It was even colder before the sun rose. She tried hard not to feel it, barely succeeding. She didn't want him to know she was so cold physically, even if a part of her was frozen inside.
Her breath fogged and obscured a tiny part of the view as she stared down at kanji. She felt at such odds with herself today. It was so hard to wake up this morning. It was even harder to pack everything for departure and go to sleep knowing she was leaving this place. There was very little happiness with that information and she couldn't smile right now to save her life.
Ungloved hands were nearly numb but still managed to clutch the small batch of flowers she scouted around for. One cup was already filled with a few lit incense sticks on each tombstone. She gave some for the great grandparents Kagome never knew, not wanting to be rude or play favorites.
It seemed she just got here and now she had to go. So soon... Some part of her soul was reminiscent - Kagome's mostly - to stay behind and continue to see the changes of this ancient city. There was so much beauty here that Kagome missed because of her trips to the Sengoku.
It was an impossible wish really. She had a life to get back to in the states and had college to finish. She also didn't know if she wanted to live in the place of Kagome's birth and death. It wasn't as if she would really be Kagome all over again, not after seeing such changes to the girl's home. There was so little of the Heisei Jidai it was safe to say this wasn't the Tokyo Kagome knew.
Part of her imagined what it would be like to live in a place she felt comfortable with in only a week's time. With Kagome's life guiding her, it would be simple to get along in this country. Sure she wouldn't be able to get citizenship, as it was still very hard for outsiders to do, but being here was good enough.
The logical part of her mind spoke of the ludicrousness of that yearning. Wishes were part folly after all; she shouldn't let that get to her. In this life, she was cemented across the sea with family and friends. A part of her snorted. 'Family is a no-go, unless I use Sam's and I'd have to use my anthropology on that one to make it count.'
Sure she had friends...a few of them...Sam for sure. Brown misted at that thought. 'And here I thought I had more than Kagome did. Do I actually have so little to keep me there? Sure Sam would be sad, but I'm sure she could get around it. My mother would support me in anything I did - she always does - and she wouldn't do more than wonder why. My jobs would be easy to quit...so finishing college would be the only thing to worry over.' Her head shook. 'No, I can't think like that! How could I just up and leave my hometown...probably never see my mom, Sam, Sheryl, and Hal again...quit my jobs without regard to work here...maybe be forced to separate with Inaki...'
The thought of never getting to see Inaki, the person she'd come to love and depend on so severely, scared her. It nearly sent her into a panic right there, even when he was less than a foot away. She never figured of these thoughts happening and what she would do after this mini-quest was over, how she was going to act by just being herself from now on was unknown. There was a lot to consider, but thankfully she had some time to think before college swamped her again.
She leaned down to separate the bundle for everyone. She would worry about this stuff later; now was not the time. She was supposed to be paying her respects one last time and saying goodbye, not thinking about life here. With her duties in spring, it was absurd.
"K...we should be heading out. We've only got a few hours and I'd like to get something to eat before we go."
Black absently bobbed as brown idly traced Souta's name. It was time to go, though a part of her still wanted to remain. "I'll just be a minute...do you think you could get a head start on me?"
He watched her situate in front of the graves, perceptive of her attitude since last night. He grunted a response, eyeing her over his shoulder as he headed down the aisle. He wanted to listen in on whatever she had to say, but didn't want to intrude on her privacy. He wished for the hanyou's ears right now, curious at the little smile she gave.
"Kagome...wish me luck okay? I found you all the answers I can and I'm out of time." Red tinged her face, heating her nose a little. "Sorry I took a few days out to be lazy and relax, but I couldn't help it. I wanted to see the city you grew up in. It's a beautiful place by the way. There's so much culture here I don't know where to start. I don't know what I'll do in the upcoming months, but lend me your strength, okay? I'll need that and whatever courage I foresee with my final semesters and anything with Inaki." Fingers brushed over the stone's indents, tracing the girl's name. "I hope this is the last cross we have to bear. I'd like to have a little peace with him." Brown shunted as she looked to the ground with a sigh. "I - I feel like something WILL happen to me though. I can't escape it, though it might be my imagination. I can only hope you'll guide me through wherever you are."
"K, we really should get going."
"I'm coming." She called, looking back to the stone. She made to stand and brushed the petals of her offering. "I guess this is goodbye minna-san. This has been one of the most unique hardships I've ever had to bear...not to mention hearing anyone deal with. I still thank you for helping me, even if it changed me, and making me see things in a different way." Brown misted and she tried to blink it back.
"K!"
She took a few steps down the path, hand going to her mouth. "S...sayonara..." She whispered, whipping past and hurrying down the way.
She met up with him at the main walkway, head down and bangs covering her eyes. She didn't want him to see, even if it was plausible he already knew. Some stubborn part of her wanted to keep this inside; she was leaving a place first visited and a family she never knew. There was really no reason to be this depressed.
Arms went around her shoulders and pulled her to him. His chin went over her head and felt how cold she was and he frowned. He hugged her tighter to try and warm her up, soft brown pointed to the cluster she was at. 'Kagome...don't take this personal and get mad at me okay? You understand the circumstances of the whole reincarnation thing, so I know you won't get pissed at me loving your reincarnation. What's done is done and I will try not to think of you anymore to continue on with my life. I am who I am, changed or not, and now I must learn to deal with that. Goodbye to the both of you.'
He pulled away and pushed bangs back to kiss her forehead. "Now we're not going to get anything good I bet."
She managed the barest of smirks, subtly wiping tears from cheeks. "Hey, you told me to get going and then you stop. Don't whine to me."
He grunted in amusement and let her pass, eyes on the back of her head until they got to a place where he could walk side by side and his arm around her shoulders.
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As nice as Tokyo was, there was nothing like the feeling of being home. Even if she grew up around this area and spent years here, it was like looking at the place all over again. It was a nice feeling to rediscover the neighborhood you lived in, looking at little details. She felt the same as Kagome did when the girl came into existence for the first time.
Sam only waited until her bag was sat on the daybed, not even unzipped, before bombarding her for presents. She took it in stride, digging through and pulling something out. She didn't know if it was okay to get Sam that, but her friend wasn't going to spurn her for it.
Light blue blinked at the palm-sized object. Fingers ran over silk stitching on cloth. "What is this?"
She smiled and turned to keep pulling things out to put away. "It's an omamori - a good luck charm. I bought it from a priest at a shrine we visited. He guarantees the holy powers to keep bad luck off you." She stopped with a wry grin directed over her shoulder. "That cost a lot of yen, so you'd better be happy."
"It's pretty." She smiled and turned around, still pulling out used clothes and bathroom necessities. "Did you get me anything else?"
She would've sweatdropped if it was possible. "Hitodenashi..." She mumbled. She pulled something else out and turned. "Yes I brought you something else. Take a little more time to admire this though."
Sam outwardly gasped, eyes widening in open appreciation. Hands quickly, but gently took the item from her grasp and she smiled as her friend eyed it like a child with a new toy. "Que bello..." Sam murmured, turning it around in her hands.
She felt compulsion to watch her friend take in something never seen before, while she had a whole sleuth of them to go through mere days ago. A wistful smile lit her face as she thought back to the store case housing so many shiny objects. "It's called an ichirin kanzashi. It cost me a pretty good yen, so I hope you'll wear it once in a while without worrying about how it looks in your hair."
"Idiota. It's gorgeous!" Sam gently placed the metal prongs between her lips and twisted her hair into a small bun. The mass held easily when the tips were shoved in the center. "How's it look?"
Sam circled and showed the back of her head. Gold plating matched ash nicely and the pink flower looked as delicate as it was. "It was a good choice." She quietly answered.
Sam turned with a furrowed brow. She kneeled in front and peered into brown, searching out the emotions there. "You don't seem to be very happy to be home..." A wry smile appeared. "Don't tell me you wanted to stay longer."
A tiny smile appeared. "It would've been nice to scout the area and take in little details. I didn't bring film with me, but I'm not kicking myself for not documenting the trip. I'll never forget it."
She was suddenly pulled to her feet with a surprised yelp. It mildly stunned her that Sam could stand that easily at the angle she was being leaned on. "Come on you, we're going out for ice cream!"
"It's forty-five degrees outside! Are you nuts? It's cold enough!" She argued, trying to wrench her hand free.
"Who said we were having it outside? Madre bought some for supper tonight and I don't think she'll object to us sneaking some as a welcome home for you."
Brown rolled as she allowed herself to be drug from the room. She sneaked a peek at the things left unpacked and sighed, knowing she wasn't going to get to them for a while.
She didn't say anything until they were in the car and Sam was turning the engine over. "A - ano...there was something Inaki and I talked about while we were in Japan. I was hoping to ask you about it and get your opinion."
Light blue looked across the way before Sam backed out into the street. "¿Qué?"
She looked out the window at the passing area, taking it in and losing her train of thought before they stopped at a light. "Ah, well...Inaki and his family don't really celebrate Christmas since they're not Christian or Catholic or whatnot. So I asked him if he wanted to spend it with us." Silence met her and she subtly looked over, resisting to twiddle thumbs in a fidget. Teeth bit her lip as bangs shadowed eyes, feeling her face heat up. "I - if you don't want to, I could see why. It's always been just us at your parent's house. I just have to let him know by tonight because I was hoping he could stay over at the house - "
"No hanky panky in the room when I'm there."
Her face instantly heated and temper sparked. "We have more reserves than that! We're not a pair of rabbits you know and - " She stopped and blinked, taken aback. "Does that mean it's okay?"
Sam grinned. "It's okay."
She beamed and settled in the seat, now unable to pass a few hours until Inaki was near her side again. It was horrible to part like they did and she was sad to see him leave, but it had to be done. He had to get home and inform his family he arrived safe and sound and tell of his trip, so she couldn't be selfish. She had him to herself all week with no interruptions.
Her face heated as a silly smile appeared. 'That I did.' She resisted a giggle at being so hentai in a time like now when she didn't want to explain her behavior to Sam who WOULD ask questions.
It would be okay. She knew the Merths would love Inaki and finally those two little monster brothers of Sam's would have another male presence in the house. Maybe they could bug Inaki - that'd be hilarious if they tortured him from the get-go - instead of them for a change. There hadn't been any wars since the hair dye and bugs incident and she was hoping to keep them away for a while longer.
College was almost over and she wanted to raise her grades even more before graduating. As much as she'd be obliged to study, payback was also high on that list.
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"That was a great meal Mrs. Merth."
"Please, call me Missy. I don't like everyone being so formal in my home."
She grinned. "It's okay koi, she'll nag you otherwise."
He snorted and pushed the chair back, stacking dishes and making his way to the sink. "Obaasan would nag ME if I were so informal to people I just met." He responded, turning hot water on.
"Oh no you don't mister." Missy answered, heading after him. She pulled arm away and shut the water off. "What do you think you're doing MY dishes for? Shoo, shoo."
He backed away with a grin, trying not to be embarrassed at something he always did at home. "Can't say I never tried to help."
"Well you'd be one of the few who actually did." Missy responded, dark eyes pinning her sons.
"Hey, don't give me that look, we help out enough!" Kevin argued, looking playfully put out.
"Yea, we keep our room picked up don't we?"
Missy's eyes rolled. "And that's all you do."
She tried not to laugh as she followed Inaki's example and brought her dishes to the sink, mostly to keep him from feeling too self-conscious. "Such little helpers you two are. Don't make me laugh boys."
"Them's fighting words missy."
"One night of peace please." Carl piped up, setting utensils on plate. Light-colored eyes looked to his sons in mild warning. "You can argue later. I want to enjoy desert for once. Take it outside if you still have the energy."
"Si padre." They chorused, piling their things together.
She directed Inaki back to his chair and grabbed their plates for Missy, since that meant desert would come faster. She set everything safely on the counter to be gone through with a smile. "That's almost everything."
"You're always so helpful; I wish my own daughter would get off her duff and do this for me."
"Your lazy daughter's duff is too full of extremely good, tasty, filling food right now to be moving." Sam kidded back.
"Bribery only goes so far hija." Missy smiled nonetheless and turned to the task at hand.
He grinned and tried to relax, feeling out of place with the language. Was this how K felt in his family's home before Kagome came and helped her comprehension? He kind of felt bad for not making an effort to help integrate her at the time, but it was an unmanageable now. He only hoped she would do the same for him more than what already occurred.
"Inaki, these are my stubborn, obstinate, and all around pain in my family's asses little brothers, Kevin and Casey."
"Yo."
"We are NOT a pain in our family's ass!"
"WHO'S stubborn and obstinate?"
"Don't poke me!"
"You'll get used to their behavior Inaki - I had to." She piped up.
"Mujer, you cause as much trouble around this place when you visit as Casey and I do." Kevin answered with a wolfish grin.
She returned the smile. "Es verdad."
"Moving along now. Mis parientes are in the kitchen by the smell wafting through the house." Sam nearly yanked his hand from the socket and drug him through the living room. "Madre, padre - this is the hombre K wanted to bring tonight. Inaki, these are my parents Missy and Carl Merth."
He almost answered in Japanese and caught himself at the last second. "Pleased to meet you."
Missy smiled. "Well aren't you well-mannered. That's nice to know."
Carl extended a hand and he shook it. "Nice to finally meet el novio de mi hija. I've heard a few things about you."
She sidled up to him with a smile. "Don't worry, some stuff was good."
He looked at her with a cocked eyebrow, lips twitching at her playfulness. She seemed younger, more childlike in this place and he realized here was where she let go of all the inhibitions and responsibilities brought on by work and college. K exhibited a different side than what he normally got to see and he was glad to be able to see it tonight.
"You're reaching for some retribution onna." He replied, eyes narrowing a little.
She giggled and held her ground. "You think I'm scared of you? I've been through worse koi. Ne?"
"Keh. I'll just have to find your tolerance and break it won't I?"
Brown widened a little when he made a few steps in her direction. She backed up until bumping into the table. "Eh? Iya - yamero yo! Nannari ga ima shinai! Kigakite ka??"
"As nice as it is to know you've learned yet ANOTHER language, keep that on the low please. No fair talking when we don't understand."
She edged away when Sam started prodding her shoulder with a sly look. "Don't worry; I'm not whispering sweet nothings to him."
He snorted and suddenly swept her in his arms, feeling playful from so much lightheartedness in this house. "But K, I thought you liked talking to me as you just were."
A blush stained her face as brown took in everyone's amused and confused faces. She gave a part of his hair she could reach a yank. "Baka. Wrong person."
He ignored the pointed look and let her go to rub his scalp. "Hai, hai."
He startled when a pair of familiar arms and scent enveloped him and he leaned back a bit into happy brown. "If you daydream in this house, Sam'll get you for it."
"That's only you chica. He's all yours."
"Joy of joys for me."
"Hey!" He argued.
She grinned and stepped back as he stood from the table. "You can get up later, I just saw you spacing out at the wall and there was nothing interesting on it so I thought I'd come see what was on your mind."
He shrugged and took his spot again. "Betsuzuni."
She mimicked him and took her spot to be served a dish of pie and a bowl of ice cream. She graciously thanked her surrogate mother before digging in. Missy's cooking was pretty good, even better than hers before and after Kagome's influence...and that was saying a lot. It was always a treat to come to such good home-cooked food and comfy atmosphere for a while. This was definitely her home away from home as much as Inaki's house was.
It was sad she never thought that way about the home she grew up in, but she no longer felt sad thinking that way. If Kagome taught her anything - and there were a lot of lessons in the past few months - she learned not to worry about some horrible instances. Bad stuff happens and the only thing to do is deal with it accordingly until it passes.
She watched Inaki for signs of the food and the widening of eyes told her he was pleased enough. She was glad he managed to get along with everyone who was as different as she was. She was never Hispanic to begin with and now she was more on Inaki's ethnic background with her full soul, but she had more time put here than he did. Newcomer was never fun and she tried to do everything possible to lighten his stress.
A foot nudged her under the table and brown shot up, immediately to Sam, but the girl was still digging in and clearly oblivious. She looked to Kevin and Casey to her right and though Casey was right next to her, he wouldn't have kicked her at that angle.
Brown turned deadpan and looked into brown subtly watching her. "Anata..." She nearly growled, trying to keep from smiling at his little boy look.
He put on his best innocent face and practically batted lashes in her direction. "Nani? Ore ga? Surely you jest."
Her fork pointed in his direction as she slowly lost the battle with her grin. "Anata wa imaimashii."
"Oi!"
"Inglés por favor."
She snorted and threw Sam a look. "You should talk." She retorted, turning to her ice cream before it melted.
"That I am."
She could get used to this. It felt like she really was part of the family, even though she was only in theory. She didn't need to be related by blood to these people to call herself kin. If anthropology lessons taught her anything, it was that blood was a very easy way to draw a line on a subject that was incredibly blurry.
It was kind of funny when she thought back to this morning of such depressing thoughts. One would think she was over that by her actions and speech. If she was going to leave here, would she truly be as she always had around her surrogate family?
It was absurd to think she wanted to leave this place. It was effortless to think the way she had while already overseas. Her emotions were swayed with the desire to act the ethnicity granted to her by her reincarnate. It was kind of funny to know she was Japanese in a past life since she had no clue what her last name stood for. As far as she knew, Himmen was German, but she knew she wasn't full-bred.
It was just another way in how little she knew of her own life. She knew plenty from Kagome's since her awakening and that was only a few months. How could she so severely take this precious existence for granted? There was not much fixing or backtracking to be done to save relationships or to do things she never did when younger, and it was foolish to try. All she could do now was go forward.
Hands propped her chin up as she stared at an empty spot on the table in contemplation.
It WAS silly to think she could live in Japan, so totally cut off from everything in this life, but it wasn't impossible. What would she do with her major and minor after graduation? If all went well, she hoped to finish by the end of spring or summer section. Summer would technically be the end of her senior year, since she started in the fall, but would've graduated faster if not for those extra credits not counting to her degrees.
She pouted a little at that. Not particularly a crime to take a subject thought to deal with one's field of study, but it was also necessary to add extra credits when the needed classes were taken up. There were a few semesters where she took something that sounded interesting because she couldn't fit in her main classes or they were already filled.
Still, she thought of becoming a teacher. There wasn't much to do with a history major except archaeology. Anthropology wasn't really her style except it went with history. After everything that happened, it was easy to see why she picked history, given Kagome's travels back in time. It was ironic that her future was chosen even when the girl still slept in her conscious.
There was only one thing she knew of to be sure. She still planned to continue dating Inaki as seriously as she could and maybe see a little more of him before she was busy. It pained her at not being able to talk to him or see him - even though distance wasn't thought of anymore - at her whim due to a class load and work. She felt a little bad at choosing school over him, but it was a necessary evil.
She stared at him, finding his wondering attention on her and gave a little grin. He was so handsome with his hair like that, his eyes so expressive and alive. They were such a beautiful brown and she couldn't tell if they were her favorite part of his body. 'Well...besides others.' She stifled a giggle and shoved a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth to divert her attention.
She went back to looking after a while, even when he became involved in a conversation about Andytown with Carl. The rest of Sam's family jumped in and asked as well, and she was content to listen and watch as he described his house, family, and city to them. She could picture everything he described, even though familiar with the place.
She was so in love it was either pathetic or incredibly romantic. She never had such a deep, dually received love like this - she knew he felt the same - and it made her heart swell to think of it. She felt so privileged right then to be apart of such a wonderful person's life and it was amazing to think he loved her almost as much as she loved him, if not more. Tears of happiness sprang to her eyes and she looked to the rest of the pie she hadn't finished off and made to take care of that before she started explaining herself.
---
"Now that Kalie's finally finished her desert, why don't you five head outside and enjoy the night air?"
"¡But madre, está fricísimo!" Sam whined.
"And you just got done eating something extremely cold. Go burn off that energy so you'll leave your father and me in peace." Missy reiterated, taking her plate and utensils.
The youths looked to each other before Kevin and Casey shrugged and stood. The other three followed and made for coat closet and shoes.
He looked to the vicinity of the kitchen, a little unsure at being able to go out when there were things to do and clean. No one at home left the eating area until all dishes were cleaned - or being cleaned, the table was wiped off, all food was not on tatami, and the appliances were not splattered on.
He leaned close to her ear. "Oi, kore wa daijoubu?"
She blinked at him until he looked back. She smiled and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Shinpai shinai. Missy wouldn't let us help unless we knocked her out. She keeps this place running and doesn't really like it being tampered with - even if you only want to help."
He nodded, even if he felt like a loafer for skipping out. "Aa..."
"Eng. Lish!"
They reared back with a yelp at the shout in their faces. "Sam...I'm going to hurt you for that!" She growled, slipping into a tennis shoe.
"Gotta catch me first chica." Yanking screen door aside, Sam rocketed outside and off the porch when she was nearly grabbed. "Watch the hair!" She yelled, adjusting the ornament given this afternoon and not removed. It was fastly becoming the Hispanic's most precious hair decoration and it meant even more knowing K spent a fair amount on it. That told Sam to take extra good care of it.
"I'm going to get her and give her grass stains for making me deaf." She grumbled, rubbing an eardrum.
He inhaled crisp, night air with a smile and tried not to laugh at her griping. "You're wasting precious time standing around talking to ME about it."
"I'm waiting for my cohorts." A devilish grin appeared and he slid a few steps away. "It's been a while since I was so horrible to Sam and I think she's becoming too rowdy for her own good."
"Got that right."
Brown swung over to the two brothers heading out. "She's a little too fast for me - care to tag team her?"
A hand went over Kevin's chest as he faked a shocked gasp. "My older sister? The one I'm supposed to be looking up to for advice and wisdom about the ways of the world?"
"Stuff it you dork. Of COURSE we're going to help." Casey gave his brother a swat to the shoulder and hopped off the porch. "She's probably at the backyard by now; shall we roast her out?"
She grinned. "One of you take the alley, the other the backyard...and use finesse won't you?"
The pair sniffed in distain before saluting. "You'll be taking the front I take it?" Kevin asked.
She nodded and shooed the two to their task, leaning against siding. "It's been a while since I've been so immature - I almost feel like the half person I used to be. Was Kikyou ever so playful?"
He sat on the steps and looked at her, brows furrowed. "It's not a question of whether she was playful, but whether it was ALLOWED to be like that. Your answer is not really, but don't worry about that now...I thought you had a best friend to hunt down."
She looked at him and grinned. "Let mis hermanos hunt her down first. I'll tackle her if she comes out of hiding. I'm taking the front and this's all there is to it."
He grinned and checked the neighborhood. "You guys remind me of the musketeers." He mumbled, reflecting on such similar behavior.
"Yea well, you're apart of that group so I know you want to help me when she shows herself."
"Didn't say I WASN'T; you just never verbally enlisted me."
She plopped down and rested an arm on his shoulders, mindful of his mane. "I know you'd be bored if we left you to your own devices, but how are you enjoying so far?"
He leaned against her and gave her temple a kiss. He didn't like that her skin was cold, but she wouldn't go in right now if he asked so he didn't bother. "Everyone is really nice. They've done a pretty good job at making me welcome...even if you DO speak in Spanish."
She snorted and poked him. "Now you know how I felt. When I'm here it's reflex. Sorry if you feel like I'm tuning you out by doing so."
"No biggie. Just one more language you know. Sheesh, how many does that make now?"
"Four. But trust me, my French is so rusty you'd need to give me a tetanus shot before I spoke it like I used to."
"Hmm, I'd like to hear that sometime. Could be a serious turn on."
She laughed and tried to tickle him. "Baka! Hentai da!"
"Only for you." He countered, grabbing her hands. He held them behind her back and used the position to thoroughly kiss her, getting no struggles.
Just as it was getting pretty good and to the point of steamy, footsteps sounded in the distance. "You guys! I thought I was supposed to be in trouble! Didn't I tell you no hanky panky K??"
She pulled away and took wrists back, giving an annoyed look at ruining such a nice kiss. "That's only at the house. And kissing is not that R-rated you idiota. I sent the boys after you, so you'd better go hide again before they find you."
Sam saluted with a grin and crossed the street to hide in a place Casey and Kevin wouldn't hunt in. She giggled as Sam disappeared in the night and leaned against Inaki for heat.
"That girl is too odd for words." He muttered, pulling her close and wrapping arms around her waist.
She snaked one around his back, grabbing hair to fiddle with. "She keeps me on my toes, what can I say?" The pair chuckled and quieted to enjoy the crickets and sound of breathing. Her cheek rubbed against his jacket, wishing for skin, before resting on his shoulder. "Thanks for coming."
"No biggie."
"It is." She mumbled, giving his hair a gentle yank. "I would've missed you if you stayed at home for two days."
"I'm only forty miles and a phone call away you know."
"Maybe, but it's been a while since I've been here it seems. I wanted to spend some time with these guys. But I still would've missed you..." He turned at the serious tone but she took that opportunity to kiss his cheek. She squeezed him a little. "Kite ni doomo arigatou."
"Welcome."
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She was so tired by the time they exhausted themselves outside, but she wasn't done. Even though they should be heading home for sleep, there was one thing yet to do.
She stifled a yawn and slouched on a dining room chair. "Hey mom."
"Kalie honey! Nice to hear from you. How was your trip? See anything exciting? Get a lot of souvenirs?"
She smiled and stood, making her way over to where Inaki rested against a counter to lean on him. "If you're asking if I got you something, I did."
"You should see what she got me mom!" Sam chirped, fingering the ornament still in her hair. Miraculously, the thick mass kept it pretty entwined for it being only shoulder blade long.
"Hello Sam."
"How was your day madre?"
"Kind of boring, but that's not a bad thing. Got some cleaning done around here and some presents wrapped."
She twisted and rested her back against his chest, head reclining to use his shoulder as a pillow. "Did I hear the 'p' word??"
Ella laughed. "When are you coming over tomorrow?"
"I don't know. I brought Inaki over to meet everyone and we had dinner together."
"That's nice of you. Did that go okay?"
"As well as can be expected. Want to say hi?" She didn't bother to wait for an answer and shoved the phone in his face, feeling mildly insomniac-happy at such a good end to the day. "Say hi Inaki."
"Hey Ms. Himmen."
"Hello Inaki dear. How are things at your house?"
"They're going fine."
She pulled the phone back and yelped at his fingers prodding her stomach. "Don't do that." She mumbled, tapping the antennae against his forehead. "Mom, we'll probably sleep in and then I'll head over. We'll use Inaki's car instead of Sam dropping us off."
"That sounds fine. Just give me a call to make sure I'm presentable when you come over."
She chuckled. Being an independent woman living all alone granted one the freedom to wear whatever. "Can do mom. I'm going to hang up now because I'm falling asleep here."
"Yea I know. Omoi da."
"Uresai." She mumbled, getting a kiss on the forehead. "I'll let you talk to Sam if you want."
"I'm pretty tired too, so I think I'll head with K madre. Nice talking to you like always."
"Same with you too Sam. Have fun now and I'll see you tomorrow Kalie."
They hung up and she set the phone on the counter, grabbing Inaki's arms and wrapping them around her waist. He tightened his hold after hers limply rested on his. "As nice as this is, why don't you move so we can get to the car and get back?"
"In a minute." She mumbled, nearly half-asleep already.
He gave her that and looked over to Sam. "Why do you call Ella 'mom' if you've already got one? You two aren't related are you?"
Sam snorted and made to put the cordless back. She grabbed the other and tapped Inaki's head with it, much to his helpless annoyance, before striding out of reach. "Dork. I don't need Ella to be my real mom to call her mom. Madre doesn't get angry or upset that I do; she thinks it's nice that I'm so close to K's family like that."
"Yea... Don't you remember me telling you at one time that this is my surrogate family? I get to call Missy madre and Carl padre just like the rest of the kiddies."
Sam hopped back to her spot and stared at the pair. "When you're friends with someone, you don't need blood ties to be close. We're lucky in that way."
He thoughtfully nodded, seeing a glimpse of how deep the two cared for each other. Brown closed and temple rested against temple as he took that in. He and the guys were almost that close, but not to the extent women took liberties with. He could count on them in any emergency, for advice, for fun, and companionship.
He could see where they were coming from and some of the deep friendship. He was that close to his family, even if they were a different category. It was a nice thing to have and rely on when you needed someone like that to lean on or just talk to. He felt lucky they both had that in this life.
"Enough of standing around. It's time to go home before you guys get any cuter than you already are."
Her head barely managed to pull its way vertical to peek an eye at her friend. "Do I have to move? I don't wanna."
Sam sighed and hopped down. "So sickeningly romantic..." She mumbled, heading for the front door. "Come on chica, your bed is calling you."
"Mmm, bed." She idly replied, pushing away to balance. She managed with Inaki's help and they all piled into the car. "It's too late for this crap. Every year - you'd think we'd learn."
Sam yawned and nodded. "Time flies by when you have fun and all that." She agreed, heading down the street.
He held her the whole way home, convinced she was snoozing by the fact that she started to drool on him. He was tempted to hold that against her if she didn't look so beautiful at the angle he stared. He so wanted to kiss those parted lips all night, but that would wake her up and he didn't want to do that until they got home.
It was tempting to try and accost her when they got to her room, but he heard what Sam said and would respect that. It would be hard as hell with the liberties he got to take last week, but he'd manage.
Damn hard as hell to manage!
He helped her into bed and pulled the covers over them before situating an arm over her waist. "Night K."
"M...morning..." She wryly drawled, yawning.
He snorted and gave a squeeze. He settled in to the silence, content to let her breathing lull him to sleep.
I am a BEGINNER Japanese learner...so if these are not 100 correct...please let me know if you care to do so. I only have a web page to learn from, a dictionary, and a few months experience to work with.
Translations: Omamori-Good luck charm sold at shrines Hitodenashi-(You) Ungrateful Ichirin kanzashi-Pin-shaped hair ornament with decoration on end Koi-Love
Iya - yamero yo!-No - stop it! Nannari ga ima shinai!-Don't do anything now! Kigakite ka-Are you crazy? Betsuzuni-It's nothing/Nothing really Anata-You Ore ga?-Me?
Anata wa imaimashii-You're annoying Oi, kore wa daijoubu-Hey, is this okay/alright Hentai da!-You're a pervert/You pervert! Kite ni doomo arigatou-Thanks for coming
Omoi da-You're heavy
Spanish language will be translated underneath when it appears together. This language will be correct, as I have half put half a decade into learning.
Translations: Que bello-How beautiful Idiota-Idiot Qué?-What? Si padre-Yes father/dad Es verdad-This's true/It's true Mis parientes-My parents Hombre-Man
El novio de mi hija-The boyfriend of my daughter/My daughter's boyfriend Inglés por favor-English please Está fricísimo!-It's very cold/freezing!