[turkey day, nov 21]

[youfeelluckypunk]

They've graciously been invited to Derek's Thanksgiving celebration on the actual day itself, but Reid had gotten to thinking after Luke had told him of the invitation that it would be nice to throw a small get-together of their own. Halloween at the bookstore had been a success, after all, and in spite of the fact that they'd been sent to a hellish version of Darrow for the next ten days, Reid had really enjoyed planning and decorating for the holiday with his boyfriend. In a way, it also serves as a bit of a housewarming, even if nobody else needs to know that. They've been officially living together for a week now, though the only real difference is that he's handed over his keys to the Dimera apartment back to the landlord.

Still, being able to call this apartment home, knowing that he gets to spend every night with the man he loves, it means something special to him, and he wants to share that sense of home with the rest of the people he cares about.

So he sends out texts to Alec and Magnus, Peter and Jason and Hild, telling them all to save the date for the twenty-first so they can have an early Thanksgiving celebration. Others are welcome, of course, and Reid suspects they'll have more than enough food because he'd made arrangements for one restaurant in particular (one that he visits often and had already been promoting take-out for Thanksgiving Day) to set him up with a turkey dinner early. There are all the expected fixings, though he'd ordered four turkeys because Luke still needs to eat more to make up for all the weight he'd lost in the alternate version of Darrow, plus a couple pumpkin pies and various other desserts strewn out across the table. The wine Peter had given to him on Halloween is out, available for consumption to those who want it, but Reid will be sticking to water tonight.

If anyone asks, he's been slaving away in the kitchen all day long, brewing coffee after coffee as he and Luke make sure everything looks nice and neat for their first Thanksgiving dinner together. The food is set out over the counter in the kitchen, china and utensils and glassware placed at the very end so people can take what they want and find a place to eat in the living room, where they've placed extra chairs, and it isn't until they hear the first knock at the door that Reid finally decides he's satisfied with the way everything looks.

Every single person who will be here tonight has been through so much, seen more than one person ever should, but tonight, Reid is just grateful that they're all still here.

Comments

[paper_courage]

God, he's afraid he's going to look utterly insane if his smile widens at all. Spencer and Luke have the relationship Peter hopes for, some distant day. The way they weave in and out of each other's narratives, how they can't go too long without touching or glancing and smiling. There are ways they compliment each other, like Luke's characteristic quietness and Spencer's long, adorable stories, and also so many ways they are similar: like soulmates. They both claim they can't cook and Peter has never met two gentler people. They make him feel humbled; they make him think they were sent to him for a reason.

This significant breakthrough in faith hasn't quite bubbled to Peter's consciousness yet, but he feels the elation anyway just about the time Luke touches his arm. Before he can even put a thought into it, he's swung his arms around them both in a group hug. It comes from a gratitude so deep that he isn't even embarrassed right away; it's the way he'd hugged Sister Chantelle after her private sermon about what God's love really means and what it most certainly does not, only better because this one lacks the desperation and looming sense of dread.

"Thank you," he says when he's pulled away and the embarrassment catches up with him. He feels safer here, but he does feel bad for getting so real in the face of such innocent, unassuming conversation. "And thank you for being there for Jason, too. Luke, he said you were there when he found it and I think seeing a familiar face helped him deal with the shock." Peter's boyfriend is still recovering from a conflict that tore him apart so irreparably and Jason is trying so hard. He addresses Spencer, now. "I'd appreciate all of the college support possible. For both of us. I'm thinking of starting in Spring, myself."

[youfeelluckypunk]

There are few people who were their hearts on their sleeves as openly as Peter does, and it actually reminds Reid very much of Garcia. Rarely had she ever held back when it came to admitting her feelings, even less so when it came to her impressively inappropriate nicknames for Morgan; but her positivity had always been infectious, not a single team member could argue otherwise, and it warms him to see that same kind of energy in Peter. In spite of all the tragedy he's already seen at such a young age, Peter perseveres, and it isn't such an easy task.

It helps that Jason is here, of course, that they both get a second chance at the relationship that'd been doomed in their world. Reid understands better than most what it's like to have love stolen away, to have it forcibly taken, to feel like his heart is tearing in two because of chances lost and all matters of things left unsaid, undone. Being in Darrow, though, has led him to Luke, and it's not that the pain of having loved and lost is forgotten but it doesn't make the love he feels more his boyfriend any less pure, either.

He squeezes Peter's arm as his friend pulls away, briefly glancing at Luke to share a small smile. "Well, I'm happy to share what I think, though I'll have to familiarize myself with what's available in terms of schooling here." That won't take him much longer than a couple hours, though, so he's not particularly worried. "But I think it's great you're both looking to go. I know this great guy who runs a bookstore, he's a lot more knowledgeable than he probably thinks he is, so I'm going to speak for him when I say you can use us both as resources when it comes to certain subjects. Oh, and I've got doctorates in Mathematics, Chemistry, and Engineering, as well as BAs in Psychology, Sociology, and Philosoph, so if you have questions about going into any of those fields, let me know."

[notaretriever]

"And I have doctorates and BAs in absolutely nothing," Luke answers, looking over at Reid in amusement. He knows he's not entirely without knowledge, but his areas of expertise tend not to be the same as most other people have. Knowing about demons and their languages isn't going to be useful to Peter, nor will he ever need to learn the history of the Shadow World, but even as Luke says it, he realizes he's not being entirely honest. He and Jason have already spoken about it a little and his smile grows as he shrugs and tilts his head slightly.

"Though I suppose I'm not entirely without some helpful knowledge," he admits. "Jason was saying he's interested in literature and while I do have a horrible tendency to like bad detective novels, I also know a fair bit about poetry." Which Reid knows better than most, having been the recipient of a fair number of poems Luke had scribbled on paper and then delivered to him anonymously, terrified of what might happen if Reid knew who they were from.

It's obviously all worked out for the best, but he can't help but grin whenever he mentions poetry now.

[paper_courage]

Peter blinks at Spencer for longer than he's proud of after he lists off his degrees. It's not just that he has so many, but that so many of them are higher education degrees in STEM subjects and that makes Peter even more embarrassed to tell him the truth. He's stunned, even though Spencer's intellect can be seen from space. On paper, he's even more impressive than he is in person.

"I was thinking about maybe going for Theatre," he admits, dipping his head in a sort of shame that can only be learned from the disdain of others. "I know some people may not get it, but I think it's what I want." He hasn't even said it aloud yet, hasn't even yet mentioned it to Jason, so it feels like a lie, despite its veracity. "I think my dad wanted me to go into civil engineering and my mom's always said I should just study Business or Math because I'm good at it but." He shrugs -- pretty sure he looks as much like a kid as he feels.

"I haven't really decided though," he adds quickly, just in case his makeshift caregivers feel the way about the arts that many do. Then he's reminded that Luke owns a bookstore and he relaxes again.

"Oh, Jason loves poetry." He's smiling again, wondering if these shifting tides may indicate a need for mood stabilizing medication. "He really likes Romantic Era literature. Anything that usually puts other people to sleep." Not Peter, though, but then again Peter and Jason are united on so many fronts.

"Is there anything you don't know?" Peter asks Spencer finally with a touch of good-natured sarcasm. "Every time I think I couldn't be more intimidated by you..." He laughs, though, because what he means has more to do with respect than intimidation.

[youfeelluckypunk]

"By me?"

In spite of the fact that he knows it isn't meant poorly, his expression is still incredulous as he look between Peter and Luke. It's not the first time someone's been taken aback by the way his mind works, by how much he knows and how quickly he can recall it, but he always feels a little uncomfortable when it's somebody close to him. The last thing he wants is to alienate his friends, especially in Darrow, where people always seem more willing to give him a chance than to simply write him off as someone who's too smart for his own good.

Luke says he likes it when Reid goes off on his tangents, when he rambles on and on about things that are just barely related to the subject at hand, and that, he can wholly believe because he knows his boyfriend loves him, knows Luke isn't going anywhere. It's a little different with those who aren't obligated to tolerate him, which is maybe a bit of a bleak way of looking at things, but it's something he'd adapted to in his own world. He's managed to take a good few steps away from that way of thinking here but every so often, the old feeling creeps on him, and he worries he'll drive more people away.

But Peter laughs, and it's enough to make Reid's discomfort fade, his shoulders relaxing as he bows his head to hide his flushed cheeks.

"Anyway, I think Theatre is a wonderful choice," he says. "If you're looking for something I'm not an expert in, that's it. I've only ever known how to be myself, I admire people who can so easily step into another persona entirely and turn it into a career. That's not a skill many people truly possess. Besides, that would mean we could come see you in your shows, I'd tell everyone we know."