[PRP] Cupcakes and Nature and Absols, Oh My!

[Venti Mico]

Lu had never had a big birthday party for himself or for friends. His siblings had had big ones, but Lu never had wanted something huge and noisy and full of all his classmates, their mothers, and their cows. ...The cow thing had only happened once at his sister's party, but ever since he'd been wary about farm animals and parties. Not a good combination.

Things good for parties included cupcakes, silly presents, and surprise day trips. Lu had a feeling Zacharie wasn't one for big, extravagant parties in honour of him getting older(maybe he'd like the presents and sweets, though), so he'd planned something small, just for the two of them, made some cupcakes, and made sure he had the day off. It was still early when Lu got out of bed and ready for the day(including packing some sandwiches and water bottles, because it is very important to stay hydrated and fed when wandering nature!). He picked out some loose jeans, a white t-shirt, and a thin grey jacket(as his favourite pink one had been destroyed). Lu pulled his hair back in a braid and made sure the facial hair he'd been growing out was trimmed nicely. There was no need to dress to impress his friend, but he liked his beard. It made him look older.

With a small backpack on his shoulder, a gift wrapped box in his arms, and a tray of cupcakes stacked on top of it, the brunet headed for Zacharie's room and prayed his purple haired friend would answer, not his roommate. After knocking on his door, Lu shifted the present and cupcakes in his arms nervously, hoping Zacharie wouldn't find his little surprise stupid.  

[insidiousEnigma]

Knock Knock Knock

Pale eyes snapped open as the teen hauled himself into a seated position, weirdly alert and on edge for having just woken up. Someone was at the door, which was odd since they very rarely had people stopping by so early in the morning. A quick glance to the other side of the room showed that Lex was off doing something or another and so it appeared that answering the door was left to him.

He hated answering the door.

With a grunt, he rolled gracelessly from bed and stumbled to the door, attempting to make himself a bit more presentable as he went. There wasn't much he could do about his hair but he righted the large sweater he wore so its hem sat evenly on his shoulders. "Pants...pants..." He muttered to himself as he cast an eye about the room in search of his abandoned shorts. No luck, he must have tossed them into his dirty clothes hamper and like hell was he going to put them on when they'd mingled with his dirty clothes. He'd just poke his head through the door then. Mind made up, he unlocked and slowly opened the door wide enough to poke his head through.

And encountered a box.
His gaze traveled up...and up...and who the hell was this?

He regarded his visitor with a wary glare, "Hello...?"  

[Venti Mico]

Huh. Must be some odd Zacharie joke. Obviously Zacharie knew who he was- sure, they hadn't seen each other in a while, busy with their own things, but... the facial hair didn't make him look that different, did it? Zacharie hadn't looked at him with that kind of expression since he'd run him down with a mop, though.

... Okay, maybe he was just tired.

"Hey, Zacharie. Um... good morning," he said, offering a nervous smile. "I hope I didn't disturb your sleep too early. You wanna come to the cafeteria with me, maybe..? I got you some things." He shifted the box and cupcakes.  

[insidiousEnigma]

Zacharie stared long, hard, and unblinkingly up at the man standing on the other side of his doorway, his pale eyes dissecting the other male before his expression cleared to one of recognition.

...And incredulity.
"Lu?"

What the hell was that on his face? He leaned a little further out to get a closer look and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he took in the facial hair. "What in the world is on your face?" He echoed his thoughts with a faint scowl. "Nevermind, come in. I've got to get dressed." He ushered his friend into the room before shutting the door firmly behind him. "You can set the stuff on my desk for now, just be careful not to knock anything over." He made a vague hand motion in the direction of a small desk cluttered with various books, papers, and vials filled with random liquids, as he starts towards his dresser to dig around for some suitable clothes. "And don't worry...I was likely to wake up soon anyway."  

[Venti Mico]

Lu half smiled, head tilted with a confused look on his face. "Uh, yup... how many people do you know who are as tall as me?" He joked, a little self conscious of his beard. ...It didn't look that bad, right? Lu followed Zacharie back into the room and looked over at the desk. Ah, yes... some of that stuff looked like it was best kept far away from the cupcakes.

"...You think the beard is weird? I keep it trimmed..." Lu asked, shifting his boxes into one arm while he cleared a spot on Zacharie's desk for the presents. "Ah, that's good- we shouldn't be out too late, if you have to go to bed early or anything. To make up for sleep, or, yeah..." Lu glanced over some of the vials on Zacharie's desk while his friend looked for clothes. "I'd dress athletic. ...I mean, not for like, football, but hiking. Or nice walking clothes. Walking, outside. In nature? ...Is this vial that poison or the moisturizer you were working on..? They look the same..."  

[insidiousEnigma]

"It doesn't look bad...just different; but such visual responses are normal when an individual is normally seen without facial hair and then seems to suddenly have some." He paused, a shirt in his hand as he thought over what he just said. He vaguely recalled telling Jerome something similar when he became an Agent and the thought made him smile. At the others clothing suggestion, he started digging around for his pair of 'exploring pants' as he had deemed them. Meaning they were pants that he'd bought with his inheritance and then wore outside and managed to stain and rip a little.

"Hush...you're rambling." He glared through the head hole of his sweater before ducking out of it completely. "I don't need to be to bed early, I have a very simple sleeping schedule so there's no need to worry." He mumbled as he hopped into his pants. Simple, grey, and a comfortable fit...just how he liked them. Now...where were those thick socks he got for his new hiking boots? "Hm?" He looked up from digging around in his sock drawer to give the vials on his desk a critical look. "...That's the moisturizer. I moved the poisonous mixture to the lab after Grimlock almost knocked it over." It'd nearly given him a heart attack. "Do I need to wait until we eat to open the presents?" He asked curiously as he pulled on first a white tshirt and then a simple, navy blue sweater.  

[Venti Mico]

Lu listened to Zacharie's little talk about his facial hair and couldn't help a quiet laugh. "I think it makes me look, uh, you know... older? More mature?" He said, leaning back against the desk. He laughed again at the glare he got for rambling, but shut up anyway and stuck his hands in his pockets.

Ah, good. Even if it was Zacharie, keeping poison around the room wasn't something he advised. Sure, Zacharie was probably the smartest guy he knew, but smarts didn't stop a vial from knocking over in the night and filling the room with noxious gases. Lu greatly preferred Zacharie alive. Setting the moisturizer down with a nod, Lu pulled the present box out from under the cupcakes.

"You have to wait to have the other present, but you can have this one now. If you want to open it and all.." Lu said, holding it out to him. It'd taken him a lot of work, though he'd had plenty of free time while he was recovering from the mission he'd been on. Recently, he'd spent more time working on the present for Zacharie than actually with him... but hopefully, Zacharie would like the gift.  

[insidiousEnigma]

Zacharie shrugged lightly as he pulled his socks on, "I suppose it does." He mumbled, nearly stumbling as he struggled with one of his socks. "I'm no expert on what makes someone look more mature." Just look at him, nineteen years old and he still got confused for a 12 year old. "Like I said though, it doesn't look bad. As long as you like it." As soon as both socks were successfully on his feet, he reached out and all but snatched the present out of Lu's hand.

He adored getting presents.
Which wasn't odd since he'd only ever gotten impersonal presents or just money to buy whatever he wanted from his parents.

"Alright, I can wait." He grumbled distractedly as he tore the wrapping paper off the the box. He had no idea what it could be. He shook it and heard nothing but soft, muffled, thumps...so it probably wasn't anything breakable. Wasn't heavy enough for a book. He flipped the lid up and...

....Stared at the sweater that was inside.

It was a plain, black sweater, nothing to get excited over really except...it said 'No' in big, white, all-caps letters. He gingerly picked it up from the box and all but cradled it between his hands. It was softer than any sweater he could remember owning before (And he's owned a lot of sweaters in his lifetime.) and light, obviously meant to be worn with an undershirt or a jacket. "You got me a sweater..." He said softly as he rubbed the material between his fingers. "It's a very nice sweater."  

[Venti Mico]

Lu briefly wondered if a beard might make Zacharie look older. ...Maybe not. It might just make him look silly. The thought made him laugh quietly to himself.

The man watched his friend tear open his present, feeling nervous about his gift for the first time since he'd started it. He'd seen a picture of something similar and thought, wow, this would suit Zacharie! But now, he wondered if Zacharie might take offense to the sassy sweater.

Zacharie's response melted away any doubt. He hid a grin, staring down at his feet and putting his hands in his pocket. "Actually, um... I made it." He said, trying not to look too proud over it.  

[insidiousEnigma]

His eyes snapped over to the taller male, a look of wonder in the pale depths. "You...made it?" He questioned lightly, his eyes drifting back down to the gift in his hands. That was...well...he wasn't sure what it was to be honest but it made his chest feel tight like he might start crying. The thought of crying in front of Lu frankly horrified him but instead of crying, he smiled. Softly and barely there, but he smiled. "This is the nicest thing anyone's ever given me..." He murmured absently, running his fingers along the material. It must have taken his friend a long time to make it. "...Thank you, Lu. I really appreciate this." He couldn't recall anyone ever making something just for him.