A Very Merry Marvel Thanksgiving

[wasafreak]

Thanksgiving hadn't been something Teddy anticipated celebrating, and even now that he's here, it feels odd. Not just the fact that his jaw is wired shut and he's got a brace on his leg, but the fact that he was invited to Captain America's house and arrived to find the original Cap and Bucky and alternate universe Peggy Carter setting up a pretty impressive Thanksgiving buffet is just so surreal. Steve greets them at the door with a genuine smile and pats Billy on the shoulder and ushers them in to get drinks, and Teddy tells himself he's paranoid and Bucky isn't shooting him and Billy a sideways look warning them off of getting caught making out in any more closets, and then reminds himself that this is real life.

Kind of.

Instead of agonizing over what an appropriate tropical island equivalent of 'nice Holiday sweater' was, he let Billy dress him (also literally, see again: brace) and thinks they made the right call- the house is all warm wood craftsman, and the three heroes already there are dressed casually but nicely, and there are old photos and some pretty incredible drawings hanging up, which distract Teddy and Billy to the point of rudeness, except Steve seems all too glad to tell them stories and answer questions. Bucky chimes in to remind him of details and it's... it's maybe the coolest thing that has ever happened, other than discovering his connection to the Avengers.

It relaxes him, and Teddy types up short phrases and sentences on his iPad when he feels really compelled to contribute, keeps "Happy Thanksgiving" on his clipboard to copy and paste it when new people arrive. It doesn't take more than an hour for a pretty respectable number of people to show up, the chatter growing in volume, and even though it's been a pretty crappy couple of months, and a pretty rough couple of years, Teddy finds himself feeling pretty good.

Comments

[the_wasp]

"You don't have a Bob Cratchit yet?" Jan sputters.

"Unacceptable. No. We're conscripting someone tonight. Pick whoever's drunkest and trick them into signing up."

She pauses, realizing that undoubtedly the drunkest person in the room is going to be Tony.

"Or maybe just second drunkest."

[howmanylives]

"Maybe first drunkest can be Mr. Fezziwig," said Jamie, looking around for Stark before abandoning the effort almost immediately. There were too many bodies in here to see overtop of everyone's heads.

"Thanks for signing up, by the way. It's appreciated."

[the_wasp]

"Oh, my pleasure!" she answers with a broad smile. "I may not be a great actress, but I am a hell of a reader. And you can't have enough Christmas spirit during the holidays, no matter what weird island dimension you're stuck in."

[howmanylives]

"Chances are it won't even be an island in a couple of weeks. Anyone warn you about Decembers yet or did I just spoil the big surprise?" Jamie replied with a very theatrical wiggling of his fingers.

[the_wasp]

Her brows arch upward as curiosity trumps her better sense. She shouldn't be excited for the island to mess with them again, but Jamie's not delivering this surprise like it's bad news.

"I have heard mentions, but not details. How are we losing the island?"

[howmanylives]

"Well, if this year follows the pattern of every other December I've spent here, we'll get a winter wonderland of sorts for about six weeks," Jamie explained. "The theme changes annually. It's all very festive... Last year we got Victorian London. I almost wish I'd been prepared to do this back then, but beggars can't be choosers... In January, everyone gets presents. Nice ones, even. I think they figure if they treat us nicely every once in a while, we forget stuff like Halloween can happen."

[the_wasp]

It all sounds pretty nice, which of course makes it harder to believe. Jamie isn't lying to her; that would be stupid.

"But where's the catch?" she asks with a small frown. "Do people get caught and nearly die of exposure? Are there Yetis? A preponderance of yellow snow?"

[howmanylives]

"No catch," assured Jamie. Off the heels of Halloween, he could only imagine this was a bit hard to swallow. "Everyone gets a wardrobe change and the huts transform into something more weather-appropriate. It's like the Island's yearly apology... Provided you like cold weather, that is."

[the_wasp]

"Who likes cold weather?" Jan asks. It's a knee-jerk reaction paired with a wrinkle of her nose, an expression that softens just as quickly as it appeared.

"I mean, I like cold weather. Sometimes. If there's cozy houses and fireplaces and sweaters and hot cocoa and you don't have to go trudging through slush to find the perfect gift for someone who's barely going to notice..."

Okay, tangent.

"But taking away my beach for that? Nuh uh."

[howmanylives]

"To be fair, your beach'll come back," replied Jamie with a one-handed shrug. "Personally, I like the variety. But I've been here... God, three years now? Even the nicest view gets boring if you never have to miss it."

[the_wasp]

"Variety is the spice of life," she quotes with a sigh. "I concede to your point. But only if I get we get a hot tub in the deal. Or keep the hot springs. I like variety, but I have my limits."