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So far things were better than Kirin expected his actual birthday to be. Dinner had been nice - quiet, barely semi-formal, and just the two of them. Kirin was thankful that Jada hadn't tried to pull a surprise party.

Or so he thought, until Jada piped up about lying and not going home just yet. His lips drew together and he eyed Jada, trying to judge if that was a guilty look or something else entirely. Still, he reasoned, the surprise party usually involved food, so why take him out for dinner and dessert if that was the plan?

Not to mention it wouldn't be the first time he forced a smile through spending his birthday with people he barely knew, but hated on sight. For Jada he could stomach that. For a short while.

But hopefully that wasn't the case. Kirin wasn't the praying type, but he sent a thought skywards that Jada wouldn't disappoint him now.

"I suppose I can live with being seperated from Sulky McHaterCat for a while longer," Kirin mused, "though it breaks my heart."

It dawned on Kirin that they had stopped, for more than just a brief pause or Jada climbing on her tip toes to eye a hot guy (Jada's opinion, not Kirin's) going the other way. Kirin looked up, but didn't recognise the place. The name seemed familiar, though. He quirked an eyebrow at Jada, waiting for her to begin moving again. A glance back up at the sign finally twigged Kirin's memory.

"Jada," he said sharply, reaching out to grab onto her arm. "Is there a reason we are stopped here? Is this what I think it is? Jada. Do not tease me."

The scowl on Kirin's face said, 'or I will hurt you.' But Jada hadn't believed Kirin's threats for a long time now.

"Jada," Kirin said sharply with a frown as she continued to tease him. As though they had wandered up to any karaoke bar by accident, let alone this one - that Kirin had enthused about needing to try out this swanky new karaoke bar. And on his birthday, of all days?

(Okay, totally not his birthday. But the day he and Jada were celebrating his birthday, which was almost the same thing.)

Staring up at the shiny, shiny sign with all the flashing lights, Kirin felt himself go a little misty-eyed. Over the upcoming karaoke, that was. It was the perfect gift.

Golden eyes slid sideways to where Jada was standing, still looking incredibly innocent (and therefore failing badly at convincing anyone). "Jada, if you aren't careful, I'm going to fall in love with you," he warned. To his discomfort, Kirin realised he was only half joking. He quickly pushed the emotion away, sealing it behind a layer of ice.

He shot Jada a bright smile. Karaoke never failed to put him in a good mood, and right now it was the perfect distraction from having to think. "Shall we, then?"

Kirin's rather epic frown was all cleared when Jada said, "I love you, too, Kiri."

"What?" was Kirin's eloquent response. The frown was making a comeback when soft lips brushed against his cheek. Kirin's arm was grabbed and he found himself tugged along while he flushed and sputtered. Jada draping herself over him at odd intervals was almost expected after knowing her for a year - kisses, however, were new territory.

"You- that's-" Kirin made absolutely no sense as Jada led him to the room she'd reserved. His glower faded at the sight of the four presents on the table. Four! Kirin's mood shifted. He huffed and gave Jada a reproving look. Bringing it up would be bad manners, but Kirin was well aware that Jada wasn't living in her usual opulence at the moment.

"You shouldn't have," he told her, trying to sound scolding but even he could hear the warmth in his voice. Stupid voice. "But thank you."

Kirin took a seat in front of the presents. He noted the menu on the table, pushed to one side. As he reached for the nearest gift, he asked, "Should we orders drinks or snacks before we start programming anything in?"

And presents first, of course. Jada might hit him if he didn't pay her gifts the attention they deserved.

Kirin reluctantly removed his hands from the shiny paper and ribbons. He chuckled as Jada brought out a cupcake and a candle. Lips were pressed firmly together as Jada announced her first song selection of the night, and he managed to stop the silent laughter that was shaking his shoulders as she began serenading him. That didn't stop him from poking his tongue out in retaliation for 'silly Kiri', though.

He did feel a little silly as he bent down to the candle, holding his hair back (burning hair was the worst) and eyeing the phone-turned-camera. A small but genuine smile crept onto his lips. He didn't need the fancy dinners at a long table that his grandfather usually insisted on. He didn't need a room crammed with people or a massive pile of presents. This, right here, was the best birthday he'd had in four years: a small dark room; one friend, honest and true; and an activity he actually enjoyed.

It was a stupid wish, he thought, as he inhaled. The outcome would in no way be effecting by thinking it as he extinguished a single small flame. For some reason, all his logic didn't stop him from wishing as he pursed his lips and blew:

Please, let me keep this.

So much had happened since his last birthday. Who knew how much was coming in the next year. Eventually, Jada and her utter lack of boundaries and personal space was going to catch Kirin slipping up. Eventually, Kirin would be too old to keep up this charade.

No matter what happens, please let her stay.

Kirin's nose tilted upwards, but he refrained from the supercilious sniff that the diva in him wanted to give. That might be a little too overdramatic. "Since I doubt the fabulous, upcoming model Jada Chamberlyn would be seen in public with a money, I highly doubt that," he said in response to the additional line favoured by five year olds across the country.

The present from before was finally handed back over. Kirin dug in, fighting and failing to suppress his glee. It wasn't that he cared about getting presents, exactly, more that Jada seemed to have picked everything perfectly so far that he had to be curious about what gifts she'd decided upon.

"Cant tell you or it won't come true," Kirin immediately responded. Sticking his tongue out would be infantile. He was tempted, but restrained himself. Jada still held three of the four presents, after all.

Navy folds greeted Kirin as he pulled off the lid. When he reached into the box, the fabric was just as soft as his eyes had guessed. Kirin lifted it out, admiring the cut of the jacket in the air before turning it around and pulling it on. He stood, striking a modeling pose for Jada.

"What do you think?" he asked, then gave his best rendition of a catwalk turn. (No doubt Jada could do better, but Kirin consoled himself that at least he was graceful, if not exactly model material.)

Kirin's eyebrows rose. "I hope I'm not just a trained money to you," he said archly. Not a chance, of course, but he and Jada did love their banter at times. (And maybe there was just a tiny, infinitesimal part of him that did want to be reassured that he wasn't some kind of toy or project of Jada's.)

"I'm pretty sure that's not how the magic works." Amusement wove with mild rebuke in Kirin's voice. Despite her opinions to the opposite, Jada didn't need to know every secret. And even children knew you couldn't tell anyone what the wish was or it wouldn't come true.

... Besides, there was no way in hell that Kirin was owning up to that wish.

"You do," Kirin agreed with Jada's self-assessment. Though what Jada considered fabulous was sometimes fabulous on Jada but not something Kirin was even going to pretend to try on. It was nice to see Jada hadn't tried saddling Kirin with Jada-style cocktail slash clubbing dresses - somewhere their tastes never overlapped.

Another box and Kirin was pulling out another blue article of clothing. He rubbed his face against the royal blue wool. Mmmm, soft. "I don't think this one will look so good over the jacket," he told Jada. He draped it over his torso, checking that it reached his sides and wasn't glaringly too big or small. It would be perfect for wearing outside on a day to day basis, though, with the jacket for more formal-ish occasions.

"Is blue in this season?" he wondered. Or was Jada just making a point regarding the limited palette of his wardrobe.

"Well, you've been doing your best to fix that, haven't you?" Kirin remarked on the subject of plaid, while opening the third gift that Jada passed over. Opening the box, Kirin stared at the contents. His flat gaze turned to Jada as he slowly held up the plaid hat. 'Orly?' Kirin's raised eyebrow seemed to ask.

"Making sure I won't be rid of you anytime soon, Jada?" His arch tone failed, mostly due to the pleased curve of his lips. Maybe Kirin wasn't the only one trying to keep his friend close. Studying the hat - terrifying, anti-fashion thing that it was, honestly he was surprised Jada could bring herself within six feet of it - Kirin hmmed, considering. "It does look warm. Sadly, I don't think it's made to go over pigtails..."

Kirin was on his feet and at Jada's side in an instant, dropping the lumberjack's dream of a hat onto Jada's dark curls.

"... Which means you'll have to model this one," Kirin finished gleefully.