Thirteen

After the kiss, we stayed underwater for a while longer. Hobie got excited at every new fish that passed us by, and I joined him in his excitement, trying to see the familiar sights through his eyes.

When he started sagging into my hold, I decided it was time for us to head home.

"Can we come back sometime?" Hobie looked up at me with pleading eyes, and I smiled.

"Of course. Whenever you want. It does require more energy to maintain this bubble, so we can"t do it every day, but I"d be happy to bring you here as often as you like."

Hobie blinked; then worry flashed across his face. "Shit! I didn"t even think of that. Are you okay?"

"I"m fine, Hobie. I would"ve taken us up earlier if I felt like I was getting tired. I"d never risk you like that."

"I know. That"s not what I"m worried about. I know I"m the weaker one out of the two of us, but that doesn"t mean I don"t want to take care of you sometimes too."

His words surprised me. The last people to take care of me had been my mom and her friends, and they"d all paid for it with their lives. While I"d heard from Nox that Tharion and Celeste were doing pretty well in the afterlife—and it was somehow comforting to know Celeste might have been responsible for Hobie and my paths crossing, since they were now Fate—it didn"t erase the fact that they"d died alongside my mother to protect me.

No one had wanted to take care of me since. While Nala and Tarika were the closest friends I"d ever had, they depended on me rather than the other way around, mostly because I"d never asked for or needed their help. But I liked the idea of being able to depend on Hobie.

"I don"t think you"re weak. Not where it matters, at least." Just the fact that he could smile so freely showed me how strong he truly was. I knew part of it was because he didn"t remember most of the trauma he"d suffered, but still. What he remembered so far was plenty debilitating, and yet he hadn"t let it destroy him. Hobie might not be too strong physically, but his mental fortitude surpassed even mine.

"Now come on. Let"s go home."

Hobie"s eyes lit up before he gave our surroundings one last lingering look. "Okay," he whispered.

I led us upward, using my magic to push us slowly closer to the surface. As we neared the top, I removed the magic I"d used to improve Hobie"s sight.

We found Nala and Tarika waiting for us on the beach. I knew Nala had wanted to surprise Hobie, but then he"d decided against it because he"d been worried startling Hobie might send him into a panic attack or a flashback. I was grateful for his thoughtfulness, and the way Hobie"s eyes lit up when he saw the two told me he was happy to see them too.

"Hey, Hobie! Happy birthday!" Nala greeted as I opened up the bubble so Hobie could step out onto the sand.

"Thank you!" Hobie replied with a wide smile on his face as he reached for my hand almost instinctively, tangling our fingers together. The ease and utter simplicity of the act warmed my heart, and I squeezed his hand, smiling down at him.

I was surprised to realize the sun had already started its descent. Just how long had we been in there?

"Happy birthday, Hobie," Tarika said warmly, a small smile on her lips, and Hobie dipped his head in a nod.

"Thank you, Tarika."

"Come on, come on. Let"s go inside," Nala urged, taking Tarika"s hand and leading the way into our house.

Hobie shot me a curious look before following after them, and I fell in step with him, two of my tentacles reaching out and latching onto Hobie. He didn"t react except to run his free palm over the back of my tentacle, and I smiled at myself. I"d turned into one clingy man since I met this human, and yet I couldn"t bring myself to behave any differently.

"Oh!" Hobie exclaimed as we stepped into the living room, and I blinked, surprised by the complete transformation of the room. Nala and Tarika had clearly been very busy while we were gone.

"This...this is for me?" Hobie asked, eyes wide and voice brimming with wonder.

Nala nodded quickly, a wide grin on his face. "Yes! Do you like it?"

Hobie made a garbled sound, and I glanced down to find him tearing up. I could tell now that they were happy tears, so I merely wrapped him in my arms and tentacles, pulling him into my chest as Nala stared at us with wide eyes.

"Oh, shit! Do you hate it? We can remove it all if you want," he offered, his sharp teeth digging into his bottom lip.

Hobie shook his head sharply, and his lips trembled when he opened his mouth. Reaching up, I used the tip of a tentacle to wipe off his tears, and he glanced up at me.

"It"s okay." I brushed the tentacle down his cheek. "Take your time."

Hobie nodded, then wiped his cheeks once before smiling at Nala. "Sorry. You don"t have to remove anything. I love it. No one"s ever done anything like this for me."

"Oh, good. Because I slaved over this for hours, you know. It would suck if I had it all completely wrong," Nala said with a cheerful grin. "Happy birthday, Hobie. I hope we"ll get to celebrate many, many more of them with you."

Hobie blinked, then smiled just a touch tremulously, urging me to give him another squeeze.

"Okay!" Nala clapped his hands. "Let"s have some fun!"

In the few hours Eben and I had been underwater, Nala and Tarika had transformed the living room into party central. Or at least, what they looked like on TV, which I had a sneaky suspicion was where they"d gotten their inspiration from.

Colorful streamers and tassels hung from every available spot, along with a whole bunch of fairy lights in a rainbow of colors. They"d dimmed the overhead lights, so the whole room sparkled in a dozen different colors, all the lights splashing off the multicolored tassels and brightening up the space even more.

They"d also moved all the furniture to the side, and with the music playing, it was clear part of the room was supposed to be a dance floor. The other half included a table stacked with all kinds of snacks, a six-pack of beer, some champagne, and a noticeably empty spot. Another table was stacked high with board games, everything from Monopoly to Scrabble to...was that Operation?

I"d taken one look at the room and broken into tears, but now that I"d taken a moment to actually observe everything, it was even more impressive.

They"d done all of this for me. Me. A puny human they"d met just a month ago, and yet they"d gone to so much trouble. Was it just because I was Eben"s mate? Or did they actually think of me as their friend?

"So?" Eben murmured in my ear, his arms and tentacles still firmly wrapped around me. Maybe I wasn"t the only clingy one in our relationship after all. "Do you like it?"

"I love it. I love everything about today." I smiled when Eben pressed a kiss into my hair.

"Good. I"m glad," he murmured, before regretfully pulling back, though he left one tentacle on my waist as he took a step back to give me room to move.

"So, what are we doing first?"

Nala looked perfectly in his element as he declared what we"d do first, then shot me a sheepish look. "Err, sorry, Hobie. You should decide what we do."

I waved him off. "You planned everything, didn"t you? I"m happy to follow your lead." I didn"t want to admit that I probably knew how to play maybe half of these games.

"Okay, well, I don"t think the three of us know anything about most of these other than what we"ve learned from shows and books," Nala said, and it took me a moment to realize he was referring to the three supes and had not read my mind.

"We can just make our own rules," I suggested, much to Nala"s delight.

For the next few hours, the four of us played all kinds of games, putting our own spin on them and having the best of time. It was the most fun I"d ever had in my whole life, and it was all because of the kind, amazing kraken who rescued me and brought me to this island and introduced me to these two wonderful people.

While we played, we snacked on the treats Nala had set out. Well, Nala, Tarika, and I did, while Eben just stole tiny pecks from me to "taste" the snacks. I"d eaten nothing since breakfast—a fact I"d ignored because I didn"t want our time underwater to end sooner because of me—so I might have eaten a bit too many of the salty, fried snacks, but it was my birthday, so I got a pass. Right?

"Okay, time for a break!" Nala declared, and I took the opportunity to excuse myself to the bathroom.

Once I was done, I stood at the sink, gazing at my reflection as I washed my hands. My cheeks were flushed pink, my eyes full of happiness in a way they"d probably never shone before. This last month had been so good, and yet I couldn"t help feeling like I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. I didn"t want to feel like this, but I wasn"t used to feeling this happy. I"d always thought happiness like this wasn"t meant for me, that I"d be okay as long as I had a roof over my head and enough food to fill my belly.

Yet here I was now, happier than I was in my wildest imaginations, and I couldn"t bring myself to relax fully into this new life of mine.

"Hobie?" Eben called softly from the other side of the door. "Is everything okay?"

Shaking my head at my reflection, I dried my hands on a towel and hurried to open the door, smiling up at a frowning Eben. His frown turned into a smile instantly, sending happy little bubbles floating through my insides.

I loved the fact that Eben never tried to hide his feelings from me. He was so easy to read, and that comforted me immensely. I never had to question what he thought or how he felt, because it was all transparent on his face. It made it easier for me to be honest with him too.

"I"m okay. Just got lost in thought." I took his hand, leading him out of the room. "Let"s go before Nala comes looking too."

When I walked into the living room, I blinked at yet another surprise waiting for me. Just how many surprises had these guys planned?

On the table that"d previously held the just the snacks sat a two-tier cake, white with blue syrup and white frosting.

"It"s a blueberry cake," Nala said, looking a little nervous. It was so strange to see him without his smile that I was stumped for a moment, before I realized what he was trying to say.

"You made the cake?" I asked, my eyes widening when he nodded. "It looks beautiful!"

The cake was huge and definitely too big for just the four—three, really, since Eben wouldn"t eat much—of us, but I could see how much care and effort Nala had put into it.

A lone candle stood at the top, flaming and ready for me to make a wish. I"d already made one this morning, and as Nala waved me forward, I leaned over the cake and made the same wish again, adding just a little extra at the end.

Please let me be with Ebenezer forever. And let me be friends with Nala and Tarika for a long time too.