A Day Just For Us

Julia couldn’t help but laugh a bit when Drake talked about his mom’s reaction. Especially considering the rather revealing attire she wore in her matches. She could only imagine how awkward that must’ve felt initially for her boyfriend, though she was glad to hear things had turned out alright.

“Good. They sound like awesome parents. I hope one day we can go visit ‘em together,” she said with a smile, then tried to imagine that scene in her head. Somewhere in the process of her putting that mental image together, she thought about her own family and what it’d be like if they met Drake. That’s when Julia was reminded of something she couldn’t believe she’d forgotten to tell him!

“Oh, Drake! Did I tell ya my brother and sister are here in Japan now too? I’m sure they’d love to meet ya sometime. Er, well, my brother would, anyway...” Julia’s sister wasn’t really the type to like anyone immediately though, so that was nothing against him. Her brother, however, she could see getting along with Drake a lot better.

At first, the idea of her meeting his folks sounds great. His parents have always been bizarrely supportive - maybe even a little pushy. But the more he thinks about it, the more he realizes the problem would come from his father, of all people. When Drake came to Japan, he had no idea what kind of... specialty matches this federation held. And he just knows his dad would want to see his match with Julia.

His heart beats a little harder.

He can not show that to him. His mother would probably not even watch, but- oh lord, if she did, she'd have a heart attack. And then Drake would have a heart attack. And then Julia would have a heart attack, either from embarrassment or from her boyfriend keeling over. And in this horrific Hamlet-esque ending, only his dad, Chet 'Horatio' Vyril, would be left to fall on his sword in dismay. Because people who have heart attacks can't tell other people to not fall on their swords. And in this scenario, his dad has a sword.

"Wha?"

Drake blinks a couple times. Something the blonde ball of sweetness said snapped him back to the here and now.

"They are? Hey, cool, I'd love to meet them! Wait, is your sister the jealous type? Scared I'm taking you away?," he asks with a grin. Just, just push those other thoughts aside for now.

“Well, I ain’t sure I’d say, ‘jealous,’ but...”

How to explain it...

Julia scratched her blonde head for a moment and pondered, trying to pick the right words. “Sheeee’s....rough around the edges. Doesn’t really get along with people well,” she finally said. “But I guess she is kinda protective, and she’s had some bad experiences with boyfriends before. Think she just doesn’t want the same kinda stuff happenin’ to us.” she shrugged...then wondered how necessary it had been to bring up her sister’s ex-boyfriends.

“Uhh... If ya do meet her, just don’t tell her I told ya that, alright?”

Drake absorbs the information with a polite silence and nod. His hands link behind his back, head tilted faintly askew.

"I won't bring it up," he says. "Though it's usually pretty evident when there've been some bad relationships in the mix." After a short pause, he smiles at her - warm and gentle. "But I won't bring it up. I'd be happy to meet any relative of yours."

His left hand comes forward to gently jab at the blonde's midsection. "I'll have to take that challenge if I plan on sticking around anyway, right?," he asks with a more playful grin. And then he's suddenly dipping back from her to return to the food-stuff. "Looks like we're aboouut done here."

Drake had a point there. Even if Julia hadn’t spilled the beans about her sister’s bad exes, it wouldn’t be hard to put two and two together. But she was glad to hear the confirmation that that wasn’t going to be a subject they’d have to deal with whenever he actually met her sister.

“Yeah, I guess ya will~” Julia said with a giggle, before looking at the food as Drake addressed it. “Woo! Need me to grab some plates or anything?”

"If you don't care," confirms Drake. The kabobs are rotated a little, the young grappler's attention focused on the minutia of detail. Oh, he's no gourmet chef, but he's right back into the mindset of pleasing the blonde bombshell in his dorm. If this is the best he can whip up with what he has, it will be his best. As for the plates, they're located in a cupboard - a detail he forgot to mention. Underwhelming though the detail may be, none are ceramic, and all of them are colorful. He likely came in with economic concerns and erred on conservative, only to wind up with some garishly-colorful flatware.

"Alrighty. They're good to go."

Once she's found plates, he deposits the kabobs onto them. To his credit, they are nicely done. Cooked, but not over-cooked. Seared on the edges, giving each piece added to the mix a nice crunch. And that green bottle from before turns out to've been a mild lime glaze.