Lem Collier (littlelem) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2021-07-10 13:36:00 |
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Entry tags: | #group scene, #june 2018, lem, nic, vex |
Who: Nic, Lem, and Vex
Where: Vex’s house
When: Monday evening, June 11
Status: complete
Nic generally wasn’t good at surprises, but he was determined to make something happen for Lem’s birthday, even if it was small. After the last six months, he felt like a celebration of some kind was needed, a reason to be happy just for the sake of it. He’d coordinated with Vex and they’d come up with some reason to get her out of the house for a few minutes, just to go pick up take out for dinner, and while they were gone Nic brought over the cake, and some flowers, and then his gift for her, then put up a Happy Birthday banner. It was simple, the kind of birthday he’d be fine with if he didn’t have a twin sister who demanded more. If he’d gotten Zania involved, it would have been over the top, and there would have been more people, and liquor, and he just wanted something that was kind of low key fun. A party, but not a party. He just hoped Lem was okay with that.
Vex knew when Lem's birthday was by heart, remembering that date wasn't difficult. Knowing what day it was currently was a different story as he only occasionally cared about such 'trivial' matters now that he wasn't working. His response to Nic's suggestion was pretty much 'Fuck! It's today!' and then he was onboard with everything Nic was planning. He knew Lem well by now but she was not the most stable person in his life and so he never really knew what exactly to expect from her. One day she might love a big party and loud noises, the next she'd rather just hunker down with her closest people and keep it quiet. He hoped she didn't want a big bang today, but if she did, they could always take a ride somewhere and make some noise. For now it was a small affair and he nagged at Lem to help him with something out of the house, hoping he'd give Nic enough time to set it all up while they were gone. If Lem wanted liquor, they had enough of it in the kitchen, but this was a good start either way and he let her enter the house first as he carried in the groceries they'd bought, not so much out of necessity but as a ruse to get her out of the house.
Lem wasn’t great at keeping track of days either, so while she knew her birthday was soon, it hadn’t really clicked that it was today until after she and Vex were out of the house. She noticed it on the little screen as they paid for the groceries Vex had insisted he needed help with. Lem thought briefly about going back for some cookies or something, but decided against it. She wasn’t dying to celebrate -- as they drove back toward the house, she thought maybe she would just drink some later, or go over to Nic’s, or both. Lem couldn’t even remember if she’d told him when her birthday was. So she definitely wasn’t expecting anything as Vex parked the van and they climbed out to grab bags to carry. They walked in through the front, but Lem headed for the kitchen first thing to set the bags down. She spotted Nic first and gave a little squeaky startle, then her eyes widened as she took in the banner and the stuff on the table.
Nic heard them return the moment the van pulled into the drive, and went to stand by the table, shifting from one foot to the other as he waited. He felt out of place at the moment, in their house without them there, and not at all sure how this would go over with Lem. Sometimes she was so loud that he thought she might want something big, something that would be better at a bar, with a lot of people, but she’d been so quiet and withdrawn over the last few months that it was hard for him to figure out where she was now. Somewhere in-between, he told himself, and felt his heart pounding in his chest as her steps carried her into the kitchen. “Happy Birthday,” he smiled back at her. “We thought a little party was in order.”
It would never cease amusing Vex when Lem made those little sounds. She had often reminded him of a little cartoon character but she was also mercurial so anything that brought out the joy in her was a good thing and he was infinitely pleased Nic had suggested they do something for her. "Happy birthday, squirrel," he chimed in and gently rubbed her shaved head. "How old are you now? Ten? Forty?" Teasing came naturally but it wasn't a far out question by a long shot. Lem was ageless and Vex couldn't really remember how old she was. He barely remembered how old he was, especially these days when those months on the other side had felt like years.
“Ohmygodyouguys,” Lem half-whined, all of the words running together. She dropped the bags in her hands and put both of them over her mouth as her eyes started to water. It was happy water though, because Nic and Vex had obviously worked together to surprise her and that was so sweet. She rushed forward to throw her arms around Nic and squeeze him tight-tight. Lem had never been huge on birthday parties, too rowdy of a kid to have many good friends who wanted to come, and too wild as a teenager to want cake and balloons and cliche shit like that. But this was so cute and sweet, she just couldn’t do anything but love it. “Twenty-two,” she answered with a watery laugh. “Come here ...” Lem reached to drag Vex into the hug too, to make it a group affair. “I can’t believe y’all did this, sneaky buttheads!”
Nic laughed as she threw her arms around him and lifted her off the ground, something that was easy when he was so tall and she was so tiny. The joy on her face warmed him to the core, feeling that bubbly, happy feeling that he’d so rarely experienced with anyone other than Lem. This was exactly what he wanted for her and her happiness was contagious, spreading to him and Vex as she pulled them into a group hug. “Twenty-two?” he grinned, teasing her. “Already? I could’ve sworn it was your sixteenth.” If that was true, the party would have been much bigger, with a lot more alcohol, even if she’d have been under age. He’d also probably be arrested for that exact same reason. Twenty-two was much better. “We thought you deserved a party. You like chocolate, right?”
Vex let out a little bark of a laugh at the question. "Lem loves chocolate," he said with a grin and hugged on both of them with Lem dangling between them. "And so do I." He pulled away and grabbed the grocery bags Lem had dropped so he could put the stuff away, at least the crap that needed to be in the fridge. "What's everyone drinking?" he added and the only reason he didn't grab himself some vodka was that it didn't pair well with cake in the mood he was currently in.
It was completely delightful to be sandwiched between her two favorite men and squished, and Lem giggled and enjoyed it until Vex moved on. Once Nic set her on her feet again, she turned to really take in everything he’d set up for her. It was simple, but that was okay, that was all she needed. The important part was that he’d wanted to do something to make her happy. Lem had had precious few of those types of people in her life. “I love chocolate,” she confirmed, still grinning from ear to ear. “And all of this, this is so sweet. But um, what goes good with chocolate cake? Rum? Do we have rum?” she asked Vex, even as she started toward the cabinets to look for herself. Lem didn’t intend to get trashed or anything, but getting tipsy and eating cake sounded fun.
“Whiskey, rum, and red wine,” Nic said, doubting they had the last on hand, even if he thought it might be the best in terms of pairing. He wasn’t picky, but would have agreed with Vex about the vodka. “We do have food,” he reminded them, wondering if he should start unpacking the takeout or leave it for later. It had mostly been an excuse to get Lem out of the house. “Though I’m not opposed to dessert first. I could do a rum and Coke if we have coke.” He felt like he should have been more prepared on the alcohol front, but Vex and Lem usually had that covered. It was the one thing that he could usually rely on in their pantry.
"We have all of that but red wine," Vex replied, proving Nic right. He made quick work of putting away the groceries then grabbed the soda from the fridge and set the bottle down on the kitchen table. "We should have red wine, it's classy and shit." He could feel the vague tingling of a vision coming on but he suppressed it. This was Lem's moment and he didn't want to spoil it with something potentially miserable. It felt good, actually, being able to just push it away. He'd never been able to do that before and he made a note of telling Lem about it at a more convenient time.
Lem wrinkled her nose. Maybe her palate was still unrefined or she’d only had the cheapest wine possible, but she didn’t really like it. Rum and Coke was much more her speed, and she went to the cabinets to grab a few glasses for them. “You guys can drink wine like you’re all fancypants and stuff, I’ll stick to a real man’s drink,” she teased her men -- both of whom were very real, of course -- with a grin. It was her birthday, but Lem started pouring the drinks anyway. She knew how strong she and Vex both liked theirs. “Drinks first, then cake, then food,” she decided. “For me, anyway.” Having a full meal and then drinks just wasted the alcohol, in her opinion.
"I wasn't saying I wanted wine, just that it goes well with chocolate," Nic grinned. He knew he could go all fancypants from time to time, but he wasn't feeling it tonight. He just wanted to veg with Lem and Vex and celebrate things feeling kinda good for once. It felt like a huge jump from where he'd been, but he was trying to make things work and so far things were working out for him. For all of them, really. "Drinks first," he agreed as he stuck a few candles in the top of the cake. "And there's presents, whenever you're ready for them. But I think we need to light the candles and sing before we can have cake. It's tradition."
It wasn't a tradition Vex had honored much in his life but he was more than willing to play along for Lem and Nic and he thought that if his aunt was here she'd be happy to see some celebration taking place in her home after all this time. She had after all been the one who baked cakes for Vex when it was his birthday, always more attentive than his parents were. "And you gotta make a wish," he said with a toothy grin as he grabbed his drink and raised his drink as if in a toast. "Them's the rules. Make it a good one, kiddo."
“Ohmygod,” Lem giggle-groaned, her cheeks flushing with embarrassed pleasure. She wasn’t used to anybody making this sort of fuss over her, at least not since she’d been a little kid, so it felt awkward and delightful at the same time. It made her want to down her glass and pour another one, but that wasn’t how toasts worked. So she just watched Nic light the candles with a big grin. “Okay you dorks, sing to me,” she said once they were all lit, glancing between Nic and Vex. It was so foreign to feel so nice all at once, but Lem was eating it up. They were all entitled to some of that, after the past six months or so.
Nic honestly hated being sung to, especially at his age, but it was the sort of thing that felt right at the moment, especially with Lem. It was a way of showing affection, more embarrassing for them than for her, even though she was the center of attention. A wave of his hand lit the candles and then he started to sing as he carried the cake over to her, setting it down in front of her. “Happy birthday to you…” He grinned, glad it wasn’t just him, that Vex was willing to play along. He felt a laugh trying to bubble up as he neared the end and his eyes danced with amusement. This was silly, but it was so worth it. “Make a wish,” he reminded her as soon as they were done.
Vex wasn't a good singer, but that didn't stop him from belting out the awful old birthday song that nobody really wanted to hear followed with a quick and cheerful 'for she's a jolly good fellow'. He sat down at last, straddling the kitchen chair and watching Lem intently when it was time to blow out the candles. Magically lit candles had to mean a more powerful wish so he hoped she asked for something great from the universe. They deserved good things, they were well past due good things.
They were both bad enough to sound hilarious together, and Lem grinned like a loon through the whole dumb song, feeling bubbly-happy about the whole thing. It was cliche and silly, but so very cute, and she loved that they’d worked together to do something fun for her. She bobbed her head back and forth as they sang, then giggled when it was time to make a wish. Lem squeezed her eyes shut and tried to think of something to wish for that hadn’t already come true in the past month or so. She ended up silently wishing that nothing horrible like that would happen to them again, and blew out the candles. Lem laughed and looked at the both of them. “I can’t remember the last time I did that,” she declared, picking up her drink again for a swallow.
Lem’s grin was worth every bit of humiliation in Nic’s opinion. There’d been months where he hadn’t thought he’d ever see that smile again, would have given anything for just a hint of the hope that shined in her eyes. Having it back felt like a wish already come true. Now all he wanted was a few months of peace, some time to find their footing again. He knew it wouldn't last forever, but they deserved it after everything they’d been through. “That’s the point,” he smiled, and began to cut the cake for the three of them. “We need to celebrate. Your birthday, being here, together. I don’t want it to be like every other day. We should… find ways to try and enjoy ourselves. Or something like that.”
"Damn right," Vex agreed and eagerly accepted a slice of cake when it was offered to him. "But we should also make the most of every day, eat what we want, drink what we want, when we want." He drank to that before taking a big bite of the cake, humming his approval of how it tasted with the alcohol. There were grim days ahead and sometimes he wondered if he should somehow get Lem untangled from all the AIR plots; she was young and her only involvement was because of him. He had to fight himself not to bring that up now, today was a joyous day and he was determined to keep it that way and that meant the darkness inside of him could shut the fuck up. "So what does the birthday squirrel wanna do today? Anything you want, firecracker."
Lem hugged Nic from behind while he cut the cake, touched at his words and trying to resist the bouncing she wanted to do so she wouldn’t mess him up. The booze was starting to seep in and making her feel even more buoyant and floaty. It was probably good they were getting some food in them, she didn’t want to get sloppy so early. She let go of her boyfriend in favor of cake, and gave a little squee at Vex’s question. “Ummmm, no pressure right?” she giggled as she forked up a bit of cake. “I dunno, this is all really good already. Maybe we can all just ... get drunk and pick something dumb and hilarious to watch?” Lem glanced between them with a grin before she popped her fork in her mouth. “We’ve never all been drunk together,” she pointed out.
Nic wasn’t good at everyday indulgences. It was a part of his upbringing that was too strong to shut out, the fact that he had obligations he couldn’t or shouldn’t ignore. He liked the idea of making the most of every day, but he also had to work, among other things. Every day couldn’t be special, but today could be. It was Lem’s day. He loved this closeness, the hugs and her energy, and he wanted it to last. “Getting drunk and watching something stupid could be fun,” he smiled, cutting himself a piece of cake, then enjoying a bite before adding. “I should warn you, I get kinda creative after a few drinks.” They’d seen him at Christmas, but that was with a house full of people. Even drunk, he knew to keep it reined in with an audience.
"Creative? You?" Vex teased with a bark of a laugh, reaching over to ruffle Nic's hair. "I find that really hard to imagine." He knew the Castells well enough now to know it was an understatement, those kids were wildly creative and inventive in that rare way that really enamored Vex to them. He wasn't so sure his aunt had liked them much when she was alive, but maybe if she had befriended them she wouldn't have been mauled to death by a werewolf. It was sad to think something so simple could have saved her and he didn't want to be sulky so he pushed the thought away and had another piece of cake. Sarah would have liked them now that they were Vex's friends. "We've been drunk together," he pointed out. "But never just the three of us so that'll be fun."
Lem knew Vex was kidding, because Nic was full of creativity. His whole bedroom was a blank canvas for his illusions, pretty much, and how did you get more creative than that? So she snickered at the hair ruffling and munched on some more cake. “Oh right, the Christmas party!” she remembered. It wasn’t the same, since that had been a huge party and this was just the three of them. Lem was briefly tempted to ask Nic what Zania and Gabriel were up to, but she thought better of it. She honestly just wanted her boys there with her and that was it, and it was her birthday so she should get what she wanted. Even when she hadn’t even known she wanted it, like a surprise cake and flowers and a banner and a birthday song. She bounced a little in her chair and smiled at the two of them. “Then bottom’s up, gentlemen,” Lem said, lifting her glass to clink with each of them. “I love you both so much, happy fuckin’ birthday to me.”
It struck Nic that Lem and Vex knew him better than anyone else, other than Zania. They’d seen him at his best and worst, drunk and sober, and in a few of the worst situations of his life. And yet they were still here. They knew what he could do because they’d been paying attention, not because he’d spent a lot of time showing off. That they cared enough to notice meant the world to him. He was weirdly touched, like he’d gotten a gift, even if it wasn’t his birthday. “Happy birthday, love,” he smiled, clinking his glass against hers. “I do have a little present for you. Something small and… skeletal.” As if on cue, the bag on the table rustled and then fell over. Nic laughed softly as boney little nails clicked on the table and the lizard stuck his head out, seemingly curious about its new home.
Vex hadn't gotten Lem a present but he felt no embarrassment for it, she could have anything she wanted today and he wasn't good with gifts. If anything, holding back on everything he wanted to do with his visions for her was a gift. He let out a delighted laugh at the little skeleton, still unsure how that whole thing even worked but it was fun and that was the point. He looked to Lem to see her reaction. It made him kind of glad he hadn't tried to buy her something, it would have been small and stupid in comparison to this.
Lem’s eyes widened as she spotted the moving bag, and she jumped a tiny bit when it fell over. She hadn’t expected any presents from either of them at all, much less one that was alive! Though it turned out not to be alive, but one of Nic’s little skeleton creatures. She gasped and her face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Ohmygod Nic!” she declared, loud at first until she turned her volume down so she wouldn’t scare the magic creature. A second later Lem realized it didn’t have ears or anything, so maybe it wouldn’t care. She put her drink down and reached out to offer the bone-lizard her hand to sniff or crawl onto or whatever it was going to do. “It’s for me? And it’s a lizard, so cool!”
“I thought you might like it,” Nic grinned, pleased with her reaction. There weren’t many girls that would appreciate a dead lizard for their birthday, but he thought Lem would know it was more than that. It was a pet, one that had taken him months to assemble, never quite sure that he’d even give it to her. It had been a hope that he’d continued to nurse, even when there’d been no concrete reason to. And then Vex had come back and all his work had paid off. When Lem put her hand down, the creature crawled towards her, tentative before moving onto her hand. Its head tilted to the side as it looked at her, as if curious. “There’s a bracelet that helps you control it,” Nic said, going to retrieve it from the bag for her. Nic gestured for her to hold out her hand and he fastened it on for her. “When you’re not wearing it, or giving it orders, it’ll just act like a normal lizard. A mostly domesticated one, that you don’t have to feed and don’t have to clean up after.”
"The perfect pet," Vex chuckled and made a note to himself that if he ever gave in to the urge to get a very, very big dog to replace wolf-Carson, he'd have to be damn careful the dog didn't think this was a chew toy. A big dog was probably a bad idea anyway but the temptation was often there, especially when he was asleep alone at night with nothing big and furry breathing next to him. "Can it do tricks?" he asked, leaning in a little closer to see just how the critter was put together.
Lem offered her left wrist for Nic to put the bracelet on, and it felt nice and natural there, so that was good. The bony feet against her palm tickled a bit and she was grinning as she held it up more for Vex to inspect. Nic had chosen the perfect skele-pet to give her, Lem was just ridiculously delighted with the cute lizard skull and that long tail. She knew from asking Nic a bunch of questions that these weren’t easy for him to make, so she knew he hadn’t just whipped it up the night before. “He’s perfect. Or she?” she asked, looking over at Nic with a raised eyebrow. “Do you know? Or maybe I should just call it a they. What use is gender when you’re just bones and magic anyway, right?”
“It can do whatever Lem asks it to do,” Nic said with a little smirk. “Within reason. It can’t fly.” But it could fetch if she wanted it to fetch, and it could probably do a little dance. It could send messages back and forth, if she needed it to. But it was still just a lizard. “So, I know nothing about lizard anatomy, except how the bones fit together, but when I did the reanimation spell, I got a sense that it’s a girl.” She’d actually told him, but Nic didn’t want to get into things that Lem wouldn’t be able to do. That kind of information could only be obtained through necromancy. He tended to think that the bracelet would allow her something like necromancy-lite. “Also, I reinforced the bones, so she’s not near as fragile as she looks. Just don’t, like, run over her with a car or something.”
Vex barked out a laugh at that. "We'll try not to run her over," he said. "Or step on her. Lem, you gotta make sure she's not scuttling around on the floor at night, keep her close." He wasn't the most attentive person when he wasn't focusing on something with purpose, his mind usually miles away and he could all too easily picture himself clumsily crushing the small lizard if it ended up in his path. "How long will this last? Forever? Years? Months?" He lightly patted the top of the skull and wondered if Lem would grow bored with it if it lasted forever. She was so much like him, quick to move on to a new thing, easily distracted.
Even though she’d said it didn’t matter, Lem liked the idea that her lizard was a girl. Unable to stop smiling, she lowered her hand and let the lizard scuttle back onto the table again. “I’ll take good care of her, she’ll know where not to go,” she said, sounding utterly confident about that already. Lem already wanted to let the thing ride around on her shoulders wherever she went. “Yeah, how long?” she asked, lifting her eyes to Nic. “And how do I make her do stuff? Do I think it or say it out loud?” Then Lem squinted at the lizard, taking a stab at giving a telepathic order to her new pet, like Gabriel did to his.
“I’ve yet to disable one, so I’m not really sure?” Nic said, though he knew that wasn’t quite accurate. The initial activation spell was intense, but after that it just ran in the background of his mind. “I usually refresh the magic about once a year, kinda like we do the wards around our house. It’s fueled by my magic.” And his blood, but that was beside the point. It would probably fizzle out eventually if he forgot about it, but he’d yet to let that happen. “Unfortunately, you’ll need to say it out loud,” he smiled. “Telepathy with any kind of inanimate object is tricky, but can also be dangerous. You might think something you don’t really mean and it won’t be able to pick up on that. In the same vein, don’t jokingly tell it to bite someone unless you actually want them bitten.”
Vex laughed again, this time because that damn thing was going to be biting everyone and everything - including him - if he knew Lem right, which he did. "I hope you like little lizard nibbles," he told Nic and it was definitely smart not to have the commands be telepathic. Minds were chaotic and his and Lem's minds were especially insane, institution certified crazy and off their meds. "Just don't bite me while I'm sleeping," he added, wagging his finger at the little lizard. "I can't be held responsible for what I do when I'm barely awake."
Knowing that the dead lizard pet was so closely tied to Nic made Lem love it even more. It would be like having a piece of him with her all the time, and keeping Her People close to her always made her happy. Now that she knew the commands had to be verbal, she tried it out. “Go to the edge of the table and come back,” she told the lizard. It turned and tip-tapped its way across the table and then back to her, tail waving from side to side as it moved. Lem giggled with delight, then had it go say hello to Nic and then Vex in turn, the bony little head lifting up to each of them. “Pet her!” Lem demanded both times, grinning her head off. This was going to be fun, and she was already thinking of making some sort of little carrying pouch to keep it in. Or she would just wear hoodies all the time and let it live in the hoods. Lem told it to come back to her and was ecstatic when her new friend did just that. It crawled up her extended arm and settled on her shoulder. Lem could feel the little claws dig in as she got up abruptly and moved to Nic, throwing her arms around him. “I love her, and I love you,” she said, peppering kisses against his cheek. “Thank you so much.”
The joy she got from ordering the little lizard around and earning pets made all the work worth it, but her outburst afterwards was the icing on the cake. Neither of them were known for words of affection, so hearing that she loved him, even in response to a gift, made Nic absolutely glow. He’d made her happy, something he’d felt incapable of doing for so many months that this felt like he’d somehow earned a fucking medal. He knew a lot of it was timing, that this probably wouldn’t have been worth shit if Vex was still gone, but that didn’t matter. Her happiness was contagious and it made him want to lift her up and spin her around, so he did just that. “You’re welcome,” he grinned. “If you ever want me to glamour her up so you can take her out, let me know. People generally freak out when they see moving skeletons.”
Vex did all he was asked to, petting the lizard on cue, careful not to press too hard. It looked so fragile, but given the magic that controlled it it was probably sturdier than it looked. "Ooh," he cooed when Nic spoke. "He can make it look like a real lizard, Lem!" He was every bit as fascinated as Lem with this creature and he wouldn't be surprised if he'd be seeing a lot of it in the near future. "It'll still freak people out to pet it, unless your glamour is tactical too." He laughed at the idea of petting a lizard, only for his finger to go through its skin and land on bone. He kinda wanted to see that now, see someone freaked out by it, even if it was probably not a good idea.
Lem couldn’t remember being so giddy-happy. Well, maybe when she’d seen Vex in the shower, home from the other world, but that had carried so many other emotions with it too. This was just bubbly happiness and the feeling of being more loved than she maybe had ever been in her life. The lift and twirl from Nic made her squeal and giggle, and she was still grinning as she wrinkled her nose. “Don’t force skin back on her! She just got free of the mortal coil!” she insisted with a laugh, reaching up to rub the bony little head. “I can make her hide if I take her out. But you know ... maybe -- oooh, maybe she can look like a different lizard every time! Like disguises.” She tittered and gave Nic’s body another squeeze. Lem already wanted to drag him upstairs with her to thank him privately, but that would just have to wait. Hopefully he would want to spend the night with her. “We live to freak people out though, I just don’t want anybody to try and take her. Nope, never gonna give you up,” she cooed to the skeleton on her shoulder, then made little kissy sounds at it. “Thank you guys so much,” Lem added, looking at both of them with warmth. “This is the best birthday ever. Cake and booze and a magical dead thing ... you two know me so well.”
Nic had had no idea she would love the lizard so much, but he was thrilled with her response. Gift giving wasn’t something he’d ever felt good at, but he was two-for-two with Lem, it seemed. He could see her wanting to change its colors regularly, making it into a chameleon of sorts, or even adding details like sunglasses or hats. Whatever she wanted, he’d do his best to make it happen. He grinned as she petted the boney little creature, pleased with the way it perched on her shoulder. They would bond nicely. “We aim to please,” he snickered. This was all they had planned, but it seemed just about perfect.