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Kiriko holds her hand up to the blue sky above them and squints when she meets the sun in the middle. She spreads her fingers across it, and Juno feels like she could hold the entire sky in her hands if she wanted to. Kiriko was determined, and if Juno believed in anything as she made herself comfortable on Earth, she believed in her.
Juno copies her and wonders if this is something all Earthlings do, or just the fox girl lying next to her. Juno’s actions make Kiriko beside her giggle loudly, so she continues doing it even after Kiriko has lowered her hand.
Kiriko bumps their shoulders. “It’s a nice day out,” the girl says as she takes in their surroundings. The sun, the sky, the birds flying by, the trees, the grass, the city from afar.
“It is a nice day out,” Juno agrees, then adds, “I wish it were always this warm out.” The warmth is nothing like back home, and maybe that’s one reason she likes it. “Do Earth people do this often?” she asks.
“Do what?” Kiriko looks away from the sky and stares at her. The sun looks unreal as it touches Kiriko's skin, and for a moment, Juno feels jealousy creeping in. The thought disappears in an instant, and then it makes her wonder if everything glistens under warm light just as Kiriko does.
“Set out a sheet to lie on and watch the sky,” Juno clarifies as she looks at her, and it makes Kiriko smile.
Kiriko nods. “Yes, always. Especially on beautiful days like this. We go out and have a picnic with people we really like.”
Juno thinks and thinks about what Kiriko just said before asking, “What is a picnic?”
That alone makes Kiriko cackle, but Juno takes no offense as she watches her try to contain her laughter. It’s not Junker Queen teasing her before a mission or Ashe teasing her during training. This feels so much softer; it reaches her bones, and there, it sits.
“A picnic is where you lay down a blanket like we have, except there’s food to snack on, like sandwiches, and drinks too.” Kiriko sounds so lively when she speaks about things she enjoys, Juno thinks. She's learned so many things about the girl next to her, but she can't help but see that every time Kiriko's eyes light up.
“Like water?” Juno asks.
Juno can see Kiriko thinking. “I was thinking more like lemonade or Hana’s nano cola.” She smiles at Juno some more, and that only makes Juno return the gesture. Warm, warm, warm. Juno doesn't think it's because of the sun hitting them directly either.
“Soda makes me feel jittery,” Juno says warily, and Kiriko watches her with a light glint in her eyes.
“You just have to get used to it, that’s all.”
Juno nods and doesn't say much more. And maybe she’s wrong to trust so blindly, but it is Kiriko, and Kiriko has never given her a reason not to. She looks back up at the sky.
“You can try nano cola again this weekend,” Kiriko happily suggests after a beat of silence.
“Okay,” Juno nods again, easily, but then wonders, “Why this weekend?” She turns back at Kiriko and throws her a quizzical look.
It makes Kiriko sigh quietly. “My mom is making this big lunch for me at home, and I was already going to invite you to it.” Kiriko sounds like she doesn't want to make it a big deal.
“That sounds like a fun time!” Juno sits up on the blanket beneath them and brings her knees forward. Kiriko copies her actions. “Your mom really loves you," she finishes as the wind pushes through Kiriko's hair and makes the trees dance behind them.
Kiriko looks down and Juno watches as she fidgets with her hands. “Eh, apparently it's a special occasion, that’s all. So she's making so many dishes and desserts.”
“Special occasion?” Juno tilts her head like a puppy without meaning to.
Kiriko nods, and a smile plays on her lips. “Yeah, it’s my birthday this Sunday, so it’s just a nice gesture." The girl shrugs, then stares in front of them, at the trees and everything that sits afar.
“Oh, right.” Juno agrees easily but looks away, flustered.
“Right, so I’ll see you this weekend?” Kiriko asks as she stands up from where they have been sitting.
“You can count on me, partner!” Juno says awkwardly because she’s caught off guard and doesn’t know what else to say. If it were anyone else, they’d laugh at her, but it’s Kiriko, so the fox girl simply leans over and lightly ruffles the top of her head with a gentle hand. Juno leans into it, of course.
“Let’s pack up and go get something to eat,” Kiriko says, and Juno just nods and begins picking up the blanket.
“Athena?” Juno calls out quietly for Winston’s assistant, not wanting to scare her. She had made her way to Watchpoint, hoping to catch Winston or his assistant. Really, anyone who could assist her.
“Hello, Juno. How can I help you?”
“Hi, Athena…” Juno hesitates. She doesn't even know how to ask without sounding like an alien. She sighs. “What is a birthday?” she finally asks as she sits in one of the chairs Winston has set up around the common room at Watchpoint. She brought a notepad and a pen for this. Kiriko mentioned a lunch made by her mother and said it was for a special occasion. This must be important.
“I’m sorry?” Athena asks for clarification, and Juno understands.
“Kiriko mentioned it is her birthday this weekend. I was asking what a birthday was because I don’t recall that word from Mars.”
“Certainly, Juno. A birthday is an annual celebration commemorating the day of an individual’s birth,” Athena answers easily.
Annual celebration. Day of the individual’s birth.
Juno writes it down on the notepad.
“That sounds... important,” she says, and her grip on the pen does not loosen.
Athena doesn’t speak for a few seconds, and Juno writes IMPORTANT at the top of her list and underlines it four times.
“Well, it usually is, yes. People celebrate this day differently, and the importance of the day varies from person to person.”
Celebrated differently. Importance varies.
She writes that down as well.
“Kiriko called it a special occasion and said her mother was making her a nice lunch,” Juno recalls with a wince. How is she only just finding out about birthdays? She feels so silly for not knowing about them before. If anyone deserves a nice celebration on their special day, it is Kiriko.
“Then it sounds like it’s an important day for Kiriko,” Athena concludes.
“I’m so silly for not planning anything on her very special day,” Juno reprimands herself. She wonders whose birthdays she has already missed. Juno writes REMEMBER BIRTHDAYS!!!!!! across her notepad in all caps.
“You should ask the other agents how they like to celebrate their birthdays and think of ideas for Kiriko’s birthday, Juno.”
Juno thinks that’s an amazing idea. She nods and says, “I will do that.” She holds up her notepad and purple pen and waves goodbye to Athena. If she’s lucky enough, she’ll run into Sojourn or Winston around here.
“Juno? What are you doing in the training arena?” Sojourn asks as she stops the training bots from attacking with the press of a button. She looks like she had been in the middle of a fight, with how much sweat clung to her forehead, and it makes Juno wince. She hopes her gaze looks as apologetic as she is.
“Dang!” Juno hears another voice call from the high ground, and it makes her look around. “Did the bots mess up again, Soj?” The voice continues, and Juno finally sees Hana peek her head out from behind cover. They’re probably training for their next mission, which is probably something Juno should be practicing for too. Except there are more important matters at hand.
“Hi, Sojourn. Hi, Hana.” She waves shyly as she clutches her notepad and pen. “Is this a bad time?” she asks, avoiding eye contact.
“Oh! Hi, Juno! Where is Kiriko?” Hana asks as she jumps down from where she was. They’re both wearing comfy clothes, even if they’re training.
Juno doesn’t know where Kiriko is at this moment. She had texted Juno good morning earlier in the day, and they had chatted for a bit before Juno mentioned stopping by Watchpoint for a chat with Winston. That wasn’t entirely a lie, and she never wanted to lie to Kiriko. She was just... withholding some information.
“Hi, I’m here alone because I came to talk to Athena,” Juno says. “But now I was hoping to ask you all a couple of questions, if that’s okay.” Juno believes Sojourn and Hana are probably the best people she could talk to about birthdays. They seem like the type to appreciate an annual celebration.
“Of course, Juno. What’s up?” Sojourn asks as she grabs a towel from the bench and wipes at her forehead.
“Well,” Juno begins as she clicks her pen and bites her lip, “how do you all celebrate birthdays?”
“Oooh!” Juno watches Hana’s eyes light up at her question. “Balloons! Confetti! And cake.” Hana almost drools.
Balloons. Confetti. Cake.
Sojourn looks at Hana with a smile before rolling her eyes. “I like candles and gifts. Usually, for Murphy’s birthday, I get him some ice cream and dog treats.”
Candles. Gifts. Dog treats(?)
Should Juno get Kiriko dog treats? She shakes her head and lets go of that silly thought. Obviously not. Right? She doesn’t scratch it off her list.
“Brigitte likes it when I get her flowers on her birthday! I guess it depends on what the person likes, too,” Hana says with a smile.
Flowers.
“Why do you ask, Juno?”
“Well,” Juno starts hesitantly, “we never really celebrated birthdays on Mars, and I recently found out that it’s Kiriko’s birthday tomorrow. I want it to be special for her.”
“How sweet,” Hana coos before pinching Juno’s cheek.
“That is very sweet. Well, it isn’t hard to plan a birthday celebration. Don’t overthink it,” Sojourn says as Hana nods beside her.
Don’t overthink it…
That is all Juno does since she landed on Earth, especially now that she knows Kiriko. She just doesn’t want to tell them that, so she simply agrees.
“Okay, thank you all for your answers. I wrote them all down.” She holds out her notepad.
“Oooh! Kiriko loves red velvet cake and donuts with sprinkles. Write that down!” Hana says through a grin before giving her a thumbs-up. Juno already knew that, but writes it down anyway.
Red velvet cake. Donuts with sprinkles.
Then she shows Hana the proof.
“Goodbye, you all! Thank you again.” She waves at them, and they wave back.
She wonders who else she’ll run into.
“Bombs.”
“Um... anything else?”
“So, so many bombs. As many as you can get your hands on. In fact, I know a guy who can smuggle them in for a low cost. Would you like me to give him a call?” He takes out his phone and places a call with the press of a button. To Juno’s horror, someone answers the call.
“No, thank you. Not at this time. I’ll just write down bombs on my list.” She points to her notepad frantically.
“Never mind, Mako. False alarm.” He sounds heartbroken.
She gives him one queasy smile and runs out of the room. She had run into Mr. Fawkes while searching the building for more people to ask. She hadn’t been planning on asking him since he scared her, but it would be rude not to get everyone’s thoughts on this, and her mom did not raise her to be disrespectful.
She gulps after the encounter and still writes down his answer on her notepad.
Bombs.
“A birthday party isn’t a party without music!” Lucio yells.
He had been practicing some dance moves when she walked in on him. She notices a journal on the table and what she assumes are lyrics written across the page.
Music.
That doesn’t sound too bad. In fact, it sounds fun.
“What kind?” Juno asks, pen at the ready.
She watches Lúcio think before saying, “EDM, of course.” He has a blinding smile on his face.
EDM.
Got it. “Okay. Thank you, Lucio.”
“No problem, Juno! And hey, let me know when you want to come in for those dance lessons!”
The forced smile she wears on her face must be obvious because it makes Lúcio laugh. He sends her off with a wave before putting his headphones back on.
“Beer!”
Well, Juno isn’t old enough to buy beer yet, but she writes down Reinhardt’s idea because she knows he likes feeling useful.
Beer.
Kiriko is old enough to buy beer, but she doesn’t drink it often. Maybe Juno could ask Reinhardt if he could supply her with some? She shakes her head. What a silly idea.
“Ooh, write down cocktails too. Ana likes a good cocktail.”
Cocktails.
Juno writes it down.
“Thank you, Sir. Wilhelm," she says shyly.
Reinhardt lets out a booming laugh.
“Call me Reinhardt, Juno!”
“A nice view,” Lena tells her.
“And some singing, of course,” Zarya adds.
Juno finds them chatting in the lobby. She supposes they’re here for some training too.
“View? Singing?”
Lena nods. “Like a good view of the scenery or some city lights that twinkle like stars from afar.”
“You need to sing the birthday song for them too,” Zarya says.
Nice view. Birthday song.
“Thank you all for helping me out,” Juno tells them, and it makes them both smile.
On the day of Kiriko’s birthday, Juno spends lunch with her and her family. She has a swell time talking to her mother and eating homemade food that isn’t one of her half-burned meals. She chats with Illari and Hana, and even Echo is able to stop by for a bit.
Juno even remembered to wish Kiriko a happy birthday as soon as the clock struck midnight.
After a lovely morning and afternoon, Juno manages to slip away from the gathering by telling Kiriko she has some errands to run. Kiriko doesn’t question her, and Juno hopes she doesn’t look guilty for hiding something because she certainly is.
She had simply asked Kiriko to meet her at the address of a rooftop Lena had promised would have an amazing view of the stars and sky at night. Lena had even helped set up some twinkling lights with Illari's help, and Juno couldn’t have been more thankful. Juno gave Kiriko a meeting time, 8:00 p.m. sharp, and jokingly told her not to be late. Kiriko made it easy by agreeing without hesitation, a giant smile on her face.
So Juno bought the red velvet cake, the flowers, the candles, the nano cola, the balloons, the confetti, and some donuts from Kiriko’s favorite donut shop right before they closed for the day. She even remembered to bring the blanket for the picnic Juno had wanted so badly. Would it even be called a picnic at night? Is there another word for that? Juno doesn’t know. She only knows she wants everything to look beautiful and perfect enough to make Kiriko feel special on her special day.
Juno carries everything in the single bag she brought from home and silently prays nothing rips or falls. She balances the cake carefully in her hands and hurries up the flight of stairs. She has to arrive before Kiriko, so she has enough time to set everything up.
On the final step of the staircase, she sees the little lights scattered around the rooftop like stars. She thinks it looks lovely. Then, as she steps out onto the rooftop, she doesn’t notice the uneven step beneath her feet. She trips and lets out a yelp. She manages to catch herself before she falls to her knees, but the cake in her hands isn’t as lucky. It gets crushed against her grip, and the message written across the frosting is completely ruined.
“No, no, no, no,” she cries.
She looks down at the ground where her bag has landed and sees flowers scattered everywhere. The donut box lies upside down, confetti sparkles across the rooftop like glitter, and half the balloons she bought have already disappeared into the night sky. What has she done? She looks around in horror. This night was completely ruined because of her clumsiness. She crouches down, feeling her eyes begin to sting.
“Juno?”
Juno whips her head toward the exit door, and there she finds Kiriko Kamori standing beneath the warm lights, looking more beautiful than Juno has ever seen her in a blue flowy dress.
Juno shoots to her feet, standing there with a smashed cake in her hands and a mess scattered all around her. Kiriko probably hates her now. A tear rolls down Juno’s cheek, and she can’t even wipe it away.
“Are you okay?” Kiriko rushes over to her and gently takes the cake from her hands. She sets it on the nearest table before taking one of Juno’s hands in hers and brushing away the tear on her cheek with the gentlest swipe. “What’s wrong, sweet girl?”
“Surprise!” Juno begins, “Happy birthday,” she says through sniffles.
That makes Kiriko finally look around at her surroundings.
Juno watches as her eyes land on the twinkling lights, the speaker in the corner playing some of Kiriko’s favorite songs (Juno had made the playlist herself), the cake on the table, and the scattered items from Juno’s bag. She doesn’t say anything about the crooked decorations or the lopsided cake. She doesn’t say anything for a while.
Juno can’t help but speak again. “I’m sorry,” she apologizes weakly. “I know birthdays are important here, and I tried so hard. It was all going so well, but then I didn’t watch my step when I walked out here, and I ruined everything.” She sniffles again.
Kiriko gives her the softest smile Juno has ever seen. “You did all of this?” she asks quietly.
“I wanted your birthday to be...” Juno hesitates before finishing, “...memorable.”
Kiriko laughs. Juno wonders what else she could say just to hear that sound again.
“It’s perfect, Juno,” Kiriko whispers.
“But...” Juno winces as she gestures around them. “It’s everywhere.”
“Are you kidding me?” Kiriko laughs. “I love this song, and the stars look breathtaking out here. Plus, you got me flowers.”
“I ruined your cake,” Juno says sadly as she points at the sad cake sitting next to them.
Kiriko looks toward the table. “Is that red velvet?” she gasps.
Juno nods.
“And are those donuts from my favorite donut shop?”
“All over the floor, yes,” Juno pouts and then sniffles some more.
“This one is still good. Look!” Kiriko bends down and picks up the best-looking donut still sitting inside the box. It’s the chocolate-covered one, too.
Kiriko has always been good at making Juno feel better. She helped when Juno felt especially homesick and missed her mom. She helped when Earth felt too unfamiliar. And she’s helping even now, even after Juno ruined the entire surprise.
“You didn’t ruin anything, Juno,” Kiriko says, the mind reader. Then she takes Juno’s hand and gently pulls her toward the middle of the rooftop.
She grabs the blanket Juno had brought out. “Is this a night picnic we’re about to have?”
Juno gasps. “Is that what you call it?”
Kiriko pretends to think for a moment. “That’s what we'll call it.” She smiles, and the sight always makes Juno smile too. They both sit on the soft blanket beneath them.
“Happy birthday, Kiriko,” she says softly to the fox girl beside her. It isn’t a huge party, or even a perfect one, but it has the two of them together, watching the city lights shimmer below, and the stars stretch endlessly above.
“Was it a successful birthday?” Juno asks shyly while staring at her. Heart thumping.
Kiriko leans her head against Juno’s shoulder.“It’s the best one I’ve had in years,” she whispers.
Juno feels the warmth against her side and doesn’t shy away from it. She wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, not when the sky is this beautiful, not when Kiriko is right here with her.