Family's Family

Taylor had been embarrassed when she sounded a little too excited after Johnny told her that his dad was in town. She had paused to regain her composure, and then casually insisted that she go with him to Tokyo to visit.

She couldn't sleep the night before. She stayed up wondering what Johnny's dad was like, what their relationship was, what he looked like, his hair, his eyes, his hands... Especially his hands. She didn't know why. She wondered if he had a genuine smile and if it was easy to make him laugh, or if he would make her laugh. She spent so much time thinking about it, and she hadn't even realized that she had never spent any real length of time alone with Johnny's mom.

He had always diligently sheltered her from the woman. She understood she was odd, but whatever she expected, she wasn't sure if what sat across from her fit any description. She looked younger than she expected. Smiley-er, in a way that made her fidget with the hem of the blue cotton skirt she'd picked out for the occasion.

She had gone shopping just to buy the outfit when she realized that she didn't actually own a normal skirt, and she wasn't going to show up in a tiny little miniskirt. Though in the moment, she couldn't think if it would be worse for his dad's sake, or his mom's.

"So, like..." She said, not quite able to make eye contact. "What do I call you?"

Junko had practically beamed when she heard that Johnny was bringing his wife over for a weekend stay at her house. Johnny had kept the love of his life, the mother of her grandchildren far, far away from her. She had fought with Johnny a few times over it. She didn't like that he was always so embarrassed of her. but she wasn't going to change who she was. Not for her ex-husband and certainly not for her children. SHE'D be disappointed if her kids weren't who THEY were and she didn't think it was so bad for THEM to extend the woman that brought them into this world the same courtesy. At least Mamouru was a good boy around her. around her. Junko had decided, when Taylor and her still worked together that she wouldn't go behind Johnny's back and spend time with her daughter-in-law.

She'd spent the previous day cleaning the house and scrubbing it to perfection, making beds and getting everything in order for company. She then got up early and started cooking through the morning so that she'd have a big meal ready for when they arrived.

Junko had decided to wear a short skirt that showed off her shapely, toned legs and a tight fitting louse that revealed a little bit of cleavage. When she looked through her closet, she realized she didn't have a lot of clothes that weren't very revealing. She shrugged. it would be fine.

Once the two showed up, she greeted them both with big, extra tight hugs. As they prepared for dinner, Junko came back with drinks and Johnny had run off to the bathroom. She sat, smiling at Taylor brightly as the girl asked her question.

"Okaa-san." She said it smoothly and smiled wryly at Taylor. "Junichi-kun and Mamouru-kun haven't called me that in a long time." Junko sighed. Now it's just "Ma " and "Mother." Junko frowned. "But you're going to be the mother of my grandchildren, so I want you to think of me just like you were MY child!" She said as she beamed at Taylor. "I'm really glad Johnny-kun found you, you know. And not just because of your womb, either, fufufu."

Junko smiled slyly. "I was a little worried about that boy. Just because I figured he'd always try and do what Mamouru-kun does. He's my baby, he wasn't meant for all that running around and skirt-chasing." Junko said and wagged a finger at Taylor.

Taylor blinked. If Johnny's mom thought that she was getting any grand kids any time soon, she'd be pretty disappointed. She carefully ironed out all the attitude that the remark raised up inside her.

She smiled earnestly, a flash of a big proud grin, and said "He's not like that." She lifted her cup of tea and took a moment to smell it. She'd got used to tea. It was good to have something to drink other than water that wasn't super sweet or anything.

"Oh," she said. She wondered if she would win points, or make herself look like a total fool. Maybe she'd find out that Johnny was just being nice all along. "<I have a mom, but I don't have an okaa-san.>" She said in her very best Japanese. "<My mom's... nothing at all like you, though...>"

She took a sip of her tea and her eyes drifted over the spotless room. It was a little intimidating. Taylor was generally pretty tidy, but she definitely wasn't this meticulous. She was a little worried she'd do something wrong or make a mess. She brightened a little when she thought of some conversation material.

"<I've seen all of Kirin-chan's matches. That must have been... um...>" She gave a little smile and switched back to English. "You must've been pretty proud of her. Like... I wonder what it's like managing someone."

"He's not." Junko said, softening her smile. "Johnny-kun's always been the rambunctious one at home and Mamouru-kun the more adventurous one away." She added and left it at that. She was probably being polite to both of them and yet... not quite.

Junko raised an eye and grinned slyly. "<I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, Taylor-chan, but I'll do my best to see that you're as proud to call me mother as my own children are, fufufufu~>" Junko leaned over and patted Taylor's leg with a sparkle in her eye.

<Oooooh...."> Junko was rather pleased when Taylor brought up Kirin. <I didn't know you were a student of history, Taylor-chan.>" Junko began, rapidly firing off her Japanese. She was quite surprised at how well Taylor spoke Japanese. it was a little shaky but for a 'gaijin' it was somethign to be proud of. <"Rosie-chan winning the title was the second happiest moment of my life after the birth of my twin darlings.>" Junko began. When Taylor switched back to English, Junko did as well. "Managing is quite exciting. You get to be the conductor of the train that carries someone's hopes and dreams. A guardian angel, a friend, a pillar...." Junkow sighed. "I do so love tangling up with all these fresh young flowers int he ring, but Managing Rosie-chan..."

Junko drifted off when Johnny came back in. He put a hand on Taylor's back and grinned. "What about, Aunt Rosie?" He asked.

Junko turned and looked up at Johnny. "I was talking to Taylor-chan. She asked me about her...." Junko stood up and turned to face Johnny. "Junichi-kun, go get dinner ready, It's girl talk." She said and turned Johnny and marched him partly through the room until he shrugged her off and marched to the edge of the room.

"Ma!" He said as he squirmed away from her. "I really hope you ain't hittin' on my wife and junk!"

"Ju-nichi-kun." Junko said in a low, scolding tone. "I know how thoroughly embarrassed of me you are, but I DO have some decency! I'd at least wait until the end of the weekend before I put the moves on her. Fufufufufufu!"

"M-Ma!?" Johnny's face went red and he looked at Taylor, shaking his head rapidly.

Junko laughed and winked at Taylor as she sat back down on the couch. "He's too easy to tease." She said as she leaned back against the couch and stretched light, feeling good.

"I guesso..." Taylor said. "But... I'd never be able to stay out of the ring." She said it, and instantly felt weird. She'd been retired for almost nine months. She was doing a pretty darn good job at staying out of the ring. She blushed ever so slightly.

The moment Johnny walked into the room, Taylor lit up with a big grin. She looked back over her shoulder and playfully bit the air in his direction. "Don't worry, Jun-Bug, I'm not scared of this chick. I've seen her in the ring!" Taylor joked boldly, her brash NYC accent slipping out a little more. "But... not very much!" She said, and shuddered with a sly smile at Junko.

She watched him walk away. "Dykes dig me, man," she said matter of factly. She sighed.

Then in a moment, she was uneasy again. She gave a nervous smile and adjusted the hem of her skirt some more. Girly as she might've been dressed, she couldn't resist the punk touches to her ensemble. Her blue skirt had little lace details around the hem and reached to her knees, and she wore it with a blue-gray thin-strapped tank top and nearly a dozen cloth and rubber bracelets, and one leather one. Her eye makeup was scaled back from its usual in-ring dramatic effect, but each eye was still darkly lined and accented with steel-blue shadow. Her shiny blonde hair draped like silk over her bare shoulders.

She pushed her bangs to the side and uncovered her eye. "S-so..." That didn't sound right. She tried again. "So like... What went wrong with Mamouru? Right?"

Junko raised her eye at Taylor. "Ohoho, you think so, Taylor-chan? You forget... I'm still a mother." She said and grinned at Taylor. "I've been wrestling down those two boys of mine their whole life and I'll still be able to kick their asses when I'm old and gray, fufufufu!"

Junko took a sip of her tea as Taylor looked at her. Junko could sense a bit of awkwardness creeping in but she continued to play it cool. "What went wrong with Mamouru-kun?' She asked, surprised at her question. "Nothing went wrong with him. He's not broken." She said, eying Taylor carefully as if to tell her. 'Tread carefully, you're still speaking about my son.'

"He takes after me as far as his desires go." Junko blew on her tea and took another sip. "He's young. Maybe he doesn't always do the right thing but he's a good boy, deep down. One day he'll find a woman who can tame him and he'll settle down. I was quite frisky in my youth but when I married my husband, I never betrayed him. I was just...." Junko looked off into the distance before turning to look at Taylor. "I'm a free spirit. He could only keep me caged up for so long." Junko smiled. "Not that I say 'caged' in a bad way, Taylor-chan." She said.

Junko leaned back. "It will be the same with Mamouru-kun. I mean, the beign caged part. He might be like me when it comes to chasing girls, but he longs secretly to find someone..." Junko lifted her head. "He was named well."

Junko shook her head. "So... Taylor-chan." She said, eying her daughter-in-law carefully. "How are you and Junichi-kun doing? HE'S the one that can hardly spare his mother a phone call! What went wrong with Mamouru-kun? What went wrong with Junichi-kun!? I practically have to beg him to come see me! And he'll only do that when his father's in town." She pressed her hand against her chest dramatically. I see how it is. Once he finds a pretty girl, he's too good for the woman who brought him into this world!" She snickered as she looked at Taylor wryly.

"Oh, right. Yeah..." Taylor said quietly, and this time she blushed for real. She had forgotten that their mom probably didn't have the same opinion of Mamouru that she did. The last thing she needed was to offend her mother-in-law.

And maybe she wasn't wrong about him, either. Who knows.

But her remark about being caged rubbed Taylor the wrong way. Her eyebrows knit up and she got stuck on thinking about it. That wasn't at all how it worked! She understood that a lot of people were miserable being married, but... She had never really wondered what the difference was, or questioned why she'd been so happy with Johnny. Maybe people just needed lots of awesome sex, and to occasionally beat the shit out of their spouse. That seemed about right.

"Johnny?" She said, snapping back into the conversation. "He's awesome. You probably know, he's really starting to make a name for himself in Tension. It's great. I'm proud of him..." She trailed off for a moment, and then drew a breath and started again.

"I'm not in a cage," she said firmly. "Even if it's not a bad thing. I'm a free spirit, too. Ya know? I, like... like, I dunno how to say it, but I do what makes me happy. Not, like, in a selfish way, I hope, but I do things that other people hold back on. I don't hold back. But... I don't think I was ever really free until me and Johnny got married." She said, glancing over toward the kitchen. "I was in a cage, and now I'm not."

She paused, and then asked. "What's the deal with his dad, anyway?"

"Yes. I'm proud of both my boys. They seem to be making names for themselves. Junichi-kun especially. Maybe one day you two can be the couple champs or something, fufufufu." Junko smiled whimsically.

Junko raised an eyebrow at Taylor's words. "Hmm." She said as she placed a finger against her lips. "That's very defensive of you, Taylor-chan." She said suddenly. "I never once implied that you were caged." Junko paused. "Hmm." She seemed to be thinking quite a bit on the matter.

"Taylor-chan. When you're young and in love, the world is great. I loved my husband with all my heart and I felt the same way you did. I still love him in some ways. He's the father of my children. I hope that you and Junichi-kun keep your spark for the rest of your lives. Nothing would make me happier." Junko then smiled at Taylor and sipped her tea. She spoke as if she were about to say 'but' but that never came.

After another long sip, Junko looked at Taylor. "The deal?" She asked. "Do you want to know how he was in the sack or something? For a Japanese man, he was surprisingly good." She said with a wink. "Fufufufufu."

Taylor stared blankly at Junko. She searched for something to say, and when nothing came to mind she sipped her tea instead.

"Ew." Was what she finally came up with. "I mean... no. I mean, like, what kind of a guy is he? What does he do and all that... Don't take this the wrong way, but I can't really imagine you... married. Ya know?" She took another sip to try to silence the words she felt bubbling up inside her, but they spilled out anyway.

"Johnny and me are not going to lose our spark," she said, almost defiantly, though she wasn't sure who or what she was defying. "He is who he is and I am who I am and us, together, we're, like... us. That's all it is. I'm not gonna get bored of Johnny, although someday we might not have quite as much sex as we do, just 'cause... ow, but if you wanna know something about me it's that I don't ever, ever, ever, ever quit."

"I see." Junko said and smiled coyly. Taylor seemed admant about quitting but Junko wasn't going to play devil's advocate when it came to trying to tell Tylor why her and Johnny's marraige might not last forever. She didn't want that. She wanted the two of them to be happily married forever so she could have a healthy amount of grandchildren. She sipped her tea and patted taylor's leg coyly.

"Very good, Taylor-chan. I'll be sure and remind you of that after the first Grandchild is born. I think that no quit attitude of yours will net me at least a half-dozen, fufufufu~"

Junko then sighed and turned her head. "Do you really want me to spoil the surprise? Won't you be meeting him tomorrow? He's everything a Japanese man should be." Junko sighed again, a little more dreamily. "He was a real sturdy man. Very dependable. I wish more men were like him. But they are not and I find myself being drawn to young flowers these days. I am not sure if it's because it makes me feel young or... fufufu..." Junko took a sip of her tea and stood up.

"Juniiiiiichi-kuuuuuuun~ How's dinner coming along? Can we eat soon?" She called out in a silky voice.