#peggybirthdaybash

But you're still the one who taught me how to love

Maybe that's somethin' I don't say enough.

“I still can’t believe it.”, Daniel murmured as he unlocked the front door, not quite able to hide the vexation in his voice from Peggy who was standing behind him.  “Out of all the days of the year they did not only have to pick the day of our wedding.  No, of course they had to sabotage your birthday as well and interfere with the plans I had for us today.”

Having opened the door, he took a step back, letting her go in first. Peggy, who had been kicking off her mud-covered shoes, reached out for his shoulders for balance and, taking the opportunity, soothingly rubbed his shoulders. “Hey, it‘s okay, we can make good for it on another day, I don’t mind. Besides” , she added as she let go off Daniel’s shoulder and walked past him into their house. “, catching those criminals today does feel like a very good birthday present.”

Daniel sighed as he entered the house behind her, putting his only slightly dusted shoes into the shoe cabinet right next to the entrance. “Well, at least now they can’t ruin any more of our plans. But still”, he reached out for her hand and ran his thumb over her knuckles. “, I wanted this to be a special day for you. For both of us.”

Peggy smiled at his words and interlaced her fingers with his, knowing what he was alluding to. This wasn’t the first of her birthdays they would spend together, but it was their first birthday as a married couple, her first birthday as his wife.

“Today is still a very special day to me. I am able to spend it together with you, and that’s why it is so special to me. This is all that matters, us being here together, and nothing or no one  can change that.” Those words were particularly soppy by her standards, but she couldn’t help it, he brought out the worst in her. Or rather the best. Because according to his now bright eyes and his wide smile she had just said the right thing.

“Nothing will stop me though to catch up on our plans this weekend.”, he said with conviction as he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close for a kiss.

Daniel disappeared in the kitchen after having ordered her not to help him with dinner and just peacefully wait in the living room. She complained a little bit but then finally gave in, exhaustedly plopping down on the couch and closing her eyes for a moment. When she reopened them again, her gaze fell on a framed picture that was standing on the drawer. It showed both Daniel and her side by side on the sea front at one of their first dates. And although the wind had been blowing hard, making both of their hair look quite ruffled, it was one of Daniel’s favourite pictures of the two of them, and it didn’t take a long time until it found its way onto his drawer. Well, now their drawer.

Peggy had instinctively started to run the fingertips of her other hand alongside the ring that was on her left ring finger. Yes, two months ago, right after their marriage (which had to be postponed twice because of an emergency caused by those criminals who, she now came to realise with relief, were finally behind bars and therefore wouldn’t interfere with their plans anymore), she had finally moved in with him. And although it hadn’t been that much of a change - during the day, she had spend most of her free time here anyways - she had to admit that those little moments, right before falling asleep or right after waking up next to Daniel had now become one of her favourite moments of the day. It had been during one of those nights, when she was sitting in bed, applying her night creme whilst Daniel was arranging his prosthetic for the following day, that she wondered how on earth she had been able to get by without him all those years. Because he made her life a happier one, and she couldn’t be more thankful to have him around her.

Peggy had never been particularly excited when it came to her own birthday, but the more Daniel and her had grown closer, the more she could comprehend why he did.  Birthdays weren’t just there to celebrate a certain number. No, they were important because one was thankful for that person’s existence and the time one has been given to spend together. That was the real reason why birthdays were a day of celebration, and it was thanks to Daniel that she had come to realise that.

Although she had been told to stay in the living room, Peggy just couldn’t hold herself back anymore and sneaked into the kitchen. “Hmm, didn’t I tell you to wait in the living room?”, Daniel remarked as soon as Peggy had wrapped her arms around his upper body from behind, leaning her cheek against his shoulder.

“You know that I am not always the best at following orders, chief.”, she mumbled into his shirt, eyes closed Daniel, who was standing at the stove, chuckled, and she could feel the soft fabric gently rub against her cheek at the movement.

For a little while, neither of them said anything, the only sound in the room being the hissing of the vegetables in the pan. Peggy’s arms were still tightly wrapped around Daniel and she didn’t let go, not even when he started moving again, adding the cooked rice into the pan and stirred.

Once he was done, he switched off the stove, put a lid onto the pan and then gently rubbed her hands, making her loose her grip so that he could turn around in her arms.

“Is everything okay?”, he asked as he leaned his forehead against hers. Peggy’s eyes were still closed, and only after a few moments she opened them, gazing right into his eyes.

“Yeah. I'm just very happy. And thankful. To have you in my life.”, she murmured. Slowly, she let her fingers wander from his back over to his elbows and then clasped his hands. “I know I probably don’t say this very often, but I really am thankful for every moment I get to spend with you. You have showed me how it really feels to be in love. How it feels to have someone by your side in whom you can trust blindly. I...” She ran out of words, not knowing how to couch in terms what she was feeling in that moment. But the way he was looking at her assured her that he knew exactly what she meant, and what she was utterly failing to put into words.