Oh did I love writing these little snippets and piecing them all together... :)
Happy Thanksgiving to all those who celebrate! Regardless of the holiday, I am so very thankful to all of you who read my writing! Thank you!!!
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Happy
Happy groaned as he felt a little hand tap the side of his face. He'd heard her little footsteps when she walked into his room, but he'd ignored them. Angela usually left him alone if he was sleeping. Today was different, though. He knew what she wanted, and he had a feeling she wasn't going to go away. He opened his eyes to see her big dark eyes looking back at him. "Hap," she whispered, shaking his shoulder now. "Hap, the balloons!"
He knew she meant the big Thanksgiving Day parade in New York with the gigantic balloons. His four year old cousin had been talking about it the whole week. It was one of the few things she remembered about Thanksgiving, and since this was the first one without her father, he was willing to oblige her with whatever she wanted. She smacked him again, repeating, "Hap, the balloons!"
"All right, all right," he muttered, sitting up with a grunt. She was wearing a t-shirt and blue pajama pants with motorcycles on them. There were small goosebumps on her arms due to how cold his room in the garage was. He stood, grabbing a sweatshirt from his closet. "Arm's up."
She put her arms in the air, and he dropped the sweatshirt onto her, chuckling at how the fabric completely engulfed her. She giggled in response, peeking up at him from underneath the hood. "Balloons, Hap?"
He nodded, scooping her up onto his hip and carrying her towards the living room. He sat down in the big armchair with her, letting her snuggle into his side as he reached for the remote. He put on the damn Thanksgiving day parade, gently pulling down the hood of his sweatshirt on her so she could actually see. Angela cheered, clapping her sweatshirt-sleeved covered hands together. She was enraptured by the whole thing. Ooh-ing and Aah-ing over every new float, every balloon. Dancing in her seat with the singers and dancers. He couldn't help but smile just a little at her excitement, grateful something so simple could make her so happy. Things had been rough since her father's passing, and he was glad to see her smiling, hear her laugh. She was a much needed light in the darkness of grief that had invaded their house. He squeezed her side to get her attention. "You good, kid?" he asked.
She looked up at him, dark eyes sparkling happily. "Yeah! This is the best!" she replied before sitting up slightly and pressing a kiss to his scruffy cheek. "Love you, Hap."
He smiled, nodding slowly. "Love you too, kid."
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Kozik
Kozik woke up with the feeling of something heavy on his legs. This was the first time he'd been invited to spend Thanksgiving with the Lowman-Ruiz family. He and Hap had gotten in late the night before, and he'd crashed on the couch. Opening one eye, he found Happy's eight year old cousin sitting at the other end of the couch, her legs draped over his calves. She was wearing the hoodie he'd thrown on the armchair the night before, and it looked more like a dress than anything. The big hood was pulled over her head, so she couldn't see him, hadn't noticed he was awake. The remote was in her hand, and she was bouncing her little legs excitedly as she surfed through the channels. Finally, she settled on one, and he couldn't help but grin when he saw the Thanksgiving Day parade on the screen. She made sure the volume was low, so as not to wake him. For someone so young, she was very considerate. He wondered how many times she'd been yelled out for blaring the TV when someone was sleeping.
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."
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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.
She pulled on the New York Mets beanie he'd bought for her awhile back while she nodded. "Where we goin'?"
"Just trust," he said, leading her back out to the street. They hopped on the subway, and she fell asleep almost instantly, her head on his shoulder. His heart fluttered at how pretty she looked while she was sleeping. He almost wished the ride was longer. It pulled to a stop, and he gently shook her awake. "C'mon."
Her brows furrowed as he started leading her through the throngs of people lining the streets. He knew she was still only half-awake so it wasn't quite making sense to her. He'd pulled a few strings and managed to get on the list for a special viewing area. It wasn't until he pulled her towards the front barricade that she finally figure it out. "Is this...is this for the parade?"
"You said it was your dream to go and that you didn't have anythin' else goin' on so...ta da! Front row spot," he said, arms stretched wide to gesture to their practically perfect spot.
"How the hell did you get this access?" she asked, eyes wide in shock as she looked around.
Truth be told, the Ozone crew was responsible for making sure the suits that helped put on the parade were properly fueled with enough coke to keep them running through the night. He'd just asked around and threw in a few discounts here and there that he paid the difference for. He shrugged a shoulder. "I know a guy."
"Holy shit," she breathed before throwing her arms around him in a tight hug. "You're the best! Thank you!"
He hugged her back, feeling a little thrill go through him at the feel of her warm lips briefly touching his cold cheek. She pulled away first, a slight redness to her cheeks. "Y-you're welcome," he said on a shrug. "Happy to make your dreams come true."
Her blush deepened, and she smacked his arm. "Goof."
He'd never given a shit about the parade before, but to see her dark eyes sparkling with excitement, her whole face lit up in the biggest smile, made it all worth it. He loved hearing her laughter, watching her sing and dance. Loved the wonderment on her face every time one of the big balloons went by. Loved the way she babbled about how amazing it was afterwards while they were sitting in a little booth in the closest Chinese restaurant. It was the best Thanksgiving he'd ever had.
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Angela
Angela woke up in her childhood room, feeling all sorts of lonely in her tiny twin bed. It'd been a long time since she'd slept in a bed without Juice in it, and it'd been considerably harder than she'd thought. She, Juice, Happy, and Kozik were all crammed into her Ma and Aunt's house for Thanksgiving. Hap had slept in his room while Juice took the air mattress in the living room, and Kozik, ever the cock block, took the couch in the living room. Kozik being there meant she couldn't sneak down in the middle of the night and join Juice on the air mattress...nor could Juice sneak upstairs to squish in the tiny twin bed with her; she loved Kozik, but he had a big mouth and neither of them wanted to risk upsetting Elena on Thanksgiving.
She grabbed Juice's hoodie off of her desk chair where he'd left it the night before after his shower. Pulling it on, she turned her face into the hood of it, breathing in the scent of him that lingered in the fabric. She glanced at the clock, noting its early hour. It wasn't too bad, though. Nothing like the wake up time had been on Thanksgiving when she was in New York. Going to the parade had become a tradition for her and Juice in her short time there. They'd gone together every year. Looking back, she wished she and Juice had been together back then. That she could've stood beside him at the parade, wrapped in his arms while they snuck sips from his usual canteen of Irish coffee, and he whispered trivia about the balloons in her ear instead of yelling them over the roaring crowd.
Walking into the living room, she smiled at the sight before her. Kozik was passed out on the couch, one arm tucked underneath his head, other hand on his stomach. Juice was on the air mattress, mouth agape, snoring like a lawn mower. The remote was on his chest, one of his hands covering it. She knelt on the mattress, crawling over to him and pecking his cheek. He grumbled sleepily, his eyes opening just a little. "Mornin' beautiful," he murmured, cupping her cheek. He leaned his head up to capture her lips in a soft kiss.
"Mornin' goof," she replied with a big smile. She took the remote from him, sitting up slightly to turn on the TV. She flipped through the channels until she found the parade, taking care to lower it so they could hear, but it wouldn't wake Kozik. Juice sat up a bit, moving his arms around her from behind and setting his chin on her shoulder. It was raining in New York that year, and she was a little happy to be inside, wrapped in Juice's arms in the warmth of her living room instead of shivering in the cold.
He lips pressed into her ear for a brief moment before he whispered, "You know, the first big balloons were pulled by horses way back in the day?"
She smiled, leaning back into his embrace as she shook her head. "Remember when we tried to find a way to hold the big balloons?"
He chuckled, and she could feel the vibrations in her chest in the best way. "Asked everyone I knew. Still don't get how to do it."
" 's all right. Think it was more fun watching from the sidelines," she said honestly. She turned her head, kissing his cheek. "Kinda like this even more."
"Gross, get offa her. Too early for that shit," Kozik grumbled from his place on the couch. "Turn that up, kiddo."
Juice moved his arms from around her, fixing the pillows behind him and inching up towards the couch so he could lean against it. Angela rolled her eyes, turning up the volume and moving to sit next to him. Kozik's large hand reached out to muss her hair lovingly. A few minutes later, Happy trudged in, dropping a kiss to the crown of her head before he threw himself into the armchair. "I miss anythin'?"
"Nope," she replied around a yawn. When she was little, she would've jumped onto him, snuggling into his side to watch from right next to him. He rarely was open to cuddling, but he did for special occasions or if she felt sick. Being close to Happy always made her feel safe, loved even if he didn't necessarily cuddle back. It didn't matter to her. She hadn't sat on his lap like that since she was a kid, though. Still, just being close to him with Koz on the couch behind her, Juice beside her....she'd never felt more loved or safe in her whole life. The parade was a few hours long, she knew, but she was already sad about it ending. The end would break the happy little bubble they were in, invite things in from the real world. She'd have to get up, start cooking with Elena or setting the table or running to the store for last minute things. She didn't want that. She was perfectly content to stay right there in that living room with the three men she loved the most. It was one of the most perfect Thanksgivings she'd had in a long time.
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I know they're not perfect, but all these ideas hit me on my drive home today, and I had to get them out. :)
Any ideas or suggestions for more one shots are always welcome!!!
Let me know what you think!
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