11466/Surprise, it's your birthday!

Surprise, it's your birthday!
Date of Scene:	05 June 2022
Location:	Canelo's Auto and Body
Synopsis:	Gabby shows up at Robbie's shop with a gift for the birthday boy, and a little company.
Cast of Characters:	Robbie Reyes, Gabby Kinney

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Robbie Reyes has posed:
Following his abrupt departure earlier from the Velvet Room's training area, Robbie sent a fairly contrite text message Gabby's way explaining that Gabe ran into some trouble on his way home from class. He's safe, and everything's fine, but an apology was in order.

And, apparently, an invitation to stop by Canelo's, since he's wildly curious what she got him for his birthday. The shop's closed by this time in the evening, and Robbie's seated at that picnic bench around back where they shared cookies with Rien, some time ago. He's still dressed in the leather jacket and ripped jeans, cigarette in one hand and cell phone in the other while he waits.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Who doesn't like a surprise? Gabby's not terribly surprised he does message her given she'd told him she had something waiting, which she had kept secret. The message sent back is a simple OK, and saying she's glad to hear Gabe is fine. Then she's on her way to meet up with him. Sure she could just head to the apartment but the garage was a familiar enough place. It was where they'd had their second meeting and fought against those same zombies she'd cued up in the training room sim.

The not-so-thunderous roar of her motorcycle heralds her arrival. The bike swings around the back of the shop and the little red bike pulls in to stop. Gabby leans it on the kickstand and reaches up to pull her helmet off shaking out the length of her her hair.

"Hey Robbie! Glad everything's okay with Gabe." Grinning she swings off it having changed already, and likely showered too. Leggings are worn along with her boots, and a newer yellow and black jacket with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. A half-shirt is worn beneath showing off a hint of stomach as she moves to take off the package from the back of the bike.

It's a larger gift bag with some annoyingly cute streamer bow tying the top shut. "I hope you like this. I didn't really know what to get you. Also," she adds with a grin. "Do not ask HOW I got this." With that she marches up toward him and offers the bag out with both hands.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
The sound of her bike arriving is by now a familiar one. Stirred from his thoughts, Robbie glances up from his phone to watch her pull in beside his car. Then the phone's shoved into the back pocket of his jeans as he swings a long leg off the bench and rises.

"Hey. Sorry, again." He scratches at his nose with his thumb. "Yeah, everything's fine. Kind of a false alarm." His mismatched gaze shifts from its study of her jacket, to the gift bag she's all but shoving at him. "This is real nice of you, but you know you didn't have to," he murmurs, fingering the streamer with his cigarette-holding hand.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney lets out a literal 'pfft' of air while grinning up at him. The scars on her face crinkle as she does, a real and genuine smile being offered. "Robbie I know how important family can be. I'd do pretty much anything for my sisters, too, even if I'm the youngest out of them. All they have to do is call. So don't sweat it," she assures moving to set the bag down on the table if he won't outright take it.

"And besides, in case you hadn't noticed, you're kind of family now too by proxy. So." A finger prods his chest with a single poke. "You get prezzies. Cuz I like you and you deserve a good birthday."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
After poking and prodding at the gift bag a little more, he lets out a little grunt at the jab to his chest, and pretends to bite at the offending hand with a playful gnashing of teeth. Then a glance toward her face when she tells him about family; just in time to catch her smile.

"Yeah." He attempts one of his own, hesitant as always. "Guess we are, aren't we?" Then he drags off his cigarette, and goes to peek inside the bag carefully.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney leans back against the table hoisting her hips just up ontop of it. It was a little bit of a hop to get up there and leaves her feet dangling, but she waits patiently for him to look inside the bag watching with a grin.

Inside is a container of what appears to be homemade cookies. Simple enough, and likely the ones that she'd brought that tone time as well. But along with it was a dark glass bottle with what appeared to be a flaming skull design on it. The label reads 'Dead Man's Fingers' Spiced Rum. There's also a small sleeve of a set of four shot glasses to round out the gift bag. Nothing fancy there.

"I thought the design was kind of..." Her head ducks while she drags a hand back through her hair smiling sheepishly. "But it's supposed to be really good, too! That was the main reason. Well mostly the main reason. I asked a friend to get it for me since I can't just buy it myself yet."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
The cookies are found first, and lifted out of the bag. The lid's popped off the container so he can snag one, and offer the rest to Gabby. Then, chewing on the treat, he sets the tub aside and continues digging for the remaining item. Which.. makes him bark a laugh, when he sees what it is.

"Are you fucking serious? Where'd you find this?" He holds the bottle up by its neck, showing her the ridiculous flaming skull on it. Then he turns it around to give it a closer look, frowning thoughtfully. "I don't look like that, do I?"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney reaches out to snag the cookies. One of them is taken for herself while the container is set back on the table beside her so they wouldn't get dropped or knocked anywhere. It's his laughter that earns a bright grin from her as she watches him with a gleeful sort of excitement. "You like it?" She asks, pausing only to nibble on a bit of the cookie and quickly lick the crumbs off her lips.

"Honestly? Google. Lots of Google. Apparently it was some kind of Halloween release from the company. And no, you don't look like that," she has to assure with a laugh. Her free hand lifts to draw a little 'V' down between her eyes. "You've got some patterns going on. Like a big V and some triangles on the cheek bones."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
"Patterns?" The young man frowns more, like he isn't too sure what she means by that. Unlike the other two Ghost Riders, he sports a rather alien-looking silver skullplate when transformed, which conceals all but his fanglike teeth.

The mention of the markings, though, makes him nod slightly. "Picked them up after I came back from Hell the first time," he murmurs. As if this is an everyday occurrence. Which, for him, it practically is.

The bottle's set down beside the cookies, and he steps toward the girl perched on the picnic table, hesitating a moment before going in for a quick hug.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"They're kind of cool, like my scars," Gabby assures him in regards to the patterns she had described. The silver skullplate she opts not to mention simply because she's not entirely sure how to describe it, and she'd yet to see any other Ghost Riders in full on flame-head mode.

When he comes in for the hug she reaches up to wrap her arms around him giving a tight squeeze in return. "Happy Birthday, Robbie." Before he can get too far she tips her head to the side to press a quick kiss to his cheek. Then she releases her hold wearing a grin again. "Glad you like it."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
The hug's held for a moment or two, and she can feel him smile, ever so slightly, at the kiss to his cheek. "Thanks, chica," he murmurs, then releases her. That acute sense of smell will most certainly pick up the bitterness of brimstone on him, as well as the spicy-sweet clove, and the extremely mild soap he washes with; likely for Rien's benefit.

Then the bottle's slid back into the bag, and he goes to lean against the table and grab himself another cookie. "How'd the training.. thing.. go?" Might've been better that he didn't stick around, anyway. Eli would've found a way to cause trouble with Noble, sooner or later.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney does draw a deep breath when he's close just because she was still new to the whole 'enhanced senses' thing. And cloves smelled good even if they tried to hide the bitter brimstone smell. Even that was kind of familiar now in it's own way. Lightly clearing her throat she glances aside reaching up to rub over her nose a time or two to 'refresh' herself in a way. All of it was a bit intense as close as he had been.

"Oh, the training? Not bad. He fought pretty well but didn't do so great when he got grappled. I gave him a few tips on how to handle it. Overall," she glances back with a wry grin. "I took out way more than him. He could use some practice on how to fight outside of just using Noble or a shotgun. After that I just hit the showers, mostly," she points out with a shrug. "So you didn't miss too much, really. We can always do something together again though," she assures.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
The smile fades, replaced by a look of consternation when he sees her rubbing at her nose. "Oh. Shit, sorry, did I..?" He lifts his shirt, sniffing at it, then his cigarette. "You want me to put this out?" There's not much left of the clove, anyway.

As for Danny, "Ain't figured him for a slouch in hand to hand." Which means, naturally, that he's going to have to razz him about it next time he sees the guy. Gabby gets a nudge to the ribs when she mentions she did most of the ass kicking. "You break out the claws?"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney gives a little laugh at the reaction. Without thinking she reaches out to give his arm a little pat as her head shakes. "No, you're fine!" She assures quickly. "It's just still new to me. You smell kind of good actually, it's just strong." And very similar to the cigarettes Rien smoked as well so it wasn't unfamiliar to her.

"And Danny did good it was just he didn't have a lot of leverage." A pause, and she adds conspiratorially, "Or strength." She grins with amusement, and nudges back at the question. "I did but I only used them twice. Most of it was just my usual moves. Knocking some skulls, kicking. Broke a neck. Oh!" Her grin lights up again. "I did punch one in the face and then claw so that was gross but effective."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
He seems to relax slightly at the assurance, and the pat on the arm. A slow nod follows, and after ashing the cigarette, he brings it to his lips for another, longer drag.

"Still kind of surprised," he murmurs, blowing smoke away from Gabby in a steady stream from his lips and nose. "You sure he wasn't holding back?" It's clear the young man is contemplating all of this. The potential differences between his Rider and the others. It isn't something he'd thought about until now.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"Maybe. I don't see why he would be though," Gabby reasons while she tips her head up to consider the thought of it a long moment. In the end she comes to the same conclusion and shakes her head. "No, he ended up having to use a pipe he found. Did well after that. I think maybe he's just not good at unarmed combat. Or maybe he let his guard down at first and didn't expect things to go that way," she reasons with amusement.

"It might have been different if he'd been armed to start with, but that's true for a lot of people. I've got the advantage of being trained more than most my age should be. Way more." She glances to the side considering it. "Guess I'm lucky in that way at least."

"So anything special you'd like to do for your birthday? I mean it's not over yet."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Robbie still looks contemplative about something. The mystery of the other Ghost Rider, no doubt. He finishes eating his cookie, and is about to reach for another.. but if he keeps going at this pace, there'll be none left for Gabe or Rien. So he snaps the lid back on, and settles back in with his cigarette.

"Don't know if that's luck," he murmurs, sliding her a look in askance. "You and me, we both grew up knowing things we shouldn't." He huffs a breath out his nose, and thumbs some more ash off his cigarette. That thumb sports ink between the second and third knuckle, along with the rest of his fingers on that hand.

"Uhh.. I think Gabe might be planning something. I should probably take off soon."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney purses her lips together into a thin line at that. Her hands clasp together resting between her knees as she just kind of slumps a little. "Mm. Yeah. Same with Rien though. Guess all three of us are like that in a way." Glancing up toward him she offers a faint grin. "Guess I try to hide it a lot. Probably why everyone still thinks of me as a little kid most of the time." At least her current teammates didn't. They'd worked together after all and knew what she was capable of.

"Oh, right, yeah. He probably does," she's quick to agree with a nod. "I was going to suggest a race or something, but my bike probably wouldn't do much against your car anyway."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
"I don't think of you as a little kid. If it helps any." Robbie turns to glance at her again, watching the slump of her shoulders and the attempt at a smile. "Oh yeah, he asked about you the other day. Gabe, I mean." He pushes out of his lean against the table, and collects the gift bag, tucking the container of cookies inside it.

A chuckle, then, when she suggests a race. "That bike ain't in my league, chica. Neither are you." He winks at her to show he's razzing her. Not that he's likely *wrong*. The kid used to street race for money.. and win, pretty regularly.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney lifts her head with a little hopeful, "Oh?" at the mention of being asked about. "What'd he want to know? I mean, just curious and all." She sits up straighter again, and rests her hands on the edge of the table to nudge herself off of it back to her feet with a quiet 'hup' of air rushing out.

"Wait... What do you mean I'm not in your league? You don't know!" She shoots back complete with her own tongue sticking out oh-so-maturely. Even so she grins in amusement. "Yeah I've never raced I admit, and it's about time I upgraded my bike as it is. I mean it's super useful but I've outgrown it a bit." Much as she could being short.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
"Unless you're some hotshot driver and never bothered to mention it before.." Robbie hefts the bag, and flashes a quick grin -- complete with dimples -- when she stick her tongue out at him.

"Tell you what, I'll take you out some time. We can work on your technique. On the bike, if you want. The Charger's better, but I don't know if you can handle that kind of power." Now he's *really* razzing her. He dips a step back toward his car, just in case she tries to thwack him.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney takes a deep breath at that particular teasing. She shifts her shoulders back squaring them off while she tugs at the edge of the jacket she was sporting. It was still new so a bit of stiff leather around the collar, sadly. The little tugs help it to settle back properly around her shoulders.

"I mean I did learn to drive with an Aston Martin. Not quite the same, but I can handle powerful cars." A grin creeps over her, and she adds, "And once I upgrade the bike it'll be great to have something more powerful between my legs again."

Lightly clearing her throat, she gestures back to Robbie. "Now you never did answer about what Gabe was asking. Come on, you can't hold out like that."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Oof, maybe he went too far with that one. The young man looks immediately apologetic, and averts his gaze downward and away, as if it might hide the flush of colour tinting his dark skin. "Hey, sorry," he murmurs, looking back up to Gabby. "That was, uh. That was a bad joke." He's even going to behave himself and not comment on her wanting something 'powerful between her legs'.

"Oh, he wanted your number. Asked if you'd wanna hang out some time. Said I'd find out for him."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney stares a moment longer before she cracks in her attempt to be serious. Grinning again she does take a swat at him, looking to cuff his shoulder lightly. "Eh relax I'm not upset. It'd be fun to go out sometime and learn some tricks, I'm not against that." Still she pauses a moment longer to think, and shifts her weight from one foot to the other.

A quick breath and puff of air is exhaled blowing some hair out of her face. "Okay. I'm going to ask this because I don't want to assume things and make an ass out of myself again. Do you think he means like hang out as friends, or...?" She shrugs slightly at that, chewing on the inside of her cheek while blushing. "I haven't exactly been great at being able to read what's going on lately if it wasn't obvious."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
He doesn't even bother trying to dodge the swat. It's taken with a slight smile that quickly vanishes. And a shrug at her question. "Guess you'd have to ask him, huh? You want me to pass on your number, or what?"

Meanwhile, he digs out his keys and goes to unlock his car, leaning in to set the gift bag on the passenger seat. Then, one arm slung over the open door, keys tossed lightly against his palm, he watches her expectantly.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney fidgets a moment longer. "Yeah. Yeah, go ahead." She still seems uncertain, perhaps even a bit nervous, as she makes her way back to her bike. "Just. Ugh." Her hands lift to smack over her cheeks a few times while she grimaces. It wasn't as if it hurt her but it did help clear her mind a little. "Yeah. I've been kind of lonely lately and it'd be cool to hang out with someone even if it's not that way." She mumbles, "Though that would be nice too."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
"The fuck am I chopped liver, or what?" Robbie mock scowls at her. "Ain't we hanging right now?" He takes one last drag off his cigarette, drops it, and grinds it out with the toe of his boot. "Anyway, sure, I'll let him know. Thanks again for the, uh." He flicks his eyes toward the gift bag, then back to Gabby. "I'll catch you later, yeah?"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney grins ruefully back toward him at that scowl. "Been awhile though, huh?" It's all she points out simply before she gives a laugh and reaches for her helmet. "Yeah it was good seeing you Robbie. Happy Birthday again. Say hi to Rien for me." She rather figured that's where he was going after all. "Night!" The helmet is tugged on and she flicks the starter to the bike with a wave.