This day isn’t what he had expected of it, nor is it what Mars had wanted from it.
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For once, that’s not a bad thing.
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There was once a time when he would have been greeting dozens upon dozens of guests at this very moment; raising a glass of bubbling champagne at an extravagant party meant to celebrate him and only him. A time when the mere thought of not doing as much would have been depressing, because he loved the idea of people gathering just for the sake of honouring him and also because he craved company.
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He still does, honestly, but this time, on this birthday of his, at this moment, there’s only a single person he greets when opening the door of his penthouse after there’s a ring...
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And he smiles about this.
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”Hey.” His gaze easily finds Cian’s, holding the stare for a second or two before stepping aside to let him in.
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Is it strange that he missed him even though they had spent the morning together?
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Of course, Mars doesn't bother thinking about this.
[BREAK][BREAK]

+ CIAN MAHER

’Did you miss me?’
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So much for not thinking about this.
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Still, he chuckles, the answer coming naturally: ”How could I not?”
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It’s the truth, but while the kiss is welcome and expected, the flower is a surprise, Mars taking it and looking down at it as he holds it ever so gently. Is that a camellia? It’s pink. The meaning of it probably has something to do with love or affection, as it usually does with flowers like these. Long ago, Mars himself used to look up things like those when getting flowers for Cosima, but he knows Cian probably didn’t consider doing the same thing…
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It’s a cute flower, and the gesture is sweet.
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”Ha. For me? That’s sweet, thank you.” Of course he tells him as much, because he has no reason not to do as much. It makes him happy.
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The door is closed, and he follows along to the kitchen.
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”Are we going to grab a bite? We could always order in...”
[break][break]
It’s not like they made any plans, not other than spending the evening together like this.

[BREAK][BREAK]

+ CIAN MAHER

Mars is no stranger to having people cook for him, not when his life has been filled with personal chefs and constant visits to expensive restaurants. Having someone he likes cook for him though? That has only happened once before…
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Someone he likes…
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The thought lingers for a second or two, but is brushed away with a smile. ”I didn’t know you knew how to cook, that’s a nice surprise.”
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He's impressed. Most people know how to cook, but this doesn’t occur to Mars. He himself has never had a need of bothering with learning such skills, after all, and he has also never had any interest in it. He actually sucks at it and can barely do the most basic things, but of course he won’t tell Cian that.
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”Medium rare, but anything is fine.” Not really, he’s picky about his food like he’s picky about most things in life, but this is another thing he won’t tell Cian.
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”Need me to help with anything?”


[BREAK][BREAK]

+ CIAN MAHER

”Really? That’s adorable. I bet you were a cute kid.”
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He notices the smile and Mars finds that while he’s glad to hear that Cian had a good relationship with his mother, there’s a slight pang of envy that comes with that. Is it because he never got to experience moments like those when he himself was a child? There’s the faint memory of his father cooking for him, but the memory is stained by loss and blood...
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He pushes those thoughts away though, and he reminds himself that he is glad for Cian – glad that he has moments he can look back to and smile like this.
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It’s a really nice smile.
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So, he watches him, paying attention to every careful motion, and when the smirk comes, he responds with one of his own radiant ones. ”Mmm… depends on what you want me to do.” The words come nonchalantly as he leans against the counter, but they’re definitely code for ’No idea, dude.’ Not like Mars would ever admit out loud to not knowing how to do something as simple as preparing a salad though.


[BREAK][BREAK]

+ CIAN MAHER

How hard could it be to prepare a salad?
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Judging by Cian’s explanation, it's not easy at all.
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Is there really a need to rinse out the vegetables if they all come from his fridge? As far as he’s aware, everything in there is cleaned before being stored (Mars generally doesn’t do his own groceries, of course), but he won’t argue about this point.
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Instead, he laughs lightly. ”Okay, boss, though I think you may be giving me too much freedom there.” A smirk and he heads over to the fridge, not realizing the simple fact that with most people he would never even joke about them being even slightly superior to him.
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Maybe those things don’t matter when he’s with Cian.
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Now, as for greens…
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Lettuce? Arugula? Wait… Why is there more than one kind of lettuce?
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Here’s a man who has a well-stocked fridge and, for the most part, has no idea what’s inside of it – aside from snacks and the obvious things.
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'Too much freedom' indeed.


[BREAK][BREAK]

+ CIAN MAHER

Some would call this an incredibly domestic scene, and if Mars were one of those people, then perhaps he would wonder why it feels so natural to do this sort of thing with Cian.
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This is not domestic at all to him though; it’s new and exciting and fun. Even if it’s just preparing a salad.
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Thankfully, he’s not senseless enough not to know what to put in a salad or pick things at random, and while Cian works on preparing the steaks, a nice combination is carefully chosen before going to rinse them just as asked. So far, so good.
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”After you left? Hmm... I know I said I wasn’t going to work but I still ended up having to take care of a couple of emails and phone calls and stuff. A friend asked me to go to his place to try some cakes he made though… he didn’t know it’s my birthday, so that’s kind of a fun coincidence.” He shrugs, chuckling. A friend, since Mars has no way of knowing that Cian and jayden cross actually know each other, even though this should come as no surprise given that they’re all in Team Rocket.
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For a birthday, it’s not particularly interesting-sounding or thrilling. There hasn’t been endless congratulations and presents, there hasn’t been celebrating and cheer, and while Mars would have once minded all of that, at these moments he doesn't. He’s happy with the way things are.
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”How about you? Miss me?” Of course he’d ask that out of all things, and of course he’d do so with a smirk.



[BREAK][BREAK]

+ CIAN MAHER

”Yeah, It was…” He leaves out the part about how he had spent most of the day looking forward to this, perhaps because there is no need to say such things… or perhaps because a part of him worries about what Cian will think if he does say such things. Since when does Mars worry about what other people think? ”Cakes were good. Honestly, I hadn’t had cake for my birthday in forever.” He has never been much for sweets, but that had not been the main reason for this…
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Vibrantly green lettuce leaves are washed and put in a bowl, Mars then taking a moment to find a cutting board (why in the world would he know where the cooking utensils are in his own kitchen?) and moving on to chopping some vegetables.
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At least he does know how to handle a knife. He’s all too familiar with it, in fact. So much so that there’s no risk of any accidents when the silence lingers between them, nor when Cian’s words catch him by surprise. Allowing the knife to rest on the wooden surface of the board, Mars turns to look at him.
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”Cian… You really didn’t have to get me anything…” He starts, but he stops himself, because he knows all too well he would have done the same had the roles been reversed. So, there is a light laugh. “I assume I don’t get to find out what it is until later? Cruel, but I’ll take it,” he grins then.
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He’s curious, but he returns his attention to the salad even as he continues to wonder about this.
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Hopefully Cian hadn’t spent so much for his sake...


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+ CIAN MAHER