The Aquarius Grotto clinks with the many dishes and silverware as usual. The fine dining establishment is full of fine patrons as they enjoy their gourmet seafood. Jason pushes the bridge of his glasses up onto the front of his brown eyes while he wears his formal uniform as he goes along the trolley to collect the dirty dishes, and having a small smile from picking up the tips left for him from the tables he's waited on.
The teenage young man looks to the sunset from the flawless windows before he looks to check his watch. It's time to clock out. Jason picks up the last plate, and pushes the cart towards the kitchen. "Alright, I'm out guys." He tells his coworkers.
"Alright, good work today, Jason!" Says Olivia, his manager. Jason punches his number in and takes his belongings from his locker before exiting the back door. The tanned young man rolls his neck to crack it before he takes a few more steps.
"Oh hey, Jason."
He turns and brightens up as he sees a taller Asian woman wearing her glasses, wearing a pink and ivory tweed suit and her black hair groomed in a bun, "Oh Mom, hi!" Jason trots over to her and gives her a hug. Yuri smiles as she holds him tight.
"Rrhhh, good to see you, honey." Yuri says as she rubs the teen's back some before patting it.
"When did you get back, why didn't you call??"
"I wanted to sit in at the Grotto and surprise you when you come to take my order." She says.
"How was Nagano? Is Aunt Fumiko doing ok?"
"Oh yeah, she's fine. Where's your father, I wanna say hi."
"I saw him about 10 minutes ago around the corner, fishing. He's probably still there."
"Oh great, lets go." She says as they go around the enormous building; the Aquarius Grotto is side-to-side as a joint business with the Fish House. They walk along the backside of the entire structure along the docks, passing the few fisherman casting their rods and lines over the railing.
"Oh, there he is now." Jason points out as they spot a man talking to the Captain. Captain signs a few things while speaking with the Fish House employee, discussing something before the Captain sits back down.
Yuri slowly grins as they arrive over by the usual spot. "Catch anything good yet?" She asked the Captain just as the employee walks away.
The Captain turns to look at Yuri and Jason with his warm brown eyes. His hand goes up to adjust his navy blue hat with the brass shell-slice embedded into the cap, wearing a full-length coat over his rubber overalls and woolen sweater over his thick build. He kicks back as a smile curls from his finely groomed shallow beard, having let it grow half an inch thick. Captain locks the reel into position before sitting up.
"Well looked what the net dragged in." Adam says with a broad smile. He huffs as he gets up out of his chair after setting the rod down.
"Still haven't bothered with that low-carb diet I sent you, I see." Yuri says as she crosses his arms. Adam gives her a mild frown and a quirked brow as he draws his long coat back and puts his hands on his hips, almost emphasizing his pot-belly hidden in his uniform.
"What're you trying to say?"
"I'm saying that you can't go sky-diving without causing a solar eclipse, that's all. Seriously, did you even look at the diet plan??"
"No, Dad just tossed it into the bin." Jason adds.
"Hey, do I pry in on what you eat, boy?" Adam asks, "Yuri, I'm fine."
"Your blood pressure still has me on edge." She says with a slight frown.
"Yuri, that was six months ago, and I happened to be having a panic attack about the operations at the time."
"Dad, you couldn't breath for 5 whole minutes." Jason tells him, "Seriously, Mom says you have Grandpa's heart problems."
"Half the docks were demolished by a hurricane!" Adam exclaims, "You have ANY idea how expensive and horrendous something like that gets?? And I had to manage almost everything since Olivia was out of town for the month!"
"Adam, you had a freaking heart attack." Yuri persists.
"Would you two stop nagging me?" Adam says, "I've been taking the pills and checking my blood pressure every week like you told me. I. Am. Fiiiiiine."
"Yeah?" Yuri digs in her pocket and takes out a coin. She flips it with her thumb, which clinked to Adam's feet, "Pick that quarter up without wheezing. Go on. I'm waiting. I dare you. Now."
"PFFF, hghghgh," Jason snickers as Adam gives her a sour look.
"... Gee, I would, Yuri. But I'd hate to take away what's left of your other daughter's college fund, despite the fact that you just tossed it my way."
"KHogghhllll." Jason scoffs as he suppresses a huge outburst as his Mom leers at his Dad. "This is great, I love this, this is what I live for, this is a fun time." He says lowly to the spectacle.
"Ok, Adam. This is USUALLY the part where I throw you over the railing. But I might actually KILL you, and I'd hate to make a bastard out of my little boy." Yuri says as she puts her hands on Jason's shoulders.
"Yeah, I'm the best bastard you're ever going to know." Adam smirked, "So you're back, huh? Couldn't stay away much longer?"
"Mhm. Dennis has been whining nonstop, Gintatsu has basically been babysitting her own father since I left. Besides, Merrick and Naomi are due back any day now, right?"
"Oh yeah," Adam nods, "It's been a month since I got their latest picture." Adam digs into his coat, and brings out the photographs he's been receiving all year, "Here are the last few ones." Yuri accepts them and smiles as she looks at them, and also noting the writing on the backs.
"She always looks like, completely different when she's wearing kelp and stuff." Jason says as he looks at the older pictures. He moves one behind the pile, and then sees an elderly woman with long white hair and wearing a simple white blouse, standing next to Naomi, both of them smiling, "Wait, I never saw this one." Jason says as he blinks at it, "Who's this lady?"
"Oh, that's Merrick's mother, Umiato." He says as Yuri looks over it as well. Her eyebrows rise as she looks at the both of them.
"Wow, pretty uncanny." Yuri remarks.
"Yeah, Merrick says they especially look identical when they're underwater." Adam says as they look at the pictures, some of them showing Brishen, Savarna, a few scenes showing the camping equipment Adam sent Taci to deliver to them, some of them taken during the night.
"Yeah. Great. Glad to know she looks like ONE of us." Yuri says flatly.
"Oh not this again..."
"Come on! These two kids don't look anything like me!" Yuri says as she holds a photo of Naomi with one hand and lightly grabbing the top of Jason's head with the other.
"Oh come on, Yuri! Naomi... KINDA looks like you, and Jason has... Uh... Your personality. That counts, right?"
"Heh, in what way, Adam?" Yuri scoffed.
"Yeah, Dad." Jason says with a smirk as he crosses his arms, "In what way?"
"You know... If she had like, black hair... And uh..."
"And?"
