vatheon | (OPEN) Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

[ And here we have an awkward-looking hooded figure sitting on a couch somewhere. She hadn't celebrated Christmas in years. Then again, she hadn't been alive in years, either. This Christmas was special, though, because she was with her sons.

And then, her children would be another year older in another couple of days.

Still, she couldn't deny that she was a little awkward around so many people she wasn't familiar with. Yuri was ordinarily pretty social, but wouldn't anyone be awkward if they had been dead for the past sixteen years and then, suddenly alive? ]

[To say it was awkward would have been an understatement. Hell, it was still hard to believe, but there she was, the woman he had never gotten to meet until sixteen years after her death, in a city under the sea in another world entirely. As if his life couldn't get any more science fiction.

There was still some lingering shock from what he had found out that day, but even if some part of him longed to deny it just to avoid the emotions it was going to all bring, he knew he also had no way to deny it either. She told the same story Yukio had given him after getting those memories from Satan (albeit in much more detail) and there were just too many things that added up. Two plus two did indeed equal four, and even Rin wasn't dumb enough to ignore all the signs that were right there in front of him.

It didn't make it any less strange, though, and fuck if he didn't know how to deal with it. At all. Between that and the apparent curse of ill luck for the week that had resulted in things like his tail being closed in doors, perfectly fine equipment malfunctioning and otherwise fine clothing tearing without prompting, Rin's mood had utterly plummeted. And right before the holidays, too.

Thankfully any desire to be driven by anger was kept at bay, and while he had been quieter than usual (and noticeably down, at least to those that knew him) he was managing to keep himself in check. He wasn't about to ruin anyone else's Christmas just because he couldn't figure out to handle something like that.

It didn't make being around Yuri any easier, though. Half the time he didn't know what to say. He still hadn't figured out if calling her Mom was even okay, or if he even felt okay doing it.

The whole situation was too damn surreal.

But she was a guest, and he wasn't about to ignore her, either. After a bit of hovering around behind her awkward and uncertain, he finally moved up beside her, rubbing hands on the front of his blue apron nervously.]

H... hey. Uhm. You gettin' enough food? There's plenty for everyone...

[ She looks up as Rin addresses her, a little surprised that he was there. Yuri smiled, though. For as awkward as it was, she was very grateful to see her son. She knew how fortunate she was, to be brought to the very place where she could meet her boys. Still, even she couldn't deny how strange everything was ... she knew it would be, the moment she realized that she was alive, and that her sons were in this place, too.

Trying not to show how awkward the situation was would have been pointless. It was what it was, and she had to deal with that. So did he. But hopefully, in time, it would get better, and less-awkward ... and she could be the kind of mother to her boys that she had always wanted to be to them.

It would just take time, right? Time for things to settle down, and to become somewhat more comfortable.

Yuri managed a smile up at her boy, nodding in confirmation to his question. ]

I had a big plate of it earlier.

[ And it was true. She had. And now she was stuffed. ]

Did you make all of that, Rin? You're very talented.

[The smile does get Rin to relax a little, even if he still seems distant and a bit on edge. He is trying, though. Have to give him credit for that.]

... well... yeah. It was learn to cook or have curry every day.

[And she knew Shirou so she's probably well aware of how far his cooking skills went.]

And I like doin' it, so...

[Oops. Awkward again.]

[ Trying is the biggest thing either of them can do right now. She laughs a little at the comment about curry. ]

I remember ... you and Yukio lived with Shirou, right? I should have known he was your inspiration to pick up cooking.

[ She puts a finger up in front of her face, matter of factly. ]

He couldn't cook his way through a paper bag on most occasions.

[ She sighs and smiles again, her shoulders relaxing just a little as the laughter faded. ]

But then, I'm not much of a cook myself. I'm glad you enjoy it so much, dear. You do a great job with it, and I can't wait for my stomach to unstuff so that I can go get another plate.

Yeah...

[It's difficult to hide the note of sadness at the mention of Shirou. To say that was still a fresh wound would have been a gross understatement. The man gave his life so Rin could live, knowing it would be difficult for him but also knowing that if anyone was strong enough to handle it, it was his son.

Rin swallowed hard, managing a smile in spite of the ache in his chest, a part of him wondering if it was always going to hurt like that.]

Neither could anyone else in the church. But I like cookin' for other people. If it makes 'em happy and they say it's good, then I'm happy too.

[ The smile on her face is warm. Shirou was ... a very touchy subject, not just for her boys, but for her as well. There were a lot of mixed feelings on her end, though, and it wasn't necessarily something she was ready to talk about ... and from the looks of things with Rin, it was something that he didn't necessarily want to talk about, either. ]

Making people happy ... that's all that matters, isn't it? If you can make people happy by giving them a good meal, or offering friendship, or even by simply being nice to them, then you're doing good in the world. In any world.

[ She wanted happiness for everyone. Not just humans, but the demons of Gehenna as well. She knew as well as (if not better than) anyone that there were some bad seeds in Gehenna ... just as there had been in Assiah, as well. But for the most part, she had found that both races had a lot of similarities between them. She wanted to see a future where those in Assiah and Gehenna could see those similarities and become friends over them.

... Of course, that sort of future fell to her boys to create now. Obviously, there was only so much she could do herself, having been dead for so long.

There was much that needed to be done before that could be achieved, but she definitely thought Rin was on the right track with cooking.

~~Rin, your mom is a satanic hippie.~~ ]

[And just like that, Rin found himself right back where he'd been all week - a million things to say, to ask, and no idea where to even start.

How do you talk to some one who gave you life, but never got to see you live it? In his mind a parent was supposed to be some one you knew, at least on some level. He wasn't ignorant enough to think that everyone had that luxury (certainly there were kids even in his cram school who never got to know their parents all that well) but he was still left with a constant feeling of "how do I act?".

They were still strangers, trying to cope with the knowledge that they were related by blood.]

Well... y'know, we're all stuck here... might as well try to get along...

[Not that everyone did, but he wasn't going to mention Vanitas unless it was absolutely necessary.

His tail twitched behind his back, looking a little worse for wear from recent days. There was even a couple of bandages on it - a few unfortunate run ins with closing doors and some one's foot.]

You... uhm. You settlin' in okay... ?

About as well as I can, all things considered. I was pretty fortunate, though.

[ Kid was very quick on the ball, inviting her back to the villa and feeding her ... and providing a rather useful infodump, complete with blunt revelations as to her identity. But, she supposed it was going to happen eventually, right? She couldn't fault anybody for that. After all, she was here, talking with one of her boys as a result of what had happened. She was actually very grateful for that. ]

Ah, but I do have to start looking for my own place after the holidays ... apparently the place I'm staying in right now will only give me a week before I have to be out.

[ She catches sight of his tail. At first, she hesitates to reach out and inspect it, especially after seeing how it looked now ... but she eventually decides to say "screw it, I'm his mother," and realizes she has every right to be worried if any part of her son seemed injured. She reached out and gently ran a finger along the poof of his tail. ]

What happened here?

Gu--...

[A tiny noise escapes at that. Normally a touch wouldn't have been so bad (it usually took things like actively petting, pulling or tugging to get any sort of reaction out of him via his tail) but the abuse he'd been taking lately had left him bruised even with his enhanced healing.

He didn't jerk it away, though, making a face over his shoulder at it and all the bandages he'd applied on his own.

Thankfully Yukio's training plus his terrible habit of getting in to weekly scuffles had taught him a thing or two about first aid.]

I've just been havin' some bad luck. Can't say doors have been very friendly with me lately...

[He didn't bring up the curse because in grand scheme of things, a little bad luck for a week wasn't nearly as some people were getting stuck with, and quickly changed the subject back to housing.]

My old apartment is still empty. Ain't anythin' fancy, but it's a roof over your head.

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[Despite how big (but not too big) the Villa is, Maka always knows exactly who belongs there and who doesn't. It's just something one gains from being a house owner.

Well, that and sensing the hum of souls at all times helps too.

So seeing an unfamiliar (yet somehow very very familiar) woman causes her to pause and tilt her head.]

Hello. Can I help you?

[ Well. Here is a young lady she hadn't met yet. Yuri looks up at the girl as she speaks to her, a little surprised at first, but then she smiles and tilts her head to the side a little. ]

I'm quite all right, thank you.

[ She fidgets a little. Everything was still surreal to her. But she probably needed to start being social if this was going to be her home for the next however long, right? She stands, offering a hand to the young lady. ]

Yuri Egin! I'm a ... friend of Rin's, I guess you could say. I also became acquainted with Death the Kid earlier, as well. It's nice to meet you.

Oh! Really?

[Excited!!!]

It's always great to meet more people from Rin's world. Kid's a friend from my world, ah...sorry for any difficulties he might have caused with his behavior. He can't really help that.

[Maka, the lady gave you her name. She tugs on one of her pigtails, laughing sheepishly.]

It's nice to meet you, Yuri, I'm Maka Albarn. I, um, don't know if Rin mentioned me to you at all, but I'm his girlfriend.

[ Resist. All urges. To squee like a fangirl at this news. Her baby boy has a girlfriend in this place? This is exciting! BUT, she keeps herself calm despite this. Didn't want to scare the young lady away now, do we? ]

It's nice to meet you, Maka! He didn't mention it at all, actually.

[ She laughs a little, sheepishly. ]

We kind of had a bit of an awkward meeting. Back in our world, our relationship is kind of ...

[ Nonexistent? ]

... Complicated.

[You ever get one of those stares where it feels like someone knows exactly what you're thinking?

It's coming from Maka right now. She's curious, too, of course. But her curiosity is driving her towards certain amounts of perception.]

Well...that's nothing some time together wouldn't fix. I know that's what I would do, anyway.

[Unless it was her father.]

Well, I certainly hope so ... but for the time being, it is most definitely awkward.

[ She definitely wanted to spend more time with Rin and Yukio ... and get to know her boys better. She wanted to take the opportunity she never had back in their own world to actually be a mother to them ... but from the looks of things, they might not need their mother anymore. Both of them were so grown up already ... ]

Rin's a kind person. He doesn't hold things against you even if it does feel awkward at first, I guarantee it that he wants to spend time with you and get to know you too.

[ She smiles warmly at Maka. She had a good head on her shoulders, from what she could tell of her. ]

I think it will get better, yes. But thank you, Maka. Hearing that from someone who knows him so well really helps me feel better about it all.

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[ And here. Have more awkward. There are no hints as to Mephisto knowing who she is right off the bat. Far from it, really. If he does, he's not showing any hints whatsoever. ]

A wallflower at such a lively occasion? Perish the thought.

[ There's a smirk Yuri probably has never seen in a day and an age directed right at her. ]

[ Yuri does recognize that voice, though ... it's only natural that she would know who Mephisto is as the bride of Satan, hm?

Yuri averts her gaze toward the familiar voice, then puts on a smile. Well, if nothing else, he's a familiar one ... that was always a reason to smile. ]

I know, I thought it strange myself.

[ And only natural he'd know that voice as well as Satan's eldest. Would that make her his stepmother then? Who knows? As much as a sweeping bow would be fitting at the moment, it would draw too much attention. Instead, there's a tip of his hat back. ]

Stranger still is the thought of there being truth to the words "a Christmas miracle", hm?

[ He leans in just the slightest bit. ]

Do they know you're here?

[ Well, that was kind of true. The fact that she was here, so close to Christmas and the boys' birthday ... it must have been a Christmas Miracle of some sort.

As for the second question posed to her, she nodded, just a little. ]

Rin knows. Apparently Yukio has been asleep for a while, though. I figure Rin will be the one to break the news to him once he awakens.

[ She laughs a little; it's a bit of an uncomfortable laugh. ]

I think he and I are both a little awkward about this turn of events, though. That's only to be expected, though.

[ She stretches her arms a bit, over her head. Time to put the subject away from the awkward subject of 1/2 of her sons knowing she was alive now. ]

Ah, but it's been years since I was able to enjoy such a lovely home-cooked meal! My Rin did a good job, wouldn't you agree?

[ There's nodding, much nodding here and there as he takes that all in. It's all part of his silent observation bit -- though it looks like he doesn't give two cents, he's filing this all away for future reference. ]

If there's one thing I have to commend Okumura-kun for... it's his cooking. He's done a pretty good job. I'd say Shiro would be proud.

[ Yuri's expression becomes fond, and a little sad as well. Yes ... Shirou would have been very proud. ]

I'm proud of him, too.

[ She laughs a little. It was half bitter. ]

Shirou did a good job raising the boys, didn't he? I'm grateful to him.

[ And she was. But she was their mother. And she had never gotten the opportunity to raise her boys the way she wanted to.

But ... it all turned out fine, in the end. Both boys had turned out to be fine young men, hadn't they? Now that she was here, and had the chance she had wanted so badly, she didn't even know where to begin. Could she even be a mother to them anymore? Did they even need her? Did they even want her?

As much of a miraculous opportunity as this was, it left Yuri feeling more than just a little insecure. ]

Now if only the city would bring him back too... obviously since it has the power to bring back the dead...

[ But he says this half in jest. It's a thought, one that he can't help but consider, admittedly. ]

And how do you plan to spend your second life?

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bumped back to before Yukio wakes up

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