"I'm out here," Adel said, standing on the balcony of the docked Sky Noah on the cold mid-February day. It was sunny out, at least, but hovering just slightly above zero meant the snow in the fields surrounding the giant airship wasn't totally going everywhere yet. They had a day or two where the temperature crept up to a sunny three or so Celsius, which started to at least melt a bit of snow, but the ground was still too cold to make much headway on that. The icicles above on the balcony, however, dripped slowly in the sunlight, as they were in the direct path of it. It was why he liked coming out in the morning; catching the sun on this side was always pleasant.

Henrik, his long-time butler, confidant, and old friend stepped out, wearing his usual suit. Adel had his longcoat on, holding a cup of coffee and just leaning out quietly, watching everything.

"Good morning, sir," he said. As usual, his gray hair was impeccably brushed with his wire-rimmed glasses sitting lightly on his nose. Adel rarely saw him in other clothing save for his impressive array of suits, though occasionally would catch him in a polo shirt on his off-days. "Happy birthday," he said, smiling.

Adel grinned at that. "You remembered."

"Of course, sir. What is this. Twenty-four, now? That, I admit, I sometimes forget, given how quickly the time seems to run."

"Yes," he replied. "I don't feel any different."

"I doubt you will," he said. Henrik found that he was the spitting image of his father when he was young, save for the fact his father wore his hair longer in the back…and was more ruthless even in his younger years. He didn't remember him even growing his own facial hair until he was well past thirty. Henrik was in his late sixties, and his father was forty-eight when he died. He had first joined the family when Rugal had been barely twenty; he hadn't even lost his eye yet. His brother hadn't become estranged yet, and was perhaps fifteen or sixteen…it had been awhile.

But, Henrik would never bring his similar look up with Adelheid. He knew how much it chafed Adel to be compared to him. To be frank, it even chafed Henrik somewhat to hear others do that, since they were so different. While Adel had a level of deadly ruthlessness to him-his enemies found that out rather quickly-his wrath was reserved only for the truly evil and deserving.

He used his nature to protect, even if it meant brutally destroying the wicked.

"Breakfast ready?" the young man asked.

"Of course," he said, shaking his head, clearing away the remnants of his own thoughts. "It's keeping warm. Is Lady Seirah coming today?"

"Yes," he said. "She called this morning. She should be on her way soon."

"Excellent. We brought enough for the two of you." Which of course meant enough food for four people, given how much Adelheid ate.

Stretching, the young man-who stood a couple of inches taller than Henrik, and probably about twice as wide-moved inside, slid off his longcoat and tossed it onto the bed. The old man chuckled, shaking his head, knowing that Adel was not as neat and proper as his sister; his slightly cluttered desk and the occasional bit of clothing thrown around showed that.

Sitting at the table, he decided to begin, knowing Whip would catch up to him.

"Enjoy, sir. Call if you need anything."

"Thanks, Henrik. As always."

Adel's old friend bowed, stepping out and shutting the door behind him.

Settling down at the table, he removed the lid from the insulated tray after pouring himself more coffee. Sitting in front of him was a massive and thick stack of French toast, covered with a raspberry coulis and more fruit on the side; in addition to this was an enormous stack of pancakes and a container of warm maple syrup and melted butter. These were done in the fluffier style, rather than like the thinner crepes. Over on another tray were several eggs cooked how he liked them-with this sort of sweet meal, he liked them fried, sunny-side up, with aromatic salt. With a more savory type of meal, he liked creamy scramble, the more European style that one would put on heavy, toasted bread.

He did have some savory accompanying food, however; several sausages, which he put onto his plate to let them also get drizzled with the maple syrup. This was something he learned to do during many of his South Town visits, when he would wander off on his own, searching out some adventure, and running into one of the diners there. There were also two large ham steaks for some variety.

Finally, under one more cover, were thick Belgian style waffles. The cooks knew Adel ate for three people-no one knew why he had such an appetite, but Henrik always suspected it was a mix of his large build coupled with whatever power strengthened him-and that he'd have his partner over for breakfast, as well.

Musing that he sort of missed those types of all-night diners and how going to one with his current company now would be fun, he started to dig in when the buzzer rang. Swallowing the first rather delectable bite of French toast, he got up to hit the button.

"Yes?"

"Sir? The lady is here."

Adel grinned. "Send her up." He went to sit back down, but not before he set another plate out at the table. He knew they had brought up enough for the pair of them, so he simply got started since he had no idea exactly when she would be there.

Starting to dig back in again, he saw Whip walk in, shutting and locking the door behind her. Hanging up her coat-she wore her wool-lined canvas military-style jacket that hung past her waist, though it was not quite a long coat-she slid her gloves into the pockets and slid off the long-sleeve shirt she had on as well. Under that was her tighter, high-necked sleeveless shirt that she would wear sometimes. Finally walking over to him, she crossed her arms, looking at him, and looking back at the food as he stuffed another exceptionally large forkful of pancakes and egg into his mouth.

"I'm surprised there's any left," she joked, smirking at him.

He swallowed what he had, sipping his coffee and shrugging. "I knew you wouldn't mind me starting early."

At that, she slid over to him to sit onto his lap, one leg on either side as she slid her arms around his neck. They met in a deep kiss almost immediately, her hands running through his thick, soft hair, which he had allowed to grow a little longer in the front. His own hands slid down her toned arms and around her back as they sat there for a few moments, not moving.

Finally breaking, she pressed her forehead to his, her kind brown eyes looking at him happily.

"Happy birthday," she whispered, kissing him again quickly.

Returning it, he grinned, his large hand-slightly rough against her skin, just how she liked it-caressing her. "Thank you."

"How many have we celebrated together?"

"I want to say this is the second? Seems like forever ago."

Whip's own hand-with a lighter and softer touch, but not without their own small, scattered scars, traced down his face. "It does. Not a bad thing, though. We'll have many more of these."

He smiled again at that as she disengaged, him sliding a hand quickly on her rear as she chuckled, sitting in the seat and checking out the offerings. He raised his eyebrows, further piling his plate with the food.

"I think you know what I asked for."

"Oh yeah." She grabbed some of the French toast herself-she loved how the kitchens made the raspberry coulis-and a waffle, though she covered it with some of the melted butter and instead of syrup, used the warm, high-class honey that he of course requested to get brought as well for her. Also grabbing one of the eggs from the warmed platter, they dove in, mostly silent, but she could tell he was hungry.

After they put away half of their respective plates-Adel's filled with substantially more, of course-he washed it down with some of the juice that was brought up and started to think. "What do you want to do?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"Oh yeah," he said, chuckling. "I…was never much of a birthday party guy. I'd just want to drink and eat some cake."

Smirking at that, she raised her finger for a moment. "Hang on," she said. "I almost forgot something." Grabbing another bite and wiping her mouth, she went over to her shoulder bag-made of green military canvas, which she often carried-and grabbed a couple of things from it. "These are from the guys," she said, handing over the goods.

Adel grinned, shoveling the rest of a waffle into his mouth in one bite-it was fairly drenched in maple syrup-and took the bottles as he licked his lips.

"Heidern knows," he said happily, looking at the old whiskey, aged in an oak cask. The other bottle was that of some dark beer, great for eating with dessert-perhaps a large, chocolate cake.

"He said he was sorry he couldn't make it for anything," she said. "He had business that he had to attend to. Same for the other guys. But they all said happy birthday."

"Oh, I don't do much anyway," he said. "I don't do big parties anymore."

"Leona did let loose that Duo Lon was on his way, though," she said, sitting back down and swirling a still-warm sausage in the maple syrup and eating it.

"He's coming?" Adel asked happily.

"Yeah! Leona said he was planning on giving you private time today, and would drop in later in the evening, if you didn't mind. He'll probably stay in her room again."

"I never mind seeing them," he said, starting to polish off his plate a bit faster at the words "private time." Washing it down with some more coffee, he smirked.

Whip, seeing his increased speed, grinned at this, knowing damn well what he was thinking. "It's still morning, you know," she said slyly. "They probably won't be here until the evening."

"And?" he asked, his eyebrows raising.

The two finished off breakfast fairly quickly, and thankfully, Henrik seemed to know to stay away that afternoon.

Whip brushed her wet hair as she wandered around Adel's room in jeans, socks, and a tank top; that afternoon's birthday sex had left the pair of them with a level of rather…nice afterglow, given it was by no means a short session. Or sessions.

Adel-his hair damp himself and only wearing his loose cargo trousers, sat on his bed stretched out with his legs crossed. Gwan had been allowed in, the young panther snoozing at the foot of the bed, taking up more room than ever these days. In just a little more time, he would likely be loaned to one of the trusted sanctuaries to breed, given he was extremely well cared for. They'd probably take on a new cub at some point, leaving the rest with the sanctuaries, as often happened.

Looking at the bottle, Whip smiled, holding it up.

"Saving it?"

"I'll wait until the other two get here," he said.

"Yeah. More fun that way."

Adel grinned. "Plus the kitchens will be done with the cake. Thankfully without candles."

Whip laughed at that. "I never got that."

"Me neither. Give me a quiet day with people I care about. And I probably even love one of them." He smiled at her.

Smiling gently at that, she came over to slide some of the long, damp strands of hair out of his face before kissing his lips lightly. "Definitely."

He returned it before laying back. "We'll have plenty to drink. Rose had gotten me that wine, as well."

"Oh, I know that is going to be good."

"Oh yes. She knows all the best vintages."

The buzzer rang just as Whip was setting the bottle down. Adel hit the button near the bed this time, feeling lazy.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Sir, your friends are here."

"Send them up." He leaned back, waiting for the pair to get upstairs. Gwan yawned, turning over on his back to go back to sleep. Seeing this, Whip walked over to him to scratch his belly.

"It's your dad's birthday, and all you can do is sleep?" she said.

Gwan spared her one look and a rumbling purr before going back out.

Adel stood to unlock the door and clear a few plates off the table before heading back to the bed. He debated getting dressed in more than just his trousers, but figured he didn't have to.

Within a few moments, Duo Lon and Leona made their way through the door, smiling softly at him. They shut it behind them, both of them in their more casual clothing, though Duo Lon's hair was in its usual braid. He just lacked the more elaborate decorations, opting for a simple weight at the bottom. Leona's casual clothing was her usual fatigue trousers and boots; she didn't dress down much more than that.

"Hello," the assassin said softly as he slid off his leather jacket, his favored item when he was casually dressed. Underneath was a sleeveless, tight shirt that showed off his sinewy, tattooed arms. "Happy birthday."

Leona also grinned, removing her bomber jacket and long sleeved shirt, a black tank top underneath it all. Her own tattoo-received about six months ago-looked as if it had been a part of her forever by now.

"Same," she said quietly. She was always still more quiet around the group, though was far more open.

"Thank you guys for coming," Adel said as he sat cross-legged at the head of his huge bed, Whip sitting next to him with her legs stretched out.

"Of course," Duo Lon replied, sliding his large boots off and putting them aside before also sitting on the bed, closer to Gwan as he scratched the panther. Leona followed suit, sitting near her now-partner.

"Did you fly in today?" he asked.

"This morning," the tall man replied, stretching. "Got in early. Just stayed at the hotel most of today. By the way, Shen wishes you a happy birthday, and apologizes for not being able to make it. Sudden business. He promises crabs later."

Adel laughed. "Tell him thanks," he said. "We'll see again soon. He's still welcome to stay."

"Any plans today?" Leona asked.

"Nah," Adel said. "Just wanted food and to hang out. That said...it's not five yet, but want some whiskey that the guys got me?"

"Sure," Duo Lon replied, a little grin on his face.

Adel popped up, getting four tumblers and dropping an ice in each; cracking the bottle, the rich oak hints hit his nostrils like a blessing. Pouring the glasses as the sky was colored with a lovely sunset-the best view was on the other side of the Sky Noah, however-his mind wandered a few minutes before coming back, as it would during this time of year.

Making sure to pour them double, he grabbed all four in his large hands and handed them out before he returned to his spot on the bed.

"Cheers," Whip started, holding her glass up and looking over at the muscular blonde. "Happy birthday, you." She leaned in to kiss him again; while Whip didn't do much in the way of public displays of affection-neither did-around their friends was a different story. "I love you," she added after it broke.

Leona got a warm smile on her face at that, both at the situation-she felt way more at home now than ever-and also remembering back how it was those two hanging around each other that helped open her up.

They all drank off healthy sips of the whiskey; Duo Lon drained half of his at a go, letting it swirl around his mouth for a few moments, at least. "This is excellent," he said.

"Yeah, wow." Adel took another small sip. "It's Heidern. Again, he knows."

Whip shook her head as she leaned against him; he leaned against his padded headboard comfortably with an arm slung around her.

"I'm still working on that bourbon the rest of you got me," Leona said. "He and I have some when he visits. I want to stretch it out."

"I don't blame you. I usually don't pound my good stuff. Unless it's a 70 year old vintage wine."

Whip chuckled at that, remembering that fateful day on the Sky Noah, which seemed to be a thousand years ago.

"Feel any older?" Duo Lon said, in whatever counted as teasing for him. He was almost twenty-two, himself, though both looked and carried himself as someone older; he just felt older, too. Adel had mistaken him for almost thirty, though a youthful thirty.

"I dunno yet," he Adel replied as he swirled the drink in his glass. "Maybe? I feel like I've already been through a lot."

"You have," his friend said to him, gathering his braid around himself as he sat crosslegged. Hesitantly-after seeing how Whip was leaning against Adel-Leona leaned over, placing her head on his lap as she held the drink in front of her. One of the assassin's hands went onto her stomach.

This made Adel smile even wider. His friends finding happiness as well were a rather wonderful present, given all they had done for him.

Taking another drink, he looked out the window. "Snow's been melting," he said. "The field's still covered, but if I had to guess, we'll be seeing the first grass on it in another month or so?"

Whip nodded, still tucked against him as the synthwave music played quietly in the background. "Do we have plans?"

"Tournament at the end of this summer," Adel said. "But that'll only be for about a week. Otherwise, no plans. Wouldn't mind doing something this spring." He chuckled. "I admit, to this day I'm not used to being able to…just do things."

Whip rubbed his large leg. "You mean like…"

"I had to help Rose a lot with family business until she was of age," he said. "Which was basically barely a year before you and I met. She had just turned eighteen around then, and a lot of paperwork and such had to be done by someone who was of age." He took another sip of his drink. "Besides that, it was…well, yeah. Not much time for anything."

Duo Lon smiled sympathetically toward him. "I know the feeling. You start to think…"

"Hmm. Like… 'Now what?'" Whip said.

Leona only nodded silently. The four were all very well bonded by something; the fact they all had to grow up entirely too fast, and things like birthdays were rarely celebrated, if ever. Mostly, they were just surviving, but now, they were actually living.

"I guess we just keep doing what we do," he said, finishing his whiskey after the small, though thoughtful exchange. "I think we're actually living now." He tightened his hand around Whip affectionately.

Duo Lon downed his drink next, closing his eyes and smiling. As someone who had been raised to deal out death from a young age, he never expected to be in a situation as welcoming as this. His friendships with Shen and Ash in the past were always something he held dear, but after Ash's strange turn, and the fact he and Shen didn't see nearly enough as he'd like, this was a sense of normalcy for him.

Leona was the third to down her drink, very much never expecting to ever be as comfortable as she was right now, discussing some life meanings with people. She didn't have much to say; she only slid her hand over to Duo Lon's silently interlocking her fingers with his.

Whip finished her drink last, allowing the taste of the rich, amber liquid to hit her stomach, warming it up. She looked up at Adel and nuzzled him. "We can do anything you want."

At that, the buzzer rang as he snuck a kiss; hitting the button near the bed, he answered.

"Yeah?"

"Sir, I believe I have a cake here."

Adel grinned, jumping quickly out of bed and letting Henrik in. He pushed it inside, nodding to everyone and excused himself, letting his friends have at it. He did, however, remove the cover before he left.

On the plate was a giant cake; German Chocolate, to be exact, one of Adel's favorites. It was of a substantial size, of course. On the cart were four plates and enough silverware, as well as a large, insulated pot of freshly-brewed coffee with all of the accessories.

Looking at his two friends and his lover, he grabbed the knife and shoved it inside. "Here's to whatever trouble we get into this year?" he grinned.

"Sounds good to me," Whip said. "Say…how about that manor this spring?"

Adel was already piling the plates up with monstrous pieces of cake while Duo Lon helped to pour coffee for the four of them, as they settled around the table. He nodded, chuckling. "I'll get it early this time. Sounds like a good way to celebrate the end of winter."

The four lost track of time as they plowed through over half the cake and the pot of coffee. He ordered a second, adding alcohol to the following cups this time, as Adel got to enjoy a couple of phone calls from K' and the rest of that side of his 'family', as well as a slightly drunken Shen. Mahjong followed-Duo Lon schooling them all as usual-though the round of poker that came later was more evenly distributed winner-wise, with Adel having gotten quite good at the game from experience.

He figured that if the rest of his birthdays were anywhere near this nice, he'd be grateful for that alone as he grew older.

A/N: I am aware that like, 65% of my stories, at some point, involve food porn. If you're a regular reader, you know I do a lot of food porn. I'm known for a few things, and food porn is one of them. (The commentary of Adel eating enough for three is a long-running thing in these stories. It's just a funny HC I had with him.)

Adel's age is up in the air in the games, but if you've followed this you'll see that i started him around twenty-two, so this is probably two years after the fact. I run on a slightly loose timeline in this, though I try to give it a lot more structure than the games themselves, lol.

As always, I try to hit up my favs for their birthdays. They tend to land fairly quickly: Whip in October, Leona in January, Adel in February, and Duo Lon is in March.

I mean, it's his birthday fic, but there's nothing saying all four of them can't ruminate on life a little in it.

I hope you all enjoy it, at least!