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

[likeahero]

Though Oliver's met Allison and he knows Porthos will be there, it still takes Felicity talking him into it to attend the building party. He has no reasons to pretend to enjoy parties or be seen at them in Darrow, but he supposes Felicity has a point in needing to be at least somewhat social from time to time.

While her own outfit is eye catching, Oliver settles for dark pants and a deep green sweater, his only concession to the holiday.

The apartment is pretty crowded, but Oliver manages to find the drinks and grabs something for the both of them as she finds space for her food. When he catches up with Felicity again, Oliver holds out a cup of eggnog. "There are way too many people here."

[one_more_question]

"Thanks," Felicity says, taking the eggnog Oliver offers and sipping it. She's not a huge eggnog drinker, but it's tasty, so she takes another sip.

"It is a little crowded," she concedes, glancing around them. "But our apartments aren't exactly as spacious as the Queen mansion. It was nice of Allison to host this for everyone." Briefly, she wonders how Oliver would react if she were to suggest they host a party of their own.

[likeahero]

Their apartments are about the same size as Oliver's bedroom suites in the mansion, and he misses it briefly. While he's been used to small, spare living for years now, the mansion has and always will be home. A home that is no longer his, sure, but the memories are still there.

"It is," he has to agree. Allison seems to be the energizer bunny, bouncing happily from guest to guest. When he spots Porthos and Aramis across the room, he gently nudges Felicity to turn in that direction. "Over there. Two out of the three musketeers."

[one_more_question]

Felicity turns to look, sporting a barely restrained grin of excitement. "I'm never going to get over how there are fictional people here, but they're real," she says, keeping her voice low in case any of said fictional people are within earshot. "I keep half expecting to run into - I don't know, Gandalf on the subway, or Harry Potter at the grocery store."

She studies the two musketeers, trying to guess which they are. "Okay, so which two are they? Porthos and Aramis? Neither of them look tortured enough to be Athos."

[likeahero]

"Porthos and Aramis," Oliver confirms with a nod, smiling at Felicity's delight. He still isn't used to the strange variety in people that populate the city, but he understands her excitement over it.

He'd met Robin Hood, after all.

"Porthos is a..." How to describe a relationship that consisted of beating each other up and sometimes having a meal afterwards? "Friend. And neighbor."

[one_more_question]

"Oooh, a neighbor? I should introduce myself," Felicity says, looking from one man to the other as if she can judge by looks alone which is which. They're both really handsome, but in different ways. "On second thought, maybe you should introduce me. I think there's a lower chance of me making a fool of myself that way. Or at least you can cut me off if I start to babble...like I'm doing right now."