(AN: Well, this is a bit of a early morning update, isn't it? There's a late start today for me (basically, my school opens two hours later than normal), so I thought, why not update?
This chapter is also one I thought would be a lot longer, but no, it wasn't. Honestly, I'm getting a little surprised how short these chapters are. It's def looking like the next chapter will be longer.
Anyway, welcome back! I hope you guys are prepared, because as I hinted last time, this is the chapter where Vector and Espio have a fight! Get ready for drama kiddos, cause here we go!)
It was recess time at Charmy's school, and some of the kids were playing hide and go seek. Charmy was playing along too, hiding inside of the rock climbing wall.
Despite being in hiding however, the bee couldn't stay still. After school, he was going to have a playdate with Bean, setup by not just Mr. Kukku, but also Vector and Espio. He couldn't wait to see his new best friend after so long.
Just as he started wondering about what to do with Bean, someone touched Charmy.
"I found you! You're it now!" The monkey boy from his class yelled out.
"Oh, come on! No fair!"
"Yes fair! I found you! So you're it now! Better start counting!"
Charmy's face fell. He didn't WANT to be it, but he had to.
He pressed his face against the rock wall, and begun to count.
After school, Charmy got off the bus and flew into Vector's arms.
"Heh heh, hey lil' man! How was school?" The crocodile asked.
"It was good as usual!"
"Ha ha, that's good. Ya ready to head over to Bean's house?"
"You bet!"
"Okay! Well, let's head home first."
The two walked to their apartment door, opening it. When they walked inside, Charmy noticed that the apartment was still messy.
"Vector, didn't Espio tell you to clean up the apartment?" He asked. "He said that we haven't done it in a week!"
"Oh, yeah… heh heh, don't worry, I will!"
"You'll be in biiiiiig trouble if you don't do it!"
"Hey, Charmy, don't worry, I'll get it all done."
Vector only looked down. The truth was, work was tiring the previous night to the point where he was incredibly lazy.
"Hey, I'll call Mr. Kukku, okay? In the meantime, have a snack or somethin'."
The crocodile walked over to the phone, and picked it up, calling up the bird.
Around 2:50, after Vector had gotten done wiping the tables, and now, the dry plates on the kitchen stand, ready to be put away, the door knocked. He realized Mr. Kukku was here.
"But this place is still a mess!" He thought.
The crocodile still walked over to the door and opened it slightly so Mr. Kukku wouldn't see the mess inside.
"Ah, hello Vector. Is Charmy ready?" Mr. Kukku asked.
"Right here!" Charmy went under the crocodile, Bean already getting stars in his eyes when he saw his friend.
"Well, we'll leave you to it, Vector. Tell Mr. Espio I said hi," The mustard yellow bird said, leaving along with the two kids. Vector could hear Charmy and Bean already talking loudly.
As Vector shut the door, he immediately rushed over to start dusting the furniture. Before he did however, he turned on the radio and put it on one of his favorite stations.
"…And now, some music; Madonna and the Mobian Band singin' 'bout the one, the only: Butcher Pete!" The DJ said.
"Oh man, I love this song!" Vector said. "Probably mah favorite oldie song…"
"Hey everybody, did the news get around
About a guy named Butcher Pete
Oh, Pete just flew into this town
And he's choppin' up all the women's meat"
"He keeps hackin' and whackin' and smackin'. He keeps hackin' and whackin' and smackin'~" Vector sang along, snapping his free fingers as he continued to dust. When he got finished dusting the TV, he began to dance with the song. While he still continued his work, he did it very slowly.
Around 3, the door to the apartment opened, and Espio walked in. Vector froze as the chameleon stared at the mess that wasn't clean, and then made eye contact with the crocodile.
"I really am gonna get it now… shit…" He thought.
Espio rubbed his temples, sighing loudly.
"I was under the impression I explained to you… CLEARLY… to have this place clean by the time I got home. And… look at this place!"
He muttered about trash and filth for a brief second, before looking straight at Vector.
"And you didn't even listen to a word I said!"
"E-Espio, I-I, uh…"
"Oh, NOW you're going to give me an excuse, oh Chaos help me, well then, humor me! Give me your most pathetic excuse!"
"I-I was tired cause of work!"
"Oh, 'you were tired cause of work', I am TOO Vector, but I can also notice you did do SOMETHINGS. That's a start I guess, but that also clearly means you had the energy to do it!"
Espio put down his bags as he begun to take out all the not-so-dried plates from the other side of the sing. Vector's heart pounded, and he walked over to Espio.
"L-Look, Espio… I'll do them-"
"NO YOU AREN'T! I will! Because my ass has to come back here to see this place not clean, so if someone has to do it, it'll be me!"
Vector got angry now. "Oh so what? Now ya think guilt trippin' me is the way to go?! Besides, when ya saw me dancin', I was takin' a small break! I was still workin'!"
"Then tell me, what did you get done?!"
"Erm… washed the plates and put away the old dry ones, cleaned the counter, and dusted the TV…"
"That's IT?!"
"Yeah…"
"Oh PLEASE Vector! There's a lot more to be done! You're only doing them NOW?!"
Vector tried to grab a dry plate to put away, but Espio pushed his arm away. "NO! I TOLD YOU I WAS DOING THIS!"
"So now yer gettin' at me fer not doin' it, and when I try to do it now, ya tell me no?!"
"BECAUSE AT LEAST I'M DOING WHAT A LAZY, NO GOOD CROCODILE LIKE YOURSELF SHOULD HAVE DONE! You could have just finished your work, then sleep! But nooooooo, apparently that's not how lazy Vector functions!"
Vector scoffed. "Oh, I'M sorry work screwed up mah body last night! I'm sorry I ain't like ya, a livin', breathin' tool like yerself, who never learns to take a break!"
Then Vector froze, realizing what he said.
"O-Oh, oh Chaos…"
"Do NOT… call me a tool…" Espio walked towards Vector. "Because let me tell you something. This 'tool' is the one that took you in, is giving you shelter, food, and also PAYING for this. I know you are too, but I can fucking get you out of here if I wanted to. You want that. TELL ME, DO YOU WANT IT?!"
Vector was simply silent.
"That's what I thought. Pff, I'm surprised your ass didn't forget about Charmy."
Vector growled. "Don't ya EVEN bring Charmy into this!"
"You're acting like you're the one who took care of him longer."
"Still doesn't mean I dun care about the boy!"
To spite Espio, Vector tried to do something else. He found the broom in the small storage closet and pulled it out.
"VECTOR, I TOLD YOU NO!"
The crocodile had enough now. "Ya know what? If you wanna be a little fuckin' bitch who was screamin' at me fer NOT doin' anythin', then ya yell at me FER doin' somethin', AND, to top it all off, ya wanna be a piece of shit and guilt trip me, then I can just leave. I ain't gonna be around a literal fuckin' child such as yerself!"
"FINE WITH ME! AT LEAST I CAN GET THE WORK DONE, AND NOT SEE YOUR ASS."
Vector walked up to Espio and spit at his feet. Realizing what he just did, he turned around to finally give him a piece of his mind, but by then, Vector was already leaving, flipping the chameleon off. He could give chase, but there was no point to disturb the neighbors.
Espio simply rubbed his face, feeling himself crying tears of frustration.
MEANWHILE…
Over at Knuckles' house, Vector had gotten done complaining about the chameleon to the red echidna.
"…fuckin' dumbass chameleon bitch that only cares about what he wants. He's such a fuckin' little uptight freak," Vector finished, eyes glaring angrily.
"Now now, Vector, I'm sure you REALLY don't mean that about Espio. You're just letting whatever negative emotions you have inside of you out," Knuckles replied.
"Yeah yeah, whatever. Well what if I wasn't?"
"Well, you might have fooled me if you feel that way about him yet you continue to live with him."
Vector simply groaned. "Sorry Knux, it's just so frustratin'…"
"I mean, Espio has a point to be honest. You really SHOULD have done the work earlier. You would have at least gotten it done quicker, then slept the day off."
"Now yer takin' his side?!"
"From a logical standpoint, yeah."
"Knux, ya never were logical, and ya know that."
Knuckles simply shrugged. "Because I know that's how Espio is."
"Huh?"
"Tell me, are you cool now?"
"Well, tellin' ya… a little. Plus that pillow ya gave me to punch helped."
"Okay, now, I have a question. Now that you're more calm, think back to what you said. Repeat it to yourself. Do you regret saying those words?"
"Um… okay?"
Vector closed his eyes, and thought back to the argument. He especially remember spitting at Espio's feet and flipping him off. When he thought back to it, his stomach churned. The crocodile could only wonder what Espio felt like at that moment.
His lips drained of color as he was left speechless.
"Now do you get it?" Knuckles asked.
"Y-Yeah… Yeah, I regret it… Espio did have a point… fuck, Chaos, what have I done?!" Vector was angry once again, not at Espio, but at himself.
"Well, at least you're on the right path; you're admitting your mistakes. The first step in apologizing in an argument is realizing that while you have points, you're also at fault. Don't just focus on the other person's words and mistakes, focus on your OWN. For the most part some arguments have a case where one is 100% right, but that's not the case all the time. This time is one of those not-100% times. You have a point that work made you tired, but at the same time, you could have done your chores earlier."
"Yer… yer right. Now what?"
"The only step it takes is to apologize for what you did, and tell him you should have done what you did."
"Well… it's just… I'm anxious to confront Espio. Is he even gonna talk to me after what I did?"
"Put it in this way: do you think Espio will give up on your after an argument gone wrong?"
"N-No… that's not how he is."
"Exactly!"
"Well, could I at least spend the evenin' here? I'll return back to the apartment later but… fer now I just wanna collect mah thoughts."
"Sure thing man. Oh, and uh, don't worry about it. I won't make you do chores here too. I don't need ANOTHER argument happening involving you," The echidna laughed.
"Oh ya asshole, get over here!"
BACK AT THE APARTMENT
Charmy, Bean, and Mr. Kukku walked to the apartment door.
"Same one?" asked Mr. Kukku.
"Yes, sir!" Charmy replied.
"Thanks for coming over today, Charmy!" Bean exclaimed. "Let's hang out again!"
"Yeah! I'll have to ask Vector and Espio though!"
"Well, you have to make sure your guardians know first, Charmy," Mr. Kukku added. He knocked on the door, and a voice was heard.
"Vector?..."
"Err, no. It's Mr. Kukku. I'm here to drop off Charmy."
The door opened a few seconds later, revealing Espio.
"Oh, Mr. Kukku, it's you," The chameleon said, smiling. "Thank you for bringing back Charmy safe and sound."
"You're welcome, Mr. Espio. Say, where's Vector? I don't see him…"
Espio froze, thinking back to the crocodile he had an argument with earlier that day.
"O-Oh, he's just out of the house right now. I'm sure he'll be back."
"I see… well, tell him I said hello. Anyway, Bean and I are off. Remember, if Charmy wants to play with Bean again, just give us a call."
Mr. Kukku and Bean walked off, leaving Charmy and Espio standing by the door.
"So, how playing with Bean like?" The chameleon asked.
"It was so fun!" The bee replied. "We played so many games there!"
Charmy moved his head back and forth. "So uh, Mr. Kukku was right. Where is Vector anyway?"
"Vector… Vector right now is being a…"
"A dummy dumb head?"
"Yeah, let's go with that. And he's out of the house cooling off."
"Well that's not good!"
"You bet it isn't, Charmy. It was just a petty argument, it's all. Now, go work on your homework while I cook dinner."
"I don't have homework!"
"Really? Your grade on your adding or subtracting quiz last week doesn't tell me otherwise…"
"Oh fine…" Charmy buzzed away, defeated.
LATER THAT NIGHT…
It was around 9:19. Espio was preparing lessons for tomorrow's yoga classes when he heard a knock. Realizing it was Vector; the chameleon stopped what he was doing, and crossed his arms.
The crocodile opened the door, and found Espio by the table, not acknowledging his existence. He lowered his head in shame as he walked over to the fuchsia reptile, sitting next to him. The next minute was spent in silence before Espio said 'Are you ready to apologize?'
Vector sighed. "Yer right, I'm sorry, Espio. After talkin' with Knuckles, I realize I really should have done the chores earlier to get it over with. And 'bout me spittin' at yer feet and flippin' ya off, I really regret doin' that. I'm real sorry… I know ya won't forgive me, but just hear me out."
"I hear you. And… I apologize too."
"Wha? You apologize?! But I was the one who did the bad thing!"
"I should have stayed calm. I… I don't think I've ever burst out like that before… It scares me knowing how that's the way I acted…"
"No no no, dun apologize fer any of that! I'm the bad one! Make me do any punishment, just forgive me, Espio!"
This caught the chameleon's attention. "Any… punishment?"
"Yes!"
"Hmm… okay, tomorrow, scrub the floors."
Vector gawked.
"Ah ah ah, you said ANY punishment!"
"Oh, Espio, ya little bastard, come over here,"
Vector grabbed Espio and noogied his head, causing the chameleon to laugh.
Just then, Charmy was watching from the edge of his room. He went back into it when he saw Espio look towards his direction.
"Man… today was somethin', huh?" Vector reflected.
"Honestly, looking back, we acted like Angelica or something," Espio added.
"Heh, ya got that right. Hey, let's head to bed. I'm beat…"
Vector pulled up Espio from the couch as he held out his hand.
"Things okay between us?" He asked.
Espio took his hand. "Things are okay."
The two went into their bedroom as Vector thought about how close he was getting to Espio, and how this experience really did help him grow. Perhaps... it even helped him learn a little from his current predicament with the chameleon…
End of Chapter 9
Next time, on Rooming In…
Thanksgiving comes!
And after that, the rush that is Black Friday shopping!
…but things soon change when Vector is spotted by a man, and alerts an old 'friend' of the crocodile's…
