The row of candles flickered, casting a warm glow over the dining table and filling the room with the scent of fresh birchwood. Curtains obscured the nearby windows, blocking out all sunlight and creating a sense of intimacy. Quick, erratic jazz music was playing from a radio tucked away in the corner, out of sight but far from out of mind. All in all, the scene made Theo think of the first holiday he took on his own after the war: camping in a rainforest in the middle of a storm with nothing but a lantern for light and a radio for company.
Satisfied, he stepped back and surveyed his work. The more he looked, the more his smile grew.
Back then, he had grown bored with the isolation and the lack of amenities within a day. Luna, however – she was going to love it.
Just over one year into their relationship, his girlfriend had, to his dismay, revealed that she'd never had a proper birthday party with friends and games and a cake.
"By the time I had friends to share it with," she had said, "we were on the cusp of war. There was no time to celebrate. I didn't mind. I used to go out and visit the Thestrals."
She had imparted the information so cavalierly, like it was as interesting and worthy of attention as a statement that grass was green and clouds had a habit of being white. But while she'd assured him that her parents had always made the occasion special for her when she was little, and then her father after that, there had been a wistfulness in her voice that suggested that it had once hurt her more than she was willing to let on now.
Theo rather suspected that many things had hurt her more as a child than she was willing to let on now.
His heart broke for her, even if she didn't want it to, and he had felt compelled to do something about it. The war had taken away so much of their childhood and their innocence, and there was no way to ever get that back. So many of their friends had ended up feeling and looking hollow, having built a tough interior around themselves to hide the fact that there was nothing inside anymore. There wasn't much he could do about that; not until they were ready. But this was something he could do – something he could change. It might not rewrite history and help the lonely girl she once was, but it might provide some reassurance to the person she was now.
Planning a party that touched on all the traditional elements while still feeling distinctly and unabashedly like Luna had been tough, but it had come together better than he hoped. They were going to have a nice lunch with her father and their closest friends, then he was going to open the curtains to reveal the special surprise he had organised: a pair of Teumessian foxes on loan from the zoo. One of their ancestors had befriended a human and lived alongside her, and some of his descendants had found their way into the zoo Tracey worked at. There weren't many places that domesticated foxes could live, after all – even uncatchable ones.
Luna had been fascinated by the creatures, and he knew she would love the chance to play with and feed them herself. Even he, who had never been partially fond of animals, had felt tender when he first saw them frolicking together in his back garden.
He took a deep breath. Everything was ready; the only thing that was missing was Luna and their guests, all of whom were due to arrive at any moment.
The sound of the knocker rapping against the front door rang out. Tucking his wand into his pocket, Theo glanced down at his watch. It was just going on half-three.
It was time.
A/N: For Danie (TrueBeliever831) for the Drabble Game Challenge with the prompts Theo/Luna and candle. (Danie, sorry that Luna doesn't actually appear in this, but every time I tried, it felt forced.)