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“Vi! Vi! Violet!! Wake up!”
Vi woke up to a heavy weight on her chest and the cries of her little sister climbing up into her bed. The sound of the industrial fan in the bar above them whirled, but she couldn’t hear any patrons. It must have been really early. She blinked her eyes groggily, Powder’s face finally coming into view.
“Morning, Pow Pow,” she said, smiling and ruffling her already messy hair.
Powder giggled and batted her hand away“ Do you know what today is?!” Powder asked.
“What’s today?” Vi responded. She sat up, moving Powder to sit in her lap.
“You’re a teenager now, silly!” Powder exclaimed. Vi smiled.
Was today the nineteenth? Vi thought back, realizing that it was, in fact, December 19th. “That’s right, isn’t it?”
Thirteen. Wow. Vi almost couldn’t believe it.
In all honesty, she didn’t expect to make it this far. When… when everything fell apart, she was newly eleven, just fighting to stay alive and keep Powder safe. But now, she was thirteen, and Powder was seven, and they had made it. They were stable and as safe as they could be in the undercity.
Powder had a mischievous glint in her eyes. Vi giggled. “What do you have going on in that head of yours, Bunny?”
“It’s a suprriiisseeee,” Powder said, sing-song. She hugged Vi, giving her a kiss on the cheek. Vi hugged back.
They heard a crash coming from somewhere out in the little basement they called home. Vi jumped, almost hitting her head on the ceiling. With new ages came getting taller, stronger, more developed. She wasn’t the little girl she used to be when Vander first brought them home. She looked down at Powder.
She was her world. Her constant. No matter what happened, Powder always looked at her with the same amazement in her eyes. Like Vi had jumped over the moon and hung the stars. It was a look of wonder and love that only a child her age could hold.
Vi wondered, sometimes, if Powder had truly processed all that had happened. If she had grieved their parents, understood what all of this meant. Vi kissed the top of her head.
That was a question to ask another day. Today was going to be a good day, Vi could feel it. At the very least, she would make it a good day. Powder crawled out of her lap and swung herself off the side of the bed, dropping down to the floor with ease. Vi followed her, brushing her hair out of her face and preparing to face the day.
And that started with addressing the broken chair in the lounge.
Vi rolled her eyes.
Boys.
…
“Morning, Vander,” Vi smiled, settling down across from him at the table. They had spent the first hour of that morning trying to repair the broken seat. It had ended in Mylo and Vi wrestling on the floor while Powder hid under the chair in question.
“It is morning, isn’t it?” Vander smiled around what Vi imagined was some type of alcohol.
Vi took a sip of her drink, a mix of watered down tea and a few drops of vodka she had snatched from the bar when Vander wasn’t looking.
“A little birdie told me that it’s somebody’s birthday,” Vander smiled, reaching across the table to tap her nose. Vi smiled into her mug, mouth pressed to one of the only spots of ceramic that wasn’t chipped.
“Is her name Powder?” Vi and Vander both laughed.
“Something like that.”
Vander ruffled her hair, sending red strands into her face and obscuring her vision. Vi laughed, trying to push him off of her.
“Happy birthday, kiddo. Thirteen, gods.”
Vi smiled, taking another drink. “Thirteen,” Vi echoed.
Vi reached towards the shelf beside him.
“Powder, she insisted we get you something, so I scrounged this up.”
Vi perked up, watching him. “Oh?” He pulled down a small box and passed it to her gently. She set down her mug and took it into slightly shaking hands. It was simple and brown, but completely pristine. It looked like it was from topside. There was a blue ribbon wrapped around it, looking much more undercity, with its scrappiness. "Is this topside?" she asked, voice low like she couldn't believe it.
Vander smiled and nodded. "A little something that got picked up in a raid."
"I thought you didn't condone raids," Vi teased.
"I don't. Do as I say, not as I do." Vi giggled. "Go on, open it," Vander urged.
Vi pulled on the ribbon, letting it fall away. With the care that only came from being a big sister to everyone around her, she opened the box.
She took the lid off the box and gasped.
Inside was a perfectly decorated treat, with fluffy white icing on top and red and pink sprinkles. Vi had never seen anything like this before. Her eyes went big, pupils dilated as she stared into the box. “Whoa…” she looked at the present in awe.
Vi was hesitant as she tapped her pointer finger onto the top of the mound of icing. She raised it to her mouth, licking the frosting off the pad of her finger. The flavor was unlike anything she had ever tasted. She smiled wide.
“It’s… amazing!” she cried. “What is this?” she questioned, taking another fingerful of the icing.
“A cupcake,” Vander responded, a proud look on his face.
“Cupcake. It’s so…” she searched for the word. “Sweet,” she finally landed on. “Powder!!” she yelled.
The young girl came running in, smiling. “Did you try it?!” she asked, climbing up into the seat beside Vi. She looked into the box.
“I did. Want a taste?” Vi asked, carefully removing the cake from it’s packaging. Powder nodded rapidly, bouncing in her seat. “Here, we can split it,” Vi said, very gently taking hold of the wrapper and peeling it back.
Vander watched as Vi evenly managed to split the cupcake down the middle. A lifetime of sharing, Vander supposed. Little Powder watched with huge eyes, waiting excitedly. Vi set her half down in front of her.
Powder grasped it in her tiny hands, lifting it to her mouth and taking a bite.
The look on her face was nothing short of adorable. Frosting was smeared on her lips, but she had a huge smile and a gleam in her eyes. Vi giggled, waiting until she lowered the treat to gently wipe away the icing on her cheek with her thumb.
“It’s so good!” Powder exclaimed, taking another bite. Vi took her half, taking a smaller, much more controlled bite. She nodded.
“Vander, this is incredible,” she said, smiling. Vander chuckled.
“You girls are a mess.” he reached across the table and gripped a strand of Vi’s hair, removing the fluffy frosting from it. Vi giggled.
“Are you going to give Mylo and Claggor some?” Powder asked.
Vi thought for a moment.
“Nah,” she decided. “This is for us.”
Powder laughed, nodding.
Vander stood up, walking around the little table to stand behind Vi. He leaned down and ruffled her hair, kissing the top of her head.
“Happy birthday, kiddo.”