This Love

Thanksgiving Day Parade

He bounced his legs a bit, alerting her that he was awake. "Turn it up, kiddo," he instructed, nodding to the screen.

"Didn't want to wake you," she stated as she put it louder.

"Nah, I love this shit," he said, tucking an arm behind his head. "Love the big balloons."

Angela's dark eyes lit up with excitement as she nodded her head. "Me too! Snoopy's my favorite."

"Yeah? I'm more of a Garfield guy myself," he stated, enjoying the simplicity of the conversation; everything had felt so heavy lately with the Mayan war going on, that it was nice to talk about animated characters instead. "I love lasagna and hate Mondays just like him."

That made her giggle a bit, shaking her head at him. "You're silly, Kozi."

"He's lazy like him too," Happy said as he walked in and threw himself into the armchair. "I miss anythin'?"

Angela scrambled off the couch before climbing onto Happy's lap, angling herself so she was in a small pocket between his hip and the arm of the chair, her legs draped over his. Happy moved his arm around her shoulders, letting her snuggle into his side. Kozik knew if he breathed a word of this to anyone, Hap would cut out his tongue and feed it to him. He'd never betray the man's trust though; Happy had given him a family, something he could fall back on when he was at his weakest. He'd never be able to repay him for that. Happy tugged down the hood of her hoodie, raising an eyebrow. "Where'd you get this?"

" 's mine," Kozik muttered on a shrug.

Angela grinned, not at all ashamed. "What? It's warm and smells good," she explained on a shrug. "And you hide yours, Hap."

" 'cause they keep disappearin'," he shot back.

Kozik laughed; the kid was a regular hoodie stealer. "Keep it kid. Consider it a thanksgiving present."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Juice

Juice rang the bell on the front of Angela's building in a consistent beat, knowing she'd eventually wake up and get it. It was almost 6:30am on Thanksgiving day, and he had a surprise for her. It was something he'd been planning ever since she'd told him she was going to be alone on Thanksgiving since Raj and his family hadn't invited her to dinner with them, and she didn't have enough cash to go home to California. They'd planned to get together for something at night, but he'd gotten a better idea. "What?" her voice was sharp, grumpy.

"It's me," he replied, grinning despite the fact she couldn't see him. "Open up."

The door clicked open, and he rode the elevator to her floor. She was standing in the doorway of the apartment when he got out of it wearing a hoodie that looked suspiciously like the one he'd left at her house a few nights before. "What could you possibly want so early in the fuckin' morning?" she asked before yawning widely. She was not a morning person.

"Good morning to you, too. Put on warm clothes. We're goin' out," he said, not bothering to take off his snow jacket and boots. She raised an eyebrow, clearly wanting more information. He shook his head, snapping his fingers at her. "C'mon. Fast. Dress warm. Gonna be outside for a while."

She rolled her eyes and headed back to her room, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, "This better be good."

She came back out wearing a big black parka with a faux fur-lined hood, black pants, snow boots, and leather gloves. Her hair was done in two perfect braids, minimal makeup on her face. She was absolutely beautiful. "You ready?" he asked, trying not to stare at her for too long.