Jennie’s eyes shot open as soon as she realised that it was the morning of a very special day, her girlfriend’s birthday. She looked at the waves of blonde hair in front of her and smiled, as she thought of the amazing day that she had planned for her lover. 

 

She withdrew her right arm that was embracing the blonde, as she had been fulfilling the role of big spoon throughout the night. Neither of them preferred being either spoon, but they both loved sleeping pressed against each other, allowing the roles of big spoon and little spoon to be assigned naturally throughout the night. 

 

Almost as quickly as Jennie opened her eyes, she shot up out of bed, before putting on her fluffy alien slippers and an oversized hoodie. 

 

She headed to the kitchen like a girl on a mission. Mission: Feed Rosie. It was a mission that she accepted every day that she spent at Rosie’s apartment, or when Rosie stayed at her home, and it was a mission that she always took gladly but seriously, knowing full well how much Rosie could eat. 

 

Jennie made her famously delicious fluffy pancakes and topped them with some of their favourite fruits: mango, blueberries, strawberries, and banana. She squirted a mound of whipped cream on both plates, besides the pancakes, accompanied with dipping pots of chocolate sauce. 

 

She put the two plates on a tray, along with freshly made hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream, and marshmallows. Jennie knew how to treat her girlfriend. She made her breakfast in bed at least once a week, normally at weekends, but this time it was extra special. 

 

Jennie entered her girlfriend’s bedroom, which she now also called her own, to see the blonde still asleep. She placed the tray of food on the desk and then slipped back in bed and resumed the role of big spoon. 

 

As soon as she took the taller girl in her arms and squeezed her gently, she felt the blonde stir as she returned from the land of nod. 

 

“Hey baby, are you awake?” Jennie asked softly. 

 

“Mhmm,” Rosie hummed through a strangled voice, as her vocal cords hadn’t quite woken up. 

 

The blonde turned around to lay on her back and faced Jennie, who chuckled at her girlfriend’s disheveled hair. Jennie used her hand to comb the blonde hair out of her lover’s face and behind her ear. 

 

“I made you breakfast in bed. I knew you’d be hungry.”

 

Rosie’s eyes lit up and immediately looked like she had been awake for hours, instead of a few seconds. Jennie helped Rosie prop a pillow behind her before sitting up. The brunette then took the breakfast tray and placed it over the blonde’s thighs. 

 

“Wow! This looks amazing! Are they both for me?” The blonde teased. 

 

Jennie slid back in bed and sat herself up next to Rosie, placing another one of many pillows behind her. 

 

 “No way! I’d give up a lot of things for you, but not my pancakes,” Jennie said through a smile. 

 

The brunette then leaned in and placed a kiss on her girlfriend’s lips. 

 

“Happy Birthday, baby,” she whispered as she pulled away from Rosie’s mouth. 

 

 

—

 

 

“Hey, glad you could make it,” Jennie said as she greeted Rosie’s parents at the door. “Please come in and take a seat on the sofa.”

 

The brunette followed the Parks to the living area, where Rosie, her sister, Lisa, and Jisoo sat in a circle around the coffee table. Lisa and Jisoo were sat on dining room chairs, as Rosie and Alice sat on the sofa, with the blonde in the middle. Jennie sat next to Rosie, with the Parks next to her. 

 

“So, Chipmunk’s another year older. How old do chipmunks normally live for?” Lisa teased. 

 

“Long enough to make you regret being so annoying to me,” Rosie quipped. 

 

“Nah, I’ll never regret that. I love your reactions too much.” 

 

“Hey, princess, Happy Birthday,” Mr. Park said before kissing his daughter’s cheek. 

 

“Yeah, Happy Birthday, sweetheart,” Mrs. Park said before doing the same. 

 

“Thank you, so much.”

 

—

 

“So do you wanna open your presents before or after the cake, baby?”

 

“I think before would be best.”

 

“Okay, great. So let’s start with Lisa.”

 

Each of them took turns handing their presents to the birthday girl who excitedly yet carefully opened them, with pure joy and appreciation. She opened the presents wrapped in paper so gently and elegantly, peeling off the tape, and unfolding the ends, trying her best not to cause any tears. The rest of them watched her in amusement as she treated each present as fragilely as a newborn baby.

 

Her eyes lit up at the reveal of each gift, sincerely appreciating each present with all of her heart. Lisa got her a stunning Himalayan salt lamp, which was a beautiful shade of rugged pink, which Rosie thought would go well in her living room next to the sofa. Jisoo got her a set of exotically-scented bath bombs, which the blonde couldn’t wait to try, as she loved taking therapeutic baths. Alice got her a couple of rare vinyls for her collection, and her parents got her a beautiful wooden picture frame, with enough sections for nine pictures, each filled with photos of Rosie with her family, friends, and lover. 

 

The blonde thanked everyone for their gifts with a kiss and a hug and a very heartfelt “thank you.” She then turned to Jennie expectantly, knowing that she was the only one left to give her a present. 

 

“What?” Jennie said with a cheeky smirk, trying to play dumb but being betrayed by her own lips. 

 

“Where’s my present?” She said as if she was owed a debt.

 

“I gave you your present this morning,” the brunette said nonchalantly, causing eyebrows to rise from everyone else who wondered what exactly Jennie could have given her this morning.

 

“The pancakes and hot chocolate? Noooo. Come on. You’ve got me something else, I know it,” Rosie said through a smile, examining the brunette’s face. 

 

The brunette couldn’t keep up the charade for much longer, allowing the threatening grin to take over her face. 

 

“Okay, fine, you got me. Yeah, I do have something else for you. But it’s not here. We have to go somewhere else.”

 

“Really?” The blonde clapped her hands excitedly. “Where?”

 

“It’s a surprise. I don’t want to tell you anything until you see it. I really wanna see your raw reaction when you see it for the first time.”

 

Rosie smiled and bit her lip, curious and excited about the surprise. “When can we go?”

 

“To be honest, we could leave in the next fifteen minutes. It’ll take about three hours in total, and then we can have cake when you come back. Is that okay with everyone?” Jennie looked at everyone for approval, grateful when they all nodded with smiles. 

 

“Thanks, guys. I know Rosie’s gonna love this surprise so much.” The brunette said before turning back to Rosie. “We should get changed, it’s gonna be cold outside.”

 

“Oh, so my surprise is outdoors. Hmmm, that narrows it down a little bit,” she said in thought. 

 

“Well, it could be indoors. But we have to get there and it’s cold outside,” Jennie rebutted trying to widen the possibilities again. 

 

 

 

—

 

 

Jennie and Rosie sat in the back of the car, hand in hand, as Alice drove. Jennie had only told Alice about the surprise as she couldn’t drive and needed her help to get there, which the older sister was more than happy to give. 

 

Rosie looked out of the window for most of the way, looking for signs of her surprise in the surroundings. They had been driving for about thirty minutes and she only saw trees either side of them as they had driven out of Seoul and into the countryside. 

 

“Alice, stop here please,” Jennie said as she saw a small lay-by next to the road. 

 

“Oh, have we arrived?” Rosie asked whilst taking a 360 view of the area. “But there’s nothing here,” she continued in confusion. 

 

“Baby, I’m gonna need you to put on this blindfold and these noise-canceling headphones,” the brunette said, taking out the items from her handbag. 

 

“Why?”

 

“Because I want to make sure that when you see my gift to you for the first time, that it’s an absolute surprise. And if you see it before I want you to see it, then it will ruin the whole thing. And I think you’ll also be able to hear things that might give it away too.”

 

Rosie hummed in thought and raised a suspicious eyebrow. 

 

“Do you trust me, baby?” Jennie said before biting her lip, looking expectantly at her lover. 

 

“Of course, I do,” the blonde said confidently. “Okay, put them on me.”

 

Jennie beamed as she started to place the blindfold over Rosie’s face. 

 

“But how long will I have to wear these for?”

 

“About fifteen minutes. But I’m gonna call you on your phone and talk to you through the headphones so that you can hear my instructions.”

 

“Ah okay,” she said, relieved that she’ll still have some contact with her girlfriend.

 

“How do you feel?” Jennie asked. Rosie heard her through the headphones after the brunette called from her phone, and answered the call on the blonde’s phone. 

 

“Nervous but excited.”

 

“I can’t wait for you to see it, Rosie. I know you’re gonna love it.”

 

 

—

 

 

“We’re here!” Rosie heard Jennie announce excitedly through the headphones.

 

“YAY! I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IT!” Rosie said unknowingly too loud, since she couldn’t hear her own voice. She couldn’t hear anything except for the occasional questions and instructions from her girlfriend through the headphones, and all she could see was complete darkness, as not only were her eyes shut, but the blindfold prevented her eyes from sensing any form of light. 

 

“Okay, take my hand, Rosie,” she heard, before feeling her lover’s small hand on her forearm. , which made her jump a little even though she was expecting it. But without two of her main senses, she was naturally a little nervous. Not because she didn’t trust her girlfriend, she trusted her with her life, but not being able to see or hear anything and only relying on someone else to guide her felt scary. She felt tremendous sympathy for people who had to live like that and promised herself to make monthly donations to deaf and blind charities.

 

Rosie took Jennie’s hand and then pivoted on the seat so that her feet were dangling out of the car door. She naturally raised her free hand, hoping to find her lover’s other hand to give her more stability before touching the ground, smiling when she felt Jennie take it. She felt herself being gently pulled forward, sighing in relief when her feet touched land.

 

“Okay, keep holding my hand, and keep walking. I’m gonna walk ahead of you and direct you. Just walk in the direction that I’m guiding you,” she heard.

 

“OKAY!” She shouted although she didn’t hear anything.

 

She continued taking cautious steps, allowing Jennie to slowly guide her across the grass, which she recognised the sensation of beneath her sandals, feeling the blades of grass against her bare skin. 

 

“There’s a fence here, Rosie. I’m gonna need you to climb over it.”

 

“A FENCE?!” 

 

“Yeah,” she heard her girlfriend laugh through the phone call. 

 

“WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?” 

 

“No reason,” she continued to laugh. “Okay, I’m gonna help you over the fence, okay?” The blonde just stood there still holding Jennie’s hand. “Rosie, okay?”

 

“HUH?”

 

“Did you hear what I said?” the brunette chuckled again. “Give me a sign that you heard me?”

 

“OH, OKAY! YEAH, I HEARD YOU!” Rosie confirmed making an ‘okay’ sign with her free hand. She then felt her arm raise a little and then lower again to its previous height, with her hand still clasped with the brunette’s.

 

“Okay, I’ve just climbed the fence. Now, it’s your turn.”

 

Rosie just nodded as she reached out her free arm, cautiously shimmying forward, wafting her hand in the search for the fence, but probably looking more like she was playing an invisible piano.  

 

As soon as he felt the top of the fence, she relaxed. She noticed it didn’t feel like a normal fence made of wood. This fence felt a bit soft and leathery, like a couch. She lifted her right leg up over the fence, followed by her left, all the while keeping a firm grip on the fence and her girlfriend. She lost her balance slightly as got to the other side and was terrified of falling, as she didn’t have a clue what was beyond her. She screamed in fear, as for all she knew she was about to fall off a cliff. 

 

Thankfully, she felt an arm grab her, catching her as she stumbled back. 

 

“OH MY GOD, JEN! THAT WAS SO SCARY!” She knew she probably shouted too loudly that time, but she didn’t care. She was scared and slightly angry at her girlfriend for making her do this. But her anger instantly disappeared as a feeling of safety warmed through her body from being within Jennie’s arms, making her able to remember that the brunette had a huge surprise in store for her. 

 

“Okay, so there’s a beanbag behind you. You can sit down now.”

 

“A BEANBAG?! WHY IS THERE A BEANBAG?!”

 

“Stop asking questions. Just sit.” The brunette said through more giggles. Rosie made a curious yet uncertain look as she screwed up and narrowed her eyes at Jennie, only then remembering that Jennie couldn’t see her eyes. She cautiously lowered herself, stretching out an arm while feeling through the air for the beanbag, but all Rosie could find was air. 

 

“JENNIE, ARE YOU JOKING WITH ME? THERE'S NO….”

 

Rosie screamed as she was pushed backward by an unknown attacker. Her heart raced again from being pushed and thought she was going to make contact with the ground but found instant relief as she sank into surprising comfort

 

“I told you there was a beanbag,” she heard Jennie say through loud laughter. 

 

“OH MY GOD, JENNIE!” The blonde squealed. “YOU ALMOST GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK!” The blonde smacked the air in the direction that she thought Jennie was in, but probably just looked like she was trying to shoo away a fly. Rosie couldn’t hear anything, but she knew Jennie would be almost on the verge of tears from laughing at her. This made Rosie smirk and frown at the same time, but the smirk finally won the battle. 

 

 

—

 

 

“Okay, are you ready?” She hadn’t heard from the brunette in over five minutes. 

 

“OF COURSE I AM. IS IT READY NOW?”

 

“Yes. Stand up.” Rosie felt Jennie’s hand on her shoulder. She lifted her hand to take it and then was pulled to her feet. As soon as she stood up she felt a cooling breeze grace her face. 

 

“Okay, turn this way,” Jennie instructed, placing a hand on both of the blonde’s shoulders, and turning the clueless girl. 

 

“Okay, I’m gonna count down from three. Only open your eyes when I say one, okay?” The birthday girl nodded. “Good girl. Three…”  Rosie felt Jennie’s fingers on her forehead and her thumbs on her cheeks, below the blindfold. 

 

“Two…” She felt Jennie push the blindfold up off her eyes and onto her forehead. She then felt the headphones slowly pull away from her ears.

 

“One…” Rosie opened her eyes at the exact same time that the headphones and blindfold were both lifted from her head.

 

Her jaw dropped and her eyes bulged at what she was seeing. It was breathtaking. The sky was bluer than she had ever seen it, with almost no cloud in sight. The azure shade of sky was the perfect backdrop to the majestic mountains that began in the distance, with their peaks bordering the horizon. Stunningly green woodland filled in the valleys between mountains and flowed towards them, covering most of the land in sight. 

 

“Jennie…” Rosie said, still fixated on the breathtaking view before her. “This view is amazing!” She took a step closer, placing both hands on top of the side of the basket. 

 

Jennie stepped next to her and mimicked her stance, taking in the view too. “I’m glad you like it.”

 

“Like it? Jennie, I love it!” She turned to the brunette and hugged her. “And I love you!” Her hold on the brunette tightened. 

 

“I love you, too,” replied Jennie, squeezing the blonde against her and nestling her head in the nook of the blonde’s neck. They both melted into the cuddle, both humming in each other’s embrace. 

 

After a few seconds, Rosie lifted her head and finally realised where they were. She looked to her right and saw a man holding something above him. She looked up and saw a field of colours: orange, yellow, red, blue, and green. Then she noticed the fire being shot into the centre of it. 

 

“Baby, we’re on a hot air balloon!” The blonde squeaked with excitement. Jennie’s eyebrows raised and eyes bugled at Rosie’s slip up of the word ‘baby’, before glancing at the only other person on board, feeling relieved that he didn’t notice, remembering that she intentionally hired someone who didn’t speak a word of English. 

 

“Yeah, I know. I was the one who booked it, you know,” Jennie teased. “I know how much you love heights, and I know how much you enjoyed the one that we went on on Jeju Island. And I thought I could make this time better because we can enjoy it together, just the two of us. I thought it would be romantic.”

 

“It’s so romantic,” the blonde said softly, pulling in the brunette for another hug. “Thank you so much.” 

 

“You’re welcome, Rosie. But the surprise doesn’t stop there.”

 

“It doesn’t?”

 

“Nope,” Jennie walked to the other side of the basket and returned with a wicker basket. “I wanted to include several things that you love into this surprise. So I thought about what you love. Heights…,” Jennie gestured towards the stunning view, “…and food,” she concluded, tapping the basket in her hand. Rosie bit her lip to stop an ear-piercing grin.”So, we’re gonna have a picnic, up here, with this beautiful view.”

 

Rosie’s eyes bulged and her grin broke out, with her bite no longer able to restrain it. Jennie put the picnic basket down, walking over to the side of the balloon's basket to collect three stools. She positioned the stools in a row along the side of the balloon's basket and told Rosie to sit on the first one. Jennie then sat on the third one and opened the picnic basket, pulling out a large, red cloth napkin which she draped over the middle stool, in replace of a table cloth. 

 

“We only have a stool to use a table, so we can’t fit everything on it at once. So we’re gonna have to do this in multiple servings.”

 

Rosie bit her lip again. She had to or she would spend the rest of their time in the air grinning so hard that her cheeks would ache tomorrow. 

 

“First, we’re gonna have sandwiches, then some pasta that I made at home, and then we’re gonna have cake,” the brunette informed a giddy-looking blonde, whose arms were already dancing in anticipation of the picnic in the air. Jennie smiled, thinking just how adorable her girlfriend was, happy that her surprise had made her girlfriend this happy.

 

—

 

“Cake time,” Jennie said, putting paper plates covered in red pasta sauce back in the basket, along with cutlery. The blonde’s arms gained their rhythm again, flapping to an inaudible beat at the mention of cake. The brunette pulled out two clean paper plates, handing one to Rosie, and putting one on her own lap. She then pulled out a small chocolate cake, a plastic knife, two plastic spoons, a candle, and a lighter. 

 

Rosie was surprised at the amount of effort the brunette had put in. 

 

“If we’re gonna do this, we’re gonna do this properly,” the brunette grinned at the adorable awe on her lover’s face. 

 

Jennie took the plastic covering off of the cake. She then put the ‘Happy Birthday’ candle in the centre and lit the two wicks. She then looked at her girlfriend and started clapping and singing.

 

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to my Rosie

Happy Birthday to you

 

Tears fell from Rosie’s cheek as Jennie sang the last line, her lip quivering too. Jennie leaned over the cake and grabbed both the blonde’s hands. 

 

“What’s wrong?” She said with deep concern.

 

“I just - I just love you so so much!” 

 

More tears streamed down Rosie’s face before Jennie ran to her girlfriend’s side and took her into a loving and secure embrace. 

 

“I love you so so much too, Rosie,” she kissed the top of Rosie’s head. “Now, stop crying, or you’re gonna make me cry, too,” Jennie admitted, already on the verge of tears. 

 

“Okay. I’m okay. Thank you,” the blonde said while wiping her tears from her cheeks. The brunette returned to her seat, blinking away her own threatening tears. 

 

“Okay, make a wish.”

 

The blonde closed her eyes and thought of something. Once she had recited her wish in her mind, she opened her eyes and blew out the two flames. 

 

--

 

"That was the best birthday ever!" Rosie exclaimed as she slid into bed next to Jennie. 

 

"You say that every year, babe," Jennie chuckled. 

 

"And I mean it every year. Although, I'm not sure how you're gonna top this year's present," Rosie said as she thought of what Jennie could give her next year to beat this year's gift. 

 

"You talking as if I've already given you all of your presents for this year," Jennie said calmly, but with a telling smirk. 

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"I've got one last surprise for you," Jennie said placing a hand on the blonde's cheek and leaning in to kiss her. The kiss was deep, sending warmth right through her body. With their lips still connected, Jennie put her hand under Rosie's nightgown, smooth skin with her fingertips. 

 

Jennie then shifted to straddle Rosie and then dove back down to kiss the birthday girl again. This time the kiss was even hotter and deeper than before, so deep that Rosie didn't know if she would ever reach the surface again. 

 

The blonde breathed deeply as Jennie left her lips, sad at the loss of the kiss. But as Jennie lowered herself down, connecting her lips with her stomach, on her way to give her girlfriend her final and most likely favourite present, Rosie thought that it really was the best birthday she had ever had.