#strangewonderful ft andie

[fyrewalks]

did you bring the latkes? // @strangewonderful

"Did I bring the latkes," Tommy repeats, voice rising in pitch with each syllable. He looks down at his hands, each fist wrapped around an expensive bottle of wine, and then at Andie's, holding a platter of cookies, carefully balanced and wrapped in plastic wrap.

"No, I did not bring the latkes," he hisses. "I cant make latkes." Tommy's a decent enough cook, but anything that involved frying was beyond his skill. Not to mention, it brought out firefighter-induced anxieties. He's seen too many kitchen fires to trust any bit of oil, no matter how shallow.

[fyrewalks]

"Pink," Adri confirms, with a tiny nod.

The options had surprised her; she hadn't just filled her carts across different websites with pink menorahs, but ones with intricate florals and vines; sparkles; and rainbows. "Silver isn't terrible," she adds, not wanting to hate on the traditional menorahs that had first appearance in her earliest searches. "I just thought it'd be nice to have something fun."

"What else should I get," she asks, peering up at Andie. As much as Adri's wanted to keep this more of a surprise, she'd be foolish not to consult with her resident expert.

andie is, especially where adriana is concerned, easily distracted. she forgets for a moment about the concerns she was trying to find a way to bring up.   "oh?"   she slides away from adriana—though not far, never far if she can help it—so that she can twist and sit against the edge of the table and face her properly, the ipad right by andie's hip.   "pink?"   the idea that adri was looking at all is the sweetest thing to andie. she's used to doing the holidays small, just her and tommy with sometimes romeo tagging along. but this is... pink? she presses her lips together in a hopeless attempt to suppress her smile. why, she isn't sure when the idea is nothing but delightful, but she doesn't want adri to think she's laughing at the idea. the smile comes anyway, wide and excited.   "did you find one?"

[poetfilm]

exasperated, through gritted teeth: "these fucking problems keep following me." lizzie is on the floor, cheek down against scratchy carpet. "maybe i'm the problem. maybe it's me."

@strangewonderful, andie + lyric starters.

[fyrewalks]

Andie bouncing on her toes, Tommy is hit with a wave of sweet-tinged nostalgia. For a second, his niece isn't all grown-up, but an excited kid, telling Tommy about her current obsession.

It passes quickly, replaced with both hope and dread as Buck's voice spills out of Andie's phone.

"No," Tommy sighs, annoyed with himself and Andie in equal measure. He doesn't like inconveniencing other people. Although, he supposes, if there's anyone he should be okay with bothering, it should be his boyfriend. " We do mean right now."

"Maybe, you can mix it all together now? It's got to rest anyway so it can sit on the drive over? We can fry them up here. They taste better hot too." See, Tommy is capable of seeing the bright sides. This will work. // @strangewonderful

buck thinks he has everything, patting his pants pockets for keys, a wallet, and... his phone... his phone... he tries the pocket on the other side, then the back.

but then, just on cue, his phone rings out on the kitchen counter behind him. he spins on his heels, feeling a little stiff from the fact he's put his coat on. andie's name and photo light up his screen, and as he pulls it close, finger swiping to answer, his face knits into light confusion. "hey an-" he pulls the phone slightly from his ear, hearing andie's voice loud from the speaker, "woah-" his head tilts, looking towards his kitchen. "the latkes? uhhhhh, you don't mean right now right?" | @fyrewalks (tag!)

[fyrewalks]

Tommy rolls his eyes, mouth opening and closing a bit like a fish as he thinks over the likelihood of his niece's generous thinking. Maddie, he is sure, is busy with hosting duties. Chim is likely sampling whatever food is already assembled and using Jee as a second taste tester. Chim absolutely can make himself helpful in the kitchen.

He closes his mouth. Right as he might be, he decides to heed Andie's thinking. It's probably a social faux pas or whatever. Andie thinks of those things; he doesn't.

"Okay, okay - I'll call Buck. Oh!" Finally, some hope. Light at the tunnel, sun shining past stormy clouds. "Maybe he can bring dips and toppings, make the latkes here. Build your own latke bar."

Oh, Tommy is going to owe his boyfriend big time.

"no. call buck." her head dips forward slightly towards tommy, eyes widening in an insistence that this is something he can totally do something about, with his hands full as they are. he's the best choice, with as eager to help as he usually is. "he's not here. he can make them and bring them over." the one—and only—thing they seem to be able to agree on is that eddie should not. "maddie and chim are hosting. we can't ask them. they have, like, things to do."

[fyrewalks]

Adri laughs, flipping over the ipad as they turn to kiss Andie's cheek.

"Can't I be curious," she asks, partial truth slipping out. Google had given her too many answers; Adri wanted some finality.

Adri also wanted to interrupt the explosion of Christmas that had taken over her apartment with something Andie might find welcoming.

"I was trying to find a pink menorah." As much as Adri had intended for it to be a surprise, there's no harm in sharing her intentions.

HANUKKAH SENTENCE STARTERS : “how do you even spell hanukkah? two n’s? two k’s? is there a c in there?” // from @fyrewalks' adri for andie

"no c." andie answers from across the room. she's gotta stand on her tiptoes to do it, but andie manages to get the mug put away in the cabinet so she can actually face adri as she answers. "h-a-n-u-k-k-a-h," each letter gets spelled as andie wanders over to drape herself across adri's back, hooking her chin over adriana's shoulder so andie can see what her girlfriend is working at. girlfriends? is that what they are? is that even the term that adriana would prefer? "whatcha doing?" as causal as the words are, there's a bit of seriousness around the edges, like it's not just an idle question—shifting from how she originally meant to ask it. maybe they should sit down and talk about this. about them.