purplegeist:

Mel had researched, and called Dad and really worked on this. She'd gotten the recipe for a traditional Georgian style of baklava. When it was ready, she haunted the air filtration system and let the scent get everywhere in the base.

tooth_n_claw:

To Alex one of the hardest things in the world was selecting gifts for people. He didn't have much practice with it and it showed. When he was young he had his mom and brother to get gifts for, but in those cases it was usually a homemade gift for his mom and a small store bought toy for his brother. His family never had much money so gifts were small. Now he had money, he didn't spend much of his Alpha Flight pay on himself, and it was Mel's birthday.

He wandered the local mall aimlessly wondering what he could get his girlfriend. There was only so much ABBA things he could get her and something non-ABBA would be a nice change. Though he had no clue what that non-ABBA thing would be. So he walked up and down the mall looking for something to catch his eye or make him think of Mel.

Alex was just about to give up when he spotted Williams-Sonoma. A store dedicated to cooking and kitchen stuff. It was /perfect/ and totally Mel. As soon as he entered the store he was even more hopelessly lost. There was just so much in the store and he had no clue on Earth what exactly to get her. A saleslady took pity on him when she saw his confused face and asked him if she could help. Even with her input he still didn't know what to get Mel. He opted for a gift card with an extravagant amount of money on it.

He thought gift cards were a little impersonal, but he would make up for that fact by taking Mel here and the two of them could make a day shopping and grabbing some dinner afterward.

The gift card was put into a card and he went to deliver it to his girlfriend.

heroic_dynamo:

Anyone at the makeshift camp where the Winter Guard was convening with Shield were likely to see a red-armored figure stomping past them, muttering a string of Georgian curses. This was utter garbage! After the Guard had contacted home regarding what had happened, the government decided that it would be a good idea for someone to remain in the West to make it easier for the two countries to coordinate efforts. The idea was sound, Zviad didn't dispute that, but what angered him was apparently he was being voluntered for the job. Of course by voluntered he really meant ordered. Technically it made no sense, he was the newest member of the Guard and thus knew less than any of them. Then again maybe that was the point. Plus he imagined more than a few of the brass leapt at the opportunity to keep him out of the country for as long as possible. Personally he would have liked it if he at least had a say in the matter. Zviad found a sturdy looking rock and sat down. Deciding it was pointless to keep his helmet on, he took it off. For the most part, people kept their distance, as Zviad's anger was palpable.

nextgen_russia:

It was a risky move, but it had to be done. Shostakov was no friend to the royal family and if he was taken into government custody decades of work would be lost. If his comatose body could be grabbed by those who had the same interests, he could possibly be revived and work on the projects could resume. That 'son' of his knew what his father had been doing, but the kid didn't know half as much as his 'father'. No, they needed Shostakov and they had to get him before others did.

The warning was sent from a small internet cafe computer and bounced through two dozen different nodes around the world before it reached its destination in Canada. They had to be warned that the Russians were coming. Hopefully they would respond appropriately to the incursion into their land and during the conflict and chaos Shostakov could be taken out of there.

There were a lot of variables, but it would go as planned. It had to.

heroic_dynamo:

He still couldn't believe, eben after five days. The brass had finally promoted him to Crimson, one of three in the whole nation! Yuri said that they were likely hoping he'd get scrapped and they'd have an excuse to can him. Still, the look of pride in the older man was mistakable.His parents had also been proud. His father had even showed up after the promotion to salute him. Sergei wasn't an affectionate man, so those rare moments of parental pride were deeply treasured. He had just returned to Guard headquarters, hoping for a chance to finally put the newest Crimson unit through its paces.