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Nasir had gone all out. Working with Borr and Wil, he had made sure that a portion of Darlene's had been claimed purely for Lily. There had been a moment that they had considered having it at their house but that had been quickly overruled because Darlene's was clearly the place it was meant to be.

She was turning twenty-one after all and could now legally drink.

The music was just starting and Nasir was up on a ladder hanging up the banner that said HAPPY BIRTHDAY LILY (because he was that nerd and he loved Lily). At least he was smart enough that he was definitely wearing leggings with the skirt that he was wearing today (and a pair of flats because he was not going to work in heels).

"There we go!" he said as he hopped down the last rung of the ladder, patting himself. "Cake's almost done too ..." The young man was mentally going over his checklist, making sure that everything - absolutely everything - would be perfect. There were tables set up with already for people and there was, strangely enough, a sloth theme going on. There were cute, plush sloths that hung from places as well as a couple of fishers that had been drawn onto the banner.

Overall, it looked stupidly adorable.

Even if it was mostly in dark colors.

Deal with it.

Lily started her day like every other Saturday, where she wanted to be most--on a mat with a bunch of other people trying to tie themselves into pretzel. When class was done, she dismissed herself to a long, hard-earned shower, using a luxurious amount of hot water that in no way would have lasted in the apartments. It took about half an hour to work through her makeup and hair routine, but by the end of it she was free of yoga pants and back in mesh and leather, trading out her makeup bag for the phone in her bag.



If not for Nasir texting her about doing lunch together, Lily might have forgotten it was her birthday entirely. She was a college student, she'd already had her fair share of alcohol before, but Nasir was so excited about her being an actual adult that she couldn't help but begin to feel the hype herself.

With all her items in tow, she left the gym in search of her car, already planning the route of head. Ashdown being the size it was, she could be at Darlene's in five minutes, maybe ten if she stopped by the whole foods for some fruit.

Wil stirred, stretched and blinked lazily at the corner of the bar that had been transformed while he was sleeping. Nasir was given a thumbs up, "Looks awesome. Great job. She's gonna be super surprised."

Hiding meant that he wriggled himself behind the giant sloth plush. Thankfully it was big enough that the lanky young man could squish down and disappear.

Borr, who obviously had readily agreed to let a corner of the bar be Lily's birthday area, was finally wearing sleeves with the fall weather. He was also ready for the new 21 year old.

So ready.

In a very appropriately badass t-shirt under his flannel.

A few minutes later, Nasir's phone buzzed again:



It didn't matter that Lily always found whatever produce she was looking for--it felt special today.