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

[ihadfaith]

Peggy didn't have much experience with American holidays; she knew of them from being among men celebrating on war fronts, or from being with Steve. It left her with a yearning to go back to her own roots, but until then, she was happy enough to celebrate something as simple as giving thanks for what she had.

[the_wasp]

"For a non-American, you have really got a handle on this holiday," Jan says appreciatively. She finds Peggy a little bit after the first wave of eating, happily stuffed herself and sipping on island brew.

"But a party is a party no matter where it started, huh?"

[ihadfaith]

Peggy smiled at the sight of the other woman; though she didn't know Jan too well, it was nice enough to see her. She especially enjoyed learning about the Steve Jan knew - while the story might be a slight bit different, he seemed to be the same man through and through no matter the universe.

"I've found it's easy enough to give thanks no matter where you're from. How are you, Jan?

[the_wasp]

"Full and fantastic, thanks." She pairs the words with a sunny smile and it doesn't feel like lying. It isn't, really. She doesn't like seeing people in pain, physical or otherwise, and she doesn't like being away from her home. She's not exactly fantastic. But she's good, more than managing, and the full feeling in her stomach makes it better.

"You guys did a really great job. I hope you're enjoying yourself too, not just being thankful?"

[ihadfaith]

"I'm finding ways to enjoy myself," Peggy responded, matching Jan's smile. She could find joy in the smaller things, in Steve, and the fact that she was alive and well. Aside from a few bruises and cuts long healed, she'd come out of Halloween better off than some.

"I'm grateful everything seems to be going off well."

[the_wasp]

"Oh, of course it is," she says, maybe a little too breezily.

"I mean, Thanksgiving would be the perfect opportunity for the island to do something evil. The food comes back to life and attacks us or something. But short of that-- You put good people together, things are always gonna go well."

[onlyforthedream]

I slide my arms around Peggy from behind, tucking them about her waist and dropping my head to press a kiss against her cheek. She's been as gracious and outgoing as I've tried to be, and in a moment even kind of alone, in the kitchen while everyone else has found a plate and a drink and a place to sit, I take advantage to get her in my arms, if only for a moment.

"You look great," I murmur.

[ihadfaith]

Peggy found it quite easy to stop what she was doing to indulge in Steve for a moment. She didn't need an American holiday to be grateful for him whenever her thoughts fixed on him -- which tended to be often.

"Thank you," she responded in a low voice as she leaned back against Steve. "It's going well, isn't it?"

[onlyforthedream]

"Honestly?" I murmur into her hair, tilting my face so I can speak with a lowered voice and still make sure she hears me, "better than I expected. Thank you, for making it happen."

[ihadfaith]

"You're welcome." Peggy maneuvered herself so she was facing Steve, which made it a bit easier to talk. Or to give him a brief kiss. "You should thank yourself, as well. I think most of them are here because it's quite hard to say no to you."

[onlyapassenger]

"Going pretty smoothly so far, don't you think?" says Bucky about halfway through the meal. Between the lack of fights breaking and the fact that there was still food to spare, things could be going worse.

[ihadfaith]

"It's going swimmingly," Peggy responded. She was glad to see familiar faces enjoying themselves, and not a fight so far. Even James seemed to be less down than usual, and Peggy would count that a victory. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

[onlyapassenger]

"It's an interesting mix of people," Bucky allows in lieu of a real answer, giving another glance around the room. He's got his eye on a few of them -- Stark in particular, though his knee-jerk hatred for the man's faded somewhat since they didn't kill each other a few months ago -- but for the most part, it's been a relaxed enough atmosphere.

"What about you? You did most of the work, I think, I'd hope you're at least getting some kicks from the party."