MC4A
Fill: 9
Prompt: 3A (Feast)
Representations: Jo Lupo; Douglas Fargo; Dancing; QPR
Bonus Challenges: Gingersnap; Second Verse (Queen Bee; Bandstand; Misshapen Pods; Zucchini Bread; Rediscovery; Found Family; Non-Traditional; Not a Lamp)
Stacked with: Winter Bingo; Romance Challenge; NCR; NC; SI(N); BAON; FPC; New Fandom Smell (Y); Fandom List A (Y); In a Flash (Y)
Word Count: 935

Jo's mouth moved silently as she went through the movements of the dance. Step ball change, step ball change, cross across stage and jeté back across. A voice cheerfully singing floated into the rehearsal room and she stopped, shutting off her music. Her two hours of solo rehearsal were up and her partner had arrived. Fargo grinned at her as he entered and she returned it.

"Are you feeling ready, Jo?" Fargo asked as he set down his equipment.

Jo nodded. "Pretty much. I just need to get my feet to work with the lead in to this jeté."

"You'll be great, Jo. You're pretty good at this dancing thing."

Jo laughed and set up the music for their piece together as Douglas started stretching. The two of them would be performing tomorrow in a dance recital and this was their final official practice. They'd probably do a mock-practice before the show, but for now, it was the full routine.

Douglas was her best friend, he had been the one who found her when she had decided to journey away from her family and become a dancer instead of going into the Special Forces. It wasn't that they were pressuring her into joining the Special Forces; it was more that they were all males who didn't quite understand her fascination with dancing.

He helped her train so that she could get a scholarship into the school they attended now, he took her home when he saw the apartment she had been living in—dingy and only just following the health codes of a residential building, it was all she could afford with what money she was making at Café Adorne. There was nothing she wouldn't do for him now, not with everything he had done for her.

Fargo jumped at Jo when they made their way backstage. She laughed with him and twirled him around in a fierce hug. They had performed perfectly, both in their solo and partner dances. Douglas placed a happy kiss on her cheek and started pulling her into the dressing rooms so that they could change out of their costumes.

"Time for some celebratory food, Fargo?" Jo asked as she pulled on a cardigan.

Douglas shifted, "We, uh, might have some company today."

"Oh yeah? Anyone I know?" Douglas' squeak of insecurity made her glare at him. "Fargo?"

"I might have got in contact with your family and invited them to see us perform?" he blurted out. "It's a big deal and I know you miss your family and I finally found them and it just sort of happened."

"Dad's here? Michael, Derek, and Leo too?"

He shifted again, unsure of if she was happy or not. "Yes?"

Her mind flashed to the last time she saw her family and she grinned, wrapping the fidgety man in her arms in a tight hug. "Thank you, Douglas."

He hugged her back just as tightly and then started pulling her out to where she now knew her family would be waiting for them. The Fargos had been her de facto family ever since Douglas had taken her home and she loved them, but that didn't mean she didn't miss her father and brothers.

A cluster of four men were waiting for them and Jo's grip on Douglas' hand tightened as she recognized them. They turned as Douglas called out to them and all smiled when they saw the two of them. She smiled nervously back, letting Douglas take over instead of the other way around as it normally was.

"Hey, guys, glad you could make it."

Her dad nodded and said, "Wouldn't miss it for the world. Hey, Jo-Jo."

She waved a hand at her family quickly, "Hey."

"Come on, let's go home. We made a feast last night and this morning, there's plenty of food for all of us." Everyone agreed to Douglas' suggestion and she and Douglas went to their car. The Lupo's would be following behind in their own vehicle.

The table was groaning with the feast the Fargos and Jo had been preparing. The two families now sat around the table as they caught up on the years they had been apart. Jo had been nervous about seeing her family again, they hadn't parted on the best of terms with all of the males being confused about her desire to dance.

Her worries were allayed when Michael nudged her from where he was sitting next to her. "Hey, Monkey, did some pretty moves up on that stage."

A smile came on her face as she heard the old nickname only her brothers called her. "Thanks, Ape. I can still beat you in arm-wrestling though."

He laughed. "I'll bet you can! I saw you lifting Douglas and all that twirling stuff you did."

"It's called dancing."

"Yeah, that thing." He grinned and nudged her again, "Twirling stuff."

She threw a biscuit at him and he retaliated by throwing back a piece of roast potato. Derek and Leo quickly saw the start of a food fight and instantly jumped at the chance to restart the Lupo tradition. Douglas joined in as soon as he was hit with a carrot and Jo's father also grinned and joined.

Soon, the celebratory feast had devolved into an all-out war between the Lupos and the Fargos with Jo siding with Douglas. Jo was laughing as she threw food around. She hadn't had a food fight since she had left the Lupo home. It felt good to be with her family again, this was home to her. Food fights and action (with the occasional dancing).