The Estate, Sidra, Glacia, Thursday (Fandom Time)

[glacial_queen]

Winsol had been going on now for several days. The family had just decamped from SaDiablo Hall in Dhemlan back home to Glacia to continue the festivities in their own home. There would be several more days of formal events, but this evening was just for family and close friends (specifically friends close enough to be family). The children were tumbling around like puppies, a mix of Earth and Kaeleeran carols were playing from floating music spheres scattered throughout the suite, fires crackled in the large hearths, and food and punch and hot spiced rum were piled high on the sideboards throughout. "Happy Winsol!" Karla said, holding up her cup in a toast.

"Happy Winsol!" the room chorused back to her.

[Open to residents of Glacia, dear friends, and anyone who thinks they'd have gotten an invite]

Comments

[weldedtomyspine]

"Well, no specific ideas, but I've got a lot of faith in our creativity." Especially if they had enough motivation.

[heromaniac]

"That's all you've got to go up against our sisters and my dad?" She snorted, shaking her head and snuggling closer. "And you had me excited."

[weldedtomyspine]

"Excited?" he prompted, waggling his eyebrows outrageously.

[heromaniac]

"I was. But if your plan is just to wing it, it's no use, is it?" she teased. "Also, the room is full of telepaths, so you may want to watch what you're thinking." As if he hadn't already blabbed.

[weldedtomyspine]

"Ugh. I know. That's probably the most stressful part of the night. Trying to keep things under wraps."

He hadn't said anything.

[heromaniac]

"Don't stress too much," Momoko softened her tone, but still teased: "If you get a headache, you'll be unbearable for the whole holiday."

"So if you've kept it under wraps, how did Dinah find out?" Hmmmm?

[weldedtomyspine]

"I didn't say anything!" Jaime declared quickly.

But it was overreactions like that that had probably given the game away.

[heromaniac]

"It's a party full of telepaths, remember?" Momoko laughed and poked him. "And you thought I'd be the first one to break."

Honestly, so had she... the wines here in Glacia were verrrry sweet and tasty.

"Though that does mean you were probably thinking about it or she wouldn't have picked up on it as having actually happened." Momoko dropped her voice. "Were you?"

[weldedtomyspine]

"Thinking of you?" Jaime asked, grinning just a bit.

Because, yeah. Duh.

[heromaniac]

That got a chuckle. A delighted one, but a chuckle nonetheless.

"If you were only thinking of me, Dinah wouldn't have been so sure. You were totally thinking about us, weren't you?"

[weldedtomyspine]

"Hmm. I suppose that that's possible..."

Or, you know, definitely what had happened.

Was still happening, really.

[heromaniac]

"Totally your fault if you get teased by the Karla and the Boyos, then." She snuggled closer to him, his sort-of confession making her infinitely happy. "Though they're more likely to offer suggestions and techniques than to really tease you." Or toys. And if Jaime used any of those, Momoko totally didn't want to know who they were from. "And Priestly... Dinah said to warn you she was going to tell him."

[weldedtomyspine]

"Priestly's cool. He probably won't, um, tease me too much?"

Yeah. Right, Jaime.

[heromaniac]

"Probably not. More likely you two will just compare how many blankets to use when it's 50 degree outside."

"Oh, but speaking of people who won't tease... Are you and I driving down to visit your grandmother this Christmas? I brought her gift along just in case, but I can mail it from El Paso if you don't want to go." On a long road trip. The two of them. Alone.

[weldedtomyspine]

"Hmmm." Jaime pretended to consider that.

"We'd probably have to drive, you know. To keep up appearances."

[heromaniac]

"That's a really long drive. We'd have to take breaks because of the heat."

[weldedtomyspine]

"Maybe we should plan to stop overnight during the drive," Jaime mused. "You know, so we aren't too tired."

[heromaniac]

"..." Okay that made her giggle again. "Do you really think we could get away with that? We never stopped midway before."

[weldedtomyspine]

Jaime chuckled. "Well, we probably could. I mean, who's going to stop us?"

"But, well, people would probably ask why..."

[heromaniac]

"You're grandmother wouldn't. She'd just give us that look." The one that his mom had inherited.

Then an idea struck her and she sat up. "What if we left really late? We could visit Mrs. Wilson and leave from there!"

[weldedtomyspine]

Jaime blinked. "How would that work?"

[heromaniac]

"Well," Sneaky plans time! "We spend Christmas with your family and then suddenly one of us remembers that we haven't said hello to Mrs Wilson since we were back in town! We can say we will leave from there for the ranch instead of from your parents'. But! Then we spend too much time with Mrs Wilson and leave later that usual!"

"Only not very late. I don't like crossing the border after dark." Not in a car at least.

[weldedtomyspine]

He stared at her for a second, then snickered. "You want to drag Mrs. Wilson into this?"

[heromaniac]

She blushed. "It's not like we'll be doing anything there! She won't know!"

"And anyway, we haven't seen her for a while."

[weldedtomyspine]

"Are you sure she won't figure it out?" Jaime asked, clearly teasing.

Because if he were seriously worried, he would have been blushing, too.