but oh what a year

[patrols]

Comments

[undermyfeet]

[His face brightens immediately and he steps back, gesturing for her to come in.]

Hey, you made it.

[He knew eating an excessive amount of dessert at Bairre's bakery would work.]

Come in! Liza, Quinn's here!

[Eliza pokes her head around the corner from where she's making hot chocolate. "Happy Christmas, love. Hot chocolate?"]

[interferences]

In one piece an' everything.

( She steps up and gives the only person beside her sisters (and dad on a bad day, and uncles, and grans) a hug. One-arm only. )

Yes, it's brisk out tonight. I stayed off the sweets knowing I was coming here. Thank you both for the invitation. I love my family but they are a handful.

[undermyfeet]

["This is going to make me sound very English but your family is a great deal of Irish. Sometimes you need some space to breathe," Eliza offers her a smile. "There's plenty of cookies."

Danny takes the hug, before pulling back and closing the door behind her.]

Lizzie and I were going to pick a movie.

[interferences]

One hot cup and a cookie will do me fine, thanks.

( She agrees with Eliza, but knows better than to agree out loud, for fear of her family somehow hearing. )

You mean there are movies that exist that don't have to be watched in the presence of your younger sisters.

[undermyfeet]

Many. Some are only Christmas movies in the vaguest sense of the word.

["We are not watching Die Hard," Eliza chimes in from the kitchen.

Danny smirks.]

Fine. We'll pick something with slightly more Christmas.

[And he'll lead Quinn back into the living room where Lizzie is looking through their options.]

[interferences]

( "Die Hard is not a Christmas movie!" Lizzie yells from the other room. It better be three against one.

Quinn does head back there. Lizzie gets up from her comfy place on the sofa to give her one, awkward hug. )

Hey, Lizzie.

( "You don't think Die Hard is a Christmas movie, do you?" she asks as she leans back. )

[undermyfeet]

I think taking place at Christmas qualifies as it being a Christmas movie.

[Danny shrugs as he goes to sit on the couch himself.]

Seems like pretty sound logic.

[interferences]

( "Does anybody in the movie say the words, Merry Christmas," she asks, turning to her boyfriend.

Quinn looks between the two of them, but instead meets Eliza to grab her hot chocolate and cookie. )

Thanks. What are the other options we have?

[undermyfeet]

A lot of Liza's collection, which are older like White Christmas or Holiday Inn. And then there's whatever we can find on streaming.

[Which means the world is their proverbial oyster.]

[interferences]

( She takes a seat on the edge of the couch, taking a stand, too. )

I like the classics. Have a preference between the two? I don't have long enough for a double feature. I'll miss everyone, but, I look forward to setting my own hours. Really. I vote White Christmas.

[undermyfeet]

["Excellent choice, Quinn. I will also vote for White Christmas."

Sigh. Danny is going to be outvoted. It's fine.]

I'd prefer that over Holiday Inn.

[People talk about them interchangeably but they are not the same.]

[interferences]

( Both are similar, though, aren't they?

Lizzie holds her hand out to guide Danny to the couch.

"We can watch Die Hard later, promise." She half promises, she has other plans for later, but maybe after or before or tomorrow.

Quinn likes simplicity, hating the streaming scroll of what to watch or not to watch. Feels exhausting. This is better. She settles and slides off the edge onto the couch with her cookie and hot chocolate, sipping. )

Grand hot chocolate, Eliza.

[undermyfeet]

[Not really. They only have similar music.

"Thank you, dear. Danny, go deal with all of the technology." She waves a hand at the TV setup and Danny sighs before getting up to wrestle with the DVD player.

Eliza smiles, before turning back to Quinn. "So how much of the family came down for the holidays?" And then to include Lizzie in the conversation. "You've met Bairre, haven't you? Danny took you to the bakery? He's one of eight boys."]

[interferences]

( She smiles over her hot chocolate and moves over for Eliza to sit, too, should she want.

"Best pastries in London, hands down," Lizzie says, remembering her time there. )

Sweet tooth skipped me over, but I know what my da' can do. ( But, enough talking about that. ) You want to really get it, ( To Lizzie. ) Old movie. Simply Irresistible. Really captures him.

( Follow the illogic of it being an SMG movie. It's fine. And then to Eliza. )

The Grans came down, but everyone else is in the states. The other uncles have their own Christmases and Beck wrangled everyone for his concert next week.

[undermyfeet]

["But you're all getting together for the wedding next year, yeah?"

Danny perks up.]

Do your uncles need a cat sitter? I think I'm getting better with Milo.

[Teabag, of course, is a mush and needs no coercing.]

[interferences]

Probably?

( People sit cats? )

You'd have to ask them. And yeah. Big family wedding in May. New Orleans. I was promised beignets. Don't even know if I'll like beignets.

[undermyfeet]

You might not like beignets.

[Danny doesn't say this to discourage her, but more to set her expectations. She said it herself, she doesn't have much of a sweet tooth.]

They can be very sweet, given that they're pastry with filling covered in powdered sugar.

[Danny thinks he would very much like beignets, but he's not the one going to New Orleans.]

[interferences]

I'll probably pass, then. Really only crossing the pond for uncle Colm. ( A beat. ) And uncle Beck, of course, his wedding. Big, celebration worth celebrating.

[undermyfeet]

[Danny laughs.]

I think Beck probably knows that you're just there for Colm. But he probably appreciates you coming to the wedding still all the same.

[interferences]

What am I supposed to do with love, I'm eighteen.

( She doesn't believe in the stuff, not this young. )

I'm happy for me and I do like aunt Lindsay. She dishes after taking.

[undermyfeet]

I met her at Thanksgiving, in Scotland. She's pretty tough.

[A good fit for the Fords, for better or worse.]

[interferences]

Well, she is a slayer. Comes with the territory. But, yeah, the skin's thick. And she's pretty. Cleans up. I like her for my uncle.

( The first of them to have a significant other brought around. )

Oh, apparently, Mr. McNally, one of the parents at Maeve's school, was, like old friends with uncle Bradan.

[undermyfeet]

[Danny's eyebrows go up curiously. He's only tangentially aware of the McNallys in the sense that Maeve's best friend is Cole and his last name is McNally and he has parents, but it's still interesting gossip, particularly if Bradan is involved.]

Friend-friend or friend-friend?

[The intonation makes it clear what he's asking for even if it really just sounds like he's repeating himself.]

[interferences]

( "Are you in Elementary School?" Lizzie asks, crossing her arms, making no less indication how curious she is. )

Well, Callahan was tight-lipped, but my gran had gotten into the wine. Made it like he was the one that got away, but, like, for the family and such. So, thinking friend-friend and he was divorced at the beginning of the school year. ( for context ) From a bloke.

[undermyfeet]

Bradan is the matchmaker - a well-known one. Had a whole magazine piece done on him and everything.

[For Lizzie's information, he knows that Eliza and Quinn already know. But back to the gossip matter at hand.]

But Bradan hasn't given any indication one way or the other? Not that that's surprising, he's the worst of them to read.

[At least in Danny's opinion, his family may know Bradan better.]

But Callahan keeping his mouth shut probably means something.