'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]

Very subtle, I'm sure.

[exothermia]

[That brings a faint smile back to Erik's face, and he merely shrugs. It's up to others to spot the difference, if he were to come to dinner with slightly worse manners.]

[axiomed]

[ He would know.

Instead Charles takes a bite of his food, letting the pleasant hum of people's thoughts sink in. ]

[exothermia]

[It's a strangely comforting feeling, sitting down to dinner in the company of the three people he thinks of as his family. He had had his reservations initially, uncertain if he would be up to it when the day came. He's at a point now where he's grateful to be able to do things like this with good humour.

He talks to Raven and Hank as well, settling into the mood.]

[axiomed]

[ Charles on the other hand lapses into silence. This is what he wanted. Always wanted. But like most things on the Fleet, it's hard to fully enjoy. He had told Erik once, that places like this had taken his simpler dreams and made them real but also made it seem unlikely that it ever could happen anywhere else.

It's savage.

He takes another long sip. ]

[exothermia]

[The dinner passes like that, peppered with conversations between the four of them, good food and good drink. Eventually Hank and Raven say goodnight to them, heading off together. The restaurant crowd has thinned out a bit, though it's by no means empty.

Erik waves them off, wishing them goodnight.]

[axiomed]

Not leaving yet?

[exothermia]

Soon - I thought I'd ask the waiter what was in that drink we saw at the other table.

[axiomed]

[ His eyebrows go up. ]

You're really going to try it?

[exothermia]

I didn't say that.

[He flags the waiter over and asks. The response is a long list of completely foreign ingredients, none of which sounds familiar. Erik nods along politely and thanks him for his time. As the waiter walks off, Erik catches Charles' eye.]

Definitely not.

[axiomed]

Just as well. It seems the adventure is coming to an end.

[exothermia]

I'll be adventurous with something else that doesn't spout pink smoke when opened, I think.

[axiomed]

I look forward to seeing that.

[exothermia]

Do you, now.

[axiomed]

[ He blinks. ]

Y - Yes?

[exothermia]

[His brain catches up with him, and he flounders slightly.]

Ah - well. I'm sure there are plenty of strange drinks in this place we haven't seen yet. Other than that one.

[axiomed]

[ He hides his smile. ]

I'm afraid I'm too old for pub crawls.

[exothermia]

I wouldn't suggest something like that to begin with.

[He had been to pubs, but never several in a row. Erik pauses, suddenly conscious of where they are. Looking at his fingers as he drums them briefly on the table, he glances back up to Charles.]

But - there are restaurants.

[axiomed]

[ Charles watches him, puzzled before replying. ]

Yes - There are quite a few. Probably a couple of adventurous ones.

[exothermia]

[He takes a breath.]

Would you want to try one?

[axiomed]

[ Everything grinds to a halt. The request itself was not unusual, but the pause, Erik's behavior slots the pieces into place. For a brief wild moment, Charles considers feigning ignorance. Force Erik to say it properly. Turn him down. He had options.

Any option that would be better than fooling himself again.

But what Charles thinks and what he does are always different things. ]

. . . I would. But are you sure you do?

[exothermia]

[It's a good question. The question. Erik does many things without thinking them through. These days, thinking is just about all he does. When it comes to this in particular - them - it's never easy to get it straight in his mind. Until about a month ago, it had been indistinct and buried under everything else. A morass of familiarity and guilt.

'Not that either of us know where we're going.' Charles had said that only days ago, and it was true enough. Erik doesn't know where he's going, and hadn't considered where he was going with this until he said it. He does know where he's been. The two rings are always heavy on his fingers. Magda's voice is always quiet in his ear. He imagines her for a moment, looking out the window as she used to do in the wintertime, watching the snow fall. The guilt may always be there, he thinks.

He remembers when it was the other way around, too.

Breathing in, he curls his fingers on the tablecloth and looks back to Charles.]

I want to.

[And maybe it's a terrible idea. He'll run it backwards and forwards in his mind later, he's certain. But he does the same with memories of Charles. Of a beach cafe, a chess board, an early morning in the mansion as rain thundered outside.]

[axiomed]

[ Wanting anything is the best start. Better than promises, than vows. The future was both certain and uncertain in many ways. Hank's new found resolve to move forward made Charles wonder if he would - or could.

Erik will be the death of him someday, he thinks to himself. It feels irrefutable. Fixed. No matter what they do here, it won't matter. It never seems to. And Charles feels utterly hopeless in his own feelings, just like this place. Unchanging, unyielding in his own belief.

So instead he says. ]

It'll be our new adventure.

[ He congratulates himself on his voice not cracking. ]

[exothermia]

[An adventure. It seems fitting, when all is said and done. Adventures are perilous, fraught with dangers both seen and unseen. Erik thinks he knows a few of them, and there are likely others he has yet to think of. And no one knows how they will end. Only that they start somewhere, in search of something.

Erik blinks a couple of times, his gaze drifting down to the table before he looks back up. He nods, in lieu of any words, some resolution curling his thoughts.

He can only try.]

[axiomed]

[ Charles quickly swipes his eyes with his thumb before smiling. ]