Marlowe went back to regular training at the beginning of February, which was more of an adjustment than Caiti had expected, quite frankly. She hadn't realized how much she had gotten used to him just being around at any given time. But the season officially started in March, so he was really ramping up his training schedule and talked about nearly nothing but quidditch these days. This was, in some ways, an improvement, though, because it had gotten his mind off the coming full moon and all the unknowns he was facing. He'd relaxed a little.

It was also useful, because it meant that on Marlowe's birthday, she had the whole day to prepare.

His mum was making his favorite dinner that evening, and she had planned to eat with them and celebrate. She'd gotten him a small gift. But the real gift was what she was planning after, once his family had gone to bed.

That morning, Caiti took about two hours to tend to her plants and do a bit of work on her research, and then, too excited to focus anymore, she got to work executing her plan. She pushed the big center tables in the middle of the greenhouse off to the sides to create a larger open space, then she dragged the mattress off the sofa bed and laid it out in the middle of the floor, piled it with blankets and pillows, and sat back to admire her work. She glanced up at the glass above her, sent up a silent prayer for a clear, starry sky that night.

Then she conjured up some candles and arranged them around the mattress. She could light those later.

Next, Caiti stopped by Diagon Alley, bought a selection of cheeses and chocolates and a bit of fruit, for a snack late at night. She brought several of their favorite games from her house and stacked them beside the mattress, brought them each a set of pajamas to change into, and then she surveyed everything and it just seemed done.

It wasn't like what he'd done for her birthday. She didn't have the money at the moment to book a whole weekend away. But she thought it was special enough. She thought he would appreciate it.

—-

That night, after they'd finished dinner and cake and presents at his house and after his grandparents had gone home and his mum had stated she was going to start winding down for the night, Caiti slipped her hand into Marlowe's and said, "I have a surprise."

He looked at her, a smile tugging up the ends of his mouth.

"At the greenhouse," she said. "You have to close your eyes first though."

"Now?"

She nodded. "Don't open them when we get there," she said. "Just keep them shut until I tell you to look."

They disapparated hand in hand. Caiti checked to make sure his eyes were closed before she let go of his hand. She pulled out her wand, hurrying around to light the candles. With the rest of the lights off, they created just enough glow to see well enough. It was so much cozier than it had seemed in the bright daylight. She took a quick glance up at the ceiling now, smiling to herself when she noticed just how many stars were visible.

"Okay," she said, standing beside him again. "You can look."

Marlowe blinked his eyes open and took it in.

"It's not a weekend away," she said. "But it's-"

"Perfect," Marlowe interjected. "This is so sweet. You did all this?"

She nodded.

Marlowe put his hand on her low back. "Thank you," he said sincerely. "This is just really sweet of you."

"I mean, it's a little selfish," she said. "I just wanted time alone."

He laughed. "I always want that."

—-

They spent a couple hours sitting up talking, playing games, picking their way through the snacks Caiti had brought, but as usually happened on nights like this, nights alone, the later it got, the less they said and the more they just looked at each other.

They sat close, knees overlapping, and Marlowe reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I could spend forever like this," Caiti said softly. "Just us."

"And never get bored," he agreed.

Caiti smiled. She looked so pretty, her eyes all sparkly and warm.

He leaned in to kiss her.

She put her hand on his cheek, her palm soft and cool on his skin.

Marlowe felt so calm, so much calmer than he had in weeks. His worries and his anxiety about what was coming up next week just sort of melted away. It was so easy to forget in a moment like this.

He moved closer to her, put his hand on her waist, brushed his thumb across her ribs.

It was so quiet except for the wintry breeze blowing past the windows. He could see the light of the candles flickering all around them through his closed eyes. Caiti wrapped her arms around his neck, fingers dangling so he could just feel them brush his spine when she moved.

Her heart started beating faster. He could feel it against his own chest.

Just as he was registering this, Caiti pulled back an inch or two, just far enough to look him in the eye. "If I told you I was ready again, would you think it was just because it's your birthday?"

It took Marlowe a minute to figure out what she meant, but something about the hard look in her eyes cleared things up.

"Is that why?" Nerves flooded his stomach.

"No."

"Then, no, I wouldn't think that," he said.

For a minute, they stared at each other without moving.

"Is that something you'd be interested in?" she asked when he hadn't said anything else.

Marlowe grinned. "What kind of a question is that?" he asked.

Caiti smiled and leaned back in to kiss him again, this time crawling into his lap. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he kissed her harder, pressing his palms against her back. Caiti's hands held onto his upper arms at first, then wrapped back around his neck. His hands slid down to her hip bones, then her thighs.

Caiti pulled back just slightly to breathe. "I'm so nervous," she whispered, but she was smiling again.

"Tell me about it," Marlowe agreed. He kissed her again, but only for a second, then he reached for the hem of her shirt.

—-

Much later that night, Marlowe lay awake on the sofa bed mattress, Caiti curled up in his arms and fast asleep. Her hair had fallen over her face. He stared up at the starry sky and at the moon which, though not full, was quite round. His hand rested on her waist, beneath her t-shirt which had ridden up, and he could feel the rise of fall of each breath, steady and even.

He had fallen asleep for a bit too, but he'd woken up awhile ago, his mind somehow both busy and blank all at once.

It had been so different this time. There hadn't been that same rush to start or even to continue. Last time, it had felt like if they stopped even for a moment, they'd lose momentum, they'd realize they felt awkward. It had felt a little like if either one of them had really acknowledged what they were doing, it would start to feel forbidden.

This time, they talked to each other, laughed when things were weird, when their bodies made unfortunate noises, when they realized they didn't exactly know what to do. At other times, they grew more serious. Caiti got so focused. She'd shut her eyes, brow slightly knit, breathing deeply and slowly through her nose and when Marlowe had just barely begun to ask if she was okay, she'd said, "Yes, keep going." She'd laced their fingers together, holding tight for a moment, then let go and pulled him down to her to kiss him, her mouth sometimes opening almost in surprise.

They took their time. They figured out what was good and what wasn't. They paid attention in a way neither of them had really had the capacity to last time.

And Caiti had looked at him with her eyes so full of trust it had about burst his heart open. He hadn't expected it to feel so different. He hadn't expected the ache in his chest afterward.

God, he loved her. He really, really loved her. She felt like a part of him, even more than she had before, and not in that way he'd always hated, where people talked like they hadn't been complete without their partners, but like he'd already been whole and she'd slotted herself right into his negative spaces and filled him up. Not completed him, but helped make him better. She'd made his life feel so full. It was an overwhelming feeling. He brushed his thumb back and forth over her shoulder now, listening to her breathe.

His birthday was so close to the day he'd been bitten, it was sometimes hard to separate the two in his mind, and usually it bothered him to think about that, but tonight he just felt lucky. If he hadn't been bitten, they wouldn't be laying here under the starry sky, surrounded by all her plants. They wouldn't have had this place to go to and be alone. It was nice to know that really, he wouldn't change things, because even though something bad had happened and he would be dealing with it for the rest of his life, a lot of good had happened, too. A lot of good that probably wouldn't be the same if everything had just gone as planned.

It was nice to know how much he really did appreciate what he had, in spite of everything. He felt calmer than he had in weeks, even with the full moon coming up in just a few days and the new test coming up with it.

—-

The sunrise woke them up early. Bright, peaky winter sunlight beamed in through the greenhouse ceiling. Marlowe turned his head into Caiti's hair before he tried to open his eyes, but it still seemed so bright. He squinted, blinking again and again until his eyes adjusted. Caiti had her hands over her eyes.

Marlowe rolled onto his back and stretched, then settled back onto his side facing her. Slowly, she lowered her hands. For a minute, they just looked at each other, this sort of sheepish smile growing on Caiti's face.

"What?" he asked, a smile growing on his face, too. Caiti's smile was always contagious.

"We had sex last night," she said, whispering like it was the most secret of secret things but with a brightness in her eyes like she found this fact hilarious.

"We did," he agreed.

"I didn't cry," she said, voice slightly louder now.

"You did not," Marlowe said with a laugh.

She kissed him on the cheek. Marlowe tapped his lips with a little smile and she kissed him there, too.

The longer he looked at her, the more he couldn't stop smiling. He was struck again by how beautiful she was, and it wasn't just her face. It was the way love was radiating out of her. He could feel it in the way she took him in and that overwhelming feeling from last night started to creep back into his stomach, this feeling of knowing the person in front of him was his favorite person on the whole planet.

"You are my favorite person on the whole planet," he told her then.

"Funnily enough, you are mine," she said, her smile growing and growing.

He draped his arm over her, drummed his fingers along her spine.

"Next month," she said, her voice soft again, "I'm going to start looking for a job. I've been thinking about things I might want to do."

"Yeah?" he asked. "Like what?"

"I think I just want to make potions," she said. "Maybe in Diagon Alley at one of the shops or there are companies that make them in bulk to sell. I don't know exactly yet. I just think it might be sort of therapeutic for me to just... follow a recipe, you know?"

"They'd have to sell your potions for double the usual price," Marlowe said. "Because the quality would be too good."

Caiti just smiled.

"I've been thinking," he said. "What if we... I guess I was just thinking I don't know how well a flat would work for me. With the full moon and everything. I'd have to go back to my parents all the time. What if we rented a house? Until we could build what we want. And maybe I'd have to go back to my parents' anyway, I don't know. But I just like the idea of a house."

"A house?" said Caiti quietly.

"Or does that feel too big, too fast? I know I just turned twenty. You're still nineteen. We're basically children."

She shook her head. "I can't even wrap my head around that," she said. "Every day. Just us. Our own little bedroom and our own little kitchen."

"And our own little porch," he nodded.

"A house sounds perfect," she said.

"Caiti, I love you so much," Marlowe told her.

"I love you, too," she said. "More every second."