Mordecai took seriously his promise to give Katie a birthday present worth remembering. Since his Atlantis-induced confession to Valkyrie, it didn’t seem quite so terrible to admit to some sentimentality. As the fifth of May was also a holiday in some worlds, Mordecai had made his plans for early on the day so as not to have the birthday celebration overshadowed by the inevitable Atlantis party. Those plans had required some creativity, especially as he'd tipped his hand about their existence. Shortly before midnight, he’d texted Katie about a concern regarding the Quidditch pitch and asked her to meet him. His bittersweet promotion to co-captain allowed Mordecai, like Katie, regular access to the pitch even at irregular hours, and that was where he'd set up his surprise - a large picnic blanket in the middle of the field. Next to the blanket was a basket stocked with light snacks (it was the middle of the night, after all) and an ice-filled bucket in which a bottle of wine chilled. He'd brought his broom and was circling above the pitch while he waited. There was no point in not getting in some practice when the opportunity presented, after all. It didn't mean he was too nervous to stay still.
There weren’t many people who could have gotten Katie to meet them this close to midnight without grumbling, but Mordecai was one of the few. It was a strange hour, but if he wanted her help with anything, she would gladly be there. The fact that it was nearly her birthday hadn’t occurred to her and she’d expected to find a late night quidditch practice, but the obvious picnic setup was a surprise.
She looked up to where Mordecai was circling the area on a broom and couldn’t help smiling at the sight as she waited for him to land.
As soon as he saw that Katie had arrived, Mordecai circled in. He touched down next to the picnic blanket with a fond smile. "A vitally important occasion begins in-" He made a show of checking his watch, although the moonlight didn't make reading the time easy. "-about ten seconds, and I'm unable to properly celebrate it alone."
“Vitally important?” Katie teased. She didn’t need a watch or a calendar to know it would be her birthday officially when the clock struck midnight, but she couldn’t help playing it a little coy. When he’d asked her to meet him on the Pitch, it hadn’t occurred to her that he had anything like this in mind, but getting a head start on birthday celebrations was hardly something to object to, especially when the company was so good.
"Extremely," said Mordecai with a sage nod before breaking into another smile. "If not for today, Atlantis would be much poorer. My life would be, certainly." That might have been a bit more sentimental than intended, but dwelling on it wouldn't make it less so. He turned to gesture at the picnic arrangements. "Will you join me to celebrate you?"
Katie smiled brightly at that. It might have been a little sentimental, but she felt much the same way about him. The late night picnic was unexpected, but not remotely unwelcome. In fact, she was touched that he would go to so much trouble for her, just to celebrate her birthday. “I would love to,” she said.