This piece is dedicated to my dear friend SilverHuntresses, who I've been messaging since 2014. I went down memory lane and it turns out that the first time I messaged her to collab was actually June 4th, her birthday, 2015, so this fic an extra special celebration of both our friendship and the first time we became collaborators. I hope you enjoy!


Rachel didn't have any big plans for her birthday, but that didn't stop her boyfriend from going overboard. Octavian always went overboard, he took any opportunity to celebrate and then went all the way. He went all the way for Valentine's Day, Christmas, Halloween, their anniversary, and of course, her birthday.

Rachel decided to ask him about it, trying to figure out why he got so excited whenever there was a special occasion. He'd thought about it for a minute and finally came up with an explanation.

"Back at Camp Jupiter, I didn't really have anyone to celebrate with. I spent my birthday and holidays alone. Now that I have someone I don't want to miss a memory."

Rachel smiled and leaned over and kissed him, "Then we won't miss any memories. But please don't go completely overboard for me, okay?"

"I'll try to be a little bit chill," Octavian promised, "I'm going to make you a really nice cake, though."

"I can't wait," Rachel said with a laugh.

"Is there anything in particular that you want to do for your birthday?" Octavian asked.

"Oh, yeah actually! I saw an ad for a couples' painting class tomorrow, can we go?" Rachel knew that Octavian wasn't the biggest fan of painting, though he loved her art.

"Of course! It's your big day, we'll do whatever you want, babe. We'll do presents at breakfast and then after work, we'll do the painting class and dinner and cake. Sound good?"

"Sounds perfect."

"How's that for not going overboard?'

"Impressive show of restraint, Ian. You know I'm going to love whatever you come up with because I love you." Rachel leaned over and kissed him again and he beamed.

"I love you too, Rach. And I am so excited for your birthday."

"I'm pretty sure you're more excited about it than I am."

"I just want to make some more memories."

Though Octavian had promised not to go overboard, Rachel was a little nervous about presents the next morning. She didn't want anything too extravagant, so she was relieved when Octavian only had two packages when he brought her breakfast in bed. One was small, jewelry probably, and the other was in a flat, immaculately wrapped rectangle box. Breakfast was blueberry pancakes with whipped cream and candles.

"Happy birthday my love! We can eat and then do presents or we can do presents and then eat."

"Let's eat first," Rachel suggested, letting her curiosity linger while her hunger took precedent.

"Alright," Octavian agreed, digging in.

After a few minutes of eating, Rachel was ready to open her gifts.

"What should I open first?"

"Either one, they go together."

Intrigued, Rachel reached for the small box and unwrapped it, revealing a small jewelry box just like Rachel had thought. Inside was a pair of earrings, one resembling a paintbrush and the other resembling a palette.

"Oh! These are adorable, Ian! I love them. I'll put them on before we go to the painting class tonight."

"I'm glad you like it. Now open up your other gift."

"Okay, Mr. Impatient," Rachel laughed, ripping off the paper on what was revealed to be a very nice paint set.

"Ian, this must have cost a fortune," Rachel protested.

"You're worth it, darling. Don't worry about the cost, I got a bonus at work and I wanted to spend it on my favorite person."

"Aww, I love you so much. I'm definitely going to return the favor for your birthday."

Octavian laughed, "It's not a competition, Rach."

"That's what you think," Rachel laughed as well. With breakfast and presents finished, they both had to get ready for work. But Rachel knew the birthday fun was far from over. She might get one or two cards from her coworkers but what she was really looking forward to was art class and cake with her partner.

Octavian took a half-day at work in secret just to make and decorate the cake. He was so proud of it, though it was just a boxed cake with gobs of icing. He wanted to make a rainbow on the cake, to make it look a little bit like one of her paintings. And he wanted to write out "Happy Birthday Rachel" in fancy icing cursive, but that was easier said than done.

When Rachel came home to see his artwork she was delighted. Octavian might not have been as good of an artist as her but his icing job was so charming that she wanted to melt.

"Want to do dessert first, darling? We can get a proper dinner after the class."

"That sounds great, Ian. And you did an amazing job on the cake, I almost don't want to cut into it, it's too pretty!"

"Take a picture, babe, because I worked hard on this and I want to eat it."

"Alright, take a picture of me with the cake and then we'll dig in."

Art class rapidly followed dessert, with Octavian a little tentative at first before really getting into it. Since it was a romantic couple's class they were given the chance to draw each other, which quickly became a challenge to outdo each other with silly caricatures.

After the class, with their pieces in tow, they stopped for a simple dinner at a pizza place they both liked.

"So… Did I do a good job?" Octavian asked eagerly.

"You did an amazing job."

"And I didn't go overboard?"

"Nope. But you still made this the best birthday I've ever had. One that I think we're both going to remember for a long, long time."