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

[ Yeah. ... Should he tell Masaomi or Nariko or Ada before they just walk out the door? No, he can just text them, it's not like he's leaving behind anything important and it's not like most of the work isn't done. As they step outside, holding her hand, they pass and area clearly meant for flowers or some sort of garden, but nothing is planted there yet. Walking past that and then the small lawn, they make their march back towards the house.

... He didn't have a good topic planned. He should have. ]

Edited 2016-07-07 06:00 (UTC)

[ So he spooked Audrey and both her and that blade guy left. He went back to Ada, but quickly found that she actually wanted to just be in the company of that red haired guy in the first place. And so he vacated himself, sliding back to his master bedroom so that he could give up the pills. He puts them in the master bedroom medicine cabinet and... leaves back to help out with more lugging of furniture and movement for moving in.

And...

Well.

Now they're at he party. He's the guest of honor, but it's still strange. Masaomi ordered a bunch of Japanese food for the party, which seems to have overjoyed some people and annoyed some other people. For Nathan's part, he can't help but wonder if there's some message in that, but the mood overall is decent, so he thanks everyone for helping and promises to so whatever he can to repay it as they make use of of his kitchen and a small outdoor table in his modest backyard. And, slurping down a plat of soba noodles himself, he tries to talk with either his sister or her mate. Or both. ]

[... All the Japanese food really might have been a message, but it's not enough of one to pick at her mate about. Mostly it's just really weird. Did Nathan even like Japanese food? Had he been there? Considering he'd been on an involved tour, it was a valid question.

Nariko had, for the most part, been forced to do nothing but delegate because even though she was barely showing, it was so easy to become exhausted. The slightest bit of heat made her nauseous, her boobs hurt, she was unbearably horny one second and then frigid the next - apparently this kid was going to be an indecisive little shit, and the following months were going to be even more hellish than they had been with Koji.

Thankfully she's free of the nausea when she sits down near him, eyeing his meal.]

You know, I wanted to make mac and cheese.

[That's a vaguely awful opening line, because the Kraft microwaveable stuff was all she could make for them without burning the house down, and until their mother let her buy groceries again. But for her it's just the image she's still got - Nathan always reading and eating macaroni and cheese.

Still an awful joke, though.]

[ Or could it be that there's two kids in there with entirely different dispositions?! Spooky noises...

That said, Nathan is actually glad to have run into her mostly alone in the kitchen. Most everyone else is outside by now, the sun set and the sky is pleasantly cool before the temperature drops down the frigid - plus someone thought ahead to give him heat lamps for his back porch. He's pretty sure he saw Koji walk past there earlier and that Olivia girl seemed to be able to appear out of nowhere, but for the most part... Yeah. He smiles, even laughs a little while waving a hand that was holding a fork in it, the other holding his bowl. He shakes his head ]

I'm not sure everyone else would get the joke.

[ But that's a sure sign he does. ]

Probably not, but that's okay.

[Even if it's not what he had wanted or what she had wanted, they could have little things kept between them, right?]

So, how do you like it? The house, not the soba, although feel free to give your opinion on that, too.

[She laid herself over the island, half closing her eyes so that he was a weird, half cut image. She'd been so worried about being alone with him all day, about what she might say or do or feel, but it was fine. Probably because they weren't really alone, at any given moment Masaomi or Yamato might come back inside, after all.

But it's good to pretend that they're perfectly normal siblings, too.]

[ He'd been worried all day too and even now he was trying hard to contain his scent. He was trying hard to collect himself and trying to not make a scene. He's more tense than he would like right now, but... it's strange. It feels like he doesn't need to.

( Incest... )

He had asked some other people about it, but none of them had really wanted to commit to saying much of anything so far. And he grunts as he shifts in his seat and looks up and around the room and over towards the statue Tom and him placed ]

It's great. I helped pick it out of course, but all the work you've done is great. [ A beat ] and I like a lot of Japanese food but I'm still not sure I get soba.

[ Slurp ]

Well, it's not going to feel completely right until you've been here. Thanks, though.

[She had learned her lesson, thank you very much, you could do all the preplanning in the world, but a house became a home when it followed it's own ideas, and they usually came with time.]

Mm, yeah, it is a little weird, but you're definitely still eating it.

[Of course no one was going to say anything concrete, it wasn't their place, except for Yamato and Junko's, if that's specifically what he questioned. ... Mm, she probably needed to talk to Yamato eventually and see if he was alright with all of this.]

Are you feeling better, though? You were kind of a mess before.

[When he got off the plane. She's asking the question while knowing the answer, which is unfair of her, but Nariko also isn't entirely sure of what's wrong. He's tense and she's briefly heard about Audrey, but none of that is definitive enough.]

[ Well. That is something to talk about, man. Or ignore forever? He's okay with ignoring it forever for the record. And when she asks that he grips his fork a little bit tighter and shakes his head before exhaling hard out of his nose. He slurps some more soba more to buy some time than anything and...

And he just answers her, ]

It's a lot weird, but I don't mind it. Aaaand... I'm better, yeah.

[ No he's not ] I mean, sorry about that, I kinda thought no one would pick me up at the airport [ Let alone all the kids (the incest-y kids...) being there to ]

I'm really not sure why you still insist on lying when we're both grown.

[It's not like he can hide it from her, but if it makes him feel better there's at least a twenty percent chance she won't pry.]

You seriously thought that I wouldn't come get you? Even if no one else came along?

[That's actually a little hurtful ...]

I arrived late. [ Why is she calling him out, why is she noticing, why does she have to - He tenses his hands on the counter, and then exhales as she shakes his head, knowing that if he gets pent up he's going to stare at her and he doesn't want to do that and he doesn't want to - ] So... I didn't expect the kids to be there! That's more what I meant, I mean, so I thought it might just be us, or just me and Masaomi and ... and I just drank too much on the plane.

[ And...

And she keeps noticing. But it's obviously, isn't it? After all, he came here alon ]

[She really wants to ask why this is even such a problem for him. He was the one to turn her down, he was the one who couldn't be pleased with the opportunity and instead he wanted the whole scenario, and went for broke. In what universe does he get to be the pent up one? He's had years to get over what he feels, she's just starting!]

I could have put a lighter to your mouth and you would have breathed fire.

[In other words: Of course he'd been drinking. It had been terribly obvious.

But since this isn't a good conversational path:] You met everyone, right? I think they're all pretty tired, except for Lana, so hopefully all the introductions have been made.

I swear to Drunk I'm not an alcoholic.

[ That's not at all how that joke goes, but he tries it anyway, hoping that he can at least reassure her a little bit. He knows it won't but.. it'd be nice if it did, right? It'd be nice if he could make her let go of it. And really that's...

( Incest... )

Did she know? Did she know her kids were fucking? And she had come on to him at the funeral, or at least it felt that way. But way back then, all those years ago, she had said it was wrong. He had tried for years to tell her that he was normal now, that he was past it. Was all that pointless? ]

But yeah! I met everyone... Uh. I like that Joshua guy a lot, and Ada, she's pretty cool. [ A beat ] I love Junko, and Yamato's a real spitting image of... uh, someone. Maybe he's like me, haha.

[That's not even a funny joke but she rolls her eyes all the same, ends up wearing a grin.]

Yamato's a lot like you. [Thankfully he had enough of Masaomi in him to avoid the awful pitfalls, though. Of course they'd ended up in an entirely different series of issues with him, but nothing could be perfect.] And I'm not surprised you like Junko, either. She's always been excited to meet you.

[Nariko really hopes that he managed to make a good impression on her, even if he pissed off everyone else or set off their alarm bells.]

She sounded like it! I... I guess I was a little surprised that you told her enough about me that she could be. Good surprised though.

... Koji's also a really cool kid.

[ Even if he knocked up his girlfriend thing.

And here he goes, just praising her family. But then, he did move here for family, so why not speak animatedly about it all? ]

I didn't, really. She found one of my old albums and thought you were an ex-boyfriend, I corrected her without thinking ahead.

[It'd been left at that, but it was enough for Junko to work off of.] Her and Yamato, I think, have wondered about our side of the family a lot. Koji doesn't really think about it one way or another, might be a side effect of that whole 'cool' thing.

[Hey, she has a great family - they deserve praise!]

Naw, no way. Sure Yamato's brain is probably the one working the hardest maybe even for the least result [ Haha. It's a bit of a self depreciating laugh he does here, because he wasn't blind. They were pretty similar looking and it wasn't a coincidence, he suspects, he felt an immediate connection to the boy. Nathan looks off towards the glass door that sees the rest of the pack for the most part on the other side. He finds himself looking at the most eye catching thing - which is Emily's hair, randomly. ]

But Koji? Way observant, there's no way that he's not thought of everything to try to keep himself cool.

[Nariko kind of snorts because he's probably right, though she does have to actively refrain from snapping at that first comment, just because, to her ears, that was a bit of an insult to her mate, thank you very much.]

I'm amazed you've put such thought into them. You'll make a good uncle.

[She traces his line of vision and - tries to make a decision it's ... She doubts Masaomi would be pleased about it and there's really no telling with Nathan right now, but:]

... She's attracted to you, y'know.

[ Nathan as mostly just letting his eyes wander, not really having any objective to it other than to not look at Nariko. If he looked at her right now, in this context, it would no doubt make him... It would make him be irregular, make him be like that again, and he needed to control himself, repress that scent of his somehow. As such, he doesn't actually immediately connect who she's talking about.

They were talking about her kids, which was making him smile, and then that and... Well. In context, he thought she meant someone else. So he looks at her now with a mix of horror and embarrassment as he says, ] What?

[ Softly, but now with total eye contact ]

Emily. [Just in case it wasn't entirely clear.]

I'm not saying it has to be now or whatever. [Irina's nowhere to be found and that's pretty recent, so she isn't trying to imply anything it's just ... He can be around her, around their family, without it being awkward. It's unfair to use Emily as the symbol of that, but still.]

Just - it's possible.

[She would try to let go of him in the right way, since he so clearly didn't want her anymore, and this was an option.]

[ Oh. What the fuck was he even thinking? Of course she wouldn't have meant- (incest...) but on the other hand, he swallows, trying to repress both his twisted scent and his terror in the moment. She didn't want him to be abnormal, she rejected him for being abnormal.

But if she was this abnormal, if they were-

The man groans a little, but then regrets that he did it the moment after he did. He runs a hand down his face more to center himself than anything, and glances back outside. Emily's outside of view now, leaving Tom looking annoyed at the food but trying not to show it and Junko on her cell phone doing something in immediate sight. ]

I mean, you don't need to set me up or anything. [ He didn't mean to say that ] So - don't worry about it, right?

[ He didn't mean to say that either. ]

[...]

Fine, okay.

[Nariko reaches up to rub the back of her neck, run her fingers through her hair - whatever. It seems only right that she somehow lose the right to be his sister, too.]

Well, you're the guest of honor, so you probably shouldn't hide in here all night.

[ . . . He clearly just upset her.

He considers, for a moment, getting up and going out there. Or maybe just getting her husband - sorry, mate - to come in and help her out. Maybe he should go and snog Emily to try to make her feel better? All of those are dumb and irrationally though. So he shakes his head, swallows, and tries to be a good little brother.

( Little brother- ) ]

I'd rather be here with you, Nariko. And... [ He laughs, a bit forced, but, ] I'm the little brother here, so come on, you don't need to listen to me about what you need to do. So set up away, I'll see all the dates!

[ He looks down at his hand now, thinking about... ]

I mean, I'm single for now.

[ He hadn't spelled it out, but it's probably obvious ]

[None of that would really make her feel better thought. Not Emily or even Masaomi or Yamato. Nathan is an issue unto himself, one that precedes Masaomi, which is what makes a lot of this so difficult. She does smile at that little mention but it's pained, that thing which is a dig but isn't meant to be one - I'd rather be here with you. Right.]

I think half the problem was how demanding I was, so - like I said, it's fine. I just worry about you.

[It's more like it drives her completely fucking insane that he'd even think of a woman that isn't her, but. That's not what she's allowed to say.]

Come on.

[She's heading for the glass door because out of the two mates she's got one of them needs to hug her.]

[ > As if he ever thinks of anyone other than her

Nathan frowns to himself when she gets up, and he reaches out for her, as if he was going to grab her and... And what? He's not even sure what he intended, but he sighs all the same and stands, hanging his head just a bit. He doesn't like that he upset her, and he really doesn't want to see one of those other guys drape themselves all over her. He bites his lip, regrets it immediately because his facial hair got a little too long, and gets into step behind her. ]

I don't mind it - it's a little nostalgic, yeah?

[ . . . ]

That's implying that you enjoyed my constant hovering, you know.

[Because she had, even as he'd gotten older. Nariko had become so used to constantly worrying about how they were going to eat, when to get him to school, what extra activities to get him to and supply for, visits with his father, bed on time. Really, Nathan was the target for her overambitious, really very obsessive kind of love, and she knew it could be a bit much, to say the least.

Since she's missed the attempt to touch her Nariko goes ahead and opens the door to the backroom.]

I Was just thinking that myself even if I felt bad for Nathan but oh well

AND THEN WE SKIPPED TO THE PARTY

I am unnaturally pleased right now

Glad to help Let's have fun with it

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