gonna drink bacardi like it's yo birthday [nancy's 20]

[stauncherhearted]

Twenty. Gods, Nancy could hardly believe it. She didn't expect to still be here for this day, truth be told. She knew the sort of life she lived, and the sorts of people she associated with. But against all odds, here she was. Twenty-years-old by Fagin's count, and as wonderful as that was...

It was odd. She'd been a teenager for so long, and now she was officially a twenty-something. An adult, for real this time, not like when she'd turned eighteen.

It didn't exactly help that Charley Bates had decided it was a great idea to call her 'old'. She'd hit the back of his head for that, refusing to consider herself old. She was still so young, at least in comparison to those she spent most of her time around, people that were centuries older than her.

This, of course, caused her some angst. She hadn't particularly wanted to celebrate her birthday. It wasn't anything to be glad about. She was, as she realized, three years physically older than Cooper. And that just felt... weird. She knew, mentally, he was far older than she was. And as he always said she was stuck with him until she was old and grey, but...

Would he still love her, then, she wanted to know? How weird would it be, an haggard old woman next to this cute seventeen-year-old kid. A chill ran up her spine when she thought about it, comparing the wretch that Fagin was to her hypothetical-old-woman-self.

If she lived that long.

Still, people want to celebrate with her. Eames, wonderful Eames, had surprised her with tickets to go see a show on the West End, and taken her out to an amazing restaurant. She'd even brought cake over to the boys', knowing a few of them had saved up to get her something. Or, likely, stole it. But she didn't reach out, not really. If you were lucky enough to know it was her birthday, however, she'd happily entertain any and all plans. There was no need to be rude, after all.

---

Nancy's 20 aww yiss.
Uhm, this is an open post. A few starters in the comments. Want something specific? Please let me know!

Comments

caroline

[stauncherhearted]

Nancy is going to thank the wonder that is Facebook for the fact that Caroline had any idea it was her birthday at all. And, as the person closest to her age that she was friends with, a forever-seventeen vampire, and generally great, she felt like her birthday was as good an excuse as ever to see her.

So she invited her to the place she was using for work one night, thinking the two of them could come up with something to do. Be it hitting a bar, dancing, hell, netflix was on the menu. The plans beyond 'come over' she'd left in Caroline's capable hands.

After inviting her in and pouring them each a glass of wine, she looked over her friend. "Alright, do your worst. What do you have planned for this evening?" Please let it be manicures and terrible movies.

[vampire_barbie_girl]

Caroline's has come prepared. And in Caroline's mind, prepared means several large bags filled with as much as they could carry, as well as an itemized list of all the things they could do tonight.

"Okay, so here's what I've got," she announced, beaming. "We can do facials, manicures, and pedicures. I also brought make-up and hair accessories, to go with anything you have here. DVDs, because Netflix UK's selection sometimes sucks. Fashion magazines and some tabloids just for fun - don't worry, I didn't get Your Alternative Views because that paper is dead to me. I also have some jello shots in here somewhere and pretty much every time of junk food you could want. Oh, and cupcakes, with a birthday candle for one of them! Are we missing anything?"

[stauncherhearted]

Oh wow. This was... This was a lot. But you know what? A night of pampering fun was exactly what she needed. She and Kenzi used to do similar things, and she was surprised to find out just how much she missed it.

"Good lord- and the kitchen sink is in there, too, I suppose?" She asks with a laugh. "This seriously looks amazing- exactly what I needed, I think! Can I take a bag for you?" Seriously, how many did this woman have?

[vampire_barbie_girl]

"No, I figured you already had a kitchen sink," Caroline replies, laughing too. "And yes, that would be great." Thankfully, her vampire strength meant that she'd been able to carry them all without issue, but it was still a bit awkward to move around with them.

[stauncherhearted]

Without any more prompting, she reaches out to take a few bags from Caroline and move them over towards said kitchen sink.

"Welcome, by the way. You're the second person I've had over-" that wasn't a client "-so welcome to my new office." Eames had, after the fall of Midnight, given her the keys to the place, so that, now no longer being allowed at the Anglo, she could still have the comfort of a bed. It beat up against a wall or some dirty old mattress any day of the week.

Yes, she'd been that sort of prostitute, most nights. But now, she had an office.

And a place to go, if things went bad now that she was living full-time with Cooper.

[loveconquersdinosaurs]

The second Thomas heard it was Nancy's birthday, he knew he had to do something nice to her. He didn't really know what she'd want, but he'd seen her wearing jewelry, so he decided to buy her a necklace. He'd thought about baking her a cake, but realized someone might have already tried that. Also, being a creature of the night and on an entirely liquid diet, Thomas realized he had very little practice making food.

Now he was standing at Nancy's door, package in one hand and knocking with the other.

[stauncherhearted]

Thomas at her door is the last thing Nancy expects- so when she looks out the peep-hole to verify that it wasn't anyone that had somehow managed to get past her enchantments, she naturally assumed he wasn't here for her.

Opening the door, she smiled pleasantly. "Thomas- hi- Cooper's not in right now, but I can give him a call, if you'd like?" Why would he be here to visit her, after all? Cooper was the far more likely option, given the recent upheaval of the nest, and her boyfriend's position within it all.

[loveconquersdinosaurs]

It was a reasonable assumption, especially since Cooper had a tendency to keep an eye out for the younger vampires, Thomas included. Today, however, it was not Cooper he wanted to talk to.

"Actually," he said, holding up the wrapped present, "I heard it was your birthday. I didn't have any idea what you would want, but it was shiny so I bought it."

[stauncherhearted]

"What- who told you? I'm going to kill Cooper, I swear," she mutters, but gestures for him to enter. "Come on in- oh gods, you got me a present, too? Why on Earth would you do that for me?"

[knightscode]

Lancelot is, somewhat unofficially, something akin to Nancy's parole officer now. That means he has good reason to make sure everything is good well for her every so often, generally ask if she needs help with things and -- well, subtly make sure her home hasn't abruptly become a coven of dark magic.

Not that he's entirely sure he'd know if it had, but it's something of a participation award. He can plead ignorance while saying he tried, which is important in case it all goes wrong.

Forgiveness means, though, that Nancy exists more concretely than she used to. Forgiveness means she has a record which her no-quite-parole officer has access to, which includes her birthday.

It's something Lancelot had looked at but not really looked at until suddenly, he had, and become aware of the date and that it was soon. He doesn't really know if he knows Nancy well enough to buy her a present, unless it was alcohol -- actually, alcohol would probably work but he doesn't know if he should encourage that. So he settles on sending her a text, instead, asking if she has time to meet up for coffee. Richmond is now safe for her, no Daybreak witch is going to take issue, and if he casually meets her at the station he can then drag her somewhere a little nicer than Starbucks and feed her fiddly cakes that look slightly too perfect to eat.

He's waiting outside the entrance to the station with Lily, who is watching a busker extremely intently. Lancelot is trying not to smile, half wondering if she likes the music or loathes it.

[stauncherhearted]

She's anxious about approaching the station. She hasn't done anything wrong, she's not working- dressed in skinny jeans, her leather jacket now traded in for a worn-in pea coat as the weather got colder- but the fact is, she's still a prostitute and a thief approaching the police station. Of her own free will.

Ironic, she supposed, considering she'd worked closely with Lord Coward before in the past.

All the same, she doesn't really want to be seen by anyone here that may or may not recognize her from previous arrests- again, she'd worked closely with Lord Coward. It was easy to get her record erased in the outside world-, and does her best to stay hidden, hood of her coat up to hide her bright hair.

Luckily, the brusker seems to be taking most everyone's attention, so it's easy to get close to Lance before Lily spots her. Too happy to se Lily to wince, she approaches Lance now a bit less subtly, her hood still up. It'll come down when they step far enough away from the station.

"Hey," she greets them both, giving Lily a warm pet on the head. She's happy to have more of Lance in her life. He was a good man, and she owed him a great debt. The least she could do was let him buy her coffee every once in a while, or cook him a meal.

I WAS THINKING TRAIN STATION BUT THIS IS FUNNIER

[knightscode]

Lily perks up and bounces around Nancy's feet, wagging at her enthusiastically and barely resisting the urge to jump up. Lance brightens too, gently tugging the dog back toward himself and smiling at Nancy.

"You made it! Lily might be more excited than I am to see you."

He tugs the dog back an inch or two again, leans down to ruffle her ears and grins playfully.

"How hungry are you? The place I was thinking of does sandwiches and hot food too, but if you'd prefer to have pasta or pizza we could go somewhere else first."

WHOOPS I THOUGHT LANCE JUST BROUGHT LILY TO WORK.

[stauncherhearted]

Nancy grins, but keeps her back to the station.

"I don't know if I should take that as an insult. Hi, Lily, how are you, love?" She gives her a good scratch behind the ears, because she is a very good girl, but turns her head up to Lance a bit.

"yeah- starved, actually. Something hot sounds just lovely, thanks. Really, you asked me t'come out, it's only fair you pick."

And maybe they can move away from the station?

[baisant]

Jean-Claude does not use such technology as Facebook or even computers, if he can help it. There was no app or alert or anything else that informed him of Nancy's birthday. But he heard it through the grapevine nonetheless. Through the friend of a friend of hers, with the mention of her relationship with Cooper and the general gossip of the Nest that none of the dancers ever thought that he heard but he held onto like the lifeline into the minds of his people that they were.

He did not know Nancy well. They were not on the best of terms either, not after Kenzi, how he had saved her, and how he had failed as well. He felt something of a duty to Nancy because of that. Not only because of Kenzi, but he feels also something like empathy for Nancy herself. He had not been in her exact position, but he'd certainly known something like it. And while he might not out and say that, he feels as though now is the time to reach out. For her birthday. And so he gives her a call. Because if not computers, at least he has moved up to being able to use telephones by this day and age.

He waits for her to answer before speaking himself. "Bon anniversaire, mon amie," he leads, leaving no question as to who might be on the edge of the line.

[stauncherhearted]

The new Duke of Islington is on the other end of the line. This is the first thought that dimly passes through her mind when she picks up the unknown number. She's not surprised he knows- so many people in the Nest now seem to. She blames Cooper, naturally, and she idly has to wonder if her anti-birthday reasoning has him complaining to others.

More likely than not.

Part of her, though, is impressed. He's picking up the phone to call her- some lowly member of the Nest- to most she was just a hot meal and a bit of fun. She knows of their connections beyond that, of course. He was there when Kenzi died on her couch, putting her in an awful position. Her blood had finished what he started. And something about that felt so wrong.

But she'd learned early on in life the importance of connections, and as a veritable hanger-oner of the nest, a refuge from the late Midnight, she knew having an ally in Jean-Claude would prove invaluable.

And make Cooper's life significantly easier.

But that doesn't mean she's necessarily going to be happy about the decision.

"Hullo," she says again, beginning to wander aimlessly around her apartment. She doesn't ask how he knows, or how he got her number. "Thank you, Jean-Claude. And congratulations." She'd never met Raymond. But he'd not been someone she'd supported by any means.

[baisant]

Jean-Claude lets out a soft chuckle at her congratulations. She had not been there, she had not seen him in all of his glory. Decapitating the former Duke and overthrowing his regime, together with the rest of the vampires. Perhaps that is for the best, though. He cannot help but think that she might have had something to object, at the sight of such bloodshed. Most people did, even when it was a necessary evil, as they say.

"Thank you," he replies. "I hope the results of my efforts have been satisfying thus far." He knows that they have been for himself, and as far as he can tell they have been as well for those that had joined him there, in the club. But he will admit, he is interested to hear the outside perspective. They have many other non-vampiric allies in the Nest, after all. But that is not why he had called.

"I would request your evening, mon amie. Though I recognize that you are most likely busy with friends on this night. Please, I invite you to suggest a day that would be more agreeable with your schedule." If this is rather old-fashioned of him, Jean-Claude pays that fact no mind. He is a rather old-fashioned individual, after all.

[stauncherhearted]

"Well," Nancy has to admit, because she knows Jean-Claude knows exactly what she is, "business certainly has been getting better." Having a place to actually consistently work was a huge benefit to her. Not just for sex, but for blood, as well.

His offer catches her off-guard, and Nancy's narrowed eyes dart up towards the ear she has her phone pressed against, like she didn't quite trust it.

"I'm sorry- in what capacity?" She doesn't want to assume he wants to catch-up with her when he's actually just wanting to hire her on for the evening. Which, as it turned out, she wasn't sure she could actually say yes to.

Happy Bella Swan day....

[emotioneater]

The thought that Nancy might be experiencing any sort of angst over being physically three years older than him doesn't cross Cooper's mind. Sure, he knows that they'll have to deal with that part of the relationship eventually, but he wants to do it later rather than sooner. Three years isn't that big of a difference. It's not to the point where they get stares going out and that's all that Cooper can hope for.

The morning of her birthday, Cooper is up uncommonly early. He leaves a note saying he'll be back later and off he goes into the sunlight. He's been wanting to give Nancy something special for her big day and figures that jewelry is just the ticket to a girl's heart. He's had some special pieces prepared that he just knows she's going to love.

He gets back to the flat with a inconspicuous package under one arm and a bouquet of red roses in the other hand. "Mornin', sweet-pea! How does it feel t'be one year older?"

[stauncherhearted]

When Cooper returns, Nancy is nursing a coffee, a warm bathrobe wrapped around her silky nightgown. She sees the roses and immediately groans.

"Cooper..." She closes her eyes. She can't be mad. he cares, it's probably some big vampire important thing, like Caroline said. But she's still three years physically older and she's going to go gray any day now. If she hasn't already.

"can we not talk about it?" There, they can avoid the topic. That's better, right? After all, avoiding things isn't being dishonest, right? at least that's what she's been telling herself.

[emotioneater]

Cooper sets her present down on the counter and goes to get a vase from a cupboard in the kitchen to put the flowers in. His brow knits in concern at her words. Now, he's not particularly fond of being reminded he's in the triple digits at the best of times, but he doesn't quite correlate being young and at the peak of her youth with being a old vampire stuck in an awkward teenage body that's been around for far too long.

He plunks the roses down into a crystal vase and fills it with water. Carrying it over to the kitchen table, he sets it down in front of Nancy, taking her small hand in his own. "What's a matter?" He's a bit concerned, wondering what could have already gone wrong to get her so moody.

[stauncherhearted]

He hadn't done anything wrong. in fact, he'd done it right. Flowers and what she assumed was a gift. She gave him an apologetic smile, looking at their hands.

How long until hers was covered in liver spots?

"I don't feel like celebrating this year. I was hoping to just... ignore it." She shrugs, her shoulders near her ears. "I mean, I'm only twenty. It's not a big deal." And yet it was. To her, at least.

"And I told you no presents." A sheepish grin. She won't turn it away.

[knowntohisfriends]

Nancy wasn't entirely wrong in thinking of few of the lads had saved up to get her something. They had, they were just rotten at saving. They bought her a right nice card, the best in the shop, but had left the actual present getting to the Dodger. He had rolled his eyes, and pulled on his coat: "Suppose I'd better. What kind of birthday is it when you lot ain't even tryin' for the lady?"

He had taken a while on it this year. After all, 20 was a big thing. Next year would be a bigger one, an' that would take some doin', but it was in the future, an' today he had to deal with her 20th.

Some nice gloves, a scarf, and a bracelet. Nothin' special, but they had been wrapped in brown papers - it's all they had - and now he was on the way round to hers to deliver them.

The Dodger didn't really consider an 'if she was in'. Course she would be in, it was Nancy.

[stauncherhearted]

When the bell rings, Nancy approaches the door. She had, as Dodger assumed, been in. She'd actually been in the middle of attempting some yoga, but finding it increasingly difficult when her cat thought she was going to be a really great climbing post.

So the doorbell was a welcome distraction, for both her and Juliet.

None of her wards had gone off, so she knew the person approaching the door was friendly to her, Cooper, or both. A peek through the peephole told her exactly who it was, and in an instant, she'd thrown open the door to him.

"Well if it isn't the Artful Dodger, come to interrupt my afternoon," She gives him a warm smile. She wasn't going to ask how he found out where she was. He was clever enough. "What can I do for you, Dodge?"

[knowntohisfriends]

The Dodger lifts his hat in greeting, grinning widely.

"Alright there, Nance. Been hearin' some little birds tweetin' that it's some lady's what we knows birthday 'round about now." A pause, as the grin grows cheeky. "I don't suppose you've got a reckonin' to who that is, do you? Only I've got this present an' card here, an'... Well, look at that!" He glanced down, and feigned surprise.

"Present an' card are addressed to you, Nance. It your birthday, then?" He laughs, handing the aforementioned items over to him. He glanced around at what he can see of the place, letting out a low whistle. "Right fancy digs you've got these days."

[stauncherhearted]

Nancy, despite herself, blushes as she ushers him in, accepting said items.

"You all know you didn't have to do this for me, right?" But they would anyway, just as she always made sure they had gifts for their birthdays and for Christmas as well.

She looks around as he does, smiling. "Thanks- It's all Cooper's," She smiles at the idea of him. He was off, doing some sort of Marquess thing or another. "I really can't take credit for any of it." Maybe a few items here, like the cat. But other than that, it was Cooper's place. And far more humble than a lot of vampires chose to be. See: Cesare Borgia.

"Still, I suppose it's one of the few good things, about Midnight's fall." Her circle was gone, and she'd been taken into Islington for protection. "Got to move in with my boyfriend again." She'd originally planned on returning to Enfield, but Cooper had had other ideas. And truthfully, she'd missed having someone in her bed each night, someone to hold and come home to every day.