Christmas Eve Dinner

[lulu8889]

Who: Lulu, Moira, Clarice, Troy, Neil, Bod, Castiel Ianto (and if Ianto feels like inviting him, Jack), and Richie
What: Christmas Eve dinner + celebrations
When: Christmas eve, seven or eight PM ish
Where: The Lulu/Moira/Clarice abode
Rating: C for Christmas

Comments

[teapot_jones]

The knock on Lulu's door was, well, shy, if a knock could be shy.

Outside, in the bitter cold, a very warm feeling Ianto stood bundled in his black greatcoat with a blue hat on his head. The hat had a bobble.

Occasionally, he shot glances over towards his dinner date, smiling sheepishly and feeling like a stupid schoolboy. There were worse feelings he could be having, he supposed.

[greatcoatcapt]

The man who stood beside Ianto was anything but shy. His hands may have been shoved deep into the pockets of his greatcoat, but he was here. Jack didn't often like going into a place without knowing what he was up against -- especially when it seemed as if he'd been in this place once before.

There was a potentiality for hijinks. Or a few very awkward moments. Or some strange amalgamation of them both.

Jack's smiles in return were warm and after a moment, Jack withdrew a hand to rest on the small of Ianto's back. He stamped his feet in the cold. Hopefully there'd be an answer -- and soon. It was bloody freezing.

[owingnobody]

Once in the kitchen, Bod had put the bag on the table and collapsed into the nearest chair, and just sat there for a minute, thinking. This was a familiar place. He'd just been there a few days earlier-- granted, being scolded by Lulu for unlawful impersonation of a hamster, but even then, it was still a friendly, accepting sort of place to be. So he'd unwrapped the candy cane and stuck the end of it in his mouth. It did taste good

[lulu8889]

Lulu popped up behind Bod giving the boy a quick hug. "Thanks for getting the door." She looked at her two guests brightly. Ianto and Jack.

"Ianto!" Lulu grinned happily seeing her friend looking happy and adorable. And with that hat. She couldn't help but give him a huge hug. Lulu was very glad he was back. She was about to give Jack the same sort of hug before she remembered that this Jack didn't know her. Mid-hug she stopped and stuck out a hand. "I'm Lulu. It's nice to meet you." Even though she'd met him already. Goodness, these sorts of things never got less awkward. "This is Bod. Oh! And Merry Christmas. Can I take your jackets?"

[teapot_jones]

The hat kept his head warm, what! It worked and he rather liked the cheerful color.

Grinning sheepishly, Ianto stepped into the welcoming warmth and held out the various teas and coffees he had brought as his contribution to the get together. "Merry Christmas, Bod. Lulu, you look wonderful." He cheerfully returned the hug, nice and tight, then turned towards Jack.

"Bod, Lulu, this is Jack Harkness. Which ... alright, Lulu knows this already, but Bod doesn't." He took a moment to rub the back of his head, then pull off the hat, leaving his hair hopelessly mussed. "These things just don't get any easier, do they?"

[greatcoatcapt]

Jack wasn't saying anything about the hat. This was the man who had coerced Martha into filching a UNIT cap for him. Red was Ianto's best colour in his opinion, but that was utterly beside the point right now.

"Pleasure, Lulu. We briefly met on the network... or whatever you want to call that thing." Rather than shake her hand, Jack did the typical Jack thing and after grasping her hand, pulled her in for a tight hug as well. He smiled, tapping her lightly on the nose. "More of a pleasure in person, however."

Jack gave Bod a once over but was smart enough not to give him the same greeting as Lulu. Not everyone was as flexible as he was when it came to dancing. "Nice to meet you as well, Bod. And a Happy Christmas to you both." Only with a pause did Jack slide the coat from his shoulders and hold it out to Luly. "Careful. It weighs about a tonne and a half."

[owingnobody]

The funny thing was, of anyone there, Bod might have been the most... flexible when it came to dancing, as he put it. If he hadn't been so wound up over, well, everything, he probably would have found the encounter- and Jack's way of describing it- vastly entertaining.

As it was, he watched, and he studied the situation with his sober grey eyes. Jack was a charmer, that was for certain. The Doctor had said as much, or as good as said it, when he'd mentioned Jack to Bod before. But even more interesting to him was the happy, almost giddy aura that emanated from Ianto. It seemed familiar-- very familiar. He looked from one man to the other... and decided, right then and there, that he had little to fear from Jack Harkness.

"It's nice to meet you too, sir," he said quietly, addressing Jack. "If it helps at all, this is, in fact, the first time I've met you."

[lulu8889]

Lulu grinned at Ianto. "Thank you. And hats are meant to wreak havoc on hair. And look adorable. It's their job." After Jack had given her a hug, Lulu couldn't help but grin. He might not remember her, but he was still Jack and ridiculously fun to be around. "Networks, forums, whatever you prefer. Definitely better in person!" She took the coat with a grin. "I'm stronger than I look. Don't worry." With a sideways glance at Bod, she couldn't help but smile. At least he was being less nervous than before. That was a good thing.

"Feel free to ask Moira for something to drink or just hang around and chat. We're just waiting for one more person for dinner. Richie, Neil, Troy, and Moira are all here. Clarice is running around somewhere, too."

[teapot_jones]

"Carrying the coat isn't bad, but wearing it wears on you." Oh God, what a stupid pun. Unashamed, Ianto flashed them all grins and peeled out of his own winter wear. "I'll drop this stuff in the kitchen, then? It's really after dinner things, though I suppose if people like, I could brew up a pot of tea."

It pleased him to no end to see Jack getting on with Lulu like gangbusters. And Bod seemed very relaxed, which was always a good thing. Relaxation in general. Since Bod seemed nervous with the decorating. ...Right.

He was babbling in his own head. Brilliant.

"Happy Christmas, everyone!" he called to the room in general, to get himself past his own mental awkwardness.

[greatcoatcapt]

Oh if only Bod knew. Jack's 'little black book' wasn't so much a little book as its own encyclopaedia. To list his former lovers would leave them all there until the sun exploded... and that was merely the humanoid ones. As the Doctor had once said: so many species, so little time. So, it may have been interesting to have Jack and Bod exchange 'stories'. Jack, however, knew he better 'be good' given this whole reconciliation thing.

"It does help," Jack said with a smile. "I was beginning to feel as if everyone here knew me and I knew no one in return. At least there's someone who doesn't know me from before. Pleasure is all mine... which usually is what counts in the end."

So much for Jack being 'good'.

"We'll find our way through to the others." Jack glanced at Ianto briefly then followed him in. Hands were wrapped around his grey braces, watching the others with a bemused expression on his face. "Hello, Happy Christmas, and a bah humbug for good measure."

[owingnobody]

"Well, I'm glad it helps." A hint of a smile danced in Bod's eyes. Maybe Jack was a 'Jack' after all-- a man with hidden powers, who knew ancient and mysterious secrets and, though not threatening, was still dangerous. Well, that was all right-- so long as he didn't see Bod as a child of prophesy, scheduled for elimination.

At the mention of the kitchen, Bod shook himself. "Oh... I left my bag on the table in there," he said. "I should go get it..."

[moirabyrne]

Moira noticed the entrance of more people. Goddess, how many did Lulu invite? But these were mostly familiar faces. Besides Troy, Moira recognized Richie, Neil and Bod (obviously), and Ianto had just arrived. "Happy Christmas," Moira answered back, making her way over to Ianto and the person she could only assume to be Jack. "I'm Moira. You must be Jack?" It would be embarrassing if he weren't, but all the same, he'd had the aura of what Lulu had described Jack as. So it wasn't a total stab in the dark. "Can I get anyone champagne, water, sparkling cider. I think Lulu put out candy canes if you feel like rotting your teeth before dinner."