A/N — I was planning to do a prompt challenge in October but .. that didn't happen. Instead, I will post a story under 500 words each day of December. These are not all holiday related, but I did use several of the prompts on the Holiday Prompt List. Enjoy! xoxo — kals
A/N 2 — also, we are planning on a holiday fest for 2022. Stories will be posted on December 22, 2022. If you have a request or want to post a story, drop me a review or PM or find us here: forum/Nathan-James-Holiday-Prompts/230191/. xoxo — kals
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Name: The Hangout
Setting: AU; sometime after season 3
Prompt: a conversation with Aspect, srp2017, and Scousedancer.
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Bacon stood, arms crossed, glaring at the woman in front of him in a manner that used to have young sailors quaking in their boots. Val, by contrast, seemed completely oblivious to the volcano that was about to erupt. She stood toe-to-toe with the chef, her finger waggling at the mouth-watering collection of desserts filling the table in the corner of the restaurant. At the table where Val had previously been sitting, Alisha sat, head in hands, as Green and Burk didn't even pretend to contain their mirth, laughing their asses off at the scene unfolding before them.
"Do you know what gelatin is made out of!" Val was shrieking. "It's horse hooves!"
"Who cares if it tastes good?" Tex threw out, lifting his glass in Bacon's direction. "My compliments to the chef."
Bacon raised his eyes, catching sight of Mike. He straightened, despite having been honorably discharged over a year ago. "Commander. I'm sorry if we disrupted you."
"At ease, sailor." Mike didn't mention that nobody with eyes or ears could have missed the scene that Val was causing. "Now, Miss Raymond, what is the concern about the desserts? Because I can personally attest to the fact that they are delicious."
Bacon beamed. "Thank you, sir."
"They're made from gelatin!" Val screeched. "Do you know what's in gelatin? Do you?"
"Collagen," Mike responded promptly. After all, he had been the father to two teenage daughters, God bless their souls, both of whom went through the meat-is-murder stage. "it's a protein made from boiled cow and pig bones. No horses involved."
Val's mouth dropped. "You're okay eating cow and pig bones?"
Mike shrugged. "I'm fine with cows and pigs, even horses to be honest. I draw the line at monkeys."
Behind him, Mike was sure he heard a snort. Scowling, Val stomped back towards her seat, throwing one last comment over her shoulder. "I suppose if you don't care about humanitarian husbandry practices, there's nothing else I can say."
Ignoring Val's parting shot, Mike leaned closer to Bacon, lowering his voice. "Not that I care but is there gelatin in anything here?"
Bacon shook his head, sighing. "I wish. Jello was one of the first things we ran out of. Easy to make, long shelf life, source of protein. Most of it went to safe zones. I had to use bean paste." A smirk ghosted across Bacon's face. "I tried to tell Miss Raymond that, but she wouldn't listen."
Mike glanced over at Val, who was now sitting, arms across her check, clearly sulking. He shook his head. "If she only knew."