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 Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 4:43 pm
A thumbs up was given as soon as Mordekai stood. The entire stick of butter was unexpected when she only needed a small amount but Anita beamed tiredly at it and mumbled her thanks. She didn't have to add much, not like she usually would, and before long she nudged the stick away for anyone else to have at it.
”Glad to hear he didn't misbehave,” Anita spoke mid-chew, though was careful not to show off any food and keep it from impeding her speech.
Duncan's question made her pause while she finished chewing. Overall she would say yes, she had a good time, but there had also been a thick air of unease; not quite discomfort but a vague feeling of dread that something would go wrong tonight... and something did go wrong.
Anita stared at the table with heavy lidded eyes. She chewed slowly, not realizing how quickly the seconds were passing. Once, her gaze shifted and she glanced up at Mordekai. Something did go wrong but ultimately was it reconciled? Was everything fine now and there would no longer be this sense of impending dread the next time they spoke or that she visited? Once they walked back in the door hours ago things seemed fine, better than at the start of the party even, but Anita couldn't shake the feeling that it was for her own benefit rather than anything positive on Mordekai's end. Guilt still hung over her for poorly chosen words, her snappish tone, but that couldn't be fixed now.
”Yeah, it was real nice,” she decided almost a minute after Duncan asked, ”Thanks so much for inviting us. I mean it.” Anita made a point to catch Mordekai's attention as well, ”Thanks for cooking, this is really good,” despite having a hard time keeping her eyes opened and focused.
Cruz took this as a cue and chimed in happily, ”Thanks for letting me help!”
By the time most of the boys were finishing their bowls Anita was only halfway through hers and starting to feel disinclined to continue. It tasted good and she was still hungry but she was far from starving, it was early, and she was exhausted. She gave Farrer a quick ”rodger, dodger,” as she set her bowl on the table and slid down in her chair to lean back and run her face.
All the while Cruz had been watching and listening contentedly to the surrounding conversation, even if a good portion of it went over his head. He was still worried about Anita's lack of sleep and hoped she would go back to the couch, at least for a little while, but with her and Farrer seeming to have reached an agreement it appeared they wouldn't be lingering much longer.
”When can we come over next?” the frei glanced hopefully between Duncan and Mordekai. One of his hands sat on the back of a nearby chair but his fingers were restless.
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 4:44 pm
Farrer and Skye (along with Lyons, after feeling somewhat displaced from the halt in conversation) excused themselves and made their way to the backyard. They left the sliding door cracked open ever-so-slightly unintentionally, and the smell of cigarette smoke wafted idly through the house. Neither Mordkai nor Duncan seemed to pay much mind-- there was a chance Farrer had done it on purpose, for whatever reason.
After setting the teapot to boil, Mordekai returned to the dining table and plopped back down where he was sitting. For a majority of the time Anita and Cruz spoke, his eyes wandered mostly towards Garcia and Lyons in the living room and back towards his unfinished bowl of scrambled eggs. When Anita looked over to Mordekai for any hint of reassurance, he didn't offer much; he was frowning nonchalantly and looked plainly exhausted. He caught notice of her glancing at him, though, and offered a brief, wide smile in return.
Duncan took note of the thick air of minute-silence. He regarded Anita with a soft, careful frown, but managed to smile at her nonetheless when receiving an answer. It was obvious that Anita was tired, if not moreso than Mordekai typically seemed. How long was she up? He didn't find it in him to pry, though, and offered her a few harmless words of his own. "You and Cruz are welcome here anytime, Anita. Thank you for coming over, I'm glad you two had fun."
Mordekai was quietly surprised that Anita and Cruz had addressed them at all, but he offered a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his neck. "Glad it's okay. An' man, Cruz, you're a great helper-- thanks for helpin' 'round the kitchen again. I might have to steal you into helpin' me cook next time you're over, alright?"
The blond looked away from Anita and Cruz afterwards. He pressed his head against the table and looked away when Anita leaned back in her chair-- Duncan blinked curiously at Cruz and laughed. Duncan hummed and lulled his head from side to side slightly, trying to formulate an answer, but only managed a weak shrug. "It's hard to say with any certainty... there's quite a dry spell in terms of holidays after this," though the break from holiday preparation was well-deserved for everyone, of course, it left no room for group gatherings like these. Duncan smiled brightly in realization at a thought, though, and adjusted his glasses.
"Ah! You know what, Cruz? There might be a new Raevan on the way very soon. I'll be sure to call you and Anita over when they arrive, and we can do a small gathering then."
Mordekai sank his head beneath his folded arms a bit at the thought-- he attempted to hide his displeasure, but wasn't too sure how well he succeeded. He managed to let his attentions drift to the lingering cigarette smoke smell and on Garcia and Twain's idle conversation until the teapot was ready in a matter of minutes. Duncan served himself tea and offered Anita a cup of her own, or perhaps coffee, while Mordekai wrestled with five other cups to dump coffee and water into. He delivered three of them to the backyard and allowed the other two men to nab their servings from the kitchen.
Farrer didn't muck around the backyard for long, and managed to finish his smoke and coffee and retreat back into the living area with Skye and Lyons to wait it out on the couch. By the time the boys were all ready to leave, they were fully clothed and were much quieter than the night before. A majority of them were dealing with inescapable hangovers they couldn't burn off by throwing it up or shitting it out, unfortunately, but the clinging feeling of dysphoria made them rather antsy to leave. The younger men piled into the back of Farrer's rusty truck while Skye took the wheel, and Farrer made his way to what he surmised was Anita's car.
Mordekai and Duncan followed their company out to the cars. Duncan was faring with the cold much better than Mordekai who, upon stepping into the January cold, immediately began shivering and rubbing his arms. He received a few plain farewells from Skye and company before the four headed on their way.
Farrer offered Mordekai a firm pat on the shoulders and leaned back against Anita's car. He sighed. "I can't believe you both got the day off. Spend it wisely, alright?"
Mordekai scoffed. "Yeah, whatever. I'm gonna spend the day cleanin' and watchin' cartoons." He glanced to Anita and Cruz, "If he drives a l'il too fast just punch 'im on the arm, alright?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 4:46 pm
The calm quiet that overtook the kitchen was gradual and the scent of cigarettes made Anita feel like she was back at one of her own family's get-togethers. While the smoke didn't bother her she wasn't especially keen on breathing it, either, and resolved to keep her sleeve pulled over one hand as a filter over her nose and mouth. Cruz was much less subtle about it than Anita, floating lower so the smoke would travel overhead, and taking up space nearer to her across the table from Mordekai once there was room.
”Aw, thank you,” Anita croaked happily at Duncan with barely open eyes but a full and genuine smile, ”I wish my place was bigger, but you know the offer's the same. For both of you.”
She reached out and gave Duncan's arm a light pat just as he answered Cruz's question. Anita's eyes opened a little wider, catching Mordekai's change in posture against the table while she turned to stare at her raevan charge. He must have been exhausted, too. The frei's eyes were practically bugging out of his head and his lower jaw hung loose before both sets of teeth met firmly. At first he wasn't sure what expression to give, shock appeared to be the most immediate one to surface, but then Cruz regained control of his muscles and the corners of his mouth pulled up.
Cruz brought his hands to his face, palms pressed against his own cheeks, and his rune thrummed with excitement. ”Yes! Yes please!”
Anita laughed but it barely made a sound. ”Three of you.”
Between tea and coffee, Anita went with the tea. She wasn't sure if it was going to make her sleepy or not, she always thought of tea as hyperactive coffee's tired cousin, but with enough sugar it would probably be fine and – hey – she wasn't driving anyway. If she nodded off in the passenger seat, Cruz still had the written instructions and could navigate for Farrer.
Ultimately she was too sleepy to finish the tea but she put a good dent in it. She felt bad about not being able to finish the eggs, either, but what she ate of them were good and while everyone else was getting ready to leave Anita at least put her dishes in the sink. Cruz had Tango duty and leashed him up while Anita retrieved her shoes and coat. It felt weird being in boots again when she was able to flat foot it for so long and it just made her feet feel sore again almost immediately. Truly, she would never wear boots like these to Duncan's again when there was always the potential for a hike through the fields.
Walking was a little wobbly for her but she made it out the door with Tango and Cruz taking up the rear. Anita handed her keys off to Farrer and held the passenger door for balance once he moved.
”Can do, buckaroo,” she mumbled tiredly to Mordekai with an almost perpetual sleepy smile now. Anita reached out and gave the blond a casual pat of his arm. ”Take care of yourself,” she leaned to the side enough to see around Mordekai so she could point a finger at Duncan after a few seconds of eye contact, ”You, too.”
Cruz smiled at them both while leading Tango past, giving both men time to pat the hound and say their goodbyes as they wished. ”We'll see you soon!” It was obvious to Anita he was brimming with questions, she was too, but it was probably for the best they cut things short after breakfast. Anita couldn't help but feel they somehow overstayed their welcome, or at least she did. Whatever the next visit was, she just hoped things would go more smoothly.
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 4:47 pm
Farrer casually slipped into the car after saying his brief good-bye to Duncan, which Duncan regarded with a simple, single wave and wide smile. He returned his attentions to Anita and Cruz when she pointed at him, and he chuckled. "Yes, you too. Take good care of yourselves, both of you."
Mordekai more or less responded to Anita's regards with a firm grimace and tired, slight nod, though he did try to pull his features up a little brighter, though he wasn't quite sure on how successful he was at it. He rubbed one arm due to cold and followed Anita and Cruz closer to the car-- and stole one last dole of pets to Tango before he was eased into the car-- then stood out of the way so Duncan could do the same.
"In a while, crocodile!" Mordekai waved with vigor at Cruz and managed a grin, which he kept going for Anita until his expressions softened again-- he wasn't quite sure what emotions to feel at the moment were correct, other than slightly uncomfortable. Anita and Cruz seemed like they were in a hurry to leave-- it was understandable, given how awkward he'd made it for Anita. Cruz looked more or less enthusiastic with his stay there, though, which offered him some solace.
As soon as everyone piled into the car, Farrer started up the vehicle for Gambino, and Duncan and Mordekai stepped back a bit to watch them go. They offered them a few more waves of farewells and Duncan managed a loud "Happy New Years!" before they were out of hearing range. All semblance of energy faded immediately afterwards, it seemed, with Duncan's bright expression fading into that of a humble smile as he and Mordekai returned to the house.
Once they stepped onto the porch, Duncan hovered his hand over the doorknob and stared at Mordekai, who offered him another confused quirk of the brows.
"Did you have fun?" Duncan asked, opening the door slightly.
"Yeah..? I did," Mordekai answered quietly, his hands stuffed into his pockets. He inched back in excitedly away from the cold once Duncan pushed the door open farther.
"Would you like to regale me on what you all did out there? It was difficult to see the fireworks from here," Duncan mentioned while quietly shutting the door. Mordekai turned around so he as facing Duncan, though his feet were idly stepping towards the kitchen.
"Nothin' special happened, really," he stifled.
END
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