“It’s only for one night!”

“No, I want to wish her first!”

“Please? I still feel bad for last year.”

“That was your fault, not mine.”

“Pleaseee.”

Sana decides to pull her pleading eyes on Nayeon, who’s not budging about letting her sleep next to her girlfriend tonight. She really wants to treat Mina like the princess she is (even though you don’t wake princesses up at twelve am).

“I let you sleep next to Jihyo last month.” Sana taps her feet impatiently against the tiles. That’s her final argument and she’s aware that Nayeon will have no choice but to say yes. “It’s only fair you do the same. And plus, you don’t even have to sleep on my bed, you can just join Jihyo.”

“Fine.” Nayeon grumbles, pretending to be mad. She really couldn’t deny the chance to snuggle up to her own girlfriend in the cold nights of their winter.

“Thank you! Love you Nayeonnie.” Sana hugs her tightly.

“You’re going to break my bones.” Nayeon coughs out, when Sana loosens her grip.

Their bickering continues for a few moments before they hear movement from inside their shared room. It’s no surprise that it’s their leader who decides to quieten them both.

“Ready for bed?” Jihyo pops her head outside of the room, smiling softly at the duo.

Sana glances at Nayeon, who’s already turning pink with the mere sentence. She nudges her and Nayeon nods, pulling Jihyo’s hand and entering the room.

When she enters the room, a smile adorns Sana’s lips when she looks to her girlfriend, resting her back against the head of her bed with her phone in her hands. Sana doesn’t need to glance at her phone to know that she’s (still) playing a game. Her tongue is peeking out of her lips and her eyebrows are furrowed, yet Sana finds the sight absolutely adorable.

After all, Sana would say that Mina is one of the wonders of her world.

She switches off the main light and Mina’s penguin lamp illuminates her side of the bed, allowing Sana to slide into the bed next to Mina. She presses a kiss to Mina’s shoulder and nuzzles her nose against her neck. Mina giggles, feeling incredibly ticklish.

“You made me lose!” Mina whines, showing her number two rank in the game. Sana kisses her cheek as an apology and it’s enough to melt Mina’s mock anger. She puts her phone away and plugs it into her charger before turning off her lamp and wrapping an arm around Sana’s shoulders.

“You’re warm.” Sana comments as she snuggles against Mina.

“Aren’t you meant to be in your own bed?” Mina teases.

“You want me to leave?” Sana pretends to pull away from Mina’s side. Mina clucks her tongue in disapproval, holding onto Sana tightly.

“I want you here.” Mina mumbles, sighing softly.

Sana knows Mina is blushing. She doesn’t need the light to notice. She’s hiding her face against Sana’s neck and she only does that when she’s shy. Sana kisses the top of her head and reaches over to find her phone, looking for the time.

10:31

She groans internally when she realises she still has an hour and a half to go. Sana doesn’t want to sleep yet. Well, she can’t sleep yet. She has to sneak out of bed in a little bit to bring Mina’s cake out of the fridge. Hopefully Mina will be asleep in the next half an hour or so.

“Sana?” Mina whispers.

“Yes baby?” Sana hums, running her hand through Mina’s hair.

“Your legs are cold.” Mina complains when Sana’s toes touch the base of her feet.

“Oh? Are your hands warm against my back now?” Sana chuckles when Mina whines. Mina moves to pull her hands out from under Sana’s shirt, but she keeps it in place.

“I want to keep you warm.” Sana doesn’t mind at all.

“Cheeseball.” Mina mutters.

“Only yours.” Sana chuckles. “Now, try to sleep. It’s a busy day tomorrow.”

Mina nods against Sana’s neck and yawns widely. Sana massages her scalp, a trick of hers that makes her girlfriend fall asleep quickly. She feels like each minute is going at a crucially slow pace. She checks her phone every minute, overly excited about Mina’s birthday and unable to calm down.

Last year’s unfortunate events torture her every day. Even though Mina said it was fine, Sana’s heart was not. The mere thought of anyone forgetting her birthday is enough to shatter her heart, what about Sana forgetting her own girlfriend’s birthday?

When Sana notices Mina’s soft breathing, she knows Mina has fallen asleep.

11:28

Carefully, she pulls Mina’s hands out from her own shirt and shifts back. Mina frowns in her sleep, reaching out for her girlfriend. Sana muffles a laugh and grabs a penguin plush from her own bed and places it in Mina’s arms. She calms down immediately, even smiling in the middle of her sleep.

Sana shudders as soon as she exits their bedroom, the cool tiles making her run across the hallway and into the kitchen to escape.

11:35

There’s still time and Sana doesn’t know what to do with it. She pulls the cake out of the fridge anyway, sticking the candles in the cake. She doesn’t light them just yet.

11:39

Sana sits on the stool in the kitchen, resting her elbow against the cooktop as she waits for the next twenty minutes to go by. She resorts to wasting time on her phone, playing some silly puzzle game that keeps her more entertained than she expects. She really just wants to wake Mina up early to celebrate with her. Her impatience is killing her, slowly.

11:52

It’s still too soon to light the candles.

11:54

Sana places a knife for cutting in the cake box, and a spoon.

11:57

She lights the candles. It takes her a few attempts to get the lighter on, but she manages to do it safely and without any mishaps.

11:59

Sana tip toes into their bedroom. Jihyo stirs in her bed, the light from the candles waking her up easily. She grins at Sana and sleepily picks up her phone from beside her. Nayeon is in deep sleep in her arms.

“Do you want me to record?” Jihyo asks.

Sana just nods.

12:00

She starts to sing softly, the Japanese version of the birthday song has a homely feel to it, especially when they’re currently in Japan. Mina mumbles softly and Sana wants to squish her into a hug and give her an overload of kisses.

Sana sits on the bed and kisses Mina’s forehead, tugging on the penguin in her arms and pulling it free from Mina’s grasp. There’s an annoyed whine from Mina, not appreciating the removal of her bolster but when she opens her eyes, slowly, it disappears.

Mina’s gasp is soft, but in the quiet room, it echoes across and manages to be heard by Jihyo too. Sana’s singing fades and she holds up Mina’s palm, placing a kiss in the middle.

“Happy birthday baby.” Sana speaks softly. Mina is still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes but she’s smiling, grateful for the surprise.

“You know you didn’t have to, right?” Mina’s voice cracks as tears well up in her eyes.

Sana panics immediately and hugs her tightly, forgetting about the cake. She doesn’t want Mina to cry on her birthday, especially being only a few minutes in. She rocks her in her arms back and forth, the sniffles slowly quietening down.

If Sana could, she’d move heaven and earth and all the galaxies in the world for the girl in her arms.

“Of course, I have to. You deserve the world.” Sana leans her forehead against Mina’s.

“I have you – you are my world.” Mina kisses Sana’s cheek tenderly. Even with the dim lighting of the room, Mina can see the blush spread across Sana’s cheeks.

“Cheesy. I love you, darling. My Mitang.” Sana declares endearingly, kissing Mina.

It’s tender and gentle and filled with everlasting happiness, like their love for each other.

“I think the candle wax is about to touch the cake.” Mina points out when Sana kisses her crown.

“Oh, shoot.” Sana panics, passing the box over to Mina. “Make a wish baby.”

Mina laughs quietly but listens, closing her eyes and blowing all of the candles out. She notices Sana’s look of curiosity and she rolls her eyes. “I’m not telling you what I wished for.”

Sana pouts but Mina shakes her head.

“Fine, cut the cake first.” Sana hands Mina the knife too. She spoons out a bite and feeds Mina, who’s waiting patiently with gleaming eyes.

Mina grabs the spoon and finishes the rest of her slice, leaving Sana to sulk about not being fed. She opens when Mina takes her next bite and she thinks Mina will feed her, only for her to take the bite herself, smiling victoriously.

Taking revenge, Sana is quick to scoop icing off the edge of the cake and wipe it against Mina’s nose. Her girlfriend has no time to stop Sana and only shoots her a glare. Sana grins cheekily and leans forward, kissing the icing off Mina’s nose.

(that was actually her plan)

“I love you Mitang.” Sana kisses Mina once more

“I love you, honey. Thank you for being the best gift I can ever be given.” Mina sighs, basking in the warmth of Sana’s precious love.