☼

They knock on the common room door, bouncing on the balls of their feet as they wait for it to open. This time of night, with the scent of smoke slipping through the cracks of the door, there’s only one place Morgan could be, and Davie’s determined to be there too.

The door opens, a cloud of smoke battering into Davie’s senses as it does. They cough, waving it away with their hand until the only thing left before them is Morgan, grey eyes as scrutinising as ever in the dim evening.

“What?” she snaps.

“I thought, um, I thought I could join you tonight. While I have dinner. And you… have nicotine,” Davie attempts a smile, pretending it doesn’t quiver at the edges.

It’s the usual Thursday night agreement, however unspoken it is, but Davie still gets sweaty palms and a neverending back up plan looping in the back of their mind. It’s not as if they’ve been turned away before, but that anxiety still persists.

“Whatever,” Morgan mumbles, disappearing back into her hideaway for the night.

But the door stands wide open, as inviting as a gesture from Morgan can be. And Davie happily accepts it.

They perch on their usual chair, carefully unpack the takeaway in their usual manner, and smile their usual bashful but excited smile at Morgan.

“Stop that,” Morgan directs.

“Stop what?”

“That smile. It’s just dinner. Nothing to be all smiley about.”

Davie spins the straw resting between their fingers absentmindedly, focus on the freckles across from them. “Well, I think there is. You just need to find it sometimes.”

And with that, the pair lapse into a familiar silence, only broken by the scraping of plastic silverware and the clicking of a lighter.

---

Thursday night. After work and after dark. Davie has their takeaway bag in hand, nervously pushing their glasses frames up their nose as they stand outside the warehouse door once again.

Their fist raises, poised to knock and shaking just a little, when the door swings open abruptly. Morgan stands on the other side, a bored look in her moonlight eyes and an expectant tilt to her lips.

“Detective…” she drawls, her voice low and as addictive as a drag from one of her cigarettes.

“Morgan…” Davie exhales, their shoulders taught and back straight.

The vampire turns on her heel, back into the warehouse gloom and leaves Davie gawking in the door frame. She peers over her shoulder, dark hair flowing down her back like a waterfall, and meets Davie’s dark eyes with her own. “Coming?” she calls when no footsteps follow her own.

“Yes!” they squeak out, feet jumpstarting and sending them skipping down the tile floor.

Morgan leads them through the winding halls of Unit Bravo’s warehouse, halls they can never seem to remember no matter how hard they try, and to a door they've definitely never set foot in. The last light fixture flickers at the beginning of the hall, pale starlight falling through the window.

“Uh…” Davie starts, a thousand questions on their tongue.

But Morgan doesn’t let any of them come to fruition, shouldering the door open and halting Davie in their shoes.

It glows. That’s the only way Davie could describe it. It glows. The candles and the fairy lights and the open window. It all glows.

The lights stretch over the room, warm and welcoming and something Davie never expected from Morgan of all people. And certainly never in Morgan’s room, to top it all off.

A blanket sits stretched out on the floor beside a coffee table, the bed in the corner made up neatly. Fairy lights that look suspiciously like the ones Farah keeps in her room hang from the walls, glowing alongside the scattered candles on every available surface.

“Are you going to sit or what?” Morgan’s voice cracks Davie’s awestruck haze in half, her cool eyes watching them carefully.

Davie takes a deep breath, shoulders relaxing and a soft smile overtaking their lips. “Did you do this?”

“No. Yes. Whatever,” Morgan squirms under the weight of the detective’s gaze.

“Did you do this for me?”

“You’re always eating here. And you said you like candles, so…”

The warmth of the candles on Davie’s skin, the lights in their eyes, the sweet scent of the candles invading their senses - none of it compares to the sight of Morgan across the room, and the thrumming of Davie’s heart in their chest at her presence. “Thank you,” they breathe, almost reverently.

“Just eat your food,” Morgan frowns uncomfortably, slouching against the coffee table.

Davie joins her, going about their usual routine, on their usual day, at the usual time. And maybe the candles and the occasional quips from Morgan will become usual, too.

Faustus stares down the dim street, cigarette limp in his mouth. Houses dark and slumbering, blinds and curtains drawn, yellow porch lights winking like stars.

Guiding the wayward back home.

There’s a party going on behind him — his party — and he should really be in there draining another beer, stuffed with pizza and pumpkin empanadas (Haley’s rendition was damn close to his vague memories of panaderías and their glass cases of pan dulce), and counting each time a muscle in Ava’s jaw jumps.

(Last count was at thirteen. Impressive, given that Faustus can manage that in the first hour he’s awake in the mornings and the party’s been on for twice that.)

He tells himself he’ll go back in in a minute. It’d be a damn shame to spend his own going away party sat alone on the curb like a broken hearted teenager at prom.

Dirt crunches behind him. Not alone then.

“Hey.”

Faustus doesn’t need to look to known it’s Mason who’s clambering down next to him and stretching his legs out to the asphalt. Mason doesn’t signal his presence with smoke anymore — he’d quit with Faustus a year ago without a word of argument — but Faustus just knows. Something about how proximity to Mason makes him feel better somehow. Slows his heart, calms his mind, his shoulders sagging in a way he can’t ever manage on his own.

Oh, and only Mason would snatch his cigarette from his mouth and crush it beneath his boot.

Quitting had been grueling.

“Hey yourself.” Mason says, already close enough for their thighs to touch. His arm remains at his side, but their hands are close enough to touch, should Faustus want it. “Ditching parties isn’t usually your thing.”

“Not ditching,” Faustus clarifies, a smile already creeping up to his face. “Needed a breather. Started to get caught up in my own thoughts.”

“Mm,” Mason hums. Another offering to refuse or take. Go on, or don’t. Mason will still be here either way.

“It’s sad, right?” Faustus toes at a rock. It clatters forward. “Leaving.”

Mason shrugs. “Dunno. Guess so. I never gave two shits about any place we’ve had to leave.”

“You know maybe I should be talking to Nate about this. Not exactly feeling the deep heart wrenching empathy here,” Faustus shoots him a toothless smile that makes Mason snort.

“I can go get him if you mean it.”

“You know I don’t.”

Faustus chuckles, turning back to the rock. He kicks it again. This time it clatters down farther, out of reach, behind the tire of Tina’s sleek motorbike.

“I mean I don’t think I’m feeling as sad as I should. It’s sad knowing I’m gonna miss tiny shit like, I dunno, the golden hue the town takes in the fall, Haley’s cinnamon spiced coffee cake, the classic monster movie specials the dollar theater does.” Faustus spreads his hands out in front of him like he could encompass all of the shades of Wayhaven between his hands. “The fall, the winter. The spring and next summer. I won’t be here for any of it and the main thing I can feel is… impatient.”

The limbo of it all, this in between place. One foot settled in Wayhaven, his other pressing down on the gas pedal of his car with his hand wrapped around the clutch.

“I’m so ready to leave this place. I’ll miss Tina, of course. Verda too. Everyone on the square.” Quieter. “Unit Bravo.” Then, louder. “But I’m ready to leave. My stomach feels like a twisted knot of buzzing nerves. I wanna go.” Desperate now. “I wanna go.”

Slate clean, a forgettable face glimpsed at in the street of some odd town in some part of the wide breadth of Americana. Seen for a second, forgotten the next.

Free in a way Faustus hasn’t been in a long fucking time.

“I’m ready for…”

He tongues his teeth looking for the words.

Faustus nudges Mason’s pinky, and in an instant Mason hooks them together.

“Me.” Faustus smiles. Genuine in a way that still feels a little weird, but easiest when it’s Mason who looks at him, knowing his raw ugliness the way no one else has, with that unassuming patience of his that encourages Faustus to try. “You.”

A smile twitches at Mason’s mouth. He thinks about kissing it in a new town, watching a different sunset, and that driving ache in him grows.

“Yeah,” Faustus nods. “I think I’m most excited for us, is all.”

Selfish, as Faustus ever was and ever would be. Leaving Wayhaven had always been in the back of his mind, some formless dream to escape to, but with the man he loves (loves! with every beat of his heart, every sigh from his lungs, Faustus loves Mason) seated next to him, he wants it more than he ever did before.

“Us.” Mason echoes. “Wherever that goes.”

Such fucking conviction. Faustus doesn’t wait to see what kissing Mason is like out on the road, he kisses him now, lets himself accept Mason’s arm around him.

The only constancy Faustus could ever need no matter where they go.

“God you make me into a fucking cheese ball, Foz,” Mason groans when they pull apart. Vulgar, always. Tender, always. “Disgusting.”

“You’re disgusting.”

Faustus kisses Mason again.

“Kinda gross to kiss someone disgusting.”

Mason kisses back.

“I have shit taste, what can I say?”

They kiss. Mason kisses him, and he kisses him, and he kisses him until Faustus does consider ditching the party because what could ever matter but Mason’s cheek under his palm and Mason’s hair between his fingers?

"Okay, here's the plan...." Naya's voice boomed through the warehouse - her commanding tone somewhat matches Adam who nods at her.

"Wait, are you sure this is safe? We have like one chance to take them out and you plan to just barge right in Naya?" Irene raised an eyebrow in disbelief, as Naya crossed her arms.

"well, do you have a better plan than Leyva?" She snickers at her - earning an amused look from the red-head herself.

"You bet I do! We use the guns, I have a few of my inventions that might help to take them down. It makes the job much easier than risking ourselves to get hurt." Irene took out one of the techs she brought with her and place it on the table earning a whistle from Mason and Felix who looks intrigued by the whole situation.

Naya scoffs and took a seat by Mason's side on the velvet couch where he placed an arm around her waist as she leans into his touch, letting out a tired sigh.

"Lili, anything from the research that might help lighten up the situation here?" Lya asked as Lili nods with her notes in hand.

"From the research, we did earlier - Unfortunately, the group of supernatural we are coming up against are very very strong. There was stated somewhere that certain guns can take them down for a certain period..." She was cut by Nate's voice joining into the conversation.

"and they also can leave quite a mark on their pretty painful victims. If we are careful, we can take them with the agency tranquilizer gun and... unfortunately, dead man's poison." The sour tone that left him made the room quiet - somehow leaving them no choice other than to annihilate them.

"We gotta do whatever it takes, even if it's DMB." Lya states with a solemn tone in her voice - as her eyes met with Mason, who gave her a supportive nod from afar.

"Alright then, it's settled. We will take the DMB, the guns, and anything that we could use to take them down. They've been quite a menace in the town, so let's get ourselves prep and we leave at midnight." Adam's commanding tone fills the room once more, as everyone nods in agreement - before leaving the room to prepare for tonight's mission.

-

Lya and Adam were the only ones left in the room, as the others left for lunchtime. The girls decided to have lunch at Lya's apartment later to taste her 'exquisite cooking' which was quoted from Naya herself.

"How are you feeling about the mission tonight?" She took a seat beside him on the couch, as placed a hand on his back.

"I hope we can take it, it's our last chance, and - I believe we can do it tonight." His gaze softens as it's met with hers before he takes her hand and squeezes it.

"I hope so too. I can't wait for it to be done, and we can at least take a break for the weekend." She lays her head on his shoulder, letting out an exhausted sigh.

Adam nods in agreement, as he places a kiss on her forehead - a smile creeps on Lya's face at the gesture.

"I'll see you tonight, the girls and I are making lunch together." Lya stood up from the couch with adam following by her side, his hand never left hers.

"Let me walk with you there." He replies as she smiles at his words, as they walked into the common area of the warehouse where the others are having quite a fun time together.

-

Mason and Naya were talking in a hushed tone, as the smile on his face tells Lya everything she needs to know. Felix and Irene are in the middle of a battle with Nate in a fuse ball, which earns a whoop of victory from them both as Nate tries his best to catch up on a win. Lili is stood on the side playing as the referee who lets out a fit of giggles at her boyfriend's antics.

“Who’s winning here mate?” The excitement tone in Lya’s voice is evident as Irene and Felix let out a whoop at another goal as Nate sighs with a small smile on his face.

“Team Irene and Felix leading forward, with 2-0.” Liliana announced as Lya stood beside Nate, joining him in the action.

Both teams manage to pick up their pace, as they ended up with 3-2, with Irene and Felix leading in as always.

“Good game everyone!” Liliana announces excitedly before making her way towards Nate and hugging him, and a kiss as a congratulation.

“Good job teammate,” Lya said as he pulled Nate into a wide hug also, with Irene and Felix taunting excitedly at their victory.

“We will come back for vengeance soon!” Lya replies in an exaggerated tone in her voice, as she gave them both a victory hug – before Naya and Mason join in the conversation.

“What is this the physical affectionate festival?” She teases the group, as Irene fires back.

“Speak for yourself, Naya.” She raises a teasing eyebrow her way before Naya lets out a laugh at the statement.

“Shut up.” Irene just smiles, as Naya scoots forward as she ruffles her hair making her let out a groan with the smile still intact on her face.

“Let’s get going, we will see you all tonight alright? Anything just calls us, we will get here as soon as we can.” Lya reminds them, as the four of them left the warehouse together in a fit of laughter.

“Our lives certainly has become more interesting with them around huh?” Felix stated with a wide smile, as Nate nods in agreement.

“Interesting is one word to say it. Now, let's get ourselves some rest before tonight.” Nate leads all of them back into the warehouse, as they prepare together for the mission.

-

Lya stands behind the counter, preparing their meals with Liliana by her side. Lili found herself setting the tables while Naya and Irene are making their way to the table.

“So, how are we feeling for tonight?” Lya asked, before taking a sip of soda.

“I’m pretty excited, those guns are prepared and loaded; ready to use!” Irene exclaims excitedly as she took a seat in one of the chairs, with Naya joining her on to opposite.

“Honestly, I feel like we will finally win something today. Well, hopefully.” Liliana said hopefully, as Lya nods in agreement.

“Let’s hope our plan and prepare enough, I don’t want any of you to get hurt,” Naya stated suddenly, as Lya smiles at the statement while Irene lets out a gasp (mockingly) as Naya rolls her eyes.

“Naya does care about us guys!” Irene wipes a fake tear that has fallen from her eye with a form, as Liliana lets out a fit of giggles.

“Guys, enough – stop teasing her. We love you too N.” Lya replies, as they started to eat together, talking about everything and nothing at once.

-

“Okay guys, let’s do this!” Naya took the lead, as they all are in position. Everything is ready, as they fought – as much as they could. Everyone played their part, as everything falls according to plan despite the bruises and cuts which is due to the aftermath of the situation.

-

“So, I think that’s the last of them….” Lya stated as she gestures upon the rest of the supernaturals which have been fought by them all.

“Lili, any sign of other beings tonight?” Adam asked through the agency radios as they split up with Lili and Felix at the other side, guarding it all.

“Nothing – the coast is clear. Good job guys! Felix and I will are on our way to you.” Lili’s voice echoed from the agency radio, as Lya, Irene, and Naya pulled one another into a group hug.

“We did it, and we survive!” Irene yells before was met with a glare from Adam which says, ‘tone down’ as she zips her mouth immediately which follows with a fit of giggles from the others.

“Are you guys hurt???” Felix came and made his way to Irene who shakes her head in excitement.

“We are fine Felix, a bit battered and bruised – but, we came in one piece. Thankfully, the number of supernatural has decreased from tonight, but we should still be careful in case there’s more hiding in plain sight.” Lya replies as the others turn their heads around their environment, as Mason scoots forward using his hyper-senses to sense any unusual activity which thankfully is none.

Naya stood beside Mason, as they walked together forward.

“You okay?” He asked her, as she nods – letting out a yawn.

“Just exhausted, and I’m ready for this day to be over.” The tiredness can is true, as Mason stops her before offering a ride on his back, which shakes her wide awake from her sleepy situation.

“Are you sure?”

“Sweetheart, I’m sure. Let’s go, climb up here.”

"Wait, I forget one thing" she said, before giving him a kiss, as he smiles happily before she climb onto his back, as they lead the crew back to the SUV.

-

“Those two look very much comfortable there.” Irene wiggles her eyebrows as Lya nudges her shoulder.

“Naya deserves to the urm…special treatment, as she did took down a lot of them.” Adam states as Lya nods in agreement.

“Babe, if you wanna be carried as well – you should just ask.” Felix raised an eyebrow at Irene before a smug smile appeared on her face.

“Well, you need to catch me, the first babe.” Irene speeds down the road with an unexpected surge of energy in her.

“You’re on!” Felix yells before following her from behind – as they race their way to the SUV almost colliding with Naya and Mason far ahead.

Nate lets out a fit of laughter at the pair,

“I am confused on how much energy those two have even after battling a supernatural.”

Lili smiles before explaining,

“I think it’s the caffeine she took earlier before the mission – she might have the boost of unexpected energy despite it being…4 in the morning.”

“She’ll crash as soon as we reach the apartment, I’m very much certain of that.” Lya continues, as Lili stays behind with Nate.

-

“How are you feeling, did anything hurt?” Liliana asked with concern in her tone.

“Love, I’m okay. A bit exhausted but, we did our best and we survived.” Nate replies happily as he places an arm around her waist pulling her close to him.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t much help tonight, combat wasn’t very much my specialty.” Lili’s voice was filled with a hint of sadness, which Nate noted right away.

They both stop in their tracks, as Lili turns to face him – he is smiling at her.

“Lili, it's okay. We all have our strengths and weaknesses – and you did help us today. Both you and Felix played a vital part in our mission as well.” He grazes her cheek, as she smiles before leaning up with her tiptoes reaching his lips.

After pulling away, they walk hand-in-hand with a smile on her face as they spoke in hushed whispers together, making their way towards the others.

-

“C’mon slow-poke, we’ve been waiting for an hour now.” Felix teases Adam who took out the keys for the SUV, as they went their separate ways with the detectives taking Lya’s car.

“We should stay at the warehouse tonight, it's much safer there,” Lya states, as they follow the SUV from behind – making their way back to the warehouse.

As they arrived, they went on separate paths – as Naya joins Mason, while Irene and Felix walking together to their respective rooms – with Irene still teasing Naya along the way.

“Good night Lya, we will see you tomorrow.” Liliana hugged both Lya and Adam who is still getting used to the sudden gesture, as they bid goodnight.

-

“So, how are you feeling after everything?” Lya asked Adam, as they walked together back into his room where they will share for the night. As they start to finally be together, they have gotten comfortable with one another – and she enjoys the time she spends with him. Sometimes they would talk about their stories or anything – there was laughter behind the closed doors and it's their secret moments that made her smile.

“I’m glad it ended up the way it should – nobody was hurt and, well…you are safe.” He says the last bit slowly, as Lya smiles at the words.

“I am capable Adam, you need to trust me on that.” She sighs, as they stopped in front of his door.

“I know, I do. Always.” He says, as they ended up cuddling together – as Adam tells her a story about the knight's tale from the past, which intrigues her until they both fall into a slumber.

-

“A celebration!”

“A…celebration?” Lili asked stumbling into the kitchen while a yawn escapes her.

“Yeah, a celebration! Lya can cook and we can have a fun celebration with smores – we been fighting them for a while now, we deserve a celebration.” Irene explains as Naya joins the gang, as she saunters the group in a good mood.

“Good morning, yes – let’s celebrate.”

Lya raised a knowing eyebrow at her, before agreeing.

“Let’s do this. I’ll call Adam and we can divide and conquer.”

-

As the evening rolls, they are sat in front of a bonfire with the courtesy of Adam and Nate.

The food was set, there were also smores on the side as they all sat down together around the bonfire – as the stars above them shine brightly.

Felix and Irene were cuddled up together with a blanket around them, as the others follow suit.

“So, this is the end of a good mission then,” Naya said from her seat, as a smile is present on her lips.

“All’s well that end’s well.” Lya raised a glass of her drink with a smile on her face.

Lili started to bite pop a marshmallow in her mouth, as they all settled.

“Y’know as much as I love the madness of our missions together – this is the highlight,” Irene admits, as she leans into Felix’s shoulder as he places a kiss on top of her forehead.

"Look who is emotional now huh" She teases her, as Irene stuck out her tongue to her with the smile become much wider than before.

“It’s a peaceful night, and from what we have been doing – we deserve this,” Mason speaks up, as Naya smiles at him.

“I longed for more nights like this, just us together – no missions, no equipment, just us,” Lya adds as the others agree.

“Let's make a promise then, every once in a while – we would do this all over again. Tonight, the stars have aligned for us, and who knows when will it be next.” Nate stated as he attempts on making smores with Liliana as his assistant.

“I very much agree, it's not every day we got to be together like this. It feels…” Lya paused for a moment, meeting Adam’s eyes who nod at her in agreement.

“It feels right.” The night continues as they celebrate their wins and mistakes. Laughter fills the night, as the stars become the witness of the night - the sky shines brighter for them all.

As the definition of the celebration itself is to celebrate an important day or event. Tonight was a night to remember, a moment of celebration for the whole gang and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

THE END.

When they see she's not going to budge, their obnoxiously inviting mouth twists into a pout.

"Maybe if you actually help instead of standing around complaining, we can discuss a reward afterwards," she teases.

M seems to take that as a challenge, and proves quite admirably that they are an avid multitasker, and are fully capable of helping and complaining at the same time.

The cake is given a place of honor as the centerpiece of a table laden with snacks and drinks, the streamers are hung, and the playlist is set.

Faustus actually offered to make the playlist, and it’s the one thing any of them really bothered to assist with, beyond shepherding the birthday girl. Once she’s made sure everything is in order, she fires off a quick text in the group chat, hoping at least one of them is still sober enough to check their phone.

Even with the nerves mounting from the wait, Sofia is proud of all they’ve managed to accomplish, and she gives M a pleased look where they’ve slouched against the far wall to look as sulky and attractive as possible. She sighs and sidles over, bumping their shoulder and peering up at them from under her lashes with a soft smile.

“Thanks for your help,” she says quietly.

M looks away and offers a noncommittal grunt, and she tugs their sleeve a bit.

“Really. You didn’t have to help, and I’m glad you did.”

They shrug one shoulder, still looking away, but she can see the corner of their mouth twitching. “If you really wanted to thank me—” they start to purr, before being interrupted by the door slamming open.

“Well, there goes the element of surprise,” Faustus offers dully.

Levy, Faustus, and Aust flank Aimee in the doorway, standing shoulder to shoulder (well, shoulder to elbow, in Faustus’s case) looking like they’d been having a hell of a time before arriving. They take in the empty bar and its decorations.

“Why do I get the feeling you’re all about to bum-rush me?” M mutters, toying with an unlit cigarette. Before they can even raise their eyebrows and turn the comment into an innuendo, Levy snorts loudly. “Please,” he scoffs. “It’s not your birthday.”

The four of them must have had more to drink than Sofia thought, because it seems like that’s what it takes for Aimee to realize just what’s going on. She blinks hard and looks around, at the streamers, the balloons, and then her gaze lands on the cake at the center of the table, bright and cheery and bedecked with candles that have yet to be lit.

“Ta-da?” Sofia offers with a little smile.

Aimee rounds on her entourage with a betrayed, “Hey!”

“Oh, look, she finally figured it out!” Aust laughs. “Took you long enough!”

“She’s pretty, she doesn’t have to be smart,” Faustus says with a lazy smirk.

“You would know, wouldn’t you?” Levy asks.

Faustus bats his eyelashes. “Oh, so you think I’m pretty?”

“Were any of you assholes gonna tell me about this?” Aimee interrupts, hands on her hips.

“Well, no,” Aust says, rolling her eyes. “Wouldn’t be much of a surprise party if we just told you about it. Duh.”

"Okay, smartass, thanks." Aimee scoffs and turns to Sofia before the redhead can retort with a cheery "you're welcome!" Aust still does it anyway, naturally, even if Aimee is staunchly ignoring it.

Sofia smiles a bit sheepishly. “I know you said you don’t really celebrate your birthday,” she hurries to explain, “but I just thought it would be nice for us all to get together, you know? So… Don’t think about it so much as your birthday party, but just a party for all of us.”

“With you as the centerpiece,” M offers with a pointed smirk.

Aimee takes a slow, deep breath and reaches out to squeeze Sofia’s shoulder. She does it slowly and carefully, with an intense focus only superbly drunk people can ever seem to attain, and Sofia is reminded that the five of them did pre-game, presumably pretty hard, before showing up, so she’ll have to make sure there’s plenty of water and aspirin on hand for when they all inevitably wake up with horrible hangovers. “Thank you,” Aimee says gruffly, blurry eyes scrunching a bit at the corners. It’s honestly more than Sofia expected, and it sends a pang of affection straight towards her heart. She curls her hand over Aimee’s on her shoulder and squeezes.

“Of course,” she says, trying not to sound choked up. She’s not sure she’s succeeded, but she can only hope the others are too drunk to notice.

Aimee clears her throat and pulls back and turns to her entourage, hands on her hips. Before she can say anything, really, Aust shimmies around her and makes a beeline for the table, or more specifically, the cake.

“Hey, wait!” Sofia yelps. “We have to light the candles first!”

After that, things become a bit of a blur. There’s cake. There’s singing. There’s drinking and laughing and hugging and some complaining about hugs but accepting them anyway. There’s Faustus bragging about his playlist and ignoring Levy hiding behind him while Aust chases him with a handful of cake frosting. There’s a soft, pleased smile on Aimee’s face as she leans heavily on M’s side with their elbow on her shoulder. There’s a warmth in Sofia’s belly, radiating out to her fingertips. A sense of belonging.

She glanced down at the sweating bottle on the concrete beside where she sat. Somehow, a good half of it appeared to have gone missing. Must have gone missing — she hadn’t been up here long enough to drink half a bottle of wine. That was...

She paused mid-thought, linking her fingers behind her head and lying back against the cool concrete, the scratch of its porous surface digging into her knuckles in a way that was, strangely, almost pleasant. Wine bottles held, what, 750 milliliters? So half of that was -- 375 milliliters, then? That seemed like so many. Too many for her to have drunk in...however long she’d been up here.

Which had been how long, exactly? She wasn’t sure. She thought the sun, or traces of it, might have still been visible when she sneaked up here, half-pleased to find herself alone and half-disappointed. Of course, in summer, the reflection of sunlight off the clouds long after what should have been, by all rights, solidly within night’s domain.

She was just summoning the energy to sit back up and check her watch when she heard the soft scraping catch of the door to the roof opening behind her. She did sit up then, turning just as a low, lilting voice called, “Hello, sweetheart.”

Morgan. Not that it would have been anyone else. As far as Leila knew, Morgan was the only one who routinely sought refuge on the warehouse roof.

Not that Morgan was who she’d been looking for when she came up here in the first place. Not that she’d been looking for anyone. She didn’t want company; she wanted a respite from the relentless press of August heat.

She’d been pleased to find it deserted.

(Mostly.)

“Hi,” she said back, curving her legs to the side as she twisted to face Morgan. She considered standing, but thought better of it. The ground was wonderfully solid and almost cool against her bare calves, beneath the thin fabric of her dress. Plus, she’d apparently consumed three hundred odd milliliters of wine in an undetermined amount of time. So staying on the ground seemed wise.

Morgan didn’t stay standing long, anyway, crossing from the door to where Leila sat looking up at her, arching one dark brow at the half-empty bottle as she dropped to a seat beside her, forearms draped across her bent knees.

“Should I ask?”

“Isn’t asking if you should ask the same thing as just...asking?” Leila retorted, although the effect of a quick rejoinder was somewhat muddled by the syntax meant to deliver it.

She lifted one shoulder indolently, dark eyes still on Morgan but looking somewhere else entirely. “I’m celebrating.”

A rueful little spasm of a smile, flicker of a raised brow as her gaze refocused on Morgan’s face.

Morgan huffed a laugh. Whatever explanation she’d been expecting (if she’d been expecting one at all), it had not been that one.

“Celebrating,” she repeated, casting a dubious glance at Leila. Barefoot and slightly disheveled, nothing about the figure seated on the roof beside her seemed particularly celebratory. Tired, maybe. A little drunk? Definitely.

“Celebrating,” Leila echoed. She tilted her head to one side, sending a sheet of dark hair falling behind her neck, her smile widening if not warming. She looked back at Morgan for a beat, then stretched one hand out to wrap her fingers around the neck of the wine bottle and bring it to her lips.

“It’s my birthday.” She took a pull straight from the bottle, then continued. “So, I’m celebrating.”

She immediately regretted saying anything. She’d meant it to come out casually, and perhaps even a touch sardonic, but in a cool, slightly jaded way. She shrugged again, hoping the lazy shift of one shoulder would properly convey the volume of fucks she absolutely did not give.

It’s just a day like any other, said her shoulders. Just another year. Just the start of another decade. Who even keeps track of these things, anyway?

Not her mother, apparently, who’d only managed to send her a short text message a little over an hour ago, even though they saw each other more frequently now than they probably ever did when Leila was a child. Even though Leila had literally been at a meeting with her mother two days ago.

But, she supposed, people who spent their careers working with practically immortal beings wouldn’t think a measly thirty years of staying alive was particularly noteworthy.

And, when it came down to it, was it really that significant? Until recently, staying alive day after day hadn’t exactly been touch and go.

Why make it a whole big thing? her shoulder said. Keep it casual.

Like cynicism was an accessory she could wear, another chain looped round her throat like a necklace.

Cool and disaffected, that’s what she was. That’s how she had wanted to sound, when she told Morgan it was her birthday. Casual. Like the text from her mo— from Rebecca. Like her not-relationship with her not-girlfriend.

Instead, she was pretty sure it had come out sad and more than a touch embittered.

Because of course it had.

And now all she’d accomplished was sounding like she felt sorry for herself, which she wasn’t, and was fishing for Morgan’s sympathy or worse, her pity, which she absolutely wasn’t.

Morgan, for her part, only raised an eyebrow, settling into an easy perch beside her on the cement, outstretched hand pulling the wine bottle from Leila’s grasp.

“Cheers, sweetheart,” she said, sketching a salute with the bottle, a facsimile of a toast, before raising it to her mouth and taking a swig.

A moment passed and Morgan pulled a face like she’d been suckerpunched.

“Christ, that’s sweet,” she hissed, mouth stretched in a grimace.

Leila laughed, hand to her mouth like the noise had surprised her. “It’s kind of terrible, right? It’s like, a fiver at that shop on the corner. I felt like I had to sneak it in, like just having it in the warehouse might be an outrageous betrayal of Adam’s whole existence.”

Morgan snorted, passing the bottle back to Leila. “They overcharged you if you paid them for that.”

Another hiccup of a giggle from Leila as she accepted the maligned moscato, took another deep swallow, almost choking on it as she laughed again at Morgan’s disapproving scowl. “I kind of love it, though? It’s so sweet, I don’t know why, but it’s just…”

She trailed off, another, smaller sip. Set the bottle aside and leaned back on her hands, tipping her face up to the night sky. “I think I probably only like it because it was the most potable alcohol we could get our hands on in high school,” she finally said with a laugh that was more exhale than anything. “I think we thought alcopop was like, beneath us and too immature or something.”

She rolled her head to the side, looking at Morgan again, who was watching her with an inscrutable expression. “I like to think I have better taste now, but…it always feels weirdly appropriate for my birthday?”

She wrinkled her nose, tipped her head back up with another chortle of a breath. “That’s so weird, sorry.” Deeper inhale. “Anyway. Want me to leave you alone? I’m guessing you didn’t come up here at this hour to listen to a drunk girl babble about getting older.”

Self-effacing smile, aimed at Morgan. Morgan returned it automatically, a little sharper at the edges, a little thinner than Leila’s, but. A real smile.

Forty-three and they're finally waking in their own place, Agency strings cut, and nothing in the world but love and time. A remote cabin on the side of a mountain. Different cat and this one likes him better than the last. The days are quiet and close, and never lonely.

It's insignificant.

Thirty-six and they're in some city he can't remember the name of. A case gone wrong, a creature with a body count on the loose. He hasn't killed in a long time, hasn't needed to. But she's still soft, not like before, but softer than he is. She screams when a bone cracks (her tibia, if he had to guess) and his vision goes red.

Twenty-three and they're bored in this town, driving through familiar streets filled with unfamiliar faces, making a game out of who can make the worst pun, tell the worst joke. Winner gets head (first). You run out of gift ideas around twenty-three.

But it's so fast.

Fifteen and she's in his arms all day. Something about the multiples of five weigh her down. It's real. They're in it. She's crying. He gives her a ring without a vow. It's nothing, but it's not for nothing.

Seven and they're with Unit Bravo, making plans for the future. Wondering if Wayhaven can be home indefinitely. Home is where they all are, five places at once.

Three and she's different. Sharper. Confident. Infinite, like he is. Her turning changed a lot for them. She's still there, but struggling with the onslaught of sound this week. Next week it could be smells. It could be hunger. They don't bring up what day it is. They take it easy. She gets him a card. He hangs onto her more than usual.

It's tiny. Miniscule.

He's standing in a police station in a shit town looking down at her sweet smile and outstretched hand, and thinking fuck off fuck off fuck off. She gives him a mile instead of an inch right of the bat.

Miles.

Everything.

She gives him everything. He learns to give too.

It's so impossibly small.

Fifty years. They fell into it without warning.

They can hear them on the other side of the door. Felix, Nate, and Adam; Tina, gray and still wild; Eric, Cara, and Lacey. They're grown now, older than Alma ever got to be. Hushed giggles and whisper-roars to be quiet.

Not much of a surprise.

"I told them not to throw a party," Alma sighs, quieter than anyone in the room just beyond. "Sorry."

"It's fine, sweetheart. It's for them more than us." Mason kisses the top of her head, throws his arm over her shoulders. Has anything actually changed? "Happy anniversary, I guess."

They blink, and it plays over again. Fragmented memories, little things telling the story of a life together.