Intermission. I wrote this chapter after what will be a three parter but realized that absolutely nothing happening for two months made no sense. So here you go! Thanks to Mr. CBear56 for proofreading.
The PAW Patrol had just finished a mission at the farm. Marshall and Chase had been the responders.
"Hey Marshall? How long has it been since we have just hung out?" Chase asked. Marshall gave a look of thought.
"I can't remember. It has been awhile, though." Marshall admitted.
"You guys have girlfriends, you haven't had time for each other." Sylvia said walking up. "That is why I won't take on a boyfriend, too much commitment and it would distract me from my work."
"Too bad for you. I think Tracker would be interested if you asked." Marshall told her.
"Nah, he's a good friend but nothing more." Sylvia replied. "Not to mention Lilian is with him." Chase shook his head.
"Just leave it Marshall. If they want to get together it will happen, until then we should stay out of it." He said.
"Either way, I kinda want to hang out with my brother for a while." Marshall said.
"You have a brother?" Sylvia asked. Chase gave a light laugh.
"He means me, Sylvia. We have always been close so we tend to consider each other brothers." Chase explains.
"That's cute." Sylvia said somewhat sarcastically.
"What's your deal, Sylvia?" Chase asked with a hint of anger.
"I never had a good relationship with my siblings and never really felt close to anyone when I was younger." Sylvia explained. "I guess I'm just... jealous?" She continued, sounding unsure.
"Why didn't you mention it last time we asked you about your past?" Marshall asked.
"I didn't think it was worth mentioning then." Sylvia replied.
"Know you do have friends in the PAW Patrol." Chase told her.
"Thanks, if you guys aren't busy today perhaps the two of you can hang out on the farm? Don't worry, I am about to go back to work so you two can enjoy some brotherly bonding." Sylvia told them.
"That works for me." Ryder said suddenly. "I am going to head back, alright you two?"
"Okay Ryder, see you later." Chase said. He looked at Marshall. "So, what do you want to do today?"
"Hmm... " Marshall said before looking at Chase, who shrugged. Then Marshall's face lit up. "Maybe we can ask Farmer Yumi if we could do some pup-fu practice!" Chase looked at him, unamused.
"Marshall, you are a brown belt. I am still a yellow belt. I don't think you need any more practice." Chase said.
"I could help you with the balance test, that is the only one you still need to work on." Marshall replied.
"Sure I guess..." Chase conceded. Marshall headed into the farmhouse and asked Farmer Yumi if she could watch.
"Sorry Marshall. It isn't going to be easy with Winry whining all the time for me to be doing anything besides keeping an eye on her while Al and Sylvia are working." She told him.
"Oh..." Marshall said hanging his head.
"You are welcome to use the dojo barn to train on your own though." Farmer Yumi added. At that moment Winry began crying. "Sorry Marshall, I need to get back to Winry, I might come by later to see how things are going." With that Marshall exited the farmhouse and returned to Chase.
"So?" Chase asked.
"We can use the dojo, but Winry makes it so she can't come watch." Marshall replied.
"Ok, so I guess you are sensei then?" Chase asked.
"I guess so. Wouldn't be the first time though." Marshall replied. They entered the barn. "Let's see... This hay bale could..." He said as he began setting something up.
"What the heck?" Chase asked as he looked at the... thing Marshall had set up.
"We'll have to do balance practice a bit differently. We don't have the balance ball." Marshall explained.
"Alright." Chase said with a sigh. "Here we go!" He got up on a hay bale. "So now what?"
"I'm going to..." Marshall began before giving the haybale a push, causing it to rock on the precarious "support" he set up.
"Whoa! You could have given me a warning!" Chase called.
"Sorry... I thought not telling you would be the closest to the ball I could get." Marshall explained.
"Nope, I'm still up here. All you did was scare me half to death." Chase replied slightly grumpily.
"Either that, this isn't going to work at all, or..." Marshall began as he gives a push from another angle. Chase scrambled and barely managed to recover just as it settled. "...you are getting better."
"Please stop doing that!" Chase yelled.
"Sorry! This is my first time teaching intermediate pup-fu. Especially without normal tools. I am not sure where to begin if..." He gives another push. "I don't learn..." he gives another push, Chase fails to stay on with the second push. "...your limits. You okay?"
"Ow..." Chase said quietly. Then he began to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Marshall asked.
"Not going to lie, I didn't think you training me would be harder than what Farmer Yumi usually does." Chase explained. "You don't hold back. I like that. I thought that if you were ever bullied for any reason I would have to rescue you. I can see now that even if you are unsure of what actions you are taking you still go through with them."
"Wait so you aren't mad about how I am training you? I mean it is super unorthodox." Marshall asked.
"And the fact that you ask that proves my point. One thing I will say is be careful. Those ideals can get you into trouble." Chase told him.
"I know that. I really just want to help you, regardless of what you are thinking, but if you don't really mind, I won't hold back." Marshall told him. Chase got back up on the haybale.
"Give me everything you've..." Chase began. He let out a surpised yip when Marshall began once again shaking the hay bale. He quickly fell again, lasting a slight bit shorter than before.
"Impressive. You nearly tied the length of time you were on last time and this time I was actively trying to knock you down." Marshall quipped. Then he gave a worried look. "You okay? Should I dial back?"
"Nope! I don't think I have had nearly so much fun with balance practice. Though I will say I am glad I brought my spy helmet." Chase said.
"Agreed. Safety first! Climb back up when you are ready." Marshall told him. They continued the training for hours, with Chase slowly improving. Suddenly Farmer Yumi came in.
"What is... you two are still here." She said more than asked.
"Sensei? I thought you were watching Winry." Marshall said.
"Marshall, that was three hours ago." She told him.
"Wait, we've training for three hours?" Marshall asked in shock. "All we ever did was balance training."
"How?" Yumi asked. Marshall explained. "Oh... that works. It is incredibly unorthodox but it works. Let me go get the balance ball. I would like to test how you are coming along Chase."
These two are awesome as a team. It feels nice to write something entirely wholesome every once in a while. I will try doing these friendship chapters a little bit more. I hope you enjoyed.
