Family Thanksgiving
Requested: Nope!
Rating: PG! This is all cute fluff!
Summary: Greaser! Sam and his entire crew stop by for your family thanksgiving (this is entirely self-service bc I love greasers/socs, fluff, and nice family moments)
A/N: happy late thanksgiving everyone! I am so thankful for all of you guys and I hope you like this!!!
Sam’s hands were sweating. He was wringing his hands in the passenger seat of his older brother Tom’s hot-rod car, his brothers were all clad in leather jackets, even though he’d asked them to wear something that made them look less like the thugs everyone labeled them as.
Why had he agreed to this again? Sam knew the answer without thinking: he loved you, his girlfriend of multiple months. Because of this, his instant reaction when you’d invited him- and his family- over for thanksgiving over was a resounding yes.
Now, Sam was balancing a tray of homemade dessert and had never felt so unsure of his choices up until this point. It wasn’t you he was scared of- it was his parents- rather, what they would think of his family.
Sam knew your parents were kind, they were the ones who you credited for the idea of Sam and his “crew” joining the far richer family for dinner. The radio of the car blasted rock music so loud Sam felt it in his chest, and knew it probably could be heard throughout the town as the drove from their home to YN’s, watching as the houses transitioned into nicer and nicer- and more expensive homes.
“Turn it down,” Sam hissed at Tom, who was driving with one hand on the wheel and the other balancing in the space where the bow rolled-down window usually stayed. They were in YN’s neighborhood now, and this was not the first impression Sam wanted to give. “Ah, shut it, Sammy-boy, your little girlfriend and her richy parents won’t mind our music- ain’t that right boys?” Harrison, Paddy, and Harry all shared their agreement teasingly, all of them taking pleasure in watching their “softest” brother stress over how they would be received by his girlfriend’s family. Tom noticed the grim look on his younger brothers face and turned the music down so that it would no longer be heard outside of the car. Sam looked at him gratefully and Tom simply winked, ignoring the other boy’s requests for the music to be brought back up in volume.
They’d been in YN’s neighborhood for a moment, and Sam gave the final directions on how to turn onto YN’s street that he knew by heart from many prior visits. He was nearly tempted to convince his family to turn the car around and go home and have thanksgiving as they always did- the same, cheap, frozen dinners but with a special splurge- a sliver of pie for each of them- a luxury they couldn’t often afford.
They never said it, but they wished they had more- more food to eat, and real beds to sleep on, and shoes that weren’t hand-me-downs, already worn completely through in places. Sam realized that his options were becoming more limited by the second- they were now parked in YN’s driveway. The boys in the backseat were the first to clamber out of the car, rapping on Sam’s window when he sat completely motionless in the seat, fingers clenched so tightly around the dish in his lap that his knuckles were pale.
“Come on, softie! Food’s this way!” Harry teased, following his brother’s towards the front door that Sam figured was worth more than their entire house, if you could call it that. Sam removed himself from the car when he realized his brothers had reached the front porch, Sam knew he should probably do as much of the talking as possible, self-advocacy had never been his brother’s strong suits when it came to Soc’s.
Tom rapped on the door as Sam finally caught up with them, taking a deep breath and clinging onto the dish in his hands. “Coming!” Was heard from behind the door along with the clamber of footsteps and Sam considered for the last time grabbing his brothers and running away before his image could be ruined with YN’s parents. He didn’t have a chance to act before the door swung open, light and warm, pleasantly scented air welcomed the boys, practically pulling the inside.
YN’s mother stood at the door, apron looped over her neck and tied behind her waist, flush with the front of her dress, her outfit perfectly coordinated- the picture perfect definition of a Soc.
“Hello, dears! Come on in, it’s chilly out,” she ushered them inside and Sam smiled slightly still nervous. The boys all thanked her, but the butterflies didn’t stop fluttering in Sam’s gut when Harry shot a look back that Sam knew meant “this oughta be good” with a sly grin the was nothing short of fox-like. Sam knew his family was composed of good people, he couldn’t ask for any better, the only problem was that they had an affinity for pushing boundaries, the primary reason Sam was the only one left in school.
YN’s mother offered to take their leather jackets from them, to hang them on the rack beside the door. Sam was nothing short of relieved when they obliged with no resistance, shedding the dark layers and handing them off, looking noticeably smaller in their t-shirts. “It’s so nice to meet you all, we’re so excited to have you!” Sam could tell that even though the boys acted as though they were unmoved by the kind words, they were surprised to be so warmly welcomed.
“We’ve missed you, Sam! You’ve been doing alright?” She asked sweetly and Sam nodded with a smile- he quite liked YN’s parents if he was honest. “Yeah, I’m alright, thank you, ma’am,” he said, handing off his jacket, holding the dish in one hand and then the other so he could slide his arms from his jacket without dropping it.
“You can call me YMN, dear,” she reminded gently with a smile, hanging up their jackets. The boys exchanged smiles and wiggled their eyebrows at same, who promptly shot them discouraging looks while YN’s mom’s back was turned. Sam’s head turned when he heard commotion from the kitchen, turning his head in the familiar direction, watching YN step out of it, a towel thrown haphazardly over her shoulder, and flour dusted lightly over her cheeks and coating her hands, which she wiped carelessly on the skirt of her dress, a casual one Sam recognized easily, the loose material hanging from her without shape while still managing to compliment her form.
Sam smiled without meaning to at the sight of her. She did the same, pacing over so quickly nothing but the balls of her feet fully hit the floor before the next foot was planted, making her way over to Sam and wrapping him in a tight hug arranging her body as not to disturb the container in his grip. he encircled his arms around her. “I’m so glad you all came!” She gushed, looking down at herself and pulling the rag from her shoulder quickly, a bit embarrassed to be remotely underdressed in front of Sam’s family. She’d met them before of course, more than once, but she had yet to get as comfortable with them as she was with Sam.
His brothers smiled, shooting Sam suggestive glances while she was distracted making small talk with the others.
“So, I just dropped an empty pan- but don’t worry mom, everything is fine, everything’s on track,” she nodded to herself, the smile never leaving her face. She was excited, maybe even a bit apprehensive for dinner, but nowhere near as nervous as Sam. Her mother shook her head playfully, “that’s alright, lamb, feel free to entertain our guests while me and YDN finish up, everything should be ready in under an hour, is that alright?” Everyone nodded. “Thank you, ma- YMN,” Sam corrected himself, a smile blossoming over YN’s mom’s face.
“Of course, dear, I can take this, so you don’t have to hang on to it if you’d like?” Sam nodded, quickly handing over the dish, the glass was cracked slightly on the exterior, it had belonged to his mother and was worn from use. “This looks wonderful!” She spoke with approval radiating off of her, Sam was just glad that nothing had gone wrong up until this point.
“Thanks, I hope it’s alright,”
“It’d better be, y’ spent all day slaving away over the cook book for that!” Tom teased, never one to be overly- or even remotely humble. Sam flushed scarlet now, hushing his brother. “Oh, Sam, you didn’t have to do that for us, I’m sure it’ll be absolutely wonderful!” It was a fairly simple dessert, abut he had wanted it to be absolutely flawless. Sam murmured a sheepish “thanks,” and YN’s mother strode into the kitchen, her father poking his head from the threshold a second later, seeing the foyer full of guests and wiping his hands on a towel before shaking each of the boy’s hands, introducing himself and taking great care to encode all of their names as not to forget. “Well, lads, make yourself at home, it’s great to have you over,” He smiled, shaking Sam’s hand warmly before pulling him into what Sam could only think to describe as a bear hug. The boys snickered under their breath but they’d never admit they admired YN’s parent’s warm reception of their brother.
“Let me know if there’s anything you need, guys,” He grinned before stepping back into the kitchen.
“So, uh, we could all go sit in the living room, if you’d like,” YN offered gently, showing the group through a short hallway to the living room. If Sam’s family hadn’t been blown away by the aesthetic of the house, they were now, a fireplace crackled below a mantle filled with pictures in frames and books, a stack of records and a record player in the corner, a card table in the other, a pale grey couch in the center, a rug that looked more expensive than anything the boy’ s had ever been in the same room with before on the floor.
“Shit,” Harrison breathed, “Sam neglected to tell us that you’re actually a princess,” he smirked. YN shook her head slightly. “Oh, I’m not, really,” Sam smiled softly, pulling her close to his side with one arm to comfort both of them. The boys plopped down on the couch in a line, Paddy, Harry, Harrison and Tom. Their bodies completely filing the space. Sam rolled his eyes at them, all squirming and elbowing each other.
“Can you all pretend that you weren’t raised in the garage?” Sam asked, only half joking. “What, lover boy, embarrassed of your own brothers in front of your pretty girl?” Harry teased. Sam rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry about,” he paused, trying to find the perfect word, “them,” he laughed.
“I wish I could say they weren’t like this all of the time, but you already know they are,” YN leaned into his body. “And you already know I don’t mind any, I’m glad you’re all here,” she smiled genuinely, and Sam wondered what he could’ve done to luck out dating YN.
“You’re too kind, sweetheart,” Tom winked, much to Sam’s chagrin. “Any chance we could play with those cards? They aren’t gold plated are they?’ He teased, YN giggled slightly, shaking her head. “No, Tom, one thing we’ve failed to invest in is twenty-four-karat playing cards,”
YN dragged the card table over towards the couch and the boys circled around it, Harrison requesting to deal, because “y’ can’t just break tradition!” Everyone, even YN figured he was somehow cheating but didn’t do anything to stop him as he collected the cards into his hands from the table, tapping them on the table between his fingers to straighten them. “I’m going to go put on something a bit more put together, I’ll be right back,” YN explained softly to Sam, slipping from his grasp and heading towards the stairs.
“Don’t worry about dealing me in for this round, boys!” She smiled before climbing the stairs, back turned to the group of boys, all of their eyes tethered to her as she walked away. Sam huffed, “could you guys act like you’ve seen a girl before-”
“ain’t our fault that your girl is hot stuff, softie!” Harry laughed, Sam shushed him harshly, rolling his eyes. “Gotta give it t’ ya, Sammy, this is a pretty good set-up for thanksgiving this year, even the parents are like, nice,” he said, not hiding his surprise at how welcoming YN and her parents had been.
“I told you they were different from those other soc’s” Sam said with a proud smile, taking up his set of cards he’d been dealt and beginning to play.
Within minuets, their game had devolved into wrestling on the rug over cheating accusations. YN walked down the stairs, watching the action, Sam’s head in his hands and moving slowly back in forth.
“Who’s winning?” She giggled, watching as the boys instantly stilled in response to her voice. “Cards or wrestling?” Paddy laughed from his position on the floor, still regaining his breath from being tickled by tom.
“Either,” she replied easily. “Harrison is winning cards an-”
“Because he’s a good for nothin’ cheater!” Tom interjected, which resulted in a shoving match between him and his friend. “And I think that wrestling is up for interpretation,” Sam finished, laughing with YN as she sat down next to him, her hair down around her face now, and a pretty dress on her body, a contrast from the comfortable house clothes she’d worn earlier, yet she looked equally as beautiful to Sam.
“What’s all this commotion?” YN”s dad chuckled, stepping into the room with a good-natured grin on his face.
“Oh- sorry, we were just messin’ around, uh, sir,” Sam was surprised Paddy had apologized before he’d even had a chance. The boys quickly straightened out, the eldest ones trying to retain their aloof appearance while still moving to look more civilized.
“Don’t be sorry, this is your home too kiddos,” The boys all tried to hide their surprise but failed, jaws going slack for mere fractions of a second. They simply shared smiles in return, Sam forgetting that YN was still tucked into his chest beneath his arm and began to move away, not wanting to offend her father in any way. YN noticed his sudden shift and brought her hand up over his arm. “Where are ya going?” She inquired sweetly, and Sam instantly settled back in, he knew he didn’t have the strength to leave. They shared a smile and she pressed her forehead to his for a second.
“I’m thankful for you, y’ know, so much,” she looked into his eyes and Sam felt as though he could see all the stars. “I love you,” he murmured. The noise levels in the room rising as YN’s dad began playing cards with the boys, all of them laughing and tossing cards around within minuets like they’d been friends for years. Sam was glad, he knew that Paddy was too young to have any memories of their parents, and he figured this might be the closest thing to it.
“Boys, YN, why don’t you all go get washed up, I’ll start setting up dinner!” YN’s mother called, YDN perked his head up and dropped his cards down on the card table. “I better go help out, hope you’re all ready for the best food of your life!” He exclaimed with twinkling eyes and a smile that pushed his cheeks far up in his face. YN stood up with Sam, walking out of the room and guiding the boys to the main bathroom of her house.
“God, is there any part of your house that isn’t nicer than a hotel?” Harrison teased as she flipped on the lights. “Not a square inch,” Sam answered with a laugh. YN washed her hands quickly before grabbing multiple wash cloths out of the basket a few feet from the sink. Handing them to the boys after they washed their hands for themselves, Paddy happy that he didn’t need any help to see over the sink now that he’d been growing a bit more.
“Ready to go harass my parents until dinner’s ready?” YN teased, tossing the soft, fluffy cloths into a hamper and flipping the lights off behind them.
“Alright, you all ready kiddos?” YN’s mother called from the kitchen. “Guess we won’t have time for much harassing today,” Sam giggled, his arm finding it’s way around her as they walked with neither of them thinking anything of it.
YN guided them towards the warm dining room adjacent to the kitchen, the scents of multiple foods wafting in, and candles lit on top of the long dining table in tall, slender candlesticks.
“Here, you can sit anywhere, its up to you,” YN smiled, her and Sam shared a slightly apprehensive look- this was it. The boys sat in one long line, YN sitting next to Sam, with Harry, Harrison, Tom and Paddy all seated down from him.
There was two chairs left unoccupied at the table and Sam wanted to eradicate the thoughts he had that reminded him that it would be YN’s parents, and not his- would be joining them momentarily. They’d be here if they could be. He reminded himself. YN noticed the pensive expression on his face and said nothing, but put her hand over his, running her thumb over his knuckles comfortingly.
“Alright, here are the first few things, start eating before anything gets cold!” YN’s dad spoke cheerily, bringing out baskets of bread and pitchers of something Sam didn’t recognize, it looked like wine, but bubbly. YDN brought out a tall pitcher of water, and he noticed the table was beautifully set with multiple sets of forks and spoons and two different cups at each place setting.
“Dig in, guys!”
“YDN, do you think we can say grace before we dig in?” YMN teased with no real annoyance beneath her words. “Oh, of course, alright, guys, YN,” They joined hands and YN’s mother said a quick prayer and mentioned how thankful she was for good health and their guests and all of the things they had, and that they were all together. Sam realized he hadn’t prayed in a long time, but was quickly distracted by the plates of food soon brought out to the table.
Sam had never been so grateful in his life for his brother’s good behavior, all of them using manners just as good- if not better than- the soc kids Sam and YN went to school with.
They ate in relative quiet for a while, a few ‘pass the salt’s or ‘wow, this is really good’s shared around the table. Sam couldn't remember the last time he had gotten enough to eat- much less this much warm, good food.
Finally, they decided the time for dessert had come and Sam wasn’t sure he could even fit in anymore food.
“Sam, I hope you don't mind that I plated what you brought over? I washed the original container for you to take home,” YN’s mom spoke from the kitchen, bustling in and out and bringing out multiple desserts. Sam noticed Paddy’s eyes go wide in excitement and couldn't help but relish in the obvious happiness his brother’s were experiencing- it wasn’t often they were al fed, and warm and happy and together all at the same time.
“No, I don't, mind, that’s really nice, thank y’ YMN,” Sam smiled. More desserts were brought out and he felt as though he was holding his breath- why didn’t he just take the sticker off of something store-bought again? He questioned himself.
“Now brace yourselves, everyone, YMN stated as she walked out of the kitchen. “Sam completely outdid me as far as desserts go, look at this! Isn’t it gorgeous?” She held up Sam’s creation- a pumpkin pie- with a tender smile down at Sam as she set it down in the center of the table. “You’ve got a real gift, from the looks of it, Sam,” He couldn’t help but smile, he was proud of himself but that didn’t stop himself from turning a pale shade of magenta at all of the attention. Tom reached over and clapped him supportively on the back.
“Sam does all the cooking back at home when we’re not all out fr milkshakes,” Tom grinned looking at Sam. “He’s actually pretty damn- sorry, pretty darn good.” Sam couldn’t have been prouder of his brother, and relieved that everything had gone so smoothly. “It’s not me, I just follow the directions,” Sam stated modestly.
“Well, I’d love too see them sometime!” YN’s mother beamed, cutting the pie as everyone began to pile up their plates with sweet foods.
“They were my mom’s- I’ll bring them over next time, if you’d like?” YN’s mother tilted her head, eyes softening in sympathy. “I would be delighted,” She replied sincerely. Sam grinned to himself, not wanting to let on how much YN’s parents meant to him. They had always been so kind and warm it was hard to think of them as anything but a second set of parents.
“Who wants a piece?” YN’s dad motioned to the pie, everyone’s hands raised, and Sam smiled brightly, watching YDN carefully dish out pieces of the pie around the table. “Sam, this is real good,” Paddy spoke with his mouth still full, causing those at the table to laugh. “Really, this really good, not real, and swallow before y’ speak,” Sam heard Tom quietly reminding Paddy, who simply nodded, continuing to eat. Sam noticed how much the environment had impacted his family- they sat straighter, as if it no longer mattered that most people assumed they were thugs based on their clothes. Sam felt a pang of desire for them to live with YN’s family all the time- he knew it wouldn’t happen, and put it out of his mind, settling to enjoy the present. “Sam, this is really, really good,” YN complimented, everyone nodding in agreement. “Thanks,” He breathed sheepishly, unsure of what to do with all the happiness building in his chest.
The rest of the night went just as well, Tom agreeing to help YDN with his car troubles if any should arise, and YMN promising to help Paddy with any school troubles- Sam learned she taught kids in school around Paddy’s age.
“Well, thank you all very much for having us, we appreciate it a lot,”
“Of course, darlings, you know you’re all welcome here any time, right?” YN’s Mom smiled, handing multiple containers of food- still warm- to Sam before he left to follow hi brother’s to the car.
“Here, I don’t want to hear any of you are hungry ever again, okay?” YN’s dad questioned, raising his eyebrows in sincerity. “Of course, thank you-” Sam found himself hugging YN’s ddad, careful not to crush the food between them. Her dad smiled, rubbing his head playfully. “Take care of yourself, Sam, and come back soon,”
Sam agreed without a second thought a YN told her parents she would walk him to the car, closing the front door behind them.
“Thanks for coming, they love you guys so much,” She grinned, “are you kidding? They loved it too, I can tell,” Sam smiled. “I’m glad. What’s mine is yours,” she smiled, and wrapped her arms around Sam’s neck, pulling him in for a kiss that lasted so long their lips grew deeper shades of pink.
“Oi, lovers, get a room!” Tom yelled, all of the boys pretending to gag as his oldest brother honked the horn of the car. “I- I gotta go- I’ll, uh, see ya at school tomorrow- right?” Sam was just slightly out of breath, butterflies swirling in his stomach from the kiss. YN nodded, smiling.
“Drive safe!” She called, stepping back inside. And that was it, Sam decided- that was the best thanksgiving ever.
