Chapter Text
The mountain cabin smelled like a seasonal candle: the strong scent of pine, that inexplicable cold smell of fallen snow with the promise of more in the air, and the holiday cooking wafting out the kitchen windows. Christmas lights and garland decorated the porch, the petite white lights making the fallen snow sparkle like glitter. Inside was equally festive with stockings on the mantle- a line of knit stockings reaching to the wall on either side; one for each near-grown child, spouses, and all the grandchildren. The christmas tree was tall enough to reach the ceiling, decked out in tinsel and decorations, lights blinking in time with the music playing softly.
Ren had settled herself into what was commonly known as ‘the good chair’ by the fireplace, legs propped up with an extra pillow under them. The one good thing about recovering from a terrible injury was that there had been minimal fighting to claim the seat. One of the dogs had climbed onto her lap and the mechanic was idly messing with the canine’s floppy ears.
The couch beside her creaked as someone sat down. From the corner of her eye Ren could see Nate, his youngest son carefully perched on his knee and bouncing lightly. Her cousin was grinning. Ren frowned. It wasn’t the grin of a doting father, it was the grin of an older sibling. The leather of the chair squeaked as Luke draped an arm across the back, leaning down far enough to be seen in his cousin’s field of vision. He was wearing the same smirk. Ren’s frown increased.
“What?” she asked, glancing between the two. “What do you want?”
“It’s Christmas,” Luke stated as if it would explain everything.
Ren glanced over to the fireplace festooned in all of its holiday glory, then dropped her eyes to the dog’s holly patterned collar. “I noticed.”
“Didn’t you say you would bring someone this year?” Nate’s grin was all teeth. If it wasn’t for the teasing note to his voice it would have looked as if he were picking a fight. “What happened to that?”
“You know what-” the brunette’s retort was cut short as Justin vaulted over the back of the couch. He landed heavily on the opposite end of Nate, somehow managing not to spill his beer. Nate’s son giggled and clapped as his uncle settled into something resembling a normal sitting position.
“Yeah, Ren. Even I brought my girl with me.” Justin jerked a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the kitchen where the holiday dinner was being prepared. “Innit she a peach?”
From the corner of her eyes Ren saw Luke roll his eyes, muttering something about how the poor sweet girl wouldn’t last much longer. Justin flipped his brother off, taking a swig from the beer bottle in his hand before asking, “So what happened, Ren? You scare him off with that weird thing you do?”
The mechanic snorted, noticing how her younger cousin didn’t specify what he thought ‘that weird thing’ was. The Kerberos exploration mission was hardly a Garrison kept secret. In fact it had been televised in the months leading up to the launch and the launch itself. Ren knew that her cousins were well aware of why her plans to finally bring Shiro to a family gathering had fallen through, they were just out to tease her. Especially with her mobility and ability to retaliate limited.
“I didn’t scare him off.”
Luke reached down with the arm that wasn’t draped across the back of her chair, ruffling his fingers through her hair. “Then where is he?”
Ren huffed, swatting the hand away. “Space.”
Her cousins laughed, Justin going so far as to slap a knee. Ren sulked, propping up her chin on the palm of her hand. She knew better than to expect any of them to let this go. Not when her story sounded so wonderfully fake, national news be damned.
“Come on, guys,” Devon called out as he stepped out of the kitchen carrying a serving bowl of mashed potatoes so large it bordered on questionable. “Don’t tease her just because her story sounds-” He wasn’t able to finish the sentence before his shoulders began shaking. There was a minute of struggling noises before Devon gave up and laughed hard enough to nearly lose the mashed potatoes. “S-say it again, Ren. Where’s your boyfriend?”
The mechanic groaned, dropping her head back against the chair. “He’s in space.”
Another bout of laughter sprung from her cousins, loud and unabashed. When the laughter had finally died down Luke had moved to sit on the couch between his two brothers and Devon had disappeared back into the kitchen to retrieve the next side for the dinner table. Nate reached up, one hand wiping at the corners of his eyes while the other made sure his son wouldn’t fall.
“But seriously, Ren, you’ll bring him by sometime, right?” Nate shifted his son to his lap proper and the toddler began to squirm. “I want to see this guy you're so serious about.”
Luke hummed, resting his chin on his hand and looking as if he were trying to remember something important. “Isn't this the kid you've been head over heels for since you were Aileen’s age?”
Justin choked on his beer, nearly spilling it down his front as he laughed again. “Shit, seriously?”
Nate reached across the back of the couch, leaning slightly to reach past Luke and smack his youngest brother upside the head. “Language!”
Ren turned her head to face the couch, frowning at her cousins. “You're exaggerating.”
Luke cleared his throat, folding his hands under his chin and readied his best young Ren voice. “Listen to this, Lee,” he paused for a moment, dropping the voice. “Never mind that Lee was eight at the time.” Luke batted his eyelashes and returned to the voice, “there’s this guy-”
Ren reached down, pulling the pillow out from under her leg and lobbed it at her cousin. It smacked Luke square in the face, effectively silencing him. “Don't put words in my mouth!”
Nate blinked, expression going slack as realization dawned on him. “Lee! Aileen’s met him!”
“What?” Justin hissed. “That's not fair.”
Nate turned in his seat, facing the kitchen. He inhaled sharply before shouting, loud enough to be heard over the ambient kitchen noise and busy cooking. “Oi, Aileen!”
The only female Edwards child stuck her head out of the kitchen, frowning. “What?”
“You've seen Ren’s beau, haven't you?” Luke asked, gently tossing the pillow back at the injured mechanic. “You got a picture?”
“Who the he-” Nate shot Justin a dark look and the younger brother swallowed, amending his sentence. “Heck says beau, Luke?”
The blonde’s face lit up and she hurried over, pulling her phone from her pocket. “Oh, totally. It's my home screen.”
Ren sat up, raising an eyebrow. “Why is it your home screen?”
“Because,” Aileen responded, sticking out her tongue. “You'll never do it and it's a cute picture.”
She unlocked her phone, swiping her finger several times to clear the apps from the screen so that the background would be visible before lowering the phone so that her brothers could see.
The image Aileen had chosen showed Ren on that tacky couch they recognized from her living room, looking wide-eyed and clutching a bowl of popcorn as if she were going to fling it at the screen. She was half leaning on the man beside her, as if they had been cuddling before the mechanic was moved to popcorn throwing movement. One of his arms was around Ren’s shoulders, the other was reaching out to stop the popcorn bowl from taking flight. He might have been laughing.
“Ren forgot I was there,” Aileen explained as her brothers snickered.
Unable to see the picture they were looking at the brunette squinted, attempting to recall the instance Aileen was talking about. “The movie night? I ‘forgot’ because you weren't even supposed to be there.”
The blonde blew a small raspberry, waving a hand. “Semantics.”
Ren squinted. “That's not what that word means.”
“He looks like a dweeb,” Justin commented. This time it was Luke and Aileen in tandem that smacked him. “Ow!”
“He looks charming,” Luke insisted. “Though slightly blurry.”
Nate reached over, lightly smacking his cousin on the arm. “Hasn't anyone ever told you not to waste food? Popcorn ain't going to stop no one.”
The mechanic rolled her eyes. “Next time I'll be sure to throw Shiro at the picture taking intruder.”
Justin tipped his head, considering. He laughed, a quick bark of a sound, and gestured with his beer bottle. “I'd actually like to see that. Make sure you let Lee get a picture of it before you crush her.”