I felt you in my life before I ever thought to

[neither_a_nor_b]

When she’d woken up on the morning of the 22nd and found herself still in one place, Bay had breathed a sigh of relief. The last couple birthdays had been kind of a crapshoot for her and Daphne, ending up in a new dimension every other year so it was nice to actually make it a year in one place.

Sure, it was almost Halloween and sure something was probably doomed to go to hell before the end of the month, but not today. Today Daphne had made a cake and some mexican rice and was planning a shrimp taco spread. Bay was cooking up some ground beef with spices while the contents of the alcohol cabinet waited for her to do some mixing later. They’d sent out invitations to their friends via text, and both were looking forward to a chill, low-key birthday party for their 19th.

Daphne had made sure not to book any catering jobs for today, but she still had her daily orders for some of the local coffee shops and service stations in the city. She’d gotten those taken care of, then come home and baked and frosted the cake and helped Bay clean and decorate. If she wanted to last more than 20 minutes at her own party, though, she’d decided a nap was a good idea.

She woke feeling much more refreshed and coherent and wandered out to find Bay cooking up ground beef for the red meat eaters that would be attending. “Hey,” she greeted her sister, peering over Bay’s shoulder into the pan before stepping back. “I’m going to get changed while you finish that up, then I’ll get the shrimp cooking while you get ready. Sound good?”

“Yeah, sounds good. I just got a slew of ‘on my way’ texts but the taco filling is ready.” Proving her point, she took the beef off the stove and tipped all of it into a serving bowl. “I’m gonna stick it in the microwave, so we can nuke it if we need.”

“Actually, I’ve got a better idea.” Daphne grinned and ducked into her room, coming back out with a large box. “I bought myself a birthday present, sort of,” she explained, opening one end of the box and starting to pull out the pieces to the new electronic warmer she’d picked up yesterday. “Just give the dishes a quick wash and we should be good to go. This should keep the food warm through the whole party. Beef in one, shrimp in one, and rice in the third?” She shoved the packing materials back into the box, ready to tuck into her closet just in case something went wrong and she needed to return it.

“That is so fancy,” Bay said, genuinely impressed as she scraped the beef into the first dish. “Okay, you change, I’ll clean.”

“Okay.” Daphne went back into her room, stashed the box and quickly changed, then stopped in the bathroom to pull her hair back and put a little makeup on before taking over in the kitchen so Bay could get ready, getting her shrimp cooking as she made sure all of the food and mixers were ready for people’s arrival.

It didn’t take much time for her to get ready. Bay took a quick shower to get the smell of food out of her hair and off her skin. By the time she was finished blow-drying, Bay heard the first knock on the door. The party had started.

Comments

[happy_dsign]

"Thank you," Daphne said, signing it, too. "I'm glad you came. It's only fair, since I celebrated your birthday with you, right?" She grinned.

[plaguedrat]

Rat still doesn't think his birthday was much of a celebration or that he'd done much, but sure. Why not?

"Yeah, but you actually have a party going on."

[happy_dsign]

"True. You can have one next year?" she suggested.

[plaguedrat]

Rat shrugs, disinterested in the prospect. Maybe that's someone's priority not his.

"Unlikely. I don't see the point, for myself."

[happy_dsign]

"The point is to celebrate surviving another year," Daphne said with a wry smile. "And when you're getting yanked from dimension to dimension, spending time with your friends and celebrating things like that becomes pretty important." She shrugged. "At least, it is for me."

[plaguedrat]

Damn. Even Rat has to smile wryly when she turns his own sentiments against him. All the same, he shrugs. "So I'll attend your birthdays instead," he says practically.

[happy_dsign]

Daphne sighed, putting a hand on her hip. "Oh, fine. Have it your way," she said, grinning to show she was teasing. "But don't complain if I make you a cake next year, at least. You can even pick the flavors."

[plaguedrat]

"Generous of you," he says dryly. That's the strangest thing. He knows she's being honest about it and almost certainly won't expect much back for it. To Daphne it may just be a simple gesture. This Rat, it's just another way in which this city is so different and foreign from his own. "Maybe I'll even take you up on it. That bakery cake was too damn sweet anyway."

[happy_dsign]

Daphne smiled triumphantly at that. "Ha. Good to hear it," she said. "You'll have to try my cake and tell me if it's better."

[plaguedrat]

"Yeah, yeah." He has to play a little hard to get. Something in him tells Rat that Daphne can deal with it well enough. "We'll see."

[happy_dsign]

Daphne arched an eyebrow at that, planting a fist on her hip. She was pretty sure she'd just been issued a challenge. "Yes, we will," she agreed, grinning. "I'm good at baking. Damn good."

[plaguedrat]

"We'll see about that when the evidence comes." It's all bluster; Rat's had a few sweets now and then, but they'd been a rare treat in the West District. Aside from the cake, he hadn't done much to broaden his horizons.

If she says the cake is damn good, he has a feeling she's right.

[happy_dsign]

"You'll get your chance tonight," Daphne pointed out with a smirk. "I made our cake."

[plaguedrat]

"Well then, everyone wins," he says, keeping up the appearance of antipathy.