Overland Park, KS, Saturday Afternoon

[vanillajello]

Kate was nervous. And she thought she had every damn right to be. This was actually the first time ever she'd brought a boyfriend home to be introduced to her parents. (As always, Leto didn't count. They hadn't even kissed before he came home with her.) And that was just... Weird. It felt weird.

And anyway, in her mind, they were here more to get a break from Fandom. Not to make official introductions. But it was still a little terrifying, even if she wasn't really showing it.

They'd taken a bus from the airport and walked the rest of the way since it wasn't far from the bus stop, and Kate thought she could use the extra time to remind Bod of what he wasn't supposed to talk about. And to prepare herself for everything.

The first thing she noticed after they got to her house was that her dad's pick-up truck wasn't parked outside. Neither was The Green Hornet, her mom's car. But she was too nervous to think about what that might mean.

"So. That's my house," she said, nodding at the house and flashing a smile at Bod as she stopped to stand by the green mailbox, which had a few painted flowers on it and said 'The Gregsons' in Tara's handwriting. "Welcome to Oak Avenue."

[ooc: For that guy I modded a bit just now. NFB due to distance.]

Comments

[vanillajello]

Being alone with Kate's mother was still better than being alone with Kate's father. ...And Kate would probably find it only right if that happened too.

"I'm sure she likes that about you, at least if you remember to admire her from time to time," Tara said with a little laugh. "By the way, I'm a little curious... How did you guys meet? Is there a story to it? Kate hasn't really told us much about you."

In fact, all Kate had ever really said to her about him was 'oh by the way I'm bringing my boyfriend his name's Bod and he's English gotta go love ya byeee'. So she was more than a little curious.

[therewaslife]

Mother or father, Bod was still concerned for his wrists. Either parent had the ability to break them if he slipped up. He knew that and, in the back of his mind, he feared it.

"I met her for the first time in one of the local shops on the island," he replied after scanning that story for anything he wasn't supposed to talk about. "I'm fairly new to the country still so I wandered in, looking lost, and she was there already. She gave me a recommendation so I didn't order incorrectly. Apparently, I annoyed her hugely. She'll tell you I'm annoying. I prefer to call it curious."

Curiously annoying was probably the best compromise even if Kate would never agree to that. He was annoying period. "This was probably back in January. I'd just arrived really. I've only been in the United States for under a year."

[vanillajello]

"Well, that does sound like my daughter," Tara replied, smiling fondly, if a little wryly too. "But she must've gotten over her annoyance if you're dating her now."

He seemed polite and fairly calm. Tara could tell why Kate might call him annoying.

"How did you end up here, if you don't mind me asking? You're English, right? Kate's given me the impression that Fandom is a fairly international island, but everyone still ends up there for a reason."

And she couldn't help thinking she was Kate's reason.

[therewaslife]

"No, she still thinks I'm annoying. I think she's just gotten used to it," he joked with a laugh. "And I don't mind being called annoying so she can call me names which means she's right and I'm fine with that."

That was probably where being calm helped him. "But yes, I am completely English. Being here is mostly a result of restlessness, I'll admit. I'm from a small village and I wanted to see more. My parents allowed it as long as I'd remain in school. Thus, we compromised. I get to come, explore the United States and I go to school while doing so. It's worked out well for me thus far."

[vanillajello]

"A lot like Kate, then," Tara noted, nodding with a little smile. "She wanted to see more, too, though I'm not sure a tiny island off the coast of Maryland is a good place for that."

She laughed only because she didn't know.

"So your parents are still in England?"

[Sleep was a sneaky bitch last night, sorry!]

[therewaslife]

"They are, yes ma'am," he said, unable to stop that from coming out. He made a face and shook his head. "Sorry. They are, yes."

That wasn't even lie. His parents were still in England. Just...not precisely where he said they were. "They're quite entrenched over there and we don't have a lot of money so an international trip is a bit out of the question. I write home a lot."

[No worries! It was late and I figured you'd fallen asleep!]

[vanillajello]

Oh, Alice would have baked him a pie and insisted he marry Kate.

Tara laughed. "It's okay, you can call me... whatever you want," she said, smiling. "And I'm sure your parents like appreciate you writing. Sometimes I think I should start bribing Kate to call because--"

"I call," Kate interrupted, stepping into the room in her fresh clothes. "Don't make me look bad, Mom."

Tara just laughed again, reaching for Kate who didn't hesitate in giving her mother a big hug. "Hi, Mommy." She'd probably never admit how good it was to be home and hugging her mother, especially after everything that'd been going on the past few weeks.

[therewaslife]

Bod ducked his head, not wanting to intrude on a family moment. And while he knew that could have gone much worse, he still took the moment to gather his composure back up and into something neat and orderly.

His posture loosened a little and he finally tugged his hands out of his pockets but he stayed quiet while mother and daughter greeted each other.

[vanillajello]

"Hi, honey. You smell like Coke," Tara noted against Kate's shoulder.

It made Kate pull away and make a face. "Well, I got totally soaked and didn't really wanna start taking a shower and leaving everyone unsupervised. Who knows how snoopy you'd get." She sent a smile Bod's way. "You weren't pestered too much, were you?"

[therewaslife]

"Hmm?" Bod asked, looking up again. "No, of course not. No one pestered me and I'm fine. I wasn't the one that took a shower in soft drink, after all."

Silently, he was grateful she hadn't decided to shower. He was sure he could have dealt with being alone longer but he was glad he didn't have to for the moment.

"Even I don't need supervision all the time," he joked. "I can manage without poking myself in the eye."

[vanillajello]

"Debatable," Kate snorted. "But at least your eyes look fine right now. Well done."

Tara wached that little exchange silently and smiling, but remembered something now. "Oh, hey, guys, would you like something to eat? Max is supposed to bring home some takeout, but if you guys are hungry I could... make you something right now?"

Kate shook her head. "Nah, I was actually gonna--" Rescue Bod. "--take Bod upstairs and show him the house and stuff, and we can just grab a few of Moosh's muffins. Unless you don't wanna, Bod?"

[therewaslife]

"Oh, I'm fine either way, really," Bod said, not about to be the one to make that sort of decision right now. He would be the completely indecisive and completely flexible one this weekend.

"I might need supervision either way since you think without it, I'll end up wearing an eyepatch," he added, throwing a joke in there again. "I wouldn't want to end up a pirate in a completely unfamiliar place."

[vanillajello]

"Yeah, at least in Fandom you'd have the ocean right there." And a real pirate to teach him the ways of proper piracy, but Kate was most definitely not mentioning that. "Nothing like that here. But, yeah, I kinda wanna... not be in the kitchen right now."

"Okay, go ahead," Tara said as Kate reached to grab two of the muffins that were still cooling. "I'm sure you want two'll want to have some time to yourselves to prepare yourselves for Max's arrival."

Tara thought she was funny. Kate didn't necessarily agree. "He's gonna behave himself, right?"

Tara just shrugged and smiled. "Maybe."

[therewaslife]

Why did that sound almost ominous? Bod hoped he did a decent job of keeping his nervousness off his face at that exchange. Maybe poking himself in the eye and going to the hospital would be less painful.

"Is it too late to hide in a closet?" asked Bod, only half serious. At least he made it sound like he was kidding even if he was thinking of successful a plan like that would be.

[vanillajello]

"God, Kate, what have you been telling the poor boy?" Tara asked, laughing. Not that she didn't think it was justified. "Don't worry, Bod. Just call him sir and you'll do fine."

Kate rolled her eyes. "I only told him what happened last time." She reached for Bod's hand. "Come on, let's go grab our bags."

[therewaslife]

"All right," he said, remembering to smile in Tara's direction before he got tugged out of the kitchen. "It was a pleasure to meet you, ma'-- Mrs. Gregson. Ma'am."

One or the other. One of those. "I promise I won't hide in your closets," he added with a genuine laugh before following behind Kate.

[vanillajello]

Tara's laugh sounded genuine too, when they left her alone in the kitchen.

"That makes you sound gay," Kate teased lightly as she reached to pick her bag up from the floor. "Or creepy. Good thing you're adorable."

[therewaslife]

"It does not," he argued, picking up his own bag and shouldering it. "It makes me sound like was kidding. I'm not gay or creepy though I won't argue with adorable this weekend."

Adorable was a good word and he'd take those. "I could have said I'd hide under a bed. Would that have been better?"

[vanillajello]

"Why yes, that would have been an absolutely heterosexual thing to say," she snickered as she tugged him towards the stairs. "And not creepy in the slightest."

[therewaslife]

"At least I didn't have a near panic attack," he replied and barely resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at her. All right no, he gave into that urge since she was questioning his sexuality and calling him names. He could just roll with the immaturity.

It almost made him feel a little less nervous.

[vanillajello]

And Kate could use some of that feeling too. So, immaturity was the way to go, snickering while they climbed the stairs.

"At least I didn't come off as a lesbian."

Yes, she did stick her tongue out at him after saying that.

[therewaslife]

"I did not come off as a lesbian," he said (and thankfully kept his voice low) and made a face at her back. "At least I don't smell like a soft drink mixed with flowers."

He knew her scent pretty well by now, yes. "So there."

[vanillajello]

"No, you came off as a gay guy." No he hadn't, but silly arguing was needed. "And what's wrong with smelling like Coke and flowers?"

[therewaslife]

"I did not come off as a gay guy," he protested, swinging his bag lightly so he could hit the backs of her thighs with it.

"And there's nothing wrong with it save for the fact that you only smelled like flowers until you took an additional shower earlier."

[vanillajello]

They made it upstairs now, and she led him on towards her room, trying to avoid being hit with his bag.

"It's not like I did it on purpose," she pointed out, mock indignant, "you homo."