Nathan quickly looks up to Leah and gives her a thankful smile and nod, before grinning at Francois. His shift in questioning causes a brief moment of surprise that is quickly replaced with a shake of his head, smile persisting through. "Oh, no no. My older sisters are, but not me. No, I was actually in another PMC before I went freelance for a while." He's kinda tweaking the details here, notably avoiding the fact that
#Leah'sHouse – October 11, 2020
he was discharged rather than left willingly. "Sandbeck Peacekeeping Services. I specialised in disarming explosives, dabbled in the mechanized division too. Although, to be fair, Sandbeck brought in plenty of ex-Allliance to train us up, so... not too disimilar I suppose."
Sofia nods sagely. If she was put off by his curt manner of speech, she was doing a good show of hiding it. Far better than when she met Vasquez anyway. As Tara takes her place, she looks across to her and flashes her a smile, before turning her attention back to Mendez. "So, are you sort've the older brother for Leah?" Her somewhat wry smile indicates that she's mostly jesting, but giving some of the things she's seen
Francois nods politely as Nathan speaks, but those with a keen eye might catch that small glance he shoots Leah's way. A look of clarification as if he's not entirely sure what that means. After all, PMCs don't usually have the greatest of outward-facing reputations. Something that was the center of much conversation upon finding out that his daughter would be signing up with one after they moved out here. He had expected them to
live a much quieter life and, truth be told, there's a bit of guilt associated with the fact that his daughter shelved a well-paying, honorable military career just to make sure he was taken care of. It was a dangerous and scary career change and it's only with time and much discussion that he's come to truly accept that Redrock isn't like those companies you hear about all too often on the Citadel News Network.
Mendez is already jabbing his fork into a chunk of meat, only half paying attention to the conversations when Sofia asks her question, causing him to cast a glance her way, seemingly aware that she's just having a jab at him. "Nope." he says dryly, "I'm just here for the food." he explains, shoveling a bite into his mouth.
Leah turns her head low as her father and Nathan speak, lips sucked in as she studies her salad in silence while the two speak. As soon as Nathan mentions Sandbeck, her green eyes turn to her father and she catches that look. "Alliance adjacent!" she's quick to chime in a failed attempt at trying to be subtle at alleviating any of his worries. "They also do some-... umm-..." she begins before Mendez' comment catches her
attention and, like any good holiday conversation, causes her to switch gears and speak overtop of him. "Oh shut up! You love us!" she scolds through a none-too-serious frown. Given the way she jostles in her seat, it seems she attempted to kick him in the leg beneath the table. Unfortunately she couldn't quite reach. She aggressively stabs her fork into her salad and tucks her bangs back behind her ear as she returns to her
previous train of thought. "...They do some work with rehabilitating people freed from slavers out here in the Terminus, too." she continues, stealing a small glance at Nathan. It's unlikely she chose that tidbit by random to offer up. Given the most recent addition to the Mercier family, it's something that her father can easily grasp. A coded assurance that, 'It's okay. They're some of the good guys, dad.'
Tara 's hands rest next to her plate as she waits for the others to start eating, uncertain of ettiquette and wary of unintended rudeness. Her gaze darts between the others as they speak, listening silently, but Leah's final addition causes her gaze to fall as her thoughts go to the liberated slaves in Sadbeck's care. Her eyebrows furrow as previous worries resurface, but she swallows and pushes it down as her attention goes to Nathan,
Nathan allows a brief moment of confusion to show on his features as Leah interjects, unaware of the possible tension that lies beneath his statement. However, as she continues, he catches on and offers a small nod at the end of her sentence. "Yeah. It's one of their primary focuses. They do what they can." Tara's sudden look causes him to feel quite conscious of himself. He decides to distract himself from that by
cutting into the meat on his plate. "They're good people," he adds, looking up to Francois. Although his assurance could also be aptly focused on Tara too, though he's pointedly aware of how little that'll likely do for her.
Sofia giggles at Mendez, which turns into a small, soft laugh as Leah's jostling draws her attention. Seeing others eat, she begins to delicately cut up her own food, tuning in to the other conversations at last around the table. She notices the look that Tara gives her brother and she lightly perks a single eyebrow up. With a soft exhale, she pops a forkful of salad into her mouth and chews. She's aware of her brother's
past with Sandbeck, including the reasons why he was no longer with them. But if he's choosing not to disclose that, then she'll respect that, even if she doesn't quite agree. She sips at the wine, offering Leah a quick thankful nod as she does so, as she forgot to when Leah passed it to her.
Francois shows the slightest bit of discomfort as Leah chimes in, unaware that his concerns she's very obviously trying to subdue were so transparent. But her words seem to have the intended effect, softening the look on his face as he casts a brief glance Tara's way. He offers a few small, polite nods to Nathan's words as he pokes a fork idly at his food. "Apologies. I don't mean to be so nosey." he offers with a small snicker.
Mendez merely casts an unamused glance Leah's way as she fails to reach him with her kick, offering a grunt in response. He pops a forkful of food into his mouth as Nathan speaks, finishing up with his bite just around the time Francois responds. "He's worried that Leah is dragging home trashy Terminus strays for Christmas." he adds on to Francois' words bluntly as he pokes at a bit of meat stuck in his back teeth with his tongue.
"Don't worry. They are good people..." he says, as if to confirm Nathan's assertion. Despite the lack of emotion or much inflection in his voice, it's practically a glowing review coming from him. Regardless of his feelings towards Nathan, there's no denying that Sandbeck came through for them. And that deserves recognition.
Francois' discomfort comes back in full force as Mendez speaks up, causing him to straighten up in his seat and look Nathan's way apologetically, as if preparing to dispute the claim. But the large man's addition seems to temper him, drawing that kind smile out of him. He gives his food a few more pokes before looking to Mendez. "If that was a concern then you would have been turned away at the door." he says, smile growing into
Mendez just stabs another mount of meat, not even bothering to look Francois' way. "That hurts, Frank." he says with about as little interest as he can possibly muster.
Leah visibly winces- mid bite of salad- as Mendez puts her father on blast, but as he goes on to speak up in defense of Sandbeck she seems to relax a bit, the exchange even causing a snicker to slip out of her. If there's one thing she expected out of this afternoon, it was plenty of awkwardness. So, off to a good start. Reaching over, she gives Tara's hand a pat. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" she asks, lowering her voice as to not
interrupt the others, "Not hungry?" Of course, she's certainly caught on to Tara's ways by now. The small habits that have been engrained in her that she hasn't quite broken free of. But it's a non-confrontational way to remind her that she doesn't need to wait for permission to eat.
Tara continues to listen to the conversation, eyes widening slightly at Mendez' brutally blunt comment, but she too relaxes a bit as the others do. Leah's question causes her to blink, looking a little embarrassed. "I'm hungry. Sorry." she says quietly, the apology an almost reflexive addition. A tiny smile manifest briefly as she looks Leah's way before grabbing her knife and fork and carefully cutting off the end of a sausage while
Nathan smiles a little awkwardly as the conversation continues, Mendez's comment even causing a very subtle flinch in him. However, Francois' comments and the more relaxed air that follows after manages to sooth his brief surge of concerns. So, instead, he laughs it off. "C'mon, I know I look a bit scruffy, but I'm not that bad." He plops a slice of sausage into his mouth and chews. Damn, that is good.
Sofia tisks and looks to her brother, canting an eyebrow and saying in a low voice, "No, you really are. Honestly, Mr. Mercier, you should just get him out of your house as soon as possible. He's a complete delinquent." She casts a look to Francois, a cheeky look on her face.
Nathan shoots a glare at Sofia, swallowing his mouthful and idly gesturing to her with the end of his fork. "Don't you start showing off now."
Sofia merely flutters her eyelashes in innocence at her brother before taking another sip of her wine. "Me? Never. Just giving fair warning is all."
Francois' smile only continues to grow as the pair of siblings rib each other and the air seems to clear of any tension. "I'll... take that under advisement." he offers to Sofia, pleased that the pair seem to have taken no offense to his questioning. As Nathan takes a bite of the sausage, her shoots a glance his way. "Hopefully the food is alright?" he asks. "The sausage was a bit of a last minute addition." he continues,
shooting a brief glance Leah's way, "Hopefully it's fine. Edible at the very least." he snickers. While it may not be what Nathan and Sofia might expect from a meal cooked back home, Francois is a serviceable cook. Even moreso with Tara's assistance. So while it might miss the mark of 'Authentic German cuisine', it certainly clears the barrier of 'Fine and edible'.
Leah turns her attention back to her own plate, jabbing her fork through another mound of salad. Sofia's claim causes her to look Nathan's way, as if studying him. "Oh, I don't know if I'd call him a delinquent." she chimes in with a shrug. Though it very soon becomes clear that she's not rushing to his defense. "Clueless? Maybe a bit of an idiot?" she considers, scrunching up her nose in consideration. After a moment, that big
bright smile shines from her and she uses her fork that's impaled through layers of lettuce to draw a circle around him from afar, "But, you know, in a kind of cute, charming way." she adds in something of a rushed afterthought, as if to lesson the blow. She punctuates the statement by stabbing at the center of her invisible circle with her fork before shoveling the bite of salad into her mouth.
Tara is content to eat in silence while listening to the others banter. She soon takes a small, curious sip of the wine, eyebrows furrowed slightly at the unfamiliar drink. Her nose scrunches up a little but it doesn't stop her from taking another sip. Sofia and Leah teaming up to tease Nathan causes a smile to start tugging at the corner of her mouth, and although she's quick to wipe it away when she realizes, the irreverence still seems
to relax her a little. Her gaze seems friendlier when she looks to Nathan to see what his response is going to be.
Nathan opens his mouth to respond to Francois, electing to ignore his sister. However, she's quick to intercept instead.
Sofia leans forward a modicum and beams at Francois. "It's delicious, Mr. Mercier, thank you. It was very kind of you all to do this for Nathan and I. Brings a taste of home," she says, a fond smile on her face. Sure, it isn't the same as back home, but it's still lovely. "Hopefully you enjoy the cookies in return. A little bit of German baking brought to your table," she says, glee practically radiating from her.
Sofia giggles as Leah adds to Nate's torment, unable to suppress the shit-eating grin that now adorns her face. It's almost a carbon copy of the one that Nate often uses. However, when Leah dares to compliment him in a roundabout way, she makes a dramatically disgusted face. "Ew, don't call him cute. Or charming. Stick with the earlier stuff, that's more fitting."
Nathan sighs and merely buries his face in one hand. "I'm in Hell," he murmurs, although the tug of a grin is evident on the corner of his mouth. He shoots a pleading glance to Mendez and Francois, one that practically screams 'Save me.'
Leah's cheeks turn a shade of pink as Sofia calls attention to her compliment. She doesn't exactly have much experience when it comes to bringing boyfriends around the house for family dinners. Is that even what Nathan is? A boyfriend? They haven't explicitely put a label on their relationship, but he's here celebrating the holidays with her family, so there's that. And then there was the other night. A thought that only causes
the shade in her cheeks to burn brighter. But she does her best to power through it, continuing to study Nathan for a moment before once again scrunching up her nose, joining Sofia in her disgust. "No, you're right. Clueless idiot just about sums it up." she returns to with a stern nod, "Sorry. Momentary lapse in judgement." Despite the ribbing, she gives Nathan's leg a playful poke beneath the table with her foot.
Mendez glances up from his plate only to be met with Nathan's silent pleads for backup. He gives a slow raise of his brow, meeting Nathan's gaze directly. This must be the look that Scar gave Mufasa as he dangled from the cliff. And with absolute disregard and pure betrayal, Mendez turns his attention right back to his food. As far as he's concerned, the longer they tear into Nathan, the longer he's left alone.
Francois lets a deep sigh as Leah continues to pile onto poor Nathan with Sofia. "I swear we raised her better than this." he offers Nathan apologetically. "Just be glad you don't have to live with her." he adds in a tone of mock exhaustion.
Tara is happily digging into her food while the others chat. A couple of forkfuls of mashed potatoes and a taste of the alien non-turkey is followed by another sip of wine. Nathan's embarrassment and the reactions by Leah and Francois causes her gaze to dart from one person to the next, eyebrows furrowing slightly. She tries to catch Leah's attention, leaning a little towards her side and asking in a whisper "It's... teasing? Not real?"
as if worried that she's misread, frowning a little as she glances at the man on the other side of Leah. Is she feeling bad for Nathan?
Nathan looks completely and utterly broken by the betrayal of Mendez. Nathan will remember that. He gives a sympathetic look to Francois, the understanding evident in his features. "It ain't much different to working with her, I promise you that." He idly gestures to her without looking, her backpedalling acting as prominent evidence to his case. Her playful nudge with the foot is met with one of his own.
Sofia seems to suddenly switch tracks, however. She looks to Leah, her mismatched eyes squinting faintly as the colouration of Leah's cheeks change. The young woman plucks up a slice of sausage with a layer of stabbed salad, regards it idly for a moment before simply stating to Leah, "Although you're the one who's blushing." She pops the food into her mouth, chewing while she regards Leah with a cool look. She will tease
her brother to the ends of the galaxy and back. But she likes to make sure that all sides get their fair treatment from time to time.
Leah does a double take Tara's way when she realizes she's vying for her attention. Brow furrowing, she leans her way slightly. The question causes a big smile to emerge and she's quick to suck in her lips in an effort to restrain it, not wanting to embarrass Tara. "Don't worry. He knows we're just joking." she assures, reaching out to place a comforting hand on Tara's forearm. She straightens back up in her seat, lifting off her
chair slightly to tuck one leg beneath the other to get comfy. Sofia's addition comes just as she's stabbing into another pile of lettuce, causing her green eyes to widen and her cheeks to turn pure crimson, the next bite of her food instantly forgotten. "Wha-... I-..." she stammers, then scoffs, brow furrowing. Seems it's her turn in the hotseat. That's not fair! She wasn't supposed to get a turn! She's the one that does the
Francois returns Nathan's sympathy with some of his own and a nod of solidarity. Sofia and Leah's exchange causes him to blink a couple of times as he watches his daughter. Nope. Not a conversation he wants to be a part of. Sinking a little in his seat, he pours all of his attention and focus into his plate of food.
Mendez sniffs at the air and looks to Leah. Brow furrowing, he studies her for a moment. Never back a losing horse, right? Now that the shoe is firmly on the other foot, he seems less hesitant to jump in. "You do look a bit red." he offers non-chalantly before stabbing into another mound of meat.
Leah leans back in her seat, scoffing even loudly as Mendez takes Sofia's side. "I do not!" she insists, "I-... that-... It's just-... hot in here!" she insists before finally shooting a frown Nathan's way. "You shut up!" she scolds pre-emptively, her scowl at odds with the dumb grin threatening to escape as she points her fork his way in a threatening manner, already assuming he's gonna jump in as well.
Tara 's concern fades and she offers a small nod of understanding. She's just gotten back to her food when Sofia cuts in and she looks towards Leah again, eyes widening a little. With the reassurance that it's all just playful she seems content to return to just watching the others trade friendly barbs in a social game she feels entirely unequipped to participate in. A few bites of salad, a cookie, some more sausage... she eats in no
Nathan blinks as Sofia turns her focus to Leah, then looks even more confused when Leah turns her playful ire against him. "Wha- I haven't said anything, I'm just trying to eat my food!" He gestures frantically to the plate before him, where his pile of delicious Christmas noms waits.
Sofia passes a smirk towards Mendez, content in the chaos she is sowing with just a few harmless words. She stabs into another pile of salad, lifting the fork up as she watches her brother and Leah for a moment. "Oh, so that's the reason? Makes sense, makes sense," she muses, giving Leah a knowing look. It wasn't exactly hard to piece together why she was hastily ushered out of the apartment the other night, nor why she
was giving a few extra credits to go and find something to keep her occupied. She merely shrugs a single shoulder, crunching down on the salad. She won't voice that, though. Not while in the company of Francois or Tara.
Leah continues to stare down Nathan until her scowl eventually- and begrudgingly- loses out to her grin. "Then shut up and eat!" she scolds playfully. As if frustrated at herself that she was unable to keep up the facade, she gives his leg another- slightly more aggressive- poke with her foot. Turning her attention to Sofia when she speaks, she locks eyes with her, narrowing her own in a less-than-serious, silent warning as she
Francois just conveyer-belts bites of food into his mouth as the others continue their arguing, seeking to avoid it as best as he can. The discomfort begins to ease when the others seem ready to let the topic go.
Mendez idly prods at another bite of food with his fork, pushing it around the plate to sop up some gravy, pleased at having gotten a free shot of his own in without repercussions. "Feels fine to me." he says simply. "But this-..." he continues, gesturing to the plate of food before him with his fork. "This is some 'hot stuff'." he nods to himself, unable to resist a small spark of a smile to pull at the edge of his lips. "Really.
Leah's cheeks burn as bright as the sun at Mendez' undercover jab and she's quick to shoot him a death glare, eyes the size of saucers. Don't you dare!
Francois' previous smile returns to his face and he gives a small, dismissive gesture to the praise, the underlying threat to Leah entirely lost on him. "Well, as I said before, it would not have been possible with Tara's help." he says, sharing the praise with Tara.
Tara too is oblivious to the covert element of Mendez' compliment, and Francois' renewed praise of her assistance brings out a small, shy smile as she eats, unaware of Leah's mortified face next to her.
Nathan rolls his eyes and gives Leah a small smile, even when he gets a much more aggresive prod to the shin. He seems to miss her silent stare at his sister, instead continuing to chow down on the Christmas dinner set out before him. Which is a shame, because he seems to miss her initial bout of awkwardness.
Sofia merely stares back, a smug grin tugging at the corner of her lips and a subtle shrug that seems to speak, 'Can you blame me?'. However, being much more perceptive than her brother at the moment, she catches Leah's sudden turn to a star going supernova and stifles a laugh. Does she do it? Does she dare? She does. She quickly gives Nathan a nudge with her foot to draw his attention away from his food and to the scene
before them. "Well thank you too, Tara. This is wonderful. Oh, you know what? We should bake sometime!" She claps her hands together, a delighted look on her face at the prospect.
Nathan snaps his head up and away from his food, a mouthful paused and a bewildered expression on his face. In typical fashion, the kick is blamed on Leah, even though it came from the otherside. So, he is witness to her bright cheeks and the death glare of doom directed at Mendez. His gaze snaps to Mendez and his small, subtle smile, then back to Leah. Veeeery slowly, the gears shift into place from Mendez's earlier
Francois snickers at Sofia's enthusiasm. "Judging by the way my daughter is hording those gingerbread cookies-..." he says, shooting a glance towards the cookies poking out from beneath Leah's mound of salad, "...At the very least you need to let us get that recipe from you."
Leah continues to glare down Mendez for a few moments longer, as if facing down the barrel of a gun and preparing to draw her own should she need to. But as her father and Sofia carry the conversation further away from the comment she seems to settle down, her shoulders relaxing a bit despite the redness in her cheeks. As Sherlock Vision begins to swirl around Nathan, her attention shifts to Tara, Sofia's offer and her father's
subsequent addition causing the previous look of sheer terror on her face to slowly be replaced by a soft smile. "What do you think?" she asks Tara.
Mendez sits up a bit straighter in his seat, a little more joy in his heart for having shaken Leah to her core. He makes sure to look her way as he tugs another piece of meat off of his fork, well aware that he has the high ground. Little does he know that he may already have given too much away.
Tara blinks and looks over towards Sofia as she's addressed in the middle of taking another bite of the tunga. She hesitates, eyebrows scrunching up uncertainly, but Leah's prodding prompts her to nod after a brief glance her way, smile returning as her attention goes back to Sofia.
Nathan is still in the process of big braining the interaction between Leah and Mendez to even notice the rest of the conversation. Is it something to do with 'Frank'? The msytery and deductions continue.
Sofia smiles brightly, a genuine sense of joy and excitement radiating from her at both Francois' compliment and Tara's agreement. "Of course! Whenever you have some free time, I'll be more than happy to share the recipe with you both." She nods eagerly. "It'll be nice to have someone to help out who isn't distracted at the drop of a chit." She shoots an unsubtle glance Nathan's way, eyes narrowing in mock annoyance.
Nathan blinks and looks around the table in confusion, his train of thought distracted. He was so close to making a connection, he's sure of it! "Huh, what? What'd I do?"
Leah digs one of the gingerbread cookies out now that it's at the forefront of her mind and idly nibbles at the edge, smile growing at Tara's silent acceptance of the offer. She gives a look of mock sympathy Nathan's way, moreso at his cluelessness to keep up with the conversation than Sofia's digs at him. Yep, clueless idiot. She scrunches up her nose in thought, that big bright smile of hers eventually re-emerges as she
Francois gives a few more nods of encouragement to the idea, mostly just pleased at the idea of Tara perhaps having someone closer to her age to spend time around. "That sounds wonderful. Any-..." he begins, before pulling back on the reigns slightly. It's not his place to set up a 'hang out session' for Tara, so he defers to her with a glance and a kind smile. "Well, you know you're welcome to have company whenever you would
like." he says simply. Just another reinforcement that this isn't just a place that she lives. This is her home.
Mendez picks the last piece of meat from his plate, an unpleasant screech sounding out as he scrapes together a bit of gravy with his knife to dip it into. Conversation will always lose out to food. Ready for round two, he scoots his chair back and stands up as the others talk. Having only one hand to work with, he scoops the plate up and tries to secure his precariously-placed fork against the plate with his thumb. Casting one
last look around the table at all the remaining food on people's plates, he offers a small shake of his head. "Amateurs." he mutters as he starts back towards the counter.
Tara 's smile widens a bit at Sofia's enthusiastic reaction, offering no comment on her dig at Nathan. Her attention darts over to Francois and she tilts her head thankfully, but makes no attempt to schedule something right now. Mendez' sudden departure for round two briefly draws her attention before she takes another sip of the wine. She might not be making conversation but it's pretty obvious that she's in a good mood as she returns to