Lt.Col. Cameron Mitchell (essgeeme) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2016-12-31 08:44:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, !completed gdoc, !log, ~2016 december, ~25 points, ~~cameron mitchell (essgeeme), ~~lucas friar (lucasfriar), ~~riley matthews (windownow), ~~~melinda may (larynx_crusher) |
Who: Cameron Mitchell, Lucas Friar, and Melinda May (guest appearance by Riley Matthews)
What: Breakfast
When: backdated to Christmas morning
Where: Cameron and Lucas' place
Warnings: None
Status: Closed/Complete
Lucas knew that when people were seeing ghosts, Melinda had been having a rough time of it. He'd done his best to give her and Cam space, but he was glad things were back to normal. With it being so close to Christmas, they all deserved a good bit of happy. He knew Melinda was coming over for breakfast - because he'd asked her without telling Cam - so he got up early to start making breakfast.
He got the coffee going for Cam and then set to work making pancakes and bacon, plus there was plenty of eggs to make some scrambled eggs if they wanted. He was about a quarter way through the pancake batter when he heard Cam walk into the kitchen. "Morning dad," he greeted, unaware of what he said. "Coffee's ready and the pancakes are almost done."
***
Cameron had forgotten what it was like to spend Christmas with teenagers. They weren’t up at the crack of dawn screaming about Santa, and so when he’d woken up that early anyway he’d just gone back to sleep, only to wake up a few minutes later to the unmistakable smell of breakfast. Curious, he usually took care of things in the morning, in the kitchen at any time of day. Not because he didn’t trust Lucas, but because he knew what being a teenager was like and he wanted to give the kid as much freedom as he could.
Padding downstairs and into the kitchen, he stopped short at the words that came out of the kid’s mouth.
Dad? Were they at that kind of relationship or was that a slip of the tongue? It had to be the latter. Sure, Lucas was as good as a son to him, as close as he figured he’d ever have, but he’d never tried to be a parent to him. A guardian, maybe a cool uncle figure. Had he taken someone’s kid away from them without meaning to?
He was saved having to think more about it by the doorbell.
“Who’d you invite over? Melinda?”
He didn’t wait for an answer before heading to the door, glad for the quick respite to compose himself.
***
Melinda was in a better mood since the ghosts had gone away. Though she had been shaken by her encounter, it ended up being cathartic for her. It was the one demon she had, and it was still with her. But she had come to a better understanding about it, and about herself in the process.
Being in a better mood meant she didn't mind Lucas inviting her over for breakfast. She actually liked the kid. Truthfully, she liked a lot of the teenagers who were in her life right now. It probably wasn't as surprising as one might think. She did have somewhat maternal tendencies when necessary.
She even had a little smile for Cameron when he opened the door.
"Morning," she greeted. "The kid invited me."
***
"Yep!" Lucas was pretty chipper for early in the morning, but then he never minded getting up at the same time every day, regardless of whether or not he had school. It was just a habit from living in Texas that he'd never shaken. He slid the three pancakes off the frying pan and onto the serving plate before dropping in more batter. There was plenty to feed a growing teenage boy and his guardians. Even if Melinda wasn't actually his guardian, Lucas treated her like she was.
"Morning!" Lucas greeted with a big grin once Melinda walked into the kitchen. She was kind of awesome, as far as he was concerned. "I made pancakes and the coffee's going. Here, I'll get it!" He was definitely over eager, but he was just trying to do his part to show them how much he appreciated them. The pancakes kept on cooking as he grabbed two mugs from the cabinet and filled them both. Lucas set them down on the kitchen table with a big smile and then gave Melinda a hug before heading back to the pancakes.
"Should be finished in a couple of minutes," he promised.
***
There was just so much happening all at once that Cameron didn’t even try to protest that he’d finish taking care of breakfast. First the kid was doing it at all, next he’d called Cameron dad, and then Melinda, who he still kind of worried about though she seemed much better now that her ghosts were gone, had shown up and everything just felt like a whirlwind he couldn’t process first thing in the morning.
So he let himself just go with it, and sat at the table with his coffee, leaned toward their guest slightly while watching Lucas do his thing.
“He called me dad,” he confided in a low voice, meant to go right past the kid, not wanting to make a big deal out of it in front of him. But it was kind of a big deal to him.
***
"And he gave me a hug," she said, her voice quieter as well.
Melinda was a little taken aback by that. Most people couldn't get away with that. A few people could: Jemma, Molly, and Six when she was still around. Now, she supposed, she could add Lucas to that list. Besides, he just seemed like that kind of person.
But that wasn't really the a big deal compared to Cameron's revelation.
"I'm guessing you're not sure how to feel about that?"
She remembered the first time Six called her Mom. It had been mostly said jokingly, but there was a part of it that was serious. So it was odd.
***
Lucas was definitely unaware of the conversation going on behind him. Things were good and he didn't want to risk things not being good by freaking out over it all. He was happy with Cam, who was more of a dad to him than his own father was, happy that Cam had a great girlfriend, and happy that his own budding relationship was going well. While he definitely wasn't ready for more with Riley, he was thinking about it a little more.
He hummed a bit as he cooked, sometimes fiddling with the spatula when he got impatient for the pancakes to be ready to flip. It wasn't very long at all before he was halfway through the batter and started cooking the bacon in another pan. Lucas was so lost in his own thoughts about the presents he'd gotten for the two adults behind him and for Riley and his other friends that he was completely oblivious to the conversation happening behind him. He could only concentrate on so much, after all.
***
“Good guess,” Cameron just said with a shake of his head. He had no idea how he felt about, if he even should feel anything about it. Maybe he and Lucas needed to have a chat, but Christmas really wasn’t the time for it. He’d have to let it sit for a couple of days at least, maybe see if it slipped out again.
He needed more intel before he decided his feelings. Probably.
So he leaned back in his chair, leaning just a little to drape his arm over the back of Melinda’s.
“I could get used to this,” he said at a more normal volume, meant to bring Lucas into the conversation as well. He didn’t like the idea of shutting him out when it was something the adults could just talk about on their own later. “Maybe we should make him cook for us more often.”
***
Melinda glanced at him, silently conveying if he wanted to talk more about with her later, she'd be there to listen. Now wasn't the time with Lucas right there likely getting ready to join them at the table.
"Yeah," she added. "Better than me cooking for you all."
It was always easy to come back to that joke about her lack of cooking skills. A teenage boy was even better at it than she was.
"And they say this is the most important meal, right?"
***
Lucas perked up and looked over at where the two adults sat when Cam started teasing about getting him to cook for them. He grinned widely. "It's a good thing I really only know breakfast foods," he replied, after Melinda said breakfast was the most important meal of the day. "Well enough to attempt on my own, anyway. I could probably figure out a thing or two from you," he added, directed at Cam.
The bacon sizzled and popped, so he flipped them over before asking Melinda, "What's your favorite thing to eat?" He was curious and he wanted to get to know her better. Although he turned his back to them so that he could flip the pancakes and continue cooking, he was definitely still paying attention.
***
Cameron didn’t think he was that great a cook or anything. He was as good as anyone else, though he’d never really gotten the trick of cooking for one. He didn’t think he was much of a baker, either, but he did get paid to do it a couple days a week, and it was good stress relief for him so he didn’t make any mention of his doubts.
He just perked up a little at the question, turning with clear curiosity to see Melinda’s answer. He didn't’ actually know what her favourite was. That seemed like something he wanted to know.
***
Melinda had to think about that. She didn't eat a lot of greasy foods or junkfood. She stuck to healthy things most of the time. She was in excellent shape, especially for her age. It didn't just magically happen. Even she knew that was a boring answer to give, though.
"Once in awhile, I like to go to Hinkles," she admitted. "I like a good burger sometimes."
She figured it was a suitable answer, and one that might surprise them.
***
Lucas was definitely surprised by Melinda's answer, but he grinned widely. "Well then, you're in luck. Cam makes the best burgers ever," he replied. Maybe it was a teensy bit of an exaggeration, but he was trying to help. He finished up the pancakes and the bacon and brought everything over to the table.
"Okay, um. Syrup. And orange juice for me. You guys should dig in though!" It only took him another minute to get the two items in question and then he was sitting down at the table with them, ready to dig in.
***
Cameron didn’t buy the answer for a second. That wasn’t her favourite. It was an unexpected like, but not her favourite. He was going to have to keep his eye out for the truth.
For now, though, he laughed, lifting a hand in protest. “Don’t listen to him. He’s a teenager. Everything is the best ever.”
He remembered what being a teenage boy was like. Always hungry and so everything tasted great. He did not do as instructed, however, and waited for Lucas to return to the table before eating. It was good manners, especially since the kid had cooked. And he wasn’t a starving teenage boy anymore.
***
It wasn't so much that Melinda wasn't telling the truth. She was just very disconnected from her old life before Bahrain. Whatever her favorites were then didn't matter so much to her anymore.
"I vaguely recall my own teenage years when things were the best ever." It'd been awhile, but she remembered.
She reached for the orange juice and poured some into her glass. It wasn't just because it was the healthier choice. She just wasn't a coffee fan. That was something that did carry over from pre-Bahrain days.
***
"Hey!" Lucas exclaimed, a bit indignant at first. Then he grinned. "Yea, actually that's pretty accurate. This whole place is pretty great. Minus the history teacher, of course." Because no one would ever come as close to being as good as Mr Matthews. Lucas was just a little more ok with his history teacher by now.
"It's also because of Christmas," he assured both adults. "No school, hanging out with some really great people, and I get to exchange gifts with Riley. Oh! She's having a New Year's Eve party, thing. Can I go?" Lucas asked, looking at Cam for the most part, but he definitely glanced at Melinda to see what she thought.
***
“Yeah,” Cameron immediately agreed. “You should go.”
It was important to him that the kid get out and spend time with his friends, do normal things like going to parties. “Her uncle supervising?” If there was at least an adult around there was absolutely no reason not to support it.
There wasn’t a chance for an answer before the doorbell rang. Confused, Cameron got up to get it himself, returned a moment later with the host of their conversation subject ahead of him. “Look who I found.”
Riley just smiled. It wasn’t convincing in the least.
***
"Well that was good timing," Melinda said as she glanced at the surprise guest. Though she was wondering how much of a surprise this really was.
"Morning, Riley."
She met the girl a few weeks before, so she already knew who she was. At least they wouldn't need to do introductions again. She was pretty good at remembering names and faces.
***
Lucas was frozen for a good half a minute before he hustled into action. He hadn't been expecting her to show up so early on Christmas morning, but that was totally ok. Whatever was going on, they'd figure it all out, and he did have a feeling that it had to do with her parents not being around.
"Morning! We were just talking about the New Year's Eve party. Do you want breakfast?" He was already reaching for a plate though. When Lucas set the plate down in front of the empty seat Riley could take, he reached for her hand to give it a squeeze. "Is everything ok?" he asked quietly, hoping to be sneaky and subtle in front of his guardian.
***
“Yep!” As if Riley Matthews would ever say anything was less than fine in front of actual people. She just smiled brightly. “I just wanted to say Merry Christmas!”
Christmas was the very best time to be a Riley.
Cameron wasn’t buying the cheer any more than he was buying anything else this morning, but he rolled with it, just returning to his own seat, nudging Melinda’s elbow with his own, giving her a look that was half apology for a quiet Christmas morning going off the rails, half wanting to gossip about what was going on with the teenagers.
He’d never been so full of drama in his teenage years.
He didn’t let it last, though, instead smiling at their cheerful guest. He was pretty fond of her, weird as she was. “Well we’re happy to have you.”
***
"The more the merrier." Part of her really meant it. She was pretty fond of Lucas and she liked Riley enough. She probably wouldn't tolerate teenagers much back home. It was different here. They seemed to like her, too.
Besides, there was still enough time in the day for more quiet later on. She didn't even take any extra overtime at work today. That was a pretty big deal for her.
***
Lucas gave her hand another squeeze and pressed a kiss against her cheek. Something was bugging her, but she could tell him about it later. On the window seat. Her present was upstairs anyway, so they could do that. It was kind of weird that Cam was so cool with them spending time in Lucas' room, so he was always careful to leave the door open.
"Definitely welcome, and this means I can give you your Christmas present after breakfast!" Riley had to eat something. Lucas was pretty sure she'd just left her Uncle's before breakfast, so he'd make sure to look after her. He didn't want Mr Hunter to get mad at him.
***
Riley had actually had breakfast, quickly and quietly, but she’d been there. For that much at least. “And I can give you yours! I brought it with me.” And she was clearly more interested in chatting with Lucas than she was in either of the adults. “And you can show me your--”
“Ah.” Cameron interrupted. Lucas’ present was parked out front, and he wasn’t going to have that spoiled. “Finish your breakfast. Talk about presents after.”
At least he didn’t have to worry about Melinda spoiling his surprise. She was reliable. And not an over-dramatic teenager.
“Speaking of, though, I’ve got something for you, too,” he added in Melinda’s direction. “After breakfast.”
***
Melinda would never think about spoiling that surprise. Even she wasn't that callous. Besides, she kind of looked forward to seeing Lucas's reaction. She wasn't as into the holidays as most, but there were some things about it she could still find some joy in.
She nodded at Cameron's suggestion of waiting until after breakfast for gift exchanging. She had something for him, too, as well as for Lucas. She wouldn't quite call this a family, but it was something like it. She only wished Six could be here for this.
"Sounds like a plan," she said, and she even smiled a little.
***
Lucas definitely hadn't missed that Riley knew about one of his presents, which meant that it was probably outside somewhere. His mind went to a basketball hoop or something equally sports related, so he grinned brightly. "Okay!" Whatever Cam got for him, he'd love so he was definitely looking forward to opening it, plus his gift for Riley was pretty great. "I have something for you, too, Melinda. It's under the Christmas tree with the other presents," he promised, not wanting her to feel left out.
Once breakfast was finished, Lucas grinned once more. "Presents?" he asked, hopefully.
***
That was a lot more like the excitement Cameron had expected to start the day with.
He just laughed and waved a hand toward the living room. “Okay go. I’ll be in in a second.”
Cameron, at least, was going to tidy up the kitchen. It would strike him later that that was an incredibly his-mom kind of thing to do. Maybe he really was taking this parent thing to heart.