Drive-in. [powered_otaku]

[sweetsalome]

    It was a nice, warm summer night, the sun had gone down and it had cooled down to the point where you could sit outside and not sweat.  The drive in, was two screens, a parking lot, and hills that surrounded the parking lot and gave a perfect view of the cars and the screen.  Salome had walked from her house, and bought two tickets before climbing up on one of the hills and spread the blanket her grandmother had given her.

A grandmother, yeah that was still weird.

Sitting down on the blanket, she put the basket down next to her and took out a bottle of water.  Once she took a long drink, she text messaged Hiro to know that she was there.  Hopefully he would be able to spot her.

Comments

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

"That was like totally a lucky guess, I had no idea. Guessing fruit is not my forte." Sitting back, she stretched out her legs, wiggling her toes in the cool green grass.

"I helped!" She beamed proudly at that, very pleased that he liked her cooking, even if it was only a little help. Slurping noodles, she grinned and wiped her mouth. "I am glad you like it!"

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

Hiro finishes off the drumstick, then grabs a breast. "Mmm, you are a wonderful cook." He unfolds enough to kick off his shoes. He's not sure if he should take off his socks or not. "Did you use cornflakes for the crust?"

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

Nodding her head, she bit on her bottom lip, her cheeks pink, even in the dim light. After a long drink, she sat the carton down and wiped her hands. "Thank you, I'll have to learn how to cook more things," especially if he enjoyed it.

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"I do not cook much at all. I usually do not have the time." Hiro finishes off his piece, then starts on the potato salad. "Did you make this, too?"

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

"That might be a little funny, considering what you can do." Chewing on a piece of duck, she swallowed and licked her lips. "No, that was actually store bought, I can't take credit for that."

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

Hiro blinks for a second, then grins. "I never thought of that. Still, I do not have the skill to fix anything more than the most simple of dishes." He finishes his potato salad, then starts on his noodles. "Store bought is also good. It is the easy way to get a good meal sometimes. At home there are all kinds of little groceries and convenience stores usually conveniently placed along bus routes and train stations so you can always just drop in and get somthing." He watches as more cars pull into the lot. "Looks like it will be a large crowd tonight." He finishes off the grapefruit Chuhai and picks out a peach one.

"Do you do all the cooking at home?"

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

"You have all the time in the world, if you think about it." She kept glancing at her noodles, and the at the man across from her. Enjoying the fact that he really liked the food. Picking at one of the noodles she licked at her bottom lip and took a slip of her Chuchai. "That's right, with your underground cities along subway routes." Her gaze flicked out toward the parking lot and she nodded. "Hopefully we won't be bothered up here."

Shaking her head, she set the noodles aside and then laid down, putting an arm behind her head. "No, we had Rita for that. Man that sounds horrible."

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"I do, but I try not to abuse it too much. After all, I do not want to cause any rips in time or anything like that. It is bad enough that I lived in 2 places for several months at one time."

He watches the cars. "There does not seem to be much foot traffic. We may have the hill all to ourselves."

Hiro shrugs. "My father hired a woman to do cooking and cleaning when my mother was ill and she stayed with us for many years."

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

"I am glad to see that you have not fallen into that whole trap where the power goes to your head. Though when you lived in those two places, nothing horrible happened." Sitting up on her hands, she looked at the screen that was starting to show previews. "Good, I want to be alone."

Picking up the can, she finished it off and put it in the trash bag. Licking her lips she smiled. "So I don't feel bad about having Rita. Dad was always gone, and I didn't have a mom, I guess its only natural."

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"I try not to let it go to my head. It would be so easy, but I know that time is something I do not wish to damage. Teleporting, though, is less likely to damage the fabric of time, especially if I do not bend time at the same time."

Hiro unfolds from his sitting position and sits with his legs stretched out in front of him, still with his socks on.

"Oh no, when your mother is not there, it is usually a good thing to have someone come in and take care of the house and the cooking. Yamaguri-san was a very quiet woman."

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

"So teleporting its just jumping from New York to Tokyo, stuff like that? Not actually going back in time." Grabbing the plate of chocolate chip cookies, she pulled back the cling wrap and nodded to his socks.

"You can take your socks off, if you'd like," she offered him the plate as she spoke.

"It still feels weird to say, I always wonder what people think of me when I tell them. Is Yamaguri-san her name, were you close to her?"

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"Oh no, I do not go back in time at all. I just left in the middle of the day in Tokyo and it is night here."

Hiro ducks his head a bit. "I am so used to having socks on. At home, you do not wear your shoes, so your feet are in socks almost all the time." He takes two cookies and bites into one. "Mmm, these are very good."

"Really? People would think it strange that with no mother your father would hire someone to help in the chores? We were not overly close, but she did not choose to be too close. She preferred to keep to herself."

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

"No, I know, but when you did go back in time," she explained with a grin.

"I hate socks and shoes, I love bare feet, the feeling of the grass between your toes. I just wanted you to know you can take them off, if you want." Beaming she nodded and patted his shoulder. "That's why I like you, because you like my cooking."

She got another Chuchai and shrugged. "It's a money thing in America, people think you are snotty if you have someone helping you out. Mmmm, I wonder why that is, Rita loves Jonba and I."

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

Hiro nods. "It is a strange thing to go instantly from day to night and vice versa sometimes. Even when I expect it."

"There are not many places one can go barefoot at home. And most of our floors are covered with tatami mats or tile, so socks are a lot more reasonable."

"I do like your cooking. You are a great cook."

"Oh, I see. They do not see it as someone helping a person who needs it. I can understand the thought, almost, if there was a husband and wife and the wife did not work. However, people need help, especially in households where both parents work or if there is only one parent."

"She liked us, but she wanted to get married, so she did not want to get too attached to us. I think we were sort of a practice family. She liked to give us little treats she would bake herself. She was an excellent baker."

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

"Tatami, I think I've seen those mats before, I mean in the movies. They look woven, right? Well since you like it so much, then I will start cooking for you more." Bowing her head she smiled shyly at her knees, her fingers slid up her leg and then put her head lightly on his shoulder.

"Some families I know, the mother doesn't work, and she doesn't want to do any of the work. It's kind of sad really, they don't want anything to do with their families." Turning her head a little bit, she smiled at him.

"What was your favorite treat that she would make?"

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"Yes, they are woven. And although they are softened, they are not exactly soft." His arm goes around her shoulders. "I will be quite happy to have you make food for me. Of course, I will have to work harder on my kendo so I do not gain any weight."

"But a household needs all of the members to help. How can they consider themselves a family if one of them will not help."

"She made these little chocolate pudding filled pastries with powdered sugar on them. I would always get sugar on the end of my nose, but they were so delicious."

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

When his arm went around her, she swallowed and scooted a little closer. "I'll make sure that you'll keep active, plus I'll keep it healthy. Sometimes." Grinning, she lightly poked him in the side.

"Maybe they aren't really families, they are just strangers living in the same house, sharing the same name."

"Mmmm that sounds really good, I bet you were a very adorable little boy, Hiro. Can you tell me how you say child or little boy in Japanese?"

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

He giggles a little at her poke. "The dinosaur will keep me on my toes."

"That is a very sad image. For all that my sister and I are not close, we are still very much family."

"A boy would be okotonoko which I think literally means 'man child'. But if you were talking to a little boy, you would usually call him boya or, like in my case, Hiro-kun. Jonba would be Jonba-kun. Ko or kodomo would be for a child, as opposed to just a boy."

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

"You will have to take the T-Rex out for a walk." She giggled helplessly at the thought of him taking the dinosaur out for a walk around the block.

"Some people just don't think that family is very important."

"Hiro-kun, I like that. Were you a cute kodomo, Hiro?" She murmured softly against his neck.

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

Hiro laughs with her over that image. "I would have to have one of those huge green trash bags to clean up after him."

"Family is extremely important. They are your support when things go wrong and they share your joys. They are your past, present and future." He shakes his head. "How can they turn their backs on that?"

Hiro blushes. "I also have to warn you that if you call me Hiro-kun in front of other Japanese, they may make assumptions you would rather they did not." He pulls out his wallet. "This is a picture of my family when my mother was alive. I think I am about 5 in this picture." He pulls out a color picture. It's obviously a posed family shot. His father stands behind his mother who is seated in a chair with Hiro in her lap. Kimiko stands before her father, leaning a little on the chair. Both Kimiko and his mother are dressed in very fancy kimonos. His father is in a dark kimono with the family crest on both sides. Hiro is dressed in a summer yukata of blue. "I think we took this during one of the big summer festivals."

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

"That would be such a horrible job! Maybe we should get a smaller dinosaur." Still giggling, she sobered up a little at the mention of family.

"I think family is very important, but sometimes family isn't very good." She was feeling very guilty all of a sudden for turning her father in.

"Why, because they would think you were my boy? You're older then me!" Grinning, she looked down at the picture, lightly taking it from him. They looked so very perfect, but the boy was really adorable. "You look so cute, Hiro. Your family looks very handsome, do women usually wear Kimono in Japan? I didn't see a lot when we went." She handed the photo back over to him.

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"Not one of the raptors. They would eat us out of house and home and bring all their friends."

He looks at her seriously. "Some people do not know how to treat anyone, especially their families. Your father is one of those people. Anyone who abuses their family is just evil. I am sorry if you feel I am wrong, but that is how I feel about it." He looks a little ashamed to have said that, but he can't take it back. He really does feel that.

"No, they would think I am your...boyfriend." He's blushing so much, she can sort of see it even in the dark.

"Most of the time only the older people wear them all the time. The rest of us wear them on special occasions."

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

"Well everyone knows that those raptors are cheeky, they have no respect for anyone."

She opened her mouth, and watched him for a long moment, a little caught off guard by his words. "You aren't wrong, it's just that my family, my father behaves differently. I know that he sometimes does bad things, you don't need to apologize. Even if I don't agree with you, I would like to hear what you have to say, it won't upset me."

An eyebrow raised and she watched him, smiling in the dark. Lifting her cool fingers she touched his blushing cheek. "Boyfriend? Is that something girls call the boys they are going out with?"

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"Absolutely not. Rude creatures."

He gently takes her hand. "I will be very happy when you turn 18 and can get away from him. I hope that he stays in jail for at least until after your birthday, if they do not keep him in there permanently. Can you get Jonba away from him? I think he will do much better if he stays with you. Staying with that man is a horrible fate. Your father is the kind of man who knows nothing about love. He probably sees you as his property, which is not right. A father should be protecting and helping his children to grow, not abusing them." He suspects there was some sexual abuse, but she hasn't said anything and she doesn't seem to be afraid of him as a man.

Hiro nods at her. "Calling a boy '-kun' is very informal, especially after a certain age. Some girls will do it to tease a boy and some will do it to make fun of them, but usually they will call them that if they like them."

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

"Plus they write really mean things on bathroom walls."

Licking her lips she took a deep breath and stared down at their hands. "Certain things need to happen so he stays in Jail. I know what they are, and they won't be easy, but I know that's what needs to be done. You might not believe this, but my father wouldn't hurt Jonba, my dad has always wanted a son." Her eyes squeezed shut, and her fingers tightened. "I won't let him hurt Jonba, I won't leave the boy with him."

Silent for a longer moment, she licked her lips and finally looked up at him. "I like calling you Hiro-kun," it was her turn for her cheeks to turn pink.