Christmas tiiiime

[amonglions]

Who: Bioshock Family House! (and friends)
What: ITS CHRISTMAS! And they're going to be civil to each other dagnabbit
When: Christmas?
Where: The Bioshocker House!
Summary: Everyone is happy! Food! Presents! Puppies? Proposals! WAIT WAHT?!
Rating: P for words starting with P.

Tree? Check. It's pathetic and almost half the pine-needles are missing from getting dragged into the house.

Ornaments? Check.

Christmas dinner? Well...there's food, at least! Robert and Booker might have raided the supermarket for all the microwaveable and appropriate foods to have for Christmas. There's microwaved chicken, microwaved mashed potatoes, microwaved green beans that are really soggy and smell funny, microwaved rolls, and microwaved ham. Because there should be variety, damnit. There's also a pie sitting in the microwave, waiting. And vanilla ice cream.

Booker wouldn't call it a feast or anything but it's not like there's absolutely nothing to be seen.

They haven't gone all out or anything for the first Christmas they're spending together, nobody here really has the Christmas spirit to do it. Either the Luteces don't remember how to do Christmas or they just don't care - the latter is more likely and Booker hasn't done Christmas in decades so it feels off to even find a tree. Booker doesn't know if Elizabeth ever got to celebrate the holiday in her tower but as far as he's concerned this should be good enough.

Comments

Elizabeth

[tearmeanewone]

Oh, Elizabeth never got to celebrate Christmas in her tower. of course, Songbird always brought her a present wrapped in paper with something printed on it. She'd saved that paper, every single year, and wondered what Christmas was like in Paris. Was there a tree lit on every corner? Women walking arm-in-arm with their favorite man in their long, heavy coats with fur trim?

She still didn't know of course, but she could have her own Christmas. Even if the tree was almost bare, and all of the food was coming out of the quick-cooking oven, Elizabeth felt like it was the most magical thing ever. She carefully arranged the string of little electric lights, and made an incredible fuss over where all of the little glass balls went. It wasn't that it had to be perfect... she was just enjoying doing it. But once she's done a number on the tree, she gets up on a stepstool and starts hanging little beaded garlands around the room.

The dining table was excavated out from under Robert and Rosalind's various odds and ends, Elizabeth's books and sketches, and various dishes. Elizabeth set it with a red tablecloth and candles, then lugged her record player out of her room and put on something quiet that was marked as "Christmas Orchestral".

And then she waits for the friends to arrive. Then there's food, and Elizabeth fortunately doesn't make anyone sing, but she does pull an armful of gifts out to give later in the evening.

But even if the whole party doesn't go exactly as planned, she's happy to be there with her family, celebrating Christmas for once.

..apparently i didn't post this. SORRY

[amonglions]

It was possibly the most mellow the house had been since they all had arrived here. Robert and Booker weren't at each others throats and nobody was bleeding (yet.) Booker was going to count it as a successful holiday.

It was when things had started settling down after the measly dinner that Booker approached her. He hadn't even made a hint that she'd gotten any present from him and it was probably one of his more proud moments that he actually managed to keep this secret.

"How're you doing Elizabeth?"

He's being purposefully casual, wanting more to see if she's at all irritated or not before he tells her what he's been hiding in his room for a day.

WHATEVS MAN. <3

[tearmeanewone]

Irritated? Elizabeth had no reference by which to be irritated. The night had her positively glowing as she flitted around the room from person to person, pausing to adjust something on the tree, looking out the window, eying the gifts she'd placed carefully under the tree after wrapping them... She really was all over the place.

"Wonderful! It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" Well... Booker probably wasn't going to answer in the positive, but Elizabeth thought it was a beautiful night just because they were all there together. Quietly...

"Oh! I have something for you!" She crouched down and pulled out a smallish square package wrapped very poorly in red paper. It was her first time wrapping anything, and it had been much more difficult than anticipated.

Inside was a pair of monogrammed glasses with 'BD' glazed onto them. Maybe this gift had been a little selfish--she thought, when she'd decided they might make a nice gift, that it might encourage him to leave the house less. But, she'd also got him something a little less geared towards his vices... Those had his name embroidered into the lining.

[amonglions]

"It ain't a bad one," he allowed, which, from Booker is high praise indeed. He's even cracked a smile or two in the course of the night, just out of nowhere.

He wasn't really expecting presents, so Elizabeth has managed to catch him off-guard and see him get bashful. He's quick to speak and shifts awkwardly from foot to foot after she tells him she has something for him.

"Elizabeth, you didn't have to...," he stops his protests as she hands him the package and smiles (again), it's possibly the happiest he's ever looked and he mutters a quiet "Thank you." before carefully peeling the packaging apart - as if he was going to save that as well.

The glasses eek a soft snort of laughter from him and the gloves earn a particularly impressed rise of his eyebrows. "These are really nice." He's still quiet as he rubs the buttery leather between his fingers, as if he were contemplating something.

She wants to love you too.

This was possibly the only Christmas he's ever enjoyed. It's a little bit of a shock to his system to have some genuine happiness pulling a smile instead of a sneer across his cheeks.

"You're a good girl, Liz."

[tearmeanewone]

Watching all of those emotions play over Booker's face would have been worth any amount that she could have spent on a present. He looked surprised, happy, he smiled even.

"I thought that... well, you never know when it'll be cold on a draft or a mission. And those won't mess too much with your trigger finger," she said, watching Booker feel the gloves and feeling a tiny, happy flutter in her heart. He liked them, the first Christmas gift she'd ever given, and he liked it.

But she hadn't expected the second thing he said, and Elizabeth blinks in surprise for a moment before blushing and smiling again. Her turn to be bashful. "Thank you, Booker."

For some reason, it felt like it meant more than what was actually said.

[amonglions]

"Welcome."

It was a good moment, a quiet one, something he would gladly place on top of the bad. If he could start making more memories like this, maybe he'd be a better...father, for Elizabeth.



"Hey, I got something for you too." He deposits his presents carefully onto a table, as if they were made of wet tissue paper - liable to break at the slightest indication - and went to his bedroom door, each step growing slightly heavier with hesitation than the last till he rested his hand on the knob and looked back at her like he wasn't so sure if it was a good idea after all.

"It's... if you don't want it, I'll -- I'll keep it." It seems like he wants to say more, or at least is anxious about something before he opens up the door and steps inside and back out with a large box in his arms.

Said box has holes punched in the top and is making noises. This would probably mark the one time Booker actively behaved as if he was afraid of Elizabeth, as he slowly set the box down in front of her and stepped back looking this way and that before gritting out under a red face.

"You said you wanted one."

[tearmeanewone]

Elizabeth watched curiously as Booker wandered to his room and back with a strange box. A strange box with holes in it, making shifting and thumping noises. Truthfully, Elizabeth knew almost immediately what the gift was when she saw the holes in the top of the box, and she was surprised that Booker remembered that off-hand comment she had made all that time ago. She gleefully opens the box and gasps at the contents.

"Oh, he's so cute!" she gushed as she reached in to help the puppy out of the box. It yapped happily at her, apparently glad to finally be out of the box and in the arms of a person. While she was trying to get a good look at him, the puppy was trying very hard to lick her face. Elizabeth was laughing at the effort. "Of course I want him! Look, he's even a scruffy-looking mix of colors. I bet if you were a dog, you would have fur like his."

[amonglions]

At least those mission points he chalked up with the Luteces were good for something. This was probably the most satisfying thing he could have possibly gotten for them, just being able to see her this happy.

Elizabeth telling him she wanted a puppy, initially, hadn't stuck out in his mind very much. However, as their "adventure" played out - the conversations they had were the focal points in his memory because they were the only thing that wasn't constant fighting and waves and waves of an army.

It had occurred to him, in the interim between getting the dog and presenting him to Elizabeth - that she hadn't actually been wanting a puppy but well... she seemed happy enough with the little guy.

"Never thought of that." The dog is a total mutt, which is fitting for Elizabeth's thoughts on what Booker would look like as a dog.

"You'll have to think up a name for him."

[tearmeanewone]

"He doesn't have one yet?" Not that Elizabeth was surprised by it, Booker probably had intended for her to give the puppy a name. But she wondered what Booker had called him as he had, no doubt, struggled to get the puppy into the box and quiet.

Holding the puppy out and away from her, Elizabeth looked for any kind of mark or shape that might make for a good name. Eventually, she gave up and settled on something else. "Nemo," she said with a little grin. "I can tell he's an explorer, and he'll want to be treated like a little prince no doubt. What do you think?"

[amonglions]

While Elizabeth probably could have named him Lucky and Booker wouldn't have cared either way, his brow furrowed in quiet confusion as he tried to place the name...and failed miserably.

Booker didn't want to bring attention to the fact that he didn't know what the hell she was talking about but...well he was curious. So he bit the bullet and let himself sound dumb.

"And...who's Nemo?"

[tearmeanewone]

"Oh! Captain Nemo, from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. He was an Indian prince, but spent most of his time exploring in his submarine." Nemo whined, upset that Elizabeth wasn't paying attention to him, and she resettled him on the floor. Immediately he ran around sniffing at the table and chairs, then headed for the kitchen.

"You should read the book! I have a copy of it."

[amonglions]

Booker watched the dog carefully as it scurried around while Elizabeth explained the book, he knew that puppies teethed and he'd be trying to gnaw on anything with a little give.

"Huh...maybe I will. Not like there's much to do here."

But it was...nice, for a change - this time of year especially - to not have any kind of obligations to worry and mull over. He didn't have any money to lose or anything horrible to concern himself with.

"You read anything about takin' care of puppies?"

He assumed she had but...well, he never knew with Elizabeth.

[tearmeanewone]

"...um..."

Nemo chose that moment to go running by with a piece of 'stolen' ribbon in his mouth. He tripped over it and rolled.

"...I never actually got a puppy, though. So I really didn't have cause to read about how to take care of them..."

[voidseeing]

Under normal circumstances, the sight of Christmas decorations of any sort - lights and trees especially - brought a deep sense of unease and discomfort in Gai. His very first memory of them had been the year of Lost Christmas, when Japan had nearly been destroyed and he had lost all of the things that had been good in his life. The association was so deeply ingrained in him that even now, even a decade later, he still bristled slightly at seeing them all over the house... but he could set all of that aside for Elizabeth's sake.

Besides, she looked so genuinely excited and happy that it was hard for him not to be happy as well, dislike of Christmas or not. And, he had to admit, she'd done quite an impressive job with the decorating. There was no question as to whether or not it was festive enough.

"Having fun?" he asked her when he caught her up on the stool hanging the garlands.

[tearmeanewone]

Elizabeth looked back down over her shoulder at Gai and grinned. With Booker, Robert, and Rosalind off to bed, Gai had taken the dishes and Elizabeth had set to fixing some of the decor and cleaning up the various paper from the few gifts that were exchanged. The room was nearly back to its original state, though Elizabeth was tired enough that she was considering calling it 'Done for Now'.

"Maybe too much fun. I think most people would think this was kind of a chore. But I really like doing it."

[voidseeing]

"That all depends on how much they like the holiday. I've heard of people in my world getting even crazier with Christmas decorations and covering their entire house with lights," he said with a smile, picking up a stray piece of wrapping paper off the floor and crumpling it into a ball.

... which he then couldn't resist playfully tossing at her in the hope of getting her to come down from that stool so that they could cuddle on the couch.

[tearmeanewone]

"Their entire house? That must take hours!" Elizabeth stretched up to re-hook the last bit of the garland when she took a wrapping paper ball to the shoulder.

"Hey! I'm on a stool here, what if I fell?" Though clearly, from the grin on her face, she wasn't worried about falling two feet. She'd fallen much, much further--into water no less--and survived it. "Is this a subtle hint that you want your Christmas present?"

[voidseeing]

"It might be." Although in all honesty, he was willing to wait if it meant they got to cuddle first. She really had domesticated him, he thought with no small amount of amusement. Never before had he imagined that he would be content to just sit in front of a fire and do absolutely nothing beyond relax with his girlfriend... no, his fiancee now, he reminded himself.

"Although I'm hoping mine doesn't have paws and a tail. I think one of those in the house is enough."

[tearmeanewone]

Elizabeth snorted and turned around on the stool. "No, just the one you have to deal with now."

Said present with paws and a tail was actually sleeping rather soundly on his back with one of his legs awkwardly in the air. Elizabeth reached out to Gai to help her down. She could jump, of course, but any excuse to make Gai hold her.

"I got you three things, none of which has paws and/or a tail, I promise."

[voidseeing]

"I'm glad to hear it."

Gai didn't need any further invitation to reach up, get his arms around her waist, and lift her down... but not before spinning in a quick, playful circle. What could he say? She set herself up for that one. (Not that he expected her to mind.)

[tearmeanewone]

It was hard for Elizabeth to mind anything--she was too happy to let anything change her mood, honestly. Even after they had returned and the knowing glances had been passed around, Elizabeth had felt nothing but warm elation. She was spending Christmas with her family. All of her family.

Though she was a little glad that she and Gai had a few minutes alone together, even if they were still in her house. Because two of Gai's gifts really couldn't be given with Booker or Robert around... Once Gai let her down onto her feet, she stretched up to give him a pleased kiss that lingered for a few seconds longer than might have been considered strictly polite.

"Alright, I have to get the other two. They're in my room," she cast a glance at the fireplace. "Maybe put another log in, and I'll be back before you're done," she said, swaying in Gai's arms a little, as though they were dancing.

[voidseeing]

"Sure, and I can go get us glasses of wine too." Not that he had any plans of getting drunk; it just felt like a good evening for a nice glass of wine in front of the fireplace. It was a long moment before he finally released his hold on her, not wanting to lose that warmth and contact, though he did kiss her forehead before stepping back. He would've liked to kiss her more than the mostly-brief kiss they'd just shared, but with Booker and Robert around, he didn't want to push his luck. He already knew they were still judging him for the whole proposal matter in general.

That wasn't going to stop him from initiating a bit of playtime later on when they were both in bed if that was what she wanted, however.

[tearmeanewone]

"That sounds lovely," Elizabeth agreed, closing her eyes to relish the little kiss he laid on her forehead. After another quick squeeze of his hand, Elizabeth slipped quietly off to her room to gather up the gifts--which she'd hidden at the back of one of her dresser drawers.

The third one she collected from under the tree, and took the collection back to the couch.

[voidseeing]

Meanwhile, Gai made his way back to the kitchen to pour them both glasses of red wine, which he then took back out into the living room to set down on the coffee table. Admittedly, he was more than a little curious to see just what it was she'd gotten for him, as the only other Christmas gift he'd ever received hadn't been much of a gift at all. Anything would be better than a gun.

... although ironically, if she'd gotten him a gun now, he probably would've appreciated it a great deal.

[tearmeanewone]

"Alright, alright--" Elizabeth looked over the three and contemplated as Gai set the glasses down. Which one first? Which order to go in?

"Okay, this one first!" she said, handing him a thick, square, and largish package. "Just handle it carefully..." Because it was a stack of vinyl records, mostly produced in Columbia, that she'd had in her tower. She'd picked out the ones she thought Gai might like. This was the innocuous gift--the one she'd had on hand just in case there was some kind of public gift-opening movement.