2025-11-21: So, Like, Sometimes Parents Give A Shit?
- Log: So, Like, Sometimes Parents Give A Shit?
- Cast: Tsubasa Seki, Mrs. Ichika Kawase's Mom
- Where: Kawase Household, Iwatodai
- OOC Date: 2025-11-21
- IC Date: Tue, Aug 14 2012
- Summary: Tsubasa wakes up early to take care of Lance, only to get into a boss battle -- with Mrs. Ichika's Mom!! Who turns out to be pleased with the state of Ichika's relationships, and actually concerned about Tsubasa's welfare, to Tsubasa's endless confusion. She shares her feelings as Ichika's mother, and learns why Tsubasa would rather support Ichika's children than have their own. Tsubasa, in all their awkwardness, can't help but appreciate how supportive she is... in contrast to their own experiences.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa wakes up earlier than Ichika does. They kind of have to: Lance is used to getting walked before school every day, which means Tsubasa needs to be up before the usual student, or -- more realistically -- Tsubasa needs to cut their first class. There's no class to cut now, though, just a dog with a routine.
They're all gussied up and ready for the outside world by the time they amble into the kitchen at God's most unholy hour, six thirty am, which no teenager has ever been awake for before. They kind of sneak in, because they don't, like, expect anyone to be AWAKE. Sneak, sneak, they grab some milk to dump in a bowl of cereal...
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika also likes to sleep in. So that's a factor, too. But when Tsubasa ambles into the kitchen, they will soon discover a Fact:
"Hello, Tsubasa-kun."
Mrs. Ichika's Mom has just walked in from the dining area, and leans on the wall with her arms crossed and an amused expression.
"I hope you're not planning to break any chairs today."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa, who was focused on pouring that milk, squeaks -- like, honest to god SQUEAKS -- when Mrs. Ichika's Mom ambles in to make that casual observation. She may note the way their other hand claps over the first to stop them from spilling that milk, as if this isn't the first time they've been shocked in the kitchen.
That's probably fine, don't worry about it.
"I-I ain't done nothin'!" They yipe, like the guiltiest guy in the world, as they put the carton aside. "I mean -- the chair's fine -- I was jus' sittin' down wrong an' it rolled out from under me?" Which is a normal reason for chairs to clatter, and completely plausibly what happened.
They're doing a GREAT deal on the Moonlight Bridge right now, too, y'know.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Mrs. Kawase laughs softly. It's a gentle kind of thing, but probably doesn't feel very gentle on Tsubasa's nerves. Her red eyes sparkle a little as she looks at Tsubasa. Ichika still looks a lot like her, though the hair color is different these days.
And, "I'm sure," she continues. "And I'm sure Ichika-chan was just helping you figure out how to sit on it properly, too."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"uh" Tsubasa says, and you might think the lack of punctuation and capitalisation there is a typo, but no. Tsubasa's alarm simply doesn't begin at the start of that sound, and neither can it be expressed with any kind of grammatical continuation of their sentence. A period? No, they're way too choked up for that to be anything final. Exclamation mark? It's way too quiet for that. Garage DIY em-dash? No, there's no hitch of breath that would suggest they're skipping to another word. Ellipsis? They're not trailing off, their sentence was just assassinated after that single grunt.
Luckily, they have too many layers of tan and makeup on to show the way they're blushing, and there's definitely not any other way Mrs. Kawase can tell. They grab a spoon, and stab it into their cereal, looking like they're about to eat their last meal before marching off to the noose.
"You mad?" They ask, despite the fact that she was just laughing about it.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Maybe Ichika gets her delight at teasing people from somewhere, because Mrs. Kawase laughs a little more that that punctuationless encapsulation of Tsubasa's feelings and reaction to that matter.
Yes, she can tell they're embarrassed. Yes, even with the spoon.
Her expression turns gentle at the question. "No," the adult in the room answers. "If anything, I'm surprised it took you two this long." She smiles faintly. "You really like her, don't you?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Yeah, Tsubasa can feel the family resemblance. Also, they feel kind of like the fish that swam into the shark tank. Dear God, is this what she's going to evolve into.
... nice.
"Y-yeah," Tsubasa says, sitting down at the table instead of picking up their bowl to eat cereal like a savage because Mrs. Ichika's Mom is right there. "I, um... I really like her." Yeah, idiot, that's what she just said. "I -- I wanna stick with her."
They swallow, despite not even having begun to eat the cereal yet, presumably because their brain forgot the entire order of operations. "I-I mean -- I'm gonna," they insist, instead. "Uh, so long as she wants to... b-but she wants to."
Wait, should they be telling her mom this? Look, no jury would convict them, they're still PRETTY sure Mrs. Ichika's Mom is allowed to legally murder them for this. Oh look, cereal! Eat the fucking cereal Tsubasa!!
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
It just might be.
Mrs. Ichika's Mom is indeed right here. She's right here, listening to Tsubasa answer her question. She keeps smiling at first, when Tsubasa says they want to stick with her.
"Yes," she says. "She really does seem to want to. ...It's good to see, to be honest. I was worried she'd never..."
She trails off, thoughtful, and considers what to say next; there are things she won't burden her daughter's... something, with, but some things it's better for them to understand, too.
"There are a lot of guys she hasn't stuck with," Mrs. Kawase continues. "And I suppose young people do like to play the field a bit, sometimes. But seeing her with you, I could tell she wanted something a little more lasting. ...Even if she didn't seem to realize what it was she was getting into."
"But I had a feeling."
"So no, I'm not mad. By all means, make her happy if you can. But I'm glad you're up early today, because you and I should talk."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Y--yeah?" Tsubasa asks, still nervous. But... they are listening to Mrs. Ichika's Mom, even though their thick haze of anxiety.
"Uh, then..." Tsubasa pauses. "Then... okay, this is gonna sound weird?" They say, with a rising tone more borne from nerves than query. "But I, like -- I ain't a boy, so -- I ain't like, her boyfriend. Jus' -- ain't a friend-friend, like -- it's a thing, jus'... she got a boyfriend, too, an', uh, whatever the fuck I am, like, some kinda themfriend? But that don't mean, like... she's tryin' to go steady with one guy, jus'... uh, with me too."
Tsubasa pauses. "Uh, it's cool. Like, we all know 'bout it. She's not like, goin' behind no one's back or nothin'. But I, uh -- like, I ain't gon' have no family, so I wanna help with hers, but -- I kinda -- y'know -- can't be no husband?" Please, for the love of God, don't make Tsubasa explain to Ichika's mom how they literally don't have the equipment to fulfill Ichika's long-term goals. "So like... I'm this other thing."
Tsubasa pauses, again.
"Uh... or did you mean like... some other shit?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Mrs. Kawase waits through Tsubasa's explanation. "It does sound unusual," she admits. "But Ichika-chan tried to explain it to me, too. But hearing it from you, too, gives me a bit of a clearer perspective on what the two of you are hoping for."
"...I know you're not a 'typical' guy," she decides to settle on diplomatically. "...Not least because if you were, you'd have been 'together' a lot sooner. Ichika-chan's brought home a good number of boys, and I'm not blind to what she does with them at all. But it's... safer, when she brings her boys here, instead of going somewhere else. It puts me a little more at ease."
"And she has mentioned Ryuji-kun. I'm looking forward to meeting him sometime, too."
"But especially if you want to help with her family..."
"Well. She cares a great deal about you. And we're trusting you with her. I'm trusting you with her."
"...Though it would be convenient," she says, "If you could figure out how I should refer to you two." There's that teasing tone back.
But the tone abates a moment later. "I just want to make sure you're sure about this, too. It's one thing to love a girl; it's another to watch her also love someone else, if things work out with her new beau."
"Are you sure you're all right with that? ...With 'helping' with hers, instead of having your own?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"I, uh... I weren't with her for a long time 'cuz, uh... she needed someone to go to what wasn't gonna want that shit outta her, like... so she could be safe when she was havin' a hard time. Like... uh, she'll have told ya if she wants ya to know, I guess, jus'... she needed me to be somethin' else. Even settled on it not bein' a sex thing, like, officially an' shit? Jus', after that, she -- uh, changed her mind -- like, thought 'bout it more, I guess..."
Tsubasa still hasn't figured out how they're going to deal with Ichika feeling pressured to perform for them, though. Like -- yeah, they can tell her it's a bad idea, but -- is it gonna hurt her feelings? ... well, they'll figure that out when it comes up. Sue them for being a teenager and not thoroughly thinking through all the consequences of their romantic actions.
"I-I dunno, man," Tsubasa says, "like, uh, datemates or somethin'? Ain't no, like, lingo for this shit..."
They quiet down, though, when Ichika's mother expresses concern over them. "Wait, like... you worried 'bout me?" They realise, after a few minutes of the ol' brain machine chugging. "Uh..."
Tsubasa looks down, then, at their cereal. "... most of my body's burned," they relate, quietly. "Ain't so bad on my left side, like -- got away light enough that it'll still tan pre' good -- but I got pinned on me right side. Some of it was like... fourth degree shit. Ain't much a me that got out a that untouched... like... you get what I'm sayin'? I'm stiffer'n most guys. Took me a while in physical therapy to be able to move my joints like I oughta. But like... even if it weren't like, a total fuckin' nightmare to have a baby when I'm a guy... it'd hurt the whole way through. Like, with how scarred me midsection got... it ain't flexible. Even gettin' fat would prolly suck, an' that's way more gradual. Prolly have trouble even with a C-Section, I bet... cuttin' through scars is harder."
They shake their head. "So even if I find a dude who don't want a wife, who's cool with me not bein' a girl... even if all that worked out, I ain't havin' kids, man. Like, maybe I could, if no one gave a shit how I felt, but... like, practically speakin'."
They chomp at their cereal, for a few moments. "... an' she says I'm different," Tsubasa settles on, finally. "Like... she has ways of sortin' shit out in her head. So, like... if she ain't datin' no other X-Genders, she's stickin' with me... even if she's got a boy, too. I don't reckon she's lyin' 'bout that... an' she wouldn't tell me she got room in her heart for whatever I am if she didn't. 'Sides, she..." Tsubasa takes a breath. "... 'fore I met her, I was scared a anyone touchin' me. Always thought... I was gon' get my ass kicked. She's the one who showed me it weren't always like that... an' she always stuck with me, even when she had like three boys she was goin' with. So, like... I trust her, man. Yeah?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"I see." Mrs. Kawase nods, listening thoughtfully to Tsubasa's explanation. "Yes... She does feel a lot of pressure on that front. I've tried to make clear that she doesn't have to do anything of the sort, but... I suppose the way I understand it is, it makes her feel more ownership over herself again. That's the other reason I don't stop her--though, if you get that far, I do insist that you be safe with her." Pause.
She's not actually certain what that entails, with Tsubasa and Ichika, but it's important all the same.
"It's all right," she says. "She cares about you, and you care about her. That's good enough for me for the moment."
But, "Yes, of course. Ichika-chan's a beautiful girl--a lot of guys would be inspired to do unwise things for a chance to be with her. ...I'm not saying that's your situation, but it would be all right if it were."
Mrs. Ichika's Mom listens, though. She listens to the burns. "I see... Yes, I understand," she says, though with a sympathetic frown. "So even if you wanted to, it's impossible... and you don't want to, in the first place."
"Yes. I understand."
Different, Tsubasa says. "Yes, Ichika-chan has always been..." She considers. "She likes her 'categories'."
"I believe you. And I believe she believes as you say. I just... had to check. Sometimes being a good parent isn't just about watching out for your child; it's about looking out for what your child does, too. If she were just planning to break your heart, I'd be very disappointed in her."
She smiles. "So I'm happy that you're both good for each other. It's lovely."
"Well," she says, "I do worry a little; there are a lot of people who won't understand. ...But I just want my daughter to be happy. After all she's been through, if that requires something a little unusual, then so be it. To be honest, I'll be relieved to see her down to two. Yuusei-kun was nice enough, but..."
"Well. Two things, with that settled. The first... That chair is a bit expensive, so maybe go to her room sooner next time. And second..."
She pauses, opens her mouth, and closes it. "Am I going to need to buy you two condoms or anything? With the boys I make sure she's responsible, but you're... not a boy, so I'm not entirely sure how that works."
Pause. "I very much do not need to know the details. Just tell me what the two of you need, and I'll get it."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"I -- I really care about keepin' her safe, ma'am," Tsubasa says, evidently still feeling a little nervous if they're ma'aming her. Still, that's one aspect of caring about Ichika right there!!
Still, Mrs. Ichika's Mom assures Tsubasa that it's fine if Ichika short-circuited their brain with her looks, and Tsubasa shakes her head. "I-it ain't that," they say, immediately. "I mean -- ain't jus' that. Jus'... I was in love with her, an'... she likes expressin' it that way, an'..." mutter, mutter, "uh, it's nice..."
Okay, it's not just that Ichika is hot as hell, but it's a little bit because Ichika is hot as hell.
Still... she seems to understand why Tsubasa wouldn't be put out by Ichika having the kids. Even the bit they were nervous to get into! (Forgive them; they don't really have a good historical track record with parents and transphobia, they're not used to a household which is queer-positive.) "Cool," Tsubasa nods, with another chomp of cereal.
"She ain't plannin' on hurtin' me," Tsubasa says, with full confidence, when she expresses her happiness. "An' I ain't never wanna hurt her, so, like..."
They shrug a shoulder. "I worried 'bout that," they admit, when she expresses her own worries. "Ichika wants to get back to somethin' normal... I ain't never gon' be. Even before we talked this shit out... like, I was sure you guys would hate me for corruptin' her an' shit. Draggin' her inta shit... my father got mad at me for ruinin' a nice girl like her with my shit, once," they admit, quietly. "But... but she wants me with her. Even if I'm... a lot. An' I... I jus' really wanna stay close to her, man," they add, their voice tightening up.
They shovel a few more spoonfuls into their mouth, and try to play it off cool when they kind of choke on them when Mrs. Ichika's Mom proceeds to warn them about the price of the chair. "Y--yes'm," they mutter, staring intently at their dwindling bowl.
And then...
"Uh... I-I ain't got nothin' like that..." Tsubasa mutters, descending deeper into the pits of awkwardness. "I, uh... I looked it up, uh, they got, um. Uh. These things called... dams? Like, for... doing it to a girl? Tho' I guess Ichika don't use those, since if she did I guess you'd know 'bout 'em..."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Good."
It isn't... just that. "Love..." Mrs. Kawase smiles. "Well, I knew when I was about your age. I believe you." 'Love' is a big deal as a word, but she's seen the way they look at each other, anyway. ...And since Tsubasa isn't trying to rush Ichika into marriage again or anything....
But Tsubasa is confident. "That's great. Keep it that way. You'll certainly hurt one another now and then--any relationship will have its ups and downs--but if that's what you want, then that's a good start."
But normal. "Mm. The business at Kasugayama, you mean?" She pauses. "I'm not thrilled with all of that. If you find a way to not do such dangerous things, then I strongly encourage you to take it. But," she continues and with a softer look says, "...We don't feel that way about you and Ichika. Quite the opposite, you seem intent on keeping her safe and happy." Tsubasa's father... "You can't ruin someone just by being her friend."
The chair is expensive. ...But not that expensive.
"Ah," Mrs. Kawase says. "Well, that's good then," she says. "I'll look into it, too. But if you don't need them, that's fine."
She considers something, and then, "...But if you do have concerns--questions, worries, anything of the kind--I want you to know that we consider you a friend of the family. So you can come to me, all right? If you need to."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"C-cool." Tsubasa only recently admitted it was the L word, and only with Ichika being brave enough to say it first, but they're pretty sure about how they feel now they have.
"Yeah..." Tsubasa pauses, for a moment. "It was... kinda rough when I went, okay, sure, if I can be with you it don't gotta be a sex thing with us, like, I want that but not with you, it's cool... then, uh... then she went from bein' nervous I mighta just been into her body to wantin' me to be into it... but like, she didn't mean to do my head in like that, it's just a weird gig. An' I coulda been more honest with myself, too, 'stead a jus' thinkin' 'bout what she needed outta me, but... I figured it'd be fine, what I wanted was to be special, not... anyway, we figured it out, it was cool."
Tsubasa hasn't quite put together that deciding they didn't need access to Ichika's body to love her was probably a factor in that whole decision, but listen: they're a teenager. They're very stupid.
Their stomach knots when she says she isn't thrilled about all that danger, but they look absolutely flabbergasted when her expression softens. "Y--you reckon?" They ask, looking up to her. "Sure."
Ichika's mother, plainly, wasn't the first one to look into the practical matters of sex. But...
But she tells them that they're not alone in their concerns, and Tsubasa looks a touch fragile in the morning light. "Like -- seriously? Thought I musta been a pain in the ass callin' you guys up..." When Dr. Kawase came to rescue them from Kasugayama's inflexibility, that is. "I, uh..."
They look down at what remains of their cereal. (There's still a little in the bowl; they don't want to be impolite.) "... you guys are so nice. I ain't... I don't even know if I told you way too much shit, this ain't the kinda thing we do in my family... I mean, uh... t-thanks." They're not emotional, shut up.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Mm-hm," Mrs. Kawase says. "Her father and I were high school sweethearts, you know. I knew back then that I wanted my life to be with him. ...So if you're a bit ahead of the curve, don't be afraid of that."
But it was rough... "Mm. That does sound difficult," Mrs. Ichika's Mom admits. "She has very strong feelings, but isn't always good at understanding what they are. She's always been like that."
Mrs. Kawase has a feeling that she knows the score there, though.
Really, she doesn't like the delinquent behaviors. Still, what she says she means.
"No, it was all right," she says, encouraging.
"I prefer to have more information than less," Mrs. Kawase says simply. "These days, Ichika-chan tells me a lot. Even about her boys. ...And I'm grateful for that. If I know what's going on, it's a lot easier to try to protect her."
"...Honestly, I wish her sister confided in me as much..." A sigh. "Well, anyway."
"You're welcome. Just keep it in mind. Now, I'm going to handle the dishwasher, but you should consider going and surprising Ichika-chan. She'd be happy to wake up to see you, I think."
"...And then come on down whenever you two are ready. She wanted me to show her another dish today for lunch. You'll do us the favor of trying it, won't you?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"That's cool," Tsubasa says, when Mrs. Ichika's Mom shares some details of her own teenage life. (Wait, she was a teenager? But she's so... you know...) So maybe they can know for sure...
They're pretty sure they know for sure.
"Uh... I ain't always good at it neither," Tsubasa admits. "So at least we ain't always good at it together?" ... though, Tsubasa might seem like the kind of guy who's better at recognising what's up with someone else than with themself, which might explain why Ichika works so well with them.
The delinquent behaviours... well, Tsubasa isn't gonna sit here and lie to Ichika's mom or nothin', but they've been thinking about it. Maybe her feelings will factor into the things they think! Maybe a little, anyway.
"It's... real cool how you actually care about protectin' her an' shit," they aside, when she talks about wanting the information, and the fact that it's notable instead of the normal thing for a parent to do is its own little horror story.
Tsubasa doesn't dwell on it.
They do, however, actually bark out a laugh when Ichika's mother suggests surprising her. "Heh," Tsubasa smiles, if briefly. "C'mon, Mrs. Ichika's mom. It's like, what, seven in the mornin'? I go in there now, she's gon' throw a pillow at me and mutter somethin' 'bout how it ain't the mornin' for three more hours."
Tsubasa stands -- "It seriously cool to jus' leave this here?", they aside, briefly, of their plate -- and push their chair back in. "So here's what I'm gon' do," they propose. "I'm gon' go walk Lance so she don't tear th' yard up, then I'll go up an' wake her up, an' then it might be late enough I get away with it."
They pause, though.
"But... I'd love to try her cookin'," they add. "Uh... an'... you mind if I hang around while you doin' it? I, like... I dunno how to cook or nothin', but... I realised I didn't wanna make my girl do all that work like my father always expected mom to do."
And with that, they escape out to the laundry, because they are a responsible teenager and they take care of their dog.
... also, seriously, it's like seven am. Tsubasa wouldn't be awake at seven am if they didn't have this dog who had this entire routine about it.