The First Annual Adopted Family Thanksgiving

[smartass_captain]

It's not that Jim forgot about the second present he gave Verity way back a month ago on her birthday. How could he forget, when he'd had to dig out the key to the house to get it replicated? It's sat out on his desk in his quarters every day since, a bold reminder that Jim Kirk was seriously doing this.

Jim Kirk was going to try to have a normal family. A family who celebrated (some) holidays. A family who came together. Not a relationship. Hell no. But...you know..siblings? A family? He almost worried Sam or his mother would try to reach out to him. Thankfully no such messages yet. Which means Jim is free to spend time with the people he actually wants in his life.

And that means getting Thanksgiving put together.

He'll call Clint later. First things first. Calling Big Sister.

"Verity? It's Jim. You busy?"

Comments

Del made fanart. <3 http://bit.ly/1IlFnlU

[brave_heart_verity]

She has to do something to keep them around. Once Clint's had one of the chocolate-filled happiness pillows she offers them to Jim. "Jim's offered to host Thanksgiving for us at the farm."

You remember, right Clint? The birthday dinner, the mysterious key? The farm?

[smartass_captain]

"Who pulls a villain plot right around Thanksgiving? What a dick, whoever it is." Some people. Of course, Clint could probably still be sleeping to recover if someone wasn't so impatient. Some people indeed.

"Mmph. S'good, Ver." Whatever they are, they go great with the coffee he's got. She has all the best noms ideas, really.

"Yeah I know it's a bit short notice, but I signed on for delta shift tonight so that I'll be off tomorrow around when people usually do their celebrating. So we gotta clean and help Ver plan a menu, and then you know...heh. First Thanksgiving I'll be spending with family in...hell, ever, damn near."

[aw_hawkguy]

The question is probably rhetorical. The Thanksgiving, less so--Clint smiles as the idea finally sinks in. "That sounds great. Let's go." Beat. "Um, should I maybe get some nicer clothes? For dinner?"

[brave_heart_verity]

It's amazing what happens when you stop and eat, isn't it? She's pleased they're both enjoying the treats. And once she gets to taste one, she's not surprised, because yum.

"You may have noticed nobody's packed, so... we'll worry about our wardrobes later. One or two things at a time, please, I'm not a super genius or an Avenger, remember?" When it comes to organizational skills, she's pretty sure she's got them both beat, but fragile egos need careful handling.

"Besides, I really want to see this new mystery home of ours."

[smartass_captain]

Jim can organize for the Enterprise. Micromanaging individual personel things? Oh hell no. That's what yeoman and Spock are for. And heads of whatever other departments. Jim's a big picture kind of guy.

Speaking of most important things...Jim is playing with the controls on the PINpoint, studying the scrap of paper the salesman had given him with precise instructions. He'd even translated it into Galactic Standard, which was nice of him.

Once he's got the coordinates plugged in, he looks over each shoulder to Verity and Clint.

"Hang on, would you? Not sure how bumpy this thing is." once everyone's situated he'll hit the controls and--

Plip. Goodbye Nexus.

The first thing Jim notices when he can feel ground again is that that thing is a hell of a lot more sudden than beaming. It was like dreaming that you were falling. A short dropping sensation and then Bam. The second is the smell of grass and decaying fall leaves. They're standing on the long gravel driveway leading from the family farm to the county road--the only lifeline between home and civilization for miles.

He's not prepared for the sight of the farmhouse, even though he thought he would be. It's the same as Jim remembers. Hell, the spare key is probably still behind the solar panel out by the barn if he had forgotten his.

It's easy to forget he hadn't come alone in this moment. Easy to let a lot of memories come back. Jim takes a deep breath and puts on a smile.

"Welcome to the Kirk family house, you guys."

[aw_hawkguy]

Nothing else smells quite like Iowa in November, and the shock of it hits Clint harder than he'd expected. Then he sees the house, and is blown away. "Oh, no way! I grew up in a house just like this!"

Apparently, grappling with the realities of this moment might be a family thing. Verity?

[brave_heart_verity]

She's never been to Iowa (or a real farm), and this is nothing like Long Island. They're going to have to have their magical memory tour without her. Except for this part here where she's hugging them both. That's why they brought her, right?

"It's beautiful. Thank you for sharing it with us."

[smartass_captain]

In Jim's case, Verity isn't missing much. A queasy sense of unease, followed by the oft asked question: 'Is this really a good idea? Bringing them here?' It's probably for the best he make some good memories associated with this place. It is home, after all.

Jim seems to snap out of whatever funk he'd drifted into, fishing out his key and heading to the front door.

"So, keep in mind, this place hasn't seen much for about four years now, not since I joined up with the fleet. I've got a neighbor, Gloria, checking in a couple times a year or so to make sure nothing's broken or the like, but we're going to have to do a bit of cleaning." Luckily, the house has been long since emptied of anything that could die or spoil--plants, food and the like. Jim's neighbor was kind enough to do that for him after his quite sudden decision to leave everything behind.

[aw_hawkguy]

Some of Clint's familiar memories aren't pleasant, either. It was in a house like this that his dad hit him until he lost his hearing for the first time. But it also reminds him of the brother who taught him to stand. Bonds forged in blood are the stronger for it, and he's bled on black Iowa soil plenty. "It's great, Jim, really great."

Patting down his sweatpants, he digs the key ring out of his pocket. "So, who wants to do the honors?"

[brave_heart_verity]

She follows them up to the house, watching her brothers carefully. This can't be easy for either of them, for all they're excited about it. She knows that feeling.

"That's fine, sweetie, that's why we're here." It's not a good sign when Jim starts repeating himself like that. She answers Clint's question with a little shake of the head. She has her key, sure, but she'll hang back and let them deal with things.

Like remembering that they came all this way and have no cleaning supplies.

[smartass_captain]

You can do this, Jim. There's plenty scarier things you've faced with a smile. He barely registers Clint and Verity's comments, which is also not a good sign, but he's heading for the door, slipping the key in and with a click and just a whiff of flannel overcoats, suddenly there's Jim Kirk's home.

"Alright everyone, c'mon in." Smile, smile. There's nothing here that can hurt him anymore. There's a wave of depression settling over him, but that's usual for being in Iowa. White sheets cover most of the furniture and Verity will be pleased to find the downstairs kitchen cupboards stocked with cleaning supplies. Slightly old, but still usable.

Place definitely needs airing out and a good dusting though. Jim's on automatic, shucking off his boots at the door and trailing his fingers over the banister leading upstairs as he passes it.

"Bathrooms down the hall to the left, there's another one upstairs. Three bedrooms upstairs, all more or less cleaned. Vid screen works fine, though it's an older model. Kitchen's down this way..."

[aw_hawkguy]

Clint follows after, shucking his sneakers as he goes (jeez, Clint, you didn't even tie them?). Seeing Jim look a little glazed, he pats his Iowa-bro on the arm. "Hey. You okay, there?"

[brave_heart_verity]

Verity needs a little longer to take off her shoes and hang up her coat, but she's not exactly going to get lost in the house so that's okay. With Clint taking over comforting duties, she'll take advantage of the chance to look around. The dust cloths are a good sign. Once she's told where the kitchen is she'll head straight there, giving Jim's shoulder a comforting squeeze in passing. Then she'll be shamelessly rooting through the cupboards and checking out the equipment.

[smartass_captain]

"It's just weird. Being back here all of a sudden. Not bad-weird, just....there's a lot of baggage in this place. Both literal and metaphorical." Jim shrugs and lets the facade of good host drop away for a moment. "I want to make sure that there's some good tied to this place, you know? My ma's side of the family has had this place for generations."

One thing there isn't any of is food, which really makes a lot of sense considering it's been empty for four years. There's a few dehydrated emergency food supplies in the pantry, but that's about it. The pantry and fridge are both bare but clean. There's a small bar area off the side of the kitchen that is still somewhat stocked, big shock there. But underneath the sink has all the typical cleaning supplies, plus a few things reminiscent of the tools a certain bounty hunter uses in her genocides against filth that Verity should be able to figure out. They're not the same, but similar. (Samus' are probably better, alas).

"I guess we should start taking some of these cloths off and see what shape the furniture's in?" Jim gives Clint a look. "I know we've got some basic holiday stuff somewhere around here. Either in one of the spare bedrooms or the attic. First things first though."

[aw_hawkguy]

Clint nods sympathetically. "S'okay, I know the feeling."

At Jim's suggestion, he takes up a corner of one of the dust-cloths, lifting with a little bit of care. "Sure, let's see how much dust we can kick up. Or not."

[brave_heart_verity]

She wasn't expecting food; she's glad she doesn't have to clean up anything that old or negotiate with it. Once she knows what she's working with (pots and pans are important!) she'll come out to find the boys again. Oh good, just in time to stop them.

"Leave the dustcloths on until after we've dusted and vacuumed. That way the cleaning doesn't make the furniture dirty. We'll need to clean around the furniture again after they come off, but that won't be so bad. Do you two want to do that while I shop, or are we all doing everything together?" Either way is fine with her. They aren't actually toddlers; she can trust them in the candy aisle, surely? "The kitchen is really nice, by the way. Whoever designed it did a good job."

[smartass_captain]

"But wouldn't we..." Oh no, she's already explaining that part. Well, derp. Jim and Clint look like complete doofs which...is normal for the pair of them, all things considered.

"Uh...I guess we should go with so we can agree on a menu?" Jim looks from Clint to Verity, shrugging slightly. "I think we should inventory what cleaning supplies and decorations if any we're gonna need to get and do all the shopping at once, personally."

[aw_hawkguy]

Since there's not a cleaning arrow (well... no, Clint. But if... no, Clint. It would just take a-- NO, Clint!), Clint is pretty bad at it. (And don't try to feather-dust something with the fletchings by shooting arrows past it.) But Verity's got a sound plan. "Yeah, that sounds good. Know what we've got to work with, then we know what we gotta get."

No, Clint x infinity

[brave_heart_verity]

She nods as well. "Okay. We'll do that. I got out what I found in the kitchen, lined it up on the counter. We can move whatever else we find in there. There are decorations somewhere?"

[smartass_captain]

You're thinking too narrowly, Clint. Now if you took a leaf blower and--you know what? Maybe just No is easier. If he and Jim are left alone, Verity will come back to the house being some kind of Transformer whose sole purpose is to flick off police officers, shoot arrows, and hit on women. Somehow.

Maybe don't let them out of sight in the candy aisle, either. Wait, that was literal, not 'sporting goods store' secret code. Should be fine then. Can you use Twizzlers pull and peels as a bowstring?

"Uhhhh yeah. There should be a box of generic holiday stuff upstairs somewhere. In one of the spare rooms or the attic. And I know we have a vacuum and some other stuff...uh...Verity want to start a list while I look for appliances and Clint checks for decorations?"

Autohouse: transform and screw up! http://i.imgur.com/iAQyY0p.gif

[aw_hawkguy]

It's probably better not to think about what Clint can use as a bowstring. He is entirely too resourceful for his own good.

"On it!" He's also fairly enthusiastic, and already heading upstairs to poke around.

Aw man, I was gonna use that pic! :(

[brave_heart_verity]

She'd rather the house stay where it is. It's nicely situated and the garden really bring out its figure.

"Sure thing." Verity will sit on the stairs and pull out her phone. Oh, notes app, how we love you. "So how long are we staying? You keep mentioning bedrooms, are you planning a sleepover? Or are we just calling dibs right now? Because I should warn you, my room's going to be purple."

That should surprise exactly nobody. Clint the least: he remembers the all-purple all-the-time apartment.

"Hey Clint, anything special you want for Thanksgiving dinner?"

[smartass_captain]

"Just...in general. Its your guys' home now too. So. My rooms the one next to th'bathroom, but there's two more bedrooms and an extra room that could be made into a bedroom that's just storage right now.

In case neither of them wants Sam's or his folks' room. They can get new stuff if they like. Not like his mother or Sam are ever likely to come home again. Well, his Ma might when she retires, but Jim could care less.

He's following Clint upstairs, giving Verity one last shrug when he hears her ask Clint a question the other probably isn't going to hear in his enthusiasm. "I'll ask him Ver!"

[aw_hawkguy]

"Cornbread," Clint calls from upstairs, "and cornbread stuffing!" Beat. "Please!" That's better.

It's a few moments after Clint finds the way up to the attic that he gives another yell, and something else gives a loud chitter. Thumps and thuds punctuate his tumble back down the stairs, an irate raccoon giving him what-for. "Gah! I knew I shoulda brought my bow!"

[brave_heart_verity]

They'll make this a proper home again, slowly but surely. Family dinners, fresh paint, a safe place to come and relax, a haven when they're hurting...

First things first. Turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, cornbread stuffing, green bean casserole, carrots, cornbread, rolls, pumpkin pie, apple pie. No nuts, no shellfish, no strawberries. Easy.

It's going to be a long list since she's starting from scratch to stock the kitchen. Each recipe ingredient list is copied down, item by item, and then consolidated. They can chase that thing in the attic for quite a while before she comes to investigate because this is going to take a while.

Wait.

"...Clint? What was that?"