you, it's when you're announcing your success."

Izetta closes her eyes and rubs them. Then she shakes her head, trying to fend off the fatigue. The quick shower she had in another room helped a little, but now that it is calm, the toll starts to creep up on her. With one last exhale, she rounds the corridor leading to her room with one hand slightly behind her.

The guards see her coming and one of them goes into the room. Soon after, the room lights up and Finé comes running out.

"Izetta!" Finé cries as she spreads her arms, "Are you okay?!"

"Finé-" Izetta breathes out as Finé hugs her tightly. Her stiff muscles relax as she feels the soothing touch of Finé's arms around her, making her once tense form soft again. With her own arms rising to hold Finé, Izetta pacifies her, "I'm okay, Finé. You should go back to sleep, it's late."

"Then so should you," Finé counters, "You've been up for almost a whole day at this point. You must be tired."

Izetta shakes her head on Finé's shoulder. "It's only a day. I was resting yesterday and I've been keeping up with my training. I wouldn't be very inspiring if I got tired this easily."

Finé's eyes go wide, but Izetta does not see them as their heads are still side by side. Taking a breath to control herself, she pats Izetta's back. "Okay, but you should still get some sleep now. Let's go in."

Izetta blushes as she remembers that they are hugging right in front of the guards, although they do not react. After they let go of each other, Izetta manoeuvres the box in her hand back to her back, keeping it out of Finé's sight. But Finé does not pay much attention either, grabbing Izetta by the other hand and pulling her along into the room.

Izetta looks at the clock as they approach the bed. 'O-One minute left, I'd better do it now.' Taking in a breath, she tries to pull back her hand while speaking up, "F-Finé."

"O-Oh," Finé lets go of Izetta's hand and turns to face her. "Sorry… Did I make you uncomfortable?"

Izetta quickly shakes her head and presents the gift box with both hands. "Sorry for making you wait until now, b-but, happy birthday, Finé."

Finé gasps as she looks at the box. "Oh Izetta… you didn't have to…"

"I wanted to, for you. I'm sorry I took so long though, there were so many places, and I had to be delicate so I had to be slow, and then I had to talk-"

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Finé interjects as she holds Izetta's wrists and rubs her thumbs over them. "Remember my message? I'll always love you, no matter what. Even if you didn't have a present, even if you took days to come back, I'll still welcome you back with open arms. Seeing you return safe and sound is the only thing I'll ever ask for."

"Finé…" Izetta shyly smiles as her cheeks tint red. "But really, you don't have to worry so much about me. I'm the White Agent, I won't go down so easily."

Finé blinks once. Then she decides not to pursue the topic as she does not want to bring down the mood. "Yes, you're the best," she smiles, "Now let's sit on the bed while I unwrap your present."

Finé takes the present into her hands and goes over to the bed. Izetta sits shortly after her, slightly swaying once she feels the softness but recovers quickly. Meanwhile, Finé's fingers tremble with excitement as she opens the box.

"These are…" Finé breathes as she looks at the knitted gift.

"Mittens, for when you have to go to another country where it's cold."

"Did you make them yourself?" Finé turns to Izetta.

"T-They're that bad, huh," Izetta looks away as her hands retract.

"No, no!" Finé sets aside the box to grab Izetta's hands. "Sure, they're not as fancy as the branded goods, but I can see the painstaking amount of care you put in to craft them. I love them. Thank you, Izetta."

"W-Well… I didn't do it myself… Lotte taught me how to knit and showed me many examples…"

"It's still amazing that you were able to make such a lovely gift from scratch." With her fingers rubbing Izetta's hands, Finé declares, "I'll be sure to wear it whenever I'm away. It'll feel like you're holding my hands throughout."

"Mmm… That was what I was going for… So you would be less lonely…" Izetta utters with a blush, the last part almost inaudible.

Finé smiles as she gives Izetta's hands one more stroke. Then she turns back to the box, picking it up and setting it on the bedside table. Izetta's eyes follow Finé as she comes back, then her body slightly rears back as Finé does not sit on the bed but leans towards Izetta.

"And now, for my girlfriend who's always been working so hard," Finé grins.

Finé pushes Izetta down onto the bed. Izetta barely lets out a sound before Finé locks lips with her and puts her tongue in. While getting ravaged and having her head pressed down from the kisses, Izetta feels that Finé is more aggressive than before. But after her long day, getting pushed down onto the bed and making out with Finé is almost enough to make Izetta pass out from the bliss. Trying to keep up with Finé's tongue, Izetta's arms stretch out to just barely cling onto Finé, all the while feeling the caress of Finé's hands through her hair and back.

Finé finally breaks the kiss to see Izetta heaving and panting, though she is also out of breath.

"Finé…" Izetta mumbles as her eyes crack open to reveal her unfocused pupils, "I should be the one… giving you things today…"

"You give me more than I could ever hope for every day," Finé hushes as she pecks Izetta's forehead. "Let's go to sleep. I'll get the lights."

Izetta can only nod before she lazily turns over to dawdle to her pillow. The lights go off and Finé climbs in to snuggle with Izetta. She does not say a word though, as Izetta had already nodded off the moment Finé wrapped her arms around her.

Finé takes in Izetta's serene sleeping face as the sunlight bleeds in from under the curtains. "Izetta," she whispers, but no response comes back. Craning her head to look at the clock, Finé mentally sighs as she slowly rests back on the pillow. 'It's already been over nine hours since we went to sleep, yet you're still sound asleep. Usually you would be wide awake before I am. I knew you were exhausted, so why did you try to deny it…?'

Some more time passes before Izetta's eyes flutter open.

"Good morning, Izetta," Finé greets with a smile.

"Emm… Good morning, Finé…" Izetta mumbles. Then her eyes slightly widen and she pushes herself up to look at the clock. "Oh… uh…" Izetta falters, "It's late already… I must be having an off day…"

'No, you're worn out from being woken in the middle of the night and then working for an entire day. The mission couldn't have been easy either, for they actually had to call you in.' Finé shakes her head to regain her smile. "You can still sleep more if you want, nobody will disturb you."

"Er…" Izetta looks at Finé from the corner of her eye. "What about you? I thought you'd go back to work already."

"I told my father I'd be back in the afternoon, so if you returned even later my alarm wouldn't wake you."

"Oh…" Izetta turns away. Then she stretches, "I'm okay now, so you don't have to worry about me. I shouldn't have any problems after working for only one day."

'Oh no,' Finé frets in her mind, 'She still doesn't want me to worry about her although she was clearly spent? Because she thinks she hasn't worked hard enough yet? Should I push the issue? But we've talked about it before already. If I keep pressing her although she says that she's okay, wouldn't I be forcing her to do what I want then? Then…'

Disguising a sigh as a chuckle, Finé gets off the bed. "If you don't want to go back to sleep, then how about we have the celebration now?"

"Sure," Izetta turns to see Finé going to the phone. "How do you want to do it?" she asks as gets up and starts walking over.

"You can stay on the bed, I'm just asking the maids to bring us some cake from yesterday."

The word makes Izetta's mouth water. All she had yesterday were food bars. While they did give her enough energy and nutrients, their taste had much to be desired, especially when compared to the desserts made by the Royal Chefs. And while she absolutely relishes the sensation of Finé's tongue swirling in her mouth, real food just hits a different spot. With a soft hum, Izetta sits back down on the bed.

When Finé receives the two plates and walks back, Izetta finds herself staring at how rich and creamy the cake is. Then her nose picks up the tantalizing smell. Quickly wiping her mouth to make sure she is not drooling, Izetta excitedly takes the plate from Finé, feeling its cool touch from being refrigerated well. Her hand goes for the fork, but then she remembers the occasion.

"H-Happy birthday, Finé," Izetta smiles as she lowers the plate to look at Finé properly.

"Thank you," Finé leans in to give Izetta a quick kiss. Sitting on the bed as well, Finé lifts her plate. "Let's eat then."

Izetta sharply nods and picks up her plate. She tries to control her hand from going into it too fast, but when she sees Finé taking a bite already, it's enough to convince her to just go for it. With the delectable taste spreading through her parched tastebuds like a refreshing spring, Izetta wolfs the rest of it down.

Izetta's eyes fall slightly at the now empty plate. Then she hears a croon from Finé and turns to her, only to see Finé's fork presenting a mouthful of cake to her. "F-Finé," Izetta tries, "You don't need to. That's yours."

"I already had a bunch yesterday. And you looked so happy eating it, so I want you to have it." Gently waving the fork, Finé offers, "So? Aah?"

Izetta blushes, but she closes her eyes and leans forward. Finé puts the morsel in and when Izetta bites down, Finé slides the fork out. Although it tastes even sweeter, Izetta chews it slowly, savouring every last bit before swallowing. When she opens her eyes, Finé has another mouthful ready and waiting. Smiling widely, Izetta happily eats it as well.

'There's the face I want to see,' Finé grins as she prepares the next helping. 'She may still be hard on herself at times, but I'll just have to get her to lighten up by spoiling her even more.'

A/N: The incident in Texas was inspired by the '2021 Texas power crisis' that happened in real life.