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Post by ~ ADMIN on Sept 7, 2010 15:27:30 GMT -5
When Anna double checked her notebook and discovered that it was Ben's birthday on the 13th of September, her brain immediately when into overdrive. This was the first time she'd ever had to consider doing something for her boyfriend's birthday, and although it was strange even thinking the word boyfriend, she knew she had to make Ben's twenty-fifth birthday as awesome as she possibly could. She did love him after all, and they had talked about going on a proper date at some point, so why not combine the two.
She had told him that they were going out on the 13th, whether he'd remembered it was his birthday or not, or whether he'd figured she knew... she didn't really know, or mind. She'd booked a table at a small bar on their next stop off, one of the large moons around Olympia, and got everything else ready. Anna had told him to dress smart casual, she wasn't going to make him wear a suit on his birthday, and him wearing one had the propensity to make her head spin - not to mention that fact that he'd be turning up over dressed.
Then she'd had to sort out a present. Small but meaningful had been her decision, but what? It wasn't like he needed anything for work, and his hobbies were limited... then she'd remembered his guitar playing, and instantly thought of something which made her grin. So, having secured his present and wrapped it, and now that she had got dressed and made herself look respectful, she stepped out into the common room, looking round to see that it was empty. Good.
Walking over to Ben's door, she knocked a couple of times. "Your escort is here, good sir," she said through the door, "and on this special occasion, for one night only, you may be pleased to hear that she is in fact wearing a dress. Shocking, I know." She smiled a little, clutching the present in her hand, she couldn't wait for him to open it. "Ready, darling?" |
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Post by karen2 on Sept 20, 2010 23:11:19 GMT -5
Smart casual--what did that even mean? Ben hadn't the slightest. Taking a wind of a guess, he decided he'd just pair a button-down with a pair of jeans and roll with it. The only person he particularly felt inclined to impress was Anna, and he usually only had to be himself to achieve such a feat, so why bother with trying to pretty himself up?
He milled around his room for a bit once he was ready, leafing through his music notebook to find a song he'd copied down a while back. He'd been particularly fond of it when he'd first heard it, and maybe he could sing it for Anna later. It was a love song, after all, and they were going on a date, so why not? Better than flowers and candy any day.
Finding the song he wanted, he carefully removed the page and folded it a couple of times before stuffing it in his back pocket. It was then that there was a knock at the door, and tossing his notebook onto his cluttered desk he strolled over to answer it, grinning at the sight that met him on the other side.
"Well don't you look lovely," he complimented, leaning in to steal a quick kiss before she could object. The words special occasion seemed to mean something more than just a date, and Ben actually had to think for a moment before he remembered.
How great was he, forgetting his own birthday?
Pretending that he hadn't just realized the significance of the date, he held out an arm to her. "So, my fair lady, where are you planning on taking me this evening?" |
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Post by ~ ADMIN on Sept 21, 2010 15:20:13 GMT -5
Anna grinned right back, ”a thank you,” she said, giving him a quick twirl before he stole a kiss. She wobbled slightly, then snickered. ”That was the twirl, not you, don’t get any ideas.” She paused, ”but then again,” she couldn’t help but reach up to kiss him again, lip gloss be damned.
Taking his arm, she said, ”I am planning to take to dinner. Oh, wait, you knew that already.” She poked her tongue out at him. ”You will find out soon enough.” It wasn’t really all that much of a surprise, but keeping an air of mystery could be fun. She needed something to take her mind of her break down the other day, something which she hadn’t told Ben about, he probably didn’t need to deal with something like that... ever.
”Oh, I almost forgot,” she unlinked her arm from his, and held out the present to him. ”Happy Birthday.” |
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Post by karen2 on Oct 2, 2010 10:58:00 GMT -5
"Mhm. Sure," Ben mumbled, smirking as Anna captured his lips again. "Of course it was the twirl. If it were me, you'd be on the floor already." Once she'd pulled away, he ran the back of his hand across his mouth. It came away stained a dark pink, and he snorted. "We're not a very inconspicuous couple, are we?" Except when they were running around destroying supply closets--then they were pretty good at covering their tracks.
As per usual, there was no straight answer to his question, and he poked Anna's nose playfully when she stuck her tongue out at him. "You know I'm not a patient person. But if you insist on torturing me the suspense, I suppose I've got no choice but to wait til we get there." Not that he minded--it meant he could spend time simply talking with her, and he quite enjoyed that as well.
When she pulled him to a stop, he turned to look at her, mildly confused, but then grinned a little when she held a wrapped parcel out to him. Taking it from her, he weighed it considerately in one hand, trying to guess what it was. "Huh... heavier than it looks. Shaped almost like a book or something. Can I open it now, or should I wait until later?"
He then remembered the song in his back pocket, but decided to save it for later. Maybe it could serve as a thank-you for everything she'd set up for him tonight. |
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Post by ~ ADMIN on Oct 2, 2010 13:27:16 GMT -5
Anna laughed, "oh really? You really think your power over me would be enough to make me pass out, hmm?" She grabbed his hand to look at the damage and snickered, "why would we want to be inconspicuous?" she grinned. Of course, they'd been trying to keep their relationship away from prying eyes as much as possible. They weren't like other couples, if they put their relationship on show, especially as tactical officers, their weakness for each other would be clear, and anyone could use it to their advantage.
"Yup," she nodded, "torture is the name of the game, I plan on drawing out the journey there as long as possible to make the suspense even more painful for you." As for the present, he was substantially curious. She let out a big sigh, "well, I suppose I have to give you some incentive to come along, other than you getting to spend the evening with me," she said, "you can open it now." Plus, it would probably be wise to leave the present here so he didn't have to carry it to the bar and back, risk it getting damaged or whatever.
Anna was just as impatient about him seeing his present as he was about knowing where they were going. She bounced nervously on the soles of her feet, watching intently as he pulled away the wrapping paper. |
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Post by karen2 on Oct 14, 2010 0:25:52 GMT -5
"Are you saying it's not?" Ben shot back, pulling a pout at Anna before smirking. She took his hand in hers then, looking at the pink smear across it's back. At her question, his smirk widened and he dipped his head down to steal yet another quick kiss. Pulling back, he replied with a simple, "Well, I've got to say, you've got a point there, love."
Ah, sweet torture. He arched an eyebrow at her, entertained. "Tad sadistic, don't you think?" But the present was sufficiently distracting after that, and he hadn't really been looking for an answer anyway. When Anna gave him permission to open it then, he took a couple more minutes to examine it. It was only returning the favor, after all.
When she started bouncing on her toes, Ben chuckled and brought a hand up to rest on her shoulder, keeping her in place. "All right, all right, relax," he laughed, "I'm opening it already, sheesh." Without further ado, he flipped the package over and split the tape before tearing the paper off in one fluid motion. He beamed.
"Staff paper!" he crowed, planting a kiss on her forehead. He then paused and glanced around to make sure no one else had heard him, and ended up laughing at himself for doing so. "I was running low, actually. This is perfect. Give me two seconds to put it in my room for safe-keeping."
Ben then sprinted back to his room, carefully depositing the present on his desk before going back out to meet her. Sticking out his arm as he had before, he offered her yet another smile. "Shall we, then?" |
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Post by ~ ADMIN on Oct 14, 2010 11:04:37 GMT -5
"Do you see me lying on the floor?" Anna retorted, stroking his cheek with a finger as he pouted, a smirk upon her face. He looked so adorable doing that. She bet he used it on Anne-Marie all the time. She, however, was immune to the power of the pout, as she used it to great effect herself. "Of course I do," she grinned, reaching to kiss him another time. To hell with it, it wasn't like people hadn't noticed - it had been pretty obvious after the HAPPY Awards ceremory what had happened.
"Mean," she said, giving him a soft dig in the arm as he prolonged opening the present in order to get his revenge. She couldn't keep the smile off her face though as he tore off the wrapping paper and let out a cry of delight when he saw what it was. She giggled.
"I'm glad you like it," she grinned, amused that he hadn't meant to make an exclamation like that - he was safe, only she still knew his secret. "I'm counting," she said as he dashed back to his room, practically vaulting over the sofa in order to get there. Soon enough, he was back at her side. "Well shall!" she smiled at him, linking her arm with his as they strolled out of the room.
It was a nice evening, if a little chilly now it was getting into the Autumn months (on the planet as well as on Earth). The walk wasn't too far - she'd made sure of that in case they ended up drinking - they didn't want to be legless and navigating a treacherous path back to the ship. She came to a halt and beamed up at Ben. They were standing outside a small bar; it didn't look like much on the outside, but as Anna pushed the door open, she immediately felt warm. It was comfy and succluded, welcoming and warm. "After you, Birthday boy," she said with a grin, gesturing at a table for two in the corner. There were a couple of helium balloons tied to each chair, and a welcome message from the chef waiting on the table, wishing Ben a Happy Birthday and whatever he wanted on the house.
"You like?" |
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Post by karen2 on Oct 20, 2010 21:56:30 GMT -5
The night was relatively nice, if a little chilly. Subconsciously, Ben brought an arm around Anna's shoulders to keep her warm, even though she probably didn't need it. The walk to their destination wasn't very lengthly, and when they came to a stop they were standing in front of a small bar. It looked homey, if nothing else.
Anna gestured for him to enter first, and with a smile he reached back to grab her hand before leading the way over the table she'd pointed out--not that it was hard to miss. Balloons, a sign, a meal on the house... "You pulled out all the stops, didn't you, love?" he chortled, pulling out her chair for her before going over to take his own.
Grabbing the drink menu, Ben scanned the listings idly. He'd never really been one for fancy wines and champagnes--but thankfully Anna knew that, or she might've been insulted by his choice. "I'll take a Coors Light, if you carry it," he said when their waiter came over to them.
After Anna had made her order and they were alone again, he inquired, "So how'd you manage to set this all up, anyway? The free meal and such? Is it just a birthday special, or are you friends with the owner...?" |
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Post by ~ ADMIN on Oct 21, 2010 3:05:28 GMT -5
"Of course I did, for you, my dear," she grinned. This was nothing in comparison to the other grandiose ideas she'd had, but they had promised each other a real date at some point, and Anna figured why not do that here, now, on his birthday? It could be celebratory and romantic. None of that hiding in closets stuff, just a meal, some drinks, and no obstacles - other than the table between them.
After the extent of alcohol she'd consumed in one sip the other night, she decided to play it safe and take it slow. "I'll have the same." She placed the drinks menu to one side, so that it wasn't blocking her view of him across the table and smiled. She didn't know how she'd managed it sometimes, finding a catch like Ben, him loving her like he did.
"Oh, you know," she feigned innocence, "I just asked nicely. There was no flirting, or bribery. No asking of other crew members to pull some strings." Will was fantastically persuasive when he wanted to be. "I just turned up, batted my eyelashes, and voila, perfect birthday," she grinned widely.
The waiter brought their beers over, and Anna took hers in her hand, holding it up. "To you," she said, "the wonderful Ben Braun. I love you. Happy Birthday." |
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