“Happy birthday to me…”
Set out the nice dishes.
“Happy birthday to me…”
A candelabra for some mood lighting.
“Happy birthday dear Labrys…”
Straighten up her dress and hair a bit.
“Happy birthday to me…”
And a few moments later, Ringabel walked into the Planeswarden
HQ’s cafeteria in uniform, though a bit disheveled from being in meetings all
day, just as Labrys was putting dinner – an order of meatloaf with mashed
potatoes for each of them with a bottle of Ardea’s best wine – onto the plates.
“I apologize for my tardiness, my dear, but the Council is
never one to act rashly, even when it comes to a yes or no answer,” Ringabel
sighed, kissing his robotic paramour on the cheek. “You look lovely tonight.”
“Why thank you,” Labrys answered, blushing slightly. “It’s a
present from myself.”
Ringabel frowned. “I didn’t forget, you know.”
Labrys smiled and kissed his cheek. “I know. You’re a busy
guy and there’s not much shopping to be done here at HQ.” She took a seat at
the table and poured them each a glass of wine. “You’ll make it up to me.”
“For certain. ‘twould not be becoming of a gentleman not to
celebrate the birth of his lady, however the circumstances of it.” He raised
his glass to toast. “To another year of your radiance and timeless beauty.”
“To another best year of my life with you.” Labrys said back
simply, klinking the glasses together and taking a sip.
As the two dug in to their mostly-bland meal in the
less-than-romantic setting, Ringabel began to share the exciting details from
his last mission, the amazing intrigue and feats of daring that were the
meat-and-potatoes of any spy thriller without any of the minutae - the
paperwork to get permission to investigate in another jurisdiction, the report
detailing every action he took, the boredom of traveling between planets aboard
a commercial vessel to remain incognito - spilling into the tale. Labrys
snorted when Ringabel spoke of several lovely ladies eager for his attention
while on a stake-out.
“Bring ‘em home next time, I dare ya,” the android teased. “They’ll
jump out the airlock when they see your sock pile.”
Ringabel chuckled. “It’s not as big as it used to be since Duer came back with
Clownpiece,” he claimed.
“Speaking of whom, I’ve almost got things set up for Dia’s
team and the Komodo crew to go into
Olympia,” Labrys reported. “It’s a good thing I don’t NEED sleep because that’s
a lot of people who will be going in and out of the city and back onto the
ship.”
“They’re lucky to have your help,” Ringabel smiled. “How was
your day?”
“It was good,” Labrys said, pouring herself another glass. “Slept
in until 8, watched the highlights from the newest SweetWings gaming stream…”
“SweetWings?” Ringabel quirked an eyebrow.
“Koakuma, the K.o.B. librarian has a gaming stream. Mostly
just her playing something while talking about gaming news. Nothing too
exciting except she gets amazingly salty playing Tetris 99.
Anyway, watched the highlights, then I forced Dawn to have
cake and ice cream with me.”
“She’s a very formidable woman. I’m amazed you could ‘force’
her to do anything.”
Labrys winked and waggled a finger. “She has a weakness: I
threatened to sneak in while she was away and have it with her kids instead.”
Ringabel laughed as Labrys continued. “We talked a lot of
science, I helped her park the Teapot in a good spot around town, and then I
visited the new hotel. It’s not technically open, but they’ve started taking
reservations.”
“Magnolia Arch is working there now, is she not?” Ringabel sipped
his wine. “It might be worth stopping in to see if she makes coffee properly.”
Labrys finished off her dinner and smiled. “She learned from
you, dear. If her coffee’s bad, it’s your fault.”
“So it will be,” Ringabel sighed dramatically. “I think we
have time for dessert before I must return to those ever-exciting council
agendas.”
“The gelatin is supposed to be simply divine,” Labrys
agreed. “So is the Chocolate-flavored Pudding, but…” Labrys winked, her eyes
literally glittering.
“But what, my love?”
Labrys leaned forward and planted a kiss on her boyfriend’s
lips. “I just got word that the Council is adjourned for the evening and…well…I’d
say I’ve got a present from you to unwrap, but…”
She got out her phone and showed Ringabel a picture that
turned his face bright red. He began to stammer, shocked at what he saw.
“Yep. Arrived this morning from Eternia,” Labrys confirmed,
putting the photo of the Bravo Bikini away. “And you, lucky man, get to help me
put it on.”
Ringabel stood up like a rocket and cleared his throat. “Well,
seeing as that is the case, it is quite the shame that so many Council issues
will remain unresolved tonight, but this too is quite the important issue to
look into.”
Labrys whooped as she suddenly found herself swept up in the
arms of the capable Planeswarden officer, mischief in his eyes and a large,
charming grin on his face. She grinned herself, eager to keep her birthday
going.
“Speaking of looks,” she said, chuckling gently. “That
uniform of yours is gonna look better on the floor later.”
With one more kiss, the two retired for the evening. And that’s
all you need to know about it.
