unseentides | [DARROW] November 5th

My own birthday had passed without any sort of affair, though that was entirely my own doing. It just hadn't felt right to celebrate the year that I had lived beyond Tommy and Ruth and the rest of them. I wasn't even sure how many people in the city even knew when it was, save for those that might have seen my administrative files.

But I knew I couldn't let the same happen for Marius. He brought too much joy into my life – and into the lives of so many others – for the day to not be acknowledged, be celebrated. I hadn't known what to do until I realised that he wasn't the sort of person that demanded much, and that was part of the reason why I loved him. He could live simply. We both could.

So I made dinner and wrapped a selection of my favourite books up for him in bright red paper, tying it with a gold-colored bow. Most of the gifts I'd bought before had been from the Sales, it felt strange to have the whole city to search through. But I wanted to share what I loved of literature with him.

I made tea instead of buying wine, straightening the dress of my skirt when he returned from work. "Happy birthday," I said, kissing his cheek.

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Marius is used to not celebrating his birthday. Or well, he's used to other people celebrating for him, while he hid away in the library, trying to ignore the laughter of his grandfather and his friends. And then, when he left home, he never let himself think of his birthday, hunching over translations and losing himself to his work.

So when he returns from work to find Kathy and dinner awaiting him, he's very pleasantly caught off guard.

"Oh wow," he says, taking in the sight of everything in. He grins as she kisses his cheek, leaning in to catch her lips with his own, warmly yet brief. "Thank you so much. This is wonderful; all of it."

He takes her hands in his and squeezes, warmth flushing through him at the thought that Kathy provided all of this for him. He brings her hands up so he can kiss them.

"Thank you," he repeats with another grin.

"You don't need to thank me," I'd said. He really didn't. If anything, I owed him for all that he'd done for me. For all that he'd made me realise – giving me hope for the future I hadn't allowed myself to imagine before. But all of that aside, it was his birthday, and it was the least that I could do.

I kept hold of his hand as I gestured towards the kitchen, a bubbling pot on the stove. The recipe was simple enough, just pasta, and it seemed almost impossible to get wrong. "I hope that you don't mind that I let myself in," I said. We'd discussed it before, but I still felt strange making myself comfortable in an apartment that wasn't my own. "And that you're hungry. It's very, very basic, but I think it should taste alright."

"Of course I do," he tells her. Though Darrow itself has encouraged Marius to emerge from his shell more, Kathy has inspired him in even more profound ways. He never thought he could find the kind of light and happiness he aspired to in Paris in this city; Kathy, with her kindness and the many ways she gives him reason to hope, has proven him utterly wrong. And now she's prepared something for his birthday, an event Marius typically avoids dwelling on for all the unpleasant memories it brings; now Kathy is providing him with greater memories.

"Of course I don't mind," he tells her, leaning in and kissing her cheek, squeezing her hand in reassurance. There's something thrilling about having Kathy in his apartment with him; coming home to find her here is perhaps the best part so far of his day. "You are always welcome here, whenever you like or need." He thinks about possibly making a key for her, but he wonders if it is too soon to bring something like that up.

"Especially when what's cooking smells so marvelous," he tells her as they make their way into the kitchen. He stops them when they reach it, turning to pull Kathy in closer and give her a proper kiss.

I couldn't resist leaning in and indulging in the kiss, even as the sauce on the stove bubbled and boiled. When I forced myself away, I kept hold of Marius' hand, pulling him over gently and pointing out what I'd made. Honestly, it couldn't get more basic, but tea was one of the simplest things in the world and one of my favourites – things didn't have to be complex to be worthwhile. "It shouldn't be too long. Has anyone else done anything for your birthday?"

He grins as she kisses him back, even if it is only for a moment. He follows her towards the stove with said grin still hanging off his face like a lopsided chandelier.

Marius, as a citizen of France, might tease about the lack of finesse with the American meals so prominent in Darrow, but truthfully, he adores the simple meals most of all, whether it is pasta or the french fries at his work. Even in their simplicity, they prove far more complex than any meal he'd ever eaten back in Paris.

"It looks and smells wonderful," he tells her, eyeing the bubbling sauce on the stove before glancing at the tea she's made. Since his time in Darrow, and especially in getting to know Kathy better, he's come to truly savor the warm beverage.

"Well, when I was growing up with my grandfather, there were celebrations," he says, his shoulders slumping a bit at the memories. "But those were always more for him and his friends than they were for me."

"I'm sorry,' I said, guilty for bringing up something so sore on what was meant to be a day that was anything but sad. I had a lot of questions about his grandfather, but I knew I'd save them for another time. In that moment, all I wanted was for Marius to be happy. I lifted my voice, smiled. "We'll have to make up for that. Dinner, presents, and I even picked up a cake. Would you like some tea while we wait?"

"Oh, no," he tells her, kissing her quickly again. "You have nothing to apologize for; this is so lovely. This is the best birthday I've ever had," he tells her, meaning every word. His grandfather and his birthday parties of the past are just that: memories to be left behind in the wake of the new ones he's making with Kathy currently. Kathy, who has done so much for him, especially on this day. "I would love some tea. What kind did you make?"

"Just Earl Grey," I confessed, wondering for a moment if I should have gone for something more extravagant for the occasion. I managed to talk myself out of that, though, pouring Marius a cup and then one for myself. It was simple, classic, something that I knew the both of us had a tendency to appreciate. "We never did much for our birthdays," I said, hesitating for a moment before I continued. "Sometimes I'd buy something for one of my friends in the Sales, but there were too many of us for the guardians to make much of a fuss."

Things had changed a little when we moved onto the Cottages, but we still only lived on the basic stipend they'd given us each week. Maybe that made us all the more sentimental, though. We couldn't afford to buy each other the latest trends but I treasured Tommy's art and my Judy Bridgewater cassette more than anything that could be found in a department store. "Maybe it's time we started some new traditions."

[DARROW] November 5th

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