willriseagain (willriseagain) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-01-15 12:26:00 |
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Arthur had spent actual Thanksgiving with Gwen like they always had. The two of them had watched movies and the parade in between eating which had been fun and now they were being joined by Merlin and Audrey the rest of their pseudo-family the day after to eat leftovers and catch up, something he was looking forward too. The apartment was tidy, food was out and he’d pulled out a selection of movies and made sure to pay his Netflix bill. He’d missed it once. That was torture. Throwing any old top on, he crashed on the couch of his place, feet hanging over the armrest and started to flick through the channels to see if there was anything mindless on to keep him entertained until the others arrived. *** Gwen had spent all day Thanksgiving with Arthur, curled up on the couch with him wearing one of his old tshirts just in case there was a knock on the door as they watched television and ate far far too much food. But that was one of the best parts of the holiday wasn’t it? The worst part of it had come Friday morning when she’d had to extract herself from him long enough to go back to her own flat and change. She and Arthur had managed to fall back into their old routine fairly easily over the past couple of months, never talking about the break they’d taken when she’d gone away. Things were good between them. Great even. She scribbled a hasty note on the notepad on the off chance her roommate came home and wondered where she was as she grabbed up some things from the kitchen to head back to her boyfriends for the day. She hoped Merlin and Audrey were going to bring the kids but if they didn’t it would still be nice to see their friends and spend the day with them. It wasn’t a long drive to Arthur’s apartment, and then she was letting herself in and heading to the kitchen to put things up and make sure they had everything they’d need. Including disposable plates and utensils because she didn’t want to have wash a bunch of dishes. *** Being British Thanksgiving hadn’t really been a thing before Merlin had moved to America and it hadn’t become an important thing since he’d been with Audrey. Since then they’d kind of built up traditions which included eating far too much food with Nina and Gabe and vegging out in front of the television chatting more than actually watching anything. It was a pretty good way to spend a day in Merlin’s opinion. Starting a new tradition of spending post thanksgiving day with Arthur and Gwen sounded like a pretty good plan to Merlin. And it was always nice to see Gwen and Arthur together again, after all it was fate. Even if neither of them quite realised it yet. Merlin wasn’t sure how into their dreams they were at the moment. Loaded up with the kids bags as well as far too much food Merlin waited for Audrey as she put on the kids coats. It wouldn’t take long to get them to Arthur’s place but the temperature had dropped a little, enough for a jacket now. *** It was pretty easy to get the kids ready to go. Audrey and Merlin kept the “baby bag” fully stocked. Two kids in diapers meant a lot of extra stuff had to come along with them whenever they went out. Audrey was thankful they were going out, though. She’d spent far too much time in their house in Bea’s first couple months of life, and she wanted to get out more than ever. Coats on Ben and Audrey, and little Bea was wrapped in her warm clothes and blanket, tucked against Audrey’s chest, the little family huddled close together. Merlin’s magic could whisk them straight to Arthur’s front door. It was easier than apparition, which Audrey was pretty terrible at to begin with. Last thing she’d want to do was side-along apparate and splinch someone. Once on Arthur’s front porch, Audrey rang the bell. *** “Thanks Gwen,” Arthur said placing a kiss on her cheek as she helped him set up. It was basic fare. He doubted any of them wanted all that much after the day before. Even after so many years in America he struggled to understand why Thanksgiving but he would never turn down a chance to spend time with his family. Hearing the doorbell he squeezed her hand. “I’ll just go grab them,” he said with a smile before heading down to the front door. “Hey guys,” he said with a smile, opening the door to them. “Come in. Gwen’s just finishing getting the food but we might as well make ourselves comfortable.” *** Gwen put the last few things on the table as she heard Arthur letting their friends in, stepping back to make sure that there were plenty of options for Ben to pick from and that she hadn’t forgotten anything, that nothing was too close to the edge before turning her attention to the door and smiling as she went over to greet and hug their friends. “I’m glad you could make it,” she said before turning her attention to the kids. “She’s getting to be so big.” *** Ben immediately ran to Gwen and wrapped his arms around her legs with a happy smile and an ‘Auntie Gwen’. “Growing like a weed” Merlin agreed, “At least for a little while we’re only running around after this one” he gestured to Ben, “Once Bea starts walking will be when we’re in trouble and if they team up we’re doomed” he winked. *** Ben was almost two now. Audrey could hardly believe it. He was talking and drawing inside the lines and counting and singing the alphabet song. The preschool/day care/whatever at Stark Industries was the best, and practically free. That was one of the good things about Merlin working for the famous (or infamous?) Tony Stark. Audrey kept Bea with her at the bakery still, since the baby was only a couple of months old. “Hey!” She said, stepping inside. It was difficult with the bags and the kids and the--then Ben was off, running straight for Auntie Gwen, and Audrey laughed. “You can see who his favorite is.” She leaned over to tap a kiss against Arthur’s cheek before moving to put things down. *** “Do we blame him?” Arthur said flashing Gwen a smile. “The foods ready but want a drink?” he asked leading them into the apartment. “You can chuck the kids things in the spare room if you want? I found the spare cot and got it set up in there,” he said with a shrug. It was the least he could do for his friends. One less thing for them to worry about. *** Gwen knelt down to pick Ben up when he ran to her and hugged him close. “You realize you probably just doomed yourself saying that Merlin. Put the ideas in their heads. Or at least this little one’s head,” she said with a smile as she set Ben down and took his hand as they walked further into the apartment, happily listening to him chatter away about preschool. “I made tea and all last night before bed to make sure it was nice and chilled for today. And there’s a coffee and hot tea and cocoa. I might have gone a bit overboard at the grocery store before Thanksgiving when I was buying drinks.” She admitted with a laugh. *** “It’s okay, I’ve accepted some things are just going to happen and having my kids run rings around me is one of them” he wasn’t terribly upset about it. Merlin laughed, “You overboard? Never” he teased her before smiling at her, “Thank you Gwen, it’s going to be lovely I am sure of it” *** “Thanks, Arthur, I’d love one.” Audrey said. Then she popped into the spare bedroom to put things down. If they needed to do a quick diaper change on either child, this would be the place to do it. She came back out a moment later feeling quite a bit less bogged down with bags and jackets and things. “I’ll have whatever,” she added, hoping the conversation hadn’t changed while she was down the hall. “Ooh, did you get egg nog?” Can’t have a holiday without egg nog. *** “One egg nogg coming up,” he said with a smile at Audrey. “Must be good to be able to drink again.” A few months had passed and while he didn’t know exactly why pregnant women couldn’t drink but he knew it was true or at least that’s what people said. Grabbing a glass from the cupboard he poured some for Audrey before passing it to her. “Gwen, Merlin you want anything?” he asked turning to the other two. *** “I wouldn’t say no to an egg nog myself,” Gwen said, looking away from Ben for a minute who was talking about all the things he did at his preschool all day. He seemed to really like it and his teacher. She really was looking forward to having that excitement in her class in a few years. She took the glass when he offered it to her, taking a sip and setting it down out of reach of any excited children. “Thanks,” she said, giving Arthur a grin before turning to look at Audrey. “So...what do you have special planned for the bakery this Christmas?” *** “Eggnog works for me” Merlin said, since it seemed to be the drink of choice at that moment. He was ridiculously easy when it came to things like that, happy to go with the flow most of the time. Which is possibly why he got along with most people. He took the glass from Arthur with a smile and a nod. *** Audrey gave a little laugh. “Yes, it’s definitely nice to drink again. Cheers.” She lifted the glass as if in a cheers, and then gulped from it. “God…” She smiled, enjoying the egg nog. “I love this time of year.” Then she cradled the glass in both hands and turned her attention to Gwen. “We’ve got a couple of new recipes coming up, but for the most part it’s all the old classics.” She smiled. “I have to make a couple of mine and Merlin’s favorites.” Then she nudged her husband with her elbow, playfully. *** “To friendship, family and a great year so far,” Arthur said once everyone had a drink in hand. “You guys are brilliant and don’t ever change. Audrey, I’m very much looking forward to what you have coming out. You really are amazing at the whole cooking thing,” he said with a smile. *** Gwen raised her glass at his toast before taking a sip and setting her glass down as she turned her attention back to Ben. She smiled over at Audrey. “I’ll have to come by to pick up treats for my students before the Christmas holidays.” *** Merlin joined in the toast and sipped his own drink, “Everybody loves your baking, the second bakery is testament to that” he told her pressing a kiss to her lips briefly, “And we’ve even got Gwen getting her kids addicted too” he grinned as he teased Gwen. *** Hey, Audrey loved to hear it. It was why she had her own business, after all. She was a pretty good baker, all things considered. And her people skills were pretty good, too. She gave Arthur a warm smile. “Thank you, Arthur. It means a lot to me to hear you say that.” She sipped again from her egg nog. “I can make them something special if you call ahead. Custom cookies for your classroom?” *** “Nothing but the truth,” he said before cracking a grin. “Though if it gets me free or discounted stuff…,” he laughed. “Seriously though it’s great and just don’t stop.” Arthur was happy, his family was together - or at least the family that was presently in the states - enjoying themselves and were content. His new job was going well and.. He was just glad with the track his life was taking these days. He hoped it would last. **** “The kids and I would absolutely love some custom cookies for the classroom. I'm trying to find decorations that won't offend any of the parents so...I'm probably going to just put snowflakes everywhere. And bribe the janitorial staff with sweets to forgive me for the glitter that will end up everywhere.” Gwen was relaxed, a happy smile on her face as she just enjoyed time with her family. *** “Snowflakes are a good idea” Merlin nodded, “Snowmen and stars might be okay too” he suggested, since they were fairly non-religious shapes you associated with winter. He’d never really thought about that when decorating. *** Audrey nodded. Snowmen and stars sounded good, too. Snowflakes, too. “And hearts? Because you can’t go wrong with hearts. Ooh, I could do hearts and pipe the snowflakes onto them!” She was pretty good with her piping. People like Peeta did better--that was his bag, really. He was an amazing cake maker. Audrey’s strengths were more in the baked goods--the scones, the turnovers, the pasties. She could ice cookies, sure, but a professional cake decorator would be better at that than she was. They’d still be beautiful, though. And taste amazing. “Just let me know how many and when. Do you have any dietary restrictions? Allergies?” And then Audrey was in baker mode. She stopped herself, taking a deep breath, and gave a grin to Merlin and Arthur. “Sorry. We can talk about it later.” *** Arthur laughed. “Don’t worry, it’s great to see you - anyone really - excited about the things they love and really it’s a lot more interesting than if I was to go on about law or something,” he said with a shrug. “Plus they do sound delicious and the children would love them,” he said with a smile. “We should probably head to the table though before the food gets cold. Sure it’s reheated but too much reheating… Well probably wouldn’t do it much good.” he said. He was getting hungry as was. It was good to see Audrey so excited about the prospect of baking. He sometimes wondered how none of them weren’t seriously overweight with how good she was. Still, he supposed they were usually fairly sensible. Plus he was sure Gwen’s children would absolutely love them. Young children always did seem to like sweets and baked food as it was. *** Gwen laughed quietly as Audrey slipped into baker mode. “I’ll text you with all of that once I get home. I’ve got all that information in my papers there.” Or in her desk in her classroom. She really needed to get more organized in the new year with those things. “Brilliant idea love. I’m sure we’re all starving,” she said, shooting him a grin. *** “Food is always a good idea and usually always Arthur’s idea come to think of it” Merlin teased with a smile, “But you’re definitely right, let’s eat” |