[Closed] Birthday Girl

[demureshift]

Title: Birthday Girl
Characters: Horikita Maki, Kuroki Meisa, Ninomiya Kazunari, Ohno Satoshi
Location: Meisa's Apartment/Death and Company (433 6th St)
Week: Week 7, Friday, October 8, 6:45pm
Rating: PG?
Warnings: ...drinking

Comments

[demureshift]

Maki muffled a giggle at Meisa's returned look, and picked delicately at her mushroom tart with a fork while she let the conversations roll over her. Yes. This was a birthday gathering worth having, and her first in longer than she liked to think of.

She was lucky. She would have to do something good for Meisa, as well, for suggesting this at all.

Her eyes widened at Ohno and Nino across the table as they seemed to indicate there was something she had missed about their gift.

"What is inside," she questioned warily, eying them both suspiciously as she set down her fork, in order to reach under the table to get the box at her feet. She made room for it on the table before bringing it up to open the top, settling it in her lap in order to pull out the bag and pry open the clasp. She was worried it would be delicate but it felt solid under her fingertips.

What she pulled out was a card, a credit card, and Maki stared at it uncomprehendingly for a moment before it clicked like a light switch. "Ah! It's one of those...Oh, thank you! Really the purse would have been enough!" If she were a fairy, she would have been glowing.

[lol_dancess]

Meisa had forgotten that Nino had told her about the gift card he and Ohno got along with the purse. She took a bite of her share of the mushroom tart as Maki opened the bag almost as carefully as she had opened her gift. The resulting blush on Maki's face made Meisa smile. She was glad to have suggested going out for her friend's birthday. "I left your present at home, it was on the bed and I totally forgot to mention it!"

"Do you think we should order some more food?" Taking a sip of the punch, Meisa looked at Nino and Ohno. "There's cake at home by the way, I hope you guys will come!"

[tsuribakasami]

Ohno chuckled when the realization hit Maki's face. Leaning into Nino, he shook his head. "We wanted to get you a dress or a pair of cute heels or something, but we figured this was safer." And it helped Ohno's paychecks had been fairly heavy - the show was doing well.

He sat up when Meisa mentioned more food. "Did you order entres yet? Or just the fries and ..." He looked at Maki's tart, "is that mushroom?"

"I will go anywhere that cake is involved, if you'll have us," Ohno said with a smirk to Meisa.

[faysounds]

Nino watched Maki's reaction with a smile. Since Meisa had gotten Maki a dress, Nino was glad they'd chosen to go with the bag. And now Maki could buy herself whatever she wanted.

He shook his head at Ohno, taking a fry and dipping it into the truffle-and-cheese sauce and nibbling on it. "No entrees, just the appetizers and punch."

He fetched the menu with his free hand and offered it to Ohno. Appetizers were fine for him, but Ohno would need something more substantial after doing a show.

"I will follow Ohno to wherever cake is involved," Nino added teasingly, "Someone has to drag him home."

[demureshift]

Maki was still a little overwhelmed by the generosity of her friends and she sent Meisa an amused look. "I know I told you you didn't have to get me anything..." she murmured, but she was grateful, truly.

It amused her to think about, more than she would admit aloud, Ohno and Nino searching for a gift for her, possibly considering choosing a dress, or shoes. It was a sweet image. "I'll make sure to pick something out I really like," she promised, and when she did, she would make sure to show them.

"Ah..." Maki began, once she'd carefully packed the gift away again, because she knew there was a reason this bar might have been a bad idea. "They don't have entrees and appetizers really separate, just specific dishes...but some of them are quite good! Really special."

Maki remembered all at once that Meisa had joked of getting her a cake, but she couldn't help hiding behind her palm a little bit that she really had done so.

Though, if it meant potentially luring Ohno and Nino back to the apartment for romance movie night...maybe she shouldn't complain. She laughed at both of them, taking another careful drink of her punch and nudging her part of the mushroom tart toward Ohno. "Want to try this in the meantime? It's very good."

[lol_dancess]

Meisa raised her eyebrow at Maki's amused look. Who didn't get their friend a gift for her birthday? Sure they had just met (that's what made it hard to find a gift in the first place), but wasn't it written somewhere in the 'How to be a Good Friend Manual' that that's what you did? Meisa gave Maki a wry grin. "That's what friends do. I hope you'll like it."

"Their macaroni dish sounds really good. Does anyone want to split that with me?" Meisa didn't think that she could finish it herself, she was starting to get full. She went to take another sip of her punch and realized that it was finished. When had that happened? "Ummm, should we order more punch as well? I can just order a drink for myself if no one wants more to drink."

Meisa was happy that Nino and Ohno would come and have cake with her and Maki. She was sure that the two of them could finish it off themselves, but it was more fun to share with others, she felt.

[tsuribakasami]

Ohno grinned at the exchange between the girls, looking through his menu. Several of the items sounded fantastic and he was absolutely starving.

Maki offered to let him try hers, but he didn't want to demolish it due to hunger. And if he started, it looked delicious enough he might do just that. "I'm not big on mushrooms," he decided to fib instead.

"I'd offer to share, but I think I need to get something of my own," he grinned sheepishly, "need energy to keep up with you lot tonight." To be honest, the Crispy Pork Belly looked both slightly terrifying but also probably delicious. Ohno had yet to meet a pig he hadn't found delicious.

Checking his own drink, Ohno laughed over at Meisa's now empty one. "I could probably keep going with the punch. It's good."

[faysounds]

Nino sipped his punch - as alcohol went, it was pretty good - and grinned a bit when Meisa found her glass empty. "I'll help you with a couple forkfulls of the macaroni," he offreed, "but don't expect too much. I'm a bird-like eater."

Similarly he was going to let them all choose the alcohol for him. Nino had no idea what would be considered a 'good drink'.

[demureshift]

"I'm sure I will," Maki answered softly, a little shyly, because even if she could accept it it was still an adjustment to have friends that would do things like buy her gifts, and take her out for drinks on her birthday.

Maki was still only less than half-way through her first glass of punch, because she was worried about drinking too much. She did giggle that Meisa was already through, and...well. It was her birthday. "I guess we can order some more punch. I don't know if I should mix this tart with macaroni and cheese and punch, though."

Speaking of her tart, she gave a small smile and a light shrug, that Ohno was disinterested in mushrooms and went back to picking at it.

[lol_dancess]

Meisa exchanged a shy smile with Maki. For all her forwardness, she was glad that Maki hadn't been scared away.

When Nino offered to take a bit of the macaroni, Meisa smiled. "Well if we don't finish it, we could get it boxed to go right?" To Maki she said, "I think it should be okay if you have some fries in between... kinda like a taste buffer? It shouldn't shock the taste buds too much if you do that."

"More punch then? Shall we get the same or try the Honshu Punch or Bloodhound Punch?" She looked to Ohno to decide, Nino and Maki didn't look like they were going to finish their first round of drinks anytime soon.

[tsuribakasami]

Ohno took a peak over at the menu again, chewing his lip. This punch (he assumed it was the kings one since Meisa had named off the other two) had been good, but going with a new one would be exciting. "I'd say Honshu would be good," he said with a grin. "This one's on me." A sort-of celebratory gesture for Maki's birthday and a gathering of friends.

He caught a waitress as she passed, ordering his crispy pork belly and the Honshu punch on his own tab while letting Meisa place her own order for the macaroni and cheese. This accomplished, Ohno settled back in his seat and moved to lean into Nino again. His hand found Nino's by his side and he laced their fingers, his own brushing lightly over the back of Nino's hand.

[faysounds]

Nino looked at Ohno - just a little out of the corner of his eye. His head tilted to brush against Ohno's. The corner of his lips quirked up. He squeezed Ohno's hand lightly.

When the new round of punch arrived, Nino lifted his old glass in a toast. "To the birthday girl, Maki-chan. Slàinte!"

[demureshift]

"Hmm," Maki hummed, eying the fries. Meisa was right, and she did want to have a some, and it would be good to have a little more in her stomach if they were switching to the punch with whiskey.

Reaching out, Maki pulled a couple onto her plate after a little dunk into the sauce. Shooting a tiny, thankful smile Ohno's way as he made the order.

Before she knew it, the fries she had picked out were gone, her tart was nearly gone, and the new punch was there. She still needed to get through the rest of her glass of the old but, Nino was helping with that. She blushed around a sip, nodding at the toast, though her eyes lit dimly with curiosity at the unfamiliar word. "What language is that?"

[lol_dancess]

Meisa also raised her new glass of punch to toast Maki. Her curiosity was piqued at the unfamiliar word. Having grown up around Spanish speakers all her life, Meisa was pretty sure it wasn't a Romance language. "It sounds pretty and... very Celtic?" she took a wild guess. It reminded her of her brief obsession with the United Kingdom when she was younger.

As she took a sip of her punch (this one had a slight kick to it the other didn't have), Ohno's order of the crispy pork belly and her macaroni and cheese arrived. It smelled heavenly. "Mmmm. Maki? Nino? Take as much as you want." She indicated to the plate in front of her. "Would you like to try a bit Satoshi?"

[tsuribakasami]

Ohno raised his glass in toast, grinning softly over at Maki. "Omedetou, Maki-chan," he added, and took a sip of his new punch. This one was definitely stronger than the last, but Ohno was enjoying it just as much.

Nino was against him, and it felt perfect. He hadn't seen the fay since early this morning, though it had felt like quite longer. Maki was across him and Meisa was there as well. Even if Meisa hadn't gotten as close to them as Maki had, she was still a pretty strong presence in Ohno's mind now.

Their food came and Ohno sat up (though he didn't leave Nino's side). His looked absolutely fantastic. Meisa offered a bite of hers and he pondered for a moment. "Yeah, okay, want to try mine?" He'd be good and only eat a bite of Meisa's.

[faysounds]

Nino sipped his punch, finishing the glass at last. He picked up his fork, foregoing the new punch for the moment, and dipped it into the macaroni and cheese. It was good, he decided, even if he liked Bluebell's better. He chewed and swallowed, and grinned at Meisa.

"If that's what they call it now. It was what they spoke on Scotland back in the day. Sort of still do, I hear, though I think the Irish actually use it more fluently."

He turned his smile over to Maki. "It's a toast that means 'health'."