Closed for @alitwebster
When: 21st of June, 2023.
Happy birthday, love.
This is what Aindreis whispered in his partner's ear upon waking up this morning. It was indeed Ali's special day. And while the latter was never big on celebrating it, Andy would never miss that chance.
He'd try to wake up earlier than Ali, but honestly that felt like mission impossible. He'd have made breakfast if it had been part of Ali's routine. It felt like an important birthday. I mean... So far? Ali's birthday since he'd been back in his life hadn't been the greatest of moments. Their reunion after Andy's stubborn silence for... Not much in the end. And last year... Well, Ali's return from his impromptu trip in the Highlands. Every time so far, it had been a difficult time. Now, Andy wanted things to go smoothly. Given recent events and the way things were going, that felt even more necessary.
Sadly, as much as he'd have liked to stay home, he had to work today. But he'd manage to plan to leave early. He'd put alarms, asked people for reminders, he'd made sure he would leave on time. They didn't have much planned anyway. Aindreis would come home, they'd change into classier clothing... And stay home. They'd talked about doing something this weekend, going somewhere, but for tonight, it would be a chill, but classy, night at home. On his way back home, Andy would pick up the food and they'd just enjoy themselves in the greenhouse. So, not much planned. Or that's what Ali thought.
Andy, on the other hand, had something else in mind. No big parties or anything, it was Ali's birthday after all. But he wanted to do more. So he'd left work a little earlier, in order to make sure his surprise was all ready to go. It was nothing massive but he hoped Ali would like it. But what he found out is that it wasn't ready to go as he thought. It wasn't really ready at all, and he spent the next hour ignoring alarms to fix it.
Now he was late. Again. Not by a lot but still. It was for a good cause, with good reason, but he wasn't going to text Ali "sorry, not held up at work, I'm prepping your surprise" or it wouldn't be a surprise anymore. He hated the fact that his partner might think once again that he'd prioritised work. Arriving in the flat, he didn't find Ali and imagined he'd be in the greenhouse. Instead of going there immediately, he changed into what he'd planned to wear on their evening before going up to the greenhouse.
"Hey... " He approached him. "I'm sorry... I really am. Happy birthday." He looked at him with admiration. "You look amazing... I think you should wear some shoes though... "