Justice Hunter (talkwiththemoon) wrote in nextdoor_redux, @ 2012-09-04 22:46:00 |
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Entry tags: | #group scene, charlie, chloe, jason, justice, npc: ruby, xander |
Drop the act?
Who: Charlie, Chloe, Jason, Justice, Xander, Gracie (NPC), and Ruby (NPC)
What: Meeting Justice's mother
When: 12.17 - Late Morning Monday
Where: Ruby's home
Warning: Family drama
Jason was not looking forward to meeting Justice's mother. At all. Lucas had warned him. Hell, Justice had warned him. Not only that, but he had to keep the girls from ganging up on the old bird if she was really as bad as he was led to expect. Yeah, he was not looking forward to this at all. Leaning over, he checked his hair and made sure his shirt collar was straight one more time before he looked at Justice. "Let's just get this over with. Please."
Justice took a deep breath before getting out the car. And spotting the curtains falling back into place in the living room. Yeah, Ruby was fooling no one. Smiling wryly, she shut the car door, leading the way up the path to her front door. She knocked, glancing over her shoulder to check that all the kids were there. Well, all the kids except Mateo and Ana, who didn’t need to be introduced to Ruby, and so had gotten lucky and been allowed to stay at the cabin. Justice was starting to wish she could have stayed with them, and the door wasn’t even open yet. Slipping her hand into Jason’s, she squeezed gently, reassuringly, waiting for her mom to answer the door.
Ruby knew the basics. She knew that the man her daughter was engaged to marry had been married before and that his wife had died young. She knew he had three daughters - she had to give the man credit for taking care of three girls, two of which were teenagers. He must have had balls of steel. Or he owned a gun. Which he did, since he was a detective. Smart man. Legal ability to carry a weapon. She also knew that he was a werelion. Which was interesting. A bird and a cat. A bird living with several cats. Not that she didn't think Justice could hold her own. She was her daughter after all.
When she heard the knock at the door, she got up from her seat at the kitchen table - probably the only place in the house with enough sitting room for so many visitors. Heading over to the door, she opened it up and eyed them all before she opened her mouth. "Greetings," she said, her stern face melting away into a smile as she took a step back and waved them all in. "Come in out of the cold."
Charlie shivered, hiding behind her dad a little. Wow, Justice’s mom was scary looking. Even when she smiled. But the invitation to come inside was more than Charlie needed to want to get out of the snow. She followed Justice inside eagerly, looking down at Ruby’s bare feet and then following Justice’s lead and kicking off her boots, leaving them by the door. And she was suddenly very glad that she’d bothered to put on matching socks this morning.
Once Charlie had taken off her boots, Chloe handed the tupperware box of peanut butter blossoms to her sister and followed suit, removing her shoes and trying not to look Ruby in the eye. She was kind of scary. Even if they'd all been warned of that, it was still weird to be right there with the woman. Xander looked pretty petrified as he entered and it made Chloe smirk. Any fear of Ruby that she had dwindled because it was worth it to see Xander tripping over himself.
"Hi!" Gracie greeted brightly. Yeah, Ruby was kind of scary. But she was also a little old lady. The youngest Richards knew how to turn on the charm. "We made you cookies," she said, taking the tupperware container from her middle sister and offering it to Ruby. Then she took off her own boots. "It's nice to meet you."
Ruby was wrong. It wasn't Jason that had balls of steel, it was Gracie. Jeez. She turned on her charm, offered up cookies and acted like Ruby wasn't the scariest thing on two legs in the room. Even Jason was less scary than the owl lady. She could fly for Christ's sake. And she was a Native American with probably a shit ton of mojo working with her too. Fuck. "Hello," he said, barely above a whisper as he removed his own shoes and went past her as quickly and non-threateningly as possible.
Jason let everybody go inside before him. Thank God for manners. Unfortunately, that didn't take long and he had to let go of Justice's hand so they could take off their boots. He waited until she'd gotten a chance to hug and greet Ruby before he stepped forward. Feeling like an idiot. He hated people who insisted strangers take their shoes off in their house. It was like they were trying to put people at a disadvantage. Okay, considering the look Ruby had given them, that was probably exactly why she did it. "Hi," he said, holding out his hand. "I'm Jason. Like Grace said, it's nice to finally meet you."
Justice couldn’t help but smile just a little, watching the kids and Jason reacting to Ruby. Who was pulling the same routine she always did with new people. Great. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Justice slid her hand back into Jason’s, squeezing gently, linking their fingers together. “Mom, Jason. Jason, my mom. This is Chloe,” she gestured to each of them in turn, “Charlie, Gracie, and Xander.”
Ruby watched them all, holding the dish of cookies in her hands now. Justice's description of most of them had been accurate. Chloe was in pink and looked like she stepped out of some magazine for teenagers. Charlie was much more sporty looking. Gracie looked like an eleven year old but spoke like she was an adult. The brainy one. Xander looked like he was going to piss himself. Accurate indeed. She shifted the dish into one hand and took Jason's with the other. "Good to meet you," she agreed. "Come, everyone into the kitchen. There's room for you all there."
Charlie smiled politely, taking Xander’s hand. “Breathe,” she murmured in his ear as they followed the grownups into the kitchen. “She’s more likely to try and eat daddy than you.” She said it quietly, but she knew that they’d be able to hear. She didn’t care - it might break the ice a little bit. Squeezing Xander’s arm reassuringly as she let go of him, she sat down at the kitchen table, looking around curiously.
Chloe snickered quietly and followed her sisters into the kitchen, settling at the table and memorizing every little hilarious detail so she could tell Mateo later. Lucky bastard got out of going which so wasn't fair. Oh well. At least she'd have something interesting to tell him about later. Depending on how long it took before her father kicked the kids out for a little heart to heart with his future mother-in-law.
Gracie immediately sat down in Chloe's lap, still giggling about Charlie's comment. "You're not gonna eat our dad," she said to Ruby. "You wouldn't do that to us or Justice." Yeah, so she was trying to help out her father here. Who looked almost as uncomfy as Xander.
Xander's eyes went wide at Charlie's words. He knew for a fact that Ruby could hear her. "Shh," he said, sitting down beside the girl and trying to look anywhere but at Ruby. It was easier and less terrifying that way.
Jason waited until everybody was sitting, pulling out a chair for Justice before he finally sat down. He chuckled softly and shook his head at his daughters' words. "I hope Justice warned you they were a handful," he joked. This was going way too well. So his back was still up.
Justice murmured a quiet ‘thank you’ as Jason pulled out a chair for her, laying her hand on his knee as soon as he sat down, leaning in to his side. “Billy Bloodgood sends his regards,” she told her mom, smiling. “Think he’s just about forgiven you for breaking his heart.” It was a running joke in the family - Billy had been Ruby’s boyfriend before Justice’s father. Forty years - and marriages for both of them - had certainly eased any pain of a short courtship followed by an even shorter relationship. But Billy still joked every time he saw Justice or Ruby that he was just waiting on her mother to come to her senses.
"That old goat'll never completely forgive me," she teased, giving a genuine smile to her daughter. Reaching out, she gently squeezed the hand that Justice had on the table. "It's good to see you, daughter," she murmured. And it was. It had been far too long. Too many miles between their houses. She always wished that Justice would move closer to her again but that ship had sailed. Especially now considering the family she was forming with this man. This lion. Turning her attentions on Jason, her smile shifted slightly. "All children are a handful," she said. "Justice certainly was." His daughters were likely angels in comparison but she kept that thought to herself. "How was your drive down?"
Justice smiled, squeezing her mom’s hand back. “It’s good to see you too, mom,” she murmured. She missed her mom, but they got on far better now than they ever had, living under the same roof. The distance meant that when they saw each other, they had plenty to talk about, and little to argue about. It worked for both of them. “It was okay,” she answered, glancing at Jason. Yeah, probably best not to mention the little hiccup that Jason had caused, mentioning Xander’s choice of career. “Roads were pretty clear, so we made good time.”
Okay, Jason was already tired of awkward pleasantries. "You kids can get out of here if you want," he said. He looked at Ruby and shrugged. "They're not as bad as I was at their age." Ruby would know what he'd been up to at his daughter's age, since he looked as old as he was. "I'll text you when we're ready to go." Back to Ruby. "I promised to take them hunting today. We don't get to do it much."
Ruby smiled. "Go on, have a little fun. There are plenty of children around your age," she said. And then the adults could get down to business and she could get a real feel for this man her daughter planned on marrying. She couldn't exactly do that with an audience of poor, impressionable children. Especially the scrawny boy. He was shaking like a leaf.
Justice smiled. Well, that had lasted even less time than she’d thought. Not that she minded - getting to talk to her mom without four kids staring at them definitely wasn’t a bad thing. “No hunting,” she warned them as they got up from the table. “And no scaring them. There’s a lot of wereowls around, they’re not used to big cats.” Because yeah, ending this visit with crying children was definitely not part of the plan.
Gracie was pleased when her father mentioned hunting. "I get to make my first real kill," she told Ruby. "They promised. And we're gonna teach Ana to hunt, since she's never been." Jason sent his daughter a pointed look, then was distracted by Justice. "They're not going to run around scaring people," he grumbled. "We're lions, not wild dogs." Taking a deep breath and reminding himself that she was probably just as nervous as he was, he changed the subject. "Go on, get out of here so Ruby can drop the act and we can really talk."
Ruby sent a stern look in Jason's direction, letting the children file out of the house once more before she even opened her mouth. "Drop the act, huh?" she said, chuckling softly. "Would you rather me be threatening to peck or claw your eyes out or rip out your spleen and tie you up by your intestines? I could do that, you know. If that's what you'd rather."
Justice was tempted to kick Jason under the table for that remark. Yes, because drawing attention to the fact that Ruby was being polite instead of interrogating him, that was a great idea. She sighed, getting up from the table and going to the coffeemaker. Tempting as the idea of a beer was right now, she’d settle for some decent coffee. She grabbed three mugs out of the cupboard, busying herself while letting Ruby interrogate Jason a little. He’d asked for it, after all.
Okay, this was more what Jason was expecting. He had proposed to her daughter, he expected the woman to interrogate him. How the hell would he be able to prove he deserved the honor of marrying Justice if her mother didn't put him through the gauntlet first? Justice worried way too much. "I'd rather you be you, so I can be me and we can get to know each other," he explained. "That makes it easier on everybody. And yes, I was expecting threats. You're supposed to threaten me. I'm marrying your little girl. I have three daughters. You think I don't know how this works?"
"Pretty and smart. If he's a good lover then you had better keep him, Justice," she said, flicking her eyes to her daughter briefly before back to the lion. "Don't think that just because you're a bigger and stronger predator than I am that I can't take you, Jason," she told him. "I've been on this planet far longer than either of you and I'm much more cunning. And closer to the grave so I give less than a damn about repercussions. You hurt my daughter, they'll never find the body. You can count on that. The only reason that Kevin isn't dead is because it's wrong to hurt special needs people."
Justice snorted with laughter. “Mom I am not discussing my sex life with you. Didn’t do it when I was a teenager, not gonna start now.” She kissed the top of her mom’s head though, setting a cup of coffee down in front of her. Carrying hers and Jason’s to the table, she sat down on his lap rather than on the chair beside him. Hell, it was how she sat at home most of the time, she wasn’t going to change just because they were sitting with her mom.
Jason had the decency to blush a little, more from being called pretty than the lover comment. The threat was expected and he didn't disagree with the sentiment. Like he said, he had three daughters. He knew she meant it as much as he meant it when he said the same thing to Chloe's dates. "Thanks, baby," he said as Justice brought over coffee, wrapping one arm around her waist. "Kevin isn't worth the effort it would take to dispose of his body," he mused quietly, then took a drink of his coffee. "So does that mean I have your blessing to marry Justice, or do you want to interrogate me some more?" He was mostly joking on the last part. But if she did, he didn't blame her.
Ruby arched a brow when he spoke about Kevin but she assumed that his hatred for the man was because of what he had heard thus far about the lowlife. It was good that he agreed with, oh, everyone that had ever met Kevin in his existence. "You have my blessing," Ruby told him. "But of course I have the aforementioned stipulations which I really will do if you hurt her. She deserves to be happy. She's waited far too long to get to that point but you make her happy. Even an old woman can see that."
Justice kissed Jason’s temple, leaning in against him, one arm wrapped around his shoulders, the other holding her mug of coffee. The mention of Kevin’s name reminded her. God. She should probably mention that. “Well, now that’s over with,” she said brightly. Jason had wanted her mom’s permission, and now he had it. “Guess who rolled back into town?” She asked her mom, arching an eyebrow. “Just as vacant and useless as he always was?”
He rumbled softly as Justice kissed him and also when Kevin was mentioned. One of the good things about coming down here for the holidays. That bastard couldn't ruin any other celebrations for awhile. He let out a soft growl when Justice started leading up to mentioning the incident. "I had to pull Lucas off him,." he muttered. "Not that I blame the kid. He's just not worth going to jail over."
"You should have let him kill the bastard," Ruby muttered. "I never liked him, you know," she said, flicking her eyes to Justice. Her daughter knew well and good her dislike for Kevin and his flighty and wild ways. Especially when he'd convinced her to run off with him. "About the only good thing he ever did in life he didn't really have much of a part in," she muttered, annoyed at the thought of the man. If you really wanted to call him a man. "How is Lucas? Is he still planning to come down for Christmas?"
Justice made a face. “Trust me, I was tempted to,” she muttered. “I know. You always were a good judge of character.” And she was. She rarely got someone wrong. Justice should have listened, but she was so determined to ignore anything her mom said...the more she condemned Kevin, the more tempting he seemed to a teenage girl who didn’t know any better. “Yeah,” she said, nodding. “He couldn’t get the full two weeks off, but he’ll be down for Christmas with his girlfriend.” They’d rented Billy’s biggest cabin for a reason.
Yeah, except Lucas didn't need that kind of thing on his conscience. "Barful of cops," he told Ruby. "There was only so much looking the other way we can do." Jason was willing to let the subject go, especially since they'd left that problem back in Boston too. "My mama will be down here too," he said. "Unless the weather gets worse and she can't fly down. But you'll get to meet her if she can."
A barful of cops. That explained it. "Ah," she said, nodding a little. "Well, at least he didn't get himself into trouble." Small favors really. She wasn't all that surprised to hear that Jason's mother would be joining everyone for Christmas. She smiled a little at that. "Well I'm sure she wouldn't let a little weather keep her away. I'm sure she's wanting to needle me for details as much as I'm wanting to needle her."
God. Ruby and Lou together was either going to be a disaster...or the two of them were going to get on like a house on fire, and drive Jason and Justice to distraction. Justice wasn’t sure which was worse. “We were thinking Christmas dinner at the cabin might be easiest,” she said. “Bigger rooms, and the kids can go run about outside, go hunting to burn off some energy.”
"If Kevin had tried to press charges, I'd have taken the fall for it," he told Ruby. "There wasn't a cop in that bar who wouldn't have backed my version. I'd have gotten a slap on the wrist and desk duty for a month." He'd put up with anything to protect Lucas from being charged for rightfully beating the shit out of his worthless father. Yeah, he didn't want to be anywhere near that meeting, but he had to be. Unless he could get away with taking the kids hunting. He could get behind that plan. "And you don't have to cook. We're hoping to have most of it done before Mama gets here, so she doesn't try to do it."
"Then you're an even better man than I thought originally," Ruby said. Anyone willing to take the fall for her grandson was a good man in her book. Especially when held against Kevin who was less than nothing. "Alright. Then the cabin it shall be. I'll bring something. I don't know what yet, but something." She had time to decide. And less cooking to do which was just fine by Ruby.
Justice stroked her fingers through Jason’s hair, smiling. Yeah, this was going better than she’d thought. Better than she’d hoped for. Taking a sip of her coffee, she smiled as she heard laughter outside, heard small thundering footsteps on the porch. “You still letting the kids play with your beads, Mom?” She asked, setting her mug down. Just about everyone who lived in Cherokee had a small business selling trinkets and jewellery to the locals - Ruby was no different. She kissed Jason’s cheek, getting to her feet. “I’m gonna go say hi. See how they’ve grown. Let mom interrogate you without me around getting in the way.” Grinning at her mom, she squeezed Jason’s shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t kill each other.”
Jason would do anything for family. His pride. Justice and Lucas were part of his pride. It went without saying, really. He let out another low murr as Justice petted him. He smiled at her when she said she was headed outside to say hi to the kids out there. "We can't promise that," he teased her back, pulling Justice down for a real kiss before he let her out of arm's reach. "But we'll try." He let her get outside. "Okay, now what are we supposed to talk about?" he asked. Jason's conversational ability extended to talking about work, sports, his kids, music and well, that was about it.
Ruby watched her daughter kiss the lion and could tell that she really and truly loved him. The way she moved, the way she smiled with her eyes even when she wasn't smiling with her mouth. It was true. It was more. It was certainly different than Kevin. While she and her daughter might not have always seen eye to eye, she wished for the best for Justice and she felt that she'd truly found it. She smiled at the man and sipped her coffee before speaking. "I think she expects me to continue to ream you. To threaten. There's no need. Your eyes smile like hers. When you're together it's like a magnetic force. Even I can feel it. There is no need to restate my threats. If you're a smart man, which I believe you to be, you will not hurt her. And if you do, then you do not deserve her."
Jason had no way to respond to that other than to agree. "Exactly," he said. He and Ruby understood each other pretty well, really. "I meant small talk conversation wise, since like you said, we understand each other just fine. If I come out now, she might be disappointed you didn't scare the crap out of me or something equally silly. I think she was expecting you to try and rip out my entrails and me to try and bite you in half." He chuckled. "I think she's a little disappointed we're getting along so well."
Ruby chuckled and shook her head a little. "Her choices have gotten better in recent years," she said. "You are nothing like Kevin, whom I did threaten. Repeatedly. He always seemed to forget. They weren't right for one another. Save for creating a life. That I do not regret. So I'm thankful that she received my stubbornness and went away with him." She wouldn't regret Lucas any more than Justice did. "But yes, we do understand one another just fine. What are your plans for the rest of the trip?" she questioned. "I'm sure Justice has many places to show you. The children are welcome to play with the children on the reservation. Or 'hang out' whatever they're doing nowadays."
Jason growled at the mention of Kevin. "Yeah, well, he did one thing right," he muttered. "Which is the only reason he's still alive after crashing our engagement party." He didn't want to talk about Kevin. Even if he was going hunting with the kids after this. He didn't need to take that out on the wildlife. It wasn't their fault the guy was a total waste. "I'm gonna take the kids hunting. Which means the girls will terrorize the wildlife and I'll watch to make sure nothing they can't handle comes after them. Gracie's best friend Ana and Ana's big brother Mateo came with us, they've never been hunting cat style, so it'll be a lot of herding them around. Whatever we don't eat, we'll give to whoever needs it. That way they can make a few extra kills. We only do this once a year, so I want them to get the most out of it." He chuckled at her 'hanging out' comment. "I think they'll do fine making friends."
She smiled. "We appreciate that. All of us. I'm sure nothing you take down will go to waste." It sounded like a fine plan as far as she was concerned. "The children may be a little skittish at first with the smell of big cats but they knew you were coming and bringing your children. That you are friends. You are all welcome here." They were going to be family, after all. "There are lovely sunny spots in the woods," she added. "Nice places for catnaps."
He chuckled at that. "It's a lot warmer here than back home," he admitted. "Last I looked at the weather, it was snowing buckets up there. So yeah, probably take advantage of those sunny spots after the kids have had their fun." Jason didn't really hunt when they went hunting anymore. There was very little in the forest one of his daughters couldn't handle animal wise. Three of them and two jaguars (and maybe Xander as a lion too) and there was nothing that stood a chance. "Thanks," he added. "For giving everybody the heads' up. And being more reasonable and nice than you were given credit for."
That made her laugh a little. "Oh the stories are all true," she grinned. "An evil hellbird that will pluck out your eyes soon as look at you. To most that is quite accurate. I have my moments of compassion though," she grinned. "I think you suffer enough with three daughters. Two of them teenagers. All of them lions. You've got your work cut out for you. And now you've got my daughter? Let's just say that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. No matter how much she might deny it."
Jason laughed at that, shaking his head and taking a drink of his coffee. "Yeah, but they're all worth it," he agreed. "I'm the luckiest man alive. Even if I'm probably the most henpecked. At least my life is never boring."
"And this is why you are a good match for my daughter," she smiled. "Go on. Enjoy your vacation and your family. The time goes too fast. Take advantage of every second that you have."
He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I got a promotion at work because of the last case I was on," he said. "When I get back, I get to retake the sergeant's test and figure out how to set up a new squad. I plan to do as little but hang out with my kids and Justice as possible." He stood up and offered her his hand. "Thanks again. It was really nice to meet you, Ruby."
Ruby stood as well, taking his hand. "And it was good to meet you as well," she smiled. When she released his hand and he turned to walk away, she gave his rear a little squeeze. She held her hands up when he turned back to face her. "Can't blame an old woman," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Be sure to tell Justice I said you're a keeper. Especially with those buns."
Jason's eyes went wide as Ruby grabbed his ass. It was hardly the first time he'd been surprise groped, but the fact it was his fiancee's mother just made it worse than usual. He let out an awkward laugh. "I will," he said. "Thanks. I think. See you later, Ruby." He was tempted to back out to where his boots were, because he was a little concerned what she'd do when he was bent over pulling them on, but that would seem paranoid. Getting back into his boots, he headed outside to find Justice and the girls. "Your mom says I'm a keeper," he told his fiancee when he found her. "Can we go now?"
Justice laughed, straightening up from a crouch, still clutching a handful of beads she’d been sorting. Charlie had managed to knock over one of the trays of loose turquoise and wood beads, spilling them across the porch. She grinned innocently up at Jason, murmuring ‘hi daddy!’ before going back to picking them all up. “Yeah, I knew that already,” she told Jason, kissing him softly. “But it’s nice to know my mom’s taste is as good as mine.” She grinned, reaching up to tug a strand of his hair. “You wanna go round up the others while me and Charlie finish up here?”
"Ha," Jason shot back. "Don't pull hair. You'll teach the kids bad habits." He looked down and shook his head. "Hey, Slugger," he greeted. "Graceful as always I see." Oh like he had to round the kids up. That's what cellphones were for. Xander probably wasn't far, since Charlie was right here. And Gracie would be with Chloe. So he just texted his oldest daughter that it was time to go. "Where's Xander?'
Xander poked his head out from around the corner of the house. "Trying to stay out of the way?" he said. And as far from Ruby as possible. She was still scary. He didn't care what anyone else had to say about it. "Can we go now?"
Charlie grinned. “He’s scared of your mom,” she told Justice in a stage-whisper. It was fun to tease him. And Charlie was a little wary of her, too. Picking up the last of the beads, she watched them clatter back into the trays, neatly coiling the length of leather cord that she’d upset, too. “Okay, now we can go,” she said, wiping her hands on the back pockets of her jeans, which were already covered in grass stains, streaks of mud. “And then hunting, when we get back, right dad?” She bounced a little on the balls of her feet.
Chloe had been walking around and just looking at the scenery around Ruby's house. It was a beautiful place after all. Why not take the time to enjoy it. At the text, she and Gracie returned to the house. "Are we going hunting now?" she smiled, knowing well and good Gracie was about ready to burst at the opportunity.
Jason held up his hands before Gracie started in like her sisters. "Yes, we can go hunting now," he said. "Get in the car. We have to go pick up Ana and Mateo and change." Gracie smiled and clapped her hands, then paused and looked at Justice. "Afterwards, can you braid my hair with the beads like the girls have here, please?" she asked her. "It's so pretty."
Justice smiled, nodding. “Sure, honey.” She still had a handful of beads, after all. She stuck her head back in the house long enough to say goodbye to her mother, coming back with a little freezer bag that she poured a pile of beads in, different shapes, sizes, and colors. “Okay, ready?” She asked, reaching out and tousling Gracie’s hair a little. She was shifting as soon as they got back to the cabin, it didn’t matter what it looked like now.