[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

[youfeelluckypunk]

Reid cringes, though it's more playful than anything else, and he can't hide his amused grin for too long. "I have a doctorate in Mathematics," he admits, "and a couple other things, though I never did get one for history or math." Admittedly, he's still always excelled in both subjects, but he hadn't pursued any sort of degree for them because he'd yearned for more of a challenge. Reading comes easily for him, of course, and committing things to memory is hardly a problem considering his eidetic memory; but he'd wanted to learn something that required him to apply his knowledge in a practical way and so, he'd gone a few different directions.

Still, it's not as if Jason's interests are lesser in some way, and Reid thinks it's at least better to be able to rule out things with certainty rather than waffle for too long.

"We were talking to Peter a bit earlier about school, as well, are you planning to start together? He mentioned starting in the Spring."

[no_voice]

"Mathematics?" Jason arches an eyebrow at him. His father would love for Jason to major in a subject like that. Mathematics. Economics. Business. Law. Medicine. Anything that proved useful towards setting up the continued tradition of McConnells throwing their money at everything in their path to cover their own, internal miseries. The thought of it had killed Jason. Now he's alive, and in Darrow, and he has a world of choices available to him now. "That's one of the possibilities my dad had wanted for me."

He goes a bit quiet, mentioning his father. Even discussing him with Peter causes Jason headaches and tension in his neck and shoulders.

He brightens again at the mention of Peter, though.

"Oh, yes," he nods, grinning wide. "We were talking about maybe taking a class together or something."

[youfeelluckypunk]

Tilting his head, Reid studies Jason for a moment, noting the slight hint of distaste in the young man's tone when he mentions his father. It's all too familiar to Reid, of course, his own father having been absent from his life for so long that he doesn't even know what William could truly have wanted for him.

"My dad left when I was a kid," he says, offering a wry smile as he glances back down at his plate to pick at the pie with his fork. "I didn't see him again for... oh, nearly twenty years. I had my doctorates, had my degrees, and I always said that was my best form of revenge on him but when he saw me, all he could do was ask why I chose to join the FBI. He said I could be making money, work in the private sector, and I just-- even though I already knew, that only secured how impossible it would be to ever have a relationship with him again. He didn't know me at all, he never did."

Shrugging a shoulder, he sets his fork down, suddenly not very keen on eating anymore pie at all. It isn't unusual, he feels sick talking about his father often enough, and it won't be long before the bitterness on the tip of his tongue goes away; but that's hardly Jason's fault, so he tries to make his smile a little more genuine.

"Neither of our dads knew us, it seems. But we're allowed to choose our own paths. I'm glad you're getting the chance to do that here, without your dad hovering over your shoulder."

[no_voice]

"I'm sorry," Jason replies, nearly automatically. Terribly, a part of him wonders what his own life would have been like if his father had left their family. Probably no better off than it was back home; his mother, most likely, would have found new vices to drown herself in. And then Jason cringes, feeling guilty for the selfish urge when Reid was confiding him. "That must have been awful."

He knows, too well, what it's like to have a father that doesn't know or understands his own children, though.

"I lived with my dad and he still didn't know me. Doesn't know me," he corrects, realizing that, back home, he is still dead and buried while his father lives. It's an odd thought; he shovels a piece of delicious pie into his mouth in an attempt to rid himself of it.

"Me too," he adds quietly, thoughtfully, after he chews and swallows. "And I'm so glad I have Peter here with me, too."