A/N: Hope you're enjoying my sudden burst of motivation!

She was warm and comfortable buried beneath the covers. Something had roused her from her dreams, but she wanted to fight it for a bit longer. If she kept her eyes closed, she would be able to go back to sleep.

A weight settled above her on the bed, and she instinctively tugged the covers up over her head. Someone gently pulled them back down, and then their lips pressed against her forehead.

"Rise and shine birthday girl," came Will's voice, sweet and loving in her ear.

"No," she mumbled, burrowing further under the covers as Will brought his lips down her cheek to her neck. She giggled as his stubble tickled her skin, squirming one hand out of the blankets to push him away.

"You're spiky," she said softly, finally opening her eyes to find his handsome grin above her.

"Oh yeah?" he chuckled, before pinning her down beneath him and dipping his face right down to the curve of her neck again. She squealed as his stubble tickled her neck, laughing as she tried to wiggle out from underneath him. Then his fingers came to her sides, tickling her beneath the blanket and making her squeal even louder.

"Will!" she yelled, tears of laughter forming in her eyes as she tried to fight him off.

"Tell me you love me!"

"Never!" she choked through laughter, making him dig his fingers in to tickle her again.

"Tell me I'm handsome"

"Ne...ver," she gasped, finally managing to flip over onto her stomach. There was a split second reprieve, before his fingers snaked under her arms, eliciting another scream of laughter as he started tickling her again.

"Say I'm the best boyfriend ever!"

"You're the worst!" she cried, making him laugh as he finally relented on the tickling. Taking her chance, JJ used all her strength to push herself up, knocking Will off balance and sending him off the edge of the bed to the floor.

"Oops," she giggled as he sat up with a dopey grin on his face. "Sorry"

"No you're not," he chuckled, pulling himself back up to sit on the edge of the bed.

"No, I'm not, but you had it coming," JJ replied with a grin. Will laughed, nodding before he leaned in and pressed a deep kiss to her lips. She brought one hand up to cup his cheek, smiling into the kiss.

"Happy birthday," he murmured as they pulled apart. He lifted his hand, tucking back the loose strands of hair that had fallen around her face, before stretching over and grabbing a gift bag that was sitting on the nightstand.

"This is for you," he said warmly, sitting it between them. She looked up at him, tipping her head to one side as she smiled.

"You didn't have to get me anything"

"Yes I did, you tell me that every single year, do you really think I'm ever going to listen?"

JJ laughed, opening the bag and pulling out a heavy leather bound book. She looked up at him curiously, getting a nod to open it.

She flipped open to the first page, where she found a note from Will handwritten in.

Happy birthday beautiful!

I couldn't think of what to get you and I wanted it to be something special. And then I thought that maybe something to reflect on our relationship would be nice - I mean, it's certainly been a roller coaster!

I love you so much! I hope you like it!

Xoxo

Will

Biting back a smile, she turned to the next page. Scattered across it were some of the first photos she ever remembered being taken of the two of them. They were just tiny little kids, Will sporting the two missing teeth that had plagued him through third grade, all smiles and laughs with each other.

"Oh that's the time my mom took us to the zoo!" she said, pointing to a photo of the two of them standing in front of the elephant enclosure. Will was cheesing hard, his two missing teeth on clear display. JJ was standing next to him, her eyes squinting against the sun the way little kids always did.

The next photo was from one of their first sleepovers. They were sprawled across a mattress in the den, the glow of the TV illuminating their sleeping faces. Will was spread eagle on his back, while JJ had wriggled around so her head was on his stomach, her little mouth wide open as she dreamt, one arm flung up around Will's neck.

"You haven't changed at all," Will teased with a laugh, earning an elbow to the ribs as she flipped the page.

The years wore on as the pages turned, and before she knew it, she was looking at her seventeen year old self, beaming with pride as she stood beside her best friend, her national team plaque clutched tightly in her hands. Will was looking at her rather than the camera, his smile softer than hers, but still just as happy.

It was a photo she had seen hundreds of times before. But suddenly, she recognized the look in his eyes. No longer was he just looking at her filled with pride. The look in his eyes was nothing short of love.

"Do you think you always look at me like that?" she asked, looking up at him with a grin.

"Probably," Will chuckled. "Except when you come home from gym smelling like a sweaty sock"

Picking up her pillow, JJ thumped him with it as hard as she could while he laughed. He grabbed her around the middle, dragging her down with him as she let out a squeal. In the midst of the commotion, her bedroom door opened, adding her dad's voice into the mix.

"Hey peanut, come on, you know what I taught you! Always have the upper hand, never let the boys win!" Michael teased as the two laughing teenagers sat up amidst the mess of bedcovers on the bed. He grinned, walking towards JJ and beckoning her up towards him.

"Happy birthday sweetheart," he said warmly as she got up and allowed him to wrap her in a tight hug. Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, he smiled. "I'm leaving for work, but we'll make sure we celebrate tonight, ok? Ice-cream for all!"

JJ laughed as she pulled away. "Thanks Dad"

"Alright, I'll see you tonight!"

As her dad left, she turned back to Will, who was now sitting on the edge of the bed with the photo album in his lap. He smiled at her, and she felt those all too familiar butterflies flutter up in her stomach again. Bringing a hand to cup his cheek, she leaned in, pressing a deep kiss to his lips. He reciprocated eagerly, pushing the album out of his lap before bringing his hands to JJ's waist and tugging her towards him. She followed his lead, ending up in his lap with her legs wrapped loosely around him. But it stayed there, both of them happy in the moment.

Eventually, they broke apart, JJ's hands staying cupped against Will's jaw, her thumb gently stroking his cheek.

"Happy birthday beautiful," Will said again, his eyes shining with nothing but love as he looked at her.

JJ smiled, leaning in to kiss him again. This time, it was quick, before she tipped her head onto his shoulder and looped her arms around him.

"Thank you. I love you"

Even though it was her birthday, Nick hadn't let her slack off in training. They were flying out to Chicago on Thursday morning for the first major competition of the US domestic season, the Secret US Classic. And Nick wanted her to be completely ready.

Her routines had been set for nearly three months now, and while that seemed like a short amount of time, in reality, not a lot had changed from the previous year.

"Alright kiddo," Nick said as she finished stretching out after her afternoon training. "Everything is looking really good. You're looking strong. You look secure. I'm really happy. You've made a ton of progress since you started back in January, I'm really proud of you!"

JJ beamed. "I feel really good. I'm excited to compete again"

Nick grinned, sitting down on a nearby foam block. "I know. And look, I'm not gonna say this to freak you out, but you know there's going to be pressure on you, don't you? Because you're coming in as the most decorated Olympic gymnast from last year's games, so people are automatically expecting a lot from you. I daresay Marta is as well"

JJ nodded. "I know"

"But the important thing is, none of that pressure is coming from me, and I don't want you to put it on yourself either. You're coming back after a huge outing at the Olympics, you had your first real break in forever… to me, the most important thing is that you go out there and feel good about what you do. I don't care if you fall or make mistakes… just as long as you know you went out there and gave it your absolute best"

JJ nodded again, a small smile creeping across her face. "That's the plan"

"Alright," Nick said with a chuckle. "I'll let you go, I'm sure you're ready for your birthday dinner"

Nodding, JJ pulled herself up off the floor.

"Any idea where you're going?"

"Yes, we're going for Chinese!" JJ said, pumping her fist into the air. Nick laughed.

"Go enjoy it kiddo, and I'll see you tomorrow morning"

"Yeah, you'll see me when I roll through the door"

Laughing as she walked off towards the change rooms, Nick shook his head. JJ had changed so much from the previous year, and he absolutely loved it. While she was still quiet and shy at times, she had become so much more confident and outgoing than he ever remembered her being. Not only that, but her sarcastic wit had sharpened considerably and she never failed to make him laugh during training.

He couldn't wait to see how she was going to take the world by storm in the weeks, months, and years to come.