Until the End of the World🌹 (Saeran Choi fanfiction/drabbles)

Saeran birthday fic🌹

Title: The three times she tried (and failed) to wish Saeran a happy birthday, and the one time she did.
(The title was too long to put in the actual title😅)

The first time she tried was a few months after she and Saeyoung had rescued Saeran from Mint Eye. Saeyoung had headed out to stock up on some groceries, and she and the younger Choi twin were curled up at opposite ends of the sofa, watching a movie together. Or rather, Saeran was watching the movie while she stared listlessly at the screen, fidgeting with her phone as she debated with herself on whether or not to wish her counterpart a happy birthday. A part of her desperately wanted to break out the party poppers and throw him the birthday party he'd never gotten the chance to experience. But the (slightly) more sensible part of her knew that that wasn't really a good idea yet; after all they had just been through trying to free Saeran from Mint Eye, after all the trauma Saeran had dealt with for his entire life...holding a birthday party just didn't seem like such a good idea anymore. But alas, she was stubborn. She desperately wanted to let Saeran know that even if no one else did, she remembered his birthday. That he was important to her. That she cared about him.

Saeran must have noticed her inner turmoil, despite the fact that he usually remained oblivious to other people's emotions (or at least, if he did notice, he hardly ever responded). When she shot a sideways glance in his direction, she noticed that he was no longer sitting as far away from her as he could. He had shuffled over to sit closer to her. She held her breath as she watched him tentatively reach out and cover her hand with his own.

He did all this nonchalantly while he continued to watch the movie playing on screen with a bored look plastered across his face. But you had to be blind to miss the fact that his cheeks now matched the colour of his crimson locks.

---

The second time she tried, she was taking a walk in the garden with Ray. They had been chatting as they strolled leisurely, Ray taking the time to explain the meaning behind each flower they passed. It was a topic she found interesting too, and usually she'd be all ears...but her heart just wasn't into it today. Her gaze kept slipping from the flower Ray was gesturing at to the dark circles beneath his eyes, his pale complexion making them all the more prominent. Her heart ached for the young game developer. She was worried about him. Other 20 something year olds would be out celebrating their birthdays, while here Ray was -working overtime to get the game completed. She knew that if she questioned him he'd say that he didn't mind, but surely no one wanted to spend their birthday slaving the day away.

"...MC? MC, are you okay?"

She snapped back to reality at the sound of his voice. Judging from the concerned look on his face, she'd clearly been lost in her own thoughts for a while now.

"Are you feeling okay? Is the weather too chilly for you? Do you want my jacket?"

Being the gentleman that he was, he removed his jacket and draped it over her shoulders despite her protests that she was fine. Placing a hand on her lower back, he tried to steer her gently towards the direction of the Magenta building. "Come on...let's head back. I'll make you tea and some snacks...how does that sound?"

"W-Wait! Before we go back...I just wanted to...to..."

She trailed off, embarrassed and unsure of how to convey her feelings to him. As she was wracking her brain for what to say, her gaze fell upon the bright blossoms that formed a colourful backdrop behind him. A grin tugged at the corners of her lips as an idea formed in her mind.

She bent down to gather a handful of flowers before offering them to her companion. "Here...these are for you, Ray
Happy birthday."

Ray reached out to receive the flowers with wide eyes, a smile playing on his lips.

Azalea. Take care of yourself for me.

---

Third time's the charm, right? Or at least...that's what they say. When the 11th of June next rolled around, she was locked in her room, waiting for V to free her. The once charming room that Ray had oh so carefully prepared for her had turned into her prison cell, and Ray himself was gone, enslaved by a mysterious drug and the cruel mistress of this awful place.

She perched anxiously on the window seat and fiddled with her phone as she gazed longingly at the garden she'd explored with Ray just a couple of days ago. As her eyes scanned the beds of colourful flowers, she caught sight of a head of familiar white hair. Despite her current predicament, her heart skipped a beat. She knew that Ray was long gone, buried under layers of trauma, but she still couldn't help but long for his soft voice and gentle touch -what she wouldn't give for him to hold her in his arms and tell her that everything would be okay.

"...hello? Why the hell are you calling me?"

It was only when his voice interrupted her thoughts that she realised she'd called him unconsciously. She glanced out the window and spotted him squinting up at her from where he was standing in the garden. When she answers, her voice comes out as a whisper. "...I missed you."

He barks out a laugh. "You don't miss me. You miss that airheaded marshmallow boy. We both know you prefer him over me-"

"I don't prefer anyone over anyone." She interjected. Before he could start an argument with her, she carried on talking. "Ray once told me that you and him were the same person...that he's a part of you, and that you're a part of him.

Saeran, I know you're not particularly fond of Ray...but the both of you are more alike than you think. You're both scared of being hurt again...it's just that you guys deal with that fear differently. You take it out on everyone else, but Ray takes it out on himself."

Saeran had gone completely silent, but she ploughed on despite his lack of a response. "Saeran, I really don't think that you're a bad person. If you'd just let me help you, we could get out of here and-"

"SHUT UP!"

Her phone nearly slipped from her fingers when he suddenly yelled in her ear. She braced herself for him to continue shouting at her, but to her surprise, he simply hung up.

She watched his retreating form from her window seat as he stormed off deeper into the garden. Unable to see his face, she was unaware that his cheeks were streaked with tears.

---

Despite the fact that she wasn't a morning person, she made the effort to wake up earlier than she was usually willing to just so she could prepare breakfast in bed for Saeran. After all, today was a special day. She stood in the kitchen and hummed a pop song quietly under her breath as she rearranged an assortment of items on a tray.

Strawberry pancakes? (Recipe courtesy of Jumin.) Check. Freshly brewed pot of his favourite fruit tea? Check. Birthday card tucked under a small bundle of lily of the valley flowers? Check. Now all that was left to do was to wake up the birthday boy...

Nudging the door open with her foot, she entered their shared bedroom holding the tray. She balanced the tray somewhat precariously on the bedside table and noticed that her boyfriend was beginning to stir.

"...flower?" Saeran groggily pushed himself up into a sitting position with one hand as he used the other to rub the sleep from his eyes.

"Good morning, my love." She had to bite back a smile as she settled herself beside him on the edge of the bed. He was adorable when he was half asleep like this. Picking up the tray from the bedside table, she slid it onto his lap. "Happy birthday."

He tried to hide it, but she spotted the way his eyes lit up with happiness. "You remembered."

"Of course I did." she muttered, leaning in to peck him on the lips. "How could I forget? This is the first birthday of yours that we're celebrating together."

Being careful not to upset the tray, he leaned forward to return the kiss. "Thank you, my flower...you've made this the best birthday I've ever had."