Work Text:
May 12th, 20XX
Birthdays had never been that big of a deal in Robert’s world. When he was younger, his mom had tried to make sure he had a nice day, with a present or two and maybe a cupcake with a candle, but they were never big affairs. His dad didn’t have much time, or use, for birthdays, so truly, Robert didn’t think much of them as he grew up. And as he grew up, and he began to pull away from most people, birthdays became even less important, if that was even possible. Hell, he couldn’t even remember when his birthday actually was, and it took getting hired at SDN and putting in all of his information into the employee database to figure it out. And to make matters worse, it wasn’t even him who remembered.
He’d been sitting as his desk, filling out paperwork for Mandy, when Chase peeked over to his cubicle from next door. His eyes narrowed when he looked down at the pages, then chuckled. It was a formal application, one that had to be filled out for posterity’s sake, just to make it look natural and not like he’d been some kind of nepotism hire of sorts. Chase’s eyes scanned the page, and they widened a bit when he noticed that ‘Date of Birth’ line has been left blank.
“You leavin’ that one for last for a reason?” he asked, snapping Robert out of the daze he was in.
“Huh? Leaving what for last?” he asked, his own eyes darting over the page to find the blank line.
“Your birthday, numbnuts. How are you gonna leave your own birthday off of the sheet?”
Robert was quiet for a moment, and Chase’s jaw slackened slightly.
“You gotta be fuckin’ kidding me.”
“No, hey, it’s not what it looks like …”
“Motherfucker, it looks like you don’t remember your own damn birthday.”
Robert scrubbed a hand down his face and leaned back in his chair, causing it to spin slightly. Beside him, Beef balanced on his hind legs to press his front paws to Robert’s thigh, and he reached down to gently scratch the dog behind the ear.
“Look, I haven’t had to think about it much, that’s all. But I know it’s a day during a month of the year.”
That made Chase pause for a moment, then he reached over and swatted the back of Robert’s head, glowering at him.
“Just when I thought you couldn’t get any more embarrassing. It’s May 15th, 1997. Write it down before you forget again.”
Before Chase could swat at him again, he scribbled the date down messily. May 15th, 1997. It definitely rung a bell now, and he could finally get the rest of the paperwork turned in so Mandy could not only update his file, but give his salary the green light, which he needed.
On his way back from Mandy’s office, he stopped by the breakroom to grab a quick bite to eat from the vending machine. Filling out paperwork, and not remembering your own birthday, was enough to make a man hungry. He pulled out his wallet and found a few dollars, then went to make his selection. As he waited for the vending machine to drop his bag of chips, Visi appeared across from him, leaning against the machine with her arms crossed.
“You seriously didn’t remember your own birthday?” she asked, smirking a bit as he jumped.
“Would you knock that off? We don’t need to sneak around or anything,” he muttered, putting a hand to his chest like it was calm his heart rate.
“You say that like you don’t enjoy sneaking around,” she said, pushing off from the machine and grabbing his chip bag from the bottom slot. “Now answer the question.”
“What’s to answer? I think it’s pretty obvious what the answer is. Why is it so important?” he asked, folding his arms over his chest.
“Because it’s, like, the first thing everyone learns about themselves. The list goes address, phone number, birthday, favorite color.”
Robert looked at her with an arched brow, then quickly snatched his bag of chips back from her, with made her grin and shake her head. It was fun to rile him up, and it always had been. But now, there was a bigger problem at hand, and it was coming up fast. Like, three days away fast. The page-a-day calendar on the break room wall read May 12th, and she was sure Robert hadn’t even noticed. He was observant when it came to nearly everything else, but at the same time, it was like he walked around with blinders on, focused solely on whatever was in front of him at the time. It was both endearing and infuriating, but he wouldn’t be Robert otherwise.
“Look, I gotta get back to work. You can tease me about the birthday thing all you want over dinner, yeah?” he asked, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek as he made his way out of the room.
“Sure, we can— wait, did you just ask me to dinner?” she asked, and he smiled in return before heading back to his desk. Smooth fucker, she’d get him back for that. but for now, she had bigger fish to fry.
***
May 13th, 20XX
It was rare that anyone from SDN get a day off, dispatcher and hero alike, but Visi found herself having one of those days. Robert still had to go in, which meant Visi was not only on Beef duty, but she had around eight hours to set her newest scheme into motion. Leashing up the chihuahua, she set out to pick up everything she thought she needed for the Best Birthday Party Ever™.
She’d made a checklist the night before after Robert had gone to bed, and hiding it had been a piece of cake. The hardest part of it all would be hiding the actual party supplies from him. She had to think of an ingenious place to keep everything, and then she had to find a way to set everything up without him noticing. Their place was only so big, and she only had so much time. Maybe she could convince Mandy to give her another day off, or at least let her head out an hour or two early. She had enough good behavior points saved up, or at least, she thought she did, and that could be enough.
With Beef walking alongside her, she made her way to Party Town, the last remaining party supply store in their area, and she hoped that they would have what all she needed. She scooped Beef up into her arms and carried him inside, muttered ‘emotional support animal’ as she walked by a tired looking undergrad stocking shelves. She roamed the store, finally finding the supply aisle, and she huffed softly. The options were … underwhelming, to say the least. Most of the matching color sets were sold out, leaving mismatched options as far as the eye could see. She crouched to take a closer look, and finally settled on two stacks of purple cups, two packages of firetruck plates from a kid’s birthday party, translucent pink plastic cutlery in a variety box, green streamers, and rainbow napkins.
“Good thing we didn’t have a theme in mind, huh?” Visi murmured to Beef, letting him sniff the plastic plates. She had all of her finds balanced precariously in one arm, and she brought it all to the counter to check out. After paying and gratefully accepting the bag of her supplies, she carried the dog from the shop and set him back down to let him sniff. She dug her checklist out of her pocket, reading it over again.
“Okay, supplies purchased. What do we tackle next? Food? Invites? Gifts? Oh my god, gifts. He’s a man, he’ll be impossible to shop for. Think he’ll settle for homemade?” Visi glanced down at Beef, who was sniffing the base of a nearby telephone pole. “Well, you’re no help.”
She set back off down the sidewalk, glancing into store windows to try and get some, any, ideas for gifts. It had to be something good, something that meant a lot, but something that came from her mind. She didn’t want to ask for help, she wanted to be able to come up with the perfect gift all on her own.
And fuck, it was harder than she thought.
“What do you get the guy who definitely doesn’t have everything, but acts like he wants nothing?” she muttered, kicking a rock as they walked down the street. Window shopping was getting her nowhere, and it was getting close to lunch, which meant it was almost time to go and meet Robert on his break. She couldn’t even try and pick his brain then, either. He would catch on, and then the whole thing would be a bust. Being a good girlfriend was taking its toll on her, she debated about starting and argument to feel something again.
Shaking the thought from her head, she stuffed one hand in her pocket and kept a firm hold on Beef’s leash with the other, then sighed.
“You know what isn’t fair about this?” she asked the dog, glancing down at him. “He did something special for me last month. It was probably the best birthday of my life, and here I am, struggling to even think of a single fucking present.”
It was honestly disheartening, but she needed to get it together. It would be embarrassing if she managed to pull everything but the gift off, and she wouldn’t ever live it down. It would haunt her and follow her and —
Something in a nearby window caught her attention, and her eyes widened a bit. It wasn’t often that something perfect just fell into someone’s lap, like a gift from some kind of higher power. But Visi wasn’t stupid, and she knew that she couldn’t let that something pass her by. Scooping Beef up, she made her way into the shop, determination set in her features. This was the one thing she couldn’t fuck up. The one mission she couldn’t fail.
Robert deserved that much.
***
May 15th, 20XX
Everything was carefully hidden inside of Visi’s locker, food orders had been made, guests had been invited, and a gift had been purchased. Everything was falling into place, aside from the final piece.
Set up.
Visi had to find a way to keep Robert out of the house long enough for her to decorate, put food out, and get everyone hidden. Luckily, she had friends in high places, and Mandy had promised she would manage something. Whatever that something was, Visi was sure it would be boring and take way too much time. Perfect.
“You ready to head out?”
Visi walked over to Robert’s desk, her (much heavier) bag slung over her shoulder. She watched him lean back in his seat, then he let out a heavy breath before looking up at her an apologetic eyes.
“I was. But Mandy dropped all this off and said I need to redo them.” He gestured to his desk, and sitting there were the exact same employee forms he had to fill out just a few days ago. “She said something was keyed in wrong and the only way to fix it is to go back and write everything as neat as possible.”
“Oh my god,” Visi muttered, glancing towards Mandy’s office. This was beyond evil, she had to give her some credit. “How long do you think it’ll take?”
“Not too long, but hey, at least I know my birthday now,” he said, a hint of a smirk on his lips.
“Lamest silver lining ever,” she replied, leaning down to kiss his cheek. “Happy birthday, Robert.”
“Thank you, Courtney. Look, head on out without me, I won’t make you wait. I’ll see you in … I’d say an hour. And don’t worry about Beef, he can keep me company.” Robert stood from his seat and cupped her face in both hands, pressing a kiss to her lips. When they pulled back, he didn’t want to let her go. It wasn’t his fault the system fucked up, why did he have to fix it? Couldn’t Mandy just get some verbal confirmation?
“I’ll see you when you get home, then. Just give me a heads up when you head out, I’ll order special birthday dinner. How do you feel about Mexican? That new place opened up nearby … Mister Cactus?” she offered, and he smiled.
“Sounds good. Surprise me, you have good taste.”
With one last parting kiss, Visi left the SDN building, letting out a sigh of relief. An hour, she had an hour to work with, and goddammit, she was going to pull this off.
The ride home took a bit longer than she would have wanted, but that was okay. 45 minutes was still plenty of time to work it, and luckily, Malevola and Sonar were waiting for her.
“About time you showed up. Felt weird just waiting outside,” Malevola said, and Visi huffed before letting them come inside. She flicked the lights on, then went into the living room and dumped the supplies out onto the couch.
“All right, let’s get to work.”
With their combined assistance, the place was soon decorated, the food was set out, courtesy of Chase for easy pick up and delivery, and there was a small table with little gifts. A cake with a clumsily written Happy Birthday, Robert sat on the kitchen counter, and everyone was hidden around the place with the lights shut off.
Visi felt her phone buzz in her pocket, and when she took out her phone, she saw a text from Robert, letting her knew he was almost home, and that Mandy was giving him a ride to make up for the paperwork mishap. She grinned, typed out a quick reply, then shoved her phone away.
“He’s almost here, so everyone shut up, and stay shut up, or I’m throwing you out,” she hissed, then went invisible when she heard the keys rattling in the lock. The door swung open, the lights flicked on, and Visi reappeared as everyone else popped out with an unanimous cry of ‘Surprise!’
Robert was stunned into silence, his keys falling to the ground and his jaw dropping slightly. His friends, his girlfriend, his family, were gathering in his home, on his birthday no less, and had thrown him a party. He was snapped out of his thoughts as Visi wrapped her arms around his neck, her smile wide and proud.
“It’s not Mexican food, but I did surprise you,” she said, and he looked down at her, his features softening.
“You sure did. Holy shit, you really did all of this for me?” he asked, looking back at everyone else. It was still a shock to see everyone back in his home, but celebrating him. Him of all people.
“Duh, it’s your birthday. Come on, get in there!”
The party went off without a hitch, which was the most surprising part. Everyone was having a good time, the food was good, the cake had been enjoyed, and most of the gifts had been opened. It was the most fun Robert had had in a little bit, and it was all thanks to Visi. Again. How she managed to pull this off in just a few days, he wouldn’t ever know, he didn’t want to ask. He just wanted to appreciate the moment, and appreciate the effort she put in for him. In recent memory, she was the first person to give him this much effort, to think he was worth this much, and it made getting older feel that much mors special.
At the end of the night, when everyone had gone home, he was on the couch with Visi and Robert, another slice of cake on his plate and his arm around her shoulders. It was so much quieter now, and it felt good to unwind after a long day.
“I didn’t really have to fix that paperwork, did I?” he asked, balancing his plate on his lap so he had a free hand to feed himself some cake.
“Nope, Mandy came up with that all on her own. Evil, right?” she asked, smirking up at him.
“Evil as fuck. But … it was worth it. I had a nice night. Thank you, Visi,” he murmured, leaning over to press a kiss to her temple.
“You’re welcome. But, you still have one more present to open,” she said, carefully moving his arm and getting up from the couch while making sure she didn’t jostle Beef too much. Without another word, she made her way to the gift table, and she grabbed a smaller blue box, wrapped messily with a clumsy bow on top. Almost bashfully, she held the box out to him when she walked back over, and he took it from her after putting his plate on the coffee table. The box was a bit heavier than he’d expected, so he balanced it where the cake had been, and he took of the bow and ripped the paper off. When he lifted the lid, his eyes widened when he saw what was inside.
Sitting on a velvet stand inside the box was a watch with a navy blue face, a deep blue band, and gold accents. It was probably the nicest watch he’d ever seen, and the only one he’d ever owned.
“Courtney …” he whispered, taking it from the box and immediately putting it on his wrist. He adjusted the time to match what was on the nearby clock, and he bent his arm to admire the timepiece. When he looked back up at her, his grin was wide, and he stood to hug her tight.
“Thank you so much,” he said, relaxing against her as her arms wrapped around his middle.
“You’re welcome. I hope you had a nice birthday, now that you remember when it is,” she said, and she felt him chuckle against her.
“I did. It’ll be hard for you to top next year.”
“Oh, if you think you’re getting something like this every year, you’re very much mistaken.”
The laugh that left him made her chest feel light, and she couldn’t help but smile. Not only was the party a success, but he loved her gift. The gift that she found all on her own, no help needed. Maybe she wasn’t so bad at this girlfriend stuff after all.
“Wait, are you sure that was the last gift to unwrap?” he asked suddenly, and she paused. Was there something else on the gift table?
“Uh, is there something left over there?” she asked, and before she could look over her shoulder, he hoisted her up over his, and she laughed.
“You ass! Put me down!” she cried, gently hitting his back with closed fists.
“Not until I unwrap my final present of the night,” he said, carrying her over his shoulder up to their bedroom, and the last sound that echoed down the hall was Visi’s laughter.