[Futurelandia] An Eventful Valentines and beyond (happy new year)

[generalflirt]

[ Nathan moved into tow and that was awkward, Yamato and Nariko probably have some sort of a relationship and that's awkward, Yamato's been trying to make new friends so that's interesting, and Masaomi and Nariko are hopefully solid as anything after that trip, Nathan and Yamato complications aside. There's a new pack member that Masaomi met at a party and Nariko met in class. It's been over a month since the new year began and the old one concluded.

A lot's changed and yet not a lot had at all.

And frankly, things were probably just going to change that much more in the coming days and weeks. this might be edited to something more poetic later once we conclude more stuff about that other log ]

Comments

[generalflirt]

[ Unlike Nariko and Yamato, he doesn't have a biological imperative which makes seeing that relationship impossible. He could see it in Nariko's eyes and hear it in her voice that if you asked her how many kids she had she might offhandly say "oh two" unless she was in a state of mind to correct herself. Masaomi's...

Very proud of his son.

But his son is also a challenging Alpha, and he needs to figure out where that balance is for him. The fact is, he's not had time to interact with the boy one on one yet. ... Doesn't believe in mates though? He won't poke that, but he hums a little ]

Don't think that's possible now?

[themaelstrom]

Probably not.

[She's nothing if not realistic, it's a bitter truth she accepts without any self-pity or real upset. If there's one incredible truth of Audrey's life it's that she's not meant for Kida men in any lasting manner.]

That Veronica girl is probably his mate, don't you think?

[It's an honest question, she might be completely wrong after all!]

[generalflirt]

Nariko, Sully, and Emily asked me the same thing. I'm not sure I've noticed it, but it's possible I was running around looking at everyone else.

[ He closes his eyes. He is about to say something like "I'm not sure even being mated would have Koji pass up a bitch" but... that seems insensitive. To both her and to Koji and the idea of mateship in general, which he does hold a passionate connect to the biological truth of. So instead, he changes tracks a little, ]

Has that softened him any?

[themaelstrom]

I think he's just soft with her, but he seems like his usual self when it doesn't involve Veronica.

[She huffs, though.] No, he's definitely a lot more grown up now than he was back in November, for example. Like, it doesn't feel like the progression of maturity or whatever, just like something important matured.

[She's not the most eloquent, okay.]

[generalflirt]

Ah, well... if you're right, that sort of chemistry can easily contextualize your life, for better or worse.

[ He was an obvious example. Yamato was probably even more textbook, even if Nariko herself might not even appreciate how much of the budding Alpha's development will be defined by finding a mate there. Ada was haunted by it. And it's good that Veronica found her place here. He was worried about her, having been denied her birthright to this pack. He shouldn't dwell on this topic for her, he knows.

Oh well. Let's take some last bit of the soba before putting the sticks down entirely and flopping onto his back. He'll look at the sweets in a bit ]

So is he in danger of taking my #1 spot?

[themaelstrom]

Ew.

[And that's her response to such an important idea. Maybe she should take it more seriously or with more weight considering that Masaomi's genuine affection had been such a treat. But now there's a little more attached to it.]

What? [He's full of ludicrous ideas right now.] No, of course not. No one is in danger of that.

[generalflirt]

[ Did she really just "ew" mateship? No wonder Sully's having a time! He snorts at that more than the second response, but then grins, ]

Are you tacky enough for a mental top five?

[themaelstrom]

[Yep.]

You have to not be tacky to avoid having a mental top five?

[Granted, she has no idea what he means by that, exactly, but she figures her own assumption isn't too wildly far off. It's probably a safe enough topic to get into.]

[generalflirt]

I'm sure someone, somewhere once decreed that the act of having a top five makes you rather gauche.

[ And he puts on a faux British accent for that last word, which doesn't sound at all strange coming out of a Japanese-American man who is bilingual and is forty and should probably be a bit more classy himself.

That said, the tone and the little shrug implies, of course, that he himself has one. ]

[themaelstrom]

I don't even know what that means, so I think we're alright.

[Dude's just a whole melting pot going on, right?! Especially considering who he's got in his pack.]

So what's your mental top five?

[generalflirt]

Didn't I ask first?

[ Blithely, maybe even petulantly. Not really befitting of an Alpha. ]

[themaelstrom]

[Shit.]

I mean, there's orgasms, new books, magenta, puppies, and hugs.

[The top five things that restore her mental sanity. Which is ... Probably not what he meant at all, but she's not psychic, okay.]

[generalflirt]

[ Not at all what he asked, and he doesn't know if she's genuinely mistaken him or being petulant himself. Still, he reaches into the bag to pull out a sweet, runs it between his fingers, and, ]

Fucking, writing, old books, yellow, and juggling.

[ Honestly, he wasn't quite sure what the list she gave was, but he can at least give one he thinks matches up to it. A list of things which he likes ]

[themaelstrom]

Juggling?

[That's the most surprising item on that list. She could see old books and yellow - though writing is also a surprise, too.]

Indecision, the color brown, short hair, racists, and giant hoop earrings.

[Five things she hates.]

[generalflirt]

Juggling's cool. [ . . . ] Also what's wrong with short hair?

[ But what is this, blind lists? He hums a little, ]

No one likes racists.

[themaelstrom]

It's cool, I've just never seen you do it. And short hair is weird on, like, seventy-nine percent of the female sex. You have to have the right face for short hair.

[If he'd just tell her what sort of list he wanted she'd give it to him! But she tilts her head, conceding.]

You're right, let me replace that one with bunnies.

[generalflirt]

See? Not liking bunnies? Much more interesting.

[ Not good on seventy-nine percent of the female sex... huh. He mulls that over in his head, trying to decide if he agrees, if all of the hot women in his pack having that long hair save perhaps Lana, who wasn't there yet). Was that coincidence, or his own preference he'd never examined. He clicks his tongue, and decides that an Alpha is fair.

But an Alpha's lists of dislikes might be dangerous too.

There's no need to overthink it that far, and so he changes tracks a bit ]

Audrey, what order would I impregnate you all in?

[ He asked Emily that when they were drunk back before all this began, but now he was more or less teasing the blonde ]

[themaelstrom]

[Would Ada's hair count as long, though? Audrey wouldn't say so, and neither is hers so much, but that's very much an opinion thing and not what she wants to talk about at all.

What's much more important is his question and the fact that he manages to surprise her with it. She hesitates, blushes, and then manages to answer, voice stuttering at the beginning.]

Me, Junko, Ada, that new girl [Lana.], Emily, and Ms. Nariko.

[That's probably an incredibly strange order.]

[generalflirt]

[ Incredibly strange, and it makes him arch an eyebrow at her, though he does feel vindicated that he surprised her. It's interesting how Emily and her give such different lists but both start with themselves. If he were to give it to others... well, Ada might not even play ball to give a list, and Nariko would exclude anyone who wasn't her most likely.

But still, ]

Why's that?

[themaelstrom]

You're on celibacy leave and your general healing period syncs up with my period and monthly heat, and there's nothing that suggests any fertility issues.

[Maybe it's not so interesting - Audrey is thinking with logic whereas Emily was mostly just selfish.]

I honestly just hope Junko goes second, even though it might not be a good idea at all. You really like Ada, and that's two girls that aren't blondes, so you'll go for the other one that is. Emily's always busy so at about that time she'll be free and something will happen. And then Ms. Nariko is the only one not knocked up, so.

[generalflirt]

[ Hmmmm... there's about three interesting things here. Four if you count her blonde assumption here, which he can't help but think is her form of selfishness. And he counts them off on his fingers, now unwrapping the sweet so he might chew on it even as he lists off, ]

If Junko's not a good idea, why is she listed but not Veronica? And doesn't it seem a little foolish to make my mate the odd man out for that list? [ There's two... and then three, ]

Would you want that?

[themaelstrom]

Because you love her and, let's face it, she's in love with you as a man, not just as her dad.

[And there's a lot involved with that statement, so Audrey brushes over it pretty quickly.] I genuinely forgot to include Veronica! I guess I'd put her in after Ada, but have you ever even spent any real time with her? Maybe she'd be the very last one.

[This doesn't exactly fix Nariko's standing in it, and Audrey doesn't even try to address that, but her next answer isn't exactly satisfying.]

I guess so.

[generalflirt]

Not really. I recruited her a while ago, but other than her interview, we've not spent a lot of one on one together. [ That said...

He finds the fact she utterly ignored Nariko there somewhat offensive, and he's not sure who it's offensive too. Probably him? He looks at her in a small state of wonder. To be fair, he utterly ignores that Junko thing because he's not sure if he agrees or not with the assessment. ]

It's probably something to be certain about anyway.

[themaelstrom]

[Look, Alpha, if you can give her a better idea of what you are even feeling then Audrey will be more likely to tackle things like that head on. Case in point: She has to kind of stare at him when he says that.]

Well, do you want the sexy answer or the more realistic answer? I can't tell which one will actually make you happy.

[Because she's supposed to be keeping him company, making things easier ... But he's asking for her to lie, but then she also should not lie to Masaomi, of all people.

So this is just a little difficult, even for her.]

[generalflirt]

[ Oh, huh. Maybe he was being a little unfair, in the current context. He considered teasing her more, making it that much harder for her, trying to release his scent and destroying her mind on top of everything else. It might be amusing, and it might make him feel that much better. But at the same time...

He closes his eyes.

And he decides... ]

Putting aside my being happy and how sexy you can be for a moment, I'll say something I'll ask you to be realistic about for now.

[ Namely, ] I'm still not really sure how to handle that oldest son of mine. The curse of being an adult is that things you were excited for are much scarier when they confront you head on. [ A beat ] Though, for fear of offending you like Sully, I'm not sure someone your age can fully understand that.

[ And the fact is, he's not sure who to talk to about that. Sully? Ada? He can't ask Nariko or Charlotte, both of them are far to into his son's court, even if Nariko was the love of his life. Even if he didn't doubt their connection... well, laying here literally impotent gives a man time to stew ]