[semi-open] such a cozy room, the windows are illuminated

[causational]

who: Eddie Thawne, Cisco Ramon; Rey, Yuri Plisetsky, other guests
what: Eddie and Cisco host a Harvest Festival (Thanksgiving) dinner
when: November 17th
where: Eddie and Cisco's apartment
warnings: none likely, check subject lines

It's been a long day of cleaning the apartment, prepping food and decor, and cooking. So much cooking. The apartment smells like turkey and potatoes and bacon and pie and dozens of other amazing smells. The table is set with enough plates and napkins and silverware for everyone invited and a couple of friends each, and there's a festive pumpkin-and-fall-leaf themed centerpiece that Eddie's particularly fond of. In the background, soft music is playing and the whole atmosphere is warm and cozy.

Eddie himself is dressed in a waistcoat and button-up shirt with a tie, his face a little flushed from spending time over the hot stove and the oven, but he's energetic, upbeat and ready to help Cisco greet guests at the door as they arrive.

Once dinner is set out, it consists of a beautifully roasted turkey, brussels sprouts cooked with bacon, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, cranberry jelly, candied yams, warm bread rolls, and whatever other turkey dinner trimming might come to mind. There's coffee and hot chocolate, juice, and wine available for whoever wants to drink it. Best of all, there's pumpkin and apple pie ready for dessert.

Giving thanks out loud is optional, but making new friends definitely isn't.

[OOC: Feel free to throw up a starter for your character or for a certain area or part of the night!]

Comments

[bythehand]

[ In his experience, yes. Much better to stick together. ]

Doesn't seem like he minds. We could still figure something out, if you want.

[ Finn hasn't circled around to talk to him yet. Still, he's done some watching. Eddie seems plenty nice, and happy to be able to do something like this for everyone they invited. He's got a good energy. Both of Rey's friends do. That's good.

Finn shakes his head. ]

Plenty of plates in the mess hall, but... nothing like this. [ He sort of pulls a face. ] It's not bad.

[ And it's not, really. His tone finishes the statement for him well enough: it's just weird to have it happening around them. ]

[talentedscavenger]

Maybe...I don't know. [She wanted to get something to say thank you to Eddie for cooking so much food. A 'thank you' in person didn't seem like enough, but Cisco said it would be. It was something that was weighing on her mind.

There's a slow nod of her head, this wasn't bad. However, it was way out of her comfort zone. One thing to eat with a small group of people in a crowded area. Another to be at a party and knowing how much work the host went through in preparing the food...]

Just..never thought it would happen to us? To be part of something like this?

these two deserve nice things and make me sad sometimes 2k17

[bythehand]

[ The fact that she gets it, while maybe not surprising considering what he knows about her, is a huge relief to have on his side right now. Knowing that Rey's here and she's never been in a situation like this one before, either, that she probably feels like they didn't do anything to- deserve it, even though it's not about deserving anything in the first place.

It makes Finn feel a little less... alone.

It makes him feel less like not meshing into this party very well is one more thing marking him as different, as not fitting into any particular place. He feels more like maybe these are things he can start to adapt to, if he decides he likes them enough to try, or if Rey decides she likes it enough to try.

He feels like he'd like it if he and Rey could do something like that without hangups or getting shot at. ]

That's about right. It's a big leap from trying not to get eaten by a Rathtar.

Hopefully dec will be a better month for them.

[talentedscavenger]

[In situations like this, it makes it easier to know they had each other. Both of them were out of their element in this--so to speak. Neither of them had experienced a party where there wasn't the threat of death or danger hanging over them. People who cared about. People who didn't have other ulterior motives.

But then comes the notion that they need to be deserving of such a thing. It's something that's ingrained in them. They don't get anything for free, nothing is given without offering in return.

Both of them are different, but they're learning...and trying to do more than they would've done otherwise. A faint smile comes across her lips from the memory dancing across her mind and the hollow feeling of losing Han.]

More like a leap into hyperspace. [Wasn't that how they managed to kill the last Rathtar? It was clinging to the Falcon and then they left and it either died when they made the jump, or fell off.]

If you want to leave...we can. [If Finn felt uncomfortable enough, she would leave with him. She wouldn't leave him alone.]

[bythehand]

[ If Finn makes Rey smile, even a little, he's honor bound to smile back. He doesn't make the rules.

Not that smiling at Rey is especially hard.

It's weird to keep hearing that offer. Not in a bad way, not-- it isn't some huge shock that Rey would offer, because Finn knows that even when she's at her hardest there's softness under the surface. Lightness. Well-guarded, maybe, but there. Different as they are in showing it, Rey and Poe both wear their kindness like a second skin.

And Finn knows this, same as he logically more than knows that they do have the option to leave. He knows. They had the option not to come at all. If staying were worse than not, than getting to meet people Rey trusts and speaks fondly of, he'd probably have found the door soon enough.

But it means a lot to have people who go out of their way to tell him he has a choice, even when he already knows he does. Just having it out there makes being here less daunting. It's... warm. Warm as Rey's hand in his. ]

I think I'm good. As long as you are. [ If Rey said the word he'd climb out an inconspicuous window with her without question lbr.

Meeting friends of friends is a whole thing and he isn't up on his practice, but: ]

They seem like good people.

[talentedscavenger]

[The smile on Finn's face was enough to make Rey smile a little more. When was the last time they actually smiled without facing danger? Then again, it wasn't hard to not smile at Finn, to not reach for his hand and offer comfort.

She was also thinking more of his own comfort than her own. By focusing on Finn, she was forgetting about her own anxieties about the situation. She wanted to make sure he had a good time, hence why she kept offering the chance to leave. He didn't have to stay if he didn't want to. She wouldn't put him through something that was unpleasant.

...and if he wanted to leave, they would find a window, climb out of it and make their way back to the communal building and sending apology texts to Cisco, Poe, and Eddie.]

I'm good. [And for good measure, she finds herself squeezing his a little.]

They are...Cisco has helped me out a lot. Eddie's nice too. I don't know him as well as Cisco, but when Cisco and I went out on our first job together...Eddie packed some sandwiches for us. He hadn't met me at that point.. [But he was kind enough to share his food...that really made an impression on Rey.]

[bythehand]

[ Rey brings good things out in people. He thinks he can believe that without needing any justification. He and Rey made it off of Jakku and met each other halfway, talking over one another a mile a minute, smiling-- and things just worked. She's bright. She's almost radiant.

And it's impossible to put to the right words, but Finn is just about positive there's no sane person out there who could meet her properly and walk away unchanged. No sane person who wouldn't want to try to return the impossible favor she's done them by entering their orbit.

It occurs to him that there are people out here, out in the real world back home, who simply are good, too: who don't need to meet someone to want to help them. He's not sure he's met Eddie in the proper sense yet, not wanting to interrupt all the work he seems to be doing, but Rey's words color his perception in a good way. ]

So very good. [ He's got nothing to prove as far as a tough-guy act goes, he doesn't mind saying it. ] I'm glad you met them.

[ If he'd known or had a way, he'd have been on this moon right on Rey's tail. There's no changing the past, though. All he can do is be grateful she wasn't all on her own for two months. ]