Lavi groggily opened his one good eye, staring at the light with a doleful expression. Couldn't the sun take the day off? He flopped over, groaning, as he shoved the pillow over his head. However, it was getting too hot for that sort of thing, and in this heat you'd have to be stupid to lay in bed with all of the covers on and in all your clothes. Lavi himself was close to shedding his shirt and pants and just sleeping in his underwear. After all, this was his day off.

Wasn't it?

Lavi looked up at the calendar he'd stuck to his wall. It was the 10th of August, and he blinked. Huh, his birthday was today. That was... odd. He was now nineteen years old. Would ya look at that. His birthday had to be the only day of the year where he really, really was truly himself. It was the only day that belonged to him in any significant way, the only personal thing he really kept about himself. Bookman was well aware of his birthday, but not the significance it held to Lavi himself. The redhead sat up in bed, and he thought about it for a while. He'd already reached what would be considered the legal age of adulthood, but this made it feel so final. Like it was saying, "no going back now, no going to Go and collecting two hundred dollars, no wimping out on being the adult."

Lavi got up... and promptly flopped back into bed, deciding it really wasn't worth the effort. It was his birthday. He should get the day off.

That idea went out the window, though, the minute that the door was thrown open by a certain Hispanic woman. He cracked an eye open at her and groaned.

"Come on, amigo, we have work to do today. We have been putting this off for many, many days," she said, pulling on Lavi's sleeve. He whined, "But I don't wanna!" Esperanza gave him a withering glance, and he quickly stood up and mumbled, "Yes ma'am." She picked up the pack she'd dropped by the door, and she said, "We have most, if not all, of the supplies we'll need to go up the mountain. I need to buy you new clothes because you can not go up the mountain with just the desert clothing you have. You will die the minute we make the half-way point and it freezes." Lavi dusted himself off, and Esperanza eyed his duckie pajamas.

She pointed to the bathroom and ordered, "Cambia." He quickly went and did as she asked.

"Why do we have to do it today? Can't we do it tomorrow or the day after tomorrow or something?" he asked as he quickly changed out of his pajamas into regular desert fare. Lately, they'd had to keep a low profile, change their names, all of that to keep Dominguez (or who ever it was) from learning they were still alive. They'd even switched hotels, though they still frequented their original hotel's bar for the good guava juice it sold, and the bartender there was friendly besides. Over the past three weeks, Lavi had gotten to know Esperanza very well, learning about her family and bits and pieces of her past. What was more interesting were the things she didn't say. He could see it in the way she tensed around maids or soothed a skittish horse. Still, he managed to keep a good emotional distance, but not so much that he disconnected.

"Yes, we do it today. Or else we'll never get it done. You are burning the daylight. We want this done as quickly as possible. Once we have the burros we should be ready to leave," she said, sitting on his bed. Lavi walked out, ruffling his red hair as he slipped on his brown headband. He'd switched out his normal green one because of how easy it was to spot. They wanted to remain incognito.

"Where are we going first?" Lavi asked. He wasn't exactly sure what they were supposed to be getting, other than his clothes. Esperanza headed out the door, and she said over her shoulder, "Several camping supplies from the Supply Company store downtown, and then we will go to the seamstress. She has clothes ready-made and on hand as well as custom-fitted clothing to sell, so that makes things easier. They only have to fit. We need new shoes, you need a canteen, I need a new hair brush, and we need several cans of menudo." Lavi made a face at the last item. He hated menudo. It tasted nasty. Still, it was one of the few canned items that were out here, and they needed things that wouldn't spoil. Lavi had already decided he was going to live on beef jerky as long as he could. He didn't care if he got constipated. Nothing was going to make him eat menudo.

As they walked out of the hotel, several of the neighborhood children swarmed Lavi.

"Horacio, Horacio! Juega, juega con somos!" they squealed with delight as Lavi laughed, picking up one of the little girls and spinning her around. They bombarded him, pretending to wrestle in the street, and Lavi dramatically shouted, "No! I've been overwhelmed! Me ayuda, me ayuda!" Esperanza rolled her eyes, but there it was again, that la sombra de una sonrisa.

"Come, Horacio. We have work to do," she said, going to the side stable for their horses, and Lavi quickly got up, brushing himself off. The children 'awwww'ed at his sudden departure, but he promised them he'd be back later in the day to play with them. The children smiled, their gap-toothed sonrisas making Lavi grin himself. He headed towards the stables, but Esperanza was already back.

"Horacio, go ahead and get the horses ready. I have some business to take care of," she said. She accidentally knocked into him, blinking in the sunlight, and she said, "Lo siento, amigo. The sun was in my eyes." Lavi said, "De nada. It's bright out today, I guess." He watched her walk back, and he narrowed his eyes for a moment at her. Odd. She wasn't usually that clumsy. Even during training, she was light on her feet, and he'd already taught her tricks of the trade that she hadn't originally known. He even gave her the idea of making her rosary into a shield at one point, and he'd found her to be a very good shot.

He walked up to their horses, Relampago and Chuleta. Relampago nickered uneasily when Lavi walked up to him, but Chuleta was more welcoming. The chestnut horse walked right up to Lavi and put his head in the middle of his chest, spluttering happily as Lavi laughed and rubbed his head.

"Guess what, Chuleta," he said, "today's special, you know?" Chuleta looked at him with one brown eye, and the horse blinked. Lavi only scratched his mane, and the horse whinnied happily, cantering behind him as he got the both of them ready for the ride downtown. Already, trucks were driving down the avenue, people getting ready for their jobs. It wasn't even noon yet, and it was already hot enough to soak the back of Lavi's cotton shirt. He led Chuleta out of the stables, with Relampago reluctantly following behind.

Esperanza walked up to Lavi, and she quickly handed him a pack full of the necessary items for the day. Relampago whinnied in welcome as she clambered aboard his back, and Lavi followed suit.

"Where to first?" he asked, and she nodded down the street. Within thirty minutes, they were at a bakery. He looked around curiously. What were they doing here...?

"Um... Antonia, what is it that you want from a bakery?" Lavi asked hesitantly, careful to use her new pseudonym. She walked up to the baker without even answering, asking specifically for something. The man disappeared into the backroom. She handed Lavi several pesos. She asked him quietly, "Could you go and buy lunch for us over at that cart over there? I'm hungry." She turned back and spoke to the baker in rapid Spanish, and Lavi, feeling strangely shunned, decided to do as she said. Obviously he wasn't wanted here. He knew he wasn't exactly an expert on mountain survival, but still... He waltzed over to a cart, ordered a few humitas, dough slowly cooked in oil stuffed with corn, cheese, and onions wrapped in corn husks, along with one empanada for himself. As he turned to go back to the bakery, he saw three kids carrying a large box out the door and running down the street, gleefully whisper-shouting to each other as if they were on a secret mission. He frowned as he walked in, and Esperanza gladly took one of the humitas out of his hands.

"Thank you, amigo. I am about to die of hunger," she said, ravenously diving into one and polishing it off with a quick swig from a hip flask. He lifted an eyebrow at her sudden voracity, but nevertheless ate one of his own humitas. He looked over at her and asked, "What did you buy?" They began to walk out the door, the baker waving at them with a big smile.

"I bought some special sort of flour for these types of trips. It lasts a long time, and we do not have to worry about anything spoiling. I loaded three bags of it into Relampago's saddlebag," she said through a mouthful of food. Suddenly, she coughed and gagged, holding her throat, and Lavi internally panicked. She was choking! Wait... what did you do if someone choked? What was he supposed to do? He pounded her on the back, and she kept coughing. This wasn't working! Finally, he remembered a first aid class that Bookman had made him take, and they'd taught him the Heimlich maneuver! ... That was going to be awfully awkward.

Thankfully, Esperanza coughed up a wad of food on the street, wiping her mouth as she stared at it with disdain. She looked back at Lavi and said, "I must've chewed off more than I could swallow." Lavi sighed with relief, and Esperanza stared at her humita. Lavi stared at the dough ball she was holding in its corn husk, and he asked, "Are you going to eat that?" Esperanza stared at him with incredulity, and she took another bite. That meant no.

The next stop on Esperanza's list was the tailor. She was an elderly lady with thick glasses on her straight, long nose, and she wore the black dress of a widow. She spoke in tremulous, Brazilian-accented Spanish to Esperanza while Lavi listened. Obviously, though, the woman thought that Lavi spoke absolutely no Spanish, because she began talking about him in a rather... lecherous way. He stared at her, stupefied, as the woman cackled. Esperanza only shook her head as she said to Lavi, "She says you need to take your clothes off so she can get an accurate measurement." Lavi's one good eye twitched. He liked them older, but not that much older!

"...How about... no?" he said, staring at the little old lady with a wary glance. Esperanza rolled her eyes, and she muttered, "I will stand there with you and make sure nothing happens. Old ladies here can be a bit forwards around here, especially widows. It's only to your underwear, and I do not know if I can find another tailor on short notice." Lavi winced, and he walked with the old lady to the dressing room. She waggled her eyebrows at him, and Lavi felt a shudder roll down his spine. This was just getting creepy.

Esperanza stood in the corner as the old woman dug around in a large desk full of drawers for a tape measure while Lavi took off his shirt and pants. The room was arctic cold, for whatever reason, and he felt gooseflesh spring up all over his arms, making his arm hair stand on end. Esperanza looked slightly amused at his discomfort, and that shadow of a smile reminded him of a certain, sadistic samurai who liked to see him squirm just a little too much. The old lady tottered up to him and began measuring him out, from hip to knee and knee to foot, the size around the waist, size around the hips (he could've sworn she'd pinched him then), chest, arms, and back, the entire bit and piece. She recorded it all in a small notebook with absolutely miniscule scrawl, mumbling to herself as she did so. She said to Lavi in English, "Wait here. No move." Lavi nodded glumly as he stood there shivering. The door closed, and Esperanza seemed to melt out of the shadows.

"My apologies, amigo. I didn't think she'd be quite a handful," she said with a quirk to her lip that made Lavi think of a smirk. She took off her long duster and threw it over his shoulders. It was sun-and-skin warmed, and it felt like heaven. The room was absolutely freezing.

"Why is it so cold?" he asked, and Esperanza said, "The butcher's freezer is right on the other side of that wall. No doubt, the Senora likes it cold. Old people usually do." Lavi nodded, pulling the jacket closer, and he asked, "What's next after this?" Esperanza thought hard for a moment, and she said, "I believe the supply store, and then we will go to the guide town that is right on the outskirts near the river. We will need someone willing to take us up the mountain. Be prepared to haggle and call your superiors for cash. They don't come cheap." Lavi scoffed.

"Komui's paid for worse," he said, and the old lady came back in. She winked at Lavi, and he felt like gagging. The woman smiled, the gaps between her teeth showing, as she put down the loads of clothes she'd gotten from her storeroom.

"These should fit," she said in Spanish. "They're all good mountain wear. Not too hot for the day, but warm at night. Especially the tight pants. You lucky dog." She made a smooch face at Lavi, and by this time he'd had just about enough. Esperanza said thank you and shooed her out the door, and the old lady went with a pout. After about an hour of trying on different clothes, Lavi finally had a good number of choices to take with him on the trip, and Esperanza nodded in agreement to the things he picked. It was odd that he'd gotten so used to changing and unchanging in front of her by now, but what the heck, it was just his underwear.

They left the store with their bundle of clothes packed up in bags, strapping them onto Chuleta's saddlebags. A few kids ran up to Esperanza, asking something too low for Lavi to hear, and she answered back quietly. They ran off on their own, doing whatever it was young children did on hot, dusty days. As they mounted their horses, however, Esperanza suddenly began heading towards the other end of town, away from the supply store, and he stared at her in confusion.

"Esp- Uh, Antonia, where are we going? I thought we were headed to the supply store," Lavi said, and Esperanza looked over her shoulder with raised eyebrows, her scars stretching with the movement. She shrugged and said, "Change of plans. We'll take another way. Trust me." Lavi sighed and kneed Chuleta in the side, steering him her direction-

Suddenly, Chuleta reared, neighing furiously and Lavi shouted as he tried to regain control of his horse. Several other carts and buggies steered around the startled horse, and Lavi was suddenly thrown off into the street. He lay there, dazed, as people surrounded him, and Esperanza pushed her way to the front.

"Amigo, are you okay?" she asked, looking winded and a little concerned. Lavi coughed, the wind having been knocked out of him, and he realized that he smelled something foul... He'd landed... in horse crap.

"How bad is it?" he asked as the people began dispersing, realizing he was alright. Chuleta walked over to him, nudging his head with its nose. He shooed off the horse, standing up and realizing that it was in his hair and on his shirt. He stripped off his shirt, making a face at it and not even daring to touch his hair to feel the damage. Esperanza made a face of disgust at the smell, and she said, "I'm not walking around with you smelling like that."

"OI! THAT'S COLD!" Esperanza forced Lavi's head back underneath the faucet of a communal spigot, washing out the stuff in his hair as well as looking around for... something. Lavi winced as her fingers combed through his hair, and he asked, "Couldn't you at least be a little bit more gentle?" Esperanza frowned at him, and he laughed nervously. She washed the back of his neck, and his teeth chattered. Several children ran up to Esperanza, chattering on in hard-to-understand Spanish, most of which Lavi didn't catch seeing as his head was under a faucet, but it was something along the lines of 'can we have it yet?' Esperanza shook her head and told them to go play for a bit, and she hauled him out from under the spigot. She handed him her coat, and he used it to towel off his hair and neck and back. His shirt had just been cleaned off as well, though it still smelled faintly of horse poop. He slipped it on regardless. Anything to keep off the sun.

"You're a harsh mistress," he said, and she glared. Apparently, she didn't like that word. She walked ahead of him into the supply shop just across the square, and the little doorbell rang. The shop was small, close, and cluttered with every single knickknack and odds 'n ends. Esperanza asked for a canteen, several pieces of camping silverware, and two large travel bags. The clerk disappeared into the clutter to go and retrieve said items. Esperanza walked over to the jewelry section (or what Lavi assumed was the jewelry section), fingering through old rings and bracelets.

"You're a jewelry type girl?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"My sister is. I was wondering if there's anything she wanted," she said, picking up a small ring. Her eyes almost seemed to turn misty, and Lavi suddenly felt sad. She must miss her family. Most Exorcists usually did. It was almost taboo to visit family as an Exorcist, considering the danger they posed. Lavi felt the urge to put a hand on her shoulder, but refrained. He could not breach protocol so flippantly. It would offend her more than anything else. He turned instead towards the other things in the shop, like the meat grinder and a small glass bird and a paperweight in the shape of a metal piano. After few minutes of perusing the store, his attention was called by a beautiful metal flower holding an ink pot and a blotter. A set of pens sat right next to it, all of them with sharp, carefully made nibs and ebony wood. He brushed them with his fingers, and then pulled them back.

It would be too personal an object to keep. There was... there was no way he'd be able to keep something like that. Not to mention, with pens of that high quality and metal craftsmanship that well done, it must be very expensive.

"Horacio, we have everything," Esperanza said, and Lavi almost forgot his fake name. That was a first. He turned around, and he nodded with a smile.

"All right," he answered, walking ahead of her. He took the bag of supplies she'd come for, and he headed out the door towards the horses. Esperanza looked at the small inkset he'd been looking at, and she looked back to the Bookman Junior outside with his bag.

Minutes later, she stepped out of the store, and he asked, "What took you so long?" She answered tersely, "Bathroom." Lavi shrugged the answer off, and they headed towards their next destination of the day, not even noticing the kids in the street, one of who ran into the supply store and another who picked up a rubber snake that had scared a particular horse.

"Cincocientos," the grizzled old man said. He scratched his beard with yellowed fingernails. He sat on a roughly carved stool, cooking something in a large pot. He stirred it as he stared at Esperanza and Lavi. Lavi answered back, "Cuatrocientos y cincuenta pesos." The man made a face, thinking about it, and he finally shook his head.

"No, lo siento senor. No merece la pena, senor. Esto montana es maldito," the guide said roughly, spitting on the ground in contempt in the direction of the mountain. The sun was already beginning to set. They'd talked to nearly fifteen of the guides, trying to find a man who was willing to go up the mountain for any price, though Lavi was only willing to pay so much. Lavi nodded and said thanks.

"How many more?" he asked, almost groaning. He was footsore and tired and stinky and he needed a nap. Esperanza didn't look much the worse for wear, though there were sweat stains on her white shirt. It'd been hot. The sun was nothing more than a red ball touching the horizon, and she sighed, "Perhaps another two or three. If we cannot find a guide, we will take a map and go ourselves. I would rather not traverse the mountains on my own knowledge of maps, but I know the Order is not willing to send so much money out for a guide." She sighed, rubbing her temples. She seemed worn down, as well, though not quite so much as Lavi. He was ready to flop down on the ground and give up for the day.

"Eh, hombre. You lookin' fer a mountain man?" an American voice croaked from behind the two travelers. They looked back, looking past the sigh of campfires and such. There stood an old man with a coat of white stubble over his throat and jaw, his teeth reminiscent of tombstones, and his hat full of holes. Lavi nodded, and the man spat on the ground. Black tobacco dribbled over his lip, and Lavi tried to hide a gulp of revulsion. That was just gross. If there was one thing Lavi didn't like, it was chewing tobacco. He'd ruined too many boots by stepping in globs...

"I kin take ya up thar fer little as two hundred pesos and a case a' whiskey," the old man said, and Lavi's jaw nearly dropped. Esperanza's eyes widened, and she asked, "Really? You are not joking at all?" The man shook his head, pulling up his belt proudly.

"I'm a full-out mountaineer and ain't nuthin' stoppin' me from gettin' ter the top a' that thar mountain, 'specially a cursed one. Not tah mention, I dun like traveling with girls," the man said. Lavi almost laughed. Divine retribution was swift. Esperanza rolled her eyes.

"You agree, amigo?" Esperanza asked, and Lavi nodded. "Case of whiskey and two hundred pesos? That's dirt cheap." Esperanza nodded to the American and he grinned.

"Pleasure makin' the deal witcha. I'll be in m'tent down thar yonder crick, and ye just tell me when y'wanna go, and I'll git on ol' Boomstick and we'll hitch right up ther," the man said. He winked at Esperanza, sidling up to her. He was at least six inches shorter than her five foot seven, and he said, "Be a pleasure comin' witcha, ma'am." She shoved him backwards disdainfully, and the old man cackled on the ground.

"Shoooo-iiiieee! I love it when they fight back!" he shouted. Esperanza made a threatening step forwards, and he scrambled back with a 'whoa!'. He got up, dusted off, and started moseying back to his tent.

"That was... awfully quick," Lavi said. He looked at Esperanza with a snicker, and she rolled her eyes.

"Do not make me punish you," she stated, and Lavi laughed.

"Punish me? What could you possibly do?"

"Promise senora Catenko a date with you. Alone." Lavi's smile fell on the ground and shattered.

"Hey, hey, hey, no need to be hasty now, okay?"

Lavi stumbled into the hotel and towards the stairs. He was dead tired. He'd been hit on by an old woman, he'd fallen into horse poop, he'd been hosed off under an arctic spigot, and he'd had to interview sixteen different guides to find one who'd be able to take them up a mountain. He was ready to drop. Just as he was about to head to his room, though, kids poured out of Esperanza's, all of them yelling excitedly at each other and tripping over one another to leave. He stared at them as they went, frowning, before he put a hand to the handle of his room -

"Ah, not tonight, Lavi. At least, not yet," Esperanza said, tapping his shoulder. Her voice was mysterious, not giving away anything, and Lavi felt a spur of unease. What could she mean? There was no way she had more errands. What did she want him to do, sail up the river and go get her Inca gold from the mountains? Rub her feet and feed her grapes? Paint her toenails and have girl talk? His thoughts kept getting more and more ridiculous as she walked over to her room and opened the door.

"Uh, wait, Esperanza, there were a bunch of kids in your room. They might've stolen something or -" Lavi said, finally coming to his senses, but he noticed that Esperanza wasn't listening. She had a strange look on her face... She gestured for Lavi to come over, and he warily tread towards her room. She walked in, and he followed behind -

Into a room decorated with streamers, different colored candles, and wall hangings along with a banner that said, "FELIZ CUMPLEANOS A TI." Lavi entered the room in what seemed like awe. Little children's toys, like tops and dolls and figurines, were strewn across Esperanza's table and bed. A cake from the bakery sat on the table, decorated with bright colored icing. On it was the name 'LAVI' done in childish letters, no doubt by Esperanza herself while she'd been in the bakery and Lavi had been out. A small package rested on the table along with the cake, and Lavi stared at it all with wonder. He stepped in the room, standing the middle of it, as Esperanza stood at the doorway, watching him.

"How... did you even...?"

"Komui called me yesterday. He told me not to forget it was your birthday. The Order was sad that you could not celebrate with them. Komui said it seems you are always away when today rolls around." Lavi picked up a top, spinning it between his fingers, almost in shock. He realized that... that, honestly, no one had ever thrown a birthday party for him. Nobody in his life. Even when he'd been little, before he'd become an apprentice to Bookman, his birthday had not been acknowledged by anybody but himself and maybe... maybe...

He felt something wet slide down his face. Another wet thing slid down his face to follow it, building up at his chin. He felt his lip quiver, and he was sure why, but he sat on the bed, and he started to cry. Esperanza, completely taken aback, by this sudden outburst of raw emotion, ran over and sat next to him.

"Lavi, what's wrong? I'm so sorry, I didn't... I didn't mean to upset you. I thought that it would be nice, the kids wanted to help out, they... I didn't mean to bring back bad memories-"

"No."

Esperanza stopped at the vehement word. Lavi looked up at her with one sad green eye, and he smiled ephemerally. He said, "Thank you. I, uh... I've never... I've never had a birthday party. No one's... no one's ever thrown me a party." He chuckled, wiping away some of the tears on his face. Esperanza still looked slightly confused. Lavi looked at the top in his hand, and he said, "I guess it's a little overwhelming. I didn't know you cared that much." Esperanza's face softened, but she didn't smile.

"Everyone deserves a birthday party," she said quietly. She walked over to the table, grabbing forks, a knife, and plates.

"Come here. I'm sure you're hungry after all that today," she said, gesturing to the table. Lavi sniffled, wiped his nose on his sleeve, and walked over to the small table in the room. He sat down as she cut him a slice of the small cake, and he took a big bite out of it.

"How old are you now?" she asked, and Lavi said through a mouthful of cake, "Nineteen. I'm old." Esperanza gave a dark chuckle, and she said, "And I turn eighteen in the next few weeks. So sad, isn't it?" They ate the entire thing of cake, Lavi asking questions about Esperanza's family and her past birthdays, and Esperanza answering with humorous anecdotes and certain, sad pauses. He soon learned she had twelve younger siblings, three who'd died when a pandemic swept through her town, and two more who were not likely to make it through the next two weeks. One of them was having his birthday next week, and Esperanza wanted to buy him a present and give it to him personally.

"What are we sitting here talking of sad things? Open your present. Go on," she said, pushing the box towards him. Lavi stared at the brightly colored paper for a moment. A gift... he'd received so few gifts in his lifetime, and those gifts he'd been given... he'd been forced to give away. A Bookman had no ties or connections to the history he writes, including gifts... yet Lavi knew that this gift he would probably hide, squirrel away like a guilty pleasure until Bookman pried it out of his hands and chucked it when the time came to leave and die to yet another name. His fingers were patient as he picked apart the wrapping, and he opened the box to a beautiful metal flower carrying a glass inkpot and a set of magnificent ebony pens. A pocketwatch sat inside the box as well as a blotter, and he picked up one of the pens almost reverently.

"I saw you staring at them in the store," Esperanza said, sheepishly looking away. "I am sorry for the incident today. I ordered the children to distract you for a little while, and it came... late." Lavi laughed. Getting covered in crap was a small price to pay for a new set of pens like these.

"You'd have made a good Bookman, then. You notice things," Lavi said. Unlike himself. He should've figured out that she was acting odd this morning. He twirled the pen between his fingers, and if he'd been watching, he would've seen Esperanza give that little sombra de la sonrisa. Ghost of a smile. He put the pen back in its box, and he looked over at the scarred woman with her scary face, black wavy hair, and cool, but not chilly, demeanor. He got up, walked around the table, and gave her a hug around the shoulders. She stiffened at first, but she relaxed as she got used to it.

"That's it. You're cool in my book," Lavi said, and he felt her chuckle. She reached behind her and yanked on one of his earlobes twice, and then another one, and then the other.

"Ouch! Hey, what's that for?" he laughed as he let go of her. "Fine, I know when I'm not wanted."

"Estupido, don't you remember what I told you at la fiesta de la hija de Dominguez? It's for good luck, now stay still." She pulled on his ears nineteen times, and he yelped and protested, but allowed her to do it anyways.

"Now. Off to bed. Go, we wake up early tomorrow. We only need los burros and then we leave for the mountain. Say goodbye to comfort," she said sternly, and Lavi almost groaned. He dragged his feet towards his room, not wanting to leave the bright, cheerfulness that was an Argentinian birthday. He stumbled into his room and was pleasantly surprised to realize that it was cleaned, the sheets were changed, there was a new blanket on the bed (probably the same blanket he'd be taking with him up the moutain), and that the room carried the heavy scent of coarse soap and sun-warmed skin. Somehow, she'd cleaned his room out, too. He smiled and flopped in bed.

For once, his birthday was no longer a personal thing he just kept to himself. For some reason, this felt different to him. He'd never thought of what it would be like to have a party just for him, just because he existed, just because he'd been born. This... it was as if someone had reaffirmed that Lavi was an actual person, not just a ghost watching other people's lives and wishing that he himself could have one as well. He hugged his pillow, absolutely exhausted and absolutely pleased as punch, falling asleep to the sound of grasshoppers singing in the Argentinian night air with the moon shining and the smell of soap in his nose.

A/N: I delivered as promised. I meant to write a birthday special, aaaand I did. It is remaining unedited (because I am exceptionally lazy at the moment and am very glad to have this thing finally finished - not to say I didn't enjoy writing it, I did) as of right now unless I decide, at a later date, to actually go ahead and go over the little grammar nicks and such. Do tell me how I did and drop me a line (I always enjoy that, even if they're flamers), I'm always up for feedback, and I hope you readers stay safe out there on the great wide Interwebz.

-Dr. Yok