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

[neither_a_nor_b]

Bay grinned and excused herself, slipping over to Scott and hugging him from behind. "Going for the tacos first, I see. I know where your love really lies."

[alphomega]

Scott set down his half-filled plate and turned around to give her a proper hug and a kiss. "Shut up, you were busy. I was being polite." He grinned and kissed her on the nose. "Happy birthday."

[neither_a_nor_b]

Bay smiled, kissing him back and hugging him tight. "I'm glad you came."

[alphomega]

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Scott murmured, leaning his head against hers. "Hey, can I borrow you for a minute? I know it's your party, but I have a present for you that I want to give you in private." He paused, thinking about how that sounded, and added quickly, "Not that kind of present, although later, if you want..." He grinned.

[neither_a_nor_b]

She grinned and kissed his cheek, leaning up on tiptoes to whisper in his ear, "I want that kind of present...later." Then she flattened down and hugged him, "Anyway, yeah. My room?"

[alphomega]

Scott chuckled and nodded. "Your room," he agreed, taking her hand and leading her away from the party and into her bedroom.

[neither_a_nor_b]

When the door opened, all of Bay's rats hurried to the front of the cages, rearing up on their hind legs to see what was happening. Bay laughed and reached into the cage to briefly rub each of their noses before turning back to Scott. "So?"

[alphomega]

Scott grinned fondly as Bay greeted her rats, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box wrapped in midnight blue paper with a silver bow, rather obviously a professional giftwrap job. "Happy birthday, baby," he said, holding it out.

[neither_a_nor_b]

"Scott..." she breathed, breaking out into a smile.

It looked...professional. Upscale, was the word. Bay knew, without opening it, that this was going to be a Present. The kind of present that people in love exchanged. Her heart and stomach did a pleasant little flip and she tried to peel back the paper carefully, rather than rip it off in anticipation.

[alphomega]

Scott watched her unwrap the gift, breath held, kind of wishing she would just tear it open and end the suspense. She would like it, right? It was totally something she would like and wear.

Wasn't it?

[neither_a_nor_b]

When she got the wrapper off, Bay put it aside and opened the box. At first she was charmed by the crescent moon but then she read the words and Bay's smile grew wider as she looked between the necklace and him.

"Scott...it's beautiful!"

[alphomega]

"You like it?" Scott said, letting out his breath in a relieved sigh and then holding out a hand. "Want me to put it on?"

[neither_a_nor_b]

Already, Bay was lifting her hair off her neck to give Scott access. "Please?"

She looked at him, over her shoulder, smiling. "Do you really feel that way?"

[alphomega]

He took the necklace and fumbled the clasp open, looking up at her question. "Well, yeah," he said with a sheepish little grin. "I wouldn't have given it to you if I didn't." The clasp finally opened and he slipped it around her neck, carefully clipping it closed again. "There."

[neither_a_nor_b]

Bay smiled and laid her hair flat, turning to face him for a quick kiss. "I love you too, Scott."

[alphomega]

Scott beamed and kissed her firmly. "Happy birthday, sweetheart. I should get you back to your party before a lynch mob comes for me."

[neither_a_nor_b]

Bay laughed and kissed him again, this time slow and inviting. "You should get me back before I decide I want a private party instead."

[alphomega]

Scott made a soft, pleased noise into the kiss, sighing and leaning his forehead against hers. "That's a very tempting alternative," he murmured, reluctant to share her again after that kiss.

[neither_a_nor_b]

"Yeah it is. But you did promise me That Kind of present later. I shouldn't get greedy," Bay teased.

She leaned back a little and just smiled at him. "I love you."

[alphomega]

"And I intend to keep my promise," Scott said, grinning. "You're making it hard to wait until later, though." He chuckled and leaned in to kiss her forehead softly, sweetly. "I love you too, Bay," he said solemnly, but he was smiling right back. "Now come on. Let's go eat some tacos and be social. For now."