["Well, if she becomes a handful you can always visit me." A hand lays itself on his arm, she invades his space just a tad, outright flirtatious and with all the confidence to go right along with it. "I can take very good care of you."
Nariko keeps eating, and at the apparent offer to bang her fiancee she just looks over while drinking the same tequila lemonade that Boxer ended up with. There's no anger, no jealousy, not a single bit of irritation in her body language. "Or we could make it a threesome."
Okay, now this is getting into especially horrible territory, and with how shy Boxer can be ... Well, she'll jump right in the instant that he can't handle it.]
[Alright, this is funny but it might be pretty unforgivable in hindsight, so it's Nariko who speaks up while said grandmother just laughs in good nature.] That's my grandma, Boxer, Magdalena Lunae. She's a bit of a jerk.
["It was just a little bit of fun! Your taste in men has dramatically improved, it'd be a shame to do anything but tease!"]
Like I said.
[Kind of a jerk.
"Really and truly," At least she's being serious, now. "I am glad to meet you. Exciting as it was I don't think I believed this engagement until I saw you two."
Because apparently she's been watching for some time.]
[Would he consider having a threesome with a grandmother and her granddaughter? He's never really thought of it before. It seems kind of hot in theory, but...he has no idea how Nariko would feel about it, because he has absolutely no context for what it feels like to see your family members in a sexual context. Come to think of it, Nariko would have had to inherit her talented genitals from somewhere...
Why is he even thinking about this.]
Is there something about seeing me in the flesh that changed your mind?
[Hey, he's more than free to ask her about it all later on, especially since at the rate she's going she'll be tipsy before they all make it to the dancing portion of the night.
"In a sense," The elder woman's eyes drift over to Nariko, who is listening just fine but is also engaged in a lively debate about basketball, of all things. "I can't doubt the way you look at one another." She laughs a bit dryly, "And I've never seen her so protective, I think it's a very good sign."
A bit of a morbid one considering how aware she was of Nariko's consistent loss, of her father, of any motherly figure, all of that. It only made sense that you would do anything to keep from losing your soulmate once you managed to find them.]
Considering that both you and Asifa have managed to hit on or sexually comment about my fiancee before you've even known him for a day, I have to be protective.
[Not because Nariko doubted Boxer and his loyalty, but because, well, Nariko's looks were very much a family trait. Most of their family was pretty damn gorgeous, and the lot of them knew how to put it to use.]
[Apparently so. There are even men here that suit Boxer's tastes, which is awfully troublesome. At least he's been able to keep his dick where it belongs.]
That goes double for me. [The protectiveness, that is.] Though I wasn't expecting to find any competition at a family reunion.
'Competition' means that someone else might stand a chance, and they don't.
[Annnd that's all Nariko's gonna say, thank you very much! Maggie just sort of smiles, the expression itself is a little tight on her face, somehow, and she only relaxes when given the chance to turn the conversation towards another direction. There may or may not be something there, but whatever the case is Maggie won't discuss it, and Nariko certainly won't in public. It's a little difficult to tell whose listening, after all.
"So tell me why you want to marry my favorite granddaughter."
If he was ever under any illusion that he wasn't being harshly judged by a smiling old woman then Boxer was nuts. Her approval hasn't been won just yet.]
[So there is. And he doesn't very well appreciate being left to wade in this thick tension, so they'll both have to forgive him for his terse response, though well-veiled in a friendly tone.]
I didn't realize I was going to be interviewed! Well, there isn't anything special here. Just the fact that we love each other.
["If you were giving away your daughter, wouldn't you want to be sure of where she's going?"
They're both far too good at the 'overly nice, actually irritated' deal and Nariko does look between both but - what the hell is she supposed to do? It's not like she's trying to leave Boxer on his own but they have to be able to speak to each other. So, yeah, she's not going to hold the response itself against him but she doesn't jump in yet, either.
"I live on the other end of the world, Boxer, when you're running out of time you worry about the ones you're leaving behind. It's as simple as that." And in Maggie's eyes admitting that was something of a concession, maybe even a mild apology.]
[He's quietly sipping his drink while Maggie talks, watching her over the rim of his glass. When she finishes talking, though, he puts it down on the table.]
You talk as if you've already got one foot in the grave, but you don't.
[It's not like his super-senses can diagnose cancer but he can smell a healthy specimen when he meets one. And it's really tempting to tell her that the fact that she thinks she's not long for this world doesn't grant her any right over Nariko's to choose her mate, but it doesn't feel like the right sentiment to share right now.]
I'm gonna stick with my answer, though. Wish I had some sort of inspiring, magical anecdote, but the truth is that both of us are exactly what the other was looking for, mentally and physically.
[The one time he's truthful about their sexual relationship, it's vague and carries the connotation that he can keep up with her just fine.]
On top of that, we both want the same thing out of our futures...we've rarely fought and always instantly made up...and both of us are the breadwinners.
My kind is an isolated one, but I couldn't stand being without her.
["I'd say that's a pretty magical anecdote, and a genuine one."]
Not that I mean to interrupt [She does, actually. Nariko eases out of her chair and pulls at Boxer's arm, because she isn't going to just go and wheel him without a decent warming.] but you should come dance with me, Boxer.
[Considering that she had told him that he was free of all footwork duty this is exactly what it looks like: A way out.]
Or at least watch Eunyce and I.
["Nariko-"]
Look, you've got the whole visit to be overprotective, okay? We're supposed to be having fun.
[Roll quickly, Boxer, quickly towards the middle of the pier! They're still setting up and all that, but it's a good destination all the same.]
Not that it matters either way, because Nariko's quick to get them away, she's moving much quicker than usual. In a handful of seconds they've cleared the makeshift dining area and a good part of the soon-to-be dance area. Abbas is helping with the setup and little snippets of songs will play as they all tried to decide on where to start. She makes sure to get them a little farther away, a little more into the natural dark.]
Oh my god.
[She's irritated, it's in her voice and the way she shakes her hands when she lets go of his chair, pacing in front of her.] I - [Families are so fucking stupid.] I'm sorry about her.
[And about the incredibly awkward topics that came up.]
I do! You're not some fucking retainer that has to look after me like I'm still a kid! I don't need a man to look after me, I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself! How can someone who was forced to marry her own husband be so - so mean about how much I love mine!
[And so what if they loved each other and they didn't plan every goddamn second of their lives together? They didn't have to do that! That wasn't the right way to live a life - not as far as Nariko was concerned. Stability did not equal micromanaging!
Almost as quickly as she had puffed up, she manages to deflate a little. Enough to step closer to him safely, she got the need to fling at the air out of her system.]
[As soon as she steps close enough to, he lunges out to sweep her off her feet and pull her into his lap for cuddles!]
She can make judgements all she likes, but that's all they are. Judgements. She doesn't have the power to make your choices for you.
[Was she really judging that much? Boxer didn't really get that impression--but then again, he doesn't know Maggie like Nariko does, so he's not going to speculate.]
[There's a little 'eep' with that, but she settles against him easily enough, wraps her arms around him and tries to relax against him.]
I know. You're right.
[A lot of it is very old history, from the attempts to marry her off to the incredibly gendered ideas (some of which, unfortunately, has stuck to Nariko, thankfully not overbearingly so), to thinking that she was irreparably frail since her father died. The whole 'I'm old and my most precious grandchild needs to be loved' routine was an oldie, Nariko had seen it enough times with her other relatives that hearing her gear up to it had been moderately infuriating.]
I still want to throw bread at her, though.
[She's simmered back down to pouting, though! Which is a good thing.]
The pita bread was kind of stiff. [Enough that it'd give a poor, undeserving, and very real pigeon a horrid concussion.
But her anger isn't so righteous that she can deny the warming effects of a good old fashioned nuzzle. It's horrible and oddly introverted of her but she does prefer being alone with him to all of this fuss.] Yes, we could just put her in a cage and make her watch everything go by. We'd only have to put up with the silly cooing every so often.
[A lot of birds do. Pigeons, though...eh. They mostly peck angrily. But not from a cage.]
Does that make it easier to deal with? Thinking of it as 'silly cooing'?
[Don't mind him, he's just gonna gently play with her hair as they sit here and enjoy their shared seclusion. The food was great, and...he's getting to his limit on socialization, but he likely wouldn't be recharged if he just stole away by himself, too buzzed from the irritation. It's being with Nariko that feels the best.]
[And there's nothing more comforting than being hair petted, it dissolves whatever remaining tension may have been hiding in her body. For a good moment or two she just sits there with him, and then she can seem to admit:] I overreacted. [Just a tad.] I want you two to get along, but I guess I can't just hide all the bad parts.
[Every family has their secrets, and they're generally always bad but the Lunaes just feel ... Incredibly gross and disconcerting, even to Nariko. Even when she loves them with all of her heart. There's a reason she lives on the other end of the world and doesn't visit them too often.]
[Did she overreact in his opinion? Well...yeah. But he doesn't really mind it--both of them are more on edge than they're used to being.]
How much I like your family is not a reflection on how I feel about you. But if you want my honest opinion, I think we'll get along--she just wanted to do the typical shocking old woman introduction.
[There's not a whole lot that would gross Boxer out, considering that the two of them do some stuff that others would think pretty gross!]
...although I suppose I'm still reeling about the idea of filling the generational gap in bed.
[Well, maybe, at least! Old women were a category unto themselves. She relaxes that much more when she takes in his thoughts. It's good that they'll get along since Maggie's probably going to be an involved grandmother. The kind that wants pictures every week, along with a phone call. And that last part ...
She leans to one side, looking up at her eventual husband from an angle.]
There's a list of relatives that are cleared for that business, and she's not on it.
[That there's a list to begin with is noteworthy, though.]
Sure! My standing theory is that at some point they got tired of being prim and proper ladies and decide to amuse themselves with shocking other people.
[You meet a lot of different archetypes of people when you work so closely to the tourism industry.]
[Wow, that actually makes sense! And considering how traditional things had been for her grandmother, the arranged marriage, being forced to stay home and be a housewife rather than having the choice ... Go figure. But, yeah, she figured the list would get a decent reaction out of him.]
There's a list, and there are men and women on it.
[That Boxer is an equal opportunity lover hasn't escaped her attention! This isn't a sign that she's here for polyamory, and of course she'd greatly prefer remaining Boxer's sun and moon, always there for him and pleasing him but ... They're getting married. As long as he doesn't try to turn it into a three way emotional setup, she can relax a bit, because there's a lot of power in knowing that she can take care of his needs just fine, and that adding anyone else in isn't a veiled act of making up for something she can't provide.
no subject
Nariko keeps eating, and at the apparent offer to bang her fiancee she just looks over while drinking the same tequila lemonade that Boxer ended up with. There's no anger, no jealousy, not a single bit of irritation in her body language. "Or we could make it a threesome."
Okay, now this is getting into especially horrible territory, and with how shy Boxer can be ... Well, she'll jump right in the instant that he can't handle it.]
no subject
[There's a short list of places that Boxer would rather not be given a proposal for a threesome, and a family reunion is definitely on that list.
Who even is this woman? There's one way to find out.]
With your...?
no subject
[Alright, this is funny but it might be pretty unforgivable in hindsight, so it's Nariko who speaks up while said grandmother just laughs in good nature.] That's my grandma, Boxer, Magdalena Lunae. She's a bit of a jerk.
["It was just a little bit of fun! Your taste in men has dramatically improved, it'd be a shame to do anything but tease!"]
Like I said.
[Kind of a jerk.
"Really and truly," At least she's being serious, now. "I am glad to meet you. Exciting as it was I don't think I believed this engagement until I saw you two."
Because apparently she's been watching for some time.]
no subject
[Would he consider having a threesome with a grandmother and her granddaughter? He's never really thought of it before. It seems kind of hot in theory, but...he has no idea how Nariko would feel about it, because he has absolutely no context for what it feels like to see your family members in a sexual context. Come to think of it, Nariko would have had to inherit her talented genitals from somewhere...
Why is he even thinking about this.]
Is there something about seeing me in the flesh that changed your mind?
no subject
"In a sense," The elder woman's eyes drift over to Nariko, who is listening just fine but is also engaged in a lively debate about basketball, of all things. "I can't doubt the way you look at one another." She laughs a bit dryly, "And I've never seen her so protective, I think it's a very good sign."
A bit of a morbid one considering how aware she was of Nariko's consistent loss, of her father, of any motherly figure, all of that. It only made sense that you would do anything to keep from losing your soulmate once you managed to find them.]
Considering that both you and Asifa have managed to hit on or sexually comment about my fiancee before you've even known him for a day, I have to be protective.
[Not because Nariko doubted Boxer and his loyalty, but because, well, Nariko's looks were very much a family trait. Most of their family was pretty damn gorgeous, and the lot of them knew how to put it to use.]
no subject
That goes double for me. [The protectiveness, that is.] Though I wasn't expecting to find any competition at a family reunion.
[Right? ...right?]
no subject
[Annnd that's all Nariko's gonna say, thank you very much! Maggie just sort of smiles, the expression itself is a little tight on her face, somehow, and she only relaxes when given the chance to turn the conversation towards another direction. There may or may not be something there, but whatever the case is Maggie won't discuss it, and Nariko certainly won't in public. It's a little difficult to tell whose listening, after all.
"So tell me why you want to marry my favorite granddaughter."
If he was ever under any illusion that he wasn't being harshly judged by a smiling old woman then Boxer was nuts. Her approval hasn't been won just yet.]
no subject
I didn't realize I was going to be interviewed! Well, there isn't anything special here. Just the fact that we love each other.
[Gonna have a sip of his drink here.]
no subject
They're both far too good at the 'overly nice, actually irritated' deal and Nariko does look between both but - what the hell is she supposed to do? It's not like she's trying to leave Boxer on his own but they have to be able to speak to each other. So, yeah, she's not going to hold the response itself against him but she doesn't jump in yet, either.
"I live on the other end of the world, Boxer, when you're running out of time you worry about the ones you're leaving behind. It's as simple as that." And in Maggie's eyes admitting that was something of a concession, maybe even a mild apology.]
no subject
You talk as if you've already got one foot in the grave, but you don't.
[It's not like his super-senses can diagnose cancer but he can smell a healthy specimen when he meets one. And it's really tempting to tell her that the fact that she thinks she's not long for this world doesn't grant her any right over Nariko's to choose her mate, but it doesn't feel like the right sentiment to share right now.]
I'm gonna stick with my answer, though. Wish I had some sort of inspiring, magical anecdote, but the truth is that both of us are exactly what the other was looking for, mentally and physically.
[The one time he's truthful about their sexual relationship, it's vague and carries the connotation that he can keep up with her just fine.]
On top of that, we both want the same thing out of our futures...we've rarely fought and always instantly made up...and both of us are the breadwinners.
My kind is an isolated one, but I couldn't stand being without her.
no subject
Not that I mean to interrupt [She does, actually. Nariko eases out of her chair and pulls at Boxer's arm, because she isn't going to just go and wheel him without a decent warming.] but you should come dance with me, Boxer.
[Considering that she had told him that he was free of all footwork duty this is exactly what it looks like: A way out.]
Or at least watch Eunyce and I.
["Nariko-"]
Look, you've got the whole visit to be overprotective, okay? We're supposed to be having fun.
[Roll quickly, Boxer, quickly towards the middle of the pier! They're still setting up and all that, but it's a good destination all the same.]
no subject
Sure. Push me?
[A way out is a way out. He reaches to gently grab Maggie's arm.]
We'll talk later, Missus Lunae. Promise.
no subject
Not that it matters either way, because Nariko's quick to get them away, she's moving much quicker than usual. In a handful of seconds they've cleared the makeshift dining area and a good part of the soon-to-be dance area. Abbas is helping with the setup and little snippets of songs will play as they all tried to decide on where to start. She makes sure to get them a little farther away, a little more into the natural dark.]
Oh my god.
[She's irritated, it's in her voice and the way she shakes her hands when she lets go of his chair, pacing in front of her.] I - [Families are so fucking stupid.] I'm sorry about her.
[And about the incredibly awkward topics that came up.]
no subject
Hey. Hey...
[He gestures for her to come closer.]
C'mere. It's okay, you don't have to apologize for anything.
no subject
[And so what if they loved each other and they didn't plan every goddamn second of their lives together? They didn't have to do that! That wasn't the right way to live a life - not as far as Nariko was concerned. Stability did not equal micromanaging!
Almost as quickly as she had puffed up, she manages to deflate a little. Enough to step closer to him safely, she got the need to fling at the air out of her system.]
no subject
She can make judgements all she likes, but that's all they are. Judgements. She doesn't have the power to make your choices for you.
[Was she really judging that much? Boxer didn't really get that impression--but then again, he doesn't know Maggie like Nariko does, so he's not going to speculate.]
no subject
I know. You're right.
[A lot of it is very old history, from the attempts to marry her off to the incredibly gendered ideas (some of which, unfortunately, has stuck to Nariko, thankfully not overbearingly so), to thinking that she was irreparably frail since her father died. The whole 'I'm old and my most precious grandchild needs to be loved' routine was an oldie, Nariko had seen it enough times with her other relatives that hearing her gear up to it had been moderately infuriating.]
I still want to throw bread at her, though.
[She's simmered back down to pouting, though! Which is a good thing.]
no subject
[He chuckles, holding her tight. He goes in for a nuzzle, happy as could be that it's just the two of them for now.]
She'd be a lot easier to deal with if she was, though, huh?
no subject
But her anger isn't so righteous that she can deny the warming effects of a good old fashioned nuzzle. It's horrible and oddly introverted of her but she does prefer being alone with him to all of this fuss.] Yes, we could just put her in a cage and make her watch everything go by. We'd only have to put up with the silly cooing every so often.
[Birds can't scream, right? Probably. ]
no subject
Does that make it easier to deal with? Thinking of it as 'silly cooing'?
[Don't mind him, he's just gonna gently play with her hair as they sit here and enjoy their shared seclusion. The food was great, and...he's getting to his limit on socialization, but he likely wouldn't be recharged if he just stole away by himself, too buzzed from the irritation. It's being with Nariko that feels the best.]
no subject
Yes, I think it does.
[And there's nothing more comforting than being hair petted, it dissolves whatever remaining tension may have been hiding in her body. For a good moment or two she just sits there with him, and then she can seem to admit:] I overreacted. [Just a tad.] I want you two to get along, but I guess I can't just hide all the bad parts.
[Every family has their secrets, and they're generally always bad but the Lunaes just feel ... Incredibly gross and disconcerting, even to Nariko. Even when she loves them with all of her heart. There's a reason she lives on the other end of the world and doesn't visit them too often.]
no subject
[Did she overreact in his opinion? Well...yeah. But he doesn't really mind it--both of them are more on edge than they're used to being.]
How much I like your family is not a reflection on how I feel about you. But if you want my honest opinion, I think we'll get along--she just wanted to do the typical shocking old woman introduction.
[There's not a whole lot that would gross Boxer out, considering that the two of them do some stuff that others would think pretty gross!]
...although I suppose I'm still reeling about the idea of filling the generational gap in bed.
[A carefully worded retort.]
no subject
[Well, maybe, at least! Old women were a category unto themselves. She relaxes that much more when she takes in his thoughts. It's good that they'll get along since Maggie's probably going to be an involved grandmother. The kind that wants pictures every week, along with a phone call. And that last part ...
She leans to one side, looking up at her eventual husband from an angle.]
There's a list of relatives that are cleared for that business, and she's not on it.
[That there's a list to begin with is noteworthy, though.]
no subject
[You meet a lot of different archetypes of people when you work so closely to the tourism industry.]
...there's a list?
[Will these two ever find their kink limit?]
no subject
There's a list, and there are men and women on it.
[That Boxer is an equal opportunity lover hasn't escaped her attention! This isn't a sign that she's here for polyamory, and of course she'd greatly prefer remaining Boxer's sun and moon, always there for him and pleasing him but ... They're getting married. As long as he doesn't try to turn it into a three way emotional setup, she can relax a bit, because there's a lot of power in knowing that she can take care of his needs just fine, and that adding anyone else in isn't a veiled act of making up for something she can't provide.
With confidence comes new avenues, apparently.]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)