Chapter Text
It was the day before Katie's birthday, she was turning 21, and it had Katie thinking. She was growing a year older and it was her second without Nom there.
Except it really wasn't.
Her last birthday had her thinking that, it had been less then a month since Nom had died and the day was spent huddled in a pile of pillows and blankets on the floor. She'd felt sick to her stomach over the thought of him not being there and it was apparently very obvious since Kitty and 4c had put the effort of making a nice little blanket nest in her knights barracks room and they'd stayed the night in there.
It was nice, but this time she was thinking the opposite, sort of. Last year was not Katie's first birthday without Nom there. Nom wasn't there for her three before that either, as Katie had run off to Red, and they'd been basically been no-contact.
The difference now is that Katie can't even spend it with him if she wanted too. He's gone. She missed her chances to spend more time with him and now he's gone, there are no more chances.
She sighed, leaning back in her chair and tapping her fingers on the desk in front of her. There was a opened journal sat there, quill sat beside it. These thoughts were depressing, she truly didn't want to be such a downer, her birthday was literally tomorrow and her mind couldn't get off Nom.
With a huff, she got up from her seat. She'd made no progress in planning what she actually wanted to do tomorrow and clearly just sitting here thinking about how her brother was.. was gone, wasn't helping. So she was going to do something else now.
Maybe something actually productive, or fun, or interesting, or maybe even entertaining. She thought, going out of her room.
She was still getting slightly used to the layout of the new house. She and 4c had built it not long ago, or well, 4c had mostly built it while she gave ideas and motivation, Katie wasn't much an exterior builder, and 4c most definitely was, if how Blue kingdom stands currently with so many of his buildings still in good form says anything.
She got to mostly work on the interior, tho they did most of it together. It was nice, living with someone. Tho it wasn't much different from before, if she thought to long she'd realize that they were kinda already living together before building a house. 4c often stayed in her room in the knights barracks and she'd stay over at 4c's house, Cherri and Apo's old house now, more times then she would like to admit.
Katie hated silence, she'd grown to realize. The silence of just her was uncomfortable and strange. She'd grown very accustomed to Kitty back when they were in red and living together, and it'd made her realize how much she liked having someone else around her.
When she and 4c talked about it, it seemed pretty obvious that he had a similar thought process, tho he didn't reveal everything, still so secretive about himself, He had said he'd always been better around people.
Walking down the stairs, she reached the living room area, turning left to the dining room, she slowed at the arch of it. Smiling as she saw just the person she was thinking about.
4c was sitting at the table, seemingly tinkering with a piece of metal that she recognized as having been apart of her old armor, she'd long since retired it in favor of Nom's armor, once it was all fixed up from all the creaking stuff that made it rot in a way metal typically did differently, she'd begun wearing it. It was good quality armor, there's a reason Nom wore it constantly, and it reminded her of him, so that was a plus.
Katie knocked on the wood of the arch she stood under, it connected the living and dining room. 4c's head shot up, honestly it was a little out of character for him to not have noticed her sooner, She wasn't wearing her armor but she knew 4c had her footsteps memorized, maybe she was getting better at being quieter when walking tho.
"Katie!" 4c lit up, leaning back in his seat, posture fixing slightly from where he was hunched over the metal scrap. She could see him tapping the side of the metal softly, not enough to make sound but she could still see it.
She smiled at the other and sat down in the seat opposite of him, so they could be face to face. "4c, i'm in," she paused thinking of her words before continuing, "a creative block." She huffed, She was gonna say hell, figurative speech and all, but thought against saying that while literally talking with the guy who went to hell.
"oh? Can you still not think of what you're doing tomorrow?" 4c tilted his head, She'd talked to him about this already. Technically he'd also been the person who reminded her it was even going to be her birthday, about a week ago when he asked if she wanted anything. It was nice of him to ask, tho she didn't have a clue on how to answer his question then.
"yes! It's so,," she paused, waving her hands around to emphasis her point, "difficult!" She pouted slightly. "I have no clue what i haven't done already." She sighed and put her elbows on the table so that she could rest her head on the hands. "It's annoying."
She closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again to look at 4c's expression, he looked completely neutral, other then the soft smile he had, but for him that was neutral. 4c put down the metal, it made a slight clank when making contact with the table as 4c took his hands off it to rest them beside it.
"Well, what have you done before?" He asked, putting slight emphasis on the 'have'. "Obviously we know last year, but what about the years before that?" He leaned back into his seat slightly, "It's not a crime to do the same thing" Katie could see his eyes squint at her slightly as he moved his head as he spoke.
"I mean,," She faltered slightly before looking down, letting a frown go on her face. "I didn't really actually do much. I don't really think i even told many people it was my birthday before,, y'know," She waved one of her hands in a circle, trying her best to indicate what she was thinking of.
She put on a bit of a smile as she continued, "Before i came to red, Nom would always get me a cupcake from this baker that used to be in blue, and we'd play games after training for the day." She dragged one of her fingers in circles on the table, "It wasn't much, but Nom made it special."
There was silence, the looming remembrance of the dead man still stood heavy, his death still affected them more then either would probably admit, even now a year later.
4c hummed, seemingly thinking aswell, Katie wondered if he ever had to think of this kind of thing, she wonders how many times his family used to ask what he wanted for his birthday, or if he did anything special with his family in the swamps. Did him and Nom do anything?
"Hey 4c?" She said and he tilted his head back up to look at her, she could see him blink as his eyes focused on her. "What do you do for your birthday?" She asked, but, actually, now that it's coming out of her mouth. She's known 4c for over a year, no time in that year had she ever even heard something about it, very strange.
"Oh, um" He stopped, pausing as he put his hands together and twiddled his fingers around eachother, "I don't do anything?" He said, his hands clasping together as he tilted his head in seemingly confusion.
"You,," she leaned back in her own chair, "You don't do anything? Nothing?" She frowned as 4c blinked at her before nodding.
"I don't have a birthday." He said it so bluntly it sort of made her feel crazy. The way he was looking at her like the statement was completely normal made her frown deepen.
"Everyone has a birthday." Voice slightly accusatory, She pointed a finger at him, Squinting her eyes.
"I don't" His tone is smaller, verbally quieter and she realizes he's slightly sinking into his seat, fidgeting with his hands nervously as his eyes keep flicking to different parts of the room, and for a second she feels some sort of wrongness in her chest as she looks at him.
Stopping for a moment, sort of resetting her expression, realizing she'd leaned forward in her seat and leaning back again, She sighed, waggling the same finger she pointed at him. "Okay. Why don't you have one, 4c?", She asked. Clearly this was something. That something wasn't something she knew about yet and if he was already acting nervous about it, she needed to be more direct in what she was saying and asking.
He blinks at her, eyes big and way to critter like. "Oh, i don't know when i was born." He says, and for a second that makes Katie frown once again.
"huh? How?" She asked, not understanding how someone can just, not know when they're born, 4c had talked about his mother, his family, before, surely they would of been there or at least have known and told him at some point, right?
"Slimes don't really have the same day of birth celebration that you seem to have," He said, she heard soft tapping of his gloved hands on the wooden table, there were four taps, and then his other hand did seven, a familiar habit she'd realized he did quite abit. "I mean, we're more formed then birthed, and my mother already had four children, I doubt she even remembered which day i was born after month." He giggled slightly.
And wasn't that strange, Obviously she knew there was a culture difference to blame here, but it still felt wrong to hear about how someones mother presumably forgot their child's birth. Tho she doubts her own mother remembers her at all, if shes alive, but even with Katie's own experience with parents, she'd known others, it still felt wrong to hear.
"oh." She let out, looking at 4c's blank-ish expression. "That's honestly kind of sad, 4c." She said bluntly.
"is it?" his shoulders hunched slightly. "It's not really like i can celebrate if i wanted to, I couldn't know the day i was born even if i wanted to" He leaned back in the chair slightly, looking off onto the floor.
Looking at the other, her brother, a person she deeply loves and cares for, it felt wrong to not at least have some sort of day to celebrate him being alive. It felt sickening that he didn't have that. Her birthday always felt special, Nom made sure of that, she hadn't really realized that until the last year but Nom had a way of making that day feel more important then the others, because she was born on it.
4c didn't have that and it made her feel ill, that's her brother, and he didn't have that.
Looking at the other, who'd started looking at the metal in front of him again, tho he wasn't picking it up, it was more like nervous fidgeting.
Looking down at the table, she let herself think fully for a moment, Her birthday was tomorrow and her brother didn't even have one, that felt wrong and made her sick.
Rapidly, she looked up, snapping her fingers which caused 4c to look up at her quickly. She put both hands on the table and leaned forward.
"Alright, then it's settled, We're sharing now." She said, confidence in her voice.
"what."
"We're sharing now, Tomorrow is your birthday too!" She said smiling, getting out of her chair to round the table to be next to him, putting her hands on 4c's shoulders.
"what!?" He swung his head to look at her from where she'd gone beside him, tilting his head up with wide eyes. "Can you even?? do that??" confusion eminent in his tone.
"Of course I can" She emphasized the 'I', of course she could, she's Katie, she's brave, She's gonna give her brother a birthday and no one can do anything about it. "It's not like when someones birthdays is, is a law, You can have them whenever" She said, wrapping her arms around his shoulders to hug him.
4c tilted his head towards her, leaning into the touch, he was silent for a few seconds before, "Are you sure? I mean, you don't have to share with me, it could be any day?" He said, voice small.
She let her head bonk his softly, "Ya, of course, I mean, it doesn't have to be the same, If you have a different date in mind?" She asked. If he didn't want to share, he didn't have to, she wouldn't force him.
4c was silent before shaking his head, "no i don't." voice still small but there was a smile on his face as he kept looking up at her. "I think it'd be,, nice to share a birthday with you, Katie" His smile brightened and he looked so much like himself it made her own smile widen.
Katie squealed slightly, Tightening her hug on him, shaking him slightly in the process, he put one of his hands on her arm and held it.
"This is a win, this is great!" Katie excitedly said, "We're birthday twins now, 4c!" She heard 4c laugh slightly at her words, and she let go of him, only a bit to fully look at him, his body turned towards him in his seat, hands loosely holding her wrists, her own hands on his shoulders.
"Tomorrow is gonna be the best 4c, we're gonna have the best birthday in the world." She said, trying to make her tone serious, but still saying it in that obviously joking sort of tone.
4c laughed, putting his hands over his face for a second before dragging them back off, "Okay, ya, tomorrow will be the best." He nodded.
Katie backed up finally, taking her hands off the other, "Oh i have so many ideas now!" She clapped her hands together, clasping them infront of her, "you haven't done like," She paused, "anything, We can do so much!"
"Wha, I've done things??" 4c exclaimed, leaning forward at her.
"Ya but only weird certain things," She pointed at him, "You've done a lot but not enough."
"What does that even mean?" He squinted at her.
"You know." She waved her hand in circles, Smirking at the boy.
He definitely didn't know, as Katie knew she was being vague on purpose. 4c had done alot in his life, if what he's told her gave her anything to work with, but much of it was centralized to the moonlit swamps in his childhood. Sure he traveled out of it as a teen to adventure and explore, but it was seemingly mostly sight-seeing since she'd often had to introduce completely normal things to him.
Normal to her at least.
4c looked at her, slight pout on his face and eyes squinting up at her, before sighing, face returning to a smile.
"Can't believe all it took for you to have ideas on what to do was for me to gain a birthday." He said, getting out of his seat to stand up. He stretched his body slightly, it kind of reminded her of a cat.
"Me neither, Oh i have to get my journal! I need to write this stuff down!" She said, rounding the table to leave the room, to go upstairs to grab it before coming back.
The rest of that night would mostly be spent together, the two of them sat on the floor of their living room as Katie bounced ideas at 4c as he worked on a piece of something she didn't recognize this time, and he agreed about trying them, hardly saying no to an option unless it involved the beach, that one shot down almost immediately.
It was a nice night, peaceful and happy, filled with happy chattering and yapping with her brother. A much different picture then the years before, and one Katie greatly preferred.