01 [December 25, 2003.] 01 [It has been... a day. Katie and Kyon went to Katie's parents for Christmas - an American Christmas, apparently - which has involved a little bit of tree decoration, a whole lot of turkey, present giving and unwrapping, Katie's mother subtly expressing misgivings about her daughter's relationship with her boyfriend, and Katie's father giving Kyon money and then threatening him. Oh, and one of the more awkward graces before meals known to man. Though that happened before the money and threats, anyway.] 01 [Also, there was the discovery that Mr. Andrews may have considered hiring a private investigator to figure out what really happened to Katie a couple of years ago and, perhaps most importantly, the news that Katie's parents may be considering moving back to the United States. So. THAT all happened.] 01 [Eventually things started to wind down, and Katie and Kyon left for home. It's not too long after dark, and they're nearing their apartment building on Kyon's motorcycle.] 01 [Start!] 06* Kyon drives along, focusing on the road. Even if Katie can maybe hear if he talks, it's hard for him to hear in exchange, so he's being quiet. 06* Katie just hangs on to Kyon, as one needs to do on a motorcycle. She's long ago discovered that talking isn't exactly possible unless you're stopped for some reason, and she wasn't going to bring anything up right outside of her parents' place. 06* Kyon slows down as they pull up by the apartment, and signals for the garage to open, so they can pull in under the building. It sounds louder in the more enclosed space, even if it's not as fast. 06* Katie is used to it, but even so, she grimaces a little. Sometimes powers are awful. 06* Kyon pulls into their space - it's near the entrance, with the other motorcycles. He parks, and then waits for her to disengage. 06* Katie does so, sliding off of the motorcycle and removing the helmet. She puts it where it belongs before trying to fluff out her hair. 06* Kyon gets off, too, and stows his helmet. He rolls out his shoulders, and then waits for her to re-equilibrate, again as usual. 06* Katie adjusts her earplugs to normal levels, then lets out a little sigh and goes for the bag kept in the back of the motorcycle, where she stored the art supplies her parents got her, as well as a couple of other things from their place. 06* Kyon grabs his own stuff from the back, and then goes to unlock the door to building. 06* Katie is not too far behind him! 06* Kyon cocks his head slightly, and says, "Recovered yet?" 06* Katie looks up at Kyon for a moment, then says, "My ears are ringing a little. I'm still trying to figure out if that's better or worse than the subway. I think it's better, right now." 06* Kyon nods curtly, and bypasses the elevator to head for the stairs, holding that door, too. "Should work out some better soundproofing for that. Got to be better helmet material out there." 01 Yeah. That'd be really nice... I should learn how to drive, some time. 06* Katie smiles her thanks to Kyon and heads into the stairwell. She starts climbing up them with a quick, light pattern that's distinctly Katie's. Her steps will get heavier as they get closer to the eighth floor. 06* Kyon clops behind her, steps rhythmic, and just tries to match her pace. "Not old enough for real cars yet." 06* Katie laughs. "A bike, maybe. I'm old enough for that." 01 I don't even have to get one. It'd just be good to be able to use it. 06* Kyon nods curtly. "Better to have the skill and not need it." 01 Yeah. 06* Katie turns and starts up the next flight, hand on the rail. 06* Kyon follows along behind her, waiting on the balls of his feet to push into the next step. "We waiting to talk about tonight till we get in?" 06* Katie glances back at Kyon - one of the few times she can look down at him, too! - and says, "Yeah. That... sounds best." 06* Kyon nods curtly. "No fried chicken, though." 06* Katie laughs, her voice echoing in the stairwell. She hops the last step to the next landing and, when Kyon nears, grabs his hand and kisses him lightly on the upper arm. "No fried chicken." 06* Kyon stiffens slightly, but doesn't pull away, and then reverts to a more normal tension, and smirks. "Wish I'd known." 06* Katie shakes her head. 01 You couldn't, really. And I'm sorry I laughed then. It just caught me by surprise. 06* Katie goes back to climbing, letting Kyon's hand go if he doesn't keep up. 06* Kyon keeps up just fine. His hands are engloved, so it's easy. "We still ate it. Not like it went to waste. So it's fine." 01 It was good. A lot better than it is at home. Um. In America, I mean. 06* Kyon nods, and smirks. "You don't make that much at your parents'? Is there fried turkey?" 01 No, I had fried chicken a lot. I meant KFC is better in Japan than it is there. And there's fried turkey, but I've never tried it. 06* Kyon nods quickly. "Right. So. When we go there, I won't compare. I can just know we're superior." 06* Katie grins back at Kyon. "Sure. At Kentucky Fried Chicken, you're superior." 06* Kyon smirks. "Even though you have the Kentucky." 01 Yeah. It doesn't make a lot of sense. International relations. 06* Katie laughs a little. "I wonder if there are Japanese things that are better in America somehow." 06* Kyon thinks for a beat, and says, "Probably." 06* Katie makes a soft humming sound. It's been a while since she was in the States, and her steps slow as she thinks. But she doesn't have anything to add. 06* Kyon thinks as well, then admits, "Can't think of any. But I haven't looked." 01 We can check if we go. But... I don't think we'll find any. I didn't have a lot of Japanese stuff outside of my house, growing up. How many Japanese people were around, though? Besides your mom. 01 Basically none. A few people who ran restaurants, um... nobody in my schools. 06* Katie frowns a little in thought. "I'm not even sure those people were *Japanese*, even." 06* Kyon nods quickly. "Right. So that's not the right place to look." 01 Yeah. Maybe somewhere on the west coast. 06* Kyon nods. "But it'd have to be taking something we do, and twisting it. Or fixing it somehow." 01 It'd have to be. 06* Katie rounds the next landing. Almost there! 06* Kyon steps along, looking up at her. 06* Katie climbs up the last flight wordlessly, and this time she opens the door for Kyon. 06* Kyon nods to her, and pushes back his tuque as he goes into the genkan. He's got some pretty serious orange hat head. He leans down to work off his shoes. "Tadaima," he calls out for Kumaguro's benefit. 06* Katie enters after him, and she crouches to pet the cat who's come over to greet them. Kumaguro allows her to do so before turning to rub against Kyon's leg. 06* Katie takes that opportunity to remove outerwear! Including her shoes, because Kyon is killing no puppies in this episode of Neo Arcana. 06* Kyon gives him a quick, vigorous rub before straightening up, and heading into the hall. "Tea?" 01 Sure, thanks. 06* Kyon goes in and sets up the kettle. "Kitchen? Living room?" 06* Katie hangs up her coat and shrugs. Kyon probably can't see her. "Kitchen's fine." 06* Kyon nods, and just stays in there, then. "So. Time now to get on that." 01 Yeah. 06* Katie walks into the kitchen, but she doesn't sit down. She just looks at Kyon. "Where do you want to start?" 06* Kyon smirks, and tosses himself down over a chair. "So many places. You heard me and your dad?" 06* Katie ughs, putting a hand to her face and pinching her nose. "*Yes*. I didn't know he was going to do *that*." Had to take some of the money. If I didn't, I'd just have insulted him. 01 I know. 06* Katie goes to sit next to Kyon, now, on his left side, and once she does so all of the tension she was carrying since being at her parents' becomes obvious. She puts her head against the table. 06* Kyon nods curtly, watches her for a beat, and then says, "The detective, though... think they really will do that?" 06* Katie says into the table, "Mom... maybe not. My dad?" She looks up, at the kettle, and squints a little in thought. "He might." 01 You... you don't know. After that happened. With the closet, and the- her. After that, he's never been the same. 06* Kyon nods curtly, and gets up, putting himself in her field of vision, putting tea in the teapot. "Hard to see how he could be." 06* Katie says, softly, "Yeah." Pause. "I didn't help." 06* Katie folds her arms over the table and sets her chin on top of them. 06* Kyon takes out a pair of cups - Katie's regular one, with a crane on a blue background, and a random one for himself - and says, "Katie. You had your own deal. Can't be responsible for them then." 01 If I can't, who can? 06* Kyon scowls, and turns back to the table. "Them. You can try now, but when something terrible happens, you're stuck. After what happened? You needed to work on you. Once you get better, then you can fix things." 06* Katie watches Kyon, which takes some effort given her chin is about table-level and Kyon's really freaking tall. "I'm not better enough now?" You weren't better enough then. 06* Katie mmms. "Yeah." 06* Kyon takes the kettle, and pours the water into the teapot. "And they're your parents. They're not going to take your help the same way we do." 01 Yeah. I know. 06* Katie props her head up on her hand now. "Anyway... yeah. He might." 06* Kyon takes the teapot back to the table, and sits back in his chair. "And he won't tell you if he does." 01 No. 06* Katie laughs, sudden and short. She looks at Kyon. "Secrets. They didn't just become our way of life." 06* Kyon smirks at her, stretching out his legs. "Secrets tend to make friends." 06* Katie looks amused. "If they share them." They multiply either way. 01 It'd be nice if they carried genetic markers. 06* Kyon barks out a short laugh. "Should get a research team on that." 06* Katie grins. "Sure. Maybe I can talk to Moeta about it. He knows lots of people." 06* Kyon nods quickly, and pours the tea into her cup. It's a fragrant green brew. "Good plan." 06* Katie straightens. "I am sorry seeing my parents turned out that way. There was so much... off about it. I'd never taken someone home for Christmas before." 06* Kyon smirks, and pours his own tea. "And they were so fond of me." 01 Well, I thought maybe... I mean, we've been dating for a while, and you've seen my parents *way* more often than I've seen yours. 06* Kyon shrugs quickly. "But this is a formal statement. Right? Like bringing you home for New Year's would be." 06* Katie nods. "Which isn't happening," she says, her tone fairly light. 06* Kyon nods in return, and smirks. "Because you work better when you're not frozen." 06* Katie rolls her eyes. "I'm so glad you're concerned with keeping me functional." 06* Kyon wraps a hand around his teacup, enjoying the warmth. "What can I say? Got to keep you working." 06* Katie laughs a little, and she pulls her own cup closer. "So... Mom questioned me in the kitchen without really questioning me. She thinks things are happening too fast." 06* Kyon cocks his head. "With me. Still? Thought she'd made her peace with you moving in." 01 Me too. But I guess not? She said that she wonders what kind of hold you have on me... like it's some kind of *spell*. 06* Katie conveys so much disgust in that word. 06* Kyon frowns. "That little a fan, huh?" 01 I don't know. Mom's hard to read sometimes. She says one thing. She means another. It'd probably be different if we were just friends. 06* Katie looks in her tea, with her hands wrapped around it. "It might not be about you at all." 06* Kyon sips the tea, and thinks, his eyes narrowing. "Because they just want you closer." 06* Katie looks at Kyon, studying his expression, but she doesn't say anything. 06* Kyon sets down his tea, and spreads out his hand there. "Makes sense. For them, this is fast. To care so much you argue past them, it's hard. And they're still worried from before." 06* Katie nods, thinking. "Yeah. That's... yeah." She sighs and picks up her tea. "I hope they move. I think it'll be good for them." 06* Kyon cocks his head. "So you're really okay with it." 01 You thought I wasn't? Just a big change. 01 Yeah. I... kind of think it'd be better for them, if they were farther away. From all of this, I mean. 06* Kyon regards her for a beat, then takes another sip. "And for you?" 06* Katie looks ahead and sips her tea with both hands, eyes half closed. "Hard to say." 06* Kyon just watches her. Maybe she'll say anyway. 06* Katie puts her tea down and looks at it, trying to gather her thoughts. It takes a few minutes. When she's finally ready to talk, they come out in a stream of English. "" She looks at Kyon. "" 06* Kyon nods quickly, and frowns. "" 01 06* Katie tilts her head, looking at nothing in particular. "" 06* Kyon watches her for another beat, and then nods slowly. "" 06* Katie blinks and focuses on Kyon again. "" 06* Kyon nods quickly. "" 01 [End!]