Welcome back! Hope everyone is still enjoying this. I realize with the long delay the writing style likely doesn't blend perfectly - cards on the table I haven't really written anything that wasn't work related in about three and a half years, and I feel like the seams definitely show - but hopefully it's close enough to not throw anyone too much.

Anything you like about it is probably thanks to my beta, lynedele77. She wrote a story too. She updates marginally faster than me, by which I mean more than every four years. Check her out.

Also, there won't be daily updates for a little bit - the next pieces still need to be written, but hopefully it won't take another half decade.

At noon the next day Bo and Lauren were tangled together on the couch, half asleep.

"I need to check the turkey," Lauren mumbled into Bo's shoulder.

"Mm," Bo hummed, almost asleep.

Lauren sighed and started to move, her bare skin rubbing against Bo's. Clearly misinterpreting what was happening, Bo shifted and started rubbing her hands along Lauren's sides.

Lauren groaned. "Honestly, if we have sex again it might kill me." She said, standing up.

Bo grinned, still laying on the couch. "But what a way to go."

Lauren laughed and walked into the kitchen, happy to note that the turkey still appeared to be on track. She then retreated back to the bedroom and grabbed a robe wrapping it around herself and grabbing Bo's before she came back into the living room.

"Hey, wait, I was promised naked cooking," Bo yawned, her eyes still half closed.

Lauren reached down and grasped Bo's arm, pulling her to her feet and handing her the second robe. "We need some coffee if we're going to make it through Thanksgiving," she noted.

"Mmmm, coffee," Bo said happily, tying the robe around herself and walking towards the kitchen. She approached the coffee pot and paused. "Hey, should we be drinking coffee?"

Lauren glanced at her, surprised. "I never thought I'd hear you ask that question."

Bo laughed. "No, I mean…should we toast, or something?"

Lauren shrugged. "I don't know, this is my first marriage."

Bo thought for a moment and then started the coffeepot before heading to a cabinet and rummaging around. A few moments later she reemerged holding a bottle of Bailey's. "We can put this in our coffee and toast with it," she remarked.

"Much more in keeping with your vibe," Lauren smiled. "But that works for me."

When the coffee was ready they prepared their mugs and stood facing one another. "Alright, here's to…uh, us, I guess?" Bo said, lamely.

Lauren laughed. "You really are bad at wedding toasts," she commented, clinking their mugs together and taking a sip.

Bo took a long drink of hers and the pulled Lauren into a kiss. "Luckily you're really, really good at them."

Thanksgiving dinner was set for 5p that evening. By the time 4:45p rolled around, Bo and Lauren were half dressed and fully tipsy.

"We forgot to eat lunch before we started drinking," Lauren noted, pulling on a sweater.

"It's Thanksgiving! You aren't supposed to eat lunch on Thanksgiving," Bo replied, finishing brushing her hair.

"How are we supposed to get there?" Lauren asked.

"We definitely can't drive," Bo conceded. "I'll call us a cab."

"Better text them and tell them we're going to be late, too."

"Good call," Bo replied. "You're so smart." She grabbed Lauren and pulled her into a kiss.

Lauren meant to end the kiss quickly, but her alcohol fogged brain missed the memo, and soon she found herself pressed against Bo.

A few minutes later, her mind caught up. "We're late."

"We could be later," Bo mumbled.

"Come on, come on," Lauren said with a smile. "I'll call the cab, you call Kenzi."

Bo grabbed her phone and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Kenzileena, happy day of turkey!" Bo exclaimed.

"You're drunk already?" Kenzi asked.

"A little, yes. Which is to say completely."

"And you're going to be late?"

"Lauren is calling a cab. HEY, speaking of Lauren –"

"Just pass the phone to your girlfriend," Kenzi cut her off with a sigh.

Bo nodded, even though Kenzi couldn't see her. She turned to Lauren. "She wants to talk to you."

"Sup, Kenz," Lauren said into the phone.

"Did you just say 'sup'?" Kenzi asked. "Just get here when you can, preferably without vomiting, okay?"

"Aye, aye, captain," Lauren answered. She hung up the phone. "We might be in trouble."

Bo and Lauren grabbed more coffee – alcohol free this time – on their way out the door and by the time they made it to the Dal they were feeling a bit more sober. As they were walking in, Bo wrapped Lauren into one last quick kiss.

"Ready?"

"Ready," Lauren answered.

They walked in the door, Lauren holding the turkey. They both tried to compose themselves despite the fact that they felt giddy.

"Hey, happy Thanksgiving!" Ciara called out to them as they walked in the front door. "Here, let me help you with that," she added, gesturing to the turkey in Lauren's arms.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" Dyson added from behind her.

"Glad you made it," Kenzi noted, taking a sip of a beer.

"You seem crabby, Kenz," Bo noted with a smile.

Nate grinned and rubbed her back. "She's mad because I made her cook all morning."

"All. Morning. Since. 7," Kenzi groused.

"Well, everything smells fantastic," Lauren noted.

"And I'm starving," Tamsin commented, walking in behind them holding a pumpkin pie.

A refreshed chorus of hellos went up to greet her as she came in and took off her coat.

"Is Vex here yet?" Lauren asked, walking up to a tray of cheese and taking a piece.

"Not yet," Nate supplied, grabbing a piece of cheese as well.

"He has a boyfriend," Lauren added with a smile.

"Really?" Kenzi remarked, a mischievous smirk playing across her face. "Well, this day is suddenly looking up."

"Wait, how did I not know this? I live with you!" Bo exclaimed.

"I told you about this," Lauren replied.

"No, you didn't!"

"Did."

"Didn't."

"Okay, this is adorable, super cute, but momma needs a drink," Kenzi said with a smile, cutting between them to grab another beer.

"So did Vex use the boyfriend label or are we just teasing him with it?" Tamsin asked.

"He knows his last name," Lauren answered.

"Holy shit, for Vex that's like being halfway down the isle," Kenzi commented as she opened the new beer.

"Oh, hey, speaking of –" Bo started before the door of the Dal swung open.

"Happy day of feasting, my American friends!" Vex merrily exclaimed.

"Vex! Welcome! And where is your lovely new boyfriend?" Kenzi asked enthusiastically.

Vex halted his step, looking at Lauren. "You right bitch."

Lauren smiled. "Happy Thanksgiving, Vex."

"Sharing secrets, are we? Am I the first to go or has Lauren been catching everyone up as well?"

Lauren smiled harder and took a sip of the wine Ciara had handed her. "My life is an open book, Vex."

"Quite." He walked to a tray of cheese and took a slice, placing a bottle of scotch on the bar top. As he took a bite, he regarded Lauren for a moment. "Are you drunk?"

"I am," she replied, talking only to Vex as everyone else started up their own conversations around them.

"It would be a shame if any gemstone related purchases came to light," he said.

Lauren just laughed, preparing to reply when she heard Kenzi's voice. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Seriously!" Bo defended. "I have the speech!"

"Did your girlfriend write this one too?"

"No!" Bo answered, with a wide smile.

Lauren laughed. "C'mon, Bo, don't lie. Yes, Kenzi, I did write it."

"I'm not lying!" Bo answered.

Lauren looked at Bo for a moment and then it registered that Kenzi had said 'girlfriend.' Lauren laughed, having a silent moment with Bo across the bar. "Oh, right, actually her girlfriend didn't write it."

"Wow, you two are trashed," Tamsin noted, grabbing a cracker from the tray.

"It doesn't count on Thanksgiving," Bo answered with a wave of her hand.

Dyson smiled. "Wow, this is just like high school graduation all over again."

"You were drunk at your high school graduation?" Ciara asked.

"You weren't?" Bo asked back.

"Hey, do you all have something still in the oven? I smell something burning…" Tamsin noted, looking around.

Nate waved off her question. "No, no, that's just the sweet potatoes. They got a little overdone."

Bo leaned closer to Kenzi, and asked her in a low voice, "let me guess – you tried to get out of cooking by sleeping with him, but you didn't know the potatoes were already in the oven?"

"Bingo," Kenzi answered, taking another drink.

Nate walked to the kitchen and walked out with a well-done apple pie. He looked at it sadly. "The pumpkin should be fine."

Bo looked at Kenzi with a note of alarm. "Did you have sex in the bar or upstairs?"

Kenzi took another drink. "Wow, I didn't know you were such a prude."

"I feel like that's against many health codes."

"He was making me cook. All. Day."

"We have Lysol, right?" Bo asked.

"So, you really have a speech?"

"I really have a speech."

"That you wrote?"

"…I really have a speech."

Kenzi sighed. "Bo…"

"No, no! Trust me. This speech is amazing. Like, make you want to get married amazing."

Kenzi looked at her blankly. "I already want to get married. Do you know what a wedding toast is?"

Bo laughed. "Yes, I know what a wedding toast is, but what I'm trying to tell you is that this toast is just, like…" Bo trailed off, trying to find the right words to describe the speech.

Kenzi shook her head. "You are so trashed," she noted, not without a slightly hint of affection.

"Yes!" Bo replied. "Exactly, I am, because Lauren and I were drinking most of the afternoon, because the speech was so good."

"The wedding speech was so great that you got drunk?"

"Well we started drinking as a toast with our coffee after we were up all night."

"You started drinking toast?"

"No, we started drinking as a toast," Bo replied with a giggle. "Maybe you're drunk."

"So you and Lauren stayed up all night toasting to my wedding?" Kenzi asked.

"No we stayed up all night…doing other things," Bo laughed.

Kenzi shook her head. "Ew, gross, no, I miss when you were a prude."

Bo sighed. "No, what I'm trying to tell you is we stayed up all night and had a toast because we –"

Before she could say anything more, Lauren called out, her voice slightly slurred, "hey, guys, we should say things we're thankful for!"

"Good Lord, you're trashed," Tamsin commented, shaking her head. "But I'm into it. I vote Vex goes first. Are you thankful to be in looooove this year?"

"Go on, Vex, tell them his middle name," Lauren teased.

"Lauren bought an engagement ring," Vex shot back. "Let's talk about that."

"You bought a riiing?" Bo asked in exaggerated fake surprise.

Lauren started laughing.

Dyson looked between Vex, Lauren, and Bo. "I don't get it."

"We got married," Bo answered him.

"You…wait, what?" Ciara stuttered.

Bo held up the ring as proof.

"HOLY SHIT you got ENGAGED?" Kenzi exclaimed, grabbing Bo's hand to inspect the ring.

"No, we didn't get engaged," Lauren clarified.

"You actually did it?" Vex asked Lauren with a note of shock in his voice.

"Yes! Exactly! We actually did it!" Lauren answered, her alcohol fogged mind believing the group was finally understanding.

"Right!" Bo added. "It's done!"

"Weird way to talk about getting engaged…" Tamsin commented with a quirk of an eyebrow.

"No, no, we aren't engaged," Bo answered while Kenzi inspected the ring.

"Really? Because you're wearing an engagement ring…" Dyson noted with confusion.

"Yeah, but not because we're engaged," Lauren added.

"Wow. You two are way more drunk than I thought," Tamsin commented. "I'm not sure if you two even know what's going on at this point."

"We got married," Bo said again. "Yesterday."

The group stared at Lauren and Bo in shock.

"Yeah, sorry we didn't…it was kind of spontaneous," Lauren said.

"Spontaneous, huh?" Vex said to Lauren, quietly.

She grinned at him. "Well, when the moment's right I guess…"

Kenzi squealed loudly, throwing her arms around Bo. "This is amazing!" She shouted. At that, a chorus of congratulations went up around the room.

A few minutes later, as the group was dying down, Bo noted, "I just wish Vex's new boyfriend could have been here to celebrate with us."

"Motherfucker," Vex sighed, taking a swig of scotch directly from the bottle.

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