Chapter Text
Enid had never been one for extravagant parties in her honor, unless she was DJing them. Which is why she never told KO when her birthday was, and her parents also never threw her any over the top birthday parties, contrary to their normal ecstatic energy towards everything.
Except for this time. Her new girlfriend demanded that they do something fun for her 19th birthday, given it was her first year with Red and the last of her teen years. There was one problem, though: it was also the first year she’d had her old best friend, Elodie, back. And since neither of them had met yet, Enid wasn’t sure how they’d feel about each other.
“Well, why not do something like an icebreaker with them? They both care about you, so wouldn't they get along?” Rad theorized with her, at the counter. Enid slumped down, resting her head in her palm, tired from the totally-not-lying busy day at the Bodega. "I'd hope. But I don't know what they have in common other than the fact they both like to fight, and I do NOT want them to do that. Bad enough I had to split Red and you up...” Enid despaired. Rad looked confused, and replied “Like we did?” And Enid digressed “Hmm, maybe they could show off their tanks to each other? Man, I don’t know what is about lesbians and tanks.” She chuckled a bit at what she just said.
Just then Drupe sauntered in, texting on her phone. When she looked up and saw it wasn’t Sparko working at that time, but was actually Enid and Rad, she smiled. “Hey! Two of my favorite people. You in particular, Rad.” Drupe giving a devilish smile. Rad walked over and gave Drupe a quick kiss, and Rad stated “Hey, Enid is having a crisis up here, so if you want to head to the back with me for a-“ Enid put her finger against Rad’s face after having a thought. “Hey, Drupe. Question for you.” Enid leaned on her counter with a cross looking Rad glaring at her. Drupe clasped her hands and had a cheery face and offered her help, “What’s up, Enid?”
Enid put thinking fingers up to her mouth, and pondered “When you guys and Red Action weren’t hanging around in the alley, what were you all doing, together?” Drupe sighed a moment, but she was glad she could give answer.
“Still trying to figure something out to do with Red and Elodie, huh? Hmm, well if it was just me and Red, we might’ve done a sleepover. She’s not shy to that!”
Enid kicked herself for not thinking of that sooner. Of course that’d work! Elodie loves sleep overs and Red loves sleeping over with Enid. That would be the perfect bonding experience for both of them.
“Thank you, Drupe! I’ve gotta make this happen quick, like, in a day quick.” Enid whipped out her phone to text both Red and Elodie to see if they’d be doing that for her birthday.
And before Rad huffed and brought Drupe to the back by her hand, Drupe realized what had been said. “Wait, you seriously only had a day left to decide? Wow, procrastinate much?” Then she disappeared with Rad to the back for an undetermined amount of time.
Luckily, Red replied immediately, taking the opportunity to sleep with Enid, maybe not fully understanding what she had meant. Now, she just needed the OK from Elodie.
She had wound up waiting for the rest of her shift before she got a reply back from her, and of course Rad and Drupe hadn’t come back out yet, but she wasn’t about to wait on them to take care of business. She had a sleep over to prepare for the next day.
That night, while she was on the phone with her beautiful girlfriend, she was washing laundry and packing snacks for the next night.
The other end ruffled a bit, then Red shot out “So, you think we’ll get along? Me and this Elodie friend- Err, ah, get back here, you little-“ of course she was cleaning her tank while she was on the phone. She can be such a klutz. After retrieving what she had dropped, Red continued, “Right, Elodie and I will get along, then? What kinds of foods does she like? Fighting strategy? Does she like surfing?” Enid giggled, thinking of going surfing with Red. “Pizza and raspberry ice cream, bows and knife backstabbing, and I don’t know? I guess?” Red huffed at this, not particularly pleased with those answers but not disgusted by them either.
Enid sighed, stopping what she was doing for a second, to state “Look, babe, if me, the awkward one, could make friends with her and manage to talk to you, then I’m pretty sure you two will get along right well.” Enid heard silence as a reply, but not before long Red spoke up, “Sorry, I heard you just dropped my phone. If you think so, then totally! Let’s do this. Just one question: where are we having this sleepover?” Enid went wide eyed. “I hadn’t thought of that! Hmm... Well you practically live out of your tank, so that’s out. You know I’m not handling you two around my parents, so that’s a definitive no. So I guess Elodie’s office at POINT will do.” Enid felt triumphant, and she knew Elodie would, probably, be OK with that.
"I do not live out of my tank!" Red got defensive. She may have modded it to hide herself from scanners and to match her love for the beach, but she doesn't keep a sleeping bag in there. Right?
Enid giggled at her, then comforted her "I'm just messing with you. Besides, I think the office would still be the best place to go for a plethora of reasons. Now I gotta focus on my personal chores before I go to sleep. Love you, boo!" Red forgot about the little joke made towards her, and bid her a goodnight.
As Enid resumed her laundry, she was reminded again of how much she loved her space cyborg girlfriend, and how fun-loving and carefree she could be.
The next day, Enid had to go on a mission with Rad and KO, and she didn't talk about her birthday coming up tomorrow, as she didn't want the energetic little sprout to try and throw her a massive party. Which is why Rad made no mention of it, and she kept her texting with Red and Elodie on the down low.
However, while they were flying back from fighting Punching Judy who almost seemed like she'd gone Turbo, KO leaned up front next to Enid asked "Hey, Enid... You've seemed really distracted today... Is it that Judy looked really out of it? I know she knocked you out pretty good back there... Rad! Do you think she's hurt?" Enid grunted and huffed, and replied "KO, I'm fine. We've all been tussled about before like that. Besides, the condition Punching Judy was in, that wasn't right. It reminded me of TKO, almost..." Rad looked inquisitive for a split second, before adding on, "You know... She's right, for once. Remember Fink? And that collar she has on? Wasn't Judy wearing one too?"
And with that, KO sat back, remembering Fink, and their fight. Rad simply focused on not hitting anything as he flew, and Enid had to reply to Red who had asked when she wanted to be picked up.
>idk, like 2 hours maybe
>okee den ima wear my best crop top
>lol all ur crop tops look guuud on u
>lmfao no u
Then Enid's texting got interrupted by a shoulder, then an smirking Rad, making kissing faces.
Safe to say, from that point on the van ride back was a normal Hero Van ride back for the trio.
About an hour later, Enid was just finishing packing her bag with her PJ's, deodorant, and other odds and ends items, when her parents walked in.
Wilhamena looked as bright as an Addam's family vampire could look, and beamed to Enid "Happy early birthday, sweet candy corn!" with Bernard coming up from behind her, howling "Howoooooo is our baby girl doing?" he smiled with a toothy grin.
Enid sighed louder than needed, so even the ghosts Cruddle and Spanky could hear her. "You guys! You're so over the top, even when it's just a little cupcake with- Ooh, is that licorice? Harumph." Enid plopped down, munching on her small birthday cupcake. Wilhamena smiled down at her, saying "Sweetheart, we know you're leaving for you're little sleepover, and you'll be gone for the day tomorrow, so we wanted to give you your gift now." Bernard, between his ear scratching, (it was flea season) removed a small purple ribbon adorned box from behind his back.
Enid did look up at this, a little. Then she thought of all the clutter already in her very high up room, with most of it only being able to be reached via log teleportation.
Enid gingerly took the small package from his hands, and with care, tore it open. In it, were a couple of stickers of rainbows, a pic to go with Red's ukulele, and a purple frame, waiting for a picture to placed in it.
"It's not much," Wilhamena began, "But it might be good to go with how you've grown and changed." All the while Bernard was hoping his gifts he'd bought that morning at 4 AM would suffice.
Enid smiled to herself, placing the frame on her nightstand, and slipping the pic in to her pocket. "I'll... figure out where to put my stickers."
Her parents smiled back at her, and Wilhamena kissed her forehead, before leaving her to finishing doing whatever it was Enid did in her room.
Red picked her up only 13 minutes late, with Enid ticking down the minutes, second by second. While Red might've been fun and laid back, as seen by her love for the beach, Enid wanted to be punctual despite her laziness.
Climbing out of her window, she saw Bernard waving up to her while doing his yard work. Enid was, deep down, happy for her dad for following his dream of being a farmer an eggplant and pumpkin farmer. It also gave him time to beautify the landscape to match her own mother.
Unfortunately, Red yelled, snapping Enid out of her trance. "Woohoo! Birthday girl on board!" Red raising her arms up. That's when Enid took the opportunity to surprise attack her, with a hug around the waist. "There, will that get you to stop gushing everywhere, you sap?" Red blushed the same color as her crop top, and bit her cheek. "Aww, alright. But I'm stealing a kiss to sate me for the ride there." And Enid was OK with that. It might've been Enid's birthday, but she still granted her girlfriend's wished any day.
The tank filled with chatter as the two rode to POINT, with Red stopping at one location to take a picture of Enid under the tangerine sunset. This one was most definitely going up on Social Media.
Not before long, the couple sped up, almost crashing into, the side of the POINT tower, causing both Red and Enid to scream, one out of fear and the other out of humor. And as it turned out, Elodie was screaming, too. She'd been waiting for the arrival and subsequently watched them almost smash through her office.
Elodie rushed down to greet them at the main entrance, and what a first impression Red gave to Elodie.
Elodie's cheeks were puffed from the run down the stairs, and already being in her sleepwear didn't make it easier. "My cob! You gave me a fright, didn't you? You must be Red Action, then. I've heard so much about you from our friend Enid here, but nothing quite so... reckless."
Red rubbed the back of her neck, and awkwardly laughed it off, looking around to distract herself. What caught her attention was the remodeling going on around the courtyard. The Chip Damage statue was being taken down, with a statue of Dr. Greyman being put in it's place. There were also various species of fauna Red hadn't seen in her time, being they'd gone extinct, and what a shame it was. The flowers were as pretty as Enid's laughter.
Elodie chuckled, placing a hand on Red's shoulder, carrying on "But then, I too have a tank, and know the brilliant rush. Come in! I've prepared a feast... of snacks! Only Enid's favorites. Cow tails, garlic bread, raspberry licorice..." Elodie trailed off, trying to let Enid pick up. Enid sighed, unsure of where this was going, but progressed. "Well, don't want to let it all go stale, then! Besides, I do not want to hold this bag on my shoulders all night." And with that, Enid grabbed Red's hand, following behind Elodie who'd skipped on ahead.
As the trio ran through the corridors to reach the top of the tower, Enid looked at all the changes that had since been made. Gone were most of the Chip Damage pictures, and replaced with historic heroes of times past. Where there were once cookie cutter and bland lockers, personalized and colorful lockers decorated by their students stood. Gone were the old fluorescent lights, and replaced with them was new, more eco-friendly LED lighting, some lamps having color shades over them to spruce the halls. Elodie really has done the old POINT building good since her time in office.
After a good 3 or so minutes of running through corridor after stairwell, they ran into the back of Elodie, at the president's office door. When Enid looked back at Red, she was dazed, and rubbing her knee where it met with her peg leg. Before she had a chance to say anything, Elodie spoke up "Home sweet home! For the night, at least. Now, where's the key... Ah, yes!" Elodie summoned it, like a magic trick, trying to impress Enid. All she did was place her hand on her hip and countered her with "I'm a witch, that's so whatever to me." Making both Enid and Elodie giggle. Red, on the other hand, sighed to herself, not knowing how to include herself. She'd never felt more out of place.
As the three sauntered in, fancy motion censor lights illuminated the room in pinks and rainbows for their entrance, earning an "Ooh!" from the couple.
Elodie purred softly, "I like to fall asleep in here a lot. Playing soft music, drifting off to thoughts of home. Other times..." Elodie whipped out a remote, and hit a random button and all the lights went spastic, music turned to dubstep, and even her desk flew into the air, spinning in circles. "I just like to party!" As Elodie began to do the sprinkler, Red and Enid, for a second, wrinkled their noses and squinted, then Enid wheezed and howled out "Where did all of this come from? Why did all of this come from? HOW did all of this come from!?" Which earned a hearty roar of laughter from Red.
Red snatched up Enid's hand this time, pulling her out into the impromptu dance floor. "We're starting your celebration now!"
Enid laughed as she was hoisted into the air by both girls at the same time, freezing time, allowing Enid to blissfully smile, content with this dance session they threw together for her.
The friends danced together with a newfound platonic love, tossing snacks into one another's mouths, lighting sparklers around the office, and singing bad karaoke songs until about 11:30 at night. By then, the teens had tuckered themselves out, turning down the volume and changing the music to a calm reggae style of music. Where she got this taste from, Enid had no idea. This was something more befitting to her girlfriend."
Enid panted out "Heh, hehehe. That... was fun." Enid plopped herself on a fuchsia beanbag chair, and continued "I wasn't expecting a whole mini disco party tonight, but it was cool." Red awkwardly chuckled off to the side, stating "I think, uh... I think you forgot me and Elodie haven't met. I had no hand in this get up." causing Elodie to go wide eyed, and covered her mouth as she gasped, jabbering out "Oh my, I almost forgot, with the excitement of Enid finally coming to visit, to introduce myself. Well, in detail, as I'm sure you've at least heard of me." she giggled, but didn't earn quite the same reaction out of the couple.
This time, Elodie caught on. "Oh. Uhm, soorry, guys. I guess I just wanted to show off for Enid here." Elodie looked down as her feet crossed, and clasped her hands in her lap. She breathed in for a second, re-finding herself, and then blew out her concerns. "Tell me about yourself, Red Action. What makes you so laid back?" Elodie smiled, propping her head in her shoulders.
Red, giving a reassuring smile to Enid, looked back and said "Well, you know, anyone who likes the beach is down with these cool, funky waves, like you got playing." Red paused for a second to lean across Enid's lap to and unfitting emerald colored end table to grab a plate of hors d'oeuvres. Leaning across her lap also did it's job in making Enid's head roll around with sweet thoughts of awkward love.
"And about myself? Hmm, I'm a Hue Trooper from the future, I ran here, to the past, as I was a criminal in my time, went under the radar by decking out my tank, until Enid here-" Red poking the mentioned girl's side, "-caused me to reveal my location one day. Then somewehere along the line we fell in love, broke the time continuum, revealed secret plots and secrets... Yada yada. All things no one needs to hear right now." Red went on to focus on her fried squid- how she can eat that, Enid had no idea- and let her mind drift off.
Elodie sat, gazed at the mysterious future cyborg woman, then clapped here hands together, going "Ok! Well, that was... something." Then Elodie checked her wall clock, realized it was just a minute away from midnight, and muffled out an 'Ahem!' to a vegetating Red, who, after blinking several times, checked the clock, and then yelped as she launched herself to get her gift, Elodie following suit.
This arose a laugh out of Enid, as she was enjoying these two scramble to get what would probably be their gifts to her, despite Enid's clear request to not get her anything other than their company.
'I swear to cob, dude, if you get me anything cheesy, I will like, so punch your brains out.' Red laughed at her, 'Hot!'
Enid's memory faded and she was greeted by a corny triangle birthday hat wearing Elodie, and Red blowing a party horn. Red threw a bundle of sparkles from her hand, much to the dislike of Elodie. "Ugh, I;m going to have to clean that later, you..."
Red cut her off, roaring "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday-birthday-birthday to our favorite girl!" Red heaving her up in her buff arms, and planting kiss after purple-ing kiss all across her face. Elodie shooed Red off, and bear hugged her best friend, cheering, "You're finally 20! You're finally the same age as I am, my dear!"
And as her two favorite people hugged her from both sides, Enid blushed, this time out of joy. Moments like these made her remember love was not about how many kisses you could fit in before a security guard kicked you out, or how many dates you went on, but that love was about being there for one another and accepting the other person through all their changes. It made Enid tear up, remembering all of the ones she, even secretly deep down, cared for.
Elodie and Red skipped back a step, hopping up and down in unison, both blurting "Enid! Enid, I know- WE know you don't do gifts, or these flagrant parties, but we got you gifts anyway!" Red let Elodie go first, and much obliging, she stretched it out.
It was a small white gift bag, with red ribbons and a pink bow, with a faint scent of red velvet. "I found this, when I was moving out of my old dorm room when I became president, and being we're friends again, I wanted you to be able to have this." In the bag, was the half of Enid's old BFF friendship heart necklace. Enid was shocked, having almost forgotten about it. she looked up, getting teary eyed again, easier this time than before and whispered "I... thought you got rid of these. I'm glad you kept mine." Enid gave as big of a hug as one could give to Elodie, and muttered, "Thank you. I'm glad we're besties again."
Once Red thought it'd been enough seconds, she blurted "OK, OK, you two. My turn!" The friends split apart, Enid rubbing her face of it's tears, and some of Elodie's left over makeup.
What Enid was handed this time, was a bit bigger than Elodie's bag, and slightly heavier. And... wrapped in Christmas paper?
Enid was genuinely confused, and when she looked up, Red shrugged, going "Yea, I kind of forgot gift wrapping was a thing. So I panicked." making Enid snicker.
She ripped the package open, and she immediately knew what it was. "Red, isn't this your...?" Red smiled, blushing, said "Yep. My old ukulele. You know, since I'm no longer allowed to PLAY IT, I figured, it'd be good in your hands. That way if I ever bomb out on a wave, you'll still have that." Enid looked the old instrument over, remembering all of the stories it held, all the dates Red had played it on, and even the shoddy repair job on it's neck from The Incident. She saw how many of the weathered stickers had begun to fade, and had an idea. "Well, if it's mine now, then lets redecorate it. Elodie, don't you have a Polaroid over there?" Elodie's eyes lit up at this, her secret dream of being a photographer came to light, and she hopped over to her now landing desk to pull the camera out of a drawer.
Enid smiled to Red, and instead of replying, thanked her with a smooch to the lips. Red melted into the arms of her now beaming girlfriend, glad her birthday was a success.
Once Elodie skipped back, Enid cheered, yelling "Come on! Let's take a picture, all three of us. I'll stick it right on the front of the ukulele!" Enid quickly put on her heart necklace, along with Elodie, and Red covered one of Enid's hands over the bridge of the instrument with her own hand, and made a heart with the other. Enid couldn't even see when Elodie raised the camera up, as her smiling made her close her eyes, happily content, with her favorite girls, arm in arm around her.
For the rest of the night, they passed around the ukulele, with Elodie being surprisingly good at it. She called her time playing, a Melodie with Elodie. The group was joyful, sharing stories of past battles and events, and interesting interactions with Enid. Enid, recalling all of these moments, smiled, happy having swapped Red's old instrument of love in exchange for more time with the one she loved.