Who: Freddy Adler & Bettina Esposito What: Freddy drops by for a visit, and manages not to ruin the surprise of his surprise birthday When: Thursday, early afternoon, 12 September 2019 Where: Bettina's House Warnings: fluff.
The conversation he'd had with Nora played over in his mind now and again but he still hadn't actually done anything about it. There was no denying that he really liked Bettina. It was just... it didn't feel like he was betraying some memory or felt like he couldn't move on. It was more about finding the right moment. No matter how big a part of his life Iris was, this was something that he wanted to start off with just himself and Bettina.
Not that that was what his almost unannounced visit was about today; and almost because he'd texted Bettina about a minute ago asking if it was alright to drop by.
So when he actually knocked on the door and waited, he was a bit concerned when he heard faint sounds of scurrying and what may have been a slight yelp but he wasn't sure. "Uh hey. Everything alright?" he asked after Bettina opened the door, and let him in.
Preparations for Freddy's birthday were coming along nicely. She had worked things out with Nora already, who was going to be in charge of getting everyone to the house and ready while Bettina kept Freddy busy. She had already started picking things up for the party, and her living room looked a bit like a Party City storage room.
When she received Freddy's text, Bettina started to panic a bit. He was on his way over - which was totally great, since she wanted to see him - but she had party supplies everywhere. She needed to get them put away, or at least hidden, before he arrived.
Scrambling, she started shoving things in cabinets and her coat closet. When she heard the knock on the door, she scrambled faster. She couldn't hold back the small yelp as she rammed her shin into her coffee table. She was limping slightly when she finally made it to the door, flinging it open a little faster than she had intended. "Hey!"
Tilting her head, she ushered him inside. "What? Yeah, no, everything's great. Totally fine. What brings you by? Not that I'm not, y'know, happy to see you. Cause I am. It's just a surprise - which is totally cool. I like surprises. They're great." Oh God, she was rambling.
Freddy knew Bettina babbled—it was one of the things he loved about her—but there seemed to be something a bit off about it right then. "You did get my text though right? So not sure it's much of a surprise really," he said slightly confused. "But if you say you're okay then I guess you are."
"Yes! I did get your text. It's just been a little -" she made a face as she searched for the right word. "Chaotic in the house lately." Ford was still crashing with them, plus they had Loki, and Andi's sister was over quite a bit. That helped add to the believability of chaos, Bettina thought. "Plus I smacked my leg on the coffee table, so there's that."
Making her way over to the couch, Bettina gestured for him to have a seat next to her. "So, what uh, what brings you by?" She wasn't lying - she was happy to see him. Even through the awkward babbling, that much was evident in the grin on her face.
That was pretty reasonable. Considering she'd originally only planned for having one housemate suddenly having an extra three, however temporary, was bound to make things chaotic. Freddy winced as she mentioned the coffee table. "Ouch. You sure you're alright?" he asked as he sat down. "I'm no healer but I definitely have plenty of experience with banged up knees and scrapes."
He responded with a shrug. "Don't know really. Found myself with a little too much free time, what with Princess Iris at school and no time-sensitive projects to work on," he added. "Figured visiting you was better than sitting at home by myself. Though I guess I could've gotten my guitar out and actually practiced what with having time for it finally..."
At least he seemed to accept that answer for why she seemed a little out of sorts. That was a relief. "I think I'll live," she told him with a small smile. "But if you really want to play healer, I suppose I can let you take a look." As the words left her mouth, she internally face palmed. She really needed to think about what she was saying sometimes.
"Is she still absolutely loving school?" The last time she'd seen Iris, she couldn't stop talking about it. It was great to see how into it she was. Some kids hated it. "You know, next time you could kill two birds with one stone and bring your guitar over with you."
Freddy blinked for a second wondering if he had heard correctly, and then immediately had to stifle the laughter that bubbled up. "Y'know if I was a whole lot smoother and more charming I probably could've responded differently instead of just trying not to laugh." There was also the slight matter of never quite knowing when any of her housemates, permanent or otherwise, would appear, and he'd rather avoid any potentially awkward encounters if he could.
"I think maybe the excitement for it has died down a little now but she still seems to be enjoying it," he answered. There was still some excitement, like if they were doing something she enjoyed or looked forward to doing, but for the most part Iris was a bit less animated about it — not that it stopped her from talking people's ears off if they asked her about school. "Suppose I do kind of owe you a performance since telling you about it forever ago. I'll remember it for next time, promise."
Hiding her face in her hands, Bettina groaned, laughing into her hands. "Oh God, that was not what I meant." Talk about an embarrassing moment. When she finally moved her hands from her face, she was bright red.
"At least she isn't begging you to let her stay home every day? My little brother hated school. He never wanted to go." It had always been a chore to get him out of the house. She did light up when he said he'd remember his guitar. "Well, that gives me something to look forward to, then."
Tilting her head, she did have a thought. "You know, your birthday is coming up. Do you have any plans?" Now was the perfect time to start putting part of her plan into motion, since he was right there in front of her.
Freddy couldn't help but chuckle. "Sorry, I know I should laugh at you but you have to admit it was kind of funny."
Thankfully he hadn't had to deal with that yet; however, he imagined there'd probably be a time or two in the future where Iris would probably beg him to let her stay home. "For now at least luckily," he commented. "That must've taken some convincing in getting him out the door." Freddy pretended to pout, and held his right hand over where his heart was. "Are you saying my company's not enough?"
Having heard the words he couldn't help doing the mental math, and blinked in surprise when he realised Bettina was right. "Huh. Wow, I'd honestly kind of forgotten it was so soon," he said. "Uh no? At least I've definitely not made any plans for it. It's not exactly a 'big' birthday, so I'll probably just be at home for most of it or whatever I imagine."
Even she was chuckling a little, despite being embarrassed. "Don't worry about it. I mean, it was kind of funny."
There would undoubtedly be days, but at least they hadn't happened yet. "My mother - I have no idea how that woman kept her sanity with seven kids. She has the patience of a saint, or something." Bettina couldn't help but laugh at his dramatics, and she leaned over and bumped her shoulder against his. "Of course it's enough, silly. I love your company."
He had no plans? Perfect. "I never forget a birthday, you know. Call it my superpower." Or a well kept calendar. "Well, if you don't have any plans, why don't you and I do something?"
"I'll try not to. Though I doubt I'll be forgetting about it any time soon," he said, grinning. "I might just have to tease you about a little."
"Probably the patience of several saints maybe?" he suggested. Freddy grinned completely unabashedly before bumping her shoulder in return. "Good. I love your company too."
"Your superpower, hmm?" he asked, looking at her with a raised brow. "I'd have thought your superpower would've been your boundless cheerfulness? Though I guess never forgetting a birthday would be a useful if kind of lame superpower." Freddy wasn't going to say anything but he suspected that Bettina simply just kept her calendar as organised as she kept the reserve's medical office running. "Just the two of us, huh?"
"Of course you will. I would expect no less, especially considering who your best friend is." Mateo happened to be good at not letting people forget embarrassing things.
"Definitely. She deserves the break she's getting, now that the twins are in college. First time she's had a fully empty house in ages." Leaning into his side, Bettina rested her head on his shoulder.
"I mean, its one of them. I have several, didn't you know? None of them are super cool, but all quite useful." Chuckling, she nodded against his shoulder. "Yeah, I figured just the two of us, if that's okay with you?"
Freddy scoffed. "Please, I was just as bad before I even met Teo—he's just a little too good at encouraging me." Which incidentally was just one very tiny cog in the reason as to why he hadn't touched tequila in years.
"Hope she's enjoying the peace then, and not missing it too much." It made him wonder how his own parents were managing now that none of them were living at home any more; he was infinitely grateful whenever they looked after Iris for him even though he felt like they had probably been sure that there days of looking after small children had well been over.
"Well, you are pretty amazing. So I wouldn't be too surprised to find out you happen to have several of them." What would surprise him if there was something out there, that when faced with it, that Bettina couldn't do. "Wellllll, I do rather enjoy spending time with you—I think I've mentioned that, right?—so yeah, I think the two of us sounds like a pretty good idea."
"I can't say that's surprising. He's quite the enabler, that one." She was certain that Mateo and Freddy had gotten up to some shenanigans in their time.
"Oh, I'm sure she misses it, even if she'd never admit it." She wouldn't be surprised if her mother wasn't pestering her older sister (or herself) for grandkids soon. She certainly hoped not. As much as Bettina adores children, she did not feel as though she was ready for kids of her own quite yet.
A rush of heat flushed her cheeks. He always managed to make her blush. The plan for his birthday was really coming together, which made Bettina extremely happy. "Perfect. I already have a bit of a plan, but you're just gonna have to wait and see what it is."
"Oh, he is at that," he agreed. "Though I used to be just as bad as him." It was just a case of having had to eventually grow up. As far as he could reliably recall the night with the Tequila had been their last 'grand' lark as it were — not that they stopped having fun afterwards they were just a little more careful about how they went about things.
"Is that so?" he asked, giving Bettina a questioning look. "And I suppose no matter what I tried, even if I were to mercilessly tickle you, you wouldn't even give me the tiniest of clues? Not even if I said pretty please?"
"That I find hard to believe, but that might just be because I've only ever known responsible dad Freddy." The idea of him getting into trouble with Mateo, though, was intriguing.
Laughing, she shook her head. "Not even if you said pretty please. Some things are better when they remain a mystery, my dear Mr. Adler." She had a feeling that he was going to enjoy what she had in mind to distract him during the day while the rest of them assembled.
"Well, I can't be setting a bad example for Iris now can I?" he said, grinning. "I might have to warn Teo first that he's not allowed to say a word about anything but... you ask him, and he'll tell you it's true."
Freddy pouted, and gave Bettina his best puppy eyes. "And some things aren't, Miss Esposito, else we wouldn't know who each other is after the masquerade otherwise. Are you sure I can't tempt you for a clue through threat of tickling?" he asked, as he wiggled his fingers threateningly at her.
"Oh, definitely not. She only needs one bad example in her life, and I'm sure Teo will fill the role gladly." Not that she actually thought Mateo would be a bad example for Iris, but she did love giving him a hard time.
His puppy eyes made her chuckle. "You can certainly try, sir, but my lips are sealed." She tried to sound confident in her answer, even though she squirmed in her seat at his wiggling fingers. Was she ticklish? Absolutely.
A snort of laughter erupted, and Freddy had to stop and cover his mouth before he truly lost it. "Yeah, I think Teo's got that corner covered — even if he won't actually lead Iris to any actual trouble."
Freddy just smirked, as he raised a brow. "Oh, we'll see about that, milady. But where, oh where, to begin," he said, trailing off even as his fingers hovered teasingly over her. Then without warning he reached down to tickle her side.
She erupted into shrieking laughter as he tickled her, squirming beneath his touch, but not really fighting to get away. Her sides ached from the laughter, and she could feel the tears building up in her eyes.
Still, she did not give up her secrets. Bettina was not going to crack - not when the fate of the surprise party was on the line. Of course, when she saw an opportunity to distract him, she took it. One hand came to rest at the back of his neck as she pulled him into a slow, deep kiss.
As far as distractions went that was a hell of a one, and certainly got his attention and mind away from questioning Bettina. The hand that had been mercilessly tickling her soon snaked its way around to rest against the small of her back. It was one long moment later that he finally pulled back but only enough so he could look and grin down at her. "Guess you really don't want to tell me then, hmm," he murmured.
It was easy for Bettina to get a little lost in that kiss. Easy to forget that he had been tickling her relentlessly only a moment before. She could feel herself relax into his touch, chuckling softly when he pulled back to speak. "Nope," she grinned. "I told you, some things are better left a surprise. I think you'll like my plan, though."
"Yeah, but guessing games are fun too. Though I suppose I'll let it slide for now but I reserve the right to still pester you for clues again later," he teased, grinning. Freddy leaned down to steal another slow kiss. The conversation with Nora played over in his head again, and while he could easily do something about it right now it just didn't seem like the right moment. "Y'know I've still got a while before I'm having to pick Iris up from school — feel like watching a movie or something? If you're not busy that is."
"You can pester all you want, but I'll never talk!" She was very confident in her surprise keeping abilities. Still, when he kissed her like that, it was tempting to give him hints. Her eyes lit up at the suggestion of hanging out a little longer. "I'd love that, actually." Sometimes it was difficult to actually get time just the two of them. As much as she adored Iris, she did like spending one on one time with Freddy. "How about you pick a movie, and I'll make some popcorn?"