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Emperor Kaito never celebrated his birthday.
At least he hadn’t for the past two years since he became an emperor. Even before that, his birthday celebrations were surprisingly modest for a crown prince of world’s largest country. The sad truth was he grew up as a sheltered prince and never had too many friends he could spend that special day with. Usually his mother and father would take a day off and abandon their royal duties to be with him for that full day. They would sneak out of the palace to walk the city streets and eat food from the vendors, completely different from all the delicacies waiting in the palace. With both of them now gone, Kai remembered those birthdays with aching fondness.
Despite not making a big deal out of it, nobody ever forgot it was their emperor’s birthday. Palace cooks would make all of his favorite dishes, gifts from important politicians were arriving from all parts of the world, reporters were writing articles about him, usually comparing how much he’s changed during the years.
Still, Kai never cared about any of that. He would usually spend entire day busy with paperwork, meetings and revising the laws. If he was lucky enough to have his birthday fall on Sunday- his only free day of the week- he would spend it sleeping and lounging in his private quarters.
This year was different, though. There was one person in the palace who had no intention allowing emperor to waste his day doing work. Even though he usually said that work comes first, Torin refused to have him sitting at his desk all day and brood about not having seen Cinder in months.
With that in mind he knocked on Kai’s cherry wood door and walked into the office. As he expected, Kai was hunched over his desk, staring at his portscreen. He didn’t even lift his head to see who entered his office.
Torin cleared his throat. “Your Majesty.”
Kai lifted his head, surprised to see his advisor standing on the doorway. “Torin, when did you come in? I don’t think I heard you.”
Torin exhaled and closed the door. “That’s because you’ve been focusing on nothing but work for entire day.”
“I was in the middle of reviewing new transportation laws.”
“It’s your birthday, Your Majesty.”
Kai furrowed his brows. “I know that.”
Torin stopped himself from rolling his eyes. “Have you considered taking a break? Having lunch, maybe?”
Kai waved his hand as if lunch was something meaningless. His portscreen pinged with a new message, occupying his attention immediately. Even though Kai showed nothing but strong dedication to work since he became emperor, Torin was starting to get worried about his social life. He knew young emperor had friends, but they were scattered all over the world. And with his girlfriend ruling the moon, he didn’t doubt Kai would get lonely sometimes. Nobody should feel lonely on their birthday.
“Kaito.” Torin used his first name so rarely it instantly got Kai’s attention. “Could you come to the security rooms for a minute? Guards said there was a… possible break-in.”
Kai’s jaw slacked. “A break-in? You’re only telling me now, Torin?”
Torin tried not to cringe at his horrible lie. The only thing that mattered was getting Kai out of his office. “Yes, well. It’s probably nothing serious.”
While they walked through palace hallways, Torin noticed the concern over possible security breach worrying the emperor. He felt sorry for adding unnecessary worries to Kai’s ever growing pile, but he hoped to make it up with his surprise. Kai was so in his head he hadn’t notice Torin had pressed a different elevator button.
“Torin, that’s not where security is.” Kai’s eyes narrowed as he saw where Torin was sending him. “I told you already I don’t need rest or a day off. Birthday or not, there’s so many things to do and I—“
The elevator doors opened in that second and Kai lost the power of speech as he saw who was waiting on the other side.
“Cinder,” he stammered from shock of seeing her for the first time in months.
She smiled and the whole room brightened. She was dressed in a beautiful pale violet dress that no doubt Iko forced her to wear. It had long flowing sleeves and, even though the dress itself was fluttering around her ankles, Cinder shifted from foot to foot as if she were uncomfortable. Regardless, Kai had never seen a prettier sight.
He seemed to have frozen right there, unable to move as he stared at her. Torin cleared his throat and gently pushed Kai out of the elevator. Kai turned just in time to see Torin’s smile that said You’re welcome. Then the elevator doors closed and they were left alone. Kai made a mental note to send Torin on a luxurious vacation.
Cinder approached him and wrapped her arms around his middle. The warmth from her body yanked Kai from whatever stupor he was in. He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off the ground, twirling them in circle. Cinder let out a surprised yelp, followed by a gentle laugh in his ear.
He put her down and took her face in his hands. Cinder’s hair has already fallen from her fancy up-do- no doubt also courtesy of Iko- but she didn’t seem to care as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed Kai.
“Happy birthday,” she mumbled on his lips. Kai hummed and kissed her deeper, pulling her to his chest. Their kiss was full of longing, lonely hours and distant miles. When they finally separated, he took a step back to take another look at her.
“You’re here,” he said, still barely believing it. “You’re actually here. What—How?”
Cinder shrugged and reached to brush strands of hair that fell on Kai’s forehead. “Torin said you were a moping mess and I didn’t want you to spend your birthday sad and alone.”
Kai leaned forward to press a kiss on her lips. “How long are you staying?”
“I managed to take only two days off,” she said, giving him a sad smile.
Kai shook his head and grabbed her hand, leading her to his room at the end of the hallway. “I’m so happy to see you. Even if just for a minute, the fact that you’re here means more to me than I can explain.”
Cinder’s heart skipped a beat at his words. He was always better at sweet talk than she was. She smirked at the birthday boy as she closed the doors of his room behind her. “You should be even happier when you see I brought your favorite cake.”
Kai walked closer to the table in the middle of his spacious room and saw a small heart-shaped cake and a bottle of champagne. His eyes widened as he recognized the flavor. “Red velvet cake?”
Cinder nodded and bit her lip. “I made it myself.” She spent a whole day yesterday watching baking tutorials, dusted in powdered sugar. The cake looked decent only on her fourth try.
Kai stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her. “You made this cake yourself? For me?”
“Of course I made it for you,” Cinder said, huffing in irritation. “It’s your birthday and as your girlfriend, it is my duty to make sure you spend this day doing things you love. I may not have been able to see you previous years, but I’m not letting you get away with it this time.”
Kai felt his chest warm with happiness and love. Even thought he was neck-deep in work, he couldn’t help but feel grateful that someone was actually making sure he had this day for himself. It’s been years since his country- and Cinder- weren’t the number one thought in his head. He leaned toward her to press a soft kiss on her lips. “Thank you.”
He grabbed the knife and sliced a big piece of cake for Cinder and one for himself. He laughed when he saw the bottle of champagne. “Strawberry flavored?”
“Without alcohol.”
They both smiled at the memory of last and first time Kai had alcohol. To no one’s surprise, Kai couldn’t really hold his drink. Cinder had seen him mildly drunk on only one occasion when Rampion crew was having a get-together a year before. He barely recognized her at the end of the night and he only had two drinks. Safe to say, Kai never had a drop of alcohol after that night.
They spent next few hours eating, laughing and kissing. They lounged on Kai’s huge bed, facing each other, telling stories they never got the chance to share during their late night video calls.
“You didn’t.” Kai was holding his stomach while laughing as Cinder told him about the time she came to the meeting dressed in cargo pants and tank top.
“Of course I did. In my defense, I was just leaving the garage and forgot to change into my dress. Iko was less than pleased with me.”
“I can imagine,” Kai said as he wiped a single tear from the corner of his eye. He stared deep into her eyes, her swollen lips. “You haven’t changed a bit,” he said quietly.
Cinder stiffened, as if unsure whether it was a good or a bad thing. “Is that… good?”
Kai lifted his hand to caress her cheek. “Definitely good. I never doubted you would stay the same girl I fell in love with, but it’s nice to have reassurance.”
Cinder’s lips lifted in a smile when word love left his lips. Even though he said it too many times to count- her brain had tried- it still felt surreal to have this wonderful boy say that to her. She buried her face in his chest and Kai lifted her so she was on top of him.
After few quiet minutes Kai spoke again. “Thank you. Not just for this, but for seeing me as something more than just an emperor.”
Cinder lifted her head to look at his face. His eyes had a misty glow and from the tone of his voice she knew he was confiding in her thoughts that had troubled him for years. Maybe even his whole life.
“Everyone in this palace sees me as nothing more than a person who was thrown into position of power before he was ready. Don’t get me wrong, they’re all nice and helpful, but sometimes… It makes me feel less human in a way. Even outside of the palace, people know who I am, but they don’t really know me.” He scratched behind his ear. “Am I making any sense?”
“You do,” Cinder said quietly. “I get what you mean. I feel that way sometimes, too.”
Kai’s grip on her waist tightened.
“That’s why we have each other,” Cinder continued. “And our friends. They don’t’ see us as just royalty. At least I hope.”
Kai laughed and rolled them both over so they were facing each other. He kissed her nose, then her lips. “Let’s agree to surprise visit each other more often. Just to feel more human.”
Cinder smiled, kissing him one more time. “Agreed.”