Remark: I decided that Mark's girlfriend should be called Flora. I kinda like the name.

Summary: Mark's a sweet boyfriend when it comes to his girlfriends birthdays. What will she do for him on his birthday?

It was July 30, 1979. But it wasn't just any day, it was Flora's birthday. Flora Craig. Soon Flora Knopfler. She was still waiting for Mark to propose. The two had been together for 5 years now. Flora knew, however, that Mark had just had a breakthrough with his band and that's why she didn't want to bother him about a wedding. She was very proud of his performance as a guitarist and really happy that he was finally becoming internationally known. The band had released their first album in 1978. But Mark was still working as an English teacher. Flora stretched in her bed, yawning. She wasn't currently employed anywhere. Mark had told her that she should relax a bit before looking for a new job. Flora got up, got dressed and got ready. She was shocked to see that it was already 8 a.m. She ran into the bathroom of the apartment she and Mark shared and brushed her teeth before coming into the kitchen and smiling. There was breakfast on the kitchen table. A small vase of flowers stood in front of a glass of juice and a plate covered with a silver cover to keep the food from getting cold. She opened the lid and steam rose before she started smiling at an omelette. Her favourite, ham and cheese omelette. A small yellow note was tucked in next to the plate. She pulled it out from under the plate and smiled.

Good morning my sunshine, unfortunately I had to go to work and didn't want to wake you. You looked so sweet. When I get home we'll celebrate your birthday. Enjoy your breakfast, I love you. ~ Mark

Flora smiled and sat down at the table. God, she loved that man.

*

At around two in the afternoon, Flora heard a key in the apartment door. She was instantly wide awake and jumped up from the sofa. Mark was standing in the hallway, taking off his shoes. He was wearing a dark blue suit with a white shirt. The top three buttons were undone, revealing his cream-colored skin. His tie was hanging out of his briefcase. Flora ran towards him excitedly. Mark beamed at her as he took her in his arms.

"Hello darling." He hummed and kissed her gently. She wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up at him because she was smaller.

"Hello darling. Thanks for breakfast. It was heavenly."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Mark smiled. The two went into the living room. Mark dropped his briefcase next to his desk, which was also in the living room. They sat down on the sofa. Mark gently held her hands. "I love you." He hummed and kissed her cheek. Flora smiled. "Wait here." Knopfler jumped up and ran into their shared bedroom. He came back with a large box wrapped in colourful wrapping paper. Flora's eyes widened. Mark sat down next to her again and handed her the box. "Happy birthday, my sunshine." Flora smiled.

"That wasn't necessary, Mark."

"You don't even know what it is." The blonde giggled and sat cross-legged on the sofa. Flora smiled and began to tear off the wrapping paper. She threw it on the floor and then opened the box. Her eyes widened as she pulled a new olive green bra with matching panties out of the box.

"It's beautiful, Mark!" She exclaimed enthusiastically and held the underwear in front of her upper body. "Do you think it suits me?" Mark giggled and kissed her gently.

"I'm pretty sure, honey. You look beautiful in everything. Plus, the colour goes with your stunning green eyes." Flora felt her cheeks warm slightly at the compliment. She kissed Mark gently and put the underwear on the sofa next to her before reaching into the box again and pulling out a small jewellery box. She opened it. They were green earrings with a matching necklace. She raised her head and smiled at Mark. "It's beautiful." She breathed and ran her fingertips over the necklace.

"Do you want to try it on?" Mark hummed happily. He was very pleased that she liked the gift. Flora nodded eagerly. Mark took the necklace out of the box and gently placed it around Flora's neck before closing the clasp. Flora beamed.

"Thank you, Mark. The necklace is so beautiful." She whispered and kissed him hard. Mark smiled.

"As pretty as you are, my flower." Flora smiled.

"You are incredible, darling." She hummed and kissed him again.

"I'm just in love." Mark giggled. He stood up and went to his bag before taking out another small box and handing it to his girlfriend.

"What is this?" She asked in surprise.

"It's from my class. I told them a few weeks ago that my girlfriend's birthday was coming up. Today they gave me this."

"What is it?" She giggled. Mark shrugged.

"I have no idea. It's your present." Flora opened the box and gasped sharply. It was a gold brooch in the shape of a linden leaf. Mark also stared at it with wide eyes.

"Your students bought this?" The woman asked in shock. Mark started to laugh.

"Yes. Damn, they must have all put money together."

"They must really like you." Flora giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. Mark giggled and kissed her firmly.

"It seems so."

*

After they had eaten cake and it was already late afternoon, almost 6 o'clock, they decided to take a bath together. They ran hot water into the bathtub. Flora lay on Mark's body. The guitarist had his arms wrapped around her and was gently kissing her ear.

"I love you." He hummed and stroked her upper arm with his thumb.

"I love you too." She breathed, putting her hand under the water to stroke his thigh. Mark giggled and nuzzled his big nose into her neck.

"You smell so good, honey." Mark breathed. Flora started to laugh. Mark grinned and kissed her shoulder. "I really love you, you know? You're incredible. And I'm damn lucky to be your boyfriend."

"What do you mean?" She asked, turning her head a little to look into his opal blue eyes. Mark smiled at her.

"Well. You're beautiful, honey." He stroked her upper arm again. "You have stunning eyes. Few people have green eyes, you know?" He kissed her cheek. "Your hair has a light red tone and is almost curly. Your face is beautiful, just like your body." Flora felt goose bumps spreading across her body. "I love your long legs." He grinned and stroked her calf with his left foot. Flora started to laugh.

"You're an idiot, Mark."

"I'm your idiot." He giggled.

"But why...why are you lucky, honey? What do you mean by lucky?" She asked worriedly. Mark bit his lower lip a little.

"Well...I'm not exactly a model, you know?" He laughed. Flora turned onto her stomach so that their faces were now facing each other and she was lying fully on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her upper body.

"What do you mean?" She asked quietly and reached out to brush a wet strand of hair from his face. "You're beautiful, Mark." Mark sighed.

"Baby..."

"No. You're beautiful. Even if you don't think so. You are to me." Flora said firmly. "And you always will be. Even when all your hair has fallen out and you're old and fat." Mark let out a laugh that made his whole body shake. Water sloshed out of the bathtub as he laid his head back and squeezed his eyes shut with laughter. Dimples formed on his face. Flora smiled. She loved that laugh. She kissed his lips. "I love you, Mark Freuder Knopfler. Thank you for all the presents. This was the best birthday of my life." Mark smiled.

"Anything for you, my flower."

*

The weeks passed and before you knew it, it was already August 12th. Today was a band practice in the evening. Flora stretched in bed and yawned loudly before getting up and getting ready. Mark was still in bed. She made herself breakfast and turned on the radio. She hummed along to a song by Linda Lyndell. It was called "What a man." Flora particularly liked this song for two reasons. 1: A woman in music was rare and Linda had a stunning voice. And 2: Whenever she heard the song, she thought of Mark. Because damn, what a man he was. She heard a thump in the bedroom before Mark came out. He was wearing underpants and an undershirt. His hair stood up unruly from his head and he rubbed his eyes, yawning.

"What a man, what a man, what a mighty mighty good man." Flora sang along with the radio, laughing. Mark raised his head sleepily and looked at her questioningly before he began to smile. He sat down at the kitchen table and watched her. Flora sat on his lap and kissed him gently. "Good morning."

"Morning." He yawned and then gently tapped her nose. "I see you've already given your concert for today."

"Mh." She hummed and gently kissed his lips. "It's band practice tonight, right?"

"Mh." He nodded. "Do you want to come with me?"

"You bet." She giggled. The day passed quickly. And Flora wondered all day long why Mark was acting so strange. He kept asking her a few questions about the date. She wondered if she had forgotten something. But apart from band practice, there was nothing important today...right? Mark was a forgetful person. He had probably just forgotten what date it was. The two of them sat in Mark's car and drove to the Studio. Soon they arrived. Mark held his guitar case in his left hand and Flora's in his right hand as they entered the building. Suddenly John appeared behind the guitarist and wrapped a cloth around Mark's eyes. The blond man immediately let go of Flora's hand and tried to pull the cloth from his eyes, but John didn't let him. Pick took the guitar case from him and the guitarist was pushed into the studio. Flora ran after him, laughing. In the studio, David was waiting, along with Ellen, his girlfriend, and Johanna, Pick's girlfriend. John was currently single.

"Where are you taking me, John?" Mark laughed as he stretched his arms out in front of him. John pushed him further and held him by the hips. Flora laughed as the friends began to spin Mark in circles. "I'm going to puke!" Mark screamed, laughing. "JOHN!"

"Okay. Okay. That's enough, John. He's actually going to puke at the end." Pick laughed. "I don't feel like cleaning this up." The bassist nodded and held Mark by the hips again. David stepped aside and revealed what he had been covering with his body. Flora's eyes widened in shock:

A large birthday cake. It was white with light blue decorations. On the cake there was a marzipan man standing in front of a microphone with a guitar slung over his shoulder. Behind the man there were two large candles: one was a 3, the other was a 0. John took the cloth from Mark's eyes. The singer blinked a little because of the bright light that hit him in the eyes.

"Happy birthday, Mark!" David, John and Pick shouted at the same time. Mark let out a laugh and wrapped his arms around Pick and John's shoulders.

"You're crazy. I don't need cake, guys."

"You can handle a few pieces of cake." David grinned and hit him on his flat stomach. Mark laughed. Ellen and Johanna watched the friends, smiling. Flora just stood there in shock. Damn. Now it all made sense. That's why Mark kept asking her about the date. How could this happen!? How had she forgotten Mark's birthday!?

"Come on! Blow out the candles!" John shouted. Mark laughed as he leaned over the cake and took a deep breath before blowing out the candles. The men clapped happily.

"30 years old. I'm so happy to see this." David teased his brother. Mark laughed. Pick handed him a knife and Mark cut the cake. He gave each of them a piece of cake on a porcelain plate before they spread out on the sofa and office chairs in the studio's control room. When Mark went to Flora and tried to hand her a plate, he was shocked to see that she was crying.

"Honey? What's wrong?" He asked worriedly, putting the plate aside and kneeling in front of her as she was sitting on a very low stool. She hid her face behind her hands and whimpered. "Baby? What's wrong? Did you hurt yourself?"

"You're still asking that?" She sobbed and looked at him with teary eyes. "I forgot your birthday, Mark!" She cried, crying. The room was quiet. The other band members fell silent. The only sound that could be heard was Pick's fork scraping across the porcelain plate as he continued eating his piece of cake. Johanna poked him in the side.

"I know." Mark nodded calmly. She raised her head and looked at him with teary eyes. "I know you forgot, honey." He put a hand on her knee.

"I'm so sorry." She sobbed.

"You don't have to be." He quickly assured her. "I've had many birthdays and will have many more."

"Mark." She looked at him sadly.

"Don't worry, baby."

"I'm so sorry." She whispered.

"It's really okay, don't..."

"It's not okay!" She screamed, upset. "You've been my boyfriend for 5 years! This shouldn't happen!" Mark flinched a little as she started to scream. "You always care about me so much. All year long. You always want to make everything perfect for me. You're the sweetest boyfriend a girl could ever ask for. I messed up so badly." She whimpered.

"Honey..."

"Mark, no. Listen to me. You think what you do is normal. That you care about me. But, honey, it's not. You're a wonderful boyfriend. I don't know any girl who is as happy as me. You're special, Mark. And I just messed it up." She wiped her face, sniffling. "I don't deserve you... I..." Mark wrapped her tightly in his arms and pulled her to his chest. She sobbed into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry." She whimpered.

"You don't have to be." He hummed and rocked her gently in his arms.

"You're an angel, Mark." She whispered and raised her head. "You're not from this world." Mark giggled a little. "You do so much for me and everyone around you and you never expect a thank you or a reciprocity. But you deserve it." She reached out and brushed a strand of hair out of his eyes. "I'm so sorry. I don't know how this could have happened..."

"It's okay." He kissed her gently. "Don't worry. You're human, you know? I forget a lot of things too."

"But not my birthday." She said quietly. Mark bit his lower lip.

"I love you, you know?" He hummed. "And I...I was a little sad that you forgot. But honey. It's not important."

"It's your birthday, Mark. It's important." Mark giggled and kissed her hard.

"It's my birthday every day when you're by my side, honey. I just want to be with you. I don't care about anything else." They kissed hard. "I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled. Mark wanted to pull Flora into another kiss, but suddenly a voice cleared his throat behind Mark. The guitarist turned his head questioningly, but didn't let go of his girlfriend. Pick stood next to the cake and held his empty plate in his hand.

"Do I get another piece of cake now, or what?" Mark threw his head back and burst into laughter, as did everyone else in the room. Flora watched with a smile as Mark gave the drummer a new piece of cake before she took her own and Mark sat down next to her with his own plate. She picked a small piece of cake with her fork and held it to his lips. Mark opened his mouth and let her feed him. The two smiled lovingly at each other. She might have forgotten his birthday. But she would never forget him.

THE END;)