26 Candles (D10, LE Nunu's Bar)

[Mei-Ling Zhou]

Snip

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"Thank you. Gānbēi!"

Mei sipped her wine, eyes wide at Yori's display.

"Wow Yori, you must be thirsty, ready for another round?" She reached into her overly large purse sitting next to her and pulled out a wrapped package, setting it on the table with a light thud and sliding it over to Richard wordlessly.

[Richard Winter]

...

....

Richard did not know to whom he should look more amazed, Yori or Mei. He also took a big sip himself, but he didn't exhale the bottle. "Impressive performance," he said and let out a whistle, then turned to Mei. He examined the package Mei had placed on the table. "Is that for me?" he asked pretentiously.

[Alex Kovac]

Alex wasn't the best of dancers but the penguin had some moves. "Wouldn't you like to be dancing with Mei?" Alex asked. The Penguin was curious and being a wallflower the attention was odd for Alex.

[Yori Hakamada]

Yori carefully sets her bottle down.

"I find I am more fun at parties after I hit approximately 0.06% blood alcohol. This is a relatively efficient method to that end."
She looks slightly curiously at the box and then at Alex before turning to go get herself another beer from the bar.

[Mei-Ling Zhou]

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"Is it? Maybe, I don't know but it's in front of you. Maybe you should open it and see who it belongs to."

[John Slaktare]

"I'll dance with Mei-Ling in a bit. Right now I got you to be my dance partner," he continues, keeping his hand out.

[Richard Winter]

...

Richard carefully opened the package in front of him and tried not to look until he had it open.
When he did open it, his jaw dropped. "Mei this,... you can't be serious..." he said incredulously, staring at the comic book in his hands.

It wasn't just 'any' comic, no, this was the collector's edition of 'Lionheart' an ancient lyric comic about a crusader from ancient times on Terra. The collector's edition had been published many, many years ago, and there were only a few 10,000 of them printed, so it was a miracle that anyone could get their hands on it without killing someone.

What was more surprising to him was that this comic book series was one of the first he ever had. Richard had found a tangled copy of the 2nd issue of the 5th Storyarc on Hesperus II and had fallen in love with comics and manga ever since. He knew that Mei wasn't as into comics and the whole thing as he was, and at best she only listened when he talked about it.

A small tear ran down his cheek as he wordlessly walked over to Mei, hugged her tightly, then gave her a big smooch on the cheek and hugged her harder again. "Thank you Mei, thank you so much," he said, bursting with happiness.

[Alex Kovac]

"I'll dance with Mei-Ling in a bit. Right now I got you to be my dance partner," he continues, keeping his hand out.

The pilot took John's hand and smiled. "Thank you...You have saved me from dancing with Rico."

[John Slaktare]

"Well, I'm glad if I helped you out, but I just wanted to dance with you," he replies, leading Alex to an open enough area to dance. He's not skilled at it, but he's quick enough to not step on any toes.

[Mei-Ling Zhou]

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Mei returned the hugs fiercely.

"Happy Birthday Richard and here's to many more. I'm glad you like it, I hope it lives up to your imagination. The guy selling it went into great detail about the condition. He practically grilled me about whether I thought you would open the case and read it or not."

[Alex Kovac]

"Well, I'm glad if I helped you out, but I just wanted to dance with you," he replies, leading Alex to an open enough area to dance. He's not skilled at it, but he's quick enough to not step on any toes.

"I am glad you are my friend John." The Penguin smiled. "You didn't need to do this."

Rico shook his head as he watched Alex dance in such a lovely dress.

Alex struggled a bit with the tightness of the dress as the Penguin had to do short steps rather than long.

[Richard Winter]

...

"It's really, really wonderful Mei, thank you very much" he saidand broke away from the hug and took the comic in his hand. It's a wonder you could find it at all" he grinned, "I'll properly introduce it to my collection". He grabbed his beer and toasted Mei again, "Here's to many more years and the best friends one could ask for."

[John Slaktare]

"I am glad you are my friend John." The Penguin smiled. "You didn't need to do this."

Rico shook his head as he watched Alex dance in such a lovely dress.

Alex struggled a bit with the tightness of the dress as the Penguin had to do short steps rather than long.

Even if he's not a good dancer, he's clearly not shy about the closeness. John holds Alex tightly during the dance. "Needing to ain't got nothing to do with what I wanna do. And I'm lucky I got a friend like you. You know, this dress looks really nice on you too."

[Alex Kovac]

Even if he's not a good dancer, he's clearly not shy about the closeness. John holds Alex tightly during the dance. "Needing to ain't got nothing to do with what I wanna do. And I'm lucky I got a friend like you. You know, this dress looks really nice on you too."

They had shared some moments. Alex smiled. "I do look really pretty don't I..." Alex giggled. "Surprise... I guess."

[John Slaktare]

"Well, I ain't surprised really. You always do. Only thing that's really different tonight is what you're wearing," he replies, stepping carefully along with the music, an arm around Alex's waist. His movements were probably a little awkward, but no toes were being broken so he counts that as a victory.

[Alex Kovac]

"Beats overalls you know." Alex giggled. "Um... Are you sure I should be around here? It is a little awkward you know..."

[John Slaktare]

"Since when's it awkward to have friends around? We want you here with us Alex. You ain't got nothing to worry or feel awkward about," John says.

[Alex Kovac]

"Since I have friends." Alex chuckled. "I have a limited circle of trusted people... I am really scared I will do something wrong... or say something stupid..."

[John Slaktare]

"You're too worried about that. You're nice and smart and you ain't gonna upset anyone. Just gotta keep being yourself, cause you're a great friend. Also, after this song you should steal a dance with Mei-Ling. Cause I ain't sure I'll let her go once I start dancing with her tonight," he says.

[Alex Kovac]

"I... I am sorry..." Alex shied a bit. "I don't think Mei would like to dance with me." The Penguin looked at the closeness between Richard and Mei. " It is okay... you know... you two should enjoy yourselves. I'll be fine."