A/N: Timeline-wise before "N is for Naughty".
Thank you to RhiaLynn for Beta-work!
S is for Silence
- Jacob's birthday is coming up, and Sofia decides to pass the torch.
"My father's birthday is in two weeks," Sofia informs Lara when they run into each other at the Acropolis one early morning.
It's not the first piece of news that she would have expected. "How old is he?"
"He has never said," Sofia answers and leads Lara to the side from the main avenue. "Knowing the date took years of persistent work alone. And I doubt that he'll mention the whole event to you."
She can relate. "Jacob doesn't seem the type to favor being at the center of the attention," she agrees sympathetically.
"No. I… That's why I wanted to talk to you in the first place," Sofia says, her expression serious. "When I was a child, we used to hold a party for him; I think it was my mother's idea of something positive after years of loss with the Soviets. But then my mother died, and my father secluded himself from everything." Lara almost rises to defend Jacob's choice, but Sofia beats her to it. "He goes stargazing outside the Valley, somewhere hard to find, I usually search him out, but… It's… hard, watching from the side at my father's forlornness on the day of his birth. I thought maybe you could go after him this year."
"Me?"
Sofia acknowledges her apprehension with a hint of soft pleading in her eyes amidst the stare of a warrior. "Lara, I don't want my father to be alone. And the Remnants are too amenable towards him, they know that he wants to disappear, and those who are too young to disregard that wish, aren't skillful enough to follow his paths."
"In two weeks?"
Sofia offers a small smile at her tentative agreement. "He leaves on the previous evening when everyone has retired to their homes. You can try the South-Eastern mountains, any place where the stars are the most visible."
Lara gives an indistinct nod and shares the smile when Sofia puts her hand on her arm as a thank you. "And Lara, my father will try to talk you out of this if he guesses."
The two weeks pass without anomalies. Lara ponders what – if anything – to give Jacob. The task is only made harder because of his perceptiveness, every extra trip around the Valley will most likely reach him.
But she stays low and doesn't make any indication of receiving Sofia's message. Maybe Jacob can still guess – she isn't sure – but outwardly he gives no hints of leaving either. Even the last dinner that they have together is the epitome of normal, and she wonders if it is to him with his thousand-year-long experience.
She almost opts to feign sleep to let Jacob leave quietly. However, maybe it's God's grace towards him, because she actually nods off and wakes up a few hours later only to find herself alone in the cabin. Raising her brows at the oversleep, she packs her bag, puts out the fire, and follows him into the winter night.
The sky is slightly cloudy, but she can guess that the mountains should provide a better view – she isn't necessarily eager towards the night climb, but, as in most cases, it's the mission that lures her.
Jacob has set a small fire in a clearing and is already stargazing wrapped under an extra hide when she finds him.
She hesitates for a second whether to leave him be, but the fact that he is here, doing something special for himself, tells her that for him as well, this is not just any other day. And she trusts Sofia's request.
Plus, Jacob has probably already spotted her minutes ago, so turning back would only be impolite.
She swallows her nerves with practiced ease and walks by the fire. Yet, she stops at a respectable distance to gauge his opinion.
Jacob sighs and nods towards the snow-covered ground next to him, letting his eyes linger on the stars before turning to glance at her.
She places her own hides on the ground and leans against a fallen tree.
"Sofia sent you?" Jacob asks, stargazing again.
She hums an answer and turns her gaze away from him and into the sky. She doesn't elaborate, doesn't make a show of the occasion, and simply stays silent.
It's not a bad silence they sit in. In fact, she can feel Jacob's dejection soften as time goes on as she is sitting uncharacteristically still and silent, looking at the stars. Jacob knows already that she doesn't really relate to them the same way.
"I take it that you aren't much of a party person either," he eventually notes to break the silence.
She snorts gently. "No."
This makes Jacob turn to observe her with the understanding that he always seems to carry with him.
"Want to talk about it?"
"My birthdays?"
"Or we can sit in silence," he offers, and they both know what she'll choose to escape the quiet stillness.
How come she became the one pestered, she doesn't know. Not that she minds it in the shared boat.
"I never celebrated after dad's death. Couldn't. Not until Sam. She was always so persistent, argued that normal people celebrate their birthdays and that I should too."
"…But your mixed feelings stayed?"
She hums. "Roth usually took me to the mountains on the day. Roth was my father's close friend, the one with whom he did most of his explorations. He always swayed me by claiming that no other date fit into his schedule. And I guess, I was eager to escape my life into something different; hear more about my father." Lara adjusts her arms and shoulders. "He never made an occasion out of it, but the timing was always the same."
"Sounds like a meaningful experience to have," Jacob comments, sharing her mood wholly.
"Yeah," she agrees soberly, but as always, thinking back to the people of her past doesn't come without the small twinge of pain. "– I miss him. I miss all of them."
"Time does that," Jacob offers sighs but gives her a ghost of a smile to keep her from drowning in too deep.
"I think that they were good birthdays, in the end."
"In hindsight. – But it doesn't always make it easier."
"No. – But I'm happy that they could have that, I hope they knew it," she replies while trying to massage an itching point on her right arm through the thick expedition jacket.
"What do you think?" Jacob asks in his typical fashion and not giving her a ready-made answer.
She leans back and shakes her head against the tree trunk, making the snow rustle close to her ears. "I think they did."
And this time they both share a tiny smile.
"The forefathers organized a jubilation three times a year," he reveals with accepted melancholy after a long silence.
She has to blink to catch up. "For your birth and re-births," she realizes.
Jacob hums and turns to look at her to watch the bubbling amusement.
"That must have been a lot."
"It was. But after Kitezh had been built, everyone was feeling exultant."
"So, you have at least three ages as well."
"Perhaps," he raises his eyebrows at her, making her chuckle. His pale eyes twinkle at the result. They fall into a comfortable silence again.
"When is your birthday? So that I know not to celebrate."
She shakes her head firmly. "You didn't tell me yours."
The sparkle in his eyes becomes even more prominent at the challenge and he bows his head. "Fair enough."
"And this can be your gift to me," she states, coming up with the idea and making Jacob turn to her with a question in his eyes. "My father and Winston, our butler, once organized this great expedition extravaganza for me. The theme was Egypt, and I could spend the whole day cracking out clues for a hidden treasure," Lara recites lightly before turning wistful. "It has to be one of the best birthdays that I've ever had." And when Jacob still doesn't look fully persuaded, "Preparing for this and finding you mimics that quite well."
"But without the treasure," he corrects.
She shrugs, letting him draw his conclusions. Plus, she is here, sitting under the stars and talking about life with him in the middle of the night, far from everything. "Happy birthday, Jacob," she states, letting her eyes close briefly.
She can sense him regarding her for a moment. "Thank you, Lara."