josh’s birthday

The Engineer’s Birthday

Josh opened the door to Ken’s room and was immediately met by silence. He peeked past the door but could not see anything save for the empty bed and the large glass window on the far end of the room. Ken had asked Josh to come as soon as he finished with work, but it was strange that the idol was not anywhere in his home.

“Ken?” Josh called. “Ken, are you here?”

There was a short silence followed by a creaking sound.

“Josh?” came Ken’s voice. “Babe, in here!”

The engineer gingerly slipped through the crack in the door. He closed it behind him before padding across the room. Ken was sitting by his workspace hidden in the corner, large earphones hanging from his neck, and a gentle smile on his lips.

The idol turned on his gaming chair to welcome Josh. He opened his arms, ready to receive his lover with a hug. Josh was only happy to lock himself in Ken’s embrace after a long and tiring day of work.

“What have you been up to?” Josh asked, looking at the open computer. Ken had his music studio software open with an untitled work in progress.

“Oi wuz workin’ ‘n somth’ng,” Ken said, his voice muffled as he buried his head on Josh’s belly.

“Working on what?”

Ken lifted his head and gave a confident smirk. “A song. Wanna hear?”

“Sure…”

Ken grabbed his earphones and put it over Josh. Then, he pulled the engineer down to sit on his lap.

When Josh was comfortable, Ken put his chin on Josh’s shoulder and played his track.

“Josh’s birthday song draft. The date is October 22, and it’s 3 AM.”

Josh was surprised to hear Ken’s voice at the beginning of the track. He gave his lover a side glance, which Ken replied to by tightening his hug.

After the introduction, the beats and the melody played to accompany Ken’s singing. The song was simple and straightforward. But what made the lyrics special was they spoke of how much Ken loved Josh, how thankful he was to spend another year with him, and how he looked forward to the years of them being together.

“My best friend, my lover, my heart, my forever. If I have not told you enough, I love you.”

The engineer could not help but fight back a smile.

“How is it?” Ken asked when the track ended.

Josh turned to him and said, “The lyrics are good.”

“Best compliment I’ll ever receive,” he said, kissing Josh’s shoulder.

“How long did you write this? Since 3 AM?”

“Hm… since ten years ago?”

“What? Ten years?” Josh laughed.

Ken locked their fingers together and nuzzled his cheek against Josh’s arm like a cat.

“I guess it began when we met, and we instantly clicked, remember? It took a while, and I kept re-writing it every day, but yeah…” Ken told him. “And I’ll keep writing this song for as long as you’ll be with me.”

“Ugh! So cheezy, babe…”

“You like it.”

Josh laughed. “I do.” He pressed his cheek on Ken’s crown. “Thanks… It’s the best gift I’ll ever receive.”

“Oh, but that’s not all I prepared…”

“Wow, did you cook for me?” Josh teased.

Ken nodded.

“But we can have dinner later,” he said. He angled his head and whispered behind Josh’s sensitive ear. “I made the bed… What do you say?”

“You planned this… You sly little devil.”

They both smiled.

“Happy birthday, babe,” Ken said before closing the gap between them.

Josh knew Ken was planning something the moment he sent his invitation. The idol always had something up his sleeve, and Josh knew the man like they shared the same mind. So, when Ken lifted him and carried him off to the bed, Josh knew exactly how the rest of his birthday would pan out.

He had no complaints whatsoever.

The Foreman’s Birthday

No matter how busy Ken got, he always tried to pick Josh up after work. It did not matter which site he was at or what kind of weather it was. He would come by Josh’s workplace and take him home, sometimes after some dinner.

It was a regular occurrence that Josh’s workmates had gotten used to seeing him. What kept surprising them, though, was that Ken liked to switch cars now and then. On Josh’s birthday, they found a fancy silver Volvo parked outside their building. It was waiting for Josh like a modern-day carriage.

“S-See you, guys,” the foreman stuttered when Ken honked once. Josh bid his colleagues and two of his bosses farewell before running to the car, embarrassed.

Ken’s smile was wide as he greeted Josh.

“You can pick me up in less flashy cars, can’t you?” Josh mumbled.

“Hm… I can,” Ken said before leaning in and giving his angel a small kiss. “I just don’t want to.”

“Such a showoff…”

The CEO gave a deep chuckle that reverberated in Josh’s chest. Ken seemed amused at his colleagues’ dumbfounded faces.

“Ah! I almost forgot. These are for you.”

Ken reached to the back seat. Josh was about to ask where the car's sweet floral scent came from when a large bouquet of white roses materialized in front of his face.

“Wha…?”

“Happy birthday, angel…”

“Oh!” Josh exclaimed, gripping the stalks wrapped in kraft paper.

He smiled without knowing, touched with the gesture. In the months they had been together, Ken was extravagant in how he showed affection, but Josh liked it best when he gave simple gifts. It made the foreman feel as if he was thinking about him even in the smallest things.

“You look happy?”

“I am…” Josh smiled at him. “I’ve… never really received flowers before, so… Thank you…”

“If you want to, I can send you flowers every day. I can buy you an entire garden!”

“Now, that’s just too much…”

“It’s not. Well, what do you have planned, angel?” Ken asked. “It’s still early. We have a few hours to celebrate the rest of your birthday.”

“Oh, well…” Josh said. He had not thought about what he wanted.

“We can have a meal,” Ken suggested as he began to drive to the highway. “Do you want to eat Fusion? Asian? French? Oh! We could book a flight and spent a day in Singapore! You wanted to go to the Gardens by the Bay. What do you think?”

“Uhm…” Josh began. “Dinner is fine.”

“I see,” Ken pouted. He looked disappointed that Josh brushed off his Singapore suggestion. “Where do you want to have dinner?”

“At… home.”

“Your apartment?”

Josh nodded. “I want… to do some grocery shopping and cook a meal.”

Ken frowned but kept his eyes on the road. “But love, it’s your birthday! Shouldn’t you be doing something more enjoyable?”

“Well… I always enjoyed cooking,” Josh explained. “And… I want to spend my birthday with just you. That’s fine, isn’t it?”

“Oh, angel…” He took the foreman’s hand in his and gave it a quick kiss. “Why do you not let me spoil you?”

“You already are,” Josh said, chuckling. “But spoil me some more, okay? Let me cook for you.”

Ken sighed, defeated. He put his hand on Josh’s thigh.

“Hm…” he said. “If I let you have this, we’ll celebrate my birthday together overseas. Agreed?”

“I don’t have a passport… But okay.”

“Then, it’s settled,” he said with a smile.

“Thanks…”

Josh hesitated for a few seconds before making up his mind. When they stopped at a red light, he unbuckled his seatbelt to lean over and plant a quick kiss on Ken’s cheek. The CEO blushed and laughed shyly before taking Josh’s hand again. He did not let it go throughout the drive.

Josh had not celebrated his past few birthdays with anyone. Having a lover celebrate with him was an alien concept—exciting and new. He wanted to treasure the moment and have it all to himself. Was he greedy? Maybe. But Josh guessed he could be selfish on his birthday.

The Writer’s Birthday

Josh could not think of a better way to wake up on his birthday than to the sound of rain hammering against their window. The universe had been unkind to him for so long, so he usually took the rain as a good sign. For him, it meant the universe was giving him one good day out of all the shitty days he has had.

He turned on the bed and lay on his back. He yawned and stretched before looking around his empty room.

Josh was alone, the sound of the rain outside, making the silence more pronounced. He suddenly felt a little lonely after having just woken up.

“Ken?” he called. No answer.

The writer sat up and listened for noise, but he could not hear any. He decided it would be better to go downstairs where his surfer boy might be cooking in the kitchen.

Josh wrapped the thick blanket around his shoulders, letting it drape around his body. Then, he wore his slippers and made his way out of the bedroom.

‘Good morning :)’ said a yellow post-it note stuck in the middle of the door.

A smile immediately crept up to Josh’s face, and he chuckled. He did not expect that.

“Good morning to you, too,” he whispered to the smiley. “But, where are you?”

Josh opened the door. More notes greeted him, stuck all over the walls like bright yellow road signs leading down the staircase. Each one had a message written in Ken’s messy scrawl of handwriting.

Warmth bubbled up from Josh’s chest to his cheeks.

‘If you want to find me you have to do everything I write in the postit notes,’ Ken wrote on the next piece of paper.

‘And I will know if you cheat!!! No cheating!!!! >A<’

“Ken, I know you’re in here somewhere!” Josh called, knowing his voice could be heard all over the house.

He sighed, knowing how stubborn his lover could get. Josh decided he would go along with Ken’s cute games. It was not as if he was wholly opposed to them, either. Josh just picked the messages one by one as they were scattered everywhere in their home.

‘Whats your name’

“Josh Cullen Santos,” he said aloud.

‘Whats your boyfriends name’

He sighed. “Ken Suson. Am I being interrogated?”

‘Whos your most favorite person’

“Jun Nase,” Josh said aloud.

“Hey!” protested Ken.

‘What is your favorite meal’

“Ken, you and I both know I eat anything you cook…” No response. “Alright. Sinigang!”

Josh was halfway down the stairs. He picked the next one and paused in his steps.

‘What are the 3 best things that happened to you this year,’ Ken wrote on it.

“Uhm…” Josh began. Memories of the past year flooded him, making him nostalgic. “… Meeting you again. Working at the university… and… Spending my birthday with you… Ken, can you please show up now?”

“No!” Ken yelled from the direction of the kitchen. “Keep going!”

‘Name 3 things youre thankful for this year.’

“Uh… Meeting you again. Being self-harm free for more than a year… Living with you…”

‘One thing Ken always tells you to do that you promise to do more :D’

He smiled. Ken had been goading him to smile more often. He did not answer but approached the next post-it note.

‘Smile for me? :)’

“How do you even know if I’m smiling?”

“I know when you do or don’t do it!”

The last yellow post-it note was at the bottom of the stairs. Ken had drawn a lot of hearts and smileys on it, but for some reason, it made Josh want to cry.

‘Make a wish,’ it said.

Josh pursed his lips. He blinked back his tears.

The writer turned around and walked in the direction of the kitchen. When he got there, he found his surfer boy hiding in the corner, his shoulders hunched as he held a plate with a stack of pancakes in his hand.

“Hey!” Ken exclaimed when he saw how close to tears his writer was. “Why are you crying?”

“Ken…” Josh began.

Surfer boy strode to him, hugged him, and began to apologize. “Sorry… Did I make you cry?”

“Yes,” he said, tears escaping his eyes before he could wipe them. “Idiot.”

“Sorry… Was it something I asked you to do? I’m sorry…”

“No…”

“Oh. So why?”

Josh sniffed and wiped his stupid tears with the hem of the blanket around him. “I realized… There’s really nothing more I can wish for.”

“Eh?!”

“I have everything now,” he said, taking Ken’s face in his hands. “I have you…”

Ken blushed and grinned at him. He smiled so brightly it was as if the sun was shining down on them.

“Let’s keep being happy, then,” Ken told him.

Josh smiled expectantly. Surfer boy knew what that look meant, so he dipped down to kiss Josh.

“Happy birthday, Josh…”

Josh chuckled, leaning his head on Ken’s chest. They began to dance around in circles in the kitchen. Josh knew they must look stupid; Ken was wearing a silly pink apron, and Josh was cocooned in a thick blanket. But he let it be. From the bottom of his heart that used to be lonely, he wished that they would have more silly and stupid dancing in the years to come.