Christmas in Japan…was very different than most Christmases that Kealey had experienced. Growing up Catholic, Christmas had always been a day that was part celebration and part serious reflection and church-going. Christmas Eve midnight mass had always been one of her favorite things, and she’d thought that she might miss that this year. Japan was a different place, and they had different traditions and religions that dictated their holidays. Christmas wasn’t a major holiday like it was in Ireland or America…but the Japanese definitely knew how to celebrate. Honestly, Kealey couldn’t wait.

Being mostly commercial, nobody had the day off for Christmas, so festivities happened at night. It was Friday, and Shin’s family had invited them to go along to a Christmas Eve party. Kealey had her reservations about a public party, but she’d done so well in Japan so far that she’d pushed them aside. This was going to be fun, and it would be a chance for Shin to spend more time with his family. Kealey couldn’t, and didn’t want to, do anything to stop that. So, she’d put on a pretty dress, done her makeup, checked that her hair pinned up firmly in its French twist, and they’d left.

The venue was beautiful, and even more opulent than Kealey had expected from other things she’d seen in Japan. The building was very modern, and had more windows than Kealey had ever thought possible without a place being a green house. It was almost like being outside, and the party goers were thrilled by the snow lightly falling just on the other side of the glass. Despite the fact that Christmas was a party holiday, they’d gone all out in decorations and snowflakes, string lights, and a giant tree complete with an angel on top made the place feel like it really was a winter wonderland. The general mood of the crowd was a happy one, and Kealey had the same silly smile plastered on her face that she’d had since she and Shin had stepped off the plane in Tokyo.

”It’s just beautiful….don’t you think?” she said to Shin as they entered, checked their coats, and made their way inside. ” Now. Where did your sister and your parents say they’d be?”

>>”It’s just beautiful….don’t you think?”

Shin was looking at Kealey. "Yeah," He agreed. "It is." He looked away. The party was really something, too.

The venue had everything you'd expect of a fancy pants Holiday rigmarole. Heavy decorating, footed by a hefty bill. Food tables. Drawn out talking. People saying a lot, but really saying very little. Friends. Family. People he'd never met. He could not see any family, come to think of it. Especially not his parents.

Shin looked to Kealey again. "You know, I dunno... they should be around here somewhere..." He leaned forward, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he casually glanced around. "I guess we can get a cookie while we hope they present themselves." He suggested.

Kealey’s cheeks turned pink as they had tendency to do when Shin looked at her that way. A slow smile crept across her features and she took a moment to appreciate how nice he looked too. They were probably a striking couple, Kealey decided, and that made her smile even more. Public gatherings weren’t something they did often, and the novelty of the fancy party had Kealey all excited. She wondered if there’d be dancing…she hoped there’d be dancing.

Shin didn’t know where his family was, and Kealey honestly couldn’t focus enough to look at individuals in the crowd. Shin would have to find them, and she would tag along. He suggested cookies, and Kealey grinned. ”Cookies sound awesome” she exclaimed, looping her arm through Shin’s as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

” Lead the way.”

>>"Lead the way."

Shin smiled as she looped her arm through his. They couldn't initially find his parents, but "Luckily, I seem to have no problem finding sweet things." Shin laughed. It was true, too. The food table wasn't too far away. Together, they bumbled forwards through the crowd.

Some people were jealous. Some didn't understand what the whole arm-wheeling thing was. Some wanted to know who the foreign girl with Yosuke Shinbo's son was. Shin was blissfully unaware of such thoughts. He had a Kealey on his arm and sweet things in his sights. They reached the dessert table, unscathed.

Pies, cookies, cake, brownies, and anything one would expect for the Christmas holiday in Japan greeted them at the table. It didn't literally wave, but from how appetizing it looked, it might as well have. Unfortunately, it meant no arm-linkage. Shin freed himself from Kealey to grab a plate. He turned to her, irrepressible smile still on his face.

"Aside from cookies, I see pies and puddings and egg nog and... too much good stuff." He snagged a chocolate chip cookie that never made it onto his plate. It was lost halfway through, vanishing somewhere between the tray and his mouth.

A finger landed on Shin's shoulder. Tapped once, then was joined by the rest of a whole hand. Shin spun and nearly bumped into his sister, Sasami. "Whoa, hey there." Shin said. "Where did you come from?"

Sasami was dressed in a black sweater with a red skirt and black stockings. Diamond stud earrings sparkled in her ears. "Dad's looking for you." She replied. Sasami glanced towards Kealey. "Why don't you come with me while we give Tetsuya some time with his father?"

Shin could see the old man standing a few feet away from them, turned towards the party and standing uncomfortably, like he'd gotten roped into the 'father son bonding' once again.

They found the sweet table, and on the way, Kealey mused more about the fact that people were looking at them. Shin seemed oblivious and she smiled at him whenever she got the chance, but she was keenly aware of the attention they were drawing from the assembled people. Kealey wanted to know who they were and what they were saying, but unfortunately most of them were speaking Japanese. Despite Ghost’s hard work, it really just hadn’t stuck.

They made it to the sweets table, and Kealey bemoaned the loss of contact with Shin, watching as he grabbed a chocolate chip cookie. Some of those desserts did look awful yummy, and she reached out to snag a cookie of her own. Just in time for Sasami to approach.

Kealey watched Shin’s reaction as his sister told him that he needed to go and talk to his father. The blond frowned a little, did that mean he was going to leave her alone? That made her frown more…there were a lot of people around…and Shin always helped keep her centered. Did Sasami know what it was like to be around her when there were lots of people?

”Okay.” she said, glancing around and giving Shin an encouraging nod. ” There are a lot of people though…I’m a little….off.” she added, gesturing to her head with one hand and taking a bite of cookie as Shin’s sister linked arms with her and pulled her away from Shin and into the crowd. Boy, there were a lot of people…feeling a lot of things. Kealey looked over her shoulder for a moment to try and find Shin before turning to Sasami. “ He helps me focus.”

Kealey took a deep breath and focused. This wasn't any worse than a full classroom at school, or a busy coffee shop back in New York. At least that's what she was going to tell herself. The other emotions faded to the background a bit, and she smiled at Shin's sister.

”It’s okay though…how’s your Christmas, Sasami?”

Shin watched as his sister dragged Kealey off, frowning slightly. Aww man, now she was alone with his girlfriend. Hopefully, Sasami didn't decide to worm her way into details he hadn't been sharing! Stuff that was Kealey and Shin ears only!

Turning, he forced himself to look for his father. The guy wasn't too far away. He didn't look like he'd wanted this. With a sigh, Shin trudged onwards, to battle.

"Hello," He said weakly, switching to Japanese.

His father nodded. "Tetsuya."

"So." Shin glanced over his shoulder. He couldn't even see Kealey and Sasami anymore.

"What have you been up to in America?" His father asked, surprising Shin. "I want to know what my son has been doing." Yosuke explained.

~*~

Back with Kealey, Sasami was leading.

"I understand," she said in English. "Tetsuya is very nice to his girlfriends." Kealey could read emotions. Sasami was certain she could sense how much her brother loved her. He'd told her enough rantings about the woman through e-mail for her to have no doubts. This was the first time she'd been alone with Kealey. Obviously, she had questions about some of those things. There were things Tetsuya had not told her.

The woman asked her a question before Sasami could dig for details. "It's fine," she smiled kindly. "Although, I wish I had someone to spend it with like you do. Unfortunately, my boyfriend was busy..." She changed the subject deftly. "You are lucky. Tell me. Shin never shared how you two met."

"I am lucky." Kealey said, unsuccessfully trying to find Shin in the crowd. As to Sasami's question, Kealey turned to Shin's sister and grinned, " We actually met at the bookstore he works at...because of a rather large badger he made for a window display. I was having a bad day. It made me want to go in."

"A... badger?" Sasami stared at her curiously for a second. Then, she laughed and shook her head. "Tetsuya has interesting tastes. He must have seen it on a show." She paused to look where they were headed, then turned back to her brother's girlfriend. "You have seen how he dresses, yes?"

Kealey shook her head "A game...I think." she said, the badger was actually something they hadn't talked about in a long time. They definitely hadn't seen it in any of the shows they'd watched.

Sasami pointed out Shin's fashion sense, and Kealey had to laugh a little, "I like the way he dresses." she said, " It's so very...him. I'm in fashion school...I don't know if he told you. So, I really appreciate his taste."

Sasami smiled. "Fashion school? Interesting. Growing up, you probably would have hated his wardrobe choice~" Her eyes swung back to what was ahead of them. Chairs. What good party lacked those? A place to sit and talk. Because endless walking was not fun.

As was endlessly leading a conversation~

Actually, that was fun.

OOC - Sasami parts written by Shin!

What he had been doing in America, Shin realized, was... a very tough question to answer briefly.

"Things." Shin answered.

"Things?" Yosuke clarified.

"Yeah," Shin searched the crowd for Kealey from his spot by the punch bowl. Hide nor hair, he did not see. Eyes snapped back to the father figure. "Things."

"What things?"

"Lots of things," Shin replied awkwardly. It was still strange, talking to the father figure after all this time. He was feeling kind of frantic and defensive, even if the interest had been surprising.

"We'll start small. These." Yosuke gestured to his son's eyes. "These are new. When did this happen?"

"Um." Oh gog. He certainly wasn't pulling punches. Shin felt sick. Where was Kealey? "Christmas. Romania. You really don't want to know about the details."

"I do."

"You do?" Shin grimaced. "Okay."

He told. It was a long explanation. Meanwhile, over with Sasami and Kealey...

"Really?" Kealey said, tilting her head towards Sasami as they walked towards some chairs. "Why's that? I don't think he's ever talked about clothes when he was little..." They made it to the chairs and sat.

"Was he always so confident?" Keaely said, eyes subconsciously roaming the room again. "That's always impressed me."

"Too confident," Sasami emphasized. "He used to get into trouble. He believed he knew everything. For clothes." As she sat down, she smoothed her skirt. "He learned about that from me."

Kealey grinned at Sasami's disclosure, somehow, a young over-confident Shin wasn't all taht difficult to believe. " I can see that..." she said, just a little conspiratorially. Sasami explained that she'd taught Shin about fashion and Kealey nodded her head, it made sense, but not exactly with what else she'd said, "Why would I have hated it then? You dress very well!"

"He did not want to wear dresses." Sasami replied, bowing her head with a small smile. "He liked his boy band clothing more."

Kealey stared at Sasami for a moment when the other girl spoke. Had she just said dresses? The most amazing mental picture started forming in Kealey's head and she just couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Dresses?" she choked out on a giggle, "You really wanted him to wear dresses?" The laughter abated after a moment, and Kealey sighed, "I like his boyband clothes."

"I used to want to be a fashion designer," Sasami replied, still smiling. "He was my little brother. He was also a good model."

" Fair enough." Kealey said with another conspirital grin, "I know how hard it can be to find models for clothing."

"But...I was a younger sibling...and a girl. So I can't empathize there."

Kealey paused for a moment, curiosity building until she couldn't help but ask, "Did you ever manage to do it? Did you ever get him in a dress?"

"You should ask him." Sasami said, donning her best poker face. Her emotions didn't even give her away.

"Oh...believe me, I will." Kealey said, eyes twinkling mischievously. "What else do you know that I could ask him about? '

OOC - Sasami parts written by Shin!

"Well," Yosuke said, scratching the back of his head. He was at a loss for words. "That's some story you've been telling me."

"Yeah," Shin agreed. "That's usually what someone says when they're told their son is a member of a paramilitary group that sometimes goes to foreign countries to try and help mutants, correct unfair laws, and promote peace. Also, I'm thinking about staying Math Major."

"Really, math major?" Yosuke latched onto the new piece of information. "Wonderful. Math is--"

"Better than being a costumed crime fighter?" Shin volunteered.

"You wear costumes?" Yosuke gawked.

"Not really. Okay, sometimes. Kealey's really good at making them. You should see what she can do."

"That's. Great."

"Sometimes, I help," Shin soldiered on through the awkwardness, his every step gauged to throw dear old dad off whatever game he was playing or had.

"How so?" Yosuke asked, knocking back his glass of punch.

Shin pointed to his eyes with a finger. "Perfect measurement capabilities. Depth and angle, too."

"Just like your father."

"Sorry, what?"

"I can do that, too." Yosuke explained. "Perfect depth and angle measurement. It does wonders for predicting a woman's sizes." He may have been smirking. On the older man's face, Shin could not tell.

"That's--"

"And now, you're speechless." Yosuke was definitely smirking now.

"You haven't won yet, old man." Shin fired back defiantly.

"Overconfident," Yosuke noted.

"Always," Shin gritted his teeth. "I'm training to be a cop." 'That would get him!' Shin thought.

"Oh really, I think you would make a fine officer. I remember when I was your age, before getting into business. I spent some time as a police officer. Times were different, then."

"Oh yeah?" Shin blinked.

"Yeah." Yosuke replied coolly. He did not elaborate. "You have my blessings, should you choose to become a police officer. It's certainly better than running around in a costume, like some comic book super hero. And your mother has been talking."

Shin 'huh'd.

"She was not joking." Yosuke continued. "She does approve of Kealey. And. She does want grandchildren."

Shin couldn't help it. He actually laughed in the old man's face. "Don't tell her that. She'll faint. Or we'll have trouble dragging her jaw up off the ground. Mine, too."

"Have either of you considered it? You certainly aren't getting any younger..." Yosuke trailed off on that thought.

Shin held up a finger to make a point. His mouth opened. It hung there for a minute. "I. I actually have not." He finally got out. Somehow, the conversation had gotten easier. All that crap-talking had apparently helped. "I love her to pieces, but I'm not sure if either of us is ready for the responsibility. I still stay up way too late, and sleep in sometimes, far into the morning, you know."

"I know now." Yosuke smiled.

"!" Shin realized he'd suddenly given the old man something new to latch on to and harangue him about. "If anyone asks, you didn't hear that from me."

"Why would anyone care if a grown man had troubles managing his schedule and sometimes slept in like a teenager?"

"Don't answer that!" Shin snapped. He finger pointed defensively. There was no need for finger pointing from parental units about his sleep habits here!

OOC - Sasami parts written by Shin.

"Well," Sasami paused thoughtfully. Her eyes strayed across the room, through the crowd as if seeking her brother. She put a finger to pouting lips, then tilted her head up, towards the ceiling in deep thought. "Hm..."

Kealey leaned forward slightly, ready to hear what Sasami had to say. She wanted to know these things! Somehow Shin never ended up talking nearly as much about herself as she did, "I'll bet he was a cute kid." the blond said, almost as much to herself as to the other woman.

Sasami glanced back down, latching onto that thought. "Yes." She nodded. "And no." She shook her head.

"No?" she said, the single word a question.
Sasami nodded. "No."

Kealey frowned at that confirmation, brows drawn together as if this concept was difficult for her to grasp, "How is that even possible?"

"I said he used to get in trouble, yes?" Sasami smiled. "Too confident?"
Kealey nodded to show she understood, "You did say that...I think he's grown out of the latter though...at least most of the time."

"When he was younger, he used to pick fights... he used to go to different dojo, thinking he was strong. Then leave, saying the martial art was stupid, or the teacher was not good. Sometimes, other children bullied him..." Sasami replied sadly.

Kealey listened to Sasami's story, her frown deepening as the other woman talked, and her heart went out to her boyfriend. "It sounds like he learned his lesson the hard way." she said, "That's awful though...and he's definitely grown out of that."

"I stood up for him." Sasami nodded.

"My sister never let anyone pick on me either." Kealey admitted seriously. "I'll bet he didn't like that much at the time, though." she added.

"He hated it." Sasami agreed. "Especially when I brought cookies."

"I can just imagine." Kealey said, but had to laugh at the end, "I bet he wouldn't complain about the cookies now." she laughed. "He is very serious about responsibility though...and sometimes he takes on so much. I don't know how he shoulders it all. It's special....and kind of amazing, I'll stop though,
I'm gushing, and surely you don't want to hear..."

"Responsibility?" Sasami tilted her head. "Doing what?"

"Well...there's his job at the coffee shop, and all the work he does at the Mansion, which is a lot. Then there's the time he's spending at the Police Station now...and I don't know how much he's told you, but your brother can do some pretty amazing things with his abilities." Kealey grinned a little, ready to brag, "Did you know he can fly? He uses those abilities in a variety of ways too."

Sasami blinked in surprise. "I knew about his job at the coffee shop... and that he is a hero. Apparently, he rescued you. But police work? And... and flying? I didn't know he could do that!"

Kealey grinned and nodded her head. "Right on all counts." she confirmed. "You should have him show you the flying. It's amazing."

"Tell me about it..." Sasami said appreciatively. So, Kealey did.

Father/son conversations drew to a close. Father and son hugged. They parted.

Eyes shaded, Shin peered around. The room was jam-packed. Now, where was that pesky sister of his? Hopefully, she hadn't wheeled Kealey off to talk about yaoi, or weird stuff like that. A sudden thought struck him, worse than shounen ai. What if! What if she were talking about childhood stories!?

Shin broke into a run. That was promptly cut short. By the jam-packed crowd.

"Oh, goddammit!" He cursed.

Now would have been a really good time for one of those patented flying tortillas. Sadly, he was undercover, on a mission to not make his father look bad. So far, he was succeeding. He knew success would be a whole lot easier, once him and Kealey had ditched the party, before a sauced mother unit started poking a 'fiance' for wedding dates. Or grandchildren.

Crap.

What if his mother had joined Sasami, and everyone had cornered Kealey!?

Fiddlesticks. Where, oh where, could his woman be?

Shin stumbled around through the crowd, like a lost puppy.

Kealey was really enjoying her conversation with Shin’s sister. Sure, she’d found out a couple of things about Shin’s childhood that had made her kind of sad…but everyone had their sad moments, didn’t they? Those moments were what built character, and made a person into….a better person. Shin’s sister had continued to carry things from there as far as the conversation was concerned…and Kealey had to admit, cheeks darkening for what seemed like the hundredth time, she had some odd tastes.

The crowd was getting more and more jovial, and Kealey found herself starting to get a bit antsy, sure it had something to do either with the couple of cups of eggnog she’d consumed herself, or the many cups of eggnog the other party goers had. Sasami was going on about something or other that Kealey was sure would have made her blush even more, so she focused on the crowd, looking for her boyfriend. Hadn’t he said they wouldn’t need to stay forever? Hadn’t she decided she had one more Christmas trick up her sleeve?

So many people, Kealey smiled vaguely over their heads until her blue eyes landed on someone working their way through the crowd. She turned to Sasami and smiled, ”Oh look, here he comes now. I should help.” she said, standing up and not trying to be rude at all. It was probably obvious to anyone around, though, that suddenly the slightly tipsy blond only had eyes for one person…and it was not Sasami.

The lost puppy snagged a cup of eggnog, bitterly. The lost puppy pouted it down. He put it away, wiping his lips on his nice sleeve. He mourned the loss of a clean sleeve. Then, as he looked up, he saw her. The lost puppy waved. And then, he scampered over to his girl.

"Hey," Shin beamed. "Sasami treat you alright? Didn't tell too many embarrassing stories, did she?" Shin glanced towards the exits (which he had somehow managed to keep better track of than his girlfriend), then added insistently, "We should go."

”Not too many.” Kealey said with a small giggle, my goodness that eggnog had been good. This really was a very nice party. She found Shin by the table where there was more eggnog. While he asked her questions, she looked at the table and tried to decide whether or not she wanted another drink.

Something Shin said, stuck in Kealey’s head, but she had to look at him for a moment before it actually registered in her mind.

”Go?” she said with a bright smile, focusing on the insistence in his voice and emotions. She took his hand.

” Yes. Do we need to say goodbye?”