Private Meet the Family, Day 1: Surprise!

[Toko]

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She had visibly startled slightly when the chair next to her had suddenly moved, since she hasn’t been looking directly at Olivier then, before the nan settled down on his new seat adjacent to Nao. His teasing voice carried over perfectly from there, and as a new pet-name variation floating from his lips Nao couldn’t help but wonder just how many options did Ollie had available.

After all aside from hanii or the more commonly know darin—both adopted from the English line too—the few available options to her were fit for a married couple… which was a very distantly far cry from what they currently were. "U-Uun…" She listened as Ollie made some math guesses as to the total time the grocery field trip would take for uncle & the children the trio, giving a faint nod, before stiffening just slightly as he turned to speak in her direction.

"Any ideas on how to kill em, the time that is."
"A-Ah, would you like to see the garden…!"

Her pitch had raised a notch or so as she spoke, Nao still very conscious that her cheeks were burning up in embarrassment as she finally turned to look at Ollie… though she certainly avoided a direct glance into his eyes. Twenty minutes had never felt like such a long amount of time for Nao until now, the woman unconsciously nursing the glass of water in her hands as she awaited a reply.

Ochits’ke, Nao!

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"A Garden?" He would raise an eyebrow as he pivoted to turn towards the woman. "That sounds amazing!" He would subtly scooch back to give her a little space as he could tell she was having some difficulty with this situation.

On one hand, he relished in teasing his lover like this. The flustered woman was only more and more attractive the redder her cheeks were. On the other hand, he was worried ahe would keel over or retreat from his affections.

He only had two weeks, he needed to take advantage of them.

He would rise to his feet and stretch slightly. "Lead the way babe, I'll follow you wherever you take me boo~."

He would give her some space to rise, noting her glass of water she'd been nursing but saying nothing. Thirsty Nao?

Perhaps the goons had gotten into a fight and extended his time hopefully? Moments like this would be rare

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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She was quick to move as Ollie seemed to eagerly accept the tour, taking another sip of her glass before settling it down into the sink to wash later. "Right then, follow me." a hand towel was used to dry off the condensation that had clung to her hands from the glass, before Nao moved to open the wooden sliding door at the bottom of the kitchen.

It led to a nice living room area, with a long table and six chairs that looked comfortable enough to laze around while reading a book or working on some craft. To the right we’re a set of shoji screens—currently opened as they gave an uninterrupted view into the spacious room they led to.

"Its just past this room."

Currently the area in front of the butsudan only had one cushion lying by the front of it, the other matching ones stacked neatly and towards the side. The cabinet itself was currently closed and tucked in its corner, and still seemed well kept despite the small signs of obvious wear and tear it sported after existing there for who mew how many decades. Another large shoji screen was at the end, Nao carefully sliding the sides open, to reveal the small little engawa area that lead to the outdoors.

"Its not a big garden by any means… but obaachan and I used to love resting here while enjoying the sounds of the trickling water and bird watching."

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Olivier would follow Nao on her small tour of her abode, eyes wide as he took in the scale and sheer amount of care put into maintaining it.

"Sugoi..." He found himself unironically muttering under his breath. The not so giant had spent his entire like living outside Pittsburg in cramped apartments, and when he had finally escaped to the troope he'd lived in cramped conditions with a gaggle of sweaty nerds.

This was borderline palacial in comparison.

He would note how the house, despite housing one lone tenant, seemed like it was laying in wait for more people. Extra cushions sat to the side waiting for foreign booties to pop a squat. Surplus chairs lingered around a table awaiting a meeting that had yet to be planned.

It seemed horrifically lonely.

Watching his liver from behind, the gentle not so giant would carefully reach out and take one if her hands in his as they reached the doorway to tbe outside.

"You don't have to worry about impressing me Nao. The fact that you have a garden at all is impressive to me. I feel like a sardine who's lived his whole life in a can dumped into the open ocean"

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"You don't have to worry about impressing me Nao..."
"... eh? A-Ah, iie...!"

There had been an initial look of confusion as the first words reached her ears, before a look of realization crossed Nao's face. She had certainly not meant to come off as if she'd been trying to show off or impress Ollie when the woman had suggested the garden, it was simply a place in the house that brought her peace and comfort.

"I wasn't trying to—eetoh—I didn't meant it like that..."

Man, words could be quite a hard thing to do at times—especially when you were feeling all flustered and kept tripping over vocabulary in both of the languages that resided in your mind. In the end the Japanese woman finally resigned herself from continuing to attempt a poor explanation, Nao's free hand raising to cover her mouth and part of her nose even as Olivier continued to hold onto her other one.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

FUCK
FUCKIN SMOOTH

Olivier would blink for a moment and then realized what had happened before blushing a bit. "Ah, that's my bad I-" He would stammer a bit. He would take a moment to collect himself before speaking. "I thought your comment about the size of the garden was-" he would pause and then just give her hand a squeeze.

"Gomen, Nao. I'm nervous and keep misunderstanding you, and you're flustered and we keep doing this...same song and dance." His blush would deepen as he would try to collect himself. "I'm sorry for the confusion," he would manage, looking her in the eyes. "I would love to see your Garden, I'm sorry for putting my foot in my mouth. Please, lead on?"

Gods, this was like a fucking trainwreck. His heart was pounding so hard he could swear she could feel it in his fingers. How the fuck was this so easy to do as Brutus? Had all of this been a fluke?

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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She was nervous.
He was nervous.
Their cultural differences weren’t doing them any favors either…

"… Pffft!"

She couldn’t help the sudden chuckle that escaped her lips, Nao’s hand returning the soft squeeze that Ollie had given her before nodding in agreement. "Gomen, I guess this all still feels a bit unreal in a way." She still couldn’t believe that they were all here, that he was here, in Japan… it would definitely take some getting used to.

"You’re welcomed to take a closer look if you want," A final squeeze was given to his hand before Nao let go, the woman instead opting to sit down at the edge of the veranda—she wasn’t too keen on getting more sunlight exposure for today, her morning errands had already gotten her enough vitamin D as far as Nao was concerned. "Obaachan adored looking at the koi swimming in the pond~"

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Crisis averted?
Looks that way
Fucking hell, this is so stressful
Why does your girlfriend have to be so infinitely more skittish than mine?
My girlfriend is not a badass bunny girl, and I am not a giant canon toting badass
Lame.
You wanna go to sleep?
No, this is fun to watch.

Nao would begin to chuckle and he would begin to chuckle alongside her. Her giggles would cut through the tension in the air. She would nod along with him and a soft smile would spread across his lips.

Thank
Fucking
God

"I keep thinking that I'm going to wake up back in my trailer." He would admit as he took a few steps closer to the garden, glancing over the koi filled pond. "And that this will have been a surreal dream." He didn't want to step out into dirt in his socks, not wanting to dirty them and then track it back into the house. Instead he would take a seat adjacent to Nao, but not too close to make her uncomfortable.

"I can see why she would, this place is gorgeous." He would listen to the babble of the water, and the rustle of wind through chimes as he let the atmosphere sink in. "It's like I've stepped into Terrasphere without putting on my headset."

He would sit there for a while, twiddling his thumbs and simply enjoying the moment. On occasion he would steal a glance towards Nao, alternating between the beauty of nature and the beauty of his companion.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"Yeah... I really thought I was hallucinating seeing all of you at first, thought maybe I was on the verge of a heat stroke or something and just hadn't noticed it."

Her eyes were focused on he outside scenery, the rustling of the tree leaves as a breeze fluttered by a reingresas comfort for Nao as she closed her eyes. This was probably why she had been so fond of Honeyhome and its surroundings right from the start, so many things about the starting village and its outdoors had just reminded Nao of this little piece of peace and quiet in Okinawa Island.

A hand would then reach for the phone in her pocket, the woman absentmindedly checking through it for a second before confirming there were no missed notifications from the grocery trio. I guess no news so far is good news...? Nao hoped so at the very least, the screen locked once more before she settled the device down besides the spot she was sitting on.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"Well we're real." The actor would assure her, resting his hand on the space between them. Not so close to invade her space, but not too far for her to grab if she felt like it. His other hand would mimic her, checking his phone for news from the others as well. He was half tempted to text Ari and pester him for updates, but he would rather make the most of this moment in the here and the now with Nao.

He debated filling the silence with idle questions and chitchat, asking her about her day or what she thought the goons were going to make for dinner. He was used to constant chatter, people always around him and talking, the dull thrum of the crowd even in his living situation.

But the silence out here was magic, and the more he babbled on the more likely he was to put his foot in his mouth. He was already tired of making those mistakes. The romcom moments had gone from funny to frustrating, and without Brutus' inherant charm they were agonizing to drag himself through.

Wait.

What if Nao thought he was bored sitting here in the silence? Or took his silence to mean something it didnt? He fidgeted slightly, his mouth growing dry as he debated his next move. Was it better to be silent and thought the fool? Or open his mouth and kill the vibe?

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"Well we’re real."
"Yes, I suppose you all are."

A soft smile would tug at her lips as Nao nodded in agreement to Ollie’s statement—having confirmed already they we’re all indeed very much real and here in Japan whenever her boyfriend had reached for her hand in the past half an hour. Another soft breeze blew by, causing Nao to close her eyes as she simply focused on enjoying the various sounds around them.

There was the trickle of the pond’s water as the little jets hidden by the right corner caused the water to shoot upwards before falling once more into the artificial basin, the sound softly mingling with the rustling of the leaves in the trees as their branches were caressed by the wind. Her favorite though had to be the soft chime occasionally produced by a small hanabi furin that dangled from the left side of the porch, it’s design rather fitting for the season as the wind continued to play with the tanzaku attached with a string to the end of the bell clapper.

"Mmmmm…!" A soft sound would eventually break the peaceful silence between them as Nao allowed her arms to rise up as she stretched them, unaware of the internal mental turmoil Olivier had been weighing inside his mind as she turned to look at the French man besides her. "What do you think of rural Japan so far, Ollie?"

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Oh thank fuck.

Olivier had been list in the silence, delving deeper and deeper into hiw own head over nothing. Why couldn't this be easy? It was easy when he was in Terra, it was easy as Brutus. What was wrong with him? Why was he such a mess? Why couldn't he be as cool?

"It's gorgeous." The man would reply absently. "It reminds me a lot of Honeyhome in some ways, I'm jealous."

He had to do his best to supress the anxiety welling within him. Keep it from hitting his voice, from howing on his face, not like she was looking at him anyways. She could barely look at him, was she just as nervous as him? Or could she not stand to look at him? Was Olivier ruining the illusion of Brutus in her head?

Breathe

Right on queue the giant interjected.

Get out of that spiral or so help me god I will take over.

He would take a slow breath and stabalize himself.

We are handsome, charming, and intelligent. She's new at this, she hasn't even kissed anyone as Nao yet. We're here to fix that, play it slow and cool. We've got this.

"We didn't have anything like this where I grew up. All big city apartments, little to no nature, it was all loud and noisey all the time, even at night."

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"Sono toori dess~" She was clueless to the worries running rampart inside Olivier’s mind, nodding in agreement to the comparison he’d made. "I think that’s probably why I fell in love with the little village so quickly… not to mention the Landers that inhabit it are all so warm and welcoming."

She was slowly adjusting to this new and unexpected development of her day, the small conversation being shared between them not too different from the times Nao had often messaged with Olivier in the past. The familiarity of it helped put Nao at ease somewhat, before she listened as Olivier shared how different his surroundings were back home.

"Sookah… I guess it’s probably similar to Tokyo and Yokohama then."

She had briefly visited Tokyo once, though Nao couldn’t say she had enjoyed the experience. Everything felt too fast paced and boisterous, it had been hard to find a time where she could simply relax and enjoy the moment the way she could here in Ōgimi… perhaps that’s why she never understood the desire of her peers to leave the quiet village in favor of bustling places.

"Does the troupe only visit busy cities in your travels then?"

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"Yes and no" Olivier replied, thankfull for the line she was throwing him, intentional or not. "So my Troope is known as "The Ivory Rose" which is is part of a larger collective called "The Living Histories" that travels the country doing reinactment work. We generally tend to do three time periods, Medieval, Colonial, and Civil war era. My troop does Medieval reinactment, otherwise known as reneassaince faires. Because of that we travel based on what faires are going on. Sometimes we do small faires where it might be one or two troopes in a park or small campground putting on small scale stuff" He would pause, realizing he was rambling, blushing a bit but she'd given him an outlet to talk and damnit he was gonna talk.

"But uh, basically we go where the wind blows. The only set gigs we have are known as the big Four. Right now we have Southern Scarborough in DFW, where we're set up in a huge fairground. In Fall we have the Bayside 'borough outside San Diego. Winter is Northern Lights outside Philly, and Spring is in Florida and changes themes every year. Otherwise we do uh...small gifs in the boonies, or if there's no work we hole up in campgrounds and rehearse" Once all of that was out of his system he would scratch his head and wince a little. "I'm sorry that was...probably more than I needed to explain."

@Toko

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

Ari had replied to Nico with little more than a quiet hum of agreement, only turning to actually speak to her when she'd asked if he remembered her trying to knock his lights out the first time they'd met in-game. "You punched me?" he asked, before picking up the pace, Nao's house now in sight. He remembered. He just thought it'd be funnier if she thought he didn't.

The trio walked back entered into Nao's home, and Ari called into the home, "Yo, we're back!" as he kicked his shoes off again.

"I'll cook first," Theo stopped them before they could go any further into the home, "so that I can eat and then hurry back to the hotel. You guys can all eat together and get to know... Nao... better."

Ari was a moment away from trying to get Theo to stay, but one look at the poor guy, and Ari could tell he was worn out. Yeah, he felt bad about that...he'd have to apologize later...

"Alright, sure man. Get some rest yeah? Let me know if you hit the sack before I'm back so I don't wake you."

Splitting up then, Ari and Nico went to go look for Olivier and Nao, wandering through the small home until they eventually stepped into the home's backyard. "Yo, we're back," Ari greeted, waving at the two lovebirds. "Theo wanted to cook by himself and head to the hotel. Lookin' pretty beat."

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

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"Yuuup. Right on the face." To be more exact about it, Nico pulled a very slow punch aimed towards him to demonstrate it, with a little bit of pride behind it. "You really don't remember? Damn, I knocked a few screws off your head, sorry about that." For once she sounded truly guilty about it, scratching unceasingly against her cheek. It weighed her conciousness to have made Ari forget even more than he already does on a daily basis. The guy's disgusting, but she didn't wish on him long-lasting harm like that.

The more she thinks about it, the less happy about that situation she gets...

But regret ain't on the menu now that they are back at Nao's place, shoes off and back to her pink hello kitty socks she is. Ari made the first move to let the couple know they are back so they can behave and do theirs hairs again after what she imagined would be a long and romantic kissing session that would get interrupted the moment they jump in to breathe the same air as theirs.

"Wait, Theo." Her hand went to grasp his arm to stop him before he could go to the kitchen, urgency gripped every pore of her body right now, as Nico went after the grocery bags to pull out one soda can and a few chip bags. "Done, get going now." Her interest on him died off completely so afterwards as she tagged along Ari instead to search around the massive anime house in search of any living souls around.

Bingo! finally at the backyard, a loud 'pop!' advertised her opening one of the bags as she juggled the rest of her snacks, cradling them with her left arm, while her right hand assaulted the chips and stuffed them on her mouth vigorously. "Waddap u two. We bag" She wanted to wave- no chance, too busy eating.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"Heeeh... sugoi dess."

She listened intently as Ollie shared more about the way The Ivory Rose, and by association his troupe, worked in the US when it came to the renaissance faires. "I suppose that does have its perks... you get to see a lot of your country and meet many different people, right?" It certainly wasn't like anything Nao knew here in Japan, so perhaps that's why she found the topic interesting.

"I'm sorry that was...probably more than I needed to explain."
"Iie, it was actually very helpful. I've never experienced that type of faire, so knowing how they work helps me have a better idea of what your work is like."

The familiar voice of Yugam echoed through the house as he called out from the entrance, the house feeling livelier as their steps echoed around the foyer while they took off their shoes before proceeding further inside. "Okaeri min'na! Ah, the kitchen is down the hall and to the left!" The rustling of bags could be heard faintly before two of her guests managed to find their way over to the small veranda where Nao and Ollie had currently been sitting and enjoying the breeze.

"Theo wanted to cook by himself and head to the hotel."
"Oh, daijoobu dess ka?"
"Lookin' pretty beat."

Nao nodded in response, she could imagine they were all probably jetlagged and exhausted. It was then Nico appeared next, the girl's antics earning a soft giggle from Nao before she patted the floor around her as an invitation for the pair.

"The breeze is nice today if you both want to rest after that trip." A hand pointed to the stacked cushions by the butsudan. "Feel free to grab one of those, I know the floor isn't exactly comfortable for everyone."

It was odd suddenly having so many people present in the house, a sight and experience that Nao hadn't partaken in for a while now, but the smile on her lips showed the woman was actually happy to have them around.

"So, how was it? Were you guys able to find everything you were looking for?"

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

Olivier would grin as she complimented his line of work, sending his heart aflutter. "It has its perks, and a lot of people we run into at faires are familiar faces. It's a rather niche hobby, so those who are into it enough to go out and enjoy it tend to rally around these events. In my three years of doing it, It's been quite fascinating to see the same faces over and over, and getting to know members of other Troopes even." He couldn't imagine how she felt, having lives in Ogimi her entire life and probably rarely leaving Okinawa.

"Traveling the U.S has it's ups and downs. Spring in Florida is nice, but a little humid. Summer in Texas is ass, hot as hell and sweaty. Fall in California is nice, but the water is too cold to go swimming. Winter in Philly is..." he would pause and shiver slightly. "Cold, miserable even. I grew up there and it fucking sucks. The wind is bitter and piecing, the ice will send you tumbling to your ass, and the school systems have perfected not needing a snow days."

He would shiver once more and banish the thought from his mind. "Perfect cuddle weather though, hot cocoa and blankets, sit by a warm fire maybe?" He would raise an eyebrow at her and then he would hear the rumbling from the front of the building.

FUCK

He would turn and smile to Ari and Nico, quickly scanning them for any bruises that might have occurred from undue horseplay, maybe rustled hair or disheveled clothes. He would squint and then nod.

"Was the walk alright? I couldn't imagine going back down there, grocery shopping, and then dragging everything back. Speaking of, what are we having dinner?" His sapphire gaze would dance from the Pink haired woman, to the Eboy, then back to his lover.

For a short span of time alone with Nao, he'd not managed much but he got the succinct feeling that they weren't going to be making leaps and bounds in any sort of romantic milestone. If he was lucky he MIGHT be able to get her first kiss, but honestly, he was fine even if they spent the whole trip chillin. He would let her take her time with how she wanted to do things, and he would content himself in simply enjoying her presence.

"Welcome back, by the way, we were talking about my work with the Troope."

@Yugam

 

[Yugam]

Per Aspera

Ad Astra

If there was a single word that could describe Ari's reaction to Nico's return, it would've been resignation. The man rolled his eyes at the woman, both when she stopped Theo only to take out her snacks, and again when she didn't even bother waiting long enough to say 'hi' to the other two. She had as much tact as a bull in a china shop, that one.

Sitting down on the other side of Oli, he nodded a quiet 'thank you' to Nao, before answering both their questions. "Yeah, we managed to find everything, and then some. Nico decided that mooching off me is the flavor of the day, so we have plenty of snacks. I got us all alcohol, mostly beer, but I got a few bottles of sake to try too," he reported, "and for dinner we have...a lot of things. We got some stuff for bruschetta, as an appetizer or side, and we'll also be having chicken parm, carbonara, and frutti di mare." Ari paused a moment, a look of pain crossing his face as he thought about how much money he'd just spent, and how much food they most likely would be wasting. "So yeah, I hope you guys are hungry."

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

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Taking the opposite of Ari in this case, Nico sat cross-legged next to Nao, offering her chips bag at her, with a wiggle to try and tempt her to get some. "Don't worry, the floor's chill. I used to sleep with just a carpet, a pillow and some blankets." An understanding smile, if anything, to try and ease Nao's worries. And back to nomming she went, a gamer hand going right into the bag to pull out so many chips they almost dropped onto the floor, were she not skilled enough.

"Yeah we got everything. It's a surprise, that's all I can say. Molto bene molto bene!" She exclaimed, with a classic chef kiss to add into the comical italian stereotype people apparently loved to hear out of her. Her ear got caught once Eboy condemned her completely justified actions, and Nico just calmly trashed the bag on her hands, stuffing it on her hoodie's pocket for until she could find a proper trashcan, and stared Ari dead in the eye, a grin propping on her lips. "You missed an S~" She called out. Sincere, raw, and with not an ounce of shame at her violent flirt.

At least she hoped Olivier would get the wrong idea and for Ari catch up to what she meant, if only to see if Eboys can fluster. Or to piss him off a step further- Both were valid reactions to her with how pained he looked right now.

With a swift change of subject and drop on the flirts, Nico opened the second bag of chips and started to nom away. "So Olly you said something about a Troope? Not gonna lie, If I only knew you online I would call it bullshit, but since you ain't built like Hulk I can see you pulling some moves on the dance floor."

@Toko