Overland Park, KS, Christmas Day 2011, Sunday FT

[vanillajello]

It was Christmas Day, fucking finally. It even felt like it: there had been some pretty impressive snowfall earlier in the week, so it was a seriously white Christmas, and Kate had really done her best to get the house looking Christmassy (and less creepily than when Grandma Sandy had been around some months before). The living room looked postcard perfect, with the tree in the corner and other decorations all around.

There'd been some Skypeing with Boston, earlier, and even the parentals had been pretty impressed with how things looked, when Kate had insisted on carrying her laptop around for a webcam tour. They were alone again now, though. Moosh was in the kitchen, putting finishing touches on what he had deemed gift-giving snacks, while Kate, in her adorable/ridiculous bear dress, was sitting cross-legged on the living room floor, a camera in her hands. Because a lot of these things just called for being immortalized as pixels.

She looked pretty happy. And sort of bouncy, even though she was sitting down.

"Sorry if I'm all hyper or whatever. I kinda always eat too much sugar over the holidays."

[ooc: NFB. For thems that are here!]

Comments

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"You sure it's not a combination of the sugar and whatever strange powers the bear dress gives you?" Luke asked. Seemed like a legitimate concern to him.

[therewaslife]

"What sort of powers do you suppose bear dresses could provide?" Bod wondered, glancing at the dress. "Intense ability to growl?"

[vanillajello]

"Intense ability to be fierce," Kate quipped, glancing down at said dress. "Naturally. Having nothing to do with sugar."

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, well, I'm still keeping an eye out for bear-like activities," he joked. "Like eating ridiculous amounts of honey."

[therewaslife]

"Don't give her any ideas," Bod said, shaking his head. "She'll get herself sick and be miserable tomorrow and I don't think either of us want that."

[vanillajello]

"Hey!" Kate protested with a laugh. "Come on, I wouldn't do that, why would you suggest I would?"

Oh, probably because she really was the type to think that was a good idea.

"'Sides, I don't know if we even have any honey. I think moosh might've used it all in his fancy cooking."

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"Honey well used then," Luke said. "It's been a while since I've had fancy cooking."

[therewaslife]

"Do you think he needs any help in there?" Bod asked, glancing towards the kitchen. "I hate to make him do everything."

[vanillajello]

"Please, he practically forbade me from coming into the kitchen, yesterday," Kate reminded him with a wave of her hand. "Plus, I think he basically prepped everything last night, he's just putting it all together." Beat. "Hopefully fast. Not to sound impatient but I kinda want to give my presents."

Give, not get, notice. She was maturing!

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"Oh is there like an official order to these things?" Like he knew how it worked.

[therewaslife]

"I haven't had many Christmases myself," Bod admitted, glancing at Kate. "Are we going to sing carols later, too? I've seen that on television."

[vanillajello]

Kate laughed. "God, you two are such amateurs."

Though that was probably what she got for befriending odd orphans and people who ran away from home as kids.

"I doubt there are gonna be carols unless someone seriously spikes the eggnog. As for an order, yeah, kinda. But mostly I just want us all to be settled down for gift-giving."

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"Ah, got it," Luke said with a nod. "Luckily gift giving overrides my natural proclivity to wander away."

[therewaslife]

"So, until then, what should we do?" Bod asked, glancing around. "Are you going to tell Christmas stories, Kate?"

They had ghost stories on Halloween, didn't they? Come on.

[vanillajello]

"Bod, I love you, but you are so clueless sometimes," Kate replied. Lovingly. Then she turned to look towards the way to the kitchen, raising her voice, "Hey Mooshie, you gonna come out here soon or do I have to start telling these guys about Rudolph?"

"Just a minute," came her brother's voice.

"So, no Christmas stories," she decided. "Also, anyone wandering off will get tackled. There's no one here I wouldn't dare do that to."

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"Might be worth the pain just to see you attempt the tackle," Luke said, chuckling. "But I'll be good since it's Christmas and everything."

[therewaslife]

"She's actually quite good at tackling," Bod said, nodding. "She hasn't ever full on tackled me, I don't think, but she's stronger than she looks and surprisingly spry."

And he smiled lovingly right back at Kate. "You could make tackling a new tradition, Kate."

[eyelidkisses.livejournal.com]

"Well, I did tackle T once," Kate noted, shaking her head. "I mean, Mom's not huge or anything but T's scrappy as hell, so I'm pretty sure I could take Luke."

"Wow, that sounds very much in keeping with Christmas spirit, Katie-Kate," Marshall deadpanned, coming in with a snack tray in his hands. "Very peaceful and merry."

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"Kate would fit right in with my family," Luke joked. "Traditionally we cap off holidays with fights and chariot races that usually end in injury."

[therewaslife]

"And we..."

Well, no one outside of Kate (that he knew about, of course, and he wanted to be safe around her brother) really knew about his family so he had to go with a lie here.

"...didn't have enough money to celebrate."

[eyelidkisses.livejournal.com]

Kate gave Bod a faint smile, and reached out to give his hand a little aqueeze. "Well, that's why we're doing this. Celebration." Beat. "Sans chariot races."

"I don't think a chariot would move much in the snow, anyway," Marshall remarked, setting the tray on the coffee table. All the snacks looked pretty fancy, but there were some gingerbread men on there, too. Plus everything was guaranteed to be tasty. "Gift-giving snacks are served. Happy now, Kate?"

"Ecstatic, little brother." And totally reaching for a few things to eat.

[therewaslife]

"Someone does like her food," Bod said, squeezing her hand back and laughing. "Of course, I'd be concerned if she didn't eat. That would be something worth worrying over."

He was teasing, Kate, really!

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"Well it'd be weird for anyone to pass on this kind of food. Thanks, Marshall," Luke said. He grabbed a gingerbread man and promptly bit off his head. Seemed like the right place to start. "I bow before your superior cooking skills."

[vanillajello]

"As you rightfully should," Kate said, which made Marshall snort and shake his head as he took a seat. She rolled her eyes at him. "Don't act coy. I'll withhold your Christmas present if you start acting like you're not all that. The rest of us can't cook like you, bro."

He shrugged. "It's just practice."

[therewaslife]

"If I attempted to cook anything, we'd be ordering pizza," Bod joked. "You've a talent for all things to culinary, Marshall. Thank you for cooking."