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You never really liked waking up, and today was no exception. It honestly took you a lot to not just fall asleep again and actually get out of the bed. Normally, after you get up you would have to rush so you dont get late to the training session, but today you could relax and enjoy your morning. It was your birthday afterall. Everyone in Rhodes Island had a day-off on their birthdays, and you were no exception. Unfortunately, the landship was currently moving, so you had zero chance of spending this day outside, but that didn't really bother you.
After you washed up, some time has already passed, but it was still only 9 in the morning. You actually had to hurry a little now, because breakfast would be over soon. Even tho that the Reserve Teams were already in the middle of their training session, there were plenty of operators whose workdays start later, so the breakfast time is longer. One of the main reasons why you decided to not hurry through the routine was because you wouldnt be able to talk with your friends untill their training is over, so why not just enjoy a morning without Dobermann and what she calls "training".
While you were walking down the hallway, you recieved Happy Birthday wishes from every operator that passed nearby, even from Amiya, who you supposed was going from Dr. Kal'tsit's office to the Control room. It honestly felt a little weird hearing so many wishes in a single day, but you still thanked everyone and made sure to sound like you really mean it, because you did. All the circumstances that led you into joining Rhodes Island made you kind of forget what holidays were, so you were very thankful for the friendly atmosphere here.
When you reached the cafeteria, you found out that it was almost empty, which wasn't that much of a surprise, concidering that you were late. Since you had no training today, you could afford to eat as much as you wanted and actually enjoy your food without the need to hurry through it.
After you finished with your food, it was already 10 in the morning, which meant that the training was over now, so you decided to go and greet your friends. As you approached the part of the landship with the training zone, you could already hear people talking, which meant that the Reserve Teams have already finished with the showers and were now heading to the main part: some still had their shifts at the Factory and Trade Station, and some had a break now. Once you could see them, you greeted them with a wave, and a certain ball of energy quickly rushed towards you, while almost yelling "Happy Birthday, Y/N!" Once Merry actually reached you, she gave you a hug, which you gladly returned.
"Heh, thank you Merry." you said while giving the Perro a pat on the head, which made her giggle. Her teammates then finally reached you aswell, and you started to walk back while conversating together.
"How did your training go?" you asked.
"Oh it went really good, we had to defend a zone, and it all went well untill Fang and Beagle cornered Stew, but then Melantha flanked them from the back and we won!" Merry was talking so fast someone could miss half of the words if he wasn't used to this.
"That happened because you weren't careful and missed them, please focus more on your surroundings Merry." Melantha was in rather high spirits despite that little situation, so she was more talkative than before "by the way, Y/N, did you recieve a message from your parents yet?" Your face darkened for a moment, but you thought that nobody noticed that. While you joined Rhodes Island under rather normal circumstances, which meant that you could write letters to your parents, they were still more than half of Terra away from you right now, so apart from recieving a letter, there was no way you could talk to them today.
"Well not yet, but you know how it goes, it might arrive as late as in a month, so i don't really think about it."
After you arrived back to the main part of the landship, it was time for your group to split. Melantha had her shift that the Trade Station, Ansel had to go to the Medical Wing, Adnachiel had some unfinished work in the Workshop and Steward just wanted to relax in the dorm, which left you with Merry.
"Y/N, you looked sad, is there something wrong?" You were only dating for a month now, but it really felt like eternity for you. With her, one day really counted as two, or maybe even more. Not in a bad way by any means tho, it's just that every time you spent time together, you found out so much more about each other, it really felth like you knew each other for years, so it wasn't a surprise for you that she noticed your slightly bad mood.
"Y/N, if something is wrong, you can tell me, i will listen." It was true. Even tho that it didn't seem like that, Merry could listen and understand others very well. A good example is Melantha. Before they met, she was very closed in herself, but Merry managed to make the Feline start talking to others and enjoy the time they spent together, so you knew that she would understand you.
"It's nothing really, it's actually very stupid." Still, you didn't really want to bother her with what you think was a stupid problem.
"Come on, i won't judge you, you know that! Say, is it about your parents? Or Maybe something bad happened in one of your previous birthdays?" She clearly wanted to hear you, so you pretty much had no other choice.
"No no, nothing bad happened, or at least i don't remember anything bad happening, and it isn't about my parents. Well, it is, but not really. It's just... like, they are so far away, we have never been separated for so long." Merry listened through all of this, and after some thinking gave you a kiss on the cheek and said "I understand."
"Really?" You asked.
"Yeah, this actually kinda happened to me on my first birthday here. I also have never been so far away from my parents before, and at first it really felt not right."
"And how did you get through this?"
"Oh it's very simple: i spent that day with my Team, and it was super fun and nice!" Of course, that was on your mind, but you didn't really feel like it would work, since back home you never spent your birthday with friends.
"You really think it will work?" Even tho her words made you lighten up a bit, you were still a bit unsure.
"Of course! I'm a master of hosting parties afterall!" She puffed her chest out on that, which made you laugh a bit.
"Alright, then do it in the A4 dorm since mine isn't big enough for 6 people."
"Sure. Leave this to me!" As she was about to speed away, you stopped her.
"Merry."
"Yes?" She said when she turned around. You hugged her and patted her head again.
"Thank you. You are amazing." She returned the hug and giggled. Once you let her go, she sped away, giving you a short wave.
"See you at 8!" She yelled.
"Alright!" You answered.
Once the clock said 8 in the evening, you were standing at the OP Reserve A4 dorm. You knocked on the door and asked if anyone was there, but you didnt get an answer. Then you gently pressed at the doorknob and found out that the door wasn't locked. Once you opened the door, you stepped in and found out that the lights were shut. It wasn't hard for you to connect 2 and 2 and understand what was about to happen. Still you were very happy when the lights turned on and everyone yelled "Surprise!"
"Happy Birthday again!" Said Melantha with a smile. Everyone from the Reserve Team was here. Even Ansel had his shift over. You thanked everyone and took a moment to look around the dorm. Right at the door there was a coat rack, with various clothings of Team members hanging on it. The living room was bigger than your entire dorm, and it even had a small kitchenette in the corner, a boys and a girls bedroom at the back with bathroom inbetween them. In the middle of the room there was a big table with lots of various board games on it, and a big sofa that could fit what it seemed like an entire squad on it. There was also a TV there so you could watch some movies, but other than that the dorm was fairly average, built with the same style as yours. You were suprised to find out that on the kitchenette table there were not only snacks, but also stuff like salad and what it looked like some pasta, tho it's color was black for some reason. You didn't want to question it tho.
"Since we have all evening, why dont we start with some games?" Merry was basically glowing, clearly proud of her work. You agreed, and all 6 of you started to go through the big collection of board games Reserve A4 had. They had lots of things, from simple cards to Monopoly, and it would clearly take you more than 1 party to go through all. The scene of you playing was certainly something. Merry didn't know any of the rules and was always doing rookie mistakes but enjoying herself a lot. Anself kept trying to make sure that everyone followed said rules but ultimately failed and pretty much gave up. You were trying to invent a clever strategy that turned out too smart for you, and you eventually forgot what you needed to do to make it work. Steward and Adnachiel just playing without thinking about their moves too much and Melantha who was happy because everyone else was happy.
After spending an hour like that, it was time to watch a movie and eat dinner. The black pasta turned out surprisingly good, so good in fact that you took a mental note to ask Gummy for a recipe tomorrow. Then the birthday cake came. It was a fruit cake since Merry couldn't eat chocolate, and it had candles on top of it positioned in a way so they spelled the age you turned today. After the candles were lit it was time for you to make a wish and blow them.
"Actually, before i make a wish, i want to say that where i am from there is a tradition of sorts about this."
"Tradition?" Merry wondered.
"Yeah. When you blow the candles, you don't do it alone. Instead, you do it with your friends and close ones. It is kinda like a way to say that when you are together, you can make any wish come true." You explained.
"That's a very good tradition." Melantha said. "Why don't we follow it?" After a short pause, you said.
"Alright i thought of my wish. On 3... one... two..." And on three all of you blew on the candles, putting them out.
"Hehe, that was fun." Merry said. After that you enjoyed the dessert while watching the movie and conversating throughout the entire of it, which made you miss half of the plot, but you didn't really mind it. When it was finally time for you to head back to your dorm, it was almost midnight. Of course, Merry went with you to say goodnight at your door.
"Goodnight, Y/N, and Happy Birthday again, hehe." She said with a smile, hugging you.
"Thank you Merry, it was an amazing day, goodnight." You answered, hugging her back and giving her one last headpat.
At the beginning, you didn't think you would enjoy this day so much without your parents nearby, but it turned out even better than you could dream of. Some time later, your wish also came true, but what wish, only you know.