Guess Who's Coming To Dinner (For Old_Man_Tai)

Okay. Maybe this was a mistake.

If this hadn't been such a sudden surprise, Valley would have prepped Ace or something - as it was, the poor girl was like a cub trying to stare down the alpha wolf. It just wasn't going to happen. No way, no how. She needed to stir the topic away from the danger zone. Revealing the full relationship was inevitable, but Valley wanted it to be on her terms.

"Did Ace tell you about her career before AFW?" Obviously not, but every little big of stalling helped. "It's a bit of a story. Haley, you should-"

"We can get to that in a minute, dear." Her mother spoke quick and flat, waving her hand as of to cut an invisible thread."So, Haley, aside from train, what else do you two do together?"

Ace was so screwed. She should have been prepped, they should have been given more time, so they could get their story figured out. Instead, Ace was stuck on a river without a paddle and Valley's late attempts to throw her a lifeline failed. Ace was just getting more nervous as Valley Sr. prodded, making each answer more and more suspicious. She couldn't help it, she had never been in this kind of a situation before!

"Oh well, we...hang out, ya know? We'll go to movies, or to a club or bar to relax, or go out to eat..or just...stay in and make dinner...and watch tv?"

At this point, Ace had no idea what to say, just trying to find something that might change the topic.

"Actually ummm...last week we found one of a few, if not the only, fine Italian places in Tokyo to go for dinner...though their garlic bread wasn't nearly as good as this, this stuff is wayyy better...."

Digging herself a deeper hole, Ace demonstrated her point by grabbing some of said garlic bread and quickly stuffing part of it in her mouth, trying very hard to resist the urge to give Valley an apologetic look.

Ah. This must be how a squirrel feels before it gets hit by a car.

Valley winced when Ace started talking about them 'staying in'. She might have gotten away with the other things, but not that. Friends don't 'stay in'. That's a distinct couple activity. And from the sideways glance her mother was giving them and the nervous look on her father's face, it was all but assured - they knew.

Valley just let out a deep sigh - it was cute, for a while, but this was inevitable. She'd wanted to ease them into Ace, get her into the family so they'd better be able to take the fact that she was dating a girl 2/3s of her age. But some things just weren't going to happen, and this was apparently one of them.

Besides, if this went on much longer, she was seriously worried her girlfriend might blow a blood vessel. That would be extremely detrimental to their relationship

"Ace." She reached up and put a hand on her shoulder. "Haley. You can go ahead and tell them."

Ace let out a deep sigh of relief as Valley gave her permission to tell the truth. They would have had to do it one way or another, and Ace was liable to have an anxiety attack if this went on any longer.

Standing up, she gave Val an appreciative glance before turning to the blonde woman's parents.


"So...look. I've got to level with you. My name is Haley Kote, or Silver Ace, I am 20 years old, and....I'm Valley's girlfriend. We've been dating ever since our match with each other. We were going to tell you later, after you had gotten a chance to know be better, but...well...here we are."

She sat down after that, looking at her lap, waiting for the reply.

Valley had never been more proud of Ace than she was in this moment, and it was up against some stiff competition. Her parents looked stunned - not angry, not mad, just stunned. They had to have suspicions, but to have the reality just thrown in their face, turning off the game like a light switch, it all came from left field.

Silence took over the table for a moment, just a few scants second while they processed how to respond. Valley Sr. opened up her mouth to respond, and...

"Oh, food's here." Valley gave the waitress a short wave as she came over and started dishing out the dishes, putting down a bowl of pipping hot tomato soup in front of Valley. She started to sip away, but kept her eyes up the whole time, watching her mother as she sighed. A lot of the mirth was out of her voice when she finally spoke.

"So...how did this happen, exactly?" She spoke as if it were an accident. "You two just met, and...you knew?"

Ace took from Val's example and started into her salad, before Val Sr. asked her loaded question.

She put her fork down and swallowed before speaking up again, more confidently than she had earlier.

"...Something like that yeah. We met that first night, before the match, and...we just hit it off. We had a lot in common...there was just an instant spark between us. After the match, we started spending more time together, and that spark stayed. It wasn't just some small fling that passed after a day or so, like some floozys in bars get into, where they spend a night and forget the other existed. When I wake up, I find myself thinking of Valley, when we're training or just hanging out, I find myself thinking of her. When she goes home at night, and I'm going to sleep.."

She looked over at Valley, taking her in, smiling at her lovingly.

"I find myself thinking of her..."

And now Ace was blushing. Her mother was blushing, too, but for completely different reasons, most likely.

"That's..." Valley Sr. paused while she tapped her fork against the plate, trying to decide whether to eviscerate the crab or the steak first, as if there was a real decision to be made there. "That's quite a story, dear."

"It's not a story, Mom." Valley snapped in, knowing full well where this was going. They'd been down this road before, and she didn't care much for the path last time either. "It's how she feels. It's how I feel, too." She met her mother's gaze with one of her own, holding steady.

"No one is saying it's not, baby." Her father cut in, trying to ease the tension. "But after what happened last time, you've got to admit-"

"Admit what?" She fell back and laid her spoon to the side, not feeling particularly hungry all the sudden. "That thing with that girl from school was twelve years ago and change. Sure, that was a mistake, but I'm not a teenager anymore. I know what I want, what I need, what I'm attracted to, that phase of my life is over."

Ace stayed quiet, as she didn't think Valley Sr would appreciate her chiming in on what was an old argument, from what Valley had told her before.

Not wanting to do nothing however, she reached across under the table and held Valley's hand in her own, a silent gesture of strength and support for the older blonde.

Valley squeezed Ace's hand back. It was a small gesture, but it helped in more ways than she could possibly know.

"Valerie." She used Valley's real name. Bringing in the heavy artillery, and Valley couldn't help but flinch out of pure reflex. "I know where you're coming from with this. I do." She tried to put in as much of a caring tone as she could, without losing the authoritative edge. "We just want you to be happy-"

"Then be happy for me." Valley rubbed her temples. "I'm not sixteen anymore, I haven't been for almost fifteen years. I found someone I actually want to be with, and she wants to be with me." She ran her hands through her hair as if she could pull it out with the frustration. "I'm happy. I'm really happy, here. Why does this have to be a thing between us? Just let me be happy? You're not homophobes, I know that - Uncle Bruce is as gay as the day is long, and you never act like it's a problem. So why is it an issue with me?"

"Valerie Dolores-Castle Wells, it is not like that. I just wish you would-"

Her father put his hand between them and cut her mother off, and he nodded his head towards some people sitting a few booths away, awkwardly gazing at them. The little drama was starting to get a few followers. "Look, let's just simmer down, okay?" He reached for the dressing while his hand was out there and started to sprinkle it about judiciously. "You two have a big match tomorrow, you don't have to have this on your heads. Just...we'll talk about it after tomorrow. Maybe. For now, just play it cool."

Valley huffed, but went along with it, and her mother did almost the exact same thing. Her father was right, this wasn't the best time for the conversation. They would have it, but after Lioness and Hawk were dealt with.

Ace stayed quiet during the mini argument, and they all got quite soon after, all of them lightly picking at their food, avoiding eye contact with the other. Mr. Wells had a good point, that this wasn't the time for this issue to be discussed. Personally, Ace respected him for that, putting his daughters match and what she needed above his own concerns about their relationship. Val's mom however...not so much.

She honestly didn't know what to do. She felt she should say something at least. Defend herself somehow against their apparent disapproval. If Taylor were there, she'd have told Ace to tell Valley's parent's to fuck off and mind their own business, but she couldn't do that. All that would accomplish is risk alienating her girlfriend from her parents and force Valley to have to choose between them. Ace couldn't put the woman she cared so much for through something like that, not a chance.

Halfway through the meal, and getting tired of the awkward silence and subtle eye glances, glares, and eye rolling shared between the three Wells family members, Ace got up, excusing herself to use the powder room, giving Valley a comforting, if rather brief, shoulder squeeze as she moved past her.

Once in the restroom, the silver haired 20 year old stood in front of the sink, head down, trying to think of some kind of answer, something she could say or do, that would improve the situation. She honestly didn't know what she could do. She had never been in a serious relationship like this before, this was all new to her.

Turning the water on, she got a paper towel wet and cooled off her forehead, trying to relax so she could think.