Nathan locates the beers and pulls out the array of bottles with a chorus of clinks. He sets them down, before casting his focus back to Mendez. "Might leaves room for some positivity," he says. "You'll be alright after you rest it up for a bit. How long is it expected to take? A few weeks? A month?"
#Leah'sHouse – January 3, 2021
Sofia breathes a quiet laugh, setting her hands down once more before they become too energised. "Every family needs a DJ," she quips. "Like I said, father doesn't even try. He'd probably end up blowing up the stereo, so you're already doing better than him." Sofia's mismatched eyes briefly flick over to Tara and Leah, the journal catching her attention for the moment before it returns to Francois.
Leah watches Tara in silence, hand resting against the gift in her lap. When the younger woman glances her way, she gives a firm, encouraging nod, the pom from her Christmas hat bouncing about as she does. "It's yours." she reaffirms, silently implying that Tara doesn't need permission. She doesn't even attempt to hide the ear-to-ear smile that manifests.
Mendez examines the glass briefly for... something. Some OCD cursory glance to make sure it's clean, perhaps? At any rate, it seems to pass his inspection and he sets it down on the counter before moving stepping past Nathan to search through the fridge himself. He gives a grunt of affirmation at Nathan's initial statement, sounding less-than-enthusiastic. "If everything goes well?" he muses, propping the fridge door open with his
shoulder as he leans down to collect a bottle of soda from the fridge. "Few weeks." he says, his tone perhaps giving away that he's expecting the worst. He makes his way back to the glass and begins to fill it with soda.
Francois snickers to himself, nodding a few times. "Well, I suppose we must work with the skills we have. So I'll take what I can get." he offers, smile remaining as he turns his gaze to the gift in his lap. Giving it a small lift and an appreciative glance Sofia's way, he begins to unwrap it.
Tara smiles a little, nodding and swallowing as her attention returns to the label, nervous expression giving way to a focused frown as she scrawls 'TARA'. The letters are large and crooked, but she seems happy with the result, smile returning, wider, as she turns the journal a bit to show it off to Leah.
Nathan pops the tops off the bottles and waits until Mendez is all set before he begins the precarious journey of carrying all this booze in his own two hands. He frowns to himself as he realises it probably would've been easier to wait until he got into the living room to open the bottles. Crap. "That's not too bad," he says, staying the optimist here. "We should be in for a few quiet weeks after... well, everything
Sofia smiles brightly and watches as he begins to unwrap the gift. When the wrapping tears away, the present expands just a little bit. It seems Sofia wrapped it so tightly that it came across smaller than it was. When it unfurls, it reveals itself to be quite a fashionable neck warmer. A knitted, deep blue that almost seems black. The inside itself is soft, warm fur. It looks quite comfortable and fitting for the cold
Leah's big, bright smile somehow grows even larger as Tara shows off her handiwork. She studies the scrawled name for a moment. All of its edges and angles. Far from perfect, perhaps. But it's something that belongs to the young girl now. Something that people like Fasha can never take from her again. She gives a number of nods, big green eyes turning from the book to Tara. "Perfect." she says softly.
Mendez puts the bottle of soda away and collects the glass before following behind Nathan. "Quiet. Right. Because Redrock has a habit of staying out of trouble." he says with no small amount of sarcasm, a small snort following.
Francois furrows his brow as he studies the winter garb, fingers gently running across the fur. His expression slowly shifts into a smile as he seems to realize what it is. "Merci." he offers Sofia with a small dip of his head. "This winter has been a heavy one so far, so I'm sure I'll get plenty of use out of this." He does the standard thing of over-examining his gift to let the gifter know that he's pleased with it.
Tara 's smile remains bright as her attention turns back to the journal, gaze lingering on it for a moment before she puts it aside. She reaches for the remaining gift from Leah next, placing it in her lap and once again starting the process of carefully peeling the paper.
Nathan makes his way back to the living room, casting a glance over his shoulder to Mendez before they enter. "Well, I mean... fair. But c'mon, I think we've all earned a break, don't you? Universe can't be that much of a bastard." He walks into the living room, face breaking out in a wide smile. "Beers, who wanted beers? Please take your beer because I made a mistake and am carrying way too much, please help."
Sofia dips her head, a pleased smile accompanying. "I'm glad you like it. I read that the winters out here are quite harsh." She looks up to her brother and offers a roll of her eyes as she stands up and carefully extracts her glass of wine from his overburdened hands.
As the paper gives way to Tara's gift, she would be greeted by a box emblazoned with what is certainly a familiar sight by now. The Bold & The Burdened's logo- the show's title in elegant, curvy script- and an incredibly large cast of characters beneath it. Some of the characters should be familiar. Cornelius and his evil-brother-who-is-maybe-not-so-evil Malelius. The tip of their love triangle, Amanda. And plenty of others. But a large
number are unfamiliar. Cast members from seasons past whose stories had come and gone long before Tara and Leah began watching the ridiculous show. The box set boasts a season count that's either impressive or upsetting, depending on your patience for bullshit daytime TV. It claims to be a comprehensive collection of the show up to this year, including all of its (failed) spin-offs. Yes, even the one about the krogan detective named Butch
Leah returns to opening the gift from Sofia, but only manages to get started on peeling into it before her attention is once again pulled away, this time to Nathan. She glances up at him, face contorting into an exasperated smile. She shakes her head and rises to her knees to accept the beer from Nathan with a sigh. After setting it on the floor beside her, she settles right back into her spot. "Thanks." she offers. Before she can
get back to her own present, she realizes that Tara has opened the gift from her. An excited, "Oh~!" slips out and she quickly reaches out to tap a finger against the box. "It's every episode of The Bold & The Burdened!" she explains before Tara has time to ask for clarification on the gift, then warns, "So I think~ you and I have a looot of catching up to do~!" She gives a goofy wiggle of her eyebrows before turning
Mendez opens his mouth to speak. To protest Nathan's optimism. Not like the universe has done them many favors in the past. Why start now? But something stops him. Maybe it's the Christmas music that continues to bellow out from the speakers. Or perhaps it's the sea of colorful, festive paper discarded all over the floor. Or the big, bright smiles all around. Maybe it's just a Christmas miracle. At any rate, he halts himself,
clearing his throat before nodding. "...Yeah. Suppose we have..." he offers in little more than a mutter. Unable to collect his own beer from Nathan with the glass of soda in his hand, he quickly steps past the man towards Tara. He bends down, setting the glass down beside her without a word in a drive-by delivery of beverages before moving to collect his beer from Nathan.
Francois gives a hearty laugh that devolves into a sigh, as if Sofia's words don't even begin to cover just how difficult the winters can get here. A fact that's not helped by living outside of the town proper. Long walks through deep snow can get quite cold. Thankfully he can just send Leah to fetch most things, but that doesn't need mentioning. "Harsh is putting it mildly." he chuckles before his attention shoots Nathan's way.
Seeing his balancing act, he quickly rises from his chair to collect his drink, slinging the neck warmer over his shoulder in the process.
Tara 's eyes widen, gaze darting between Leah and the cover. As the nature of the gift sinks in she grins, continuing to curiously study the massive ensemble of characters portrayed. Catching herself, she glances back to Leah and tilts her head slightly with a "Thank you.", still grinning. The sudden appearance of a glass of soda next to her puzzles her briefly before she notices the ongoing beer delivery and puts the pieces together. She
Nathan hands out the beers as the entirety of the living room swarms him, passing out the drinks this way and that before he's left only with his own. He sighs contently before he retakes his spot on the floor, a hearty swig emptying from his bottle. He peers over Leah's shoulder to Tara's present and inwardly thanks the Lord that he won't be roped into watching that.
Sofia takes her seat once more and sips delicately on the wine, appreciating the warmth it provides. She looks across to Leah and watches her open the gift, a small smile on her face. The present, once unwrapped, is a black box with no other distinguishing features. Upon opening it, the contents would be revealed to be a make-up kit of rather high quality. It's actually quite amazing how much was placed inside this small
box. How Sofia came across this kind of kit on Aite is unknown. However, hidden beneath the kit is a small slip of paper that simply reads; "Please treat him well - Sofia x".
Leah studies the black box, shooting a quick, curious glance Sofia's way before lifting the lid off. A small smile crosses her lips. Although she's always well put together, she's not exactly the sort to too much makeup outside of special occasions. But that also means that she doesn't have anything even close to this level of quality for said special occasions, making it a welcome gift. But, most importantly, it's clearly a
gift that's an extension of Sofia. Prim and proper and the textbook definition of 'girly'. "I can't promise that I'll put this to as good of a use as you would." she offers with a snicker, perhaps selling herself a little short. If the wedding was any indication, she can crank it up to 11 when the occasion calls for it. "But I'll do my best." As her green eyes turn to the note left behind in the box when she pulls the kit
out, her brows briefly furrow. After a moment, she sucks in her lips, giving a glance to the big doofus at her side, a sheepish smile slipping out as she studies him. Not bothering to give him any explanation for the sudden, endearing look, she's quick to hide the note away by placing the makeup kit back over it and closing the box as she offers Sofia a small, silent nod. "...That I can do." she says softly. Sincerely.
Mendez retakes his previous seat. Slow and steady, he uses Francois' chair to assist him in getting back down on the floor without hurting his shoulder.
Francois too, retakes his seat once Mendez is finished using it as a crutch. He takes a sip of his beer, neck warmer hanging over his shoulder as he watches the gift exchanges with a smile now that he's all out of presents to open.
Tara cranes her neck a little to give Sofia's gift to Leah a curious glance, but her attention soon turns to her own remaining presents, setting down her glass before reaching for the one from Nathan and starting to open it just as gently as all the others.
Nathan perks an eyebrow up as Leah turns to look at him, own genuine but confused smile meeting hers. When she turns back to Sofia and speaks, he just gives an even more confused look to the pair of them before shrugging it off with a mouthful of beer. He looks across to Tara as she gets to his gift and he sits up a little straighter. As Tara unwraps the present, she would find a similar black box with silver trim.
Lifting the lid from it, she would find a simplistic, bronze locket with a small button on the side of it. The locket is already open, however, revealing the small picture screen inside. The first image that shows is of Tara and Leah at the wedding, dressed up together. The second is a very recent photo and is a photo of Zoe sat in the middle of Leah's living room floor. The photos fade into the other every ten
Sofia giggles softly at Leah's comment, giving her a small wave of her hand. "Don't sell yourself short," she says, catching onto the meaning quite easily. When she reads the note and looks to her brother then back to her, Sofia's smile softens and becomes much more gentle. There's a brief, genuine look of concern in her eyes for her brother, a scrutinous moment where she almost seems to take stock of Leah and her
reaction. But the smile and the soft and sincere promise causes her to dip her head a modicum and reply, "Thank you," before turning her focus to Tara's gift from her brother.
Leah's smile tapers back into something a bit softer at Sofia's response, and she retakes her earlier position, lazily leaning against Nathan, bringing her remaining gifts with her. Now sitting comfortably, she takes a sip of her beer and opts to save Tara's gift for last, leaving Vasquez' envelope as her current target. She slips a thumb beneath the edge of the envelope's flap and cleanly tears it open, attention split between
Francois leans forward a bit in his seat to try and get a better look at Tara's gift. "What is it, sweetheart?" he asks, unable to particularly see from his position.
Thiago too, watches in silence, his own supply of gifts having already run dry. He sips at his beer (Which he probably shouldn't be drinking with meds but, eh, fuck it), a small smile tugging at his lips as he leans ever so slightly to get a look at Tara's gift. He shoots a silent, respectful look Nathan's way.
Tara looks surprised as the contents of the box are revealed, leaning closer to study the locket. As she watches the changing picture display a warm smile spreads across her lips. She reigns it in a little before looking over towards Nathan, offering a sincere "Thank you." with a tilt of her head, smile slipping back out after the gesture. As Francois adresses her she picks the locket up and holds it out for him to see. "A... necklace?
With pictures." she says, gaze darting towards Nathan as if seeking confirmation, not sounding entirely certain.
The envelope from Vasquez contains a Christmas card. A classic scene of a log cabin in the woods on a snowy winter night, the window shining with warm, inviting light. Inside it is a smaller, plastic card with a download code for an independent game galled 'Autonomous', which according to the accompanying description is 'A collection of stories about coercion, violation, guilt & survival, based on the experiences of its creators'. On the
Christmas card itself, Vasquez has written: 'Like I said, I was never good at talking about these things. I know it's not much, and I don't know if it's your kind of thing, but this helped me process. A little, at least. Maybe it'll help you too.'
Nathan smiles as he drapes an arm over Leah's shoulders, beer hanging by the neck in his other hand. He looks across to Tara and inclines his head in acknowledgement, Mendez's approval being met with the same nod. "More or less. It's a locket. And the screen inside can hold up to five pictures so, if you ever want to add to it, you can. It's easy enough to do, so even Leah could do it." He chuckles. "Merry Christmas,
Sofia watches in comfortable silence, sipping at her wine as she watches the final gifts being opened.