At No Time || Bruno Mars

20

This was the first Thanksgiving that Trystan had ever spent alone. Bereft the typical commotion of boisterous laughter over the scraping of knives and forks against her mother's good china, Trystan felt alone in the studio, her legs crammed against her chest and a mug of hot chocolate warming her hand. Her notebook lied a top her knees, lyrics that were brainstormed scribbled against the pages.

She'd switched off the radio, sick of hearing about the Thanksgiving specials at local restaurants and reports from the parade back in New York. She'd gone every year since she was twelve, never bored of the large balloons of popular TV show characters and music, but she'd had to watch it from her TV before switching that off as well and cooping herself up in the studio to rid herself of her woes.

Her ear still rang from the phone conversation she had with her mother. She'd hardly had the nerve to call her and tell her she wouldn't make it home for one of their favorite holidays. Yvonne thought it almost blasphemous for Trystan to miss Thanksgiving, and she took her daughter's promise of visiting during Christmas and New Year's with a grain of salt.

Trystan sighed, running a hand across her forehead to ease the tension residing there. She wondered how everyone else was spending their holiday. She knew Angelique was over at Melissa's with her family, Neal had gone home to Louisiana, and Roger hadn't revealed where he'd gone, though it had to be somewhere exciting considering the smile he wore when he refused to let them all know. Though not voiced, she suspected Peter was allocating his time with Kimioko. For a brief moment, she wished for a partner to share her time with.

As her page lingered with words and her mug still overflown with whipped cream, Trystan heard the front door of the studio unlock and someone walk in. Setting her notebook down, she listened as the footsteps reached the room and her hideout was revealed.

"What are you doing here?" Trystan's brow roughened as she acknowledged Peter, surprised of his unexpected presence.

"I could ask you the same thing," he mused, similarly taken aback at her being there. He'd expected an empty studio where he could bide his time in uninterrupted boredom. "I thought you went back to New York?"

"Well, that was the plan." Trystan set down her cup. "But I waited too long to get the ticket, and the next flight out would have been two days from now. My mother's really mad at me," she sniggered with a shake of her head. Had Yvonne been able to get a belt through the phone, Trystan's hindquarters would have been glowing red.

"I can imagine. Ms. Yvonne didn't play when it came to her holidays." Peter traipsed to the couch and plopped down onto it, feeling little of the perturbation he would have usually felt being so near to Trystan. "I remember one year, my family hit hard times and couldn't afford a big dinner. Your mom made us food that lasted almost till Christmas, then she made us another one that that wasn't gone till Valentine's Day."

Trystan laughed at the exaggeration though she could see her mother doing something like that. It was one of Yvonne's life missions to feed everybody she could.

"That's my mother, alright." Trystan shook her head, missing home even more. "But what about you? Shouldn't you be at home eating a big meal with Kimioko right now?"

Peter paused, but then shrugged, placidity on his features. "Kimioko and I aren't big on holidays."

Astonished, Trystan countered, "Really? Thanksgiving used to be one of your favorites. Diane would would tell me how you'd always eat the most out of everyone."

Peter smirked at the truthful recollection, but shrugged again, "Kimioko never celebrated it much, and I can't cook worth a damn, so it's just another day to us really."