Archive of Our Own ^beta

On March 9, 1959, Barbie stepped her heeled feet in Barbie Land and changed history forever in the Real World.  Two years and two days later, Ken arrived to join her, and ever since then, March had been a special month for Barbie Land.  At least the first 11 days of it anyway.

Having birthdays with a full day in between was like Mattel giving the residents of Barbie Land a chance to breathe before going from one celebration to the other.  There were actually some years where Barbie suggested sharing birthday parties with Ken on the tenth, and everytime the notion knocked him off his feet, perfectly giddy with the thought of sharing something so big and special with Barbie.  But in the next breath, he would adamantly insist the parties be separate because she deserved all the attention for her birthday.  Sometimes she got him to do it, with little encouragement, and sometimes she allowed herself the sweetness of his return gesture.

As the years progressed though, Barbie stopped suggesting sharing parties, and if she was honest with herself, there was a time when she didn’t fully understand why.  It’s not like she didn’t like Ken, but…something had taken root and shifted her focus over time as it grew, leaving Ken behind in its shadow.

Barbie stood on the shores of Venice Beach, gazing out over the watery horizon, but her mind was further away than her eyes could see.

Ken came back.  He actually ventured a second - or technically third - trip to the Real World the day before yesterday, and somehow he had missed her again.  Gloria and her family took Barbie out for a special birthday dinner at her favorite restaurant, and she had a lovely, comfortable night with a small group of friends, good food, and a few presents.  It was an experience completely different from her birthdays in Barbie Land, and it was actually pretty amazing.  The cherry on top was she came home to a gift wrapped in pink paper with Happy Birthday! written all over it and confetti decorating some of the negative space on the paper. 

And another letter.

She wanted to open the present first, which was when she realized she wanted to savor the letter from home, but she decided against it and opened the letter first.

Dear Barbie,

Hi, Barbie!  It’s Ken!  How are you?  Wait wait wait, I’ve already started off not how I meant to!  Okay pretending I’m throwing confetti up in the air for the next part - 

HAPPYYYYYYYYY BIRTHDAAAAAAAAY!!!! 

Wow! It’s your first birthday in the Real World!  How is it?  Is it great?  I hope it’s great.  You totally deserve a really awesome birthday as like per usual.  Hopefully you’ll get to tell me yourself and I can just tell you everything that’s in here like in person.  I’ve got confetti in my pocket just in case so when I tell you happy birthday for real, I can act out what I put down on paper.

Yup!  I’ve decided your birthday was worth another trip to the Real World to give you your birthday present and to catch you up on everything that’s being going on since I last wrote to you.  But if you’re reading this, then that means that I managed to find your house again (and hopefully waaaaaay faster than last time!) and you’re not there again.  Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re not gonna be there.  You’re a very special person, and you deserve to be like celebrated to the max on your birthday.

Which brings me to some very important Barbie Land news, and honestly, I’m glad I’m the one who gets to tell you.  So get this!  President Barbie has declared March 9th a Barbie Land holiday!  Dude!  Can you believe it?  I totally can.  It should be a holiday!  I mean, you’re the first Barbie like ever, and even though you’re not here, we still celebrate you.  Like I said back at Christmas, we still think about you and wonder how you’re doing and everything.

So yeah, I just left a big dance party which is like the big finale for the holiday, and it’s gonna last a while.  President Barbie had enough snacks and pink punch to last til like my birthday.  So if you’re not at home, I may go back to the party, I dunno I haven’t decided yet.

Anyway, I really couldn’t let this birthday slide without getting you something special!  But what in the world do you get a Barbie?  No, like the Barbie?  It’s a tough thing I go through every year, and I gotta tell ya, this year was…what did Ordinary Barbie call it again?  That bittersweet feeling thing she told us about at Christmas.  And it made me feel all funny.  Honestly, I’m not a fan of this feeling, like at all.  

But that’s not your fault!  Don’t get me wrong!  It’s not!  I totally don’t blame you.  I’m just not a fan of this feeling.

Anyway, got distracted, sorry.  Back to the present.  Literally and figuratively hahahaha!  Okay so like I finally figured it out, and I really think it’s something that you will appreciate, and it’s definitely something you don’t have.  I don’t think you do anyway.  I don’t remember you leaving with anything like this, but I really want to make sure you do now.  

Honestly, I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner, so sorry about that, Barbie.  You’ve got it now at least, and I really, really, reeeeeeeally hope you like it.

Happy birthday, Barbie!

Miss you.

Love,

       Ken

Barbie cried when she opened the gift to find all her friends from Barbie Land, smiling and waving at her, framed in pink with gold polka dots.  For a blissful moment, she felt like she was home in Barbie Land again.  Not that she didn’t love and enjoy the Real World in all its humanity and mess, but she did feel homesick every once in a while.  The photo helped that feeling tremendously.

Now it was March 11th, and Barbie was still staring out over the water.  In her arms was a gift wrapped in horse-themed wrapping paper and a letter attached.  A pair of rollerskates sat on the sand beside her.  

Barbie didn’t know if she could do it.  Well, she could.  She knew that she could.  She felt the internal tug of Barbie Land magic within her, a piece of her that reminded her of her roots and that she would always belong somewhere.  A woman of both worlds.

Feeling that tug within her, she knew she could make the trip back…but she didn’t know if she could bear to do it.  She wasn’t ready to go back, even for a visit, and more importantly, she wasn’t sure if the residents of Barbie Land were ready for her to visit, only to leave again.  And while she knew she was doing the right thing for herself, that knowledge didn’t soothe the ache.

“I’m sorry, Ken,” she whispered to the sea breeze, “maybe someday.”  Barbie placed the gift in the water and gave it a gentle push in the same direction her Barbie Land magic tugged.  “Happy birthday.”

Ken laid on his surfboard on Beach later that night, looking up at the sky full of stars.  With a little bonfire beside him and his belly full of cake and s’mores, this moment was very reminiscent of his first birthday all those years ago.  Except there was a very big difference this time, and that was the only thorn in an otherwise peaceful moment.

Ken’s birthday had been jam-packed with friends, fun, music, and delicious food, and it really was one of the best birthdays he’s had in a while.  After the Patriarchy mess, there were still times he had to fight the thought that everybody couldn’t stand him and couldn’t forgive him for tearing their world apart.  But the events of the day completely blew those fears out of the water.  It really had been incredible.

Funny thing about Barbie Land’s version of perfect though, despite how good things were, Ken still found himself thinking if only…

A voice broke through his thoughts, and he turned his head towards the source, raising himself to a sitting position as he did so.  Ordinary Barbie approached him with a shy wave and smile to match, and with the arm she didn’t use to wave at him, she held a package.  “Hi, Ken.”

Ken waved back and grinned in greeting.  “Hi, Ordinary Barbie.  What’s up?”

“I thought I’d come check on you,” she explained as she took a seat beside him, “and I brought something for you too.”  She gave him a curious look and asked, “Are you alright?  I thought you’d still be partying with the rest.”

“Oh,” he waved dismissively as his grin turned to a smirk, “I’m alright, I promise.  I want to be out here.”

“By yourself?”

He nodded as he explained, “You know how you like your alone time?  Well, through the whole ‘I am Ken and Ken is me’ stuff, I’ve figured out I like a few minutes by myself too.  I kinda need it sometimes actually.  It was like a total surprise to figure that out, but now that I know it, I don’t feel so bad about sneaking out and having some Ken time.  And as awesome as today’s been, I kinda needed a few moments.”

“I completely get that,” she nodded before grinning sheepishly at him, “which means I’m interrupting said Ken time, so I should just leave this with you and let you have your moment.”  Before Ken could politely object, she handed him the package and said, “It showed up in my mailbox of all places.  Seems the sender doesn’t know your address.”

Ken gasped after Ordinary Barbie handed him the birthday gift and letter, smiling when he saw his name in Barbie’s handwriting.  “Thanks, Ordinary Barbie!  Just what I was wishing for actually.”

She chuckled softly, “Glad I could help out with that.”  She patted his shoulder before standing up.  “Happy birthday, Ken,” she added with a smile before walking back from where she came.

Happy birthday to me for sure, Ken thought with a big grin as he opened the letter first.

Dear Ken,

Happy birthday!  I hope today has been a wonderful day for you! 

“It has and just got better,” Ken admitted as he continued reading.

I have to be honest and tell you that your letter really surprised me.  You all made March 9th a holiday?  That seems a little exuberant to me.  I don’t deserve that…

“Yes, you do.”

…and I know you’re probably saying that I do, and I guess since everyone celebrated it, then you all seem to agree with President Barbie’s change.  I’m very flattered, and I’m very touched.  So thank you, Ken…

Ken grinned warmly.  “You’re welcome, Barbie.”

…and thank everyone else for me too!

“Cross my heart, I will.”

I also need to say thank you for the birthday gift, Ken.  It was so thoughtful!  It was exactly what I needed.  You always seemed to know when I needed something, and even now that I’m in the Real World, you still somehow seem to know.  Just like your Christmas present to me, your birthday present was perfect for me as well, Ken, and thank you so much for it.  I couldn’t have asked for better.

Ken’s eyes grew wide at this revelation before he beamed with pride and fist pumped while hissing, “Yesssss.  Go Ken!”

With that being said, I couldn’t let your birthday slide either.  I had funfetti cupcakes in your honor today with Sasha and Gloria, and I picked out the wrapping paper just for you.  I hope you like it.

“It’s the best!”

And I hope you like your gift just as well.  So happy birthday to my oldest and dearest friend.  I miss you, and I hope you remember that you are very important to me.

Love, 

       Barbie

Ken hugged the letter to his chest and hummed contentedly.  The gift sitting on his lap was a bonus.  The letter and everything in it was the best gift Barbie could give him.  

But he still wanted the gift. 

After a moment of happily sitting there, Ken finally set the letter down and picked up the birthday present.  He almost felt bad for messing up the awesome horse-themed wrapping paper.  Almost.  But when he saw what was waiting for him inside, the wrapping paper was completely forgotten. 

Inside were two things.  The first was a little, pale pink stuffed horse with a bow on her head.  Ken picked her up and hugged her, giggling happily as he did so.  “You’re cute!  And you smell like Barbie!  Confetti is gonna be so happy to have a friend.  I’m gonna call youuuuuuuuu…” he thoughtfully hummed as he looked her over, before deciding upon, “Cupcake!  Confetti and Cupcake, that sounds great.  Aaaaww, you’re so cute!”

While continuing to hold his new horse with one hand, he reached with his free hand to collect the second part of the gift.  

And stopped short. 

The last thing in the package was a framed photo.  There she was, smiling up at him and wearing a very Barbie outfit.  Like she never left.   

As Ken carefully picked up the photo, he realized she made a heart with her hands. Where I see love, she sees a friend. 

Ken huffed at the memory and tried to focus on the gift.  “Oh Barbie,” he mumbled softly to the woman in the photo, “why did it take us being in separate worlds to make our relationship better than it was?  What does that say about us anyway?”  About me?

Ken hugged the photo to his chest and felt old aches stir with a freshness he didn’t see coming.  How long will it take for this Kenough Ken to let Barbie go? Maybe someday…hopefully not. 

“Thank you, Barbie.  You made my birthday pretty special.”