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

[sciencesaggressively]

This is getting way to sugary sweet for him, so Newt just rolls his eyes and turns in the direction of the pies. "Come on, dude, watch me indulge in what your ginger friend made. Just gotta say, that's definitely the kind of pal you want to hold onto, who just makes ten trillion pies for a Thanksgiving party he's not even hosting? I will tell you this right now so you don't set yourself up for disappointment in the future, I am not that kind of pal."

If Derek needs a favor returned and asks Newt to bring him a goddamn $12.99 shovel or some shit to dig a grave, sure, will do. Pies, he'd be less inclined to supply. Mostly because he's pretty sure he'd just eat himself into his own coma.

[triskehale]

"Bitty loves making pies. You should have seen him when I asked him to do it. It was like I'd given him a gift," Derek says with a laugh. He reaches out to grab another piece of dutch apple, his favorite, and drops a huge dollop of whipped cream on top. "Am I going to have to roll you out of here after the inevitable sugar crash?"

[sciencesaggressively]

"I mean, if you asked me to draw you a series of kaijus, you'd be giving me a gift, so I get where the guy's coming from," Newt says, which is only half-true because his drawings are more like scribbles so they wouldn't look like much of anything anyway. "And no, I'm not that much of a lightweight, dude. Come on. Maybe if you had those fucking Crentists dipshits here with their crazy gas but not when it comes to sugar."

He pauses, studying Bitty for a minute before looking back at his friend. "So what, you got a personal baker now or something? Too good for the peasants? The hell did you meet this guy?"

[triskehale]

It takes a moment for Derek to decipher what the hell Newt is talking about, which isn't all that unusual, but then he remembers and he snorts out a laugh, shaking his head at the memory.

"Bitty works here," Derek tells him. "He makes pies and I sell them at the bar to drunk people. Flawless business model."

Derek looks over his shoulder at Bitty and then back at Newt. "He got stuck with me in that other Darrow, so we've been through some shit. He's a good guy."

[sciencesaggressively]

There's a piemaker who has a permanent position in this bar, and Newt would think that's weirder if he wasn't already shoving a slice of delicious-looking pastry onto his plate. It's the mention of the other Darrow that gives him pause, and he freezes to look up at Derek with his fork halfway to his mouth.

"Oh." Newt doesn't know the dirty details of what'd happened, and he's not especially inclined to ask because he knows he sure as hell doesn't love talking about the shit that's happened to him in his life. Well, okay, he loves talking about what'd happened with the kaijus but that's different because all of what he'd done then had been intended. Mostly.

"Well, I guess it's good for him that you were there. Like, if Kate wasn't going to be with me to kick asses, I'd probably opt for you as second choice."

[triskehale]

"Probably, huh?" Derek says with a huff of laughter, shaking his head a bit. "I'm honored."

He doesn't linger on the topic of that other Darrow, because today is supposed to be for good thoughts, for being grateful for what you have and looking ahead. He is grateful that Kate and Newt didn't end up there, but he's pretty sure that he knows that.

"You should stop by the bar more often," Derek tells him. "Try not to start any fights, though."