(2D's POV)

"Muds!"

Stuart rapped at the master bedroom's door, hollering for Murdoc in an excited tone, almost unable to conceal himself.

In the time that he'd spent staring blankly at Noodle's face, he hadn't realized how many years he'd missed celebrating her special day, as well as the incredibly large man that lounged around out in the seas bordering Plastic Beach. He'd silently cursed himself, not considering her age factor and new legal freedoms she could partake in.

2D heard a few thumps on the other side of the door and the door opened to Murdoc wearing only a sailor's cap, a tight pair of underwear that tugged at his hips, and his golden cross that hung upside-down on his hairy chest. In his scowling mouth was a small wooden pipe and a bitter expression was written in the wrinkles on his forehead.

Unconcerned by this appearance, Stuart twiddled his fingers and looked the man in the eyes.

"I wos wantin' to talk to yew 'bout the company tha' showed up yesterday."

"What about it," he replied nonchalantly.

Stuart fidgeted in distaste as he looked about the junk that crowded the narrow hallway around him.

"Well…Noods and Russ have been gone fo' years… I fought it'd be kinda nice to welcome them back wif a bonfiah and sum drinks to pass 'round tonight… Like a reunion and birthday recognition night… y'know," 2D stammered.

Murdoc just shrugged and opened the door wider, welcoming the bluenette man into his clustered and disorganized bedroom.

Like his own room, 2D spotted several cardboard boxes filled with random junk that seemed almost useless. There were globes, broken pencils, torn up surf boards and more that littered the floor of his room and lying at the far end of the room was a messy bed with the covers ripped off to the side and the pillows thrown to the floor with colorful stains covering their cases.

"A party eh? Well…," the green man began in a considerate tone.

2D just stood at the entrance, silent and desperate for his answer; he'd thought long and hard about this idea for the majority of the morning after he'd left Noodle to herself in his room to do whatever women did in the mornings. Although he'd appreciate all of his time to be with her, he never forgot what the definition of "space" meant: his ex-girlfriend, Paula Cracker, had taught him this when he'd first began to date her.

That was almost a decade ago, when he'd heard from Russel that she was having an affair with Murdoc in the Kong Studios bathroom. But, this being in the past, he shoved these memories away and stared at the pacing man before him.

"…I don't see any problem with it. Just remember, if you get drunk off your ass, be sure to heave over the side of the island. I don't need to clean up after your unnecessary 'deposits'… where are you getting the booze, Faceache?"

"Yew o' course!"

Murdoc got very stiff then before he relaxed and began to pace again, flicking his gaze from the floorboards to 2D's curious expression. After a few minutes of mulling over his thoughts, Murdoc had stopped and turned away, taking the pipe from his mouth and balling his other hand into a fist before grumbling over his shoulder angrily, "fine. Just leave some whiskey in the storage so I won't have to ship in a fuck-ton of alcohol back to the island. I'm not doing this for YOU, Faceache. I'm doing it 'cause I haven't attended a party ever since we evacuated England and although I don't care for legal restrictions, it's about time for Noodle to get a taste for alcohol."

He cackled lowly, bringing the old pipe back to his lips and added, "Noods gettin' drunk. That'll be a sight."

2D ignored these musings and he smiled, thankful for Murdoc's approval.

There was so much to be done; 2D hurried out of the room and scurried back to the elevator, taking him to his thoughts, excited about his special surprise for the belated welcome-party.

(Noodle's POV)

A bored-looking Asian woman roamed the lower portion of the large land mass, abiding by the favor that 2D had asked for: to stay indoors for the majority of the day until he came back to dismiss her of her post.

Grumbling out a scowl of irritation, Noodle looked about the Boiler Room where she'd been taken earlier yesterday. Murdoc had requested to speak with her, only adding to the increasing bitterness she'd already felt toward him when she figured that he'd kidnapped 2D against his will. The bastard was selfish enough as it was- the fact that he replaced her own existence so soon with a droid copy only infuriated her more.

She bit back an angry curse and glared at the man who was banging at the pipes on the far wall ahead of her.

The mechanic at work didn't seem to progress to anything, seeing that his only tool was a frying pan and his large, pudgy hands that grappled with the dented iron.

She'd been waiting almost the whole afternoon for Stuart to finish whatever he was doing so she could get some fresh air and someone other than Murdoc-san to talk to. The sun must've pushed down and had already begun to set; this waiting is exhausting and is beginning to drive me mad.

Noodle ground her teeth together and took herself back to the elevator, tired of the useless banging sounds that came from the un-experienced mechanic, and took herself back to Stuarts bedroom. There, she'd be able to contain herself and strum a few chords on her guitar to keep her at bay until 2D finally came to free her of the imprisonment in the lower chambers of the landfill.

Keeping her head down, Noodle stared at her feet and waited patiently for the lift to bring her down the shaft and into 2D's bedroom. Once the metallic doors had opened, she kept her face downcast but quickly regretted it when she bumped into something and fell back in surprise. But her landing did not follow up, seeing to long arms circle around her and lift her back on her feet hearing the sound of 2D's voice ring out in alarm.

"Oi, Noods! Sorreh 'bout thah, Love! I wos jus' lookin' for yew."

Dazed, Noodle looked up to find Stuart's face only inches from hers and her lips formed a thin line on her face, willing away the small bit of heat that rose to her cheeks. She placed her feet firmly on the ground, and stood up, taking a step back and almost backing into the elevator doors, embarrassed at the seemingly tight space between her and the startled man.

His own attire was not completely modest, for all he wore was a pair of jeans that hung loosely on his hips and a pair of converse sneakers. He lacked a shirt, flaunting off the small dents of his ribcage and the tattoo on his top-left shoulder, reading, "K.F.C".

"Oh, well I've just…," she sputtered out anxiously, flicking her eyes from 2D's dark indentions on his face to his lips and down to his collarbone, "I-I've just been wandering the rooms down here. Nothing much to see other than your room and the Boiler Room which is annoying with all the loud banging. I don't see how you can get much sleep with that idiot messing with the pipes…"

Noodle rambled into silence, studying the small stubble on 2D's chin before dragging her attention to his eyes.

"Well, Noods, I fink it's 'bout time yew come upstairs wif me. I've got somethin' to show yew…," Stuarts face lit up with a small smile and he offered his abnormally large hand to the woman who took it and turned around. The elevator was opened again and they were taken to the surface.

As soon as the entrance was opened up and the scent of salt-water washed over her, she inhaled, and opened her eyes to see Christmas lights coiled around the metal stairway that led down to the plastic flooring below.

The glow of the electric bulbs lit up the large island, the little strings of lights wrapped around the trees out on the peninsulas of the island, on the small, lifeless shacks that grouped below the stairs, and farther past areas that she could not see.

She looked over to see 2D biting his lip and looking out over the edge, to the waves. He brought her down and they walked along the shoreline, Noodle admiring the glow of colors reflecting off the dark water and on the pink ground. The stars had just begun to shine above them and the sun's setting colors left the horizon in purples and a small hue of pink, giving their shadows a replica of the two, hand-in-hand and strolling the beach towards the docking platforms.

A shudder of warmth passed through her when 2D rubbed his hand over hers in a comforting gesture and she was confused as to why he set all this up. But she did not speak, as she saw that they were nearing a large bonfire that set away from the docks and illuminated the large face of Russel and the silhouette of Murdoc slouched on a log near the fire.

As they edged closer to the set, she noticed a string of Japanese paper lanterns connected between the trees that loomed over them, parallel to each other, between the bonfire that crackled before them.

Once they were within a close distance, 2D murmured, "well, Love, seeing that yew've been gone for most of this time… I figured it'd be nice to celebrate your returns wif a party. An'…"

Stuart nodded to Murdoc who had tossed a bottle in their direction, 2D catching it with ease. He raised the glass in his hand, shrugging before he continued, "since you've gotten older…I figured we could celebrate bof of your birthdays thah we missed…"

Noodle gawked at the sight before her while 2D waved a hand towards Russel who nodded his head back in a thankful gesture. Murdoc, too, took a swig of whatever alcohol he held in his hands and slurred out, "Happy Belated Birfday…"

2D, however, said nothing after that, only offering her the bottle and allowing a half-smile to crawl onto his face. The fire, the lights, the people, the mood, it all seemed to wash away her irritation that throbbed in her head only minutes before- a warmth swelling inside of her and a sorrow she hadn't allowed herself to feel for years. She'd been welcomed back so warmly and kindly, it brought about the hollow tear inside of her chest to be filled. It was a cut that was being clean and cared for- that sting she'd held off to ignore had come back and began to heal her. She knew this was where her home truly belonged.

(Author's Note: )

I think I have a few more chapters to go; so no; this isn't the end of my wrath yet! Angst and truth has yet to be revealed! Violence has yet to occur! I hope you enjoy this and the next chapter that is soon to come.

Please review. That's all I ask of you. Critique it- like, seriously. Let me know what you like or don't and I'll see how and if I have the power to fix it. Am I making the characters out of proportion? Am I having too many grammatical errors? Is it too bland? Let me know. I need feedback guys!

I don't own Gorillaz, guys…

Thanks for tagging along. It means a lot.