Work Text:
“White, I was thinking…” Green started as they glanced over at their partner. They made a noise to indicate that they were listening, though their eyes were still glued to an article they were reading on their phone, “It’s almost your birthday, right?”
“Oh, you don’t have to get me anything flashy,” White dismissed. Green knew that they were lying. Of course they wanted something flashy, they were just being modest about it, “I’ll be fine with something small.”
By something small, they still meant something fancy, just condensed. Their pretend modesty wasn’t going to work on Green.
“Oh, of course.” Green indulged, “I just meant… if you wanted to do anything. Like if you wanted to have a party?”
“A… party?” White repeated, giving Green a little more of their attention, “What, for a birthday?”
White looked at Green like they were spouting utter nonsense at them.
“Yeah. A birthday party.” Green blinked, not quite understanding that look on their face. They hadn’t said anything particularly out of the ordinary, had they? Oh, maybe it was weird to ask someone if they wanted to have a birthday party when they were above the age of 21. That didn’t seem right, though, since Red had a birthday party a couple months ago, and they’re older than White was.
Green was the youngest (other than Lime, technically). Sometimes called ‘the baby’ by their former co-workers. So maybe there were just some things that they didn’t know.
“I don’t really… do parties.” White murmured, with the same tone that they used when they were being picky over things. Green had heard it a lot by now, “They’re not really places I find myself. I prefer social gatherings.”
Uh huh. Green did remember the fact that White had never attended any of their pizza parties on the Skeld. And they threw a lot of pizza parties.
“Aren’t they the same thing?” Green asked, as White slowly put down their phone.
“Not quite.” White answered casually, “First of all, they’re a lot more formal. Second, they’re a good place to get connections. You know, business trades, collaborations. The necessities, really.”
“Have you ever actually… had a party, White?” Moments after the words left their mouth, White’s expression changed, becoming a little more complicated and then suddenly guarded, “You haven’t, have you? That actually kinda surprises me.”
“I have not, no,” White raised an eyebrow, looking a little confused, “ Why’s that surprising?”
“I thought you’d love that kind of stuff.” Green explained, “Birthday parties are all about the person whose birthday it is. Surely you’d be all about that. You’ve never had a party dedicated to you?”
“I had a birthday dinner when I turned 18.” White thought back, “A Michelin star restaurant that makes your food in front of you. But that was pretty low key, I’d hardly call that a party.”
These two had morbidly different definitions of what being ‘low key’ meant.
“Right… did you just not want to?” Green contemplated aloud, “That doesn’t sound particularly like you.”
“I suppose I just… wasn’t offered.” White commented with an unbothered shrug, “And besides, having to put together an entire party myself? Whoof… I’d do anything but that. Though, a party dedicated to just me… maybe that would be worth all the effort.”
“That I can see.” Green giggled.
Was the only reason they never had a birthday party… because no one had ever planned them one? What about when they were a kid, when that should have been their parent’s responsibility?
Green wanted to change that. That was one of the jobs that came with being a partner.
Green was going to throw them a birthday party! The best one they could ask for!
Before they had even started with anything, they were already thinking it up in their mind. They were going to need a venue, some food, maybe a little bit of music, and some guests. They murmured their plans under their breath and listed out what they needed on their stubby fingers, turning their body away to hide them when White glanced in their direction.
They weren’t allowed to know… because it was going to be a surprise party. The shock element was usually the cherry on top for a memorable birthday, and Green just needed to work on cooking up the rest of it in the couple weeks that they had before White’s birthday emerged.
The first part, the venue, had been relatively easy to find.
“Green, can you help me move some crates?” Asked their father, poking their head through their bedroom door at home.
“Of course!” They answered, hopping up off their bed. They quickly fell in line with their father, guiding them out to a large, open-fronted shed on their lot.
Their father had been cleaning out this shed as of late. A lot of the stuff in there had been sold for parts or refurbished, old belongings that their father had been too sentimental about for the longest time to muster it up inside of them to throw away. The rest, that was usable or not ready to be parted with, was being moved around the farm.
Green was the most obvious choice for a carrying companion. Considering their mother was relatively dainty, and their other siblings were children. They watched in real time, carrying crates back and forth with their father, as the shed began to open up more space around it, revealing a vast open space that had looked like a perfect venue for them. If they cleaned the lingering dust out, that is, but that wouldn’t be a particularly difficult job.
“Dad.” They asked as they lowered down one of their crates, “Are we going to be using the shed for anything?”
“Not for a little while.” Their father responded, rubbing their finger along their chin in deep thought, “Why do you ask, kiddo?”
“I was just thinking… I wanted to throw a party for White, but I wasn’t sure where I could host it.” Green spoke, flicking their gaze back towards the shed.
“Well, why look?” Their dad boomed, placing a hand on their shoulder. They seemed to be on the same wavelength as them as they followed their gaze, “We got a perfectly sturdy shed over there. Plus, there’s path leading up to it, so they won’t have to worry about getting any mud on their shoes!”
“That’s right!” Green exclaimed, “Does that mean I can use it?”
“Knock yourself out, kid,” They pat their shoulder though it felt a lot more like a slap. Then they lowered their tone and pointed accusingly at Green’s chest, “But don’t trash anything, or you’re cleanin’ it up.”
“No sir-ree!” Green yelped, “I’ll have everything tidied up as soon as the party is over!”
“That works for me.” Their father agreed.
Great! So once they had everything cleaned out then they would have a perfectly good venue to use. And for free! No sudden expenses piled on as building hosts attempted to justify basically just reaching in and stealing money right from their pocket. That was a result!
Next up— food.
Food… food. They hadn’t known what they’d do for food, considering White’s whole thing with dairy. They weren’t sure if they were legitimately intolerant to dairy or if they just didn’t consume any of it out of principle, but they didn’t exactly intend to find out the hard way. So, they were getting a dairy free cake! That seemed like the most obvious solution.
For that one, they went to Yellow and Brown. They had been starting to extend to other foods between the time that Green had spent with them on the Skeld, and while they weren’t ‘bakers’ now per se, Green didn’t have any doubt that the would be able to produce an amazing dairy free cake if they pleaded with them enough. Maybe shook out their pockets out to see if they had anything to offer up to them in return.
Though, there was of course another issue that came along with that.
“White’s birthday’s soon?” Yellow asked once Green had explained the whole situation to them, already sounding disinterested, “Green, you’re great. You are. I just cannot stand White.”
“Too entitled.” Brown murmured from beside them, nodding along to Yellow’s words.
“I know… but they’re getting better! You have to trust me! Oh– please!” Green pleaded as the two looked between each other with slightly awkward looks, “Don’t think of doing it for them! Think of doing it for me! I really don’t know where I’m going to get a dairy free cake from.”
The pair before Green were silent for a couple moments. Brown placed their hand on their shoulder, which Yellow covered with their own hand, smiling faintly as they slowly rubbed it.
“I can’t turn anyone down on food.” Yellow relented, “But on one condition.”
“Mhm.” Brown hummed. Were they able to communicate what they were feeling to each other with simple eye contact? Admittedly that was a little impressive.
Green looked determined, “Anything.”
“I’m not going to a party with a bunch of people like that. And Brown ain’t, either. We’ll just drop the cake off and leave.” Yellow stated, as Brown nodded their head beside them, “If they start gettin’ too cocky, I want you to throw the cake onto the floor.”
“But– that would be a waste of food! And so messy…” Green grimaced imagining it.
“Cocky people don’t get cake.” They answered firmly, “Even if it is their birthday.”
“Alright, alright.” They’ll take what they can get, “Thanks a lot, you two. I really appreciate it.”
“You’re doing a good thing, Green.” Yellow commented when Green’s back was turned. Green looked back, the two still holding onto one another, and nodded purposefully.
So then, what about the rest of the food?
They had the cake from Yellow and Brown, but cake wasn’t the only thing that people ate at birthday parties. They needed more than that– snack foods! Kinda like food platters-
–got it.
Finding the person hadn’t been particularly difficult, since they were always around, but finding a way to find them without alerting White had been a little more complicated.
“Where are you going?” White raised their head from off Green. They heard footsteps pass behind them, and knew that was probably their chance.
“Oh, um… you know, I…” White squinted at them, sitting up from where they were laying, “Ughhhh, I… need to go make a call.”
“...sure.” White didn’t look like they believed them, which is a horror that they would have to deal with later.
They quickly left down the hall, where they turned into the kitchen. A space that was vastly larger than the kitchen that Yellow and Brown had gotten on the Skeld, that they hardly even set foot in. The jealousy was understandable, as they watched White’s personal chef collect ingredients from the panty.
“Heyyyy…” They slid up to them, attempting to lean against one of the shelves, but then almost slipping and having to scramble to keep upright, “Can I ask you a favour really fast?”
“I don’t know if I’m supposed to be talking to you.” The chef brushed past them, though it didn’t necessarily feel like they were being pushed away. More that they were just trying to do the job that they were being paid to do.
“It’s about White.” They said, following behind the chef like an animal waiting for droppings, “I need some food platters made for them for a birthday party for them. They probably won’t need to be too big, just a couple of snacks that they like. Oh— maybe some drinks, too.”
The chef gave them the same long, blank stare that Yellow and Brown did. Green grew nervous, fiddling, “At the very least, would you be able to tell me the kinda things they like? That way I can go get them myself? Please?”
“Is White aware of this?” They asked, glancing down the hall. Green jumped up in an attempt to keep them from saying anything.
“You can’t tell them! It’s a surprise!” Green pleaded. They watched them contemplate, before nodding slowly.
“You’ll have to find out how to collect them yourself, then. But I’ll see what I can do.” The chef said.
“Oh my gosh– great. Thank you.” Green breathed, deflating. They sagged against the island for a couple moments like a deflated balloon, far more relieved than they should have been for a simple conversation.
Fortunately, with that out of the way, that was another thing checked off their list.
When it came to music, the first person Green thought to go to was Black. They didn’t exactly have similar music tastes, they learned as they once sat through one of Black’s playlists with them, but they did have a speaker they may be able to borrow. And if they could, then they could try and find music they could play that would be more appropriate for someone like White.
“Yeah, I can help with that.” Black had shrugged simply, “I don’t think I’ll need it then, anyway.”
“Really? Oh! That’s helpful!” Green perked up happily.
“Yeah. I’ve mostly been using Cyan’s music player anyway. We like to listen to music together now.” Black mentioned.
They thought they’d heard about this before. Black and Cyan had moved in together, a recent development from Black’s distaste of the latter, and now spent a lot of their time together. Green had been invited to their housewarming party one time, which had been a little surprising since they were so new to the group, where the two spent a long time discussing by the speaker what music they should play. They decided on putting together a playlist, compiling the two’s respective favourite songs, which they realised were a lot more in common than initially suspected.
“I could sense someone else was here.” Cyan’s voice spoke from the doorway, the pair of them turning their attention to them, “Hi, Green. It’s been so long– I was starting to miss you!”
“I didn’t go anywhere!” Green answered, as Cyan gave them a long hug that almost made them doubt themselves, “But it’s good to see you.”
“Did you need something?” Cyan inquired once they stepped back.
“Oh, they just wanted to borrow my speaker. Apparently White’s having a party.” Black answered for them. After a moment's pause, an idea had Green’s head snapping in Cyan’s direction.
“While I’m here, Cyan… you’re good at festive stuff, right?” Green inquired.
“I think the track record speaks for itself.” Cyan responded, conspiring, their eyes lowering.
“Something like that…” Green blushed, averting their gaze, “I could really use your help coming up with fun things to do for the party. I’m really worried I won’t pick the right thing, and that they’ll be bored the whole time.”
“Aren’t you dating them? Surely you’d know the kinda things they like.” Black cocked their head to the side, their voice tilting.
“Well, yeah, but… I don’t really know anything about throwing adult parties. The only parties I’ve ever thrown were for my younger siblings, and most of them are still kids… what if adults do things differently and I mess it all up?” Green’s hands began feeling a little clammy, which they attempted to wipe down on their hoodie.
“Hey! Don’t work yourself up!” Cyan shook Green’s shoulders, attempting to snap them out of whatever spiral they were beginning to spin themselves around in, “We can make this a super good party! That’s why you have us to help!”
“Yeah… yeah, okay.” Green swallowed hard, nodding stiffly, “Thanks, guys.”
The guest list had been the most complicated thing on their check list. They were well aware that White had friends; naturally, but they weren’t sure who any of them were
White simply tended to keep their life outside of Green private for as much as they could, and Green hadn’t tried to push them. If they didn’t feel comfortable introducing Green to the people around them just yet, then they didn’t have to. It wasn’t like Green felt jealous, or unloved or anything like that.
Just made throwing a party considerably more complicated than they would have wanted it to be.
They tried to tiptoe around the topic as much as they could.
“Hypothetically, if you were having a small get together of a group of your friends, what kind of people would you invite?” They tried to sound inconspicuous, but the intensity in their stare was somewhat giving them away.
White stared back at them for a while, “Are you going to use this information for something?”
“...” Green didn’t respond for a long while, “No.”
“Uh huh.” They squinted at them, “Well, that’s a tough question. I have a lot of friends, and I’m sure all of them would want to be invited if they had the opportunity.”
The corner of Green’s lips twitched affectionately, “Right… Right… I just meant in general, though. And if it wasn’t a business thing.”
“Probably the guys from my country club.” White thought, “They can be such a hoot.”
“Country club… country club…” Where was the country club White went to? Probably… in the country, “And, if I wanted to… I dunno, just spit balling, contact any of those guys?”
“That’d be very complicated. They don’t exactly just ‘give out’ their information to people.” White mentioned. Green groaned, causing White’s eyebrows to raise, “What?”
“Nothing… nothing. Everything’s a-okay over here.” Green looked away, hiding their exasperated look.
That had been a process and a half. First they had to figure out who their friends were, by looking back at their online profile to find any tagged people. They probably could have just… asked, but they were worried that they were being too obvious about it. And eventually they had gotten enough contacts, but it was a whole other tug of war to be able to convince these people to come, using every sophisticated word in their vocabulary to describe their barnyard party as a lot cooler and more interesting than it probably was to them.
A rural, open field party? Sure, something like that. They didn’t even know anymore. They got a couple acceptance responses, though many did not respond, and Green had to take what they could get given the circumstances. They subtly hinted the guest number to the chef then left with some crackers to act like they hadn’t been doing anything.
The days leading up to the party, Green spent looking up decorations, trying to figure out if there was such a thing as ‘rich people part decorations’. They received images of long dinner tables, fancy white cloths and stacks upon stacks of food.
That was disappointing, No balloons? No streamers? No party hats?
The thought of White in a bright red party hat made them giggle. But people of White’s level of prestige would for sure think that putting a cone of cardstock on their head would be beneath them, so they had to swallow their endearment for their partner’s sake.
They always complained when things weren’t ‘high end’ enough. If a place didn’t look like a bunch of wealthy people would sit there cackling like refined santa clauses over a scone, then what was the point in them showing their face there? Other than when it was Green’s house, of course. Probably the only exception. But the day was about White, not their little gay feelings.
Green acquired round tables and fold out chairs, as well as a longer table for all the snacks and refreshments. They even dug up some old fairy lights they thought would be perfect for stringing up. Finding appropriate sized cloth had been a little trickier, but they were able to find a packet of disposable table cloths that seemed to do the job pretty well. Then even tried to do the little corner folds that they saw, once they had set out to get everything set up the night before.
They’d actually set out in the afternoon to set up the shed. They were worried that it may take longer time than they thought it would, and they didn’t want White to show up and there would be nothing prepared. It was a relatively large shed overall, even if they only planned to decorate a small part of it– they couldn’t just kick everything off to the side and try and act like fancy people had no peripherals. They would leave before the party had even started!
And Green had been right to make that judgement. The sun had set by the time that they had scrubbed all the residual dirt and grime that was lingering in the shed. Oddly removing the whole ‘rustic’ feel of the place, like White had commented the first time they ever met each other, but they had a feeling they were only saying that because they were trying to be nice. Leaving it would make White several ways uncomfortable.
Once they had gotten started with the cleaning, they thought that they might as well put all the decorations up, too. It wouldn’t hurt them to finish while they were at it, which would save them the effort of having to get up early in the morning to decorate. Besides, they didn’t know when their helpers would start showing up, so they needed to make sure they had a window in that period of time.
…Green ended up staying up the entire night working. They stood back with finality once the sun was beginning to return in the sky, marking an entire cycle.
Awhh. That sucked. They were really hoping that they were able to at least get a somewhat decent night’s sleep out of the night, especially when hosting a party required as much energy as someone could get.
But it was okay! They were able to at least try to act energised for a couple hours, even if they weren’t feeling it. And a cup of coffee could basically get the work done, in any case. It was fine! They were excited, even!
Before they knew it, the final ingredients to their project were arriving. Brown and Yellow came with this beautiful cake that they placed down at the refreshments table, Black with the speaker and Cyan with a colourful binder of activities, and one of White’s attendants that they pleaded with to deliver drinks, snacks and a couple utensils.
Then, everything was right– a thought that made an awfully exhausted smile form on their face. They really hoped that this would go great.
They glanced back and forth, side to side continuously like their head was on a swivel, for a couple of minutes before expensive cars began pulling into the driveway. Green rushed over to greet each of them as they came, guiding them down the very specific path that they had swept over down to the shed. As the numbers increased, the guests began meandering with one another, with a very unfestive but at least pleasant atmosphere.
White had arrived last. Probably because they told them to arrive last. Their car came about ten minutes after the last guest arrived, and Green was there before they were even able to step out of the back door. They blocked their vision with their body while trying to act like they weren’t doing anything at all, acting eager to see them.
“White! You came!” They exclaimed, their arms held out like they were going to hug them, but never leaning in to do so.
“Of course I did. It’d be impolite to flunk on plans without warning.” They answered, as though that should have been obvious, “Unless it’s me, of course. But not when it comes to you.”
“Awww.” Green crooned. They reached into their pocket and took out a plain bandana, “Here, you should put this over your eyes. I cleaned it, don’t worry!”
“...” White stared at it. The idea of being ‘intentionally blindfolded’ didn’t appear to make much sense to them, and the expression on their face was not concealing that fact, “Why, exactly?”
“Because… because…” Green trailed off, realising they’d forgotten to make up an excuse there, “I just want to have my own privacy now! Of… where my house is!”
“I can see your house from here.” White deadpanned, “That’s not really how this works.”
“Maybe if I try hard enough it can!” Green pleaded, holding out the bandana further to White.
“I better not get a rash from this.” White relented, as Green quickly began to place the bandana over their eyes and tie it around the back, “You’re gonna have to be my guide, here, I can’t see anything.”
“This way!” Green held onto their hand, leading them down the path.
The shed was a little way away from their house, and White quickly began noticing that they had been walking for what they perceived to be a little too long.
“Haven’t we passed it by now?” They asked.
“Nope!” Green responded, then said a little louder than before, “Just a little further!”
Green distantly picked up on murmuring from the shed, as the guests tried to quieten each other down. A small confused noise came from White’s mouth as Green laughed idly, tugging them along a little faster.
They stopped in front of the shed. For a moment, they watched White’s blank face, then took a long deep breath out.
“Well… here we are.” They murmured, feeling nervous all of a sudden, as they pulled the bandana off of White’s face.
The full, decorated shed revealed itself to White, and they glanced between it and Green, confusion prominent in their expression.
“What’s this?” They asked, “Why are all my friends in a barn?”
“Technically it’s a shed, but– ahh. Nevermind.” Green fumbled, flustered, “It’s a birthday party. For you! Or, would you prefer ‘celebration’?”
“That does sound more proper.” White thought, before a small smile began to play on their face, “You did this all… for me?”
“Mhm. Happy birthday.” Green pecked White on their cheek.
“My birthday’s actually not for another two days, but who am I to judge? Thank you, Greenie.” Once Green had pulled away, White caught their face and placed a more purposed kiss on their lips.
Green giggled before pushing White a little towards the group, “Go! They’re all here for you!”
Slowly the nerves began to simmer down as they watched White naturally integrate into their friendship group, and Cyan eagerly introduce themselves as the ‘party host’ of the party. Green didn’t see it as particularly inaccurate, so they didn’t comment on it, smiling softly as they kept their distance near the entrance of the barn.
White looked happy, laughing along with the group in the same subtly honking way like the rest of them did, as though they had somewhere they fit in. It brought them great joy to see, whatever the case was, that there were people who made White legitimately happy. On that note, they already had high favours in Green’s eyes, for looking out for their partner. Though they’d probably crash the party if they tried to interact with any of them, so they decided to just stay back while everyone was getting settled in.
Wine glasses were poured and snacks were already being munched on… all of their hard work felt worth it. And with their worries leaving their head, they felt a little more numb. Not in a bad way, just in an exhausted way. They could very much feel that all their effort was catching up to them, causing everything inside of them to slow down. They sat down on one of the hay bales in the corner of the room, that they hadn’t moved out but also hadn’t thought much issue would be taken to; no one was going to go near them, anyway. Eventually they laid down on it, glancing over at the group without particularly focussed eyes. It wasn’t that they were disinterested, just that they had nothing to be alert for.
Everything was fine. Green smiled to themselves without thinking, their peripherals closing in on their partner.
The most important thing in the room…
…
…White was kneeling beside them, the next thing they knew. Carding one of their hands through the side of their hair that wasn’t being mangled into a stack of hay. They scrubbed at their eyes tiredly, and a doting expression on their partner’s face came into view.
“What’s that look for?” They asked dazedly.
White straightened up a little, their eyebrows raised, “What look?”
“Like I’m some of your prized jewellery, or something?” Green blinked, sitting up, “I’m not sure.”
“Well, you are pretty dear to me. That’s why I call you my dear.” They answered.
It was darker. Oranges and pinks painted the sky like a mural, reflecting the warm colours on their surroundings. The guests were gone, but the precisely cut cake and the moved chairs made it obvious that people had been there intentionally. And suddenly they felt that little bit of dread returning.
“Oh, boy… I messed everything up, didn’t I?” They damned themselves. Sleeping through the entirety of your partner’s party- sorry, celebration- was definitely a move to make, “Sorry, I’m so bad at this.”
“What do you mean?” White asked, genuinely sounding like they didn’t understand. Sometimes you could tell that they were just acting oblivious to be nice or get Green to explain something more to them, but this didn’t seem to be one of those times.
“I’m supposed to be being a good host… doing host things. But I didn’t do any of that.” They answered, “I hope I didn’t ruin your celebration. I just wanted you to have a good time. I really, really did.”
“I had a great time.” White said. Green glanced at them with pleading eyes, “Good atmosphere. Especially when it got to be about me. Though, we did have to top up our own drinks.”
Ah! They should have thought of that! Drat!
“You know what I like, to be fair.” White finished. Green’s eyes sparkled, "...thanks. For your hard work.”
“Really? Do you mean it?” They squeaked, “Even if it wasn’t super fancy? I didn’t just waste your time?”
“Greenie.”
“Yeah?”
“Stop talking.”
“Okay.”
White picked some hay out of Green’s hair, flicking it onto the ground, “I enjoy a little barnyard venue. Gives us a nice view.”
“Of… a farm?” Green glanced outside.
White grabbed their face and turned their head to the side, “Of the country. Isn’t it beautiful?”
Green lived in an area that wasn’t filled every square inch with houses. Their neighbours lived relatively far away, leaving a terrain of trees and fields outside their farm yard.
“It is.” They smiled, feeling a little better, “Oh, let me at least give you my present.”
“Awww, Greenie! You shouldn’t have!” They should. They definitely should have. White sat there expectantly as Green left to their house to retrieve a small box and bring it back to White. As soon as it was placed in their hands, they were so excited that they shoved the plates to the side to make space on the table, and Green had to hold their hand out at the edge to make sure none of them fell.
That would be tedious to clean up.. And besides, they kinda wanted to try one of the left over finger sandwiches.
“What is it? What is it?” They asked, rhetorically, as they began to lift up the top lid. A small puff sounded, then they yanked the lid away.
Green got White a tiara. A golden-toned one, to be specific, which they thought would look nicer on them than the silver, with shimmering crystals embedded in the wiring.
White’s entire expression lit up.
“Finally! Someone recognising me as what I am!” They exclaimed, holding their treasure up in the light, “Oh! It’s beautiful!”
They saw it in the window of a jewellery shop, all the way at the back. But their eyes had been drawn to it immediately. It would be perfect for their partner.
Admittedly it was a little pricey, but the way that they beamed warmed their heart.
“It’s not an actual one–” They tried to say.
“--Put it on me! Quick!” White thrusted out the tiara to Green. Cautious not to smear their fingerprints on the thing, they handled it with the tip of their fingernails, raising it on top of White’s head and dropping it down. White stood back up from bowing, somehow even more excited, “How do I look? Good, right?”
“Amazing.” Green breathed, awe-struck by them.
“I know.” They answered cheekily, having not even seen themselves in a mirror yet. Naturally, they just knew, “Don’t worry. As your monarch, I promise I’ll be kind to you.”
The corner of Green’s lip pulled into a lopsided, half-smile, “Have I started something I probably shouldn’t have?”
They remembered something someone told them before, though they can’t tell if they were serious about it.
“No, but you can finish it.” They pointed at Green, “I command you to dance with me.”
Green paused.
“W…what?” They blubbered.
“You heard me! I didn’t get to spend time with you this evening! So I want to dance.” They responded, stubbornly. They turned their head back, where Cyan was still standing by the borrowed speaker. “You wouldn’t mind one more song, would you?”
“Ooh!” They perked up, “Not at all! Finally, some movement!”
“What do you say, Greenie?” White held their hand out to Green, while Cyan scuttled over to their phone like a little bug to turn some music back on.
“Really, I’m no dancer…” Green blushed, looking away.
“I’ll try not to say anything about it.” White responded.
Green reached their hand out, almost pulling it back, before they placed it carefully into White’s.
White stepped further into the middle of the shed, where there was an open space between the confectionery table and the seating area. The evening light began to roll along their face, tinting their loving eyes. Coloured by all sorts of colours that they probably never would have caught themselves surrounded by before. Whites and pale purples, that was all they knew.
And yet, they looked towards their partner, and saw greens and browns and pinks along their body. All the colours that they had been missing out on, there to be made up for them. Soft music began playing from the speakers, most likely a trial and error or finding out what these people actually did like.
“You know something I like about you?” White asked, pulling Green against their chest, “You’re more interested than most people I know.”
“What? In you?” Yeah, I mean. They’d hope so.
“In everything.” White answered, beginning to fall into the rhythm of the music floating around the shed. They squeezed Green’s hand against their own, their other hand snaking down to hold onto Green’s waist. This was meant to be a slow dance, right? Green thought they knew something about that. They placed their hand on White’s shoulder, expecting that they would be told they were doing something wrong, but nothing came, “I didn’t even have to beg you to come up here with me.”
“Because I love you.” Green glanced down at their feet. White was beginning to move their feet in a rhythm, that Green tried to mirror in their own, “I want to– ohh– ahh. No– wait.”
Green accidentally stepped on White’s foot. White lost their balance as they tried to step out, but Green prevented them from falling.
“Back with your right, step left, together, then forward with your left.” White instructed, lightly nudging Green back as they did.
“Back… left…” Green stared at their feet even more intensely, essentially burning holes in their shoes, as they mumbled along to their actions. “In… okay. I think I’m getting the hang of it.”
“Look up. Or else you’ll trip.” White mentioned. Green snapped their head up.
“Right!” They squeaked, “Anyway… it can be really scary doing new things. Like this– but… I feel a little less scared when I have you around.”
“Oh, don't start. You’re gonna make me blush.” White preened, starting to move a little more automatically now. The music consumes the pair of them as they step around in a circle in tandem. The space that they had felt far more vast than it actually was, the world melting away everything else besides them and the moment that they were sharing together. Green stopped having to think, just needed to trust White in the easy way that they lead them.
“What? Are you above that, now?” Green snorted teasingly.
“Watch your tone in front of your monarch.” White harumphed.
“Sorry, your highness.” Green grumbled affectionately.
The longer the music played, the more confident that Green started to get in themselves. It was actually getting kind of easy!
Until White spun them around boldly. Twirled them around as they were barely able to keep their own footing. When they brought them back in, completely dazed, they blinked like a mad person, holding tightly onto White’s shoulders like they were trying to cling.
For a couple moments, they weren’t able to think. They were completely thrown for a loop, before they started laughing.
“White!” They exclaimed, “Warn me next time!”
“The music stops for no one.” White pulled Green back in, returning to their stepping rhythm with them, “Keep up.”
The pair began to pick up the pace, waltzing around the room together. The sound of music gradually grew to be covered by the sound of them laughing with each other, spinning one another around and desperately trying to keep one another upright.
This. This was it. The happy White that they wanted to see, feeling wholeheartedly appreciated. They feel considerably more complete when they remember that White is this happy because of Green– not because of what they do or what they can offer but because they are there in the first place. They couldn’t help but smile along, all the way until their cheeks started hurting.
But in this little bubble they’d formed, all that mattered.
Around them, the music began to quieten down.
Green cupped White’s face, closing in on them. But White clapped their hand over Green’s mouth, preventing them from getting any closer.
“You’re going to have to try harder than that.” They spoke, “I’m not that easy to satisfy.”
“You sure?” Green asked, but they complied anyway. They held White tighter and dipped them down, kissing them gently for several seconds.
White was red when they pulled back.
There went that idea, clearly.
“Better.” They spluttered, smiling.
White stood back up, still caught in Green’s arms, who began to lean against them contently.
“So, nice birthday?” They asked, looking up at their partner.
“Sure was.” White answered contently, “Though, I still expect you to come over on my actual birthday. Just you and I.”
And Green wouldn’t want anything different.