Chapter 34: Domestic Conflict Part II

Dean entered his home and shut the door behind him to find Yuki and Katherine waiting in the hallway for him. Yuki shot their guest a side glance before ignoring the woman entirely.

Whatever she was feeling the night before, it seemed to have been replaced by her immediate prioritization of Dean’s safety.

“Dean! Are you okay! I heard gunfire! And I noticed you weren’t home. Let me see if you’re bleeding anywhere.”

Katherine rolled her eyes at the comment, but she didn’t say anything. Bringing up credentials right now, when she was still an unofficial prisoner and one that Yuki was currently displeased with, was not exactly a wise move on her part.

Even if she wanted to say something, she ultimately bit her tongue and walked back to the kitchen.

All the while, Dean patted Yuki’s head while taking off his tactical equipment and extra layers of clothing.

“I’m fine… The intruders are not fully dealt with. I came back to get something to eat and to draft a new plan. I don’t doubt they’ll be sending more men in another attempt to take the neighborhood before long.”

Yuki immediately understood what she needed to do, she ran off to the kitchen and fired up the stovetop. Preparing a meal for the three of them while Dean sat down at table, clearing the RPK he had used in battle, and beginning basic maintenance.

It wasn’t exactly necessary with such a weapon… But Dean’s time in the serviced made it a habit to ensure his tools were properly maintained during downtime.

Katherine stared at the weapon with wide eyes. She had never seen such a thing before. Sure, firearms were relatively common in the Union of Columbia, but this didn’t look like a rifle.

And Dean noticed the woman slightly brush her hair aside while averting her gaze. He smirked as he raised the dust cover and stripped the guts from his weapon.

“yeah I figured as much…”

This immediately caught Katherine’s attention as she shifted her gaze back to Dean, crossing her arms as she interrogated him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Dean began spraying the weapon down with his preferred cleaning lubricant. Focusing on the parts that engaged in the most friction or soaked up the most heat.

He seemed to be ignoring her until he wasn’t.

“Nothing, you just don’t seem like the type is all.”

Katherine immediately understood what Dean was insinuating, but clearly wanted him to say it.

“If you have something to say, just say it.”

Dean sighed as he placed the bolt carrier group and gas piston onto the tablecloth. For the first time since he started, he looked over at Katherine and said it straight.

“Alright, fine… You have a certain… posh aura about you. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, it just means you seem like the type who would flinch at a gun like this. That’s all.”

Dean then went right back to cleaning his weapon, all the while Katherine struggled with the words.

Posh? Posh? Sure, her family had never really been the blue collar type. But Posh? That was a bit too far.

She was just about to say something when Dean chuckled and turned back to her.

“Let me guess, you’re going to say something like your father had a double barrel shotgun in the house and hunted pheasant whenever it was in season?”

That comment alone stopped Katherine dead in her tracks. Not because it was wrong, but because it was uncannily correct in a way, it shouldn’t have been.

Dean then pieces his weapon back together and racked the charging handle back a few times to ensure it functioned properly before switching the selector to safe.

He rested the automatic rifle on his shoulder while staring mockingly at Katherine.

“I’m right aren’t I?”

Katherine didn’t respond, she simply snubbed Dean and turned her attention towards the window where she witnessed the snowstorm continue to rage outside.

It hadn’t truly stopped once since the blizzard began a month ago. It was a miracle that they weren’t completely snowed in by now.

However, her silence was broken by Yuki who not long after returned with plates filled with breakfast.

She handed the plates off before sitting down next to Dean. Interfering in the conversation between the two of them.

“I had never seen a firearm before in my life until I met Dean. I had always heard rumors that the Union of Columbia had loose laws regarding guns, but I never understood just how true that was. I was nervous around them a bit at first, but I’ve gotten used to them over the last few weeks. You’re a native to these lands, and you still can’t stand the sight of them?”

Dean kept his eyes on the rifle, pretending the argument wasn’t unfolding three feet from him.

The last conversation he had with Yuki about going easy on Katherine hadn’t ended well for him, and currently he had more important things on his mind.

But Katherine instantly took the bait, choosing not to bite her tongue any longer. At least not when Yuki had gone out of her way to provoke her.

“Excuse me, but I’m perfectly accustomed to firearms. This thing… I just a little much, don’t you think?”

Yuki smirked when Katherine had said that, leaning over and touching Dean’s rifle which rested against the table, almost as if she were cradling it.

“Why? Too much for you?”

The statement caused Katherine to stare at Yuki in shock, and Dean nearly choked on his coffee when he heard the girl’s words.

He was about to say something on the matter when Yuki cut him off, her words clearly back to targeting Katherine rather than making inappropriate jokes.

“If you can’t stand seeing something like this, you won’t survive the winter long… Isn’t that right, Dean?”

While Dean agreed with Yuki’s statements, he was quick to cut her off. He caught her wrist gently but firmly.

“Yuki we need to talk… right now….”

Yuki didn’t bother to fight it, she followed after Dean looking forward to some alone time with him, away from that woman….

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