Monday: Birthdays

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Hello, everyone. I’m draycevixen and I'll be your guest host this week.

Todays theme is Birthdays. Prompts can be anything about Birthdays from the actual day someone was born, to a celebration, rite of passage or even the insane search for the perfect gift. You know the drill. :D

Just a few rules:
No more than five prompts in a row.
No more than three prompts in the same fandom.
Use the character's full names and fandom's full name for ease adding to the Lonely Prompts spreadsheet.
No spoilers in prompts for a month after airing, or use the spoiler cut option found here.
If your fill contains spoilers, warn and leave plenty of space, or use the above mentioned spoiler cut.

Prompts should be formatted as follows: [Use the character's full names and fandom's full name]
Fandom, Character +/ Character, Prompt

Some examples to get the ball rolling...

Person of Interest, Harold Finch/John Reese, how do you top an apartment?
Forever, Henry Morgan & Abe Morgan, the year Abe was finally older than Henry is believed to be
Lucifer(TV), Lucifer Morningstar +/ any, the idea of birthdays fascinates him

We are now using AO3 to bookmark filled prompts. If you fill a prompt and post it to AO3 please add it to the Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2016 collection. See further notes on this new option here.

Not feeling any of today’s prompts? Check out the just created Lonely Prompts Spreadsheet. For more recent prompts to write, you can also use LJ’s advanced search options to limit keyword results to only comments in this community.

While the Lonely Prompts Spreadsheet and LJ's advanced search options are available, bookmarking the links of prompts you like might work better for searching for in the future.

tag=Birthdays

Comments

[nagi-schwarz.livejournal.com]

Gundam Wing, Duo Maxwell (+/ any); no one actually knows when Duo's birthday is, but he's worked out something for himself.

Fill: Gundam Wing - Duo - Changes

[lil-1337.livejournal.com]

As an orphan on the streets Duo, and everyone he knew, had used the 'it's my birthday' con a time or two. Though, to be honest, he preferred to straight up steal something instead of scamming. He felt less guilty that way. He justified it to himself by the fact that he didn't actually know what date he was born on so it might actually be his birthday.

As an adult, though, he needed an actual date because every piece of paperwork, and there was a ton of them, required it. He found out very quickly that making up random dates caused more problems than it solved.

So, after some serious thought he finally settled on the day he first met Heero. It made sense since that was the first time that his life really made a change - for the better.

[leni-ba.livejournal.com]

Buffyverse. Buffy Summers (+any). "My birthday is cursed."

[leni-ba.livejournal.com]

Angel the Series. Angel & Connor. Things happened differently on the day Connor was born.

[leni-ba.livejournal.com]

any. any. Five reasons not to celebrate one's birthday.

Fill. SGA/Dollhouse. Joe. TW: child abuse, DVRCA

[nagi-schwarz.livejournal.com]

1. When Joe was turning ten, he was pretty sure his parents had forgotten his birthday (Mom was working too hard, Dad was drunk like usual). So on the morning of, when he saw his father sitting at the kitchen table, he asked if they were doing anything for his special day. His father said nothing, just struck. Joe saw stars, felt blazing pain in his head. He woke in the hospital with a concussion and a shattered cheekbone and, if anyone asked, told them he'd had a little too much fun playing football on his special day.

2. Turning thirteen was a huge deal. Finally a teenager. Later curfew. Allowed to go to the lame middle school dances they had sometimes on Friday nights. Joe spent his special day out on his grandpa's farm, mucking out the stalls, milking cows, and wrangling bales of hay. When he finally made it home, exhausted, he sprawled out on his bed without even taking his shoes off. He was awakened sometime later by a familiar orchestra - father screaming, mother crying, the rhythm of fists on flesh. He rolled out of bed and slid under it, waiting, wary of footsteps. When silence fell, he dared to emerge. He sat on the bed and doodled in his notebook, tooling around with some of the new algebra formulas he'd learned at school last week. He knew he was safe when Mom slipped into his room. She had a little cupcake on a plate. She sat beside him on the bed and planted a candle in the green frosting, lit it. Her tears extinguished it before he could blow it out after he made his wish, so he huddled close to her and gave her half the cupcake and decided the next year that he wouldn't even bother with his birthday.

3. Joe had planned meticulously so he could get his driver's license on his sixteenth birthday. The first time he got to drive all by himself, no adult supervision, he took his unconscious mother to the hospital because she had 'fallen down the stairs' yet again. Not even the nurses bought it anymore, and when they looked at him in disgust, he could only look away.

4. Joe officially turned eighteen somewhere along I-80 between Omaha and Hastings. His mother was asleep in the passenger seat, a massive bruise blooming on her cheekbone. She had her purse and all the cash she could carry. They'd pawned her wedding ring at the first pawn shop they found. The only thing Joe had brought with him was his acceptance letter to Stanford.

5. Joe didn't get a nineteenth birthday. Or a twentieth. Or any of innumerable birthdays after that, although as Foxtrot he was a party favor for plenty of other people's birthdays. John Sheppard was only a few weeks older than him, so he marked time with John's birthdays, but John didn't get to celebrate all of his birthdays either. Joe felt awful when he finally had a body and a mind of his own and Evan baked him a birthday cake, and John and Rodney and Sam and Daniel and Cam and his mother were all singing to him, and he burst into tears.

[leni-ba.livejournal.com]

any. any/any. "I forgot your birthday again, didn't I?"

Fill: Dollhouse/SGA, McShep

[nagi-schwarz.livejournal.com]

Rodney hurried through the corridors, mind spinning. He had to find Joe. He'd been in the middle of ignoring one of Bill Lee's rants about World of Warcraft when it hit him: if they used the technology the Dollhouse used to stack imprints in a human brain, they could quadruple the amount of data in databurst transmissions between Earth and Atlantis. But he needed Joe for his math skills to make sure it would work. He passed John's office (he was rarely in it, usually bunked down with Evan, who kept him on track) and saw John at his desk, cradling a hand around a cupcake. With a candle on it.

Rodney screeched to a halt, mind racing. He stood in the doorway, cringing. "I forgot your birthday again, didn't I?"

John looked up, startled. "What? No. Evan would have been posting reminder stickies on your computer monitor for every day of the week leading up to my birthday, we'd have had my favorite cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and at lunch Evan would have insisted everyone sing to me, and he'd also have baked me a cake."

"Then what are you doing?" Rodney stared at the bright pink cupcake frosting. He thought quickly. "Oh no. Are you having a private memorial for a fallen comrade? I'll go."

"It's not my birthday," John said. "It's Traci's."

Rodney stared at him. "Traci has a birthday?"

"She's a person," John said patiently. "They all have birthdays."

"Oh. Do you celebrate all of them?"

"Yes. Nothing big. Just, you know, cupcake and candle and wish."

"Well, in that case." Rodney sat down opposite John and scooted in. "Happy Birthday, Traci," he said solemnly.

The smile that crossed John's face was distinctly not-John. "Thanks, Rodney." Traci leaned over and kissed him on the nose, then sat back, closed her eyes, took a deep breath. Wished. Blew out the candle.

And wolfed down the cupcake faster than Rodney could blink.

Joe cleared his throat from the doorway. "Hey, Rodney. Heard you were looking for me?" He blinked. "Oh, hey. Happy Birthday, Traci."

Traci beamed at him.

Rodney turned to Joe in exasperation. "Does everyone know all of his birthdays except for me?"

"Hers," Traci said patiently.

"We lived together for a couple of decades," Joe said. "I know all their birthdays. So what did you need me for?"

"Math," Rodney said. "'Bye, Traci." He stood up, grabbed Joe's arm, and hustled him back to the lab. In a low voice, he said, "Does Evan know all of their birthdays?"

"I made him a calendar," Joe said. "Where do you think John gets all the cupcakes from? He knows all their favorite flavors."

"Could I get a copy of that calendar?" Rodney asked.

Joe smiled. "Sure. So, math? That's so specific."

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Come on."

After six hours and several heated discussions (shouting matches that sent the other scientists and airmen guarding the lab fleeing), they were closer to the answer, but hadn't quite found it yet, and Rodney was in possession of a little pocket-sized calendar with a couple dozen birthdays marked in it.

[leni-ba.livejournal.com]

any. any. December birthday = Christmas gifts only.

Fill: SG-1, Sam, Teal'c, GEN

[nagi-schwarz.livejournal.com]

When Sam stepped into her office and saw the wrapped package on her desk, she paused. It was a box, regularly-shaped, large enough for a book or a movie or any number of things. It didn't look dangerous. Surely it wouldn't have been delivered if it hadn't passed safety checks. But it looked so strange. Because it had wrapping paper on it. Birthday wrapping paper, which was almost impossible to find in December. (Jack always got her an extra-nice Christmas gift on account of combining the money he'd have spent on separate gifts. Daniel never specified which occasion his gift was for but always used Christmas wrapping paper.)

Sam approached it carefully. There was a card on top in unfamiliar handwriting, painstakingly neat print. She opened the card - it was a Simpsons-themed card, so she suspected Jack's hand in it.

But there was a simple "many happy returns" and a signature...in hieroglyphs.

The gift was from Teal'c?

Sam sat down and unwrapped it carefully. She couldn't remember the last time she'd gotten an actual birthday gift. Probably not since her mother had died.

Inside the box was a beautiful hand-tooled leather journal. The inscription on the fly-leaf from Teal'c was in that some painstakingly neat print (when had he learned to write English, not just read and speak it?), offering her a beautiful place to record her scientific thoughts and ideas.

Sam smoothed a hand over the heavy paper, the leather cover, and smiled. She'd have to ask Daniel when Teal'c's birthday was and how they celebrated on Chulak.

Later that day, when she saw Teal'c between his rounds of thrashing marine recruits in the training hall, she thanked him for the thoughtful birthday gift. He inclined his head respectfully and smiled.

[megan-moonlight.livejournal.com]

Whitechapel, Joseph Chandler/Emerson Kent, Chandler spends so much time on trying to find a perfect gift for Kent that he ends up being late to Kent's party

Fill: Whitechapel - Joseph Chandler/Emerson Kent - Perfection

[lil-1337.livejournal.com]

Joe picked up his pace and checked his watch again. He hated that habit almost as much as he hated being late, which he was, to of all things, Em's birthday party. It would only be about fifteen minutes, but each one of them was an excruciating torture as they ticked by reminding him of how he was failing at his duties as a host and ... Well, whatever he and Em were; more than flatmates less than married. Regardless of the label relationships came with responsibilities and Joe was shirking his.

If only he had picked up Em's gift earlier, but instead, Joe had put it off. Tried to pretend that he had time before forcing himself to make a decision; a commitment that he couldn't go back on. Now it was done. It had only taken a full day of considering and then discarding knick knacks, gourmet cheeses and beers, books and DVD sets, before he finally found it. The most beautiful scarf Joe had ever seen. It was soft, warm and good quality though the price was dear. Still, it was the perfect shades and knowing that it would keep Em warm was worth the cost.

[megan-moonlight.livejournal.com]

Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the team, the team prepares a birthday party for Captain Holt

[megan-moonlight.livejournal.com]

The Flash(/Legends of Tomorrow), Mick Rory/Hartley Rathaway, Hartley didn't expect to get a birthday gift

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Person of Interest, Harold Finch/John Reese, how do you top an apartment?

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Forever, Henry Morgan & Abe Morgan, the year Abe was finally older than Henry is believed to be

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Lucifer(TV), Lucifer Morningstar +/ any, the idea of birthdays fascinates him

Fill

[nagi-schwarz.livejournal.com]

The expression on Chloe's face when she hands him the little pink envelope tells him that whatever is inside, it's going to be the source of endless amusement. So he opens the envelope slowly, studies the card for a long time.

It's pink and rainbow and covered in glitter and has cartoon images of that doll Trixie told him about one time.

It's an invitation to a birthday party.

"Don't ask me why," Chloe says, "but she specifically asked me to invite you. You don't have to come, obviously. I'm sure you have plenty of other things to do. Like running this joint, for instance."

Lucifer smiles. "I'd be delighted to attend. I'll mark it on my calendar right now." And with a thought, it's on the calendar on his phone.

Chloe rolls her eyes and walks away.

Truth is, Lucifer never gives much thought to birthdays. He was not born, he was created, brought into existence by the Ineffable Word and a mere thought. He opened his eyes and knew his function in a time before there was time, by human standards. So he's never celebrated a birthday, and never cared much for anyone else's. (He refuses to celebrate his half-brother's birthday, because it's a sham. Anyone with half a brain knows that lambing does not occur in mid-winter, and if Yehoshua really was born at the same time as the lambs, he was not born at Christmas.)

Why does a birthday occur? Trixie had no hand in her own creation, put forth no effort, expended no energy. And Trixie is to young to be credited with her continued survival while the planet made another trip around the sun. So why doesn't Chloe get the credit? Why is she not celebrated?

Because humans are silly and look for reasons to celebrate pretty much anything to liven up their dull little lives.

Lucifer doesn't like children, and he still does not comprehend why Trixie likes him, but he likes the look Chloe gets on her face when Trixie hugs him, so he will go to the party, and he will be the perfect attendee. His staff are amused when he quizzes them about proper birthday party etiquette, appropriate gifts for a girl Trixie's age.

Because he is Lucifer and he gets what he wants and he wants to be the most-liked person at the party, he spends ridiculous amounts of money on every version of Trixie's favorite doll with every available accessory and, for good measure, hires a hopeful actress to cosplay as said doll and accompany him to the party, less as his date and more to play with Trixie and her friends, but the look on Chloe's face will again be one for the history books.

At the party, his actress is a huge hit, Chloe's ex-husband casts him dirty looks the entire time, he scares the hell into a couple of the small girls who upset Trixie, and he seduces a handful of the small girls' mothers.

But as he stands behind the other adults and watches Trixie try to blow out the candles, he remembers a man and a woman, shivering alone on their first night away from a beautiful garden, huddled by a tiny fire kindled from the flame of an archangel's sword, and he thinks humans celebrate birthdays to delude themselves into thinking that they have defeated their own mortality for another year.

[marlex.livejournal.com]

MCU, Steve Rogers/Darcy Lewis, Darcy isn't crazy about her birthday, but Steve does some sleuthing and discovers the date to present her with a gift

Fill

[leni-ba.livejournal.com]

In the end, he asks Thor.

Because Darcy is always bragging that she's got dirt on the god of thunder, but Steve figures it must be reciprocal.

He's wrong, but Thor still gets him the information along with a warning from Jane: "Do not make a fuss-" and he frowns at little at the last term, an expression Steve would have mirrored a few months ago, but life with Darcy has meant an intensive course in 21st century speech "-about that day, because Darcy does not enjoy being reminded that she's actually growing older."

Some things stay the same, no matter the century, and Steve knows better than to ignore the advice of his girlfriend's best friend.

That day, he starts with breakfast in bed.

Darcy smiles sleepily, long used to this show of affection, and pats the space beside her so they can share.

He sends a bouquet of white flowers with a rose dyed in bright blue in the middle, which should arrive right before lunch at her office. She sends him a picture of the other women in her team posing with the flowers, and a text that says, "Marissa says thank you!"

Because if she kept all his gifts, not even her desk would fit in.

He answers with another text. "Have dinner with me?"

"Can we do Italian this time?"

He usually takes her to a Japanese restaurant which she adores and he is still getting used to. Italian means she's trying to please him. "Sure." He returns the favor and gives her the options: "Delivery pizza or fancy restaurant?"

This time her answer rakes a little longer. When it comes, it's a picture of a strappy knee-length black dress.

He loves Darcy in black, and she knows it.

They have a lovely time, laughing about their coworkers and arguing over whose turn it is to babysit Tony while Pepper is on a business trip. It's during dessert time, while they share a piece of chocolate cake, that Darcy sighs contently and puts a hand over his. "You know, I thought today would be awful, but it really hadn't been that bad at all." She smiled warmly. "Thanks to you."

Steve grins back. "You're welcome, sweetheart."

He doesn't wish her a happy birthday.

He'd rather keep working at making her feel special year-round.

[marlex.livejournal.com]

any, any, old enough that he/she has to covert the date through three (or more) calendar systems to figure out his/her birthday

Highlander, Methos

[shanachie-quill.livejournal.com]

Methos groaned as he opened the door to his apartment. “No.”

Richie and Joe paused, turning to face the open door. Richie’s arms were in the air as he was caught helping hang balloons and garlands. “Hey, Adam,” he commented.

“What. Are you doing in my apartment?” Methos asked.

Joe pointed at the balloons with his cane. “Happy birthday?” he tried.

Methos growled in response, glaring at the decorations. “I don’t celebrate my birthday.”

“Come on, everybody celebrates their birthday,” Richie insisted. “Even Mac celebrates, even if he doesn’t keep count.”

“I’m a bit older than Mac,” Methos pointed out. He knew the kid had no idea how old he actually was, but that he was older than Mcleod. “I have to convert the date through more than three calendars to make sure it’s right.”

Richie held his fingers up at that comment, mouthing, three calenders. Joe shrugged in response. Methos just shook his head. “Take it down,” he ordered as he left the room.

“So are you cancelling the strippers or am I?” Richie asked as soon as he thought Methos was out of hearing.


I can’t remember if Richie ever actually met Methos or knew him as Methos so I played a little fast and loose with canon here.

[marlex.livejournal.com]

Harry Potter, Harry Potter (/Ginny Weasley), he's now older than his father ever got to be

[marlex.livejournal.com]

The Walking Dead, Daryl Dixon/Beth Greene, he gets her a gift on a run

[lasairfhiona.livejournal.com]

He was out on a run when he came upon one of those trendy pharmacy/gift shops. Deciding to check for medications even though the place looked like it had been ransacked, he walked slowly through the shop checking for walkers but also looking for anything else they might need before he checked the pharmacy. He’d looked over at the display he’d just bumped into and saw this necklace with a butterfly encased on this round pendant with what looked like gears. Grabbing it, he stuffed it in his shirt pocket saving it to give it to Beth. He’d overheard her and Carol talking about birthdays and she was saying that they didn’t know the date anymore and would never know when anyone’s birthday was to be able to celebrate. She might not know when her birthday came along but he can make on for her and give her a present.

[marlex.livejournal.com]

MCU, Darcy Lewis/Steve Rogers, (253): Birthday Coupon: This text is good for alteast 3 hours of Birthday Sex. Redeamable any time, anywhere, and any style.

[vanillamagick.livejournal.com]

Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Spike/Willow, blow out the candles and make a wish

Fill - Good Birthday

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Birthdays for a vampire are pretty irregular - he celebrated Dru's because she'd arbitrarily decide a date for herself and he'd bring home someone pretty for her to kill - and he didn't remember (or said he didn't remember) his own.

Celebrating birthdays with the Scoobies was a bit like dancing on a minefield in army boots (not that he's tried. Recently). Buffy's birthday was pretty much determined to be nothing but Bad, Xander tried to avoid his vehemently (Little Bit knew the date but she didn't share), and Willow. Well, Red still had enough childlike delight in her to want to celebrate, so Spike had to do something special for her.

Not like for Dru. No, Red wouldn't appreciate a pretty shop maid to torture, but she did like flowers - bulbs she could plant that would return every year.

"Spike, this is..." Her eyes went wide and sparkling, and she hugged the pot to her chest, looking prettier than ever. Then she leaned past the pot to give him a kiss on the cheek.

Vampires don't blush, or Spike likes to say so, but this time, maybe he did.

[vanillamagick.livejournal.com]

Charmed, gen, spells cast on your birthday are more potent

Chris Perry

[tigriswolf]

He never tells them, but the first time he steps back in time, he left the future on his birthday. In that first life, he'd barely had time for a magical education and learned everything fly-by-night, cobbled together from books he could fine and his memories of the good times.

It's so much worse than he ever lets on, even to Grandpa.

There are many things he's never taught, never realizes he knows, and so much of his magic is instinct. He knows his magic in a way his aunts and mom never did because they didn't grow up with it. They never knew it was locked inside them.

He and Wyatt and their cousins - their magic is a part of them, another limb, another sense.

He knows so much more than he'll ever realize.

Chris can't explain it to Bianca, but he knows he has to cast the spell on his birthday as close to the moment of his birth as he can.

The last thing he hears before he steps into the portal is, Chris? in a mind-to-mind touch he hasn't felt in years. He doesn't hesitate to send back, Goodbye.

[vanillamagick.livejournal.com]

Stargate SG1, Jack/Daniel, trapped offworld on a birthday

Fill

[nagi-schwarz.livejournal.com]

"I'm really sorry," Jack said.

"Sorry for mouthing off to the village elder or for shooting first and asking questions later?" Daniel crossed his arms over his chest, his shoulders practically up to his ears, but didn't move away from Jack's warmth. That was pretty good, because Jack knew that tone. That was him sleeping on the couch for a week.

"Sorry we're trapped here for your birthday, actually," Jack said gently. "I had plans, you know. Dinner. Museum exhibition. Me proving my knees aren't as old and creaky as I like to complain about." Usually oblique references to Daniel's favorite bedroom activities got him a brief smirk or at least an eyebrow raised in amusement, but Daniel hunched in on himself further.

"Oh. My birthday. I haven't celebrated my birthday since I was eight, unless you count getting emancipated at sixteen."

Eight. When his parents died.

Jack winced. This was Daniel's first birthday now that they were officially together, and he'd gone to great lengths to make sure it would be a good one. He'd had Teal'c distract Hammond so he could peek at Daniel's personnel file for the date, found out from Sam what his favorite restaurant was, and searched on the Internet for a museum exhibition Daniel was likely to enjoy.

"Oh. Sorry. I –"

"Just because I was in foster care doesn't mean my childhood was completely miserable," Daniel said. "My caseworkers always brought me some kind of baked treat, and one time my guardian ad litem took me out for dinner. But that was more to do with them than me. I don't really care about getting older."

"Birthdays aren't just about you getting older," Jack said. "They're about celebrating you and how far you've come. All the cool things you've done in the past year."

"I don't care about my birthday. I just want to go home and sleep."

Jack bit his lip, took a deep breath. "All right. Forget about the birthday. Let's work out a way to get home."

"Which we could have done in the time it took to psychoanalyze my dislike of birthdays," Daniel said. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Jack. I just – really don't care about my birthday. So, escape plans?"

Jack paused, listened. "I got nothing. But I think Carter's on her way." He surged to his feet, dragged Daniel with him.

"What makes you say that?" Daniel asked.

An explosion rocked their prison block.

"That," Jack said.

Their cell door swung open. Jack grabbed Daniel's hand, squeezed once. Then it was back to soldier mode.

"Let's go."

By the time they made it back to the gate, through post-mission medical checks and debriefing, all of Jack's fancy plans were completely shot. But he accepted the cheesecake Sam had made for Daniel, and he took Daniel home. For strictly non-birthday purposes, he proved that his knees were still pretty good by pushing Daniel down into his favorite chair and unzipping his pants with his teeth.

And when they got stuck off-world again on Jack's birthday, neither of them mentioned it, but Daniel did solicit another cheesecake from Sam when they were home safe once more.

[vanillamagick.livejournal.com]

Stargate Atlantis, any, birthday traditions in the pegasus galaxy
(and if I'm allowed to ask - no crossovers)

Fill 1/2 Team Sheppard mostly, season 2, GEN

[nagi-schwarz.livejournal.com]

"What are you presenting for Elizabeth's birthday?" Teyla asked. She sat down opposite John with her breakfast.

John blinked at her. "Presenting?"

"It is traditional to offer gifts of one's time and talents for significant birthdays," Teyla said. "Elizabeth is the leader of this expedition. Her birthday is significant."

John, who'd been ploughing through his oatmeal like there was no tomorrow, paused. "Um. That is significant, yes. Usually on Earth for a coworker we just have a cake and maybe some drinks. Sing the birthday song. You know."

"Cake?" Ronon echoed. "Is there a special kind of cake?"

"It's called a birthday cake," Rodney explained. "They come in all kinds of flavors. The celebrant usually gets to pick their favorite flavor. It has candles on it."

Teyla nodded. "What is the significance of the candles?"

"Do you eat the cake in the dark or something?" Ronon asked.

"You close your eyes and make a wish and blow out the candles. If you manage to extinguish all the candles in one breath, your wish is supposed to come true," Rodney said.

Teyla blinked. "What do you wish for?"

Rodney shrugged. "I don't know. You're not supposed to say."

"On Sateda," Ronon said, "we have a gauntlet. Everyone who wants to challenges the celebrant to a fight."

"On your birthday?" John echoed.

Rodney narrowed his eyes. "You're just messing with us, aren't you?"

"What if you lose?" John asked. "Do they not let you say you've advanced a year? Or do they let you win out of pity?"

"Such a tradition is fairly common among many warrior societies in this galaxy," Teyla said. "Though for most the combat is symbolic and entertainment for the celebrant."

"Dance-fighting," Rodney said wisely.

"No dancing on Sateda," Ronon grumbled.

John leaned closer to Teyla. "So wait, your people...put on a show? For the birthday boy or girl?"

Teyla nodded. "Of course. Gifts of the heart are very precious. Those who take the time to cultivate a talent and share it are much appreciated."

"What were you planning on doing for Elizabeth?"

"Singing," Teyla said.

"Oh. Music. That I can do. I could have been a concert pianist," Rodney said. "I know the Archivist has a little electric piano stashed somewhere. I could brush up on some Gershwin."

John opened his mouth to rib Rodney about his so-called musical skills, but he knew Gershwin was nothing to sneeze at. "What about you, Ronon?"

"I'm familiar with some traditions similar to Teyla's. I made Elizabeth a knife."

"Wait, is the whole of New Athos going to show up on Atlantis and put on a show for Elizabeth on her birthday?" John asked. He remembered Lorne saying something about a contingent from New Athos visiting.

Teyla nodded. "All of the arrangements have been made. Elizabeth assures me she is quite eager to observe local customs firsthand."

John abandoned his oatmeal. Crap. He hadn't seriously practiced his guitar in years. He tapped his radio. "Sheppard for Lorne."

"Sir?"

"Is there any chance you have a roster of who on Atlantis has, I don't know, performing arts skills?"

"Yes, sir."

That brought John up short. "Seriously?"

[vanillamagick.livejournal.com]

Arrow, Ray Palmer/Felicty Smoak, a toast to the birthday girl

[squidgiepdx]

Stargate Atlantis, John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, Everyone forgets Rodney's birthday but John.

Fill: 1/2; Tag to Sunday

[nagi-schwarz.livejournal.com]

John came awake when the radio beside his bed crackled.

"Colonel, you're needed in the kitchen."

That wasn't something he'd ever heard before.

Rodney grumbled and swatted at the radio, so John scooped up his earpiece. "Go for Sheppard."

"You need to come to the kitchen immediately, sir," Chuck said.

John eased himself up over Rodney and out of the bed, pulled on his clothes. He kept his voice low. "What's going on in the kitchen?"

"You'd best come see it yourself."

"All right. Be there in a few minutes." John fumbled to pull his boots on, grab his sidearm, and then he ducked out of his quarters. Rodney was a pretty heavy sleeper and hopefully wouldn't notice he'd gone.

When he got to the kitchens, a couple of marines were standing guard at the door. They stepped aside and let him in. Chuck and Major Teldy were just inside the doorway. John gripped his sidearm, ready for anything.

Except for his XO sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor, covered in flour, head in his hands, shoulders wracked with silent sobs.

"The KP marines alerted us when he ordered them out," Teldy said in a low voice. "When he started baking a cake, they didn't think much of it, but then he was like...this."

"Has anyone called for Heightmeyer?" John asked.

"I've dispatched some marines to wake her because she wasn't responding to comms," Teldy said.

"Okay." John surveyed the scene in the kitchen once more, taking in the baking ingredients on the counter and the mixing bowls and wooden spoons. "Why don't you and Chuck give me and Lorne a moment, okay? Let me know when Heightmeyer arrives."

Teldy nodded, lifted her chin at Chuck, and they both slipped out of the kitchen, shut the door behind them.

John approached Lorne slowly, hands raised in a gesture of surrender. "Hey, Major, what's going on?"

"I forgot McKay's birthday was today," Lorne said, his voice muffled.

Everyone had forgotten it was Rodney's birthday. They'd held funerals for those lost in the explosions on their mass Sunday. Usually Rodney was insufferable about the fact that it was his birthday, but today, he'd been mourning his friends alongside everyone else. John had taken him back to his quarters after the funerals, held him and kissed him and reminded him that they were both still alive. He'd given Rodney the present he'd ordered from Earth months ago (a copy of his favorite Star Trek book autographed by Patrick Stewart), and they'd lazed in bed and talked idly. And eventually they'd fallen asleep.

"I don't think Rodney's very offended," John said.

Lorne hiccuped. "I just – I don't always get along with McKay, but he's a good guy, and I consider him a friend, and I always remember birthdays, and –"

Damn, but John was bad at emotional comfort. It was one of the reasons he and Nancy hadn't worked out. Luckily Rodney rarely needed words for comfort; touch was what worked for him. That kind of comfort wasn't an option with the expedition's XO, though.

"Lorne, it's okay. Today was a little rough for everyone. I'm sure you're not the only who forgot it was Rodney's birthday, or other things." John kept his voice calm and steady. Where the hell was Heightmeyer?

"I'm supposed to remember these things," Lorne said. That wasn't true. Remembering birthdays was no part of his duties as XO, but people did expect Lorne to know and remember, well, everything. People joked all the time that nothing happened on Atlantis without him knowing it. He scrubbed at his face with his damp hands. With all that flour, he looked a complete mess, an utter disgrace to the uniform. Human. "I should be a better friend. To Rodney, to everybody. I was an awful friend - I totally blew Carson off, and now –" Lorne buried his face in his hands again.

Double damn. John was not equipped to handle this. He wasn't trained for this. Should he radio for Teyla? No. Where was Heightmeyer?

He tapped his radio. "Teldy, have you got anything for me?"

"Dr. Heightmeyer's on her way," Teldy said.

John stared at the broken wreck of a man in front of him and had no idea what to do. "Look, I'm sure Rodney's not mad."

"How do you know?"

John winced. There was no good explanation for that. "I just do."

"You know how important his birthday is to him."

[squidgiepdx]

due South, Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, Celebrating Diefenbaker's birthday

Fill: Due South - Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski - Dog Days

[lil-1337.livejournal.com]

"You shouldn't spoil him, Ray, it will only encourage his bad behavior."

Ray grinned then made a show of tossing Dief half a doughnut which the wolf caught on the top of its arc with an air of smugness. "Ah, come on Frase, it's his birthday. You should spoil him a little."

Fraser stiffened, insult clearly showing on his face. "I took him to the park for an extra hour this morning and there is a nice piece of moose liver in my refrigerator to go with his evening kibble."

"I'm sorry." Ray offered Fraser the last doughnut in the box, a maple frosted crueller. "I didn't mean anything by it. You're a good wolf dad. The best."

Mollified Fraser accepted the sweet and took a smile bite. "Thank you, Ray. It means a lot that you noticed."

[cozy-coffee.livejournal.com]

Supernatural, weechesters, birthday pie

[shanachie-quill.livejournal.com]

Sam had never questioned why he got pie on his birthday when all the other kids always talked about birthday cake. Dean loved pie. And as far as Sam was concerned, whatever his big brother wanted was fine by him.

Dean hadn’t had a birthday cake since his fourth birthday. He could just remember standing on the stool while Mary mixed the batter and let him lick the beater when she was done. He had fuzzy memories of thick chocolate icing and smearing it across everything in sight as he tried to help frost the cake.

When it came time for Sam’s first birthday and John had taken the boys to the store to buy a cake for the younger boy, Dean had pulled his father passed the cakes. He hadn’t wanted his memories of the last homemade cake tainted by something store bought. John had looked down at the pleading eyes of his older son and allowed him to choose a pie.

Since that first birthday, the boys had always had pie (and once cookies when no pie could be found), but neither of them had ever had a birthday cake. Sam had never thought to question it since Dean seemed to love pie so much. And Dean just held tight to those precious fading memories.