meet the (grand)parents...

[theresalwayshope]

Allison felt a little like she was going insane.

She started out just planning to invite Aramis and Porthos over to meet Jason. Dinner and drinks, nothing big. Then she realized she didn't just feel obligated to invite Athos, she wanted to. So, if she did that, she obviously had to invite D'artagnan, and she really wanted to meet Constance...and she'd promised Grey a chance to help her bake a cake, so if she did something more than dinner, she could let him come over at some point...

The small family dinner became a small dinner party, and with a few more additions morphed into an impromptu potluck for the whole building...or anyone that wanted to show up. She told the family about it privately, asking Porthos and Aramis to make sure the others at least stopped by (with a subtle warning that Jason would be there), told everyone else she knew in the city, and for the rest of the building she posted a couple of handmade fliers: one in the elevator, and another in the laundry room announcing that, with either a main course or appetizer offering, an invitation to the holiday celebration taking place in apartment #39...dressy casual to formalwear welcome, bring your favorite Christmas CD as a bonus.

And, of course, she told Jason...and told him her family would be there.

By the night of the party, Allison was ready...she just felt a little like she was going insane.

She kept her outfit cute, but simple, and took care of dessert by baking some cupcakes, gingerbread cookies, and a two layer chocolate cake which she invited Grey over to help her bake. With a little careful scheduling, she also managed to contribute to the food on hand with her second ever attempt at beef bourguignon: rich, hearty, and sort of impressive under the right circumstances. By party time, she had her front door standing open, some Trans Siberian Orchestra carols playing on her stereo, and while she didn't yet have a tree, she'd gotten some cute plastic holly garland to hang around the apartment, and for fun had ringed her whole living room ceiling in multicolor Christmas lights for good measure.

The party was good to go. The place smelled good, the food came out okay with more to come...the evening was good to go.

And when Jason showed up, her family would show up...and they'd all meet each other...

While she waited for her guests, loved ones, and boyfriend to start arriving, Allison puttered around in her kitchen, swore to herself she was not hiding, and tried to pretend that she wasn't having visions of someone either drawing a sword or a knife by the end of the evening.

Tonight had to be perfect.

(HOLIDAY GATHERING POST! Treat it thusly. :P Front door's open, come and go as you please, anyone in the Bramford Building is welcome, and if you know Allison even remotely she told you about the party. Gather at will, and leave a call for Allison in your subject line if you want to play with her directly! Open eternally, will probably be linked near the end of the month. :D)

Comments

[silenttrainbaby]

Yes - Grey nods - how is she? The corners of his eyes crinkle a little at the confusion.

[priordivergence]

"All right," I say, gesturing to my healed hand. The scar across my right palm will be with me for the rest of my life, but I don't mind it, so long as my hands work the way they should.

"What about you?"

[silenttrainbaby]

She gets a nod, then. Grey's good. He's as content as he knows how to be. He's not skilled enough to know how to make Tris smile and doesn't feel that compulsion, but he does pump his fists in a pantomime of running. They can train soon? Together?

[priordivergence]

"Yeah, I'm cleared to do the job I actually like," I say, smiling a little. About time too. I'd felt like I was losing my min at the desk.

[silenttrainbaby]

Good then. Because Grey wants to hunt vampires. He will talk to Aramis about it and make that happen. That will be good.

He bumps Tris's shoulder again with a small smile.

[priordivergence]

I shake my head, laughing a little. "You should have heard the lecture that Sassy and Shevaun gave me when I came in all taped up." It had been long, fierce, and impressive, especially after I'd tried to fly under their radar and train on injured hands.

[silenttrainbaby]

Grey would have been lectured, too, by Gilliam, though the tone would be gentle, accompanied by touchs.

Now, Tris is better, so they will train.

He reaches for some of Tris's bread.

[priordivergence]

"It's not much..." I admit, wondering fleetingly if anyone not from Abnegation even likes such food. "But my mother taught me how to make it."

[silenttrainbaby]

Watching her face, he takes a bite.

He loves bread. He is pretty much Tris's idea taste-tester. And after a moment of chewing he nods, eyes bright. It's good.

[priordivergence]

I smile back, even as I try and tamp down the worry so that it doesn't show on my face. Hiding my emotions, at least, is a skill I've always had.

"Glad you like it."

[silenttrainbaby]

Why is she worried, though? It's good.

Grey reaches down, scooping up something he doesn't quite know, he smears it on his bread and takes another bite. That finishes that slice and he goes for another.

[priordivergence]

I do similar, smearing it onto a slice as well. "Butter...with herbs," I conclude.

[silenttrainbaby]

It's very good. Grey already knows he likes buttered bread.

So, it's a hit with him.

[priordivergence]

I laugh and move down the line, finally filling a plate and going over to an empty spot of wall so that I can balance the plate on my knees.

"It's kind of like being Dauntless again."

[silenttrainbaby]

Following, Grey carries just a piece of bread. He sits too, and asks with his expression, how? How is this similar?

[priordivergence]

"The cafeteria for everyone was like this, food everywhere, shared," I explain. Earned, by being brave and jostling around and laughing.

[silenttrainbaby]

That sounds nice. The lines to get the protein blocks was far from a cheerful process on the train.

This room seems cheerful, though. Happy.

[priordivergence]

This is a lot more relaxed than Dauntless too. Easier.

"Allison's a really good friend..." Better than many I've had.

[silenttrainbaby]

She is, yes. Grey agrees with that. But the majority of people Grey has met here are remarkable in one way or another, and very kind. Like Tris. She gets another nudge of his shoulder against hers.

[priordivergence]

I'm starting to wonder if he can read the self-deprecation on my face and I nudge back. "What?"

[silenttrainbaby]

He pokes her arm. She's a good friend too. She is. So there.

[priordivergence]

"I'm okay," I say, shrugging it off. "I try to be better."

[silenttrainbaby]

How? Grey's brows knit in question. What does she do? Grey can learn, perhaps, too.

[priordivergence]

I shrug again and look at him. "I don't normally go to these things...but it helps me. Allison helps."

[silenttrainbaby]

That makes sense. Grey spends time with people now by choice. Because he can and because the ties that are beginning to bind him to other people.

He finds he doesn't mind it.