youfeelluckypunk | [turkey day, nov 21]

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.

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Noah looked sheepishly at Hild, and leaned in to greet her with a kiss on the cheek. It was something he liked to do now, after that other Darrow, after Dorian and Adam helped him. It was a reminder that he cared, just in case.

"Sorry," he said quietly, covering her hand with his warm one. "I didn't mean to startle you at your party, Princess. I can come back later."

He was glad to see her with people, as she, like Krem and some of the others, seemed to be having a hard time integrating themselves back into life as it had been before the other Darrow. Noah was doing his best not to let himself sink too deeply into it.

She returned the kiss automatically, lips pressing quickly against Noah's cheek. It was not a custom she was familiar with from home, but she found that she liked it, especially in these days.

Hild shook her head with the smallest smile tucked into the corner of her mouth. He had startled her, yes, but there was no harm done. It was her problem, her own broken thing to fix. Noah had his own, too.

With her free hand, she found his. Linking their fingers, she gently tugged, inclining her head toward the party, the open seats, the food. He would be welcome to stay.

Noah smiled at the kiss and at their joined hands. It was weird, but since he came back it was like he couldn't get close enough to people. He found himself at times having to physically stop himself from compulsively popping all over the city to check on his friends. So he let Hild lead him, though this looked like an intimate party and he didn't want to intrude.

"Are you sure?" he whispered. "Is it someone's birthday?"

Hild hadn't been talking, so he tried to keep his questions ones that could be answered with a yes or no.

With a mild frown, Hild shook her head. It was, she realized, an early celebration and small in number. She had not yet attended any birthday parties in Darrow, so she could not know what similarities this held to those. But she pointed to the remaining turkey, not yet picked bare, the cranberries, the stuffing, foods she had not seen prepared on a daily basis in Darrow and that she assumed were partial to the holiday.

She rubbed her belly too, with a rueful grin. There had been even more food before the party began.

Noah looked around at the spread, and realized right away. "Oh," he said with a happy smile, "early Thanksgiving?" He didn't think it was actually the day of, yet. He'd been keeping track of the passage of time on his kitten calendar.

He giggled when she rubbed her stomach, and he playfully poked at it. "So you totally pigged out? So unprincess-like," he teased, and softly tickled her side.

She nodded at his guess. It seemed a little strange to celebrate a holiday before the day, when it wasn't part of the festivities to drag the celebration out several days. But Hild could not deny the appeal of a feast, of a gathering of her friends in one place, after all that had happened. Maybe this was not the traditional way of Thanksgivings but she did not care.

Hild pouted, playfully, and pulled away from Noah's poke and tickle, but still kept a hold of his hand. She shook her head that no, it was very princess-like in her day, but wasn't sure how to say as much.

"It's okay, I won't tell anyone," Noah whispered, still teasing. They both knew there was no one here who would care about princess-like behavior.

He liked that she kept hold of his hand, and he didn't let go, either. He still had an instinctive worry that he was too cold for someone to touch him more than a little while, he was still getting used to the fact that his skin could be warm, now.

"So it's really okay if I stay? I didn't know you were friends with Peter and Jason," he said, glancing around.

It was a small joke, but it made her feel warm inside, to have silly, childish secrets and to share them. She loved Noah for that, for his near constant sweetness. There was strength in it.

She rolled her eyes and tugged him closer to the table of food, insisting that he stay. She frowned at the mention of Jason and Peter, though she could figure out very easily who they were, and shook her head, pointing instead at Luke and Spencer. Them she knew, and they knew Peter and Jason.

Noah followed her look and nodded. "Oh, okay. I don't know the one guy, but I did meet the other one once. Luke, right?" He'd wondered what happened to that guy and his magic sword. "I met that one, too," he whispered, pointing out Alec. "He was trying to attack me. I think he'd probably just gotten here."

He thought he ought to ask Luke and the other guy if he could stay, but Hild seemed insistent that it was fine, so he made himself up a plate of food. It all looked and smelled so good. "Can I sit with you?"

[turkey day, nov 21]

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