The Cape Rouge, Port of Fandom, Christmas Eve

[betterthanaplan]

As a rule, he didn't tend to do much for the winter holidays -- unless you counted "go somewhere it's not winter" -- but some combination of Fandom's festivities and the cold weather had actually put him into something of a Christmas-y mood this year, so the Rouge's deck was -- well. Decked. There were string lights and garlands all over the open deck area, especially around the table holding the big thermos of hot, buttered rum. He'd set up a little fire pit on the metal cargo-bay doors, and the door to the galley and lounge below-decks was propped open with a now-dormant loaf of yesterday's fruitcake, in case people preferred to go in where it was warmer.

As discussed, Duke had only mentioned the party to a few people since planning it with Rey. It was Christmas, though, so if people decided to wander up and say hi, he wouldn't turn them away.

[up early and ready for all the slowplay. A few people in the know expected, but as it says in the narrative, it's open for wandering in if you want, too!]

Comments

Re: On deck

[thatwaslucky]

Rey still didn't actually know what to expect of tonight, but she was there right on time, and smiling at the lights.

"I like it."

Re: On deck

[betterthanaplan]

Duke smiled. "Glad to hear it. The lights were always my favorite part of the holiday."

It was the part you could usually enjoy for free and from the outside, after all.

Re: On deck

[thatwaslucky]

"I can see why." She was probably someone who would love a good light display. "So, merry Christmas. Is that holiday spirit enough?"

Re: On deck

[betterthanaplan]

“Plenty,” Duke assured her. “Especially if you’ll join me for some buttered rum.”

Re: On deck

[thatwaslucky]

"Sure. I don't know what that is but it sounds better than vodka."

She would always remember the hand wash vodka.

Re: On deck

[betterthanaplan]

“It is significantly better than vodka.” Duke poured her a mug. “Cheers.”

Re: On deck

[thatwaslucky]

"Thank you." She took the mug to sip, and might've sounded a little surprised when she said, "Oh, that is better."

Re: On deck

[betterthanaplan]

"Yep. I probably shouldn't have gotten you to drink that vodka," Duke said. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

Re: On deck

[thatwaslucky]

"What was a worse idea was that I'm pretty sure I tried it on my own after that," Rey said, making a face. "That was about when things got fuzzy."

Re: On deck

[betterthanaplan]

“That’d do it. I did try to make sure stayed hydrated at least. Hope your head wasn’t too bad the next morning.”

Re: On deck

[thatwaslucky]

"I was pretty useless for a good portion of the day," she admitted. It'd actually been the only day she'd taken off from her training schedule so far. "I appreciate you watching out for me, though."

Re: On deck

[betterthanaplan]

“Hey, if I’m going to get you drunk, I’m at least going to make sure you have a good time.”

Re: On deck

[thatwaslucky]

"I did. And now I can say I got my one night to be an idiot."

She had not been bad.

Re: On deck

[okteiviakom]

Octavia was also very fond of the lights, no lie.

"Merry Christmas, huh?" she said, a little wryly. Wasn't really either of their holiday, right? Definitely wasn't hers.

Re: On deck

[thatwaslucky]

"Merry Christmas," Rey returned with a smile. "I guess for the first one I'm celebrating this isn't so bad."

Re: On deck

[okteiviakom]

"Looks pretty decent," Octavia agreed, glancing up at the lights. "And it's quiet."

She really appreciated that.

Re: On deck

[thatwaslucky]

"Yeah," Rey said, and paused. "I don't actually know how many people he invited."

It had never sounded like Duke would go crazy with the guest list or anything but she'd also figured she'd be dealing with people she didn't know besides Larceny.

Re: On deck

[okteiviakom]

Octavia shrugged one shoulder. "He told me it'd probably be just us and... Larceny."

She was going to be wavering between 'Larceny' and 'Lucy' for a while tonight, probably.

Re: On deck

[thatwaslucky]

"Oh, I can deal with that," Rey said. "We hadn't really talked about it since the idea first came up."

Re: On deck

[okteiviakom]

Octavia hummed a vague sound of agreement. "I think I'm done with bigger parties for this year."

Re: On deck

[thatwaslucky]

"No New Year's for you?" Rey at least knew that one, and got the point.

Re: On deck

[okteiviakom]

Octavia shrugged.

"Don't know yet. That's in like a week, right?"

Re: On deck

[thatwaslucky]

"A week from today. Not that I know if anything's going on, but I don't hate the idea of marking the start of the year."

Since she probably shouldn't have survived it.

Re: On deck

[okteiviakom]

"Any particular reason?" Octavia wondered, her voice a little raspy.

Her own year was a complicated, confusing thing to think about. She'd rather ask about Rey's.

Re: On deck

[thatwaslucky]

"I'm still here," Rey shrugged. "I started the year nowhere, and now my life is drastically different. I don't know. I like noting that."