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

Well, it's not like you really mind all that much, don't you?

[ He puts a hand on his hip, giving her a little wave of his hand, smirking. He waves her over, even if it'll be a bit until the bath fills up. That said, he sits down on the edge here, smiling and...

Wait, no, he should probably keep playing the stupid game. ]

Emily or Sullivan?

Not at all.

[The stinging in her lower back and the ache of her skin is inconsequential, though apparently not enough that she isn't a little concerned that he might be waving her over to sit on his lap or something ridiculous like that. She does come over to him, finishing with her hair.

And that one gets another snort-laugh.]

Emily.

Oh wow, really?

[ With an arched eyebrow, questioning her a little! Not to say he doubts it but, still, poor Sully. He doesn't urge her into his lap, just that they'll get in when it fills. Or they could get in before it fills and have it go in around them ]

It's really that surprising?

[Going in before is tempting, but she holds off a bit.] It's like if you had to pick between her and Ada, you'd go with Ada, but not because you like Emily any less, per se.

Hey, you don't know that.

[ . . .

. . .

. . .

. . . . .. . . .

Yes she does ]

[Here, Masaomi, have the most dead panning, deadpan look to ever dead pan in the entire universal history of all coupled (monogamous or mated) women to ever dead pan at their mate/husband/whatever.

It's the Look you deserve right now.]

[ He tries to hold her gaze.

He tries to look back flatly.

... But he coils back, defeated. and so, he tries a hail mary ]

Can you blame me?

[ After all, Ada is their oldest packmate and friend! They both love Ada even if Audrey said they were arguing, right?! ... Right... ]

[The Look is greatly toned down, it even falls below half of its normal strength, but she can't ... Answer that. It's a lose-lose equation so the only third option is to try and hold out and hope he changes the question. This is the one serious topic she doesn't want to talk about (not that it means she doesn't need to, for a lot of reasons) so sue her if she's trying to passively brush it under the rug right now.

Also, forgive her Masaomi, but Ada is so, so not Nariko's type anymore than Lana is, thank you. She doesn't get the appeal.]

[ Honestly even he's not sure where he stands on Lana. Nariko what do you even want in a woman, geez.

That said, he's at an awkward crossroads now, because it's something he might need to arbitrate, but he's also not sure if falls under-- ... No, no. It's his house. It's his pack. It's definitely his business. But does he do it now? No, he won't. At least, not directly. He'll look at the water and- ]

So anything up with everyone else?

[Considering that she's 91% heterosexual? Not a whole lot. But if she had to pick a woman it would definitely be one like Emily, or along the lines of what Audrey will inevitably be once she hits her mid-twenties/early thirties. Her typeset is just incredibly different than his.

But then, whether she much likes it or not they've fallen into yet another back and forth game. He'd have probably been better off just asking her about it directly.]

Everyone has their ups and downs, the first part of the year is always chaotic, people get stressed.

[ He would have, but that would be smart. ... Also he likes Audrey too! ... Well.

Either way, he shakes his head and then waves a finger in the air ]

Yeah, but I've been off the pulse for a month, I ought to figure out what I'm stepping into.

[ So he's hoping to hear what insights she might have, at least in what he needs to address ]

It wouldn't hurt to check on Joshua and Olivia. They're very grateful but he'll feel better for having met you officially.

[Look, she can somewhat play along here while delicately getting herself into the bath, which is only a third of the way full.] Tom and Octavio seem just fine last I talked to them, but I'd say always stop in and check on Sullivan. He probably tells you things that he won't tell me.

[Nariko settles herself over the edge nearest him.] Emily's excited to have a baby, but it's gone on long enough that she's also a little scared. Lana's fine too, just waiting for the talk, Junko's made valedictorian again, and Koji is having the time of his life with Veronica.

[Really, if not for one sizable hiccup their lives would be incredibly idyllic and well balanced.]

I thought they announced that after -- [ . . . Oh wait, it was February, wasn't it? The semester would be over by now. And so he blinks and then doesn't ask what he means to ask, but instead something related but not really any less urgent . ]

Yamato and Audrey, did they pull through the exams?

[ Junko was worried about them, after all. ]

Audrey wasn't as dedicated as usual, but considering all the changes in her life it's not surprising. She finished with straight As. I know she made a whole big deal about that 'break' deal but I really do wonder if everyone should go a little easier on her. She's trying to go for a really impressive university, after all.

[Much closer than Junko's goal, but barely any less prestigious. That's a side detail though. Even thinking of Yamato in this context ... She gains an expression that can only be described as 'vexed'.]

I think Yamato is still at the stage where thinks I don't know how shitty it ended up. I mean, he passed but nosediving from As and Bs to Cs and Ds is just awful. He's smarter than that.

Mmm yeah. Even averaging where we were at around his age, it should be Bs.

[ ... Though that expression's interesting, like she couldn't think of him as a student? Or maybe- actually, no, he'll just ask, even if he's not sure she can answer. He slides into the bathtub opposite side form her, and when he does that he asks, ]

What's with the face?

I don't know if it's exactly right of me to get on him about his grades.

[It's something she absolutely would have done as his mother, as someone looking out for his direct future, but now she's Yamato's mate. And while it's certainly true that she can get on Masaomi about certain things ('Please don't forget this debate for Junko we have to go to', 'Koji's soccer final', etc) but that was an Old Married Couple aspect of their relationship that had developed with time. Yamato was much younger, and it could be said they didn't exactly have that same atmosphere.]

It's not fair to leave it to Junko, she's younger than him, and it's not her responsibility to take on the things I'm having trouble figuring out.

[But goodness knew the girl would try, biting off more than she was ever meant to chew, just like her father.]

[ Mmm ] It's sad that my first instinct is to say "let's get Sully or Ada on it," but really, that's less to do with my being his dad than it is to do with not wanting to be a hypocrite. Like I said, other than languages, Yamato's probably a better student than I was at his age even now. After all, on top of all that he's got his tennis. One of the big regional qualifiers is sometime next month, right? He should have heard or being hearing about if he placed, based on all the small tournaments he's gone to before now...

[ And now he feels a growing sense of guilt, about if he should have been there for more of those. Of course it was impossible for the last month, when several of them would have been, but even so, he lets out a long exhale as he slides down in the tub, looking at her seriously and trying to confront this topic head on, Even if it is a little unfair.

So she really didn't think of him as a son anymore? That's so strange. ]

It's not unreasonable to expect him to balance tennis and his school work.

[What it ends up meaning is that Yamato wouldn't have nearly as much time to run around doing whatever he wants and ultimately expanding on his new instincts. And that's how Nariko ends up being the hypocrite if she says anything either, because she's part of the reason that there hasn't been any time for school.]

If Sully could be genuinely serious about it then I would greatly prefer him over the other option.

[That she doesn't sound bitter is a miracle unto itself.] But I suppose it's more reasonable for me to talk about it with him even if it's not exactly pleasant.

[Because what the conversation will likely end up being is 'we can't keep putting sex over your future' and that logically results in a lack of sex and that's basically never something she wants. But it might be necessary.]

Mmmm, you'd think. [ But on the other had, he had a serious boy. If there was a legitimate chance of him being able to go pro - and he had improved enough even a layman like Masaomi was pretty sure there was - then he might not necessarily "need" to do well in high school. He could start a real job like that. Beyond that, Masaomi can't know that Charlotte has (probably) begun work as Yamato's manager and as such might even be the best on to scold him.

But he knows that's not right. ] Ahaha, come on, they can both be serious.

[ Masaomi looks off to the left though, looking at nothing in particular. ] But no, no. If we're talking serious, then it's ultimately better for his parent to talk to him about it, even if I don't have a leg to stand on. [ A light exhale ] Challengers or not, he's still my son.

There's no 'think' about it. You can't just plan for the best case scenario and have nothing to fall back on.

[There's no question about Yamato's skill, and if asked about his chances of making this into a viable future for himself then Nariko would immediately agree that it was possible. But what if he was injured somehow? What if everything fell apart in the very last second? If he put in the work now then he could have the ideal future as well as the academic standing to figure something else out if he had to.

Just as neither of them can really know about Charlotte right now, it's probably unrealistic to think Masaomi is aware of how much this means to Nariko. After all, why would she want Yamato's dreams to be crushed in the same way her own had been at nearly his exact age?]

And you do have a leg to stand on.

[Although she can't pretend to know how Yamato will take it, or even the best way to approach him about it.]

[ Can't you? After all, he sort of went all in when he worked to get this house, incurring debts which he had only really managed to pay off in the last few years. His job had only really paid off in the last few years. But he understands what she means, and would want more for his kids, all of them. He curls his fingers about himself and rests his hands at his hips and shakes his head. Okay...

Then he'll just have to handle this - he looks back at her and smiles ]

He really isn't quite your boy anymore, is he?

[ So it's up to him ]

[From the way she reacts you'd think the man had outright smacked her in the face or something. But it's ... The truth, so just as quickly as she looks hurt, Nariko simmers down into a bitter understanding of herself. It's funny, this never really comes up when she's with Yamato, it's almost like they both just neatly tuck it away.]

No, he isn't.

[But she can't jut erase her memories, so it's good but also a little painful.]

It's weird.

[Pretty much all of it is.]

[ Honestly, he hates to hurt her, but he smiles because he knows she's strong enough to both endue this and learn something about herself or their situation. The Alpha looks at the water level, running a hand over the top and then letting the water fall off his hand as he pulled that hand up.

Huh. ]

I bet, it's pretty strange for me too.

[ Honestly... and this is something she might not think of, but he asks aloud, ] Like, is it in both of your DNA, or is it just his spirit? Could I have claimed Yori-san in the same way?

Were you two close to begin with?

[It's more a genuine question than anything to do with the topic, which is a bit contradictory.]

It's his spirit, I think. It's DNA, with you.

[That's the only thing that could make sense to her, so she has to accept it as fact.]

So you and him are soulmates, you're saying?

[ His spirit... huh. Masaomi himself is very, very agnostic, so it's actually at once easy and hard to accept that idea. He rolls his neck to one side, and then the other, and more because he can't add more to that, he answers her question about Yori ]

But not really. At least, not that much more than any of the others in my generation. Yori was a deeply loving matron, who cherished us all .. but was also apart from us all. It's a little shameful, but I think most of us took our Alpha for granted. [ He smiles a little ] Maybe I even have regrets.

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