Dev didn't mind birthdays, probably because she didn't mind getting older either. She had a lovely life, living her dream with the little Bed & Breakfast she was managing with her brother and sister in law right there by the Irish coast.

And that wasn't all she had to be grateful for. She was in a lovingly relationship with a beautiful man, everything going swimmingly despite the few ups and downs every relationship was facing every now and then.

Dev even liked the date of her birthday. The 29th June meant there was a good chance for a sunny birthday, especially as a child she loved playing outside with her friends, using the garden shower to cool down, eating cake and then chips in the evening

And 33 wasn't old in the slightest, either. Especially if you had a future with Tom ahead of you – there wasn't an engagement, yet, but she did have the key to his house in the English countryside, and there was talk about their future together, either in England, Ireland, or both.

But this year, it was different. Boy, so very, very different. She got to spend her birthday with Tom, sure. And that despite his work on the Loki series in Atlanta. Well. He was supposed to be working. He wasn't. Seemingly nobody was, Dev included.

She was also not supposed to be here at all, though there wasn't much to do for her in the Bed & Breakfast, either.

No, on this 29th June she was stuck in a hotel suite in Atlanta with Tom. She'd come in March – initially for two weeks, and then the pandemic came. She was stuck. Stuck with Tom, but stuck nevertheless. It had been nice in the beginning too, for them at least. Of course, there was the virus and the very, very scary number of infections. But they had each other, they spent time together – and more than one or two weeks for once. They enjoyed it, as far as they could.

And so, today was her birthday, and Dev was stuck in this hotel suite. She was annoyed. As annoyed as she'd never been before, she didn't even think it was possible to be that annoyed. At Tom of all people, on her birthday even.

But they'd actually never spent so much time together. And while Dev loved Tom – she really, really did – boy, could he be annoying with time on his hands and nothing to do with it. Of course, emotions were running high as well. When could she go back to Ireland, when could he resume filming? When could they go out for more than a walk with Bobby? Yes, they were in love, but no, they were not used to spend 24 hours a day in each other's company.

He whistled, songs mostly. And when he didn't do that, he hummed. Or mumbled. It could be little quotes from books and movies or scenes out of his scripts. It was the worst when they watched movies. He was talking along. Tom also talked with food in his mouth, when he got too enthusiastic about things. And sometimes he was chewing too loudly when he got too engrossed in his movies and books.

When they'd only seen each other for a weekend or a week, they'd never had enough time to notice these things. And yes, she knew she wasn't easy either.

That didn't change the fact though, that right now, Tom was bouncing his leg, sitting on the couch, reading a book and mumbling along. Bobby was on the floor by his feet, not caring at all. Oh, how she wished to be that dog now.

"Oh, fuck it!" Dev exclaimed as Tom popped another biscuit – or cookie, as they were in the US now – into his mouth and swiped the crumbs with his tongue. She would have found him licking his lips sexy not long ago, but they'd been in lockdown for three months now, and she missed her family and it was her birthday, and she needed to get out.

Tom's eyes found hers, innocently searching for anything that set her off. "What?" he asked.

"What?" Dev snapped back, then stood up. "What what!?" She put on her shoes and called for Bobby, who looked excited to go out. Not as excited as she was probably. "I'm going with Bobby, don't wait up," she grumbled as she left, shutting the door with a bang.

Tom blinked, then chuckled. He knew, of course he did. Hell, he was annoyed as well. And from his point of view, that was more than understandable. They'd never been a couple that was spending all their time together, quite the opposite really. They needed to get used to this. This was a low point now, but they'd get better again.

Plus, it wasn't inconvenient, having Dev gone now. Meant he could get some work done. He smirked.

***

Dev felt bad when she got back a few hours later. First of all, Bobby was obviously exhausted from being outside so much, secondly they were in lockdown, and thirdly she'd left Tom alone. But then again Bobby had really needed the workout, it was very lovely outside – although she almost melted on the spot – and the park had been fairly empty, and Tom was a grown man. And surely being left alone for a few hours was better than being murdered by an annoyed girlfriend.

She opened the door, letting Bobby go from the leash and into the suite, and then she stopped in her tracks. It smelled delicious. But they'd said they wouldn't do much tonight, despite it being Dev's birthday. They couldn't do anything anyway. But now, it smelled so nice.

Dev took off her shoes, pulled her hair up in a bun and patted into the pantry kitchen. Well, she wanted to, but she stopped in the doorway. Tom was kneeling on the floor, petting an excited Bobby, before letting go of the dog and looking up at Dev.

He smiled and got up. "Hey, there. Are you feeling any better?"

She opened and closed her mouth a few times. "Tom... what..."

The lights were dimmed, candles giving the living-room slash dining room slash kitchen a lovely, warm and soft glow. The delicious smell came from the large pizza in the middle of the dining table, which was set with wine glasses and the best tableware they had in this place. Soft music was playing, Dev recognised some Italian words. She felt so bad now.

"I thought we could have a birthday dinner?" He actually looked a bit sheepish, unsure of himself even. And Dev felt worse. "It's not a 'La Grotta' original, but they were gracious enough to let me borrow their pizza recipe. And their chocolate-mousse recipe as well. Plus," he held up one finger and pointed at the table, and now Dev could see the opened bottle of red wine, "they delivered two bottles of that wine we've tried, before this mess started."

Dev covered her mouth with a hand, but it didn't stop the sob from coming out. "Tom..."

"No, no, no," he rushed over, "no crying, I want you happy."

Before she knew it, she was in his arms, face pressed against his chest, her own arms wrapped around his waist, and felt his lips in her hair, leaving a soft kiss. "But I was so mean to you."

"Hush now. You weren't. And it doesn't matter, it's your birthday."

"But."

"Nuh-uh. No but." He squeezed a little tighter. "Let me pamper you now. And let's eat, it's been smelling like heaven in here for the past 30 minutes, I need to get my hands on that pizza and that pudding."

She sobbed and laughed at the same time. "God, I love you. And thank you."

"I love you, too. And you're more than welcome." Tom let go a bit, and Dev caught his cheeky smile. "And maybe I'll get my hands on something else tonight as well."

He only wiggled his brows and laughed out loud, when Dev slapped his chest with a "Hey, now!"

But who was she kidding? He was right after all.