saveourearth | Baby it's cold outside [mingle]

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Baby it's cold outside [mingle]

Date: 23.12.2018-30.12.2018
Characters: Open!
Note: Timeline behind cut at the bottom of the post!

23-24th December
With the schools out for Christmas, and the last few days of Christmas shopping closing in, there really is no escaping it now. Everyone but the best prepared is rushing to finalise the last little bits. Excitement is gathering as the shortest day of the year comes and goes.

The weather reports for Christmas are standard: grey, with light showers and patches of sun. As usual, a high chance of snow was predicted at the beginning of the month, but as the day approaches it has changed back to the more seasonal and typical (if less picturesque) weather: rain. But, with days to go, that suddenly changes again, as the weather reporters talk about the sudden turning of an artic wind, bringing with it sub zero temperatures, and maybe, just maybe, a white Christmas. Temperatures drop to -5c during the day and -10c overnight, particularly cold for this part of the world. On the morning of Christmas Eve, with less than 24 hours notice, the snow begins, falling lightly at first, and then heavily. By lunch time, the south east, including Mossgate, is a foot deep in snow and chaos has spread. Just a covering of snow is enough to cause panic, with infrastructure and transport unequipped to deal with it, and this is unexpected and heavy, and there has been no time to prepare. The trains have given up, promised refunds, and stopped. The busses have also all but stopped, and in Mossgate town centre just one or two an hour are running to the villages to ferry home those still stuck in town. Gatwick airport, which is having it's worst year since the ash clouds in 2010, has also officially given up and closed, redirecting flights to Stansted or Birmingham. Just after midnight, even the motorways close, and the smaller roads are unpassable much earlier. Panicked shoppers, trying to grab supplies for the unexpected weather, are being shooed out of stores early so that coworkers have a chance of getting home before the last transports stop. And it's still snowing. By nightfall there's almost two feet of snow, an almost unprecedented amount, and the news is talking about the possibility of powercuts and disruptions to water supplies. Sure enough, around 8PM, a powercut hits Mossgate and the surrounding area, wiping out the last of the Christmas cheer in the town centre as the festive lights go black – along with everyone's houses.

Christmas Day
Christmas morning opens to fresh, white snow all around, picture post card beautiful, and small showers keep it fresh looking for most of the day no matter how many snow angels, snowmen and igloos are built. That's probably little compensation for those stuck: the news is full of heartfelt stories of the struggle to get home for Christmas, and of locals in towns and cities along the southeast welcoming people stuck into their homes for Christmas. While the power is back on in Mossgate town centre by about midnight, the surrounding areas, including Moss Manor village, are still without power, with the word from the electricity board that it's unlikely to be fixed anytime soon. Neighbours with gas cookers and stove tops suddenly become the most popular people around (but at least with the temperatures outside dealing with food from the fridge and freezer is relatively easy).

In Moss Manor, the church hall, which has both a gas cooker and gas heating, is opened up for those who are unable to stay in their own homes. People are invited to bring along what food they have to share and join in with a community Christmas. The community feeling is only shattered when the power comes back on at 5:20PM, just before the repeat of the Queen's Speech on BBC2 and Strictly Come Dancing on BBC1 start. A short but fierce battle ensues over which to show on the big screen. With moments to go, Pat Marsh puts her foot down and casts the deciding vote for Strictly, promising that she'll show the Queen's Speech from iPlayer directly afterwards.

As if that isn't enough, Mossgate and it's surroundings have one other surprise waiting for them on Christmas morning. Father Christmas has been through the entire council area, and apparently not one single person has been good. Every fire place has been decorated with traditional stockings full of neatly wrapped coal, one stocking for each member of the family. For those who don't have a fireplace, the oven has been selected as a replacement, and the stockings hang merrily from the oven door instead. If it's a prank, it's seen as bad taste, especially in homes with small children, but it's also generally agreed that given the weather it's rather backfired (not that anyone still has a coal fire but still).

25th-30th December
The snow finally stops overnight on Christmas evening/Boxing Day morning, but it remains cold, the temperatures only picking up at the weekend. Between the remaining snow and the ice formed where it melts, transport remains awful, with the connections to the villages particularly bad. Due to the Highspeed line, the trains from Mossgate to London are back up and running by the 27th, but other routes take days to be cleared. Likewise, the motorways are at least traversable by the 26th, but some smaller roads are still unaccessible until the weekend. Food supplies are slow to come through, and when the stores reopen on Boxing Day after Christmas closures, the shelves are immediately stripped bare again, especially of essentials such as bread and milk (although anything and everything is subject to panic buying, up to and including shampoo).

All of this chaos doesn't stop some people going out to the Boxing Day sales, with queues forming outside Next, which has advertised it's traditional early opening times of 6AM, despite the cold and the snow (and the fact that they don't actually manage to open until almost 7 due to lack of staff).

But as the temperatures rise back to a seasonal temperature in the single figures, things start to return to normal in time for the count down to New Years.

Timeline:

24th: Heavy snow starts unexpectedly in the morning
Transport is badly affected
A powercut hits the Mossgate area at around 8PM
Power is returned to Mossgate town by midnight, the villages including Moss Manor won't have power until well into the 25th

25th: Stockings appear overnight for each member of the family in every home containing coal
Moss Manor church hall is opened to the community
Moss Manor and the other villages have no power until 5PM

26th-29th: Panic buying and lack of supplies affects food availability
The snow continues to affect transport

30th: Temperatures return to normal for the time of year (0-10c)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

As soon as Sadie has mentioned the extended family party, an apology and retraction are poised to be offered only to then fade when the decline becomes an invitation. Relief apparent, he nods with a smile as he rises up to his feet and gives her hands a ginger tug to request her to follow, “I will have to actually ask my aunts before I can accept for them, but I wouldn’t miss it.” The new formal outfit can certainly wait if attire for the party is more casual.

Once Sadie is also standing, he’ll step closer and tilt his head to kiss her softly with hands held together between them. Lingering a moment in the gesture, he’ll part to ask her with a glance towards the gifts, “You’ll have to send me the details for dinner and the party, but for now…would you like me to carry your kotatsu upstairs so you can test it out?”

Sadie nods, "Of course, the official invite is in with the presents for your Aunts but I wanted to give you a head's up."

She smoothly follows Ben's tug, melting into the kiss that awaits her. Sadie will never not be absolutely enamoured by kissing and being kissed by Ben. "Sounds like a plan, we need to get Squash's Seal of Approval if it's to stay in the house after all."

Edited 2019-01-17 22:29 (UTC)

Her initiative to ask him in person is quite thoughtful, and he can take the days ahead of time to prepare mentally for a fairly large gathering. All of people who may want to make certain Sadie has someone worthwhile or may simply be curious.

Offer accepted after the kiss, he gives her hands a little squeeze before he lets go with a warm smile lingering. Turning to squat down at the kotatsu, he gathers the futon to hold it under then lifts the whole table up with ease, “If all else fails, maybe I can bribe the inspector.” Joke aside, he looks to Sadie to lead the way up to her room and carefully carries the kotatsu sideways to move through doorways and keep mindful of the walls at the stairs. Once he has it through the doorway of her room, he’ll look to her for direction of where to set it down and plug in. A small switch triggered in the cord allows her to dial the intensity of the heat from a fair minimum up to a safe maximum.

Sadie makes sure to give Ben the room he needs to pick up and manoeuvre the kotatsu, and follows him up the stairs.

"Word on the street is that food, scratches, or catnip might work as bribes but don't quote me on that." She jokes before pointing near to her bed, "How about there, far enough from the bed that I wont trip but close enough that I can lean against the bed when sitting at it?"

"If I'd heard that, then I certainly didn't hear it from you," he plays along.

Once in her room, he follows the direction and sets the table down with adequate space between the edge of the table and the side of her bed so that she could slide in easily and have enough room to prop with a pillow if needed to prevent the bed frame from digging into her back. He looks for the best outlet available, one where he can lead the cord under something out of the way, and plugs it in to switch on. Gesturing one hand with an open palm to the table as the heater starts to cycle, he smiles broadly, "After you."

Sadie is more than happy to plonk herself down between the kotatsu and the bed, practically melting as she tucks her legs under the table.

"Ooohhhh, this is even better than you made it sound, and sounded amazing enough." She pats the ground next to her, "Come on, I think a good cuddle session is in order."

Pleased to see her visible reaction as Sadie settles with her legs under the futon portion of the kotatsu, his smile softens from excited to a more affectionate expression. The pat on the ground is heeded without delay, and he eases himself down next to her and scoots in sideways to tuck his hips at the corner of the table. Lifting his arm closest to Sadie, he waits for her to lean over for him to wrap his arms around her shoulders, “I was hoping you’d say that.” He came over early for a reason.

Sadie certainly does not need any more encouragement than that, tucking herself against Ben and wrapping her arms around his torso.

"I know I said I was going to leave you for the kotatsu but I've had a change of heart. How do you feel about a three-way?" She grins cheekily, "You know it'd be really hot."

Second hand brought across to her, he slides his hand along the upper part of her arm and shoulder in a gentle rub to further encourage relaxation. Benjiro finds a bit of support leaning his nearer shoulder to the edge of the bed and even sneaks one foot under the futon, then leans a cheek against her hair.

Snickering at her playful jest, he hums thoughtfully, “The kotatsu and I have been getting pretty close recently.... It might work. A slow burn of sorts.”

Sadie starts to giggle, "The slowest burn. I feel like things might get a little heated if we keep on going like this."

As soon as Ben tucks a foot under the futon Sadie presses her own feet against it, the warmth of the kotatsu stopping her from stealing all his body heat like she always does. Sitting together and cuddling for a while is nice, though eventually the two of them are disturbed by the energetic appearance of Tigger, followed closely by Amber, and then a slow Squash bringing up the rear.

"I think we're about to have some competition for the kotatsu," Sadie comments wrily to Ben as Tigger comes and shoves his way between the two.

"As long as nothing goes up in smoke," he says through a slim smile.

The habit of her warming her feet against his leg or some part of it is like clockwork, and his hard work on the kotatsu is immediately rewarded as the heater tempers the chill of the touch. Content to sit with her and chat about holiday traditions and possible things for them to do together over the winter break, Benjiro is not surprised as the three felines enter the room. Cats always seem to know when something worth their while is around.

He scoffs softly at Tigger trying to shove down between them and shakes his head, "There are three other sides and you want to go between us?" As amusing as he finds it to remain a road block, he pushes through his free leg to twist enough to give the boy a way through and under the warming table.

Tigger just shoves between them more forcefully, treating Ben to a long stare and an annoyed 'mreow', because of course he has to get under this way. Amber follows and starts timidly sniffing at Ben, the shy cat deciding to scrunch herself up to the larger of the two humans.

"That's you told," Sadie snickers at Ben even as Tigger digs his claws into her leg trying to get onto her lap, "So Ben, does your family have anything different that you do as a part of your holiday celebrations? Something that isn't normally concidered a normal part of the season?"

Benjiro chuckles softly at the annoyed sound from Tigger and the comment from Sadie. Apparently under is not the goal yet, so he settles back down in time for Amber to select him as a heat source. Already well trained by the felines, Benjiro gently scritches Amber in her favorite spots as he watches Tigger taking Sadie’s lap by force.

“So it seems.”

Then Sadie asks regarding the holiday, and he shrugs a shoulder, “I guess we do. My parents blended the traditions of both sides of my family. My father contributed parts from here, and obviously my mother from Japan. It might be easier to explain what people do in Japan in general first.” He looks for a sign from Sadie before proceeding, then hits on the biggest differences, “Keep in mind that Christmas started catching on in the 1970s in Japan because a store decided to hold a Christmas sale. It was very popular marketing and adopted quickly. There isn’t any religious observation to it. So Christmas Eve is treated as a date night. If you’re not on a date, you’re thought to be a lonely person. Popular dating spots are the illumination light displays put up in amusement parks or outdoor areas since most people don’t have space for storing lights and a Christmas tree. They can be visited before and on the holiday of course. And when you go out sometimes you see women dressed up like Santa, a reindeer, or a christmas tree. Costumes are worn mostly on Christmas. On the holiday, almost everyone eats fried chicken, especially from KFC. Sometimes you have to order a day or more in advance to get a meal. Japan doesn’t really have turkey, so chicken is the next best option. The day ends with eating a Christmas cake. Traditionally, it’s a strawberry shortcake. Even convenience stores carry them for the holiday.”

“So my parents take Christmas Eve as a date night, and I always watched a Christmas movie marathon with Emiko. The Christmas meal changed depending on where we lived, but we started having fried chicken when we lived in the United States. Just a couple times. Presents and small decorations in the house, with at least a tabletop tree. And always the cake.”

Sadie continues to giggle at the cats as Squash slowly worm's his way under the kotatsu to complete the group, then quiets down to listen to Ben.

"Oh, I didn't know that that was what people in Japan do on Christmas. It sounds really nice, something small and relaxing, especially the movie marathon with Emiko," Sadie perks up, "Oh, and it's something you can do with her even though you're not together!

Do you think you'll do anything like that with your aunts this year?"

Age brings wisdom.

“Definitely! The time difference makes it harder to coordinate, but we’ve be watching a movie a day instead when we can. She said five minimum,” he reports.

As for his great aunts... “Possibly. Last year Aunt Rosemary made a huge breakfast, we exchanged presents, and then Aunt Agatha got out some old radio dramas themed for Christmas for us to listen to. They’re actually pretty entertaining, and I hope we can listen to more of them.” Later in the day of course there are plans for Russell to stop in which has Benjiro more eager than last year since he has started getting closer to his cousin.

“Are there any traditions in your family that you’re looking forward to?”

"Ooooooooo, now that sounds great! Well, Christmas Day isn't that much different to most people, though we always watch Professor When and then go for an evening walk as a family."

She grins, "We kind of get second Chrismas, Mum always does Fiesta de Los Tres Reyes Mages with us and we'll have a ring-shaped cake called Gâteau des Rois that's filled with marzipan and that's when we open our presents from Mum's family," Sadie giggles, "James and I always complained that we didn't get a day off for 'Second Christmas'."

The traditions of watching Professor When and a walk sound quite relaxing, especially should the weather stay as pleasant as it has been in the last month.

Curiosity nudged by the idea of a second Christmas, Benjiro listens as she describes the second holiday and the cake with it. Mostly joking, he asks, “So, which day should I drop by to help with the leftover cake?” That’s on the assumption that it might survive a couple of days.

"The seventh, we celebrate on the sixth so the next day would be the best time to acquire yourself some cake. If you're working that evening I'll bring some to school for you to try, it is really nice."

“Heh, you don’t need to actually do that, Sadie. I appreciate it, very much in fact, but that’s for you and your family to enjoy on the holiday. I’ll have enough sweets before New Years is here,” he backtracks from the jest carefully with a warm smile. There is no reason for him to impose, “Thank you.”

Edited 2019-03-17 01:40 (UTC)

"Of course I need to," She kisses Ben on the cheek, "You're part of my family too."

For a notable pause, her insistence is met with a bewildered look and a faint red color creeping over his cheekbones.

"え??" breaks his silence as the confusion compounds. Benjiro has never had such a sentiment extended to him, and he fails to make the necessary connection, "...I’m your boyfriend. We’re not... I mean legally someone becomes part of a family through marriage but..." He hasn’t earned that privilege yet.

Sadie blushes a little at Ben's mention of marriage but tries to clarify her point for her confused boyfriend.

"I love you, and my family loves you, and even if we're were still only best friends you would still be a part of my family. Like how I consider Walter an older brother."

His blush deepens when he sees her own hint of color, and he briefly glances to Amber beside him instead then looks back to her as she clears his confusion. It makes sense to him placed in context with an example, “Ah, okay! ...Walter would be a great older brother.” He shares in that sentiment without hesitation.

Found family...that seems familiar.

Then with a bit of humor he adds, “You must have quite the extensive family network.”

"He is," Sadie agrees, "Though I called him Big Brother in the Network and trigged an Echo so I'm holding off on saying it again for a bit."

Sadie snorts, "Well, you know us Spaniards are notorious for our extensive family networks, though I need to claim 7 more people before I meet my Spanish Family Size Quota."

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