Aly was surely surprised when she was given a gift.

"Huh?" she muttered.

She then shrugged and opened it... nearly dropping the item when it was revealed.

"...I... I..." she stammered.

"This... this is..." she said further, before looking at Eke.

"Eke, how did you ever get ahold of this?"

Aly was silent again, before returning the embrace and kissing him back.

"Eke..." she said.

"Eke, you're... you can't be real." she told him.

"You're too perfect." she smiled.

"You're just... so amazing. You... I..." she went on, before sighing lightly.

"You've made this the best birthday." she whispered sincerely.

Aly was finishing up eating, and Ryker had just finished.

He then smirked at Eke.

"Went quite well." he said.

"Hm?" Aly mumbled.

"Just something between myself and my lady friend." Ryker told her.

Eke then noticed a small blush forming in Ryker's cheeks as he seemed to be thinking about her.

Aly paused.

"Cake?" she asked.

"Duh." Ryker replied.

"It's not a birthday without cake." he said.

"Ok, fair." Aly admitted with a small laugh.

"What kind is it?" she asked Eke.

Aly just giggled.

"Of course I have, silly." she replied.

"I just wasn't expecting it. After all, the meal, the book, it's so perfect. And yet you've made it even MORE so." she told him.

"And that sounds DIVINE." she went on, before looking at the cake.

She closed her eyes, was silent for a moment, before nodding.

"...yes." she said quietly.

She then opened her eyes, and puffed out a breath of air, extinguishing the candle.

Aly and Ryker each took a bite of cake... and both smile afterwards.

"Mmmmmmm..." Aly murmured dreamily.

"It's so good...!" she said, taking another bite.

"Oh yeah." Ryker agreed.

"It's pretty damn ace." he agreed, giving a thumbs-up.

"This is the best birthday EVER, Eke!" Aly exclaimed to Eke.

Aly just made her way over and sat down beside him.

She looked over towards Ryker and smiled.

"Shhh." she said.

"I'll make sure he's comfortable and sleeps well." she whispered.

Ryker just nodded in response.

"Got it." he said quietly, before heading outside to get a breath of fresh air.

"Went quite well." Ryker responded, taking the last of the chocolate.

He then took a bite, and smiled.

"Sweet." he said.

"Like you." he added.

He then sighed, looked skyward.

"...how long?" he asked.

"How long before this storm ends?"

Ryker was caught off guard by the kiss, and then immediately started murmuring and gurgling happy noises when she played with his hair. He managed to compose himself, however, and cleared his throat.

"Ah, right." he said.

"Eke's just tired." he told her.

"He exhausted himself, so he's resting." he went on.

"Aly's making sure he sleeps well, too." he then added.

Ryker's face turned red when she said the last part, and he became flustered for a moment.

"I, uh, yes." he mumbled.

"Thank you." he told her.

"And... thank you for wanting to keep me safe." he said further.

"It's a nice feeling to know someone else feels that way. I mean, aside from Eke, of course." he continued.

"Shows I really HAVE come a long way from my days as a slave..." he added with a sigh and a smile.