AN: Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
The Stein Household was bustling with activity, especially in the kitchen. The Butcher Gang were busy peeling and boiling potatoes, Boris and Bendy were peeling and cutting apples, Alice was rolling out pie crust and putting it in pans. Linda was overseeing all the toons and putting together a salad. A faint smell of cooked turkey was slowly filling the room as the oven worked hard. Henry, Sammy, and Norman were moving aside the furniture in the living room to make room for some large tables while Allison and Tom brought in chairs with the help of Julie and Jacob, her fiancé, and Hailey, the Stien's youngest daughter.
Hailey had taken the existence of the toons in stride and was happy to have them join the family. She especially loved joining them on pranks, which resulted in a minor prank war before Linda forced everyone to have a ceasefire. Jacob, on the other hand, seemed to have trouble processing the fact that the toons were real and it took several hours before he could do anything but stare at them. The toons were used to the mixed reactions their existence got by now and handled it pretty well. They embraced Hailey as a pranking partner and would start making silly faces whenever they caught Jacob staring at them, many of which weren't humanly possible and of caused him to have a startled look. Once Jacob got used to the fact the toons were real, he warmed up to them pretty quickly and loved exchanging puns with them.
The whole atmosphere was cheerful as everyone worked together for the coming feast, the increasingly good smells wafting from the kitchen only served to grow everyone's appetites. Finally, the table was set and the food was ready. Everyone eagerly took their place at the table watching hungrily as Henry carved up the turkey and began dishing it out.
"Now before we start eating," Linda spoke up as Henry continued to serve the turkey, getting disappointed whistles and pleading looks from the toons and even a few adults. "I want everyone to say what they're thankful for. It has been very eventful for all of us and I think it's important to remember all the good things that have happened. Who wants to go first?"
"I will!" Alice volunteered with a shy smile. "I'm grateful for the chance to finally be myself, to not have to share my mind and body with someone else. I'm grateful for this family that accepts me despite the things I did in the Studio. And I'm very grateful for Henry, our Creator, our dad, for saving us from the Studio."
"Thank you, Alice," Linda said, before looking around the table. "Who wants to go next."
The Butcher Gang went next, saying how they're grateful for flowers and plants, for Linda teaching them all sorts of things. Boris talked about how he loved being able to try all sorts of new and delicious food and learning to play new songs. Norman said he was grateful to have reconnected with his wife and to learn about the wonderful woman his daughters have become. Allison and Tom talked about how they were happy to finally be truly reunited and for their new life together. Sammy grumbled about stupid this whole thing was before admitting he was grateful to finally be able to play music properly. All of them mentioned how grateful they were to Henry for saving them from the Studio. Julie, Jacob, and Hailey didn't really say as much as the others, mostly saying things about how they were happy to meet the toons and that the toons and ink creatures were suffering anymore.
"I'm grateful for the Ink Machine," Bendy said quietly when it was his turn, looking down to avoid everyone's eyes. "I know the Ink Machine was the source of so much pain and suffering, but without it… without it, none of us would be here. Most of us wouldn't exist and we'd never been have been able to see colors, or to have friends, or to be a family."
"I'm grateful for it too," Henry said, comfortingly rubbing the little Ink Demon between his horns, getting a soft purr in response. "Yes, I wish so many hadn't lost their lives to the ink, but there's nothing we can do about that. Life is full of hardships, even without black magic and time loops. But having all of us together and enjoying life convinces me every time that it's worth it. We've all suffered a lot, but we have an unshakable bond because of it. We are a family and nothing will change that. I'm so grateful I accepted the invitation to go back to the studio and that I was able to save you all and to let the others pass on. And while I'm sure we'll face hard times again as that is just how life is, I know together we'll be fine. I love having all of you here and I wouldn't change that for the world."
"I couldn't have said it better myself," Linda smiled, wiping a tear from her eye. "Now, I think I've made you all wait long enough. Let's dig in!"
Everyone happily agreed and began to eat, light conversation and jokes willing the air between bites of the delicious food. It was an unusual sight to see toons, ink creatures and humans eating together like this, but there was no doubt that they were family.