Guess Who's Coming To Dinner (For Old_Man_Tai)

"Oh, your pancakes weren't all that bad." She waved it off as she glanced down at her phone, following the GPS. Only three miles from the restaurant. "They made excellent frisbees, and I think they keep the rats out of my apartment. I know Valentine wasn't getting them, that's for sure. Lazy cat."

She came down from her nostalgia high with a groan, shaking her head. Ace didn't know what she was asking. "Feel free to. But if she comes to Japan and doesn't leave for like, months, you're chauffeuring her around. She has a way of staying longer than she really should, and as much as I love her? Can only take her in small doses."

"Hmph. Reminds me of my folks. I could only take them in small doses before leaving the room. Of course, they only paid attention in small doses as well, so I suppose it all balanced out."

Ace said softly, running a hand through her hair to make sure her dye was nice and dry. She didn't need to be thinking about one set of parents when she was already worried about meeting another, so she quickly tried to change the subject.

"Heh, so I think the big question is, whose paying the bill for lunch? Cause rich or not, I'll happily hide in the bathroom when the check comes."

Valley grew quiet along with Ace as she mentioned her parents - always a sore spot. After spending so much time with her, she had a hard time imagining why they ignored her so much. Despite being ignored - or maybe because of it - she was an amazing girl. Polite, smart, skilled, funny. Why ignore a kid like that?

Still, that was a bridge to cross for another day. Her own parents had more than enough headaches for the both of them.

Valley shrugged as they made the final turn, the restaurant in sight. "Mostly likely, my Mom will pick up the tab. She likes to treat me, even if I don't need her money anymore. Makes her feel more nurturing, I think."

Ace nodded and sat straighter as their destination came into sight, Valley soon parking in the lot.

"Alright....here we go."

She said softly, putting her hand on Valley's for a second before getting out of the car.

"You know what sucks? Drinking would take the edge off, but unlike Japan, it's still illegal for me to drink here."

Ace said, adding a small pout.

...that actually did suck. Valley had completely forgotten about the drinking age in America. "Ugh, we really have to get that taken down to 18." She shook her head and strolled out with Ace beside her. "I'll buy you something when we get back to the room, we can break the law together. You'll probably need it."

The moment they opened the door, Valley's Dad was there to greet them, looking as mellow as usual. He and her mother had Valley early on, so they weren't too old - he was only 51, she was three years older. He kept in good shape, looked good for his age, even if his style was a bit off. Still wearing that lame Hawaiian shirt she wanted him to ditch. Still wearing bellbottoms and sandals. Still rocking the Miami Vice sunglasses. Still keeping his short blond hair all slicked up.

She wouldn't have him any other way. "Daddy!" She caught in him in tight hug, rocking around with him a bit as they embraced.

"Hey, junior!" He gave her a little squeeze and a pat on the back, before pulling away and looking at Ace. He tipped his glasses down, gazing at her hair with a smirk. "And you must be Silver Ace."

It didn't take long before the meeting began, starting with Valley's father waiting by the door to greet his daughter. Upon giving him a quick once over, Ace had to admit, he seemed cool, something he quickly proved with his greeting.

Blushing slightly as he looked at her hair, she smiled and offered her hand to him in response.

"Yeah, heh, you can call me Haley though. It's such a pleasure to be able to meet you!"

She greeted, and now that she could see that Valley's dad didn't appear to be a hard case, she was able to say the statement honestly.

Valley signed, knowing what was coming next. She'd forgotten to warn the poor girl: her Dad was a hugger.

He took the handshake and moved in for a tight embrace, giving her a good squeeze. Fortunately, Valley was able to move in before things got too awkward. "All right, all right, all right." She put her hands between them and wedged Ace free from the grip of death. "Personal space, Dad. What've me and Mom been talking to you about?"

"Sorry, sorry." He backed off, holding his hands up like it was a robbery. "Can't help myself, I'm a-"

"-hugger, yeah." Valley shook her head and dusted her off, hoping she could knock the residual Dad smell from her girlfriend's body. "I'm sure she surmised that."

Ace let out a surprised "Eeep" of adorable surprise as she found herself suddenly pulled into a squeezing hug. While it came completely out of left field, Ace had to admit, it felt nice. The silver haired girl hadn't had a hug like that since the last time she saw her grandmother. Indeed, the memory the hug brought back of her grandmother actually left Ace speechless for a second, thankfully covered up by Valley prying them apart and chastising her father.

"Uh..no no..it was fine..."

Ace said softly, awkwardly rubbing the back of her head.

"It certainly beats being squeezed by some steroid giant lady at least."

"Ha!" He snickered, laughing at her joke. Then again, her father was the last person on the planet that still used knock-knock jokes. There weren't terribly many things he didn't find funny. "I know a little about that." He motioned for them to follow and started to walk through the restaurant. "Valley tell you about her Aunt Helen?"

"She's not really my Aunt, she's my Mom's old tag-team partner." Valley looked around, inspecting the place as they went through. They'd come in at a slow hour, not too many people around, so they wouldn't have to worry about taking too long for the food to get out. Not that it was a a bad place to wait - very old-timey sort of restaurant, home cooked Italian cuisine - the Spaghetti Factory, and it looked the part, with wooden walls and floors and music from generations ago playing. There were even some old boxcars built into the middle of the place, redesigned to house food tables on the inside. "Swanky."

Valley was right, it was a nice place. Though in honesty, that wasn't what held Ace's attention at the moment. Still, it was nice knowing they'd be able to eat quick.

"No, Valley didn't tell me anything about an Aunt Helen...She must have been a good wrestler though, if she teamed with her mom."


Ace replied, both sucking up a little and hoping to learn more about the wrestlers in Valley's family.