theresalwayshope | meet the (grand)parents...

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)

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Perhaps he shouldn’t be surprised when Allison seeks him out, but Athos is still amazed at the girl’s perseverance in befriending him when he has given no indication that that is his wish, much like - well, much like Aramis and Porthos in the early days of their acquaintance. He accepts the brandy first (no reason to start contradicting expectations now), and after taking a sip, sets the glass aside and exchanges it for the bowl of stew. “So you have moved beyond muffins, I see.” It is, technically, the first time he has acknowledged the veritable avalanche of tiny cakes that appear on his doorstep with impressive regularity.

"Tried to, at any rate." she replied, trying and failing not to beam with pride...not merely in her own cooking, but in the fact that Athos was acknowledging the muffins for the first time. She took it as encouragement, leaning her hip against the side table next to where she stood as she removed her Santa hat so she could straighten her hair.

"There are a lot of pastry chefs in my family, but when I spent a summer in France at the family estate, I wanted to broaden my horizons a little." She glanced up, still smiling as she watched him eat. "As for the muffins, I take requests...any favorite berries or flavors you'd like to see?"

Because, obviously, Allison wasn't going to stop feeding him even if he'd outed her as his personal Baked Goods Fairy.

“Cooks and hunters of mythical beasts,” Athos murmurs with a faint shake of his head. The stew is good: hearty, rich, and uncomplicated by the exotic flavors that seem to dust all food in the modern world, the sort of fare appropriate to a chilly winter day. He doesn’t immediately answer her question; in fact, the silence stretches long enough that a person would be forgiven for assuming that he had decided not to answer.

“The chocolate ones are particularly good,” he concedes finally.

That concession feels like a huge victory, but the only display she allows herself is letting her smile grow impossibly wider.

Because Athos likes her chocolate muffins. Today, muffins...tomorrow, the rest of her. It could be the world's greatest Christmas miracle, you never know.

"I'll make you some of Porthos's favorite this weekend: chocolate salted caramel." she offered, switching back to English. "Then maybe I'll test a recipe I found for dark chocolate orange muffins...you can be my guinea pig. If you like them, they're a hit. If not, I'll find a way to fix it."

She hesitated for a moment, then continued.

"And about the mythical beasts...if Aramis and Porthos are recruiting you to go running around with them? We should probably sit down and have a lesson in hunting do's and don't sometime. Porthos is resourceful, and Aramis is where I get my good aim, but I hear you're the master swordsman of the group. You can adapt that to hunting the supernatural...coat the blade in wolfsbane or holy water or whatever the poison du jour is."

She nibbled on her lower lip for a moment, then took a deep breath as she looked at him hopefully.

"And I would consider it both an honor and a personal favor if you could...teach me a few things."

“From what I’ve seen, removing their heads tends to do the trick.” But even Athos can concede that she has a point. He does not have to warm to the girl to realize that she has information that could be vital to flushing these vermin from Darrow’s streets - possibly even to keeping themselves alive. Athos nods faintly. Then, surprised at the very hint of her request, he looks at her with a brow lifted expectantly.

He was going to make her work for it...jerk. The thought came with more amusement than real annoyance, so she smile and rolled her eyes.

"You're a master swordsman, the deadliest hand to ever hold a blade." she pressed, switching to French. It was kind of nice to be able to go back and forth with her uncles that way...even the ones who didn't want to be her uncle...some things didn't translate as well into English, and some things just came with a little more eloquence in French.

"My skill with a sword is pretty rudimentary, and perfect aim is no substitute for technical skill and good form. Perfection is what separates me from any normal human: I don't miss, and I get to live another day. One day, should I need to wield a sword instead of my bow, or even a gun...I need to be as good as you are, if not better."

Even after an explanation, the request comes as a surprise to Athos. While well aware that Allison is doing whatever she can to get into his good graces - including some rather blatant flattery - her interest seems genuine, and her obvious eagerness to learn makes her a tempting student.

“So you would like me to teach you the sword.” He does his best to appear unaffected by her praise of his skill. Letting the silence stretch, he finally adds, “Then you might want to disabuse yourself of the notion that perfection is possible. There is always more to learn, and always room for improvement. Arrogance will only stand in our way."

"It's only arrogance if you're satisfied with perfection." Allison pointed out, switching back to English so she could speak her mind with less effort put into correct translation. "You're right, there's always more to learn...which is why a great soldier will always seek out the next challenge once they've perfected what they know. The moment you rest on your laurels, you're dead."

She paused, lowering her gaze for a moment as she toyed with pushing back a cuticle on one nail. "I admit: my skills are a point of pride, but only in so far as it lets me protect what I care about most."

Reflexively, her gaze flicked to the side, finding Aramis across the room, and Porthos not far away from him.

"At least when they'll let me." she huffed testily under her breath, thinking of Porthos and his broken foot.

Refusing to be dragged into whatever disagreement between Allison and his friends that the girl hints at, Athos only sighs and shakes his head, turning his mind to the thought of taking her on as a pupil. She speaks with all the raw brashness of the young and overly confident. He has seen her at work, and knows she has grace and natural skill, but talent and an abundance of pride can mean death for a young soldier too pleased with himself. And though Athos cannot think of her as a solider, she certainly throws herself into a fight like one.

Porthos and Aramis would be devastated if something happened to her. If he is going to keep this foolish secret of hers, it is only right that he ensure that she is truly prepared for whatever she is to face out there.

“Meet me Sunday morning in Petros Park, at the amphitheater. Seven o’clock. If you are late, you can find someone else to teach you the sword."

Allison's head spun back around sharply, eyes wide and mouth dropping open as she smiled, surprised and unguarded with her delight and sudden swell of hope for a long moment.

He'd just agreed to teach her...he had just agreed to teach her, right?...

Coming back to her senses, she shook herself a little and schooled her features into calm, polite lines...which didn't last as her mouth tugged up at the corners, the smile pulling hard to be set free.

"I will be there at six." she replied gamely, nodding in agreement. "Make sure I've warmed up first...thank you, Athos. Seriously, thank you so much!"

meet the (grand)parents...

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