some holiday hcs for nileâs first christmas with the guard
itâs nileâs first christmas since becoming immortal and sheâs watching the season approach as they travel around the world, watching those who celebrate put up lights and trees and she enjoys the stops they make in a snowy place
sheâs missing her family even more, having been a daughter of a man in the military the holidays were probably hard to deal with while he was deployed and then after he died her mom and brother, they all clung to each other. and now she has none of them
they all notice the change in her demeanor and the way she admires the decorations and the families strolling the streets and shopping together and they form a plan
joe and booker are sent to pick a tree, joe uses booker as a height comparison to make sure they get one with a good height and then there is the inevitable struggle of them tying it to the roof of the car because they canât stop arguing about how to do it and joe suggest multiple times that booker can just hang onto the roof and hold the tree down
booker does not like this idea, but in joeâs defense heâs nearly as big as the tree so he could probably do it - ends with joe driving very slow while booker sighs loudly in the passenger seat
quynh drags nicky to get decorations, sheâs spent 500 years in the ocean, doesnât matter whether she celebrates christmas, sheâd absolutely love all the decorations and lights and tells andy, âwe need that giant light up snowman andromache pleaseâ
also competitive quynh making sure their decorations are better than anyone elseâs in the area
no one knows who the fuck lives in that apartment but they know they DO NOT fuck around with christmas decorations
nicky gets lost in the store, admiring all the lights and decorations and he ends up getting a matching pair of the ugliest fucking christmas sweaters youâve ever seen in your life and one of those stupid hats with the elf ears on it
he doesnât care much of the holiday for celebrating jesus or whatever, but enjoys the festivities and the chance to wear ridiculous clothing with joe
joe and booker return with the tree, booker grumbling something about a squirrel attack while they put the tree in their small living room
andy is out with nile, keeping her out of the apartment and walking around the city. i like to think they took her somewhere in europe to see the christmas markets and enjoy the snow and get the full idealized christmas experience, sheâs from chicago and snow to her is probably an integral part of the season
they buy small little trinkets and sweets, nile just thinks andy is indulging her, i mean when is the last time andy celebrated any holiday so fully
quynh and nicky arrive with way too many decorations that it makes their apartment look even smaller but they donât care
booker has made eggnog thatâs just more booze at this point but no one cares, him and nicky have started a competition to see who can string lights up along the ceiling the fastest (nicky is winning because joe is sneakily undoing bookers)
quynh has the best time putting all kinds of random decorations on the tree, the general baubles but also she got one for everyone. booker gets a little flask ornament, and somehow she managed to find sword ornaments for joe and nicky and an axe for andy, though it doesnât look the same, and she gets one for nile of deep dish pizza and the sears tower
nile and andy finally come back and nile is in complete shock, standing in the doorway staring at what might be the most insane collection of decorations sheâs ever seen. thereâs a snowman, the grinch (andyâs favorite holiday movie), so many stars and mini christmas trees, lights are strung up all around the ceiling and the tree is massive, covered in a random assortment of decorations and with quynhâs eye it looks like a winter wonderland
and then she spots the ornaments for her and then she starts crying and everyone moves in for a hug - she still has family to celebrate with they tell her
and then there are presents to open
joe gives nicky a collection of poems and sketches, which booker helped him bind into a little book and nicky gets joe a wonderful and carefully crafted tea blend reminiscent of an old favorite of his he hasnât had in a 100 years and then brings out the sweaters which joe has a good laugh over before making andy take a picture of them
nicky made sure to get the rest of them sweaters too - him and joes are stupid puns like âoh snapâ with a broken gingerbread or âfeline festiveâ with a cat, bookerâs has a dog, andyâs has something obscene written on it, quynhâs is patterned while nile gets one that says âi sleigh all dayâ after he learned what slay meant
nicky gives booker the ugliest fake money youâve ever seen, a child couldâve done better and nicky tells him thatâs his winnings from the last bet - he drew a poor imitation of himself on the bills (booker absolutely loves it)
quynh gets andy a new necklace to layer with the other, a small bow and arrow pendant hanging from it while andy gets her a locket so she can keep a photo of them insideÂ
quynh gets roller skates from booker and sheâs so excited she puts them on immediately and nearly wipes out had andy not caught her, but sheâs still smiling and absolutely giddy
booker gives andy an old bottle of whiskey he found in another safehouse, theyâve both already drunk two bottles of vodka and heâs put three bottles of bourbon in the eggnog already but that doesnât stop them from immediately opening it
joe gives booker a jacket he stole from him and gets the most deadpanned look from him before booker pulls out joeâs gift and he did the same thing with some of joeâs art supplies
and then everyone turns to nile, andyâs got a gleam in her eyes as she hands over the long, delicately wrapped package and nileâs eyes widen as she peels the wrapping paper off
itâs her very own sword, andy got it made for her. itâs long and slimmer than something like nickyâs sword, and light enough she can use it one-handed if needed, itâs got her initials carved into the hilt and it fits comfortably at her side
the rest of the night is spent watching classic christmas films and more booze, games are brought out and they sing carols while tipsy, booker and nicky are once again competing and this time itâs to see who can fit the most candy canes in their mouth (no one wins this one when they both spit them out over everyone after laughing at each other), andy and quynh are dancing in the kitchen, joe and booker are enjoying the cookies and joe is taking pictures of everyone while watching nicky begin to give nile pointers about her sword
itâs their first christmas like this ever and i think theyâd keep the traditions around for a while