Life Without Them (On Hold)

Chapter 21: Planning a Party

~Sang~

The next morning, getting the kids ready to come to work with me was more difficult than usual; not that I really expected anything less. The twins were hyped up on the knowledge that tomorrow was North's birthday, and we still didn't have a concrete plan of how we were going to celebrate it. That thought alone didn't bother me too much, as the old North never really liked celebrating his birthday, however, this would be the twins first time spending it with him and I'm sure they wanted to do something exciting.

I ended up enlisting Phil's help to get the twins ready, all while they talked our ears off about balloons, and candy, and streamers. At one point Morgan even asked if North would like a bounce house. I found their youthful ignorance highly amusing, and couldn't help picturing North, Silas and even Nathan trying to stand around in a bounce house while the twins, Luke and Gabriel went crazy.

Since we were running a little behind schedule, we opted on getting breakfast at the drivethrough. The twins ate their breakfast burritos in the back, while my stomach growled at me painfully, begging me to unwrap the delicious bacon, egg, and cheese burrito that was sitting in a bag in the passenger seat. My resolve won out, but I tore into it the minute I put the car in park at the hospital.

Now I find myself sitting at the nurses station, filing paperwork when Luke and Gabriel walk down the hall. Luke looks relaxed in a pair of cutoff jean shorts and a short sleeved button up top. Although, I'm not really sure why he wore it, only a few buttons in the middle are closed; much like when we first met. His brown eyes shine happily, filled with mischief, and his small smile is a welcomed sight.

Gabriel, on the other hand, looks wound tight. While he's still perfectly put together, in a pair of dark jeans and an orange and white t-shirt, his hair's pulled up into a hasty bun, some of the bright pink locks in the back of his head hanging down. His bright blue eyes dart around while his lips move silently, his mind a million miles away.

A few weeks ago when I first saw the color change, he told me that it was because of me. The first year they were gone, he decided not to recolor the two blonde locks that framed his face, and instead let them grow out, allowing the color to fade. Instead, he parted his hair and dyed the whole back side of his hair in my favorite color. He said his reasoning was since he couldn't be physically with me, he wanted to have something close to him to constantly remind him of me, and we all know how much Gabriel loves hair. He said it was the only logical choice.

"Hey guys," I greet as they approach the desk. "I thought you'd still be busy hunting." I say, referring to the hunt for Volto.

"We left that work to the brainiacs, Cupcake," Luke drawls. His eyes light up when I don't cringe from the name. I suppose Luke caught on to the subtle changes that were happening with me and his brothers, and didn't want to get left out. "We're here to talk about something more important."

"Oh really? Is that why Gabriel looks like he's about to pull his hair out?" I drawl.

Gabriel's hands twitch where they rest on the desk in front of me. My voice calling his name seems to snap him out of wherever he's at mentally. His blue eyes focus on me as his hands stop twitching.

"Do you know what tomorrow is, Trouble?"

It's probably a rhetorical question, but I answer it anyway. "It's North's birthday."

"Exactly! It's North's fucking birthday! And I refuse to let his grumpy ass attitude towards his birthday ruin it for the kids!"

Luke jumps in with, "We need balloons, and bright colors. Maybe a party outside so the kids could have a bounce house."

"You sound like the twins," I chuckle.

"Well, they are 1/10th mine," he smiles.

"But, you know Kota, Axel, and Owen are never going to let us have a party outside. Not with Volto still on the loose, and definitely not after the park fiasco yesterday." I tell him sadly.

"Ok, fine," he nods. "No outdoor party. But I'm sure we can find something fun to do inside. We have a whole two floors to ourselves."

"Look, guys I know you want to make this fun for the kids, but it is North's birthday. It has to be something that'd he'd want to do as well. Not something you can convince the kids to guilt trip him into," I remind them with narrowed eyes.

"Would we really do a thing like that, Trouble?" Gabriel asks me with wide eyes.

"Yes, you would," I respond with an eyebrow raised in his direction.

"Ok, ok, no using the munchkins," he agrees. "But what are we going to do? His birthday's tomorrow and we have nothing planned. You know how much I hate last minute planning!"

"But you did so well with my zombie, nail painting, cupcake party," I smile easily, remembering my first birthday spent with them.

"Yeah, but you're easy to please," he says with a wink.

"We have to find something that the kids will enjoy, while still letting my little brother be too cool for parties," Luke adds.

"Hmm, I think I have an idea," I say slowly, bringing up the internet on my work computer.

Luke hangs himself over the counter to try and see what I'm working on, but with a quick side eye from me, drops back down.

"What are you working on Cupcake?"

"Just some last minute shopping," I respond coyly. "Gotta love same day shipping on Amazon."

"So what are you getting?" Gabriel asks.

My fingers fly across the keyboard as I respond, "That, you will find out in four hours when the items get delivered to your door." As I press the final button, putting through the order, I look up at them and smile. "This is going to be a birthday that none of them will forget."