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It felt like any other day as the loud beeping of an old plastic clock ripped Mark out of his slumber. Blindly he reached over to try and smack the blaring thing to silence only for it to get pushed off of the bedside table and fall down with a crash. Mark sluggishly peeked his head out of the blanket's covers and glanced at where he guessed, he had pushed his alarm clock off. It was still bepping none stop which was already an relief to him since it meant it was still functional but that didnt mean that he might have done something else to harm the poor electronic. Pushing himself upright, he reached his hand over to grab the noisy thing whilst using his other hand to hold himself from falling by the bedside table. There was a light crack in the glass but nothing all too serious as Mark flicked the switch and the clock finally ceased its assault with the loud noise. Mark huffed as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and glanced at the time. 7 in the morning, usually he would wake up sooner than that but seemingly not this around. It was Saturday, something that would make anyone feel relief since that only meant that they wouldnt need to work- which sure, Mark is also thankful for that but it just seemed to weight his soul down. Today wasnt just a normal Saturday, in facts, it was his birthday. Something that many would argue that he should be happy about but the problem is that, that Mark was no longer a kid. He stopped celebrating his birthday since he became 18 and everyday since his annual birthday, he felt strangely empty- practically hollowed out from the inside out. Feeling almost a monotone burden that has set inside his heart.
Truth be told, Mark doesnt vividly remember why he stopped celebrating his own birthday. Was it because he grew tired of getting more and more dissapointed each year? Was it because he lacked, and is still lacking, the social courage to make himself some friends to invite to his birthday parties? Or was it because that his parents seemingly were so busy in their Jobs that they barely even acknowledged that it was their own Son's birthday, even outright forgetting it in the first place. Mark could not pin point why but it was honestly not something he was looking for anyway, if anything- he just wanted the day to be over soon.
Putting away the alarm clock, he got out of bed and walked on autopilot to his closet to fetch his iconic lavender shaded turtleneck pullover and then some pants. At a sluggish pace he made his way to the shared bathroom, coming across Jon who was still walking around in his pajama pants and black tank top. Yawning his good morning Mark was taken aback for a second when Jon had given him a quick peck on the cheek before resuming his walk to the living room. This left Mark stunned for a second before letting himself spare a confused, yet tired smile on his face. Getting himself ready for the day, he made his way to the living room already smelling something akin to cooked bacon eggs. Slumbing down on the couch, he lets out a heavy sigh. Yeah, he really wasnt feeling as energized as he usually is. Maybe he should cease his overnight reading sessions. Better yet, give himself some more naps throughout the day. Because the last thing he wanted was to get an earful at work when his supervisors would catch him lacking.
Mark could hear the distant sizzling of meat and eggs as his mind started to slowly drift again, bit by bit dozing off as his starre remained unfocused upon the black screen of their TV. A door click had brought him out of the trance as he peered from the couch to see a Eduardo also still in his Pj's but this time with a blanket still wrapped around him. Just from the look from his dishevelt hair and barely awake face expression, Mark could fully relate to the feeling his man was feeling. Stretching a bit, he walks over to the kitchen table and sits across Eduardo who already had his hands on a coffee mug and practically inhaling it.
"Oh fuck yeah thats the stuff." Eduardo slurred out with a satisfied grin. "Hey Eduardo, how long did you stay up?" Mark questioned as he noticed the lightly forming of bags underneath Eduardo's eyes. Mark is well aware that as an artist as talented as Eduardo, there would be many commissions for him to work on but at times he takes it too hard on himself and ends up not sleeping for days. Well, he was not all that different from Eduardo since he, himself is more of a night owl but it still left him worrying for his partner.
Eduardo only snorted in responce. "I'm fine, just trouble waking up, you know the deal." Jon perked up from his cooking and quickly chimed in. "Since you are awake, return the blanket and fix yourself up, wont you?" Mark envied Jon, he always had it so easy when waking up. Being a natural early bird, and all. If not for Jon or his alarm clock, Mark could of risked oversleeping the entire day and then wake up once more when it is midnight. Eduardo even made some remarks about how he had the sleeping schedule of a Vampire.
With a stifled grunt, Eduardo got up from his seat, leaving his empty mug behind. Mark watched after the grumpy man before commented to nobody in particuarly, but himself. "Porcupine.." He said with a small grin. "What?" Jon asked, already evening out the portions of the breakfast in their plates. "He reminds me of a porcupine." Mark explained, in respondnce Jon chuckled. Handing the plate of bacon and eggs to him. "Really?- I think a hedgehog fits him more." Jon stated. "Nah, Porcupine. Most defiantly." Mark lazily retorted with a smirk on his face. Jon sat down at the table and simply shrugged with a gentle smile before starting to eat his breakfast.
By the time Eduardo came back fully dressed in his usual green shirt and jeans, Mark was long finished with breakfast and got up to leave the empty plate by the sink. "Thanks for the Food." Mark said to Jon who nodded, he was too preoccupied on chewing on the bacon to verbally respond. Mark was feeling already pretty good with his stomach full and walked over to his room to spend his freetime with what he does best. Reading. It was something what Mark loved best aside from tormenting their neighbors from time to time. As picked up a novel from his wide arranged bookshelf, he found it hard for himself to fully merge into his bubble. It left his aggravated as he set the book down on his bed and thought about what else he could do to use his time up. In that moment, his phone buzzed to live with a blue text message reading
"Hey Mark! Happy birthday!- just sent ya a present in your game inbox :D"
The message was from Todd, a good friend of his that he had known since his high school years. Todd was always the one to fully start rants about anything that consisted of lore or theories in a comic book or from a game that he got hooked on. He was a stereotypical Gamer to Mark's knowledge. But even he liked to unwind from things that reality was throwing at him and just enjoy some games that he had on his laptop, sometimes even play with Todd who seemingly never logged off at all. But to Mark's surprise, when he logged into his game, he found that Todd was seemingly not online even though he was just mere minutes ago. Oh well- it was nothing Mark could dwell over. Resuming the game, the first thing Mark saw was his little character apear in the middle of the screen in a wizard attire but lacking the staff, instead holding a hefty club and shield, something that seemed very out of character from the usual trope of a 'Wizard', but then again- Mark did not play as much in video games as Todd does. While Mark's tiny character remained on level 14, Todd's was already 70. The game was just a simply fantasy game that was played similarly like Dungeos and Drangons but with the twist being that there was a visible platform area and customizeable characters. Mark still remembered well how Todd excitedly offered him the game, saying that there is a lot of text to read so Mark wouldnt get bored all too much of the gameplay which should of been great for him but as he played through the second chapter of the game, he started to slowly bore himself. Guiding the cursor to the tiny treasure chest which was his inbox, He found himself quite surprised to see that he was given a legendary staff and a lot of exp. Probably enough to level his little wizard to a first stage Mage.
Getting his gifts equipped and his points sorted, class obtained. He sent a thank you text back to his friend. He wont be all that active ingame for a long time but he still appreciated Todd's strong will to grind for so long to get Mark a legendary staff and that on his birthday. He could not cease his smile as he turned off his laptop and lays down to read his discarded novel once more.
After some time had passed, Mark was almost finished with the 6th chapter if not for Jon and Eduardo to burst into his room with a united yell of "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!". Mark got startled out of his skin before cursing aloud and grinning again when he spotted Eduardo holding a cake in a dinner plate. Both of them knew of Mark's birthday and they also knew that he doesnt celebrate it but that didnt change the fact that both Eduardo and Jon wanted to celebrate it. Setting the cake on the desk, Mark got up to hug his two dorks and thank them even though they did not need to go through all the trouble in getting him a cake. Eduardo of course argued back that it was only reasonable while Jon was already holding out the cake with the lit candles. "Come on! Wish for something!" He urged. Mark stifled a laugh before blowing out the candles. Jon and Eduardo cheered before the shortest of the three asked. "What did you wish for?" which Eduardo defended. "Jon, you idiot!- You cant reveal your wish or it wont happen!" Jon jolted before sheepishly laughing.
Mark in that while just enjoyed the amusing interraction between them. He was honestly happy to have them. He could not imagine the early mornings without a blanket huddled Eduardo or the gentle enthusiastic smiles from Jon.
He wished for something that he already had.
A happy birthday.