ferdie day fic kapow!!
The last day of the Great Tree Moon was here at last. Mana, believing her prime minister husband deserved a modicum of rest on his birthday, implored him to sleep in that morning. The poor man was reluctant at first, not wanting to leave his mountain of work untouched for even a second, but it was hard to deny his dear wife after a while. And so he slept well into the morning, later than he had in many weeks. The extra sleep was much-needed and much-deserved, and Ferdinand woke up quite refreshed–though not refreshed enough to remember what day it was at first. After some of the sleep faded from his vision, he noticed the small white blob at the foot of the bed. He picked his head up from off the pillow, shaking the bedhead from his eyes.
Why, it wasn’t a blob at all, but a little gift box, tied with a bright blue ribbon. Ferdinand smiled, for he knew that shade of blue anywhere: it must be from Mana. Carefully he untied the ribbon and lifted the lid of the box, setting them aside, but then paused and quirked an eyebrow. All that was in the box was a little note. Retrieving it from inside, it read:
Good morning, sleepy bee! No work today. I mean it. Come downstairs whenever you’re ready :) -⭐️
Sure enough, it was written and signed by Polaris. He wondered for a split second if going back to bed would make her happier. As much as I would like to, Ferdinand thought, glancing back at his pillow, I should not keep her waiting. With one last stretch, he lifted himself out of bed, taking the duvet along with him.
At the vanity mirror, where he had meant to smooth out his unwieldy hair, he found a second gift box. The note inside read:
No need to fix your hair for me. I’m sure it looks great! -⭐️
Ferdinand chuckled. “All right,” he thought aloud, “if you say so.” He wrapped the duvet around his shoulders again and went to open the door, almost stepping on another box:
I wonder what your beautiful and stunning and oh-so-caring wife has in store for you? Isn’t your heart racing at the thought? -⭐️
Indeed, this was a rather complex plot for a simple birthday celebration. Ferdinand never thought much of his own birthday, but he loved to celebrate others’. The more he thought about Mana spending this much effort on him, the more flustered he got. As he ventured down the hall, he found yet more gift boxes and notes:
Gosh, I hope you like what I have planned. I was working on it for weeks while you were at the monastery and Enbarr. -⭐️
I know you don’t like making a big deal out of your birthday, but…well, I’ll save the sappy talk for when you get to the kitchen. -⭐️
So she was in the kitchen. Good to know. Their beloved dog was there at the bottom of the stairs to meet him, greeting his father with a chorus of barks. He then bounded down the right side of the hall, stopping to sniff at one final box. Ferdinand picked it up before he could bite into it.
You’re almost there! Please don’t let Spot get to this one. -⭐️
Thank goodness for his quick reflexes. Spot went onward to lead him the rest of the way. “Mana,” Ferdinand called to her from the hallway, “I am awake. Are you in there?”
Finally, he heard his wife’s sonorous—yet slightly panicked—voice. “Ah, there you are! Wait just a sec, I’m—“ He turned the corner into the kitchen, just in time to see Mana lift a cake half as big as she was onto the far end of the dining room table. She wiped her brow and leaned on the corner of the table after the arduous task was done. “Phew…okay…hi!” she said, her face lighting up at the sight of her bed-headed husband. She held out her arms to present her surprise. “Happy birthday, Ferdie!”
The table was packed to the brim with surprises: presents large and small, more little notes, the aforementioned giant cake, even breakfast. Everything was tailored to him, with his favorite colors and flavors in mind.
“You prepared all of this while I was in Enbarr?” was all Ferdinand could muster.
“Yup! Honestly I’m sad I couldn’t do more,” Mana said, straightening some things on the table. “That one Winter Festival celebration you cooked up a few years ago was amazing, so I wanted to do something like that for you.”
Before he could react any further, Mana had flung her arms around him in a tight embrace, nuzzling her face into his neck. She could tell he was about to protest to her going all-out for his birthday, so she stopped him before he could.
“You deserve all this and more. I love you so, so much, Ferdie.”