infinite_reflection

Following him down the hall, she raised both brows at the hanging sign. "Your dad's here?" Seiya brightened, wishing she'd been more prepared! Meeting his dad was a big deal to her, after all. Adjusting her bag over her shoulder, shifting from side to side, she sniffed the air curiously. "Wow that smells really good!"

Greg seemed much less enthused than Seiya in regards to meeting his father. It wasn't a situation anywhere near hers, so much so that he wouldn't even bother comparing them, but his father still embarrassed the hell out of the poor kid. "Uh, yeah. He's gotten better lately... At cooking, I mean." He knocked twice on the door and unlocked it, then stepped inside to give a greeting in English. "[I'm home, dad! And I brought a friend, so..!]"

"[Good afternoon, son! You wh-- You brought a friend?! Oh my, I'll be right there! Err, oh, oh dear!]" The older man certainly sounded excited, and definitely used a lot more emotion in his voice than his son. There was a clatter from the small kitchen area while he dropped something in the excitement, and after that had been picked up and haphazardly shoved on the small counter he stumbled out into the entranceway-slash-living room with a pretty goofy smile and a disheveled look about him.

Greg's dad, in all of his tall and lanky glory, was wearing what looked like a typical salaryman business suit with an apron that read 'KISS THE COOK' in English with a little heart below it over that. His hair was really quite curly and looked difficult to manage, accentuated by the fact that it clearly hadn't been managed and looked a little wild atop his head. The man wore a pair of glasses with pretty large lenses, and the prescription made his eyes look a little bigger through them. He lifted a hand to wave, realized it had a spatula in it, and then shoved that behind his back to wave with the other less occupied hand instead. "[Hello!] Er, that is... Good afternoon! Sorry, I'm used to speaking English here!"

Upon entering, the vibe in the apartment seemed to be a lot more lively than the last time she'd been there. Seiya slid her shoes off out of habit, taking in Greg's dad with wide, enthusiastic eyes. So much English! "[Hello!]" she replied with a polite bow, standing a bit behind Greg. Suddenly she found herself extremely nervous. "I'm Seiya Yamada. Sorry for intruding!"

"[Oh! You know English. Or you just copied me. Hmmm!] I'll use Japanese, okay?" The man was all smiles, and he offered the same polite bow in return once Seiya had given it. "You can call me Daniel-san, okay? Or Harman-san, if you'd prefer. And your name is..?"

Greg's dad did come off a little strong, so it wasn't surprising that she'd been caught more or less off-guard. The guy was excitable, easily so, and that was the most embarrassing part. Greg cleared his throat, glancing back to Seiya and then regarding his dad with a nod and a straight face. "Uh, Seiya-chan. That's her name, dad."

Seiya just stood completely still, never having met someone quite like Greg's dad. Not that that was a terrible thing! Cheeks flushed an embarrassed pink, Seiya squeezed her thumb and forefinger together, indicating a small ammount. "[Very tiny!] E-English that is!" Nervous Seiya was definitely a knew thing. "It's very nice to meet you, Harman-san." Would it be proper to talk about how great a friend Greg was? No no, that'd be overkill. She opted for just smiling.

"Right! Seiya-chan, it's good to meet you." Mister Harman certainly seemed a lot more fluent in Japanese than his son. There were no pauses, although he was still working on larger parts of the dialect. "Are you staying for dinner? You're lucky I always make enough for leftovers! .. Oh! It's going to burn-- It's nice meeting you, make yourself at home!" With that, he raced back into the small kitchen area and they heard another clatter with a gasp afterward. Nothing else, though, so apparently it wasn't too bad.

Poor Greg's cheeks were a little pink, matching his friend's, and he did his best to try and hide that. "He's, uh... God, I'm sorry. Heh." The boy rubbed the back of his head; it was pretty hard to hide the embarrassment. "Energetic. Really energetic."

"He's great!!" Seiya laughed happily, tugging Greg's arm to show it was all okay. "I wish my dad was that hands on! He seems really awesome." Shrugging her bag slightly off her shoulder, Seiya headed for his room. Waiting at the door, she started grabbing the tape. "Sorry I froze up, I really wasn't expecting that!"

Whew! A sigh of relief came from poor Gregory, and he looked leagues better after she apparently liked his dumb father. "I probably should have, uh, warned you. He tries really hard to be the cool dad sometimes..." He followed the girl to his now very barren looking room, but not before heading to the small pile of moving boxes and picking up the one he needed. The boy carted it into his room and then dropped it on his bed, afterward pulling it open to peek inside. "Yeah, here they are... My posters and stuff."

The bottom layer was clothing, clearly Greg's although not what he usually wore, that had not yet been unpacked either. Things like band t-shirts and other more relaxed outfits. Sitting on top were several movie and music posters as well as a few cheap trophies from sports he'd tried in his very early school years and some glossy pictures of him and his father together. One was particularly cute, with a young Greg holding up a fish he'd caught and smiling. D'aww!

"It's okay, I won't hold it against you." Playfully grinning, she began rolling little bits of tape into circles, placing them on the edge of her arm to keep them ready.

Peering into the box, she noted the unusual clothing. Betting that he'd look adorable in some of the band t-shirts, she pushed that thought away when he uncovered the pictures of him and his dad when he was younger. "AAAAH! [SO CUTE]!!" She lifted the image of little Greg and his fish, smiling from ear to ear. "Look at you!! [Adorable]!!"

Greg blinked at the odd reaction, then slinked his way around to peer over Seiya's shoulder. Oh, those old pictures... Pfff. Nothing was quite as embarrassing as his dad, so he couldn't even be mad. "Oh, uh, yeah. We ate that one. I think I liked it, dad said it was pretty big." That was back when his father was more or less a terrible cook, so they had to get the neighbor's husband to come over and grill the thing... A happy memory, more or less.

The boy pulled a likely unexpected assortment of music posters from the box, followed by an obviously thematic slew of gangster movies that he apparently enjoyed. Once again, there was little to be shy about after she'd seen his father, so Greg had no qualms about showing his apparent and slightly ill-suited interests. "I guess there's plenty of room on the walls, huh? You can just, uh... Use your best judgment on where to put them, y'know?"

"You ate it? That's so cool!" Seiya set the picture to the side for now, focusing more on the posters he'd gradually pulled out. Rap, gangster movies... it was just like everything she'd imagined! Turning them over, she began to press the little rolls of tape onto the corners, careful to center it so removal wouldn't tear them. With his permission, she went to it, plastering the images at odd angles so that they filled the room more than they normally would. At intervals she'd stop, switching a few around until she was pleased.

"Yeah, guess so. Fishing was all right... Pretty boring though, uh, a lot of waiting." Watching Seiya was like watching an artist at work, really, and he had no place to stop her since she seemed to be doing a pretty darned good job. His room looked significantly more 'alive' by the time she was only half-done, and when she'd finally finished she'd find that Greg had certainly kept himself busy as well. The several plastic trophies now sat in a crooked line on top of his previously barren computer desk and he'd set a few of the framed pictures on the tier below that. She'd find little boy Greg holding his fish and smiling, little boy Greg looking vaguely concerned at a costumed Mickey Mouse, and finally sixth grade Greg and his class all in one larger picture.

Rubbing his palms together, he looked around the room and nodded slowly. "Looks a lot better, huh? I've gotta put these clothes away in the closet, later." Greg nudged at the box and then shrugged, like it was no big deal.

Turning to admire his work, she put her hands on her hips with a nod. "Looks good! Your room isn't crying anymore!" Seiya pressed her ear on the wall, gasping, "In fact, it says it's very happy you decided to stay!" Sticking her tongue out at herself, she pushed herself off of the wall, taking a seat next to the box. "You don't wear stuff like this much, I noticed."

Greg pulled a shirt out of the box, unfolding and looking it over, then just shrugged at the idea of potentially wearing it. "I don't know. I've, uh... Well, I've only worn stuff like this since I got here." He gestured to himself; this 'look' was probably a lot newer than she had expected. "Actually, uh, if you want any of these... They're all in English, so they might be right up your alley." The boy nudged his shirt box her way, raising an eyebrow.

You'd think Greg had offered her a car. Seiya's entire face lit up, and her cheeks even flushed. A boy was offering one of his shirts to her! An AMERICAN boy! Taking each shirt out with as much delicacy as possible, she took her time deciding. Settling on a particularly offensive shirt, she hugged it to her chest. "This one! Definitely!"

Was marijuana a big thing here? A shirt with Snoop Dogg in the foreground and a massive pot leaf in the background with '420' in the Jamaican flag's colors was something he was too embarrassed to even wear in America... He'd just been to a concert and it was the one that caught his eye. Something told him it wouldn't end pleasantly if he let her have the thing, especially if she wore it to someplace like school. "Uh... That one's a little, like. Well, I wouldn't even wear it stateside, Seiya-chan." Greg coughed, rubbing the side of his head. "If you do like that one a lot, maybe just don't wear it to school."

Tilting her head in confusion, Seiya wasn't quite sure why it was such a terrible shirt. Ahhhh, it was probably SO American, that even America banned it. "Don't worry, I won't wear it to school!" The uniform code wouldn't allow it, anyway! No no, she'd keep it in her room, most likely pinned to the wall. "This is so cool, thanks for letting me have it." Bowing her head slightly, she admired it once more. Oh yes, this was definitely the one she desired.

Oh, right! Uniforms. He was still getting used to those... Had almost left for school in the wrong thing once or twice, even. "Right. ... Maybe not to work, either, but I guess you have a uniform there, too." The idea that giving a shirt out might be weird finally occurred to him, but Greg figured this wasn't like that and that made it more or less all right. Anyway! That meant the only place she could potentially wear it was in public, and all she'd get there is maybe laughed at. Seiya seemed like the type of person who'd laugh with whoever did that, so it all worked out! Snoop Dogg and marijuana it was.

A call came from the kitchen, where something or other was sizzling. "Dinner's almost ready, you two! I mean, heh, unless you're going to eat out or something!" Greg glanced to Seiya in regards to that question, it was really up to her.

Hopping to her feet, she folded the shirt neatly at the edge of Greg's bed. She'd be back for it later, of course. "I'm game for staying here if you are. Your dad seemed really enthusiastic about it, after all." Though it was mostly up to Seiya, she figured she'd let Greg put in his two cents.

Greg's father was getting better at cooking, so he had no real problem sticking around. "Uh, yeah! We'll stay for dinner, no big deal!" The man often looked up recipes online and pinned them to the fridge until he had time to make them... The 'finding time' part usually took a while, so if his son had any problem with the food he planned on making he could simply write it on their whiteboard. The one that Seiya would see, of course, when he led her into the kitchen to see just what dad was whipping up.

There was a big pot on the oven with a closed lid, though said lid was rattling a little bit and steam was puffing up out whenever it did. Mister Harman was watching it very intensely, like he was worried it might explode at any minute, and didn't notice the two kids for a moment. When he did, though, it was back to that goofy and now somewhat sheepish smile. "Oh! Hey there, it's almost done. [Chicken and dumplings!] Not like the dumplings you have here... Well, sort of! It's good. Or should be."

Following Greg into the kitchen, she couldn't help but be amused at Mister Harman's mad scientist vibe. Rarely eating anything home made herself, Seiya was actually excited! "It smells really good, Harman-san." Seiya nodded, folding her arms behind her back in order to keep them busy. "I'm sure it'll be really good. Guregori said you'd been practicing!"

"Hah! Only since he was born, yes. I think after sixteen years I've finally managed 'decent'!" Mr. Harman laughed, glancing back at the pot, and then up at the timer above the stove right before it went off. "Well! It should be ready, then. Can you set the table, Greg?" The man pulled the lid off of the pot, almost sticking his face into the billowing cloud of steam but thankfully leaning back (a little dramatically) just in time to not get nice and scalded. "Hmm! Heat might've been too high. Shouldn't matter!"

Greg rolled his eyes, sliding open a nearby drawer to fetch three sets of utensils and pulling a few napkins from the plastic wrapping they hadn't bothered to discard... Hilariously, it was right next to what should have been the designated wooden napkin holder. Was it too obvious that two lazy men lived here? Well, one lazy kid and his mostly absent father... Either way. "Yeah. Let's, uh, take our seats, Seiya-chan." He beckoned her to follow him back into the entryway-slash-living room, then set the silverware and napkins down before taking a seat. "I'm going to warn you now, uhh... Dad's home cooking is never very pretty."

Giggling, she followed Greg obediently when he beckoned. Scratching her head, she watched him set the table. It was a bit foreign to her, the whole eating as a family thing, but if there was anywhere to try it, it'd be here! "I'm sure it's great. I've been living off Yamada Mart bentos for the majority of my life, so I'm guessing anything is better at this point." Giving him two thumbs up, she looked at the seating arrangements. "Where should I...?"

"We've got chopsticks, uh... If you'd rather have those, too. It's kinda like a stew, so." Greg shrugged, ready to get up and fetch those if she needed them regardless. "Anywhere, really. Dad sits across from me, so... Left or right, looks like you'll be, uh... In between." He gestured to either seat, only four at this relatively small table, and then leaned back in his seat a little bit. There were a few 'ooh's and 'agh's of apparent pain in the kitchen, though nothing that sounded serious... Mr. Harman had a serious problem with accidentally touching pots, and they hadn't invested in a pair of oven mitts yet.

In between two americans. All kinds of dreams were coming true today! Sliding into the closest seat of the two options, she folded her hands politely in her lap. The noises worried her only slightly, and Seiya leaned over to try and catch a glimpse of Greg's dad's battle with their dinner. "I see...!"

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