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It was raining again in the N109 Zone, as it always seemed to do come April. It had never bothered Sylus too much, feeling like the rain was cleansing the world of its impurities. God only knew how sinfully infested this nigh eternally dark insidious city he had claimed as his home was. In every dark corner, within the shadows, under the cloak of this endless nighttime, unspeakable criminal acts occurred, a common knowledge among the citizens of this city, but everyone turned a blind eye away unless they wished to also meet an early end.
As Sylus exited his car, returning to Onychinus’ base, his mind was already forgetting the earlier ‘business’ he had to deal with. Another betrayal—an imperfect ambush—another foolish attempt to overthrow him, but as all of the previous attempts on his life, he had handled them with ease, letting his traitorous attackers have their moment of egotistical superiority before he had shown them who was truly higher on the food chain.
To some, it would be so lonely at the top, and perhaps, for years Sylus had truly felt this way as well, though of course, he had never let his mind lingered on those feelings or ever acknowledging them. Not out of pride, or any similar reasons of sorts, but rather there was nothing to be gained from stewing in such trivial thoughts or allowing such feelings to loiter and occupy his headspace.
As the seasons passed, coming and going, the years rolling by, he had left those lonely feelings behind, his world shifting the moment he had found you back in his life again.
The weight of his wedding ring felt just right on his finger, your touch still lingering though it had been years and years since you had guided the band to him, promising your life and love to him evermore. Sylus had always known having you alone was a true blessing he had been missing, but he realized he was wrong in a way because the day his daughter was born, she had secured her place within his heart, her hold on him more steadfast than she would ever realize.
She was the true blessing in his life.
“What is this?” Sylus sighed in amusement, finding himself stopping short of his study and seeing a familiar small figure curled outside his door, clutching a dark-colored dino plushie in her arms. He walked over, bending down to scoop his three-year-old daughter into his arms.
“Why did you fall asleep out here again, my little birdie?” he asked gently to the sleeping girl, letting her head rest on his shoulder. In that moment, her arms loosened and her plushie fell to the floor.
Noticing this, Sylus bent down to pick up the plushie. He scrutinized the little plushie in his hand, noticing it looked different from the ones his daughter owned. As he examined it, he noticed a heavy weight within the plushie, as if it carried another object inside its body. Curious, he gave a gentle squeeze, his laughter immediate when he realized there was a voice box inside the moment he heard your recorded voice speaking:
“Okay, baby, do you remember the words?”
“Yes, Mommy! Happ—”
“Hold on, hold on,” your laughter rang out as you stopped the eager toddler from continuing, telling her gently, “Let Mommy play the music first.”
Sylus’ breathing stopped for a second, hearing a familiar melody. It had only become something of a tradition in his life since that day you had taken him to that wildlife park, where after a day of exploration, he and you had a special moment within a forest of maple trees where you first sang him ‘Happy Birthday,’ not realizing until he confessed that you were the first to do so for him.
In years to come, you remained the one to sing to him—aside from Luke and Kieran occasionally, as well—but only in just the last two years, you had a new person who had joined you in this tradition, her excitement for this day always stronger than the previous as she had grown older and understood the importance of it.
Sylus’ expression unwittingly softened further as he listened to the recording.
“Together with Mommy now,” you had told the child.
Sylus smiled as he heard your beautiful voice joined by your daughter’s sweet lilt, the blended harmony chasing away all of his stress and unease. He had never heard a lovelier sound than hearing his wife and daughter singing to him:
“Happy birthday to you / Happy birthday to you / Happy birthday, dear Daddy / Happy birthday to you~!”
“Mommy?” he heard his daughter’s recorded voice speaking after the song’s immediate end, “Will Daddy like my singing?”
“He adores your singing,” your voice answered firmly. “He loves you so much.”
There was that sweet bell-like giggle Sylus loved hearing from his daughter, and then her voice brightly chiming: “I love Daddy, too! Daddy, Daddy, I love you so, so, so much! Happy birthday!”
The recording stopped and Sylus peered at the sleeping girl in his arms. He nuzzled his cheek against her head, whispering softly, “Thank you.”
“It was supposed to be a surprise for when you wake up later.”
Sylus looked up, seeing you coming from down the hallway with a light crimson robe over the night slip you were wearing. He smiled at your faux look of exasperation as you approached him.
“I was wondering what happened to this plushie,” you mused, smiling when Sylus bent down to greet you with a brief kiss on the lips. “And this little birdie. I was so sure I had tucked her into her bed hours ago—”
You paused, noticing Sylus’ appearance showed that he had been in a scuffle, to put it lightly. You frowned, but before you could voice your concerns, he reassured you gently with another kiss, already leading you back to the master bedroom.
“Wait,” you spoke up, gesturing to your sleeping daughter. “Shouldn’t we put her back to bed first?”
Sylus smiled. “She’s not letting go of me,” he said with feigned helplessness. “She has her little dino claws gripping my shirt so tightly.”
You smiled back, picking up on his sentiments. “Ah,” you said with a teasing lilt, “Is this big intimidating dragon so helpless against this itty bitty one?”
Sylus sighed dramatically. “She is truly a force to be reckon with, Miss Hunter,” he said, matching your playfulness. He opened the door to both of your bedroom and led you to your bed.
You watched as your husband pried your daughter’s little fingers from his shirt and passed her and the plushie over to you.
“I’ll be back in a moment,” he said, disappearing to the bathroom for a quick shower. Within minutes, you heard the sound of the shower running, catching a glimpse of the steams fogging up the semi-translucent door.
The sounds of the rain seemed louder now, hearing the droplets hitting the floor-to-ceiling windows with much more force than earlier. You reclined back against some pillows, letting your sleeping daughter rest on your chest, your fingers instinctively threading through her hair as you hummed a gentle lullaby for her.
You smiled at the obsidian-colored dino plushie next to you that was wearing a crimson bowtie that matched its eyes. When your daughter had expressed her wish to give her father a birthday song from her he could always hear whenever he wanted, you had spent some time pondering how to execute this charming little idea.
When you remembered the custom crow plushie Sylus had gifted you so long ago, the plan quickly fell into place. What a full-circle moment, you had mused, delighting in planning a customized dino plushie to gift him back in return years later.
Suddenly, you heard a chuckle a short distance away. It was quickly followed by Sylus’ deep rich voice breaking through your thoughts, “What’s going on through that head of yours that is making you smile so much?”
He climbed into bed next to you with still damped hair and water droplets landing on his burgundy robe. His eyebrow lifted up at the sight of the birthday plushie nestled by your side, acting almost as a barrier between you both. He picked it up, giving a gentle squeeze and hearing that recorded conversation and song again.
“Look at your smile,” you teased him, reaching over to poke his cheek while still mindful of the sleeping toddler on your chest. “You look like a dragon delighting in his new treasure.”
“Perhaps because that is the case,” he countered back lightheartedly. You nearly laughed as he hugged the plushie against his chest before setting it to the side, commenting, “I wasn’t expecting such a… charming little gift as this.”
“It was her idea,” you told him proudly.
He chuckled. “Is that so? I have to safeguard this even more then.”
“What would people say if they knew Onychinus’ leader most treasured gift is a little plushie?”
“Their assumption would be incorrect then,” he retorted to your surprise.
He pulled both you and your daughter into his embrace, taking the little girl from your arms and letting her rest against him. Within his arms, you felt that familiar warmth that was a welcoming comfort against the chill of this rainy April night. You nuzzled against him, smiling as his large hand rubbed your arm up and down soothingly.
“You two are my treasures,” he clarified, pressing another kiss to the top of your head.
Before you could respond, you heard a little yawn, catching sight of your daughter’s sleepy little eyes opening briefly.
“Daddy?” you both heard the toddler’s small voice speaking up.
“I’m here, baby,” Sylus answered back affectionately, his crimson eyes twinkling with so much adoration for the little girl.
The toddler yawned again, rubbing her eyes tiredly. “Ha-happy birthday, Daddy…”
Sylus kissed her temple. “Thank you, my sweet little birdie,” he whispered with another fond smile, seeing his daughter nuzzled against his chest as she drifted back to sleep, her small hand grasped the front of her father’s robe, fingers unconsciously rubbing the silk material in comfort. With the loving and protective presences of both her parents near, the toddler drifted into a deeper slumber than earlier, her dreams now sweeter and more cherished.
You peered up at Sylus, touched by such a sweet sight between father and daughter. “Happy birthday, my beloved.”
The gaze he returned to you, full of happiness and peace, made your heart stirred with a desire to always safeguard this part of him, to always be the warmth and light in his world such as he had always been for you and your daughter.
The downpour over the N109 Zone continued, and though Sylus knew no actual flowers would ever bloom within this area, it still felt like spring had arrived in a different way. With each new year, after every birthday since that first one at the wildlife park, he had grown greedier, wanting to hold onto this happiness he had acquired possessively and never let it slipped away from his grasp.
No fiend would ever know of such greed as this until they have acquired the love and happiness Sylus had.
“Thank you, my beloved,” he answered back, holding you just a bit tighter, noticeably longer, and ever lovingly and protectively as true as he had always been with you. You returned his embrace, your own greed just as insatiable as his.
Sylus laid you down next to him, your daughter sleeping in between curled up to his chest. You reached across, touching his cheek, and asked, “Is your birthday wish still the same as before?”
He rested his hand over yours on his cheek, his gentle smile reflected in your eyes.
“As long as you and her,” his said, his eyes glancing quickly at the sleeping girl between you both, “live freely and brilliantly, you will both be the very reasons for my strength and my vulnerability. I do not desire anything else, for this is enough.”
In that moment, you wondered which was louder: the rain or your heartbeat? Sylus was always resolute with his decisions, and this decisiveness and honesty were just a few reasons out of many for why you loved him as deeply as you did.
“Happy birthday, Sylus,” you repeated, smiling fondly when he guided your fingers to his lips, answering your affections with his own.
And to many more, my dearly beloved.