Chapter Text
Kenji wished he could force the tears to vanish and smile confidently like he always did. And yet the necklace in his hand strangely managed to form a lump in his throat, so he couldn’t even joke his way out of this.
He almost wished he'd never made that comment about ‘Christmas with raptors’ days ago. It had been another of these evenings they spent sitting outside at the yacht, looking up to the stars and wondering about the world outside of the island.
“What month do you guys think it is?,” Sammy asked.
Ben shrugged. “I honestly lost track of time. Could be August. Could be Christmas already. God knows.”
Kenji let out a dry laugh. “Nothing beats Christmas with raptors.”
“Oh, guys!” Sammy sat up, her eyes brightened up. “Imagine a Nublar Christmas!”
“I was joking, Sammy.”
“But I’m not. Just imagine, y’all-” She got to her feet, already gesturing wildly. “Palm leaves and seashells strung up like garlands. We could decorate the cabin! Or take a bush and pretend it’s a Christmas tree!”
Brooklyn snorted. “You’re going to get eaten trying to hang up your decorations.”
“We might get eaten any day anyway,” Sammy said, “So why not make it the best time we possibly can?”
Kenji leaned back, amused. “Oh yeah, nothing says happiness such as having to run from dinosaurs again.”
“We don’t even know if it’s December,” Yaz said, exhausted.
Sammy clearly didn't want to give up. "Since we have no way to tell, we may as well just imagine it is. What do you think, Darius?"
Darius tilted his head as the rest of the group looked at him. “Hmm… celebrating something could help lift our spirits a bit. We've mostly fought for our survival, why not try to have some fun?”
Kenji frowned. “Are you kidding me?”
“If we're lucky, we'll leave this island soon anyway. Why not make a final celebration together?”
“So, it's official?” Sammy smiled from ear to ear. “We'll have a Nublarmas?”
Kenji groaned. “Please don’t let her name it.”
Sammy put her hands on her hips. “Rude.” Yet the smile didn't leave her face.
Brooklyn leaned forward. “If we do this, are we making gifts?”
“Of course! There's a gift shop not far away from here.”
“Pff, as long as it hasn’t been invaded by Compies or some other beasts,” Ben said.
“We can always check it,” Sammy insisted.
“Will the gifts even be good?,” Kenji wondered. “I don’t know whether we’ll find anything useful in there.”
Yaz sat up. “Kenj, we wouldn’t be able to buy you a Ferrari anyway, or whatever gifts you are used to-”
“I never got a Ferrari in the first place.” Kenji crossed his arms behind his head and then smirked. “What I got instead was a Mercedes. And a watch.”
Yaz rolled her eyes and Sammy held up her hands. “Guys, enough.” She looked at Kenji. “It doesn’t matter how expensive or big they are. What really matters is that they come from the heart.”
Kenji huffed out a laugh. So far, he couldn’t recall a single gift he’s ever received that had come from his father’s ‘heart’. He doubted his father had even picked them out himself; he could’ve easily ordered the staff to organize something. And considering how impersonal they sometimes felt, they might as well have been chosen by a stranger..
Brooklyn frowned at him. “Mr. Rich wants something shiny and big, huh?”
“What?” Kenji was actually speechless. “That’s not why I- Oh, forget it.” Now he actually just wanted to be alone. “Anyway, I’m going to check something in the cabin.”
Brooklyn frowned. “What do you wanna check?”
“You wouldn't understand. It's Captain stuff.”
He turned away from whatever annoyed face they made and headed to the cabin. Once the closed door muffled the others' voices he dropped his fake smile and crossed his arms. He already regretted bragging about his car and that useless watch. Hadn’t their trip to his penthouse proven that his wealth wouldn’t impress them after all? And hadn’t Darius himself said that Kenji didn’t need all that “fancy stuff” to impress them?
Not that he took Sammy's idea seriously, but the thought of having Christmas left a bitter taste in his mouth. It reminded him of these many moments - year by year - when he'd secretly hoped his father would at least spare him a glance, only to be left disappointed again. Somehow, Kenji always failed to be more important than those business partners his father frequently invited over.
He shook his head. Why did he even care that much? It's not like they would actually follow through with it - that would've been completely absurd…