Round Ten - Knox

Kaylynn Knox was trying to find activities to fill up her days but her attempts at bug-collecting fell flat. Bees loved her for some reason.


The twins were no longer teenagers but fully grown adults. Their personalities remained the same - Ruth was still a little vain and hardly in a hurry to settle down.


Noah was still highly academic, interested in science and nature, and his intelligence was proving a boon. He was very young but he was already rising in the ranks of oceanographers - out of simple tank cleaning and into the wide world!


Kaylynn's relationship with Wren continued. All she needed to complete her happiness, in her mind, was daughters-in-law and grandchildren!


Thanks to Kaylynn's pestering, Noah was trying to find himself a woman to settle down with. Unfortunately his skills with women hadn't improved much since his teens and the Junko Nakamura debacle.


But all that changed when he met Heaven Louie at a work conference. She was quite a bit older than him, but lower down in the "ranks", as it were, so he felt like it balanced out. He started inviting her over and Kaylynn definitely approved. Heaven was a down-to-earth, sensible young lady with life goals.


They had a lot in common and had conversations that lasted for hours - it was a good basis for a relationship in both their minds. They wouldn't look like this forever, but they'd always have similar interests.


But their attraction wasn't entirely cerebral. Noah couldn't resist checking her out. Some guys might have found her fuller figure a turn-off, but it didn't matter to him. She was gorgeous!


One thing lead to another, and soon they were "involved". The age gap could be a problem, but Noah didn't care. Here was a girl that could make him (and his mother!) happy.

Note: Ruth is currently sulking somewhere... she wants 50 first dates but there aren't that many lesbians in town, apparently. Her dating pool is limited :(

Round Nine - Knox

The years were catching up with Kaylynn. She'd bought herself a nice recliner so she could rest her tired old bones during the day, and sometimes the night too.


It didn't get in the way of her new romance, though. She knew it wasn't going to go anywhere, she was far too old for that and was more concerned with making sure Noah and Ruth survived their teenage years. Hopefully she would live to see grandchildren!


Noah had taken Kaylynn's ideas about commitment to heart, but Ruth wasn't convinced and said so over breakfast.

"I mean, I know that just because I'm into girls doesn't mean I can't get married, but still, I think it's outdated. Why should I settle for just one person?"


Kaylynn looked horrified. Was Ruth trying to drive her to an early grave?!


It wasn't that Kaylynn disapproved of Ruth being a lesbian; far from it. Noah still brought Yuki Nakamura home with him sometimes, despite his and Junko's falling out, and Kaylynn thought the world of her. Yuki still carried a torch for Ruth despite everything (including getting a new girlfriend). Kaylynn approved of the idea of her as a daughter-in-law someday; why couldn't Ruth see the light?


Ruth had other problems, including large numbers of boys trying to hit on her. She wasn't surprised; she was exceedingly pretty, after all. But they just didn't seem to get the message.

"Um, that's very nice and everything, but... you do know I'm a lesbian, right?"

"Yes, but - "

"Which means I'm into girls, not boys. Thanks but no thanks."


Noah had gone off romance altogether since his disasterous attempt at a relationship with Junko Knox, much preferring to work on his skills. The Knox family had recently bought a piano and although Noah's attempts currently sounded more as if he were pushing it down the stairs than playing Mozart he was determined to add music and creativity to his repertoire. Relationships could wait until he was good and ready; knowledge was where it was at!

Note: The Knoxes are drama-free at the moment! Yay! I think this may partially be because Ruth has run out of teenage girls to be interested in. Things may change when she's an adult... depends how many girls-who-are-into-girls I can find 0_o

Round Eight - Knox

The years were catching up with Kaylynn and soon she couldn't hide her wrinkles anymore. She'd been covering up the stray greys in her hair with dye for a while but it seemed like a lost cause so she gave up. She'd never been a vain person, always much more concerned with family, but it was still a shock to her to see an old lady looking out at her from the mirror.


Thankfully getting older hadn't hindered her quest to find love again. She was casually dating a man her age; she didn't expect it to lead to marriage, but it was nice to have the company now the twins were getting older.


Noah wasn't quite as lucky romantically. Sure, he liked Junko... but he wasn't sure he loved her. He wasn't even sure he was all that attracted to her. It seemed like they were just together because they'd been friends as children. He had no idea how to tell her, though, and she took his indecisiveness as just him being his usual shy, studious self.


Another problem was that his mother was very keen on her. Noah could tell what she was thinking - "my little boy should marry her!" Noah didn't know if he ever wanted to marry anyone - maybe he was more suited to the bachelor life of a scholar. But he knew his mother would be heartbroken if she thought her son wasn't going to get married and carry on the family name, so he kept quiet.


Ruth was considerably more perceptive.

"Look, if you don't like Junko like that you should just admit it and get on with your life! It's a big world out there with loads of different people for you to date."

"Yeah, you'd know all about that," muttered Noah into his cornflakes.


Ruth DID know all about that. She hadn't been going out with Yuki at all lately - instead she'd moved on to the paper girl, Amy. She didn't see this relationship going anywhere either but she was only a teenager - why did she have to settle down?!


Ruth took frequent trips down-town, attempting to get into clubs despite being underage. It was on one such trip she met a very interesting lady indeed. She was quite a bit older, much too old for Ruth, but there was something about her that lingered in Ruth's mind...


...even if she did have a few weird habits.


Yuki had finally accepted that Ruth wasn't going to be her girlfriend, and could even almost stand it when she flaunted Amy at parties. She grinned and bore it, and strutted her stuff with Noah. It was a shame he wasn't a girl, really - they had a lot more in common.


Note: OMG A VAMPIRE that is all.

Round Seven - Knox

The twins were growing older, and despite their similar looks they had never been more different.


Noah helped out around the house along with doing his homework, studying for tests and trying to make his way in the Oceanography career.


Ruth, on the other hand, wasn't concerned with any of these things. She could usually be found hogging the phoneline or sneakily plotting to run off downtown with friends.


One such friend was Yuki Nakamura. There was a definite spark between the two girls, despite their huge differences. Ruth was pretty sure Yuki was actually in love with her, and that made her a little sad; she was never going to feel that way, she knew it.


But it didn't stop Ruth from having some fun. Making out was her new favourite hobby!


Noah was also having some luck with the Nakamura ladies. He and Junko were dating, although they were taking things slow. Noah didn't have time for anything serious or hot-and-heavy!


Kaylynn couldn't escape Cupid either. She was feeling her age and felt like she could do with some company... she missed Cassius.


Notes: Kaylynn is edging towards Elderhood and has a want to fall in love that just won't go away, so I'm trying to find suitable specimens. It's hard. I imagine that Kaylynn would have really high standards - she isn't going to go for these one bolt matches that keep turning up!

Round Six - Knox

Noah and Ruth were getting used to life without their father. It was strange not having him around but at least they still had each other, as well as Kaylynn and Danny.


Danny made time to teach Noah to play basketball. Noah was adequate at it but didn't show any outstanding passion for it or any other sport, but he liked spending time with Danny.


Ruth grew up into a beautiful but flighty young lady. Her previous bookish nature was thrown to the wind in favour of being a party girl, and being at a prestigious academy and thus surrounded by people with money only helped that side of her personality. She wanted presents and parties and nights out clubbing.


Noah remained studious and had a great interest in science and learning in general. When Ruth tried to get him to join her sneaking-into-nightclubs missions he would always decline and instead watch the stars on the newly-built balcony with his father's old telescope.


They were still close even though they were heading down completely different paths in life. Ruth would beg for "help" with an essay and Noah would roll his eyes and agree while telling her to keep it a secret; he didn't want the whole academy asking him to do their work for him.


"Have you done your homework?" Kaylynn asked Ruth one evening as they sat down for dinner.

"No," admitted Ruth without a hint of remorse. "Why should I? I'm a teenager, it's not like the Child Protection Services are going to come and kick the door down because I'm not getting top grades anymore. I have much better things to do."

"You always used to do your homework without me asking," sighed Kaylynn.

"That's because I was a little swot."


Danny made sure to call his father and sister every day. He was ready to graduate from high-school and was incredibly excited about the possibilities his future held.


As well as running up huge bills on the telephone, he enjoyed working on getting to his peak fitness level. He would be old enough to start playing sport professionally soon and he wanted to make sure he was the best around when the talent scouts came knocking.


Danny graduated, cutting his hair short and donning some slightly suaver but still relaxed outfit choices.

"Why've you got to leave and be all grown-up with a job and things? Jobs suck," said Ruth with complete conviction.

Danny assumed she was joking and laughed. "Jobs aren't all that bad. They're great if you can find a vocation you're passionate about."

Kaylynn was less amused.


Danny moved out to one of the apartment complexes; he was renting one opposite Hiro's sister and her friend. He said goodbye to his stepgrandmother, his aunt and his uncle and set off for an independent life, leaving Kaylynn alone with her increasingly difficult teens.

Round Five - Knox

Jasper had moved out of the Knox family household, taking Destiny with him, so Cassius and Kaylynn decided this was the perfect time to renovate the house to make it impressive enough to get the kids into a private academy. Danny and Noah were slightly less enthusiastic about renovation.


Cassius and Kaylynn invited the headmaster around for dinner and a tour of the house, and thanks to the new decor and Kaylynn's delicious pork chops he was impressed enough to immediately grant the kids a place at his academy. Cassius was thrilled.


The change in school proved a good idea. Ruth and Noah's grades progressed much faster than they would have done otherwise, and as they were both scholarly types they were ecstatic about it. Ruth loved it, and the fact she looked super-smart in her uniform was always a bonus.


Junko Nakamura found the whole thing amusing.

"Why're you wearing that? You look like you're off to Hogwarts or something."

"Shut up..." muttered Noah, secretly wishing he'd had time to change into his normal clothes before she came over and made fun of him.


Their run of good luck almost ended when a burglar targeted their house. Thankfully he was not the brightest crook in the gang and ended up tripping both the car alarm and the security system, calling the police onto the scene immediately. The noise was deafening! The criminal was quickly apprehended.


Cassius had managed to put off death for a little while thanks to the genie's intervention, but he couldn't avoid it forever. He could feel the end creeping up on him. It was sad but inevitable.


Kaylynn reacted extremely badly and had a full-on nervous breakdown. Danny had to take care of the kids while she recuperated and called Destiny for backup frequently.


Danny had recently made friends with Hiro Nakamura. They shared some of the same hopes in life, both wishing to be world-famous athletes, and even though Hiro's sport of choice was soccer he often came over to play basketball. Inevitably, Destiny and Hiro met. Danny smiled. If his baby sister HAD to go out with guys then it might as well be Hiro. He was a good guy, and if he slipped up... well, Danny knew where he lived.


Note: goodbye Cassius :(