ꜰᴀꜱᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ꜰʀɪɢʜᴛᴇɴɪɴɢ

Shock was lightly startled when she heard Hayden's voice nearby, citing what seemed to be the dictionary definition of the drink she had just consulted. "... Okay, then," she said with a chuckle. "Hm, so cherry-flavored. That doesn't sound too bad, not bad at all..." A bit too fruity for her, perhaps, but maybe the orange juiciness would be undercut with the booze. Or so Shock thought, pretending she knew anything about drinks.

"Okay, let's give that one a try." Shock gestured at the barman, then turned her attention back to Hayden. "So, how's the business? How's the family?" True, she didn't know much about the shady man, but she did know he had two guys at his beck and call (not unlike Oz though, of course, Hayden didn't have her), and some wife somewhere, probably doing her own thing. She had to wonder if that wife knew what was said of her husband, though.

While he would have loved to sit right next to Shock with an arm around her, Bailey knew he should probably scoot a little closer to Ian, since they were partners. Besides, there would be plenty of time for them to be close to one another throughout the night. “Ready,” Bailey nodded, taking a few sips of his drink while his mom got the game open.

“Alright… You boys can read the first question, and then we’ll answer, sound good?”

“Yeah, sounds fair enough. Let me see.” Bailey pulled the box closer, and grabbed a card at random. He showed it to Ian so they both could see, before reading. “Ooh, this is a fun one. Okay- it’s a geography question. Ian?”

As soon as Bailey stuck his tongue out to her, Shock smiled and returned the gesture. That was just a tiny thing about their relationship –but she was silently, enormously thankful that she could be silly with him. Apart from the fact that Bailey already knew how silly she could get, Shock didn't really have many opportunities to be like that. Even among most friends she tried to be cool, sharp, and a bit detached. She didn't need to do that with Bailey.

"Mm, I bet he does," she smirked. Shock could be nice –Bailey knew that very well –but most of the time being nice didn't come as easy. Still, she had been having some practice lately. Not nice enough to make it to that side of the imaginary list, though.

And so the trivia game began. Shock shifted on the couch and got comfortable, having a longer sip of beer, before telling herself she should be a bit careful with the booze. Sure, it was pretty light, but she definitely didn't want to get too tipsy too soon during her first holiday dinner at her boyfriend's house.

Bailey had returned before Ian could embarrass himself further, which was just fine, in his book.

"Somehow I doubt that," Bailey laughed, taking a sip of his drink. "You know, lying on Christmas isn't exactly a crime, but Santa still frowns upon it." He was obviously teasing, but he couldn't resist the chance to make a joke about being naughty or nice. "Let's sit," Bailey gestured to the couch. For whatever reason in that moment, a lot of memories suddenly came flashing back as he sat down. Movie nights curled up in blankets with popcorn flying everywhere when Ian would get scared and knock the bowl over. Christmas mornings, covered in wrapping paper and gift bags. Hell, even just nights where he and Shock would sit there together doing nothing but listening to music for hours. Those were good times.

"Yeah, really," Shock chuckled. "What, is that so hard to believe?" She knew it wasn't. Bailey wasn't shy about expressing affection, and he clearly loved his family. She just had to wonder why his brother seemed so surprised to learn that.

Bailey's comment had her rolling her eyes. "Let him frown. As if I cared about his approval anyway." Shock never really believed in Santa. She had seen liars be rewarded. She had seen good kids get nothing. So she and her brothers had reasoned, why try to be good if there was no reward?

Shock didn't think like that anymore –not completely. Though, in all honesty, she did still feel that life was way too cruel and unfair to make the effort to be nice. In a sense, Bailey had been the one to prove to her that those beliefs didn't need to become a hard and fast rule. Not all people who were selflessly kind were idiots. And not all people who were nice were expecting something in return.

In retrospect, he really should have anticipated that sort of response. And yet he wasn't exactly expecting to hear about his brother's sex life on Christmas. "Well... definitely didn't need to know that..." He cleared his throat, his face growing a bit red. Then, before he could stop himself, the words just sort of fell out. "Seven? Jesus... and neither of you got bored?"

Truthfully, Shock had given it very little thought –how it would look like to someone outside of their relationship. Namaari often teased her about it, but Shock didn't really put herself in her shoes and tried to see it the way she did. Ian's comment somehow did it for her. She imagined herself watching Lock or Barrel wanting to be the boyfriends of an avoidant partner, of someone who clearly loved them but never outright said it, who kept trying to skirt around the issue. Suddenly she wondered if Ian ever hated her for it –for leading Bailey on, for coming and going and never committing. Obviously, it wasn't like that –Shock rarely meant to hurt him emotionally like that, or at least not consistently –but her protectiveness toward her brothers told her she would have ended up hating that imaginary partner at least a little.

"He does?" she asked him, raising her eyebrows, genuinely happy to hear that. "Huh... Well, he talks about you often, too. He's really proud of you, y'know."

And Ian's remark about the consistency, despite the flushed cheeks, had her raising her eyebrows. "Oh, don't worry. We manage just fine." She decided she would leave it at that. If Ian wanted some advice on that subject, she believed his brother would be a better person to impart that specific knowledge.

"I heard that!" Laurel shouted from the other room, causing Bailey and Ian to snicker.

"I'm gonna go get us some drinks, I'll be right back," Bailey mentioned, quickly kissing Shock on the cheek before joining his mother in the kitchen. As soon as he stepped away, Ian looked back at Shock, hands in his pockets.

As soon as Bailey began leaning toward Shock, she immediately leaned forward for the kiss on the cheek. Without even thinking about it. Only once he left for the kitchen and she was alone with Ian, Shock realized she was smiling, and wondering why the hell he would even kiss her if he was just going to the next room. So corny, she thought. By now it wasn't even negative –just an objective descriptor of what her life was now.

She kinda liked that.

"Huh?" she mumbled, once Ian asked her a question. It took a moment for it to land. "... Um, well... Forgive me, basically. For being a bitch. And for not admitting to myself that, hey, this guy actually loves you, and has stuck around for about a decade, and... I don't know. Guess he was just himself." The Bailey she fell in love with. The one that stayed. She just needed to get over herself.

Bailey was remembering all the times that his mom had said that over the years when he or Ian had friends over. This year, though, and at his time, it felt different. Good, different. That sort of home is where the heart is type shit that the movies and books always talked about. he would definitely miss it when he started going back to school. 

“Hmm… well it is Christmas, so I’m inclined to say some mercy. But… they win every year, so no mercy this time,” Laurel decided, giving Shock a playful wink that caused Bailey’s jaw to drop. Just then, Ian had come out to join them.

“Did I miss something?” he asked, seeing the looks on both Bailey’s face and their mother’s.

Shock laughed, truly delighted by Laurel's determination. "That's the spirit," she said, heading over toward the Christmas tree to set the presents in their rightful spot.

She stood after a couple seconds of making sure the gifts looked nicely placed and not as if she had simply tossed them there. Then, it hit her –the way the house looked on the inside, ready for the celebrating. There were a few Christmas garlands scattered around, and the customary stockings by the fireplace, and... well, and the tree, of course. She actually took it in, the full view of it. It wasn't as big as the one at Oz's place, but it was different in a way that made it feel... Shock hated that she even thought about it, but –more loved.

It was easy to imagine the decorations were old. As old as Ian, or perhaps older than Bailey. Perhaps inherited. The colorful twinkling lights were something she was used to seeing at this time of the year. It still felt new. And then...

She shut her eyes. Old Christmases. Cold homes. Nights outdoors, in the snow, chasing her brothers, screaming into the dark, laughing and taking advantage of the empty streets. Everyone else was warm and toasty indoors. Celebrating. And the Unholy Trinity was out, pretending to be free.

They would sometimes linger by a window. Stare at the views inside. A restaurant, or a toy shop, or a bakery. The cozy, golden glow.

Then one of then would toss a snowball and they would be running again.

Shock cleared her throat. She looked aside, and quickly sniffed and swallowed, wondering what the hell was wrong with her.

Hearing the door and their voices, his mother soon came into the living room, wearing an obviously over decorated Christmas Sweater, and Santa hat. "There you two are! Hello, hello- Merry Christmas!" She gave Bailey a hug first, squeezing him tightly before letting go and going straight for the hug with Shock as well. "It's so nice to see you." It had been a while since Bailey had brought Shock back around to his mother's house; she'd been at the town hall on Halloween, and since then, things had just been so busy.

Shock had to bite her lip when she saw Laurel walking towards them, she and her ridiculous sweater. She smiled wider when Bailey's mother went for a hug, hugging her back --clumsily, certainly, but also genuinely happy to be there. "Nice to see you too."

She remembered to take off her own boots, of course. It had been a while since she had been to the Lightfoots' home, but she hadn't forgotten about their little rules, some of the few in existence she didn't mind following. It was probably something she and Namaari would also set as a rule once they moved out together. It would most likely make vacuuming and sweeping the floors easier... Oh God, Shock thought, I'm getting so fucking old.

But she had other things to focus on. Like enjoying Christmas, for once, beyond whatever gifts she might get. Right on cue, she raised her arms, showing off the bags with presents. "Just tell me where to drop these," she said, right before turning her attention to a shifting, colorful glow coming from the living room. Gifts under the tree: she remembered that holiday tradition.

"I dunno, Namaari... We'll manage," she just smiled with another shrug. "I mean, not to downplay the importance of having a roof over your head, but we're not exactly homebodies, neither one, I don't think." At least Shock was sure she would spend most time somewhere else, getting stuff done. She was eager to be out and about, especially after spending so long sulking and moping in her room like a damn teenager.

Shock scoffed. "You think?" Namaari had a point. And it did annoy her a little still --or, actually, not annoy --more like feel sort of awkward --as if she didn't really know what to do with the fact that, now, everyone knew she and Bailey were official. But she also had to admit there was something kind of funny in realizing how true it was: after all this time, she did find herself wondering what Bailey would do.

"Just, uh... Five, kinda?" she replied, squinting to read the tiny number on the corner of her phone screen. But then she looked up through the windshield, and read the nearing street name sign. "Oh, wait --it's here, pull up."

After delivering that minor blow, he gave her an affectionate kiss. “She’s pretty good. Trivia is sort of her niche, though I think perhaps the competitiveness that Ian and I have came from our dad.” His mother used to mention it here and there that their father loved games of any kind, especially trivia and board games. “So… if you want to roll the dice on partners, that’s your call, but you can’t be mad if we beat you.” He was only teasing, of course, and to show that, he wrapped an arm around her and gently pulled her toward the door.

"You're such a damn gentleman," Shock grumbled, pretending to be annoyed. She picked up the couple bags she had with presents for the Lightfoots, and got out of the van.

"Who does like to lose?" she argued. When Bailey reached up for her jaw she leaned forward automatically, and began to raise her hands, still carrying the bags: then she closed her eyes, kissing him back. Her arms remained suspended, and she stayed there for a moment longer, until he broke up the kiss to reply to her question. "... Alright, then. I'll play with Laurel, so I can help her have a solid chance against you two." In the spirit of Christmas, Shock thought, it would be her good deed of the week to help her boyfriend's mother.

Shock shrugged. She didn't mind if she got a small room --true, it would definitely feel like a big downgrade, from Oz's old Victorian style house to a little apartment. But it wasn't as if that was a huge deal for her.

Shock shook her head, still smiling, when Bailey opened the door for her. "You know you don't need to do that," she said, as if she didn't kinda like that it was something he seemed to do without even realizing. "And I'm not cocky --I'm just perfectly aware and appreciative of my own skills. Is that so wrong?" In her head, that didn't come into conflict with being just a little tiny bit of a difficult person when it came to losing.

That insight into his mom's love for the holiday did make her smile genuinely, even chuckle a little. "Noted." She had always thought Christmas was a stupid holiday --mostly just to show off how much money someone had, honestly --but if Laurel liked it so much, then Shock guessed there had to be something else to it, too.

"Yeah, I think so," Shock replied, quickly checking the list of addresses she had on the notes app on her phone. They had been seeing a few places to rent together, and while one or two had been decent, she wasn't convinced yet. Which was weird, because she could really make herself at home basically anywhere. She didn't need much. And still, thinking about a place she wanted to set somewhat stable roots in, living with her friend, at least for a while --she just wanted it to be good enough. So far, the places they had seen just didn't speak to her.

That was a stupid thing to think about.