Anubis' Family

First part is from Peter's perspective, then we switch to Zoe.


Everything was ready. The guests were all at the Hook's house, the food was ready, cake prepared, presents hidden, Paul under threats to behave... the only thing missing was the guest of honour, and Zoe had gone to fetch him. Somehow she always knew where he was. I'd always assumed it was from the necklace he'd given her, but Mrs Druse thought it was more than that. She wouldn't say what exactly, just that a woman always knew where her man was. Nat and Chris had agreed, so I went along with it.

Paul cocked his head to one side. Being a ghost, he was also able to sense when Anubis was near. "They're coming." He stated, then crossed to stand at the back of the room. Zoe and Anubis entered the house less than a minute later. It was a strange sight - she was much shorter than he was, so in order for her to cover his eyes, he was giving her a piggy-back, while she whispered directions. She then took her hands away, and we all yelled, "Surprise!"

Anubis looked at us in shock, dropping Zoe in the proccess. Paul cracked up laughing at the expression on his face, and I have to say that I was tempted to laugh as well. He was completely thrown - of all things he could have been imagining, apparently a birthday party wasn't high on the list.

He turned to Zoe, who had already skipped out of arm's reach to grab a party hat, which she presented to him. I recalled Elmer doing the same at Zoe's first birthday, and wondered what his reaction would be this time.

"Zoe... you... this..." For the first time since I'd known him, Anubis was speechless. Made a change. I walked over and smiled at him.

"Zoe's plan throw you a little?" I asked gently. Anubis could only nod. I could see the tears in his eyes, and realised he was more touched than he could currently communicate. "Zoe, hon, go check Paul. We're going to have a chat." Zoe looked like she was going to argue, then thought better of it. She headed over to where the others were standing, while I lead Anubis out of the room.

He took a few deep breaths, while I leaned against the wall. After a moment, he grinned back at me. "This whole thing... it was all Zoe's idea?" He seemed surprised at how much effort she'd put into it.

"Yeah. She realised that you'd never had a birthday party, at least not during her life, and none of us knew when your birthday was. So she decided to give you a birthday - September third. Remember it." He looked away for a moment.

"I don't remember when my birthday is. I don't know if I even have one." He fell silent, and looked sad. I put my hand on his shoulder, offering support.

"Let's go back, before Zoe comes and drags us in." He nodded at me, and we returned to the party, only to see Zoe smacking Paul upside the head. Anubis grinned at that.

"So is that my present?" He asked coming up behind Zoe. "You beating up Paul? If so, I love it." Paul glared at him, and I moved out of the way. I wasn't getting between those two if they were set on fighting.

Zoe, however, was having none of it. "I was, er... *persuading* him not to tamper with the cake."

Paul turned a scaled-down version of the glare to her. "I wasn't being serious."

"Oh yeah? You'd love to cause mayhem here. Probably the only reason you turned up."

Paul grinned, dodging out of Zoe's reach to hide behind Anubis. He then wandered off to annoy the others. I turned back to Zoe.

"I'll never understand why you stay friends with him," I smiled at her, shaking my head slightly.

Zoe shrugged. "He's like a big brother. Annoying, mean, snarky, and extremely protective." Anubis nodded. I laughed, then followed Paul, making sure he didn't cause too much havoc. Despite his reputation, he was actually being fairly well behaved today, and I guessed it was because Zoe had asked him to be. It always amazed the rest of us how much Paul adored Zoe.

I looked back and saw Zoe wrap her arms around Anubis. Remembering that image still makes me smile - they were opposites, life and death, but they never saw it like that. Their love was strong enough to erase their differences.

***Zoe***

I hugged Anubis when Peter followed Paul away from us. Poor guy was still looking a little shell-shocked. Probably my fault, but I loved surprising him. I looked up at him, smiling, pleased that he'd kept his word and not found out about the party before.

"Zoe... you really planned all this? For me?" He still didn't seem able to believe it.

"Of course I did, stupid. What did you think I was doing all this week? Shagging Paul?" I hadn't meant it to be serious, but at the look on his face, Anubis had thought of that.

"It did cross my mind," he admitted. He then laughed at the shocked expression on my face.

"Eeew!" I exclaimed. "Me and Paul? How could you suggest that? He's like my brother! That's just... icky!" I faked a shudder to drive home the point. "Besides... I like *you*. I'm not gonna go out with anyone else."

He buried his face in my hair, and I could feel him smiling against my scalp. "Good," he whispered as his grip on me tightened. We stayed like that for several minutes, until I could hear my dad clearing his throat behind Anubis. He reluctantly pulled away from me, though he kept one arm around my waist.

Dad was grinning widely, that damned twinkle back at work. He tossed a wrapped present to Anubis, who caught it, then looked at it, as if expecting it to bite. Dad shook his head. "It's a present. This is your birthday party, after all. We've all got presents for you."

Anubis looked around at everyone, apparently surprised again. He then grinned, and ripped the paper off the present like a four-year-old. When he saw what it was, he cracked up laughing. A figurine from the set of Ancient Egyptian Deities Collection. Yes, Dad had given him an Anubis action figure. I sighed. Trust Dad.

From Nat and Peter was a gift voucher to a clothing store in Lewiston. Anubis gave them a questioning glance, which Nat replied to.

"You've been wearing that same outfit for over a century. Take the hint and get some new clothes." Everyone laughed at that.

Grandma Druse gave him an old book she'd found. It was on various myths and their origins. A sensible present at last. I looked over Anubis' shoulder and saw that there was a bookmark in it. He opened to the page, and smiled. There was a picture of him in the jackal-headed form, weighing a heart.

"How old were you then?" I teased him gently.

"A couple hundred years," he shrugged. I was taken aback. It hadn't really sunk in before, but now the fact that I was dating an immortal was starting to really occur to me. It was kinda weird.

Uncle Elmer and his partner Lona gave him a CD - Hottest Hits of the 70s. I stifled my giggle - I'd been the one who told them about Anubis' enjoyment of 70's music.

Last was Paul, who threw the present to Anubis from as far away as he could get. "Here. Zoe made me get something." I covered my surprise - I'd done no such thing. I'd asked him to come, and when he'd said he would, I'd made him promise to behave. But I'd never said anything about a present.

Inside was a small painting. I recognised it from the portrait at Kingdom Hospital - it was a picture of Mary, her arms around Anubis in his anteater form. Peter whistled under his breath. "So that's what you wanted the paints for."

Everyone turned to look at Paul, but he'd already disappeared. I shook my head. Who'd have thought Paul was such an artist? Or that he could show his nice side to anyone other than me?

After a moment, Mum cleared her throat. "All right, cake time. There's only one candle - we couldn't buy enough to represent your real age." Anubis mock-glared at her, then smiled again as the cake was brought out.

Later that night, Anubis and I lay on my roof watching the stars. Call it corny, but we often did, right back from when I was a toddler. He taught me the names and constellations when I was little, and I still often bugged him to re-tell the stories behind them.

Tonight we were silent, just watching the moon and stars dance above us. After a while, I shifted my head from its position on his chest to look him in the eye, smiling.

"So... didja like the surprise?"

He laughed. "Yes, very much. Thankyou."

I nestled back down, content. "I love you. You know that, right?"

He ran his hand through my hair, and I knew he was smiling. "Of course."

"And you love me?"

"Always have. Always will."

"Good. In light of what I'm about to do... that's good."

"What are yo-"

"Giving you your present."

"I thought that was the party."

I smiled against his skin as I raised his shirt. "Nope. Happy birthday, love."