A/N: Time for the next update! Leave a review to let me know what you think!
[April 2015]
"So," Roy said as he leaned next to Connor. "Mia's birthday is tomorrow."
"I know," Connor said, pausing in his science homework.
"Do you think we should make her a cake, or buy her one?"
"…Ask Mia, I guess."
"Ask me what?" Mia asked as she walked into the kitchen.
"For your birthday tomorrow, do you want a store-bought cake, or would you prefer Connor, and I attempted to make one?"
Mia stooped and stared at Roy. "A cake… For…my birthday?"
"Yeah. And I need to know what you want to have for dinner tomorrow. Preferably something with a vegetarian option."
"Uh…doesn't really matter to me."
"Anything you want, Mia. Anything at all."
"…That eggplant parmesan we had for Connor's birthday?" When Connor smiled at her she threw a nearby oven mitt at him. "Shut up! It was good, ok?"
"Are you sure that's what you want?"
"Yeah. and garlic bread."
"I know a good recipe," Connor added. "We made it at the monetary."
"Ok," Roy conceded. "What about that cake?"
"…I don't really care," Mia said. "You two do whatever." She left the kitchen with a bottle of water before Roy could say anything else.
"Ok… Guess we'll make her one, then. She seemed pretty excited to make your cake, so maybe she likes homemade things. Come on, let's go shopping."
"Why do I have to come?" Connor asked as he put his homework away.
"She's your roommate. I need you to pick out the cake stuff."
"Ok. Have you gotten her gift yet?"
"Yes. Don't worry, I got that covered. Come on, if we hurry we'll have time to work on the cake before patrol tonight since we won't have a lot of time tomorrow."
"Got it."
— —
Later that night, a sweet smell lured Mia out of her bedroom. She wandered into the kitchen and stopped in the doorway. "What're you guys doing?"
"Making your cake," Roy said. "It smells good, so I think we nailed it."
"We still have to frost it," Connor added. "And decorate it."
Mia walked slowly over to the cake and stared at it. "You guys… You made me a birthday cake?"
"Didn't even burn it." Connor frowned when he saw the look on Mia's face. It looked like there was a film of tears over her eyes. "Are- Are you crying?" He groaned when she elbowed him in the ribs.
"Shut up!"
"Is everything ok, Mia?" Roy asked, concerned.
"I'm fine. Connor's just being an idiot." She quickly wiped at her eyes, hoping no one would really notice. "It… It looks great, Roy."
"Glad you think so. Connor, can you start cutting vegetables for dinner tonight? We'll frost and decorate the cake after. It should be cool enough by then."
"I have…homework…" Mia wandered out of the kitchen, but not before glancing back at the cake. She tried to focus on her homework, she really did. School was ending in a month and she had to pass English if she wanted to move on to high school. But her mind kept wandering. 'I shouldn't worry about it,' she thought. 'My birthday's never been anything special. Which is fine because it's not like I've ever been anything special either.' Everything people had seemed to like about her wasn't all that different from other girls. So Mia forced herself to do her homework until it was dinner time. All through dinner, she tried not to keep looking at the cake, but it was hard. It was like the treat was magnetic, drawing her gaze every few minutes.
"Do you want to help us decorate it?" Roy offered when dinner was over. "It is your cake after all."
"You're gonna make the girl decorate her own cake?" Jade asked. "I thought you were all about being chivalrous, hero."
"I was just trying to be nice! Connor and I can take care of it if you girls want to…brush your hair or…whatever until we leave tonight."
"I have to finish my homework," Mia said quietly. She left the kitchen, glancing at the cake one more time as she left. There was still half an English assignment to finish and her science homework. And passing 8th grade was more important than having what was probably going to be another disappointing birthday. She didn't even try to entertain the voice in her head that suggested this year it would be different. 'It's never worth getting my hopes up for. I thought things would be better when I was on the streets. I thought they'd be different with Richard. Why should I believe things will be different here?' Thankfully, she had her homework done in time for patrol. She wandered out of her bedroom and into the kitchen. The cake was now covered in pink frosting and yellow, hard candies in the shape of arrows. It wasn't fancy, or even comparable to a professional cake by a long shot, but the sight of it gave her a strange feeling in her chest.
"What'd you think?" Roy asked, clearly proud of himself. "I think it looks pretty tasty if I say so myself."
"…It's fine…" Mia almost whispered. She cleared voice quietly. "It's you know…a cake…"
"Glad for that. Ok, let's go patrol."
"You ok?" Connor asked, recognizing how uncertain and almost upset Mia seemed.
"Shut up," she said, elbowing him again.
"Off! Fine, fine. You violent on your birthday- ouch!"
"Play nice," Roy said without looking back at them.
"It's not me, it's Mia- Ouch! Stop!"
"Mia can't get in trouble, it's her birthday."
"That's not fair…" Connor stepped away from Mia before she could elbow him again. "Ha!"
Mia rolled her eyes and shoved her hands into her pockets. She was happy that the weather had taken a turn for the warm. It took some of the fun out of patrol when she had to shoot a bow with cold hands. Although the downside was the coming warmth seemed to be bringing out more criminals. 'It's like they're coming out of hibernation.' Which made for an exciting, but very busy patrol. "Can Connor and I-"
"No," Roy said.
"You didn't even let me ask!" She paused, but Roy didn't say anything, so she kept going. "Can we patrol on our own-"
"No."
"But it's my birthday!"
"Answer's still no, Mia. It's not safe."
'What's safe about fighting crime?' Mia looked at Connor, but he just shrugged. "You're no help."
"Uh-huh," Connor hummed. He smiled a little when she elbowed him again.
— —
The next morning, when Mia woke up, the first thing she did was go to the kitchen. Roy wasn't there yet, so she wandered up to the cake. 'It's still here,' she thought. 'Good. Then I can eat it tonight.' She went back to her room to get dressed for school. By the time she was ready, Connor had returned.
"Happy Birthday," he said with a smile.
"Thanks." A thought crossed her mind and she smirked at him. "Guess this means I'm older than you now."
"Only for 3 months!"
"Still counts."
"Not really."
"Whatever. Come on, little brother."
Connor sighed but didn't say anything as he followed her to the kitchen.
"Morning, Mia," Roy said as they walked in. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a quick side hug. "I made muffins."
"Yes!" Mia smiled. She sat down and snatched two off the plate.
"Why the long face, Connor?"
"He's mad because I'm older than him now."
"By 3 months, it doesn't- Oh, never mind," Connor sighed as he grabbed a muffin for himself.
"Happy Birthday, kid," Jade said as she grabbed a muffin, then left the kitchen.
'Nice to see she cares,' Mia thought.
"Are you guys still walking to school?" Roy asked.
"Yes. Obviously."
"Ok. We'll celebrate before patrol tonight."
"…Ok. Sounds good." Mia focused on her muffins. 'Why does he have to do more? Just the muffins and the cake is enough.' They'd done more for Connor's birthday, but that was different. He was Connor. Roy's perfect, monk-boy who never caused trouble and always did what Roy said. It was no wonder he'd gotten to have a good birthday. 'But today is already better than any birthday I've ever had, so can't really complain.' Plus, she didn't know how she would deal with it if Roy just kept giving her things. She glanced at the clock, then elbowed Connor. "Let's go." At least she had school to keep her distracted during the day.
— —
After school, Connor waited for Mia by the gate. When she joined him, they started walking home. "How was your day?" he asked.
"Fine. My art class sang happy birthday to me," Mia said.
"That's nice. I still kind of miss the other novices signing to me in the dorms after we went to bed."
"This was at the monetary?"
"Oh, yeah."
"You still miss it even though you've been living with Roy for like…a year and a half?"
"Of course. Living with Roy is great and all but…Arsham will always feel like home."
"Must be nice."
Connor winced. Heck of a subject to touch on Mia's birthday. "I mean, yeah, but this is your home, isn't it?"
"What'd you mean?"
"Well… You've been living with us for almost a year. And you're still here, aren't you?"
Mia almost stopped in shock. 'Has it been a year?' It felt like no time and a long time simultaneously. 'I've really survived almost a whole year as a normal teenager? It's really been that long since I've worked the streets?' Something inside her was almost…disappointed by that. Like it was saddened by this revelation. But another, much larger part, was thrilled. Why shouldn't she be happy? Hadn't she been waiting for everything to go bad for months? Yet here she was, almost a year into it, and it was still good. Everything was still good. Mia wrapped her fingers around the straps of her backpack. 'If I've been living here a year…then that means…Richard never came for me.' It marked a year since she'd seen him and there had been no word. Nothing at all. Some small part of Mia was hurt at the apparent betrayal. After all, he'd said he loved her, but he'd abandoned her at the first available opportunity. 'I'm not even sure if I miss him anymore. It's been so long since I've seen him and…everything's different now.
'I'm back in school and I'm not totally failing at it. And it doesn't totally suck either. It's nice just being able to talk to other people my age and no even knows about my past. They can't even tell I'm HIV positive. And I'm a vigilante now too. Which is totally amazing because it's like…the first worthwhile thing I've ever done with my life. I also don't suck at it. I'm not as good as Roy, or even Connor some nights but I still help people. I'm still making a difference. Which is far more than I was doing before.' All of it was more than she'd ever done before. Suddenly, almost without reason, Mia felt like there was a chance for something better. She could see a future that wasn't a complete wasteland.
There was a very real chance she'd go to high school, then graduate and have a diploma.
She could be a vigilante for years, getting better and better until she was as good as Roy and saving people every day.
'Damn… Who knew my life could change so much in a year…'
"Uh…Mia," Connor ventured quietly. "Are you ok? You haven't said anything in a while."
"I'm fine, Connor. Just…thinking."
"Oh."
"…You don't want to know what it's about?"
"I always want to know, but it's hit or miss with you sharing, so I figure if you want to tell me then you will."
Mia raised an eyebrow. "You always want to know?"
"Of course. I mean we're…friends, aren't we?"
"Guess we are." They were definitely more than just roommates at this point. Friends, partners. Hell, besides Roy, Mia couldn't think of a person she trusted more besides Connor. In some ways, he even surpassed their guardian. "I was just thinking about how much my life has changed since last year."
"Crazy, huh?"
"Very." Mia was quiet for a moment. "Did you feel the same way when you'd been living with Roy for a year?"
Connor didn't answer her right away. "It's different for me. There was so much going on in the months before I got here and when I did… It's just different, you know?"
"If you had the chance to go back to the monastery, would you?"
"…Probably not. I mean, it'll always be my home, but I like my life here. I like being a hero and helping people." And he liked knowing he was actively working against becoming his father. Connor didn't want to tell Mia that though. She had enough on her plate. "I'm glad you're here though."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I wasn't thrilled about it at first, because I thought that with you being here, Roy might get rid of me."
"Why would he get rid of you?"
"Because I thought if he found two teenagers to be too difficult, he'd prefer to keep you over me."
Mia scoffed and rolled her eyes. "That's dumb. Roy would never get rid of you. You're basically his golden child."
"Me? Please, he can't even stay to look at me sometimes."
"Yeah, but…that's not your fault."
"My fault or not, it still happens."
Mia didn't really know what to say about that. 'Connor would stay here. Even though things are weird between him and Roy, he wants to stay here. If he can stay despite all the weirdness caused by the stuff he can't control.' So if Connor could do, why couldn't she? Unfortunately, the thought was quickly banished from her mind.
— —
When they got home, Mia decided to do her homework in the kitchen. Connor joined her and noticed the way she kept glancing at the cake on the counter, but didn't say anything. The tow of them worked silently, Mia trying to contain her own anticipation. Her birthdays had never been anything special, but the cake was still there, so part of her brain couldn't help but get excited.
"Hey birthday girl," Roy said when he got home from work. He ruffled the top of Mia's hair a little. "How was school?"
"It was school," Mia answered. "Nothing special."
"Connor?"
"Same for me," Connor answered without looking up from his homework.
"Good to know. I have to look over a few cases, but when I finish that I'll start dinner. We can do presents after dinner and cake after patrol tonight. Sound good?"
"…Yeah," Mia answer quickly, trying to keep the uncertainty out of her voice. "Sounds great."
Roy picked up on the change in tone and shifted on his feet a little, but didn't say anything. 'She gets so defensive when I ask and I don't want to upset her on her birthday.' So he let it go. "Make sure your homework gets done."
"Uh-huh."
After Roy left, Connor waited a few seconds and mulled his question over in his head before he spoke. "It's making you nervous, isn't it?" he asked quietly as if Roy would be listening just around the corner. "The presents?"
"…Yeah. Good guess."
"Just an observation. Why don't you like presents?"
Mia shrugged, throng to focus on her science homework. "Because I do."
"Alright. If you don't want to talk about it, I won't ask. But…Roy just wants to do something nice for you. He just wants to show he cares." He didn't get a response, but that didn't bother him. It wasn't like he was expecting one anyway.
'Nobody just gives you stuff to be nice,' Mia thought bitterly. 'Everybody wants something.' She tried not to let the prospect of gifts ruin her excitement for cake though. No matter what happened later, it would be worth it just to have her own birthday cake. Thankfully, homework didn't take long. As soon as Mia finished she landed over the table at Connor. "You're not done yet?"
"Nope…"
Mia rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair. "You're slow."
"I'm thorough."
Roy walked into the kitchen and ruffled the top of Mia's hair again. "You guys ready to eat?"
"Yes!" Mia answered excitedly. "I'm starving!"
"Perfect."
It was quiet for a few minutes as Mia watched Roy get dinner ready. As soon as Connor finished his homework, he got up and started slicing eggplants. Something stirred inside Mia, something she wasn't really familiar with. There was just this…ease with how Connor and Roy moved around each other as they cooked. Despite Connor's earlier instance that Roy didn't want him around, there was a familiarity with the scene. It was…nice. Familial. Desire bubbled up inside her. "Can I help?"
"You don't have to help. It's your birthday."
"Well- Maybe I want to help." Mia crossed her arms and added a touch of defiance to her voice; hoping to hide how much she really wanted to do it.
"OK. Well, you can help Connor with the eggplant."
Connor gave Mia a strange look as she grabbed a knife and joined him. 'She never wants to help cook,' he thought. 'Oh well. It's her birthday, guess she can do whatever she wants.'
The three of them cooked Mia's birthday dinner together. By the time it was done, Jade was walking into the kitchen. "You're making the birthday girl cook her own dinner?" she asked as she sat at the table. "I thought you were all about that chivalry thing, hero."
"Mia wanted to help," Roy said as he brought his and Jade's plates over. Connor and Mia joined them at the table.
Jade snorted a little. "How many archers does it take to make dinner?"
"There's nothing wrong with doing things together as a- well…you know…"
Dinner was over pretty quickly. Mia ate fast, trying not to make it obvious though. She was still the first one done though and waited eagerly for everyone else to finish. When Connor finished, the last one done, she looked at Roy. "Can we have cake?" she asked excitedly.
"I said cake after patrol. But we can have presents now." He stood and gathered his and Jade's plates. "Connor?"
"Right," Connor nodded, grabbing his and Mia's plates. He put them in the sink, then went to their bedroom.
Roy and Connor returned after a minute, the former carrying two wrapped presents and the latter carrying a small present bag. "Ok, here you go."
"…Thanks," Mia replied, some of her excitement fading as she accepted the gifts. She weighed her options for a moment, then slowly opened one. "A… An iPod?"
"I hope you like pink. The lady at the mall said its really popular with girls your age. There's also one of those little cards so you can buy songs to put on it. And headphones. You can put games on it too."
"Cool." Heart-pounding, Mia focused on opening the second present. "Another journal?"
"Connor mentioned you'd almost file your other one."
Mia looked at Connor, who shrugged. "Thanks, Roy."
"You're welcome."
"Me next," Connor said, placing the small present bag on the table.
Mia opened it, then smiled a little. "Make this yourself?" It was a ceramic bowl, painted in red with yellow arrows on it.
"Yeah. I went to that…painting place where they make it look like glass in the kiln and stuff."
"It's cool. Thanks."
"You're welcome."
"Happy birthday, kid," Jade sighed as she tossed something onto the table. It landed with a soft thunk, piquing Mia's interest.
"Thank you…" she said slowly as she opened it. Inside was what looked like a wallet at first glance made of thick black material. Similar to the material of her utility belt. When she opened it though, there wasn't the usual wallet stuff. Just three pockets with something sharp and metallic sticking out of each one. Carefully, Mia pulled one out and a smiled. "Oh my god!"
"…You gave her shurikens?" Roy asked in disbelief. "Are those real?"
"Uh-huh…" Connor answered his finger bleeding after touching a point. "And sharp." He put his finger in his mouth to nurse the wound.
"Do I even- No, forget it. I don't want to know where those came from."
"Good choice," Jade told him.
Roy rubbed his eyes, then glanced at Mia. 'Well…if she's happy, I guess it's not so bad.' He sighed a little. "Happy birthday, Mia. Why don't you put that stuff in your room, then we can go on patrol."
"Ok." Mia gathered up her gifts, then brought them to her room. She put them on her desk, then ran back out to meet Connor and Roy a the front door. 'The sooner we get back from patrol, the sooner I can have cake!'
— —
When they got home, Mia practically bounded into the kitchen. She was bouncing up and down on her heels. "Let's go, Roy!" she said.
"Uh-huh," Roy smiled as he grabbed a knife. "Connor, can you grab the candles before she explodes?"
"Got 'em," Connor replied. "And the matches."
"Jade! We're having cake!"
"No need to yell," Jade muttered as she walked in. "It's not exactly a big place."
"Alright, everyone sit and we'll sing, then I'll cut the cake."
Mia sat at the table, tapping her hands off the table excitedly. The other three occupants sang happy birthday, the glow of the 15 candles illuminating them. [After that, Roy cut the cake and gave Mia the first slice. She dug in immediately, smiling wide as she did. "It's amazing!"
"Glad you like it," Roy said. "We worked hard on it."
"It's ok," Jade shrugged. "I've had better."
"Sure…"
Mia relished the sweetness of her cake. Within five minutes the shawl slice was gone. "It's amazing. Best first birthday cake ever. Can I have another piece?"
Normally, Roy would say no. That sweets weren't good for them and they had to eat healthy to be fit for vigilante work. But hearing Mia talk about never having a cake, how it took 15 years for someone to show this kid a basic staple of life, he shrugged. "Sure. Go for it." It would probably give her a stomach ache, but the smile on Mia's face was well worth it. When they all finished with cake, Roy covered the remainder and put it on the counter. "Connor, Mia, as soon as you're done, get ready for bed."
"Already done," Mia said as she put her plate in the sink. "Night, Roy."
"Night kid." Roy wanted to hug Mia, but held back, knowing she would just pull away if he tried.
"Thanks for…you know…everything."
"Of course. I'm happy to do it. Happy birthday."
"And thanks, Jade."
"No problem, kid," Jade replied. "This weekend I'll show you how to use those."
Mia smiled as she followed Connor to their room. She got ready for bed, then climbed onto the top bunk as Connor settled down on his meditation cushion. "Hey, Con?"
"Yeah?" Connor replied, closing his eyes and placing his hands on his knees.
"Is this how birthdays usually are?"
"For the most part, yeah. It's what its been like for me. Except when I was at the monetary. They don't do presents there. Sort of goes against the whole idea of a monastic lifestyle."
"Yeah, I can see that."
"Why?"
"No reason. Just curious." Mia laid down, wrapping her fist blanket all the way around her like a burrito, then pulled the second blanket over it. She slipped her arms inside her burrito-like structure. Despite how tired she was, she couldn't go to sleep though. She stayed awake as Connor meditated, then was still awake when he finished and turned off the light. Mia wanted to sleep. She did. In fact, she had to sleep. She had school the next day. But her eyes kept looking in the direction of her desk, her eyes finding her presents even in the dark. In the stillness and darkness of the bedroom, it felt like her heart would beat out of her chest. 'It's not like that here,' she thought. 'Roy…he's not like that. He's not like any of the other men. He's not.' Whether he was or not, her brain just didn't seem to listen. So Mia stayed up, staring at the door, willing it not to open, late into the night.