"An acceptable apology. Feel free to use it whenever you decide to be a stubborn mule again." Granted, her frustration at his stubbornness would likely bubble over before he could kiss her again. Jesse's only saving grace from a slap tonight was that he was hurt, any other time would've seen a greater pushback (or perhaps a slap) from her.

Rearranging herself so that she was laying besides him,.Fallon nodded with a smile. "It does, doesn't it? It wasn't my original intention, but I agree. Just needs some floating candles." The Great Hall had always stunned her into silence whenever it changed. Her mother wasn't capable of such magic and Fallon hadn't ever seen anything as amazing before. "Makes me wish I took astronomy."

  

Far more satisfied with this arrangement, Jess allowed himself to relax now as she cozied up next to him on the bed. Once his breathing returned to normal, he chuckled. "Noted." Because it would happen again; he was far from perfect, though his patience extended pretty far, he was certainly capable of being an asshole, as he'd just demonstrated.

If he could reach his wand currently, he would have added her floating candles using the one in his room, but it wasn't in the cards for the moment. "Nice change from the dull grey of the walls, thank you." Now that they'd gotten that little disagreement out of the way, Jess thought they could both use the distraction of her birthday arrangement now. "Are those actual constellations?" He had taken astronomy, but hadn't done very well with it. He thought some of the shapes looked familiar though.

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Finally! Jesse had noticed the level of effort she applied to the charms. Perhaps it was just concern for her wellbeing, but she really hadn't wanted to burden him with her stress. Not while he was laid up in the hospital, and certainly not when they were meant to have a happy evening together. "They are." Fallon was rather proud of her achievements, she'd even gone as far as to borrow an astronomy textbook.

"I told you I like celebrating birthdays. Half-done decor wouldn't have fit the occasion." Eventually he would learn to allow her the celebration, a gift to her as much as it was a gift to himself. "You should let Malou tell you about the scavenger hunt I sent her on one year."

  

"Huh, would you look at that?" He marveled at them, and her for a moment, looking down at her, tucked in against him comfortably, before looking up again. "No half-assed decorations, got it.

And it's not that I don't like birthdays," He added without waiting, revisiting her previous question. "It's just that being on the older side of a large family, you stop asking for much when the younger siblings were clearly more invested and mattered more in that respect, you know?" He'd taken a step back from the limelight in his family a long time ago. Once he'd grown up a little and stopped being a teenage moron, he'd realized it wasn't about him and really shouldn't be.

Jess was more than content to be on the sidelines, to cheer everyone else on and put others first. It was why he'd been so adamant about making sure she was alright before he could enjoy himself tonight.

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There were plenty of methods to celebrate one's birthday without it actually involving physical gifts — tonight's display was a prime example of that. All she had sacrified was a few hours of focus and the money for the spread, which couldn't be too different from what his mother did for him. Affording a nice family meal for his siblings, their spouses and children wasn't a cheap endeavor. Fallon had likely spent less than Mrs. Hatchitt did on a normal day, nevermind a birthday.

She reached for his hand and squeezed lightly. "Well, you'll never have to ask me for anything when it comes to your birthday. Just assume it's a given." Fallon couldn't afford much in the way of physical gifts, but she was plenty talented at magic. "Next year we'll be under real stars somewhere. Now that I have real time to plan it'll be something great."

  

Jess sighed contentedly as he laced his fingers with hers. He marveled at how they'd gotten here from the last time one of them had been in the hospital; he wasn't about to open his fat mouth and ruin the moment this time.

"Next year hmm?" Both amused and intrigued that she was already thinking ahead to next year, Jess couldn't help but to wonder what life would be like in a year's time. Though they had taken a step back, things seemed to generally be moving in a steady forward motion and that was enough for him. For now anyway.

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"Yeah, next year," Fallon confirmed with a hint of a blush. The way she saw it, even if whatever was blossoming between them fizzled out, she would always want to be his friend. The plan would be far more dramatic and all inclusive if they were still involved, but if all it was was a quiet night surrounded by friends that would be alright, too. Although, Fallon certainly hoped it was the former and not the latter. Being just friends meant one day watching him being not-just-friends with someone else, and that left her feeling highly uncomfortable.

She tore her gaze from the stars to look over at him instead. "We'll go to a beach, or at least somewhere with water. Hawaii maybe? That's still high on my list. There will be good food and music, and plenty of warm air so we can enjoy stargazing." Fallon relayed her already half-formed ideas. Surely, one of her ministry friends would have an in somewhere in Hawaii. Even if it was just access to a portkey.

  

Jess hummed out a noise of approval. "Somewhere warm, got it. Would be a nice change of pace, certainly. The Caribbean is much closer though." He'd never been anywhere tropical, would be worth the visit certainly.

"Sounds like a plan then." He agreed easily, already looking forward to it. "Guess I need to up my birthday game then, when is yours anyway?" He was out of practice in this respect, but he could work on it, if it was important to her.

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Fallon simply didn't know enough about the various global destinations to pick somewhere less obvious like the Caribbean. Hell, the only reason she had Hawaii offhand like that was because it was a fantasy Lachlan shared with her in the tundra. "Anywhere, so long as it's warm and there's a beach." she chuckled. Ireland kept popping up in her head as a possibility, but, considering that it a) wasn't warm and b) was the place of their fictional honeymoon, it wasn't a viable possibility.

"November 16th. Don't worry about it if you're not into celebrating birthdays, though. It's more about gifting than receiving for me." Malou typically baked her a cake and they had a quiet day together for Fallon's birthday. Sometimes, she went out with Kieran too. It all just depended on the day.

  

"Fortunately we have a whole year to figure it out." He could figure it out by then, or she would. Either way, if that's what she wanted the could make it happen.

Jess committed her birthday to memory, just a couple months away, less even, but plenty of time for him to scheme something it. "Oh no no, I'm quite capable given enough time and motivation." Both of which were bountiful in this case. He'd grown into a much more thoughtful human being as an adult, as she was already aware, if birthdays were important to her, then he would make it happen.

Thoroughly relaxed, Jess looked up at the ceiling sky again for a moment before closing his eyes. He could easily get used to this, that was for sure.

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Fallon hummed in agreement and squeezed his hand again. A whole year. Merlin, what would their lives look like then? Hopefully, less hospital visits at the least. Although, she somehow doubted they'd be able to avoid the hospitals for long. Both their professions were hands on and had their own dangers, hospital stays were an inevitable part of the job.

She didn't miss him closing his eyes and realized that she should probably get going. Most of the food remained untouched and the cocoa was still sealed, but he had a solid appetite. He could eat it all. "You should get some rest," she instructed him softly. "Sooner you heal, the sooner you can go home."

  

"Oh no no, " Jess echoed his own words from earlier. "Not tired, just wholly content. I napped this afternoon so we could stay up late." He assured her with a hint of a smirk.

"Plus I'm hungry, they don't believe me when I ask for snacks." He was always hungry though, but apparently those on this many pain potions weren't supposed to have such an appetite. "Where's the rest of those cookies?" He quirked an amused eyebrow at her.

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"I'm surprised your mum doesn't keep you stocked up on snacks," Fallon teased lightly. Mrs. Hatchitt visited daily from what she knew, after all. What was she bringing him if not snacks and portions of home cooked meals? Fallon grabbed the plate of cookies and handed it to him as she settled in once more. Jesse wasn't as tall as Lachlan, but, Merlin, she felt wholly at ease curled up into his side.

  

"I ate through them already. I'm going to gain ten pounds just sitting here and eating all day." Unlikely, he'd always been pretty fit and had done alright last time he'd spent an extended amount of time in the hospital. The eating was because he was bored.

It didn't stop him from plucking a couple cookies of the plate. "So once you pass this fitness test, it's back to work hmm?" She was probably very ready to go back by now. He was very ready to go back and it had only been a few days. They'd put him on desk duty for a while too, ugh.

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"You'll just have to train with me." Fallon certainly could use the practice now that she had been out of commission for a month. Perhaps if Jesse wasn't willng to duel with her Gabe would be. Fallon could use all the sparring help she could get now. "Don't worry, I'll go gentle while you recover," she added with a smirk. Even out of practice Fallon had little doubt Jesse could best her.

She munched on a cookie. Thank Malou and her culinary prowess. "Can't come soon enough." Even desk duty was better than a month of staring at the same four walls. "They'll probably keep my caseload light for a bit, but that's fine. Anything is better than nothing."

  

At the mention of training, Jess' lips curled into a wicked grin. "You needn't ever be gentle with me." He chuckled. It had been a while since he'd really trained, other than physically, he could use a good duel or something to get back into the swing for work.

"I'm sure I'll get the same treatment once I bust out of here." Desk duty for a couple weeks before they let him back out in the field. But nearly as long out of commission as Fallon was though.

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