Jonny's Birthday (Finished)

IT'S Jonny's birthday, and Chris has a lovely present for him- a love letter.

It's a slash fic!

---

Jonny's cellphone, which was laying neatly on the bedside table located next to his bed, went off. The quiet rings bounced throughout the tiny room, eventually finding their way to his ears. With great effort, Jonny blindly reached for the phone, missing several times. He drew it close to his face, lifting his eyelid just enough to read the name. Heaving a tired sigh, he opened the phone and rolled over on his back.

"What do you want?"

"Happy birthday, man!"

"Thanks. You had to call at," he looked over at the clock, "six AM?"

"I wanted to be the first person to say it."

"Well, congratulations. Bye now."

"Bye Jo-" But Jonny had already hung up the phone, no doubt planning on going back to sleep. Six was a bit early to call someone, but Chris didn't really think about that before he called. "...nny." Chris disappointedly returned his phone to its receiver. He sat back in his chair, making room for his desk drawer to open. Inside was a large stack of loose leaf paper, and a few pens of varying colors. He grabbed one of each, closed the drawer, and began to write. But as soon as he placed the tip of the pen to the paper, his mind went blank. It was going to be the most important thing he'd ever written, or even thought about writing. And he thought about it all the time.

For thirty-two years, Jonathan Buckland had been a living being. Chris had known him for about thirteen of those years. One twisted afternoon, when Chris had been flying through the hallways, Jonny shyly sat in his dorm room, playing his guitar. The hypnotic melody floated through the open door, where it softly collided with the human Slinky. Like a magnet, it pulled him to the door, where he sneakily peered into the room and laid his eyes on the most magnificent person he'd ever seen.

Jonny's head was bowed down, hiding himself in the guitar. There was something so simple about him that made him almost angelic. With every strum, Chris felt his heart being lifted higher and higher. If indeed love at first sight existed, this was it. He unconsciously stepped closer and closer, until he was standing completely in the doorway. Jonny, fully absorbed in the song, didn't notice until he finished, when Chris let out a, "Wow," as the final note faded away. Jonny looked up, not so much frightened as embarrassed.

"Oh, sorry! I was just- and I," Chris motioned, trying to explain the prior events. "Sorry."

"It's OK," Jonny quietly said, as he lowered his head once more. Playing guitar seemed to be the only thing that made him feel comfortable around people he didn't know, yet ironically he couldn't play if he knew someone was listening. Instead, he just sat there, tightly holding the guitar.

"You're very b... your playing is very brilliant," Chris nervously spat out.

"Thanks," Jonny mumbled.

"Will you play something else?"

"Um..."

"Never mind, I should just go now. Sorry to bother you," Chris said as he began to leave. As he turned, however, the music started again. It was unlike anything he'd ever heard before. He dared to walk even closer, and actually sat down next to Jonny. Everything about him was breathtaking, from the gentle way he plucked the guitar strings to the stunning pale green eyes he lifted and used to look at Chris.

"Did you write that?"

"Yeah."

"It's wonderful." Jonny blushed and stared at the ground. Chris felt absolutely silly, like some little girl who was trying to get a boy to like her, but he knew that there was something very special about him. "You know, I write songs sometimes, too. Lyrics, mostly. Maybe we could... write together?"

Jonny tapped his thumb twice on the side of his guitar, and looked up at Chris, an excited smile spread wide across his face. "OK."

-

Jonny took a sip of the drink the waitress had just brought him as he looked at Chris, who was staring intently at a piece of paper, a pen held loosely in his hand. They were at the diner that Chris always brought Jonny to for lunch on his birthday, and sometimes when it wasn't his birthday.

"What are you writing?" Jonny asked, nodding to the blank paper.

"Um, a song," Chris lied. "Well, I'm trying to write a song but... I know what I want to say, I just don't know how I want to say it."

"Well, good luck."

"Thanks," he said, looking up. "I'm gonna need it."

"You'll get it, don't worry." Chris halfheartedly smiled, and returned his attention to the page before him. Jonny looked around, amazed with all the memories he held of that dinner. "Wow, I can't believe we've been coming here for thirteen years already."

"We've had a lot of meals here, huh?" Chris said as his eyes met Jonny's. Then he looked out the window. "A lot of talks..."

It was raining. The diner was filled with most of the usuals, including Jonny and Chris, who were sat at a small booth near the door. Plates of sandwiches and french fries sat between them on the table, along with two cups of water. Chris had eaten most of his food, but Jonny had only stared at his.

"Do you want to talk about it now?" Chris asked as he took a sip of his water.

"I guess," Jonny unenthusiastically answered. Chris placed his arms on the table, lacing his fingers, and stared at Jonny.

"What did she say?" Jonny sighed and messed with the uneaten food on his plate.

"I'm not dating material... anymore."

"What a bitch." Jonny looked up at Chris with a hurt expression. He had been dating this girl for three months, and of course Chris never liked her. Now that she'd left him, though, Chris felt that he could stop acting as if he could tolerate her. "Sorry, but it's true. You deserve so much better than that."

"Do I?" Jonny dully asked.

"Yes! Jonny, you're one of the most amazing people on earth. Anyone who can't see that shouldn't... I don't know, shouldn't be allowed to breathe."

"That's a little extreme, don't you think?" Jonny laughed.

"No, in fact, it's a little too nice." Chris returned to eating his sandwich, and it was a few minutes before either of them spoke again.

"Thank you," Jonny said, picking up a french fry off his plate.

"For what?"

"For always being there for me. You're the best friend anyone could ever ask for."

"It's nothing," Chris shrugged. "I'd do anything for you."

-------------------

The day was far from rainy. In fact, the sun seemed to shine brighter than it had in months. Jonny and Chris were sitting in the same booth, but this time their roles had switched. Chris found himself unable to eat much, whereas Jonny had eaten more than he usually would.

Chris loved to watch Jonny eat. Well, he loved to watch Jonny do anything, really. His simple, angelic qualities had not altered one bit since they met. He thought about writing that in his message, but decided that it didn't sound quite right. And he felt that angelic might even be an understatement.

"I'd still do anything for you." Jonny looked up and smiled.

"And you're still the best friend anyone could ask for."

-

Jonny was sitting at the bar of the club that he, Chris, Will, Guy, and many others were at in celebration of his birthday. Most of the people in the club were crowded around him; basically everyone except Chris.

Chris was sitting at a table in the back corner, still working on writing. The paper had remained blank throughout the entire day, even though Chris never stopped trying to write. He could never quite phrase things the way he felt accurately portrayed his feelings. He closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind and start over fresh. The hardest part was figuring out how to start it all. He thought once it had a beginning, the rest might come easier. Once again he looked down at the paper, struggling to find the words.

He finally decided to just write the first thing he thought of. Maybe it wouldn't sound so silly written out. He scribbled a few sentences on the paper, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone walking up to him. Guy had wandered away from the crowd, and now stood next to Chris.

"What are you doing? Stop being such a loner, come join the party! Jonny's looking for you." Chris continued writing, despite the fact that he thought it was complete rubbish, and Guy began to read over his shoulder. "Oh... you're gonna tell him, are you?"

"Yeah, I'm trying to write a letter. The words... none of them sound right, you know? Not good enough."

"Don't freak out about it. Listen," Guy said, taking the seat next to Chris. "I see you two together all the time. It's obvious that you mean a lot to each other, and... well, I guess what I'm trying to say is that he's probably in love with you, too. And if he is, he's not really gonna care as long as you tell him, right?"

"Should I just, like, write 'I love you' or something?"

"Maybe a little bit more than that, but yeah. Simplicity is best." Chris stared at the paper, rereading the horrible letter he'd written.

"Do you really think he's in love with me?" he quietly asked.

"If he's not, then you can hit me or something."

"Very reassuring," Chris sarcastically replied.

"You'll do fine," Guy said, placing a hand on Chris' shoulder. He then stood up and began to walk back to the crowd of people.

"Hey, Guy?"

"Yeah?" Guy said, turning around.

"Could you get me another sheet of paper?"

-----------

Most of the partygoers were now drunk and stumbling around in a manner that was supposed to resemble dancing. Jonny was still sitting at the bar, though, as he was not yet drunk enough to make a fool of himself.

Chris had finally managed to produce a note that he felt was acceptable, though he had fussed over it for ages, even taking nearly ten minutes to make sure it was creased properly. He held the folded piece of paper tightly in his hand, which was a bit sweaty and unsteady, as he dodged the drunken dancers, slowly making his way to the bar. Jonny was sitting by himself, though he appeared to be content with that. Chris had always admired Jonny's shyness, perhaps because he put his own life out in public far more than he should at times. The ability to hide away from the people around you, even when they were there to see you, was something Chris never had.

He walked up next to Jonny, and took a deep breath before lightly tapping him on the shoulder.

"Oh, hey Chris!" Jonny smiled. "It's about time you showed your face."

"Happy birthday," Chris said as he slid his hand, note included, into Jonny's. He made sure to give it a squeeze before he let go and walked away.

It was done. He had given the note to Jonny, and now all he could do was just wait. Strangely, it wasn't much more nerve-wracking than releasing an album. That wasn't necessarily a good thing, though.

Panic set in as Chris continued to walk back to the dark corner he'd been occupying the entire night. He made it about halfway, when someone grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Chris, wait!" Jonny yelled. His voice had a slightly annoyed tone at first, but he quickly switched to a more gentle approach. "Since when?"

"Remember the first time I talked to you?"

"Of course."

"About two minutes before that," Chris said. Jonny gazed off into the distance, and Chris began to nervously laugh. "Guy thinks you're in love with me, too, isn't that crazy?"

"It would have been if you said that to me yesterday," Jonny replied.

"And today?" Jonny leaned forward a bit, momentarily hesitating before he finally allowed his lips to meet Chris'. "Oh," he giddily sighed.

"If you hadn't told me, I'd have never... well, I'd have never done that," Jonny laughed, "but I don't think I'd have realised that I'm in love with you, too."

"I should have told you sooner, huh?"

"The past is the past. All that matters now is the future."

"Jonny," Chris said, grabbing Jonny's hand and pulling it to his chest. "You're my future."