thanksgiving is, after all, a word of action [set on 11/26]

[triskehale]

Thanksgivings in the Hale house used to be quite the big deal. Feeding over a dozen werewolves, many of them teenagers was no easy feat. Derek loved all the chaos, and he helped out in the kitchen since he was old enough to stand on a step stool and reach the counter.

The first year after everyone died, he and Laura each got a rotisserie chicken and some biscuits, trying to hang on to some semblance of tradition, but the food tasted like ash. Laura went to bed early, and Derek pretended not to hear her cry. They stopped trying to do anything for the holiday after that.

It's been almost a decade since that disastrous attempt, and a few months ago Derek decided that he wanted to try again. While Laura and the rest of his family will always be the cause of this gnawing ache in his heart, Derek has a new family here in Darrow. He has so many people that matter to him, and care about him. It's more than Derek deserves, or ever thought that he would get, but he's grateful. He's thankful.

So he decides that he's going to do his best to put on a Thanksgiving of his own, and invite his new ragtag sort of pack. His new family.

The invitations go out and on the big day, Derek arrives at Semele's just after dawn. He puts two giant turkeys in the oven and quickly sets up the long table and chairs in the middle of the bar. With each chair he places, Derek marvels over just how many people he has in his life. It's astounding to him, and it's the perfect day to show his gratitude.

And then, all that's left to do is cook. And cook, and cook some more. If he's lucky, he'll have time to go shower and put on something nice before all his guests arrive.


[Hale pack Thanksgiving! Treat this as a gathering post. Tag in, tag around, give thanks! ♥]

Comments

[godless_son]

"I am quite certain there are no Thanksgiving rules related to disregarding vegetables," he huffs, shaking his head as he slides into the booth. "And you cannot expect me to consider sitting near tofu to be a sacrifice. Or allowing me to add an extra gourd arrangement to our dinner table. That is also not a sacrifice. Now, clearing your arteries for you while you sleep without you knowing about it is closer at least."

[shuck_you]

"Yeah, it'll just be starting slow since it'll be the first job I've had that wasn't running or...creating insane death traps for power hungry companies," Thomas said, sounding slightly bitter. He pushed it aside though because today wasn't the day to think about WICKED or let his burdens loose around so many people.

"I don't know if I should be in the kitchen," he joked, shaking his head, "unless I'm handing people stuff and staying out of the way. That might be my limit unless someone needs something heated up in a microwave."

[puckandpie]

"Hey now, everyone has to start from somewhere," I tell him, shifting a little so I can better face him. "I'm not sayin' I'll make you start cooking in there, but maybe you could help with prepping things eventually. And I could always use some help cleaning if you ever have the time between running around everywhere."

Part of me wants to ask a little more about this WICKED stuff and what it is he thinks or knows that he did. I still don't really understand it all. And it's still so, so hard for me to imagine he could've done anything to harm people.

[shuck_you]

"Maybe. We'll see how the easy stuff goes before I think of trying anything harder than that," Thomas replied, nodding. Even with all his words, he didn't honestly think he'd be terrible at something that required listening to instructions and picking things up for Derek or whoever, before transporting them to a different place.

"So, what's been going on with you?" Thomas asked curiously. "I know you haven't spent the entire time since I last saw you baking pies. Your pies are good but I can't see there being that much a need for them. Anything else happening? How's the living situation?"

[theresalwayshope]

Allison arrives early to give Derek the army of desserts she made (hey, he did remind her how much he can eat), and so at dinner she relaxes a little, eating her fill, more than she'd usually allow herself when she knows she's patrolling later.

Tonight, unless she sees something coming, she's not going out there. The Alpha has been a shield for so long now...she hasn't been the same since losing Jason and she knows it, she can't get past it.

She's made her peace, though. He coaxed some light out of the darkness in her, but he took it with him when he left Darrow. Twice, she's let herself do more than love, she let herself believe in love, that there was a happy ending for her. She's resigned to the darkness now, and warms herself when she can around the comforting light of hearth and home.

Tonight, that's Thanksgiving dinner with Derek, and stuffing herself silly with a menu that, once again, surprises her in the best way possible. After dinner, she allows herself a glass of wine, and mostly stays on the fringes of things, merely content to bask in the soothing and happy sounds of conversation, eating, and laughter surrounding her.

[puckandpie]

There isn't a doubt in my mind that Thomas will be a great employee, but I can understand being nervous, especially considering this is really his first job. And Derek is a great boss, of course. The whole situation is just perfect.

His question is perfectly innocent but, of course, the second he asks, Simon immediately pops to mind and I feel my cheeks go hot.

"Well," I say, turning my attention to my jeans and trying not to smile. "I'm back in my own apartment. Nights are still hard sometimes, but it's mostly getting a lot better. I've gone back to work and, uhm... well, on Monday I went back to the ice rink finally. With a guy."

[shuck_you]

Thomas decided to take Bitty's news separately because each part deserved a little attention.

"You can always call me if it gets too tough," offered Thomas gently. He assumed that Bitty wanted to prove that he could be on his own, that he didn't need to lean on people constantly but even if Bitty didn't need to use his couch, he still wanted to offer something. "We can talk for a little while until you're good."

With that out of the way, Thomas focused on the other bit of news. Grinning, he asked, "A guy? A guy like when you took me or something different?"

[shuck_you]

Eventually, Thomas got himself off the sofa and wandered around some. Derek's house wasn't huge but there were a lot of people around, some familiar and others not.

When he caught sight of Kate, he wandered over to say hello and see how she'd been. He hadn't seen her since before that other city and he wasn't sure if she'd been there or not.

"Happy Thanksgiving," he said, having picked up that lingo quickly. "How's it going?"

[puckandpie]

"Oh goodness, is that... is that all you're eating?" I ask, watching in a mix of delight and horror as Dean Winchester -- Dean Winchester!! -- digs into one of my pies.

I mean, I'm honored, honestly. Never in a million years could I have guessed that a veritable pie connoisseur would be digging into one of mine, but Derek's made two turkeys and piles and piles of mashed potatoes and greens and stuffing. Dean's going to ruin his entire appetite on one pie!

[puckandpie]

His offer is just as genuine as the last time and I glance up at him, smiling softly. "Thank you," I tell him, hoping he can sense my own sincerity in such a trite response. "Really, that means a lot. And you can come over anytime too, of course. You're always more than welcome, especially if you ever get tired of the pizza and need some real food."

I'm teasing him still, of course, and I can barely contain my smile when I nod in answer to his question. "Well, sort of the same," I tell him. "The skating was really just as friends, but uh. I asked him on a date and he actually said yes. To me, can you believe it?"

[puckandpie]

There are already so many familiar faces around the dinner table, but when I see Kate's among them, I can't help but smile and give her a wave before heading over. We haven't spoken much at all and I haven't seen her since Diwali, but the little time I've spent with her, I've enjoyed. And, as a friend of Derek's, I know she's good people.

Plus, she has excellent taste in clothing if absolutely nothing else.

"I'm so glad you could make it!" I tell her when I'm near enough to set my plate down. "Do you mind if I sit with you for a bit or is this seat taken?"

[notaretriever]

One of the many benefits of being such good friends with another werewolf is that Luke trusts Derek to make enough food to satisfy his higher than usual appetite. The food is delicious and the company is wonderful and even though the beginning of November had been troubling and unusual, he finds he's quite easily settled back into life in Darrow. There's a sense of precaution about him now, though he tries not to let on to anyone that he's a little more wary about the way in which the city works. It doesn't matter, really, not when he knows he can't control it in the slightest.

Besides, he's happier now than he's been in a long time. He's comfortable and generally safe and he knows the people he cares about in Manhattan are getting along as well. That's more than he expected. Reid is living with him above the store now and it seems every day Alec trusts him just a little more.

Luke has a lot to be thankful for. Not the least of which is this turkey.

[one_more_question]

Felicity tried, she really did. She'd wanted to make something to bring to Derek's, and she'd thought she was really careful with following the recipe for the sweet potatoes, but it had ended up a disaster. So Oliver had stepped in with his amazing cooking skills to save the day, fortunately, which meant it's his dish rather than her burnt mess they bring to Thanksgiving dinner tonight. She's bummed her own attempt didn't work out, but she's really not going to complain about having a boyfriend who's a great chef.

There's enough food for an army, and Felicity does her part to help reduce the eventual amount of leftovers. Oliver goes to get them more wine and she sits nibbling on a piece of cheesecake, pretty sure she's not going to be hungry for about a week after this. There are a number of people she's missing tonight, but she's glad for the ones who are here to celebrate the holiday together.

[theduff]

"Absolutely," I say as I collapse onto the couch next to Thomas, as though I'm not still eating a plate full of different types of pies. Bitty's too good at baking them for me to not eat any. "I probably won't be able to eat for days, I'm so full."

[sonofdurin]

Of all the holidays Darrow has, Thanksgiving is Fíli's favorite. It's also, not coincidentally, the closest thing to a proper holiday he's seen since his arrival. Feasting and camaraderie appear to be the orders of the day, and no Dwarf could ever object to that. And if thoughts of home tug at his heart a little, well, the friendly faces around him - some familiar, some not - provide ample distraction.

As does the food. There's enough food and alcohol - much of the latter provided by himself and Kíli - to feed every one of Derek's guests with plenty to spare. No mean feat, given some of their appetites, but even Master Baggins would have been hard-pressed to do better than Derek has. Fíli eats until he can't eat anymore, then takes a piece of pie anyway and goes to sit at the bar, letting the buzz of conversation wash over him.

[strongerthanevil]

If it had been anyone else other than a close friend of Kili then Tauriel might have declined the invitation to the festivities. For the most part she found human celebrations rather odd and with a high degree of risk for some sort of attack to happen. In the end it was the chance that they might be attacked by a monster of some sort that had finally convinced her to come. She would not want to miss out on such a thing.

There is also the lure of Derek's cooking, which she knows to be excellent. It was explained to her that this holiday was centered around food even more so than most. Much of what she understood was to be present was similar to food that they had in her world. It certainly all smelled wonderful and somewhat familiar for Derek had truly outdone himself.

"A feast to celebrate being thankful is truly the best holiday that I have encountered in this city," Tauriel mused. "It seems very much like something that the Hobbits would celebrate."

[shuck_you]

"I can definitely believe it," Thomas said, reaching over and giving Bitty's shoulder a playful shove. "Absolutely! Bitty, that's so cool. You're a lot braver than me."

Thomas was still trying to figure out the whole caring for other people thing and how to navigate those rough waters. There were definitely people in Darrow that he cared about, some more than others, some in different ways than others and it was hard to figure out what to do and what was allowed when it came to certain things and certain emotions. With the fear of the Flare behind him, that was his next project: learning how to be a functional and whole human being.

"Mind if I ask who it is?" Thomas wondered, lowering his voice just in case Bitty didn't want to share it with everyone here.

[shuck_you]

"Yeah, I'm with you on that one," Thomas said, stretching his legs out a little further and sighing. He'd eaten food he could never remember eating today, eaten food whose name he couldn't even remember and it had all been so good. He felt selfish and greedy but so content.

He'd worry about his guilt later.

"This what Thanksgiving's usually like?" he asked. He'd seen some movies about it on television lately but he knew that everything seemed to be romanticized and exaggerated to make a good story.

[puckandpie]

A part of me wants to point out that he would probably never say yes to going on a date with me, but his shove is playful and teasing and reminds me so much of my teammates that I don't even mind. I'm still blushing furiously, I know, but I haven't really had a chance to talk to anyone about Simon aside from my vlog followers and suddenly the opportunity is too good to turn down.

"His name's Simon," I tell him, keeping my own voice low. It's not really a secret at all; I'm not hiding it, but I think maybe I'm a little nervous to let everyone know just yet if only so I won't have to explain my embarrassment to everyone if (when?) Simon decides he doesn't like boys so much after all. Or, worse, decides he just doesn't like me. "He's actually pretty new here, I only just met him a couple weeks ago. But he's about my age and really really nice and he's a wizard. Like, an actual real-life one. Like Harry Potter! He has the accent and everything."

[shuck_you]

"I met Harry Potter when we were in that other city," Thomas said and if this Simon could create the kind of magic that Harry could, Thomas was already a fan. He'd been awestruck by the power, skill and magnitude of what he'd seen Harry do and, even when they'd been in danger, he'd wanted to see more.

"I haven't met Simon though," he continued, shaking his head. He hadn't been doing very well on being social since coming back, unfortunately. Keeping to the people he knew and trusted had been easier. Safer. "What kind of date are you guys gonna have?"

[everyonetakes]

"Help," Kate says, dramatically draping herself over Derek's shoulder when she joins him. "Help me, I ate way too much and now I'm in danger of actually just exploding."

That's how she feels anyway, like she's a gigantic, waddling excuse for a human being. Thanksgiving has always been like this for her, especially at home with her family, and it's been years since she's had anything like this, a gathering with so many people. In a lot of way it's better, since her asshole grandparents aren't here and there's no real danger of anyone punching the turkey.

[everyonetakes]

"I think I'm dying," Kate answers and she knows it's dramatic and given everything Thomas has told her about his past, maybe not the best choice of words, but she's never censored herself before and she's sure as hell not going to start on Thanksgiving. "I think I'm dying of a turkey induced illness with some pie related side effects. That's a thing, right? People who die when they eat too much Thanksgiving food and have to be buried, young and beautiful, while their friends and husband weep over their coffin?"

Not that she ever wants to get in a coffin again. Once, while paralyzed by that stupid dress, had been more than enough for her. When she dies now, she's totally making sure they cremate her.

[everyonetakes]

"It was taken by my hot ass husband, but since I'm like, ninety percent sure he's just left me to wed one of your pies, I guess you can sit," Kate answers with a bright smile. He's totally cute and usually not the sort of person she can stand for longer than like, ten seconds, but he's actually not annoying with how adorable he is.

Some of that has to do with the moon eyes he and Derek make at each other, she's sure, but maybe she's just not such a bitch anymore. Maybe she can actually appreciate other people for what they are instead of just judging pretty much every person who crosses her path. It's kind of nice to think she might be growing up a bit.

[notaretriever]

Luke's nostrils flare at the scent of cheesecake somewhere in the midst of all the other food smells that seem to have permeated all of Semele's. He turns, trying to locate its origin, which is surprisingly hard with this many scents on the air, even for a werewolf, but eventually he finds a woman who seems to be eating some and imagines she'll have a better idea where to get it.

"Is that cheesecake?" he asks when he approaches her, then shakes his head, looking faintly embarrassed. "I'm sorry, that's hardly the right way to greet someone you've never met before."

[shuck_you]

Even if Thomas knew it was an exaggeration, he feigned concern anyway. He frowned and nodded thoughtfully at her list of very dire, very food related symptoms before sighing and shaking his head.

"Sounds like you're not gonna make it to tomorrow," he advised solemnly. "You should probably keep eating today just so you can go out full and happy."

Thomas thought that going out with a full stomach, surrounded by friends and loved ones wasn't too bad a deal, actually. It was better than what he'd imagined for himself when he'd been in the depths of his Flare depression and now that he knew he wasn't going to croak anytime soon (because of the Flare, at least), maybe he could imagine something better for his future.

"I would definitely weep," he told her, nodding and still solemn. "Big fat tears."