Who: Kitty and Yuna What: Meeting the in-law so to speak and talking about love and faith When: 8/20 Where: A cafe Status: complete Rating: PG for the gushing
Coffee. Coffee with the cousin. Coffee with the really determined, steely spined summoner cousin. Of her girlfriend. They were admitting they were girlfriends now, right? Kitty was pretty sure of that. She was so incredibly nervous that she was afraid she’d trip over herself.
Literally.
It was just coffee! And Yuna felt that she was the less scary of the two options; A subject they'd already discussed. Ben was far, far more protective than even she was.
She thought Kitty sounded like a good person, though, and she enjoyed coffee. So there were already two things to keep her mood light and happy as she stepped into the coffee shop. She spotted Kitty easily and waved at her, before walking over.
There was a quick little bow on her part, and she smiled at Kitty, "You must be Kitty, it is an honor to meet you."
Kitty gave Yuna a little formal bow of her own, and smiled brightly. “I think the honor is mine. Come on, lets sit.” Before her nerves exploded.
"Do we want to order a coffee, first, or do we order at the table?" Yuna glanced around a second, taking in the setup. It seemed like the type of place to get some good food and a coffee at the table, so she ducked her head a bit and added, "I see, table it is."
“Lets order at the table. It’s classier. You look like a very classy woman,” Kitty tried to not gush at the woman, but she was so pretty and nice and she wanted to make a good impression. She was very in danger of tripflailing all over her words.
Yuna laughed, "I'm not that classy. Goodness, you should see my place. It's small and not very elegant. And I wear scrubs most of the time."
She took a seat at one of the tables, peeling out of her jacket and getting comfortable. She wasn't wearing scrubs for this, of course, but her clothing was a simple graphic-print t-shirt and some jeans. Her hands went straight for the menu, and she spoke as her eyes pored over it, "You don't need to be so nervous. I really don't bite... I'm not even known for raising my voice."
“That’s a relief,” Kitty said, relaxing a little bit and biting her tongue before she made the almost required joke about biting. Not with Yuna, anyway. No flirting!
“You’re a doctor?”
"A nurse right now, RN. But I recently decided that I wanted to do something more, so I'm taking a few classes this semester to get started. I work over at the Sunburst Clinic, I'm sure you've heard of it. Magius is a great Doctor to work for, too, because he lets me sit in on procedures and try techniques I'd never get to do, normally."
Yuna was gushing a bit, herself. It was clear she looked up to the older doctor.
“I’ve heard of it, yes.” Kitty nodded her head. She’d taken the twins there once or twice, though Faiza tended to be the go-to for emergencies. She figured it was good practice to not rely on her. “That’s pretty amazing! That’ll give you a huge head start, but let me warn you - experience and practice doesn’t always mean you’re going to do as well as you’d want, without remembering it’s a different kind of environment and they have sometimes stupid expectations.”
"Are you lecturing me?" Yuna looked up from her menu to smirk at Kitty.
“Uhm.” Kitty turned red and tried to hide behind her menu. “Just offering some friendly advice, that’s all. I finished college really young.”
Yuna smiled at Kitty, "I had to finish a bachelor's of science in order to get my nursing degree. This will actually be my second time going to college. Luckily, I can transfer the degree over and I'll only need about... a year and a half or so of extra classes to finish out a pre-med degree."
Kitty looked impressed. “That saves you a lot of time, Yuna. That’s awesome!”
"It's still several years of medical school, internships, and residencies, but I think it should be worth it in the end. I'm hoping to be done by forty, at least." Yuna turned her attention back to her menu, then poked it with her finger, "I think I'll... get food too, if you don't mind. These pancakes with bananas and walnuts sound delicious."
“Anything with bananas and walnuts is going to be delicious, but this place is known for their pancakes. You really can’t go wrong!” Forty seemed so far away to Kitty. Sixteen years, maybe fifteen, she tended to lose track of time these days.
For someone who was 28 and looking at 7+ years of schooling, it was looming closely ahead. Yuna tried not to think of it for too long, because she was still kicking herself for settling on Nursing to begin with and not just pursuing her full dream.
She put her menu aside though, with a grin, "And some bacon. I'm going to cheat, and enjoy some nice, crispy bacon."
As long as you went after your dream, that’s what really mattered. That’s what Kitty would say, anyway. She grinned. “What, are you jewish?”
"No, but it's horribly bad for you. I don't really mind, though... I think I could probably stand to gain a few pounds. I'm always forgetting to eat. Even in the dreams." Yuna chuckled a bit.
“It’s too delicious. Keeping kosher is a little silly anyway.” She decided to order some bacon. Just ‘cause she could now.
"Did you used to?" Yuna asked, as politely as possible. It wasn't like Kitty was hiding the fact that she was Jewish, and Yuna remained extremely fascinated by other cultures and religions. Not just Asian ones!
“Not really. At least not as much as my mom would have liked me to. I blame my dad for that one.” She flashed Yuna a grin. “What matters is having faith, not following archaic rules meant for a different time.”
Yuna thought back to Spira; It's temples and rituals, the way they prayed, their particular brand of faith, "I know people go back and forth on that one. I do think that there are... many ways to show one's faith, however. For some people, going through the motions of ritual puts their minds in a meditative state... it makes them feel closer to whatever it is they have faith in."
“Ritual is fine...God knows I’ve seen my share of it. I just...it should be from the heart. From in here.” She patted her chest emphatically. “Because otherwise, you’re just going through the motions.”
She didn’t talk about faith with many people, so she was enjoying this.
"Oh I agree. I would only want to go through acts of worship that I felt mattered. I just think... everyone's got their own way of doing it... everyone has their own connection to... whatever it is out there. Where I come from, in my dreams anyway, it's a very religious place. We have to cling to that faith because I think, if we did not... there would be no hope. It's our very faith that saves us. But still... I wish there was a little more..." Yuna trailed off, trying to find the right words.
She'd only just recently dreamed about the failed Crusader operation. It had been a complete tragedy, but she didn't think that was because of Yevon. "...It's not very open to interpretation, I suppose. I wish it was."
“What do you think there could have been a little more of?” Kitty asked. Faith for faith’s sake was...well an act of faith, but sometimes she felt like it wasn’t enough, either.
"That's what I mean, is that I wish there had been a little more open-mindedness. A little more freedom to believe and show that faith in a way that meant something more to you. It's a little blind, but... we're not as advanced a people as modern society is."
Yuna wasn't sure how else to describe it. They'd obviously been more advanced at some point, but Sin's constant attacks had made them almost primitive in many ways.
Kitty nodded. “A lot of people dream about more primitive standards of living. Doesn’t make them bad cultures, just different. I mean, unless women or minorities are being objectified or put down upon, then I might have something to say about that.”
"Well, actually I think that Spira has a lot of strong women in positions of power. Though I'd like to see women on the council, or as head summoners of temples. Still, there are as many female summoners as there are male, and there are two very capable women running the Chocobo Knights." Yuna giggled a bit, and added, "That sounds silly, I know. Chocobos are big yellow birds. We use them as mounts."
A huge grin rose up on Kitty’s face. “What are they like? Chocobos, I mean? They sound awesome.” Must not… make… Chocobo sound.
"Well... They're like... a combination of ducks and Sesame Street's Big Bird, really, but with beaks more like you might find on an eagle, or other type of bird of prey. They're yellow, and downy soft, and we use them to power things like boats, too. They make this sort of..." Yuna giggled and made a 'kweeeh' sound, "... that sound."
“That sounds...adorable,” Kitty leaned forward on one arm, deciding that Yuna was just as adorable as Rikku. And very sweet.
"They are, yes. I had the rare chance to ride on one when I traveled from Bevelle to Luca the first time, though it was still slow going because I was traveling with a ronso..." Yuna laughed a bit, at those memories. It was hard to be as happy as everyone else had been when her father's Calm had finally started. She'd felt lost, and alone, but Kimahri had been there for her, and he'd been funny.
Even if he didn't think he was. Her eyes flashed between sadness and happiness for a few seconds, in fact, but she eventually settled on a calm, sincere smile, "But we should order our food. And talk about Rikku."
“I was wondering when we’d get to that,” Kitty replied, blushing a little bit. She nodded at Yuna. “They have some pretty good food here. It’s not fancy or anything.”
"And we already know what we're ordering!" Yuna replied, enthusiastically. She was really looking forward to those pancakes with the bananas and walnuts. She motioned a waitress over nearly immediately, so that Kitty could busy herself with ordering instead of growing nervous.
After the waitress was gone, she pressed both of her hands down on the table, "And, so... now tell me, what are you intentions with my very young cousin who can't even legally drink?"
“Not to get her drunk,” Kitty promised. Though an epic 21st birthday would be in order. She flashed a grin at Yuna, blushing. “She’s really smart, and special and this…” She waved her hands, looking for the word. “Just a good person. She’s like concentrated happy.”
"Oh, no, I didn't think it was to get her drunk!" Yuna shook her head back and forth, hands going up over her mouth for a second. Then she realised she was probably being too nice, and tried to put on a more serious face.
"And she is, yes. So I hope you understand that we were both a little wary when we discovered you were a widower with children... and not because we have something against that lifestyle at all, or the fact that you've got them, it just... seems to me, that it would take a little longer to mend a wing that broken. I want to make sure Rikku isn't... I just... I just want to know that you're not going to hurt her."
“Honestly, I’m afraid of hurting her too. More than I’m afraid of being hurt myself, really.” She couldn’t deny that Yuna’s concerns were valid. They were, and they were ones she’d wrestled with, herself. “I never know what I’m doing in relationships. I’m usually the younger one.”
"I myself have no experience in the matter, and I can't really... offer you much in the way of advice. I'm always too busy to even notice the people around me, and for a little while there it was hard to believe in love. But... I've seen things go terribly wrong when two people rush things. I don't want that for either of you. So I would just say... take it slowly."
Yuna nodded, then clasped her hands together, "And be honest about the fact that neither of you really know what you're doing. With her, I mean."
“I’m trying. I think I managed to find the brakes, but I never was the kind of person who didn’t rush into things.” Kitty was woman enough to at least admit that. “It’s really, really hard to think straight around her. My brain goes a little… loopy.” She grinned sheepishly.
It was adorable. Yuna was glad that the waitress came with their coffee, so that she had time to dole out cream and sugar and think. She'd never experienced a feeling like that, not even with Tidus.
It made her a little jealous, and she didn't like that feeling at all, "It sounds like she makes you... very happy, then."
“She does. And I hope I make her happy too.” Kitty still had some doubts, but that wasn’t something to discuss with Rikku’s family. It was barely something for her to discuss with her own family. She wished she had someone close enough but far enough in order to talk to.
"If you make her happy, you'll hear no more murmurings of discontent from me," Yuna decided, with a smile, "I like you, and I think you have... a good heart. So, I won't nag you any further. We can simply enjoy our lunch and talk about other things."
“Then I’ll try my hardest to make her happy. And I’ve always liked the idea of extended family.” She winked, glad this had gone well. She just hoped she could keep her promises.