—the very first night
pairing: anthony lockwood x gn!reader
summary: you celebrate your birthday for your friends only, lockwood celebrates your birthday for you
warnings: mentions of a bad home life
note: first, happy belated birthday and sorry it took me so long to finish your request, but here it is, finally!!
“—happy birthday dear y/n, happy birthday to you!!”
you blew out the candles in front of you, your friends laughing joyfully and hugging you.
lucy and george got out plates and were too busy chopping the cake into four pieces to notice you and lockwood looking at each other. he send you a smile and you smiled back, despite not really being in the mood to eat cake and celebrate your birthday.
you could do this for them. it was only one day, what did it matter?
george had taken the whole day before this to bake the cake and was now proudly serving it to you. how could you even think about not eating it? his eyes were gleaming and it broke your heart just to think about telling him the truth.
the truth was, to put it plainly that you had always hated to celebrate your birthday. you couldn't even say why. it just was a day that you would rather spend alone in your room crying than socialize.
but these were your friends, your family. how could you deny them something that made them so happy? you just couldn't.
after each of your had finished the piece of cake in front of you, george and lucy went into the living room, setting up a game for you all to play together.
lockwood and you stayed behind in the kitchen, washing the dishes.
"i can see that you aren't enjoying yourself"
"what?" you looked up from the plate in your hand
lockwood leaned closer to you, whispering "you've been scrubbing that plate for the last four minutes"
"oh" you quickly put it down so he could dry it
"you'd rather not celebrate, huh?"
you shook your head and lockwood nodded. "i thought so" he dried up the last plate. "think you can do it for one more hour?"
you nodded and he smiled. you followed him into the living room, owning up to what he had asked you. you played a game of cards, uno then some charades. about an hour later, lockwood excused the both of you.
it wasn't as late as you had thought, but the sun had still gone down, by the time lockwood took you out of the house.
the way wasn't long, only to the little garden behind the house, setting down a picknick blanket and a small lantern.
"what are we doing?" you asked intrigued
"watching the stars" he sat down on the blanket and patted the spot next to him
you settled down beside lockwood on the soft blanket, the cool night air wrapping around you. above, the stars glittered like scattered diamonds against the dark sky.
lockwood reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, wrapped box. "happy birthday, y/n," he said
you both lay back on the blanket, gazing up at the stars. The silence between you was comfortable, and you felt a sense of calm wash over you.
"you know," lockwood broke the silence, "birthdays are a strange thing. for some, they're a reason to celebrate, and for others, it's a day they'd rather forget. why is it that you fall into the second category"
you pondered his question "when i grew up, birthdays were never a special thing. you didn't accomplish anything, why should that be celebrated" you trailed off, glancing at the stars. "but tonight, it feels different."
lockwood nodded in understanding, "i'm sorry they made you feel like that"
"don't be" you shook your head "i have it a lot better now"
lockwood smiled "sometimes, all you need is a break from the usual"
the two of you continued to stargaze, losing track of time as the night unfolded around you. the weight of the day seemed to lift, and you found solace in the simplicity of the moment, feeling peace at the silence.
eventually, you turned to lockwood with a genuine smile, "thank you for making my birthday special in your own way."
he grinned back, "anytime, y/n"
and so, under the vast, starlit sky, you found a different kind of celebration—one that felt uniquely yours, shared with a friend who understood the beauty of quiet moments and the peace you found in the simple act of watching the stars.
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