savetheearth | This can't possibly end poorly.

Entry tags:

This can't possibly end poorly.

Who: Lily (

peacefulwinter) and families. Plural.
What: Graduation happened! Lily wants to celebrate. Quietly. This seemed like a good idea at the time.
When: June 19th, 2014
Where: Tsukuyomi residence
Warnings: Awkwardness. Terrible awkwardness.

Lily had wanted to do this over the weekend, but coordinating things was a matter in and of itself. Which was fine! Lily wants everything to be just right. It's about much more - to her, anyway - than celebrating the next step in her life. She wants to impress the Adamas family, or at least give a good impression. Naturally, she's not worried about Rick in that equation, but...

Well. She had met April before, at Winter's birthday party. That was an entirely different situation though, and awhile before things happened. Lily and Winter's relationship had changed rather significantly since then, and...

Okay, she's more than a little nervous in that respect.

But things turned out okay with Rick, right? It should be fine. Assuredly. And her father will be around too. For any issues she'd had with her father over the years, the past few weeks had been... different. She'd been trying to actually spend more time with him. She'd even set aside what she could of Father's Day for just that days prior. There's still a lot she feels like needs to be said to him, but... Things feel different now, and not in a bad way. That's what she hopes, anyway.

Either way - even if it's for her in part, Lily is trying her best to do a lot of the work with setting this dinner up. Places are set, everything is ready, she just... has to wait, now.

For the inevitable.

...oh hey that window looks good to leap out of if Winter's mother deems her or her cooking unworthy of her daughter. That'll do nicely. Lily will sit there.

...

Well, otherwise there is one other, notable thing, which anyone will pick up on rather quickly - that is throughout the day, Lily's been notably terse and at times just a bit quiet in the direction of her sister. She doesn't even realize she's doing it, but well... She's just focusing on doing her best here, right? Right.

Totally not mad about anything. Never.

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Jasmine is a bit nervous too, but that's after she made an ass of herself earlier in the week. As such, she'd been suffering her father and her sister's glares like daggers the whole time. She wants this to go well so she can get some of that tension off her... or maybe get it focused on something else.

She wasn't too nervous about Winter's parents though. They'd been very nice when Jasmine was planning her party, and besides... Jasmine wasn't the one she needed to impress, right?

Still, she didn't want Lily feeling bad.

"Hey, relax, alright?" she said. "This is going to go okay... I mean, you're perfect, right? What could she possibly complain about?"

Okay, perfect was stretching it. A lot. Buuut....

A long, drawn out pause. Stiffly, she bends over and adjusts a plate and a glass, and notes quietly.

"I appreciate the compliment... but buttering me up isn't going to get you out of the biology books waiting on your desk upstairs."

Winter reaches past Lily briefly to put a hand on hers. "Stop, Lily. It's fine," she assures, in a tiny whisper. Slightly louder to carry to Jasmine, she adds, "Maybe not perfect - none of us are. But I like her just the way she is. And if Mama has a problem with that..." Winter shrugs, her eyes flashing dangerously. "She's going to have a fight on her hands."

She has more to say, but she immediately clams up and yanks her hand back as her parents enter the room; they'd stepped away to have a parental huddle on how to handle things from here. April had gotten the sense that there were some things that Rick hadn't shared about the trip, and she wanted to ask how Jasmine's father intended to handle the fact that his daughter had failed a fairly long slate of classes under what was supposed to be Winter's watchful eye (let alone Lily's, but she didn't count). Whether or not all those conversations have actually happened or not yet is another matter entirely, though; Rick is nothing if not observant, and when he notices Lily might need saving from Jasmine - or the other way around, perhaps - he coughs and proposes that everything seems to be ready. That's enough to pull April's attention away, and she's right behind Rick, a stern expression on her face for the moment.

Winter unconsciously smooths her skirt as April comes in; everything has to go just right tonight. It has to, or there will be problems down the road. She knows that, and she's read enough books to have a vague idea of how to proceed. "Lily, Jasmine? I'd like to introduce you to my mother," she gets out; it's a little less controlled than usual, but that's perhaps to be expected. She's on the spot almost as much as Lily is tonight. With a glance back to Jasmine, she fixes the younger girl with a piercing look that clearly reads, 'please do not do anything to make this any more awkward than it will already be.' Warning given, she takes a breath and steps forward, patently not touching Lily in any way. Even the slightest signal could be a problem, though she gets the sense her mother isn't going to completely lay into her for anything tonight.

Lily almost frowns at being stopped from further adjusting the dish placement, but realizes she is indeed just basically fidgeting at that point. It's replaced by a bit of a smile at Winter's assessment of if her mother took issue with matters, and while the last thing she wants is to prompt that sort of fight... It gives her some level of relief, and makes her feel just the slightest bit relaxed.

Before the next moment when tension takes hold of her as the parents enter the room. Still, she holds a pleasant smile, completely missing any telling looks to her sister as she focuses in on April. While her father casts a look at the girls standing there all together, then to April himself, and... quietly takes a step away, making it look like he's attempting to peer at the forthcoming meal in the kitchen.

Lily too is conscious of her body language, as well as her distance from Winter at any given time here. She gives the older woman a nod and keeps smiling, even as she feels a sudden inclination to either run or start sweating profusely. She refrains from both, mercifully. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Mrs. Adamas. It's been awhile since Winter's birthday, hasn't it?"

She keeps her tone soft and even - she is good at keeping a hold on that, at least - but for every word that leaves her mouth she feels like kicking herself, regardless of whether or not it was anything bad.

Jasmine breathes a mental sigh of relief as the convenient timing basically saves her from another lecture.

"Hey Mister and Misses Adamas," she says, with a wave. And with a bit of uncharacteristic sweetness, she moves to pull chairs out for them. "Is there anything I can get you to drink?"

Winter frowns for a moment - they already know each other? Then she mentally smacks herself; of course they would have met when Jasmine organized the party... was it really six months ago already? Regardless, she smiles, standing by and not doing anything else for the moment.

April, meanwhile, directs a long, piercing look at Lily down through her glasses; she's heard a lot from Rick, but she gets a different sense from Lily in person than he'd conveyed. Not that she didn't trust his analysis, or her daughter's choice; she just needed to be absolutely sure. Of course, given how she generally treated Winter, the poor girl probably thought there was going to be a full interrogation. And, in a way, there would. Just not as severely as Winter expected.

Aloud, she responds, "It has indeed. I understand I owe you quite a bit of thanks for my daughter's safety... I don't pretend to understand why Winter is the way she's been for the past year, but there are things I can no longer do for her. It galls me to have to leave them to someone your age, but... I appreciate the sacrifices you have made for her, Lily. You as well, Jasmine," she adds, glancing at the other girl as well, though the piercing gaze becomes a little more pointed as it moves to Jasmine. "That said, I have no particular desire to talk about those things tonight. Tonight..." April smiles faintly, and the pressure she's been seeming to exert eases immediately. "We are here to celebrate tonight. I am proud of my daughter for her success even under the immense strain of her 'past', and while you are not a child of mine, I hope you can accept my congratulations for your success in the same vein."

She opens her mouth to speak again, but at a small sound behind her, she turns slowly and frowns; Rick is just behind her, and couldn't suppress a snicker. "Easy, dear. You're going to give her a heart attack, you know." Turning back to the girls, he adds, "It's been a little while, girls. Congratulations, Lily. It's not easy to balance all this world-saving with school, but you've done well." He pointedly doesn't look at Jasmine for a moment; he'll get to that later. Instead, he looks to the other man with them. "Rentarou, I think the girls are ready. Shall we? April?" Another look back to his wife; he's very much aware there will be problems if he lets April keep talking too much.

Oh! Well, okay. So that's what it's like to have someone look at you in such a way that you're pretty certain they can see your very soul. Not that Lily didn't have experience with people being able to do that with super powers; a normal human was another thing entirely. While every fiber her being wants to run the moment the older woman starts speaking, Lily's practiced years of masking herself keeps the most pleasant smile imaginable plastered on her face.

Even as she screams internally.

"I- well, I've done what I can, ma'am," she manages to get out gently. "When it comes to anything I can do for Winter, that's... what I'm there for, now. Jasmine and I would've been lost without her many times over by this point." She gives a slight bow of her head as April smiles and gives her congratulations. April's pressure may have eased, but Lily feels no less quietly tense. "Thank you very much, though. I really do appreciate it, and I'm glad you could make it tonight. I know you've got to be really busy, so... it means a lot."

A hand on her (left) shoulder very nearly makes her jump, and she blinks up at her father. Who - yes - manages to be even taller than her. He gives her a smile which is in that moment softer than she can remember much of in recent memory, and she feels a slight squeeze on that shoulder. "I think Rick's got the right idea, girls. How about we take our seats while you get everything out here, alright?"

And catch your breath before your heart explodes out of your chest. It's unsaid, but somehow Lily gets the message in her father's eyes.

She gives another nodding smile to April and Rick, before starting to move to the kitchen proper. "Right, of course - ah, W-Winter-" Her voice finally cracks and suddenly becomes a little squeakier. "-Jasmine, can you two give me a hand? Please?"

Once out of parental earshot, Lily maintains her pleasant expression - as she's still visible - but quietly murmurs to herself.

"I'm going to die."

Jasmine elbowed her sister in the torso lightly as they entered the kitchen, as she heard that last bit.

"You are not gonna die," she hissed as a whisper, shaking her head. "Now come on..."

They'd managed to prepare grilled flank steak, romaine salad, baked potatoes, and a chocolate cake for dessert. The latter they'd needed a bit of help on, as Jasmine and Lily had both nearly argued to death about how to prepare said dessert. Jasmine grabbed some oven mits and moved to bring the steak to the table.

"You are not allowed to die on my watch, Lily, no matter how much of a hole my mother stares through you," Winter hisses, but follows them to start moving things onto the table. With the practiced hand of someone who knows their way around the room, she begins to shuffle about and grab food to bring out.

Which leaves the adults to watch the young women work. "I'm more impressed than I thought I would be. She's nervous, but she's holding up well," April remarks. "I was wondering for some time, but... she seems to have chosen well."

"What, didn't trust me, dear?" Rick can't help but tease. That leads April to turn her icy glare on him, and he shrinks back just a little. "Okay, point taken. Please calm down?" After a moment, he continues, "Seriously, though, I trust my girl to make a decision for herself. She's clearly had a few missteps - December comes to mind - but nothing terrible, and she's bounced back fairly well. It's easy to see. She... kind of glows, lately, and I don't mean through that magic of hers. Lily too, am I right?" A sideways glance to Rentarou, shortly before the girls return to the room, Winter carrying a plate of potatoes in one hand and a salad bowl in the other. Rick grins, but says nothing else.

Lily makes a long, drawn out, uncharacteristic, and sort of squeaky noise in response to both sister and girlfriend's insistence of the chances she'll still be breathing by the end of dinner. She still manages to feel like her heart's going to leap out of her throat and run out the back door, and takes the few moments away to catch her breath.

Then frowns a bit to herself that the other two had wound up taking the majority of dinner before her. She side eyes her own right shoulder for a moment, sighs, and then proceeds to at least bring along the cake.

Meanwhile, Rentarou gives a quiet nod to Rick's question. "Your little girl's done quite a bit for her to be like that, I'd say," he notes quietly. "The two of them got together, far as I knew, when I was out of town for a few weeks on business. The Lily I left here then, and the one I came back to... The difference was pretty easy to notice." There's an almost wear, wistful look in his eyes as he says that, but... he doesn't elaborate further for now, instead approaching to take a seat.

"Looks like you girls did pretty well! And that cake looks-" A beat. "Lily, did you turn the oven off?"

As she sets the cake down, Lily looks up and looks frantic for the briefest of seconds. Her eyes dart from her father to Jasmine to Winter to April, and then settle back upon her father. "O-of course I did, Dad, don't be silly...!"

Jasmine smiled as she moved to sit down the last of the food. That is, until her father made his comment, and Lily replied the way she did. What followed was a short, inelegant snort of laughter, along with her nearly dropping the dish she was carrying.

"A-hahaha," she said, face red. "D-Don't mind me... Um, is there anything I can get you to drink? Dad? Mister and Misses Adamas...?"

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This can't possibly end poorly.

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