lewiszach:
This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. Though, she hadn’t been paying attention. He kept his body in front of her, blocking her vision from anything else. Ideally, vision away from the living room. Every year she said she didn’t want a big deal made of her birthday and every year, Zach ignored that request. It was tradition by now. Given the events that happened recently, he assumed she’d be down and out but not this much. “Hey, hey…” Pulling the bottle away from her, he set it out of reach and grabbed her shoulders, flipping her around so she was stood in front of him, back facing his chest. “You didn’t even notice…” He trailed off, leading her to the living room.
A (badly wrapped) gift sat on the table and a banner hung above. A cheesy ‘Happy Birthday!’ one with bad font and ugly metallic colors. Next to the box, a bottle of tequila with a bow sat. He thought about the room dimly lit with candles but he didn’t want to be that obvious. He knew she knew that he cared but maybe not to the degree he often wished. This day wasn’t about his wishes, though. “You can drink. Just not any of that cheap shit. I got the good stuff. Limes are in the fridge.” He released her shoulders, a bit of a shy edge to him. He’d throw a party for anyone but this party of two seemed more personal, even with the lack of decoration. “If you even need them…” Zach muttered under his breath with a roll of his eyes.
The blonde didn’t even get the chance to yell at Zach for stealing her bottle as he had very quickly already begun to move her back towards the direction she’d just come. “Zach, I told you I didn’t want you to do anything,” Ronnie whined, attempting to turn her head to look back at him. “Whatever you did, I don’t—” As her gaze fell on the banner before quickly switching to the gifts on the table and back again, Ronnie fell completely silent. She didn’t deserve it, was the first thought that popped into the blonde’s head. The second was that she couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen this coming. And the third was that she absolutely, without a doubt, definitely didn’t deserve it. A loud sigh blew out of Veronica’s lips, eyes closing momentarily before she turned and wrapped her arms around Zach’s torso. “Thank you,” the words came out slightly muffled, Ronnie eventually lifting her head and smiling up at Zach as she squeezed him tighter. “Thank you for doing this, for the banner and the alcohol and just— thank you.” Planting a quick kiss on Zach’s cheek, Ronnie unraveled herself and walked over towards the table to more closely inspect everything. “You know I would have been content with just the tequila, Zach,” Ronnie chuckled, lifting the box up and gently shaking it to see if it might give her a clue as to what was inside. “Can I open it now?“
A hand placed on the back of her head, he scratched a little with a smile coming to his face. It wasn’t anything special. If he’d overdone it, she probably wouldn’t have spoken to him for the entire night. It had to be just enough. He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead, rocking her back and forth with a tight grip so she couldn’t be released. “Oh, I know. But just one sad and lonely bottle of tequila seemed a little too on brand.”
He sat down on the couch, propping feet up on the table as he watched the subtle joy on her face. Which, honestly, that was enough of a gift for himself. “Duh.” Inside, a hoodie which he wore all week to really mask in the scent. It seemed gross but it was one of his favorite hoodies and at least he hadn’t worn it to the gym or anything. It was their own personal inside joke. “I fully expect you to keep stealing from me but it is what it is.” He was used to it by now.
Sitting up, he placed palms together, relaxed on top of his knees. “I know I don’t think it’s a big deal but we both know you don’t like your birthday so I just wanted to do something.” A touchy subject but he felt like it had to be said. “Your dad doesn’t deserve to take that away too. I love you, you know? He… uh, doesn’t.” At least he never showed he had. He did love her but timing was weird. Life was weird. It pulled them apart once and they never thought of starting over. At least, he didn’t think she had. But he did.
Taking her hand, he pulled her down to the couch between his legs and wrapped arms around her shoulders in attempt to lock her down and kiss her cheek.






