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“It’s your birthday, asshole.” Fitzie steps up, crossing his arms over his chest. “You thought everyone forgot!”

“I —” Shit, is it?

I forgot my own damn birthday.

“Is this a birthday party? I haven’t had a birthday party since I was, like, fifteen.”

“It’s an important human tradition,” Lysander says firmly, picking up the Midsummer King’s crown from the ground. He sets it back on my head and kisses my cheek. “Happy birthday, Ezra.”

Fuck me.I swallow and adjust the crown to hide the emotions crawling up my throat. “Thank you. All of you. You didn’t have to risk the wrath of the big daddy Watcher for me.”

“We’re just having a barbecue in the park. Normal staff bonding activity. Not our fault there could be humans around.” Orion knocks me in the arm. “You want a non-alcoholic beer?”

“We’ve missed you, too,” Lilian says quietly, adjusting her glasses.

“Orion won’t stop talking about how much harder he works now that you’re not around,” Plato says.

“Hey!”

“It’s true, he’s insufferable.” Fitzie grabs my arm. “Come over here, I want to show you the cake I made so you can tell me how good it looks.”

“Seriously, thank you,” I murmur as Fitzie draws me away. “Did you do all this?”

“Your boyfriend was the one to organize it. He asked me to help. I just provided your date of birth as an excuse for the party.” He smirks. “You seriously forgot?”

“Wasn’t much reason to celebrate birthdays for a few years there.” I shrug.

“Okay, okay, your life has been hard. Quit milking it.” He rolls his eyes. “Cut the cake so everyone can finally tell me it’s delicious. I spent all morning on it. I’ve been practicing on cupcakes, but damn, a whole cake is way more work.”

I watch him fondly as he digs into the cooler bag. He lifts a huge sheet cake onto the picnic table, his arms straining. Green and blue icing make a forest around the border, and — embarrassingly —Happy Birthday Ezra!is spelled in loopy pink script in the middle. I’m actually impressed.

“You made this?”

“I’ve decided I need hobbies,” Fitzie explains, handing me the knife.

“You didn’t have to.”

“Why have a birthday without cake? Anyway, Larch told me monsters eat mostly the same things humans.Mostly.” He shudders. “Though he also said there’s a monster that only eats nightmares.”

I pause in the middle of dishing the cake onto paper plates. “Are you doing okay? Like, actually. I know the job meant a lot to you. What happened?”

Fitzie sighs. “Can’t I just want a change?”

“It’s my birthday,” I reply pointedly, not above a guilt trip.

“They found out I used to be a stripper. Said I was a bad influence on the kids.”

“Jesus.” A glob of icing slips off the knife. “I’m sorry.”

“Just another thing to add to mycomplicatedrelationship with dance.” He huffs. “I’mfine, Ez. Things are not exactly peachy, but you know me. I’ll get through it. I’m more worried that there’s a supernatural cop organization keeping you and your beloved apart and I might go insane before they come to their senses.”

“I think we’re managing.”

“Fifty ninethis sucks’s,” Fitzie says darkly.

“Sixty,” I mutter. “Plus we’re technically breaking the shadowfey king’s laws right now.”

He prods me in the side. “Exactly. So go hang out with him and quit bugging me about my problems that aren’t problems.”