A one-shot for Chinara. Happy Birthday Chinara!
Ratchet and Clank A Crack in Time Fanfic
Genres: some romance
Pairing: mild Ratchet/Alister
Warning: hints of male slash
Hope you like it Chinara and all other readers!
A Birthday Surprise
"Ratchet? Are you sure this is necessary?" A tiny white robot asked.
Ratchet and Clank had been busy at work for the past few hours now. To make some details clear, today was a special day. Today was Alister's birthday.
After the battle at the Great Clock, Alister had survived the explosion. Ratchet had decided to stay with the elder and Clank would usually stay at the Great Clock.
However, the older Lombax was gone on a trip for groceries for the house. Since he was gone, Ratchet had called Clank and had him come over to help create a surprise party. Well, the only difference was that Clank was not going to stay so it was only going to be the two Lombaxes. Because of this, the party had a more… fancy atmosphere.
"What do you mean Clank? I thought this would meet the general's tastes."
The living room had been decorated up. A round table was in the center of the room with a white table cloth over it. There was a bucket with a bottle of wine in it and wine glasses on the table. There was then a long table with another white table cloth that had silver containers. One container held garlic bread and the other held spaghetti. On the end was a round silver contain with white cake. On the walls were little white lights by the ceiling on all sides. There were happy birthday signs on the walls that made it seem more like a birthday party. Overall, however, the whole setup seemed romantic.
"It's just that this setup seems less like a birthday party and more like a romantic dinner."
Ratchet whipped his head, "No way! I mean, it's a bit fancy, but I don't think Alister would like a regular surprise party. He's told me before how much of a pain he thinks they are, so I thought this would be better."
"Maybe we should have just done a regular party," Clank suggested.
"What, and have it be like every normal party? Nope. Out of the question," a shake of the head was followed after this comment.
"Very well. However, now that we are done, I must leave. It is unfortunate that I cannot stay but I must return to the Great Clock. I have much to do."
"Ok. I'll be back tomorrow to help with cleanup. Thanks for all the help pal. See you later."
Clank nodded, "I hope things go well. Tell him happy birthday for me. Goodbye Ratchet."
They both waved before the robot left. Once Clank was gone, Ratchet rushed to his room. He knew the general would be back soon. The fact that all the decorating had been accomplished was a miracle.
Entering the room, the yellow Lombax went over to his closet. He opened the door and pulled a huge wrapped box. Kicking the door shut, he rushed back to the living room right after. Once in the living room, the present was then put on the floor by the side of the table with the cake.
Ratchet turned his head in every direction. He smiled in pride. The room looked great and he knew the other was going to love it, well, hoped anyway.
The Lombax then sat at the round table and waited for the other Lombax. The wait did not last long though, for fifteen minutes later, he heard a ship parking outside.
A door could be heard open and slam shut. He heard a couple of grumbles before hearing and actual greeting. "I'm back! Sorry it took so long. I was trying to find some sugar and I had to travel else where to find and the trip was just ridiculous. I could not believe how much trouble I had. I…"
Azimuth stopped talking when he walked into the living room and saw the whole setup. Glowing white lights, fancy tables, wine, fancy pans, what the…?
"Happy birthday!" Ratchet shouted.
"W-What?"
The general seemed stunned. This worried Ratchet because he didn't want the other to hate it. "Um, well, I remember you tell me that you didn't like surprise parties because you thought they were too loud and annoying. So, I thought I would make one with a quieter and nicer setting. And, you know, since it's your birthday and all, I wanted to do something special."
Alister answered, "Oh." He still sounded shocked, but at least he didn't say anything bad… Right?
Ratchet decided to change the subject, "Are you hungry? I made food. It's in the containers. I can get some for you if you want."
"What? You don't have to do that."
Azimuth was acting a little strange. Ratchet just tried to laugh it off a bit. "Don't worry about it. You've been gone all day and it's your birthday. Go ahead and sit, I'll get it for you."
Instead of arguing like the younger had been expecting, Alister just took a seat. He didn't say anything though as he made a plate for the general; two pieces of garlic bread and a scoop of spaghetti. Once Alister's plate was prepared, Ratchet set it in front of the general before going to make his own. He then sat down on the other side of the table. Facing Azimuth, he realized that he was looking in every direction of the room and had not even touched his food.
Ratchet had a worried expression on his face before asking, "Was this too much? I was trying to do something different for your birthday. If it is, I'm sorry."
Alister faced Ratchet and a surprised look on his face. He answered, "No Ratchet, this is just fine. I was just surprised, that's all. I'm not used to doing anything for my birthday, much less a birthday party. I've never had a birthday party quite as nice as this. It's… nice."
A relieved look then appeared on the younger's face. "That's good. I thought you might like this. And to think, Clank thought this looked romantic."
A blush then spread across the elder's cheeks. "Wh… What did he say?"
Ratchet's eyes widened as he realized that he had accidently said his thoughts out loud. He did an awkward cough before replying, "Want some wine?"
A confused expression was on the general's face before he shoved it away and answered, "Sure."
The younger Lombax moved his chair and stood up before getting the wine. Some was poured into both glasses. The wine was a peach color. He then sat back down.
"What kind of wine is this?" Alister asked.
"It's called Moscato," answered Ratchet, "I remembered you telling me how you were never a big lover of wine because of the bitter taste, but this wine is different. Moscato is a peach wine but it has a sweeter taste than most wine. I thought you might like it."
"I see." Before anything else could be said, Azimuth then sipped a little of the wine. Afterwards, he replied, "It is quite good. It is sweeter than most."
A grin appeared, "That's good."
The conversation than stopped as the two of them began to eat. Everything was quiet. All that could be heard was the clanking of silverware to plate when getting a few noodles. They ate for about twenty minutes before they were finished.
"Are you done?" Ratchet asked.
Azimuth nodded, "Yes. It was quite done. Thank you Ratchet."
The younger grinned again, "You're welcome."
He then stood up once more and took the plates and silverware. The whole situation of being served food and being cleaned up after was something the elder was not used to, but he decided to not say anything because he knew that Ratchet would take the plates anyway.
The younger had left to put the dishes in the kitchen. He returned soon after with two smaller plates and a new set of forks.
"Do you want some cake?"
"Actually, could we wait for a bit? I think I ate a little too much."
Ratchet nodded, "Yeah, of course."
The plates were set by the cake pan. There was not much they could do. If there was one thing that Ratchet forgot for this little party, it was entertainment. Standing for a moment, he then noticed his birthday present.
"Do you want to open your birthday present?"
The general looked surprised. He did not realize the other got him something as well. He must have seeing the present. "You got my something?"
Ratchet laughed right then. "Of course I did. It's your birthday. What kind of birthday would it be if I didn't get you anything?"
Alister smiled at this. He thought that the younger cooking supper and setting this up had been nice enough, but to get him something to? He felt really happy by this.
"Sure."
A smile appeared on the yellow Lombax's face as he went over to the side of the long table to move the present. He slid it over to the general. Once in front of Azimuth, he went over to the radio by the back wall to pick up his camera. Ratchet went back over and adjusted his chair so he could see the elder and his present.
"Say cheese!" A bright light was then seen as a picture was taken of the older with his wrapped up birthday gift.
"Ratchet, are the pictures necessary?"
"Of course! This is the first birthday of your that I get to spend with you so I may as well take pictures to remember later on."
Alister just shook his head. "Alright." He then started to un-wrap the gift. Luckily, no pictures were taken during the unwrapping process.
Once the present was un-wrapped, he had to remove some tape from a large cardboard box. The tape was pretty easy to get off. He first took out a small wood shelf. It looked like it could be mounted on the wall for looks. It was a light brown with a slight shine to it. Next, which is what surprised him more, was that he took out two stuffed animals. These toys were both Lombaxes. One was white with red stripes and the other was yellow with brown stripes.
"Ratchet?" The general was greatly confused.
The younger turned red out of slight embarrassment. "Well, you don't have many decorations around the house. Your work slash study area is covered but it's all notes. And, there was this guy who was taking orders for specialized stuffed animals on another planet. So, I ordered the two Lombaxes that looked like you and me, and I bought the shelf so you could put it on the wall and put the two Lombaxes on it. I thought maybe you could put it in here or in the kitchen." Ratchet was scratching the back of his head and was all red faced by this point. The idea seemed so much better in his head but actually explaining out loud; the idea did seem kind of silly now that he thought about it.
The elder was quiet for a moment. He just kept looking at the dolls. Ratchet didn't know if this was a good thing or not but it was making him uneasy.
The younger finally stood up and went over to the other. "Look, if you don't like it, its ok. I won't be upset. Could you just give the toys back?"
Alister looked up and smiled, "But I like these. I want to put them on the wall tomorrow."
"Wait," the other was confused, "You actually like them?"
Azimuth nodded, "Ratchet, this is the most thoughtful thing that anyone has ever done for me; both the present and the party. Thank you so much."
Ratchet blushed a deep red, "You're welcome." He wasn't used to the elder being so sincere.
Alister put the items back in the box before standing. "May I ask something of you?"
The question seemed random but there was an answer given. "Sure."
The general walked away from the younger for a moment. He went over to the radio and messed with it some until he found what he was looking for. What was heard was slow dance. This confused the smaller Lombax greatly.
The elder walked back over to Ratchet before extending a hand to him. "Would you dance with me?"
His eyes widened but he took the other's hand without really thinking it through and was pulled over to the back part of the room with the radio. One of Ratchet's hands was on the general's shoulders and one of Alister's hands was on the younger's side. The remaining hands were intertwined before doing slow circles. Ratchet's whole face was red and so was Azimuth's face.
"Um, Alister?"
"Yes?"
"Why did you want to dance with me?"
Azimuth looked at Ratchet more directly instead of avoiding his gaze like he had been doing only moments ago. "I thought it went with the scene that was setup and I wanted to thank for the nice present and party."
"So, it really does look romantic, doesn't it?"
"Yes. Yes it does."
They were both quite after that as they finished the song off a minute later. The rest of the night was pretty uneventful as the cake was cut and eaten; partially. Once the cake was done, the Lombaxes decided to clean up. Ratchet did not want the other helping but he did so anyway.
It was around midnight when all of the work was done. They were both ready for bed by that point. The both of them were in the hallway that contained the bedrooms.
Azimuth turned towards Ratchet, "Thank you Ratchet. This has been a wonderful birthday."
Ratchet grinned at the elder, "You're welcome. I'm glad you liked your birthday. I gotta ask though, what was your favorite part?"
"I haven't done it yet."
"What?"
Before anything more could be said or done, Alister leaned down and kissed the younger's cheek lightly.
He pulled away soon after. "Good night Ratchet." The general then walked down the hall and went into his bedroom.
Ratchet stood there with a red face. However, a smug expression could then be seen on his face. He then thought, 'And Clank wondered why I made it look romantic.' The yellow Lombax went to his room right after to go get some sleep.