a/n : this is a continuation from lottie /
moviemeeks drabble  'teenage dream'.
these two are truly the best friends ever
and i will not be shutting up about them !

MAKE THE FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS,
TAKE THE MOMENT AND TASTE IT.
YOU'VE GOT NO REASON TO BE
AFRAID.

"YOU DIDN'T THINK I forgot, did you?"

Ellie knows she doesn't have long.  Mom and Lou are expecting her back at the penthouse within the next two hours,  firm instructions that she's to abide by regardless of how much she'd like to spend today far away from anything that's happened in the last forty-eight hours,  and it feels less like concern and more like a hindrance on what she knows must already be a horrible day.

It shouldn't be.  That's the worst part,  Ellie thinks.  Today's one of the most special days in the world: Buffy's birthday.

After lunch, after the blood was scrubbed from under her nails and she made her decision for tonight, she'd set off for her apartment.  It was a quick stop that would have been taken even if it derailed the entire day- because frankly,  the rest of the day doesn't matter.  Not when it comes to her sister.

She just hopes she's not the last one to remember.

Now she stands in Buffy's doorway,  hands clasped around the wrapped gift she'd purchased months ago.  A piece of cake is balanced precariously on top of the surface,  candles dangling in a bag around her wrist as she grins sheepishly.

"Well?"

Buffy blinks again as though in a trance,  eyes slightly red in a way that presses right at Ellie's heart.  Last night was...awful, to say the least.  She can still see the crimson painting the concrete,  can taste her screams in the way her throat burns with each passing breath.  It wasn't the way anyone would want to start their birthday, but Ellie-Marie is determined to take what little time they have and make something pleasant out of it.

"No,"  Buffy finally exhales,  shaking her head almost forcefully.   "No,  I actually...I haven't even thought about it.  You actually remembered."

"Of course I did,  silly!"   The exclamation is paired with a tone Ellie intends to be playful,  waving her hand emphatically.  "You're my sister.  Not even a new Taylor album could make me forget your birthday.  It should be a national holiday."

"It is Halloween,  you know."

"That doesn't matter more than your birthday!  It should be in order of importance.  You come first."  With a firm squaring of her shoulders Ellie-Marie steps inside,  careful to not let the cake slip away from her.  "Really,  I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier.  I swear I didn't forget,  I just-"

"Els,"  Buffy interrupts.  "Seriously.  You're fine,  you're not the last one to tell me."

"Still!  It's tradition.  I tell you first every year,  and I am really sorry I didn't this year,"  Ellie pulls out a chair as she speaks,  trying to ignore the regret digging itself deeper into her stomach.  "C'mon,  birthday girl.  Sit!"

"Am I a dog now?"  Despite the quip Buffy's already taking her seat at the table,  kicking the chair leg across from her to knock the opposite chair out.   "Where's your slice?"

"I didn't grab one,"  Ellie dismisses casually,  taking the seat without any questions asked.  This is their birthday lunch.  Sad,  bloodstained,  and admittedly a little small,  but it's theirs.  It always has been.   "I'm gonna make you an actual cake when this is all over.  Dad's in protective mode right now and doesn't want me alone for two hours,  so-"

She hasn't even gotten to finish her explanation before Buffy has reached back behind her,  snatching another fork off the counter.   "We're splitting this."

"What?  No.  Fifi,  it's your birthday-"

"And you-"  Buffy halts there,  biting at her lip to stop herself.  Ellie wants to press the instant that familiar crinkle of hurt appears at her sister's eye,  hackles raising in a heartbeat.  She's cut off the moment she opens her mouth.   "You're my sister.  We're gonna eat the damn cake together or not at all."

Her insistence is one Ellie-Marie doesn't dare to fight against,  knowing a losing battle when she sees one.  With a long-suffering sigh she takes the fork offered  (forced?)  to her,  sliding the plastic container off the gift and popping it open.

"Don't eat it yet,"  she instructs,  leaning over to grab the bag from the floor.  She can still faintly make out crimson sinking into her nailbeds and the ensuing silence is enough for Anika's scream to ring inside her ears,  but that doesn't matter.  What matters is that she grabs this shitty pack of matches and glittery blue candle from the bag and lights up the one thing that matters most right now,  watching the flame flicker before her eyes as she sticks it into the cake.  "You've gotta make a wish."

The smile that Buffy wears,  while exhausted and pained,  reminds Ellie that she can drown out anything her sister needs her to.  She can do it with a smile.  This is less than what Buffy deserves,  far less,  but it's a start to what she will do.

She just has to live long enough to get to that point.

Closing her eyes Buffy leans forward, blowing out the candle in what seems like a millisecond.

"Did you make a wish?"

Leaning back in her chair Buffy reaches for her fork,  a somber look to the eyes that Ellie finds a comfort in.  "Yeah.  Yeah,  I did.  You think it'll come true?"

The question lingers between them for a second too long under normal circumstances,  a weight present that Ellie can't push away.  Will it come true?  After everything,  after bloodshed,  after crimson clover deaths that came too soon,  after fights and after casual brokenness,  will it come true?

For Ellie,  maybe her wishes won't.

She'll make sure they do for Buffy.

"I do,"  she finally answers, her voice softened into the same tone they'd use during hide-and-seek not so long ago.  "I think we're gonna make it come true."

"We will?"  Buffy asks,  a twinge of that forbidden hope to her voice.  It's present enough for Ellie to find the same in her,  something hopefully far stronger than the desperation she's running off of.

One hand extends out with her pinky outstretched,  ready and waiting for Buffy to link them once more.

"We will."