Born on a Different Cloud

Here's a Candle for Your Birthday Cake

Author Note- 3 months after When I'm 64

"Promise me there's not gonna be a load of people waiting to shout surprise and all that lame crap." Liam asked yet again, giving me a serious look.

He didn't want a surprise party and he was very vocal about it, he hadn't stopped going on about it as his birthday approached.

"Just get dressed." I ordered and went back into the bathroom.

We'd just gotten out the shower so I focused on drying my hair, he couldn't keep trying to find everything out what was going on if we couldn't talk. He'd already dried his hair, brushed it and spent ages sorting his fringe out, he was still messing with it every time his eye caught a mirror.

"John, I swear to God..." I heard him mutter. "I don't want a fuckin' birthday party."

I wished I wasn't the one who had to keep it secret, it was so difficult not being entirely honest with my fiance. I kept quiet.

"I'm not a kid!" he continued louder.

"No, you just act like it." I responded under my breath.

"I know you're hiding something so just fuckin' tell me!" He walked straight in the bathroom still in just his towel.

"We've got to leave today, y'know. We've got a table reserved." I complained and grabbed the towel where it was tucked to hug his hips.

"Can't decide what to wear." He tried to protest when I pulled his towel away.

"Too much choice getting the better of you, aww." I handed his towel to him so he could get dry.

"What are you wearing?"

"Probably a navy blue shirt."

"Jeans or...?"

"Yeah, jeans are fine."

"Trainers?"

"It's your birthday, wear what you want. I'm not dressing you."

I walked past him and grabbed a shirt from my wardrobe without thinking about it. I buttoned it up watching him get a checkered shirt and wear it unbuttoned.

"I'm not wearing a tie."

"No one's asking you to." I commented getting annoyed at him being difficult. "I'm not either."

I quickly got dressed and sat on the bed, watching him as he continued to get dressed with the stubbornness of a kid.

"We don't have to go, we can sit here and you can moan about your hair and your clothes and everything else y'can think of." My patients were running thin.

"Sorry, I just want it to be me and you." he sat right next to me. "Summat's going on, tell me."

I took a deep breath. "Stop."

"I'll act surprised."

"There's nothing, we're going for a meal, that's all." I insisted. "We need to leave, you're being worse than a bird!"

"I'm ready now."

He wasn't, while he found his trainers I went and waited in the car. Somehow we got to the restaurant on time, I got our drinks and lead him towards the area where our table was set up.

"I swear I'm gonna kill you when we get home if everyone's in there."

I just chuckled at his misplaced anger and opened the door for him to walk in.

"You knob." he whispered to me as soon as he saw everyone sat around the table.

There was no "Surprise!", instead they shouted "Happy birthday!", he responded with "You bloody twats!" as we took our seats.