come_sailaway | December Catch-All

Who: Max & Open
What: Max stayed behind on the ship so now he's stress baking + It's his birthday + reactions to people being home by Christmas + closed starters
When: Thru December, Birthday on Dec 20
Where: All over, technically, but let's be real, mostly the kitchen
Warnings: Stress baking and sadness, one prompt will be NSFW, others could follow because it's Max.

Stress Baking
It's fine. It will be fine. Ash and Valdis have each other. They'll watch each other's backs. He knows it. And Security will protect Helena while she makes sure it takes care of itself. Phil went, so Cassandra will be okay, right? And Klaus is... Klaus. Nothing keeps them down for long. He envies how they can float through so much without letting it touch them.

If only Max could find some of that calm for himself right now. They've been gone for so long. These things didn't usually last so long, did they? How long were they at that winter hotel?

In his distress, he's turned to the one thing that always soothes him--baking. He's not doing it quite as obsessively as the last time, but that doesn't mean the kitchen isn't rapidly filling up with cookies decorated in an assortment of winter and Christmas themes. There are some fruitcakes mixed in, too, and gingerbread. At the rate he's going, he'll have two dozen cookies to give to each and every person on this ship. He's already started bundling them into little gift bags if for no other reason than to get them out of the way and organized.

Among the batch are two very special containers--cakes he made specifically for the Captain and Sparkles. They can best be described as a diabetic coma in pastry form. One bite might be enough sugar to put even the Captain into a sugar coma. Good luck to any poor unsuspecting passenger on this ship who accidentally tries to sample one of these.

But why would they open a Tupperware that's been marked as "For The Captain" and "For Sparkles" when there are plenty of nice normal cookies all around? All anyone has to do is catch Max in the kitchen during one of his many long baking stints. Hopefully, those times he isn't in are because he's getting some normal food to eat or he's sleeping. That's what he's doing, right? He wouldn't subsist on only cookies for two weeks, surely? (He would.)

Happy Birthday
They still aren't back. When he told them it was okay to go, he never imagined they'd be gone long enough to miss his birthday. And yet...

Still, he should do something, right? Ylva is on board. So are Edgar and Daisy. Maybe they could all use a little something to brighten their day while they are all stuck waiting. So, today, instead of cookies, he's making an elaborate birthday cake for himself. And, because it's him, he's making golden Macarons to go on top as a garnish. At least it's giving him something to focus on today besides the fact that he's another year older and things are still... not as good as he wished.

Later on in the day, he goes around the ship looking for anyone and everyone he can find. He'll hand them a hand-written card he's made:

Max's Birthday Party! Tonight starting at 6:00 PM At Playback Join me for a casual night of games and cake? (No gifts expected)

He hopes people will come just so he won't feel so alone right now. They don't have to know him well, he welcomes them all.

For Grace-NSFW
It took him some trial and error to get these visual aids just right for Grace. Well, okay, so maybe he was being extra, extra careful to make them accurate and generally representative because he didn't want to give her any false ideas. He takes his job as a teacher here very seriously. Grace is counting on him... no matter how awkward this is gonna feel.

He's texted to let Grace know to come meet him, where else? The kitchen. In front of him are two objects lovingly sculpted out of modeling chocolate. One is an anatomically correct penis and balls, colored and painted with extreme attention to detail and even decorated with small strands of candy "hair". Beside that sits an equally detailed sculpture of a vulva with a long canal for the vagina attached. It has "hair" too. Along with those is a bowl of melted white icing, and an unopened condom package. Let the lessons begin.

Homecoming
Placeholder for when we get to the event end. I'll write this later. :p

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Originally, Fio planned to arrive right at 6:00 PM. It's already 8:00 PM when she arrives with Judith. Though gifts aren't expected, she spent the past two hours digging through the Tommy Bahama for a quick gift...

"Hello? Happy Birthday!" She stands at the entrance to Playback, as if she needs to be invited in. Putting on a smile, despite worrying how long everyone else has been gone. They'll be back... for sure.

In her hands is something small, wrapped in nautical paper. Not an item from the sundries shop. She's just recycling! Whatever it is, it's about the size of a glove.

The party is still in full swing, though it's pretty sedated as parties go since there are so few in attendance. Max doesn't seem bothered at all by her timing. His face splits into a wide smile when he sees her.

"Fio, hi. Come in. Don't be shy. I'm glad you came. Do you want some cake?"

"Yes, please!" An eager nod, as she steps further into the establishment with a skip. No doubt the cake is as delicious as the baked goods he made for Halloween. "But only a little bit. Let's... save some for the others when they come back."

Her voice wavers slightly as her thoughts briefly focus on the others' lengthy absence. She's clearly worried, but she speaks as if they'll return. Because they will.

"And here." She holds out the tiny, hastily wrapped package. "I tried to get a gift for you."

"Don't worry about that, I made a lot of extra so we'll be sure to have enough for them when they get home." Because he, too, refuses to entertain the idea that they won't come back. They will. He knows they will.

"Thank you so much," he says taking the gift with a pleased and surprised expression. She didn't need to get him anything but he's touched that she has. "Would you like me to open it now?"

"Go ahead!" Another nod, as she shuffles her feet nervously. She hopes he likes it, even if it's understandable that he might find it unimpressive. She did spend only a couple hours before the party to quickly track some thing down! Not enough time to dig through the endless Tommy Bahama.

Whenever Max decides to open it, he'll find a pair of... Tommy Bahama brand light blue oven mitts. The design looked a bit festive for the season. Each glove has a splotch of black paint on it, probably ruining the 'festive-ness' of it all, and making up a (very shaky) shape of a wolf's head. Two yellow dots for eyes. The eyes and face overall are a bit lopsided...

Max carefully unwraps the gift, doing his best to keep the paper nice in case she'd like it back to recycle. And his face lights up with joy once he recognizes what these are. It doesn't matter if the drawings aren't perfect, because they are made just for him and he can't think of anything more special.

"Did you personalize these for me yourself? Oh, Fio, I love them. Thank you. May I give you a hug?"

"Uh-huh," Fio answers with a pleased smile. She tries not to play down her efforts. It's good work, for maybe about an hour trying to make it look unique!

As for his request, she nods without any hesitation. She's grown fond of giving and receiving hugs, especially since her time on the ship has reminded her how to feel loved and cared for.

A step forward, arms open. Heels off the floor, which is a habit of hers at this point, like she's expecting to be picked up.

It's the heels off the floor that compel him not just to hug her but to lift her off her feet and spin her around once. He used to do that for his sister all the time.

"You did such a good job. Thank you. I'll think of you and smile every time I use them."

The spinning sensation gets a little squeal and delighted laugh out of Fio. For a few short moments, it's a distraction from her worries. Once she's back down on the floor, she's still smiling, but a bit wider.

"You're welcome. I know I didn't have to get a gift, but I really wanted to. And I wanted to make sure your birthday didn't feel... sad or anything." It's not exactly a lonely birthday party, but it's probably not as lively as it should be with the others gone.

Oh, good, she likes that! A giggle bubbles up in his chest too when she laughs. It's so good to hear laughter and be reminded that for all the misery there is still plenty to be happy about.

"I'm that way, too. I like giving gifts and cheering people up. I appreciate it so much. My day feels a lot more special now thanks to you."

December Catch-All

birthday

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