Home for the Holidays

[sweetcandygirl]

Over the weekend, Harley was busy decorating her Nexus apartment, stylizing everything in soft whites and a few bright splashes of reds.

In the middle of the apartment, where her aerial silks normally hang from the cathedral ceilings, and several pinwheel decorations. And soft Christmas music is playing on the stereos, filling the open areas of her apartment.

The smells of several delicious foods waft from the kitchen. Everything is made with a vegetarian-friendly flare, that is still respectful to the season itself. And to supplement the fact there may not be any meat on the menu -- there is a large keg of ale on a countertop nearby. There is also plenty of wine, cocktails, and eggnog available.

Harley has invited a few people over to her apartment for a small pre-Christmas party. Mostly, those who already live or stay in her apartment.

[No posting order. Mingle around. Thread jump. All is good]

Comments

The Hostess with the Most

[sweetcandygirl]

Harley is dressed for the season for the pre-Christmas party too.

She is wearing a festive Christmas dress, and has her hairstyle decorated for the season too.

[brother_alone]

The last time Josh crashed on Harley's couch he wasn't really in a state to remember it, but he's pretty sure there weren't so many people living here as there are now. These kinds of things have never been something he's good at so his smile is a bit awkward when he knocks at her door.

There's no one here to appreciate his holiday traditions so he's left the tequila at home and brought a bottle of champagne for his part of the dinner and donned a Christmas? sweater in the hopes of better fitting in. It'll be a good ice breaker for all the standing in the corner drinking he's about to be doing.

[sweetcandygirl]

"Josh!" Of course Harley will welcome him into the apartment with a bright smile. She is glad that he came.

"That is a great sweater." She leads him inside to the side living room.

[alittlehinky]

Cricket isn't sure how fancy an occasion this is, and therein lies a problem. He has money for the first time in his life, and while he's never been as wildly prone to fast cars and slick suits as Jack was, he thought...well, hell, no one's stopping him, and it's respectful to dress up nicely for an occasion, and maybe someone (*cough* Loki *cough*) will like it.

As a result, he's turned up maybe a little bit extra, in a suit, a nice sweater, and even a goddamn bow tie. He looks a little ill at ease in it, like he's not entirely sure how move in it, but he does clean up pretty well.

He has also, assuming Harley allowed it, provided the eggnog for the party in three different options: normal, chocolate, and strawberry.

[sweetcandygirl]

"My my my… look who cleans up good." Harley grins, and she straightens his bow tie a little. "Looking good tonight, Cricket."

[alittlehinky]

"You think so?" He blushes and tilts his head obligingly when she straightens his tie. He's still not sure he did it right. The little troll person in the store that sold it to him had to show him twice, but he was very nice about it.

"It ain't that Christmas-y except for the pocket square, but I figured it'd be good to have a suit in case somethin' else comes up I need it for." He smiles. "You look real pretty, Harley. Merry Christmas?"

[alittlehinky]

Cricket is already there, since he lives there, and he is also somewhat the standing-in-a-corner-drinking type. He feels like it's important for him to reach out though, since he's sort of a tertiary assistant host, so when the stranger comes in, he smiles and waves shyly.

"Hey. I'm Cricket. Merry Christmas, or...whatever, if you don't celebrate it." He offers a sheepish handshake.

[sweetcandygirl]

"Men in suits always look wonderful." Harley smiles brightly.

"Merry Christmas to you Cricket." She hugs him. "Do watch out for mistletoe tonight. I just know someone will be wanting to kiss you."

[chiron_survivor]

Adia and Caspar arrive right on time, neither of them in the mood to be fashionably late. Adia is wearing a dress that is not as festive as Harley's, but still an appropriate green for the season. Caspar is in his charcoal suit, with an evergreen tie to match Adia's dress. He's also holding a shopping bag full of wrapped presents, presumably for Harley and her other guests.

The hostess is greeted with a warm hug from Adia and a small, but sincere smile from Caspar. "Merry Christmas," she says to her friend. She pulls out a present wrapped in Harley's colors and offers it to her. "Here, before I forget. You can open it now if you want."

Adia hopes that she opens it now. The best part of giving a present is the look on the face of the person who receives it. Inside the box is a set of pajamas and a rather unique necklace.

[chiron_survivor]

Adia waves to Josh from her spot by the counter where she is pouring herself some eggnog. She still has that look of concern on her face that simply won't leave whenever she thinks about her friend, but at least it isn't full-on worry. He hasn't fallen off the face of the Nexus since she saw him last, which makes her feel better about how he's doing.

Caspar, who already has his glass of wine in hand, walks over. "Hey," he says. He gives the sweater a bemused look. "That's an interesting choice you've made. I'm suddenly grateful this isn't a dry party."

He takes a sip of wine, but there's something a little forced in his smirk. He's concerned about Josh, too, enough that the snark does not flow as freely as the alcohol.

[chiron_survivor]

"Hi, Cricket." Adia smiles brightly at her friend, handing off her cup of chocolate eggnog to Caspar so she can offer him a hug. "You look so nice! I'm glad I decided to dress up a little." Her green dress is certainly something she does not normally wear to her trips to the Nexus.

Caspar, now holding a glass of wine and the eggnog, looks over Cricket's outfit. "Well done," he says approvingly, perhaps a bit surprised as well. The Cylon is dressed in a charcoal suit with an evergreen tie, because he is always Extra. "Not everyone can pull off a bow tie."

"Oh, before I forget, we have a present for you." With her hands still free, she gets it herself from the shopping bag at her feet. It's a nicely wrapped square box with a bright red ribbon on top. Inside is a sandy twist on the typical snowglobe. "Happy holidays." She'd wish him a merry Christmas, but she doesn't want to assume.

[pirateangelbaby]

Thor was around modern Midgard for a Christmas party or two with the Avengers, and Stark assured him that patterned festive sweaters are always the way to go, so he's found one he likes after a great deal of searching. He has, however, foregone the traditional red-and-white Santa Claus hat (far too itchy and uncomfortable) in favor of something a little more familiar.

This no-meat thing is going to take some getting used to, but thank the Norns there's ale. Thor pours himself a generous portion and gets to mingling, fully at ease with the small, comfortable gathering.

[brother_alone]

"How's my favorite criminal doing?" Perhaps not the best opener, and possibly a social faux pas right out of the gate but that's honestly pretty standard for Joshua Washington. The harder he tries the more awkward and inappropriate his comments seem to become. At least Harley's pretty likely to know he doesn't mean anything by it.

They share a kind of solidarity that only some of the other Nightmare pairs have, after all.

"Thanks it was...not a gift. I bought it, but I had help picking it out." And if his gaze lingers on the masks for a moment too long, no one will really know why. It's fine. "I see you heard through the grapevine that Adia got me a new PINpoint. I'm glad t'be here. Thanks...for all of this."

[brother_alone]

Now this, Josh is pretty sure this is a new face. Harley did always seem to have a way of making friends, especially with dudes. Another of her lost causes maybe? Like Josh. Or maybe something more. Impossible to tell at a glance.

He can do introductions though, so his smile is much more confident than Josh feels when he steps forward to accept the handshake.

"Nice t'meetcha, bro. I'm Joshua. Josh, I mean. S'what all my friends call me so. "

[brother_alone]

Oh hell. Adia and Caspar are here too?

Josh feels a lump forming in his throat. He tugs at the collar of his sweater and tries to swallow around it before he forces a much more confident smile than he feels for two of his best friends around here in the Nexus. It's a party right? So the last thing he wants to do is worry Adia more. If she worries then Caspar will get antsy and then they'll want answers and--

Calm down, Josh. Green eyes avoid meeting Caspar's for the moment as Josh barks out a laugh that's a bit too boisterous for Caspar's comment but An Effort Was Made. He's doing fine. Good, even. It's a party. All he has to do is not get so drunk he hits on someone he shouldn't. (Easier said than done given his track record).

"I had help picking it out. Ice Bear was pretty insistent that I get a Christmas sweater t'wear for these kindsa things."

[sweetcandygirl]

"Doing great!" Harley is weird enough herself, that she considers that a high compliment. And she definitely does not take any offense by the statement.

"I am glad you came." She is happy to see him. But at the same time will be respectful if he needs some distance. Whatever Josh is going through... he will ask for her help if he needs it. And she will be there however she can, when he does ask. But she is not going to push him.

"I know the best hiding places around here, if you need to duck out at any time."

[sweetcandygirl]

Harley has a kind enough heart that when her other roommates want meat, she found a way to respect their wishes. But for this party -- since she was the one preparing everything -- it just never occurred to her to prepare a meat dish.

"Thor!" Harley bounces over to him with a smile. "You made it!"

[sweetcandygirl]

"Merry Christmas to you both!" Adia gets a warm hug in return. And Caspar just gets a playful nod of her head. She respects his no-hug boundaries by now.

"Ohhhh..." Of course she is going to open it now. Her face lights up.

"These are awesome! How kind of you both!"

[chiron_survivor]

"I picked out the necklace," Caspar says, rather proud of himself. "It's functional, too."

"Thanks for inviting us, Harley." Adia peers up at the colorful decorations. "Everything looks so festive!. Do you need any help with anything?" Christmas is still a foreign holiday to her, but after experiencing enough of it in the Nexus, she more or less has a handle on the basics.

[chiron_survivor]

Caspar pretends not to notice how hard Josh is trying. The poor guy has already lost so much, the least Caspar can do is let him keep his pride.

The Cylon swallows his sip of wine and puts on a look of mock offense instead. "You went to Ice Bear for fashion advice instead of me? Josh, please. He doesn't wear anything but an apron about ninety-nine percent of the time."

By this point, Adia has finished pouring herself her drink and has retrieved a present wrapped in sleek silver paper. She comes over and passes on the present to Caspar before offering Josh a one-armed hug. "Hi, Josh. I think it's very festive," she says in the sweater's defense. Although once she gets a closer look at it, she's more confused than anything. "Is that... is hockey part of Christmas?"

"This is from us, by the way." Caspar offers Josh the present. a soft, textured scarf the color of dark chocolate. There is a matching pair of gloves, as well. "You're lucky it's not a sweater or I'd make you change into it immediately."

[chiron_survivor]

Adia smiles brightly at Thor when he arrives at the drink counter. She's topping off her chocolate eggnog, which she has discovered she really likes, much better than regular eggnog, which she found tolerable, but not her first drink choice.

"Hi, Thor." She takes it as a good sign that he's here; he must be getting along with his brother. "Happy... um, Yule, right? Oh --" She gestures to the man next to her who does not seem to be pro-eggnog, as he is currently nursing a glass of wine. "This is my boyfriend, Caspar. Caspar, this is Thor, the God of Thunder."

She doesn't even fidget when she makes the introductions! Either she's gotten more comfortable around Thor, or the eggnog is starting to kick in.

[sweetcandygirl]

"Functional gifts are the best." Harley grins.

"Nah. All the hard work is done. The best part is getting to enjoy the festivities and the other guests."

[brother_alone]

"Good, that's real good." Her rolling with it means Joshua's smile is a bit less forced now. He can still do social things? And to think he was worried about being here; doing this.

Compared to the last few times Harley's seen Josh he's looking great. He's showered and in clean clothes. Looks like he's eaten sometime in the last week. It's a huge step up from wandering and chattering crazy mountain hobo that he'd been before. Having folks looking after him again seems to have helped a whole lot. First herself and Ice Bear checking in on him. Now the Durants.

Maybe he's getting better.

"You kidding? Party animal like me duck out? Perish the thought." Information he's latching on to despite what he says. If it gets to be too much, if he can't pretend to be normal all night...there's a way out.

[brother_alone]

"I never said this was supposed to look good, bro. My nice clothes are tucked away in my closet for one of those serious special occasions. I just figured th'hostess would appreciate this more." He gestures to his frankly unsettling sweater and his smile starts to relax ever so slightly.

He hasn't said much to Caspar since getting his new PINpoint. A few short texts to keep in touch and test the waters again but nothing more. It's so hard, feels so hard to try and reconnect with people after the disappearing act he pulled without meaning to. But he's trying and he's here now.

There's still something about Adia that gets around Joshua's defenses. Enough of Hannah and Beth's warmth in her that fools his head in fits and bursts and he genuinely wants to make her happy no matter what it takes or what kinds of lies he has to tell to do it. When she comes over with a package he feels a stab of guilt for not thinking to bring any gifts of his own for them. He returns the hug with less hesitation than she might have expected before pulling back away.

"It's...uh." Now he doesn't want to tell her what it is, actually. "It's from one of my favorite movies growing up. Not much to do with Christmas but once I saw it..." He shrugs. Ice Bear only cared that Josh reacted to it in any capacity other than apathy at the time. He looks between them both when he accepts the package and tries not to let his guilt show. "Thanks, guys. Should I open it now or...?"

And of course, clever Caspar, will have made certain the accessories match the clothes they've gotten for Josh in the past. Bound and determined to have him look classy as heck, these two are.

[pirateangelbaby]

Were he not holding a drink, Thor might fling his arms wide for a hug. As it is, he does have one arm free, and is quick to give her a friendly embrace with it. "Harley!" he greets her in return. "I wouldn't miss an occasion like this. You look well."