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."

[always_enduphere]

"Do you do that?" asks Dean, astonished. Sometimes it does occur to him that he feels more spry than people who subsist largely on cheeseburgers are meant to, but he always thought he was lucky.

"Also," he says, "Tofu turducken - shouldn't it be tofucken?"

Dean grins.

[godless_son]

"For a long time now," Castiel affirms, kicking lightly at Dean's heavy boot as he stops fighting a smile at his ridiculous antics.

"I should not find you this beguiling. I am infuriatingly fond of you, you realize? It's irritating. You're an irritating man, Dean Winchester. Eat your pie and I will not even try and trick you into eating the Tofu Turducken because I love you."

[always_enduphere]

Dean chuckles and drags Castiel's foot closer by clamping it between his own boots, squeezing when Cas loses the fight against his own grin. "No one could be tricked into into tofu," he reasons, and for a moment he thinks he might offer to take a single bite, but no. Dean can't do that, not even for his husband.

"Are yams a vegetable?" he asks. "With the little marshmallows?"

[godless_son]

"It comes closer than a regular potato but the brown sugar and marshmallows cancel any potential health benefits out," he says, making a grab for Dean's fork. The pie does indeed look enticing.

"You need to eat green vegetables. I can make you green smoothies if you would just drink them. They do not taste like grass so don't even try that."

[always_enduphere]

"Yeah, but do they taste green?" Dean counters, helping himself to more pie. He chews with a thoughtful look on his face. "The banana ones aren't as bad," he offers at length, eying Cas all the while to see if he's going to regret that admission. "I like the fruitier ones."

[godless_son]

"I would love to help you find a combination that you find pleasing," Castiel says, fixing Dean with the most earnest gaze in his arsenal as he tries to stealthily slide the pie plate closer to his side.

Dean can rarely be swayed from a pie-centric mission and this is the only weapon Castiel thinks he has that could stand up to pastry.

"Nothing in the world is more important to me than your good health and happiness, Dean."