didntrun | (no subject)

It's Chrissy's birthday and, as with Christmas, Eddie is painfully aware he's not really sure how to do all these important things.

Christmas had gone well. It had gone really well, actually, considering where they're at now, so he's also doing his best not to overthink any of it and just go with the flow. If Chrissy hated that, she probably wouldn't want to be with him at all, so he visits her on the actual day, then promises her they're going to do something fun on Friday night.

They're doing an escape room.

Eddie had only heard about them about a week ago and, given his love of games, he'd immediately started researching and found a place in Darrow where there were some rooms meant just for two people. Date night game rooms, as they were advertised on the website, and Eddie had excitedly booked one.

First, though, he's going to her place with a big bouquet of flowers he'd helped put together himself. Soft blooms, white and pink and blue, hydrangeas and lilies and tulips, and Eddie is honestly pretty proud of himself as he knocks on Chrissy's door.

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"It's your birthday," Eddie replies, as if that should be enough of an answer. Honestly, he thinks it should be. When there's someone you care about, you do what you can to make a day like this special for them.

Wayne had always tried, but Eddie has never properly had it before. Not the way he thinks it's really meant to be.

"Going all out would be like, hosting a ball," he teases. "Having a catered dinner and a string quartet and dancing and all your friends in fancy dresses and suits."

"Okay, yeah, maybe," Chrissy laughs, nudging him with her shoulder. "But I don't think either of us would have liked that very much." She doesn't mind an occasional formal party — the one at Kagura was fun, for the most part — but something that fancy, centered around her, would have made her feel too much like she had to perform, had to be a certain version of herself. And Eddie, well, she's very aware that it wouldn't be his thing at all, and she's more than fine with that.

This is all she wanted from tonight, anyway. The specifics may have been a surprise, but just the two of them, relaxing, doing something fun together, not needing to worry about anyone else — that's the most she could ask for.

"For the record, I'll take flowers and an escape room over a fancy ball any day, thank you."

"You're welcome," Eddie answers, happy to have given Chrissy a birthday that she's enjoyed. "You deserve it."

They turn another corner and Eddie gestures with a flourish, saying, "I give you ice cream!"

The shop is cute, the exterior bricks painted pink, the trim white, and through the window, they can see the people inside making the ice cream rolls. It's cool to watch the way it spreads in a thin layer on the frozen plate and how they roll it up into a scroll.

"Come on," Eddie says, opening the door for Chrissy with a grin.

"Oh, my god, this is so cute," Chrissy says delightedly when the ice cream shop comes into view, all pastel pink and white, looking charmingly old-fashioned. Left to her own devices, she doesn't know that she would ever have glanced twice at the place, if only because of what it sells; she definitely wouldn't be eating ice cream. This is a special occasion of sorts, though, if only because Eddie is the one who arranged all of it, and so she's determined not to let her thoughts go in that direction, at least for the next few hours.

It's easy to get caught up in how good she feels, anyway, how much it means that he's picked things that fit so well with her taste. The aesthetic of this alone is perfectly her, and for a moment, the very fact of that distracts her from the sight in the window.

"Wait, that's the ice cream?" she asks as they step inside, nodding toward where the staff members are shaping it. "Those flat little rolls?"

"Yeah," he says. "It's cool, right? You pick your base ice cream, either chocolate or vanilla, then you can add stuff to it, like peanut butter or cookie dough or... mango. Then there's toppings and other stuff you can add, too."

Eddie feels like he's not explaining it right, so he just opens the door instead, gesturing for Chrissy to go inside ahead of him.

In the shop, the air smells sweet, but not overpowering, and Eddie finds his mouth watering a little. However they make it, it's pretty clear this is good quality stuff and he's excited to try it.