[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

[chasingthemorning]

One of your friends, I take it?

[ He always had mixed impressions of her friends, but the idea of it makes him smile all the same, his hand still held between hers. He's starting to feel warm and he's becoming very aware of that - perhaps overly aware of it ]

[gunslingerqueen]

Arguably my best friend.

[Was it strange to be best friends with the woman who had apparently gone a little nuts for your mate/son, that you also occasionally finger and tease if the mood strikes you? It's hard to tell, and life is very complicated, so Nathan gets the simplest answer that Nariko can hope to provide.]

She's the definition of a southern belle, and she's got all the hidden fire of one, too.

[chasingthemorning]

Up here?

[ He thought that the south and the north of this country were pretty far apart, in more ways than one! He can't help but be surprised by it, but he laughs it off immediately afterwards. He shakes his head, and he runs a hand down his face - the one not being held by hers ]

This place really is multicultural.

[ But then, well...

Yamato sticks his foot in it. The tall boy sits down next to Nariko and obliviously says ]

Oh, are we talking about Charlotte?

[gunslingerqueen]

[Well, they are! Which is what makes Charlotte's presence all that more defined.

Somewhat more importantly when Yamato sits next to her she lets go of Nathan, not because she's nervous or concerned, but because her mate is with her now, and even though she's still trying to hide it, she responds to him all the same.]

Yes, your new favorite.

[She's teasing, of course. Their relationship doesn't actually bother her.]

[chasingthemorning]

[ His new favorite? Yamato seems to consider that for a moment and then shakes his head a little because while there's some truth to that, the Alpha's response is measured as he says, ] She's still earning her place there.

[ Because Charlotte did say she wanted it! And Charlotte had started her plan to ingratiate herself by way of becoming his manager. Yamato was beginning to rely on her and, of course, there was some fun domination to be had there. Either way, He scoots his chair closer to Nariko and affectionately puts an arm around her.

... and of course, all of this is really weird to Nathan ]

Favorite?

[ Yamato blushes a bit when someone who wasn't his mate called him out on it, but - ] Uh-- well. ... I mean. It's a thing?

[gunslingerqueen]

[WHOOPS that was not the right comment for this particular moment! She wants to give Yamato an apologetic look, but that'll have to wait. She can't really stand to not lean into Yamato, though. By now they probably, absolutely don't look like a mother and son anymore. They don't have that air, they don't touch each other that way, a lot can change in a few months.]

Yamato is friend's with Charlotte's son, Fred, so he's had a thing for his best friend's mom, that's all.

[The lie is so unbearably smooth that it doesn't even feel entirely wrong as she says it.]

And I'm - y'know [It's actually difficult for her to say now, but:] the actual mom, so I just tease him about it.

[chasingthemorning]

[ Actual mom? Yamato looks confused for a moment and then straight up turns his head to look incredulous at her. That's not true? ... Oh wait, it is. But it's not on more than one level! The teenager is almost offended, but then looks over at Nathan with just as much confusion.

And the bearded man narrows his eyes a little.

And then Yamato is about to say something authoritative or dumb, so this is your once chance to try to silence him, Nariko. Even as you're leaning all over each other ]

[gunslingerqueen]

[Nariko tilts her head to Yamato a little, somewhat successfully hiding her face from Nathan: she gives her mate a very desperate look, willing him to please, please not say anything, she would make up for it later, really! Just not in front of her brother when he already seems ready to have some kind of mental breakdown and she can't even figure out why.

When did life become so fucking complicated.

What she says is:]

Yamato, when's your next match? Nathan should see you play.

[chasingthemorning]

[ . . . What the hell is going on here? Yamato looks confused at her, maybe even somewhat annoyed, and unfortunately from this angle Nathan can see his face. Nathan narrows his eyes more, and the whole thing seems to have gotten really messed up here???

Yamato... though. He answers, slowly, ]

Well... the next big tournament is next month. [ A beat ] But I've got an exhibition match... well... more like - uh... I'd need to call Charlotte?

[ He's gotten so lazy.

... Nathan now looks more suspicious ]

So apparently this is happening we can do either one of them if you like

[gunslingerqueen]

[All these tall people, making expressions above her head! It's unfair! Yamato's upset and Nathan clearly knows and-]

Uncle Nate!

[Junko had wandered off at some point to get a drink, but now she's come back and taken up Nathan's other side, wrapping both arms around one of his.] Hey, so, you have to tell me what mom was like at my age! Ignore Yamato being weird.

[Bless the universe for her daughter. Nariko worked herself out of her seat, taking Yamato's hand with her.]

I'll reply with both Yamato and Nathan for each thread and you pick which one you like more? maybe

[chasingthemorning]

[ Uncle Nate?

... Also that was clearly suspicious. That was clearly suspicious. Nathan narrows his eyes all the more at Yamato, and when Nariko stands to take the boy away, he almost, almost stands to follow after her. He thinks better of it though, turning to smile warmly at Junko, and tires to ignore how a little bit of his scent came out. He pushes it down and hopes no one noticed, including the girl with the arm around him.

He licks his lips, and ]

Oh, okay! I could tell you some stories. ... Why was he weird though?

[prettiestremix]

Yamato's a momma's boy, y'know? And she always worries about him the most because he can lose track of himself sometimes.

[Look, Junko can't do anything about how weird the situation is. They all needed some saving and so she showed up to bail Yamato and her mom! That's all!]

Seriously, they'll talk and come back normal, don't worry about it. Now: Stories.

[So tell her things while she never forgets that he got a little turned on there for one reason or another.]

[chasingthemorning]

[ Nathan isn't sure how he wants to respond to Junko now, like if he should question her or... Or what. In the end, he groans, and runs a hand down his face. He motions for Junko to stand with him, because while he doesn't mind sitting or anything, he wants to get, ]

Let's get some punch or soda or whatever we have out here.

[ In the backyard? Or was it back in the kitchen... But okay, stories ] But okay, okay, stories... let's see... when she was your age, huh?

[ Is she still leaning on him...

BUT THEN NATHAN TOLD MANY A STORY TO JUNKO. AND ANSWERED OTHER QUESTIONS. AND WAS OBLIVIOUS TO WHAT NARIKO WAS UP TO.

I'm so good at transitions ]

Transition Award goes to you, friend

[gunslingerqueen]

[Junko's found more than enough questions to ask, and when Nariko comes back the young girl knows she's served her purpose - but they sure as hell took their time!]

Thanks Uncle Nate! [She kisses his cheek and then clambers out of her seat, taking her punch with her.]

Junko - [But apparently her daughter has other places to be.] ... Well, it looks like you guys had fun.

Yep I try.

[chasingthemorning]

[ He smiles at Junko, waving her off and deciding yes, he can't wait t see more of her. But he turns back to Nariko and, ]

She asked about the good old days. ... And some other stuff.

[ Some of which was admittedly Really asinine but he's not about to say that. Rather, he's just glad to see Nariko. She smells... different... but she looks glowing! He scoots closer to her, trying not to think too hard on it. ]

[gunslingerqueen]

That must have been an interesting conversation.

[Junko could ask some incredibly detail oriented things, so it makes sense that it would seem odd to him - that, and she'd likely been trying to provide a distraction, so it was even worse. When he moves closer to her she just gives up and leans into him, even while she smells like another man.]

Nathan, can I stay over?

[This time she doesn't know the answer to the question, so asking it is a little nerve wracking.]

[chasingthemorning]

Yes.

[ He answers that right before he realizes that he should had added some caveats to that. He should have said if her mate approves or maybe talked some more about her daughter. But as it is, he's looking down at her with some surprise that she's leaning against him and wondering if she's doing something which will make the rest of her pack suspect at her, or annoy her mate. Her mate, incidentally, who is now in the backyard with them albeit he's off talking to Joshua in the far back of it. He came around from the front of the house for some reason.

But Nethan corrects himself and... ]

... I don't mind.

[gunslingerqueen]

[Masaomi had asked her to avoid being alone with her brother for incredibly valid reasons, but how reasonable is that? And if there was a way to try and deal with it then wasn't that better? It's entirely possible that she's reached a new level of selfishness here, if it was anything else she wouldn't cast a vaguely worried glance to Masaomi.

... Well, he's definitely going to know the smell on her, for one thing.]

Thanks.

[She should sit up, but she still wants chocolate, she's hungry. ... Did it really happen the way she remembers?]

Doesn't seem right that you're alone in this place for the first night!

[It's not that at all, and he can probably tell.]

Or both I guess if we want to break the rules

[boobielife]

[ Yamato, meanwhile, is pulled away by Nariko. He's not really sure what just happened there, Nathan was giving him some weird looks, Nariko was being cagey, he made some bad impression on his uncle? Or something? Maybe? And then Junko appeared out of nowhere. But Yamato gets up, walking past Olivia (who is leaking out her scent in that twisted, repressed way, he notices), and Emily before ...

Well, where are they going, Nariko? ]

We could do both if Nathan has stories but I lean towards Yamato because I miss him tbh

[gunslingerqueen]

[Back into the kitchen, farther in so that they can't easily be seen, too.]

I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!

[This really isn't how she wanted to talk to him about this issue and Nariko was absolutely going to breach it somehow. It wasn't right to leave Yamato in the dark, but she hadn't thought it was fair to give him more information that Masaomi either and trying to balance two men in her life was bad enough, three was just unwieldy.]

I haven't told him about you and I yet. Or our child. He just thinks we're - y'know.

[A mother and son.]

I was feeling the same honestly. We could shelve the dark AU or the Junko Nathan or just do both

[boobielife]

[ Yamato, for his part, is confused about coming into the kitchen, so much so that he ignores the people that they pass. He also ignores that he hasn't seen his father in a while - where even was the man? Did he make it back outside via some other means or something?

But more the point, here's his mate talking to him like this, and he stands there, crossing his arms more to center himself than anything, and he looks down on her. He's not sure how he's supposed to handle this situation . As he processes it, he says, ]

Oh.

Mmmm. tbh I'd say shelve Jun/Nathan if that's okay

[gunslingerqueen]

[Nariko is wondering about that too, because it's really unlike Masaomi to be gone for so long, but she's got a set of concerns right in front of her, too.]

Back in December when he found out that Masaomi and I aren't exclusive it really did a number on him. I don't know if it was that our mother had died or because we basically grew up in a monogamous house, but he's really not adjusting well to this.

[And she'll ... Leave it at that for now, because Yamato probably needs to mentally chew a bit. Which is fine, especially since she's borderline aroused and could stand to calm down a little, too.]

Okay, that makes sense to me tbh we'll finish this one and loop back

[boobielife]

[ Was that what it was...? Yamato wonders about that and Nathan utterly refuses that narrative it made much more sense to him than anything there were other circumstances why are you misunderstanding everything he does??? and then closes his eyes, opens them again, and he sighs.

He's not adjusting well to this... that was almost four months ago, right? He- ]

I'm not going to hide, Nariko.

sounds good!

[gunslingerqueen]

[It's an answer that makes sense and it's the one she needs to hear. There was no point in hiding the truth, especially since Nathan was ... Doing whatever it was he was doing that didn't include her anymore. She nods, and shifts the way their hands are intertwined. It's more comfortable now.]

Okay.

[She frowns, but it's at herself.]

Are you mad at me?

[boobielife]

[ Nathan still objects to this from beyond the void crying out into the darkness about how much misunderstanding there is. Man.

But back with Yamato, he squeezes her hand a little, showing he appreciated the move. The tall young man looks around and exhales. He, almost regretfully, says, ] A little. But more just... uh. You know, annoyed.

[ That's a better way to put it. ]