No own, no money, please no sue!
Sorry for the delays folks, but my Internet has been spotty at best and I've had to focus what time it actually works on counting ballots for the Fannie Awards. And if you haven't voted yet, see the handy ballot down below.
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Past and Present – Chapter 5
Michael sighed as he pulled into their driveway. "Well, that went... well."
Michelle sighed, reaching across to take her fiancée's hand. "Sorry about my Dad... and Hana too. I don't know what to do. My Dad has never been this angry before, not that I have ever seen. And Hana..."
"It's all right Honey. I guess this issue is just too big for the two of us to handle ourselves." Michael let go of her hand just long enough for both of them to exit the car. Once they were out, they rejoined hands, squeezing tight. "Mom hurt your Dad a lot more than I ever would have thought. I mean, I know I'd be pretty pissed if you did something like that to me."
Michelle leaned her head against her husband's shoulder, relishing the contact. "I'd never do that to you." After a moment of enjoying the feeling of closeness with her fiancée, a thought came to her. "Hey Hon... wasn't Hana right behind us?" She turned around, glancing back at the darkened street, looking for some sign of her aunt. "She hasn't been to the new house yet, did she lose us and get lost?"
Michael just shook his head. "No, she told me that she had to run some errands before she came over to the house. Said it was something she should have done a long time ago."
"Okay, well so long as..." Michelle's eyes went wide as she suddenly understood the meaning of Hana's message to Michael. "Oh no."
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Kim sighed as she dropped her keys into the dish by her front door. Dinner had gone better after her talk with Ron, but it was still hard sitting there at the same table yet feeling as if thousands of miles separated them. While his mood was improved to others after the talk, he was quite clear in his desire to ignore her.
Hana's attitude, while understandable as well, hurt almost as much. Kim remembered the nights babysitting her with Ron when his folks had to go out. She remembered the happy smile on her face every time Kim moved to pick her up and play with her. She remembered the joy on the little girl's face, thinking all the while what it would be like to have one just like her with Ron… though hopefully without the walking on the ceiling. Having Hana hating her as well was almost painful.
Of course, it's not like Kim had tried to keep the lines of communication open at all. She had seen Ron and Hana's parents several times over the years, it's hard NOT to see someone in such a small city, but she had seen little of Hana growing up. Hana probably didn't even remember the times they had spent together when she was an infant. Instead, all that she knew of Kim would have been stories told to her by her family… and probably Bonnie in those early years when she and Ron were married and still living in Middleton. That wouldn't have given the young woman a very good impression of her.
Trying to put it out of her mind for the moment, Kim flicked the light switch and headed down the hall to the living room. It took her a moment to realize the light hadn't turned on. She turned back to the switch, grumbling as she flicked it up and down.
"Don't bother, it won't work."
Kim spun quickly, bracing her back against the door, trying to spot who had just spoken. The problem was she recognized the voice immediately. "Hana."
Kim could hear the mocking tone in the young woman's voice. "So you recognized my voice from just the few words I spoke to you. Well done. You use those skills as a Global Justice agent?"
Kim tried to find the young woman through the darkness, but couldn't find her. She couldn't even determine exactly where Hana's voice was coming from for certain. There was light streaming in the windows from the streetlights, enough that she could make out most of what was in front of her, but it didn't help her to spot Hana at all. Kim lowered her guard somewhat, but kept herself tense. "What are you doing here Hana?"
"Just here to talk." The voice had migrated yet again, but Kim could see no motion and no sign of her. "Leave my brother alone."
Kim could hear the implied threat behind that and it raised her hackles. "It's none of your business."
"It IS my business." Kim flinched when the angry voice sounded from what seemed to be only a couple of feet in front of her without ever seeing any movement. "You hurt my brother. I won't let you do it again."
"I don't want to hurt Ron, I just want to make things right between us."
"Right? You really think you can make things right?" Kim could hear Hana laughing wryly. "YOU broke my brother's heart. You aren't the one who's going to fix it."
"I have to try." Kim's voice dropped slightly, knowing the truth of Hana's statement. "He's my best friend and…"
"Best friend? He hasn't been your friend for decades."
That hurt, and Kim could not argue that point. "I want to be again."
"And that's the problem, isn't it? It's all about you, isn't it? What you want, what you think is best. Isn't that what started this whole thing?"
"That's not true." The sadness was gone, replaced by a flaring anger.
"Really? I remember what my brother did for you. He never felt worthy of you, and you never did anything to dispel that notion. He was willing to change everything he was for you, and that was never enough."
That was more than enough for Kim and she stepped further into the house, intent on finding her tormentor. "You have no idea what you're talking about. I loved him just the way he was. I NEVER wanted to change him." She glanced briefly towards the kitchen, not seeing anything. "And how would you know anyways. You were too young to remember when Ron and I were going out."
"You forget one little thing Kim." Hana's voice trailed off, leaving Kim determined to find her. That's why Hana's next words startled her so. "I'm special." Kim was startled because the words had been whispered softly right beside her ear. She spun, lashing out, yet striking nothing.
Hana just laughed at Kim's discomfort. "I remember everything, even when I was that young. Oh, I think you loved him, I don't doubt that, but it was on your terms, the way you wanted things. You called the shots, thinking you always knew what was best, always thinking you had the best ideas and you could do no wrong. Well guess what, you were wrong. You didn't know best, and you hurt my brother. I also know you think you were hurting, especially when you found him in the arms of that harpy he married, but guess what... you drove him there."
The anger flared deeply within her now, and she wanted to strike at the source of it, to make it stop, but there was nothing to strike at. "That wasn't my fault."
"Yes it was. Do you really think he would have gone to that party and gotten drunk and hooked up with her if it hadn't been for you? No, of course he wouldn't have. But you thought he had to become more independent of you. You thought he needed more of a life outside of you. You thought because you had new friends at that school of yours and a life outside of Ron, that Ron should as well. So you played a heavy card, and you blew it. His life WAS you, and he was happy that way. He was willing to let you achieve everything you could so you would be happy, and then you would be together, but that wasn't enough for you. You had to try and control things the way you thought they should go, and you were wrong."
Kim clenched her fists, wanting to scream that Hana had no idea what she was talking about, but she couldn't. Even as wrong as she thought Hana was, there was that little kernel of doubt that wondered if Hana could be right. Had she been trying to control him like that, to change him? She knew it was was wrong for what she had said to Ron over the phone all those years ago. She also knew it had been wrong not to run to Ron right away and tell him she was sorry. For that she had blamed herself and Monique, so much so that it had taken years for them to get their friendship back to the point it was now. But could she have really done it for the reasons Hana had just told her? Could she really have been that controlling of Ron?
Hana seemed to sense her self-doubt now, and decided to end their conversation. "The past is dead Kim, let it stay dead." Hana's tone was almost sad after the angry tones of earlier. "Just leave him in peace Kim."
Kim hung her head for a moment, her thoughts running wild on her. That was when the lights decided to come back on and Kim's head whipped up sharply. "Hana?" There was no response to her query, and Kim knew the young woman was gone.
The ringing of the doorbell piercing the sudden quiet startled her. With a laugh to herself, Kim answered the door, and was surprised to see a very concerned Michael and Michelle on her doorstep. Michelle pushed past, glancing everywhere as she made her way through the house.
Kim sighed as her son walked in behind his bride-to-be. "She's already left Michelle.
Michelle looked almost shocked as she turned back to Kim, looking the older woman over as if looking for wounds. "Are you all right? She didn't hurt you, did she?"
Kim was just a little offended by that. "I'll have you know young lady that besides knowing 16 styles of kung fu, I'm also Deputy Director of Global Justice and a martial arts teacher. I think I can handle myself just fine."
Michelle winced as she realized what she said. "Sorry. I didn't mean that the way it sounded."
Kim let the offense drop, relaxing a bit. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bite your head off. It was just a... painful conversation with your aunt."
Michelle and Michael both relaxed as well, now that they knew the danger was over. Michael grinned, trying to relieve the tension. "Well, I'm just glad I won't have to scrub blood out of the carpet. You know how hard that is to get out."
It did relieve the tension a bit, enough that both women chuckled. Also, now that the trouble was past, both Michael and Michelle seemed a little uncertain about what to do. Michelle in particular kept glancing over at Kim, looking away, then repeating the process. It was obvious to all three of them that she had something to say to her and wasn't sure how to come out with it. She hadn't really talked much with her future mother-in-law since her father had arrived.
Kim knew it was something that had to be settled, and figured she might as well take care of it now, before things got worse. "Michael, why don't you put on some coffee while I chat with Michelle in the living room."
Michael glanced between his mother and his bride-to-be, nodding. "Sure Mom, no problem."
Kim smiled at Michelle, seeing her nervousness. "Come on dear, let's have a chat."
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Ron was surprised to see the driveway empty when he got back to his daughter's house. He had stuck around the restaurant after everyone left to look over their operations and had expected the happy couple and his little sister to all be here. Taking out his keys, Ron opened the door and hit the light switch.
When the light didn't turn on, he rolled his eyes and groaned. "Hana, stop messing with the lights."
The voice coming from no where didn't surprise him in the least. "We have to talk first."
Ron shook his head slightly as he closed the door behind him. Turning back around, he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, and felt the power come to him. His eyes flashed blue for just a moment, and then his hand shot out, grabbing hold of a squirming black figure.
"Hey," Hana struggled in his grip, try to pry his fingers off the front of her gi, "no fair using your mystical monkey powers, that's cheating."
Ron just smiled and let her go. "And using your powers to disrupt the lights isn't?" Ron laughed, even though he was impressed with the way Hana could use her own bio-electrical field to disrupt only the lights in the house and not the other appliances like the refrigerator. "Now, if you could get the lights please."
Hana moaned, stepping back. "Fine." He didn't see her do anything, but suddenly the lights in the entryway came to life. "There, are you happy?"
"Thank you. Now, do you know where Michelle and Michael are?"
"They pulled up at Kim's place as I was leaving." Hana grinned as she pulled her hood off, letting her long hair fall back into place. "I think Michelle figured out what I was doing and wanted to make sure there was no bloodshed."
Ron frowned at the mention of Kim's name but tried to reign it in. "And why did you go over to Kim's place?"
Hana walked past her brother and into the kitchen, going to the fridge to get a soda. "Because I had to talk to her, same as I have to talk to you." She paused in her talk as she popped the top on her soda, taking a sip. "You know your behavior is ruining your daughter's wedding, don't you?"
Ron sighed, hanging his head as he sat down at the kitchen table. "Yeah, I know."
Hana grabbed anouther soda for Ron, pushing it across the table to him. "So if you know, why are you doing it? I know you have better control of your emotions after everything Sensei taught us both."
Ron smirked as he glanced up at his sister. "You didn't exactly show much control either at dinner you know."
Hana rolled her eyes with a grin. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I was fine until she was talking to me and then... but I got that out of my system after our talk tonight. But you've had a couple of days and a couple of talks from what I've been told. Why haven't you got it out of your system yet? Something you want to talk about?"
Ron sighed, turning the can in his hands without opening it. "I... don't know if I can talk about it right now."
The grin faded from Hana's face, and she leaned across the table to cover her brother's hands. "I know she hurt you a lot Ron, but it's been twenty years. Michelle tells me you haven't even been out on a date in years."
Ron looked up defensively. "I've been out on dates."
"Ron, business lunches with your female executives don't count." Hana smirked as she sat back in her chair. "Though from what I hear, half of them would be more then happy to jump your bones."
Ron looked over at his sister in shock. "Hana, all those women are married."
Hana lounged back smiling broadly. "Doesn't change the facts. You should hear what women talk about without a man around, especially when they don't realize I'm the boss' little sister. You could have a lot of those women dropping their panties with just a word."
Ron just looked shocked at the suggestion. "Hana, you know I would never do something like that."
"Maybe you should." Hana spoke quickly before Ron could say something. "I don't mean with the married women, but you should find someone, at least to relieve the pressure."
"Hana, I am REALLY not comfortable talking about this with you. I'm not even all that comfortable you even thinking like this."
Hana's expression got serious very quickly. "Ron, I just want you to be happy. You're a good man, and I know a lot of people tell you that. You deserve some happiness of your own, not just trying to make everyone else happy."
"I know." Ron sighed, slumping in his seat a bit. "Michelle told me the same thing not that long ago."
"And she's right." Hana looked over her brother with a critical eye. "I mean, you're a millionaire, you're under forty... barely, and you're... somewhat pleasing to the eye I guess."
Ron smirked at that, finally opening his soda. "Gee, thanks for that vote of confidence."
Hana just rolled her eyes. "You're my brother, what else do you expect me to say. The point is, you are a catch that most women would love to grab. So... why has there been no grabbing?"
Ron paused to contemplate that for a moment. "Well, after Bonnie, I didn't want to put Michelle through..."
"Bullshit." Hana interrupted him sharply, forcing him to look up. "I can believe the Michelle excuse up until four years ago. But she's been to college since then, so that isn't gonna fly." Hana sighed, knowing her brother was avoiding the main reason. "Talk to me bro, why are you making yourself miserable and alone?"
Ron wanted to answer her, but nothing came to him. He wanted to give her a dozen different reasons for why he didn't have anyone, but nothing came to him. Finally, under his sister's watchful eye, he slumped into his seat. "I don't know."
Hana gave her brother a sad smile. "Then I think it's time we find that out."
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Author's Notes – Next – Kim and Michelle talk, Monique enters the picture again, and Kim confronts Ron once more... much as her son wishes she didn't.
Be sure to place your votes for The 4th Annual Fannie Awards before 11:59 pm EST, January 31, 2009.
4th Annual Fannie Awards Ballot! (copy and paste, fill in, then email or PM to me)
Best Writer -
Best New Writer (started in 2008) -
Best Story Overall –
Best Series Overall -
Best One-shot Overall -
Best Novel-sized Story Overall (100,000 words or more) -
Best Comedy –
Best Romance -
Best Action/Adventure -
Best Drama -
Best Crossover/Fusion -
Best K/R Story -
Best Kigo Story -
Best Alternative Pairing Story (Ron/Bon, Kim/Drakken, Shego/Barkin etc.) -
Best Original Character –
Best Minor Character (From show, but expanded upon. ie. Yori, Tara, etc.) -
Best AU Story –
Best Original Character Name (Following the KP naming scheme) –
Best Villain –
Best Songfic -
Best Young Author (eligible to authors 19 years of age and younger as of December 31, 2008)-
Best Short Story (multi-chapter short stories with a maximum of 15,000 words) -
Best Writing Team (stories posted in current year, eligible to those in which 2 or more writers collaborate on the WRITING of a story. Betas not eligible) -
