Dedication: To my mother who is really, truly, a knitting goddess and has given me substantial material for this chapter in addition to my college essays.

Chapter Three: Knit One, Perl Two

The Tsukimori household was a grand but simple mansion. Though it was clearly far greater than what Hino Kahoko was used to she somehow managed to feel at home whenever she visited. Len parents were always welcoming, though admittedly they were rarely home. More often was the case that his grandparents were around. Kahoko adored them.

Grandpa Tsukimori was both lively and crusty. His eyebrows were comically in need of a trim and Kahoko found herself watching them bounce enthusiastically across his forehead whenever he spoke, usually telling some amusing story of his days as a juvenile delinquent.

Granny Tsukimori was an entity in herself. She was clever and wise, and also found no problems in speaking whatever—whatever—was on her mind. She was also very kind and once a week, she tutored Kahoko on the finer points of needlecraft, namely knitting.

Len enjoyed these lessons more than Kahoko perhaps because he could watch her attempt something that she was not particularly good at. She tackled the task of learning to knit much like she had tackled the task of learning to play her violin properly. Though he wasn't acquainted with all the details, he had some vague inkling that Kahoko had indeed been a complete amateur when she first started playing in the concours.

The expressions on her face were priceless as she struggled to manipulate yarn around the thin sticks of wood, envious of Granny Tsukimori's adept handling of the very same device.

"Wrap the yarn the other way, dear," Granny Tsukimori said kindly to the struggling red-head.

Kahoko's cheeks colored and she followed the old woman's instructions. The stitch came out perfectly.

"Now do a perl stitch."

"A what?" Kahoko asked.

Granny Tsukimori demonstrated on her own pair of needles.

"Oh, right," Kahoko said embarrassed.

"One more," Granny said, "and then start over with the knit stitch again."

Kahoko nodded determinedly. "I shall conquer this. I promise, Granny!"

The old woman laughed. "Ah, you are just like Len sometimes. Did I ever tell you about the time—"

"Grandmother!" Len interrupted, coming down from the stair where he had been hiding for the past half hour. "I thought we discussed this." An unhappy frown graced his face.

"And I thought I told you it was rude to spy, Squirt," Granny said. Kahoko stifled a giggle behind her hand. "I'll tell you when he leaves," Granny whispered to Kahoko.

"I heard that," Len said.

"Because you're a no-good eavesdropper," Granny returned. "Now go on, you're distracting my student."

Len stood torn between disrespect and his dignity. "Go on, Len," Kahoko said, smiling devilishly. "It'll be fine."

All masculine pride put aside, Len wanted to break down and cry right there. His grandmother knew the worst stories and had a horrible sense of humor, which mean that jokes were always at his expense. Awful woman!

"That's no way to listen to your girlfriend, Len," Granny said, interrupting his tormented thoughts. "Now kindly get out."

Len sighed. He couldn't get away with refusing any more requests. "Keep in mind, I'll be in the next room," he said as he left.

"Poor thing," Granny said as he went. "He's horribly self-conscious."

"Are you sure we're talking about the same Len?" Kahoko asked.

"Oh yes. You should have seen him when he was a toddler. We couldn't take him out anywhere he was so nervous. Crying and such all over the place."

Kahoko giggled. "Poor Len."

"Indeed," Granny said reverently. "Alright, you should be starting the next row now. How's that scarf coming?"

The young violinist looked down at the sad show of progress, an inch or two of a ribbed red scarf. "Slowly," Kahoko said.

"Ah, you'll get faster. You'll be churning it out like a machine in no time." The old woman laughed.

Len was stuck in the next room which happened to be the kitchen, wondering what on earth his grandmother could be laughing at. Little did he know, they were no longer discussing him at all. It had in fact become a practice among this pair of his favorite ladies (save his mother, because like it or not he was a "mama's boy") that when they became aware of his eavesdropping presence his grandmother would threaten to tell an embarrassing story.

Why play such a cruel joke of the violin prodigy? Well, mostly because it was great fun. Len sat at the kitchen table, his head in his hands and a jar of his favorite cookies next to him.

It was then that his father walked in, having returned from visiting on his old friends. The older man grinned slightly. "How are you, son?"

"Awful."

"You don't say. Anything I can do to help?"

"You could tell grandmother to stop telling Kahoko stories about me," Len said hopefully.

"But what fun would that be?"

"Lots of fun!"

Mr. Tsukimori gave his son a stern look. "Your grandmother doesn't get a lot of company and I'm not going to deprive her of any enjoyment in her old age. Besides, Kahoko will still love and respect you no matter what she hears."

"I see," Len said ruefully. "It's a conspiracy to torment me, isn't it?"

"If you're so worried about what they're saying, you could join the lessons," his father said, doing his best to contain his laughter.

"What do you mean 'join'?"

"I mean go ask your grandmother to teach you to knit as well."

"WHAT?"

"Or just live on in ignorance," his father said and left the kitchen.

Dimly Len could hear his father greeting the two women in the other room. His was too astonished by the proposal that he, the great violinist, learn to knit. There were many advantages. He would keep an eye on his grandmother's run away mouth. He could spend more time with both him grandmother and girlfriend. But knitting? With yarn and needles, and …

Len sighed having made his decision, he rose from the table and put away his cookies. He walked into the next room like a man going to his execution. "Grandmother, there comes a time in every man's life in which he must make sacrifices. So comes my time. Will you… will you teach me to knit as well?"

Kahoko and Granny made no attempt to control their laughter.

"I'm serious," Len said.

Granny grinned. "Very well, Squirt. You shall learn to knit."

Several torturous hours later, Len walked Kahoko home, feeling somewhat revived by the cool almost winter air. Or maybe it was Kahoko's soft hand in his or her head leaning gently against his shoulder.

"You know, Len, I think knitting is very manly," she said.

"You're trying to make me feel better," he said.

"And watching you make that blue scarf is really sexy," she added.

"It's working."

Author's Note: Sorry for the shortness, but there's only so far you can go with knitting and liked the ending too much XD So anyhow, another apology for taking forever with this update. I've be busy. Yeah, I know you don't care. At this point, this is where I could use help from you guys. I'm out of silly ideas, so I'm taking requests. If you want to see any more ridiculosity (totally a word) I need your help. Thanks for reading and please review!