It all started with a simple question.
"Marta, when is your birthday?"
It had been two months since Emil returned from the Ginnungagap. Though she had hoped to begin working on easing the tensions between Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, Marta had another, somewhat more pressing issue to deal with. Some fifty former members of the Vanguard refused to surrender even after Richter was subdued and the group formally disbanded. They had been pillaging villages and robbing people. At first they claimed to only steal from Tethe'allans, but this dropped quickly after they attacked a Sylvaranti merchant caravan. They had become little more than a band of brigands.
Tracking them down was proving to be difficult. The former members moved quickly and there were manly conflicting rumors. The "Bandit Vanguard," as many folks had taken to call them, either merged with one or more gangs, were wiped out by another large band and had since been committing crimes in their names, had splintered into two or more smaller groups, or did something else entirely. At that very moment, Emil and Marta were following up on a lead on the Ossa Trail. They were only to see if the Bandit Vanguard were truly in the area, then quickly report back to the Palmacosta militia, who themselves were accompanied by a few Meltokio officials. The two teenagers were to avoid a conflict. They may be much stronger than children their age, and had four powerful monsters, but fighting fifty decently-skilled bandits would have been suicide.
Marta gave Emil a bemused look. The blond took her expression the wrong way as he looked downward and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I miss it?"
Marta shook her head and said, "No you didn't miss it. My birthday isn't for another five months, on September 20th."
"Oh, that's good, at least," Emil replied.
The brunette wondered what brought the question on, but the answer came upon her quickly.
"You're asking because we went to Genis's birthday celebration yesterday," she stated. It was a simple, but enjoyable trip to the Altamira amusement park. Despite her teasing Sheena for acting like a kid back on their journey, Marta had a lot of fun on the rides.
"Yeah," the boy said, "I mentioned to Lloyd and Zelos that I didn't know when your birthday or mine was. Zelos said I should find out when yours is since a girl's birthday is really important to her. Or well, that's how he put it." He continued to rub the back of his head shyly. Old habits died hard, it seemed.
Marta smiled, "Zelos isn't wrong. It's really sweet of you to think of my birthday, Emil. So you'll have a surprise for me, then?" She put her hands to one side of her face, which had that characteristic dreamy look of hers. In the back of her mind, thoughts such as "like an engagement ring?" and "or many something a little more...personal," flashed momentarily, but she quashed them. Now there's a habit she hadn't kicked yet, though she was much better at keeping those thoughts from the forefront of her mind, or at least from making Emil uncomfortable with them.
"I started thinking about it, but..."
Marta giggled, "It's okay. You have a lot of time."
Emil flushed slightly, but smiled fondly.
The girl idly thought to herself how despite how much he had changed over the past several months, Emil still had a shy side to him. Would he be embarrassed to know that she found it adorable? She imagined the answer to that would be "yes."
"Oh wait!" Marta suddenly said, "Did you say you didn't known when your own birthday was?" In her delight over Emil's thoughtfulness, she had overlooked that detail.
"Um, yeah, I don't."
"How could you not know your own—" Marta trailed off, covering her mouth with her hands. "I'm sorry," she said, after putting her hands down, "I should have realized."
"It's okay," Emil replied, "I'm not even sure I really have a birthday. I guess there's the rea—I mean, the original Emil's birthday, but I took Aster's form, so maybe it should be his? Then again, I am Ratatosk, even if I'm just a pat of him, but do summon spirits even have birthdays? I don't think they're born like people and animals are. This is kind of complicated." The boy scratched his head.
Marta was only partially listening as an idea formed in her head.
"I got it! It's perfect!"
Emil blinked, "Got what?"
The brunette smiled broadly and replied, "About your birthday. I'll decide on a date and then I'll surprise you! It won't just be a surprise party or present but a surprise birth date!
The boy continued to look at Marta, blinking. Her smile morphed into a frown.
"What's wrong? You don't like the idea?"
Emil responded quickly, "On no, that's not it! It's just...a little strange, you know? For someone else to pick your birthday, I mean."
"But it'll be the ultimate surprise! You won't even know what month it will be in. I'll pick the most appropriate date and...well, I'll keep the rest of that a secret. Come on, I really want to do this for you!" Marta gave one of her half-joking pouts. Emil chuckled at her expression.
"Of course I wouldn't say no. I'm sure whenever it is and whatever you do for me, I'll love it."
"I hope you will. You've done so much for me, Emil, and I want to do something special for your in return."
Emil blushed and began to say, "But—" Marta thought he was going to start their continuing "debate" over who did more for whom. Instead he smiled again, then leaned down to kiss her on the lips. Maybe he just didn't want to argue, but that fond smile seemed to speak of appreciation. And that made her really want to give him the best surprise she could.
As it turned out, there were no bandits, former Vanguard or otherwise, in the area. Although this set them back in their current task, it gave Marta the time she need for some brainstorming. It was oddly difficult to pick someone else's birthday for him. Which would be the most fitting day? Should she just try to find out Aster's birthday? Would someone at Syback know? There's was Aster's friend, Rilena, but even if Marta found out about his birthday, should that really be Emil's birthday as well? She didn't want it to be a random day of the year, but she was drawing a blank as to good, meaningful dates.
"Lady Marta, shouldn't you be asleep by now? It's past one in the morning."
Marta picked up her head from her palms. She was sitting on her bed in the room she rented at the Luin Inn. She found that she did her best thinking at night. She was determined to settle on a date before she fell asleep. Tenebrae materialized in puff of dark smoke above her head. She looked up and sighed.
"I know, but I still don't know what to do about Emil's birthday."
"If you don't even have a when for it, then what is the rush?" The panther-like centurion asked.
"Yeah, I know, but I feel like I can't really start planning without a date. I don't think it should be Aster or the original Emil's birthday. It should something special to our Emil."
Tenebrae hummed thoughtfully. After several moments, he said, "The day you first met would normally be significant—it is, after all, the day the Emil you know came to be, but considering what else had occured..."
Marta nodded, "The Blood Purge. Not only would that be disrespectful, I didn't know Emil back then, not really." She had called out for Ratatosk's help, and because of that Emil, the summon spirit's kindness and conscience, became an individual. However, she still thought of that blond boy she met briefly as her knight in shining armor who saved her life and imagined that he was so ridiculously brave, dashing, heroic and modest.
"I didn't start to really know Emil until six month later, when we met at Lake Sinoa." It was more like a lakebed at the time. That had only recently started to refill, though it wasn't as large as it once was.
After a brief pause, a look of awe came upon the girl's face.
"That it, Tenebrae! His birthday will be July 14th, the day we met at Lake Sinoa and started our journey!" She exclaimed, then giggled.
"A fitting choice, Lady Marta That gives you nearly two months to plan, then," Tenebrae concurred.
Marta nodded, "That's hardly any time at all. I need to start now!"
Tenebrae blinked, "Surely it could wait for the morning. I was under the impression that humans needed regular sleep."
"I'm too excited to sleep! Now then, where should we have the party..." Marta trailed off. Tenebrae sighed.
Marta enjoyed planning her boyfriend's birthday. She had never had an especially hard life, but ever since her father founded the Vanguard, Marta had not had much time for anything so frivolous. She had fun deciding on what she thought Emil would like to do or see. Marta soon settled on a party at Zelos's mansion. It was a relatively simple idea, but Emil had not been to many parties before, even in his thousands of years as a summon spirit (or perhaps especially so). She invited all eight of their closest friends, plus Tenebrae. Regal and Genis would both prepare the food. There would be party games, gifts and she was still deciding on whether or not to have music. She doubted Emil would dance, even in front of close friends. He likely didn't know how to dance, anyway and hadn't shown much interest in music before.
There was one more pressing matter, though: her present to Emil. She had no idea as to what to get him. With only two weeks until the 14th of July, Marta had been asking her friends for advice. So far, she wasn't thrilled with their responses. Tenebrae's response when Marta asked him for suggestions was, "I don't know much of anything about this tradition. I can understand why you mortals value your years, but they are abundant to summon spirits and centurions like myself. Lord Emil may be a part of Lord Ratatosk, but he is currently, for all intents and purposes, human." That didn't stop him from making snide remarks on everyone else's suggestions. Raine and Genis both suggested books (boring!). Presea offered to make an octagonal turtle charm (nothing says love like turtles). Sheena admitted that she had no idea what sort of gift to give to a significant other (honest, but unhelpful). Regal was also unsure, but he suggested that he give them free passes to various attractions at Altamira (is this some sort of self-promotion? I expected better of you). Zelos's suggestion of "making Emil a man," earned him an embarrassed glare (and you believe he was say something else, Lady Marta?).
Her search for suggestions brought her to Lloyd's house, where Colette was also visiting. It was great timing, too; she could ask both of them for advice at the same time. Marta and Colette sat in the kitchen, both holding and occasionally sipping at mugs of coffee.
"I know what I would give Lloyd, but I don't think the things he likes are the same ones that Emil does," Colette said.
"That's for sure," Marta replied. Not that she thought the two adolescents were all that different from each other, but Marta did not think it would be fitting. She let out a sigh and continued, "I'm probably making this harder than it needs to be, but I really want this gift to be special. It's his first birthday gift ever from me."
Colette smiled at the younger girl, "That's really kind of you Marta. It's because of everything you two have been through, right?"
Marta nodded and she smiled as well, "Yes, that's right. I also realized this won't just be my first birthday gift to him, but my first present to him of any kind." She self-consciously touched the bracelet Emil had given her back on their journey. He had already given her a gift, and the best she had given him was adequate-tasting food she cooked herself. Though Emil would probably say something like "you gave me the gift of courage" or "you've given me so much already," selfless sweetheart that he is.
"But still, I don't just want to get him new clothes or a fishing rod or something," Marta said, resting her head in her palms.
Just then, Lloyd walked up the girls, carrying various objects in his arms.
"Sorry for the wait Marta," he said, "Let me just put these things away before I help you brainstorm."
Marta suppressed a chuckle. She hadn't known Lloyd for long, but she already knew that anything to do with academics was not his strong suit. Not that brainstorming necessarily had to do with book smarts, but she often associated the brain with them.
The brunette then took a better look at what Lloyd was carrying, noticing something familiar about them. The colors especially caught her eye; red, white, and yellow. She then noticed that they were person-shaped.
"Are those...dolls of you and Colette?" She asked, pointing at what the swordsman was holding.
"Huh?" he responded, looking down at his arms, "Oh! These aren't dolls, they're figurines. They're more like little statues than dolls."
"You've really been making a lot of them, Lloyd," Colette said.
"Yeah, Dad always put me to work whenever I'm home. After what I did recently, I do kind of feel like I deserve it." He held up a figurine of himself, "Looks like I'm popular again." He gave a halfhearted laugh.
"So, can you make a figurine of anyone? Marta asked.
"Well, Dad can, and of just about anything, too. I'm still learning."
"You're really good at it, though," Colette quipped cheerfully.
The beginning of an idea formed in Marta's head. Perhaps...
July 14th arrived and all preparations had been made. To get Emil to come to Zelos's mansion in the late afternoon, Marta told him that Zelos wanted to talk about some ideas he had concerning creating better understanding between their once separate worlds. Marta noted that even if the Bandit Vanguard were more of a priority, it wouldn't hurt them to get started on their next objective. Once they arrived at the Wilder manor, Marta rang the bell. As expected, the butler Sebastian answered.
"Ah, Sir Emil, Miss Marta. Master Zelos was expecting you. Come right in." As the pair walked in, Emil peered around the empty sitting room. It was empty of people anyway; there were odd, colorful decorations on the walls.
"Is he upstairs or something? And what are all these things?" Emil wondered out loud.
Good, he didn't suspect a thing despite how obvious it was. Well, it was obvious to anyone who had a birthday before.
Right on cue, Zelos, Lloyd, Colette, and Genis jumped out from behind the larger pieces of furniture shouting "surprise!" Tenebrae puffed in right behind them. Raine, Sheena, Presea, and Regal walked hurriedly out of nearby rooms. Emil gave a startled cry and said, "What? What's going on?"
Marta smiled widely, "Happy birthday, Emil!" everyone else chimed in right after her.
Emil blinked repeatedly, looking very puzzled. He then said, "You picked today for my birthday? Why?"
Marta chuckled lightly. Just like a guy to forget an anniversary. Of course, the whole point was that the day be a surprise, after all, so it's not as if it was an anniversary he was suppose to remember.
"Do you remember what happened a year ago?" Marta asked.
"A year...?" Emil trailed off, clearly thinking about it. After several moments, he said, "Luin? That was when we met in Luin. At the dried Sinoa lake bed, and you saved me from that monster."
"She saved you from a monster? I should have figured—ow!" Zelos said with a laugh. Sheena elbowed him to shut him up.
"That's it exactly," Marta said.
"That was the start of our journey together," Emil said. With a warm smile, he then added, "It fits."
"And you all came, too, "Emil continued, looking towards all of his friends gathered in the room, "I can hardly believe it."
"Ah, give us some credit" Lloyd said before he walked up to Emil. He then placed his hand on the younger boy's shoulder, "Of course we'd come."
"Yeah, I wouldn't miss my best Bud Number Two's birthday party for the world!" Zelos cheered.
"Me, too!" Genis chimed in.
"Birthdays are important, especially your first one. Although I guess most people can't remember their first birthday," Colette mused.
"I may not understand birthdays entirely, but I can feel the good cheer and well-wishing for you, Lord Emil," Tenebrae said.
"I just..." Emil started to say, "Thank you, everyone. Thank you." The look of awe and gratitude in his eyes matched that in his voice. The expression made Marta's heart melt. She recalled how, a year ago, Emil was so withdrawn and introverted. He even once said that, at the time, he had more monsters friends than he ever did people ones. She was glad to see him come out of his shell and make friends, and happy to know she had some part in it.
"And thank you especially, Marta. You planned all this, after all," Emil said, turning to look back at her.
The first thought to Marta's mind was how he looked both cute and dashing at that moment. She couldn't help but blush a little, but she maintained her composure.
"Don't thank us just yet. We still have to give you your presents!"
One after another, the group went over to where they hid their gifts or to remove them from their person. Some of the gift were familiar to Marta. Presea gave Emil an octagonal turtle carving charm. Raine presented him with a science textbook("it's meant to teach children a bit younger than yourself, but I believe you haven't had much formal schooling, so it should be appropriate"). Genis also gave him a book, though it was of a less academic nature ("I know you're not much of reader, so I thought I'd ease you into it by giving you one of my favorite adventure novels from when I was a kid"). Sheena gave him a replica set of her spell cards, which he had been interested in before. Colette gave him a plush Fenrir toy, as he never owned one of the ice wolf monsters before. Regal gave him free passes to his choice of Altamira's park or casino, including free stay the hotel. Zelos gave him a new sword, more akin to his own double-edged blade than Emil's singled-edged ones (not my first choice bud, but I imagine Marta and Sheena-Hunny would not like what I initially had in mind). When Colette asked Tenebrae about his present, he said, "My existence is devoted entirely to Lord Ratatosk, and thus to Lord Emil by extension. I do believe that is a gift enough."
Emil accepted the presents graciously, even if his enthusiasm for some were more apparent than for others. There was still one last gift to give, the one that Marta had a hard time deciding on.
"Emil, my present is also Lloyd's. I hope you don't mind, but he helped me a lot with it." Marta explained.
"I don't mind. Whatever it is, I'm sure I'll love it."
Marta laughed lightly, though in her head she thought, I sure hope so. She and Lloyd then walked over to a table covered with a cloth. Marta lifted the cloth, revealing several small items underneath.
Emil walked towards them and his eyes widened slightly once he could see them up close. They were small, perfect replicas of several people he knew very well from the journey that changed him and Marta. The two that first caught his eye were ones that looked like him and Marta, both in battle poses. There was another of him in a mirrored pose,. No, its eyes were red in color. It was probably Ratatosk, then. The Tenebrae one stood on all fours legs, its tail stretched out behind it. There was another that looked like Richter in the process of pushing his spectacles up. Next to him was Centurion Aqua, posed like she was hovering, which was achieved by placing her on a stand. There were also small replicas of Alice, Decus, and Marta's father Brute, as well as everyone else currently at the party.
"Are these dolls? No...they're statues?" Emil asked.
"Sort of. They're figurines, actually," Lloyd said, "Dad and I make these all the time from special pellets. We made a lot of them of us and people we met during our journey two years ago, though only Dad made them at the time."
"When I saw that Lloyd made several of himself and everyone else, I asked him to make some of us and of the people we met on our journey." Well, almost everyone. She left out a few she felt weren't nearly as important. She was anxious to know what Emil thought.
The boy in question picked up the figurines of himself and Marta and looked them over.
"The detail is incredible," Emil said.
"Indeed it is," Tenebrae agreed, floating over a and using his tail-hand to lift up the figure of himself. "I had already seen them, but I am still amazed at the level of quality. I had no idea you were capable of such skilled craftsmanship, Lloyd."
"You can thank Dad. He taught me everything that I know about crafting."
The expression on Emil's face was still one of awe. Surely that was a good thing, but she still wanted to know.
"So, what do you think Emil. Do you like them?"
Looking directly at her, Emil said, "Of course I do. They're incredible!" He walked closer to Marta and put his arms around her in a loving embrace.
"Thank you Marta, for everything," he said, his voice not faltering one bit.. He wasn't blushing, either. Marta returned the embrace with equal affection.
"You know, I'd rally hate to break you two up, but let's get this birthday bash started!" Zelos exclaimed.
To say that the party continued without a hitch would have been a lie. Raine brought out an extra surprise, a sour cake she had developed. Everyone avoided it and fortunately, Colette dealt with it. Unintentionally, of course; she tripped and knocked it over, narrowly missing the cake Genis baked. Zelos started up a game he called "Follow the King." Everyone drew lots, most with numbers and one with a little gold paint on it vaguely shaped like a crown. The person who picked the gold one was the king for the turn. The king then called out two numbers at random and order those people to do something. After that turn, the lots were returned and the players picked anew. The task could be anything, though it usually tended to be goofy.
The game went along swimmingly at first, with the king's decrees ranging from the mundane (Lloyd and Regal holding hands) to the laugh-out-loud funny (Raine and Zelos acting like each other for five minutes). It came to abrupt and embarrassing stop when Zelos became king and ordered that four and seven (Emil and Marta) make out for several minutes.
Hiccups aside, everyone was enjoying themselves, Emil included. After almost two months of planning, Marta was glad that not only had it went mostly well, she could enjoy the party, too.
A few hours later, Marta noticed that Emil had stepped outside without a word to anyone, She followed him, though he hadn't gone far, as he stood near the front entrance. She walked up to him and said, "Had enough of the party?"
The blond shook his head, "I'm just getting a little fresh air. I'll go back in a few minutes."
"I know you're more of a reserved person, so I thought that I should only invite your closest friends. I guess the party is still a little overwhelming?" Marta asked.
"Nah, I'm really having fun. It's great to have us all together and just have fun, without having to worry about the world being in danger. I'm just not used to parties, I guess."
"I understand," Marta said, "and I'm glad."
A moment of slice passed between the young couple. Emil then said, "Thank you again, Marta. I didn't do anything to deserve this, but I am really happy all the same."
Marta could hear the implication behind his words, I don't deserve you. She could also hear the sincerity of his gratitude and what she was sure was his love for her. Even if he was a little uneasy about their relationship, he also wanted to be with her at any cost. After all, he came back from the Ginnungagap for her.
"Of course you do, Emil," Marta assured him, "I'm a different person because of you, a better one. You also came back for me. You definitely deserve this." You deserve me.
Emil looked like he was about to protest, but seemed to think better of it. Instead, he shook his head, "You say I did things for you, I say you've done more important things for me. We never get anywhere with it."
"Well, of course, Emil. That's what love is all about. Or at least I think so, Marta added in thought. She didn't say it aloud, though. The uncertainty didn't fit the situation. "We keep doing things for each other and in that way, we change a little or a lot.
Emil stared in awe at the shorter girl. Marta smiled at him and wanted to do a little cheer, She said something very profound, and she knew it, That was rare for her.
"I think you're right about that. And it all started a year ago, on that journey that changed us both," Emil said.
"Yes it did. And I hope that we will have many more years of helping and loving each other."
After Marta finished speaking, Emil leaned in to kiss her. It didn't grow too passionate—Emil probably worried about one their friends coming outside—but it was warm and full of love all the same. Marta laughed in her head at Zelos still not getting them to make out for seven minutes. Once their kiss ended, they continued to stand side-by-side without a word between them. They would return to he party soon enough. For now, they enjoyed each other's company and warmth.
A/N: Wow, it's been a long time, huh? Yeah, life and college got in the way, and I'm still not completely out of the woods yet and free to post fan fiction as often as I used to. I do have some ideas for Maril fics, and maybe I'll write about some other titles, too. I can't promise when I'll write them, though.
This fic is also in continuity with my other Tales of Symphonia stories. It takes place after "Subtle Changes," but before "Taking Their Time." I think I should write up a timeline in my profile so people can keep track, lol. A few other things I would like to clear up in this story: I used the real-world Gregorian calendar, even though I don't think any sort of reference to the calendar is ever made in Tales of Symphonia. It's much easier this way, so I just fudged it. That's how I have dates like September 20 and June 14, even though we don't even know if Aselia has a 12-month calendar. Maybe it's 14 or something. :P Also, the "Follow the King" game is a real Japanese party/drinking game, though it's often just called the king game. It's usually played with chopsticks rather than lots, and its usually more risque and embarrassing than depicted here. I changed it a little to better fit the setting and characters.
Anyway, I hope you all like this story. It took me a long while to come out with it, and I'm still not sure it it's up to my usual quality, but I did have fun writing it. Please tell me what you think with a review!