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Vivid blue cat-like eyes opened sleepily, blinking slowly in order to adjust themselves. Maeve wrapped her arms around her girlfriend in an attempt to hug her. It was only when she felt nothing but the air did she scramble upwards, confused. This was definitely Lian’s bed, the luxurious sheets as soft as always. But the spot where she usually slept was strangely empty. Maeve would never admit to being surprised or even a little worried, but Lian was always there when she woke up. It was pretty unusual, and she wasn’t used to getting up straight away. In the end, though the thief sighed in defeat, slipping out from under the sheets. She normally stayed in bed longer, but without her girlfriend there to cuddle with there wasn’t much point.
Her feet silently landed on the floor and she meandered over to where her clothes sat, folded neatly, probably thanks to Lian. She smiled softly, getting dressed and pulling on her coat. Maeve shook her hair out to settle it in place, not bothering to check in the mirror before walking out. She opened the door, intending to find where the hell the royal had disappeared to. What she wasn’t expecting when she came around the corner to the main area of the base was to see a bunch of the champions gathered together.
As soon as they saw her they all cried out “Happy Birthday Maeve!” And her confusion doubled. “What is this?” She managed to say, kind of in shock. Her eyes immediately flicked around to take in her surroundings. Metallic pink balloons were strung up along the ceiling, paired with pink streamers attached to the rafters. There were banners and cat shapes dotted along the walls and the Paladins were gathered around some big tables. One was crowded with wrapped up gifts, and another was filled with food. As much as she wasn’t sure how to feel about this the food did remind her that she was hungry.
“Do you like it?” A familiar voice exclaimed and Maeve shook herself out of her stupor. She accepted Lian’s hug immediately, relieved to finally see her girlfriend but she was also kind of grumpy. “Did you do this? I told you not to throw me a party, this isn’t even my birthday,” the thief huffed, crossing her arms. She still found it a little difficult to accept everything Lian wanted to give her, mostly due to her own insecurities.
Lian simply laughed at the act of defiance, kissing Maeve on the forehead gently. “You told me you didn’t know when your birthday was, so I picked a day for you silly,” she responded with a smile. Oh god, why did she tell Lian that? Of course, she’d do something like this, Maeve really didn’t deserve the royal at all. She was about to open her mouth to argue exactly that when Lian pressed a finger to her lips. “At least stay for the cake, and if you’d don’t want to be around a crowd I organised something for us to do together later,” she stated with a tut, clearly she’d put a lot of thought into the whole thing. The mention of cake caught Maeve’s interest and she decided she’d follow along for now, but just for Lian. And it was amazing how much effort she’d put into this whole ‘occasion’.
It was difficult to know how she was feeling at the moment. This whole occurrence was foreign to her. Living on the streets, being preoccupied with surviving, it didn’t leave time to worry about turning one year older or what day that was. She’d never really had a big celebration either, and so as she walked towards where everyone was gathered she grabbed her girlfriend’s hand. It was the only thing getting her grounded, otherwise, she would’ve turned tail and left. Having physical confirmation that she wasn’t alone calmed her immediately.
“Your flank friends were a lot of help in planning this party, and a few others champions helped too. Otherwise, I might’ve gone a little overboard myself, but I know you definitely wouldn’t have liked it then.” Lian was still talking and Maeve realised how nervous and worried she seemed. She probably wasn’t doing anything to calm those nerves with her stubborn attitude towards this birthday. That just made her feel more guilty. She looked up when she felt a tug on her arm, realising Lian was trying to step away for a moment but she declined to let her hand go.
The white-haired woman sighed and gestured to Skye and Evie with her free hand and they excitedly darted into the kitchen, returning with the 'surprise’. It was a massive three-tier cake, piped with pink icing and white edges. Rose sprinkles were scattered over it and as the cake was set on the table in front of ‘the birthday girl’ she noticed a fondant cat face on top with the words “Happy Birthday.” Maeve’s eyed lit up at the sight, she’d never seen a more beautiful delicacy. “Uh, can I have a slice?” She asked awkwardly and Lian nodded in reply. “I’ll get a knife to-“ the royal was cut off by Maeve pulling out her own knife and cutting the cake. “…Or you can do that.”
After a piece was cut for everyone else there and they’d wished Maeve a happy birthday she finally took the chance to sit down on a chair and bite into the cake. She let out a hum of delight at the taste and the distraction of cake had almost made her forget the uncomfortable situation of the party. Having Lian by her side also helped soothe her. She helped herself to three pieces of cake and then stood you, grasping onto Lian’s arm. “You said you had something for us to do together, right?” Lian nodded, quickly slipping a few packages into her bag and apologising to everyone for their early departure. Maeve didn’t even bother to ask where they were going, she just wanted to be alone with her lover.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
They had walked together in the slightly chilly weather for a while now, finally ending up at a park. The thief recognised it instantly as the place they liked to hang out, especially under the massive oak tree further in. The position of the tree and its large size made it surprisingly private and she found herself smiling. Lian led her over to the foot of the tree, sitting down on the soft grass. The royal silently pulled out two presents wrapped exceptionally neatly in metallic pink paper wrapping. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have thrown that whole party thing on you without your consent. But I hope the presents I got you make up for it,” Lian said quietly, clearly apologetic. Maeve couldn’t look at her for a moment, she’d already forgiven her, she was simply beating herself up for being so unappreciative of what Lian had done for her. In an effort to make up for it she accepted the gifts.
She sat on her girlfriend’s lap for warmth and looked up at her for a moment. “Thank you,” she managed before curiosity got the better of her and she tore open the paper. Inside she found neatly folded cloth and once it was shaken out to full side she recognised it as a coat. It was purple and pink, with blue trimmings going around it. The coat was in a slightly different style than her current one but it looked nice and she noticed immediately how many hidden pockets there were. Lian cleared her throat, one arm around Maeve’s waist lovingly. “I thought I’d have a new coat made for you, not to replace your current one of course, but I thought it might be nice to have something to wear when we’re going out on dates together. Plus I made sure there were lots of pockets for your knives,” She laughed, which turned into a gasp as Maeve turned around and kissed her, an immediate thank you. Before she could say a word though once they pulled away Lian pointed to the second present, “Thank me after you’ve opened that.”
Maeve eyed her suspiciously before opening the much smaller gift, revealing two pin buttons. Both were circular, a blue one with a white ‘L’ and a pink one with a white ‘M’. She realised what they stood for in an instant say silent. If she said a word she swore she’d start crying immediately, which she’d been trying to avoid all day. “I know I said having a patch with my name on it was tacky but you seemed excited so I go matching pins, with just the first letter of our names. I hope you-“ Lian paused when she saw her girlfriend crying. Maeve felt a lot more vulnerable around Lian when she was alone and so she couldn’t help but let the tears flow.
“Thank you, thank you so much. I’ve been so terrible to you today and you’ve put so much thought in these for me,” she sobbed. “I love them, and I love you.” Lian smiled and gently fit the 'L’ pin onto Maeve’s coat. “I’m glad those are happy tears, you had me worried for a second. I thought you hated them,” she laughed.
“Never.” It came out in a whisper and Maeve pulled her girlfriend closer into a sweet kiss. She was so thankful to have met someone like Lian, and vowed to herself to repay her somehow. She was warming up to the birthday idea, maybe it wasn’t as bad as she’d first assumed. Not if the royal would be there for her. “Hmm, maybe I don’t hate the idea of having another birthday like this next year.”
Lian laughed, kissing Maeve again. “Alright, it’s a deal.”