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Rowen Monroe was no stranger to the sadness that accompanies the city he calls home. He has seen far too much in the six- no, seven..maybe eight years that he has been in the city, particularly the 5 years he has been a medic.
Goldcrest, Elantria was a sad, bleak place, full of over-the-top criminals and cops who think they’re too good for the rest. But Rowen always sought out more than just people to call friends, he wanted to help people, be the reason that somebody's worst day isn’t their last.
Maybe that’s why, when his birthday arrived, no one remembered. At first, he thought that everyone was busy, but then it was 5 PM and not a soul had said anything. He had continued through the day as if nothing was bothering him, but his colleagues - bless them - had noticed something was off.
“Hey Cap, you alright? You’ve been acting weird since this morning.” An EMT had asked at lunchtime. Rowen simply nodded and offered to buy her coffee as a ‘sorry for acting weird, I promise it’s nothing.’ The day progressed just like that, periodically a different medic would bring up the same question. Rowen couldn’t answer truthfully. He didn’t want them to feel guilty or upset.
Initially, Rowen wanted to spend his night watching a few movies and eating cake with his young white-and-orange tabby cat, Lemon, but once he got home from work, he noticed she hadn’t come to greet him.
He was understandably worried, the young cat had been greeting him daily ever since she was as small as his hand. He frantically searched around his apartment for her after she didn’t show up when he shook a bag of cat food.
Almost an hour later, he collapsed on the ground. Unable to find Lemon, he felt miserable- was she just good at hiding, or was she missing? He didn’t know, what he did know was that he missed his poor cat.
Abruptly he heard a faint ‘merow’ from the cupboard he keeps locked, he jumped up and ran for the closet. As soon as he unlocked it, out sprang Lemon into the man's arms. He cried out in surprise, falling to the ground with the cat in his arms.
“Lemony, you can’t do that! I almost died from you going missing.” Rowen grumbled down towards the cat, tears in his eyes. Lemon merely nudged her head against his chest in response. He sighed, feeling overwhelmed, “I suppose we can head to bed now, hm?”
He stood up, Lemon in tow, and trudged his way to his bedroom. Lemon jumped out of his arms into bed, promptly starting to purr. He stared at her for a moment before heading out into the dark corridor that connects his bedroom and kitchen. After getting a treat for Lemon and a snack bar for himself, he made his way back to his bedroom, making sure to watch out for any cat toys scattered around on the floor.
It wasn’t even 10 PM yet when he got startled awake by loud banging on his door. He groaned and slowly made his way towards the commotion. Opening it, he was greeted by his best friend, Clementine, who stood there with a look of bewilderment on her face. She pushed her way inside, grabbing Rowen by the arm.
“Why didn’t you think to tell me that I forgot your birthday?!” She cried out, visibly upset, “We both know you have issues with telling others, but seriously! I’m your friend, Rowen, I’m sorry I forgot.” Her tone softened by the end of her sentence, face covered in barely hidden worry and sadness. She let go of his arm, hugging him instead. The man mumbled something inaudible into her shoulder.
He moved his head to stare up at her in a mix of exhaustion and exasperation, “You were busy, Clemmie.. I didn’t even see you today anyways, plus, it’s not that important.” Clem shook her head in response and let Rowen go.
The woman’s brows furrowed, “Nonsense! Your birthday, and you, in general, are super important! And no, I was not busy today Rowen, you know that. Just because you don’t think so, doesn’t mean it’s not true. You are loved, and appreciated, whether you like it or not.-”
Rowen groaned and rolled his eyes, “Okay, okay, Clem, I get it. I thought wrong and I shouldn’t think like-”
“Shut up. I’m speaking now,” She said as she combed her hand through her hair, leaving no room for argument, “You are an extremely important person, not only to me but to Goldcrest as a whole. So no, Rowen it isn’t just ‘one of those things’,” She moved her arms around to prove her point and sat down on the worn-down couch in the living room, “Birthdays in general are to be important, and celebrated as such. You, of all people, should realize that.”
Rowen glanced down at Clementine before heading over and sitting down next to her, “Just because you think so, no offense, doesn’t mean it’s true. And you, a detective, should know by now that people lie and don’t always know the truth,” He motioned towards her, uniform and badge on, “I understand why you’re going all out about this, but it’s honestly not needed. Not needed at all, I am a grown adult, Clem,” His voice grew with a tone akin to distaste, “so what if I don’t care about my birthday?!”
If stares could hurt a person, Rowen would have millions of daggers in his head. “Well I care about your birthday, and you should too. It’s-”
“Prooh?” Lemon chimed in, successfully cutting the woman off by jumping into her lap.
Clementine sighed and looked down at the cat in her lap, who was nibbling on the sleeve of her jacket. The anger in her tone now put out, she looked back at her friend, “Look, Rowen, your birthday is important, it's the only day in the year where we’re able to celebrate you for just being you,” she slowly waved her hand towards him.
“Where we can celebrate you being alive and just existing. You get to celebrate the fact that you haven’t died in this godforsaken city and that you’ve survived another year in one piece.”
“I… I know Clem, I just- I don’t want you,” Rowen stared down at his hands firmly clasped together in his lap before continuing, “or anyone, for that matter, to have to spend time and energy on me just for living.”
Clem looked at the man, mouth agape, she giggled, “That- that’s ridiculous Ro, I love spending time with you, and I can guarantee that everyone else does too. You really are worth being around, I promise.”
Rowen mumbled again, this time his voice audibly wavering. An uncomfortable silence fell over them, and tension in the room was thick.
After a few minutes, the silence was broken as Rowen cleared his throat and stood up, “Do you uh- you want a piece of cake? I baked it yesterday..”
Clementine’s face lights up at the mention of cake, “Ooooo what type? Is it strawberry?”
“Err- no, it’s just plain vanilla, I ran out of strawberries last week.” He frowned, but headed to the kitchen. Lemon, sensing her owner leaving, jumps up to follow the man.
“Aww ok, your vanilla cakes are just as good, I’d love a piece!” She heads towards the kitchen at a relaxed, slow pace.
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An hour later, Clementine and Rowen could be found on a bunch of blankets in the man's living room, watching an action-comedy movie. Rowen was petting his cat as his eyes slipped shut.
Clem smiled down at the man, “Go to sleep if you’re tired, Rowen, no one can hurt you if I’m here.” she proclaimed in a laughing tone.
“Whatever Clems, you’re the one they’ll be after,” he replied with a droopy smile, but turned around to face the wall nonetheless.