Cracker hadn't come over for a while now. In fact, you hadn't seen him or talked to him outside of a few texts here and there.

He still had no idea what exactly happened and you hadn't yet gathered the courage to explain it to him. But he'd decided that the best thing to do was give you space to figure things out. It was thoughtful on his part but you weren't sure if that was what you wanted.

Yes, seeing him hurt. It also made you feel better though. Time spent with him was always great, well, almost always. The past arguements and misunderstandings have made things a little more difficult but you had only yourself to blame for that.

Still, you assumed he wanted time by himself as well. Or maybe with his new girlfriend, Nami. That thought hurt.

The few weeks up till Thanksgiving were very quiet to say the least. It gave you plenty of time with your thoughts. Sometimes it was welcome, other times you wished Cracker was around to make jokes and goof off.

At least he didn't seem to hate you after the big Halloween blow up. The few texts you'd shared since then proved that.

But thankfully, that whole problem wasn't on your mind today. Instead, you were focused on doing everything you could to make Thanksgiving perfect for you and your dad. You'd told him you'd take care of everything and you'd been sticking to that.

Your house looked like fall threw up all over it. There was festive, fun decor covering every single surface. Fake leaves that went from a bright yellow to a crisp burgundy climbed along the walls and counters in your kitchen, little ceramic pumpkins were nestled in on your tv center and coffee table, fall themed throw pillows and blankets covered your couch, and a plush turkey sat among all that. You loved decorating for the holidays, even if it was just you.

By midday, you'd started putting together a traditional dinner, planning on your dad being over within a few hours. He'd asked about watching football and you assured him he'd get to watch the game over dinner. Since it was just the two of you, you wouldn't get all that formal with it. It wouldn't have felt right anyway.

You were beyond excited for this. It was easily going to be the highlight of the past few weeks, a big part of the developing relationship between you and your dad. You'd been carefully making everything from turkey to pie until the house was filled with the aroma of freshly made food. You had to admit, you were impressed with yourself.

Baking was your forte but that didn't mean you were always the best cook. You'd easily outdone yourself this time though. Everything was made to perfection and ready by the time your dad was supposed to be showing up. You plopped yourself into the couch and flipped through the tv channels until you came across the football game. Sports weren't what you considered enjoyable but if he wanted to watch it, you'd be more than happy to sit through it.

And you waited.

Every once in a while, you'd check the time on your phone before focusing back on the screen, trying to figure out the rules of the game.

And you kept waiting.

You told yourself he had to just be running late and shot him a message, a friendly reminder that you were ready for him to come over at any time.

And you waited for his reply.

When the food started getting cold, you popped it in the oven so you could heat it up fast when your dad arrived.

Then it came to a point when you started worrying. It was cold out, sure, but the weather was clear besides that. You hoped he'd only gotten stuck in traffic and didn't get into some kind of accident. After your mom's accident, you were always worried about someone else you loved getting into one.

Another text and he still had yet to reply. You had half a mind to call him but you decided to give it a little longer. When you last checked the clock, an hour and a half had passed. You could give him another half hour, not putting it behind him to have played a game of nap roulette* or something. He had a habit of showing up to most things a tad late on a regular basis as it was. Now that you thought about his habit of running late, you managed to calm your nerves a bit.

The wait didn't drag on as much and you managed to let out a sigh of relief when you finally received a call from him.

"Hey dad." You chirped. "I figured you were running late or something but I've got everything...."

You trailed off when you heard the shouts of people and the clatter of plates and drinks. The tv in the background echoed the same sounds yours made, suggesting wherever he was had the game playing too.

"I just wanted to call and say I'd made a last minute change of plans." He responded cheerily, like he hadn't just ditched on you. "I found this smoking hot woman a couple weeks ago and we've really been hitting it off. She invited me to spend the day with her and her friends. You understand, right?"

"You-you didn't show up so you could spend time with some woman you hardly know? We had this all planned out!"

"Hey, no need to catch an attitude, we really haven't gotten to know each other for very long either."

"Why did you even come to my door if you can't seem to care more about me?" You swallowed back the tears that threatened to spill over and did everything you could to keep your voice even. "Did you even care?"

"Look, (Y/n), you're a sweet kid but you're just that, a kid. It's been great getting to see you and spend some time with you again, we'll have to do it again eventually. But I've got my own life to live. I care, it's just I realized why I left all those years ago after seeing you again. I can't be tied down. I gotta be able to go out and have a good time, you know?"

"Wha–what happened to wanting me in your life?"

"I do! I meant it when I said it and I still do. I wouldn't mind popping by once in a while between business trips. I should get a chance for that roughly once every year or so. Speaking of, I've actually gotta head outta country again in the next couple days."

You were at a loss for words. He'd never mentioned his business trips or that he was only here because he simply wasn't on one.

"Did you really plan on finding me or was that coincidence?" You wiped away your tears with a blanket and sniffled, just about ready to call the day a failure, but you still wanted this last question answered, if only for the sake of knowing the truth.

"I'd hired someone to find you and since I had down time, I thought it'd be nice to see you since they were able to locate you pretty easily. Don't be so down about it all, I promise to stop by before I head to the airport. How's that sound?"

Suddenly you felt sick, like he'd been lying to you this whole time, leading you to believe he'd actually changed.

"No thanks." You mumbled.

"Oh, well then–"

You hung up, tired of hearing his voice. In fact, you didn't want any noise at all. You turned the TV off and covered yourself in the blankets covering the couch, topping the pile off with one covered in cartoon, fall themed critters. You curled up, and let your thoughts wander in the crisp silence, ignoring the tears that fell down your face steadily.

----

"Um, hey (Y/n). Wow it's dark in here."

Feet scuffled across the floors and made their way to the kitchen, dropping off something in a plastic bag before Cracker leaned over the couch, like that's exactly where he knew you'd be.

"(Y/n)?"

He'd come over unannounced and you couldn't decide if that bothered you or if you really wanted the company. A few hours had passed, enough for it to turn dark outside. And you hadn't found the will to get up and turn the lights on in the house. The dark was comforting anyway.

"(Y/n), I'm sorry for whatever I did, I really didn't mean to offend you in any way. And.....I brought some apology pie." He offered a sheepish smile and you decided that maybe you did want his company. You missed seeing him for the past few weeks.

"Thanks." You rearranged yourself so that you could look at him without craning your neck too much.

"So are you still angry with me?"

"No, I haven't been for a while...."

"Then what's with the face then? Where's your dad by the way, did he have to head home early?"

The answer must have shown on your face. His fell as soon as he took your dismal expression in.

"Did he....not come?"

You shook your head and mentally cursed how emotional you'd been lately, feeling fresh tears build up in your eyes. "He said he changed his mind and decided to spend the day with some random bimbo instead."

"That asshole." The anger in his eyes seemed real and the way he clutched at the couch cushions above your head told you he'd probably punch your dad if he ever got the chance.

That thought was nice. There was a good chance you were a little angry about things too.

"So you've been alone all day?"

"Yeah." Your voice cracked, separating the word into two and that's all it took for a tidal wave of fresh tears to start.

"Shit, I'm sorry (Y/n)." He was around the couch before you knew it and plopped himself down beside you, making you bounce a bit. "If I would've known, I would've brought you over to my mom's."

An arm wrapped around your shoulders delicately and you let him pull you over until you were pressed into his chest. It felt good to be touching him like this and you couldn't help but think of the time he kissed you.

"I don't think Nami would have approved." You mumbled as he squeezed you closer. His hand had snuck under the blankets to rub up and down your arm.

"Her?" He scoffed and you looked up at him, wrinkling your brow in confusion at the disgust on his face. "Yeah that boat has sailed. Turns out she recognized the family name from the get go and was looking for a sugar daddy. She was willing to do the whole dating thing only if I gave her an allowance."

"What a bitch."

"Right? She drew up a contract and anything. It was kinda intimidating."

You chuckled lightly. "I'm sorry, she intimidated you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" He smirked like he already knew what you were going to say.

"You're a little scary yourself."

"What? Am not."

"Are too."

"Do I scare you?"

"...You used to."

"Aw, c'mon (Y/n). I'd never do anything to hurt you." He pouted, giving you big, puppy dog eyes until you fell into giggles, just like he wanted. "I'm about as harmless as Geoffrey."

The plush giraffe in question sat alone on your lounge, lost among the more festive decorations.

"So....if Nami isn't going to happen, what's your plan?"

"Back on the serious stuff, huh?" Cracker sighed. "In all honesty, I don't know. But that's a problem for another day."

"I guess." You allowed yourself a moment of selfishness and snuggled in closer to him. He was a little chilly from his time outside but between you and the blankets covering him somewhat, he was warming up fast.

"You know, the day isn't over. I bet if I text Katakuri or Peros, they can hold off on the big family card game until we get there."

"If your thing isn't over, why'd you leave?"

"I had to check on you. We've been off for a while now and I decided I didn't like it. I figured today was a good day to get back to normal. So are we going to go play cards or what?"

"I look like shit."

"Your dad was being an ass. You have an excuse and no one will judge you for it."

"They all think we broke up." Even if it wasn't real.

"Eh, we can treat it like some big, stupid arguement we worked out. They all got pissed about it anyway. My family likes you, you know."

"Really?"

"Yep. Mom says you're a keeper." He chuckled as his fingers tapped along your arm.

You blushed at the thought of one of the most influential people in your life deciding you were good enough for her son. You still might have a shot at winning him over, especially now that Nami was out of the picture.

"Cards sounds fun." You nodded and wiped your face clean with the topmost blanket. The tears were done for the night, Cracker had made sure of it.

"Let's get our asses in gear then!" He gave you one last squeeze and jostled you a bit before jumping to his feet.

You were a little slow moving at first but you eventually got up and let him drive you over. The Charlottes were surprised to see you but it was in a good way. They thought they'd held off on their game just for Cracker and were happy to see it was also for you. No one questioned your puffy eyes or slightly sad smile but they did welcome you back like you were a part of the family.

The evening turned into your saving grace and the best holiday you'd had in a long time.

(A/n)
For those of you who aren't sure what nap roulette is, it's taking a nap without setting an alarm and knowing you have something else going on later (work, meeting up with friends, ect.). Half my friends love playing that game but in their defense, it's never before something real important. I feel like it's something a lot of people do when they hit adulthood for some reason???