"So, what would you like for your birthday?"

Mwu turned to her in surprise, a gust of warm wind blowing a lock of blonde hair over his face. "Huh? Birthday?" Murrue giggled. "Yes, your birthday. It's next week, isn't it?" Her husband blinked slowly, the recollection seeming to come back to him. "Oh yeah..it is.." The young woman regarded him with amazement. "You forgot...But you knew when my birthday was..."

Mwu grinned sheepishly. "I didn't want to ask you when it was...I grilled the kid. But since neither I or anyone else was ever bothered about my birthday before...I guess I forgot about it. It doesn't really matter, anyway."

"Of course it does," was her reply. Smiling, she squeezed his hand. "How long has it been...since you had a birthday party? Since anyone bothered to even wish you happy birthday?" His aversion of her gaze told Murrue that it had been a very long time.

"Well then," she said firmly, walking down from the promenade onto the beach and pulling him with her. "this year, we'll have a party. With our friends there, and a cake." She saw his slightly dismayed expression, and smiled, amber eyes softening with the expression. "Don't worry. It won't be anything big. But really, don't you think it would be nice to have your friends here?

Mwu sighed, wandering over and sitting down on the beach. Idly, he picked up a handful of the white sand, watching it trickle between his fingers. His blue eyes were solemn, almost sad. "At the academy..my buddies threw a party for me one year. With drinks, and music, even a half-assed cake. I...didn't know what to say to them. It was the first time I'd ever had a birthday party since I was a really little kid..and I didn't know how to react..."

Murrue sighed, sitting down beside him and resting her head on his shoulder. "Would you feel better..if it was just me?" She understood how he felt, of course. But he'd made a point of celebrating her birthday, as it was the first time the two of them had ever been together to share it. This time was the same. She wanted to celebrate his birthday with him, make a fuss of him, but...

"Is it...selfish of me?" he asked softly. "You want to throw a party for me, go to all that trouble for me...and all I had in mind was to just pretend it was just another day. Although..." he mused, a small smile quirking his lips, "it might not be so bad if you were here..."

"Okay then," she said, nuzzling closer as she felt his fingers tangle in her auburn hair. "if it was just you and me, what present would you like?" Mwu chuckled, blue eyes moving from the ocean down to his wife. "I have you, and I have my life back...what else do I need?" She shook her head slowly. "It's not about what you need, it's about what you want. Anything you can think of, and I'll find a way to get it."

"A picture." he said thoughtfully. Murrue blinked at that, raising her head to look at him properly. "A picture? Of what?"

"Of us," he replied. "I have a picture of you on my desk at work, but...there isn't one of the two of us together.." The young woman thought of the photograph she had back home, the one of her and Mwu in the last war. It was her most treasured possession, the paper object well-thumbed and more than a little creased. She wasn't even sure Mwu knew she had it.

"I'll see what I can do," she said quietly.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

His birthday dawned peacefully, the blonde man fast asleep and peaceful. Slowly, he began to wake up, the bright sunlight stealing through the thin gauzy curtains. "Uhh..." Stretching his arm out, he reached for his wife. But Murrue wasn't there beside him. Forcing his eyes open, Mwu sat up, peering at the clock. It was quite late morning, and he knew that she was a light sleeper. But usually, even though she was awake, she would stay in bed reading. Sitting up, he frowned as he heard faint noises coming from the bathroom..coughing and gagging. She was...sick?

Hearing her flush the toilet, then start to come back upstairs, Mwu lay down and closed his eyes, feigning sleep easily. He was worried about her...very worried, but knew what she'd say if she found out. Murrue climbed back into bed beside him, slumping back against the plump pillows with a soft groan. Risking a peek, the scarred man saw that the woman's eyes were red, and she was very pale. Murrue...

She sighed, turning over in bed to face him, and he only just managed to close his eyes in time. He felt her fingertips trail over his face, the sensation ticklish, and couldn't help smiling, his nose twitching. Opening one eye, he gazed up at his wife. "Hey there, beautiful.." he murmured, half-sitting up and pulling her into his arms. Murrue giggled, snuggling into his embrace. "Happy birthday," she said softly, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "What would you like to do today?"

"Stay here. All day," he told her, nuzzling little kisses onto her neck. She sighed softly, happily, but wriggled out of his arms. Mwu grumbled audibly. "Awww..." He moved to try and pull her back, and she giggled.

"Patience," she scolded, leaning over the side of the bed and pulling out a large flat package wrapped in purple paper. "Look, your present.." Suddenly shy, she looked away pink-cheeked as he eagerly pulled off the paper to reveal...a picture.

It was a photograph..of the two of them. From what Mwu could tell, it had been taken not long after he'd recovered his memories. He and his Murrue stood side-by-side, his cheek pressed against her soft hair. His arms were wound tightly around her slender waist, and she was leaning back against him. The smiles on their faces...were ones of pure happiness. Mwu grinned. This was exactly what he had wanted.

"Is it...okay?" Murrue asked softly. She was still shy, staring at the white comforter. "I remembered...that Kira-kun took a picture of us not long after the end of the war..so I asked him if he still had it.." Her blush deepened. "I didn't know...I thought that..how we felt was less obvious than that.." She smiled a little, sheepishly. "Guess I was wrong, huh?" Mwu had to grin at that. After they had been reunited, the way she felt had been clear as day, easy for anyone to see. The others, Kira, the princess...all of them..they said that they'd never seen her so happy...

Setting the picture down by the side of the bed, Mwu took his wife in his arms again, resting against the soft pillows. "Thanks, sweetheart..." She made a happy noise as he nuzzled his face into her hair, and closed her eyes. "I made cake for later.." she murmured, and he chuckled, leaning down to kiss her gently.

Maybe birthdays weren't so bad after all...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

( Ya, I know, it's not his birthday till next week. Meh.

Please read and review! )