Alain's birthday

[key-youth-bert.livejournal.com]

It's almost sunset, and the preparations are almost finished.

Cuthbert, Lilly, and the waitrats they've roped into helping out have set up tables with food out by the lake. On one of them, there's a small CD player currently playing The Beatles.

A few games are set up in the surrounding area--the kind you'd find at any country fair or picnic--but on the whole, there's nothing elaborate.

All that's needed now is for people to show up.


[Summary: Alain has a birthday party. Roland, Cuthbert, Susan, Lilly, Faith, Ace, Meg, and Gavroche attend. There are snow cones and lovely presents and a general mood of "there's doom all around, so let's make this one thing tonight happy and fun".]

Comments

[faithful-slayer.livejournal.com]

"I haven't seen one of those in...years."

Faith beams back, utterly delighted.

"Very, very awesome. Did you make the syrup yourself?"

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly nods eagerly.

"Yeah, I went all Martha Stewart on that shit and used real fruit and everything. You want one?"

[faithful-slayer.livejournal.com]

Faith is impressed.

"Wow, check you out with the Domestic Goddess impression. Sure, hook me up...do I smell strawberry?"

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly giggles.

"It's a fleeting impression at best, I just needed stuff to do today." She doesn't linger on why, figuring Faith understands. "Of course we have strawberry, and if you want you can even crush the ice with the Snoopy head yourself. Just don't Slayer-out and break it, okay?"

[faithful-slayer.livejournal.com]

Faith laughs.

"I haven't broken anything I didn't mean to since I got my powers and tore the door off my locker."

Beat.

"Well, there was Connor's refrigerator, but, extenuating circumstances."

[awesome_lilly]

"Do I want to know this story?" Lilly asks, smiling as she hands a cup of ice, red plastic shovel/spoon and the pink hatted snowman to Faith.

[faithful-slayer.livejournal.com]

"Oh, I temporarily lost my powers," Faith explains as she makes her sno cone with no small amount of glee. "When they came back...refrigerator door."

[awesome_lilly]

"Ah," Lilly says sagely. "I wasn't sure if maybe you were like really hungry or really pissed off at his choice of refrigerator magnets or something."

[faithful-slayer.livejournal.com]

Faith starts laughing.

"Hungry, yes," she says, after taking a minute to catch her breath. "Refrigerator magnets...no."

[awesome_lilly]

"Got it," Lilly says. "Did Connor mind too much about the door or were you guys all good?"

[faithful-slayer.livejournal.com]

Faith grins. "Nah, it was cool. We're five-by-five."

[awesome_lilly]

"Five-by-five, huh?"

Lilly ponders this.

"That means the same thing as all good or shiny, right?"

[faithful-slayer.livejournal.com]

"Uh, yeah, sorry. Military radio jargon," Faith explains with a shrug. "The strength and clarity of radio signals are both measured on a scale of one to five, so five by five is a strong signal, all's good."

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly nods.

"Oh, okay. I'll be stealing that now, just so you know."

And she grins at Faith.

[faithful-slayer.livejournal.com]

Faith snickers.

"Yeah, well, I started calling Cuthbert Kooshbert, so we're even."

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly smirks.

"Did you get a chance to meet Kooshbert junior yet?"

[faithful-slayer.livejournal.com]

Faith stares.

"...OK, Lilly? No. And Susan and Cuthbert are both very, very good friends. Please, I beg you, don't tell me you have."

Beat.

"And please tell me he doesn't call it that."

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly cracks up.

"I don't know, maybe he does now. But the Kooshbert junior I'm talking about is the kooshball I gave him after I explained what they were and how I'd come up with his nickname."

[faithful-slayer.livejournal.com]

"Oh thank god."

Faith laughs sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I just...I've heard the most ridiculous nicknames for...this one guy called it 'my man meat'...I told him if he was honest he should call it 'Tiny Tim.'"

Beat.

"No, I haven't met the Koosh ball."

[awesome_lilly]

"You should," Lilly says brightly. "Koosh seems very attached."

"And oh man, I so know what you're talking about. Guys give their dicks the stupidest names sometimes. Generally, the smaller the dick and the stupider the name, the worse the guys is in bed. It's like he's hoping the really terrible name will distract you from the really terrible sex."

[faithful-slayer.livejournal.com]

Faith laughs some more, nodding. "Oh, god, yes. Mind, I never went back to the same person twice before Connor, but I have noticed the trend."

[awesome_lilly]

"It's a disturbing one," Lilly agrees. "I did the occasional one night stand, but normally I had Logan and then flings. I've never done the just one guy thing. Is it cool, or boring?"

[faithful-slayer.livejournal.com]

"He's over four hundred and eighty-seven years old, Lilly. 'Boring' is one thing I don't think Connor could ever be."

Faith smiles, wide and warm and remarkably tender, really.

"It's good. He makes it good."

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly smiles back, happy for her friend.

"Rock on. I don't see that happening for me any time soon, but that kicks some serious ass that you found someone like that."

[faithful-slayer.livejournal.com]

"Ahhh, this place has been known to matchmake something fierce," Faith says with a slight grin. "And Peter was awfully upset when you were gone..."