apocalypsehowcomm | (log) It's Thanksgiving Time!

Who: Ren and You
When: Thanksgiving Day
Where: ADI's cafeteria
Summary: A little thanksgiving party for everyone.
Warnings: Alcohol, but other than that, none!

(It's finally the day! Ren's spent the day in the canteen, from the early hours of the morning with the help of Kate, until just close enough to the arranged time.

Several tables in the cafeteria are taken by the food, but there's still plenty of room to sit and spend time with your fellow ADI employees. After the previous month everyone has had, it feels much needed. Available is the following menu:

Deep-fried Turkey + Stuffing;
Ranch-Seasoned Roast Turkey + Stuffing;
Mashed Potatoes + Gravy;
Green Bean Casserole;
Cranberry Sauce;
Pasta alla Norma;
Sicilian Rice Balls;
S'mores Cupcakes
Pumpkin Pie;
Apple Pie;
Sweet Baked Potato;
Pecan Pie;
Roasted Vegetables;
Stuffed Mushrooms;
Squash Soup;
Garlicky Green Beans with Crispy Onions;
A selection of alcohol;

Ren's tried his best to recreate what the Internet and other folks have told him, and without him tasting the original flavors, some of the dishes might have an unexpected twist of spice. Kate has also helped with putting things together, and at the previously arranged time, Ren opens the doors with a smile from ear-to-ear.

Once everyone's settled, he'll ask for a moment to, gasp, speak:)

I'd like to thank everyone for coming today. I know it's been tough, but I'm still thankful we can spend good moments like these together. I hope you enjoy the food.

(And just like so, he'll bow, and hand plates to those ready to eat. Time to dig in!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

“I… my father stabbed him, too. Maybe I’m just a reminder of horrible death to him now. I thought… if I saw him at the party… I could gauge where he’s at without making it awkward,” he admits.

"I very much doubt that's how he feels about you. Awkward, sure. But...I think Neal's not going to hold your father's actions against you."

Meredith reaches out to pat Malcolm's cheek lightly. "Don't get in your head about it, I'm already in my head and someone has to be out of their head in this family."

Malcolm laughs lightly.

“Damn, I wish I knew that before I got all up in my head,” he teases.

"We really ought to make a google calendar to plan whose turn it is. We can even share it with Tim so he knows who's on duty."

There may actually end up being a google calendar in the next few weeks.

“Did… did you notice that Tim was avoiding us after… all that?” he asks.

He couldn’t get Tim to talk about it. He said he had been ‘busy’ and left it at that.

"I mean, haven't we all been isolating a little? Tim will be okay, I'm sure." But she isn't really-really all that sure.

“…Did he make you take a marksmanship test?” Malcolm asks curiously.

"No." There's a tiny pause. "He did, uh..."

She lifts her cane, twisting the handle and pulling to show about an inch of blade. "Give me a new cane."

“Wow, that’s… very Victorian Gentleman. Is it period?” he asks, leaning in to examine it before realizing that’s presumptuous and a bit rude and sits up again. “He’s a bit concerned about us, huh?”

She offers the cane to Malcolm for a closer look. "Look, after last month, everyone's coping in their own ways. He's trying to keep us safe--it's his way of feeling like he's doing something, and saying that he loves us."

"It's not an antique, so don't feel bad if you have to swing it at someone," Malcolm tells her, handing it back.

He takes a breath and nods.

"I know. I just wish he would talk to us. He keeps everything bottled up."

"Would you have talked to people like us, at that age?" She shrugs. "Maybe he talks to Jeff about what he's feeling. Closer in age, right?"

“I only hung out with people our age or older when I was that age,” Malcolm tells her. But he was weird and unpopular. “But point taken.” A hint of a knowing smile at Meredith’s suggestion. “Closer in a lot of things,” he remarks. “Tim borrowed one of my jackets to wear on a date with him.”

"I've decided not to tell Tim anything about how Jeff is in bed beforehand. It's kinda weird, you know. Back in college, I'd never pursue someone one of my roommates had a one night stand with, without talking to them about it."

She tuts and shakes her head.

Malcolm breathes out a laugh.

“I told him to talk to you, but… I didn’t hold out hope. He wasn’t even going to tell me he was borrowing my jacket if I hadn’t caught him in my room.”

"Sneaky bastard." But her tone over those words is fond. He's their sneaky bastard.

“I honestly hope things work out with Jeff; he’s crushing hard and I’d like one thing in his life not to turn into a disappointment,” Malcolm admits.

"The one thing I'll say about Jeff is that he won't deliberately hurt Tim. He's not that sort of person. Careless, thoughtless and dim as a nightlight, maybe. But not mean."

"I tried to talk to Tim about how he could get hurt if they want different things and what Tim wants. He suggested he was just looking for a physical relationship, which I don't believe for a second. He's a virgin and he's super emotionally invested," Malcolm notes. "He's just... pretending not to be. Invested." Not the other thing.

Meredith tuts quietly. "Well. That's...okay, I'll stock the freezer with comfort ice cream in case things go sour."

“I hope it doesn’t come to that, but good idea,” Malcolm tells her. “I just. Wish. …” He shakes his head. “You’d think I’d be better with him. We have a lot of the same problems.”

"That means you're more likely to project your lived experience onto him, rather than seeing him for where he truly is." She waggles a finger at him. "Besides, you're dense sometimes."

"I suppose."

About the denseness. He tries not to project.

She lets out a sigh, grabbing her wineglass.

“If we weren’t living together, I’d have made a pass at you a long time ago. For the record.”

His eyebrows go up and he looks at her in surprise.

"Really? Why?" he asks like he can't fathom.

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henchgal - 2021-11-26 01:02 (UTC) - Expand

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