15532/Birthday Eve

Birthday Eve
Date of Scene:	02 August 2023
Location:	Eve and Miles's Loft
Synopsis:	Mark Grayson stops by the loft to meet Miles and with Eve a happy birthday!
Cast of Characters:	Eve Wilkins, Mark Grayson, Miles Morales

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Eve Wilkins has posed:
It had been /months/ since Eve last texted back and forth with Mark Grayson. She had been back from Africa and told him so, but she'd also been super vague on the details and sort of... stopped responding. She didn't ghost him. She just sort of said she'd decided to go back to school and let the conversation drop once he started asking questions about what happened.

If he went digging, the story was public record. It was buried far under the same mountain of internet pop culture and global political news as every other story about a tragedy in a third world country, but it was there... the village she was in was destroyed by a dam collapse. Hundreds of people died. There was a blurb about 'Thank goodness it wasn't worse, at least Atom Eve was there to save the neighboring city of thousands,' but it was the village she'd been living in that was utterly devastated.

Today, though, is Eve's birthday. There are still a few unpacked boxed from where she and Miles were still in the process of moving in, and where there was supposed to be a coffee pot sitting on the counter, there were only a few ceramic coffee cups with the paper they'd been wrapped in sitting on the counter. Instead of trying to find the coffee maker, she stuffed a small ball of packing paper into one of the cups and with a little flash of pink light, she had a steaming cup with the perfect amount of cream and sugar.

She was sipping it when her phone went off. She and Mark were pretty good about remembering each other's birthdays, so she hadn't been surprised to get the message, but the conversation /had/ taken an unexpected turn when she said she just got a new apartment with her boyfriend, invited Mark to see it, and he actually accepted.

>> Great! We'll be around here all day unpacking. So, whenever you feel like stopping by!

She sent him the address, then she made another cup of coffee out of another balled up piece of packing material to take to Miles.

"Hey... sweetie?" That wasn't a good sign. "I made you coffee. And.. you know how it's my birthday.." She's definitely after something. She chews on her lip, green eyes blinking innocently as her grin turns sheepish. "I might have invited over a friend from high school before I thought to check with you. I hope that's okay?"

Realistically, it could have been worse. And all of this was still new.

Mark Grayson has posed:
Truth be told, Mark felt a little... ghosted after Eve had come back home and just stopped responding. And that made him sad, because he had relied on her and it was supposed to be this whole back and forth thing that friends do and then it just wasn't. Samantha... no Eve... was one of the first friends he had made after he threw a trash bag into space. And really, it was just as much his own fault.

But the reminder had come up on his phone that it was her birthday, and he /was/ already in Gotham City.

It was unrelated, he had been following up on the WayneTech that had been found in one of the ReAnimen that had attacked a few days ago. However, when her message came back, he saw it as the perfect chance to catch up with a present. A quick gift bag found at Wal-Mart later, and there's not quite a knock on the door - but a chime on Eve's phone letting her know that Mark's arrived. That and the terrible singing.

"Happy happy birthday, happy birthday to you~!"

Miles Morales has posed:
"Did I just get 'sweetie'd?!"

Miles hopped off where he we perched on the loft, landing barefeet next to her. "You know, I'm supposed to be giving /you/ coffee. Also-" He THWIPS a web straight at their Mr. Coffee coffeemaker and he grabs a coffee to be pulled straight into his hand! "Tradesies?" He asks her softly and indeed accepts coffee from his girlfriend and gives her one of her own in return.

He slooooowly tilts his head, looking like he might react negatively before - "Hah, sorry, I'm just pulling your leg. I do have a few surprises for you, but we can absolutely have your friend over. I mean, we have the space. Ganke wanted to check out the loft soon too!" He leans to try and give her a kiss on the cheek.

"And you don't need my permission to do things. But thanks for the heads up!" A softer look then. "Happy birthday, Sam." He tells her warmly, just in time for Mark to chime!

"...I should really set up that security system." Miles shakes his head. What can you do! "Comd on in man! Doors open!" He gives Eve's hand a quick squeeze.

Eve Wilkins has posed:
/Did I just get 'sweetie'd?!/

"Maybe." Eve's eyes glint with humor, laughter lingering just below the surface. It bubbles the rest of the way out, though, at his retrieval of the other cup of coffee, and she does trade, bumping him gently with her shoulder.

The briefly serious look has her squinting a little in concern, but she rolls her eyes at his /real/ reaction. "You know you didn't have to do or get me anything. He does, though? I'm glad. I'm surprised, but I'm glad. Maybe we can make him a meal. I feel like I'm going to be apologizing to him for at least the next year."

She tilts her chin up a little into the kiss and smiles, still leaning against him. "Thanks, Miles. I'm here with you. In /our/ new place. Already the best birthday ever."

Of course, then her phone dings and suddenly there's singing through the door. She laughs, trying not to point out how fast that was. What was a girl supposed to do when her old high school crush and her current boyfriend BOTH had secret identities, but didn't know each other? Wing it, she supposed.

She squeezed Miles's hand one more time, then looked down at her own cup of coffee, which still had a twelve-inch strand of webbing hanging from it. In a brief moment of panic, just as Mark is opening the door, Eve releases Miles's hand and there's a quick flash of pink light as the web turns into a little cloud of white dust that she waves away.

"Hi, Mark! Sorry.. don't mind the dust. We're still settling in," she says moving forward to offer him a hug once he's inside.

Mark Grayson has posed:
The door opens, and there's a pink flash that Mark /just catches/ out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't recognize what it was that got changed, just that it was. "So I guess he knows?" that makes it a bit easier, at least. No need for Mark to dance around Eve's secret identity!

However, it was Miles that greeted him first and Mark adjusts the package from one arm to the other to extend his hand to Miles. "I'll get to Eve in a moment, figured I better introduce myself first. Mark Grayson. Eve and I went to school together, it's nice to meet you!" Once handshakes are exchanged, Mark grins warmly at Eve, all teeth and happiness in his eyes. She looks happy. They can talk about bad stuff later. Right now, it's all good!

"I promise I won't finish the song!" he promises with a laugh as he offers the package. "Happy birthday. My phone swore up and down you were twenty-one? Not that I could buy you anything alcoholic." He's still almost two years behind her, after all.

Then he pauses. And considers, biting his lip as he considers the package and then the couple. "It's cool to talk about things with him here, right? I assume it's cool." Hopefully Eve gets the meaning, otherwise everything is going to be awkward. But as usual, Mark seems to be all over the place. "I got some cupcakes from a bakery on the way here, they looked tasty."

Along with the six-pack of cupcakes is a wrapped package that has a pink insulated Yeti mug in it. Because when you fly everywhere, your hot beverages tend to get cold.

Miles Morales has posed:
"Well, at least I feel loved." Miles cracks back at her with the same sense of humor. He's playfully bumped with her shoulder and he sells it like a WWE champion, throwing his shoulder back and stumbling to straighten himself out. "Dang girl, you been lifting? Let's see the bicep!" Teasing, of course. Not the first time Miles has feigned cat calling at her, but at the mere implication he didn't have to do anything for her birthday?

He puts a hand to his chest and audibly gasps. "How dare you imply such a notion! Don't you make me bring out my 5th grade level Shakespeare..." Miles looks at her with punishment suitable for the crime! Though he leans back against her happily. "The first of many, I hope." Then he's thinking about it.

"Honestly, that you guys reconnected at all is a really good sign." Miles suggests to her with a smile. "Don't overthink it...I think he's already forgiven you a hundred times over. Who wouldn't? You're kinda awesome."

He squeezes Eve's hand and lets her run off to Mark, following after her to give the fella a good handshake. "Hey man, pleasures all mine. Name's Miles Morales." He says his name with a slight Cuban accent. "Oh man, you're the best! Now we can get her hopped up on ALL of the sweets."

Oh yes...mischief manager.

"You guys can talk whatever with me here. Promise!

Eve Wilkins has posed:
"Ugh. You are SUCH a nerd," Eve muses at Miles's over-reaction to her shoulder bump, grinning warmly, then swats his stomach at his mention of being forgiven. "I /meant/ Ganke. And you're just as much at fault as I was, even though I'm sure I'm getting more of the blame." Those eyes twinkle with mirth, but then Mark's in the door.

/I'll get to Eve in a moment./

"Wow. And suddenly I'm chopped liver," Eve deadpans, but there's mirth still lingering in her eyes, a grin tugging at her lips. Once he's done greeting Miles, though, she does hug Mark, then take the package from him.

"Thank you. You didn't have to. I know I've sort of went AWOL last year. And your phone's lying to you," Eve states flatly. "I'm still only eighteen days older than you are, no matter what it says. I'm only twenty today, but Miles turns twenty-one tomorrow." She raises her hand to her mouth to stage whisper to Mark, "I'm going to spike his morning coffee."

Then she's carrying the package over to the kitchen to set down on the counter, taking the cupcakes out first, opening the box, and setting them out. "Oh my GOD those look delicious..." Over her shoulder, though, she smiles between Mark and Miles. "Yeah. It's cool. He knows about me and that I was in Teen Team. Of course, that's not super relevant anymore, since I left. Just a regular college student, now." A regular college student that was obviously still using her powers at least some of the time.

She's very specifically careful say 'me' and not include Mark on the Teen Team remarks. It's a hint, even if it's a subtle one, that she hasn't talked about anyone else's secret identities on the team. Of course, she wasn't adding anything about Miles's secrets, either.

Once that's explained, though, she reaches into the bag and pulls out the wrapped package, shredding through it happily until she gets to the mug inside.

"Oh, Mark! I love it! Thank you!" Still smiling, she holds it up to show Miles proudly.

Mark Grayson has posed:
Mark returns the shake firmly, he may even lift. "Nice to meet you, Miles." the response is warm and approving. After all, he's his best friend's b1oyfriend, approval is not going to be so lightly given. Or it will. It's a guy thing.

The hug is returned, a tight squeeze to Eve before he lets go and he chuckles. "And here I thought you forgot how close we were in birthdays." Then she brings up Miles' birthday and he coughs. "Crap, I'd brought you a mug too! Totally Eve's fault." he teases as he watches her reaction to the mug and then he nods. He watches the interplay between Eve and Miles and smiles a touch wistfully. "Yeah, mom wants me to come home for my birthday. But you know how things are strained with dad..."

And with that opening, he tries to figure out his approach to this and just figures he'll speak openly. That's how trust is supposed to be built.

"Yeah, about Teen Team. Robot has them pretty much under control..." he admits as he decides to speak openly. "...I'm going to become a reserve member." he explains. "I got an invintation to the Teen Titans." His eyes look down, considering his hands and then the ground beneath it. "I just don't know. They have Superboy and Supergirl and another Superboy and all these powerhouses... I should be excited about this, right?"

Of all people, Eve knows how excited Mark was when his powers blossomed after his sixteenth birthday.

Miles Morales has posed:
"Hey-" Miles starts to open his mouth to retort to Eve about the Ganke Incident (tm), but instead just shrugs and says "Well, at least it was a /lot/ of fun." He shoots Eve a playful and humorous wink.

Mark's handshake was firm and Miles met him in the middle in that moment. It's not quite to the point of fighting over Eve, not anywhere near it. Instead, the gentlemen act as such and Miles tries to put on his absolute best behavior! He's gotta get Best Friend Approval (BFA)!

...can he have a laminated card?

"I have heard and seen nothing you underage hooligans." Miles chuckles playfully at Eve's threat to spike his coffee. He's destined to notice considering how specific he likes his coffee...But that's the whole point!

"Ooooohhhh that's a cool mug! Good job, man." He tells Mark with a smile and proudly gazed at Eve as she holds it aloft.

To Mark, his eyes go wide. "You got invited to the Teen Titans? That's awesome, man! And hey, it's never about how strong or fast you are. Hearts just gotta be in the right place, you know? You got this. I'm not in the Titans, just saying..."

Eve Wilkins has posed:
/But you know how things are strained with dad.../

"Yeah, but it's been a while," Eve hedges, looking somewhere between hopeful and apologetic. She'd crawled so far into her own head that she'd shut Mark out without really thinking about what that might to do him. Or their friendship. She'd kind of... pulled away from everyone.

...Including her own parents. That thought shoots a momentarily horrified look up into her eyes. When was the last time she called them? They hadn't even texted her yet, today. She'd at least expected her mom to..

"I am /not/ a hooligan," Eve protests, narrowing her eyes at Miles. "I'll accept scoundrel or delinquent." Her mind was racing through things, but at least she was still listening.

Mark was talking about Teen Team. And Robot.

"Ugh. Teen Team? Really? How can you even be on Teen Team? In eighteen days, you're not even a teen, anymore. Besides, is Rex still there? He hasn't been sucked into another universe or anything, has he? That'd be /super/ unfortunate.." Her voice is practically a growl that drips with sarcasm.

She smiles thinly.

"Teen Titans is cool, though! You're a powerhouse, too, so you'll fit right in."

She looks over at Miles, then, and nods her head over towards Mark.

"I mean, if we're going to just /talk/ about it.. Mark is Invincible. His dad's Omni-Man. We were on Teen Team together. And, sure, I can fly, but Mark can fly /circles/ around me. It was cute watching him figure out his powers." There's genuine affection there in her eyes, a glint of nostalgia that might almost be threatening to Miles if they weren't so solid in their relationship. She still cared about Mark, even if she had been a bad friend for a couple of years. "He's probably basically Superman, now, though." And that statement carried some actual respect with it.

"Oh, hey, Mark.. do you want coffee or anything? Do either of you want a cupcake? I'll get plates out. We can all sit down and just sort of hang out for a while.."

Mark Grayson has posed:
"I don't think you can call her a delinquent, to be honest. She was a straight A student, always overacheiving..." Mark easily teases Eve about her high school days. "She was easily the prettiest and smartest girl at the school." Hey, they may have been the others crush, but he can totally sell her to the new boyfriend, right.

/His dad's Omni-Man.../

"Was Omni-Man." Mark reminds, gently. "He lost his powers shortly after I got mine." The tone of his voice suggests guilt, as if it was his fault that dad was depowered. "He's trying to give me lessons on what to do with them. I needed some time to myself. To figure out what it is, what I am... I mean, I grew up all my life knowing I was half-Viltrumite."

He drops the subject and pivots easily around to pick up one he missed. "Rex is still around, yeah. But him and Kate broke up?" And that sounds like a good thing.

"Coffee would be great, but I didn't want to impose on your big day and it sounds like you and Miles may already have plans." There's a grin at that. "I can catch up later on the other thing, but you know, maybe for my birthday. I don't know many people, but I was thinking of having a bbq. Mom would be thrilled to host, I think."

Oddly enough, he doesn't mention dad. "Miles, thank you for the words... that was honestly heartfelt and I appreciate it. You don't know me from anyone and... I really appreciate it." he laughs. "It's actually the same thing that another friend of mine, Peter, said." His attention returns to Eve and he tips his head in a bit of a bow and a smile that touches his eyes with warmth and a hint of sadness. "Eve, don't make me wait two years before we talk again, okay? That's as much my fault, but now that we know the other's about, lets keep in touch?

Miles Morales has posed:
Family is complicated. His mom is probably going to shoot him a quick phone call at some point and he was hoping to introduce her to the existence of one Eve Wilkins around that time... But who knows how that will work.

Eve is not a hooligan?! "Man, then shove I been dating?" Miles gives Eve a childish grin before he clears his throat. "Alright, alright, I'll stop poking now. Scoundrel it is! Deal, no take-backs." Tgough hearing Eve's sarcastic remarks about her ex does make Miles wince just a tad. She told him how that went down and he still feels really sympathetic. He steps closer to Eve then, bumping her with his shoulder. Happy relationship!

Fuck that Rex guy.

"Invincible? Kinda optimistic don't you think?" Miles snickers a little bit to Eve and Mark but otherwise he whistled. "You're dads 'Omni-Man'?!" Miles's jaw drops. "Hang on a sec-" He rushes towards one of the boxes, reaching into it to pull out a signed autograph. "One of the only superhero signatures I got! Nice guy. Geez, what's with some of my pals having seriously cool superhero parents...But in all seriousness, man, if you can be Superman? Be Superman. It's the ideal, but it's always a bonus if you got rad genetics to back it up too." Wink.

"Oo! Cupcake for me please!"

"She /is/ the prettiest and the smartest girl I've ever met so that tracks." Sold and bought! Viltrumites? "Bless you."

Pause.

"Sorry. I take it Viltrumites are aliens?" He's hearing Rex broke up with Kate makes him smile. "Serves him kinda right..."

"Hey, not interrupting anything man. We're happy to have ya. And can even show up at your birthday party."

"Anytime. I have a friend who told me something similar too."

Eve Wilkins has posed:
"I still think /is/... but, you know, that's just me. Just because you inherited his powers doesn't mean that nothing he did counts. He's /still/ Omni-Man, even if he can't do the powered stuff, anymore."

This wasn't the first time Eve had shared her opinion on this topic, though, so she lets it drop. Besides, she still /had/ her powers and was actively choosing not to be Atom Eve, anymore. So, maybe she didn't have a whole lot of room to talk on those subjects, anyway.

The mention of her being the prettiest and smartest has her blushing and rolling her eyes. "Oooohkay, you two. I know it's my birthday, but you don't have to lay it on /that/ thick," she muses, clearly pleased despite her protests.

She shrugs at the broken up thing, though. THAT wasn't her business, either.

"Hey, if there's room, count us in," she says about the party, smiling. She didn't even hedge and ask if Rex was going to be there. How's that for jumping back on the best friend bandwagon with both feet? She could suck it up and deal with the asshat for a party, even if he was coming.

The mention of two years, though, makes her smile. "Don't worry," she says. "I'm... in a lot better head space than I was in a couple of years ago. I'm still figuring some stuff out, too, but not being with my parents has helped. And..." She turns her gaze over to Miles, slipping her arm through his with a smile. "I'm learning that I don't have to figure it all out alone."

It wasn't meant to be a dig at Mark. Mark had tried to talk to her before she ran off, but she wasn't exactly being... approachable, at the time. She'd actually showed up at his place to tell him how she felt about him, but he was already with Amber Bennett and.. well.. it just never seemed to work out.

She gives Miles's arm another squeeze and then leans off the counter to go over and hug Mark again, stepping back and grinning up at him. "And neither do you. I'll be around more. I promise. You can call me any time. Or come over and hang out. Or get coffee. Or, whatever. And you don't /have/ to go. I'm glad you came, though. And I really like my present."