the trailblazer had been frequenting herta space station rather often in the past months.
that was something anyone could catch, especially when the said trailblazer only stopped by the space station to help out with simulated universe or other projects hosted by one of the geniuses. this time, it seemed to be something personal and special. something that required careful attention in order to get right. detailed. meticulous. the kind of thing one would notice if they knew eden.
after all, there was only one person she would go out of her way to do everything perfectly for.
third time is a charm, or so they say. but eden didn't think the saying apply to this occasion specifically. that said, the thought brought a smile to her lips. third time. this was the third time she was given the privilege of spending his birthday with him. the very concept that still left the trailblazer slightly in awe. they had been together for three years. he had been blessing her life ever since she had opened her eyes for three whole years now.
golden hues were locked to him as they laid on the bed together, their hands intertwined and gaze occasionally finding one another. she brought his hand that was in hers to her lips, pressing a devoted kiss right on his inner-wrist and above his pulse, feeling the soft thumps of his heart against the sensitive skin of her mouth and exhaled in contentment. there was a spark in her aureate orbs when they looked at him, lips still rested to his skin with a knowing smile.
" it's past midnight, so it's your birthday. "
with a quick peck to his mouth, she reached behind her to pull out a small wooden box and placed it right into his palm in place of her hand. the trailblazer sat up now, looking like a puppy bringing her favorite person something she wanted him to see. and it was exactly like that.
" i promise i'm not trying to best myself for the previous two years, but giving you anything less than what i had given you two years prior doesn't feel right, either ... " rested inside the wooden box was a sundial compass, its hold accents catching the dimmed light of the room and made the soft teal color inside the glass case pop a little more. there was something unique about this sundial compass, however. within the glass case of what should be the compass hand was a ball of light. the light swirled and moved as though they were alive, and the tint of gold would've been so familiar to the architect that he would be able to identify at first glance.
the very same shade of gold in her eyes, and the glow of what was inside her chest.
" it's a fragment of the stellaron. not just any stellaron, but mine. " her hand placed on her chest, and it emitted that soft glow he would've seen so many times. " herta was lecturing me about wanting to give something so dangerous as a birthday present, but both her and screwllum helped make it possible. it's tiny and harmless. the glass is enforced with multiple layers of seals to make sure it's safe. " a soft laugh escaped her, almost bashful. there was a reason behind this. there was always a reason behind her gift for him. three years, and she still found more reasons to give him the best thing she could ever imagined.
she didn't know about this year's present being the best thing, but —
" my past presents for you ... the shooting stars. the tacot card of remembrance. i've given you what i could do ... chasing the stars. i've given you how i see you with the card. this year ... " her hands came around his, gently cradling his hands that were holding her gift. the golden light within the sundial compass brightened and pulsed in the same rhythm of the one in her chest. " this year, i'm giving you what i am. " i'm giving you a part of me.
a part that awakened her from slumber, a part that gave her life. just like his love.
" because you are the only one who can hold my destruction and make it something beautiful. " tears glossed over the amber of her eyes, and she leaned in to rest her forehead against his, trying to blink away the burn in those eyes so they wouldn't fall. her voice cracked, deeper than usual, emotional but true. because that was who he was — someone who made beautiful things for others and kept none for himself. so she's giving him something beautiful, even though she had never once thought of herself that way.
" i'm yours to keep. a compass that moves with light, with me. i'll be your light, for as long as you'll be mine. "
" happy birthday ... my beloved kaveh. "
@lunaetis / a special birthday for a special boy
three years feels like both a short and a long amount of time. long enough to have learned the kind of person that eden is, short enough that every moment spent with her feels like sand slipping through his fingers. so short and fleeting, and yet his heart feels at peace. like returning to the hearth's gentle flames crackling away, melting away all aches and pains, all worries and misfortunes, laying his body and mind to rest.
each time their travels intertwines, it feels like returning home. a place where he can smile, relax, and laugh away the time spent with eden. looking at her as they recline in bed, he wonders how he ever got so lucky as to capture the attention of a woman so great, so wonderful, so dazzling that she could easily outshine the sun. even as a scholar twice hailed as a genius, once on his home planet, and now amongst the stars, kaveh still fails to string words together to perfectly encapsulate everything that eden means to him.
as they lay there side by side, kaveh can find no one else he would rather spend the day with. distantly, he ruminiates that it was not too long ago that he would have spent a day like today cooped up somewhere with the descending sun and a bottle of wine as his only companions.
he casts his gaze at eden, a welcome companion to spend the past few years with. his smile is fond as he basks in the presence of his favorite person. today is no different, idly lazing about together as the ship quietly drifts through space.
the soft press of eden's lips to his pulse doesn't make his heart flutter as it once did, but it leaves a residual warmth that kaveh has come to crave as dire as an addiction, drawing him in until he can ask for nothing besides eden.
"mhm," kaveh agrees as he sits up, both disappointed in the fleeting kiss and curious as to what eden has brewing up this time around. today is his birthday, and the past two years his presents from eden has been nothing besides breathtaking, an absolute wonder in what humans are capable of accomplishing. or rather, what eden is capable of accomplishing. a pair of shooting stars, encapsulated in a tiny spheres of glass and gifted to him as earrings. a beautiful and wonderfully crafted tarot card drawn in his image that allows him to see kaveh ━ through the eyes of eden.
both presents were more than kaveh could have ever asked for, and it continues to leave him in a state of perpetual awe. that is to say, kaveh does not expect eden to outdo herself again, nor does he wish her to. anything she gives him, be it a leaf on a tree or sand from a beach, he would cherish just as much as any of her previous gifts.
so kaveh watches as eden carefully places the box in his hands, wondering if he should be alarmed when she mentions outdoing herself from the two years prior. this year, he had been content with just her presence, happy enough to steal her from the express train for however long he would be able to get away with.
"you know that i would be happy with anything that you give me. it doesn't have to be a tangible item, either." he speaks slow and gentle, hoping to convey that eden has already given him everything that he could have ever dreamed of. still, kaveh carefully opens the lid of the box. if eden put effort into giving him a present, then no matter what it is, kaveh would cherish it with all his heart.
inside rests a gorgeous sundial carved from gold. the dim lighting of the room could not dampen the shine from the metal, glimmering away within his hands as he tilts the box around. the teal inlaid beneath the glass adds such a wonderful contrast to the gold, both bright and eye catching, ensuring that no details are left unseen by the naked eye. kaveh picks up the sundial in wonder, holding it within his hands and examining the finer details. what captures his attention the most, however, is the bright burning gold that glows within the center of the sundial, emitting a warm chaotic energy that feels all too familiar.
eden's explanation does not leave him to speculations for very long. a piece of a stellaron, from eden's very own body. within his hands lay a fragment of eden. and not in any metaphorical sense. a literal, living piece of eden rests in his hands, pulsing with the same warmth that he feels whenever he's pressed against eden herself.
for a moment, all he does is trace the top of the glass with the tip of his finger, carefully watching as the golden energy swirls and points to eden as if the light were showing him the way to return to her. then, as the meaning of what eden said finally sets in, he carefully cradles the sundial within his hand, fingers forming a protective barrier around the device, scared should anything happen to the precious gift.
"a piece of you," kaveh says in both disbelief and awe, eyes widening in shock, shaking as if he were a crazed man. of course eden would outdo herself. of course eden would go so far as to ask the genius society to help her with a present. of course eden would manage to do the impossible, encapsulating a portion of the stellaron contained within her body and transforming it into a gadget.
"you gave me..." what she is, eden says so simply, as if she didn't just place an impossibility within his hands. "...you," kaveh concludes, eyes watering with a surge of emotions. the sundial pulses within his hands, bright and warm, swirling relentlessly but still remaining so gentle within the confines of the glass capsule. a sundial's purpose is to tell the user the time of the day, but out here in the vast expanse of space where there is no sun, all that is left is the compass, and it points kaveh directly to eden. kaveh's heart leaps as tears cloud his vision. even with his sight so blurry, the glow from the compass is unmistakable. gold and etereal, just like eden.
with all the emotions coursing through him, kaveh pulls away just to surge back in, capturing eden's lips in a kiss that speaks of his love and devotion for her, the sundial carefully cradled against his heart.
"thank you," kaveh whispers, because what else is there to say when eden has handed him what feels like the universe. "you will always be my light, with... or without a piece of yourself implanted into a present." kaveh chuckles softly, disbelief slowly settling into endearment. who else could make him feel this way if not eden? who else could make him laugh and cry, who else can tug and sway his heart, if not eden? "but... thank you. i'll cherish this for as long as i live."
