Author's Notes - I got this dumb idea based on the idea that Felix would be the worst at wishing for things and Annette would absolutely believe in the sanctity of birthday wishes.
Fun fact, the working title for this story I started yesterday was Wish Upon a Local Tsundere. It means nothing but it was just amusing to me. This prompt uses the word Wish for Day 5.
When people blew out their birthday candles, they were supposed to make a wish and not tell anyone for fear of it not coming true.
It was sacred. It was tradition. It was something that should never be wavered from even as someone grew older and believed less in less in magic.
The only problem was that while Annette still believed in magic and reverence, Felix liked swords and bending the rules he felt made no sense even more than bored students with a paperclip between their thumbs.
And unsurprisingly, he had no such problem in plainly telling her what his wish was when she lightly teased him once the candles were blown. Because it was his birthday today, not hers, and her views had no dominion over his actions. At least, not this time.
"Felix!" she practically yelped from across the dining room table. "You're not supposed to tell me what you wished for. Now it won't come true."
"This involves free will, not whims of fate." he dryly responded. "I assume the possibility is not sealed in stone just yet."
Annette wrinkled her nose. "Defying the tradition of keeping your wish secret after blowing out your birthday cake candles is still a bad omen. I think your simple wish might invite a big enough disaster to stop it from happening altogether."
"Do wish omens still apply when you stuck the candles in a steak or is it exclusive to cakes?" he lovingly prodded as he plucked out the candles one by one and grabbed the utensils on both sides of the plate. "If I had the ability to grant wishes, there would be some defined limits here."
While Annette was tempted to sigh, it was still his birthday so she stifled it. And truth be told, she was torn as she had bigger fish to fry. Such as making him happy because he never wished for anything.
The blasphemous wish he voiced was for a song that wasn't the usual happy birthday song but rather one with a different spin on it of her own creation.
He'd mentioned he didn't mind something unpolished because it was rather last minute, hence why he needed to spoil his own wish. She had to concede that he was correct in his assessment that she'd never guess that his wish was that all on her own.
The problem was that while she could do that for him in theory - he did say it didn't have to be polished after all so that was a small barrel of a hurdle to hop over - and she'd love to come up with something on command, her mind didn't work that way.
Singing and creating songs had their own natural ebb and flow - she caught lyrics as they floated around her mind of their own volition much like catching butterflies with a net. It wasn't something she could create from thin air.
Even if the air was thick with the smoke of blown-out birthday candles.
They were much like wishes in that regard.
In fact, many of her past birthday wishes were devoted to being able to get a better grasp on her singing inclinations. In some years she wished for better muses, in a few she wished to stop singing altogether to focus on what mattered. And lately, she'd wished to sing about things that resonated rather than amused or confused.
"Felix, I'd love to do that but I'm not sure I can come up with something on command. Songs just...come to me whenever they want to. I don't usually have control over that."
Instead of looking disappointed or crestfallen, her boyfriend looked concerned.
"Annette, I didn't mean to stress you out. It's fine, you've done a lot for me today."
"You're just saying that to make me feel better."
"No, I am fine. Truth be told, I wished for nothing when I blew out the candles," he candidly admitted. "A song was the only thing I could think of on the spot when you asked. So by your rules of your candle wish omens, it makes mine null and void."
"Technically it does but, I feel bad for not being able to make your wish come true since you never ask me for anything."
"You're right, I don't. But that shouldn't mean you should feel obligated to do it because of that. If I ask something of you, you're free to tell me no." he told her. "Knowing that you wanted to think of a song is enough for me."
"You sure?"
"Positive." he affirmed. "And for what it's worth, having a cake-free birthday celebration is a long-standing wish of mine come true."
Annette blinked. "Really? People forced you to eat cake on your own birthday?"
He nodded. "Every year without fail. Didn't matter what I wanted. You're the first person who's ever listened to me about that."
With the weight lifted off her shoulders, Annette got up from her seat and rounded the table just so she could give her boyfriend the biggest hug and plant a kiss on the top of his head.
"I'm so glad you like your steak-cake, Felix." she cheerfully declared. "And even if I'm not sure I'll be able to sing you a new song, I'll sing you whatever songs you like when we're done eating."
"Annette, if I haven't said it before, this is already the best birthday I've had yet. Thank you."
And with those words, she hugged him a little tighter.
