Good evening all.

Just sending through this small contribution to the Holiday Contest.

Like Halloween, this is a two-parter despite coming in under the word count!

Wishing all of you a peaceful and loving time and true contentment this holiday season.

Lots of love

Moi

David’s eyes tracked the trees and buildings rolling past the window of the car, the once familiar view of Auckland city looking so different since he left. The rolling hills with tree-lined roads were still there, but now clearly interspersed with the squat purple bricks the Shil called “architecture”. While he supposed the building’s looked alright, having got used to them during his tenure in Shil space, they were certainly at odds with the wooden colonial villas and 1930’s art deco townhouses he was achingly familiar with seeing as they rolled through the area of Mount Eden.

The reason that the car wasn’t taking the usual motorway route was twofold, firstly, it ensured David and his… family… (definitely not a harem!) could avoid the heavy traffic as the city rushed to buy last second Christmas oddities. The second reason was so David could show his wives and children (and wasn’t that something he never saw coming? Three wives and four adopted children… Jesus Christ), could see the city which he’d grown up in.

The Shil military presence wasn’t nearly as visible as he’d thought, just the odd pair of militiawomen walking their beats, and of course the security at the spaceport. Other than that it seemed that a decade was all it had taken for Aucklanders to settle into the life of an occupied species.

A small hand tugged at the short sleeve of his collared shirt, drawing David from his musing as he turned his attention back to the occupants of the car, namely the young Shil male looking up at him with wide eyes.

“Dav… Dad, are we nearly there?”

The corners of David’s mouth curved upwards as he gently held his adopted son’s hand in his, “Not quite J’aal, maybe another half hour or so.”

J’aal pouted slightly, though whether this was at the idea of waiting or more so at having to practice his English and human time measurements it was hard to say.

“But I want to see Oma and Opa!”

Though he would only admit it to himself, David’s heart sung for joy at hearing those words coming out of J’aal’s mouth. He’d made sure that he didn’t try and enforce any of his human culture on his family, but he had managed to slip small things into the family language here and there. His mother’s family had always referred to their grandparents as Oma and Opa, even though his maternal grandparents were from York and London respectively. He’d also managed to sneak another family tradition into the family, though this had resulted in a lot of discussion, negotiation, even an argument once, not between him, but between his three wives, Kato, a stunning black and white furred Rai’kiri, Th’Ornata, a comparatively short yet passionate Shil militiawoman and Sarah, the handsome human woman David had somehow (he still couldn’t quite believe it), managed to woo, court and finally wed. Sarah, hailing from Israel, while used to the blasting heat of the New Zealand summer sun, was not yet intimate with the idea of a Kiwi Christmas, and David’s suggestion of creating a family tradition for their little brood by borrowing elements from everyone’s traditions to form a unique family event had been surprisingly well received.

This had brought him to suggest the second of his family’s traditions into the fold. In his family, every male’s name had to include a place name, a place to which the person should journey at some point in their life. This explained his two brothers, Kent and Nevada. David however, had managed to get lucky with his middle name being Callan, a small area in Ireland. He had suggested that this process should be a lot easier now there was an entire galaxy to be explored, barring any embarrassing translations that is. As he’d hoped, when they adopted their first child, a precocious young Rai’kiri pup whose family had been taken by slavers in the periphery, this had sparked some discussion. The problem was, no one could quite agree on where in the name the place should be, and where in the galaxy such a place should be found.

In the end, and much to David’s embarrassment they had decided to let the husband pick from a shortlist they had compiled. As a result, K’lathia Waiouru Nathika was welcomed into the family, the first of what had since been dubbed “The Brood”.

D’thalia Nimbus, Merid Shil and J’aal Orsania had quickly followed, swelling the family’s ranks and despite all being adopted, and being a mix of Rai’kiri, Shil and Human (Merid), not only got on (well… mostly) but were in fact terrifying in their ability to work together to get what they wanted. It had been a rough day for David when he was asked to come into school in order to talk to his children about the disturbingly organized sweets and collectables racket they’d managed to set up in their first month at that particular school.

As it was, the girls were largely quiet, utterly exhausted from the space flight, the excitement of coming to Earth and the possibility of meeting their paternal grandparents for the first time, leaving J’aal the only one conscious enough to ask questions, though it was clear even he was struggling to stay awake as mid-afternoon sunlight streamed through the window of the car.

“…ou have arrived at your destination”

The smooth male voice of the car’s auto pilot jolted David out of his dreamless nap, the small hand tightening slightly around his letting him know that J’aal had been roused as well. Around the passenger compartment, everyone stretched and groaned, Sarah peering out the window at the two-story wooden villa looming over the car.

“You never said your parents were rich David!” Muttered a curious Th’Ornata, her inky black eyes dancing between the house and David’s own.

“Because they aren’t” David replied quietly, hoping that his loves would understand. His parents had been living in east Auckland when David had been recruited into the Empire, back in the days of near constant resistance activity. As a result, his parents had been moved along with their possessions to this plot of land an allowed to design their own home, supposedly under the cover of a “rehoming of those who had lost their homes to military activity”. Add to that, David had been sending a percentage of his paychecks to them until he married Kato. His parents had at first rejected the money until David told them that they could give it to charity for all he cared, as long as they knew he wasn’t going to drop them like his brothers (half-brothers) had done.

As it was, his mother was quite happy making cards and helping run card-making and scrap booking classes for the local community while his father made good use of the opportunity to design his own shed, now acting as a wood, glass and metal-working classroom for the local school and community, coupled with the miniature ride-on railway which ran around and across the garden and small block of bush at the end of the property.

Glancing at each other, the four adults’ nervousness was clear. David’s parents had both met the entire family via vid call numerous times, but there was no doubt that this first face-to-face meeting was going to be awkward, especially as despite David’s best efforts, they had all been warned that his mother Judith was on a government list, having used one of the antique rifles in David and his father’s collection to take potshots at marines during the initial invasion.

His father Chris on the other hand was on unofficial retainer by the governess of New Zealand due to his skills with designing software, including the now famous programme he had developed to track the entire world’s freshwater quality and supply two years before the invasion.

Personally, David suspected the woman was more interested in his dad’s software programme he had designed for a friend to accurately predict changes in the stock market 24 hours in advance which he’d made for a friend during the course of a weekend.

The children, now all thoroughly awake, seemed to sense their parents’ concern, waiting until Th’Ornata gave a cough. “Alright, best not keep Oma and Opa waiting!” she smiled cheerfully, popping open the door to allow the children to slide out of the vehicle, Thorn (Th’Ornat’s preferred name at home) following them only to be followed by Sarah, Kato being the last one out before David as was suitable due to her being his First Wife.

David couldn’t help but swallow nervously, it had been over a decade, his mum was now in her 80s, his dad in his 70s, he wasn’t sure…

All doubts in his mind were wiped clean as the door opened and his parents burst out into the sun, their eyes zeroing in on him as his mother all but charged down the wooden steps, slamming into him as her arms wrapped around his chest, pinning his arms to his sides as she rocked him side to side, the sheer strength and vigour in her movements almost sending David onto his back if it wasn’t for Kato’s and Thorn’s hands holding him up.

His father, always slightly more reserved than his mother, showed no greater restraint, wrapping his arms around his son and his wife as David was enveloped in the loving grasp of his parents, much to the surprise of his wives and children.

They stood like that for several minutes, happily basking in each other’s presence, no need for words and would probably have stayed there for much longer if J’aal hadn’t let out a delighted squeak at the sight of a pitch-black cat sauntering down the steps after David’s parents, meowing inquisitively at the stranger’s in his driveway.

“Oh! I.. I’m so sorry!” Judith looked up, sniffling slightly as one arm still tightly gripped her son’s arm. “Its just been a long time… you know”

The three women nodded, their expressions ranging from gentle understanding (Sarah) to deferential respect (Kato).

Seeing that his wife wasn’t going to let go David quite yet, Chris stepped forward, his hand held out in a fist as his other hand slipped his glasses off his face, his lips stretched in a watery smile.

“I’m Chris, David’s dad, its wonderful to finally meet all of you in person!”

He stopped short for a moment, clearly uncertain whose fist he should bump first, his shoulders sagging in relief as Kato stepped forward, her fist extended, her tail wagging behind her. “It’s a pleasure” she smiled in delight, “You raised a wonderful man.”

As she spoke, her eyes not-so-subtly ran up Chris’ body, a slight quirk in her lips and a twitch of her ears telling David she was slightly amused by his father’s…. “cuddly” form, and the fact her very traditional Rai’kiri parents would doubtless approve of such a thing for a husband.

David couldn’t help but let out a bark of laughter as his father’s face flushed red from his neck to his bald spot, the man’s smile growing bashful as he gently fist bumped Sarah and Thorn before lowering his hand for the children to bump politely.

J’aal, ever a charmer (that boy was bound to break a few ladies hearts in his time), decided to forgo a fist bump in favour of wrapping his arms around his Opa’s waist and giving him an earnest hug, turning his head to the side to avoid any tusk related incidents.

Much to the obvious surprise of Thorn and Kato and the delight of David, his father barely flinched, instead returning the hug with a warm, gentle laugh, tension visibly slipping off his shoulders as he gently squeezed his Shil grandson.

Glancing at his daughters David could help but chuckle at their pouting expressions, the three of them clearly not having realised they were more than welcome to join in, something Chris evidently worked out for himself as he glanced at them, opening one arm to invite them in for a group hug.

As the three of them darted forward into the group hug, the quiet click of an omni-pad camera snapped over and over from Sarah, the woman flicking a wink towards the rest of them as Chris struggled to extract an arm to invite Judith into the hug, the human woman being eagerly enveloped into the huddle.

Eventually though, the hug broke up naturally, Judith extracting herself gently as the children stepped back with various degrees of reluctance, evidently having relished the chance to hug with other family beside their parents.

A repeated problem David had run into with both Kato’s and Thorn’s extended family’s was an obvious reluctance to show physical affection to clearly adopted family members, a situation he had done his best to rectify with little success. As a result, while the children were hugged and showered with affection at home, family reunions could be a bit cold for them.

“Well lets get you inside!” Judith suddenly piped into the conversation, having returned to her son’s side, her arm around his shoulders, her grip on David relaxing slightly as she gently fist bumped the Kato, Thorn and Sarah. “We’ve got hot chocolate, coffee, tea or something a bit cooler if you want.”

The children immediately surged towards the door, eager to explore the human house, pursued by Sarah, yelling after them to be respectful as David was almost dragged into the house, his mum having him by one arm while Kato had the other, clearly eager to make a good impression with his parents.

In contrast with the blazing summer sunshine outside, the interior of the house was blessedly cool, the hallway and lower floor of the house clearly having been built with human architecture but Shil dimensions in mind, the Kauri wood walls and floors having been recycled from older homes which had been pulled down following the invasion.

As he was gently but firmly guided onto the couch, David finally had the chance to truly look at his parents for the first time in over a decade. In truth he had been fearing his parents would look ancient, weaker or the like. To his relief (though he’d never mention it to either of them lest his remains never be found), while the last decade had clearly taken a toll, it was nowhere near as severe as he had feared. The lines on his mother’s face were definitely deeper, her straight silver hair shockingly white. It was clear she’d made an effort to make a good impression, the tasteful Christmas earrings she’d had as long as he could remember were in place along with her ubiquitous silver cross on its chain around her neck. His father on the other hand was certainly looking older, but a lot healthier than David remembered him, his smile sitting comfortably on his face in a way it never had during David’s formative years. The man’s short curly hair even looking healthier than it had in his memories, though whether leaving the stress of his job before the invasion, or Shil health technology David wasn’t sure (internally he was betting on the former over the latter).

The sounds of rapid footsteps thundered back down the staircase as K’lathia bounded down the steps, visible through the lounge door. “Dad!” she yelled excitedly, “You never told us Oma and Opa collected swords!!”

Before David could respond, she was already bounding back up the stairs, Thorn, Kato and Sarah turning their bemused gazes on David causing him to shrug.

Chris chuckled as he held up a hand, “They’re all properly secured and registered, they won’t be able to get hold of them. Just wait until they find the next ro…” he didn’t even manage to finish his sentence before footsteps came hurrying back down the staircase, and this time J’aal was the one that announced “And rifles!”

David shook his head, Chris laughing as he lifted himself from his seat. “Oh there’s more than that lad!” he grinned, “Would you and your sisters like to have a look?”

As his father offered his hand to J’aal, David had to bite his lip to avoid grinning like an idiot as J’aal eagerly grabbed his opa’s hand and all but dragged him back up the stairs, followed at a more sedate pace by Sarah who politely asked to tag along to also have a look, much to the delight of both males.

As the thunder of footsteps muffled slightly, Judith took the time to eye up both Thorn and Kato, in much the same way as the two woman were examining her. David, seated between the Shil’vati and Rai’kiri women felt a bead of sweat roll down the back of his neck as the two sides continued their silent eyeing of each other.

In the end, his mum leaned back in her seat, her lips sliding upwards in a proud grin, “Well now, welcome to the family!” she nodded her head in approval, “you have no idea how blessed I feel that you are all finally here!”

The sudden thawing of the room clearly caught the two other women off guard, Kato’s ears pricking up as Th’Ornata almost choked on her own spit.

“*cough* Wh-what do you mean?” spluttered Th’Ornata, her hand, previously gripping David’s in a death grip, seemingly unable to decide between relaxing and crushing his digits in her grasp.

“What we mean to say…” rumbled Kato, “Is that we are um.. aware of your activities during the liberation, and that you might have… mixed feelings about…” her hand gestured at her husband and fellow wife. “Us”

While his mother’s expression did noticeably darken at the mention of the invasion, the woman simply nodded in understanding. “In that case I must thank you for trusting David, Chris and myself enough to bring your children here, that cannot have sat easily with you.”

David winced internally, remembering the amount of convincing it had taken to get the loves of his life to agree to bring the children with them on this trip.

Judith then leaned forward, her expression open yet lined with seriousness. “During the Invasion I fought to protect my home and my husband, who in turn fought to protect me. Make no mistake I would fight to defend my home again.” Tension emanated from the huge women on either side of David as his mother leaned back in her seat, “That said, I grew up in the ruins of London after the war, I had to line up with my ration book to go to the shops, many of the children I went to school with were missing one if not both parents. At no point did we hate the Germans, our parents made sure of that. The war was over, and if we ever met a German or any other visitor to our city we were taught to welcome them regardless.” She smiled at them both, a hint of steel in her gaze, “And if I can welcome a stranger, you can imagine how I will treat my family.”

David slowly released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding as he felt his wives relax, the atmosphere in the room warming considerably as his mum rose to her feet. “Now, what drinks can I get you? We bought some Red Grain and Blue Grail if you’d prefer.”

Thorn smiled happily at the mention of the Blue Grail, “I’ll have a blue if that’s alright please!” she perched on the edge of the couch, looking as if she were to stand before Judith waved her down, “Its alright dear, I’ll grab it, and you? Kato?” The Rai’kiri thought for a moment, “I might have something later if that’s alright thank you” she purred slightly, smiling as the human woman nodded and slipped around the corner.

The moment she was out of sight David found himself flanked by two very earnest women, the pair of them leaning in to keep their voices down.

“Goddess David!” hissed Thorn, “You didn’t tell us your parents would be so welcoming!”

“Or that your mother looks like she’d bury all of us if we crossed you!” rumbled Kato approvingly.

“I-look, I genuinely didn’t know exactly how they’d react!” David muttered, “I mean, meeting via vid-call and in person are really quite different, especially given the size difference!” he gestured meaningfully at the stature of the two females.

“I don’t know, I think she’d make a terrifying drill instructor” muttered Thorn, “she carries her presence well. Though at least we now know where your stubbornness comes from!”

The three of them let out a chuckle at that, sniggering as Merid trotted into the room, excitedly tugging on the sleeve of Kato’s dress (the Rai’kiri had insisted on dressing up for the occasion). “Come ooooonnn mum!” she whined “Its so cool up there! And Opa has promised us a surprise in the garden!”

David shot a knowing glance at Thorn, the woman smiling slightly in response as she nodded, the two women slowly shifting to their feet to follow Merid up the stairs.

Following their example David struggled of the deep-seated couch, though his steps were directed through to the kitchen first, sunlight streaming through the window as the jug began to boil.

His mum turned to see who it was and quickly wrapped her arms around him in another tight hug, the two of them standing there in the kitchen as they quietly just held each other.

“Christ David” his mum eventually muttered, “Ten years! Your dad and I were starting to wonder… we hoped!”

“I know mum” David’s voice was far from steady. “It… it’s been hard I gotta admit, but I’m happy, they’re happy, I had to bring everyone to meet you, the children need that family history. I know that vid calls make it easier, but it’s not the same”

“Heh… that’s an understatement” she smiled tearfully, breaking the hug to pour the now boiled water into the coffee plunger on the counter before lining up the four mugs for David and children for hot chocolate.

“Your father has been so looking forward to this, he hasn’t been quite the same since… well I told you about Kent.”

David nodded, gritting his teeth at the mention of his older half-brother. “Yes… yes you did, but let’s not talk about it, my foot is already aching with the intent of de-balling him when I next see him as it is.”

“Then we won’t discuss it further” Judith stated firmly, “now onto more important matters, do you think the children would appreciate their stockings tomorrow morning at your place or here?”

“Ah! Good question!” David pondered for a second. “Maybe if we took the stockings, but brought the presents here, I know they’ll be excited to show you what they find in their stockings anyway.”

“Sounds like a plan” she smiled, “Do they believe in Santa Claus?”

“Err no not quite,” David chuckled, “We felt they were a little too old for that, instead we taught them about the spirit of Santa Claus so to speak, the idea of giving a thoughtful gift to loved ones to show our love an affection and to celebrate a year together”

“And the faith aspect?”

“Mum, you know I have plenty of that, and yes I have explained it to them, but whether they follow that part is up to them”

Judith nodded, “As long as it has been explained then that’s just fine, we all know it’s a Roman holiday anyway”

“Aye, true enough. Now then, we taking these upstairs or calling everyone down?”

“Best call them down, we can take it all out into the garden”

“Great, any biscuits around?”

“There’s a tray we put together in the fridge”

“The fridge?... holy shi… crabapples, is the army coming round?”

“Its just a small spread”

“JuSt a SmAll SpReAD!” David mimicked, “Mum, there’s enough here to make the feeding of the 5000 look like a light luncheon for two!”

“Well hurry up and get them out of the fridge and close the door, you’re letting the heat in!”

“Alright alright!”

David grunted as he hefted the two trays laden with butter, crackers, cheese, pineapple chunks, dips, grapes, strawberries, icing sugar, Whittaker’s dark and milk chocolate sticks (for stirring drinks), chocolate digestives and Tim Tams, not to mention his mother’s famous chocolate slice.

Carefully guiding his way back through to the living room and down the hallway towards the back door he nudged it open with his hip, pausing in surprise at the lush garden before him. The simple wooden patio housed a low (for Shil’vati, for humans it was more like a dining table), glass-toped table surrounded by low wicker basket seats. All this was overlooking a thick patch of native trees, shrubs and ground cover, a tui watching him inquisitively from a branch before launching itself away with the achingly familiar (but obnoxiously loud) fluttering of wings. At the foot of the patio and surrounding and intersecting this small native patch was a gravel pathway along with the instantly recognizable rails of his father’s garden railway (the surprise mentioned by Merid earlier).

Staggering slightly towards the table David carefully placed the trays on the table before removing the glad wrap covering, turning to see Judith following closely behind with the first of the mugs.

A couple of trips back and forth later as well as a short call upstairs, the table was soon surrounded and the plates rapidly relieved of the bulk of their contents.

Judith and Chris eagerly took the opportunity to get to know their adopted grandchildren, happily answering questions about themselves from the children as their mother’s listened carefully. As he listened and occasionally chipped into the conversation, David felt the last of his tension gradually ebb away, replaced with a warm blanket of contentment. By the time the children finally grew a little more restless, the plate of nibbles was picked clean, J’aal and D’thalia having developed a voracious appetite for Havarti cheese, David now seriously concerned he’d be forced to share his own stash back home.

Eventually it was Kato who turned to his dad and asked the question David had been waiting for ever since his father first mentioned it.

“So Chris… what are those rails for in the garden?”

David watched closely, delighted to see his dad’s eyes light up at the question.

“Well now, why don’t I show you?” he laughed, almost giggling in clear excitement. “If you stay here for a moment.”

So saying he almost bounded down the steps and disappeared along the garden path, soon out of sight amongst the ferns and trees.

“Your father has become remarkably popular since he built this” Judith chuckled, “since the governess started taking an interest in his work we’ve hosted some of her… co-wives and their children. They’ve absolutely fallen in love with the whole thing!”

“What?!” squeaked Thorn, “A-a governess trusts you with… with family? That’s… that’s…. oh Goddess.”

Judith reached over to pat the woman’s arm. “If its any consolation, my reaction to finding out her family were coming over was relatively similar. But Chris is a pacifist through and through, seeing him go toe to toe with… I think it was her niece in the interior and tell her that if they wanted his help it couldn’t be anything to do with surveillance or military service was quite remarkable.”

“David…” muttered Kato, ignoring the smug expression gracing Sarah’s visage as she ushered the children down the steps to wait by the tracks. “Why didn’t you tell us your parents were forces of nature? This explains a lot!”

David simply shrugged. “Just wait until you learn about MY Oma and Opa. Now there was a pair to be terrified of.”

As if on cue a shrill blast of a steam whistle put an end to the conversation as Chris hove into view, gleefully astride the tender of a miniature NZ Ka class steam locomotive, steam streaming from the funnel as it pulled three ride-on carriages designed to look like the 1940s New Zealand Railway design.

Grinning like a schoolboy in sweet shop, Chris guided the locomotive to a gentle halt in front of the staring aliens, the old cap he used to wear in his younger years when he worked at the Glenbrook Vintage Railway perched on his head.

“Well then… who wants a ride?”

After some initial doubts about the carriages capability to hold the combined weight of Shil and Rai’kiri, the parents were eventually persuaded to board, much to the chagrin of the children who had scrambled astride the miniature rolling stock almost as soon as the engine had safely stopped.

David found himself squeezed (perhaps a tiny bit more than was proper) between Kato and Thorn, Sarah on the carriage ahead with Judith to make sure the children didn’t do anything too stupid while the train was in motion.

The track wasn’t overly long, but it snaked through the trees, weaving its way around the garden and the everyone involved seemed to thoroughly enjoy the experience as the sun slowly began to sink.

Eventually though the train did pull to stop beside the patio, the passengers climbing off and letting Chris guide the engine back along the track to head it back into the shed which stored his small collection of engines and rolling stock.

“Alright troops” David smiled fondly at his children. “We’ve got to be heading out soon, Oma and Opa have some stuff to do before tomorrow morning!”

“Ooh ooh is wrapping gifts?” bubbled Merid, only to be lightly smacked across the shoulder by K’lathia “Nah! It’s gotta be a lot more important than that!” she grinned, looking up at David hopefully, “We’re coming back tomorrow, right?”

“Of course, we are!” David and Sarah chorused happily, turning to each other in surprise before breaking out in laughter. “Christmas breakfast is the biggest tradition we have for this time of year!” David continued. “That means we will be coming back tomorrow morning.”

“But before then…” Judith chipped in, “You are all more than welcome to stay for dinner, and!” she held up her hand to forestall the David’s attempt at arguing, “Its no trouble for us. If you’re willing to stay, it wont take long to prepare, as you well know”

Glancing back at his wives and children David arched an inquiring eyebrow. Sarah and Thorn shrugged as Kato and the children nodded enthusiastically.

“As long as we help set up and clean up” David sighed, his mother grinning as she nodded. “That sounds like a fair deal to me!”

The dinner was a small affair, all of them crowded around the cedar table Chris had made when David was 16. The conversation flowed freely, both families learning more about each other. David and Chris worked together to create their famous Leek and Blue-Cheese tart with mashed potato and salad as the Judith taught the children how to set the table with human eating utensils. As the sun started to set, lighting the sky like molten gold over the trees doors were closed to keep the heat in and lights were switched on. Soon everyone began to settle down at the table, just waiting for the tart to be brought out, Judith reaching for the several coloured candles in the centre of the table, lighting all but the last one as she explained the concept of Advent to the intrigued Shil and Rai’kiri.

While David had made his signature tart many times before for his family, he’d always made it clear that it was his fathers recipe, handed down to him. There was also no denying that using fresh leeks was infinitely superior to the frozen ones David had to use at home. As a result, the tart was eagerly gorged upon by all, with not so much as a pastry crumb left by the end. The food also had the unexpected benefit of finally beginning to tire out the children, various yawns and protestations of alertness convincing the adults that it was time to get them off to bed.

As children were gently guided towards the car by David and Thorn, Kato and Sarah brought up the rear with Judith and Chris, the latter quietly disappearing into a room before emerging with a large cloth bag.

As he was strapping a gently snoring Merid into a seat, David chuckled as Kato attempted to open the bag only to receive a light swat across the hand from his mum, a gentle admonishment about peaking at stockings making its way to his ears.