A Danny and Ember friendship thing. I don't really like this one, but it IS part of the set.

"Morning, baby pop."

"G'morning, Ember," I murmured back as I sat up, rubbing at my eyes to rid them of dream sand.

My enemy-turned-ally-turned-literal-bestie snorted, and I could tell she had rolled her eyes. A moment later, a warm hand closed around my wrist and pulled me swiftly from the bed.

"Whoa!"

"Relax, Dipstick," Ember drawled as I righted myself, blinking the last of the sleep from my eyes, "It's not like I haven't seen you in your pajamas before."

I crossed my arms, "I know. I wasn't even thinking about that." I paused, "Why are you here anyway? You usually don't leave your lair any time before noon."

Ember smirked, her hair flaring behind her. "What can I say?" She answered, "I'm a night owl, but that won't stop me from joining in on the festivities!"

"…Festivities?"

"Oh, shoot," She muttered, "Was it supposed to be a surprise party or something?"

The idea clicked, but still didn't quite make sense. I raised an eyebrow, "My birthday isn't until August. It's April."

"Yeah, April 2nd! Exactly seven days before you started the heroing business. I can't have the date wrong, I checked with Clockwork."

I wasn't surprised that Ember had been talking to my mentor. Evidently, he had helped her get situated when she first formed near his lair, and they'd been sort-of-friends ever since.

My thoughtful silence must have clued Ember in to something, though, because she gasped sharply. Her eyes widened, "You didn't know?"

"Know what?"

"Today…" She paused in an uncharacteristic moment of uncertainty, "Today is your third deathday."

Wait, what?

Was it really three years ago that the Accident that started it all took place? Somehow, that time seemed to be as long as a dozen lifetimes, yet only a heartbeat. Time works in strange ways when you're me. And my heartbeats are really slow anyway.

"Dipstick?" Ember's voice, a mixture of concerned and amused, snapped me out of my daze. She smiled, "There you are. You okay?"

I nodded, but frowned, "Um, what does that mean?"

"It means that I need to get you two more years worth of gifts, since apparently no one had the decency to remember the anniversary of your death," Ember grumbled, but it was good-natured. She grabbed a pile of folded clothes and tossed it at me casually, "Get yourself dressed, then I've got some stuff for you. It's back at my lair, hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," I grinned as I slipped into my bathroom, phasing through cloth to change in a matter of seconds. I soon stepped back out, "Shall we?"

"Let's just go, you dork."

The journey to Ember's lair was a slow one, filled with the jokes and teasing we had grown used to in the last few months. We arrived without incident, though, and Ember hesitated before presenting me with a huge box.

And when I say huge, I mean it. This thing was taller than me!

I floated up above it, still in human form, and opened it up.

Inside was an odd assortment of items: a telescope that seemed to be one of Clockwork's relics, a black and white guitar, a few new sets of clothes for my ghost form (all in my colors with logo and all), every interest I vaguely remembered mentioning around my ghostly friend was catered to. There was even a brand new sketchbook and a set of watercolor pencils, to my surprise.

But perhaps the best part was the tiny ice-blue orb that hovered out of the overstuffed box.

I knew what orbs like these did. They were rare, found floating in the Ghost Zone at apparently random intervals. The tiny orbs allowed a ghost to create a new home completely from scratch, instead of taking over and rebuilding an abandoned island or empty door. If a ghost or group of ghosts was powerful enough, they could generate entire realms, like the Far Frozen.

"I, well, I remembered that you mentioned the problems with the GZ being all fragmented like it is, and I figured that the best way for you to fulfill that crazy obsession of yours is to dive in headfirst. Eat least now you'll have a headquarters, and based on your power levels you can probably make a new realm for allies and neutrals and all that. I mean, if you'd rather use it for something el-"

I cut Ember off with a heartfelt embrace. Our opposite cores hummed in an odd (but certainly not unpleasant) way at the close proximity. Her arms came up and she hugged me back.

"I love you so much, Em, this is awesome. You're awesome."

I felt her temperature rise in what was most certainly an embarrassed blush, but she responded with a simple, "Of course."

And, together on the newfound holiday, we laughed.

Word Count: 807