Chapter 47

A couple weeks have gone by and nothing at all has changed. We might've gathered to clear a dungeon or two in our spare time, but we all agreed that we won't attempt that dungeon until Christmas Eve.

That's a whole month away I know, and believe me when I say I want to show that golem that took us so much effort to beat how strong I've become.

I've got another holiday to prepare for right now though. It's Thanksgiving today. Normally I would be in school but I'm pretty sure you know how it works. We get the rest of the month off.

"Jack how's that turkey coming along?" My brother of course is only interested about the food rather than the giving of thanks.

I don't blame him, from what I've heard I cook some pretty good turkey as well as everything else around here. I hope my friends will enjoy it. They all said they'd come over today.

For some reason they asked if they could come. That raises a red flag because it's a day you usually spend with your family. Strange…

To this day I still haven't met any of their family members. Maybe they're like Martin and live alone.

Whatever the case may be I'm just glad that they'll be joining us today. It'll be a nice change of pace from the usual holiday setting.

"Darling…" My brother's girlfriend calls to me. "How many people did you say would be joining us today?"

"Nine."

She seems taken aback by this. I think our living room could hold all of us. We do have an extremely large couch after all. Hell there's even a recliner.

"This works out actually. Every year we make too much food and it all goes to waste. And from the last time that Neptune girl was here I'd say that won't be a problem."

Amen to that sister. She'll be like a human garbage disposal for us. For once she is a rather convenient asset to us all.

*Knock, knock!* some of our guests must've arrived. If I had to guess I'd say it's my favorite lilac haired sisters.

I go from the kitchen and open up our front door. Sure enough Neptune and Nepgear are standing there. I smile as I see them, they just brighten up my day, enough said.

"Come in, there's plenty of room."

The Neps come inside and remove their shoes. Not really a custom in our house but alright. It is kind of polite after all.

"Mmm, that turkey smells delish!" Thank you Neptune, coming from the world's pickiest eater that means a lot to me.

Neptune wastes no time and sits on the end of our extremely large couch. Nepgear on the other hand goes to the kitchen with me as I make my way back.

"Do you mind if I help?"

"Not at all, go right ahead. The mashed potatoes could use a little more mashing."

She faces away and goes to where the mashed potatoes that I was preparing before her arrival are. Not wasting any time at all, Nepgear begins to mash the remnants real good.

I've still got a few pumpkin pies to check on in the fridge. All of them seem to be doing fine right now so I close the door back up. Looking back, Nepgear has made the mashed potatoes look very good in a short amount of time.

Before long, we get another knock on the door. This time it's Blanc, Rom and Ram. They made it earlier than I expected.

I thought Blanc would only go after finishing a book or two. Sounds like her alright. But the faces her little sisters are making are what drives my train of thought off the rails.

Rom closes her eyes and sniffs the air. The result being her smile from the scent of cooking food. Especially now since the turkey is a mere thirty minutes from completion.

Ram jumps for joy at the smell. Already she knows that she's going to have a good time today just from a few good smells. I aim to please everyone in one way or another.

"Smells good… I'll be sitting down now." Blanc gives her commentary and takes a seat on the opposite end of the couch from Neptune. Her sisters follow her and sit on one side of her.

So far it's been pretty interesting. Which means the rest of the day is just going to escalate even more. I'm going for a whirl like I always do I can already see it.

"Are you sure this is Thanksgiving appropriate?"

"What makes it not Thanksgiving appropriate?"

"We have young children in the room."

In case you're wandering what's going on, my brother is trying to get us to watch a movie that's supposedly "Thanksgiving material." Just what makes him think this is appropriate?

"What the heck is Pulp Fiction?" Ram's child curiosity gets the best of her.

"Looks… weird…" Rom soon follows.

Maurice gives off a disappointed glance towards the twins. He must not like them now because they don't know what it is. I don't have time to deal with him right now though.

"Decide on your own, I have to check on the turkey again."

Avoiding Maurice's icy glare, I make my way back to the kitchen as fast as I could. Opening up the over I see the outside of the turkey and it looks pretty good so far.

Taking a knife I make a cut to get a good look at the inside. The meat is a nice white shade with no traces of red anywhere.

With that out of the way we can begin eating soon. There's only one person left that has to arrive before we can start.

*Knock* *Knock*

And here he is now. Martin walks through the door while taking off his coat.

"Sorry I'm late, traffic was more hectic than I thought it would be today."

"It's fine, the food is finally ready now."

"Oh yay!" Everyone cheers in response. The smell that's been coming from the kitchen has been driving them crazy for the past half hour. Martin hasn't had to go through that hell.

The turkey comes out of the oven and everyone gets more excited. The looks on their faces are just priceless. The only people that are being patient are Nepgear, Noire, Blanc and Martin.

The rest of them are almost like savages in my eyes. But they're my friends and I take it as a compliment if some of them are this primal about my cooking.

"Stand back you beasts I still have to cut it."

"Aw…" Neptune becomes sad from her impatience.

"We can be a bit more patient can't we?" Vert tries to calm Neptune, but ultimately lets her hunger show.

A minute goes by before the meal if finally ready for us to eat. Taking one of the plates I get a medium sized piece of turkey. After putting everything together I walk back over to the couch and hand Nepgear the plate.

She looks at me baffled. "What's this for?"

"I wanted to make sure you got some before it was devoured." Knowing the crowd I hang around that's a possibility.

"Thank you…" Nepgear smiles at me the best she can.

We're still in the same boat. We do something nice for the other party and suddenly we get all nervous and blushy at the drop of a pen.

While I enjoy being in Nepgear's presence, I would like it if that feeling would go away. On the other hand, it makes me feel more alive than I've ever felt.

"No fair! Nepgear gets special privileges because of her feminine wiles." One of our little guests seems disappointed by this.

"Stop being such a baby." I like Blanc's way of shaping her sisters up. It's a little harsh but it's really effective.

"It's not like a little wait will kill me." Noire definitely brings her own style to the party.

Once everyone gets their food, there's hardly any left. All of my friends and my relatives are seated in our living room with very delicious foods placed in front of them. A moment like this calls for one thing.

Every year, when it was just the three of us, we'd say what we were most thankful for so far that year. And this year, I don't think Maurice will let that part slide even if Pulp Fiction is playing.

"I'll get us started. I'm thankful for not dying this year." Great start brother of mine. Way to really get us all in the mood with one of your comments.

"I'm thankful for my loving boyfriend…" My brothers girlfriend blushes deeply. She looks to the person to her left who is Vert.

"Another year of being well endowed… that's what I am most thankful for." Only you Vert, only you.

"Not killing anybody… that's all." I'm glad I haven't died by your hand Blanc.

"I'm thankful for Rom!"

"And I'm thankful for Ram…" That's just freaking adorable.

"I don't need to say it do I?" We'll take that for now Noire. We know that you mean well inside.

"I'm thankful… for my friends…" Uni is unbelievably quiet, it's not embarrassing to love your friends.

"I'm just glad that I've found a group of people that accept me." Martin, you will always be welcome in the group so long as we live. Or just the duration of high school.

"Pudding!" So simple yet so effective. I respect that Neptune.

"Having such wonderful people to be around." My girlfriend goes next. The only one left to speak is me.

"I'm thankful for having the greatest girlfriend in the world."

Everyone stares at me intently. It's unsettling, and very disturbing if I think too far into it. Is it wrong to say how much you're thankful for your girlfriend?

*Kiss*

Nepgear gives me a kiss on the cheek. My heart starts racing at this unexpected result of my words. I should compliment her more often, it might lead to a heart attack but who cares?

"Don't rub it in…" Uni says with a jealous tone. I see she still harbors feelings for me.

"What's the matter Uni? Jealous?" That's Malicious to the most extent of a child. Ram just earned a little more of my respect.

"Why you little!"

As we watch two of our friends have their little dispute, the rest of us share a laugh at it. They calm down after a second before laughing at it themselves.

Nepgear scoots closer to me. It catches me off guard. We've started to become closer from a physical standpoint. Last time we had a moment she was basically on top of me.

And she's also slept in my bed one night. In a few short months, we've come a long way from where we were. I'm really thankful for that, she's made my life better in ways I could only imagine a year ago.

"Hey Nepgear…"

"Hm?"

I look away from her for a brief moment, then immediately turn my head to look her in the eyes.

"I love you…"

"I love you too."

She leans in closer, and we embrace in a full kiss. As we embrace ourselves in each others presence, I forget that there are other people in the room. Let them judge, I feel to good right now to care.

A/N: Well this chapter sure took its sweet time getting here. To be honest, I actually lost my spark for writing halfway through this one. I could only write two paragraphs in a day as a result.

It's the readers that keep me going. I also thought since this was a boring filler chapter that I had to get out of the way that might also contribute to a writing block.

On a more cheery note, after this chapter, things will really get interesting. A new flame is lit, and more adventure awaits our heroes.

Like always, leave a review and make your voice heard. PM's are always nice as well, they get my adrenaline pumping. And follows/favorites are accepted to.

Until then, see you in the next update.