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

[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.

Honestly, she sounds like the kind of Alpha I wanted to be.

[There's a good amount of space between their bodies so, now that the water had reached an appropriate level for two occupants she moves over to cut it off, and just conveniently leans into him since she's there.]

Like I said, I think both ends are valid, but there are deep relationships you aren't meant to experience for a long time and those that stay with you for the rest of your life. So I'd say the former is more spiritual, and the latter is more biological, mixed with choice.

[She shrugs, kisses his shoulder.]

It'd be my luck to end up with two soulmates.

And who I am is a reaction to her, I'd say.

[ He took so much of her rule with him - but he wanted to be more hands on. He wanted to know everyone. And it's possible that Yori did! And he just never noticed, because she was a perceptive woman. Maybe she had her own talk with the adults. He knows all of the kids respected her. Like he said... regrets.

Just a few. Just like with his father.

Two soulmates, huh? ]

It's still sort of hard to accept, but that does sound like something from a Yoga class. Put like that, I like it.

[ Was he needling her on purpose here? Maybe a little ]

[Maybe a little, but it is also maybe not a good idea.]

I guess.

[It's a very middling answer because now she has something on her mind which was really better suited to whatever dark hole she'd previously pushed it underneath. It's lame of her, but rather than end up engaging on that, Nariko leans up to kiss him. She needs it, and it's a better use of his energy anyway.]

[ Isn't it? It's not like they don't need to talk about whatever the hell has gone on with Ada in his absence. It's not like he can just ignore that? Whatever darkness was there, he would need to talk to one or both of them unless h's expected to just let it work out organically, which doesn't seem at all conductive to a harmonious living environment.

Still, her lips, her body? Her? How could he ever dent her. He leans in to kiss her too, and brushes wet hands up her back, lingering there for a long moment ]

[There are some things that can be easily assuaged by love and attention, and her fear of being alone, of never really being understood is one of those rare topics. No one can help that fear. Ada, though, is a much bigger concern and one that does need a proper discussion, a hashing out which Nariko couldn't hope to look forward to.

Right now, before all of that, she sighs into his kiss, so grateful for it that her scent links gently, unhurried and almost languid. Before anything else she's just happy to be here with him right now.]

[ Masaomi doesn't think about that fear... more or less ever. After all, his whole schtick about how no one perfectly understands everyone else isn't just a schtick, it's a belief that the attempt to understand was the more noble part of it all. So he has a fear of being misunderstood, and of misunderstanding others. But those are fears which can be corrected, fears which might be pushed off by conversation and understanding. It's something he's grown with over time. But he has no existential fear of being alone.

Largely because he can't conceive of it.

The only - only - situation where loneliness would kill him would be if she vanished from his life. And that's a risk he's knowingly carried for years, and only recently recovered from the terror of, even if that terror wasn't even learned until four or five years into their mateship.

He was always a little slow, for how perceptive he could be, wasn't he?

Still, his scent mingles with her own, and in the tub, he continues the kiss, holding her loosely, brushing a hand up her back and around her neck ]

Edited 2016-07-08 04:45 (UTC)

[If there should ever be a critical comparison of monogamous life versus pack life then they were the prime candidates. How could Masaomi comprehend the idea of being alone when he had always been around people? How could Nariko do anything but fear loneliness when she'd felt alone for so long? Such is perspective. He might be slow but she wasn't exactly the best talker when it mattered, either.

Still a good kisser, though! And the longer they go on the more difficult it becomes to just remain next to him. When she pulled away from him it was only to essentially take over his lap, resting on her knees so that it was much easier to face him, kiss properly, and still avoid further harming her very aching rear.

Moments like these make her realize that her fear is stupid, that he can't live without her anymore than she can live without him.]

[ It'd be pointless to ruin this moment with talking. ]

You're so cute right now.

[ Other than to say that. Nariko probably doesn't get "cute" thrown her way near enough, and he should remedy that! In fact, he brushes his nose against her own before going back in to kiss her, the hand on her neck still resting there loosely, because he realized he could feel her pulse there if he pressed own his thumb a little and it's weird... but it's also nice.

Maybe he should go quicker here? Nah. His scent is already showing his interest ]

[It's so out of the way that she actually stops cold.]

You just fucked me up the ass multiple times, that might not exactly be cute.

[And yet it makes her happy that he's said it anyway when, come on, she's too old to be 'cute'. Nariko knows that even if everyone is too polite - and her mate too smart - to say it to her face. She smiles anyway, going back to kissing, one hand holding his cheek, but the other drifts downward. He's showing interest but that doesn't mean she can't help him out in that department, stroking him underwater.]

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