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His very first Thanksgiving.

Or, rather, the first Thanksgiving he could remember.

Julian thought it was very odd, and somewhat disconcerting, that he could not remember a time before the darkness. Both Roddy and Delilah repeated what he apparently said while still in youma form - that a life existed before the darkness, before the Rift. Perhaps it was payment for salvation that he lost those memories. Maybe it was better this way.

In any case, Julian wasn't going to let it bother him too much today. He had work to do!

He was tasked by Roddy to make smaller things to bring for Thanksgiving dinner, and at the moment, he was baking some stuffing, various vegetables and yams as side dishes. While he was waiting for the oven, the young man was working diligently at the kitchen table. Julian had tasked himself with the making of a list - Things to be Thankful For. It started out as a joke from Roddy, explaining that everyone was to think of thinks to be thankful for during this feasting season. Julian took it one step further, and endeavored to write out just about everything he could think of that he was thankful for. Unfortunately, this list exceeded the two pieces of lined paper he'd taken from Roddy's office supply stash, and had grown to three-and-a-half pages of unsteady script.

In no particular order:
The sun, blankets, feet, warmth, grass, water, carpet, Staccato, Delilah, Mom, Sita, Mercy, Roddy, Chauvet, Starmom, the neighbors, sprinklers, cookies, flowers, ALL THE FOOD...

Julian was knee-deep, metaphorically, in his Things to be Thankful For list, and didn't even hear Roddy's initial approach. Sprawled across the table, with a ticking egg timer by his side, Julian's list had grown to six pages. Each page only had one column, but each page had writing on both sides. Twice, he'd had to return to Roddy's office to grab another piece of lined paper to continue the list.

...holidays, fireplaces, music, naps, the porch, birds, the park, running, having a family, bacon...

It was then that Julian had heard Roddy's heavy footsteps and jolly voice. Looking up from his task, a bright smile blooming on his face. Roddy had that way about him, an infectious sort of joy that almost always coaxed a smile out of the people he met. Julian knew sometimes that a deep sadness would strike his roommate, but today was not that day. Roddy had taken time out of his day to help someone in need, something he was known for, and Julian greatly appreciated that about the bigger man.

Julian pushed himself out from the table and checked the egg timer - the yams still had twenty more minutes before they were fully cooked. Toddling up to Roddy, Julian embraced him in a warm hug. "Welcome back, Roddy. How did it go, with the eyebrows? Someone lost them?" The poofy-haired boy had been half-asleep when Roddy left that morning, saying something about eyebrows and missing. At the time, Julian couldn't put two-and-two together in a manner that made any sort of sense. He imagined someone's eyebrows had leaped from their face and packed bags to head South for the winter, but that made no sense at all. Julian had to chuckle to himself about that.

"My list is getting bigger. Apparently, I have a lot to be thankful for. And... and I am! Really. I just... want to show people. But...!" He couldn't get too far ahead of himself, despite the mess on the table with the mechanical pencil, eraser and many pieces of paper covered in unsteady scrawling. "...I just... don't want to seem ungrateful. But--! Um, let's see. The yams still have twenty minutes and the potatoes are softened now so I can mash them after the yams are done, and the vegetable casserole is prepped and ready! Oh, goodness... did... did I forget anything?"

"...will there be more years, Roddy?" came a quiet question when they pulled away from the hug. Julian took it to mean that he would be allowed to stay in the house with Roddy and Staccato in the future, and that thought was a comforting one. As much as Julian thought he needed to work harder to be a contributing member of the household, being invited to continue to stay was an honor. He almost tittered in embarrassment, toddling along behind Roddy as the bigger man wandered into the kitchen.

And admitted he hadn't yet had breakfast.

Julian wasn't an angry person, nor did he seem to contain any temper whatsoever. Instead, the poofy boy huffed at Roderick Bolasco, the air causing his wavy bangs to float briefly while he turned to open the fridge. "Roddy..." Shuffling could be heard from the fridge, its golden light spilling into the kitchen. "You told me, breakfast is the most important meal of the day and that I shouldn't miss it, so you shouldn't miss it, either." From the depths of the fridge, Julian pulled out a plastic Tupperware bowl with a red rubber top. Inside was a stack of turkey slices, some with baked skin on top. Roddy had been teaching Julian how to carve a turkey earlier in the week.

"I'll make you a sandwich?" He didn't mind, really, but it was kind of fun to scold Roddy gently for not following his own rules. Gently guiding the fridge door shut with his foot, he toddled to the open kitchen counter space not occupied by Thanksgiving fixings. "And... I have some lemonade I made, too. Would you like some lettuce? Cranberry sauce? I saw that on the internet - a Thanksgiving sandwich!"

"...never felt as warm..." he mumbled quietly, stacking sliced turkey atop mayonnaise and lettuce, onions and tomatoes. Julian remembered Roddy mentioning his sister, Anais (who they would be seeing later that day, and Julian would see her for the first time), and a niece and nephew. Julian didn't think Roddy was lying, but the smaller young man still doubted his presence was preferred over blood family.

The sandwich created (and not too high so as not to spoil Roddy's appetite for Thanksgiving dinner), Julian toddled it over to his waiting roommate at the table, napkin in tow. He returned to the fridge to retrieve the pitcher of homemade lemonade to pour into a glass.

"Roddy?" came a nervous reply, Julian sitting down at the table across from his roommate, pushing the glass of lemonade over to him. Julian was too nervous to eat. "...um... I'm a bit... anxious... about meeting Anais. Um... I don't want to come off badly, or embarrass you. You're nice enough to introduce me to your real family, and... I really appreciate that. I really do. I just..." Looking down at his hands, Julian's fingers trembled slightly. He clasped them together. "...what can I do to... make a good impression? I don't remember any Thanksgivings... I'm not sure what to do..."

"Mmm... if you say so, I'll... try my best."

He couldn't remember having been around children... ever, really, and wondered if they could sniff out that Julian wasn't always what he appeared to be. Was there a stink on him, bone-deep, that even he couldn't smell anymore? The thought was worrisome, and though Julian always tried to hide any distress, his roommate seemed to easily pick up on it. Maybe it was those years of being a dad.

Having parents must've been... very nice. Not that he wasn't incredibly grateful for the two mothers he had! No sir! Julian was a bit of a special case, like Evan was. Did Evan's parents remember him? Did Julian even think to ask? He couldn't remember, even thinking about it in this quiet time. Maybe Evan's parents returned to his life when their son was restored to his previous human form. As much as there was a little jealousy in his heart, Julian couldn't be upset with his fellow post-youma; Evan wasn't a monster for a very long time, all things considered. Evan still remembered the time when he was human.

Julian did not possess that memory.

Still, the poofy young man tried desperately not to dwell on upsetting things during the holiday. Instead, blue eyes concentrated on Roddy and his smile. He seemed to be enjoying the sandwich and lemonade.

"If she's nice like you, then... it should be okay, right? N-not that--" Uh oh, foot in mouth. "N-not that I don't think she isn't nice, I..." With a huff, Julian hid his face in his arms, using the large sweater sleeves for extra cover.

If there was any way he could hide the horribly pink blush from creeping across his features, Julian would have done so in a heartbeat. As it was, his blushes reached his ears, turning them a vivid pink against his powder blue hair. A muffed, embarrassed whine escaped the tangle of limbs and cotton sweater. "Roddyyyyyy... I'm not... not that incredible..."

He waited until Roddy had to leave the table to put the dish in the sink for washing to lift his head, the blush still staining his cheeks. Sometimes Roddy did that on purpose, and chuckled to find Julian's ears lit up like a traffic light.

"Well... if she scolds you, then... I don't feel so nervous." The thought of Roddy getting into trouble made his roommate smile. It made the larger man seem more down-to-earth, more human, to know that even he could make mistakes and be scolded for it. "You spoiled your niece and nephew because you love them. That's why you spoil Staccato, too, thought I don't think he minds too much. Do you, boy?"

The chocolate lab happily boofed in response. Spoiled, but rightfully so. Staccato worked diligently as a service dog and earned every bit of spoiling he got.

Once Julian's face didn't feel so warm, he got up to pull the yams and other goodies out of the oven. Each dish was prepared very carefully - the last thing Julian wanted to do was make mistakes on his very first Thanksgiving. "These need... um... probably twenty minutes to cool, and then they can be packed away. Should we bring butter and spices? Oh, they probably have that at their house, don't they? Hmm..." Julian felt like he was forgetting something, and stood next to Roddy in the kitchen, tapping his long fingers against his cheeks.

Julian thought that perhaps the blush wouldn't go away today, the way Roddy was acting. The only thing Julian could do in retaliation was looking pathetic and indignant. Mostly pathetic. Still, despite the flushed ears and embarrassment, Roddy's poofy roommate dutifully helped to pack up the foodstuffs for transport. Roddy's car would be packed full of fresh food, people and a dog.

His first Thanksgiving...

Truth be told, buckling in his seatbelt, Julian was nervous. Incredibly anxious to meet Roddy's sister, her children and family. Would they like him? Roddy seemed to think so, and Julian would still try his best. Without even thinking, he reached over to grasp Roddy's arm for comfort, telling himself it would all be okay. The kids would like him, and he would try his best. The dinner would be wonderful. His first Thanksgiving.