neither_a_nor_b | I felt you in my life before I ever thought to

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I felt you in my life before I ever thought to

When she’d woken up on the morning of the 22nd and found herself still in one place, Bay had breathed a sigh of relief. The last couple birthdays had been kind of a crapshoot for her and Daphne, ending up in a new dimension every other year so it was nice to actually make it a year in one place.

Sure, it was almost Halloween and sure something was probably doomed to go to hell before the end of the month, but not today. Today Daphne had made a cake and some mexican rice and was planning a shrimp taco spread. Bay was cooking up some ground beef with spices while the contents of the alcohol cabinet waited for her to do some mixing later. They’d sent out invitations to their friends via text, and both were looking forward to a chill, low-key birthday party for their 19th.

Daphne had made sure not to book any catering jobs for today, but she still had her daily orders for some of the local coffee shops and service stations in the city. She’d gotten those taken care of, then come home and baked and frosted the cake and helped Bay clean and decorate. If she wanted to last more than 20 minutes at her own party, though, she’d decided a nap was a good idea.

She woke feeling much more refreshed and coherent and wandered out to find Bay cooking up ground beef for the red meat eaters that would be attending. “Hey,” she greeted her sister, peering over Bay’s shoulder into the pan before stepping back. “I’m going to get changed while you finish that up, then I’ll get the shrimp cooking while you get ready. Sound good?”

“Yeah, sounds good. I just got a slew of ‘on my way’ texts but the taco filling is ready.” Proving her point, she took the beef off the stove and tipped all of it into a serving bowl. “I’m gonna stick it in the microwave, so we can nuke it if we need.”

“Actually, I’ve got a better idea.” Daphne grinned and ducked into her room, coming back out with a large box. “I bought myself a birthday present, sort of,” she explained, opening one end of the box and starting to pull out the pieces to the new electronic warmer she’d picked up yesterday. “Just give the dishes a quick wash and we should be good to go. This should keep the food warm through the whole party. Beef in one, shrimp in one, and rice in the third?” She shoved the packing materials back into the box, ready to tuck into her closet just in case something went wrong and she needed to return it.

“That is so fancy,” Bay said, genuinely impressed as she scraped the beef into the first dish. “Okay, you change, I’ll clean.”

“Okay.” Daphne went back into her room, stashed the box and quickly changed, then stopped in the bathroom to pull her hair back and put a little makeup on before taking over in the kitchen so Bay could get ready, getting her shrimp cooking as she made sure all of the food and mixers were ready for people’s arrival.

It didn’t take much time for her to get ready. Bay took a quick shower to get the smell of food out of her hair and off her skin. By the time she was finished blow-drying, Bay heard the first knock on the door. The party had started.

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Bay's invitation had been nice. It was probably agood thing that I even thought to check my phone, sometimes days would go by without me doing it; a habit that got me into endless trouble with Claudia. But I got the message and I'd come, a gift in the form of a cake with berries like my father used to make when Katniss could get him some, and a painting of Bay and Daphne at the park. It was a watercolour and indistinct, but I hoped there was enough of them in the shapes for them to see it.

This is the sort of party that I like, I've realised. People in a house; friends coming together. These don't have any negative association for me and that's a good thing. I need more of those things.

Bay swept over to give Peeta a big hug. "Thanks for coming," she said, grinning. "Do I need to put that in the fridge?"

The hug is welcome if a bit surprising. It does make me smile, and I nod when she asks about the cake. "Until you want to eat it. That probably won't be tonight. You have a lot of food here already."

"Well, we figured that everyone would be as hungry as Daphne and I always are," Bay explained, laughing a little. "It looks really good though."

"It will still be good tomorrow. I guess when I'm not sure, I bake." It's a leftover from Twelve, and one that I don't mind. Being the baker's boy wasn't always bad, and once things had changed and we were Victors, bringing bread was one of the things I could do to try and make a difference in people's lives.

"Yeah, I know the feeling. Except usually it's art. Or art supplies." She grinned, glancing at the other package and then raising her eyebrows.

"That too," I agree, knowing that it's a newer impulse, one that I've only been able to indulge in the past couple of years. "I used to get my painting urges out decorating cookies, so..."

"Is that what's in the other package?" Bay asked, nodding toward it. It'd be nice to have some more art in the house; she'd put up a few pieces here and there but even Bay wasn't narcissistic enough to cover the walls i her own art.

"A painting. For the both of you." She asks, and I'm nervous again. I hand that over and just hope that she likes it. "It isn't anything much."

Bay smiled and shook her head. "Don't be modest. I've seen your work." She didn't want to unwrap a present without Daphne, but she was sure it looked great.

"When's your birthday? I'll return the favor."

"I never really celebrated birthdays." It's another way that I feel different from most people. We counted the years we had at a reaping, rather than celebrating birth years passing. "Summer. Late summer."

"Well, next time you feel like it, we'll have a birthday party for you," Bay declared simply enough. "Or a Tuesday party. Or...whatever."

"I like the idea of a Tuesday party. But I have something else for you." I tug out an envelope with keys in it, and address scribbled on the front. "It's for a place I rented, out near the college. For you and Daphne. It's nothing much, but it's a place to hang out when we're not in class, or whenever. I set up some of my paints and easels, there's a couple couches, some space and mirrors for Tris to do her training."

"What? Like an art studio...co-op deal?" Bay asked. A huge smile rose to her face at the idea. It wasn't her garage but it was a special place for art and friends.

"That would be...awesome."

"Like an art studio co-op deal." The house I have doesn't cost much really, it's small and out of town. So I've been putting the money that I get every month away, living off what I make at the bakery, and even that's more than enough. "I think it'll be good."

"That sounds amazing," Bay sad, jumping up and down a little. "A creative space for everyone? That would be perfect."

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"Hi! Thank you for coming," Daphne said with a smile. She didn't know Peeta all that well, but she remembered him from the art show. He'd been kind, and she was glad for a chance to get to know him better, in a relaxed setting where she was comfortable. "Grab some food and something to drink and relax."

"Thanks for inviting me. Happy birthday." I remember her from the show and feel as if I know her at least a little from the way Bay has mentioned her. "I hope it's a good one."

"Thank you. I woke up in the same place I was yesterday, so that's a point in its favor already," Daphne joked. It was sort of true, though. Every year around their birthday, both she and Bay tended to get a little nervous. They'd both shown up on the island right around their 16th, and then here on their 18th, after all.

"Do you often wake up in places you weren't before?" For me it's only been the one time, and that was disturbing enough, but I've heard that people had islands and other places before. That's enough to be worrying.

"More often than most people," Daphne said with a shrug. "A few days before my sixteenth birthday, I showed up on a tropical island in the middle of nowhere. A few months after that, Bay showed up--but for her it was our 16th birthday. And then last year, on our 18th, we woke up here. So I guess next year is the year we should really be wary of, huh?"

"That's pretty traumatic, actually." I don't want to say that I understand, but I can in a way. Yearly events that bring me stress? I do get it. "Hopefully this one stays boring."

Daphne nodded slowly, the flippancy fading from her expression. "Yeah, it kind of was. both times." But she wasn't going to get all maudlin and missing Wilke, or her mom, or any of the others that she always quietly missed in the back of her mind. "But so far, so good. I'm a huge fan of boring birthdays, now."

"Then to all the boring birthdays," I add with a smile, holding my drink up in a toast. "May they all be uneventful."

"I'll drink to that," Daphne said emphatically, smiling and tapping her drink gently against his.

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