Victory Road IC Inbox

[yousayyes]

"Good morning, evening, afternoon- whatever time it is where you are when you're calling- this is Winston Zeddemore speaking. ...I've got other things to tend to at the moment, so just leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

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[yousayyes]

💖💖💖

[Thankfully, it doesn't take him too long to get there. While he walks by the building, Winston catches a glimpse of Ray through the café's window and stops for a moment to give him a silent wave from outside before entering in through the front door. He's in his usual casual clothes- the blue two-tone t-shirt and jeans... and perched atop his shoulder is a chubby pikachu with a perpetually stoic, contemplative look on its face.]

Hey, would you look at that- we match! [Mycroft tilts his head at the comparison, looking between Winston and Pikachu with a quirked eyebrow.]

[ghoststanning]

[It should be noted that Ray is wearing his usual sweater vest and dress shirt, because while this is a birthday celebration, he doesn't wanna overdress!

Ray practically jumps up when Winston waves at him, out of pure excitement. If they didn't live together, one would assume that they hadn't seen each other in months by how excited Ray is.

When Winston enters, Ray gets up and wraps Winston in a bear hug, kissing his cheek.]

Happy Birthday, Winston! I'm so glad we get to spend it together in this dimension!

[Pikachu, as if oblivious, cheerfully waves at Mycroft for a few moments, before realizing hat he should say hello.]

Pi...ka!

[God it does not sound natural for this boy to be saying that.]

[yousayyes]

[Winston readily accepts the hug, looking like his day's been made by that alone.]

Oh, wow! How did you know it's my birthday? [Okay, so his surprise is... Clearly faked, but his enthusiasm is wholly sincere. Being reminded that the days still move forward and they can make time for milestones like this- it's helping him feel grounded with all this ultra beast craziness going on around them.]

[...and in the middle of their embrace, Mycroft takes the opportunity to crawl across Winston's arm and perch himself onto Ray's shoulder. Planting an inquisitive paw on Ray's face, his ears and nose twitch as he looks over this strange man and his even stranger "pikachu", studying both their features thoughtfully.]

"Peek. Peek." [Mycroft mutters, in a voice distinctly- almost distressingly- deeper than you'd expect coming from a pikachu.] "Chu."

[ghoststanning]

Aww, you knew?

[Ray sounds slightly disappointed by the fake response, but he's glad Winston's happy at least!]

I just wanted to do a little something before tonight. I know the others are gonna give you something but in the event that something goes wrong again we don't gotta worry about Venkman blaming it on me or my Pokemon!

[... Ray does not seem worried at all about this weird Pikachu, and just goes to scritch his little chin.]

Aww, your Pikachu is so cute, Win!

[yousayyes]

I know, I know, but... it's my birthday. Liiiittle hard for me to just forget about it. [He kisses Ray's forehead.] Or to think you forgot it.

...oh. That's right, I don't think you've met Mycroft before. Come on down, Mike-

[He carefully lifts Mycroft up by the armpits, and sets the pikachu down in his lap as he takes a seat, bouncing him up and down like a baby. Mycroft- much like your average pet cat- is wholly ambivalent to this demeaning treatment, his face not budging an inch from its default straitlaced expression.]

Yeah, I thought I'd bring him along, since he's hands-down the most eligible plus-one on my team. ...not that it's too much of a contest since Elmo's just a baby, and Brookie, well... [He kind of digs his chin into his neck like he's reluctant to admit it.] ...I don't think she could help herself in this place.

[ghoststanning]

[Ray melts at the kiss and sits down as well, patting Pikachu on the head.]

Probably for the best. Doppel really wanted to come for the desserts they have here but I was actually firm with them! I love all my children but I wanted to make sure nothing goes wrong today.

[Ray perks up slightly and grabs the two packages, handing them to Winston.]

Oh, speaking of, here are your presents! I still think Venkman was hard on Slimer, but I feel bad you weren't able to have the proper birthday you wanted!

That way if anything does go wrong when we get home Peter won't be allowed to blame me or my Pokemon for it!

[yousayyes]

Aw, thanks... [Winston quickly whistles, signalling Mycroft to crawl up his chest and onto his shoulders again. He takes the parcels in hand and sets them on the free real estate that's opened up on his lap.] And hey, you know that whole thing's just water under the bridge for me... it'd been a while since I had a "proper" birthday anyway. You guys caring enough to celebrate it in the first place meant a lot to me on its own... and you made up for what happened right after.

[He leans forward a little, resting an elbow on the table and holding his jaw in his palm.] ...I still don't know how you managed to whip up two extra cakes that fast...

[Speaking of cakes, though, he figures he should be ordering right about now. His pupils flit down to idly scan the menu for a moment despite already being fairly familiar with the options at this point, but since it's a special occasion today, it feels like he's looking at it from a new perspective- one less concerned with pure practicality of taste and price and more focused on treating himself to something he wouldn't have every day.]