Nathan start-stops when she speaks, the words catching him by surprise. If there was a response he was expecting, it certainly wasn't THAT one. He's effectively jump-started back into moving when she swats him on the rear, his eyes shooting wide but his mmouth clamping shut. One could swear they almost hear the sound of glass breaking inside his head as any previous thoughts shatter. However, thankfully, he is distracted
#Leah'sHouse – November 20, 2020
by Leah pulling him to a stop and turn his focus towards Mendez. He pauses and tilts his head at the man's back. He leans down towards Leah, speaking in a soft whisper as he asks, "Uh, what? What is it?"
Sofia laughs alongside Francois, fingers delicately resting on her chin as she does so. "Careful, I've seen Tara drinking. I'm not sure she would survive that amount," she muses, giving the young woman a playful smile. "Although I can see the necessity of turning to the hard liquor."
Leah watches Mendez for but a brief moment before shooting a mischeivous grin Nathan's way. She scoops one of the mugs off of the tray Nathan is carrying- specifically the one depicting a grumpy stick person- and gives a nod in Mendez' direction before leading the way. "Heyyyyyyy~" she chirps cheerfully over the Christmas music that continues to permeate the house. Currently, a recent pop rendition of "Cantique de Noël" is
playing. She approaches Mendez from behind and sets her own mug down on the table beside him as she leans over the large man's shoulder. Reaching around him, she sets his hot cocoa down on the table in front of him and pressing a big, exaggerated kiss against the side of his head as she crashes his phone call.
Mendez initially begins to glance to his side when he's grabbed from behind, but the peck against the side of his head is met with a irritated grumble and an attempt to lean away from his attacker.
Francois' laughter tempers into a low snicker until it eventually slips away entirely, pleasant smile remaining behind. He settles a bit heavier against his seat as he turns his attention back to the festivities on TV, Sofia's final addition garnering a quick snort from him. "It certainly helps." he muses.
Tara gains an awkwardly surprised expression when Sofia calls her out, cheeks reddening a little before she buries more of her face against her knees.
Nathan perks an eyebrow out and, just before she takes the lead, she can hear him murmur under his breath, "Oh no." He watches for about half-a-second before shrugging to himself. What's the expression? When in Rome? He follows inside and balances the tray of drinks in one hand. He then takes full advantage of Mendez's desperate attempt to move away from Leah to insert himself into the picture, leaning down to rest his
Sofia continues to giggle, only further encouraged when Tara's cheeks begin to colour. With a spring in her step, she stands up, only to slide straight back down to Tara's side. "Aww, don't be embarrassed!" She gives her a little pat on the head, eyelids scrunched up in mirth. "I'm not going to pretend I'm any better."
Mendez' omni-tool is sitting on the table in front of him, projecting a small screen. A video call. The quality isn't great and it's quite choppy, but the olive-skinned woman on the other end has a big smile on her face. Her long dark hair falls over her shoulders and, while it's hard to tell given the video quality and the way that she's framed, she appears to be wearing a Christmas sweater of her own, red and green collar visible on the
Leah continues to lean over Mendez, resting her chin against his shoulder, her green eyes lighting up as she spots the person that he is speaking to. "Hey, Liv!" she offers, clearly having at least some familiarity with the woman on the display, "Joyeux Noël~" She shoots a smile Nathan's way as he flanks Mendez' opposite side.
Mendez tilts his head towards Nathan when he joins them, lips pulled into a thinly veiled grimace. "Terribly." he offers flatly.
Tara flinches a little at the pat, her discomfort taking on a more sour note as her posture stiffens a bit and her attention turns to the TV, almost pointedly so, not really acknowledging Sofia.
Nathan snickers at Mendez's reaction, before directing his attention to the screen. He smiles towards the screen and gives a nod of greeting to the stranger, deciding to keep the festive spirit rolling. "Fröhliche Weihnachten!" He leans down a smidgen more to ensure that his face is completely in the shot. "And are neither of you two going to introduce me? I'm hurt. So very hurt, especially at you, Mendez! I even made you
hot cocoa." He throws on a comically pained expression, bringing the tray with the drinks into view to really punctuate his point.
Sofia sticks out her bottom lip and pouts, widening her eyes to saucers as she feigns a hurt look. She slowly leans to put herself into Tara's view. "Awww c'mooooon. Don't do that to meeeee. I'm sorry~. Accept my apology pleeeeeease?" Credit where credit is due, Sofia really knows how to do the 'hurt puppy' look.
Mendez shoots an unimpressed glance towards the tray of mugs before drawing in a breath and, with a roll of his eyes, tilts his head back towards the holographic display and opens his mouth to introduce Nathan. That is, until Leah gets out ahead of him.
Leah hums a quick, "Oh!" and gestures towards the holographic display with the hand that's draped lazily across Mendez. "This is Mendez' sister." she explains, glancing across Mendez to meet Nathan's gaze as she hijacks the call, "Livia. Annnnd this~" she gives a sweep of her hand Nathan's way as she stands up a bit straighter, "Is-... uhh-... my-..." she stammers, cheeks reddening as she shoots a peculiar look Nathan's way,
Mendez sighs loudly. "Boyfriend." he interjects sternly to correct her, as if frustrated that she's even dancing around it by this point. "Nathan-..." he gestures to the man at his side and then back to the frozen image on his omni-tool, "...Liv. Liv, Nathan." Simple.
Mendez furrows his brow, confusion settling in as he takes notice of the look he's getting from Leah. "What?!" he asks defensively. "You two idiots were standing four feet away-..." he gestures idly towards the kitchen, "...going on about sleeping together. I have ears. If you're not gonna say it, I will. He's your boyfriend." He shoots a look Nathan's way in turn, "You're her boyfriend." he says in his deep, monotone voice, as if
The image remains frozen for a few seconds and then it finally unfreezes only to seize right back up again, leaving the woman on the other side- Livia, apparently- frozen in an awkward position, mouth wide open. There doesn't seem to be much of an age gap between her and her brother, and the family resemblance is definitely there, though she looks far less harsh than her brother. "Thiago!" she chastises, exasperation clear in her voice even
if she's not visible on screen. The next frozen image of her is, fittingly, her face pressed firmly into her palm.
Francois furrows his brows, amused expression crossing his face at Tara taking the playful prodding so seriously. "Oh, she's just joking, sweetheart." he assures Tara.
Tara 's attention turns back to Sofia when she intensifies her theatrics, but they don't seem to have the desired result. Quite the opposite, really. She seems put off, uncertainty over how to respond mixing with her unease. She leans away from Sofia and ends up casting a glance towards Francois in the hope that he will intervene or offer guidance. His words make her look back to the woman next to her, eyebrows furrowed. A brief moment of
silence passes before she speaks. "I'm... going to the bathroom." she says quietly, offering an apologetic tilt of her head and a quick look at both of the other people in the room before standing up and slipping away.
Nathan watches the pair beside him with an amused grin on his face. However, when Leah starts fumbling over how to introduce him, he actually has the audacity to give her a mildly annoyed look. That is made extensively less serious with the smirk persisting. Mendez's declaration is enough for him and he waggles his free hand at Livia in greeting. "Hello!" Nathan does go bright red though. Because Mendez heard EVERYTHING.
All of it. "Yup! I'm- I'm her boyfriend. Yup." The monotone voice and the stare is enough to snap Nathan to parade attention. He's not sure why he has, but he has! Maybe he's mildly terrified?
Sofia opens her mouth, her jovial expression now giving way to confusion mixed in with a pained grimace. She sits back on her legs, folding her hands into her lap with her brow crinkled. "Oh. Sure." She watches the young woman walk away before she sighs. Sofia kneads her forehead with the heel of her palm, eyes closing as if she's trying to massage a sudden headache away. "I was... being too much, wasn't I?" She asks