Title: Perfect Day
Rating: G
Word Count: 851
Disclaimer: I do not own Community
Summary: The prompt was from _carly_: "Someone in the group is celebrating their birthday! It doesn't go according to plan." This was also inspired by the Lou Reed song of the same name. I may do a follow up to this from the study group's perspective. Enjoy!

"I can't believe you know how to make sangria," Annie says as Jeff refills her glass. The two of them are reclining on blanket in the middle of the park as fluffy, white clouds drift through the pale-blue sky overhead.

"I'll have you know," he says, pouring some of the purple liquid into his own glass, "that I am a man of many talents, one of which is cooking. For instance, the pasta salad? Made it from scratch. And that includes the noodles. My apartment looked like it was hit by a snowstorm from all the flour."

"Oh, really?" she laughs. "Did you butcher the turkey for these sandwiches too?"

"No, but I did make the mayonnaise myself."

She raises her eyebrows at him. "Seriously?"

"It's a pretty simple process. I can show you if you want."

She smiles at him and shakes her head, taking a sip of the fruity beverage. "That's ok. Where'd you learn to cook?"

He shrugs. "A combination of places. My mom taught me some, Gordon Ramsay YouTube videos taught me more. I've realized cooking's about 10% skill and recipe and 90% imagination. Plus," he says, his smile turning into a smirk, "I'm told it's very sexy when a man knows how to cook."

She chuckles. "No comment."

He's about to respond when his phone buzzes. He pulls it out of his pocket and frowns. "Britta this time," he announces. "I'm just going to turn it off."

She sighs. "That's what, fifteen texts and eight missed calls in the past hour?"

"Something like that. I can't really blame them, given we're skipping your birthday party."

"Feeling guilty?"

"Godno. Do you know what Abed had planned for you? He wanted to turn you into an actual Disney princess!" She stares at him. "I'm not kidding! I overheard him talking to Pierce about renting an inflatable castle and saw Britta and Troy rummaging through the drama club's costumes. Seriously, it's like they were planning a party for a five-year old."

She shakes her head and groans. "I love Abed, but seriously, sometimes he goes overboard. Don't tell anyone, but when he told me he was taking charge of planning, I started thinking of excuses for why I couldn't go to my own party. All I wanted was something nice and relaxed. Something a little more 'adult' and a little less Greendale."

"Well then, you're lucky I volunteered to pick you up," Jeff says, raising his glass to her.

She meets his with hers and chuckles inwardly at the clink they make. "That I am. I can't tell you how happy I was when you told me we were skipping the party to go on a picnic instead. After all, you only turn twenty-two once. And no, I never thought I'd be happy to blow off the group."

He laughs. "Very true."

She leans back and closes her eyes, basking in the sunlight. The air is filled with the sound of children laughing nearby and the scent of freshly cut grass mixed with sunscreen. "So, I have a question," she declares, breaking the silence after a short moment.

"Shoot," he responds, his gaze distracted by a happy family of four walking along the bike path.

She reaches into the basket and pulls out a stale loaf of bread. "You're not planning serving stale bread for desert, are you?" He laughs and nods towards the duck pond in the middle of the park. Her face lights up. "Awww, Jeff! You want to feed the ducks?"

He turns to her and smiles. "I brought the bread, didn't I? But first," he pulls out a pink box. "What kind of birthday party is complete without cake? Or in this case, cupcake?" She gasps as he opens the box, revealing a chocolate cupcake topped with pink frosting and a '22!' in purple icing.

"Did you make this, too?" she asks, happy tears in the corner of her eyes.

He nods. "If it's good, don't tell Shirley." She laughs, and then starts blushing as he sings 'Happy Birthday.' By the end, her face looks like a tomato and she doesn't think she could stop smiling if she tried.

"Thanks, Jeff," she whispers, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

He cuts the cupcake in half, offering her the bigger piece and small smile. "Anything for you, milady."

Britta and Abed stand on a nearby hill, watching as Annie laughs at something Jeff said. "I'm gonna kill him," Britta grumbles, face scrunched in anger. "Seriously, I know he wasn't on board with the whole princess thing, but he didn't have to sabotage it! You know what, I'm going down there."

"No, don't," says Abed, grabbing her arm. "Let them go."

"Abed, you planned a perfect party, and he completely ruined it! How are you not angry right now?"

He shakes his head and smiles at Britta. "I planned a perfect party for the group. Jeff planned a perfect party for her."

They continue to watch as Jeff helps Annie up from the blanket and walks with her, hand in hand, to go feed the ducks.