Day 328, Friday, November 28th

[papalobo]

[It's weird, to end up at a home that's not home. He's spent more time there than anywhere else this year, but that says more about his transience than anything. If told five years ago he would live such a lifestyle, he'd have believed that, but not the part about most of those multiple places being not just six but seven, eight figure abodes.

And yet it's Jessica's home (still probably the nicest one he'd lived in as an adult, before Ash swept in) they're doing Thanksgiving in. Maybe it's a fear of being upstaged on her part if it's in such a house; such a naive thought is, while unvoiced, just more proof of Ash's suspicions, that Max's mind is on something, something Ash had likely been trying to put his mind on for months. Because with even half of his braincells to put to it, he'd suspect the worst sooner.

It's not until they're pulling up to the house and there are two other cars there that he remembers the hell of Thanksgiving is not only family, but family you don't normally have to see. And thanks to Michael, Jessica's family is still his family.


And their ride is a taxi. It's not like they can turn around. Though Michael coming out to greet them right away in a hurried excitement would've made it impossible in anything.]

...Maybe she decided to start investing in cars. But not especially good ones. To be more undercover. As a journalist.

Day 375, Friday, December 14th

Comments

[jadedlynx]

[ Ash has other options. Michael shouldn't be worrying about them. ]

Guess it's up to us while they make up for lost time. You're allowed to use shape, heavy knives and open fire, right?

[ Ash jokes as he begins pulling some of the pre-made food from the bags. His words are clearly aimed at Michael. ]

[banananpc]

Not open. It's gotta be a blow torch. But you're adult supervision so it's okay. Or Aunt Natalie is an adult if you don't count.

Oh, I'm sure there'll be enough blame for all three of us if the house burns down.

[jadedlynx]

I wasn't serious. We just picked it up so everything is still warm. You can get the plates.

A blowtorch? Really?

[banananpc]

No. Not really.[He heads to get the plates; As is being silly taking him seriously..]

But I don't know what open flame means.

[He assumes as opposed to flame throwing. Which is directed flame, maybe?]

[jadedlynx]

[ He didn't think so, but then considering Jessica... She might decide to make that his weapon of choice. ]

Direct fire, when you can see the flame like with gas stoves.

[ Assuming the group was tired of turkey, Ash chose to bring a steak meal instead. Some are smaller, for Michael. ]

A blow torch would qualify.

[banananpc]

Hey.

[As Max and Jessica are coming back in the entryway, it sounds like bickering is still happening.]

How come him saying it's fine?!

He's not serious!

You'd be surprised how many people're serious about Ash. I remember someone offering him a contract to show his butthole to the camera within about 6 minutes of meeting him...

You're the one whose mind went right to that! I'd ask how long you were being a pervert but I don't know if you can count that high!

[Michael continues as if it's just a radio commercial in the background.]

Why do you need to wear eye gear when you use a blow torch but not a gas stove?

[jadedlynx]

[ That would have most people curious. It seems that Jessica's sister's husband had said something about the homewrecker after he came inside. While the interaction suggested it'd have been disrespectful, Jessica wouldn't have allowed it to be too crude. Either way, it's a common enough occurrence that Ash has long decided that whatever people are saying behind his back, if is not dangerous, it's none of his business. ]

It's mostly used for wielding, and when you're wielding stuff, debris kicks back at you. The masks are tinted because of the intensity of the flame. It's not going to do anything right away, but it's bright enough that it could eventually burn your cornea.

Some cooks use them in the kitchen for finishing touches without needing any kind of eyewear. Maybe that starts at ten and a half.

[banananpc]

I'm ten and three quarters. I'll go get the blowtorch.

[He does move to go somewhere, but it's only to the kitchen to get silverware out and set them at the plates. Meanwhile, his aunt stands with a strained smile, finding it harder to Stepford smile as the drama comes to the main stage.]

Well I can count to six! That whole six minutes you waited to jump on him and Eiji!

So there were two? You could've both upgraded?

Don't you bring that sweet boy into this!

You tried to bring him into your business!

[jadedlynx]

Eiji's not her type.

[ Ash decides to try to reign it in a little before Michael returns with the silverware; he assumes there'll be no blowtorch handy. ]

You guys ready to put your big boy pants on? We didn't want to arrange this so that Michael gets to see more fighting.

[banananpc]

You were asking if he was going out for anything besides baseball out there, right? It's a set up for pro-wrestling.

I'm afraid he's already been talked into another hobby. He's gone to get the blowtorch already.

[Only when she says it, besides resigned, she sounds serious, though unflapped. It's enough that Max and Jessica both pause. Jessica looks to her in confusion. Max looks to Ash. After all, Michael's not there, so.]

[jadedlynx]

[ And Ash, being Ash, is a good actor. After a moment of what seems like delayed confusion, doubt creeps into his voice. ]

That's okay, right? He's almost 11.

[banananpc]

[And Michael's still not back from the kitchen, which is *right* there... Max can't bring himself to even pretend to be anything but curious where the joke is doing. Jessica... can't actually make herself worried, but she doesn't think Ash is cute.]

[jadedlynx]

[ Odd; he thought he was being adorable.

When no one takes his bait - his own fault for being so dependable - he turns his attention back to the bags. After only a second a digging, he pulls out a bottle of 1949 Domaine Leroy Richebourg Grand Cru wine and passes it over to Jessica. If she knows her wine, she'll know it's worth over $5,000. ]

Housewarming.

[banananpc]

[She takes it with a warning look; if he thinks she doesn't have enough hate in her heart to share with Max, well, she's got that Thanksgiving Holiday spirit of abundance.

Ty and Natalie both end up peering over; and while Natalie's stepford strained smile is still in place, now it's trying not to look so shocked as to be gauche. Ty on the other hand gives a shameless whistle.]

Came into money, did you, Max?

Don't act surprised, even if you don't watch the news you know who we are by now.

[He tries to sound annoyed, but it's someone trying to sound annoyed only because it's more rodomontade than outright, straightforward bragging would be.

Nevermind that Ash being a part of 'we' is not for the best of reasons; in this instance it's less being insensitive and more sincerely forgetting there's anything to be ashamed of. To his credit, Ash should be famous for a lot of things and a couple of them are outright decent.]

[jadedlynx]

[ Five adults -- though he really wouldn't put it past Jessica to bar him - and one bottle of wine? Max wouldn't get drunk from that much so there's no worry.

Ignoring the implications of why Ash would be in the news, he looks around to see if he can spot Michael. ]

We brought Michael a couple of things, too.

[banananpc]

[It's a good time to look for Michael, because in he comes, with both the silverware clumped together in one hand, and in the other, a blow torch he seemed to decide to sidetrack to get overhearing the conversation, thinking it might break up any fight.]

Huh? But Thanksgiving's not a 'present' holiday...

[jadedlynx]

[ Well, his little joke looks a little less jokey now. ]

We don't get to see you as often as most people get presents, and I'm good at spending money.

[ Reaching out, he'll try to take the blowtorch without comment. ]

They're nothing big.

[banananpc]

[Jessica quirks and brow at Ash as she sets the wine down; she knows Michael enough to know that, trying to be cool to Big Cousin Step Mommy Ash, it's in character for him to have run with some joke or other he heard from the kitchen.

Max shows no sign of noticing it, as if Ash were a stage magician, working so subtly with a prop.

Natalie keeps a strained smile and slightly tilts her head.]

Are there people who're bad at spending money?

[jadedlynx]

That depends on your definition.

[ Maybe it's not noticeable; maybe it seems like an act, but previously, Ash treated all adults with a somewhat distant and hostile attitude. Now, he's speaking to Natalie without any real kind of disdain. ]

Some people might say Max is better than me. He still likes to buy used and look for bargains.

[ Placing the blowtorch out of the way, Ash finds the bag with the remaining gifts. The first is a 3-D printing pen. The second is a ninja line kit that could be placed low enough for children his age to use. ]

I thought this would be more fun than just practicing pull-ups. If your mom and dad make it through dinner, she might let him help you set it up after.

[banananpc]

Does he? Jessica had mentioned that before. His love of "bargains"...

[Max's eyes go to Ash, daring him to resist the bait both girls are unaware of dripping in front of him. You wanna do an 'I told you so?' don't you.' But he was going to pre-empt it with a look that bet he wasn't going to let the balance shift so much to one side.

He was not actually that sure of Ash's loyalty.]

So he's still a complete cheapskate who doesn't know how to use money to save money.

I can be a ninja! And draw on air?!

[Whether Michael is offering a topical distraction or just sincerely more interested---adults fighting is pretty common and boring for him by now--is up for debate. Max decides to think he's trying to save Ash more than trying to save Max, but.]

[jadedlynx]

We'll time your first try through the course so we'll see how much faster you get.

[ His attention goes to Michael first. The kid deserves some attention.

But then, he answers. Even if it's true, it's not easy. Ash isn't someone who brags on most people very easily, but he is on his side. Even before the promise to make that more noticeable. ]

He might've been that way if he didn't have the skills to back it up. Even new cars can break down, and he's the guy who can fix it. He's going to get into restoring some older cars to sell for charity when everything is healed.

[ They'd talked about it once. Max agree. It counts. ]

He's good with construction, too. We have a house here in L.A., and he built me a big greenhouse out back.

He might still live like he's broke, but if he's going to be that handy, I'll take it. There's a reason blue collar workers are popular even if they're not as rich as white collar men.

[papalobo]

[And here was Max ready to be satisfied with some vague dismissal about how they make enough money to afford Max being cheap, maybe deflect to his own major award incomes. He is a millionaire on his own publications right now, after all. By the time Ash's finished, Max looks like he might just want to take Ash over the table, arm gripping around him gloatingly.

HA! He had the hot trophy husband, and he even liked his blue collar manliness.]

Well that's a big change! Last time we all had Thanksgiving together, I remember your old man complaining how much money you sank into beaters like repair attempts were lotto tickets!

[Max isn't paying attention, he's got an Ash to have an arm around. Some annoying buzzing guy is saying something, but he has an Ash.]

[jadedlynx]

[ His old man, huh? Was it friendly teasing or a sincere form of disappointment? ]

We don't have any old cars sitting around that he failed to fix. Guess he got good at the lotto.

[ If Ash wasn't so good at pushing through things, he'd find it almost too hard to compliment so openly. ]

And he taught a few classes to kids from the streets before he got too injured to keep teaching.

Maybe the next time they talk, they can talk about that instead. Or his literary prizes. That'd take up some time.

[papalobo]

Do you have any old cars around he's actually fixed?

[Jessica wonders more off-handedly than seriously. Everything is still a work in progress, a part of Max internally cringes, but Ash has already won this fight for him, so ha.]

You make it sound like they hadn't already talked about them. Oh my, are you that estranged?

Didn't you hear this kid go on about how busy I've been, in between winning prizes, getting injured, teaching kids, and having a real active love life?

[jadedlynx]

[ This is the most Max's father has been mentioned around him, but Ash wouldn't have introduced him to his old man if he'd had a choice, either. He also knows that such a fact could be used against him if someone wanted to flaunt Jessica as the real relationship. They had a kid. She knew his family. She was potentially more likely to be accepted by less family.

Ash isn't dating his family. ]

This sounds like the kind of conversation that can happen over dinner. Everything is set out.

[ It's a high class meal, with premium steak and sides, and Ash hopes that can offer a little distraction. ]

I know L.A. has a lot more vegetarians than New York, but there's enough sides and a salad if you don't like steak.