Chapter Text
It was the morning of your birthday. Sunlight filtered through your blinds and shone directly in your eyes, and you rolled over with a groan. Your birthday was never something you had really enjoyed, and you dreaded facing everyone who would either give you shit for not liking your birthday, or those who would yell out “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” in front of everyone, making them all congratulate you as well. It wasn’t that you hated your birthday, it just seemed like an excuse to eat cake and demand gifts. Of course, you weren’t going to turn down gifts or say no to cake. But it seemed unnecessary.
You heaved a sigh and got up, preparing yourself for the day with your favorite bright red riding pants and a black shirt, and then your favorite vest. The weather app notified you of high winds and below-freezing temperatures, so you grabbed another jacket, just in case. You sauntered into the bathroom, washing your face and brushing your teeth, not thinking anything past what you were planning on doing for the day with Alto. He probably needed a good grooming, with all the mud that had started forming in the colder weather. That never made sense to you, how could the ground get wet and muddy if the air was freezing.
He also probably needs to get his teeth done, I’ll call the dentist… you mused. You finished slathering your face in moisturizer, your mother’s words in your head telling you to protect yourself from windburn, and sauntered downstairs only to see every item in your kitchen, lightly dusted from floor to ceiling, in what appeared to be flour, and cooking utensils piled up in the sink. And lastly, you noticed Sabine, standing in all her glory, in front of a food processor that was open and filled with what looked like cake batter.
She looked up at you with a brief, deer-in-headlights look, before schooling her features back into their normal, slightly-disgusted-while-still-remaining-neutral look. “What are you doing awake?” She asked.
It took everything in you to not burst into peals of laughter. “I- uh,” you coughed. “I was going to head to the barn. What are you doing here?”
“Baking, obviously.” Sabine said, motioning the blender with the wooden spoon she was wielding. It was covered in batter and flour, and now that you were looking more closely… so was Sabine.
You couldn’t hold it in anymore. It started off with a snort, and then you were doubled over with tears in your eyes, sucking in deep breaths at Sabine’s expense. You looked up to see her disgruntled face, and stopped. Or, you reigned in your laughter to small giggles. “How’s that uh,” you covered your face, “how’s that working out for you?”
Sabine raised an eyebrow. “I’m making a cake for your birthday, dummy.”
Your face immediately fell. How had she even found out? “Oh.”
“You don’t look as pleased as I thought you’d be.”
Your face got hot and you looked away. “I just… don’t love my birthday.” You admitted quietly.
Sabine put the lid on the food processor and stepped away from it, leaning on the counter next to it. “What do you mean you don’t like your birthday? Everyone loves their birthday.”
You rubbed the back of your neck. This was exactly what you were afraid of. Without even thinking, you snapped: “Do you like your birthday?”
Sabine rolled her eyes. “Immortal beings don’t have birthdays. But… I’m sorry. I should have asked what you wanted to do.”
You sighed and shrugged. “It’s fine. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get testy with you. It’s just that everyone asks that. I thought… nevermind.”
“No, go on,” Sabine said. “Don’t hold back with me, you know I don’t like that.”
You hesitated. “I just… thought that you wouldn’t,” you searched for the right words. “I thought you wouldn’t care whether or not I liked my birthday.”
“I don’t. But birthdays are something most ordinary people like,” Sabine explained. “What would you rather do instead?”
You smiled and walked around the counter towards Sabine. She looked down at you and raised an eyebrow.
“First,” you started, leaning in close to Sabine. She leaned away from you, as much as she could without falling over. “I want… to clean up my kitchen.”
Sabine let out a breath and looked away from you, standing upright and taking a step back. “Alright, fine. I made the mess, I’ll clean it up. Then what?”
You giggled again. “Then I’d like to go on a ride with you. How does that sound?”
Sabine nodded, and turned away to start cleaning up your flour-covered kitchen.
~*~
It took about an hour and a half before both you and Sabine were done dusting the flour off the entirety of the kitchen, and another half hour for Sabine to rid herself of excess batter and powder. You stifled more giggles as she shook white dust from her long hair, glaring at you playfully when you let a few chortles slip.
When you were done, Sabine offered you a ride to the barn, which you gladly accepted. There was no way you were going to turn down a ride on Sabine’s flashy motorcycle, pressed up against her warm back with a firm hand overtop of yours. The ride to the barn was relatively quick, far too short for your liking, and although the wind was biting, you stayed warm for many minutes after separating from Sabine.
You both went your own different ways after that, quietly grooming your horses and tacking them up separately and putting them on cross ties so that you could set up the indoor arena together. You typically didn’t jump in the beginning of the week, and Sabine didn’t jump at all, so you set up various pole exercises for your horses to work through at different paces. Your favorite was a Christmas tree shape made of poles, that you could enter from any direction at any speed to work on straightness and making sure your horse is picking up its feet.
Sabine had set up a line of almost 40 poles, around the edge of the ring, for trotting through. You didn’t know how Sabine had gotten that many poles, considering you had used about half of the poles to create your little exercise. It wasn’t any of your business how Sabine got extra poles, so you simply went back to Alto and got on. Sabine got on after you, and you both rode in silence, doing your own things and focusing while the wind outside howled.
It was peaceful, riding mostly alone, with the sound of only one other horse working with you. Alto was focused and on the bit, and he only hit a few of the poles, which were somehow magically replaced in their original spots when you came back around. Every time you looked at Sabine, thinking it might have been her, she was engrossed with Khaan, making sure he was picking up his feet over each and every pole. She didn’t look at you, not once, and didn’t acknowledge your presence until you were both done.
“You looked good today.” Sabine commented as you both left the indoor, using the covered track to head back into the stables. God you were glad for the insulated walls and sealed doorways. No wind was getting inside easily.
“Thank you,” you said, smiling. “You, as always, looked perfect. Ninety out of ninety on your scorecard, first place, blue ribbon.”
You were rambling. Sabine didn’t seem to mind, nodding her head in thanks before veering off to put Khaan away and blanket him. For a horse who had glowing red eyes and a fire-powered immortal rider, it was surprising that he still needed a blanket to keep warm. When you were both done taking care of your horses, you were about to say you should look for the next bus that was going to come around when Sabine stopped you with a firm but gentle hand on your shoulder.
She looked almost anxious before she started, “Before I drop you off at home.”
You turned to look up at her, finding Sabine staring at you with an intensity usually only reserved for battles with your fellow soul riders. “What is it?”
She kissed you. Briefly, on the lips, and just once, but she kissed you. Her lips were warm and soft, and the scar on her lip was raised. The kiss seemed to last forever, but all too soon she was pulling back and walking away from you like nothing had happened.
You stood, frozen, still feeling the heat of her kiss on your lips. Did… Did that really just happen? Sabine just kissed you? Oh my Aideen oh my Aideen ohmy Aideen.
“You coming?”
“Y-Yeah! Coming,” you stuttered. Because of course you stuttered after being kissed by the most beautiful woman on the planet.
“Happy birthday, sunshine.”