[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

[notaretriever]

Luke has had holiday get togethers before, but nothing like this. He's never been a host before and he's never had anyone like Reid along for the ride, which makes the entire thing just a little bit better, and even with their other guests having arrived, he keeps stealing glances across the room to where Reid is. It's nice that they haven't had to cook and he appreciates that Reid has gone out of his way to get enough food to satisfy any hunger Luke might have. Ever since getting back to Darrow, ever since they've come back home, Reid has been especially caring, has gone out of his way to make sure Luke has enough food, that he's getting enough rest, that he's gaining back the weight he's lost. It's the sort of care and sweetness Luke's truly never known and it makes him feel warm all the way through every single time he thinks about it. They've had an incredibly rough few weeks and so have so many of their friends, but they're coming back from it. They're all slowly coming back from it.

And now, with food in his belly, his coffee warm between his hands, he's especially happy. The people around them seem like they're enjoying themselves and while he's never been a host before, he likes to think they've managed to pull together a rather successful dinner. Of course, they didn't do most of the hard work, but no one really needs to know that except the two of them.

There's pie and other desserts, which Luke is looking at currently, but he's going to need a few more minutes of digesting before he manages to get up. It's especially good at a time like this to have a werewolf's metabolism and he takes a sip of his coffee, looking around the room for Reid once more, just to see what he's doing.

[deflectere]

Shadowhunters didn't tend to celebrate many holidays. Their celebrations tended to be reserved for Christmas, weddings, births and battles won. Alec knew about Thanksgiving and he'd lived in New York long enough to have chased a demon through the city's big parade but the Lightwoods had never been the type to sit around the table with a bunch of food on the table, talking and enjoying togetherness.

Alec assumed that any attempts at that would have made for a quiet dinner. Isabelle would try but Alec wouldn't want to talk and Alec couldn't imagine his parents trying to engage them past some very superficial small talk.

Maybe this thing wouldn't be quite so cold and distant. Maybe there'd actually be talking. Alec wasn't sure how much of that talking he would do but he was still there. Dressed in a battered, fraying sweater and jeans, he was standing awkwardly at the door, hands tucked in his pockets and shoulders hunched against the chill of the day.

[paper_courage]

There are precious few ways Peter could imagine that things could have converged to make him this happy. Peter's been cooking, that always makes him happy, and he even did it in his own apartment, thanks to the bareness of Jason's kitchen appliances. Jason had helped, that made it even better, and he hadn't even balked when Peter made him listen to two entire Lady Gaga albums in an afternoon. There is music in his heart -- music from the future that sings of progress and power -- there's love in his life, he's wearing a brand new sweater and they're about to eat what promises to be an amazing meal with a family they've built themselves out of role models and like-minded people.

Looking sharp and surer every day that he's been given a second chance in Heaven, Peter arrives with Jason and a covered casserole dish. They're about to go to a dinner party at what essentially amounts to their adoptive same-sex guardians' early Thanksgiving get-together. If ever there was a gay American dream, Peter's pretty sure he's living it. So maybe he's in American Gay Heaven.

Wherever he is, he's too happy to be there to ask questions.

[iwasmore]

There's this thing Noah can do - since he exists anywhere at all times because time is a circle - where he can find a person just by feeling for them, rather than checking places they might be. It's how he found and saved Ronan over a year ago, lying in a pool of his own blood. It's how he finds Hild tonight.

It's why he ends up in the middle of an unfamiliar living room.

"Princess Hild-- um." He looks around. There are a lot of people, and this is not a place he's ever been before. At least most of the faces are familiar so this isn't too mortifying. Even if one of them is a guy who tried to attack him. "Sorry!"


[ooc note i always have to write with this pup, augh: at this point noah has been turned more human, so for whoever knows him, he looks very real/more solid, he's wearing regular clothes (not his aglionby uniform). hild is probably the only one who knows, though, because it's only been a few days and he's been holed up.]

[no_voice]

Jason arrives with Peter, his stomach a tangle of mixed emotions. He's thrilled to be attending a holiday dinner hosted by Spencer and Luke; he's even more thrilled to be attending it with his boyfriend. Still, even with the sea of faces that Jason mostly knows by now, he can't help but feel just a bit apprehensive. He finds himself holding onto Peter for as long as he can, before Peter goes to set the dish down and catch up with one of the guests he knows.

Jason puts on a McConnell smile before making his way around the room, savoring the variety of smells hanging heavy and delicious in the air; he tries to find comfort from them as his main source of comfort smiles and dazzles the room with his cherub-smile and sparkling eyes.

Jason finds his way to the drinks and grabs a cider for himself, hoping his nerves don't show too obviously.

[brightest_lights]

Rushing is one of the things that Caroline hates, but she also likes to have everything put together neatly so that things are handled. Normally, she's good with handling herself, but she wasn't just coming to Thanksgiving by herself. No, she brought Neal with her; Luke had extended the invitation, and the last thing Caroline wanted was for Neal to be along on Thanksgiving.

It's still a little... odd, between the two of them. It's getting better, but definitely there's some things for them to work through. Still, she shows up on Luke's doorstep right on time, a casserole dish of green bean casserole in her hands. After setting it down, she makes the rounds, snagging of wine, and she's honestly thankful for such a large group of people. It feels... homey, almost. Safe. She can't stop the tiny smile on her face, and because of the warmth of the people here, she doesn't even try.