'tis the season

[beathach]

Who: Hank, Raven, Charles, and Erik
Broadcast: none
Action: Corona
When: Forward-dated to after Christmas

[docking at the hotel had been something of a godsend. Originally he was going to attempt to cook himself, but with all of the restaurants at the hotel available, he opted to choose one of them instead. Likely for the best, because he wasn't the greatest cook.

He'd done his research, however, and the dinner - while nothing overly fancy - still had some traditional Christmas and Hanukkah foods - or at least, as close as they could get to them, all things considered. He tried, okay.

But it was a holiday dinner for the four of them, and that was the most important part. It was a first for their family, after all]

Comments

[axiomed]

[ Charles actually dresses nicely for the occasion - nothing major but he picks out a black tuxedo at least. He politely asks the waiter to move the chair away before settling himself at the table. ]

[ To Hank, gently teasing. ] I see you skipped out on cooking.

[beathach]

[Hank is dressed nicely as well - but he kept it to a simple shirt and tie, rather than anything fancier. He likes to keep things simple.

He laughs at what Charles says and faintly shakes his head]

I figured I'd spare you my attempt.

[axiomed]

That's a shame. But perhaps next time.

[beathach]

Next time? Do you miss my cooking that much?

[axiomed]

That's not quite the word I would use.

[exothermia]

[Erik shows up in his grey suit from the masquerade months ago, paired with a darker shirt and tie. The most substantial bit of effort he put in was to get a haircut a couple of days ago; he's less scruffy than he's been in months.

He smiles a bit at the potato latkes (or close enough) Hank has managed to spirit out of somewhere as he takes his seat.]

So, what made this restaurant the pick of the bunch?

[axiomed]

I imagine we'll find out.

[ He smiles at the waiter who fills his glass with wine. ]

[exothermia]

Yes, mostly likely. There are a lot of them - I lost count.

[axiomed]

You tried to count?

[exothermia]

Idly, while I was walking around in the first week.

[It had been a bit obscene, seeing how many different eateries and bars were around.]

This is more like a miniature city than a hotel.

[beathach]

There's a couple of reasons. Why, was there another you had in mind?

[mostly, this one didn't give him strange looks when he requested a few off the menu things. And he'd eaten here before, so he at least knew the food was decent]

[exothermia]

No, there isn't. I was just interested, considering there's so many of them.

[beathach]

Ah. Well, for a real answer, then, the cooks here let me make some requests that aren't on the menu.

[exothermia]

[Erik thinks he can guess what those might be, so he nods.]

You did a lot of planning for this.

[athru]

[ Raven comes in having transformed herself a nice dress that she saw in a shop window somewhere; it's not what she might normally have chosen but she's well aware that her sense of fashion is stuck in the back end of the eighties and she has a lot to learn. It means that she's patting it down as she walks in to take her seat, fussing a little with the ends - as if she has anyone she really needs to impress. It's her brother, his best friend and her boyfriend; they'd accept her if she came in wearing a neon pink scrap.... Probably.

All the same, she wanted to try.

When she sits down the others are already there and all she can do is smile, her attention going between the three of them with ease. This is her family, after all, and she knows - she knows they're all going to go home together. That means something, and it makes something warm flush under her skin. ]

This is completely different to what I imagined.

[axiomed]

What were you expecting?

[athru]

Something like the picnic. Nothing quite so... Formal.

[ Formality was a far gone thing when it came to the four of them. ]

[axiomed]

Some special occasions deserve to be celebrated.

[athru]

Like Christmas?

[exothermia]

[Erik watches Raven take her seat with a slight smile.]

Perhaps the tiki hut in the beach section was booked out.

[athru]

[ She snorts, lifting her hand to cover her mouth. ]

There go my plans for the weekend.

[exothermia]

I'm sure you'll manage, somehow.

How are you?

[beathach]

[since the old men have the jokes in before him . . . he smiles at her and says something else instead]

It's different from what I originally had in mind. You look nice.

[athru]

[ His smile is welcome, and she leans over to press a soft kiss against his cheek, ignoring the rest of them. ]

Thank you, Hank. You look lovely as well.

[beathach]

[he leans into the kiss with a smile, also ignoring the other two for the moment]

Thanks. What were you expecting? Out of curiosity.