Who: Adam & Shiri What: Happy Birthday Surprises Where: Their House When: Oct 23, Midmorning Warnings: Fade out at end.
Adam’s eyes opened to the start of the day, slowly coming awake and listening to the sounds around him. He stretched, releasing a yawn at the same time, then sighed before turning to look at the clock. It took a moment for him to register what the time was, and he began to search his mind why he might have been allowed to over sleep.
Ah, it was his birthday.
Smirking, he stretched again, then dressed in a pair of jeans and one of his cleaner, though still paint marked, shirts. Clothed enough to be acceptable, the mortal went in search of his girlfriend, or some clue about her where she might be.
His girlfriend was stretched out on the couch in the living room, her eyes shut and her gilded violin tucked under her chin. It would have appeared like she was playing it with the exception that the bow was turned upside down to keep it from making a sound. Clearly, she was trying to be quiet in the living room in her plain, pale blue dress and antique vale/scarf Adam had bought her for her own birthday.
Stepping into the room, Adam simply bent over her from behind and kissed the top of her head. His eyes lingered on the clothing she wore, and the way it fell around her body. Seeing her in it made him smile, glad to see the cloth being put to such decent use. “Morning,” he said softly.
Shiri’s eyes slowly opened at the greeting - both in its words and touch - and looked up to him with a smile. The violin was allowed to rest upon her lap as she reached up to him with both hands, letting one rest upon his cheek and the other finding his wrist to hold. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
He nodded. “Slept later than normal though...” Adam shifted slightly, trying to make it an easier position for her, without walking to far away. “You?”
“Honestly?” she asked softly as allowed the hand along his cheek the freedom to lightly trace the side of his face.
He arched an eyebrow. Was there a reason for her to lie? He leaned in slightly, and nodded.
“Not really. I was too excited.” She nodded with a smile as she spoke and then released his wrist to set her violin aside better and shift to face him, knelt on the couch now.
Excited? It wasn’t her birthday... Which meant she’d probably prepared something for him that was at least something of a treat. He grinned at her. “What are you excited over?” he asked.
“Over your birthday,” she immediately replied as she leaned forward, letting her arms now drape along his shoulder and draw herself closer to him so they were almost nose to nose. “It is going to be a fun day.”
“Oh? What have you got planned?” Hopefully something that would start with breakfast... He looped his own arms around her waist though, drawing her body close as he could with the couch still between them.
“You will be very busy today.” She grinned and slid off the couch, keeping one of his arms around her even as she led him to the kitchen. “You should eat. You will need the energy.”
He followed her, staying close and letting her lead, the raise of his eyebrows clearly indicating his question and surprise at this statement. “What have you planned for today?”
“Shhhh,” she playfully scolded, “You will ruin the surprise.” Shiri then giggled and broke all contact with him to place the still warm crepe filled with fruit in front of his spot at the table.
Eyeing the crepe, Adam paused long enough to move to Shiri and give her his typical kiss to the temple in silent thanks before sitting down at his seat. Once seated, fork in hand, he glanced at her again. “Is there anything I need to know about the surprise? Will I need to drive somewhere, or be dressed up or anything?” It wouldn’t exactly work out if she wanted him to go to a concert of some kind and he was in his normal work clothes.
“Yes to all of those things...” But that wasn’t a concern for her. Shiri had already picked out what clothes she wanted him to wear. Just because he wasn’t wearing them now wasn’t an issue for her. She sat beside him, resisting the urge to just lean against him since he was eating and choosing to rest one her hands on his leg under the table as she glanced out at the birds in the birdbath outside. “Do you want me to show you why?”
“I thought you wanted to save it as a surprise?” he asked, taking a careful bite of the food. He smiled at the taste, and quickly moved to take another. It was a good birthday breakfast.
“I have to tell the surprise at some point...” Otherwise the rest of the day was going to be impossible most likely... She turned her attention back to him and not at the blue bird she swear she just saw. It was not the blue bird’s birthday after all.
Adam shrugged. “It’s your surprise.” Though, if it was something he had to dress up for, he had a few reservations about what it just might be. However, he also trusted Shiri to choose something that he would enjoy, so there wasn’t much concern. “But if I need to be somewhere by sometime, it’d be helpful to know when we need to leave.”
“Yeah, it is one of those things so...” Shiri got up, kissing his cheek, before leaving the kitchen, before returning back to him a few minutes later with his laptop -- except its screen was wrapped like a gift. “Here you go. Happy Birthday, Adam.”
He blinked, and set the cleared breakfast plate to the side and out of the way. Taking his computer, he inspected it for a moment, making sure there weren’t any new attachments easily seen before removing the wrapping paper.
Before him was the website that she’d given to him, dedicated to his art. The page was set on his upcoming and current showings, with a listing of the places his work could be seen. But unlike the last time he’d looked at it -- granted, it was over a month ago -- the ‘Lightning Strikes’ exhibit wasn’t at the top of the page.
He stared at the information, and the dates, and it started to form a realization in his mind. This wasn’t one gallery showing. It was five. And not dated for different dates at different places, but all at the same time. Adam turned to look at Shiri, his jaw slightly open in true shock and surprise. “You got me a series?”
His surprise was greeted by a proud grin across her pale features, “Like I said, you are going to be very busy today, but I promise when you get home tonight we can take a nice warm bath together to relax.”
A grin spread across Adam’s face in return. This was amazing. He looked at the screen again, looking at the names of the places and their locations. It was a variety, and an impressive one. “What pieces did you use for the collection? I didn’t think I had enough to do five sets...”
“All of them except that one you have not finished yet.” Shiri was able to keep in her delighted giggles to be serious and explain... but she couldn’t hold back her smile. Her mortal looked so happy and excited. As he should be. He was in the power of a muse... But now she didn’t resist leaning against him, “They worked together as a collection... but you did not see it. Too close to the trees to see the forest.”
“All of them...?” He blinked, thinking over his collection and trying to see how they would possibly work as sets and a whole. After a moment though, he could only shake his head, and wrap his arm around Shiri, pulling her in close for a deep kiss.
Shiri wasn’t one to resist a kiss like that, especially when it felt like a thank you kiss. She even shifted to sit upon his lap and wrap her arms once more around him to be pulled closer. “I guess this means you like the gift...”
He chuckled. “I thought you said you didn’t think you could top mine?” Clearly she had. She’d gone even beyond what he thought was possible. This was his second gallery showing, and at the same time, it was a series spread through different galleries, making it also his third, fourth, fifth and sixth. Or did it? He wasn’t sure how this would get counted. Though, this also meant he’d have to do a lot of work to produce enough for another showing.
Part of the gift was a conscious, yet subtle, manipulation to force him to continue to improve and ascend. People would continue to watch him and he wouldn’t be able to back pedal. It delighted her muse heart.... But relaxed against his shoulder, she nuzzled his throat lightly with the tip of her nose, “I did not have this planned when I said that...”
She hadn’t? Now his eyebrows raised with new appreciation for how quickly she’d brought everything together. Normally it could take a month or more, and she’d managed in a few weeks. He kissed her forehead and pulled her better against him. “You’re amazing. Thank you.”
If she wasn’t the muse of eloquence a ‘damn straight I am’ would have probably come rushing passed her lips. Smiling, she closed her eyes soaking up his praise and affection like it was her birthday and her birthday gift. Selfishly, it kinda was... His success was her success, but with a giggle, her eyes snapped open, “You are welcome. You have to be there by 2 at Abba.”
Adam lifted his eyes to look at the nearest clock. It was still morning, but that also meant that he’d have to leave with time to get there and park. He’d be wanted for socializing and showing off, wouldn’t he? He fought back the minor sigh at such things and brushed it off. “What do I need to be there for?”
As if she was a telepath, she murmured against his skin, “For socializing and showing off. It is important to be seen. The critics learn more about you, they want to see more from you because you are then easier to write about. Other gallery owners blend in with the crowd to see what the others are doing... ready to poach. It is important to be there... But,” she kissed his jaw lightly before continuing, “Do not tell them what you truly meant behind any of the pieces. They will like whatever they come up with more so be mysterious...”
He nodded to her words. Be vague, smile and shrug a lot. He could manage that. “And you’ll be with me?” Hopefully to help peel him away from anyone who became more clingy once they realized that he was the artist of the night.
She could feel a tingling right across her skin. It began at her fingertips and then spread throughout her whole body. Her mortal was asking her to come with him... Be still her heart. But she wouldn’t just volunteer. That wasn’t how it was done. “Do you want me to?”
“Yes.” She did much better with the critics than he did, and she tended to help keep him from downing too much booze. He tipped her head so that he could look her more clearly in the eye and smiled. “Will you come with me?”
“Yes.” Her normal whimsy disappeared from the short word, replaced by something as serious as it was ancient. She lifted her hand to cup his face and then that moment had passed. She giggled and kissed him softly, “Of course I will. Who am I to deny the birthday boy?”
“Good.” He grinned and leaned forward to properly kiss her. He probably would have been more surprised if she’d said no, but at least this way he knew more of what he would be facing. Everything else would handle itself.
Shiri returned the kiss before resting her head once more against his shoulder in total relaxation. Truly, it felt like this was a gift for her from him... but she doubted Adam would especially mind her enjoying his birthday gift as much as he was. “I picked out your clothes already. I may need to change, too.”
He looked over her clothing and shrugged. As far as he cared, she could wear whatever she wanted. It wouldn’t be critical to be over the top formal. In fact, such a thing would probably gain odd looks. “Okay.” He kissed her forehead. “We still have some time before we need to get ready though.”
She was less concerned with formal and more thinking about an outfit that could easily transition from daytime to evening... Her simple blue dress wasn’t cutting it. But that wasn’t something to think about right now. It was still morning. At the stroke of noon, she’d consider it for real. Until then, “Yes. It is still morning and everything...”
“So what should we do for the rest of the morning then?” he asked casually. Normally he’d start on some art, possibly see if Shiri wanted any of his doodles to add to his website, or go over possible outlines for a comic, but today seemed like he could get away with doing something else.
All Shiri could do was shrug. She was too excited about the afternoon and showing off her mortal and artist that to come up with plans that didn’t directly involve it. Like a child at Christmas, she was set on her objectives....
Grinning, Adam simply took her into his arms and stood. Carrying her, he headed down a hall and paused at their current work in progress. He considered it for a moment, before deciding not, and went instead to the direction of their bedroom. “Made we should choose out your dress for tonight...” he suggested.
Her eyes followed the mural on the hallway wall until she could no longer and was taken into the bedroom. That would have been a fun activity to do for a while, but then it was gone from her eyes and instantly forgotten. The murals of the bedroom, dedicated to her, whisked the hallway murals from her mind. “You just want to dress me and undress me...”
He set her on the bed, still smiling. “Is that a problem?”
“No,” she smiled right back to him, curling up on the bed to watch him, “But I wanted the truth to be revealed.”
“So we start with the undressing...” He leaned down to kiss her, his attitude playful. It was his birthday, and he had very simple birthday wishes. Hopefully they’d have a chance for dinner at some point as well.
Shiri was pretty sure the galleries had little hor devours, which would be good as she was also pretty sure she neglected planning for a dinner break. It was hard enough to manage what she did without luxuries like dinner breaks. But she’d cross that bridge with when they got to it. She rolled to her back, putting aside the veil that had covered her hair first. “No black outfits. I look too dramatic in them for the afternoon....”
He nodded. “You could do blue...” Granted, she had blue on at the moment, but he often liked the way she looked in it. “Did you have anything in mind?” Adam climbed onto the bed so he could peer down at her, looking over the clothes she was in and trying to recall what else she had.
He liked her in blue for two reasons, Shiri assumed. The first was she looked good in it but the other was it was probably imprinted in his priestly soul from all the times her eyes had gone blue in his worship. She stretched out beneath his gaze. “I do have a number of blue outfits...I could wear that one that has that cute mini jacket with it. Then throw it in your car when its more evening time.” She knew how ironic that statement sounded, but that was how that outfit worked for some reason.
“That could work,” he answered after a moment of thought. He liked her in that outfit. He liked her in all of her outfits, but some just appealed to him a bit more than others. “You probably even have a scarf or shawl to go with it if you wanted.” Bending over her, he kissed her shoulder.
“I should. People give me scarves and shawls all the time as gifts....” Shiri was very pleased that she was so easy to please and shop for sometimes... It made her accessory collection vast with very little effort on her own part. Her eyes slipped shut at the kiss to her shoulder and when she could feel his lips lift, she shimmied a little to pull her arms out from the short sleeves of her dress to bare her shoulders properly. “To think when I came to America, I said I would not veil and cover my hair.”
“It’s not covered now,” he pointed out, brushing his hand over it as he. But she was now offering him bare shoulders, and he thought it best to accept such an open invitation. Grinning, he bent and kissed her throat, then slowly moved to kiss the newly exposed skin. “And you don’t have to cover it tonight.”
She let out a soft exhale as he kissed her throat and then settled into the bed, draping her arms blindly around him. Shiri didn’t have to see him to drape around him anymore. Months upon months with him easily guided her limbs as to not interfere with his affection. “It is not covered now because I know you like my hair... You are the birthday boy getting to pick out my outfit... do you want me not to cover tonight?”
“I think we can find something else for it...” he murmured. Did he have something in mind? Yes, but that wasn’t exactly where his focus really was. He started to tug gently on her dress, pulling it towards her hips, and following with kisses on the skin as it became exposed. He was the birthday boy, and if he was going to see her in another dress, he had to get her out of this one first.
Shiri continued to shimmy to assist him, letting him strip the dress away from her. It had to come off anyway, after all. With a smile, she opened her eyes again to watch and anticipate the gentle warmth of his lips along her skin. She gripped his shoulders, kneading them softly as he did, “If you have an idea for that ‘something else’ you should tell me before you get too distracted and forget...”
“The jeweled hair clips? Or some glitter hair spray?” He liked the idea of her white hair faintly sparkling under the lights. It would draw attention to her, and away from him, but he knew she could do it subtly, tastefully, and it tended to blend together well. But as she helped to bring the dress down and free herself, he continued to follow it down as well, his hands shifting to trace her sides as he did so.
He was very lucky she wasn’t a telepath or his plan of trying to bring the attention to her wouldn’t have been met as favorably as it was now. She nodded, letting her nail just barely press into his skin in subtle, silent request to let her pull him back to kiss him once more. But even if she was a telepath, she could probably been appeased by reason -- it was only his second major showing -- he would shine in the spotlight on his own soon enough and she could bask in his shadow then. Pressing a firm kiss to his lips, she held him close.
He came up to meet her with her request, lowering enough to gently settle his weight against her. She would have a difficult time not being looked at, merely by being albino. But if Adam had an excuse to see her dressed up, he would take it. It just made everything easier. Of course, right now, she was the center of his attention, and he planned to keep it that way for as long as he could.
Being the center of his attention like this was something Shiri would never resist.. While a little internal clock was ticking away in her divine mind, constantly telling her how much time they had left before they really had to stop playing around and actually get dressed to make it to the showings, the rest of her was perfectly free to enjoy every touch and every glance. As her arms tightened around him, squeezing him just a little as she deepened the kiss, she truly had to remind herself this was his birthday, not hers.
Summary: Adam wakes up on his birthday and seeks out his girlfriend. Shiri gives him breakfast, then reveals just what she’s set up for his birthday.