blueridgefac:

Characters: Ichirou, Tatum, and Mackenzie
Setting: Ichirou's office and house
Rating: SFW
Summary: Tatum comes to Ichi when all else fails, Ichi offers her asylum and nachos!



Ichirou Sato was not someone who was ever too far from his office. He knew it had been a hard start to the year and it was about to get even more complicated. It wasn't anything that had happened, it was just the feeling that was hanging in the air; a sort of volatile air hung about the mountains. It wasn't just the things going on outside the school, it was the school grounds and the students themselves as well. They kids were on edge, families were falling apart, and he had a terrible feeling that this was just the beginning.

The students were mostly gone by now and it was late, even the kids that were still on campus had mostly gone back to their dorms or downtown. He started nodding off at his desk; it had been a long week of sending out candy-grams to all the kids, making the final preparations for the dance and the send off, and dropping in on the classes he hadn't yet evaluated since the beginning of the year. He was tired and definitely looking forward to the coming break.

It was the sudden knock at his door that had him flying backward out of his seat. "Wahhh!" he cried in surprise as he fell onto the floor. He sat stunned for a second and then started giggling at himself. Gathering himself he pulled himself up, on his knees he leaned against his desk, his head just peeking over the top. "Come in!" he called to whoever was on the other side of the door.

Tatum didn't really know why she went to Super Nerds before she returned to the campus. She had just wanted to get away from her house as quickly as she could, and after all of the rushing around and half-explained goodbyes and drama, she just felt exhausted. She only had her backpack with a small extension charm, stuffed with as much of her things as she could get into it, and everything that was back in her room at Blue Ridge. Both Rath and Sera would be reliable to get things to her, she knew that, all she had to do was ask and they would get her anything left in her bedroom in Maine.. but the fact that she couldn't just go there and do it herself was beginning to set in.

It was Christmas in less than seventy-two hours, and she didn't have a house to call home. Her dorm, which had never made her feel trapped before, suddenly did with just the thought. One room, one room with strangers through every wall, was all that she had left. She had been so rushed, she didn't even know what she had tossed in her bag. She had wanted to pack so much, take so many things, and she had been verging on full on panic attack the entire time. She had taken a handful of Ativan, and was still terrified that her father might return early or something and just toss her out before she was even done.

She supposed that if she really thought about it though, really considered it, she had gone from her house to Super Nerds because she had been thinking about all of the comic books she had left behind. She didn't want to bend them, so she hadn't taken any of them. She had left all of her books behind, she only had a few things at school and most of them were text books. She had been too busy with school this year, with Mack and with constantly arguing with Sera, to really read. But she really did like comic books, and going to comic books was probably better than going back to sit in her room alone while the other ninety-nine percent of her classmates enjoyed Christmas vacation with their families.

It was nearly time for the store to close before she actually left, she had no idea how long she had just stood listlessly in front of their display of Walking Dead comics, ocassionally picking one up and thumbing through it. She was in a daze, but most of the crying had stopped. Tears kept slipping by, but she wasn't sobbing anymore. She wasn't entirely sure what she felt, but mostly it was numbness. Zombies almost would have been better at this point, because then at least everyone else would lose their families and feel as lost as her. It was a selfish thought, but she couldn't deny wanting it.

Leaving Super Nerds with just one paperback under her arm, she felt bad even about that. Fifteen dollars was a lot of money to spend now that she didn't really have any. Other than the money she had left from selling weed before Christmas vacation had started, but most of that was long gone to gifts for other people. It would be a new year soon, and this was just the beginning. Her stomach sank at the thought of getting a job. University wasn't free. Dealing with the public would probably be the only kind of job she could get, and besides that, she didn't even want to think about that time and stress on top of her classes. It almost made her sick. What was she going to do?

Convincing herself that it was too late to return the book, she would just feel stupid during the entire exchange anyway, she just gave in and let herself find her way back to the Blue Ridge campus. It was as deserted as she would have expected, but that was a bit better. Even if everyone who was gone was having fun with their family, at least they weren't here with her. It was one less thing to fret over. No one to make fun of her for being an orphan or whatever she was now. Did one become an orphan after eighteen? She wasn't even sure.

She wasn't really sure what had convinced her to go talk to Headmaster Sato, whether it was silence in her empty dorm room or what Mack had told her about how good he had been to Michiko. Sato had always seemed nice enough, though she avoided talking to him as much as she could avoid everyone else, student or faculty. She was fairly sure he probably thought she was an idiot after the way she stammered through her club interview earlier in the year, but she really had nothing to lose at this point. She had no money, no nothing, but either she'd be allowed to stay at the school or she wouldn't. She had already begun formulating a plan B back in Maine. Shelby had told her off-handedly once that gay people could basically do whatever they wanted in Canada, and she had visited New Brunswick twice on family vacations. The eastern side was really quite similar to Maine. It'd be lonely, but nice.

It took her almost an hour after unpacking her bag to actually force herself to gather the courage to go. She only vaguely knew how to get to his office, but she managed to find it, hesitating outside of the door for another several minutes. She hadn't even smoked a joint since leaving Maine, and she felt somehow even more skittish and scared than usual. It wasn't a particularly pleasant combo with all of the other turbulent emotions in her right then. She knocked, and then jumped a bit herself as she heard a thud on the opposite side of the door. Trying to keep from looking too weepy, she swallowed hard before gripping the handle and twisting, letting herself slowly inside.

"Uhm, hi."

"Ah, Miss Donnelly," Ichirou said, straightening himself out and settling down in his chair again. He was sure he had already seen the Donnelly siblings leave campus but then again with the week he was having, he could have imagined it. "Was there something you needed?" he asked. "Come, come in, have a seat. Candy cane?" he offered, holding up one of the red and white candies.

Trying not to duck her head and look too sheepish as she accepted his invite inside, she came in and closed the door gently behind her. She leaned back on it for just a moment, before nodding quickly and taking a seat in front of his desk. She sat gingerly on the chair, just about on the edge, and her hands were already wringing in her lap.
“S-Sure, thanks,” she murmured, reaching out to take the candy cane and already beginning to tear the plastic away. She hadn’t eaten anything but the cup of coffee with her father earlier, and that had barely been finished. Beside that, she loved candy canes, her mother was always yelling at her for stealing them off of the tree when there was a perfectly good bowl in the parlor. It was a thought that made her stomach sink all over again. Not this year.

“I g-guess,” the redhead finally said, biting her lip a little. “It’s a l-long story,” she added quickly. He probably didn’t even want to hear it, who would? If her father didn’t even want to be around her, she wasn’t sure why anyone else would, and she was already regretting coming at all. She debated just getting up and going, but she felt frozen to the edge of her seat. “Sorry,” she murmured.

"I have all the time in the world for my students," Ichirou said easily. It was true, he would rather put them before himself any day. "This is your home as well as mine and I want everyone to be as comfortable as possible," he unwrapped a candy cane for himself and crunched on the end. "Now what is it that has you wound up so much?" He had remembered her from their brief encounters before, she had always been a little tense but this was just unreal.

Once she had gotten her own plastic off, she had been to crunched quietly on her own end, and it did sort of make her crack a rather weak smile as he did the same. His words brought a little comfort as well, though she wasn’t sure how far that would extend. She couldn’t live at Blue Ridge forever, and it was a little cramped to consider anyway. “I just.. d-did something really stupid. But I uhm, I mean, I guess I’m.. in t-trouble. Sort of.”

She trailed off again, her teeth once more finding her lip and chewing it harshly. “M-My dad doesn’t w-want me to uhm, l-live in my.. h-house anymore. W-With them. I j-just-- I h-have no money for s-school so like, if I c-can’t be here, I’m.. okay w-with that or whatever. Like, that’s l-life, right? I had this.. w-well, plan. I like, uh, figured I’d just move or whatever.”

That wouldn’t be free either, but she could probably scrounge up enough weed money to do something with herself. Not that she could tell him that of course, and she quickly lowered her head again instead.

Ichirou listened intently as the girl spoke and he nodded along, chewing his candy cane thoughtfully. "Whatever stupid thing you think you may have done," he began gently. "It doens't matter here. You are of course welcome to stay for as long as you would like. If you intend to finish your time at the University you will need a little bit of... cushioning," he said after thinking of the right word.

"I just had a student come to me over Thanksgiving break who had been kicked out of her home and we made an arrangement. She does a sort of work study program to get along with her University tuition and future housing," he spoke of Michiko. "And of course there's scholarships to be applied for Miss Donnelly. I've seen your transcripts and know very well the caliber of work that goes into that. It would be a shame to see a student like that go just because they no longer have the financial backing they used to." He shuffled through a pile of papers on his desk and found some of the applications he had been looking at earlier, somehow, he knew he would be needing them.

"Here you are. That's the work-study program application and that there is the um... scholarship for academic excellence," he handed them over, then looking at her he smiled his quirky little smile. "You know you're not alone here, right?"

Tatum listened closely, her hands still working and wringing nervously in her lap as she did so. “Oh, uhm. I.. know h-her sort of. Well, m-my.. my f-friend does,” the redhead explained, trailing off a bit as she mentioned Mack. Just talking about the blonde gave her that sort of butterfly fluttering in her stomach, even after everything that had just happened to her. Her father was the wrong one, not her. She hadn’t been strong enough to fight him harder, but she knew that he had to be wrong. So many people had encouraged her to be herself, and she cared so much about the blonde, there was no way something so amazing could be so wrong. She was tired of fighting it, and just generally exhausted.

She had been sort of lost in her thoughts while he shuffled through his papers, but she snapped back to attention as he offered the papers out to her. Timidly, she took them. “R-Really? It’s.. I mean, I know for other circumstances, but.. t-the uhm, other girl you mean. She uhm, had a r-real problem, right? I.. I d-did this to myself, if I j-just kept my mouth shut..”

Trailing off, she bit her lip hard again and began trying to straighten out the papers in her lap, candy cane held in her mouth as she did so. “Y-You’re just r-really, uhm nice.. like to d-do this, and e-everything.. s-since it’s like, my own f-fault, I shouldn’t-- I don’t d-deserve that.”

"Tatum. I said the very same thing when I sat in that very chair you're sitting in now just a few short months ago when the former headmaster told me that he wanted me and only me to fill this spot. I was terrified," he giggled. "Me, Ichirou Sato, just barely graduated and to be headmaster, I thought and said, that I didn't deserve this chance," he shrugged. "It was silly of me to even bother questioning at first because now that I am here, I know that this is where I belong. I have a feeling, that if you stay here, you too will realize that this is where you belong as well. Blue Ridge has been your home for years now, just as it has always been mine."

Ichirou shook his head. "I am nice but even if I was the meanest headmaster in the world I still would have handed those papers to you today. Just because you don't think your problems are as real as say, an unplanned baby, it doens't mean they're not real. You deserve this just as much as anyone else," he said gently. "Even more so with your grades," he smiled.

"Think of this as you're new beginning. You don't have to give up your life here because someone else gave up on you. For as many people like that that there are in this world, there are two more people willing to give you a chance. So here it is," he said pointing to the papers in her lap. "Take it."

She was sure that if she didn’t get it together, she was going to start crying again. She was getting choked up, and she could feel the way her throat was getting that familiar lump. It had barely left her all day. Fight as she might, she had a feeling that she was going to break down. “M-My grades,” she spluttered, giving a small bitter laugh and shaking her head. “My g-grades are.. t-they’re like a joke c-compared to some people,” she murmured. Sera came to mind, but she preferred not to think about her sister right then. It reminded her what she was missing, and what the brunette was going through. They didn’t always get along, but she hoped Sera wasn’t going to do anything stupid.

“I just.. I-I appreciate it. I n-need to, uhm.. get myself f-figured out I guess,” the redhead said quietly, looking down at the papers as he pointed to them. It wasn’t going to be easy, but she supposed she hadn’t expected it to be. “I t-think it’s better this way, m-maybe. I just-- i-it doesn’t feel v-very good right now,” she went on, exhaling shakily and bunching up the papers just a bit as she clenched her hands.

“I j-just miss my d-dad,” she whispered, finally losing it and holding the papers even tighter as she started to cry, lowering her head. “S-Sorry,” she got out, trying to get control of herself but just ending up letting out a pathetic little sob.

Ichirou got up from his chair and went around the to the other side of the desk. He put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. Kneeling down he looked at her honestly. "I know that it is hard to feel like you don't belong. There's no need to apologize for feeling sad. This is obviously not an easy thing to go through and of course it doens't feel good right now. But if you let this change your path, if you don't pack up and move on from here, it will ruin you. It doesn't have to," he urged her gently.

"You are good Tatum, I can see that in you," he said. "Whatever happened between you and your father... whatever got you into trouble... it doesn't change your heart."

It was hard for her to imagine she could become any more ruined, any more worse off than she already was, feel any worse, but the Headmaster definitely had a point. If she left Blue Ridge, if she left she wouldn’t even have Mack, or Rath and Sera. She might have been barred from her house, but as long as school as in, she could at least see her siblings. Maybe her step-mother might even come visit, she had been pretty upset as well, more emotional over her than Tatum had ever seen her. She had never seen Madeline fretting over her as she had done today.

“R-Right, I know I j-just.. it’s hard, I k-know that sounds wimply, p-people do hard stuff all d-day and all the t-time and that’s like, being a grown up but I’m not.. I d-don’t feel like a grown up,” she whispered back, giving him a little frown. “I f-feel like a kid n-nobody wants.”

She felt whiny and needy immediately, and it embarrassed her. Sure that her cheeks were turning pink, she closed her eyes tightly, sniffling. “I c-can’t change my heart. That’s m-my problem,” the redhead went on, taking a sharp inhale to steady herself, and opening her eyes to look at Ichirou seriously. “My d-dad doesn’t-- the r-reason everything..”

Chewing her lip, she avoided his eye contact at the last moment before she continued. “He u-uhm, doesn’t approve of me and.. a-and Mackenzie. I could g-go home if I didn’t.. y-you know. If I w-wasn’t.”

"You have friends here, you are not someone who is worth giving up," he reassured her. "It is going to be hard but you don't have to do it all alone."

He patted her hand when he told her about Mackenzie and nodded. "You are right about one thing. You can't change who you are inside when it comes to that sort of thing," he mumbled a bit awkwardly. "And just because one person doesn't understand... and I know he is an important person to you... it doesn't mean that it's wrong. It doens't mean that you don't deserve the chance to finish your education. Being gay doesn't make you bad and it doesn't mean you deserve to have all your hard work dashed away."

Ichirou straightened up and went back to his desk. "I'll tell you what," he said sitting down. "You think over this scholarship and work-study thing and have dinner with me tonight. I haven't eaten a thing and I'm starved," he smiled. "Cafeteria workers and Teo already went home for the night but my own kitchen it of course always open. What do you say?"

She had been telling herself for so long, trying so desperately to convince herself that it was so bad and horrible, but Ichirou wasn’t the first person to point out how wrong she was. There was nothing wrong with who she was, and she was on her way to accepting it slowly, even if the road was turning out to be even more bumpy than she expected. She would apply for scholarships and work study, and just do whatever. She had another three years at Blue Ridge at least, and after that.. well, it was probably just best to deal with that when the time came. Thinking that far ahead just brought up more dormant anxiety.

“R-Right, I have friends,” she agreed, nodding her head weakly. There was Mack of course, and Sam and Sunny, Ella and maybe even Eden in some weird way. None of those people cared if she was gay, probably either already knew or suspected it anyway. She knew she had definitely laid on the straightness really thickly in the past. But acting had never been her forte, no matter how hard she had tried. It was just another example of how hard it had been on her.

When he mentioned food, Tatum perked up a little, lifting her head and managing a small smile. “Uhm, sure. I guess, I.. I d-didn’t really have dinner. Or l-lunch or breakfast, I g-guess,” she replied. She couldn’t deny the way her stomach was grumbling a little at the thought of having a meal. She rarely felt too hungry without a joint, and she hadn’t had one of those since the morning, but this was definitely an exception. She was beyond famished.

"Good," he said brightly, standing up and moving to the other side of his desk. Ichirou felt a little better knowing that she at least knew she had friends. Of course it would be hard on her but being at Blue Ridge, he hoped, would help. To him it wans't the money that mattered and it wasn't any of the other politics. It had always been about the students. He shoved some last minute things into his backpack, yes, he still carried around a backpack, and stood up straight.

"What's you're favorite dinner? I have to admit I'm not very good at cooking American cuisine, but Teodoro... I mean... Mr. Ramirez has been teaching me some recipes. My speciality is definitely Japanese though," he grinned. "What sounds good?"

Slowly standing up from her own chair, Tatum gave a few small sniffles and wiped at her eyes with her knuckles. “M-My favorite?” she echoed, hesitating for a moment as she shoved her hands deeply into the pockets of her jeans. They were supposed to be having pasta at home tonight, one of her favorites, but just thinking about eating it now made her feel sick. “Can you make like, uhm, nachos?” she asked sheepishly.

It wasn’t exactly fancy, but anything with cheese really was a comfort food to her.

"Ooo! With the cheddar cheese instead of the weird, orange, cafeteria cheese?" he asked excitedly. "And I can put fresh salsa on top! Otieno just made it from his garden in the greenhouse, fresh picked and probably the last batch of the year. Do you like jalapenos?"

“Dude,” she laughed lightly, fidgetting her hands in her pockets. “I l-love that cafeteria cheese,” she admitted, even giggling a little at the thought. She preferred not to think what was in that cheese, if it even was cheese. Whatever it was, she thought it was amazing. “I l-like cheddar too though, like.. p-people don’t give cheese enough credit.”

It felt so weird to just be having a weird stoner train of thought conversation with the Headmaster of the whole school, but it was definitely cheering her up. It made her feel better, and welcome and wanted, like he had said. “L-Like them? I love t-them. Spicier the b-better, right?”

Ichirou laughed. "I think funky cafeteria cheese is just beyond me," he grinned. "I would happen to agree with you about due credit to cheese," he said thoughtfully as he pulled on his coat and walked with Tatum toward the door. "It is definitely the most underrated diary product ever!"

Ichirou might not have been the most traditional of headmasters, but old fashioned just didn't work for him. He liked having friendships with the students and the staff, he liked to know the people around them, make it really feel like a family and not just say that they were like a family in the welcome pamphlet. "Oh excellent! I grow tiny little jalapenos in my kitchen! I think they are a delightful vegetable... they are a vegetable right?" he shrugged. "I was never a fair herbology student," he grinned. "Some people are so sensitive about spice though!" He trudged right ahead in the conversation. "I love it as well."

It was a feeling she wasn’t used to, frantic worry. Mackenzie didn’t like it one bit, and she hoped that it wouldn’t be a reoccurring thing now that she was sort of with Tatum. Or, whatever they were at this point, could she assume that they would end up together? Was it too soon? Mackenzie muttered a colorful slew of swear words as she stood out in the cold December air scanning the forest for a dot of red hair. She had been sleeping when Sera had texted her trying to avoid the combination of her mother and Hunter that now occupied her house. It had taken her several minutes of blinking at her phone sleepily to really process what Sera was saying to her, but when she woke up enough to realize what was going on, she had pulled a hoodie over her tank top and apperated to the school as fast as she could.

That had been several hours ago now, and she was running out of places to check. It seemed stupid now that she had assumed that Tatum would come back to Blue Ridge, but she wasn’t really sure where else the kid would go. She had checked her dorm room several times already and had been scouring all of the girl’s favorite places to go on campus. Now there was only one place left to check, and Mack was a bit squeamish about actually going there. It wasn’t like Sato had ever been unwelcoming, in fact he had always made sure that she knew his door was always open to her. She just really didn’t feel like facing him after homecoming, she was still pretty embarrassed about blurting out her whole dilemma to him. It wasn’t like she had much choice though, he might know something about the girl’s where abouts and she couldn’t risk not getting that information.

Tatum was small, in the blonde’s mind she needed protecting, and Mack was worried that she was freezing to death trying to figure out where to go. Sprinting towards the administration building, Mack ignored the fact that her Chuck’s were soaked through and that a tank top underneath a zip up hoodie wasn’t exactly the warmest thing to run around in. Bounding up to the headmaster’s door, she all but kicked it down in a burst of adrenaline. She immediately zeroed in on Sato, and stomped up to him.

“Ichi! Man am I glad to see you!” She declared, running a nervous hand through her messy hair, trying to tame the bedhead she had neglected. “You haven’t happened to see Tatum have you? She got kicked out of her house, and Sera texted me ages ago, and I can’t find her. I know you’re not like, supposed to be keepin’ an eye on all of us while we’re on break but I’m really worried she might be like, freezing on the side of the road or something.” She rambled on, her panic becoming more apparent on her face as she voiced the worry that had been plaguing her mind since she got Sera’s text.

“I mean, you know how small she is! She could easily be carried off by a large animal or bird or something, and I’m just really worried about her.” She was losing steam now, and she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. She was embarrassed all over again, since when did she become such a mother hen over the smaller girl? She dropped her eyes to the floor, her face burning bright red. “Uhm...so like, if you know anything or uh, hear anything, could you tell me?”

Ichirou smiled at the sight of the blonde and tried to interject but she just kept rambling. Finally, when it seemed she was out of steam he grinned and patted her shoulder. "There is no need to worry Mackenzie," he said gently. "Tatum and I were just about to go make nachos," he said pointing to the other girl who was still in the room with him. "You're more than welcome to join us, I just hope you like spicy jalapenos. Miss Donnelly and I just decided the spicier the better!" he said jovially.

"There are people who don't like jalapenos? Jalapeno and c-cheddar chips are like, the best thing anyone ever invented," Tatum had been in the midst of replying, fidgeting nervously with the strings on her hoodie while Ichirou pulled on his coat. It really would be pretty great to eat something and just sit down for a while and not stress out. She felt sort of like she had been on the run all day, and she supposed she had been in a way. She had been so wrapped up in drama that nutrition wasn't even in her mind.

When Mack came barreling into the office, Tatum just barely stepped out of the way in time to get out of the path of the swinging door. She had practically felt the wind whip by her nose as the door whipped by her, and she lifted a hand to rub it a little. That could have been bad.

Before she had much time to fret about injuries that could have been, however, she realized who was actually there. And what she was saying, all of the panicked worries spewing from the blonde's mouth making the redhead blush furiously. Was she really that concerned about her? She felt bad for not calling the older girl sooner, but her head had been focusing on everything at once and common sense had slipped past her. She felt even worse when she stepped from behind the door more and took a more close look at how haggard Mack looked. Was it really because she was that concerned about her? It made the younger girl's stomach feel all flippy as usual.

"H-Hey, I own a s-sweater. I w-wouldn't totally f-freeze to death," she finally spoke up as the Headmaster pointed her out, and she managed a weak smile. "And I c-can totally take on a b-bird.. probably."

Mack whipped around so fast as Sato pointed out the other girl that she was shocked she didn’t get whiplash. Without hesitation she pulled the small girl into a tight embrace, her heart pounding as she squeezed the girl tightly. “Oh thank god,” she muttered, planting a discrete kiss on the top of the girl’s head. Holding the girl at arms length, she examined her carefully, checking for any outward injuries or problems. Once she was satisfied with the girls physical safety, a small frown appeared on her face.

“Don’t you ever do that again Tatum! Do you know how worried I’ve been? All I get is a text from Sera saying you’ve gotten kicked out, and then you go missing!” She ran an exasperated hand through her hair, and rubbed at the back of her neck sheepishly. She knew that the last thing Tatum probably needed right now was a lecture, but she had been so worried. Sighing, she gave the girl a small smile and squeezed her shoulder gently. “Just...call me when you’re in trouble next time, okay? I...uh...I care about you, obviously, and you know...I’m here to protect you and stuff.”

Remembering that Sato was still there, Mack flushed red again, and let her hand drop from the other girl’s shoulder. She absentmindedly let her hand grab Tatum’s instead, and once she had calmed her burning embarrassment, shot Sato a small smile. “I...uh...well nachos sound good,” she managed to stammer out, caught off guard by the fact that she wasn’t talking to him because she was in trouble, but because Sato was inviting her. “We...uh...shouldn’t stay too late though, Kia is probably expecting us back eventually.”

Ichirou did his best to not pay attention when the girls were talking. He didn't want to intrude upon a rather private moment but he had to smile at seeing Mackenzie so worried. She had always been one of his tougher students even when he was just a student teacher. It was nice to see the softer side of her that he knew existed somewhere under that tough exterior. When she addressed him again he smiled warmly and nodded. "Ah, of course, Kia was always more strict about adhering to curfew hours. I can send a little owl saying you'll be along soon. But what kind of educator would I be if I promised nachos and did not deliver?" he grinned.

It was hard for Tatum not to shrink a little under Mack moment of lecture after the day she had gone through, but she immediately felt better when the blonde just gave her a hug, something her father could have done hours ago and just fixed everything. The thought made her feel like she was going to get choked up again, and she quickly cleared her throat as it began to feel sore in that familiar achy way. She wasn’t sure if her eyes could take anymore crying in such a short time.

When Mack said Kia would be waiting for them, the redhead’s brow furrowed a bit and she looked immediately embarrassed. “W-What? Kia waiting-- n-no, I’m not.. it’s like, Christmas and I’m not.. uhm, you do that stuff with your family. Don’t be w-weird,” she replied, ducking her head a bit and finding herself glad when Ichirou brought up the nachos again. Any distraction in a storm.

“Y-Yeah, we’re even gonna have the really gross cafeteria cheese.. well, I-I don’t think it’s gross, but it definitely looks gross. I’ll just, uhm, stay here and do whatever. It’s not like I’m alone, and like.. S-Sera and Rath will be back after Christmas. You s-should like, be home not looking for m-me.

Mack grinned back at Sato and nodded happily at his suggestion to send an owl to Kia. She knew that her sister would probably come up with embarrassing comments as to what took them so long otherwise. “Thank you sir,” she said, finally remembering the few manors she possessed. “I definitely would have to rethink my vote for educator of the year if you didn’t get us the gross cafeteria cheese you promised.” She bit her lip, glancing at Tatum quickly out of the corner of her eye. It hadn’t occurred to her that the younger girl wouldn’t want to go back with her, it had been the only logical solution in her mind. Kia had instantly agreed when Mack had told her what was going on before she rushed out of the house, and even Kate hadn’t said no.

“Uh, can you excuse us for a moment?” She asked quietly. “I promise we’ll be right back, I wouldn’t want to miss the cheese.” She tugged Tatum gently outside the door and closed it behind her softly. Turning to her, she reached out and cupped the girl’s face with her hand.

“I’m not letting you spend Christmas alone,” she stated firmly, rubbing her thumb over the girl’s cheek. “You’re coming home with me, you deserve to be with people who love and care about you. Ones that accept you just the way you are, because you are beautiful and I wouldn’t change you for anything. We’re not really like a traditional family anyway, I mean, Hunter is practically my sister at this point. I’m pretty sure my ma thinks of her as her own daughter. A-and Michi’s even part of the family now, she...everyone welcomed her home with us so...just...come be a Dubinsky with us, okay?”

Laughing lightly, she rubbed the back of her neck embarrassed, “I mean, you don’t gotta marry me or anything. I didn’t mean it like that...uh...just that you can be part of our family, for as long as you like. Kia would probably murder me if I didn’t bring you home with me too...so uhm...you should come with me so I can live to see another year.”

Ichirou nodded at Mackenzie request and busied himself with writing an owl to Kia to explain that they were going to have a little supper before he sent them on their way. It was an easy task to busy himself with and with one whistle, his small barn owl appeared at his window. He whispered the name and address and she was off. He settled in at the desk for a few more minutes, waiting for the girls to join him in the office again.

There wasn't much chance for Tatum to argue, though she had opened her mouth to do just that, as Mackenzie sort of swooped her out of the office. With the door shut behind them, and especially with the blonde's hand on her face, the redhead fought back the urge to just let herself cry. She could cry all day and all night, but it was unlikely to fix anything. Or so she kept reminding herself now every time she felt the tears welling up.

She figured that she should have known she'd have no choice, even if it made her feel like an intruder on their family Christmas, Mack did say it was all right. "I g-guess," the younger girl finally relented, chewing her lip. She didn't have anywhere else to go except for her room, and she did really want to be with Mack. Everything wasn't supposed to go like this though. If her father hadn't flipped his lid over everything, then things would be good, Mack could have came to visit their house instead. Now she'd be visiting Mack's house for however long they'd have her. Being a Dubinsky wasn't bad, but she had sort of wanted to be a Donnelly this year. She felt her stomach sink in that familiar way.

"I'll g-go if you.. swear e-everybody doesn't mind," she added quickly, managing a weak smile as Mack's thumb stroked her cheek. It did calm her down a little. "And if I c-can watch Gremlins and you won't r-rip on me for it because that's like, t-the best Christmas movie ever. I think Phoebe Cates was one of m-my childhood crushes for sure."

It felt ridiculous to be making silly conditions like that after the day she had, but silly conditions and fake smiles were all she had holding her up anymore. She didn't have anywhere to go, whether she liked it or not. The Dubinsky house was the only one that wanted her this year. It did make her feel better to hear that Michiko had been welcomed home too. It seemed they had a lot more in common this year than Tatum realized. "And promise y-your friends won't think I'm lame?" she half-joked, though she was genuinely a bit concerned.

Without really giving Mack a chance to answer, the redhead sighed again. "I g-guess," she murmured for the second time, glancing over her shoulder into the empty hallway before standing on her tip-toes to lean in and press a kiss to the blonde's lips.

Mack was about to answer the smaller girl and tell her that she really didn’t have any other friends beyond Michiko and Hunter, when she was caught by surprise by Tatum’s lips suddenly on her own. It only took her a few seconds to react once the initial surprise wore off, and she wrapped her arms around the redhead, pulling her closer. For once, Mack decided to keep the kiss small and simple, and pulled away after a few seconds, keeping her arms around the smaller girl. She could tell that she was grinning like an idiot, but she just couldn’t wipe the wide smile off her face.

“I promise that they don’t mind,” She reassured the girl, ducking in to steal another quick kiss. “Even my ma, which is something new. She seems to have calmed down a bit since I saw her last, uh...expect her to give you a weird nickname though. She’s already christened Michi as ‘baby mama’, so I don’t think it’ll really be any worse than that. It’s not malicious or anything, she’s just...Kate.” Mack trailed off, not really sure what else to say. “Gremlin’s is cool though, I promise not to rip on you. I...that movie kind of freaks me out anyway so...I’ll probably spend most of it with my eyes closed or buried in the couch.”

She blushed profusely, untangling herself from the smaller girl and scratching at her nose. It hadn’t been her fault that Hunter and Kia had made her watch it when they were younger. Or that they had told her it was true, and that they would show her if she came down to the kitchen at midnight. Shuddering at the thought of the prank, she coughed awkwardly. “Uh...yeah, we should probably go get Sato and get this cheese fest started. Then we can get your stuff and go home, Kia will want to know what you want for Christmas as soon as possible.” Taking the smaller girl’s hand in what almost felt like reflex at this point, she smiled softly at the redhead before quickly pecking her on the cheek. “Sorry...I...I just couldn’t help it. You can always tell me to back off if you want me to. I know that this is all...new for you.”

Ichirou waited patiently in his office for the girls to return. He was already wearing his coat and was carrying his backpack. Now that he had mentioned it, his stomach was growling for nachos. He had even considered a pint but then remembered the girls were not old enough for beer and shook the idea out of his head.

Really for the first time since she had left her house earlier, the redhead actually felt incredibly safe and content, leaning into the older girl's arms. This was so much easier than fighting it, fighting Mack and fighting herself, fighting how she really felt. It was much better to be able to just be held by the person she wanted to see the most, it made all of the drama and horrible falling out feel like it might actually be worth the trouble. "W-Weird nicknames are.. f-fine, really. C-Could be worse," she offered weakly. "And that's good about y-your mom, if she uhm.. really doesn't m-mind. Like, C-Christmas is in less t-than like, a day. Like, as in t-tomorrow. You guys s-sound like you have a lot of p-people there," she went on, swallowing thickly at the thought of a house full of strangers. "Y-You won't leave me alone t-though, right?" she asked quickly, looking embarrassed.

When Mack pulled away though, and admitted to actually afraid of something, it made Tatum feel better. Even if just a bit less embarrassed about her own things. "You're s-scared of gremlins?" she questioned the blonde, having to smile a little. Knowing Mack was freaked out by something silly like that was the same as the older girl showing any of the other strange emotions she had been showing lately. It made the redhead feel special to even see a bit of the blonde's vulnerable side. She didn't know why she had tried to deny that for so long. "Weak. It's like, rated PG or s-something," the redhead laughed. "Just don't feed them after midnight, duh! Simple!" she joked.

Mack's mention of Sato reminded Tatum where they actually were, and she quickly glanced around the hallway outside of the office. "Oh y-yeah, the headmaster. I almost f-forgot," she admitted, flushing a bit. She really was starving, and now that Mack was with her and she felt a bit better after her talk with Sato had begun settling in, she actually felt like eating again. Things were going to be a little awkward, but okay. If her dad didn't want her around, then she supposed it was his loss. It hurt her to even think about it, but she knew she had to keep reminding herself. It wasn't, despite how much she wanted to automatically blame herself, her fault. "She d-doesn't have to get me anything," Tatum quickly piped up, scrunching her face and letting Mack take her hand. She felt her cheeks flush as soon as Mack kissed one.

"S-Seriously, she doesn't.. she s-shouldn't waste money on m-me. My dad is p-probably selling my presents to g-get money for a vacation or something," she joked. She hoped it wasn't true, maybe they'd just give her presents to Sera and Rath or something at least. Turning back toward the door finally, she nodded and squeezed Mackenzie's hand. "Ready as I'll ever b-be. Let's.. do w-whatever, I guess. Just s-stay with me, 'kay?"


Mackenzie frowned slightly at Tatum’s repeated requests for her company. It wasn’t that the blonde girl wasn’t overly happy to not leave the other girl’s side over break, in fact, she hadn’t been planning on doing anything that involved leaving Tatum’s presence. What did concern her, however, was what was going on inside the other girl’s head. Mack had never been good with talking about feelings or dealing with other people’s baggage, but she knew that Tatum would need her to be there for her. She could only begin to imagine the emotional turmoil that the girl must be experiencing in side, and the fear of being left alone only made the taller girl worry more. Giving Tatum’s hand a firm squeeze, she brushed a soft kiss onto the girl’s forehead.

“Of course I won’t leave you alone T,” she said quietly, giving the girl a reassuring smile. “You’re kind of stuck with me for the rest of break. Unless you want space, and then you should just tell me or whatever, okay? I promise, all you’ve gotta do is be honest with me.” She trailed off, blushing once again and turning swiftly to open the headmaster’s door to try and distract Tatum from the fact that she was showing her softer side.

“Hey! And don’t like, make fun!” Mackenzie protested, pouting slightly back at Tatum as she opened the headmaster’s door and dragged her through. “I know you’re not supposed to feed them after midnight! Hunter and Kia are assholes though, and fucking...look, they just freak me out okay? Like ferrets or the closet door being partially open.”

She smiled and winked at Sato as she saw him sitting at his desk, “You got my back on this, right sir? Gremlins are just freaky, T. But I promise we’ll watch it, because I’m a giving person, and it is Christmas.”

Ichirou smiled at their entry back into his office, even chuckled. He had gotten used to Mackenzie Dubinksy's choice words and the way she came across. In fact he found it endearing. "Of course!" he agreed in his most serious voice. "They can be perfectly disruptive and dispicable little creatures... as are ferrets," he added scrunching up his nose. "I once had a room mate who had a ferret as a familiar," he shuddered visibly. "They are incredibly stinky creatures, I'd imagine gremlins are as well."

"Alas, I believe young adults, must be fed much like gremlins, before midnight. So let us delay no further," he lead them toward the door once again. "That is if you're ready?" he turned back one last time just to make sure.

“I’m g-gonna be honest now,” Tatum assured her, smiling weakly. “It’s my n-new thing. Might as well, r-right? Nothing to lose,” she murmured, following close behind Mackenzie as she swung Sato’s door back open and let them back inside. “But I wasn’t making f-fun and ferrets aren’t even scary, they’re like.. adorable. Don’t be silly,” she half-joked, straightening up at the older girl’s side as she saw Sato as his desk. “They are kinda s-smelly though.. just means you get to bath t-them more, now that’s cute.”

“S-Sorry we took so long,” the redhead quickly apologized, managing a little smile as he stood up and came to meet them by the door. Taking a glance at the room, Tatum gave a firm shake of her head at his question. “I am a-actually. I’m r-ready, I’m good,” she murmured, giving Mack’s hand a little squeeze. “And s-starving. Midnight m-might be a bit late, it’s, uhm.. like Christmas e-eve. And I g-guess your s-sister is waiting,” she finally relented, inhaling deeply and managing her very best smile for the two of them. Even if things weren’t going as planned, they were looking better at least.

Ichirou was happy to escort the girls through the building and out into the school grounds. He smiled kindly at Tatum and Mackenzie as they walked and shook his head. "There's no need to apologize girls. Things like this take time," he reminded them. "You should never have to rush," he said as he lead them back to his small house on campus property where he would make them Christmas Eve nachos and share in silly stories to distract from all the nonsense that was going on around them.