*Disclaimer: I own nothing of Gainax, Khara, or Apple Corps.*

It had been quite a day for the birthday girl, as Rei walked back into the New Jersey apartment she shared with Mari. Between her classes at the Kubert School and her part-time job over at Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash (where her coworkers surprised her with a bit of in-store festivities, including a visit from MAD alum Al Jaffee), Rei was tuckered out, but mustered enough energy to greet Kablooie as the black cat trotted up to her and welcomed her home. Smiling as she gave her other longtime companion a little scratching behind the ear, she hung her light jacket up on the coat rack and slipped her shoes off before proceeding further into the apartment, taking brief notice of the mail pile, full of a number of international express-shipped birthday greetings from the rest of her friends and family in Japan. When she flicked the light switch on, she noticed that the dimmer was set on a slightly low level...enough to keep the ambiance of the next sight that greeted her, that of Mari, sitting on their small sofa, tuning the guitar she'd taken to playing after they'd started college together, surrounded by a few small candles. A small banner hung above her, saying:

Happy Birthday, Blue!

Rei, astonished at herself for seemingly having not run out of surprise expressions by now, held a hand to her agape mouth at the gesture her girlfriend had made. It was almost as if she'd-no, there wasn't any doubt about it, she'd been planning this all day, and Rei was deeply touched by her effort. Mari, finally noting that Rei had entered, offered her a small, Cheshire Cat-like grin as she beckoned her to join her on the sofa. Rei, a small smile of her own appearing on her face, slowly made her way to the sofa as Mari finished tuning and began playing and singing a song from the musical canon of the western half of her heritage. The song was a twelve-bar blues in the country blues style, but Mari had chosen it mainly because of its title. A title that, in her humble opinion, perfectly matched the color of Rei's hair.

Because you're sweet and lovely, girl, I love you
Because you're sweet and lovely, girl, it's true
I love you more than ever, girl, I do

Rei leaned on the back of the sofa as she took in every word and every note.

I want you in the morning, girl, I love you
I want you at the moment, I feel blue
I'm living every moment, girl, for you

As Mari got into the solo portion, Kablooie trotted towards the two of them and then hopped onto the sofa, where he began bobbing along ever-so-slightly to the song. (Mari quietly got in "Bop, bop cat bop", her words matching Kablooie's movements beat-for-beat.) Her glance returned to Rei as she brought the next lyric out, just barely noticing Rei inching closer to her.

I've loved you from the moment I saw you
You looked at me and that's all you had to do
I feel it now I hope you feel it too

Mari proceeded to wrap it up just as Rei finally got close enough that she was just a breath away from her.

Because you're sweet and lovely, girl, I love you
Because you're sweet and lovely, girl, it's true
I love you more than ever, girl, I do
I'm livin' the blues

It was then that Rei thanked Mari for her birthday gift by catching her with a kiss, just as Mari plucked the final riff.

END.

**Author's Note(s)**

Well, after reading their 'Cerulean Wish', I couldn't let Norsehound have all the fun.

If the story's title didn't clue you in, Mari sings "For You Blue" by The Beatles, from their 1970 album Let It Be; it was, fittingly, written by George Harrison as a love song for his first wife, Pattie Boyd. The whole idea came to me after a little back-and-forth on Sufficient Velocity, where I left a couple of Beatles-themed replies to mark the Rei-centric occasion.