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

[tearmeanewone]

Watching the snow out the window had lulled Elizabeth into a sort of stupid awe. It was a peaceful thing to watch the snow pile up outside, and even more so to watch every surface be covered in a soft blanket of white. When Gai approached her, she had a very clear feeling that nothing could be better than watching the snow with Gai until she fell asleep. She didn't expect the invitation to go outside.

"Alright," She grinned and swept over to the collection of coats on the wall by the door. "But only for a few minutes--it looks freezing out there!"

[voidseeing]

"That's fine by me. I didn't plan on staying out there for long," is Gai's response, in a tone that's so level it almost surprises him. He feels like a giant ball of nerves right about now despite every mental attempt he's made to stamp out his anxiety. Honestly, he has a feeling that both of them will laugh about it afterward... if he survives that long.

For now, he'll just follow her over to the coats and pick out his own from amongst the selection on the hooks. It's just a walk. Just a stroll in the snow, Gai, keep telling youself that...

[tearmeanewone]

"Just want to watch the snow for a bit?" Elizabeth grinned as she wrapped her scarf around her neck and put her gloves on. She'd be happy for some alone time with Gai, honestly. He'd been catching her eye all night, it seemed, and with Booker and Robert watching them both like they were about to attack one another Elizabeth couldn't so much as find it in her to put a kiss on his cheek.

"I don't blame you, if it wasn't so cold I couldn't get enough of it!"

[voidseeing]

Gai grinned right back, shrugging his coat on and pulling the gloves out of his pocket so he could put those on as well. "Something like that. It's a rarity to get snow on Christmas Eve where I'm from, so we might as well enjoy it here."

He'd spent most of the day trying to hide his dislike of the holiday and what it represented for him, but when Elizabeth smiled like that, suddenly it became that much easier for his own smile to be genuine. In truth, that was part of why he'd chosen this particular day: to give himself some good memories in the hopes of overwriting the bad ones. The snow was just the icing on the cake; he couldn't have imagined a more perfect evening for this.

If it made her happy, he could put aside all of his unease about the date and just enjoy the moment.

[tearmeanewone]

"Weather is rare in Columbia. Rain was exciting. Snow is mind-boggling!" Elizabeth finished dressing for the weather and pulled open the door. When Elizabeth had realized she could have Christmas with her family and Gai, she'd also remembered Gai had told her something about Christmas when something terrible had happened to him. And so she'd been trying so hard to be positive and make the evening a happy memory. Their first Christmas together, their first Christmas in love.

Elizabeth ran out into the snow, then started off for the other side of the house--so she could see the tree from outside.

[voidseeing]

"Then you'd better get used to it, because Luceti gets a lot of snow in the winter," Gai bantered right back, following her out into the snow at a more leisurely pace and shutting the door behind them. At first he's not quite sure what she's doing until he realizes that she's heading around to the window, no doubt to look in at the Christmas tree.

It was far from the most beautiful Christmas tree Gai had ever seen, yet in his eyes it made even the most elegant and elaborate trees in Tokyo pale in comparison due to what the tree represented. It was their tree. Their imperfect, slightly lopsided, heartfelt tree.

And, he had to admit, when you looked at it from the outside, it didn't look half-bad.

[tearmeanewone]

"Give me a few snow days, I'll get used to it!" Elizabeth grinned and took Gai's hand as they admired the tree. "Not bad for my first time working with those tiny lights. Next year, more ornaments in the window side."

[voidseeing]

"That would mean fewer on the side we get to look at," he said, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. "Are you sure that's a sacrifice you're willing to make?"

Although they could always just pick up some more from the store...

[tearmeanewone]

"Oh not at all," Elizabeth tilted her head at the tree, trying to imagine it with more ornaments on the window side. "But, Christmas kind of snuck up on me this year. Next year I could make some more ornaments, so there would be some variety. Maybe some bells. Or pinecones."

[voidseeing]

Gai turned his head towards the window to scrutinize the tree and its ornaments (or supposed lack thereof). It looked perfectly fine to him, but if Elizabeth wanted more, he wasn't about to object.

"At least there's no shortage of pinecones around here. You could decorate an entire forest worth of Christmas trees if you really wanted. It's just the bells that might be a bit harder to come by."

[tearmeanewone]

"Don't say that, I had too much fun decorating one tree. If you start telling me I can decorate more, the Malnosso might come knocking and demanding you help restore the forest. Because it'd be your fault, you know that, Gai," she swung their hands back and forth for a moment, then started walking away from the windows. To someplace she could kiss him without Booker and Robert putting their faces to the window to watch (and Rosalind taking notes on that clipboard).

[voidseeing]

"Pinecones are perfectly natural decorations. What would they have to complain about?" he shot back, allowing her to lead him away. "It isn't like we'd be littering in the forest if we stuck to pinecones and garlands made out of plants."

Still, something told him that he'd just created a monster who might very well try to decorate a large swath of the forest if given the opportunity.

[tearmeanewone]

"Perfectly natural until I start painting them. And finding ways to put those electric light strings out here. I've seen a couple of houses with them, it has to be possible!"

She turned once she was fairly certain they were out of range of most of the windows. "I remember that Christmas isn't the best time for you. Because of what happened on the 'Lost Christmas' when you were younger. I have no doubts that, like most wars, the days that mark the most loss of life tend to be remembered over and over again, and that you probably can't think of much else today because of that tendency," she said, running her gloved thumb over Gai's fingers. "I hope you don't think I'm being too silly, or that I forgot."

[voidseeing]

"They might draw the line at lights covering half the forest. Something tells me the animals might have a few things to say about that too, and I doubt they'd all be compliments."

What she says to him draws him up short for the most fleeting second - he's almost surprised she remembered it, and yet he's not, given how clever and perceptive she is - before he smiles and lifts his other hand to rest it over hers. "It was more than a decade ago... as terrible as it was, it's in the past. I'm not the same person now as I was then, and I'm not about to let it have any sway over my future. Not anymore." His voice is soft, grateful that she's thinking about him and his feelings on this day that should be about celebrations and being happy.

[tearmeanewone]

"Some things we don't forget so easily. I know that much," she said, squeezing Gai's hand again. The entirety of his country nearly being destroyed, and him being so close to the origin, wasn't something Elizabeth thought he could easily forget. Nearly a decade ago or not.

"I'm happy it didn't prevent you from coming tonight. It wouldn't have been nearly as wonderful if you hadn't been here--being cheerful for my sake." Because she knew that's what it was, obviously. "I know. We can call this 'First Christmas'," she said, grinning up at him and stepping a little closer to him. "It's my first Christmas with family and friends, and it's our first together. You can look back on this next year, and instead of the Lost Christmas you can think of First Christmas. That makes sense, doesn't it?"

[voidseeing]

Gai's smile grew a little brighter, a little more real and less strained, and for a moment he almost, almost threw his plans out the window in favor of getting down on one knee right then and there.

But no, he had a very specific image in mind, and as wonderful as this moment was, he wanted everything to be just right. Still, her words served to bolster his confidence as to the timing of all of this; with a returned squeeze, he tugged her a little closer, but didn't wrap his arms around her just yet, even though he wanted to.

"The cheerfulness isn't all fake," he said with a slight smirk. "Most of it is real this time. This is the first Christmas I've gotten to spend with people I care about, even if some of them still look at me like I'm going to commit some atrocity while they're not paying attention." Referring, of course, to Booker, whom he'd seeing eying him all afternoon. "You might want to break that 'First Christmas' idea to him gently before he thinks I'm responsible for that too." But his tone was teasing, showing he harbored no actual ill will towards the man.

[tearmeanewone]

"Well you are going to commit some atrocity while they're not looking," Elizabeth said, raising a sly eyebrow before lifting herself up on her toes and finally, finally kissing Gai properly. Eventually she had to let herself back down onto her heels, because her toes were getting cold and she couldn't stay up very long. "Merry Christmas, Gai."

She smiled seemingly satisfied and started to pull Gai around the house for more walking. "I know Booker looks like he wants to shoot at you on sight, but I like seeing you both get along, even if it's strained. I love you both, I never want to have to pick."

[voidseeing]

"Already have committed multiple atrocities," he corrected her with a quiet chuckle before her lips were on his, cutting off any further comments he might have been intending to make. Which was fine with him-- he'd take kissing over teasing her any day. In fact, he looked almost disappointed when she broke away, though he couldn't resist the urge to chase her back down for one more brief kiss before letting her pull away.

"You won't have to pick." It was a promise of sorts, though she would have no idea just what the real meaning behind it was yet. "I think we've come to a sort of truce for the moment. Chalk it up to the spirit of the season."

[tearmeanewone]

Elizabeth laughed, walking backwards so she could face Gai while they talked. It was a beautiful image, too--Gai surrounded by falling snow, smiling at her, the light from the house casting a beautiful glow on the snow behind him. "Somehow, I think 'Booker' and 'spirit of the season' don't exactly go together. Maybe it's a Christmas miracle. Somehow he and Robert managed to cook the dinner without strangling each other."

[voidseeing]

"The real Christmas miracle will be if it's edible. I've seen some of the things Booker considers to be a suitable meal before."

But he'd eat it anyway, because it was the thought that counted most, and he wanted to make her happy. Not that she seemed to be lacking in happiness at the moment, not with that sparkle in her eyes and the pink flush on her cheeks from the chill of the air. This entire evening had been perfect so far... with any luck, things would continue that way.

[tearmeanewone]

"Oh... oh. You don't know the half of it, Mr. Tsutsugami," Elizabeth said, raising a very skeptical eyebrow at him before bursting into another laugh, letting go of Gai's hand and going charging up a snow drift. It was a kind of small mountain, probably created from some shoveling of the main plaza, but Elizabeth wanted to stand on top of it and see how much of Luceti had their lights on still. How many other people were celebrating Christmas, even if it wasn't something that existed in their world?

[voidseeing]

"Leaving me in the dark? Now that's just cruel," he teased, but he clearly didn't mind. Honestly, he could do without the details of Booker's strange eating habits; what he'd already seen was more than enough for him.

When Elizabeth ran up that snow drift, he only hesitated for a moment before climbing up after her, curious as to what she wanted to do up there. It wasn't hard to see when he got to the top, however: they had a nice view of the plaza and the surrounding houses, many of which had been decorated for the holiday with lights or assorted other decorations.

A quaint scene, if Gai did say so himself. Very fitting for Christmas. And though Christmas lights still brought back unpleasant memories, even he had to admit that they provided a beautiful contrast to the white blanket of snow.

[tearmeanewone]

It was a beautiful scene, and Elizabeth's eyes flicked over the small pond of lights that made up Luceti's plaza before steadying herself on Gai's shoulder so she could turn around and look southward.

"It's a nice view. The snow and the extra lights makes it better than it usually is."

[voidseeing]

"Do you want to go into town?"

He turned to look down at her and slipped one arm around her waist to help balance her as she leaned on him. The view was nice, yes, but this wasn't exactly the most stable place for them to be standing. The last thing he wanted was for them both to end up in a heap at the base of the snow drift because one or both of them lost their footing.

[tearmeanewone]

"Do you?" Elizabeth raised her eyebrows. "You aren't freezing yet?"

Living in Columbia, above the cloudlevel, Elizabeth had realized that she didn't get cold as quickly as most people, but the heat nearly killed her. Not that she wasn't getting cold out in the snow, but she figured Gai would be cold soon and they would want to go back inside to the fire.