happy birthday

[rangerbecket]

WHO: Raleigh Becket
WHERE: The Inn
WHEN: 11 December
OPEN TO: All
WARNINGS: none
STATUS: yes

---

It had taken Raleigh most of the day to realize that it was his birthday but, in his defense, the place doesn't really have clocks or calendars. Since arriving, he's been keeping track of the days as best he can and the best he can figure, it's December 11th. That's his birthday and the weather certainly fits with it so he guesses, for all intents and purposes, he's twenty eight now.

He never expected to make it to twenty eight. Jaeger pilots don't exactly have long life expectancy and the way the world had been going before he came here, Raleigh didn't think he'd be living very long. He'd been working top of the wall for top rations and there still wasn't ever enough food; coming here meant good food even if he'd had to work just as hard for it. Twenty eight is a luxury. He wishes he could have a cake or something but he doesn't think he's had a birthday cake since he was a teenager, or something, and he's about ninety percent sure there's not any flour or sugar for such a thing. Still, he's hopeful, so he's stuck his head in the kitchen a couple times in hopes of spotting Kate to ask her. He can make it himself, he knows how to cook, and he's perfectly willing to share it.

He just wants something to mark the day, if he can, so around dinner time he finally gets in the kitchen with his catch for the day and starts working on cooking it. It's a little more than he usually ever cooks for himself but he wants to eat with other people today, share a meal and some conversation, and he's got a smile and a kind word for anyone who happens upon him. He hopes he's not in Kate's way, either, because he knows the kitchen is her domain (and she's good at it). He just wants something special for his birthday.

"Think you could help me lay out the plates?" he asks, not sure who's ducked their head in.

Comments

[turned_to_steel]

Unaware of the fact that it is Raleigh's birthday when she peeks into the kitchen of the inn to see if there is anything that she can help with, she is surprised to find him standing in there doing some cooking. Not that she minds, of course. If anything, she smiles warmly in his direction even though he doesn't look up before asking for help.

"Okay." She answers, moving forward quickly to look for the plates. "How many of them do you need set out?"

She waits for him to realize who is speaking to him and her smile grows when he finally looks in her direction. Not that she is pausing in her task as she gets the plates. Instead, she laughs softly. "Hi, Raleigh."

[rangerbecket]

"Hey, Sansa," Raleigh says warmly. Whenever he sees her, his smile is bright and he draws up close to her when he gets the chance, pressing a kiss up against her temple before going back to the food. It's just a quick thing, a simple gesture, but it's enough to demonstrate that he feels pretty damn strongly about her.

"Where's Akira? Playing outside in the snow and getting lost?"

[turned_to_steel]

The smile has a funny way of causing little flutters in the pit of her stomach whenever he flashes it at her and so she ducks her head a little when he does. Then she smiles just as warmly when he presses a kiss to the side of her head and there is no missing the fact that she clearly feels just as strongly as he does.

"Yes. Well, she is outside but hopefully not get lost." She laughs as she picks up a small stack of plates. "I found a rope to keep her close while I was inside but I might take her home and leave her there for a bit."

Which she kind of hates to do but she doesn't like leaving Akira outside for too long either.

[rangerbecket]

"When we finish up dinner, we should just take her for a long walk to make up for the fact she's been tied up for a little while," Raleigh says. He doesn't mind walks, especially since it means he gets to spend time with Sansa.

"I don't really want to go back to an empty house tonight, so I don't mind taking Akira on a walk."

[turned_to_steel]

"I'm sure she would love that." Sansa replies with a nod, thinking that a walk sounds nice despite the chilly weather. It wasn't as nice as walking at King's Landing when one thought about the weather but the company would definitely be enjoyable.

She disappears for a couple minutes to set out some plates before wandering back into the kitchen with a somewhat concerned look. "You said that you didn't want to go back to an empty house tonight. Is everything okay?"

[rangerbecket]

"It's just...it's my birthday," Raleigh explains. "It's always a hard day when I'm alone. It's been a long time since I've had any family to spend the day with and it took me most of the day to realize that it even was my birthday."

It feels strange to admit that to Sansa but, also, sort of right. She's one of the people he feels closest to here.

[turned_to_steel]

"Your birthday...." She starts to say before she realizes what he means and she freezes a little bit. She knows all too well how hard it is to celebrate such a day when separated from loved ones as it had been a long time since she had gotten to celebrate her own nameday with her family. But it isn't for that reason that she looks alarmed.

"It's today?" She looks at him helplessly for a few seconds before sighing and starting to back up out of the kitchen. "I wish I would have known before....can you just wait here? Just don't leave until I come back?"

[rangerbecket]

Raleigh doesn't want her to go out of her way or anything but since he knows Sansa is the type of person to want to, there's nothing he can do but wait. He leans against the kitchen counter, waiting, and wonders what she's got planned.

Sansa is a sweet girl. He cares about her, a lot, and he's glad he's getting to spend his birthday with her if he doesn't get to spend it with any family or friends from home.

[turned_to_steel]

Once she is sure that he isn't going anywhere, Sansa turns and dashes out of the kitchen, then the inn, before he can ask where she is going. Not that it's all that hard to figure out what she is up to but she doesn't care. She merely gets Akira and runs home as quick as she can.

Of course, it isn't as simple as getting his gift and then running back. No, she has to find something to wrap the present in before she can finally rush back to the inn. Akira doesn't seem to mind, though, since she just runs around to keep up with her own.

Nearly forty-five minutes later, Sansa hurries into the inn and pauses to look around, slightly out of breath.

[rangerbecket]

"I'm still here," Raleigh says. She's got good timing, at least, because the food's done now and he's ready to lay it out to eat and she hadn't had to really wait for that. He's not sure why she fled out of the inn so quickly, or anything, but he imagines an explanation is forthcoming.

"You want to have dinner now?"

[turned_to_steel]

"In a moment." She tells him, glancing towards the food before she focuses on him and holds out a package for him to take. It's a small present wrapped in linen which doesn't look at all fancy but it's clear that she had really made an attempt to make it look pretty.

"I made these for you and I was going to give them to you later but..." Today is his nameday and so he deserves a present. So he will find a pair of rabbit fur gloves that she made with her own two hands, taking time to pay attention to details and that they will serve him well.

[rangerbecket]

Raleigh opens the little package and pulls out the gloves, sliding them on. They're made of rabbit fur and they're impossibly warm. It's also clear to see that they're well made, that Sansa's a hell of a seamstress. They're a tawny color, good for working out in the woods since they won't get dirty, and it's clear she's put thought into them.

"Sansa, they're wonderful," he says, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. "Thank you."

[turned_to_steel]

Sansa waits and watches with her breath held as he opens his present to reveal the gloves. It isn't often that she makes things for other people these days and so she smiles warmly when he tells her how much he likes them.

"You're welcome." She murmurs, smiling softly as she steps into the hug and returns it.

[womanofvalue]

Peggy's in the midst of tugging off her coat when she's caught off guard by the question, staring at Raleigh and wondering if somehow she's missed something in the process. "What's the occasion?" she asks, glad that he hadn't asked to help him cook or anything, lest he be scooping burnt bits off a plate the rest of the night. She hangs her coat and follows after him, giving a hum of agreement.

"Show me where to put things," she agrees. "I'm all yours."

[rangerbecket]

"It's actually my birthday," Raleigh admits. It's a little awkward, to cook for his own birthday but he doesn't mind sharing a meal with everyone else. It's good to be able to give Kate a night off, after all, since she does so much for everyone around here. He knows the kitchen's her domain and he defers to it as much as anyone but even she needs a break sometimes.

"If you can just lay out the plates, I'll get the food out of the oven and we can start eating. I wanted to eat with everyone else and not feel so lonely today."

[womanofvalue]

It's a lovely idea and she feels awful that they don't have the ability to celebrate properly and take him out to a pub or to buy him a proper gift, but in a way, a good meal and some togetherness is just as good. Peggy starts to set out the plates, wondering when her birthday even falls in a place like this. "How did you know it was today?" she asks, because a calendar is something that she's been sorely missing.

"And how old are you?" she asks warmly, eager to find out.

[rangerbecket]

"I had to guess. I've been counting days since I got here, so based on when I left home...it'd be today. Today would be December the 11th. So if it is December the 11th, and the weather definitely fits it, then I'd be 28 today."

He grins at her. "Happy birthday to me?"

[womanofvalue]

"Older than me, then," she teases, though it's not like she's been keeping track, so somewhere in there she must have turned another year older. Still, if that's the case, Raleigh's still got her beat by a year seeing as she'd only be 27, at this point. "Happy birthday," she says warmly. "I didn't get you anything, unfortunately the shops were closed," she jokes and looks around the room to see if there's anything that she could even pick up in the room to present to him.

"My company will just have to do."

[rangerbecket]

"Well, your company will do just fine," Raleigh promises. "I just like the idea of not spending time alone on my birthday."

It's been a long time since he's had company at all on his birthday so getting to mark the day with a friend is enough. "So, if it's not rude to ask, how old are you, Peggy?"

[womanofvalue]

"I'm a ripe twenty-six years old," she announces. "At least, I think I am. That's assuming that April has passed, but given that it was early spring before I arrived here, I'm fairly sure that we've gone and passed my birthday, making me twenty six and younger than you," she jokes, unable to help herself slightly. She finishes setting the places and regards him, not minding the rudeness of the question. "Honestly, I don't think I've celebrated any of my birthdays since before the war," she says.

"Something else was always more important, generally." And then, in New York City, in 1946, all she'd been doing was missing Steve and the purpose she'd lost, as if her whole life had been struck from her in a fell swoop.

[rangerbecket]

"Well, you are a beautiful twenty six," Raleigh says, grinning at her. "And hopefully many more, God willing, and maybe not all of them in this place."

While he enjoys Peggy's presence here in the village he hopes - along with most others, he thinks, that they can get home someday. If that's the case, he hopes Peggy can get home and celebrate her birthdays with someone special.

[womanofvalue]

"Praise will earn you everything, Mr. Becket," Peggy assures him, quite pleased with the remark even though she doesn't think that she would ever consider herself vain, precisely. There's something lovely to think about that she doesn't look as old as she feels inside, which is ancient, some days. "It's already been half a year," she shares. "Or close to it, as far as I can tell without calendars. How much longer do you think we'll be stuck here?"

Her temporary prison is becoming far more permanent looking by the day.

[rangerbecket]

"Don't know," Raleigh admits. "It seems like it's becoming permanent, isn't it? And yet, some people have disappeared on us. Have to wonder how they've managed to get out of here and we're still stuck."

Raleigh hasn't really tried too hard to climb out; he's taken the word of Peggy and some of the others who have tried that it's just impossible. "I just worry the longer we're here, the harder it's gonna be to get out, you know?"

[womanofvalue]

"Maybe they didn't vanish so lightly," she shares. "Maybe they were taken," she suggests. In the same way that they all seem to arrive here, she has to wonder if maybe they aren't also being taken away if they don't suit a purpose or aren't working. Should she be trying to become one of those people? Honestly, she doesn't know anymore.

"I know," she agrees as she sinks into her chair, confirming Raleigh's concerns of escaping, "I don't think I'm getting sedentary, but my frustrations keep mounting."

[rangerbecket]

"If they were taken, were they taken back home? Were they taken to another place just like this? I know when I've talked with Riza, she's been in a place like this before," Raleigh explains.

"So if that's the case, where are the other places like this? How do you get to them from here? There's a hell of a lot of questions I want answered and sitting here and passing time is something that isn't going to get them answered, you know?"