Jason snorts loudly, offering a small shake of his head. "Hey, don't look at me." he says defensively, "I was walking by, minding my own business and she just-... jumped at me out of nowhere. Practically ambushed me." he explains, casting a mock look of disappointment Vasquez' way. "I'm just lucky you showed up when you did." he says. "Honestly? I'm thinking of filing a report with HR."
#RedrockAgency – October 14, 2020
Cynthia snickers quietly and gives Vasquez a disapproving shake of her head, dropping her plastic bag by the couch before joining the two of them.
Vasquez turns her unamused scowl to Jason, opening her mouth to say something, but she's interrupted as Cynthia punches her shoulder, jostling her a little.
Cynthia rolls her eyes. "Lighten up, Chief! It's Christmas!" she exclaims before pulling her into a hug.
Vasquez grumbles reluctantly, making a token effort to shrug her off before sighing and relaxing a bit, even if her arms remain crossed. "Glad you could make it, Cyn." she admits as she pulls back, a hint of a smile breaking through her exasperated expression.
Cynthia raises her eyebrows. "You kidding?! You know what a pain in the ass it is to get out here, I'm postponing that return trip as long as I can."
Vasquez furrows her eyebrows slightly, a hint of concern on her face, but it goes uncommented as Cynthia speaks again.
Cynthia gestures between Jason and Vasquez as she steps back. "You two are adorable, by the way. Can't keep your hands off each other, huh?" she asks with a big, teasing grin, much to Vasquez' displeasure.
Jason is far less bothered by the teasing than Vasquez, offering a small shrug of his shoulders. Despite the lighthearted nature of the comment, there's a speck of pride to be plucked from it. They haven't exactly had the most problem-free of relationships. It's been one thing after another. Plenty of blood, sweat, and tears. But, despite all of it, he still gets that same feeling in his chest every time he looks at her.
"Something like that..." he says softly as his gaze returns to Vasquez and lingers there for a moment, lopsided grin cropping back up. He gives her a small, playful nudge with his elbow before stepping towards the bag Cynthia set down. "Let me put those with the others..." he says as he collects the bag and brings it over to the tree. His brow furrows as he considers something she said, causing him to glance back her way.
The plastic bag contains several presents, all hard, and most box-shaped, aside from one that is suspiciously bottle-like. They're inelegantly wrapped in paper covered in tiny santas, and at the bottom of the bag is a six-pack of Christmas beer.
Vasquez glances Jason's way after she's nudged, a faint smile breaking through her disgruntled look. A roll of her eyes follows, before her attention turns to Cynthia with Jason's question.
Cynthia shrugs, propping up a smirk. "Gonna have to head home soon, but... I figure I'll stick around 'til after New Year's. Sounds like the travel restrictions are gonna be easing up soon. Now that, y'know, the fucking bugs are gone." she explains, shooting both of them an apologetic look at bringing up the Collectors.
Jason takes a knee beside the tree to fit the presents in where he can. Her comment pauses him, causing him to glance her way with a small, thoughtful nod. "...Guess things can start going back to the way they were." he says. It all still feels so... sudden. For much of the galaxy, the Collectors' reign of terror lasted for months. But he's been living it for years. And then, just as suddenly as it all turned his life upside down,
it was all over. Signified by a cold, impersonal news broadcast. But it is over. They're gone. And now is the time to start healing. Start moving forward. He glances Vasquez' way, doing his best to prop his smile back up to cover his thoughts. "Makes sense." he adds in a bit more of a mutter than intended. But as he peers back into the bag he spots something that helps to fortify his smile a bit and he plucks the six-pack
Vasquez frowns at the mention of the Collectors, her mind in a similar place as Jason's - and rapidly approaching the related topic that she's been trying hard not to think about all day. The glaring absence in their holiday guest-list that has her scrambling to prove that she can do better. When Jason looks her way she's already looking at him, and she forces a small, half-hearted smile into place when their eyes meet.
Cynthia nods faintly, eyebrows furrowed as she studies the two of them, well aware of how much the Collectors have affected their lives. "Yeah. It can. It's gonna." she affirms with a meaningful look to Vasquez, before noticing that Jason has found her beer, bringing out a small grin. "Wasn't sure how prepped you guys were, so..." she says - apparently alcohol is at the top of her list of 'vital Christmas supplies'. "But,
shit... you guys really went all out, huh?" she states as her gaze wanders the room. The decorations. The counter full of food. The drinks.
Vasquez ' smile turns a bit more genuine and she shrugs, face caught halfway between embarrassment and pride. "We've got a lot to celebrate." she points out simply.
Cynthia snickers and smirks. "Can't argue with that." she agrees, peeling off her jacket and hoodie and tossing them on the couch, apparently not sharing Jason's concern about the sanctity of Vasquez' decoration effort. She heads over to the kitchen to get a look at the drink options.
Vasquez is quick to call out that "Everything on the counter is off-limits before dinner!" When met with a poor attempt at puppy-dog eyes from Cynthia she heads over to the stove, grabbing a pair of mugs and pouring up some of the mulled wine that's been heating. She hands one to Cynthia with a tired, if amused, look, before heading in Jason's direction.
Jason does his best to dispel any lingering, unwanted thoughts before they can take hold. Cynthia's surprise over the extent of preparation causes him to shoot an appraising glance of his own about the room. When Vasquez responds, he gives a few small nods to her sentiment, offering a quiet, "We do." in agreement before shifting his attention back to Cynthia and lifting the beer slightly, smile widening. "But this won't go to
waste." he assures. His wife's concern over the food gets a snicker out of him and he starts back towards the kitchen to stow away the beer.
Vasquez intercepts Jason, snatching the six-pack from him and handing him the second mug. The contents are steaming, the smell of fruit and spices rising with the hot air. "Give it a try? Got it from a booth at the market. Not like I could test it, so not sure how it is." she says, before heading over to the counter place a few of Cynthia's Christmas beers among the other drink options for additional variety.
Cynthia studies her mug and takes a sip, eyebrows furrowing. "What am I drinking...?" she asks skeptically while Vasquez places a box of cheap, mass-produced gingerbread cookies on the coffee table.
Cynthia considers the question for a moment and shrugs, taking another sip. "Booze is booze." she decides, heading back to the couch and plopping down. It's not long before she's munching on a cookie.
Jason performs the booze hand-off and ends up with a look not too dissimilar to Cynthia's. He sniffs at the drink skeptically, brow furrowed. "What in the fuck is mulled-..." he mutters to himself before immediatetly getting sidetracked by a new, related thought that's brought on. Well, an old thought. An old thought renewed! It causes him to lock on to Cynthia, spinning to face her as she drops onto the couch. "Hey, East Coast!"
he calls out to her, "What's a melon baller?!" he asks enthusiastically. As soon as he asks the question he shoots a glance Vasquez' way, smug look already crossing his face as if he's already certain that her answer is only going to add to his previous convictions regarding melon ballers.
Cynthia 's eyebrows furrow in confusion, and she manages a "Hwuh...?" while biting down on another cookie, shooting Jason a questioning look.
Vasquez refuses to acknowledge Jason's look. She rubs her temple and mumbles something to herself as she makes her way back to the kitchen to put another small pot on the stove before heading over to the fridge.
Jason thrusts a hand in Cynthia's general direction, giving her something between an aggressive point and a fist pump in victory. Turning that smug look right back on Vasquez he merely stares her down, intently waiting for her to glance his way, just so he can give a little knowing tilt of his head. "What did I tell you?" he brags before glancing down into his mug once more and finally trying it out with a victory sip.
The mulled wine tastes of spices and fruit, and seems pretty strong. Right from the stove it's too hot for anything but small sips.
Vasquez glances over her shoulder as if she can feel Jason's eyes on her, shooting him a blank look and going right back to what she was doing with a shake of her head, retrieving a carton of milk from the fridge and heading back to the stove.
Cynthia just looks puzzled, looking between Jason and Vasquez. "...okay, what'd I miss...?" she asks after washing the cookie down with another sip from her mug.
Jason brings the mug in close to his chest, brows furrowing as he looks down into it again. A little fancy for his tastes, but at least it's better than that shit from Cross. Ultimately, he seems to come to the same conclusion as Cynthia regarding it- booze is booze- and takes another tentative sip. "Nothing!" he says with a shrug. "Absolutely nothing. You're just a normal, reasonable person who has no idea what in the fuck a
melon baller is. Not a serial killer. Congratulations." he continues his contextless rant, periodically shooting glances Vasquez' way as if to rub it in. He gives a stern nod, shifting in place as he appreciates his victory. "And like any normal, reasonable person, if you gotta scoop out some brains?" he shrugs again, glancing right back at Vasquez, before smugly adding, "You'll just use a spoon."