Phone Calls and Sledding
AN: Wow. I took forever to update!! So sorry about that!! And I apologize in advance for this chapter. It is DEFINITELY not my best, and I just can't get it to come out right. And once again, a chapter more heavy on Allen than Van and Hitomi. Darn it. Don't know where that's coming from, but please bear with me. Don't give up after this chapter. I think the next ones will turn out better. For some reason, this just...got stuck in bad land. Criticism and flames are expected and welcome.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to every single one of my reviewers. You inspire me to keep writing, and I honestly deeply appreciate that! I hope this chappie doesn't turn you all off too badly!
Breakfast finished, Hitomi floated down the hallway to change out of her pajamas. Annie followed after her, watching her dreamy face with a happy grin. She shut the door quietly and turned to look questioningly at Hitomi.
"So, how was it?" she asked after a moment. Hitomi stopped digging through her bag to rock back on her heels. Pink crept up into her cheeks as she glanced over at Annie.
"How was what?" she asked innocently.
Annie rolled her eyes dramatically. "Ugh! Don't be stupid. Is Van a good kisser or what?"
"Uh, he's, uh..." Hitomi stuttered, her face scarlet now. "YES, alright?! He's an awesome kisser."
"Yay! I knew it! Thank God for mistletoe! I told you Christmas would be a good time to bring him to Earth! So, how soon before you're making out like horny teenagers?"
Hitomi smacked her on the arm. "It was just one kiss! We're not about to hop into bed together!"
"Pity, that," Annie stated, pulling on her jeans. Hitomi pulled a face, not about to divulge just how badly the hormone-driven part of her wanted to jump into said bed.
"What I want to know is where he learned to kiss like that," Hitomi said quietly as she picked out a sweater to wear. "I mean, Lord, Annie, it was perfect."
"Maybe he practiced on the maids," Annie joked. Hitomi looked horror-stricken, and Annie snorted. "Oh, come on, Hitomi. I hardly think he's the Don Juan type. Jeez, the man could barely work up the nerve to kiss you, let alone seduce anyone else."
"But he was really good," Hitomi said, chewing her bottom lip nervously. "What if he thinks I was really bad at it?"
"Oh, for God's sake, Hitomi! That's not even possible," Annie retorted. "Look, take it from someone who's kissed a lot more guys than you: Van hasn't been practicing, unless it's been with his pillow, and there's no way he could think you're a sucky kisser. Okay, so I'll admit a little skill helps to make great lip-action, but the biggest determining factor is how you feel about the guy. And seeing how much you love him, and how hopelessly crazy he is for you, you guys probably had the most bone-melting first kiss ever."
"It wasn't my first kiss," Hitomi mumbled. "Wait, you think he's really crazy for me?"
"How many times do I have to tell you, that awful little peck Allen gave you does NOT count. 'A peach is a peach' and all that. And yes. He's obviously totally in love with you."
Annie swung open the door and marched out of the room, yanking her long hair into her customary messy ponytail as she went. Hitomi watched her go with a growing smile and a warm feeling spreading through her bones. Annie thought Van loved her! The distant sound of a phone ringing and ten people shouting "I got it!" jerked her back to reality, and she wandered out of the room and down the hallway.
"Hitomi, Hitomi, it's for you!" shrieked two little kids as they barreled up to her and grabbed her hands. Aunt Vera charged into the hall and smiled cheerfully at her.
"Schnell, schnell! It is your parents!"
Smiling, Hitomi ran to the nearest phone. She could hear Annie trying out her marginal Japanese on her family. Only, she was saying something about a boy in a bathroom wearing a skirt, which, unless she was joking about Allen, was probably not what she intended. Hitomi could hear her family's laughter ringing out through the phone.
"Wow. I think I totally mangled that," Annie said in English, laughing herself.
"Totally. You need more practice," Hitomi agreed. Annie grinned at her and waved her over to take the phone.
"Okay, well, Groszmama says to say Merry Christmas from us all, and we hope you come out to see us again soon. And I'll play you on Mario Kart this week, ne, Mamoru-kun? Ja ne!" Annie chirped as she handed the phone to Hitomi. "I'll go find Van, okay?" she mouthed before she sped off.
"So, how are things at the Goettenbergs this year?" her mother asked casually after Hitomi greeted her family. "We're so sorry we couldn't come out to spend it with you."
"Oh, that's okay, Mom. Everything here's about the same as normal, except we're all missing Grandma Ida," Hitomi returned, switching easily to her native Japanese. She plugged her ear firmly with her finger to block out the usual early morning chaos.
"If we could have made it there, we would have," her father said gently. Hitomi made a sound of understanding agreement.
"Especially to meet Van," her mother added, and Hitomi choked slightly. "By the way, how are things going with him there?"
"Oh, um, alright," Hitomi replied lamely, her brain instantly flashing back to the mistletoe moments. "I mean, really good. I think he's having a good time."
"Oh?" her mother questioned. Hitomi didn't add anything, and she went on. "And how is Allen liking things?"
"Well...I don't know if he's having as much fun as Van. Annie's, um, being Annie."
Her brother laughed. "Yeah, she said she was having a lot of fun this year. Man, I wish we could be there to see it!"
"Tell us about what's been happening!" her mother demanded, and Hitomi dutifully gave a detailed account. Soon, she had her family in hysterics over Van and Allen's reactions to mundane Earth things like automatic doors and Annie's driving. Hitomi actually thought her brother was going to pass out from laughter when she told them about Allen playing tea party with the little girls.
"Send me pictures. Please, send me pictures!" Mamaru begged, gasping for air. Hitomi giggled, promising to send an email as soon as they got back home.
"Can we talk to Van, Hitomi-chan?" her mother asked, and Hitomi's giggling abruptly stopped.
"Uh, yeah, sure, Mom. Actually, Annie ran off to find him. But he's never used a phone before," Hitomi answered.
"He's never eaten ice-cream before, either," her father reminded her.
Hitomi grimaced and choked on her reply as she saw Annie leading a confused looking Van towards her. What would her family say to him? And what would he say back??
"Relax, they're not going to bite you," Annie was muttering quietly to Van. "All you do is hold the phone like that and say hello. And just SAY it, don't shout it, okay? They can hear you."
"Uh, here's Van," Hitomi said in a rush, handing the reciever over to Van. He looked at it dubiously before looking up at Hitomi. She nodded in as reassuring a manner as she could manage, considering her own anxiety, and he pressed the strange device to his ear.
"...hello?" he asked in a small voice. Hitomi chewed her nails nervously as she studied Van's face for any clue to what her family was saying.
Van listened in amazement to the voices ringing clearly through the phone pressed to his ear. He could hardly wrap his brain around the fact that he was talking to people who were somewhere thousands of miles away. Good Gods, he was talking to her parents. Hitomi's mother sounded so much like Hitomi, and her brother and even her father sounded friendly and excited to talk to him. Van couldn't help but to breathe a deep sigh of relief, even though he wondered what Hitomi looked so nervous about.
"I'm so glad we've finally got to speak to you," Hitomi's mother was saying. "We were all so disappointed that we couldn't get out to the States to meet you while you're here. Are you and Hitomi having a good time?"
Van flushed a little guiltily at the thought of what he and Hitomi had been doing not so very long ago. "Ye-yeah. The Mystic Moon is a very interesting place."
He answered a few more friendly questions from Hitomi's parents, and a few excited questions about guymelefs from her brother, thankful they seemed to like him. Finally, he handed the phone back to Hitomi, who seemed to have chewed her nails down to the roots, and listened while she said a protracted good-bye. As soon as she hung up, Annie thumped him hard on the arm.
"What did you guys look so nervous about? Did you think they were going to interrogate you? Must've been one hell of a good time under the mistletoe this morning!" Annie laughed to see them both flame red. "Good God, you two are way to easy to embarrass!"
"Shouldn't you be torturing Allen or something?" Van muttered.
"I'm pacing myself. Can't have too much of a good thing at one time, you know," Annie replied seriously, staring dreamily off into space. Van eyed her, vaguely disturbed and amused at the level of enjoyment she got from teasing the knight. She suddenly seemed to jerk herself back to the present. "Anyway, Van- have you ever been sledding before?"
"I-no. I can't say that I have."
"Well, then. Get suited up. We're going to teach you how to sled. Goettenberg style."
Hitomi gave him a smile that was frighteningly close to Annie's shark grin. "The key is to wear padding. Lots of padding."
Annie laughed and pushed them both towards the doorway. "Alrighty then! A bunch of the family's already sledding, so I'll go find the Blond Freak and meet you out there!"
Hitomi grabbed Van's hand and pulled him after her to get their outdoor clothes on while Annie skipped through the house in search of Allen. He wasn't in the kitchen schmoozing the aunts, and he wasn't with the little girls playing dress-up. Annie was beginning to get annoyed when she poked her head around a doorway and stopped abruptly. There, sitting next to Groszmama on the couch, was Allen, surrounded by photo albums.
"Ja, see? She was so tiny, she could fit in one hand. Our little Annie was born so early, the doctors said she could not live. But she did, I think, just to prove them wrong," Groszmama told him.
"That doesn't surprise me," Allen replied dryly. He jumped, nearly dropping the photo album on his lap at Annie's screech from the doorway.
"Groszmama! Are you showing him my baby pictures?!"
Groszmama seemed completely unfazed by the outburst. She gave Annie a complacent smile. "He enjoyed them. Ja, Allen?"
"Oh yes. I especially loved your school pictures. Your hair was so...interesting," Allen said with a giant smirk. Annie scowled darkly at him as she hastily snatched the albums away from him and Groszmama.
"Everybody's awkward at that age. And I'll have you know, that hair was very in at the time!"
"Of course," Allen said, his smirk growing even larger. Annie narrowed her eyes dangerously.
"Well, so sorry to break up the fun, but we're going sledding now," she snapped, shoving the albums unceremoniously as high up on a shelf as she could reach. Allen decided not to point out how low that actually was and how easily he could still get at them. He stood up and took the Groszmama's fragile, old hand.
"Thank you so much for showing me all of that," he said with a kind smile. Groszmama's eyes twinkled at him and she patted his cheek.
"Ach, you good boy. You go and have fun now," she replied, squeezing his hand with her weak strength before releasing it. "And Annie, you be nice to him."
Annie blinked. "I'm always nice, Groszmama! Schnell, Allen! Let's go!"
Allen submitted to being ruthlessly dragged along in Annie's wake as she plowed through the house. He could tell that she was bothered by the fact that he'd seen all those pictures of her, and he savored the moment.
"Did you really wear your hair like that on purpose?" he couldn't resist asking. Annie stopped short and turned to give him a ferocious glare.
"I wouldn't be the one to talk, Mr. Poofy-sleeves. And what about your hair?"
Allen frowned, running a hand through his long, blond ponytail. "What about it?" he demanded.
"That three-inch lift in the front. How do you even get it to do that?" Annie asked, tugging at a chunk of his bangs. Allen swatted her hand away as a younger boy walked up to them.
"Hey, Annie, Allen, can you guys come down to the basement for a minute? We want to show you something," he said, looking at them imploringly.
"Sure, Mike. What's up?" Annie asked, the argument about hairstyles apparently forgotten in the space of a millisecond. Allen shook his head in exasperation.
"We just want to show you something," Mike replied, heading off to the basement. Shrugging, Annie followed him down the stairs with Allen close at her heels. Abruptly, she stopped, and the knight nearly plowed into her from behind. He had less than a second to hear Annie's sharp intake of breath before several bright yellow objects careened towards her exposed front.
Reacting instantly, Allen grabbed her and twisted, somehow managing to pull her behind him as he turned so the missiles hit him in the back instead of hitting her. A brief second later, he realized that the yellow things were soft and barely stung on impact, while Annie was now laying on her back on the steps with a painful grimace on her face. She opened her eyes to look up at his face as he braced himself on his arms above her. The group of boys with nerf guns behind them cracked up into hysterical laughter.
"What...the hell...did you do...that for?" she wheezed out, apparently having gotten the wind knocked out of her when she hit the steps.
"I-it was just a reaction. To keep you from getting hurt," Allen floundered, pushing himself back onto his feet and offering her a hand. Annie ignored the hand and pushed herself up, wincing.
"Huh. Yeah. Worked out great there, Allen. Ouch, good lord, I'm going to be bruised for a week!"
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you," Allen said earnestly, a sheepishly apologetic look on his face. Annie sat on the steps, rubbing her bruises.
"Yeah, well, I keep telling you chivalry is dead. And for good reason. Next time, just let me get shot, okay?"
A moment later, she was back on her feet and laughing heartily with the boys over their prank, while Allen stood there silently berating himself. A few boys got hearty smacks up-side the head for calling Allen's manuever "awesome" before they all trooped upstairs and layered up for sledding. At the whispered advice of one of the boys, Allen pulled on several extra layers for padding. There was an undeniably malevolent glint in Annie's eyes whenever she glanced at him that gave him a cold sweat.
--
Sledding with the Goettenbergs, as Van had discovered, involved a lot more tackling and ramming than normal. You never simply slid down the hill and came back up. Oh no. Everyone lined up in a row at the top of the hill and raced to the bottom in an anything-goes battle to see who could actually make it to the bottom still on their sled. On his first run down the hill, Hitomi somehow managed to dive off her sled directly into him, sending them both tumbling down the hill several feet in a tangle of arms, legs, and snow.
"What was the point of that? You made yourself lose, too," Van said when they'd come to a stop. He didn't mind, really, seeing as Hitomi was sprawled out on top of him. She giggled and pushed herself up. There were several crashes and shrieks from the bottom of the hill.
"Well, so did you. Besides, you don't really want to make it to the bottom. The only way you stop is by hitting a tree or falling into the creek."
Hitomi took his hand as they trudged back up to the top of the hill, to be met by a beaming Annie and a slightly worried looking Allen.
"Hey, guys! What took you so long?" Hitomi asked as Annie threw down her sled and prepared to join the battle.
"Groszmama was just showing me some of Annie's baby pictures," Allen said casually. Hitomi stared at his smirk for a moment and started laughing. Annie looked up at Allen with a defiant look of her own.
"Yeah, and then Allen body-slammed me into the steps. You should see the bruises!"
Allen's smirk died as Annie pushed off and sped down the hill. Van and Hitomi turned confused faces towards him and Allen put his hands up defensively.
"It was just a reaction. They shot at us and I just reacted," he said imploringly. "Honestly, I didn't mean to do it."
Hitomi patted him on the arm reassuringly and she and Van set off down the hill again. Allen sat down heavily in his sled and watched broodingly as Van tackled Hitomi, crashing them into another tangled group of sledders. They laughed, the two of them staying twisted together tightly for several minutes longer than necessary. Allen felt his chest contract painfully as Hitomi brushed some snow out of Van's hair and grabbed his hand.
Allen swallowed hard and pulled his eyes away. He could see Annie emerging laughingly from the trees and start climbing the hill. He focused on her. It was so strange to think that she had ever been that tiny, fragile baby with tubes and wires all over her, the baby no one thought would survive. Allen frowned, realizing that he'd never seen a mother in any of her pictures, or a father. And not once had Groszmama ever mentioned one, either.
"C'mon, Allen. You should join in the game," Hitomi said from beside him. Allen jumped in surprise and turned to look at her, standing there next to Van.
"I think I'll just watch for a while from here," he replied smoothly, thinking privately that there was hardly a reason to join in, since Van was the one she'd be trying to tackle, not him.
Hitomi shrugged, blissfully unaware of his thoughts. "Whatever you want. Ready to go again, Van?"
They set off down the hill again, and Allen sighed, rubbing his gloved hands over his face. He could hear Annie as she reached the top, laughing and joking with her family. He shook his head, his eyes still closed. He really hadn't meant to hurt her on the steps. Why did things have to be so complicated here? Perhaps he should go back inside.
Allen gasped as Annie slammed into him from behind, sending his sled careening down the hill. He could feel her gripping on to the back of his jacket as she knelt behind him, whooping with excitement as they headed straight for the trees. Allen leaned back hard into her as the sled missed several trunks to shoot over the banks of the creek. For one breathless second, the sled was suspended in mid-air before it crashed down into the ice below.
For a moment, Allen couldn't move. Every part of him hurt. Annie lay tangled on top of him; he could feel her shaking with laughter even through all their layers.
"Whoo, Allen. That was an awesome crash!" she said, making no move to get off him. Allen tried to shift himself away from the icy water seeping through his clothes.
"Are you insane?" he asked, irritated. He felt Annie prop herself up on her elbows on his back, still making no move to get up.
"What do you mean, Cranky McCrankerson?"
Allen pushed himself up, dumping her unceremoniously onto the cracked ice beside him. "Normal people don't do things like this. At least not on purpose."
Annie climbed to her feet, wiping off snow and ice. "Ugh. You are such a whiner. I was actually going to say sorry about yelling at you for tossing me into the steps. But forget it. I won't try to cheer you up again."
"You cheer people up by nearly killing them?" Allen demanded as they climbed out of the creek bed. Annie ignored him and started to climb the hill, dragging their sled behind her. They were halfway up before Gracie struggled up to them, begging Allen to carry her. Dutifully, Allen scooped her into a piggy-back ride and trudged up the hill with the little girl. Annie watched him with a gleam in her eyes as Gracie made Allen promise to play tea party again with her later.
"You can't say no to little girls, can you?" she asked him with a wicked smile after they'd reached the top and Gracie had run off. Allen pursed his lips and looked away. After a moment, he started walking towards the house.
"Hey, wait! Where do you think you're going?" Annie demanded, hands on her hips.
"Inside to change. I'm soaking wet, thanks to your efforts to cheer me up," Allen retorted over his shoulder.
"Oh, fine. Go dry off, you big baby!" Annie called after him. "You don't know how to have fun, anyway!"
Inside, Allen toweled off, Annie's words rankling at him almost as much as watching Van and Hitomi together did. He knew how to have fun. And if he was really, truly honest with himself, he'd admit that crashing the sled like that was a little bit fun. Just a really little bit. Allen sighed. He supposed, in her twisted way, Annie was honestly trying to cheer him up, to take his mind off Hitomi and Van. And it felt good to know someone cared whether or not he was smiling, no matter how misguided the cheer-up attempts were.
Allen wandered upstairs to mingle with the few older family members who watched the sledding from the windows. Accepting a beer with a smile and an inward shudder, he joined in the gentle small talk, his thoughts lingering on the sobering idea that perhaps Hitomi chose Van over him simply because he was too serious.
Time passed him by as he sat brooding silently under his pleasant manners, his beer untouched in his hands. What he wouldn't give from some good, sweet vino! What he wouldn't give to be back on Gaea where he belonged!
The rooms began to fill with people again as the sledders trickled in one by one. Allen moved slowly around, attempting to find a quiet place to stand, and suddenly Annie was by his side.
"Allen, you've got to stop it. Seriously," she said earnestly. Allen gave her a guilty look. Was she reading his thoughts? Telling him to stop moping over Hitomi?
"Stop what?" he asked, deciding to play dumb. Annie looked like she wanted to stomp her feet.
"This. The schmoozing. Stop making my family like you!"
Allen stared at the brown-haired girl in confusion. This was not what he was expecting at all. "Why shouldn't your family like me?"
Annie grimaced, pulling hard on a loose strand of her brown hair. "Because. They've all practically got us married already."
Allen choked, snorted, and out-right laughed. Annie, apparently, didn't find it at all amusing.
"It is not funny, Allen! I'm serious. You've got to understand, I'm a complete failure to them. I'm 22, not married, not engaged, and no boyfriend to speak of. So now I bring you home, and you're being all charming and they like you, and now I'll have to deal with it. Every family gathering, someone's going to say 'oh, what happened to that really nice guy? You know, the good-looking blond one?' and I'm going to have to come up with some excuse... Stop laughing, Allen!"
"Good-looking blond one?" Allen questioned with a laughing smirk.
"Oh, shut up. Look, just stop schmoozing, okay?"
Allen tapped his finger to his chin, thoroughly enjoying the moment. "Well, I don't know. Maybe I could try to stop, if you stop annoying me. No more pranks, no more teasing."
Annie gasped. "What? That's like- that's just cruel! That's like telling a fish to breath air!"
"You know, your Groszmama said she had some more of your pictures to show me," Allen replied calmly, beginning to walk away. Annie lunged after him and grabbed his arm.
"You little shit! You're enjoying this! What if I just promised to try to tone down the pranks a little bit?"
Allen stopped, considering. "Hm. No. I think it' got to be an all-or-nothing promise."
Annie opened her mouth to retort, but she was cut off by one of her teenage relatives.
"Ooh, Annie," he said in a sing-song voice. "Look up!"
Annie glared at the boy before looking up. Abruptly, she let out a squeak and jumped away from Allen like he was a giant cockroach. Confused, Allen looked up.
Mistletoe.
Damn that plant. Glancing around, Allen could see that he and Annie were surrounded by a tight ring of teenagers, every one of them grinning evilly from ear to ear. Two of the older boys grabbed Annie's arms and deposited her in front of Allen once again. Her face was a combination of defiance, embarrassment, and amusement as she looked around the room. Most of her family had already caught wind of their predicament and were piling into the room to watch the fun.
"You've got to kiss him, Annie. Tradtion!" shouted one of the teens, and the whole family joined in the cat-calls. Annie turned a slight shade redder.
"Okay, okay. No big dea!" she shouted back over the noise. Allen blinked in surprise as she grabbed the front of his shirt, yanked him down, and planted a hard kiss on his lips. Before he had time to react, she'd let go and pulled away.
"Boo!" shouted her whole family in unison. The ring of teenagers did not loosen up to let them out, and Annie put her hands on her hips.
"What? I kissed him. It's done!" Annie asserted. She caught sight of Hitomi and Van across the room. "Hitomi, help me!"
Hitomi tapped her chin thoughtfully, a laughing gleam in her eyes. "Hm. I don't know. It didn't seem like a real kiss to me. 'A peach is a peach'..."
The family immediately took up the chant. "A plum is a plum! What good is a kiss without the use of a tongue?"
Now Annie flamed completely red, and Allen started laughing under his breath. She looked very close to stomping her feet and screaming.
"So open your mouth and close your eyes, and give your tongue some exercise!" the family shouted with vicious glee. Allen's blue eyes danced with mirth as he watched Annie argue futilely with her laughing relatives. So, she wanted him to lighten up and joke around more? Well, now seemed like a good time to start.
Annie squeaked in surprise as Allen grabbed her, swinging her into a deep dip that made her clutch his sleeves to keep from falling. Her mouth dropped open as she stared up at the wicked, amused gleam in his eyes.
"Allen Shezar, don't you dare...!" she gasped, her words lost in the loud cheers. And Allen leaned down and did exactly what her family had suggested. The explosion of shrieks and applause was enough to rattle the windows.
Across the room, Hitomi gasped and laughed. "I can't believe he actually did that!" she exclaimed in shock.
"I can!" Van retorted with a huge grin, clapping louder than anyone in the room. Hitomi smacked him in the arm before joining in the cheering.
Allen was taking his time, savoring the feeling of victory. And kissing Annie was not that bad, either, if he would bother to be honest with himself. It would be even better if she would kiss him back.
Annie shifted her weight, and Allen recoiled sharply as her small foot connected painfully with his shin. Wincing, he set her back on her feet as her relatives slapped him on the back jubilantly. Annie grinned and laughed along, even though her eyes were glittering dangerously. The crowd began to disperse, and Allen surreptitiously rubbed the goose-egg on his shin. Annie noticed and sniffed disdainfully.
"You're lucky that's all you got for that stunt," she stated firmly.
Allen gave her a wicked smile. "I'm surprised you didn't bite my tongue. I think you must have been enjoying it."
"Huh," Annie snorted. "I only didn't bite you because you would have bled. And then the Aunts would have noticed, and I would have gotten in trouble. And believe me, you've never had a telling-off until you've had one from my aunts."
"You're the one that told me to try to have fun," Allen reminded her with a laugh. Annie rolled her eyes, and unsuccessfully tried not to smile.
"True. And I guess it was pretty funny. Or it would have been, if you'd done it to somebody else."
"Really? I think you're family thought it was fairly amusing," Allen pointed out. Annie groaned and pulled a face.
"Yeah, really amusing. Now they're going to try to hook us up more than ever, you stupid pudding brain!"
Allen shook his head, still smiling. "I think you're over-reacting, Annie."
"Hey, lovebirds, time for lunch. Unless you're going to have another go at the mistletoe," came a shout from the dining room. Annie gave Allen a significant glare, and he rocked back on his heels with a smirk, looking up at the mistletoe above them. Annie gave him another kick on his already sore shin.
"Don't even dream it, Mr. Grabby," she snapped. Allen chuckled wickedly as he followed her to the dining room. He had a feeling her family would be working hard to get them under the mistletoe again. Who was he to disappoint them?