'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

[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?

[axiomed]

Like all of us being together for Christmas. I think that's what makes it monumental.

[athru]

It's been a very long time. I don't even remember when I last celebrated Christmas.

[axiomed]

[ Charles does. But that's not what's important and he knows it. ]

Do you miss it?

[athru]

What, Christmas? [ She hums, leaning back in her chair. ] I miss the quiet of it, I suppose. The... Happy parts.

[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?

[athru]

I always do.

[ The question makes her pause, though, and she considers for a moment before she blinks and nods her head. ]

I'm... Good. Things feel oddly comfortable.

[exothermia]

That's probably the idea. [It can't be a coincidence that the Atroma sent them here after a comparatively wild planet.]

But I can't say I haven't appreciated what's available here.

[athru]

For our wonderful viewers, right? I try to forget. [ About the viewers, about Atroma, about it all, even as she feels the rebellion surge up inside of her. The problem is there's nothing to physically fight. ]

Hank outdid himself.

[exothermia]

[So does Erik, only he can't. It's only more obvious to him now.]

He did. Just making the effort for something like this... it means a lot. [For all of them.]

[athru]

It's because he cares. [ Raven turns to look at him fondly before she huffs a noise. ] I'm going to have to one up him on his birthday.

[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.

[athru]

I don't know. Something a little less formal, but this is nice. I like it.

[ Her hand finds his and squeezes gently. ]

[beathach]

I wasn't really aiming for formal, it's the restaurant that sort of inspires it.

[he squeezes back, tangling their fingers together]

[athru]

It's lovely. I think it's perfect, really, for all of us.

[ Shifting, she moves her chair a little closer to Hank's, beaming. ]

[beathach]

Ah - well, I guess we'll see if it is.

[so far so good, though. He lets his hand fall beneath the table, finding hers and curling his fingers around it]

[athru]

Shh, I already told you it was.

[ She leans close against him, ignoring the rest of the world. ]

You did well, okay? Really well.