One of Those Monumental Meetings

((Okay, preliminary post just to be the starter of this topic. This is... wait for it... the story of how Daquiri meets Jake's mom! That moment that each significant other may or may not be dreading for the entirety of their relationship. We have no idea what's going to happen! So we'll be wondering the outcome of this topic just like the rest of you...))

(Cue Iris Message)

"Well it's hard to show on one of these things! It's not like I can just turn the camera for you." Jake said, giving a frustrated gesture. His mom laughed and put her hands up.

"Alright, alright. I just want to actually see this mechanical monstrosity you're always working on." She said.

"Well, it's really, really big. So he doesn't fit in the frame." Jake explained, with the hand motions to go along with it.

Once again, they were talking about Agamemnon over an Iris message. He had taken a bit of his winter break to drive over to camp to do some routine maintenance on the automation. It needed a bit more tlc than usual, after going off on two quests over the previous year. So several, more frequent, diagnostics and repairs wouldn't hurt. Right now, he was taking a break, leaning against a low wall outside of the armory.

He had tried to properly show her the automation for some time now, but every time he couldn't get the right pose for Agamemnon to be viewed properly over an Iris message. The most she had seen was bronze siding and dragon noses.

"Oh well. Maybe you can bring it down here to show me in person." She suggested.

"I'll need someone to clear a landing zone for him on Fifth Street." He replied, his tone light. That was a joke they tossed back and forth when the topic came up.

"I'll get someone on that right after you clean your room." His mom replied, giving him a look. He grinned and held up his hands, starting to make a reply, "And I mean you, not some robot that's going to go haywire at the smell of your socks."

Jake laughed aloud, putting his hands back down. He settled back into place on the wall. When he finished laughing, his mom started up again.

"So, are you about done with the check-ups?"

Jake gave a nod. "Yeah, just a few more things to look at. It'll take an hour or so. Two tops. Then I'm home for the holidays."

"Jake, are you still in there?" Daquiri called from the Forge entrance. Ugh, no matter how much time her boyfriend spent in this place, she really couldn't stand actually going inside. Why would you choose to spend time in a hot, sweaty room that was filled with irritating noises and reeked of stale campfire of your own volition? No amount of Jake going on about it made the answer any less of a mystery to Daquiri.

  "If you wanted to spend time together before you left, you're going to have to lather, rinse and repeat before I touch you. And repeat. And repeat." In all honesty, she just wanted him out of there. She hated that she had to spend the Christmas break at camp while Jake went home for the holidays. Sure, she still had Cat, but her insult-instincts tended to get rusty whenever the blond boy wasn't around to trigger them.

  ...and okay, maybe she would miss him, too.

Jake straightened up a bit without meaning to when he heard Ri calling in. He looked over his shoulder to the entrance.
"Yeah, I'm still here!" He called. He listened as Ri continued. His brows came together and he sniffed his shoulder self-consciously. "I don't smell that bad, do I?"

His mom raised her eyebrows a bit at the voice in the background, and gave Jake the 'is that who I think it is?' look. Jake glanced back to the active Iris message and back at the entrance, missing most of the look.

"I'm finishing a few things up, it shouldn't take too long." He shouted back.

Now his mom gave him one of her steady, patented, 'your projects can wait' look.

Daquiri stifled a laugh at Jake's rather down-hearted response. "Compared to me? Yes, you do, Forge Face." However, at his "shouldn't take too long," the red-head groaned and let her forehead bang up against the door frame. "Jake," she practically growled, "every time those words come out of your mouth, I don't see you 'til an hour and a half later. Stop. What you're doing. Now." Men. They seriously didn't understand the concept of quality time.

Which, now that she thought about it, wasn't something she had exactly looked with favor upon a little over a year ago. Huh. The way things changed when you added a bozo to your life...

"Well this time, that's all that's left." Jake started, getting ready to make his case. He had gotten used to trying to make arguments why he should be able to finish what he's doing with pretty much a lifetime of practice. "And it probably won't even take that l--"

"Jake. Go talk to her." His mom interrupted. Jake whipped his head back to the IM. She was giving him one of those firm looks.

"But it--"

"Can wait a bit while you go spend some time with her." Mom insisted, not letting him continue his argument. "You aren't at camp all the time, Jake."

Jake gave his mom a frustrated look, but couldn't think of any proper arguments. And she was giving him that parent look that makes you shut up.

Daquiri rolled her eyes as one of Jake's usual excuses started up. No doubt he was going to go on about how he just needed to do this one last thing and if he didn't he wouldn't have another chance until later, in which case by that time some unknown evil was bound to somehow ravage the camp and blah, blah-blah, blah-blah...

However, Daquiri stiffened when she heard a softer, unfamiliar voice cut Jake off. An unfamiliar, female voice. She couldn't make out what the other voice was saying, but she recognized Jake's protesting voice. The h***? What was Jake doing in there?

Taking a small step into the Forge, Daquiri's voice pitched to a rather suspicious tone. "Jake? Is someone... in there with you?" She swore, if another nature spirit was in there mooning over her boyfriend, she was going to be setting some plants on fire tonight.

Jake tilted his head back as Ri spoke again.
"Huh? Oh, Just IMing my mom." He replied. He paused for a moment. His brows came together for a moment. He looked back at the misty IM.
"You two haven't met, have you." The way he said it, it wasn't so much as a question but a statement that he just realized he had forgotten to do something again.

"No." His mom confirmed simply.

"Hey, Ri, you should come in!" He called over his shoulder to his girlfriend at the entrance.

"Oh, just IMing my mom."

  ...his mother? Oh, gods. Well this was--er, was she supposed to--no, but then... d***it, had she ever mentioned that she hated adults?

  "Hey, Ri, you should come in!"

  Daquiri muttered a rather vulgar phrase in French under her breath. She should've just waited. Why did it have to be Jake's mother of all people? She'd rather it was a dryad. Then she wouldn't have to explain to Jake why treating adults with respect and something other than disdain wasn't her strong suit.

  "I'm..." she faltered for a second. "I'm, uh, not exactly wearing the best footwear to come in." She glanced down at her three-inch strappy sandals. Well, that was basically true. She could trip over who-knew-what in there.

"The floor should be clean. I swept it earlier." Jake informed her. He usually kept his area surprisingly clean and tidy. It was hard to work in cluttered areas, and random parts and scraps lying on the floor is both dangerous and annoying. A hesitation is understandable when you aren't wearing proper foot gear, but no one was working right now and the path was clear, so it was plenty safe.

Mom, knowing a bit more about people in general, said: "It's fine if she doesn't want to talk with me right now, you two have fun. I don't mind."

Jake frowned at his mom. "Well you both are here now, why put it off?" He asked.

Daquiri closed her eyes and sucked in a breath when Jake beckoned her further. Well, she really didn't have much better of an excuse now. She knew it wasn't exactly something she could put off forever--after all, she knew Jake was close to his mother, and he'd want them to meet sooner or later. And although later sounded like a much better option at the moment... getting it over with so she could go spend time with Jake without him pestering her about it sounded a tad more ideal.

Silently taking a deep breath, Daquiri walked further into the Forge until it opened up into the main room. The first thing that hit her was the hot smell of burnt material and oil. She tried not to make a face at it as she made her way around random projects scattered about. The second thing she noticed--which to most probably would have been the first, but she was used to him by now--was Agamemnon lounging curled up in a corner, one eye closed and the other keeping a watchful, though content eye on his creator as smoke curled lazily out of his metal snout. Jake sat at a work station nearby, half focused on some doo-dad or other in his hands, and half paying attention to to the shimmery mirage in front of him. The red-head noticed the IM's source came from a man-made rainbow from some kind of contraption the Hephaestus kids had rigged up. Well, that seemed a lot more convenient than getting a naiad to spray mist out of the lake for you.

The clacking sound of Daquiri's heels echoed through the large room as she made her way across it to Jake. Well, he hadn't lied about cleaning up in here, at least. But that still didn't make her misgivings shrink any smaller.

"Hey," she said bluntly as she walked up to her boyfriend. She wanted to greet him with a kiss like she often did when they were alone, but she felt awkward--and maybe slightly violated--at the thought of doing it in front of Jake's mom. She felt a strange mix of wanting to make Mrs. Arin to like her and wanting her to disappear into the thin air she came from. In compromise, she avoided looking directly at the woman in favor of picking up whatever Jake was holding and setting it on the worktable behind him, then promptly sitting on the edge of his knee.

Okay, so wasn't going to let his mother being there entirely rob her of her rights to his person.

Jake's attention had shifted back to the small device he had been fiddling with during the IM while he waited for Ri to walk over. So he blinked in surprise as it was taken out of his hands. He looked over to see Ri putting it on the bench behind him, and she sat on his knee. He shifted a bit to support her better, and put his hand on her leg.

"Mom, this is Daquiri." Jake said. "Ri, Mom."

His mom smiled. "Call me Diane." She said. "It's nice to finally met you. I've heard a lot about you."

Daquiri was trying to casually not look at Mrs. Arin, but when Jake officially introduced her, she couldn't very well ignore her. Not really sure what to expect, she shifted her gaze to focus on the Iris Message, her expression neutral. The lady she saw on the other end was rather different from what she had imagined.

It was amazing how much another human being could look like Jake Arin. Mrs. Arin--or Diane, she supposed--had the same blonde hair, albeit longer, with the same sparkling blue eyes and good-humored expression. However, she was much cleaner-looking and... well, more feminine. She didn't look very old, but at the same time Daquiri noticed crease lines in her forehead--probably from the same habit Jake had of furrowing his brow while concentrating. Jake had told her she was a mechanic as well, so the red-head figured Diane did quite a bit of that. It was strange, though, because his mother didn't really... look like someone who fixed parts all day. She had more delicate features, with a light frame--which explained why Jake wasn't as big as the rest of his half-siblings. Daquiri wondered if she got as down and dirty as Jake did when she was working.

"The feeling's... mutual," Daquiri replied, hoping her slight pause hadn't been very noticeable. It wasn't that she didn't want to meet her, it was just... well, as she'd said earlier: she wasn't used to being the most well-mannered person around adults. "Jake's mentioned you a lot, too." Daquiri moved one of the hands on her lap ever-so-slightly so that she could wrap her pinky around Jake's. For the first time in her life--okay, well, not counting the past summer--she wanted the reassurance of knowing someone was supporting her.

"So, Daquiri, do you have any plans for the holidays?" Jake's mom asked.

Jake didn't make a comment, since the question was directed at Ri. He was content to give a quick glance over Ri, who always managed to look beautiful, and keep his hand on her lap, touching her hand. Though he did also take a quick glance back at the table and tried to calculated if he could mess with the device more. Better not. It would probably be better for his health.

Daquiri shifted restlessly on Jake's lap at Diane's question. Well, there was only one way she really knew how to word things like this. "No. My family's dead. I just stay at camp." ...Yeah, she really didn't know anything besides blunt. She glanced up at Jake for a moment before looking back at the Iris Message. In a sort-of attempt to lighten the mood, the red-head gave a half-hearted smirk before saying, "I can't even give this bozo his Christmas present on the right day 'cause he's ditching me." She elbowed Jake lightly in the stomach.

Jake gave his crooked grin when she elbowed him, and tilted his head as he looked at Ri. "Wait, you were giving me a present?" That probably wasn't the best argument against the 'Bozo' remark.

Diane was silent for a moment, since no one could really expect that remark. Then she said, "Well maybe you could come spend Christmas with us." She said brightly.

Now Jake looked back at his mom. "Wait, what?" It wasn't that he didn't want Ri to come. He just wasn't expecting that. That'd be a big shift in plans, starting with he was driving home with Ri later today, and she'd be at his house. Maybe he should have cleaned his room.

"Yeah," Diane continued cheerfully, "It'll be fun, and we'd love to have you." She smiled at Daquiri, raising her brows in a wry fashion. "Then you can make this bozo wait for his present."

The red-head rolled her eyes and snorted, giving a shove at Jake's head, but a smile was fighting its way onto her lips. "Your raised a real genius, Diane," she dead-panned, addressing Jake's mom but looking at her boyfriend.

   However, when Diane spoke again with a rather unexpected suggestion, Daquiri whipped her head back around to look at her. Her messy French braid probably whacked Jake in the face with the force. For once, Jake took the words right out of her mouth. His mom wanted her to... come stay with them? For Christmas? She honestly couldn't remember the last time someone invited her somewhere. Well, besides all the idiotic guys at her old schools that invited her to b--okay, yeah, never mind.

   Daquiri was immediately wary of how to respond exactly. Was it really a good idea to allow Jake's mom to be in the same vicinity as her for an elongated period of time? What if she got sick of her? Jake put up with her constant attitude, but maybe his mother was different. Ugh, why was it that of all the things she could have ever been worried about throughout her life, this was the one that actually got to her? She seriously didn't know why this was freaking her out.

   "Um..."

   When Diane made her last comment, though, Daquiri cracked a small smile. So she wasn't the only one who got a kick out of making fun of Jake, then. And she could tell the smile on his mother's face was genuine. Heck, if there was one thing she'd learned in foster care, it was deciphering whether people were being fake or not. When she really thought about it, she supposed Jake couldn't have gotten his easy-going manner from just nowhere. 

   "Well... I suppose," she replied. Then she gave Jake a sidelong look. "That is, if Forge Face here can reel his jaw back in."

Jake managed to fix his jaw into a wide grin.
"Well, I guess you're coming over for Christmas, then." He said. Now that he'd gotten over the surprise, he was pretty thrilled. I mean, he and Ri, hanging out in Jersey, and for Christmas!

"Good, then it's settled!" Diane said, giving a nod. "See you when you get here! And Jake-" She added, "You have two hours to wrap up whatever it is." She gave him a steady look.

Jake started to protest, but thought better of it. "Alright." He said, dragging it out dramatically.

"I will spam your phone if you aren't on the way." Diane continued.

"Bye mom." Jake said, with playfully insistent tone. She returned it with a look of mock sternness.

"Good bye, you two."

Jake leaned over and turned off the IM machine, making sure not to move too much for Ri. The mist dropped down, and Jake settled back against the workbench. A moment passed.

"So. About my present..."


[Time Skip]

Night was falling when Jake pulled into the apartment complex parking lot. Snow drifted down softly, putting down a thin white blanket over the ground. There were a few people out and about, but it wasn't anything near New York City. Christmas lights sparkled to life. It was nice.
Jake left the truck on for a bit longer after he parked it. He grinned at Ri.

"Well, we're here." He said. "Ready to brave the cold?" He teased. Ri wasn't much of a fan of the cold, and he heard plenty of complaints last year.

Daquiri had been on the verge of dozing off when Jake parked the car. When the car didn't start moving again, she blinked open her eyes and gave a tired sigh through her nose.

   "Well, we're here," Jake said. Daquiri rolled her neck until it cracked and reached back to massage the muscles on her shoulders a little. She wasn't a huge fan of sitting in a car for long periods of time, and sitting in Jake's truck for a little over two hours had made her feel stiff and groggy. The fact that her and Jake's music preferences didn't quite match up hadn't really helped, either. Finally arriving there almost made up for the grievance that she was about to forge out into the blustery cold of her own volition.

   The red-head made a face at Jake's teasing comment. "What use are your fire powers if they can't act as a space heater?" she griped. She made sure her coat was buttoned all the way up and that her knitted hat was still placed correctly on her head before putting on her leather gloves. She was taking no freaking chances.

Jake laughed and turned off the truck.
"Well excuse me, princess." He said, grinning. He stepped out of the cab and shut the door. He tossed his own backpack over his shoulder and grabbed Ri's two bags/suitcases/whatever. Honestly, how could she pack so much? He locked up the truck once Ri got out and juggled the bags for a moment so they were more manageable.
"We're over this way." He said, motioning towards the path to get to their apartment.

They walked inside and down the hall until they came to Jake's apartment. When they got to the door, Jake gave a bit of a grin to himself. He set the bags aside, out of the way of the door, and fished out his keys. Before unlocking the door, though, he knocked. Dun dun-dun dun dun. There was a happy ruff from the other side of the door. Jake couldn't stop the broad smile as he unlocked the door. He paused for a moment, then opened the door.

Right inside was a very large, very happy dog. It dodged the opening door and jumped up onto its hind legs. It was tall enough to put its outstretched paws on Jake's shoulders, and it did so, making happy noises. Jake stumbled back a step with the sudden weight, but had braced himself well enough so he didn't fall over. Jake mimicked the dog's whining and barking back as he hugged and petted Thor, moving his chin so he didn't get licked on the lips.

His mom had come to the door by this point, giving Jake and his dog an amused look.
"Really? This is why we rarely have company over." She said, her eyes giving away an otherwise stern look.

"Thor isn't that bad." Jake said, still messing with his dog. Diane smiled.

"I meant you."

The nice thing about going places with your boyfriend was that you never had to carry any of the heavy stuff if you didn't want to. Once upon a time, Daquiri would have refused to let anyone else--especially a guy--do any amount of labor for her. But nowadays, she found having a human pack mule around to be rather useful. Daquiri was pretty sure her two larger bags combined weighed about as much as she did--which Jake could probably attest to, since now he'd carried both.

   After Jake got out, Daquiri slung her smaller bag over her shoulder, took a deep breath, sent up a quick prayer to the gods, and then opened her own door.

   Whichever Wind brother smacked her in the face with snow was going to get a rather nasty complaint letter.

   "We're over this way," Jake told her, and she followed him inside the apartment complex, trying to keep him at an angle so that he acted as a human shield against the wind. Daquiri was relieved when they finally made it inside and she immediately stomped the melting snow off of her heels. She made a face as she felt cold snow soak into her tights. Ugh. She hated winter.

   She and Jake walked down the hall in silence, but once the blond stopped in front of a door that Daquiri could only assume was his, he seemed to get unusually happy. He set all of the bags down and proceeded to make a strange knock at the door that sounded like some kind of secret password combination before fitting his keys into the lock. When the deepest sounding woof Daquiri had ever heard sounded from the other side of the door, the 15-year-old widened her eyes. Good gods.

   Now, Daquiri had heard mention of Jake's dog Thor on numerous occasions. Besides his mother, his dog seemed to be one of the closest friends he had. So Jake had told her he was a big dog. However, her boyfriend had failed to mention that by "big," he meant Godzilla's pooch had up and decided to make a home there.

   The red-head was pretty sure she was wearing an expression of absolute horror as Thor practically tackled Jake and proceeded to drown him in dog slobber. And possibly the worst part was that the son of Hephaestus seemed to actually be... enjoying it. Daquiri felt like gagging just at the sight of it. She was pretty sure she could smell the dog's breath from here.

   Then, thank Zeus, Jake's mother appeared at the door. "Really?" she asked, sounding somewhere between amused and stern. "This is why we rarely have company over." Well, she was sure as h*** right about that.

   "Thor isn't that bad," Jake protested as he continued to rough-house with his dog. Um, yes, he is.


   However, at Diane's response, Daquiri snorted with laughter. She was rather starting to like this woman's sense of humor. That aside, though, her tights were still wet.

   "As much as I love making fun of Jake," she said, hoisting her bag up farther on her shoulder, "I think I'm going to catch pneumonia standing here." Or rabid dog disease, either one. "Is there some place I could change?"

Diane nodded. "Of course, I'll show you to the spare room." She said. She motioned for Daquiri to follow. "Bring the stuff in, Jake." She added over her shoulder, gently reminding Jake he couldn't stand out in the hall playing with his dog all night.

Jake looked up when he was mentioned by name, then gave a sharp nod. "Down." He barked, dropping his arms to signal they were done with the game. Thor dropped down to all fours again, turning a circle. Jake gave a sharp nod.

Diane led Ri inside, where in the living room a cheery Christmas tree was set up in a corner, complete with decorations and presents. To the left was a small hallway, and Diane opened a door.
"I made sure to tidy up the spare room for you." She said. "And the bathroom's this door right over here." Diane indicated another door not to far away.

Jake came in with Ri's bags, walking up behind them. Thor happily followed, dragging Jake's backpack along.

"Anything particular you want for dinner?" Diane asked.

"Chimichanga." Jake said, grinning so they knew he was joking. He set Ri's bags right by them so they could easily grab them and move them into the room. His mom gave him a look. He carefully maneuvered past them. "With a platter of nachos."
He was going to drop backpack and jacket in his room. Thor followed him less gracefully, bumping his shoulder into Ri.

Daquiri was relieved when Diane said the words "spare room." She had never really asked where she would be staying once she got to the Arin's apartment and it hadn't occurred to her until she got there that she might end up on a couch or something. Not to say she hadn't been forced to do so in multiple foster homes, but... still. She wasn't a huge fan of couches.

   Following Diane into the apartment space with her bag over her shoulder, Daquiri looked around a little as she was led to her temporary room. The living area took up most of the space, with a couch, a La-Z-boy chair, a TV with a giant shelf of movies next to it, and currently, a Christmas tree next to the fireplace. The red-head paused for a moment at the sight of it. It was glowing with soft yellow-white lights and had more novelty ornaments sporadically placed on it than she could count. It looked like a tinsel monster had thrown up on it and the star at the top was crooked, but it was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. She sort of remembered having a Christmas tree when she was little and her dad was still alive, but none of her foster homes had ever really wanted to spend the money. Seeing one now... well, it was a little disconcerting. But in a good way.

   If that made sense.

   Daquiri was shaken out of her thoughts at the sound of Diane's voice, however. "Oh, uh, thanks," she muttered, her eyes still on the Christmas tree. She had to tear her eyes away, though, when Jake's mom asked her what she would like for dinner. She opened her mouth to respond, but Jake beat her to it.

   "Chimichangas," he said with a grin as he set her bags down next to her room. Daquiri made a face at him, but he probably didn't notice since his mother was also giving him a look. "And a platter of nachos," he added, seemingly as an afterthought, as he squeezed past her and Diane in the small hallway to get to his own room. Thor, however, did not have the advantage of Jake's thinner size. The red-head let out a small involuntary gasp of surprise as the huge dog bumped into her, practically knocking her over. She managed to regain her balance, but she glared covert daggers at the dog's furry back as she turned back around.

   "Anything with a salad's fine," she told Diane briefly before tugging her bags into the guest room and shutting the door. Resting the back of her head against the door for a moment, she let out a deep breath and wondered if coming to stay with Jake for break had been such a good idea. Living in the home of an adult again brought her back to all the years she had hated living in foster homes. Not to say that Jake's mother wasn't really nice or that she was anything like any of her foster parents, but being in another home just made her feel... pressured. Uncomfortable. Sort of back to her old feelings of always needing to put on a front around people.

   Running a hand through her hair, Daquiri tried to push the thoughts to the back of her mind. She was with her boyfriend. She didn't have to stay at Camp again while Jake was off somewhere. She should just be glad that they could be together for a time before he went off to school again. With that in mind, she zipped open one of her bags to rummage around for a lounging outfit that wasn't pajamas and then went to sit on the bed to take her heels off.

   By the time she had changed into her new clothes, reapplied her makeup, and done her hair, about 20 minutes passed before Daquiri went back out into the main room. She spied the table in the kitchen to be set for three places, but she could hear Diane still preparing dinner so she didn't want to go and sit down. Glancing around, she just kind of stood there unsure of what to do and wondering if Jake was still in his room.

Jake was, in fact, in his room.

He was sitting on his bed, reading through a worn notebook. Thor was sprawled out at his feet. His room was in a bit of disarray as it usually was; but instead of haphazard piles of papers and parts all over the floor, there were random stacks and cleared spaces. He had been trying to tidy up his own room a bit, at least so things didn't look cluttered. Or, maybe just a more organized clutter. There were plenty of boxes of various parts and tools, along with instruction papers, design notes, product specifications, reports, receipts, homework, and a bunch of other things. However, he had gotten distracted part-way through.

Beside him sat two stacks of notebooks of various types. Read and Unread.
These were his old journals, filled with ideas and memories and sketches. He had learned it was a good idea to review what you've learned and where you were, to get a better idea of where you are and where you're going. Most of it had to do with different project ideas that he did or didn't capitalize on, and random bits of knowledge he had picked up that seemed useful at the time. Jake smirked at a childish drawing of a big growling dog chasing a bear. And then, some of it didn't have to do anything with that sort of thing.

ADHD, you know?

Well, maybe not completely. He glanced up at the dog laying quietly. He often recorded other important things. He had also learned you write things down so you remember them.

Well, she had seen him go into his room. And looking behind her, she saw that the door was mostly closed. Glancing back at the kitchen to make sure Mrs. Arin wasn't about to finish or anything, Daquiri padded her fuzzy-socked self over to the door. Pushing it open lightly, she poked her head inside.

   "Jake?"

   She spotted him sitting on his bed with Thor lying at his feet on the floor. He was flipping through a pile of notebooks sitting next to him, several things seeming to put smiles to his face. She was about to step further in when her eyes fell on... everything else.

   Holy. Freaking. Zeus.