Papa don't preach.

[salylimon]

WHO: Jared, Emi, and Mr & Mrs. de León~
WHEN: [Backdated] April 14th, early Thursday evening.
WHERE: Charleston 4D.
WHAT: It's time for Jared to meet the parents. This will not surely go splendidly.

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[salylimon]

Marina could not help but wonder if, perhaps, she and her husband should have just called their daughter the moment they arrived. But it was too late now, she supposed, shifting on her foot as the elevator doors dinged open. Fishing out her cellphone from her purse, she flipped it open and scrolled down to her daughter's name before sending her a quick text.

Ya llegamos! ♥

Of course Marina knew that that message could have meant anything. Anything from arriving at the airport, their hotel, or (in this case), outside their daughter's apartment. But both parents figured it'd be okay. Emiliana had mumbled something about living with two other people. And Juan hadn't been able to tell them anything due to his angry spluttering being quite incomprehensible whenever their parents asked him about his sister.

Giving a quick glance at her husband, Marina noticed how his dark green eyes suddenly lit up upon spotting something -- ah, Emiliana's door.

Knuckles giving a rapt but friendly knock against the wooden door, José waited for their daughter to open so he could take the small woman in a bear hug and-

That wasn't Emiliana.

Staring blankly at the tall man that suddenly appeared behind the door, José could only blurt out the first thing that came to mind: "¿Quién eres?!"

"Oh, sorry. I think we have the wrong address-" Marina butted in, the woman's seemingly soft voice deeply accented with the lull of her Veracruz Spanish.

The sudden exclamation and the appearance of two seemingly unknown people outside the apartment door, however, was enough to send Emi jumping up and off the sofa and practically sprinting towards the trio. "Mamá, papá-!" Inching by Jared (though not before giving him a quick and apologetic glance), Emi latched onto their arms, flushing in embarrassment. "No, no. Está bien. You're at the right place. Es que-"

Emi cleared her throat awkwardly. Better to avoid the bewildered greetings and just plow ahead. Maybe.

"Ama, apa, ah, this is my boyfriend, Jared. Jared-" She glanced up quickly, looking away from the looming figure of her father and somewhat bemused and smaller (but still taller than Emi) mother. "There are my parents, Marina and José."

[salylimon]

Whether or not the man in front of him extended his hand or no was the last thing on José's mind. No, instead, he was too busy focusing on the fact that he was there. With his daughter. In her apartment. Granted, she had mentioned roommates - perhaps even that Luciano from last time. He didn't mind that one, he always seemed a bit...chueco..

It was after what felt like an eternity of silence that Marina decided to butt in. She felt wary herself, but she chose to instead smile at the man --Jared, was it? -- as she extended her hand instead. "It's a pleasure. Una gran sorpresa, but a pleasure." Shooting her husband a warning look, Marina carefully shuffled them both in before turning to properly greet her daughter.

Grinning weakly, Emi returned the embrace with a chaste kiss to her mother's cheek before turning hesitantly to her father. "Papá, ah, why didn't you guys call me when you got here-? Did you have to pay for a taxi? You know I would've picked you up. Have you eaten yet? We can go to dinner-"

She was speaking quickly, trying to divert her parents attention as even she couldn't miss the look of murderous intent in her father's eyes.

"I know of this place in downtown and-"

It was at this point that José decided to interject. "Do you live far?" He suddenly asked Jared, smiling pleasantly (murderous intent still there).

[salylimon]

"Apá-" Emi spoke up, unknowingly taking a step between Jared and her father as she forced a shaky smile on her lips, her hand brushing against Jared's as she moved. "This is his apartment. His and John's. Tuve que vivr aqui because-" She paused, not exactly comfortable with mentioning what had happened with Natalia and the woman breaking in some few days after her twenty-second birthday. "Because I couldn't afford to live in my old apartment y Jared and John took me in when I had no place to go."

She bit her lip. "So, no te enojes." Emi stared at her father's incredulous look before turning to stare pleadingly at her mother.

Marina, glancing at her daughter, heaved a reluctant sigh before suddenly smiling. "We should all have dinner together, si? Here. Juntos."

[salylimon]

Narrowly avoiding hitting her head on the freezer door in surprise, Emi glanced up at Jared with a small smile of her own. The tight grip she had on the fridge door relaxed though the rigid tenseness in her shoulders remained as she straightened. "I think I'm okay," she replied lightly, giving an almost apprehensive glance to her left as if waiting for her parents to magically reappear again. "I cooked something in advance, just in case, so I just need to heat it up. Shouldn't take too long, I think..."

She trailed off, teeth beginning to chew into her bottom lip without her noticing as she moved to grab one of the last items from the fridge. "I'm really sorry about this. H-He's usually not like this." She paused, smiling weakly. "But amá likes you, so we'll try to keep him from saying anymore stupid things."

[salylimon]

"He'll get over it," Eventually, Emi added silently as an afterthought before she jerked at the sudden mention of her name. It seemed as though as though her mother was dragging her father to the store. Something about dessert. Flashing her mother a grateful smile as the older woman dragged the sulking man out the door, Emi instantly relaxed the moment the door shut behind them.

Heaving a sigh, Emi instantly wrapped her arms around Jared's middle, chin resting against his chest as she looked up with a wry smile on her face. "He's just being stubborn." And constantly mumbling, in Spanish, that they should break up from what she heard earlier. "But you could try that. Even if it might, ah, remind him about the...little age difference." Her smile turned a bit strained at the corners. "But he hasn't asked how we met yet, s-so that's good."

[salylimon]

"There's no reason why we need to tell him the actual story," Emi agreed with a playful little smile. "Maybe later. Much later."

Leaning into the touch, Emi felt her smile widen before she turned her head to press a quick kiss against Jared's wrist. "So maybe we can use that library and movie idea for now," she said, leaning up on her tiptoes to press her lips against Jared's for a moment before pulling back slowly. "Just try not to let what he says get to you, yeah? He's just being hard headed right now." A faint grin. "I think it's genetic."

[salylimon]

"I think he was just hit too many times in the head when he was younger. Idiot liked to pick fights with everyone," Emi replied with a small smile. That smile, however, instantly faded at the sound of approaching footsteps - only to come back at the warm, firm pressure of Jared's lips pressing against her own before pulling back hastily.

Averting her eyes from her father's suspicious stare (one that silently begged to ask "Were you two doing something?"), Emi focused her attention back on the food currently heating up on top the stove and inside the microwave, the silly smile still tugging at the corner of her lips in something resembling the grin of a lovesick fool.

Taking a second to compose her, Emi turned back to her parents with a mock look of mild surprise. "Back already?"

"Yes, your father was complaining too much so I decided that he doesn't deserve dessert." A roll of Marina's eyes. "¿Necesitas ayuda, mija?" The older woman asked as she stepped into the kitchen, idly reaching up to smooth down Emi's bangs.

Batting her mother's hands way half-heartedly, Emi shook her head with a gentle grin. "Estoy bien. Go sit down. I should be done soon."

Heaving a sigh, her mother nodded and turned to walk back to where her sulking husband was currently seated on the sofa - only for her days eyes, a shade darker than Emi's really, lifted to stare at Jared before an inquisitive smile worked it's way onto the woman's lips. "Come sit with us, mijo. It is only fair to get to know the future son-in-law, no?"

She purposely ignored her husband's sudden choked spluttering as she continued to smile at her daughter's boyfriend.

[salylimon]

"Ah-" Emi took an involuntary step forward, ripping her attention away from the stove to give the back of her mother's head a rather horrified expression. There was no way she could bolt toward the living room without risking burning the apartment down (or the food) in the process. Or, if she did turn off the stove, she'd have to stumble and come up with a half-assed excuse as to why she was suddenly trying to squeeze her way between Jared and her mother.

Instead, she was forced to give Jared an apologetic look before turning her attention back to the food in front of her.

...though, she supposed this was payback for the interrogation she had to go through when she had met Jared's own mother. Clearing her throat at the thought, Emi continued to putter about the kitchen, taking out dishes and glasses while making sure to pay close attention to the conversation at hand.

"Ay, there's always something to know about a person," Marina replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. "You can't date my daughter and be a stranger, you know." She continued to smile. While she may not have been acting as explosively as her husband, that didn't mean Marina herself wasn't wary of the other man. Emiliana was, after all, her only daughter. Both she and her husband had reason to be critical of the men she dated, after all.

"How old are you? Any family? Where? You have a job, yes? How did you and Emiliana meet?" Came the bubbly rush of questions, a glint in Marina's eyes as she smiled widely at Jared.