I Just Work Here...

Laughing softly at the other talking about the hum-bug, Tucker shook his head and took his hand back since he wanted to switch his hands to hold the gifts. “I know, I’m just messing with you. I like to make sure each Holiday has it’s own. It’s the same reason I put the cinnamon pine cones up in my apartment the day day before Thanksgiving since it just resembles the entire season. My whole apartment smells like cinnamon.” He told the other, sighing softly as he thought of his apartment. It was now starting to come together just in time for December first, which is exactly how he always planned it. 

“It’s creeping sooner and sooner because companies make the most money during that time because of gifts. It’s a vicious cycle, reason I tell people not to get me anything. I don’t want anything, I want to give. That’s the point of Christmas, isn’t it?” He questioned rhetorically, his gaze going to Declan as he laughed. “I do have the hum-bug problem, but only because I don’t like cheesy snow spray. We live in New York. It snows here. Why put fake shit in the window? Use cotton or something like everyone else.” Laughing again, he shook his head and then looked back to the window. “It’s alright. She takes a couple Aleve a day and it helps. But when she’s driving or holding stuff in the cold, she never wears gloves. I told her time and time again that she needs to but she just waves at me to stop talking.”

“I’ve been wanting to do that cinnamon pinecone thing, but I always forget. And I’m not even sure if my sisters would like it, so I don’t want to waste the money,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, his gaze going back to the window display. They did seem to be putting an awful lot of the spray can snow on the windows...His attention was drawn back to Tucker though when he heard the man going on what seemed like a philosophical mini-rant. “You’re getting a little deep for the holidays, Tucker,” he joked, though he nodded in agreement. “It is really heavy on the money aspect,” he conceded, thinking of the more tame Christmases he shared with his sisters. Of course, this one would be a little different now that Olivia was in the picture. Declan couldn’t help but laugh at the image of Tucker’s mom shushing him with a wave of her hand. “I’d love to see her shush you like that. Maybe it’s a move I can do after you’ve had too many martinis.”

“I could be. Or I could be trying to kill the hum-bug that’s up your ass.” He said with a laugh, knowing that Declan wasn’t really against Christmas Cheer. As his laughter died down, he clapped Declan on the shoulder playfully before looking to the display. “Yeah, you can. Too much with that fake snow spray on a tree.” Though, as Declan pointed out the bag, Tucker chuckled and jiggled the bags a bit. “Lord in Heaven no. I don’t want to die shopping. As much as I love giving gifts to those I care about, I don’t want to die saving a dollar on, what, a movie I’ll watch once? No. Cyber Monday just sounds like an internet nightmare, too. How slow the websites will be, how quickly things will disappear in an inventory. No. Just no. As for the bags, these are for my mom. Her arthritis is shit this time of year so I decided to get her some warm gloves since she keeps losing hers.”

“Hum-bug up my ass?” he repeated, looking a little disturbed at just the thought. “What kind of stories did you grow up listening to?” he couldn’t help but ask, shaking his head as if to rid himself of that mental image. “But there’s no hum-bug anywhere in or on me,” he added. “I just like giving each major holiday it’s time to shine. But Christmas keeps creeping up on everything,” he explained, stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets as he looked to the display. And just like Tucker said, the fake snow that was being sprayed around in the display now seemed to be a bit of an overkill. As he listened to Tucker ranting about holiday shopping, he laughed and grinned at the other man. “It sounds like you’re the one with the hum-bug problem. But I’m sorry to hear about your mom’s hands. I heard that seriously hurts.”

It wasn’t every day that Tucker was out shopping for Christmas decor, but his mother’s hands weren’t doing their best and she sent him out to do her errands. One of the things he knew he was getting her some nice, wool-lined gloves. Though, as he heard the soft comment as he was walking by, he smirked and leaned over Declan to surprise him. Figuring he shouldn’t actually say anything, he started to sing to his favorite bartender just to mess with him. “It’s the most wonderful time of the year…with the kids jingle-belling and everyone telling you be of good cheer! It’s most wonderful time of the year!” Tucker sung to him, laughing afterwards and stepping back so he could look into the window. “I think it looks kind of pretty.”

He jumped slightly as he noticed a shadow looming close to him. Someone singing a Christmas song wasn’t what he expect and he certainly didn’t expect the person singing to be Tucker. “Are you trying to kill me with Christmas cheer?” he asked, looking to the display again as Tucker checked it out. “It is pretty. It’s kind of hard to go wrong with tinsel and snowflakes,” he pointed out, glancing over to Tucker as he noticed the bags. “Are you shopping already? I thought you would be more of a Black Friday or Cyber Monday sort of shopper.”

“I can’t wait for it to be over already” Shaking his head he was forced to stop for a moment and not running into the man in front of him. Not taking a single look at the decoration he sighed, thinking whether to walk around the man or play out his annoyance to get it off his chest.

Hannah laughed freely before replying to him, “I’ll drop by the bar around third week of November so that we can enjoy Christmas music together.” It was always a pleasure to meet Declan, he was just so genuinely friendly and patient. “I’ve been well. And yourself? How is work? And family?”

“Good, I’ll look forward to seeing you there. We’re getting more of the sad and angry drunks now, so it’s getting to be a bit of a downer sometimes,” he admitted. “I’ve been at work more than I want to admit. And my niece might be starting her terrible two phase early,” he said, pretty much summing up his life so far. “Are you doing anything fun for Christmas? I know the hardcore fans like you always go see the tree lighting at the Rockefeller Center.”

Tessa looked up at her brother and smirked, the expression half-exhausted. “One of those, actually.” A lazy motion was made towards Olivia, the stroller coming to a halt in time for him to place his kiss. “She was having a fashionista moment, threw a complete fit over wearing anything normal except this. I give it a couple of years before she’s wanting a Jack Skellington themed birthday party.” Bright eyes rolled as she leaned forward to unbuckle the child, sighing deeply as she sat back.

“Tough day? Try days.  Between what happened with Matt and—” Pale lips pressed together tightly as a thought came to mind. After a beat of silence she sighed and turned to him, offering his fussing niece in partial hopes that a fresh face might calm her. “Have you heard from Nate?” The question came softly, brows knitting in.  The moment Wren’s face was plastered all over the news her brother and Alex came to mind, specifically their wellbeing and safety - Though only the former was something she could discuss with her siblings, Alex’s affiliation kept close to her heart and away from her siblings. “Since everything went down with Wren, I mean. I just….I don’t know, I’m a bit worried, y’know?”

“Seriously? Is she channeling Avalon now?” he asked with a grin, watching as the huffy baby was released from the confines of her stroller. “Who wouldn’t like some Halloween in the summer?” he asked, taking Olivia from her mother without hesitation. Being an uncle was something Declan was enjoying and trying to be his best at. Perhaps he got a little too protective or too anxious over his sisters. They were grown women after all. But little Olivia was still a baby and perfectly suitable for anyone to be protective over.

“I think I once read an article about how adults and children perceive time different, so that would probably explain why time seems to go faster as an adult. Or why there never seems to be enough time when we need to get something done.” Drew was mostly just people watching, since there wasn’t much else for him to do these days. He didn’t find himself in a tight spot, at the moment, so there was no need for him to steal anything. “Were you hoping to catch some early Black Friday sales?”

He looked over with a raised brow, not expecting to be treated to some knowledge bombs. But it wasn’t unwelcome, either. “Huh, that does make some sense. Time did fly when i was a kid,” he said, looking back to the display. “Black Friday? Oh, no. Not me. I don’t like dealing with all of that craziness. I’d rather just stay home and eat some leftovers.”

Carl gave a small breath of a laugh at the man’s comment, raising a silent brow as he followed the other’s gaze towards the department store window. He wasn’t sure if it was comforting or annoying that the workers were beginning the grueling decorating process for Christmas….in November. Though he had to suppose it was better than those who started the day after Halloween…. He liked Christmas too, but… there is a time and place. “…Seems t’happen once every few hundred days.” The Texan spoke, a small hint of a smirk curling on his lips as he shrugged. “Think it’s in the 350 range… Could be wrong though.” 

The random remark caused Declan to grin and let out a laugh, looking around so he could find the source of the sarcasm. “I think you may have your holidays mixed up,” he said with a grin. “Are you sure you aren’t thinking about Leap Year? I know the name suggests it has to do with years, but it’s actually days, I think.” He looked back to the decorations, wondering idly if Christmas music would be playing in that store as well. Thankfully that wasn’t something they had to put up with at the bar, but there was a set up for customers to choose their own songs. Which could be just as bad.

“I don’t know how, that thing took up like ten blocks. I might actually go see them light it up this year. I’ve been back two years and I don’t think I’ve even bothered to check it out.” Marshall commented, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t celebrated a proper Christmas since before entering the military. He was always either on base or, like last year, he was working. “Yeah, that’s true.” his hand dug into the inside of his jacket pocket to search for his pack of cigarettes. The frequency in which he visited Declan’s bar made him aware that the place seemed to be getting even more crowded as the weeks inched closer to the holidays. “I’m sure you’ll enjoy that. How’s your sister been?” 

“To be honest, neither do I. But I have been practically living inside the bar, so that might be it.” Declan shrugged as he thought it over, trying to place where he actually had been when they brought the tree in. He rarely had any free time lately since he was taking up all the extra shifts he could. And if he wasn’t in the bar, he was at home and asleep. Glancing over at Marshall when he agreed, he realized that the man would probably be able to spot the trend of patrons as easily as someone who actually worked there. “Yeah, I probably will. It’s more fun than I thought being an uncle,” he admitted with a soft laugh. “She’s doing good. Olly’s getting fiesty, so I’m sure that’s a load of fun for Tess.”

❝ Tell me about it, I saw Christmas decorations in August. Half the seasonal items were bags of candy and the other half was stocking and ornaments. It seems pretty on par for America’s hard on for erasing genocide though, so I guess there’s no point in even bringing up Thanksgiving, huh? ❞ 

“To be honest, I’m one of those weird humans who start singing Christmas songs as soon as Halloween ends,” Hannah joked, coming up to stand beside Declan. She’d spotted the man as she was walking down the street and was approaching him to say hello when she overheard him. “Hello, Declan!”

“Also to be honest, I love Christmas music,” he said in a joking confidential manner. “But I’m just not as hard core as you. I wait till at least the second or third week of November,” he added, turning away from the store display as Hannah actually greeted him. “Hey, Hannah,” he said, his smile as genuine and friendly as it always was when he saw her. “How are you doing?”

“I saw that big ass tree comin’ into the city about a week ago. Won’t be long before Times Square is crazier than it usually is. Last year, I saw a lady sucker punch another woman over a toy.” Marshall laughed, remembering back on the incident with some amusement. The scuffle had all been the result of some weird looking animal that hatched out of an egg. He wasn’t looking forward to his daily commute being congested with tourists in to see the tree in Rockefeller center or to go shopping on 42nd Street. “You got any plans for the holidays?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s what the city needs,” Hallie offered, standing beside him and looking into the same store window, quiet for a second as she surveyed the snowflakes being put on display. “It’s certainly starting to feel like Christmas. Plus - you know, it’s supposed to be about peace on Earth, goodwill, so on?” She shrugged, showing she wasn’t sure she even necessarily believed it. “I only started celebrating Christmas when I was 12,” she said after a moment, not sure what exactly compelled her to say it - it was true, considering her birth parents had been Jewish, though not exactly observant of holidays when they were far busier trying to survive the cold. “Sort of bittersweet.”

“I hadn’t thought of it that way,” he said, tilting his head to side slightly in thought as he reconsidered the display being put together. Hallie fell silient next to him and when he glanced over to her, he saw that she was studying the display as well. “It’s not like I mind Christmas at all. It’s actually my favorite holiday,” he offered, knowing he wasn’t some Grinch about the holidays. “I just think that sometimes people forget about that goodwill stuff and just focus on all the shiny stuff,” he added with a shrug before chuckling and shaking his head. “Or I’m just spending too much time listening to the drunks at work.”