Leah plucks the small, plastic card from within the Christmas card, brow furrowing as she looks it over. As she reads Vasquez' writing, the meaning behind the gift quickly becomes clear. She does her best to mask the underlying emotions that threaten to color her smile at the mere thought of what both she and Vasquez went through. This gift isn't the sort that you wave around to display for others. This one stays between her and
#Leah'sHouse – January 10, 2021
Vasquez. Willing away the tension that tries to take hold in her shoulders, she slides the small plastic card back into the Christmas card, clears her throat, and stores it back in the envelope for safe keeping, setting it atop the rest of her gifts. Having momentarily been distracted from the others, Nathan's teasing helps to bring her back into the fold, causing her to give a playful frown. "You're hilarious." she mutters
flatly. Deciding to help better contextualize the gift for Tara, she shifts slightly against Nathan, one hand reaching into the collar of her Christmas sweater. When she pulls her hand free, in it is a familiar trinket. The small, heart-shaped locket that dangles from a thin, silver necklace, her last name engraved into the center of it. Her smile widens as she lifts it a little higher for Tara, allowing the thin chain to
drape over her thumb so the locket can hang freely. "Like mine." she explains, giving Tara a moment to look it over before she tucks it back away beneath her sweater. "Maaaay~be~ we should take some pictures tonight to add to it. Hmmm?" she suggests, lazily tilting her head way back to try and peer at Nathan without having to disrupt her comfortable position as she leans back against him, almost certainly inadvertantly
slapping him across the face with the fluffy ball of her Christmas hat that bounces about as she does.
Francois studies the locket when Tara holds it out. "That's... quite a gift." he hums. It causes his gaze to drift Nathan's way, the thoughtfulness of the gift not going unnoticed. His smile shifts into something more sincere- more thoughtful- as he sees just how comfortable his daughter seems to be with Nathan. How trusting she is of him. It's hard to shut off that part of him that's looking for any red flags. It's his fatherly
duty, after all. But it's nice to see her just... happy. She deserves it. He quickly turns his gaze back to the locket, not wanting to make the younger man uncomfortable. As the picture shifts to display the familiar blue ball of fluff, his smile grows. "You see that?" he asks, eyes darting to Tara, "Zoe."
Mendez continues to nurse his beer in silence, only piping up with a low groan as Leah makes her suggestion. He's, apparently, not the picture-taking sort.
Tara nods as she listens to Nathan and Leah, the latter's suggestion bringing out a smile and a firmer nod. Francois' words bring her attention back down to the locket just in time to catch the image of Zoe. It makes her grin widely, and glance around in search of the little furball, but she's nowhere to be found. Maybe the crowd is just a bit much for the poor thing.
Nathan chuckles lightly at her flat reaction, taking a sip of his beer. The smile on Tara's face draws a very subtle sigh of relief from him, happy to see that she's taken to it. The sudden strike of the fluffy ball draws his eyes down to the face peering up at him. "Hah, sure," he says, reaching up to flick the ball back over to drape lazily over her face. "Sofia, you brought your camera with you, right? Fancy adding to
Tara's locket?" As he turns to direct the question at his sister, he just catches Francois' look before he manages to avert away. But, he smiles.
Sofia hums, leaning forward to peer at the occupants of the room before she flashes them all a dazzling smile with an eager nod. "I think I can do that. On the condition that macho-man smiles during it." She gives Mendez a playful smirk, gentle laugh escaping on the end of it. Maybe the wine has settled a little too much, but it seems to have just turned on the playful banter segment of her personality. Could be far
Leah scoffs over Mendez' reaction, green eyes shooting his way. "Don't-..." she starts but stops as the fluffy ball falls into her face, causing her to blow at it ineffectually before giving it a quick swat to the side, inadvertantly flicking it right back in Nathan's face, "...Don't be an asshole! It's just a picture!" she chastizes.
Francois shoots his daughter the 'language' look, but it's entirely disregarded. With a sigh, he looks to the large man sitting on the floor beside him. "A picture isn't going to kill you, Thiago." he says, that fatherly disappointment in his tone only strengthened by the fact that he seems to be one of the few people that actually call Mendez by his first name.
Mendez shoots a glare Sofia's way, but is unable to pipe up before the others chime in, causing him to furrow his brow. Eyes narrowed, he scans across the group. Surrounded by traitors. "Someone has to take the picture. I'll do it." he says with a deep, heavy sigh, sounding as if he believes that's a fair compromise.
Tara starts to pull her final gift - from Halisi again - into her lap, but the argument over the picture makes her look Mendez' way, eyebrows furrowed as she studies him. She actually looks more sympathetic than anything. "It's okay, you don't have to be in the picture." she says quietly, seeming a little hesitant to contradict the others, but maybe the fact that it's supposed to be for her locket makes her feel a bit of ownership over
Nathan throws up a hand in protest to being grouped into the category of 'traitors' as Mendez levels a glare around at the room. "Hey, don't- ppftt-". The pom hitting him back in the face forces him to do the same back to her. The greatest game of pom ping pong that the galaxy shall ever see. "- glare at me, I didn't say anything!"
Sofia just laughs again. "I can set a timer~. You're not-" She cuts herself off when Tara pipes in, a little surprised that she did. She pouts as she gives Mendez a get out of jail free card from the photo, but she gives a resigned wave of her hand, smile stretching back onto her face. "Well, I suppose that settles that!"
Leah is quick to chirp in over the tail end of Mendez' offer with a stern shake of her head, narrowly missing Nathan with the pom of her hat multiple times. "Oh no ya don't!" she exclaims, "Nobody has to take the pic-..." she begins before getting interrupted by a pom to the temple, causing her to sharply shut one eye and shoot a quick warning glare upwards at Nathan, seemingly unaware that she started it. "Nobody has to take-..."
she returns to her previous thought, anunciating a bit more harshly as if to imply she was rudely interrupted by Nathan's pom antics, but Sofia beats her to the point with mention of a timer and she jabs a finger Sofia's way. "Exactly!" she adds. Tara's sudden and unexpected addition causes her to look her way. A small frown of disappointment in Mendez slips out, and she levels the big greens on him in silent judgement, as if
Mendez glares harder at Nathan when he points out that he's being hit with some friendly fire glaring. "I'm not 'glaring'." he glares in protest. The tag team of Leah and Sofia get a double barreled blast of glare as well. It's not until Tara speaks up that his expression softens and he studies her for a moment. As he meets Leah's gaze, he gains an uncomfortable expression, gaze briefly turning to his beer as he rotates the bottle
between his fingers. He draws a deep, guilty breath in, sour look on his face. "I-... uhh-..." he grumbles after a few moments, offering a half-hearted shrug as his gaze turns back to Tara. "...guess it would be... nice-..." he continues, nearly having to spit the word out, begrudgingly glancing Leah's way for some sign of approval, "...to have some pictures to send to Liv."
Leah's smile quickly slips back out and she leans back a bit heavier against Nathan, offering Mendez a few small, encouraging nods. She usually ends up getting her way when it comes to Mendez. Just takes a little persistence. And she's nothing if not persistent. "Sounds like a plan." she says. "But first-..." she continues with a glance Tara's way, green eyes shifting between her and the gift in her hand before giving a small,
goofy wiggle of her eyebrows, "I think we've still got some gifts to open." Having to lean to the side a bit to reach it, she pulls her final gift into her lap. The small box from Tara.
Tara continues to study Mendez, her smile widening a bit when he changes his mind. Leah's interjection makes her glance her way and nod before turning her attention to the present in her lap, starting to unwrap it now that she's been reminded. As the wrapping paper is removed it reveals a hefty paper book. A cookbook, to be specific. "1000 Recipes: Earth". The cover is a map of the Earth with various dishes dotted across the globe, while
the back lists all the other books in the series - it seems each volume focuses on cuisine from a specific world. There's also a download code for a digital version included. Tara's eyebrows furrow as she studies the cover and flips through a few pages to try and decipher its nature.
Nathan manages to dodge any further pom swings, even after she levels a glare at him. So much glaring! And why at him?! Such injustices. And then more glaring by Mendez! There is no winning in this scenario. Nathan huffs and simply allows himself to get more comfortable as his sister and Leah weather Mendez down. When he caves, Nathan snickers and simply draws Leah in with his arm around her shoulders, taking yet another
hearty swig of beer. "I'm guessing I should be ready for that kinda persistence?" He murmurs into her ear, giving her a little squeeze on the shoulder.
Sofia's does a little cheer of victory as Mendez crumbles like an eroded bank, already reaching for her bag with the camera stowed away inside it. "Victory! It'll be fun!"
Francois is unable to hold back the snicker that slips out at Mendez' lack of enthusiasm and he gives a small shake of his head. His attention is eventually drawn to the book in Tara's hands and he watches from afar as she thumbs through the pages, smile ever-present.
Leah settles in comfortably as Nathan draws her in, unable to hide the dumb grin on her face. "No idea what you're talking about." she shrugs innocently, as if she had no part in Mendez changing his mind. The dimples that dot her cheeks give her away, however, as she begins to pluck at the wrapping paper of the gift in her lap.
Once the gift from Tara is unwrapped and the lid lifted from the small box, a small wireframe sculpture of a woman in a robe is unveiled. The sort of handmade trinket one can find at the market, no doubt. A closer inspection of the figurine would reveal miniscule, inactive holo-emitters on the head and back, as well as a small plate on the back, between the shoulders, with a tiny, tiny switch on it.
Tara seems to get a pretty good grasp of what the book is from just the pictures and layout, smiling a little to herself as she lets it rest in her lap. Upon noticing that Leah is opening her gift she studies her silently, waiting a little nervously to see how it is received.
Nathan snickers as he falls silent, peering over her shoulder to look curiously at the present. The handmade trinket certainly raises an eyebrow as he studies the inactive holo-emitters.
Sofia pokes her tongue out the corner of her mouth as she gives Mendez a goofy grin, waving the camera in the air for him to see. She remains quiet, however as she finishes off her wine and looks towards the final selection of presents to be opened.
Leah furrows her brow, smile still spread across her face as she studies the small sculpture, taking careful note of the holo-emitters. She shoots a curious glance Tara's way, expression unwavering, before turning the figure about. Once she spots the switch, she holds the sculpture up a little higher to get a better look at it, orienting it to face her as she presses the switch.
Mendez gives a roll of his eyes at Sofia's antics, but it does manage to get an inkling of a smirk out of him, which he's quick to sweep away with a sip from his beer.
Francois turns his attention to his daughter when it seems like Tara has a good idea of what the book is.
As the switch is flipped, golden holographic additions flicker to life - a halo and wings. The projections are a little fuzzy, no doubt owing to the cheap emitters used, but the intent of the sculpture is clear all the same.
Tara continues to watch silently, shooting Leah a small, slightly hesitant smile when the angelic features are added with a flip of the switch.
Nathan perks his brow as the little holo comes to life. A small grin spreads across his face as he peers down to witness Leah's reaction.
Leah snickers softly in surprise to herself as the holograph comes to life. For a few moments, she just watches it in silence, entirely unconcerned with the quality of the projection. The thought behind it is apparent, and it seems to hit her harder than expected. "It's-..." she briefly sucks in her lips, big green eyes darting from the sculpture to Tara as she nods softly, "...it's beautiful." She holds it up a bit higher for her
father to see, a certain glassiness coming to her eyes. "What do you think?" she asks him. "It'll look nice with the rest of mom's collection, right?"
Francois chuckles as the holo-emitters flicker on, leaning forward in his seat a bit to get a better look at the sculpture. Leah's words cause him to cast a glance towards the collection of old angel knick knacks. Plenty bought by her mother. Some that were cheap birthday gifts from a young Leah for her mother's birthday. Others that were more expensive gifts from Francois. A collection gathered over a lifetime and sporting all of
the dings, cracks, and chips to prove it. Each one of them another memory. As he studies the small knick-knack in his daughter's hands, he's unable to keep his mind from drifting towards thoughts of Inès. The love of his life. "I think-..." he swallows, careful to keep a handle on whatever emotions may be trying to bubble up, "...I think that she would have loved that."
Mendez falls quiet at the exchange. Leah's restrained emotion over the knick-knack garners a confused, furrowing of his brow at first. But the exchange between her and her father seems to provide the much-needed context, causing his gaze to briefly drift over towards the arrangement of angel knick-knacks on the cabinet beside the entrance to the kitchen.
Tara looks a little unsure how to read Leah and Francois' reactions at first, almost a bit worried, but her small smile briefly returns with the assessment rendered, although it's laced with heavier emotion, a reflection of what she sees in their faces. It's obvious that Leah's words about her mom's collection stuck with her for one reason or another. She offers a silent, deferrential tilt of her head to Francois before looking Leah's
Nathan looks at the exchange with a small smile. The air, laden with emotion, is easy enough to read. This simple gift clearly struck a tender cord for the Mercier's, the angelic holographic a perfect fit to the plethora of knick knacks sat nearby. He keeps himself hushed, keeping his arm wrapped now gently around Leah's shoulders. However, when he looks towards Tara's way, he slowly slips his arm free. He inclines his
head towards Leah, a subtle message to Tara that he hopes she understands. Sometimes a situation just calls for a hug.
Sofia blinks a little as the warmth of the alcohol within her system seems to crawl up behind her eyes, a small buzz unlatching the door to many emotions. Seeing the small, but meaningful exchange, causes one of those emotions to rear itself into view. A little moisture wells up as she looks towards the angelic arrangments and unbidden thoughts of her own mother come forward. She quickly whips out a tissue and dabs away
the tear before it can make itself known to the rest of the room and keeps the attention away from herself, instead looking back to the occupants of the room.
Leah is one step ahead of Tara and Nathan. After switching the holo-emitters off she gently shifts away from Nathan once his arm slips away, bringing her legs in close to maneuver onto her knees. Placing the gift amongst her others, she hobbles forward a step on her knees, arms open in a silent request for a hug, big bright smile still spread across her face despite the emotion lingering behind her eyes.
Francois allows a small snicker to slip out as his daughter signals for a hug. He takes a long pull from his beer and shoots one last affectionate look towards the collection of knick-knacks.
Tara 's smile resurfaces when it becomes obvious that Leah is on the same page, and she moves the cookbook off of her lap so that she can lean over and wrap her up in a firm hug, no doubt hitting her in the face with the pom of her newly acquired, personalized Christmas hat in the process. "M-... merry Christmas." she says quietly, sounding the words out carefully like she's not sure if she's pronouncing them right.
Sofia now fails in keeping the tear back. And the next one. And the next one. She sniffles softly and dabs at her eyes, doing her best to make herself small as not to draw attention.
Leah gives an emotion-laden snort as she's nailed in the face by the pom of Tara's hat, one eye sharply closing to avoid it. Seems Tara has a bit more pom-immunity than Nathan. "Merry Christmas, sweetheart." she says as she returns the gesture, arms wrapping around Tara. She gives her a gentle squeeze, rocking slightly in place and drawing in a deep, hitched breath.
Tara lingers for a while, resting her head on Leah's shoulder as they rock a little back and forth. She eventually pulls back, flashing a small smile and studying Leah as her hands return to her own lap. She casts a glance around while pushing the pom on her hat back, looking a little bit self-concious when she realizes that everyone is watching them.
Nathan gives a little, casual shrug as Tara begins to look around. The universal gesture for, 'Don't worry about it'. He looks across to Sofia and, seeing her trying her best to hide some drunken tears, sighs softly with a little shake of her head.
Sofia sniffles and gives her brother a dangerous glare, flipping him the bird. She's allowed to cry happy tears! It's a beautiful moment! Stop judging her! She has, however, respected the privacy and tenderness of the moment by not snapping a picture without them being aware. Who knows if they actually want this kind of moment being immortalised via photo? So, instead, she cuddles the little plastic swan to her chest.
Leah lets go of the hug once Tara starts to pull back, pressing a quick peck against the side of Tara's hat as she does. She sniffs at the air, quickly bringing her hand up to carefully wipe at the tears attempting to escape with her thumb. A small, embarrassed snicker over the sudden emotional reaction slips out and she dips her head low, sitting back on her heels and swiping a loose strand of hair back behind her ear before
Francois gains a gentle expression as he studies the two most important people in his life. When they break away, he scans across the mess of wrapping paper on the ground. Giving one last check to ensure that there's no more unopened gifts, he takes a sip of his beer. "Suppose I should start cleaning this mess up if we're going to take pictures." he says, more to himself than anyone else.
Mendez watches the pair in silence, bottle resting against his leg. It somehow makes the jolt of pain in his shoulder a little bit more tolerable. A small price to pay for Tara to have a chance at life. A chance to experience a day like today that so many others- himself included- take for granted.
Leah blinks away any lingering emotion, her father's words causing her to sit up a bit straighter and shoot a glance his way before he can climb out of his chair. "Maybe~ wait a minute on that." she offers a bit coyly, looking from him to Tara, eyes still a little glassy. "There might be another gift or two..." she adds with a sheepish shrug of her shoulders, much to her father's confusion. It might not come as a surprise to
Tara given the fact that the box she picked up on their way back from the market has so far gone unseen.
Tara 's attention turns to Francois when he speaks, following his gaze to the mess of wrapping paper all over. She seems just about ready to jump into action and offer to help clean up when Leah interjects. She shoots a curious look her way, sitting back and waiting for an elaboration.