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]

[ He'd be offended if he cared enough to be offended. Instead, she met his expectations, and grace was over.

There could be an argument after. He could mention the insult. He's good at returning them, even, but Michael sits beside him. Ash knows they'll be fighting whenever Max and Jessica are in the same room, but he isn't going to add fuel to that fire and make this a day for Michael to regret.

Instead, once finished, he picks up his knife and fork to prepare to eat. The steaks aren't as good once they're cold.]

[papalobo]

[There was bait, but it remains a loose line unbit. It's a few second later, once everyone's eating, that Max shifts as if his phone has vibrated. Ash didn't hear it do so, despite being next to him, but he takes it out and mumbles an off-hand apology; his job being what it is and all, can't let these things slide. He starts to text something briefly, which Ash might catch, only to make a frustrated expression, sigh, and go back at it again, then finally set it away.]

[jadedlynx]

[ Is he setting up a need to step out? The timing is a little too off to be a way to break the tension.

Instead of drawing further attention and making something big of something small, Ash notes the oddity of not noticing a notification and returns to the food. Max really is busy with his work, now.

Today is for Michael more than Max. As much as he'd like to pretend otherwise, Max hadn't spent many Thanksgiving with Michael -- not even belated ones. So, it's no good to allow the meal to pass in silence. There were a lot of things to ask about a boy who rarely got to talk about himself. What did he think of basketball? Did he look forward to the music stuff instead? If he did, he should learn entire songs so that he wasn't like Max, who got stuck on a line or two.

Ash might brag about him, but that didn't mean he couldn't also tease him. ]

[papalobo]

[Michael doesn't think he'll be tall enough for basketball, but he doesn't love it enough to be that sad about it. Ash is tall. Not basketball tall, but he's fast and could be skilled enough to be good at it. He bets if his dad and Ash play, Ash always wins. Max can't exactly deny it, so. He says Dad might win if they played football, but two people can't play football. He won't bring up baseball unless Ash does. Michael is as interested in Ash as Ash is in asking him the right questions; Thanksgiving with Dad is cool, but Ash is Ash. It's not something Max begrudges him. Ash is actually a little cool.]

[jadedlynx]

[ He's pretty good at basketball, yeah. He also agreed Max would be good at football. If he had to guess, they'd stalemate. Ash is hard to catch, Max is hard to bring down. They'd both score, but it'd be hard for either of them to stop the other from scoring. Probably, Max could drag both of them from one side of the field to the other.

Little boys usually like to hear how strong their dads are.

He asks about baseball. He listens about baseball. Ash's trauma was a decade old now and while still painful, shouldn't take priority over the child in front of him.

Once dinner was finished, he'd offer to help with cleanup but then asked if they could stay long enough for Max to setup the ninja set. When spoken to by the other two guests, his voice wasn't falsely sweet, but he remained civil. As long as Michael was around. ]

[papalobo]

[Jessica casually points out that even carrying a willing Ash across the entire field would probably be beyond him now. If it seems at first as if Tyler is perhaps even going to step in as one man to another with a certain sense of how low a blow it is to knock a guy in front of his son like that, when what Ash is doing is pretty clear.]

If he lost his part as a linebacker, he might still have a part as a tight end. Burst leg strength and all. Instead of stamina. Mostly a lung injury you got, right?

You did say he used to be able to dunk.

[Why does it sound just a little poisonous from Natalie, though, as if Jessica had perhaps been waving what was a catch at the time in her sister's face? Max was tall, but not basketball tall, and even people who had a good two or so inches on him couldn't necessarily dunk, so for a man who was clearly more built for football than basketball, it would be a surprise.]

Come to think of it, those burst strength days're probably over, though. Building back at your age's a lot more of a long shot than getting there in the first place in your prime.

[And then Max is up. For a minute, it looks like a rant like his recent Youtube fame incident is about to fireoff. But then he turns to Michael, who looks to be already grabbing his plate with a bored look, intending to flee the scene under the guise of starting the dishes.]

Heeeey. So. We got enough adults to do the clean up! Since you're a kid, and I'm an invalid, how's about we duck out on the cleanup and try settin' up that ninja set while all the able bodied adults do that?

[Michael looks as much to Ash as Jessica, to see if it's really okay.]

[jadedlynx]

It's probably fine, right? Your dad can show you how easily false information spreads. His physical therapy's going well enough that by next year, we can test our football theories.

[ Now, defending Max has become a mission. ]

You play?

[ Ash so nicely asks Tyler. Really, it's stupid. Strength isn't the end all. Nonetheless, it was the avenue being used to attack Max. ]

[papalobo]

Not either of those; I do tennis and golf.

Maybe one day, since therapy is going so well, Max will be able to do a golf course without the cart!

Have you ever done that in your life...? [Max mumbles under his breath but clearly enough to earn a tapered-lip scowl.

Michael could not look more bored with every single adult in the room if he tried.]

[jadedlynx]

[ Ash notices. ]

If you stick around for too long, we'll put you to work.

[ Get Michael out of here. ]

[papalobo]

[Max gives Ash a look; is he really supposed to just leave Ash to the wolves in here?]

I did do wrestling back in the day, believe it or not.

[Is Ash really gonna make Max abandon him here?

But Michael sees what Ash is trying to do and while he doesn't like people picking on Ash, Ash is too cool to worry about it, so he will make Max be good, pulling his arm.]

Dad, I wanna ninja.

[Max sighs, then pulls a strained smile.]

Alright, alright, if you really wanna make Dad be irresponsible and not help that much.

Fortunately that nature didn't get passed down. Michael's a good boy, don't blame him. But go have fun!

[You're really gonna make me leave this?]

He hasn't been around enough to make it too contagious. Just enough to be light exposure and develop a little healthy immunity.

[Max and Michael are going, but.]

[jadedlynx]

It's pretty lucky Max is around. It seems like you'd run out of stuff to talk about without him.

[ Ash allows himself that much once Michael is out of earshot.

But he's also helping with the cleanup. Jessica allowed them to come over today, and she can take that back easily enough. ]

[papalobo]

He is so newsworthy these days. I'd imagine he's been 'at' a number of family tables this holiday--on the actual holiday itself, no less.

[Jessica's expression goes to a dangerously pleasant smile: knowing that Max 'couldn't be bothered' to come on the actual day is fine, knowing it was for Ash to connect with his grandparents. This is "bullying Ash" territory and she won't stand for it. Which is quickly picked up on by Tyler as they head into the kitchen.]

Jess'll carve us up if we talk too much 'about the other man in the--

[That's his foot, and since Jessica isn't wearing stiletto heels, she's going to have to go for impact damage. She even manages to reach out a free hand when his hands jerk, to keep him from dropping the plates he's carrying.

Although Natalia rankles; casual violence against her husband is not something she's prepared to tolerate.]

[jadedlynx]

[ It was also for Michael. Holidays are something Ash is trying to find meaning in, not something overly special so he thinks his grandparents would have been just as happily traded the day for a longer visit. But, if they'd been here the day before, there'd have been a greater number of people around, and that increased the likelihood of a fight. Ash doesn't want the kids to associate holidays and Max with that any more than he already does. ]

Good catch.

[ Perhaps it's not polite to compliment Jessica on catching the plates after being the reason they were falling, but Ash isn't polite. ]

[papalobo]

Really, like attracts like.

["Both you and your ex-husband are impulsive and violent."]

Don't be silly, dear, she's much better at it than him.

[Even said through grit teeth, he might somewhat mean it as a compliment. It's harder to tell.]

Geeze, you'd think I insulted her kid...

[jadedlynx]

[ Or, he's afraid of her.

Or he thinks she's hot and would still compliment her. Hot people get away with a lot more things.

Ash doesn't actually like or dislike either, but he's also someone who'd doesn't force conversation. Compounded by the fact that he's inherently more likely to interact with those closer in age, he's happy to focus on cleaning the table.

If he hurries, he can likely take a surprise picture of Max and Michael. While Ash has no interest in them himself, Max had a picture of Michael in his cell, and it's something the kid might like.]

[papalobo]

[Natalie will talk of some involvements with a church bakesale, but for the most part, in the short time it takes to get a dishwasher loaded, things are able to be peaceful enough: he can go snap his picture. It's simple enough Max doesn't actually need instructions, but he has Michael hold then open, up, and read them; Ash can probably tell by the angle Max is 'looking' down at, he's not actually concerned with seeing the paper. Maybe he just trusts Michael's reading enough to go off of that.]

[jadedlynx]

[ That's likely. As long as it's safe enough, he's someone who can laugh at the result and consider that an experience, but Ash knows Max is skilled enough with his hands that no instructions are needed.

He takes a few pictures but simply waits. It isn't the kind of activity that changes often enough to earn a lot of pictures.

When it's finished, they'll leave. Michael will have a few more toys and one more memory, but ultimately, it's temporary. But, of the problems today,Jessica wasn't really one of them. Maybe it can happen again.

Maybe he's being too optimistic.

This is one time he wishes he can turn off his brain.]

[papalobo]

Hnn... Wasn't it him that used to be the photographer?

[Ash is caught being a good family record keeper after a while.]

[jadedlynx]

[ Unintentionally, his guard lowers when he feels safe in a situation, but it's a rarity. Perhaps a combination of days has eased him a little.

While Ash is hardly a fan of Jessica's family, Michael aside, their words haven't been painful enough to cause any real dislike. Still, he startles slightly, lost in his thoughts and the movie outside.

He soon settles back into a neutral posture. ]

You don't need to be a professional for the family stuff. I can point and click okay.

[ He won't mention Max's lack of current pictures. That is largely on Max, too. ]

[papalobo]

Kids these days still say "point and click" even though nothing 'clicks' on a phone-camera, huh? Ever held an old camera-camera?

[jadedlynx]

[ He's been on the wrong end of a clicking camera. Ash really does handle most 'triggers' so well that it's impossible to even know what may or may not bring memories, but that sound is one of them. ]

I'm not old man enough for that.

[ He was too young to be into pictures before the phones fazed them out. ]

A phone is more convenient, anyway.

[papalobo]

Guess he didn't groom you that far, then.

[He says as if Ash having been groomed by Max is an open and known, accepted take on the whole affair.]

[jadedlynx]

[ And yet, it's such a comment to come unexpected. Ash knows that their age difference and his youth can imply a certain scenario, but it was hardly a given.

And the comment isn't out of concern. ]

You must be looking pretty hard to see somebody who's been groomed.

[papalobo]

Psht. [He lets out a snort and gives a raised eyebrow.] You're not young enough you gotta pretend that's not it anymore, none of it's illegal now, you're legal and all.

[jadedlynx]

Wait.

[ Ash gives an exaggerated blink. ]

Are you saying Max groomed me? Does he know?