MHA #6, Wednesday Evening

[firstofitskind]

To say the last few days had been busy for the two of them would be one hell of an understatement, but that didn't mean Liam was going to let Verity's birthday just go by in the aftermath. He did, however, call JGoB and have them make a last minute change to the cake he'd ordered. Which was sitting in a non-descript cardboard box in the kitchen for now, waiting for the reveal later.

(Yes, he'd promised the mice a not-insignificant portion of said cake in return for their patience, as well as their assistance in holding Verity to her promise not to peek prematurely.)

All they needed now was dinner, and Liam was just about finished taking care of that too- or at least, taking care of paying the delivery person from Outback Steakhouse.

"Food's here," he announced, having finally managed to send said delivery person on their way.

[ooc: for the birthday-haver!]

Comments

[arboreal_priestess]

"Food!" Verity said, because she might be another year older but she didn't have to act like it. "I am starved."

And the last three times she'd gone into the kitchen for a snack, she'd gotten busted for trying to peek at the cake.

"Good timing on their part," she added, making room on the couch for Liam and their mountain of dinner. "The mice finished their dance just in time."

[firstofitskind]

"I'd say that was deliberate, but it was really more like the delivery person had to tell me, in excruciating detail, how they think they almost maybe tripped over a wallaby on the way here," Liam said, with a bit of an eyeroll. "Kept asking me if I thought their hair looked longer, and I had to point out we'd never actually met before."

[arboreal_priestess]

"Yeah, but does it look longer or not?" Verity teased. "You're the sheriff, aren't you supposed to have an eye for that kind of detail?"

She stood. "It's my birthday, so I'm thinking of being fancy and getting out the real plates. None of that paper nonsense for us. Real, live, ceramic instead."

And now that the mice were busy hoping for food...

[firstofitskind]

"That's a great idea," Liam said. "You sit right there," he pointed to the living room couch, "and I'll set the table. Wouldn't be fair to make the birthday girl do work." He had your number, Price.

[arboreal_priestess]

Dammit, Kincaid. You were lucky you were cute.

Verity flopped back down with a huff and stuck her tongue out at him. "Such an untrusting boyfriend," she declared, folding her arms over her chest. "I promised, didn't I?"

[firstofitskind]

"Uh huh," Liam said. "And that's why you've been trying to find excuses to go in to the kitchen since I got here."

[arboreal_priestess]

"I really was thirsty all those times!" Verity insisted, grinning up at him. "God, can't a girl be parched around here?"

She just felt so good right now. They'd found a dragon, stopped the cult...and Liam was here, a warm and caring presence at her side. She didn't wanna think about how she'd spent her birthday last year, alone with just the mice for company.

[firstofitskind]

"Well, sure," Liam said easily, leaning over to press a quick kiss to her cheek before he headed over to the kitchen. He was fairly certain her suggestion had mostly been a ploy for a sneak peek at the cake, but it did actually sound like a nice idea. "And that's when you say, 'It's my birthday, and I demand you bring me refreshing beverages in tribute'," he called back to her as he got out the table settings.

[arboreal_priestess]

"If I get to demand tribute," Verity said, following him into the other room, ostensibly too keep from having to yell across the house, "does that mean I get to dictate what you're wearing, too? Because, let me tell you, you are way overdressed."

[firstofitskind]

Liam glanced down at his shirt, a frown of confusion flickering across his face before he figured out just what she was implying.

"That's after dinner," he grinned. There, the table was set, steaks (and bloomin' onions) were plated nicely... there was even a bottle of red wine waiting to be uncorked.

Look at them, being all fancy.

[arboreal_priestess]

And there was Verity, slipping over to where the cake was, trying to sneak a peek while Liam had been busy setting the table.

Because she was the worst girlfriend in the world.

[firstofitskind]

“Oh no you don’t,” Liam said, waving a fork in her general direction. “That is also for after dinner.”

[arboreal_priestess]

"You are the worst to me," Verity sulked, dragging herself over to the table. "It's my birthday. What if I don't wanna wait for dessert?"

The hangdog expression was replaced by one of naughty mischief. "For either dessert," she amended.

[firstofitskind]

"What," and now it was Liam's turn to wear an expression of practiced innocence. "And let all this prep work go to waste?" he gestured at the table. "Don't you worry, there will be plenty of time for dessert."

[arboreal_priestess]

"And here I thought it was my birthday," Verity huffed, but took her seat with goodwill. There was a deep-fried onion in it for her, as well as some delicious steak. "Sarah says hello by the way and reminds you that there's still a conversation about math sometime in the offing."

They'd gotten together for lunch at The Ivy to celebrate Verity's birthday--and the far more important discovery of a real, live male dragon.

[firstofitskind]

"I haven't forgotten," Liam said with a smile. "If you give me her calling ca-" he stopped, and rolled his eyes at himself. "Contact info, I mean, we can set something up, maybe next week."

[arboreal_priestess]

"Calling card, huh?" Verity asked. "How delightfully old-fashioned. Or are those some kind of smart cards you'd scan into your Global or whatever?"

[firstofitskind]

"That second thing," Liam nodded, sliding a glass of wine over in Verity's direction. He was still getting used to the idea that people here just gave out their actual number so regularly.

[arboreal_priestess]

"So other than saving time by not having to manually import the information, what's the difference?" Verity asked, taking a sip of her wine.

She wanted to know everything about him--not because the cryptozoologist in her was fascinated, but because all of her was.

[firstofitskind]

“Encryption,” Liam replied. “Most of my cards were limited-use.”

[arboreal_priestess]

"So--what? You give me your calling card and I could use it for like a week before the information vanished?" Verity asked. "Oooh, we'd be in such a fight if I ever found you again."

[firstofitskind]

“And that’s why you just have my number,” Liam grinned at her. “But yeah. It just made more sense, from a security standpoint.”

[arboreal_priestess]

"I suppose I can see that," Verity said, thinking of times tech like that could have come in handy. It beat their current method of 'unlisted number and hostile greeting whenever anyone answered the phone.'

"So, what did you do when there was someone you wanted to keep calling you, huh? Give them a handful of cards to keep using after the last one ran out?"

[firstofitskind]

“Nah,” Liam shook his head. “Anyone with Companion Services could contact me at any time, and Resistance cell leaders used rotating ID keys.” There hadn’t really been anyone else, in other words.

[arboreal_priestess]

"But what if you'd met someone pretty?" Verity asked. "Say, some sexy cryptozoologist with killer legs and a tango that can make men weep?"