June 7th.

One year ago this day Aurora Namid had been in a coma. Her father and brothers had crammed around a computer screen and wished her a happy birthday through eyes of worry. It seemed like a lot had happened since that time.. and yet so very little too.

It was almost time to graduate and leave Crystal behind for DCU. A career of choice had been selected and she was already working towards making it a reality. On the senshi spectrum she had gone from a super senshi to an eternal one. But other then that.. had anything changed?

She hadn't made many new friends.. Hadn't made a step closer to her childhood fantasies of being married off and working on children by now. Howl was delightful, but she knew enough to know politeness and pity. Maybe it would come with time but for now.. they were just two people who had provided company for the other when it was needed. And Azzo...? To say she was conflicted about her dearest friend was a bit of an understatement. Well.. atleast moving to a coed college might help.

And of course the senshi stuff. Had they achieved anything other than helping try to keep the negaverse in check? Not really... No princess found.. no grand information to really set them on the right track. It was a battle like grasping sand in your hand.. no matter how hard you tried there was no way to control it all.

Her father had actually come to visit for her graduation which had been a wonderful and amazing surprise. The two days had swept by so quickly that they'd hardly seemed real at all. But he'd already left.. and so Aurora sat staring at her clock that morning wondering... Did anyone else even know what a special day today was? That today was the day Aurora Namid stepped officially into adulthood. There was an ache in her stomach and chest at the potential answer to that.

She spent time that morning prettying herself up a little more than normal, doning a very lady like blouse and skirt in lovely spring pastels. She attended her classes but was oddly quiet.

As the afternoon rolled around Aurora had found herself pondering her options for the day. None of the classical things of an 18th birthday appealed to her. She had no inclination to smoke or watch dirty movies.. She saw no real reason to try and get a liscense or car.. though eventually she assumed she should atleast get the former. But not today.. a test on your birthday was the worst.

She wandered the campus for a little while, taking in familiar faces for what was potentially the last time. She wandered a little into the park and city but in the end she retreated once more to the Academy.

It was silent as a grave as she holed herself up in the the Home Ec room, baking out of routine and necessity. The angel cake formed and was carefully decorated in whipped cream and strawberries, a few candles creating a glowing crown. "Happy Birthday to me" It was a whisper barely audible... She supposed this was what it was like to grow up.

She wasn't really hungry.. but it was bad luck not to have a piece of birthday cake. The rest of the cake was abandoned, certainly a surprise for the next person to enter the room, and as day became night Aurora finally made her way back up to her room. She fiddled with her keys in the stairway, pausing when she finally made it to the hallway.

Even from the distance she could see something settled at the foot of her door. Cheerful colors almost garish against the modern plainness of the Academy decor. One perfectly beautiful cupcake was wrapped in a tiny box with colorful saran wrap and ribbons, a single candle holding the wrap away from the lovely frosting work. A tiny note was attached.

I waited for awhile but you must be out having fun. Hope you had a wonderful 18th birthday. ~ Azzo

One of the first geniune smiles of the day worked it's way to her lips. Someone had remembered. And that was the birthday gift she'd been waiting for all day.