Final Salutations

I - Enter, Steve

"Hey Steve, when's ur birthday again?" John moved closer to him, mischievous.

"Oh how could I tell when you forgot it the last time..." Steve pouted back with his arms crossing each other. When it comes to such personal questions like this, offering info to a leader of an army of people, who has a trademark of improvised humor and highlights of cock jokes, you could tell what he's gonna do with it. His life is like a ball of yarn, which he is the needle that will sew his path into a piece of cloth. Steve was the closest knit to him.

"Calm your hoses buddy, I didn't forget ya birthday. It was intentional so that it could buy me some time to think of a better gift for ya."

"Well yeah, forgetting it on purpose is even worse than not remembering at all!" Steve still wasn't convinced, but overall, Captain was his best friend. Why wouldn't he not tell him about his move-up celebration anyway. Thankfully, Captain John has the coolest temper out of all the Tankmen, despite being the pinaccle of his men, which a joke even as close as a slur against him was just like being poked with a pencil.

"Don't worry, I won't forget it. If I did, I would actually get what you want. Kidding!" John chuckled while he began to slouch and lift Steve's chin. "Whaddya say kiddo?"

"If you did forget it on purpose, I will shove ghost pepper on your mouth while you're sleepwalking." He swiftly removed John's hand from his chin.

"Aw c'mon, I'm being nice ya know!" he smiled not breaking eye contact. "Pinky promise?" Steve finally gave in and decided to seal the deal with fingers.

"Only the preppy kids in kindergarten do that! You're gonna be a man, Steve! Now why not we do thumb wrestling instead! Haha!" John laughed as he smacked his hand and locked it with his, forming their thumbs into a like hand position and doing the good ole way of asserting your dominance in a minor fashion sense.

"CAPTAIN HOW ARE YOU GOOD?!"

"This is how us manly kindergarten bullies bully our victims. In a "manly" way!"

"Man you're cool not gonna lie... But I'm certain you'll still forget my birthday on purpose."

And he did forget his birthday on purpose a day before the big day came. But John has some other surprises awaiting for him. I mean, why would he ever forget his Stevie's birthday anyway? 'Now if I were Steve, what would I like? Hmm...' He knows him as clear as glass, but not as clear as his buddy's perspective.

'Talk about growing up, ugh! Steve's the most at youth in this militia. I used to be a teenager... then why is this a little harder than usual...' He couldn't remember the last time he was all eyes out serious about a certain thing, or even dealing with ruffians that wander around the desert. Not even on interaction with the other Tankmen, unless if it was listening to one of his men's tales about their recruit, Bill, who was supposed to be a father, until Private Skittles performed an interferance through sniping him from his watchtower. Oh boy he was a sucker for back to the future references.

Alone in his room, he decided to voice out his thoughts to his unstationary buddies that have been in place with him since the start of this apocalypse: the walls.

"I'm a pretty good eavesdropper even while listening to the supposed "Back to the Future" references. Steve was hanging out with those men in metal gear and hockey sticks." He then paused while falling flat on his bed after a tiresome pondering, "He did want a pretty pink birthday cake with his face on it if I wasn't deaf..." He paused again. "It's obviously a joke, but he might go nuts if I actually gave him a pretty pink birthday cake with his face on it." Finally he was self-affirmed with his secret birthday surprise, that he was on high hopes. "John, you struck the right chords again didn't cha?" Now he just needs to know on where and how the hell was he gonna find someone of pastry professionalism in a place like this.