"Here, grandma," Frank said as he held the seat out for his grandmother. She gave him a curt nod and carefully sat down. Frank assumed that he would just get food for his grandma to eat for Christmas, or he would make something that she wanted. Maybe even invite Hazel over if his grandma didn't mind.
Instead of telling him what she wanted, his grandma called the gym and asked to speak to Lupa. Frank was nervous for a few reasons. One, his grandma didn't ask him for the number and instead found it herself. Two, he wasn't sure if he had done something to get in trouble. Three, he had been right there in the office when his grandma called, and he felt his heart beating faster as each second passed.
When Lupa smiled, Frank relaxed. Then, Lupa told his grandma that dinner at her place would be at six. That was how Frank found himself and his grandma in Lupa's house for Christmas dinner. Lupa seemed more than happy to have them there, and Frank felt bad that he didn't think it would be better for Lupa to have people around her for Christmas, especially since her mother had just passed.
"I'm honored to have you here," Lupa said as she walked towards them. "Would you like some alcohol?"
"She doesn't-"
"Yes," Frank's grandma interrupted. Lupa smiled and poured some wine into a glass. Frank turned to help Nico as he sat down some bowls and plates of food. Nico waved him off.
"How are you doing without Reyna?" Frank asked as he looked at Nico. Will walked up behind them holding onto plates and silverware. Nico immediately turned to help him.
"I miss her," Nico said with a shrug. "We've been texting every day when she gets back to her hotel."
"Are they having fun?" Frank asked. Nico shook his head. "That bad?"
"I wouldn't say they're as bad as Hazel's family," Nico began. "Well, maybe not as direct as Hazel's family was about it. Reyna said that Annabeth's cousin is dating someone who is genderfluid, but Annabeth's family goes out of their way to misgender them. Reyna corrected them a few times, but it doesn't seem to help much."
"They also hate the idea of Reyna and Annabeth dating," Nico added. He sat at the table. Frank sat down as well as Hazel walked back into the room. "It's going to be weird without Reyna here."
"Who else is going to eat all of the food?" Lupa joked. She frowned slightly. "It will be different without Reyna here. I invited her sister and her girlfriend, but they declined. I suppose they don't want to intrude."
Frank looked around the table. He was seated next to his grandma, and Lupa sat on her other side. The two women seemed to be getting along well. Frank had always worried that his grandma would hate the idea of him fighting. It was not the kind of job that an old school Chinese elder would want their grandchild to do, but he was lucky that his grandma wasn't as traditional as others.
Frank moved his gaze to Nico and Will. The two were sitting next to each other. They didn't say anything, but both of them had small smiles. Frank studied the two but felt Hazel sit next to him. There was a scowl on her face.
"What's wrong?" Frank asked quietly. Hazel didn't answer and just stared at the table. "Hazel?"
"It's my extended family," Hazel mumbled. She blinked a few times as tears came to her eyes. Frank gently rubbed her back.
"What did they do?" Nico asked. He stood and moved to Hazel's side, rubbing the other side of her back. Frank was still surprised that Nico hadn't traveled across the country to give Hazel's family a piece of his mind. "Hazel?"
"They've been texting me and calling me," Hazel said after a few moments. She looked down at the table. "Ever since Frank and I left their house. Each of their messages is so nasty and rude. All they do is insult me, Frank, or my mother."
"Hazel, why didn't you tell me earlier?" Nico questioned. Frank gently wrapped both of his arms around Hazel and held her close. "Did you block their number at least?"
"No," Hazel answered. She buried her face in Frank's chest, and he rubbed her back gently.
"Hazel, you should have told us," Lupa said gently. "We could have helped you."
"Family is the worst," Octavian said as he walked in carrying two more bottles of wine. He sat them down on the table. Frank knew that Octavian usually spent every holiday with his family, but he also knew the toll that the drama was taking on Octavian's family.
Octavian told him that his family was too busy pointing fingers and yelling at each other when they should have been working together to figure out how they were going to get out of their mess. Octavian sat at the table and sighed quietly. There were fresh tears in his eyes, and Frank gave him a gentle smile.
Frank took a moment to look around the table. His grandma was looking at everyone in interest. She didn't seem judgmental, more wondering what was going on with everyone. Lupa had a look of concern on her face, and her eyes shot between Hazel and Octavian. Frank knew that Lupa thought of all of the gym members as her kids, and this must have been breaking her heart.
Hazel looked like she was trying to calm down. Frank and Nico were doing their best to comfort her. Frank wondered how Nico felt without Reyna there. The two always seemed inseparable no matter where. Even at the gym, Reyna would usually be with Nico if she wasn't training.
Will and Nico seemed to be getting close, though. It made sense to Frank. The two of them weren't fighters, so they probably ran into each other a lot or only had each other to talk to. Octavian was usually in his office on his phone talking to officials or the media. Lupa patrolled the gym as they trained, leaving Will and Nico to have each other to talk to unless they went to the front desk and talked to Mellie.
"They are," Hazel agreed as she seemed to calm down. Frank let go of her and sat back down. There wasn't much said as they passed around the food, loading up their plates. Frank helped his grandma and noted that there were a few dishes that were traditionally Chinese: chow mein, baozi, dumplings, and wonton soup.
Frank was more than happy to load his plate up with that along with the traditional ham, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Everyone else quickly loaded up their plates. Frank kept an eye on his grandma as she drank a sip of wine.
"Where is the one girl? The one that curses? Thalia?" Frank's grandma questioned. She looked at Lupa.
"Thalia and her brother Jason are having dinner with their family," Lupa answered. "Piper is also with them, as she is dating Jason."
"Christmas dinner with their family is terrible," Nico commented. "Jason invited me once, and I regret going. I can only tolerate Jason and Thalia but none of the others."
"Can you imagine Reyna going there?" Hazel joked quietly. Frank noticed how she played with her food and didn't eat much. "Do you think she would have gone if she didn't pretend to be Annabeth's date?"
"I don't think so," Nico answered. "Reyna wouldn't tolerate Thalia's family, even for Thalia's sake."
Frank frowned slightly. Reyna wouldn't have her dinner with her girlfriend's family, but she was willing to go to a coworker's family dinner in another state. Was Thalia's family that bad? Or, was there more to it?"
Octavian groaned and suddenly looked down. He stood and spoke, "Sorry, I have to take this. I think my family wants to yell at me again."
"You should ignore it," Lupa said gently. Octavian looked at her for a moment and then shook his head. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, and a frown came to his face.
"That is not my family," Octavian said. He quickly turned and walked out of the room, talking on the phone. Frank glanced at his grandma and saw that she was on her third glass of wine. His eyes widened, and Lupa gently moved the bottle out of reach.
"How are you settling in, Will?" Frank asked as he turned his head and looked at the team's doctor. Will looked at him and smiled sadly.
"I think I'm settling in well. It's hard being away from my mother for Christmas," Will admitted. "I talked to her for two hours today, though."
As they all settled in and started to eat, they heard a phone ring. Hazel frowned and slowly grabbed her phone. She seemed to study the number and then put her phone down. It started vibrating like crazy a moment later.
"Just block them," Nico said.
"You should," Frank agreed, and he felt his phone vibrate. He frowned and looked down at his pocket. Will and Nico did the same. Frank carefully reached into his pocket and glanced at his phone, afraid his grandmother would hit him for being rude.
There were a few notifications from his social media feed: some kind of breaking news story. Frank would have just put his phone down, but he read Hazel's name and froze. His eyes slowly skimmed over the article title: The Dark Side of Hazel Levesque's Family.
"They texted me and said this is my fault," Hazel whispered. She stared down at her phone and looked horrified. Frank instantly stood and wrapped both arms around Hazel to pull her into a hug. Nico gently rubbed Hazels' back.
"I'll get on damage control," Octavian said as he walked back into the room.
"No," Lupa said softly. She looked at Hazel and gently grabbed her hand. "Do not let your family drag you down and ruin your Christmas."
"My family isn't going to drag me down," Hazel replied. She took a deep breath and put her phone back into her pocket. "My family is right here with me at this table. Let's just enjoy our Christmas dinner."