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It was rare for Sonia Nevermind-Tanaka to be called anywhere, rarer so by her eclectic son. She knew he had recently invited an old classmate to live with him and that they had been in a relationship for around a year prior, but that was it. She'd seen pictures of his classmates before but that didn't help her much. Was it the perky girl in yellow, the one she was calling green-Not Komaeda, or even his childhood friend Shuichi? It could be anyone, and as she drove closer to the address she had been given she couldn't help but wonder.
Meanwhile, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu was having much the same thoughts. His little girl had called him out to god knows where in the middle of the city to meet a partner he had no clue about. Having seen much the same photos of her classmates he too was wondering who this mystery date was. The stoned looking Nagito clone? The shy blue haired girl? Hell, even the gremlin she'd befriended throughout childhood was an option. That car up the road sure looked familiar though.
Mean-meanwhile, the house was a mess and Korekiyo was hopelessly alone. Kirumi had been working to clean until gods only know what time, and had only just fallen asleep. That left him to make breakfast for four and pray that he wouldn't ruin french toast, eggs and bacon. And that her father would like it. He wasn't too worried about his mother, she was easy going and would eat about anything, but his girlfriend's father? A bit more concerning, considering he'd only ever seen the man in old pictures, but could swear he looked vaguely familiar? Maybe he looked similar to someone he had read about on one of the many occasions Shuichi and Angie had pulled him into the library to socialize instead of staying cooped up in his room.
Peko Kuzuryu was sitting home, amused that neither her husband or daughter had put the pieces together while on call with Gundham, the both of them laughing over the ridiculous nature of their family. One part of her wanted to call and explain, but she figured that for once Fuyu deserved to have the rug pulled from underneath him. If they reacted this way to the other's parents, she could only guess as to what they'd think when the realized their friend Miu was Kazuichi's adoptive daughter, and that Kiibo was originally an AI made to be a friend that she had fallen for as the years went on, and that the two had given him a body together.
Sonia pulled into the garage about a block from the apartment, seeing a familiar sports car pull in next to her seconds later. She knew he looked familiar, but not familiar enough to be Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu. But lo and behold, it was her old high school pal. "Now what in the hell are you doing here?"
Looks like his guess was right, if surprisingly so. "Could say the same to you Queenie. The hell has you in the city without an entourage?"
Picking up the small travel bag she kept and the hotel papers she needed for check in she replied. "Not exactly sure, my son said he wanted to introduce me to someone. Figured I might as well make a trip out of it while I'm here. You and Peko still live nearby right? Maybe I can stop by for dinner after all this?"
"Yeah, we do. Same place we've always been Sonia. Your kid finally settled down? Damn, figured he'd either die alone or come back home for help. Good on him. Funny story, I'm here for a similar reason, my daughter wants to introduce me to some random ass person she's dating, and let's just say I'm not afraid to go back to my roots if I gotta, age be damned."
"Well isn't that like you? Anyways, I have to run, I'm expected in oh, twenty minutes now?"
Walking out of the garage with a determined smile on her face, Sonia was only slightly confused as to why Fuyuhiko continued to follow her. Eh, maybe they just had to go in the same direction. Right? Right.
In those twenty minutes, breakfast was going… going. It wasn't burnt, and nothing had eggshells in it, so it'd have to be good enough if the pager going off every ten seconds was any indication. "Sorry for being presumptuous, but if the person ringing our buzzer more than needed is Angie, leave. We've told you to not come today multiple times! If it isn't her, I'm very sorry, I'm finishing a few things and will be right there."
Well that was a pain in the ass. Was this the damn punk his daughter was with? Against his better judgement, Fuyuhiko halted his assault on the poor pager. Sonia stood with her face in her hands around the corner as she attempted to ring her son for the fifth time before realizing it was a pointless endeavor, he'd never leave the ringer on. Eventually, a lock clicked and the door opened to reveal… her son in the doorway? "Apologies… ah, you must be Mr. Kuzuryu. My sincerest... Mother?"
"He's your kid? The guy my daughter panicked about introducing me to is Queenie's kid? Fucking hell…."
"The woman you want me to meet is Boss Baby's daughter? Oh lord… this won't be a mess, I promise. We… we go back."
Both older adults speaking at once left him more than reeling. He was prepared for just about every situation, including the ones where he gets shot. But this? His parents knowing and being friends with hers before they even met? Definitely not. "Well then. No awkward introductions needed I suppose. Uh… come in? I don't know, people are supposed to be my forte but this grew very awkward very fast."
The apartment was quaint, a tad old fashioned but modern enough to where their kids didn't look like vampires. Not that that was a bad thing, just not exactly at twenty three. A hanging plant above the table, a collection of novels on the shelf, what looked to be an atrocious documentary left on the television stand. Standard, but it seemed almost too clean to Sonia. Thankfully, for once she and Fuyuhiko were on the same track. "So. Uh. Nice place and all, but where's my daughter? This isn't some elaborate trap to blackmail us, is it?"
"Ah. Uhm. Well, to put it bluntly, we cleaned together, I told her it was fine, she didn't care and cleaned until a time only the gods may know. Around four in the morning I believe."
Fuyuhiko sighed. Of all the-- "Just like her mother I suppose. Stress I'd assume? Not surprised at all."
Well. That was a relief, he wasn't, read, wasn't, going to be killed for speaking the way he did. Progress! "It's around ten, so I have a feeling she'll be awake soon. Feel free to -- oh you already took the couch. Okay then. Tea or coffee? I will admit, I'm nowhere near as skilled at making either as Kirumi is, but it should be palatable at the least."
Speaking of Kirumi, she was just starting to wake up, and upon realizing what day it was, put on the first skirt and decent top she could find and all but threw herself out of the bedroom, praying that their parents weren't al-- and there they were. Okay. She could do this. This was doable! "Father! Mrs. Nevermind, a pleasure to meet you."
No amount of makeup could've hidden the dark circles under her eyes to Sonia, but she was willing to accept her greeting. "Oh dear, Mrs. Nevermind is my mother, feel free to just call me Sonia. I must say, this may be the neatest I've seen a home of two twenty-something's be!"
"I-I couldn't just… thank you?" Turning to her equally confused partner, "Oh thank god you've made breakfast already. It's-- Oh god it's already ten how did I sleep this late I'm so so--"
Fuyuhiko was sick of this shit, and not because Queenie's kid was a menace, anything but. He was sick of seeing his daughter take such shitty care of herself and deflect more than her mother did in her training days. Pushing himself off of the couch, he walked over to her as she shut the door to her bedroom. At least, he hoped it was just her bedroom. "Sweetie, it's no worry. We're still your parents, we aren't gonna shame you for your coping skills, that's on us. You're your mother's daughter all right. Don't sweat it."
Not a single person was expecting her to cry. But cry she did, wrapping her arms around her father and just accepting the moment. "I-I'm fine, lack of sleep is all. Just give me a few minutes and I'll be okay. You're more than welcome to eat."
That was. Not normal in the slightest. And based on the typical mind of a father, Korekiyo threw his hands up a preemptive block just in case he decided to throw a punch. Thankfully no such punch came, as he instead moved to the stovetop, grabbing two slices of the french toast and some eggs. Sonia huffed, patted her son on the back and followed her friend's lead, taking only one slice but copious amounts of bacon in exchange. This was going to be either a shovel talk or a conversation he very much did not want to have at quarter past ten but at this point there was no choice. Two slices, a small amount of eggs, and two pieces of bacon. Make it or risk a potentially gruesome end. "So. You have any answers as to why my daughter just burst into tears? Any how should I put this… hormonal reasons?"
And slam. His head was planted on the table and not under any circumstances would it leave unless absolutely necessary. "Fuyuhiko!" "Oh gods above please no we haven't - we have no plans to - end me now."
He was laughing. A man who could definitely kill him was laughing at him and the only thing this beat out for fear was that day in the courthouse so many years ago. "Oh god the look on your face! I swear, I swear I'm kidding, dragon's honor. I wouldn't toss that question on for a while, just screwing with you."
Of course, it was at that moment a puffy-eyed Kirumi exited the bathroom. "Do I… do I even want to ask?" And she got her food as if nothing at all had happened.
"Ah nothing, just some joking between us."
"That doesn't look normal, Father. And trust me, I've seen a lot of stupid shit from our friend group."
"He made a joke about your, ahem, sex life."
And quick as a whip, Kirumi was… scolding her father? "The one thing! The singular thing I ask you to not do! And what do you do? Go right ahead. Guess. God this is why I typically invite Mother for events like this…"
Fuyuhiko knew he fucked up. To what extent, he wasn't sure. If a sword or gun got involved, he may have bolted, but words were fine. "Listen, I don't know exactly what happened that was so bad aside from the boundaries thing, but I'm sorry. That was an ass move, even for my standards."
"It's… it's fine sir. Just some bad associations. You didn't know, it is of no concern."
Sonia knew a lot but she knew her son. Shit wasn't okay. There was a concern to be had, but at the moment it wasn't her place to bring it up. Maybe she'd stay a day longer to spend a day with him. Or explain some of the dirty laundry to Fuyuhiko. Whichever was less likely to leave her in a bind. "So, we've heard so little about you aside from the very few letters and calls we get. What are you like? Interests? Hobbies? Job?"
"Don't overwhelm my damn--"
Kirumi was curt yet polite in handling herself so it seemed. "Father. I am not a little girl any longer. I can handle myself. I suppose there isn't much about me that isn't public knowledge after that horrid game, but I am fine with sharing if you want more. I've picked up knitting to relax but nothing is better than baking for me. I still take the fencing lessons, a yearly gift from an aunt I have not the heart to deny. Other than that however, there isn't much to me. I suppose I work for hire, not that it's needed."
"How lovely! It's grand to see our children make things of their lives instead of resting on laurels, isn't it Fuyuhiko?"
"Yeah, really is."
Testy little shit. A pain in the ass, but a friend nonetheless. In the meantime, Kiyo had managed to get his head off the table to barely pick at his eggs. "And what about you dear? There has to be something you've done in the past few months."
She was pretending to not notice he had removed the mask that had been such a plague throughout school, but that didn't mean she wasn't ecstatic about it. It was so rare for him to have anyone he'd trust that wasn't herself, Gundham or his therapist. "Not much, two grants, a bit of private work. Four months from now there's some sort of meeting I need to attend. I would prefer to not have to, but such is life."
Okay, two awkward conversations barely avoided. Now for a day's worth. The rest of breakfast went much smoother, before a phone started ringing from the bedroom. Everyone was a bit confused, but it wasn't hard to slip away no questions asked for a call. "It's Kokichi. Take the call now or wait?"
"I forgot to tell him about this, oh well. May as well, he's met my father before."
The cell changed hands and a few clicks later, Kokichi's face filled the screen. "Hi Mom! Hi Dad! What's up? Who're those two? Are both of you having some sort of affair and caught each other?"
Fuyuhiko was grimacing and watching poor Sonia look shocked that this was how their friends acted with them. He'd met the punk though, he wasn't too bad, just liked to stir up drama where there was none. "No, Kokichi. You've met my father before, and this is… well she said to call her Sonia but that would be rude. This is Mrs. Nevermind. Apologies for not letting you know, but this may not be the best time to call. Later? Maybe once we're done here?"
"What! You guys invited grandma and grandpa over and didn't tell me! How mean…"
"We're grandparents? Already? I thought… fucking hell…"
"He's a pain." With that, Kirumi shut the phone off, oblivious to the upset grape on the other side. He thankfully couldn't hear or see what was going on but he was aware that people who had decidedly never been in the house before were there. That'd be fun to exploit later on. "We love him like a brother, or yes, even a son, but children are nowhere on our list of priorities."
Well that was a relief. Fuyuhiko thanked whatever deity was out there that he didn't have to worry about that yet. He knew he'd cry, and then Peko would cry, and it'd be a big damn mess of a dinner when that would happen. "Hey, kiddo, what's the speaker for? Most places don't have one this… rustic."
Sonia, sharp as ever called him on his bullshitting. "Fuyuhiko, are you just looking for conversation topics by now? Because if so I can always ah, "hitch a ride" to your home if you want to leave."
Somehow, any tension there was in the small apartment vanished as Sonia spoke. "God, yeah shit it's already twelve thirty. I'd better head out before I end up on the business end of your mother's sword. Again. This month. Maybe next time we start on the embarrassing stories? Because there's plenty to tell, about you and us both."
A very red Kirumi herded her father out the door as Sonia looked one more time at the man her son had become. She'd have given an arm and a leg to have this sort of simple order when she was his age, but such was the burden of the crown. "I love you Korekiyo. You've done well for yourself. Now if you could keep in touch with your father and I in the future that would be nice. Wouldn't want to miss the small moments in your lives. And next time? Give me a bit more to work with when it comes to family history. This incident wound up being a happy accident, next time it might sour. Who knows?"
A few last hugs and an impromptu photo or two later the happy parents were on their way back to the Compound and the kids breathed a sigh of relief. One day down. One day, and plenty more to come. Now they had the day to just be. Curled up on the couch with a book and a podcast seemed like a good way to start the rest of the day.
Meanwhile, when Sonia and Fuyuhiko arrived back, Peko looked like a cat that got the canary. "So,I see there's another guest to seat. How was everything? Everything go well with the kids?"
"You knew from the start, didn't you."
"Oh definitely. Gundham too. We assumed it'd be better to let you figure it out on your own rather than psyche yourselves up for somethings that may not even happen."
In unison for the first time in the over thirty years since the end of the Killing Game, the two friends shouted. "Peko! How could you!"