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Felix always preferred to keep his birthday celebrations quiet.
No matter how much he protested, he would inevitably be dragged out into town and paraded around, forced to endure the never ending flurry of “Is it today? Oh, happy birthday!” greetings. He had tried to stay out of sight for the day, and for once, he was successful. That is, until he ran into his group of friends waiting for him outside of his room. His attempt at stealth had been for naught. Reservations had already been made at the local tavern, and he had no choice but to attend. To his relief, it was a simple get-together. A table for four, no more, no less. Just him and his closest friends were set to attend. No fancy parties, no fuss, just a simple dinner.
As the dinner came to a close, Sylvain coaxed Felix into making a parting speech. Felix rolled his eyes, but complied.
“Thanks. For this.” He gestured around him. “This was...enjoyable.”
“Anything for the birthday boy!” Sylvain beamed.
“This was fun! It’s nice getting to do this.” Ingrid nodded.
“I agree! It’s a shame that we save gatherings like these for special occasions.” Dimitri said, a tinge of dejection in his voice.
“Maybe not! I’m not opposed to doing this regularly.” Ingrid shrugged. “Good food, good company. Why not?”
“I’m all for it! What say you, Felix?” Sylvain playfully nudged him.
“If it fits in my schedule.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Can we wrap this up? I have things to do.” Felix shifted in his seat.
Sylvain pouted. “Oh? Don’t you want to stay for dessert?”
“Dessert? What are you talking about?” Felix frowned. Suddenly, right on cue, the faint sound of clapping caught his attention.
Clap-clap-clap-clap...clap-clap-clap-clap…
Felix frowned. He couldn’t bring himself to look.
Clap-clap-clap-clap...clap-clap-clap-clap…
He didn’t .
Felix felt an overwhelming sense of dread claw at his throat. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a brigade of servers make their way to the table. He flashed Sylvain an exasperated look, silently imploring him to stop this nonsense before it began. But it was too late.
He did.
The rhythmic clapping grew louder and louder, until it drowned out every sound around him. He felt as if time were moving in slow motion. The clapping, the faint flicker of a candle, Ingrid staring in shock, Dimitri eagerly clapping along, Sylvain's shit-eating grin-- everything remained suspended in time. He could only watch eyes wide and full of horror, as the group approached the table.
"We've heard we've got a special birthday guest sitting right at this table!" One of the younger looking waitresses announced, shouting to the entire restaurant rather than the group. "Is there a..." She trailed off and looked back towards the server holding the cake, mouthing a few words before turning back to the table. "Felix Fraldarius with you all?"
Felix opened his mouth to protest.
"That would be him!" Sylvain slung an arm around Felix, his smile persisting.
"Weeeeeell, on behalf of all of us here at the Waterfront Inn, we'd like to wish you a very happy birthday!" A circle of cheers and claps rung out. Felix said nothing. He couldn’t bring himself to speak. As the energetic, off-key singing began, Felix knew that his peaceful celebration had come to an end. Every fiber in his body told him to get up and leave, to walk away from the table and never return. The chorus of "Happy Birthday" mixed together. Voices became nothing more than background noise. Felix looked around at the smiling faces around him. The sound of china against the table was the only thing he could hear. His eyes followed the arms of the waitress as she set down a plate with a sizable slice of chocolate cake in front of him. He found himself staring right at it. It was far too big. He could smell the sugar oozing out of it. He almost felt sick just looking at the sheer amount of chocolate. He should have been angry, furious even. But despite everything, Felix felt satisfaction.
The singing was awful, and he now had a cake he knew he wasn’t going to eat, but it was oddly endearing. He knew the moment the plate was empty, the night would be over. His friends would exchange their last few birthday wishes, and the four would go their separate ways. Tonight would be nothing more than a memory to look back on. But even if it was just a fleeting moment, Felix didn’t mind. As the singing finally subsided and the group of servers dispersed, Felix relaxed and slumped down in his seat. The table was quiet, save for Sylvain's snickering.
"W-Well! Happy birthday...?" Ingrid was the first to break the silence. She offered an awkward smile.
"They knew! How lovely!" Dimitri turned around in his seat, watching the group return to their posts.
"Make a wish, buddy!" Sylvain gave him a thumbs up.
Felix sighed. He pushed his plate towards Ingrid. "I don't want it."
Ingrid's eyes lit up. Before she could reach for her fork, Sylvain grabbed the plate and pulled it back in front of Felix. She pouted, watching the cake leave just as quickly as it came.
"Aw, don't be like that! It's your birthday cake!" Sylvain nudged Felix again. "At least make a wish."
Felix glared.
"Come oooon. Just one!"
Felix looked down at the candle. Rolling his eyes, he blew the candle out with a single huff. He quickly shoved the plate back in Ingrid's direction and sat back in his seat, arms crossed.
"So! What did you wish for?" Dimitri leaned in.
"Ah, ah, ah! Can't reveal your birthday wish! It won't come true!" Sylvain was clearly having a wonderful time.
“Oh! Right! Don’t tell me! I want to make sure that your wish--”
“I wish we left Sylvain at the monastery.” Felix spoke without hesitation.
“Felix! You wound me!” Sylvain clutched at his chest, leaning onto Felix and punctuating his statement with a dramatic sigh.
“I stand by what I said.”
“But I got you free cake! Doesn’t that count for something?”
“You know I hate cake.”
“I don’t know, Felix. This one’s pretty good.” Ingrid twirled her fork between her fingers, savoring the taste of chocolate. “It’s not that sweet! Are you sure you don't want a taste?”
“Hey, if he doesn’t, I’ll taste it for him.” Sylvain grabbed his fork and reached over to scoop a piece of cake.
‘No, you won’t!” Felix quickly picked up his own fork and stabbed at the side of the cake. “You’ve done enough for one night.”
“Hey, wait! You're going to ruin it!” Ingrid’s fork soon joined in the small scuffle occurring over the mass of chocolate.
“It’s big enough for all three of you! There’s no need to get into an argument.” Dimitri tried to sneak a sliver of cake, only for his fork to become tangled in the brawl. His attempt to make peace was lost within the clinks of silverware and declarations of “It’s mine!” and “Stop!”.
Laughter broke out around him. The smiles of his closest friends reminded him of a simpler time, of when they were young and carefree. Ingrid fussing, Sylvain’s boisterous laughter, Dimitri’s smile-- all of it was so familiar, and so dear to him. Amidst the chaos, a small smile graced his lips. It was brief, unnoticed by the people around him, but it was there. Felix successfully tore a chunk of cake with his fork and let the taste of dark chocolate fill his mouth.
At that moment, all he wished for was just a bit more time to enjoy it.