LOG: Welcome Home

[protective_logic]

Who: Ai Family (Native), Maine (Native), York (Native) [Mingle]
What: Maine has dinner with the Ai Family
Where: The New Ai Household
When: Wednesday 3/30, Evening
Warnings: None, will add as needed.

Per Sigma's suggestion, Delta's prompting, and Omega's invitation, tonight is the first night Maine is welcomed back into the lives of the Ais. Dinner is set for an hour after Maine is due to arrive, giving him plenty of time to socialize, and there are board, card, and video games out in the family room for before dinner if needed and after dinner indeed. Everything is ready for the friend to be welcomed back by a joyful family.

Comments

Kitchen: Delta Before Dinner

[protective_logic]

When Omega told him that Maine was going to bring the dessert again, Delta wasn't sure what to make. Chili might be more appropriate, but it's important to him that he handles the cooking. The twins can be in the nook drawing at the small table in there while he cooks, and Maine can not only see where he is ahead of time, but ignore him easily if he so chose. After all, Maine's comfort is important to him, and Sigma's advice should probably help.

But now Delta knows. He doesn't need to make real chili which is Omega's thing. He knows a good Cincinnati chili recipe (and what even is Cincinnati and why does it have cinnamon in its chili and serve it over pasta?), and with a side of white bread, options of brown rice and normal beans, and a good fruit salad for those who want some more sweet with the meal, he's got it all pretty set up. All he has to do is watch the pot and make sure that nothing burns. He can be as social or as quiet as he wants and it will work out nice.

Plan let Maine come back to his friends and set his own pace with everything is a go. He just hopes someone will talk to him. He is tired of social recluse Delta.

[ambitious_muse]

Delta had better be one hundred percent sure about this, because tonight is one of the best ideas Sigma's had in a long time and he would prefer not to waste it.

So. Time to make sure his brother's in a good mood. "Anything I can help with?" he asks, peering into the kitchen.

[protective_logic]

"I'm trying to figure out whether I should make a salad," Delta says pensively as he stirs the chili. "If you think so, can you get the things out and start it? And should I bring down nice glasses or can we just get away with plastic cups like we do for family dinner nights?"

Maine won't care about high quality glasses. No one will. The twins get wiggly and nervous around them since the one time Delta cursed when he dropped a coffee mug.

[ambitious_muse]

"Oh, plastic. No need to make it formal. Salad sounds good, though." Maine likes salads, if he remembers correctly. "Just not a big one, since I doubt the littles will eat it."

He starts getting vegetables out of the refrigerator. That is one part of the meal that he can prepare without trouble.

[protective_logic]

"They are more than old enough to be expected to have a small salad with their meals," Delta counters. "Smithson gave me some old pudding sized dishes. Asking them to have THAT much of something green won't kill them, especially when Omega mentioned something about Maine's cornbread dessert."

That will make the pair so excited. The twins loved it.

[depthlesslock]

After meeting with Sigma at his apartment as planned, the two head over to the new AI home. It's looking a lot more homely than it had when he was last here and it was still full of boxes and piles. The family's doing a good job of moving in.

York is still a little on edge. Despite being surrounded by the rest of the family, and Maine, and hoping that Omega will be more controlled given the situation, things are still tense between them. He hopes today will diffuse some of that tension, but it could also easily add to it. Or leave it at exactly the same level.

Still. At least it will be good to see the family again, all together this time, so he can play with the littles and talk with the older siblings.

[ambitious_muse]

Sigma can feel York's tension. He squeezes his boyfriend's hand and leads him into the front room, where the twins are watching one of their shows.

"Someone's here for dinner, you two," he says. "How should we cook him?"

[depthlesslock]

That the twins cheer and rush over to him when they see him makes all his worries drop away for a moment as he crouches down to hug them.

'Hey, guys, how are you both doing? You're not gonna actually cook me, right? I won't be able to teach you new games if you cook me.' They laugh.

[ambitious_muse]

"I don't wanna eat him," Eta says. "Delta already cooked!" Iota shakes his head, giggling.

Good. Sigma's the only one allowed to eat York, and he's certainly not doing it in front of his family.

"What are we gonna play?" Eta asks.

[depthlesslock]

He knows that look on his boyfriend's face, and he's going to look back at the twins now before he starts grinning.

'Well, I brought string if you guys want to play Lasers, or there's plenty of cushions in case of a sudden eruption causing the floor to become lava. Or we could draw or think of something else.'

[baruthumos]

Omega has managed to completely forget that Maine is coming over, courtesy of Gamma. The teenager challenged Omega's ability in Burnout, and now Omega must prove himself capable of causing more damage than anyone else in the house. He suspects Gamma has hacked the game, though, since Gamma keeps winning.

[protective_logic]

"You two better wash up for dinner," Delta calls from the kitchen, doing a little dance as he hums a tv show theme song to himself. "Or you're going to look terrible for our guest."

[baruthumos]

"Yeah yeah yeah," Omega says, barely listening. "As soon as I finish this level," he lies.

Halfway through bouncing his car off a semi to derail a train, he realizes what Delta said. Guest? What guest?

[protective_logic]

"I mean I suppose you could leave Maine to get into the house on his own and not show him where the helmet chargers are or anything."

No, Delta's not annoyed that Omega forgot this.

[ambitious_muse]

Omega is distracted. Perfect. Sigma can sneak his boyfriend in to play with the twins, and Meg won't even notice. Once York is safely in the living room, Sigma slips back to say hi to Omega.

"How badly are you cheating, Gamma?" he asks.

[baruthumos]

"He is too young to know the words to answer that," Omega says while Gamma snickers into the controller. Little punk just cleared five hundred k.

[ambitious_muse]

"Considering how badly he seems to be winning? I'm not so sure about that," Sigma teases. "Though whether or not he stops cheating to answer the question is something else entirely."

Right before dinner

[maine_makes_growly_noises]

Maine hasn't been to the house before. Omega never asked for his help in moving; if he didn't know better, he'd think Delta was involved in that somehow. Now that he's here, he's not sure what to believe.

But. Omega invited him, and he offered to bring cornbread. So. Here he is. Someone, orient him, please.

Re: Right before dinner

[protective_logic]

The doorbell. The twins jump from the table with their coloring and rush the door. They're big enough to open it now, to reach the keypad, and they know that he's coming, and they have permission tonight. So Iota hits the button and Eta bounces happily and when the airlock opens the two rush forward to cling to Maine's legs.

"Maine!" they cheer together.

[maine_makes_growly_noises]

Well, that's the best greeting he could have hoped for.

"Hello," he says, beaming down at them. He sets the cornbread down on a flat surface so he can ruffle their hair.

[protective_logic]

"We should show him around," Eta grins at her twin as her hair is messed with.

"Can we show you?" Iota asks. "Everyone is upstairs. The only stuff down here is the laundry and room with the windows and toys and homework space, and Eppy's room. Oh, and the locked door. Everything is really upstairs."

Shyness isn't much in front of his loyalty to team yellow.

"Come on," Eta smiles. "Omega and Gamma are playing games. They won't notice us showing you."

[trustandfireworks]

Theta has been listening out for the door. The first time it went, it was Sigma and York and he'd played with them and the twins until the door went again. The twins get to hug Maine first because they're younger and will get upset if they don't. He's bigger, he can be patient.

Mostly.

As soon as Maine is free of the twins, Theta rushes in for his hug.

[maine_makes_growly_noises]

Maine saw Theta in the back. He's not completely unobservant. So while he smiles and lets the twins take their turn, he's even happier to hug Theta back.

"Hi," he says. It's so good to see him. And excited as Maine is to sign with his friend again, he's not sure he wants to stop the hug yet.

[trustandfireworks]

'Hi! I missed you!' He hugs him tight, there's no way he's strong enough to hurt Maine. He's still so big and strong, Theta feels completely safe and almost enveloped in the hug. Signing can wait for the sake of hugging.

[baruthumos]

"Yeah well, that's the benefit of never going to college," Omega says lightly. He can joke about this. Watch him joke about it. "Plenty of time to waste on video games."