"Happy birthday Mary!"
"You guys..."

They were back in Scotland, and coincidentally, their trip had aligned with Mary's birthday. Maria had gotten Georges and somehow convinced Cross to help plan a surprise party. The General had made plans at a nearby restaurant, but Mary had simply believed that they were just going to have a regular meal when the platinum-haired woman brought out a cake.

"We even got you a cake!" Maria exclaimed, gesturing to the pink cake sitting on the oak table. She smiled slyly. "Cross picked it out."

"Tch! You didn't have to tell her." he crossed his arms and looked away, scowling. Looking closer at the older teen, Mary thought she saw a tinge of red on his face, but she shrugged it off.

'No way,' she thought.

It was odd. Mary hadn't celebrated her birthday since Sister Theresa had passed. Ever since then, she'd found no purpose in celebrating. After all, who would want to celebrate with her?

Well, there was one person. But he's gone.

She smiled. Maria had asked her about her birthday a few months ago. Because it had been so long since she celebrated, she thought nothing of it. Mary never believed she'd ever experience a surprise party.

The young girl stared at the pink cake. She wasn't ordinarily fond of sweets, savory foods being her favorite (especially meat), but this was a special case. The cake was decorated with roses made of icing and candles formed a ring on top of it. It was the perfect cake.

Except for one thing.

The candles were unlit.

Mary furrowed her brows, puzzled. Noticing the teen's confusion, Georges spoke up.

"I... I was unsure about lighting the candles," he said. "I was afraid it might cause... unfavorable memories to resurface."

Mary looked at Georges with understanding. The Finder was much more professional with the young girl than Maria ever was. He was always the most rational out of everyone in the group, always calling Maria out for her rashness, but still going along to make sure nothing happened. But he still cared for the young girl.

Mary grinned. "Thanks, but I'll be fine Georges." she glanced back at the cake. "Besides, what's a birthday cake without candles to blow out?"

The brown-haired man sighed and smiled at her.

"If that's what you desire, I will light the candles." He walked towards the cake and took out a match, lighting each wick.

Mary stared at the illuminated cake. She thought it looked much prettier now. Slowly, she leaned closer to the cake.

"Make a wish," said Maria, clasping her hands in anticipation.

Mary took a deep breath, wondering what she should wish for. For a moment, she stood there, unmoving. When she finally decided, she took a deep breath and blew, extinguishing the candles.

Mary sat back and smiled to herself.

"What did you wish for?" Maria inquired.

Putting a finger to her lips, Mary smiled. "It won't come true if I tell you."

"Aww..." Maria faked a pout but quickly switched her demeanor. She clapped her hands together.

"Time to cut the cake!" she exclaimed gleefully.

-

"I didn't think I'd see you here."

"Cross..!"

The waves roared as they crashed onto the shore, spraying the two on the beach. Mary, who was sitting in the sand in her nightgown, looked up at the redhead.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

"Nope." she let out a light laugh. "Normally I can sleep through pretty much anything, but..."

"Was it...?" Cross trailed off.

"Yeah," Mary replied, pulling her legs closer to her body. She looked at the vast ocean, bangs shading her eyes from view. Cross sat down next to her, cross-legged.

"Say... Would you continue to search for someone, even if you knew there was barely a chance they were still alive?" she asked.

Cross stared into the distance. "Probably not. Why would I search for someone who's most likely dead?" he got up and stretched his arms.

She looked up at him with a melancholic smile. "I wish I was as pessimistic as you, Marian. But my heart keeps reaching towards that sliver of hope."

He sighed. "Well, we're all different. If that's what you want to believe, go ahead. But either way, it's cold outside. You should go in, pipsqueak."

"For the last time, I'm not that sh-" Mary paused midway through her sentence, and shot up from where she sat. Her eyes were as wide as saucers.

"What's wrong?" Cross asked, raising a brow.

"Akuma." She replied. "They're here."

-

07/08/22 A/N: I've decided to keep my old author's notes just to look back at my mindset when I was originally writing, but in all seriousness, don't believe old me about anything story related 😂

01/20/22 *OLD* A/N: Another character centric chapter. I swear the plot will move in this act 😅

Also, in chapter 20, I mentioned that Mary was 150 cm, but that's not correct! Her *current* height is 165 cm. 150 was her old height. My bad!

Footnote: This chapter takes place on the 14th of February.