Roy frowned a little when he pulled up to the house. A group of balloons were clinging to the doorknob, and silly string covered the sidewalk, as if Lian and Wally had had a silly string fight. Rather, another silly string fight.

Quickly, he ran through the list of dates in his head - no, he had not somehow managed to forget his daughter's or his boyfriend's birthday. Though, it was entirely possible that Lian had just talked Wally into buying party supplies. Taking a deep breath, he braced himself for whatever mess they'd made inside, and removed the key from ignition, climbing out of the car.

Upon closer inspection, the silly string was fresh - it didn't crunch underfoot, which meant it'd be easier to clean up. Maybe he'd just shove it all onto the lawn. Yeah, that seemed like a good idea. As long as there wasn't any silly string inside. He was still finding bits hanging around, sad and dry, from the last time Wally brought home a few cans.

Admittedly, it had been pretty fun taking part, though. Was it bad to hope that they'd saved him a can or two?

A lot of fun, actually. He decided that he could put the responsible parent act on hold.

Just one day. Wouldn't hurt anything.

Still, getting battered in the face by the balloons hanging at the front door was rather annoying. He scowled and batted them away and opened the door.

The house was dark. The house was silent. He frowned, stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "Hello? Guys?"

Silence met him. Maybe they'd gone out for the day. Maybe- he shook his head. No, the silly string and balloons were far too much for them to have done and then left. He walked forward, and flipped the light to the family room on.

More balloons. Everywhere. They covered the banister upstairs and clung to the ceiling fan, and there was a pair attached to every arm of every chair. And that wasn't even getting started on the streamers - thin, colourful streamers covered nearly everything in sight.

Roy ran through the list of dates again, and came up short. No, there was nothing he'd forgotten - or he had forgotten it so thoroughly that it wasn't even on his radar. Not their anniversary. Not the day that Lian had come to live with him - while that wasn't a huge celebration, they always had ice cream and lots of laughs for the reminder of what a happiness she had brought into his life.

And with all the bright colours present, the absence of his boyfriend and daughter were even more striking. He frowned, rubbing the back of his neck, and went into the kitchen.

Aside from a large white box on the counter, things seemed normal - which meant they'd only attacked the main room with the party things. That was hugely a relief. He chuckled, shaking his head, and stepped over to the box, lifting the lid.

A cake. He smiled, and then read what the frosting proclaimed.

Oh.

Well.

Wally would not be hearing about how he managed to forget that. He'd never let him hear the end of it.

Roy shook his head, replaced the lid on the cake and headed upstairs to continue his search for Wally and Lian. The upstairs hallway was just as dark, just as silent - Lian's bedroom, playroom and bathroom all closed - while Roy and Wally's bedroom door was left just slightly ajar.

Silently, he walked over and gently edged the door open, letting the hall light fall across the bed, and smiled, slumping against the door frame. Wally was sprawled across the bed, fast asleep, Lian nestled closely to his side, sleeping just as soundly.

He smiled, heading over to them. He kissed Lian's forehead, and then Wally, soft, gentle actions. Lian stirred, blearily opening her eyes.

"Daddy." She giggled softly, sitting up slowly. She stretched. "Happy birthday!"