Forever and Always

Charles Marc Herve Percival Leclerc

"Happy birthday, my love!" Emi cried, falling on top of Charles as soon as he had woken up. He quickly moved his broken wrist out of the way just before she landed.
"Sorry, Cha," she whispered with a small smirk, rubbing his cheek with her thumb and kissing him over and over.

"Thank you, Em," he said, smiling up at her. Charles looked around the room, and seeing all of the balloons spread across the floor, he let out a little laugh.

"Like it?" she asked as she lifted herself up until she stood in the small ocean of balloons.

Charles nodded, standing up himself and reaching for her.
"Of course I do, mon amour," he replied, bringing her close.

They stayed there for a minute. Charles rested his head on top of hers, breathing in the scent of her hair - flowery with a hint of vanilla? Emi always smelt nice. It's was one of his favourite things about her.

"Ok, come on. I've got some things for you," Emi said a moment later, grabbing Charles's good hand and dragging him out of their bedroom.

A 25 balloon was hung behind the dining room table, and in front, on the table were a few wrapped gifts and a delicious looking breakfast. Emi led him over, pulling out a chair for him to sit in. Charles gave her a wide, loving smile before he sat down. Emi sat next to him, resting her elbow on the table and putting her chin in her hands and looking at him eagerly.

As Charles started to pick the bacon off of his plate of breakast, Emilia gave him a nod that told him to hurry and up open the presents. So, he reached for the first small present he could reach. Emi's smile widened just slightly when he lifted the first corner of wrapping.

Once all of the wrapping paper was off, it revealed a small navy blue box with intricate golden writing reading Monte-Carlo Jewlers. He smiled. Charles loved jewellery, and knowing he was getting a piece from the girl he loved most made his heart swell. Emi leant forward just a tad as he began to open it.

Charles's jaw dropped just slightly, and then it turned turned into a broad smile. His heart swelled with even more love for this girl than he knew possible. Charles placed the box on the table, picking up the gold bracelet that lay inside.

The thin gold bracelet sparkled when Charles put it the light. And that's when he saw something engraved into it. C♡E it said. Charles instantly undid the clasp and put it on with his other bracelets, making this one front and centre. He reached his arm out to show Emi. Her face was alight with happiness, and it made Charles happy seeing her like that.

"You like it?" she asked.

"Of course, I do, mon amour. I love it," he replied with a smile, leaning forward and pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. Emi smiled, her face giddy.

"Ok, ok! Open the next one," she said, pointing to the three remaining presents remaining on the table. Charles rolled his eyes playfully as he reached for one.

Charles had a mix of emotions swirling through him after he had finished opening his presents. He was so happy and so grateful for Emi, but it also made him reminisce about when his mother and father were still here and he'd spend birthdays with them.
He loved the three other gifts that Emi got him. All of them were as special as the first gift. The first one he opened out of the three was a camera. It was shiny and black, and when he looked closer, he saw that Emi had drawn a tiny love heart on the top. He smiled.
The next was a cookbook. He laughed when he opened it and raised one eyebrow at Emi, who laughed. "I just thought that you should learn how to cook properly," she said.
"I can cook!" he replied defiantly.
"You can cook pasta, and only half the time is it actually cooked right. You need to extend your cooking abilities," she said playfully. Charles just rolled his eyes sarcastically and laughed.
The final present made him tear up a little. It was beautiful. It was so special. A white wooden frame displayed a painting - a painting of Charles and his family. Charles was in the middle, arms around his two brothers, Arthur and Lorenzo, by his side. On either side of them, his parents. His mother stood next to Arthur, hugging him close with her signature bright smile on her face. God, Charles missed his mama so much. Beside Lorenzo was his father, exactly as Charles remembered him. His happy, joyful face and mismatched style of clothes brought back memories of him, making Charles's eyes glass up. He missed his father so, so much. How long had it been since he had seen his smile or heard his laugh? 6 years, maybe? Too long. In the painting, both his mother and father had small angel wings and a slight golden aura around them, making them look as if they glowed. The whole thing made Charles feel like he wanted to burst into tears.