and with tears in our eyes we drove off into the sunset looking for another place to put the garbage

[shiromadoushi]

WHO: Bakura, Alastair, Kiryu, Hiruma, Trowa, Quatre and Matsuka
WHERE: The MANCAVE
WHEN: Thanksgiving at 6
WARNINGS: Hiruma. Drunkenness. Shenanigans.
SUMMARY: Thanksgiving dinner at Hell Towers!
FORMAT: Let's say.. QUICK for a change



[[It's a heck of a feast, as one would expect with Bakura doing the cooking. And as requested, not exactly traditional either. There's a grilled monkfish, a rare cooked steak, dish of roasted squash and root vegetables, kabocha amani, sushi hand rolls, yaki udon with kabocha purin for desert. There's also a few bottles of sweet wine for those who drink and a nice fancy grape juice in similar bottles for those who don't.

Also on the table, thanks to Trowa, are mansaf and Venison + bacon goulash

It's a hell of a spread.]]

Comments

[pacifister]

[There's a moment where Quatre isn't sure how to respond. He understands the happiness that can come from giving gifts, but everything he had ever given was personal. Things he had made himself or chosen with a specific person in mind.]

[On top of that, there's the nagging reminder that he's one of the few people in the City who doesn't celebrate Christmas, which seems to be such a big fuss here. Last year had been enough, including his stubborn success at putting off the inevitable.]

[He gives up on using the chopsticks after the third failed attempt to eat with them and picks up a fork instead.]

I don't observe Christmas, so maybe it's just the time of the year. I understand the importance of giving gifts. I think I just prefer making them to buying them.

[shiromadoushi]

Eh? You don't?

[[not celebrating birthdays or Christmas? Bakura was starting to think Quatre came from a culture that must pride itself on not celebrating anything!]]

But there are some things that you can't always make. [[Like the collection of meteor fragments he had gotten Ben or the fancy exposed clockwork watch for Vector]]

[pacifister]

I'm Muslim.

[It's actually one of few times Quatre has ever explicitly stated his religion to someone that wasn't Sooraya. He had no reason not to, just that it never came up in conversation and he didn't live his life by it either, as much as some of his family might have wanted him too. The fact that he did understand some people might get upset about it didn't help much either, though he considered Bakura the very last person to do that.]

But that is true. About the gifts, I mean.

[shiromadoushi]

[[blink blink]] But what does that have to-- [[pause for belated]] Aaa, that's right, Christmas is a Christian holiday, isn't it? [[Total sheepish look there.]] Sometimes I forget that! [[small laugh]]

[pacifister]

[That gets a mildly surprised look in response. He'd avoided asking too many questions last year, not wanting to offend anyone, but if Bakura is just as clueless...]

It's not one in Japan?

[shiromadoushi]

Not really! It's just about getting gifts for your friends and having fun, really!

[[or dates for couples but he had no illusions about that happening for him ever.]]

[pacifister]

[He smiles a bit, clearly amused now.]

That seems to be the reason for a lot of holidays.

[shiromadoushi]

It's the best reason, don't you think?

[[pauses to have a sip of his juice. That tastes a little stronger than he thought it would! Very sweet!]]

[pacifister]

Better than others, certainly.

[He's been drinking tea since arriving, preferring that over the other offered drinks.]

[shiromadoushi]

[[a small laugh]] Really, any reason for a holiday is a good one! Getting together with friends and family... [[a warm smile]] There's a lot to celebrate when you have people you care about near by.

[pacifister]

I like just being with people for no reason other than wanting to. A holiday just seems like an excuse for it.

[He's smiling, even if he still thinks the whole thing is a bit silly. Sorry, Bakura.]

[shiromadoushi]

[[he is a bit silly. Part of being a giant nerd from the land where card games crowned a king. of games. title drop]]

[[gives a small laugh]] Un, but holidays are for bigger gatherings! Where you go all out and have a lot of people over to make it special. [[another sip of juice.]] Since I couldn't just cook like this everyday! [[he tried that for a week, after all. Wow was that exhausting]]

[pacifister]

Like Edgeworth's party last year, you mean?

[shiromadoushi]

Un! [[biiig grin. He enjoyed that so much]] Aaaa~ I hope they do that again! It was amazing!

[pacifister]

It was nice to see everyone not fighting for the most part.

[shiromadoushi]

Un! That was the other amazing part! [[gives a laugh before having another sip of juice]] Something that really didn't seem possible actually happened! And almost everybody was there too.

[[swirls the juice around his glass a moment before taking another drink.]]

I wonder if that could happen again.

[pacifister]

Only if someone wanted to go through that stress again. Not very many houses here are able to hold so many people. Not even mine can.

[He idly considers his cup.]

I'd rather the next month be a little more quiet anyway.

[shiromadoushi]

Aaa, true! [[smiles]] I'm not even sure how they all fit in that one, even with magic!

Yukina-chan and I were talking about maybe doing a Christmas dinner together for all our friends combined. The Mancave is big enough, we could probably do it here, unless she has a bigger place. I've never been to hers, so I really don't know!

[[Finishes off his glass before going to pour a fresh one from the bottle nearest him, the one he poured from before.]]

[pacifister]

I think that sounds like a good idea.

[He's too busy looking at his plate to notice the bottle that Bakura has grabbed isn't the non-alcoholic beverage. Though, now that he's eating, it does make him remember the question he'd meant to ask about the food.]

The mansaf. Did you make it?

[shiromadoushi]

Aa, no! Trowa-kun brought that. "Just in case," he said.

[[still not sure in case of what, but...

And speaking of, he's gonna try some of that. In his bowl since it's far too lose to eat properly other wise.

unless he uses a fork or something.]]

[pacifister]

["Just in case."]

[There's a quiet second as he glances across Bakura to the brunet in question and promptly looks at is plate. He may or may not be blinking a bit, because he understands the gesture a great deal more than Bakura. He hasn't touched a good half of the other things being offered due to the possibility of what they've been made with.]

[He clears his throat and smiles faintly.]

It's a Jordanian dish. You're supposed to eat it with your hands.

[shiromadoushi]

[blink blink]] With your hands? [[looks down at the mess in his bowl. How on Earth...]] It's not messy when you do that?

[[After all, it wasn't like it was a hamburger or anything!]]

[pacifister]

That's how it was eaten originally, but if you don't feel comfortable eating it like that, there's no harm in it.

[This is why Quatre has a napkin. Maybe two.]

[shiromadoushi]

[[looks almost sheepish as he smiles.]] I don't want to be rude trying to eat it with chopsticks or something! I've just never eaten something like this without any utensils.