callmeemily | Here comes santa claus!

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Here comes santa claus!

The holiday this year is so incredibly different than the last.

Last year? Raleigh was holed up in the boarding house, no one in 300 miles but her shitty boss knew her name, and she was so poor that she was eating rice, beans, and leftovers from the Seaside bakery.

This year, everything's changed. Orchard House is chugging along astoundingly well; Raleigh puts in long hours, but it's paying off. She's been able to hire somebody else to work the register, she's getting custom orders - the whole thing. She has friends. Honest to god friends, and she's got enough money that she's actually got presents for people. For a lot of people - it's a mix of cookies and things, but there's a little something for everybody piled on the table in the back corner, and one mass-text later she's humming through the bakery, music playing from the speakers, warm cider in a carafe, and everything's warm and cozy.

She looks at it, at this business that she's made with the help of this whole town, and she can't help but smile. Tonight? Spending tonight with friends and found-family? That's what this whole thing's about.

Gathering post! Raleigh will tag everyone who tags in, but feel free to tag one another, too. :) It's up to you if they have gotten a text, or just heard the music and seen the crowd. Everyone'll get something!

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Davin has just gotten out of the shower, skin still pink from scrubbing engine grease from his skin, and is in the process of dropping down onto his couch with a sigh when his phone chimes. He closes his eyes in exhaustion and looks over at it for a long minute before finally reaching over to grab it. The text is from Raleigh, and it's a mass text, but she's still inviting him over.

He takes just a moment to rest, bones heavy with exhaustion, and then heaves himself off of the sofa. It doesn't take him long to get ready and he grabs the little gift he got for her, wrapped up in a neat little box, and heads out.

He'd done the bulk of his Christmas shopping online while stuck in bed, and he'd just finished all the wrapping the night before. He was so tired that at one point he woke up on the floor with his cheek stuck to a piece of wrapping paper, but he got it done.

The bakery looks amazing and a bill jingles as Davin pushes the door open, and he doesn't even think twice before slipping behind the counter to pour himself a cup of coffee. He doesn't think she'll mind, considering how familiar he is with being behind the counter at a bakery, and he doesn't want to make her do more work.

"Hey, lamb," Davin says as he dumps a little sugar in his coffee and comes over to her, setting the small gift box down in front of her. "Merry Christmas."

"Davin!" She beams up at him, and she's pushing herself out of her chair, and she hugs him - carefully, just so that she doesn't mess up his ribs or anything - but she's smiling widely - and that's when she realised there's a box on the table, and her eyes widen. "You didn't-" She pauses, because she can't exactly say that and not have something for him, but she does have something for him, and it's pretty quick to snag it off the pile so she can press the box into Davin's hand. "Merry Christmas, yourself - I didn't know if you'd make it, I totally would have played Santa if you weren't feeling up to it!"

Coop gets the text while he's wrapping up some paperwork at the clinic and smiles when he sees that it's an invite from Raleigh. He writes back a teasing message about how he's hurt that he isn't worth a personal invitation, stuck instead with being included as one of the masses, but adds that he'll be there as soon as he's finished up with work and is true to his word. He has gifts for her back home, but he doesn't want to stop there to get them and besides, it's not even actual Christmas yet so he figures he can just shoot give Joel or Spencer a call later to see if stopping by on the holiday will be okay. He doesn't imagine they'll say no. Plus, he wants to see the tree he'd helped them set up last week because he's only got a janky one at home since the dogs are way too fucking mischievous for their own good.

So he shows up at the bakery after a quick run to the store for a bottle of Grey Groose--he'd gone in for wine but he and Raleigh have had fun with Grey Goose before so it'd caught his eye instead--and walks into the already upbeat atmosphere in Orchard House with a wide grin. He's been burying himself in work again, just like he always does when he's avoiding reality, but this is good. This is a better kind of escape, one that he thinks he'd like to stick around for as long as he can, and he sets the Grey Goose on the countertop while he scans the room, looking for the host or another familiar face.

"Hey, you." He hugs her back, squeezing a little tighter when he notices that she's going easy on him. Sure, he's healing a lot faster than a human would thanks to his potions, but she wouldn't know that. "No need. I've already been back at work for awhile. I'm a little sore an' a lot tired, but damn near good as new."

He blinks down at the present in surprise and picks it up with a fond smile. Davin loves giving presents, but he doesn't really expect anything in return. It's not that he thinks his friends aren't the gift giving type, but he isn't really used to getting gifts on Christmas.

In the neatly wrapped little box for Raleigh is a necklace that he got off of Etsy, which is where he picked up a lot of gifts for his female friends this year. It's a silver pendant shaped like an apple pie, complete with lattice topping, and a small charm with an R on it. It seemed fitting for her, master baker and new business owner. He just hopes she likes it.

When Corry gets Raleigh's text, she practically jumps for the bakery. The past few days Corry has practically thrown herself into work with the Waterhouse, helping oversee the contracters to make sure they can get a break for the holidays, and doing absolutely anything she can to avoid thinking about... things. Particularly Leslie Parker and Will Cabot shaped things.

Everything in the bakery smells amazing, sweet pastry and sugar mixed with the cinnamon of cider. Corry is quite certain she wants one of everything, at least. She clearly has cause for some chocolate therapy.

But the bakery is filled with festivity and Raleigh is practically glowing and it's hard not to fall into the holiday spirit. When Corrine walks in, she picks up on Raleigh's humming and begins to sing-along before pulling her into a hug.

"Merry Christmas Raleigh."

Mira's a little grumpy today. She had another nightmare last night. Her portion of side dishes for tomorrow are going awry and her mother, trying to be helpful, took over, which is never what she wants out of food-making. Her presents look awful. Etta's flight is overbooked. It's a mess.

So when she gets a text, even a group one, from Raleigh inviting everyone to Orchard House, she can't help but smile a little (and feel nervous about what she got her).

When she swings by, people are already laughing inside, music is playing and the whole place smells like Christmas: nutmeg and ginger and vanilla and bright apple cider, and Mira beams. "Hey," she greets the room at large, but she's scanning already for Raleigh. "Merry Christmas!"

Her eyes search his face for a second to make sure that he really really is alright, but she nods once in a definitive sort of Yes, this is how this should be way. "Good! Good." She chews on her lip for a second, and nods over to one of the couches that's tucked into the corner - she found it at one of the resale shops, and traded a couple of birthday cakes for the owner's kids for it. Once they sit down, Raleigh sets her cocoa on the table, and then looks at the gift box in her hands.

She wants to absurdly ask if she should open it, but instead - because that's silly - she nods to him. "Open yours first," she's trying not to look all nervous about it - mostly because if he doesn't like it, she doesn't want it to be super all over her face or anything, but she still is really hoping she gets good presents for people, this year.

It's not a huge box - there's a set of whiskey stones in a nice glass, and four nips of Jameson, because she'd actually tried to have a budget this year, as ridiculous as it sounds. she'd gone from nothing to having actual friends to buy for, but... she doesn't know if he'd take it well, because the last thing she meant to imply was that all she knew about him was that he liked to drink. "It's because of the whole... Irish thing, and I know you like it?" She said it as he opened, and she's just... waiting, sort of.

Raleigh's had sort of weird feelings about Coop lately - obviously, they're friends, but she's touched that he stayed with her after everything that happened, and the possibility of him being gone when he'd vanished, but then there's his ex in town - there's a lot, but the one thing that she knows for absolute certainty is that he's her friend.

Right up there, though, is how much stress he's got to be under - and it's one of the reasons that she's so happy that he was able to make it. "Hey!" She can't stop the bright smile, and Raleigh pauses to set down her cocoa before she makes her way to him, and doesn't even hesitate before she hugs him tight, pulling back just a little to look up at him. "I was hoping you'd make it! Merry Christmas, you." She's a little more unsteady on her feet then usual- the Christmas orders had been through the roof, and she's a burning the candle on both ends just a tad - plus her mom's... well. She's less than thrilled that Raleigh's staying home for Christmas, instead of coming down to Tennessee, but that just adds to why she's determined to have a good time and throw herself head first into holiday cheer.

Tonight, there's no one at the register, and nothing's for sale. It's a celebration, and there's gifts on the table - some have tags, some don't (because Raleigh's got boxes of cookies for the people she doesn't know that well), but there's also just piles of baked goods around for the having.

It's a party, and she's surprised when Corry hugs her because she'd been checking to make sure there was still coffee, but the moment when she realises who it is, Raleigh hugs her back tightly, smiling brightly. "Merry Christmas! Do you like cider?" It just sort of pops out of her mouth, because she's got mulled cider and while she definitely means well, Raleigh's always a wee bit awkward, just kind of across the board. "And hi! I'm so glad you could make it!"

"Merry Christmas!" Raleigh's got her hands full with a stack of cookies, and her limp's worse than usual - but she deposits them on a counter, and it's not long before she's back to hug Mira tight, her eyes bright with smiles. "I'm so glad you could make it! Are you hungry?"

It's weird - she hasn't known Mira long, but she's absolutely thrilled that they've become friends this year, and she's excited for the year to come.

Which pretty much means Raleigh's default mode? Feeding her friends. And Mira's one of them now, hence the question.

Lena follows her nose to a new place. Or maybe not so very new, whenever she remembers that she has been gone for years and that means that a lot of things have changed or disappeared or appeared, her hairs stand on end. How much has she missed?

Well, clearly this place. And it smells really good and Jacob is close so she can't disappear and no-one can do anything to her. Ever since turning back, she really only felt like things made out of dough and grains. No meat or fish for a long time coming, please.

But maybe this is a private party, so Lena just leans in, to the bright window, to the amazing smells.

Raleigh had mentioned the get-together at the bakery before she'd left the house this morning and though Spencer isn't always keen on being anywhere that's crowded with people, he's certainly more than happy to be here. He's more careful than usual tonight, making sure that he avoids bodily contact as he snakes through the crowd that's gathered inside because his hip still stings from the tattoo he'd gotten as part of his gift to Joel. It says the word 'Real,' a partial quote from The Velveteen Rabbit that speaks volumes about his relationship with his husband and underneath that, the date they'd gotten married. He'd gone to Siren Cove Ink to seek out Adrian Smith's services, and the process had made him a bit queasy but it's all been worth it. He doesn't plan on unveiling it until tomorrow, of course, and it's been painstakingly difficult to hide it from Joel the past few days, but Spencer's more than a little pleased with himself.

His gifts for Raleigh have remained at home, too--a gift certificate to one of the local boutiques so she can get herself more clothes that she actually likes and aren't from his dead mother's boxes in the attic, a brand new set of baking tools from Williams-Sonoma for her to use at home, and a Kindle Paperwhite pre-loaded with titles that he and Joel had thought she might like--but he's arrived with a bottle of wine, though he's not even sure they're allowed to open it for consumption here, a genuine smile, and a horrifyingly ugly Christmas sweater--at Joel's insistence--as he makes his way through the bakery, keeping his eyes open for a familiar face.

Edited 2014-12-26 03:53 (UTC)

Mira beams at her and wraps her in a tight squish of a hug, which is basically the only kind she gives, at least to people she likes. Raleigh's small enough that Mira could probably pick her up (which is honestly cool given that Mira's the littler one of most people she knows), but that's an enthusiasm reserved for once she's 100 percent sure she's not going to scare people off with being weird, and she really likes Raleigh so she'd rather not do that yet.

"Thanks for inviting me! Annd...that's a good question..." She pauses. She's not starving, and she's used to waving off effort on her behalf, but she's standing in a bakery and it honestly smells delicious. "I mean. If I turned down anything in here I'd have to question my own sanity. It smells amazing."

It's the music that stops him.

He's on his way to meet Jemma and Joely for a coffee--Jackie's got a date with a guy who has nothing better to do on Christmas Eve, apparently, and she'd promised Jameson a dropkick to the head for that comment--but he's drawn in by the crowd at the bakery on the other side of the street. He hasn't been in there yet, there hasn't been much time because he's been busy trying to get more patients into his practice, but he has to appreciate a place that's openly catering to everyone on a night like tonight. For the people who feel like they don't have anywhere to go, Jameson's sure that a bright environment like this is very much appreciated.

He tells himself he'll peek inside for just a few minutes because if he takes any loner getting to the cafe, his sisters are sure to give him hell. Then again, maybe he'll just shoot them a text to get them to him here instead. So he steps inside, unwrapping his scarf from around his neck so it's draped only over his shoulders and looks around with a warm smile. Everyone seems happy here, it's a contagious mood, and as Jameson makes his way to the cider he spots across the room, he can't help but be grateful that he doesn't have to be at his parents' tonight. It makes a world of difference.

Corrine's Christmases over the past few years have been a study in contrasts. From the grand elaborate Hollywood festivities, to somber rehab the year past, and now - perfect wife to perfect husband with the perfect tree and hypothetically perfect future.

"So am I. And yes, I would love some cider."

Raleigh's party, on the other hand, is the perfect middle of it. Low key, but delightful, full of festivities and low key on expectations.

"You've got quite the set-up here. It's delightful."

Keeping a low profile over the past month has left him craving quality time with his friends, and Coop is more than happy to gather Raleigh into a big hug and nestle his cheek against her shoulder. He has to bend down to it because she's like, a full foot shorter than him, but he doesn't mind. He's never minded because whether she knows it or not, whether she tries or not, Raleigh always seems to give him some of the warmest hugs he's ever received at the times he needs them most. He still wonders sometimes if she's uncomfortable around him because of the time they'd kissed, if maybe the fact that things haven't changed for him somehow makes it all worse, but he brushes those thoughts aside because she's smiling so widely at him right now that it's kind of impossible to let himself believe that anything could be wrong between them.

"Merry Christmas to you, too," he answers with a laugh, though he raises an eyebrow because she wavers in his arms, and Coop has to grip her shoulders to keep her steady. "Drinking and baking again? How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?" He keeps his tone light, teasing, but he's already casually guiding her over to a couple vacated seats in one corner of the store. It's her party, sure, but that doesn't give her any less of a right to take a load off for a bit. If anything, it gives her the only right. "So what's new? Anything super exciting happen since your roommate had a demon banished from his body?"

This is the first holiday that Charlotte has spent away from home, from her parents, and she feels strangely homesick. It sounds crazy, when she was so ready to move out at last, so desperate to make a life of her own and to just get away, if only for a while. But on the morning of Christmas Eve, she wakes up in the apartment and it's just quiet. Back home, she would have woken to her mother shouting for her to get out of bed, or to the general downstairs bustle of her parents preparing the house for Christmas festivities. She can't deny missing that, even if she is happy here in Siren Cove. It's just different, and it hasn't really struck her until now, on this day when there is such an emphasis on being with family.

Raleigh's text is something of a godsend. It's what drags her out of bed at last, when she might have otherwise stayed in watching Christmas movies on television and moping. She doesn't want to waste the holiday, though, even if she can't spend it the way she normally would. Her parents may not be around, but she has family in Siren Cove — blood family in Joel, and found family in others, like Spencer and Raleigh. So she gets dressed and heads over to Orchard House, the gift she picked out for Raleigh tucked under her one arm.

When she gets to the bakery, she can't help smiling. It's the exact opposite of the apartment, all bright, and warm, and loud. She feels like a little bit of a doofus, grinning from ear to ear, but she can't help it. This is everything that her day was missing.

"Alright." He smiles and looks down at the package in his lap, admiring the nice wrapping before slipping his finger under the tape. He lights up once he realizes what it is and lets out a pleased laugh, dumping the stones in his palm to get a look at them. "This is awesome, Raleigh, thanks. I always take mine neat 'cause I hate it watered down, so this is really cool."

He leans over and kisses her cheek before packing everything back into the box and jerking his chin towards the package in her hands. "Your turn."

It doesn't take long for Charlotte to spot Spencer — he stands out, if not in height then certainly in fashion choice. When she does, she breathes a sigh of relief. She was beginning to worry that she would have to play the awkward wallflower. Not that she has any qualms about walking up to a stranger and introducing herself. It just seems more dramatic if her only option is to wilt away in some quiet corner.

She interrupts conversation after conversation, squeezing past and in between random people until she finally finds herself standing next to her brother-in-law. "I can't believe you're wearing that in public," she says in lieu of greeting.

Shea Cooper exists, to Charlotte, almost peripherally. She hears about him now and then, either from Raleigh or Joel or Spencer, but he isn't someone that she would claim to know very well at all. She knows, however, that he helped last month, that he is part of the reason that Joel is still alive, and she is grateful to him for that. When she notices him in the bakery, she wonders if she should thank him personally. It's the reason why she walks over, but then she spots the bottle in his hands and her eyebrows shoot straight up.

"Wow, I didn't realize it was gonna be that kind of Christmas party."

Charlotte has just finished pouring herself a glass — or plastic cup, whatever — of wine and is taking a sip as she backs away, meaning she can't exactly look where she's going. Which is, of course, a recipe for disaster. Fortunately, when she inevitably crashes into someone, it doesn't compromise her grasp on the cup, and she doesn't end up with an impossible red stain on her sweater. Small mercies.

"Sorry!" She exclaims, turning around to face the person she just bumped. He's, like, twice her size and the chances that she hurt him in any real way are slim to none. She tries not to sigh her relief in too obvious a manner. "I didn't see you there," she adds, as if that weren't abundantly obvious already.

Coop knows who Charlotte is, of course he does, he's seen her around town since she's moved back and normally, he'd have gone right up to her for a good old-fashioned flirting session but there's got to be some kind of bro code that prevents him from doing that with a friend's younger sister--especially a friend that he'd spent a lot of time also flirting with in the past. But Joel has become a much closer, much more trustworthy friend to him over the course of the past few months, and Coop's found that he's weirdly willing to do a hell of a lot to make sure Joel and Spencer are okay, that they're safe and have help when they need it, because they're good people. It means something, to know that good people give a shit about him, too.

Of course, that doesn't mean that he can't flirt now that she's approached him, right? Totally different.

"Oh, it's definitely that kind of Christmas party," he answers with a grin, holding the bottle a little higher up and out toward her. "It can be now, at least. Eight or nnine shots of this, and we could be dueting along with these Christmas songs in no time."

Jameson lets out a surprised laughs as he reaches out to grip the girl's shoulders, momentarily steadying her before either of them are gifted with wine stains on their clothes tonight before offering a wide smile. "You don't say?" he retorts, a playful look apparent in his eyes as they crease at the corner. "Not a problem, if anything was on my wishlist this Christmas Eve, it was to get trampled by a stranger."

He's only teasing, and he hopes that's obvious as he releases her and takes a small step back to give her some space. Jameson thinks he's maybe seen her around before, but he's not sure where and definitely doesn't know her name, so he holds a hand out for her to take with his amused smile firmly intact. "I'm Jameson, by the way. In case you like to know the names of the guys you nearly demolish during the holiday season."

Spencer grimaces, though there's the hint of a smile playing at his lips, and he glances down at his sweater with a heavy sigh. "Your brother thought it was a good idea," he says dryly, shaking his head before tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear and looking back at Charlotte. "Honestly, I don't know why I ever agreed to marry a man so dedicated to ruining me."

Granted, Joel's very handsome. Very kind and thoughtful and smart, very funny and sweet and supportive, very loving and-- Spencer breaks into a grin then, crossing his arms over his chest in an effort to cover up the tree knit into his sweater with a sheepish laugh. "All right, I can think of few reasons why. I didn't know you were coming, or I'd have brought your gift. My brother and I, we'd always exchange one present on Christmas Eve, and I know I'm not-- Well, anyway, you'll be at the house tomorrow morning, though, won't you?"

It's going to be his first Christmas with Joel, with the family he's found since losing his own, and he can't deny that he's excited to spend the morning in a little whirlwind of hustle and bustle with his husband, the girls, and the pets--though he's also very much looking forward to the quiet that he hopes will come afterward, when he and Joel can just be alone in each other's company for a bit.

"I promised Joel and Raleigh that I'd stay away from the kitchen, which is very good news for all of us."

She smiles brightly when he seems to like it, unable to help the way she laughs when he pours out the stones. "It took a while for me to realise why you'd want to put rocks in your drink, but the internet helped me out." She bites her lip and looks down at the box in her hands - she's not really used to gifts; Spencer and Joel have been helping some in that regard, but growing up there'd not been much-- so this kind of thing is definitely unexpected and special.

She opens it carefully - she's not a rip-into-paper kind of person unless she has to be, but her brows shoot up when she uncovers what's clearly a jewelry box, and then she just lights up like a Christmas tree when she opens it. "This is awesome!" She looks at it a little closer, and she beams up at him. "This is beautiful, thank you so much! It's- It's just gorgeous," she can't help the way she's smiling, and she unwraps it from the card it's on so she can put it on.

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Here comes santa claus!

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