This is what it means to have a family

[thebatbutler]

WHO: Bat Friends, Family, and Guests
WHERE: Alfred's hotel, in a private room
WHEN: The evening of 11/27
WHAT: Turkey Day Dinner
WARNINGS: N/A


Setting this dinner up had been a bit of a to-do. He had briefly discussed it with Bruce, but beyond having the younger man's approval for the event it had been largely left up to Alfred. And having it at their government assigned house had been out of the question. It would have been inconvenient for the other members of their household and besides that, there were secret identities that needed to be kept as well.

After some consideration, Alfred settled on one of the rentable rooms in the hotel he worked at. It would be large enough to accommodate and it wouldn't be odd to see various people coming and going from it if there were people who wished to keep their acquaintances here unknown. This particular room had already been housing one of the hotel's large banquet tables, so that was taken care of. A narrow table was moved into the room the day before in order to hold all the various dishes that would be available.

On Thanksgiving day, Alfred is there bright and early. Some of the hotel staff is assisting with preparing the food and moving it into the room. Six large turkeys and some tofurkey are in the center of the table surrounded by a spread that includes stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, corn pudding, green bean casserole, dinner rolls, crescent rolls, hot crab dip, crackers, a large tossed salad, glazed sweet potatoes, deviled eggs, pumpkin pie, and apple pie.

Comments

Arriving/before dinner

[thebatbutler]

Bruce - open

[chiroptophobic]

[ A family occasion, but Bruce hung back, dressed in casual best, watching as Alfred rushed back and forth. He'd tried to help briefly, early on, but given up on the idea very quickly. He only got in the way, which meant that it became his duty to hover around and open the door when Alfred was elsewhere, just in case it was a guest.

Family. Thanksgiving. Bruce didn't really know what to do with any of it; he felt like an outsider looking in, and he hovered appropriately.

And it was strange, standing here unmasked in front of all these people; people who knew each other, but who were strangers to him. It felt abnormal, when it ought to be the most normal thing in the world to be surrounded by family on an occasion such as this. ]

walks in belatedly :( also hope you don't mind prose

[boobwindow]

Karen has spent the better part of her life not knowing her family or their history, most of it lost to the multiverse or locked away in her memory without her knowing. When she had finally remembered who they were and where she had come from, she lost it in an instant. Unsurprisingly, family-themed holidays and other events made her feel somewhat awkward and even lonely despite being surrounded by people she likes or cares about.

After receiving Clark's invite, she puts on a decent blouse and sweater combo, along with some nice pants and flats, and joins everyone at the address she's been given. She doesn't mingle for long, eventually taking some time to scope out the hotel Alfred manages. Talk about fancy.

She finds Bruce not too long into her wandering. It's apparent he's hanging back, something she recognizes as she's done it herself many times in the past.

She lifts a hand in greeting as she approaches.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Bruce."

prose is love, belated is lovelier

[chiroptophobic]

"Happy Thanksgiving. I'm glad you came."

If not for her sake, then for Clark's. Bruce is sharp enough to see that he's a fish out of water himself, although the same could be said for anyone here, but Bruce is fortunate to be surrounded by all these people - family - even if they aren't strictly his. The alternative, to have known it and be here alone regardless, seems lonely to him, and truly these people are beginning to grow on him. He wants them to be happy.

He stepped forward - away from the wall - so that she didn't have to cloe the entire distance herself, smiling warmly. "I'm a little out of my depth, but--would you care for a soda? Sparkling water?"

Not that he has to pretend not to drink wine around people he already knows.

Clark Kent - Open

[andaway]

[Clark's holding some drinks as he comes in. He doesn't look nervous- he actually looks at ease, just as eager to spend this time with family on this day as Superman should be. But truth is? He's nervous, for many reasons. There's people he knows, that do not know him. People he doesn't know that know who he is. There's people who play mind games with him, hiding their identity rom him. And there's people like Alfred who have a way of making him feel like a child with his hand down the cookie jar.

It's an mess, and even though he's dealt with similar things in the past one can never really get used to this kind of situation. He's really, really glad Karen is with him- she might not be blood family, but she's the closest he's got.]

I didn't mean to offend by bringing food, considering I know it's going to be heavenly. [He explains, showing the bag with a couple of (mostly non alcoholic, and the best wine he could afford) drinks inside.] So I thought a drink was the next best thing?

[runningstart]

Oh man, showing me up. I didn't even bring anything. [Wally is going through the drinks like he was invited, the punk, and probably will continue to do so unless someone stops him from being rude as heck.]

How're you doin'? Get that article you needed done?

[andaway]

My Ma taught me well. [Yeah he's just

going to grab the wine, not on his watch kid.]

I did, actually, but apparently a first person description of a bind date sold better. People like what people like, I guess.

Carrie - open

[slingshots]

[ After some careful deliberation, she's decided not to show up in a hoodie. You're welcome, Alfred. A quick stop at a secondhand clothes store found her something decent-looking and affordable (a shirt that's a step up from a t-shirt, but a far cry from a blouse, and simple black pants because she's pretty sure you can't go wrong with those), but she still feels underdressed next to pretty much all of the adults here.

It's not as awkward as it could be on her end, though—she brought Bart and knows to expect Dick and Wally, so at least there are some people around she knows how to chat with. But there's still a pretty sizeable portion of her that has no idea how to approach this.

Thanksgiving was never a holiday she looked forward to, so she's new to tentatively enjoying it.

She can be found hovering near to the food because she's not sure what else to focus on, and probably doing her best to avoid eye contact with Bruce and Clark. She's only slowly working out how to handle the not-her-Batman, Bruce Wayne is a whole new challenge she's not sure how to tackle — and Clark, there's a big fat can of worms that seems best dealt with via avoidance.

Anyone else, though, might find themselves suddenly with a small redhead at their elbow, eyes on anything else but a small smile in place. ]

Snuck any turkey yet? Totally worth the glare.

[performance]

[ Dick, on the other hand, is dressed in his rich boy best, his hair slicked back and his usual sunglasses gone. It occurs to him that it's probably the first time Carrie's seen him as Dick Grayson rather than some variety of Robin.

It's a strange feeling, but at least he knows he doesn't have to play a part for her. ]

Me? Not yet. I'm still biding my time. Waiting for an opening. You know?

[slingshots]

[ Actually, it is the first time. Dick gets more direct eye contact just for the novelty of it, and her small smile twitches upward into a grin. It's cool, them both looking like they're two normal kids. ]

Don't wait too long. Doesn't count if it gets served to you — committing minor theft makes it taste better, know it?

[andaway]

So.

[Because if she thought she was going to be able to spend the entire evening without talking to him, she's got another thing coming. But he looks calm and at ease- just like someone about to stat a conversation.]

I guess we can just stop pretending now?

[slingshots]

[ She'd been aware of him, of course, progress tracked in her peripheral vision-- she'd just been hoping he was headed somewhere else, and not over toward her. She wilts a little bit when that becomes very, very obviously not the case.

But at least that lingering instinct to fear him can be set aside for the moment. It's not like he'd do anything here. ]

So... what if I say I got no idea what you're talking about? [ That's with a guilty sidelong glance over and up at him. Not going to work, but worth a shot anyway. ]

Dinner Time

[thebatbutler]

Bruce - toast, free for all

[chiroptophobic]

[[ Anyone can tag in, any order. ]]

Excuse me, can I have everyone's attention?

[ Bruce tapped the edge of his glass as he stood, let the music of it chime sweetly over the sound of conversation. Dinner was in full flow, turkeys carved and served, and Bruce was a little less uneasy now than he had been several hours before. ]

I'd like to thank you all for coming, on my behalf certainly, but much more importantly on Alfred's. Celebrating Thanksgiving with all of you was important to him: having you all together for one night.

I remember how important celebrating these holidays was to him, when I was young, though for the longest time I'm afraid I wasn't particularly grateful for his perseverence. The preservation of such traditions only served to remind me of the absences at the table. I could find very little to be thankful for, even then, but I understand now, I think, what it means to be surrounded by friends and family. I have all of you to thank for that.

[ A pause. ] Now if there's anyone...anyone else who'd like to say something, maybe lighten the mood-- [ A gesture, and he sat back down, smiling. ]

[runningstart]

[Wally's hand shoots up, like he's in a classroom. It's pretty obvious that Robin had decided what he'd wear and encouraged him to try and do something with his hair considering he's not wearing some baggy overshirt and his bangs are sorta kinda combed, but he voluntarily put in the effort at least. This is a way fancier dinner than he's used to; mostly he, his parents, his aunt and uncle and the Garricks end up all talking over each other and grabbing for stuff on the table. It's loud and energetic and filled with teasing, scolding and at least one overturned glass.

So he's pretty unsure about speaking up, especially since Bruce/Batman still makes him kind of nervous and Karen and Clark are right there, so he's basically having dinner with the Justice League and there's always going to be some hero worship there when his uncle isn't around to buffer it, but...fuck, who cares? Apparently Wally becomes the Flash when he grows up. He's Justice League too.

So he clears his throat and says,] I'm thankful that Alfred is awesome and made six turkeys. I'm also wondering if he got more superpowers than he's letting on because there's like, fifty thousand things here and it's all hot and like- man, I can't even make mac and cheese and chicken nuggets and have them be done at the same time. [Dick can attest to that.]

Uh, but. I'm happy we got to all meet each other? Which sounds sort of weird, because some of us are from the same worlds, and some of us are from different ones and we've met some people but when they're older or younger or different. Or we haven't met them at all, or we'll meet them in the future.

But like, even if we're missing people from home we've still been given kind of a cool opportunity to know people we wouldn't otherwise. Or in ways we wouldn't otherwise. Which is awesome, in my humble but expert opinion. So...thanks for talking to me, everybody at this table. [Wally drums his fingers on the tablecloth.] That's it, that's all I got.

Bart - Open

[moded]

[Bart's been everywhere, so far. Just moving back and forth, never in one place for more than a few seconds - or, in the case of conversation, a few minutes before he gets antsy and runs off. And, well, there's a reason for it.

He feels a little awkward, being here. After all, he might be friends with Carrie and Dick might be team leader, but he doesn't really know the other people here. Karen and Clark he's spoken to once, Alfred he's never met, though he knows who he is. And Bruce... well. Even if he'd met Batman before, he's still intimidating just on principle, even though Impulse would never admit to that or let it show.

But now, during dinner time, he's actually just loaded up a plate for himself and is taking a moment to slow down and just... observe. To see what's going on and to grin around his food because, well. It's nice. It's calm and warm and no one's attacking or has been attacked and its family.

He'll be hyper and chipper should anyone approach him. It's not like there's anything wrong, after all. It's just that, for once, he's perfectly content to just eat and watch.

At least for a little while.]

[chiroptophobic]

[ Intimidating he might be, but he's also a sneak by nature, and manages to almost blend in considering the activity at the party. He's much too quiet next to the younger generation to draw much attention, which is how he gets around to the table to spook Bart without so much as disturbing the air.

And then he's leaning across beside him to procure a piece of sweet potato pie, serving it onto his plate before patting Bart on the shoulder as he steps back. ]

At least now I know why Alfred started preparing dinner two days ago. You must have hollow legs to put all that away.

[moded]

[Y'know, Bart likes the bat brood. He's good friends with Dick and Carrie here, and back home he's pretty chummy with Tim, too. After all, the kid's around his age and their squad leader. They're all a good bunch, they're fun and tricky and he actually gets a challenge hanging around them. It's never boring, is the thing.

So really, he should have known this was going to happen sometime over the evening. He knows enough about the younger bats to have been able to put together that no matter the universe they come from, they all had someone to train them in that stupid appear out of nowhere way.

At the very least, he's only jumping and almost spilling the food on his plate - speedster reaction time, gotta love it - and not letting out a yelp.]

Hey- [He can't help it, he knows who this is, even though he probably shouldn't know - the benefits of being from when and where he's from - but he still talks back with the same cavalier attitude he always has.] I don't eat that much besides high metabolism high energy stores not like I'm claiming an entire turkey.

[Unlike Wally, probably.]

[thebatbutler]

[Of all the people here, Bart is one of the few that Alfred has never personally talked to here. He'd seen the boy around, certainly, and he knew who he was, but he hadn't taken the time to actually approach him until now. Unlike Bruce, Alfred makes no secret of his approach and he slides a few more turkey slices onto Bart's plate from the plater in his hands.]

Bartholomew, was it?

[moded]

[Hey, it's the same for Bart. He's talked to all the bitty bats (except Steph) as well as Superman and Power Girl but not the older members of the batfamily. He'd feel awkward about being here if he knew any better. But as it is, the warmth of a gathering of people who are not quite family but might as well be, and being included in that despite his own "plans" never getting off the ground- it's nice.

As is Alfred not sneaking up on him, and giving him more food. The kid's face lights up instantly at the special treatment.]

Crash, was totally about to run over and steal... I mean uh- heh, thanks. [He will, however, wrinkle his nose at the use of his full name.] Any way I can just be Bart?

Dessert/After dinner

[thebatbutler]

Bruce - open

[chiroptophobic]

[ There was one thing about being surrounded by family: it wasn't quiet. Bruce wasn't used to so much activity, and as hours buzzed into cheerful alcohol free hours - with the occasional superspeed disagreement - Bruce retreated into himself, and away from them, retreated back to a corner of the suite and turned on a reading light beside a chair, settling down into it.

He used the time to catch up on his reading on the network, and was generally antisocial, although not in a hugely unkind way. It was just a lot to adapt to, a lot to learn to cope with, a complete transformation to his style of living.

He'd lived his life alone--well, alone with Alfred as company. A huge, empty house, portraits on the walls of Waynes from generations past, watching him, looming over him, the last heir of the Wayne empire. Surrounded by family, and yet entirely alone.

Surrounded by family...and yet entirely alone.

Maybe not so different after all. ]

[thebatbutler]

[Alfred notices Bruce's retreat, but doesn't comment on it. That sort of thing isn't exactly unexpected in a situation such as this where there's a bit of a crowd. At least Bruce hadn't retreated from the room entirely.

After a moment, Alfred approaches him with small slices of both pumpkin and apple pie on one plate and a cup of tea.] Pie, sir?

[For his part, Alfred had enjoyed the dinner - the activity of the entire affair. It was loud and alive and reminded him of those moments back home when his family had allowed themselves to just be civilians. He's content, happy even, to have been a part of this. To have been the one who had called them all here, even though some of them were different enough to be mostly strangers. It still felt like family.]

Clark Kent - Open

[andaway]

[You'd think a pseudo-autotroph being like Clark wouldn't even need to eat much. You'd be wrong.

And the lucky thing about having speedsters come over is that you can eat all yo want and you'll never look bad because they will eat even more for sure. So after he's made sure everyone can have at least a slice Clark resumes his torrid romance with apple pie with another slice for himself. Don't tell Lois, but Apple pie might very well be his favorite.]

Hmm. It doesn't feel like a holiday without this.

[chiroptophobic]

Alfred's dessert, or apple pie in general?

[ There's a palpable difference to the tone of Bruce's question. For one thing he's been disarmed by this point in the evening, twisted into some weird in-between of Bruce Wayne and Batman that even he doesn't know how to cope with. It's not the mask he wears or the cowl, and yet it's Bruce as a person, and he's still feeling out how to actually be that man.

They've only spoken, really, as hero to hero, never as orphan to orphan, certainly not as man to man. He tries on a wary smile that is much closer to honest than the paparazzi pressed type he usually sports. ]