A Flower in War

Chapter Forty-Seven: Geiko

"Hey, where are you heading with a whole duffle bag?Is there some special training Uncle Danny wants to keep from me?" Cal asks Sam playfully from her spot next to Robby on the couch.
"No, no, nothing like that! Just going to see a friend, ask about some clothing choices." Sam offers nervously, fidgeting with the strap on her bag.
"Okay, well have fun! Just remember we have Miyagi-Do in a few hours!"
"Yes sister Sensei." Sam giggles, walking out the door.

Cal waits till the door is fully closed and she hears the car to start to speak, "She's hiding something."
"Yeah, even I could see that." Robby chuckles.
"She'll talk to me when she's ready... I just hope she's okay."
"She is, flower. She is. Don't stress yourself out." Robby kisses the top of her head.

"Ready to show the new guys what we're made of?" Cal asks, switching the subject.
"Oh no doubt! I mean, I did have a really good teacher." Robby admits cheekily.
"Oh did you now?"
"Yeah, you should see her. Wooo, total firecracker!"
"Yeah? You think she could beat you?"
"Hmmm I don't know." Cal smacks his chest playfully.
"Hey! I've only seen you fight a few times!"
"Did I win?"
"Well... yeah." Robby admits.
"Soooo..." Cal moves to straddle his legs, "Mr. Keene, do you really think you could beat me?" Cal asks, her lips touching the shell of his ear.
"Don't think I'd want to at this point." He smiles, holding her hips.
"Much better answer." She smirks, kissing his cheek.

"Morning, kids." Amanda says pointedly, watching Cal get off Robby's lap at an impressive speed.
"Morning aunt Amanda." Cal smiles, her cheeks heating red.
"Morning Mrs. LaRusso." Robby nods.
"Don't want to see that on that couch again yes?"
"Yes ma'am." Robby nods quickly.
"Sorry aunt Amanda."
"It's okay. I didn't see anything bad, just don't straddle his lap when you kiss his cheek. Yeah?"
"Of course." Cal smiles, watching Amanda nod a soft smile of her own peeking out before she walks into the kitchen.

"That was close." Robby breathes out a heavy sigh of relief.
"We weren't doing anything wrong. She knows that. She just doesn't want to see us in what could be a compromising position."
"Yeah, yeah... you don't think she was mad?" Robby asks worriedly.
"Mad? No! Not at all! She just put a larger boundary on. Now we know. She's not upset with us Robby. I promise!"
"Okay... yeah okay." Robby nods.

"Hey, where's this coming from?" Cal holds his cheek against her palm.
"My mom is rarely ever home, and when she is and even when she isn't I have very little rules to follow. I have no idea what a normal parent-child relationship looks like. I just... I really don't want to be kicked out and I don't want to tarnish your family relationship by being... lewd?"
"We weren't being lewd." Cal giggles, "I know rules can be tricky even for the best of us. Just because you break a single rule doesn't mean we throw you out! Nor does it reflect poorly on me when it's trivial and we didn't even get yelled at! It was just a reiteration and an expansion to a rule. That's all. I promise." Robby nods quickly a few times before meeting her eyes again.
"Thank you."
"Always here to get you out of your own head." Cal assures him, kissing his cheek now with her butt placed firmly on the couch instead of his lap.

"Now we should get ready for karate."

-

"Fucking hell it's hot out." Cal groans, stripping off her shirt and using it to towel off the sweat on her face.
"Oh god." Demetri pants, laying his head on Sam's shoulder.
"This is torture." Sam groans, throwing her head against the tree the students had all crowded under to hide from the blazing rays of the sun.
"I'm sweating in places I didn't even know I had pores." Demetri bellyaches.
"I'm about to jump in that pond." Chris pants.
"I'll be joining you." Cal agrees.

"All right, guys. Get on out from under that tree. It's time to get to work." Daniel calls, stepping closer to the sweaty hoard of teenagers. The group groans as they all stand begrudgingly from their shady spot.
"Hey, Mr. LaRusso, it's like 100 degrees out. Can't we take it easy today?" Robby pleads.
"Are you kidding? This heat wave is a gift! Today, you are going to experience Shochu-Geiko." The teens stare blankly at Daniel, whether it's because their brains were melting from the heat or he just spoke another language is up to interpretation.