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“One last time; you’re SURE this is how you want to spend your birthday?”
“For one last time, yes. You spent all day setting this up; I want to see it.”
Marc bit down on any further dissuading arguments. “Alright. Go on Jake.”
Jake took the helm, summoning the suit and staff. “I told him that’s what you’d say.”
“I know you did.”
He cast the size altering spell and offered his hand. “You ready, Chula?”
“Well if I’m not, it’s too late.” Layla laughed, climbing into his palm.
-
They’d spent a week planning Layla’s birthday trip to the amusement park; it’d been so long since they’d had a normal couple’s date (well, couple, couple, and two besties date). And while being an Avatar gave them both all the thrills they could handle, there was something appealing about being on a ride where you didn’t have to worry about being murdered by cultists or torn apart by demonic jackals. It was almost quaint.
Then the bloody Avengers had chased something from outer-space into Europe and kicked the entire place apart.
“We can do it another time.” Layla had said. “We can grab dinner and see a movie or something.”
“We could do that any time.” Steven retorted. “It’s your birthday. We want to do something special.”
“Well it’s not worth it to leave the country just to go on some rides and eat junk-food. So until they rebuild we can figure out something else. The zoo? The beach? There are other things in Britain.”
“You were really looking forward to this, though.”
“I was.” She couldn’t lie. “But unless Khonshu has taught you three how to magically repair rebar, I think we’ll need to figure something else out.”
And that’s when Jake got The Look on his face, and Layla knew she was in for a good kind of trouble.
-
Marc managed not to ask her if she was alright every five seconds, barely. Sure, ever since becoming Jake’s Official Consultants Marc had toyed around with making them a bit larger to intimidate evildoers. But that was a far cry from being a giant compared to his wife. He’d argued incessantly with Jake ever since they’d all agreed to this over how small Layla needed to be to make it work.
Layla had the last words on the subject, which was why she was just under three inches tall.
‘I wish we could have surprised her with it. Not that this is the sort of thing you spring on a person.’ Steven lamented.
“No Steven, the average person would not enjoy being surprised with being shrunk.” Marc groaned.
Layla grinned at him. “You’re right, honey. But I’m sure whatever you all came up with will be great.”
“And if it’s not we can still do dinner and a movie.” Marc walked them into the bedroom. A few balloons reading ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY!’ were tied together.
Layla spotted something red hanging off the bunch. “What’s that?”
“That would be these guy’s idea for a stand in of the Cedar Point Sky Ride back home.” Marc grabbed the Red Solo Cup with his free hand; windows had been cut out of the upper third of the cup, to ensure no falling out. “Grand Midwest tradition.”
Layla nodded, trying to look serious. “I see. Well Marc Spector, are you going to tow me through the happy skies?”
“If by that you mean the flat, yup.” Marc smiled; this all seemed a lot less stupid with Layla enjoying herself. He brought the cup over. “Your five-cent chariot awaits.”
She slid into the cup, laughing. “Beats a real hot air balloon ride; I don’t have to worry about headwinds, weather, or bugs.”
“Fair enough.” Marc grabbed the tow line (aka free ribbon) and gently righted the cup. “But if you want to do this for real some time--”
“Let’s see how I do here first.” She leaned out the window, taking in the view.
He nodded and slowly pulled her around the room. “Cheap thrills.”
“Better than no thrills.”
-
“I know that traditionally adult theme parks don’t do bouncy castles and such, but--”
“Steven.” She held her hands up, cutting the man off. “I love it.”
“Really?” God, it really was unfair how cute he was, even when gigantic.
“Really. What part of this has been traditional anyway?” She teased, squeezing his thumb with both hands for emphasis.
Steven nodded. “You’ve got us there.”
It was sweet (just a few shades off annoying sometimes) how much they were all concerned about this. She knew the trio’s own experiences with birthdays (from imagined to total lack thereof to…worse) weren’t ideal. She’d had plenty of happy and average birthdays. Just being together was great.
That being said, the next ride was hysterical.
Steven had crammed a wine crate with water snake toys; there was glitter and every sort of plastic fish just below the translucent surface. He set her down, and it was like standing on very firm gelatin.
“How did you come up with this?” She bounced across the space.
“Jake had a lot of ideas. I think he might have been planning something like this for a while.” Steven paused. “No, I am NOT speaking for you, I’m speaking about you, which she knows. You want to refute me, you can when it’s your turn.”
“Well, it’s brilliant.” She threw herself across a couple of snakes, bouncing.
This did seem like something the Alter would dream up. Marc was more comfortable being small now that they could reverse it faster (and spent some time larger than life). Steven could enjoy it, under the right circumstances. But Jake almost sought it out, happy to do any silly thing that he or Layla could think up; when you got past Jake’s defenses, he was as big of a kid as Steven (or as small, as the pun-center of her brain pointed out).
Maybe when the three of them figured out how they were handling their next birthday (a trio of UnBirthdays, likely), she could help Jake convince Marc and Steven to enjoy some tiny silliness too.
But that was an issue for the future. Today, she was going to see if she could get Steven to triple-bounce her on the snakes.
-
“You all set?” Jake asked.
“Yup.” Layla emerged from her dressing room (another Solo cup, this one turned upside down for privacy). She was wearing her favorite (and only) plain black bathing suit. She didn’t swim often, but enjoyed it. “How do I look?”
“Great. Want me to bust out the kid’s reading glasses so these two can fully appreciate the view?” Jake laid his hands out in front of her. “Not that they need a better look; they’re both drooling.”
“Then I’m glad you’re the one taking me for a swim.” She teased. “If they wanna show much how much they like the view, they can do it on their time.”
“You know it Chula.” Jake opened the washroom door. “Whatta ya think?”
“You’re nuts! Jake, this is too much.”
“Nah, not too much for you.” He stroked a finger down her back. “You deserve more. But not bad for an in-house event, huh?”
“How did you make a water slide?” Jake had filled the bathtub with pipes and blocks and a few inches of water.
“Easy, just made a marble run bigger.” He crouched down beside the tub. Layla stepped onto the platform next to the mouth of the slide. “Hang on, couldn’t quite figure out how to keep water running down it…”
He grabbed a huge measuring cup of water. Layla sat down, trying not to grin like an idiot (and failing).
“Ready?”
“Yeah!”
He gently tipped the cup over, sending a large splash of water down the makeshift slide. Layla gave it a few seconds to coat the entire thing, then shoved off, letting out a few whoops as she slid down.
Jake watched her splash into the tub; she got a mouthful of water, and was trying not to choke while still laughing. “You okay?”
“Fine!” She wheezed, waving him off. “Let’s do that again!”
Jake laughed too. “Alright. I knew you were a thrill seeker.”
-
Once Layla got tired, Jake brought her to the sink; he’d set up a sun lamp, a lounge chair (she suspected it had started life as a Barbie accessory, but had been shrunk and padded for her use), and a generous sprinkling of sand and shells.
He lit a beach-scented candle. “Figured if we were taking you to a park, it might as well be a resort too.”
She sank into the chair, groaning in delight. “You know me so well.”
He grinned as she settled in. “Well, you just chill out Chula. I’m gonna check on dinner. There’s a walkie talkie over here, just ring when you’re ready.”
She nodded, letting her eyes fall closed. It must have taken some real doing to get Marc to agree to this bit; even with all the strides they’d made, he wouldn’t be happy leaving her alone while tiny.
She stretched out, letting the artificial sun dry her and warm her sore muscles. Who knew letting gravity do some much work could still make you sore?
‘Layla?’ Taweret’s voice came to her after a while. ‘Just popping in to say Happy Birthday, dear! No Avataring for you tonight.’
Ahh, this was how they’d gotten Marc to agree; an unscheduled pop-in. Cute. “Thank you. Care to drop in while the guys are getting dinner ready?”
‘Oh, of course!’ Taweret shimmered into view. “That’s more like. How are you enjoying your day?”
“It’s wonderful.” Layla emphasized this with another stretch. “They’re spoiling me.”
“Well if anyone deserves it, it’s you.” Taweret sat down on the floor, making them more level. “I remember the last time your size was changed you were anything but comfortable.”
She nodded. “I think they were worried I’d be scared by the idea.”
“Well, that’s not exactly silly, but…” Taweret hummed. “I can see why they’d be worried.”
“Yeah. I’m glad we’re all in a place where they can talk to me when they’re worried.”
“And vice-versa!”
“Yeah.” Layla got up from the chair. “I’m going to get changed. After, would you give me a lift to the table? I know they’d be happy to see you for a minute.”
“Oh, no, no, this is your date. I’d be intruding.”
“Hey, I didn’t get to enjoy being held last time.” Layla wheedled. “Just for a bit, alright?”
“Oh, well, that’s dirty pool.”
Layla grabbed her clothes and changed into them. “Thanks Taweret.”
The goddess scooped her up. “I won’t stay for dinner at least; the last thing you need is a fifth wheel.”
Layla snuggled against her enormous fingers. No wonder Jake and Steven liked this. When you weren’t worried for your life, it was very nice. “We’ll get our own dinner soon. I promise.”
“That sounds lovely.” Taweret walked slowly from the washroom to the table. “Good evening boys!”
“Taweret!” Steven met her with a smile. “Nice to see you.”
“I just wanted to drop in for a moment and wish Layla a happy birthday.” She held her Avatar up.
“Imagine that.” Layla gave her boyfriend a smirk.
Steven shrugged, knowing they were caught. “Well, everything’s just about ready.”
“Then I’ll be off.” Taweret set her on the tabletop. “Enjoy!”
Steven watched her go. “Ready for food?”
“Yeah, after all that I’m starving.”
Steven set down some slices of freshly-miniaturized pizza. “Figured we’d save the enormous food for dessert.”
She grabbed a slice. “Sounds good; I don’t want to try and bite a slice of pizza as thick as a phone-book.”
“That’s what I said.” Marc put in, picking up a normal-sized slice.
It was weird how not-weird this was. She’d spent plenty of time around them while they were on different scales. It shouldn’t be weird. But she’d still thought on some level it would be. This just felt…good.
When they’d finished with the pizza, Jake grabbed a massive chocolate cupcake. He’d stuck a candle in it. He had to lift her up to blow it out; the candle was about twice her size, (helped by the mound of frosting). “Make a wish.”
Knowing that magic was real made the whole wish thing a bit less appealing, but Layla figured she couldn’t go wrong with continued health and happiness for them all. She blew out the candle. “Now, how do you expect me to eat this thing?”
“Like this.” Jake plucked the candle out and dumped her into the frosting.
“Jake!” She tried to sound angry, but the laughter was undercutting her tone. “You ass!”
“Yeah, yeah, complain after you’ve satisfied your demonic chocolate-lust, El-Faouly.” His eyes sparkled.
She tried to extricate herself from the treat, but mostly just ended up sinking into the frosting. Defeated, she took a bite of the ganche. “Okay, it’s amazing.”
“Don’t worry, Jake’s gonna draw you a bath.” Marc looked more annoyed with the Alter’s antics than Layla was.
“With bubbles, because nobody else was interested in doing one of those foam rave parties the kids all like.” Jake added. He swiped at some of the chocolate that hadn’t touched her and sucked it off their finger.
“Hey!”
“Hey nothing, you’ve stolen enough chocolate from me.” He teased. “Just payback.”
“I’ll remember that the next time our positions are switched, Jake Lockley.”
-
Layla dried off on a cotton tea-towel they’d set out for her; at least none of them had suggested using a hair dryer. That’d be a bit too much in her current state. “Well, I think I’m ready to crash on the couch and relax.”
Steven invoked the reversal spell; it’d still take a while, but it wouldn’t be a full day before she was back to normal. “Any particular movie?”
“Just throw on an old comedy.” She requested.
Steven nodded, flitting about the streaming services before landing on Caddyshack. “How’s this?”
“Perfect.” She pulled her silken robe tight; it wasn’t cold in the apartment, but after her bath it wasn’t super comfortable.
Steven noticed and offered his hand. She nodded and climbed on. Steven laid down on the couch, placing Layla on his chest. “Is this alright?”
“It’s perfect.” She laid down, feeling the gentle movement of his breath and heartbeat below her.
“You really had a good birthday?” Marc asked, stroking down her back with one finger.
“I really, really did. This was a great idea.” She assured him. “And maybe later when I’m back to normal…ish…we can make it a great night.”
Marc rumbled beneath her. “Yeah, that…that sounds good.”
“I thought it might.” She sighed, cuddling with her husband. “Thanks honey.”
“Hey, what am I, chopped liver?”
“Thank you Jake. And thank you too, Steven.” She continued. “I love you.”
Marc continued stroking her. “We love you too.”
God, but she loved to hear that.