[EP] A little fuss - OTA

[st_rikingblueeyes]

Some time ago, Corbie had found a calendar and counted back from the spring equinox. And then ahead from the winter solstice. And settled on a date. And then she’d done it again the next day. And again the next, until she was finally satisfied that she’d correctly translated between calendar systems and definitely had the correct date. Caroline had caught her at it and pried it out of her that Corbie had been trying to figure out when her birthday was and, wheels turning behind her eyes, Caroline had left it there. And Corbie had forgotten all about it.

Which was how she could be surprised now as she was shunted into the cafe that Caroline had bullied cake out of Pike and had possibly bullied other people around the inn to come eat it.

Okay, that wasn’t fair. It was a kind gesture, since Corbie hadn’t told anybody. Hadn’t intended on telling anybody. Growing up, her birthday was only so big a deal. She and Gran hadn’t had very much money for presents or treats, though Gran had tried when Corbie was small; they were both always more concerned with having enough to get by. Birthdays were for rich kids. Or at least bourgeois kids. And then there was just the part where… well, what was the point? They were here. It made doing anything special for anybody kind of hard. If anybody cared enough.

… Okay, she was being entirely unfair, because here were two people who had cared enough and had tried for her and it was incredibly sweet.

Unexpected tears in her eyes, Corbie laughed and flitted to the café door, calling out to anybody in earshot. “Come help me eat cake!”

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[st_oriedqueen]

When Caroline told her it was Corbie's birthday, Regina wanted to do something for her. She thought back to the Corbie she'd known in Gotham. It was harder to remember her as someone different from this Corbie with every passing day, but she did occasionally consult the memory to help her teach this younger version of herself.

Today she consulted her for an appropriate gift. It had never been something she was good at. Gifts. Birthdays. She'd always asked Henry what he wanted and given him that and a few other things. But she wanted to do this right. What came to mind was the wizard rings Corbie had cherished, a gift from Felix. And the ring that Spencer had given her.

Obviously, Regina would not be giving her a ring. Even if she could recreate the ones Felix had given her, it wouldn't be appropriate. But she did remember the stone--lapis, and that amethyst had been in her other ring and was February's birthstone. She went to the boutique for inspiration, but it was all too terribly showy.

Eventually, she settled on a lapis and amethyst version of a pendant she'd seen in Boston, minus the extra diamond, and set in silver instead of gold.

Instead of using magic for the rest of it, she used a box from the boutique (but changed the godawful pink to Regina's own preferred black and an interior silk of royal blue), and put a purple (concession to Corbie's personal taste) around it. Then when Corbie wasn't paying attention, she teleported in behind her, set the box by the cake with a small card that said, "From R with love," and teleported back out to her office. Corbie would know where to find her if she wanted to, and if not, she could enjoy the gift in her own time.

She hoped.

[st_rikingblueeyes]

It took Corbie some time to notice that she had a present, and then more time to really understand that someone had given her a present at all. She approached it slowly, picked it up carefully, almost reluctant to open it at all.

She procrastinated by reading the card. Then she took a deep breath and opened the box. And immediately teared up.

"Oh..." Corbie had never owned a piece of jewelry before. She could, living here. There was a bunch of jewelry in the boutique that no one was wearing, none of it was right. She wouldn't have recognized herself wearing any of that stuff. It was too loud, too flashy, too big.

This necklace was delicate. Something you could almost overlook at a glance, but at a closer look was lovely and sweet. It didn't overwhelm, and...

Well. It was right.

Fingers trembling, Corbie carefully undid the clasp and fastened it around her own neck. Then she flitted off to find a mirror so she could see.

She wanted to go right now and find Regina and give her a hug, but if Regina wanted that kind of reaction out of her, she'd have stayed. So she'd have to think about that.

But for right now, she had her very own necklace. What in the world would Gran have said about that?