Birthday
Rating: AP13
Summary: Lisa's 29th birthday. This story takes place a month after the end of The Macross Saga.
Wow, this story is terrible. Then again, who doesn't love some good old-fashioned Minmei bashing?
Lisa stirred her pina colada restlessly and reminded herself that
she was supposed to be having a good time. She sensed Rick's
eyes on her, and met his gaze, forced herself to smile. He smiled
back, reached over and squeezed her hand where it rested on
the table.
"Love you," he mouthed silently.
She smiled again, genuinely this time, feeling that familiar warmth
that rushed through her whenever he said it. She still couldn't quite
bring herself to believe him, couldn't help but wonder when he'd
realize that he'd made a mistake and run away as fast as his legs
could carry him.
Unbelievable, she thought sourly. I'm 29 years old, and I'm still acting
like an insecure teenager about my...my...boyfriend? Lover? Significant
other? She wasn't quite sure what to call him now that their relationship
had changed.
Max raised his glass, drawing her out of her reverie. "To Lisa," he said
cheerfully. "Happy Birthday, and may you have many more."
She rolled her eyes and raised her own glass, watched as Rick and
Miriya lifted theirs as well. The four glasses met in the middle and
clinked. "Thanks, Max," she said, hoping she didn't sound insincere.
It had been sweet of Rick to insist that they celebrate her birthday,
despite the fact that only a month had passed since Khyron's fateful
attack. Since Claudia and Admiral Gloval...she turned her mind from
that train of thought with an effort, not wanting to start bawling in the
middle of dinner.
In the end, she had finally agreed to let him throw her a birthday
dinner, on the condition that only Max and Miriya joined them.
No outsiders, she'd maintained.
Ironically, she was the one feeling like an outsider at the moment.
Rick and Max believed that they understood what she was going through,
and Miriya tried, but the fact was that they couldn't know. They couldn't
know how a dense cloud of grief and guilt had blunted all of her senses,
made her feel completely disassociated from the rest of the world.
It has to be you, Claudia's voice echoed in her brain. You're the only
one with something to live for...
She glanced over at Rick, took in his strong profile, watched him as he
laughed at a joke Max had just made. Something to live for. If only Claudia
knew how right she would turn out to be. Because right now Rick was
the only thing keeping her from dropping over the edge of the abyss,
into the darkness that threatened to consume her.
His love was like a bright light, a beacon that kept her from drifting too far
from shore. And her greatest fear was that that love might one day be
extinguished.
"You okay?" Rick's voice pulled her back to reality. His blue eyes were
dark with concern.
"Yes," she said firmly, chiding herself for her morbid daydreaming. "I'm
sorry, everyone, I know I'm hardly being the life of the party tonight."
"Don't worry about it," Rick said quickly. "That's what Max is here for."
Max made a face and Lisa had to chuckle when Miriya actually laughed.
The green-haired Zentraedi flying ace was still trying to grasp and appreciate
the concept of humor.
"Glad to hear I'm the comic relief," Max cracked.
"Just my way of keeping you humble, Max," Rick said, grinning.
It was a joke and they all knew it. Max, despite his legendary flying skills
and nearly superhuman reflexes, was the very essence of quiet humility.
"Well, I appreciate your keeping me grounded, boss," Max replied.
Rick opened his mouth, obviously about to make another obnoxious
crack, when he closed it abruptly and swallowed hard. Lisa followed his
gaze across the restaurant, and her heart sank when she focused on the
object of his distraction.
"Damn," she whispered.
Minmei.
Minmei looking like the star she was, outfitted in a slinky red dress and
heels, smiling coquettishly as she conferred with the restaurant manager.
Lisa could hear snatches of her voice, light and tinkling. She suddenly felt
downright dowdy in her simple button-down shirt and black slacks.
Max cleared his throat as silence enveloped their table. "I didn't know
Minmei was in town," he said finally.
"Neither did I," Lisa said, making no attempt to hide her annoyance.
Rick shrugged elaborately. "So what if she is?"
Oh, Rick, Lisa thought. You're trying too hard.
Lisa was about to suggest that they move on to another topic of
conversation when Minmei's voice sounded in her ear.
"Rick! Max! Lisa!" Minmei said excitedly as she ran up to their
table. Miriya, apparently, was beneath her notice. Or maybe Minmei
honestly didn't even realize that Miriya existed, since Miriya had no
role in Minmei's little sphere of reality.
"Hi Minmei," Rick said warmly, and Max smiled in greeting. Lisa
said nothing.
"Oh, I'm so excited to see all of you!" Minmei gushed. "I just got back
into town after a tour and am so happy to be back where I belong,
with my family and all of my good friends!"
Lisa looked at Minmei as if she were a museum exhibit. Was this
girl on drugs?
"We're, uh, glad you're back in town, Minmei," Rick said, shooting
a glance at Lisa. Lisa raised an eyebrow at him, but remained
silent.
"Me too. It's so good to see you Rick. And you too, Lisa," she
added hastily.
"I'm sure," Lisa said dryly. Next to her, Miriya stifled a snort of
laughter. Twice in one night, Lisa thought, it must be some kind
of record...
"Well, I should get going," Minmei said. "I'm meeting someone, and
don't want to keep him waiting. Bye!"
And then she was gone. Lisa breathed a sigh of relief. She felt Rick's
hand searching for hers underneath the table, and she clasped it,
smiling when he squeezed back reassuringly.
Don't let the bimbos get you down, she chanted to herself. "So," she
said brightly, "who's ready for dessert?"
***
Lisa was only too happy to finally arrive home, even if she and Rick
had wound up at his place and not her own. She sat down on the
couch and stretched, wincing a little when she heard joints pop. "I'm
so old," she moaned.
"You're not old," Rick said, an exasperated tinge to his voice.
She looked at him balefully as he sat down on the couch next to her.
"Easy for you to say. What are you doing with such an older woman,
anyway?" She was sorry as soon as she'd said it. Why rub in the fact
that she was almost ten years older than Minmei? Stupid, stupid.
But Rick just grinned and reached out for her shoulders, turning her
around so that he could rub her back with dexterous fingers. She moaned
contentedly as he began kneading the muscles of her neck. "First of all,
you're not that much older than me," he said. "Secondly...well, it wouldn't
matter if you were 100, you'd still be the most gorgeous, intelligent,
courageous woman I've ever known."
Her heart skipped a beat. "Liar."
He chuckled softly. "You're impossible, you know that?" His hands
moved down to work at her shoulder blades, and she couldn't stifle another
moan. "You're more beautiful now than the day we met."
"I should hope so, considering that the day we met you called me an
old sourpuss," she retorted.
His hands stopped for a moment, and she could hear him wince. "Sorry," he apologized. "That was dumb."
"Don't worry about it. When I look back on it now, I find it pretty amusing."
"And I'm sorry that we ran into Minmei tonight," he continued, now working
her lower back. "I had no idea she was back in town --"
"It's okay, Rick," she cut him off. "I know that you still consider her a
friend, and she persists in this delusion that I'm her friend too, and there's
not much I can do about it. Besides, it only makes sense that I'll have
to see her once in a while. I'm a big girl, I can handle it." She realized
she was sounding more defensive than necessary, but couldn't help it.
That girl bugged her, and probably always would.
He stopped kneading the tight muscles in her back and encircled her
waist, resting his head on her shoulder. "Did you have a good time
tonight, anyway?" he asked. "I know it wasn't your idea, but I really
wanted you to go out, to try to take your mind off things."
"I know. And I'm glad you thought of it. I really did have a nice time.
It was certainly better than moping around all evening."
She waited for him to respond to her, but instead she felt his lips brush
against her neck. Oh, yes. She closed her eyes and tilted her head,
granting him better access, and he ran his mouth up and down the curve
of her neck, his tongue flickering, teeth nibbling. She could feel her heart
beat faster, her breathing grow ragged. It wasn't fair, the effect he had
on her...
His hands moved from her waist, brushed against her stomach, then
reached up and began unbuttoning her blouse from the bottom up. She
ran her hand up and down his thigh as his hands moved higher and
higher, up to her breasts --
And then he hopped up from the couch. She yelped in protest. "What
are you doing?"
"Sorry," he tossed over his shoulder on the way to the bedroom. "But I
want to give you your birthday present while it's still your birthday."
"I thought that's what you were about to give me," she grumbled, pulling
her shirt closed.
He returned to the living room with a small box in his hands and a big
grin on his face. "You get *that* whenever you want," he pointed out,
leering at her affectionately.
Yeah, and thank God for that, she thought. Aloud, she said, "Well, wasn't
dinner my present, then?"
He sat down next to her, held out the box. It was painfully obvious that he
had wrapped it himself. "That was one of them. This is your real gift."
Intrigued now, she took the box from him, hefted it in her hand, almost
afraid to open it. It wasn't a ring box, she could tell that, so she didn't have to panic or anything.... Taking a deep breath, she ripped off the
wrapping paper and opened the lid of the velvet case underneath.
And gasped. Nestled inside was an exquisite necklace, boasting a
small emerald in an intricate marcasite setting. "Rick, I..." She looked
up at him, confused, wondering where on earth he could have found
such a thing in this virtually post-apocalyptic world.
"It was my mother's," he explained. "I take it with me whenever I travel,
sentimental superstition, I guess, so I had it with me when I first arrived
in Macross. She, uh, she had green eyes, just like you."
Tears pricked her eyes, threatened to spill over. "Rick, how can I
possibly accept this?"
He took the box from her, removed the necklace. "Easy. You just do.
I want you...I need you to have it." He reached over her head and
slipped the necklace on, fastening the catch in the back. Then he
leaned back and appraised his handiwork. "Go look," he said, gesturing
with his chin to the mirror hanging on the wall near the front door.
Lisa was speechless. She kept opening her mouth, trying to say
something, but nothing would come out. She walked in slow motion to
the mirror, drew in her breath when she saw how lovely it looked.
"It looks beautiful on you," he said quietly, echoing her thoughts.
She wiped at her eyes and rejoined him on the couch. "Thank you,"
she said finally, knowing the words were wholly inadequate. She knew
all too well that this was not just a gift, that it was a promise, a pledge.
Something she hadn't expected, not so soon. It touched her beyond
belief. "I'll...always treasure it."
He leaned over and kissed her tenderly, then said, "So how about you
show me how that looks when it's the only thing you're wearing?"
Happier than she'd been in months, Lisa took Rick's hands and led him
toward the bedroom.
end.