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It’s Been Five Years Lost Together (Close Enough to Forever)

So it’s April 13th, and that means it’s Forever Lost Together’s Five Year Anniversary! Crazy!

FLT’s had a pretty tumultuous ride. Considering my output five years sounds like a long time, but FLT’s been through:

Several hiatuses, one a year long

multiple other fandom fixations

a complete rewrite of Howl

my high school graduation and multiple years of college

a complete novel

Fae’s endless suffering

So... really, it's a miracle that this thing is getting made at all. But I'm glad I stuck with it, after everything.

And speaking of sticking with it- wow. I’m in awe of all the support it’s gotten, from comments to hits to kudos. Thanks again for this wonderful and little fandom, for whom I am incredibly grateful and have loved seeing over the past few years on the outside- and now inside it!

This is the first year I’ve been on tumblr actively for the anniversary. Usually it’s a private affair between myself and my dear beta @fae-in-the-woods, but this time, I’m glad to share it with the wider community.

Honestly writing this is making me kind of emotional. FLT has been through major life changes, graduations, massive steps forward in my writing ability and discipline, and has taught me more about myself and writing than anything else. I love these silly little characters and their relationships more than anything.

Here’s to another five years of Forever Lost Together!

And now, for what we’ve all been waiting for: the writing!

Forever Lost Together- Birthdays are Overrated

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/83044996

Started: so long ago I wasn't keeping track of that yet; Finished: 03/31/26

WC: 8,074 words

A/N: I started this a very long time ago, probably around December of 2024, and just recently realized I wanted something to commemorate five years of this silly little fanfic. I had actually written quite a bit of this already, but with some added scenes, edits, and a nice conclusion- I think it's a lot of fun :)

This takes place AFTER Clusterhug, but won't contain spoilers for the ending of FLT. I avoid anything like that. Fluff awaits!

“Are you three being for real right now?” Rupert asked, simultaneously shocked and appalled.

Triple Threat exchanged guilty, but also incredulous looks. Somehow, in sixteen years of coexistence, they had never thrown a birthday party.

“How the hell did you manage that?” Rupert asked. “Not even for yourselves?”

“None of us kept track of our ages for obvious reasons,” Henry snarked back. “What’s the point of a party when we’re all too busy, say, ripping the Toppats apart? Or making waves in the government? And it felt a bit redundant to hold a birthday party when our ages would just regress again, anyway.”

“Huh?” Ellie said, puzzled. “I just forgot mine.”

Henry rolled his eyes. “You’re a special case, darling.”

Rupert’s eyes slid to Charles. “And you? I know you got invited to everyone else’s.”

“Again, busy!” Charles said. “And besides, it’s not like I was throwing the party. I just brought, like, cookies or something. I dunno. It was never for me.”

“Surely we threw you a birthday party at some point,” Rupert said uncomfortably.

“Buddy, buddy, don’t feel bad. I’m pretty sure I kept dodging the question every time you brought it up, anyway. At some point it was funnier to make you all keep guessing. I did that one year, I think.”

Ellie snorted. “Of course you did.”

They sat outside of a small coffee shop on a sunny April day. It was one of Henry’s favorites- close enough to the apartment to grab something to drink, far enough away to be a nice stroll and a change of pace. Rupert, strangely, hadn’t objected to the cheerful little place despite his general disposition. He’d been loosening up, lately.

Henry nursed a latte. Ellie had a coffee that was mostly creamer and sweeteners at this point, but it was a rare treat of hers. Rupert also had a sugary monstrosity, one that, with a sharp glare, he had dared the others to comment on.

Charles, of course, had tea. He was still banned from coffee.

At Rupert’s doubtful look, Charles hurried to continue. “But we can do it! It can’t be that hard, right?”

“And I’m sure Dave of all people wants a small, lowkey party; yes?” Henry said emphatically. He’d gotten to know Dave much better since they’d met so unfortunately on that airship, and he couldn’t imagine Dave wanting something intense. The poor thing would probably blip out of existence if more than eight people showed up.

Rupert sighed. “Yeah. I’m sure. I want it to be a surprise, so I can’t do it anywhere too close to base, which takes out our apartment and the twins’ and Amelia’s. I’m stuck with you three.”

“Ye of little faith,” Henry crowed, reaching over and patting Rupert’s hand. Rupert made a face. “Of course we can throw a surprise party for Dave. You forget that I’ve thrown many a Toppat gala in my time.” Of course, the two weren’t remotely similar, but surely some skills carried over; right?

“I’m out of options,” Rupert said dryly. His hard line of a mouth softened slightly as he sighed. “But, uh, thank you.”

Charles flung an arm around Rupert. “Aw, man, of course! You know we love Dave too. And god knows he deserves something nice in his life.”

“Yeah, I bet you never treat him to dinner or anything,” Ellie said slyly, leaning forward.

Rupert flushed almost as hotly as the coffee he nearly spilled. “I- You- I treat him well! What are you getting at, Rose?” At Ellie’s grin, he flushed even deeper. “Shut the hell up. He does not need your mocking right now.” He glared over at Henry, who was valiantly trying to hide his laughter with a cough.

“All I’m saying is life is short, dude, and so is someone who would love a tough guy like you,” Ellie cooed.

Rupert sat back and rolled his eyes. He was learning; at one time an obvious baiting statement like that would have gotten his hackles risen and teeth bared like a threatened wolf in no time. Now, he just looked back to Henry and Charles.

“I’m working on it,” he said, making the three of them grin. “Dave’s- I don’t want to pressure him. I mean, I was the first person he met since- everything. I don’t want to make him feel like he has to date me, or anything.”

“Dude,” Ellie said.

“It’s obvious,” Henry said. “Look, Rupert, knowing Dave- I have the utmost confidence in you. Oh! Perhaps the party would be a good time to ask him?”

“Then? What if it goes wrong?” Rupert hissed.

“Then we get him drunk as he can be and he forgets about it,” Charles said.

Rupert glared at the three of them for a long moment, eyes narrowing at their hopeful gazes. “...I’ll think about it,” he said slowly. “ANYWAYS, logistics,” he said quickly before any of the three of them could butt in. “So you guys will set it up? Do I need to grab-“

Charles was already shaking his head. “Nah, buddy. We’ll get all the party supplies and stuff. Don’t worry about it.”

Rupert looked like he was getting ready to protest when Henry interrupted him. “You know we can literally summon things, right? This won’t be an expensive venture. We’re also thieves. And have a lot of money stored up over the years. The wonders you can do on a government salary and a Toppat salary and keeping all that money in the hammerspace.”

“After everything, I’d honestly think you’d wanna bully us out of a few hundred bucks anyway,” Ellie chuckled.

Rupert paused. “Yeah, you all deserve it,” he conceded. “And it won’t be that expensive, surely. I’m not looking for perfection.”

Oh, that wouldn’t do. “I am,” Henry crooned. “How many other times will Dave let us throw him a surprise party? And how many other times will I get these killjoys to decorate the apartment nicely with me?”

“Dude, I’m so done with Toppat galas,” Ellie groaned. “They’ve given me enough grief to last a lifetime.”

“And I’m having withdrawals!” Henry retorted. “I need some useless, obnoxious fancy parties in my life, Ellie! And if we sneak into a Toppat event, they’re gonna recognize us. Carol doesn’t forgive nor forget.”

“She likes me, now. Still hates you.” Ellie grinned at Henry’s sigh.

“That’s the point, darling. She won’t let-“

“It’ll be lowkey,” Henry heard Charles whisper to Rupert as he and Ellie continued bickering. “Nothing Dave’ll feel overwhelmed by.”

“Thanks,” Rupert murmured. “I just wanna do something nice for him, y’know? God knows he deserves it after the shit we’ve put him through.”

“Dave should be paid a lot for his, uh, his suffering,” Charles said, snorting.

“Fine,” Ellie said, and Charles tuned back into the conversation. “We’ll sneak into one. But I’m not saving you from Carol.”

“You drive a hard bargain, my dear,” Henry said, leaning back. “But I accept.”

“You realize I can’t listen to this conversation, right?” Rupert huffed. “It’s technically illegal.”

“We’re Triple Threat. We’re Galeforce’s specialest little guys. We’ll be fine,” Ellie said. She grinned at Rupert’s wrinkled nose. “Sorry he plays favorites.”

“You’re all insane,” Rupert said. He downed the rest of his coffee and stood. “Anyways, I’m actually gonna start planning. Next Saturday, remember?”

“Aye aye, captain,” Charles said. Rupert glowered at him, and Charles smiled back.

“Whatever, idiot,” Rupert muttered. Charles giggled.

…

The grocery store at nearly midnight was basically deserted. There were a couple of tired new parents, some night shift workers, and a bored employee who didn’t seem as amused by Triple Threat’s cart situation as they were.

Ellie lounged in the cart. Her head was dropped back against the back of the cart, eyes listing around as Henry muttered over a list and Charles hopped on the back of the shopping cart to get a few steps of free movement. Charles spared a glance down to see Ellie just staring at him.

“What?” he asked.

“What?” Ellie asked.

“You started looking at me.”

“My dear Rose,” Henry strained through gritted teeth. Charles looked up at where Henry stretched for a pile of streamers on the top shelf. Ellie flicked her hand, and the streamers flew into Henry’s hands. He tossed them in the cart with a satisfied sigh. “Ah, thank you.”

A gasp behind them. Charles glanced back to see a very puzzled man staring at them, hand halfway to a candle box.

“It’s hereditary,” Charles said by way of explanation. He quickly wheeled them out of the aisle.

“Shouldn’t we get him black and white and gray streamers?” Ellie asked. “I mean, with his whole- thing?”

“Please. We don’t want to make this party sad,” Henry sniffed. “And he’s more than just his power. Let’s not be insensitive here.”

“Yeah, yeah. What’s his favorite color?” Ellie asked.

“Black, I think?” Henry said.

Ellie glanced at Charles. Charles snorted. He tried to think of a witty response, but before he could, his phone buzzed.

Puzzled, Charles glanced down at his phone. He put a hand over his mouth, resisting the urge to laugh.

Grumpyface :(: OF ALL THE DAMN STORES CHARLES CALVIN Grumpyface :(: AND THE ONE TIME YOU KNOW WE CAN GO Grumpyface :(: ARE YOU STPID Grumpyface :(: STUPID* You: buddy buddy my bad! How was I supposed to know? Grumpyface :(: COMMON SENSE

Ellie glanced over at Charles and his wide grin. “What?”

“We may be in the same store as Rupert and Dave,” Charles said.

“Truly?” Henry said, alarmed. “Uh-oh.”

“I bet Rupert’s flaming us,” she muttered.

“He is not happy,” Charles giggled. “C’mon, we’d better get outta here-“

“Oh! Hey!”

Triple Threat all choked as a familiar voice reached them. Charles whipped his head up and spotted Dave on the other end of the isle, striding toward them, a glowering Rupert behind him.

“Shit,” Charles whispered.

Henry looked frantically toward their cart. “Ellie,” he hissed. “Hide the-“

“How are we gonna hide the stuff!” she hissed back. “It’s all just laying on me!”

“Your inventory!” Henry whispered intensely.

“I can’t get it in that fast!”

“Guys! Act natural!” Charles whispered frantically. He kicked Henry’s foot. Henry squawked in pain, but Charles grabbed his arm, hoisting him up to a full standing position. He put on his brightest beam as Dave trotted up to them.

“Dave!” Charles said cheerfully. He stepped around the cart, obstructing as much of it with his body as he could, and grabbed Dave’s hand (getting it on the second try) in a handshake pulled into a brief hug. “Hey, it’s good to see you, buddy buddy!”

“Hi!” Dave smiled. “Doing some late night shopping?”

“They usually go at normal times,” Rupert growled. “They’re not supposed to be here.”

Charles shot him a grin that said don’t blow our cover or I’ll blow your head off. At least, that’s what he tries to convey. Rupert’s glare conveyed that message far more succinctly.

“Ah, last minute supplies, you understand,” Henry said. “But hello, Dave, how are you?”

“‘Sup?” Ellie said too casually. She’d squirmed into a position where she was trying to block as much of the supplies with her body as possible, but it looked horribly unnatural.

“Good! I mean, you know we do our grocery shopping at this time for a reason, haha,” Dave said. “Hey, don't you guys have a mission coming up?”

Despite all their efforts, Dave leaned around Charles and looked into their basket. Triple Threat, and Rupert, froze.

“Birthday supplies?” Dave asked curiously. Rupert glared murderously at the three of them over Dave’s head.

“Uh,” Charles said.

“Um,” Ellie said.

“Why, it’s for a mission!” Henry broke in quickly. Charles breathed a sigh of relief. Henry’s quick wit would save them again. Hopefully.

“Never seen a kind of mission like this,” Dave said with an incredulous laugh.

“We’re infiltrating the Midnight Syndicate’s headquarters during James, their leader’s, birthday,” Henry said smoothly. He smiled casually, as if this was an amusing anecdote. “We have to look the part, you see, and hide our weapons. It’s quite the bonanza, too, so we’re just getting a bunch of everything and seeing what we can do.” Henry grinned. “I’m already thinking of some amazing things to make out of this stuff.”

“What’s better than, uh, cheap, tacky dollar store supplies?” Charles said. He resisted a yelp as Henry kicked him for trying to interject on his story.

“Oh! Smart,” Dave said brightly. Behind him, Rupert heaved a sigh of relief. “You guys really never have an uninteresting mission, do you?”

“Thus is the life of Triple Threat,” Henry said with a mild shrug. “We’re cursed with chaos and intrigue.”

Rupert coughed loudly. “Dave, we better get going,” he muttered. “For the… uh… pizzas we ordered.”

“We… didn’t they say 30 minutes?” Dave asked, puzzled.

“It’s- been 20,” Rupert said quickly. He was clearly lying.

“Oh, well then. I didn’t even realize! I just lose the time nowadays,” Dave said, taking the bait hook, line, and sinker. “We’ll see you guys!” Dave said with a wave. “Good luck on your mission!” He nudged Rupert.

“Uh- good luck,” Rupert said.

“Thank you ever so much,” Henry said with a mischievous grin. Ellie badly hid a wheeze. Charles quietly whacked her. Rupert sent them one last glare over Dave’s head before turning and stalking off after an oblivious Dave.

“Shut up!” Charles whispered gleefully to Ellie, who was dropping her head into her arms, muffling her cackling.

“James’s birthday party?” she wheezed.

“What else was I going to say!” Henry hissed. “You two were useless! God, I have to do everything around here.”

Charles’s phone pinged.

Grumpyface :(: I hate you. You: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ You: Got Dave’s gift yet? Grumpyface :(: die.

“Man, we should totally actually do that sometime,” Charles said, also hiding his giggles. “But, uh, let’s get outta here before Rupert kills us.”

…

Rupert was acting very, very strange.

Dave blinked at Rupert. “You… want to take the powers?”

“Yes,” Rupert said.

“Aw, Rupert, you don’t have to,” Dave said with a soft laugh. “What’s the special occasion?”

Rupert jolted. “Uh- well, you have it most of the time,” he said. “I figured I’d- give you a break.” He began to reach for Dave’s shoulder.

“It’s really not a big deal?” Dave said. “You’re being weird.”

“I’m not being weird!” Rupert said hotly.

Dave held his hands up. “…That… um… okay?” He began to transfer the power into Rupert. The static began to drain away from Dave’s mind, flowing from his fingertips into Rupert. No matter how many times he did it, he never quite got used to the sensation. “I mean, if you need it, you could just say-“

Rupert’s entire body shifted into highlighter greens and overlaid colors. “No it’s fine. Just. Um, yeah, Galeforce was going to have me-“

“I mean it’s pretty useful for missions-“

“It’s just really convenient for stuff-“

“I know, but you could just say-“

“I’m not using you for your power, like that would just be-“

“Ru, I know you’re not using me for my power, haha that’s ridiculous-“

“Yeah.”

They stood there in awkward silence for a moment. Good job, Dave, he told himself. At least the Announcer wasn’t commenting on this.

Dave hesitated, still puzzled. “I still don’t know why you wouldn’t just-?”

“BYE.”

And then Rupert was gone in a flash of static.

“Um,” Dave said into an empty room. He hadn’t been aware that Rupert had somewhere to be. But with how strange Rupert was acting… He blinked. “Okay.”

He hoped Rupert was okay. This was stranger than normal. Was it something to do with him? He couldn’t think of anything he might’ve done…

He jumped as Rupert appeared in a flash. Rupert strode purposefully into the kitchen, grabbed the cake tin, and glanced back. “Sorry,” he said. “Calvin wanted this. Also. Ignore any packages that show up. It’s. For work.”

Then, he was gone again.

“Okay?” Dave said again into the empty room, even more baffled.

The empty apartment, however, held no answers.

…

Amelia knew Rupert must have appeared when she heard twin yelps of surprise from Calvin and Konrad. “Jesus, man!” Konrad gasped. “God, I’m never gonna get used to that.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Rupert’s droning, almost computerized tone. “You have the ingredients?”

Amelia trotted into the kitchen as Calvin proudly held up a recipe. It looked frayed and worn. “Everything we need, Rupert. Don’t worry, dude- we’ve done this a thousand times. It’s family tradition.”

“Yeah, and it’s gonna be extra-special for your boyfriend,” Konrad quipped. “We got our grandmother’s secret recipe! You better be grateful.”

Rupert sputtered, a sound that was more akin to a computer beeping in alarm than a human squawk. “He’s not-”

“Yeah, yeah, but if everything goes right, he will be,” Amelia blurted out. Rupert whirled on her.

“Did Charles…” he growled.

“Ellie, actually,” Amelia said. “What? We hang out; you know this. We need our girl’s nights!” A beat. “And sometimes, the gossip spreads. Intentions are made clear. Rumors are heard. All I’m saying, what we’re all saying, is that you’re gonna do great.”

“You’re menaces. We should’ve never introduced the two of you.”

“Oh, please. I’m observant, as even our resident weirdos say. And you’re extremely obvious.”

As Amelia and Rupert bickered, the twins were moving easily around each other and the kitchen, grabbing ingredients, starting the oven, pulling out a pan. Konrad seemed immensely focused. Calvin was slightly less so, and he glanced over at Amelia and Rupert, lingering hesitantly by the door.

“Are you two gonna help, or do we need to banish you to the living room so you can fight it out in peace?” Calvin asked.

“Alright, alright,” Amelia said. “How can we help?”

Konrad responded immediately. “You and Rupert can focus on the frosting. Considering Rupert’s whole thing, it’ll take both of you. I need black, gray, and gold frosting, with black being in that bowl-” He pointed to a large bowl of frosting. “-and gold and gray in those. I also need you all to cut out those stencils I made and follow that guide I put on the table for how to make frosting stars I can use.”

Amelia and Rupert exchanged a glance. Calvin snorted. “I told you we’re experienced. Well, Konrad is. He’s the baker.”

Rupert teleported over to the bowls, grabbed them, and teleported back next to Amelia. Amelia was already beginning to puzzle over the stencils. “Man, Konrad, I knew you were a baker, but I didn’t know you were this…”

“Disciplined?” Konrad snorted. “Someone had to learn how to cook between the two of us.”

“You enjoy cooking!” Calvin protested. “He’s saying that to make me look bad.”

“It’s funnier that way,” Konrad said. “Now get to work. This is gonna be a long night if we don’t get a move on, since I want to decorate it tonight as well. Amelia, you have the frozen pizzas?”

“They’re in the fridge,” Amelia replied. “Ready for tonight!”

“Sick,” Calvin said.

Rupert nudged Amelia, or rather, he tried, but instead she felt a soft wave of static pass through her shoulder. “Hey, can you grab my phone from my pocket? I think Charles texted me, but I can’t really…”

“Yeah.” Amelia grabbed it, put in Rupert’s password (they were far past the point of pretending they didn’t know each other’s phone passwords), and checked the text. “Charles wants to know if he and his partners need to make the cake,” she said.

“Tell him this,” Rupert said.

...

“And what did he say?” Henry asked.

Charles took a deep breath. “‘Never in the entirety of my miserable life will I ever be around any of you godforsaken heathens whenever you cook. Me and Amelia and the twins are making the cake’.”

He leaned over Charles’s shoulder and whistled. “Dang, he really did say that. Well, at least we don’t have to do that.”

“I mean,” Ellie said, walking into the living room with several boxes floating around her, “we didn’t exactly do a great job with the last cake we made, all the way back in… Triple Threat. Maybe it’s for the best.”

“We did great!” Charles protested.

Henry grimaced. He didn’t remember much of the cake, what with those murky events taking backstage to the circumstances since, but he didn’t think it was a good cake. Poor Galeforce.

It was the day before the birthday party, and Triple Threat was setting up. The moon filtered through their apartment window, the apartment lit up by lamps and, soon, string lights. The living room was a bit of a wreck with all the decorations and supplies, but soon it’d look magical.

“Decorations?” Henry asked.

“Check,” Ellie said, setting the boxes down.

“Food?”

“Check, check,” Charles said.

“That’ll be done tomorrow morning. Alcohol?”

“Check. You got the good stuff?” Ellie asked.

Henry produced an old bottle of the Toppats’ favorite liquor, a positively ancient wine. His favorite quirk of resetting: the bottle, safe in his inventory, was duplicated as the timeline was restored to a prior state. He’d nicked at least seven more of the bottles across the timelines once he’d realized, and stolen a good deal more valuable things- more alcohol, gems, art, safe in the knowledge it’d be the perfect crime.

Ellie grinned. “Excited for that one!”

“Okay. Nothing else we need before the party, right?” Henry confirmed.

“Rupert’s got the, uh, the cake,” Charles said. “We’ve got our presents; the others have theirs. Invitations were sent out.”

“Really, they just needed to message the CCC agent,” Ellie commented.

Right. It was them, Amelia and the twins, Rupert of course, and the CCC agent they’d become fond of- Diana Fairview. As long as she wasn’t trying to murder him, Henry begrudgingly had conceded to allow her under their roof.

Henry shook his head. He was past that. He was past all of this. He didn’t need to make any worse of an impression to Dave than he already had by merely existing the past few years. I wonder if he even wants me to be there, he thought dimly.

“Let’s get started,” he said instead. He headed for the lights, grabbing a string and heading for the corner. Hm. Maybe he should’ve had Charles, that giant, do this instead. Too late. He summoned a stepladder and clambered up onto it.

Charles, meanwhile, was grabbing gold and black streamers. Ellie was focused on the photo wall. A photo wall of Dave and others was… difficult, considering Dave’s condition meant he could hardly be photographed without major distortion, but the three of them had agreed Dave would get a kick out of seeing all the horrible blurry photos of himself and his friends.

“Those look like you’d find them on really bad creepypasta websites,” Henry said.

Ellie snorted. “They do, don’t they? You guys still haven’t shown me what those are.”

“Man, really? Amelia hasn’t dragged you down that rabbit hole?” Charles asked.

“Not yet. I think that’s our next plan, though,” Ellie said. “She wants to make one with Dave, I think.”

Henry snorted loudly. “Oh, he’d be mortified. It’d be fun, though.”

“We’ve got a homegrown psychic to make the spooky effects, and I think Calvin’s good at editing,” Charles said. “And- ooh, Henry’s got a bunch of random stuff in his inventory! Man, that sounds fun, actually.”

“We can talk about it at the party,” Henry said. The more he thought about it, the more he thought that might be nice. Without all the excitement of the timelines, even doing dangerous missions, he’d felt a little restless. A project would be nice. Though interacting with Dave that much made him feel a stab of guilt.

“The party,” Charles said wistfully. “Man, I’m excited for this!” he continued cheerfully. “I mean, we haven’t done something like this in…”

“Since the anniversary of the timelines back in the failed Triple Threat,” Ellie finished. “But it was just us back then.” A beat. “I think I like this better.” She snorted. “I’m sure Henry disagrees.”

“What? No,” Henry said, perhaps more sharply than he should have for the joking tone. “I love everyone that’s coming. I mean, really, it’s Dave that…” He trailed off.

“What?” Ellie asked.

“Does Dave… even want to see me?” Henry said slowly.

“What do you mean?” Charles asked.

Did he have to bring this up? Why had he said anything? He swallowed past the lump in his throat. He strung the lights precisely, focusing on them rather than the awful uncertainty swirling in his gut. “I mean, I know we’ve spent time with Dave since everything happened, but I did do all of that. I kind of made his life a living hell.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. You made all of our lives a living hell,” Ellie replied, but it held no malice. “And he wouldn’t hang out with you if he didn’t want to.”

“Would he? You know how guilty he is,” Henry huffed. He stuck his tongue out as he reached for a particularly difficult corner, balancing on the couch armrest. He made a noise of thanks as Charles grabbed his hips to steady him.

“I also know he’s forgiven you,” Charles said. “If Rupert found it in his cold, dead heart to give you a shot, then Dave definitely did.”

“Rupert tolerates me,” Henry shot back. “He was probably being nice.”

“Rupert? Being nice? On purpose?” Ellie snorted.

Henry smiled waveringly, but she had a point. Rupert rarely lied to spare feelings, and he doubted Rupert would say anything to spare Henry, specifically.

“He thinks you’re funny occasionally,” Ellie said. “In an annoying way.”

“Stop,” Charles complained as Ellie snickered. Henry rolled his eyes, but huffed a laugh. “I’m being serious,” Charles said, the joking dropping out of his voice. “Rupert’s forgiven you. Dave’s forgiven you.”

Henry paused. “You’re sure he’s not just humoring me?”

“I’m sure, dude.” There was an audible eye roll in Ellie’s voice. “Also, if Dave was that uncomfortable with you, why would Rupert get us to help with this?”

“Because we’re the only people who can summon things for free? And we’d pay for everything out of guilt?” Henry said, pulling out a lightbulb. He grinned at Ellie’s sigh. “I know, I know. Just paranoid, I suppose.”

“What’s new?” Charles said. “Besides, you are nice to Dave, and he’s got low standards.”

“Let me have this!” Henry smacked Charles dramatically as Charles pulled him down from the couch.

The rest of the night passed in idle, excited chatter as they finished decorating.

…

“You know we could just teleport,” Dave said.

“Isn’t it nice to drive sometimes?” Rupert asked.

“I mean, yeah… I just didn’t know if, um, you wanted people to see you like this.”

Rupert shrugged, oddly blase. “I don’t mind. It’s night on a weekend; not many people will be out and sober enough to notice anything off, anyway.”

They were on the way to Triple Threat’s apartment for a game night. Rupert had been oddly insistent about walking and taking the powers fully tonight. Risky for someone like themselves, but it was a nice night. The windows on the car were rolled down. Dave drove, a rarity after gaining his powers. The warm night air filled Dave’s lungs, a promise of warmer days to come in the summer air of July. He took a deep breath and reflected on how nice it was to not have the powers for once.

Dave wondered what the occasion was. They were, ultimately, his powers; he didn’t mind having them the majority of the time. They came with their share of troubles, yes, but he felt bad enough when Rupert took them fully, nevermind the half-and-half he and Rupert ended up doing a majority of the time. He didn’t want to foist his troubles on Rupert of all people. Not after all that Rupert had done for him. It felt wrong to leave him now for a normal life, though he theoretically could. Well, as normal as he could now.

He’d never really gone back to a normal life. He wasn’t sure he wanted to. He wasn’t a soldier proper, but all of his friends were in the government, and nevertheless he felt much more useful in the government. There was a lot one could do when one could teleport and teleport others, as well as mess with electronic communication and other such oddities he’d discovered as time passed.

Who knew where life would take him, really. He wasn’t sure. He felt along for the ride, just as he did tonight, with a secretive Rupert and night full of promise.

What he did know was that he was spending time with friends, playing games, and having a hopefully good time with people he enjoyed. That was enough.

Soon, they pulled into the parking lot of Triple Threat’s City apartment. As Dave drove, he tilted his head. “Is that Amelia’s truck? I didn’t know she was coming tonight.”

“What? Oh, no,” Rupert said hurriedly. “Too dark. Must be a similar one.”

“Hm.” Rupert’s color-distorted vision was probably playing tricks on him, but Dave conceded he had known Amelia far longer.

They pulled into a parking spot. They clambered out, and Dave waited for Rupert as Rupert almost frenetically rummaged around in the back of their car. Dave raised an eyebrow as Rupert finally emerged, looking disgruntled. “What’s wrong?” he asked as they headed for the stairs.

“Nothing. Nothing. Just- thought I’d brought a game that Ellie wanted to play, and I didn’t.” He sighed.

“We’ll just bring it next time? It’s not a big deal.” Dave shook his head a little at Rupert’s expression. “What’s gotten into you? You’ve been on edge all night.”

“What? No. No, I haven’t,” Rupert said immediately.

Dave snorted and rolled his eyes. He paused in front of the door- right, they were third floor. “You absolutely have. C’mon, Rupert, I’ll take the powers back-”

“No,” Rupert replied. “Really. Really! I’m fine.” Rupert gave Dave a strained grin when Dave turned back to look at him doubtfully.

Dave raised an eyebrow. “Okay?” He stopped in front of Triple Threat’s door and knocked. Whatever weirdness Rupert was into, he’d just have to figure it out after the game night.

“Coming!” called Charles’s voice. He opened the door, looking a little frazzled and a little breathless. “Hey, buddy, how are you doing?”

“I’m good!” Dave replied cheerfully as Charles stepped aside. He trotted inside, dimly noticing that their apartment looked somewhat different. “Rupert said he forgot some game that Ellie wanted to-”

“SURPRISE!” shouted several voices at once. Dave jumped, and if he’d had the powers, he would have teleported out of shock.

Amelia, Calvin, Konrad, and even Diana were also in the living room, as well as Ellie and Henry. It was decorated with a bunch of party decorations that were black, gray, gold, and other colors, as well as a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! sign strung up across the living room wall.

“Wha-” Dave froze in terror.

“Happy birthday!” Charles chirped from behind Dave.

“It’s not- what?” Despite himself, the shock was melting into affectionate curiosity, and he let out a surprised laugh. “What’s going on?”

“We’re throwing you a birthday party!” Henry said, spreading his arms dramatically. “If you couldn’t tell, my friend.”

“But it’s not my birthday!” Dave protested as Charles pushed him further inside into the living room. Inside, he couldn’t help but grin as Amelia gave him a big hug, followed by a bashful one from Henry and an eager one from Charles. Finally, he felt the static-filled hand of Rupert land on his shoulder.

“We didn’t know your actual birthday, so, uh, we used the date you came to the government camp,” Rupert said.

A beat. “Which feels kind of insensitive now that I’m thinking about it,” Diana said, shifting past the others to squeeze Dave’s arm. They’d even gotten Diana? What with how busy she was now? Warmth flooded through Dave’s chest. Something prickled at his eyes.

Dave giggled, spilling out into laughter. “My birthday isn’t for another six months, guys…”

“Oh,” said a chorus that included Rupert dejectedly.

“One in three hundred sixty-five chance?” Amelia said. “Not bad that we got it wrong.”

Dave wiped his eyes, still smiling. “But thank you. This is really sweet of you all. I can’t believe- for me?” He glanced at the twins. “Even you two?”

“I made the cake,” said Konrad proudly. Dave laughed in delight.

“Thank you, I-” Dave laughed again, this time wetly. “I don’t think- anybody’s done anything so nice for me.”

“You say the most comforting things, dude,” Ellie said wryly.

“Alright, alright, enough dwelling on the past!” Charles said brightly, throwing an arm around Dave. “Let’s get this party started! Who wants drinks?”

“Me,” Dave said immediately. He couldn’t get a proper drink often, but to the strange surprise of most of his friends, he did enjoy a good drink or two. Just because his head felt like static all the time didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy a good buzz.

“One for the birthday boy- a beer if I’m remembering correctly,” Charles said. “A beer for the CCC agent and the worse twin, wine for my two thieves, cider for Amelia and the better one-”

“What! Why I am the worse twin?!” Calvin demanded. “Charles!” He followed a snickering Charles into the kitchen, where they quickly returned with drinks.

“What’s a good party without presents?” Amelia asked. “I say we do that first. Then we can get smashing drunk and not have to worry about trying to do any of that.”

“Presents?” Dave asked, surprised. “I mean- you guys have already done so much for me-”

“Of course we got you presents!” Ellie called. “That’s what people do, Dave. I know you’re a weirdo like the rest of us, but I promise it’s normal.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Dave joked back. He glanced at Diana. “I can’t believe you made it!”

Diana looked tired, but nonetheless she smiled. “It’s been hectic, but… yeah. Of course I would. You’re my friend, Dave.”

“Alright, everyone,” Henry said authoritatively, “gather around Dave. I’ll be back.” He turned and vanished into a different room. At that, they all began to coalesce in the living room around the couch.

Charles plopped next to Rupert. He whispered something to Rupert, who flushed as well and nudged him sharply. Ellie, on Rupert’s other side, whispered something into Rupert’s other ear, and this time he seemed like he was trying to decide between throttling her or Charles. Diana tentatively sat next to Amelia, the twins flanking them. Dave headed to sit next to Charles, but several voices rose in protest.

“Ah, Dave, my friend, you’re the star of the show! You have to be on the couch,” Henry said as he trotted back in. He stopped in front of the table, and then, out of nowhere, produced a cloth. He made a dramatic flourish, and then as if from underneath the fabric, several presents appeared. Accompanied by polite clapping, Henry gave a little bow before sitting on Charles’s other side.

“Aw, you guys!” Dave said, a little dizzied by the fact that it seemed everyone had gotten him something. He felt like a kid again, in those foggy memories, sitting on the couch with a flush on his cheeks as everyone gazed at him. “You guys didn’t have to get me all of this…”

“I wanna see some action!” Ellie called. “Go on, Dave, mine’s the envelope.”

“You first? How humble,” Henry snarked. He squawked when Ellie, with a flick of her wrist, wrested his wineglass from his hand. “Wait, that’s the good stuff- El, my love, I take it back-!”

Dave giggled at the pair’s antics, but obliged Ellie, grabbing a long stuffed envelope. Curiously he popped open the flap and pulled out a large record.

“What’s-?” he asked as he peered at the record.

Ellie was holding the wineglass at the ceiling, much to a fuming but silent Henry’s chagrin. “It’s a record of a song I wrote for you,” she said easily. “I know you can’t use tech that much-”

“You- wrote me a song?” Dave squeaked, heart hammering in surprise. “Really?”

“Yeah!” Ellie said. “It’s called Gray River. Uh, an instrumental on the violin.”

“Yeah, she didn’t get to serenade you with her beautiful voice,” Amelia said, snorting.

“I can’t wait to listen to it!” Dave said brightly. He hesitated, wondering how in the world he was going to play a vinyl, when Charles cleared his throat.

“My, uh, my present goes along with hers,” Charles said. “The actual thing is already at your apartment, Dave, but grab the other thing- yeah, that one.”

Dave pulled out a long cardboard box. Inside were several more vinyls, many of which had albums of bands that he realized were his favorites. As he stared, surprised and delighted, Charles spoke. “Yeah, we found an old phonograph, and so it’s all set up back at your place. Man, sneaking that thing in was pretty hard. We didn’t, uh, we didn’t think of using a hammerspace until afterward.”

“Pfff, I love it!” Dave laughed. “That’s so exciting! They actually work with my powers…”

“That’s why we got it,” Charles said proudly.

Dave grabbed one at random next. “Oh, that’s mine,” Calvin said. “Mine and Konrad’s goes together.”

“Oh, cool!” Dave unwrapped the box, which was large and long, wrapped in colorful wrapping paper. He revealed a Monopoly board game that, instead of having properties, had famous game show hosts from across the decades. Included in it was another small box.

“I don’t really know you super well, Dave, but I hope to change that and invite you to more board game nights,” Calvin said. “I don’t know if the others told you, but I get everyone a special edition of Monopoly. I got Charles one that’s all helicopter types, I got Amelia one with supernatural creatures… and, well, I think it’s fitting yours is TV show hosts. We’ll play it at the next game night!”

“That’s very sweet of you, Calvin,” Dave said. His face hurt from smiling. “And this?” He held up the prize from the other box, a little silver TV token.

“A Monopoly token!” Konrad chimed in. “I had it custom made.”

“Oh, wow! It’s so pretty, Konrad,” Dave said, studying the little figurine. “Thank you both so much!”

“Of course,” Calvin said. “It’s tradition.”

Next was an envelope. “That’s mine,” Amelia said, a grin already spreading onto her face as Dave ripped it open.

“A subscription to- oh, you didn’t!” Dave said, beaming.

“Yeah, I did! She’s got a whole new series coming out, too, so we should both be up-to-date!” Amelia chirped.

At the others’ puzzled looks, Ellie said, “Amelia’s got me and Dave hooked on an author who does true supernatural stories- or, well, she says they’re true. We try to pick them apart and see if they’re fake or anomalies.”

“Oh, that’s great,” Dave said brightly. He’d been reading a lot since everything had ended, and truth be told, his and Amelia’s discussions over these novels and short stories were some of the highlights of his day.

“There’s something else in there,” Amelia said, and this time she was brimming with delight. Diana watched her sideways, sipping a beer curiously.

Dave pulled out a small sheet of initially hidden paper. “Hm… Let’s see- ‘Dave, this is an IOU from Amelia to go ghost hunting at a haunted spot of your choice. I’m completely confident that somehow we’ll finally either almost get killed or get killed for real, whichever happens first.’” Dave was already grinning when he finished it. “Oh, I’m gonna find such a haunted place.”

Rupert made a beep of alarm, and so did Ellie. “Just tell me where you’re going first so I can come bail you out,” Ellie said. She glanced at Diana. “Or the resident CCC agent so they can exorcise the place or something.”

Diana nodded sagely. “We’ve got some techniques. Uh, Dave- mine’s the little one, and you’re probably gonna need some explanation.”

“Oh, alright!” When Dave unwrapped this one, he was surprised to find a phone staring back at him. He blinked. It’d been so long since he used a phone. “Um, Di? I’m flattered, and this is really expensive, but I can’t really…”

Diana was already speaking. “I know. I know. Rupert, could you give him the powers back for a second?”

Rupert reached forward and pressed a hand to Dave’s knee. Dave felt static flow back into him. As it did, he saw Konrad mutter to Calvin, “I’m never gonna get used to that.”

“Are you sure this won’t damage anything?” Dave asked with concern as the familiar buzzing filled his mind.

“Try using it,” Diana said eagerly. “And we can tweak things if need be, since this is version one, but y’know.”

Dave hesitantly clicked the phone on. To his surprise, it didn’t phase through his hand. Neither did it glitch immediately or brick at his touch, at the energy flowing through it. Dave’s eyes brightened as he began to mess around on it with more and more confidence.

“How did you-” he began, then let out a startled laugh. Even in slight grayscale, Diana’s beam was striking.

“It’s pretty neat technology,” Diana said brightly. “We started- oh, sorry. You probably don’t want to hear about it right now.”

“Later,” Dave promised.

“Do tell, indeed,” Henry said, eyes shining with interest. “I’d be interested to hear what you people managed to do with anomalies such as those.”

Diana seemed a little nervous pinned under Henry’s diamond gaze, but she quickly straightened. “Yeah, I can do that! It’s been one of my favorite pet projects. I haven’t gotten to do many of them since… yeah.”

“Seems like we’ve just got Henry left,” Rupert said, taking back the power. He looked bashful. “I, uh… forgot your present at home, Dave.”

Dave snorted. “Oh, that’s fine. This is already so much- I don’t need anything else!”

Especially from Rupert, he thought privately. Rupert’s already done so much for me… And besides, I don’t need much from Rupert. He really didn’t. All he’d like would be to stay around Rupert for a while longer. A lot longer, if he was lucky.

“Saving the best for last, I see,” Henry preened. His grin only widened at the groans of everyone around the room.

His was another large box. When Dave opened it, he was pleasantly surprised by a bunch of clothes- dark, comfortable clothes in his size, as well as with flourishes and in styles he’d always found himself staring at but never bold enough to try himself.

“Clothes for you,” Henry explained. “And what I didn’t put is that I’m planning a day where we go shopping for more. On my dime, of course. You’ve mentioned wanting to expand your wardrobe.”

“I have. I can’t believe you remembered!”

“I’m sure all of that will look great on you,” Henry said, grinning.

Dave sighed, sitting back and gazing warmly at the gifts arrayed before him. It was more than he’d ever gotten before, and more than he’d ever expected. “I… guys, thank you. Thank you so much. This is- this is really special. Thank you all again.”

“Aw, Dave, of course,” Charles said.

“Anytime,” Diana said. “Let me know if the phone has any trouble. We’re having fun with it. I’m kinda sad to see it go, honestly.”

“Oh, I’m sure I’ll find some. For you,” Dave said. Diana grinned.

“Well,” Konrad said, clapping his hands. “Who wants cake?”

“ME!” shouted Charles and Amelia at the same time. Henry snorted and shoved at Charles.

“You’ve got the biggest sweet tooth,” he said.

“Says the chocolate snob,” Charles snarked back.

“Cake sounds great! I wanna see what Konrad made,” Dave said.

At that, they all began to rise. Before he could make it too far, however, he felt a hand on his arm. When he turned, it was Rupert, strangely not meeting his eyes. “Before you head in there, can we talk? Privately?”

Dave blinked, a little concerned. “Yeah. Is something wrong?”

“No, no,” Rupert said mysteriously. “Just- follow me.”

“Yeah, alright.” Dave glanced back at the others, all of whom were chatting and getting up, and followed Rupert into a side hallway. From here he could hear the din of chatter. Just the sound warmed him. Only a few years ago, he could never imagine having so many people to celebrate with, nevermind celebrating a fake birthday after a distorted few years. What a wild world.

He stopped in front of Rupert. Rupert looked strangely nervous. “So what did you have to tell me that was so secret?” Dave asked playfully.

Rupert’s face was an interesting shade of bright red. When had that happened? What did he have to be embarrassed about? Funny, really, with how bright his colors were; it was stark-clear on his overlaid face. “Um,” he said. “Well, you know I forgot your present.”

“Oh, you’re worried about that?” Dave laughed. “Come on, Ru. It’s fine. It’s at home, anyway-”

“But that’s not what I wanted to ask you,” Rupert interrupted. He spoke uncharacteristically fast, also with an uncharacteristic avoidance of Dave’s gaze. Not that Dave could tell where he was looking, what with his eyes being multicolored bars like a failing TV screen, but still. Dave could tell. “I wanted to ask you something else. Something kind of- And it’s fine if you say no, just fine; I don’t want to make it weird, or our friendship weird, which is why I’ve been waiting to say anything. That is to say, if you don’t want to be friends after this, I get it, but even still, I hope we can be, because I really care about you-”

Now, Dave knew he wasn’t the most observant person. But as Rupert spoke, voice beeping in anxiety, barreling toward some esoteric conclusion, he felt perfect clarity enter his mind.

A slow, fond smile spread across his face.

“Rupert,” he said, reaching up.

“All this is to say,” Rupert said, distracted. “I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go out someti- mmph!”

On later reflection, he was surprised that he was able to meet Rupert’s lips on the first time. He was even more surprised that the kiss was able to go on for much longer than he anticipated. Static flooded his mind, but a mix of the familiar and the pleasant kind, as Rupert’s hands found Dave’s face and Dave strained on his tip-toes to keep going.

Eventually he broke away. He smiled and opened his eyes, one of which was now filled with static.

“Yeah,” Dave said softly, gazing up into Rupert’s half-colorful eyes. “Yeah, I’d like to go out a lot.”

“Cool,” Rupert squeaked. His intense eyes had softened, from familiar hard green to the cool line that the powers distorted them to. Both were beautiful, in Dave’s opinion.

“How about we go eat some cake and tell the others?” Dave asked.

“Sounds great,” Rupert said, “as long as we do that again later tonight.”

“Pffff, after the party,” Dave giggled. “We have to go tell everyone the news- unless-?”

“No, people will wanna hear it,” Rupert said. Almost shyly, as the two of them turned to head out into the living room again, already full of chatter and drinks, Rupert grabbed Dave’s hand. With their powers mingling, neither hand phased.

Then, a familiar whisper darted through the back of Dave’s head.

The Narrator.

Dave froze.

It hadn’t spoken to him since everything had ended. And yet…

“Rupert,” Dave asked slowly. “Were people taking bets on us getting together tonight?”

Rupert froze. He wouldn’t meet Dave’s gaze. “Um. I just realized I have to-”

Rupert teleported. Dave let out a shocked laugh, and then realized when he went to teleport, Rupert had drained the power from him, leaving him with nothing but a blip of static in his mind. “No fair!” he called, striding out into the throng of his friends.

His friends.

As Dave told the others the good news, as he chided them for the bets, and as they shared delicious cake and drinks…

…he realized he’d never been happier.