No relation. He's a family friend. My folks have been doing the costume thing since before he came out of the ice.

[Val pulls her legs up to her chest, hugging her knees. There's plenty of room for it in the adult-size chair. She doesn't really want to think about family right now...or more specifically their absence.]

It's just that he might not believe you without corroboration, which I can provide...but he doesn't want me to [air quotes] "affect the timeline." Like I haven't forgotten more about time travel than he knows.

[That's remarkably condescending coming from someone who can't see over the counter in the mess hall without a stool.]