February 12th—Russell's birthday. It was exactly two days before Valentine's day which you took as a great opportunity to do something big for him. You knew he wasn't into big celebrations—to him it was just a reminder that he survived things that he thought would kill him—to you it was a lovely reminder that your favorite man was born.

He already suspected that you had something planned, you were never good at keeping surprises a secret, but for your sake he acted oblivious, telling you he'd show up exactly at 7:30 PM.

You took all that time into your hands, preparing a warm lovely meal, buying him a Valentine's Day card, decorating the house, getting some gifts and even baking a cake—both for his birthday and Valentine's day. You combined two days of love into one, hoping he'd be more open to it that way.

As the time drew near, you finished getting ready, lighting the candles on the cake just as you heard his car pull up outside.

A few seconds later the door opened, letting in the cold air along with Russell. The sight of you—dressed up, the house decorated, everything perfectly in place—made him smile. He shook his head slightly, amused.

"Wow, darling, you overdid yourself." He mused, making sure you knew how much it was appreciated despite his slightly teasing tone.

"Thank you, beautiful." Russell stepped closer to you, his hand hovering over the small of your back as he pecked your lips before turning his head towards the cake.

"You baked that?" He raised his eyebrow in question, noting how neatly it was done—in fact the whole decoration was surprisingly nice—he found himself loving it. The fact that you put so much effort into him warmed his heart.