Who: Stefan Salvatore, Agent Washington, Agent Carolina, Kanan Jarrus, Anna of Arendelle When: Memorial Day Where: Casa de Stefan/Anna/Lexi What: BBQ~ Rating/Warnings: Low/None Status: Complete!
So, it was a party. There were drinks in coolers all around the yard. The barbeque was going, there was music coming from the speakers, and the hot tub was hot. Stefan and the girls had put together probably enough food to feed a small army. It was a shame that only one person who actually ate lived in the house--the leftovers would definitely be phenomenal. Anna would be eating hot dogs, hamburgers, and potato salad for a week.
Stefan was trying to be a good host. He was still reeling a little from his experiences of the week or so before. He didn’t want to be a monster. And angry as he was at the world, at whatever, he wasn’t going to let that get the better of him again. Not when there were lives at stake. So he was working on it--feeding only on the blood of animals again, keeping his anger and hunger in check. He spent a lot of the last week drunk--or, tipsy, sorta. Since vampires in his Dreams have such high metabolisms it was hard for them to get drunk--and avoiding people. Now his house was full of them, and it was a real test.
Anna was enjoying the day. She’d been cleaning and preparing, and as soon as the guests arrived she flittered around from group to group, person to person, excitedly chatting with them. She offered food, and happy laughter to anyone who came in. It didn’t hurt that she’d had a Zima or two, and was decidedly tipsy herself. (The strongest indication of her alcohol level was the pink on her nose and cheekbones, as it was a little hard to tell from her demeanor. She was simply always this happy and bubbly.)
When the doorbell rang, it was Anna who was closest. She flounced to it and pulled it open, grinning brightly. “Happy Memorial Day!” ...was this a holiday for big grins and laughter? Or a more sombre occasion? Oh, well, Tipsy!Anna was too busy being happy to care.
Memorial Day was a holiday for cook-outs and barbeques and all around socialization. At least that was what it had become, which was fine. Wash had every intention of taking full advantage of not having to be anywhere or do anything for the next 24 hours. He may have gotten a bit of a head start with the drinking. Just one glass of whiskey before he, Carolina and Kanan had piled into Carolina’s car. He was far from tipsy yet and it would probably be beer for the rest of the afternoon, if he could help it. He was there more so for Stefan than the booze.
Wash had never met Anna face to face before, but he’d heard enough about her to recognize her the moment the door flung open and a flushed red-head stood there declaring a Happy Memorial day! Well, hopefully it would be, at least for their host, who certainly deserved it.
Wash smiled in return. “Hi, Anna,” he returned her greeting. “I’m Wash and this is my sister, Carolina and that’s Kanan,” he jerked his thumb to where Carolina and Kanan stood next to him. It still felt a little weird to introduce Carolina as his sister and not his CO, but a good kind of weird if he were to be asked. “We’re friend’s of Stefan’s” duh. “Well, except for Kanan. He’s just kind of tagging along.”
“Hey,” Kanan frowned playfully back at the blond man. “I was invited.” The mostly-former smuggler reached across to offer his hand to Anna. “Kanan Jarrus,” he introduced himself. “It’s very nice to meet you, Anna.”
“I brought chips and dip,” Wash said to Anna, showing her the shopping bag containing two large bags of Tostitos and a couple containers of queso dip.
Carolina had not met Anna either, but she could not help but quirk her lips up in amusement at just how bubbly she was. So this was one of Stefan’s roommates. For such a quiet guy he certainly seemed to have an interesting choice of housemates. Then again, the vampire himself was extremely easygoing, so the odd combination might actually work better than she had originally suspected.
“Yes, he was.” Carolina’s elbow knocked into Wash’s side before she offered her hand to Anna. “Pleasure to meet you, Anna.” It still felt odd for her to be introduced as someone’s anything, but not nearly as much as it had last month. The morning had been spent observing the memorial part of Memorial Day with said brother, but by the time the three of them had arrived at Stefan’s place she was more than ready to spend the rest of the holiday relaxing with a beer in her hand. Speaking of, she held up the case she had been carrying along with a bag containing a jar of clear liquid for their host. “And I brought refills, just in case.”
Anna probably would have hugged Wash, even though they'd never met face to face before. She'd heard a lot about him from Stefan, and felt like she owed him a great deal. He'd been there for Stefan when she couldn't, and for that Anna was eternally thankful. She smiled warmly over at him when he introduced himself, and she reached both hands forward embrace Wash's with her own. Then she shook Kanan's hand, blushing deeply at how handsome and polite he seemed to be. She turned her attention to Carolina and offered her hand there, too.
"It's really nice to meet you all! Please! Come on in. Thanks for coming! And bringing dip! I love chips and dip!" She beamed, then stepped aside so they could come into the house. It was a nice place, pretty big, and modernly furnished. There was a nice, large patio and a hot tub in the back, and a grill already burning. People were milling around drinking and listening to music.
"What's in the jar?" Anna asked Carolina, offering a hand to take it from her. "How do you know Stefan? Just through Wash?"
This was Kanan’s first time meeting Anna and instantly he liked the girl. She came across as warm and outgoing and just all around happy. That wasn’t something Kanan had seen a whole lot of since coming to Orange County. Well, to be honest, given the line of work Kanan had recently more or less come out of, meeting a genuinely happy person was rare. And that blush! The girl was straight up adorable. Where the hell had she been hiding this whole time?
“It’s nice to meet you as well,” Kanan answered. Wash had mentioned something about Stefan’s roommates on the ride over. Something about them both being girls. Kanan had laughed a little at this and made some kind of throw-away comment about how some guys have all the luck. The look Wash had shot him from the passenger seat was enough for Kanan to realize there was a line he was previously unaware of that he was coming dangerously close to crossing. It amazed Kanan just how much Wash and Carolina looked alike when they were glaring at something. Or someone. Had to have been some kind of family trait. Had he not already come close to pissing the former marine off, Kanan would have laughed at sheer irony of it.
“Actually,” Kanan said as he followed Anna into the house along with the others, “I haven’t met Stefan yet, though you could say I would know him through Carolina here.”
“Told you he was a party crasher,” Wash said before deftly moving just far enough away from Carolina to avoid another elbow to the ribs.
Kanan laughed, however. “Yeah, well, Carolina asked me to come. It’s been...well...kind of hellish month. Thought a barbeque’d be good to get me out of the house.”
Anna gave Wash a little smirk when he mentioned the party crashing. She could tell that Wash and Kanan had a playful relationship, and probably had something to do with the idea that Kanan was obviously here because of Wash’s sister. There was probably some protection issues there. Anna knew that her own sister was pretty protective of her, so it wasn’t uncommon.
“Well, I’m glad we can oblige!” Anna said, cheerfully, giving Kanan a pat on his arm. She led the way into the kitchen and showed Wash where to put the chips and dip. There were plenty of bowls he could fill.
“I thought my ears were burning,” Stefan said with a grin as he wandered into the kitchen. Before Wash had a chance to unload the bags of chips and queso he’d brought, Stefan wrapped his arms around his head in a manly hug. There were really no words to describe how much Stefan owed to his brother-in-arms. They’d both been there for the other in a way that solidified their friendship, and Stefan… well. Aside from Caroline and Lexi, and possibly Dean, Wash was his best friend. He was glad to see them at the party.
After a squeeze, Stefan pulled back and gave Carolina a smile. He offered her a hand. “It’s good to see you, too,” he added, playfully. It was a much better mood than he’d been in in a long time.
Carolina pulled the door closed behind them as Anna led the way toward the kitchen, her eyes taking in the interior. It was a nice place. How had she met Stefan? The usual way, of course. “I shot Stefan in the knee. Don’t worry, it healed pretty quickly afterward.” There was more to the story, but she was interrupted by the man in question as he came out to greet the group.
“Speak of the devil.” Carolina took Stefan’s hand, already grinning at the interaction between the two brothers in arms. She held up the jar. “I pulled a few strings and got my hands on some premium moonshine for you.” She did not want to think of what she had needed to promise her friend to distill some on such short notice, but if anything would be able to give the vampire a steady buzz, it was Lee’s infamous blackberry moonshine.
“Where do you want the rest of this?” Carolina indicated the rest of the beer they had brought. “I figured you might need a refill before a certain someone gets a hold of the cooler.”
Wash had kind of been hoping that the whole Bullet to the Knee drama and everything that had precipitated it would continue to go unmentioned, but Anna had asked and Carolina had chosen that exact moment to given an honest answer, because of course she would. But didn’t that pretty much just define how fucking weird this place was? Yeah, kinda.
“It was kinda my fault,” Wash said to Anna a little sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck. “See, I kind of overreacted about-”
Wash never got to finish his explanation. The next thing he was aware of, Stefan’s arms were around his head and he had his nose practically buried into the vampire’s shoulder. “Mmmf!” The whole hugging thing was not something Wash generally did nor was particularly good at, so there was a brief moment of flailing rather blindly before he patted Stefan’s arm in a kind of tap-out. Stefan maybe didn’t have to breathe as a vampire, but Wash sure did.
“Glad to see you too, Stefan,” he laughed when the other man released him. He presented the plastic bag he was carrying. “Chips and dip, as promised.” He said.
Behind Carolina, Kanan wa laughing at Wash and Stefan’s antics. It was actually rather cute, and cute was not something he would have associated with Carolina’s high strung brother. Still, it was nice to see that Wash actually did have some friends. By Stefan’s greeting, it was easy to see how he would have been willing to vet out someone who could possibly be a threat to Wash. Wash was a lucky S.O.B.
Since introductions hadn’t quite been made, Kanan stepped forward to offer his hand to their host. “Kanan Jarrus,” he said in greeting. “I’m a friend of Carolina’s and apparently a party crasher. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
Stefan was in a really good mood today. Anna wasn't sure why, but she wasn't second-guessing it. She reached over to help take the bags and whatnot from Wash while he was being attacked by Stefan. Okay, not attacked, but hugged. Anna wasn't sure she'd seen Stefan hug anyone besides Bubbles before. And possibly Lexi.
But then Stefan and Carolina were shaking hands, and Anna heard the words I shot Stefan in the knee. Her own eyes went a little wide, and her jaw went slack. "You shot him?"
"Only a little," Stefan added, then moved to the fridge to let Carolina put the beers in there. He was ignoring the comment about someone getting ahold of the cooler, though he thought he knew who it was aimed toward. Hey, bygones, right? He was glad that Wash had a gruff sister watching over him. And he grinned at the moonshine. "This looks great. Thanks." He said, and set the jar on the counter.
Anna turned to Wash again, eyebrows raised. Would she ever get a full explanation? Maybe not. It seemed the kind of thing they'd try to protect her from. Sigh.
Stefan shook the other man's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Kanan." He said, smiling warmly. "Make yourselves at home. There's drinks, snacks, the grill's hot and cooking, and I hope everyone brought a swimsuit to enjoy the spa?"
Wash looked at Anna and gave a slight shrug. He didn’t really want to get into the whole stalking misunderstanding and just how badly he’d overreacted to the entire ordeal. It was in the past. Carolina and Stefan were getting along now and that was what was important. Although, why Carolina wanted to bring a gift of moonshine was still a little lost on him. Oh, well…
Drinks. Yes, Wash needed one of those, preferably in beer form. “Thanks, man,” he said to Stefan. “I think I’ll help myself to one or two of those. Carolina? Kanan? Either of you want anything?”
“Soda’s fine,” Kanan answered. He had already appointed himself as designated driver for the day. Let the two vets blow of some much needed steam. What he was more interested in was the promise of a hot tub. He gave Stefan a huge grin. “I take the idea of hot tubbing very seriously. Got a pair of trunks ready to go.”
Whatever it was between Carolina and Stefan, was pretty much between them. She’d either hear about it in the long run, or she wouldn’t. The thing that really caught her attention was the cute guy mentioning the hot tub. “Yes!” Anna beamed brightly, jumping up once in agreement. She set down whatever it was she was holding (bottle of hard apple cider with a half sip at the bottom?) and then turned to jog off toward her room. “I’ll be back in my swimsuit! Don’t go in without me!”
Stefan turned to watch Anna jogging off, chuckling. It was probably obvious that he was fond of his roommate, though it should also be obvious that his fondness was in an older-brother sort of way. “She’s a little excitable.” He answered apologetically for Anna’s awkwardness. “Beer and soda. Got it.” With that, he turned to pull some drinks out of the fridge for his friends.
“A beer sounds great.” So did the hot tub, for that matter. It was difficult to be in California for very long without a swimsuit, but Carolina had somehow managed to do just that. Upon hearing that there was a need, however, she had bought one for the occasion. There was no way she was going to pass up an afternoon lazing in a spa with a cold drink in hand. She was grateful that Kanan had taken up the sober mantle. It was one less thing she had to worry about and left her free to enjoy the party. She would be sure to make it up to him later.
“She’s a sweet girl.” She nodded after Anna. For all her awkwardness, the girl’s happiness was infectious. Even Carolina found herself smiling easily in her presence. Maybe I should’ve glossed over the shooting a bit. Well, what was done was done. Now, back to that hot tub… “Guess I should get changed as well. Got a place I can put my things?” She asked Stefan with a lopsided grin. She already had the two-piece on beneath her button up and jeans, but it would be nice to have a place to tuck her clothes away until later.
Stefan nodded, passing around the drinks. He motioned down the hall. “You can change in my bedroom. Down the hall on the right. Please don’t mind the giant, stuffed unicorn.” That was a long story. He’d have to tell it later, after breaking into the moonshine.