He would need... 3/4 cup milk... 1/4 vegetable oil... 2 eggs... and luck.

Shin preheated the oven, ever so carefully. He got out the paper baking cups, carrying them over to the muffin tray silently, like a surgeon moving his tools to the operating table. He prepped the patient in a red plastic bowl, stirring muffin mix, eggs, milk, and oil together until they were blended, then divided them up. He filled each paper with deliciousness, slid the tray into the oven, and waited.

Shin prayed the operation would turn out to be a success. 18 minutes later, the timer dinged. Shin used happy cow oven mitts to haul out the muffin tray, and let them cool. He crossed his fingers, then loaded them up onto a white plate, on a tray for Kealey with a pitcher of milk and two glasses.

Tray balanced, he walked the whole thing over to the elevator, up to her room. He knocked on her door.

"Kealey. Can I come in? I made you cinnamon streusel cupcakes~" He grinned at how good they looked.

The sewing machine whirred and the needle did its job, pulling thread through the fabric as the seam formed down the edge of the skirt Kealey was sewing. The skirt was part of a larger project, and if Kealey was right it was going to be one of those things that she absolutely adored owning, but never really had a chance to wear. She was accumulating a shocking number of such items, but when the ideas struck and she had the time…it simply had to be done.

The little calendar on her desk marked today as the 8th of July. Four days ago, a very important birthday had been celebrated all over New York. Today was a birthday too, but Kealey had learned that such things were unimportant a very long time ago. Nobody knew her birthday, and she honestly hadn’t thought about it…much.

The knock on her door made Kealey jump, she’d been paying such close attention to the sewing machine she hadn’t felt the approaching bundle of emotions. She looked for it now and grinned slightly when a voice filtered through her door, eliminating the need to guess at the identity of the knocker. Finishing the seam quickly and snipping the thread, Kealey draped the skirt over the back of her chair and opened the door just as Shin explained that he’d made her cupcakes.

Puzzlement mingled with the blonde’s excitement as she looked at the tray, milk, and cupcakes, and she tilted her head at Shin. He did nice things a lot, but Kealey’s mind jumped immediately to the un-significance of the day and wondered how he’d figured it out.

”How did you know? she asked, moving to the side, ”And of course you can come in…those smell delicious. You made them?”

"How did I know what?" Shin asked innocently, and with a hint of confusion. He paused, still smiling at her from the doorway, then got it. "Oh! Yeah! I guessed." She was saying those were her favorite, wasn't he? He didn't know what she was talking about, otherwise.

He slipped past her, into her room, and looked around for a place to set the tray down. The room was messy. There were sewing materials and bits of fabric scattered on the table, draped over the chair, possibly on the floor... he didn't check that. Didn't want to risk dropping the tray. Shin turned back to her. "Is there some place I can set these?" He held up the tray.

Shin was confused by her question, and therefore Kealey was confused by his answer. It took him a moment, but then he realized what she was talking about and the confusion disappeared.

He had guessed? For some reason, hers continued.

”You guessed? Out of three hundred and sixty five days, you guessed this one and were right?”

That was a pretty good guess.

Shin asked after somewhere to set the tray and Kealey really looked around her room for the first time in a while.

”Oh, yes! Sorry the place is such a mess…I had this idea this morning and I just had to work on it…” she said, working while she spoke to clear off the table. Scraps, pattern pieces, bobbin threads, a thimble, the seam ripper, and a few pin cushions were deposited neatly in a bag next to the table. ”I’ll sort all of that out later.” she said, gesturing to the now, empty table before turning back to him.

”Now, tell me how you made this guess?” Kealey stated, there simply had to be more to the story if Shin had been able to figure out that today was her birthday. She watched as he sat the cupcakes down and moved forward for a hug. ”Thanks though.”

>>”You guessed? Out of three hundred and sixty five days, you guessed this one and were right?”

Shin blinked at her, and shrugged. The shrugging reminded him the tray was heavy. He glanced around for a safe place to set it... then, Kealey helped him find one.

"You're always so diligent," Shin noted, setting the tray down. "You find an idea, then you go with it. I still haven't practiced much with that whole 'armor tuxedo' idea..." A laugh. "Been kind of busy, what with college, and the Full Circle, and greeting at the mansion, and training on my own, and walking Thor..."

The conversation turned back to the cupcakes.

>>”Now, tell me how you made this guess?”

"Huh?" Shin replied dumbly, letting her hug him. His arms hung at his side. He didn't quite follow. First, the comment about days of the year, then another question of how he knew?

"I thought you meant cinnamon streusel is your favorite..." Shin trailed uncertainly. "It is. Isn't it? Wait." He stepped out of the hug, holding her at arms length by the shoulders. Realization dawned on his face. "Today isn't...?" A special day? What kind of special day? It couldn't be her birthday, could it?

Kealey grinned slightly when Shin said she was diligent, then laughed while shaking her head, ”More like obsessive. When I get an idea like this I just have to use it.”

Shin really had been busy…with all the things he mentioned plus helping her with training, and helping her with her powers, and spending time with her, the blond tilted her head slightly to the side, ”Maybe there’s more I can do to help with the armor. I’ll think on it. Have you ever thought that maybe you were a little too busy? I mean, it‘s no wonder you don‘t sleep…you don‘t have any time.” she asked.

He was confused by her questions about how he’d figured out it was her birthday…and he didn’t hug her back. Kealey mentally almost-cursed then averted his eyes when he stepped back and held her at arms length.

Kealey caught her bottom lip in her teeth and looked up guiltily and shrugged her shoulders. ”Maybe….” she said, then shrugged, ”It just hasn’t been very important for a long time…”

Deflection time, ”But yeah…you definitely guessed my favorite cupcakes…let’s eat some!”

>>”Maybe there’s more I can do to help with the armor. I’ll think on it. Have you ever thought that maybe you were a little too busy? I mean, it‘s no wonder you don‘t sleep…you don‘t have any time.”

Shin opened his mouth to disagree with her, but stopped. She had a point. Shin scratched the back of his head and shrugged. "You might be right..." But what would he drop? Shin wasn't certain. He'd have to think on it. He realized he'd been looking down at the floor, and looked back up at Kealey with a small smile. "Maybe you could help me decide later?"

Then, the subject changed, and Kealey... got less chipper.

Maybe? Oh, this wasn't another maybe conversation, was it? Shin dropkicked that thought away. He didn't want to make Kealey uncertain, or sad, or confused, or any of that. He especially didn't want her to dodge the question. If it was dodge-worthy, it was important.

It was time to come at this situation from another angle.

Shin bowed his head with a small chuckle, and smiled at her knowingly. "Perhaps. I'm curious, though. What's so special about today, that hasn't been important in a while?"

Kealey nodded her head, she’d definitely help Shin decide how to pare down his schedule a little bit if he wanted the help. He really didn’t sleep enough and that level of exhaustion coupled with classes and other work was a heavy, and potentially dangerous, combination.

Kealey almost winced when Shin got concerned, then looked at him with slightly puzzled interest when his emotions swung and he dropped his head to chuckle. He asked again, and Kealey could tell he was going to be persistent in the matter. It kind of made her want to be stubborn, to hold back to the information. That wouldn’t get them anywhere though, especially not closer to the muffins and out of the conversation.

”Alright…” Kealey said, also shaking her head and smiling slightly, ”Today actually…is my birthday. I wasn’t exactly trying to keep it a secret…it’s just that I didn’t even think about it until I switched the calendar this morning.”

Why had that been so hard to admit? Maybe it was a slightly bigger deal than Kealey had originally admitted. It had just been so long since anyone other than her had noticed.

”So…they're birthday cupcakes!”

>>”So…they're birthday cupcakes!”

"Yup!" Shin grinned at her.

At first, he'd been confused, curious. He hadn't been sure why she'd been evasive about just any old day. A national holiday was run-of-the-mill. A religious holiday, even more so. Anniversaries were important, but it was too soon for any of that. That had only left one thing, and he hadn't thought she'd keep that from him.

He'd tried to get it out of her, removed his concern. Went with something calmer, more natural, to dig up the truth. He wouldn't let her evade his questions. Birthdays weren't run-of-the-mill. Birthdays were important. If it was hers, he wanted to know that. He'd wanted to know that, and as she explained, smiling that little smile and shaking her head, he'd wanted to celebrate it.

The grin had spread like a wildfire. In mere moments, his entire face had lit up. It was her birthday. She just hadn't told him, or noticed it yet. Heh. It was kind of funny.

They were birthday cupcakes, and he'd made them for her. Today was her birthday, and he hadn't even known. He'd just lucked out.

Shin's grip on her shoulders slackened, then he pulled her to his chest, and hugged her, better this time, than when she'd hugged him. "Happy birthday," Shin spoke, close to her ear. "They're good cupcakes. You deserve them." He let go, breaking away with a small smirk. "... Well." He said, slowly. "I guess we can eat them, now. Is there anything else you want to do on your birthday though, Kealey? Birthdays are important. If you haven't celebrated yours in a while, then we've got a whole lot to catch up on, don't we?"

It was hard not to be enthusiastic with the how happy her simple admission had made Shin. In fact, it was really hard to not feel absolutely ridiculous for not making it the first thing she’d said when she’d opened the door. He was really excited, the hug showed it.

Kealey hugged him back and grinned, flushing slightly when he spoke in her ear. Deserved them? Deserved them for what? Living another cycle around the sun? Kealey didn’t argue, even if the logic escaped her slightly. Birthdays were obviously another matter entirely to Shin, maybe they should be to her too.

Now Kealey was getting a little excited about the concept and when Shin stepped away and said they were go for cupcakes, Kealey beelined for the table she’d cleared and snatched one up.

Away went the little cupcake wrapper and Kealey took a bite.

”Woah….” she said, trying to deal with the mouthful of coffee-cakey-goodness. ”They’re still warm. These are awesome!”

Shin pointed out that they had a lot of catching up to do if this was the first time she’d celebrated a birthday in a while. What did she want to do? It was a difficult question for someone with so little experience in such matters.

”Something with you…” she said with a bright grin, then shrugged, taking a moment for another bite of cupcake before continuing.

”I don’t know, what do people do on their birthdays? I mean, I remember the other girls at school talking about them from time to time, and I had my little girl parties. Besides that, though, I’m kind of a Blank Birthday slate.”

Shin plucked a cupcake up from the tray, and sampled it for himself. And, yup! He'd done a good job making them. He was glad. Even more glad, because she liked them. That was great.

"It's a secret family recipe," He noted, in-between nibbles. "I take a box of prepackaged muffin mix, and add all the things it tells me, then cook it for however long it demands. Don't tell anyone, though." He joked with her. "Family secret."

As for what they'd do, when they finished gorging themselves on delicious box-made delights... something with him. Okay. "I can do that," He smiled.

She wasn't sure what people did, though. Traditional birthday fare? "Remember Aurum's birthday?" Shin asked her.

Shin seemed alright with the idea that Kealey wanted to do something with him for her birthday. She smiled when he announced this and went about pouring herself a glass of milk while he sampled one of the cupcakes he’d made for her. Awesome almost didn’t cover the way they tasted, especially when washed down with cold milk.

He started to speak, making it sound like there was some kind of special family recipe that he’d followed and was going to share the key to. Kealey listened, ears perked for the special ingredient, the special method…whatever it was that made these cupcakes so good. The build up came….and went. They really had been simple cupcakes from a box. The blond laughed out loud and shook her head, thinking she should have felt the humor long before Shin finished speaking.

More cupcake eating ensued and Kealey dropped down onto the edge of her bed as they tried to figure out exactly what it was that people did on their birthdays. Shin brought up Aurum’s and Kealey winced, ”Yeah…probably not like that.” she said, remember how fun the party had been but at the same time how embarrassed she’d been later.

Kealey thought for a few moments, working on finishing the cupcake she’d started eating. They could go out, Kealey was pretty sure Shin would be up for that kind of activity, and they always ended up having the best time. Then again….

”I think what I’d really like…is something quiet. Can we maybe just stay around here and do something? Maybe a movie? We can make popcorn, or waffles, or something.” she added with a grin while in the process of snagging another cupcake.

More milk followed, and more cupcake followed that. Kealey couldn’t help but think while looking at the shrinking plate of food that it was a good thing these were her birthday cupcakes. She didn’t feel bad for not sharing with anyone but Shin.

Kealey winced at the mention of the birthday, and Shin nodded sagely. "That's what I was thinking. We'd probably want to avoid crowded places, like massive birthday parties... though you were adorable." He added. "Just saying." And he moved on~

While Kealey focused on thinking up another idea, Shin worked on finishing up another cupcake. They'd already polished off nearly half of them. Talk about a birthday feast.

He nodded at her suggestion. "We can do that. Though, what to watch?" He turned the cupcake in his hands slowly as he stood there, thinking.

They could watch a classic movie, like Akira, or Ghostbusters, or Teenage Mutant Ninja Samurai... or they could watch something else. What had he wanted to show her lately? Shin looked up at her with an idea on his face. It was a really good idea. "I haven't shown you any tokusatsu series, have I?" He decided. "Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, GARO... Tokusatsu series focus on special effects and fantastic costumes, Kealey. I think you'd like them. Most are made for kids, but... some are pretty intense."

Kealey smiled gratefully at Shin when he said she’d been adorable at Aurum’s birthday party. Her behavior that day hadn’t exactly been a point of contention, but Aurum hadn’t been impressed. Ghost had also been there, as well as her husband and adopted child, and Kealey hadn’t been pleased with the way she’d acted. Even if it wasn’t her fault. Somehow though, Shin labeling the incident ‘adorable’ helped considerably.

They were making considerable progress on the cupcakes, Kealey noticed, and when she suggested watching a movie, Shin seemed to like the idea. It did however, present the problem of picking what movie to watch. Their track record was movies and television was excellent, and it would be a shame to mar that with a bad decision on her birthday.

Kealey reached towards a cupcake, then pulled her hand back when Shin got an idea. It was another one of those things that there weren’t specific emotions for…but rather a telltale conglomeration that meant inspiration had just struck.

Nope…he hadn’t show her any of those things, and as he listed off titles, Kealey grinned and drank more of the milk. She shrugged her shoulders.

”You choose. You haven’t led me wrong yet. No reason to think you would now. If the movie is half as good as these cupcakes, we‘ll be good to go.”

"Alright, then. Hmm... let's see... Kamen Rider has motorcycles and super armor and flying jump kicks (and sometimes, motorcycles on trains)... super sentai has task forces, giant monsters, and Japanese teens with attitude... GARO has... GARO... and romance, and horror, and epicness... and a really cool coat, letsgowiththatone." He decided quickly.

Shin snagged the last cupcake, and smiled at her. "We'll probably want to go to my room to watch it. I can queue the series up on my DVD player. We can make some waffles, popcorn, caramel corn, or other snack things before we start."

"Now, I have to warn you Kealey... there's... there's kind of a naked lady in the first episode... and subtitles. And violence. And also a guy in golden lion armor with a massive sword."