You and Me, Forever Young

The morning of Will's birthday dawned cold and bright and I took a deep breath after finally planning everything.

Everything was good to go; Will just needed to wake up.

It was near noon and for my plans to work he needed to get up soon.

When he finally did it was obvious he was surprised to see me and Zackie dressed and packed while he was still in his boxers.

"Did I miss something?" He asked curiously.

I grinned. "We're going on a field trip."

"A birthday field trip?"

Nodding, I walked over to him. "I didn’t want to wake the birthday boy up but we've got plans."

He rose his other eyebrow. "Since when do we have plans?"

"Since you became a famous rockstar and met lots of people that love you and want to share this special day with you." I lilted as I walked circles around him.

"But what if I wanted to spend it with just you?" Will murmured, his arms encircling me.

I sighed, knowing my will power wouldn’t last much longer if he held me.

"Trust me, you want to go. Everyone will give you awesome gifts, you'll get buzzed and have an awesome time." I said levelheadedly, pulling away.

He pouted. "But it's my birthday..."

I smiled and kissed him softly and slowly. "If you're really good I'll give you your present tonight."

Something of a dreamy smile slipped on his face as he looked down at me. "Really?" Will asked hushed.

I nodded, playing with his hands.

He grinned. "Well what are we waiting for?"

In one move he threw me over his shoulder and headed out to the rental car.

It was only till we got halfway out the door he remembered Zackie.

-x-x-x-

"Lilly this is so... wow I love you."

I laughed and shoved him toward the house where you could already hear the sound of music and laughter from inside.

I found it a miracle that Jon Walker happened to own a house that wasn’t too far from where any of us lived and had no problem letting us throw a party there.

It made me thankful I had awesome friend like him, or the ones that had been setting up all night waiting inside.

While making a mental note to make it up to them later, we all walked into the house, quickly greeted by a few familiar faces.

"Hey birthday boy." Jamie smirked, balancing Zoe on hip.

Will grinned and hugged her, placing a small kiss on her cheek.

"You wouldn't happen to be behind any of the planning of this party would you?" He asked mischievously.

Jamie laughed easily. "Me? Oh Will, how could you ask? Of course I was."

She quickly got called away by Will's sister in the kitchen, but not before pointing us in the direction of the backyard where everyone else was.

I think I was just as surprised as Will when we walked outside and saw who was there.

Somehow the others had snuck Nicole and Patrick in to town along with Cobra Starship without us, or even me noticing.

We had planned something similar to The Butcher's birthday not so long ago with the backyard barbecue, alcohol, and the piñatas as well.

There were lights strung up in the trees, a happy birthday banner, and even a small turn table I couldn’t help but notice Pete, Travie, and Gabe eye hungrily.

In the back of my mind I wondered to myself who would beat the others there.
Will managed to place a soft kiss on my cheek and whisper his thanks in my ear before everyone took notice of our presence.

I shrank back with Zackie and let everyone have a piece of Will like I did on tour, but the difference was these were our friends and I didn't have to worry about him coming back missing a shirt.

Those were things I never appreciated in the real world.

My feet led me over to the grill where I found Jack with a spatula and a 'Kiss the Cook' apron on, the beads of sweat on his forehead only adding to the ensemble.

"They roped you into cooking huh?" I grinned.

He sighed and flipped a burger. "It was Pete... he said something about how I still had a chance to flip burgers for the rest of my life and it never hurt to practice. He just didn't want to do it himself."

I laughed. "Well think of it as a public service, if Pete had been cooking Jon would be homeless right now."

He chuckled with me and was about to say something when Will appeared beside me.

"Sorry Jack but I've got to steal my wife away. If I have to socialize so must she."

With a sad wave Will led me over to one of the big tables we had set up where the half of Cobra Starship that was dancing or DJing sat along with Will's sister, Nicole, and Patrick.

To mention every word that was said, every hug, and every reason we laughed would take forever.

It felt like our wedding all over again with us sitting at the table and chatting with friends while pretending we were adults, even if we all wanted to throw cake at each other when Will's cake came out.

He was glowing as much as the twenty-four candles were when everyone sang Happy Birthday to him and they were blown out.

That signaled everyone to bring out the presents that quickly took up available space on the table between drinks and cake.

I watched as box after box was unwrapped while I subtly signaled to Shelby to get my own surprise.

As the last present was unwrapped I nudged Will.

"So I really couldn't wait until tonight to give you your present."

Will rose an eyebrow. "Really Lilly? In front of all these people?"

My cheeks grew red. "Will!"

He chuckled and kissed my cheek. "Kidding."

I rolled my eyes playfully and nodded to Shelby.

She walked out with a brightly wrapped box everyone oh and awed over.

Daintily as possible for being Shelby, she set it carefully in front of us.

I laughed as he looked at it curiously. "Did it just move?"

"Open it already!"

With a wary glance he took the lid off.

A small ball of fur popped up, complete with a wet black nose, four paws, and a wagging tail.

Before I could look at his reaction Will had pulled the puppy out of the box and gathered it up in his arms.

"You got me a puppy?"

The expression on his face was that of a kid on Christmas as he pulled me into a hug with him so we were a tangle of puppy, baby, and parents.

"I figured I'd get a jump start on things, you know, since you wanted to get that house. Well we've got the baby, and now we've got the puppy."

Will's grin got wider as he pressed his lips quickly but passionately against mine.
"So you mean it? You really want to get the house?"

I nodded, only increasing his happiness; I never thought he could smile so wide.

"This is the best present ever."

Our sweet family moment was interrupted by Pete sulking.

"Man, she always tops my presents." He huffed.

Nicole laughed.

"You bought him a toaster Pete."

The puppy barked in agreement, causing all of us to laugh.

"Best birthday ever." I heard Will murmur.