A short time ago, in a farm-house not so far away...

[thefinaljedi]

Who: The Skywalker Family, immediate and extended and any close friends.
What: An evening with the family
When: August 4th
Where: Skywalker Ranch...or...something
Summary: Luke and Ami bring everyone over for a Sunday thing.
Rating: H is for Heartwarming


It's a bit of a monthly tradition, and has been for some time. The first Sunday of every month is the day the entire family gets together for an afternoon and has a nice dinner. Some might call the family a bit old fashioned, but it's just something that they do and have for as long as any of them can recall. It's never a fancy thing, but then does it really need to be? It's about the warm, fuzzy feeling of being surrounded by relatives and friends, sitting out on the porch and watching fireflies, and relaxing.

Food's been left to the people who can actually cook, because let's face it: Luke takes after his mother and Grandma Padme was not known for her fried chicken. But there's plenty of it. Chairs are set up on the large back porch so the weather can be enjoyed and tea along with a cooler of glass-bottled Coca-Colas, a bit of a splurge for the end of summer.

Everything's set to be a fairly nice afternoon and evening, provided the mosquitoes aren't too bad anyway.

Comments

[bided]

Trisha is, of course, one of the people who helps with the cooking. She handles the cooking at the Elric household usually, and these family get-togethers are nice partly because she doesn't need to handle most or all of it on her own, but also because she just gets to see everyone. Regardless of what's going on in Luceti with the strike and everything, they can still manage to all get together and have a nice family meal.

Even extended the family isn't that big; just Trisha and her brothers, and Luke and Trisha's families, and Ami's sister. Enough that it feels close even with friends dropping by. Being on the ranch is nostalgic, as well. It brings back countless memories of childhood, and countless family dinners...

Trisha can be found in the kitchen, setting the table, or sitting on the back porch chatting away or willing to chat. She's dressed nice-casual for the occasion, in a blue polka-dot dress with her hair tied back loosely, and seems happy overall.

[geniustheveil]

If someone had gotten Ami to sit down and answer absolutely truthfully, and asked her what she wanted her life to be...

It'd look a lot like this. These moments of having her family around (she's been more than willing to adopt Luke's as part of her own) are what she lives for. So she's quite happy as she bustles about the kitchen with Trisha, handing over things Trisha needs for her dish and occasionally grabbing a spoon or bowl or some spices she needs herself.

"It feels as though it's been awhile since everyone got together," she says, which is a little weird since it does happen regularly; but that's Ami for you: always eager for more time with her relatives, especially the whole group of them at once. "I'm glad you were all able to come."

[bided]

"It does, doesn't it? I think because there's been less time to visit inbetween Sunday meet-ups this month, what with everything going on..." Trisha sighed, but she was smiling. Business was...well, it was business. But with the strike worrying everyone and tensions increasing, it was starting to get a bit worrying.

And then there were things like the school dance, and Edward's interest in chemistry (which would worry her less if it involved less explosions, really) and that sort of thing, and...well, it left them a little out of time for visiting, in the end.

Or at least made the time between visits seem a lot longer, stretched by everything going on inbetween. "And I'm glad we were able to come, too - though of course we wouldn't have missed it for the world. Daisy managed to make it, too, right? I'll be glad to see her again."

[16autumnroad]

Chouji always likes having both of his siblings around for the day. He sees plenty of Luke, but never quite as much of his sister. So when he finds her working in the kitchen, Chouji grins.

"Hey, Trish! Are you all set in here, or would you like another hand or two?" Chouji is in comfortable clothes he doesn't mind getting a little bit dirty. Upstairs, his clothes for the dance are laid across the bed, but for now, he can focus on his family. And of all the ways for a family to gather, meals are always Chouji's favorite.

[bided]

"If you don't mind peeling a few potatoes, I could use another hand. After that, I think we're just about set." Trisha greets her younger brother with an open smile, moving aside to clear some counter space for him. Said potatoes are a small pile near the stove, with a cutting board and peeler at the ready. Trisha herself is still stirring various pots and pans on the stove, sorting things out.

"How was school today? Learn anything exciting?" It's always strange to think of Chouji still in school; she and Luke were older when he was born, a surprise addition to the family, and it's always made Trisha a little more likely to dote on her younger brother, taking an active interest in his life.

[thefinaljedi]

Out on the porch after dinner, Luke sweeps up to his sister from behind and gives her a big hug. It's great having everyone here, and even better having Trisha around again. He's missed you, sis.

"Just like old times, huh? When Mom and Dad were still around."

[bided]

Trisha lets out a laugh at the action, before half-turning to return her elder brother's hug. She's missed Luke and Chouji, too. It's not the same without all of her family around...although all of them living together just wouldn't be practical.

"Just like." Her smile went a little softer at the mention of their parents. She misses them, too. "I'm sure they'd be having just as much fun as we are, if they were still here."

[aryaunderfoot]

For all her usual outgoing personality, Arya tends to enjoy just sitting with the family during these dinners, listening to the conversation and absorbing any news that might be shared. She'll speak up if someone talks to her, of course, but as far as she's concerned, dinner is for listening while she eats. She loves to hear her family's stories.

It's almost enough to distract from the fact that she's occasionally slipping scraps to her dog Mycah under the table. Almost.

Once the dishes are cleared, it's time for catching some fireflies in a jar. Because why not?

[geniustheveil]

Arya's a little like Ami in that, which is quite possibly why Ami occasionally tries to draw her out more, asking questions about her day and about school especially. She isn't willing to let her daughter become - or feel - lost in the shuffle.

Today is no different, with Ami directing a few remarks specifically Arya's way, and a few innocent reminders that dogs aren't meant to digest human food (so please stop feeding him, Arya, you know better). Once the meal is over and cleaned away and dark starts to fall, though, she holds up a jar, carefully punched with holes across the lid. She smiles.

"Shall we go outside together?"

[aryaunderfoot]

Arya beams at the sight of the jar. Hunting down fireflies with her parents is always more fun than going out with just Mycah, and knowing that her mother got the holes punched into the lid already just makes it even better. She nods.

"Yeah, let's go! There's a lot of lightning bugs out there already."

It might not be fully dark yet, but she still spotted quite a few little winking lights out over the fields.

Sorry this is late ~_~

[thefinaljedi]

Luke loved romping around the yard with Arya more than anything else about these dinners. It brought back fond memories of his own childhood, chasing bugs with his own dad. He's got the jar, and he's trotting along after her, holding it so she can deposit her catch. And as he does so, he gets a little bit wistful. His little girl is growing up, and it's hard not to see it and think how it won't be too long and she'll be too old for this sort of thing.

"Hey! There's one right over your head, kiddo!"

No worries, homework ate me alive >>

[aryaunderfoot]

So much was over her head, though! Being short was such a drag sometimes. Arya craned her head back to look, was pleasantly surprised when the firefly wasn't too far above her head, and snatched it right out of the air neatly. For all her speed, she never smashed the bugs; at least, not since she was much smaller. Or if Mycah bumped into her, but the dog is too busy barreling along behind Luke to get in her way.

As she brought it over to add it to the jar, she opened her hands ever-so-slightly to peek in at it. And grinned, holding it up for her father to see.

"It's a big one. Here, look."

[bided]

Trisha, for her part, will make a moment to speak to her niece. It doesn't come during dinner, however, but rather when Arya's catching fireflies. Trisha comes to stand nearby, watching with a nostalgic smile. "Your father and uncle and I used to do this all the time, when we were little."

[aryaunderfoot]

Arya stuffed her last firefly catch into her jar, managed not to trip over Mycah (because the dog had a special talent for getting tangled around her ankles), and beamed back at her aunt. Okay, maybe she was covered in dirt and some tree sap, and maybe she was supposed to be more of a delicate girl around family, but she really didn't care about any of that.

"Dad's really good at catching them. They're usually too high up for me to get after a while."

[daisy023]

The Mizuno mansion was massive. Every roof had to be at least three meters tall even for the bathrooms and service areas. Which is why when Daisy sits upon her chair on a worn house she has already turned familiar with, she cannot always shake off the feeling she wishes there was a silent Air-Conditioning system and a height that would not make her fear she would hit the roof if she so much as sneezed.

She doesn't cook -supposedly, that task was laid for the chefs and lower classes, and she could damage her fingers if she tried-, but she still looks at her friends and family as they cook, still eager to see. The banquets in the palace were intrincate, elaborate, and huge, but they were meant to be measured for her diet.

In here? It felt a little more pure. There was something comforting in simply a beef stew with everyone, without as much fear of following social norms around aristocrats.

Even then, despite her being forbidden from cooking by her parents, she still chooses to help out by picking up something on the shelves above for the rest, as she watches and smells the meal. Again, something else she didn't get to do much at their mansion.

[geniustheveil]

Ami remembered that house very well. She remembered looking at the shiny marble tiled floors, hiding behind the furniture they were only allowed to sit on when there was company, or quietly filing into Mama's room where they could see her jewelry collection. There was never any shortage of any comfort or convenience money could buy. There never needed to be.

It wasn't easy for a girl used to that, to having everything she could want at her fingertips, to be suddenly out on her own, earning her way for herself, working hard. But she found this house comfortable, cozy, and loving. The Mizuno house had been loving, but it had rarely been comfortable or cozy.

She made sure to be the first to greet Daisy. "I'm so glad you've come," she murmured properly. And to emphasize that Daisy was welcomed here, she was glad she could truthfully play the amicable hostess and say, "Luke's sister was also asking about you and hoping to see you."

[daisy023]

"I wouldn't have missed this. I was waiting for this day." She smiled, bending down to hold her little sister's hands in a gesture that she wanted to come for a long time. "I can't cook, but if you want anything, I'll be glad to help."

She didn't even know if she could be of any use beside helping everyone else reach down from taller shelves. She didn't know how to cook, what manners to use among... among lower classes.

"I found Trisha earlier in the week at her store. I haven't seen some people in a while."

[thefinaljedi]

Luke definitely felt lucky, surrounded by friends and family. It's a little strange to be the patriarch of his own little clan, yes, but it is what he's always felt he wanted. A loving wife and a wonderful, rambunctious daughter, a sister with the patience of a saint and a brother too? And food, too. What more could a guy ask for?

During the dinners he makes it a point to spend a little time talking to everyone, because that was the reason behind all of this, wasn't it?

He can be found pretty much anywhere except the kitchen...because he's been barred from "helping" by the rest after the great turkey fiasco. Grab him on the porch with the others, setting up the table, outside playing catch, or anywhere in between.

[16autumnroad]

Speaking of catch, Chouji calls out his brother's name to get Luke's attention before launching a football in his direction. He doesn't do much throwing in football games or practice. He rarely touches a ball, in fact, always better at blocks or tackles than handling it.

It's still a comfortable way to pass the time, though, especially when he and Luke have the chance to play together.

[thefinaljedi]

The sound of his name brings him around just in time to see the football flying his way. Laughing, he hops back a few steps and catches it without much trouble. He's more a baseball guy, but there's nothing wrong with tossing a pigskin around a bit.

"Right back at you, Chouji."

Luke's return toss is pretty quick, but not really all that practiced.

[daisy023]

It is outside at the porch when Luke would get to spot Daisy arriving from the sides of a long, tall car, for which one of the doors is opened by a bodyguard that watches with caution the ornate aristocratic girl venturing out to try to run towards him, arms up lifting her dress to move, trying to keep a balance between her heels and height.

"Luke! It's been a while!"

[thefinaljedi]

Well that certainly was a surprise, seeing that big car roll up and that extremely tall young woman climb out. Of course, he recognizes her immediately, and grins. He practically runs over, glad to see his sister in law, and gives her a hug. It's a little awkward, given the massive height difference, but then everyone's taller than Luke, even Ami.

"It has been a while! It's great to see you Daisy, how've you been?"

[16autumnroad]

Chouji loves the big family gatherings for several reasons. He's always glad to see his sister and her family, for instance. And it's nice to spend time with Luke, Ami, and Arya when they aren't all busy with their daily lives. The weather is great and he takes full advantage, spending as much time as possible outside once he's helped Trisha in the kitchen for a few minutes.

He'll play games or catch with anyone interested, and pitch in with any minor chores that need doing. When they all sit down to eat, though, they get to the other part of why Chouji likes these get togethers. The food is always delicious. Chouji can't help but approve of any tradition that results in meals like this. He eats with gusto, fully enjoying the day and all the benefits thereof before he heads off to school for the dance.

[geniustheveil]

Ami knows Chouji likes to eat, which means Ami occasionally makes extra when she knows he's coming so she can send some cookies (she's gotten better at baking them over the years of indulging Arya, really) along with him when he leaves.

Tonight, it also means that she's taking note of the dishes Chouji seems to be especially enjoying, and makes sure they're passed around again when he seems to be almost done with what he has on his plate.

"You must be very excited," she mentions after awhile for everyone to have begun eating a little first. "With the dance so soon now."

[16autumnroad]

He notices the extra effort Ami goes to, and it earns her a smile before she even speaks to him specifically. Chouji is always observant at the dinner table.

And the smile becomes even more pronounced when she asks about the dance. "Yeah. I'm glad I didn't miss eating with everyone today. Afterward, though, I just have a little while before I need to change and go pick up Prim."