This story was written by Yuki-Obsidian and Mixe, over AIM. It is an ongoing rpg, which contains, or will contain in the future: yaoi, nudity, violence, angst, coarse language, pointless fluff, love triangles, insane humour...all that fun stuff! *wink*
Mixe plays Kai, Max, Kenny, Dizzi, Lei, and Kevin.
Yuki_Obsidian plays Rei, Tyson, Gary, Mariah, and Mr Dickenson.
Additional characters will be alotted out as we get to them. As mentioned, this is a work in progress, and we're nice people on our good days, so any requests will most likely be incorporated, unless they really suck. *grin*
Disclaimer: We don't own 'em, and we don't have anything valuable, so don't bother suing.
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Chapter 2: Even Pudgy Boys Need Their Pancakes
"Cold cereal..." Tyson said slowly, his face curling up in disgust as he began to slide under the table. How mean was that! Max and him were looking forward to that buffet and it wouldn't make them slower, it would make them more energetic. Unlike Max, Tyson was about to retort before Kai insulted Kenny. The boy's mouth dropped open and he hopped out of his seat, immediately coming to his friends defense. "Kai! You can't say things like that to Kenny, especially if they ain't true! Now he probably won't eat for a week!"
Rei came out of the bathroom, his hair still damp from his shower and running loosely along his back. He came back into the room, wearing only his pants and t-shirt when he noticed the chief. The chinese boy arched a brow before making his way over, looking down at the younger boy with concern in his eyes. "Kenny... I thought you were going to breakfast with the rest of the guys. What are you still doing here?"
Kenny sniffed pitefully before saying softly, "I'm not hungry anymore. I think I'll just stay up here and work on some stats with Dizzi, you go ahead." Turning his face away so Rei couldn't see his wet cheeks, he grabbed his laptop and hurried into the living room. He was embarassed enough by Kai, but letting Rei see him like this would only make him feel worse.
Meanwhile, Max was jumping up to support Tyson. While he normally wouldn't have challenged Kai, he couldn't let his best buddy do it alone, could he? "Yeah, Kai! That was really mean! And why can't Tyson have the big meal?! He's a great blader!"
Kai snorted again. "Fine! Eat till you puke. Don't cry to me later!" Rising, he stalked out of the room, throwing a last comment back over his shoulder. "I'll be outside training when you two get done eating like pigs."
Max huffed, "Well, maybe I WANT to eat like a pig!" he yelled, before sighing and turning to Tyson. "Should we go get Kenny, or eat?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.
Tyson glared at Kai's retreating back before looking at Max, almost instantly breaking into a grin since they had won the fight. "First we'll go up and get Kenny, then we'll come back here and help ourselves to that buffet!" he said happily, before grabbing Max's wrist again and pulling him back to the room. "Imagine, us eating cold cereal and water. That's just crazy talk!"
Rei didn't follow Kenny as he hurried off to the living room. He knew something was wrong, but he didn't want to start nagging the boy when it was obvious that he wanted to be alone. Rei jumped a bit as the door banged open and Tyson and Max came back into the room.
"Hey Rei!" Tyson said cheerfully before stopping and tipping his head. "Your hair's down... it looks good! You should do it more often! Umm... do ya know where Kenny is? We need to drag him downstairs and force him to eat cuz Kai was real mean to him."
"Kenny's in the living room... why? What did Kai say to him that got him so upset?" Rei asked.
Max jumped in. "Kai called Kenny fat and pudgy, and said he should skip a few meals, and then the Chief ran out of the restaurant. We told Kai off though," he added proudly, "Don't worry." Turning to Tyson he asked, "Should we go find him?"
Kenny heard them enter, and ducked his face. "I'm really not hungry, Rei. Please just go without me. I have a lot of work to catch up on."
"Oh, c'mon Chief! We talked Kai into letting us get the buffet and you have no choice but to come with us!" Tyson said as he came into the living room and crouched beside Kenny. "Don't listen to anything that -Kai- says. You're the smallest out of the whole team! Just look at me," he stuck his arm out, putting it next to Kenny. "I'm the one with the extra skin. So if you're fat, I must be humongous!" he joked, grinning cheerfully at Kenny. "C'mon man... don't listen to that guy. He's got a permanent stick up his butt or something."
Rei waited for Tyson and Max to go and talk to Kenny, before he quickly left the room, going outside to try and find Kai at the blading practice arena.
Max walked over to rub Kenny's shoulders. "Yeah," he agreed, "if anyone is fat," he added, lowering his voice, " it's Rei! He takes up the most bed space and the longest shower time!" Grinning, he raised his voice to a cheerful chirp again. "So pig out like us! Kai is just being cranky again! He needs more sleep, I think!"
Kenny wiped his face then looked up. "Thanks guys." he said quietly, before rising to his feet. "I -am- really hungry. Let's go eat, ok? Oh! Where did Rei go? Did he already go down?"
Max glanced around, then shrugged, "Guess so. See, he eats WAY more then you! Didn't I tell ya?"
"That ain't true Max! Rei takes up more room cuz he's the one stuck sleeping next to Kai so he tries to keep as far away as possible. Imagine if Rei accidently snuggled up to him? He wouldn't be able to blade for weeks cuz he'd be stuck in a body cast! And he's in the shower longer cuz of all that hair, probably has to try and unclog the tub after he's through," Tyson joked, before grabbing both Max and the Chief's wrists. "Enough about that, let's eat before the buffet is done!" With that said, he charged out of the room, dragging his two friends behind him all the way to the restaurant.
Rei pushed the fence opened, stepping into the practice arena quietly. Kai was the only one there since it was still so early and he apprached him, stopping a few feet behind him. The wind gently blew his hair, and for once his pants didn't look FAT since they were damp from his hair. "Kai...?"
Max lowered his face and flushed. "You're right, I'm sorry," he said softly, considering finding Rei and apologising to him as well, but Tyson grabbed his wrist and dragged him off before he could. They returned to the restaurant and the same waitress came back. "So, same booth, same meals, boys?" she asked in her annoying voice, and both Max and Kenny cringed.
Kai meanwhile was straightening up and turning to face Rei. "What do you want?" he asked, but with a softer voice then he used with the younger boys. "Aren't you going to go eat breakfast?" he asked, eyeing the wet hair and clothes.
"Same booth but this time we all want the buffet, so get your biggest plates and bring 'em right over!" Tyson said, obviously unphased by the woman's tone of voice as he dragged his two best friends back to their former booth.
"I'm not hungry right now..." Rei said before taking a step closer, only then realizing that he was still barefoot. He cringed as he stepped on a stone then shook his foot, before putting it back on the ground. "Why were you mean to Kenny, Kai? I'm sure he didn't do anything to you...."
Kai snorted. "I wasn't mean, I'm trying to toughen him up! He's a nerd! He'll get bullied if he doesn't get a backbone! I'm -trying- to help him!" Turning his back, he reached for his blade and launcher. "They're children. They need to be stronger."
Max was kneeling on his seat, grinning at Tyson. "I'm sooo hungry! How about you?" he asked the other boys, before exclaiming, "Oh great! Here come the plates!" Grabbing one from the waitress, he bounced onto the table, and jumped off the other side, racing ahead of Tyson towards the food. Kenny laughed, then rose to follow, his stomach growling audibly as he eyed the sausages.
"But Kai, you're right, they're -just- kids so you have to let them do things by themselves, even if that means getting bullied.." Rei said as he came up beside Kai and looked at him. "Kai... I know you're the captain but..." he stopped what he was about to say and looked down into the Beydome. "What do you have planned for us today?"
"Hey! Max!" Tyson called out as he grabbed his plate and went chasing after the blonde. "Save some of those pancakes for me! I need my strength!" he said as he gave Max a playful shove away from the pancakes before taking the whole stack for himself.
"HEY!!!" Max whined as he looked at the stack on Tyson's plate, and the one lone pankcake left on the platter. "I wanted some too, y'know!" he grumbled, before wandering over to the eggs. "Oooo.......yummy!" he exclaimed, before piling his plate high with scambled eggs and toast. "Where are the hashbrowns?"
"Over here," Kenny called, as he dumped one last spoonful on top of his plate and headed back to the table.
Kai sighed. "It's our day off. We have to train. Max's delivery is sloppy, and Tyson still lacks a lot of offensive skills." He looked at the chinese boy and frowned. "Don't even say it! They are NOT getting a day off!!!"
Tyson continued filling his plate with as much as he could until it was piled so high that with every step he took, it would shake and look like it was about to all come tumbling down. He brought it all back to the table and sat down, taking the toast and bagel out of his shirt pocket and setting them down too. "This looks so great! And to think Kai wasn't gonna let us even touch this stuff! He's such a prude," he said before starting to stuff his mouth with food.
"What about just part of the day? They could practice until lunch and then have a free afternoon to themselves and try to put that built up energy to good use. You could use a break too, Kai. No offense, but you're more tense then usual and it... kinda worries me." Rei told him.
Kai frowned, but the other boy's deep eyes drew him in and forced him to agree. "Ok....we can take the whole day off and go downtown. Maybe shop for new parts., Then work on the technical sides of our training. Alright?" Turning away he called over his shoulder, "You can tell everyone, ok? Over breakfast. Go eat. I'll be up in a few minutes." After a moment he added, "Make sure those pigs save me some pancakes."
Max frowned and poked Tyson. "Quit hogging all the pancakes! No fair Tyson!" He made a grab for the stack.
Rei smiled. He was actually surprised that Kai had decided to give them the whole day off since he hadn't even expected to get half a day, but he wasn't about to complain. He nodded at the taller boy and smiled right at him, amber eyes glowing warmly. "Thanks Kai... I'll go and talk to the others and grab you some pancakes," he said before turning and giving Kai a small wave. "See ya in a bit!"
"Hey! I grabbed these fair and square!" Tyson replied as he grabbed Max's fork right out of his hand and speared some of the hash browns from his plate and ate them. "Those are real good, Max," he grinned before going in for more.
While he was distracted, Rei appeared and noticing that Tyson had all of the pancakes from the buffet, he grabbed a plate and grabbed about half the stack while the boy was distracted before sitting at the table with them.
Max wailed, "HEY! NOOOO!!! TYSON!" He grabbed the boy's wrist and tried to protect his plate. "Eat you ow...." Noticing the boy's shorted pile, and Rei's sudden abundance of pancakes, Max grinned widely. "Great! Hey Rei, can I have some of those?"
Kenny laughed. "Welcome back Rei. They're fighting over food again. You might want to eat those quickly."
"These aren't for me, they're for Kai," Rei said, knowing that would keep Max and Tyson from trying to swipe the pancakes away from him. He pushed them to the side, keeping them close to him but as far away from Tyson as possible. But since Tyson was still a bit distracted with fighting Max, he reached out, pierced a few pancakes with his fork and plopped them onto Max's plate. "There you go." he grinned.
Tyson's mouth dropped as he stared at Rei and how 3/4's of his pancakes were now gone. "Hey Rei! That wasn't cool!" he proclaimed but didn't try to swipe any of them back, he just started to eat what he had, while still sneaking tastes off Max's plate.
Max grinned so wide he had to close his eyes, thus not noticing Tyson stealing from him again. "Gee! Thanks Rei!" Digging in, he began devouring the food, poking at Tyson in between bites. Spotting Kai, he called with a mouth full, "Over here, Kai! We got tons of food saved for you!"
Kai sneered. "Swallow before you yell Max! You're embarassing us again!" "And spraying us!" Kenny added, before noticing Kai's glare and shushing up. Max whimpered and let his fork drop. He hated when Kai told him he was an embarassment. His older brothers used to always do the same thing. Blinking quickly to hide the tears starting to well up, he muttered a quick apology, before slouching in his seat. "I'm full."
Tyson looked over at Max, noticing how he seemed down. He grinned then scooted closer, slinging an arm over the blonde's shoulders and pulling him in close. "Aww, don't listen to them Max. You ain't embarrassing me and that's all that matters, right?" he asked, leaning in close and nuzzling his nose just by Max's ear. "Right?" he repeated.
Rei rolled his eyes at Tyson and Max, it was obvious that they both cared for eachother so why don't they just admit it already? He then looked up at Kai and slid the pancakes across the table. "I managed to save you some, Kai."
Max grinned happily as he felt Tyson so close to him, then flushed when he noticed Rei watching. "Uhh...right Tyson. Of course!" he gushed finally, sounding like he usually did - a bundle of pent up energy and optimism. "Kai doesn't matter at all!" he added without thinking, then looked at the older boy worriedly. "Just teasing..." he offered meekly.
Kai snorted, "You better be!" before pulling the offered plate close, and digging in hungrily. After a few large bites, he said absentmindedly, spitting food much as Max just had as he spoke, "Thanks, Rei." Max noticed the bad table manners and laughed. "You're embarassing ME now Kai! Swallow first!!!" His laughter was cut short though when a glass of water caught him against the side of the head, splashing all the boys with water, and making Max cry out with pain. "Owww!!!!!" he wailed, clutching his head where the cup had hit him. "Kai!!" he whimpered, tears slipping down his face with the water.
Kai saw the tears and immediately regretted throwing the glass, but it was too late to take it back now. Frowning instead, he said roughly, "Behave yourself, and I won't have to do it every meal."
"Max!" Tyson exclaimed once he heard the blonde cry out when the glass hit him on the head. He didn't care that he was wet, because right now Max was the one in pain. He slid his arm off Max's shoulder and around his waist, tugging the blonde close and hugging him tightly. He glared at Kai from over Max's head. "That was real mean, Kai! What is up with ya, man? He was just kidding around and you hafta go and get violent! We're supposed to be a team, not your slaves that you can throw stuff at!"
Rei frowned when water splashed on him, causing his dry bangs to fall over his face, dripping wet now. He brushed them away and was about to say something when Tyson beat him to it. Of course, Tyson worded it a little differently so Rei kicked him hard under the table.
"Ow! Hey Rei! What was tha~" Tyson started, before noticing that firey glare that the older boy was sending him, he quickly shut up and just went back to hugging Max and making sure he was okay.
Max leaned into Tyson's embrace, trying to calm himself before he made himself look any stupider. His head ached and his body convulsed with sobs, but he fought to hold back the tears. Kai would only get more upset.
Across the table, Kai was already upset, at himself for acting so impulsively. As much as he tried to hide it, he was actually very fond of the other boys, Rei especially, but also Max and Tyson. The guilt of making Max cry was killing him ,and Tyson's accusing glare wasn't helping. Sighing, he rose, and went towards the kitchen. Kenny watched him leave, frowning.
He was glad Dizzi was upstairs, and not here and wet, like he was. Wiping his glasses, he noticed a blurry shape, and put them back on to see Kai returning with an ice pack. Tossing it at Tyson he said, "Hold that to his head. Let's go upstairs again. Max, you can clean up, then we can get going." Turning his back, he left before they could argue.
Tyson caught the ice pack, and blinked down at it. It was surprising that Kai was actually nice enough to go and get one for Max, and then not even whip it at his head. The dark-haired boy smiled and gently pressed it against the lump forming on Max's head. "It's okay, buddy. Let's head upstairs and I'll have ya fixed up in no time!" he said as he slid out of the seat, keeping the pack pressed to the blonde's head though.
Max slid out of the bench after Tyson, still embarassed, but too upset to argue. He let himself be held and comforted, let the other boy lead him back to the room. It felt so warm, knowing Tyson cared this much. So safe in his arms. Kai was already in the room, pacing around the living room. When he heard them return, he looked up almost nervously. "I filled the tub. You might want to wash the blood off your head and hair before we go."
Kenny and Max both asked at the same time, "Go? Where?"
Kai frowned. "Ask Rei, he was -supposed- to tell you!" Shotting a glare Rei's way, he wandered into the bedroom to begin straightening up while he waited.
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Thanks for all the reviews! Keep them coming and we'll keep writing!
Mixe plays Kai, Max, Kenny, Dizzi, Lei, and Kevin.
Yuki_Obsidian plays Rei, Tyson, Gary, Mariah, and Mr Dickenson.
Additional characters will be alotted out as we get to them. As mentioned, this is a work in progress, and we're nice people on our good days, so any requests will most likely be incorporated, unless they really suck. *grin*
Disclaimer: We don't own 'em, and we don't have anything valuable, so don't bother suing.
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Chapter 2: Even Pudgy Boys Need Their Pancakes
"Cold cereal..." Tyson said slowly, his face curling up in disgust as he began to slide under the table. How mean was that! Max and him were looking forward to that buffet and it wouldn't make them slower, it would make them more energetic. Unlike Max, Tyson was about to retort before Kai insulted Kenny. The boy's mouth dropped open and he hopped out of his seat, immediately coming to his friends defense. "Kai! You can't say things like that to Kenny, especially if they ain't true! Now he probably won't eat for a week!"
Rei came out of the bathroom, his hair still damp from his shower and running loosely along his back. He came back into the room, wearing only his pants and t-shirt when he noticed the chief. The chinese boy arched a brow before making his way over, looking down at the younger boy with concern in his eyes. "Kenny... I thought you were going to breakfast with the rest of the guys. What are you still doing here?"
Kenny sniffed pitefully before saying softly, "I'm not hungry anymore. I think I'll just stay up here and work on some stats with Dizzi, you go ahead." Turning his face away so Rei couldn't see his wet cheeks, he grabbed his laptop and hurried into the living room. He was embarassed enough by Kai, but letting Rei see him like this would only make him feel worse.
Meanwhile, Max was jumping up to support Tyson. While he normally wouldn't have challenged Kai, he couldn't let his best buddy do it alone, could he? "Yeah, Kai! That was really mean! And why can't Tyson have the big meal?! He's a great blader!"
Kai snorted again. "Fine! Eat till you puke. Don't cry to me later!" Rising, he stalked out of the room, throwing a last comment back over his shoulder. "I'll be outside training when you two get done eating like pigs."
Max huffed, "Well, maybe I WANT to eat like a pig!" he yelled, before sighing and turning to Tyson. "Should we go get Kenny, or eat?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.
Tyson glared at Kai's retreating back before looking at Max, almost instantly breaking into a grin since they had won the fight. "First we'll go up and get Kenny, then we'll come back here and help ourselves to that buffet!" he said happily, before grabbing Max's wrist again and pulling him back to the room. "Imagine, us eating cold cereal and water. That's just crazy talk!"
Rei didn't follow Kenny as he hurried off to the living room. He knew something was wrong, but he didn't want to start nagging the boy when it was obvious that he wanted to be alone. Rei jumped a bit as the door banged open and Tyson and Max came back into the room.
"Hey Rei!" Tyson said cheerfully before stopping and tipping his head. "Your hair's down... it looks good! You should do it more often! Umm... do ya know where Kenny is? We need to drag him downstairs and force him to eat cuz Kai was real mean to him."
"Kenny's in the living room... why? What did Kai say to him that got him so upset?" Rei asked.
Max jumped in. "Kai called Kenny fat and pudgy, and said he should skip a few meals, and then the Chief ran out of the restaurant. We told Kai off though," he added proudly, "Don't worry." Turning to Tyson he asked, "Should we go find him?"
Kenny heard them enter, and ducked his face. "I'm really not hungry, Rei. Please just go without me. I have a lot of work to catch up on."
"Oh, c'mon Chief! We talked Kai into letting us get the buffet and you have no choice but to come with us!" Tyson said as he came into the living room and crouched beside Kenny. "Don't listen to anything that -Kai- says. You're the smallest out of the whole team! Just look at me," he stuck his arm out, putting it next to Kenny. "I'm the one with the extra skin. So if you're fat, I must be humongous!" he joked, grinning cheerfully at Kenny. "C'mon man... don't listen to that guy. He's got a permanent stick up his butt or something."
Rei waited for Tyson and Max to go and talk to Kenny, before he quickly left the room, going outside to try and find Kai at the blading practice arena.
Max walked over to rub Kenny's shoulders. "Yeah," he agreed, "if anyone is fat," he added, lowering his voice, " it's Rei! He takes up the most bed space and the longest shower time!" Grinning, he raised his voice to a cheerful chirp again. "So pig out like us! Kai is just being cranky again! He needs more sleep, I think!"
Kenny wiped his face then looked up. "Thanks guys." he said quietly, before rising to his feet. "I -am- really hungry. Let's go eat, ok? Oh! Where did Rei go? Did he already go down?"
Max glanced around, then shrugged, "Guess so. See, he eats WAY more then you! Didn't I tell ya?"
"That ain't true Max! Rei takes up more room cuz he's the one stuck sleeping next to Kai so he tries to keep as far away as possible. Imagine if Rei accidently snuggled up to him? He wouldn't be able to blade for weeks cuz he'd be stuck in a body cast! And he's in the shower longer cuz of all that hair, probably has to try and unclog the tub after he's through," Tyson joked, before grabbing both Max and the Chief's wrists. "Enough about that, let's eat before the buffet is done!" With that said, he charged out of the room, dragging his two friends behind him all the way to the restaurant.
Rei pushed the fence opened, stepping into the practice arena quietly. Kai was the only one there since it was still so early and he apprached him, stopping a few feet behind him. The wind gently blew his hair, and for once his pants didn't look FAT since they were damp from his hair. "Kai...?"
Max lowered his face and flushed. "You're right, I'm sorry," he said softly, considering finding Rei and apologising to him as well, but Tyson grabbed his wrist and dragged him off before he could. They returned to the restaurant and the same waitress came back. "So, same booth, same meals, boys?" she asked in her annoying voice, and both Max and Kenny cringed.
Kai meanwhile was straightening up and turning to face Rei. "What do you want?" he asked, but with a softer voice then he used with the younger boys. "Aren't you going to go eat breakfast?" he asked, eyeing the wet hair and clothes.
"Same booth but this time we all want the buffet, so get your biggest plates and bring 'em right over!" Tyson said, obviously unphased by the woman's tone of voice as he dragged his two best friends back to their former booth.
"I'm not hungry right now..." Rei said before taking a step closer, only then realizing that he was still barefoot. He cringed as he stepped on a stone then shook his foot, before putting it back on the ground. "Why were you mean to Kenny, Kai? I'm sure he didn't do anything to you...."
Kai snorted. "I wasn't mean, I'm trying to toughen him up! He's a nerd! He'll get bullied if he doesn't get a backbone! I'm -trying- to help him!" Turning his back, he reached for his blade and launcher. "They're children. They need to be stronger."
Max was kneeling on his seat, grinning at Tyson. "I'm sooo hungry! How about you?" he asked the other boys, before exclaiming, "Oh great! Here come the plates!" Grabbing one from the waitress, he bounced onto the table, and jumped off the other side, racing ahead of Tyson towards the food. Kenny laughed, then rose to follow, his stomach growling audibly as he eyed the sausages.
"But Kai, you're right, they're -just- kids so you have to let them do things by themselves, even if that means getting bullied.." Rei said as he came up beside Kai and looked at him. "Kai... I know you're the captain but..." he stopped what he was about to say and looked down into the Beydome. "What do you have planned for us today?"
"Hey! Max!" Tyson called out as he grabbed his plate and went chasing after the blonde. "Save some of those pancakes for me! I need my strength!" he said as he gave Max a playful shove away from the pancakes before taking the whole stack for himself.
"HEY!!!" Max whined as he looked at the stack on Tyson's plate, and the one lone pankcake left on the platter. "I wanted some too, y'know!" he grumbled, before wandering over to the eggs. "Oooo.......yummy!" he exclaimed, before piling his plate high with scambled eggs and toast. "Where are the hashbrowns?"
"Over here," Kenny called, as he dumped one last spoonful on top of his plate and headed back to the table.
Kai sighed. "It's our day off. We have to train. Max's delivery is sloppy, and Tyson still lacks a lot of offensive skills." He looked at the chinese boy and frowned. "Don't even say it! They are NOT getting a day off!!!"
Tyson continued filling his plate with as much as he could until it was piled so high that with every step he took, it would shake and look like it was about to all come tumbling down. He brought it all back to the table and sat down, taking the toast and bagel out of his shirt pocket and setting them down too. "This looks so great! And to think Kai wasn't gonna let us even touch this stuff! He's such a prude," he said before starting to stuff his mouth with food.
"What about just part of the day? They could practice until lunch and then have a free afternoon to themselves and try to put that built up energy to good use. You could use a break too, Kai. No offense, but you're more tense then usual and it... kinda worries me." Rei told him.
Kai frowned, but the other boy's deep eyes drew him in and forced him to agree. "Ok....we can take the whole day off and go downtown. Maybe shop for new parts., Then work on the technical sides of our training. Alright?" Turning away he called over his shoulder, "You can tell everyone, ok? Over breakfast. Go eat. I'll be up in a few minutes." After a moment he added, "Make sure those pigs save me some pancakes."
Max frowned and poked Tyson. "Quit hogging all the pancakes! No fair Tyson!" He made a grab for the stack.
Rei smiled. He was actually surprised that Kai had decided to give them the whole day off since he hadn't even expected to get half a day, but he wasn't about to complain. He nodded at the taller boy and smiled right at him, amber eyes glowing warmly. "Thanks Kai... I'll go and talk to the others and grab you some pancakes," he said before turning and giving Kai a small wave. "See ya in a bit!"
"Hey! I grabbed these fair and square!" Tyson replied as he grabbed Max's fork right out of his hand and speared some of the hash browns from his plate and ate them. "Those are real good, Max," he grinned before going in for more.
While he was distracted, Rei appeared and noticing that Tyson had all of the pancakes from the buffet, he grabbed a plate and grabbed about half the stack while the boy was distracted before sitting at the table with them.
Max wailed, "HEY! NOOOO!!! TYSON!" He grabbed the boy's wrist and tried to protect his plate. "Eat you ow...." Noticing the boy's shorted pile, and Rei's sudden abundance of pancakes, Max grinned widely. "Great! Hey Rei, can I have some of those?"
Kenny laughed. "Welcome back Rei. They're fighting over food again. You might want to eat those quickly."
"These aren't for me, they're for Kai," Rei said, knowing that would keep Max and Tyson from trying to swipe the pancakes away from him. He pushed them to the side, keeping them close to him but as far away from Tyson as possible. But since Tyson was still a bit distracted with fighting Max, he reached out, pierced a few pancakes with his fork and plopped them onto Max's plate. "There you go." he grinned.
Tyson's mouth dropped as he stared at Rei and how 3/4's of his pancakes were now gone. "Hey Rei! That wasn't cool!" he proclaimed but didn't try to swipe any of them back, he just started to eat what he had, while still sneaking tastes off Max's plate.
Max grinned so wide he had to close his eyes, thus not noticing Tyson stealing from him again. "Gee! Thanks Rei!" Digging in, he began devouring the food, poking at Tyson in between bites. Spotting Kai, he called with a mouth full, "Over here, Kai! We got tons of food saved for you!"
Kai sneered. "Swallow before you yell Max! You're embarassing us again!" "And spraying us!" Kenny added, before noticing Kai's glare and shushing up. Max whimpered and let his fork drop. He hated when Kai told him he was an embarassment. His older brothers used to always do the same thing. Blinking quickly to hide the tears starting to well up, he muttered a quick apology, before slouching in his seat. "I'm full."
Tyson looked over at Max, noticing how he seemed down. He grinned then scooted closer, slinging an arm over the blonde's shoulders and pulling him in close. "Aww, don't listen to them Max. You ain't embarrassing me and that's all that matters, right?" he asked, leaning in close and nuzzling his nose just by Max's ear. "Right?" he repeated.
Rei rolled his eyes at Tyson and Max, it was obvious that they both cared for eachother so why don't they just admit it already? He then looked up at Kai and slid the pancakes across the table. "I managed to save you some, Kai."
Max grinned happily as he felt Tyson so close to him, then flushed when he noticed Rei watching. "Uhh...right Tyson. Of course!" he gushed finally, sounding like he usually did - a bundle of pent up energy and optimism. "Kai doesn't matter at all!" he added without thinking, then looked at the older boy worriedly. "Just teasing..." he offered meekly.
Kai snorted, "You better be!" before pulling the offered plate close, and digging in hungrily. After a few large bites, he said absentmindedly, spitting food much as Max just had as he spoke, "Thanks, Rei." Max noticed the bad table manners and laughed. "You're embarassing ME now Kai! Swallow first!!!" His laughter was cut short though when a glass of water caught him against the side of the head, splashing all the boys with water, and making Max cry out with pain. "Owww!!!!!" he wailed, clutching his head where the cup had hit him. "Kai!!" he whimpered, tears slipping down his face with the water.
Kai saw the tears and immediately regretted throwing the glass, but it was too late to take it back now. Frowning instead, he said roughly, "Behave yourself, and I won't have to do it every meal."
"Max!" Tyson exclaimed once he heard the blonde cry out when the glass hit him on the head. He didn't care that he was wet, because right now Max was the one in pain. He slid his arm off Max's shoulder and around his waist, tugging the blonde close and hugging him tightly. He glared at Kai from over Max's head. "That was real mean, Kai! What is up with ya, man? He was just kidding around and you hafta go and get violent! We're supposed to be a team, not your slaves that you can throw stuff at!"
Rei frowned when water splashed on him, causing his dry bangs to fall over his face, dripping wet now. He brushed them away and was about to say something when Tyson beat him to it. Of course, Tyson worded it a little differently so Rei kicked him hard under the table.
"Ow! Hey Rei! What was tha~" Tyson started, before noticing that firey glare that the older boy was sending him, he quickly shut up and just went back to hugging Max and making sure he was okay.
Max leaned into Tyson's embrace, trying to calm himself before he made himself look any stupider. His head ached and his body convulsed with sobs, but he fought to hold back the tears. Kai would only get more upset.
Across the table, Kai was already upset, at himself for acting so impulsively. As much as he tried to hide it, he was actually very fond of the other boys, Rei especially, but also Max and Tyson. The guilt of making Max cry was killing him ,and Tyson's accusing glare wasn't helping. Sighing, he rose, and went towards the kitchen. Kenny watched him leave, frowning.
He was glad Dizzi was upstairs, and not here and wet, like he was. Wiping his glasses, he noticed a blurry shape, and put them back on to see Kai returning with an ice pack. Tossing it at Tyson he said, "Hold that to his head. Let's go upstairs again. Max, you can clean up, then we can get going." Turning his back, he left before they could argue.
Tyson caught the ice pack, and blinked down at it. It was surprising that Kai was actually nice enough to go and get one for Max, and then not even whip it at his head. The dark-haired boy smiled and gently pressed it against the lump forming on Max's head. "It's okay, buddy. Let's head upstairs and I'll have ya fixed up in no time!" he said as he slid out of the seat, keeping the pack pressed to the blonde's head though.
Max slid out of the bench after Tyson, still embarassed, but too upset to argue. He let himself be held and comforted, let the other boy lead him back to the room. It felt so warm, knowing Tyson cared this much. So safe in his arms. Kai was already in the room, pacing around the living room. When he heard them return, he looked up almost nervously. "I filled the tub. You might want to wash the blood off your head and hair before we go."
Kenny and Max both asked at the same time, "Go? Where?"
Kai frowned. "Ask Rei, he was -supposed- to tell you!" Shotting a glare Rei's way, he wandered into the bedroom to begin straightening up while he waited.
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