75 Godiva Street, Thanksgiving Day, Thursday Afternoon

[geniuswithasmartphone]

It was Thanksgiving! The house smelled amazing too, like roasting turkey and sage and simmering apple cider and baking pies. Eliot had outdone himself in the kitchen this year, whipping up the creamiest mashed potatoes, the fluffiest stuffing, and even the crispiest egg rolls Hardison had ever seen. His own contribution was a platter of the croissant-variety Hot Pockets in various flavors.

Look, his TA had requested them and he was gonna provide, dammit.

Now they were finishing up the last few dishes, setting the table, and preparing for a delicious Thanksgiving meal. Not every member of their assorted families could be here today, but every person who was here was family in their own way. For Hardison, found family was infinitely more precious than people just related by blood. Each person had chosen to be here, to be part of this, and--

Shut up, he wasn't getting all misty-eyed. It was the dust. It got all up in his allergies.

[Up super-early I know, but holiday-related SP expected in a big way and also timezones! Sorry to anyone confused, but this post is definitely set for Thursday, Thanksgiving.]

Comments

Arrive and Mingle

[geniuswithasmartphone]

Make those threads messy kids! No ping order, just chaos.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[rebelseekspizza]

Yeah, Dante still felt kinda weird? About being here?

But he wasn't showing it, showing up in jeans and a ragged t-shirt with an easy smile on his face. "So what's for dinner?"

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[geniuswithasmartphone]

If Hardison felt it was weird for Dante to be here, his smile didn't suggest it. "Sup, Dante," Hardison greeted, holding his knuckles out for a tap. "An', yo, it'd probably be easier listin' off what we ain't eatin'. I think Eliot emptied out three grocery stores worth of food for this."

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[rebelseekspizza]

You had to answer an offered fistbump. It was only polite. So Dante, super-polite boy that he was, did just that.

"I wanna say he needs to chill out, but if it means more food, I'm good with that."

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[vdistinctive]

"All the classics," Eliot said. "Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, creamed onions, green beans, got some ham, cranberry sauce, hell of a lot of pies -- and a whole bunch of crap that ain't traditional but should be tasty either way."

If you can't find something to eat in all this, Dante, Eliot might have to hit you.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[rebelseekspizza]

"... Did you reach inside a Thanksgiving special and steal all that shit?"

Don't mind Dante. He'd never had a real Thanksgiving meal before.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[spin_kick_snap]

"More sushi," Kathy said in an undertone, just loud enough for him to hear. "And bugs. The whole reason I wanted to bring you was to make you get stuck eating things you'd never try at home."

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[rebelseekspizza]

"If there's bugs, I'm out," Dante said, eyeing her.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[spin_kick_snap]

To add to the insane bounty Eliot had already made, Kathy showed up with a few dishes and desserts she'd spent the week making, too--including a small container of winter kimchi. It wasn't the kind her mother always made, she hadn't figured out what that was yet, but it was still something.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" she called. "Where should I put all this stuff?"

It was Thanksgiving and she was with her family.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[vdistinctive]

"Hey darlin'." Eliot stepped away from the stove and held out an arm for a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Y'all're gonna be eating these leftovers for the next week."

Ah, the true meaning of Thanksgiving.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy set her stuff down on the nearest flat surface. She could move it all later, right now Eliot was getting a big, squeezy hug. "Four teens three of which have weird metabolisms?" she asked. "Three days, tops."

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[vdistinctive]

It was a good thing that Eliot had gone for an open plan kitchen, because otherwise he wouldn't be able to do much mingling at all. It was quite a trick keeping all this food warm and ready to eat all at the same time.

"I catch any one of y'all trying to sneak a bite ahead of time, I'm gonna whallop you one upside the head."

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Yo, we wouldn't do nothin' like that!" Hardison protested innocently. "That would be...wrong."

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[vdistinctive]

Eliot flicked a dishtowel at him. "You think I don't know what that phrase means? Whallop. Upside. The head."

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[whoisalicewhite]

So that was definitely a challenge. Either to not get caught, or to not get walloped.

"Is a whallop harder than a smack, or less than a choke-hold?"

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[tigerundercover]

"Hot pockets and egg rolls!" Raven cheered. "It's a Thanksgiving miracle."

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Just for you, TA," Hardison declared, coming to sweep her up in a tight hug. "What, you think I was gonna ask an' then not deliver?"

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[spin_kick_snap]

"Okay, I'm pretty sure that your Thanksgiving traditions are even weirder than mine," Kathy said, turning to give Raven a grin.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[whoisalicewhite]

"Yay, someone else who knows how to eat right!"

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[not_every_mage]

Anders tagged behind his partners, eyes bright and interested in the feast to come. He wasn’t totally accustomed to either the Leverage crew or Thanksgiving itself yet, but any holiday about eating had his tentative approval.

“Hello there,” he called affably. “I have some wine — where should I put it?”

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[geniuswithasmartphone]

If there were two things the Leverage crew was good at, though, it was crime and adopting strays. The crime thing hopefully wouldn't come up today, but the adoption bit likely would.

"Thanks man," Hardison said, smiling at Anders and gesturing towards the table. "If you can find room on it, put 'em down. If not...well, we'll see what we can move around."

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy was grateful he was here; grateful they both were here. "I mean, if there's no where else to put it, I'm willing to jump on that grenade and drink the first bottle right now," she said, giving him a bright and happy smile.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[rebelseekspizza]

"I can think of a couple of places," Dante teased, bumping Anders' shoulder with his own.

At least he wasn't the only odd one out here.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[whoisalicewhite]

Those eggrolls were yuuuummy. So Parker was making sure everyone got some. Thanksgiving being all about sharing and stuff.

Re: Arrive and Mingle

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"You steal these?" Hardison asked in a whisper, giving her a conspiratorial grin.