NOTE: Not a prompt given by anyone. Just something that I had thought up and wanted to upload.

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Log 20: Morning Routine

Cover Image: Yukiko, Ben, Gwen, and Kenny stood in the bathroom in front of the mirror. The four cousins were brushing their teeth. Yukiko did so with swift effectiveness, repeated strokes with her brush. Gwen followed her example, though was a bit slower than her elder cousin. Kenny did it at his own pace, not giving it as much focus as Gwen or Yukiko were. Ben did his lazily, not bothering to get every tooth in his mouth.

Yukiko's eyes snapped open and was greeted by the dark interior of the Rustbucket. The heiress took a few moments for her wits to fully awaken before making any movement. Looking over she saw Gwen sleeping peacefully next to her, usually the heiress had the bottom bunk to herself, but with Kenny's temporary presence he was sleeping next to Ben. Yukiko grabbed her cell phone that had been charging all night and turned it on.

It was 5:45 AM in the morning, which explained why it was still dark out. Not that Yukiko minded, she was used to waking up early in the morning. Though it took a few days for her to adjust to America's time zones, she was comfortably back in her usual routine of getting ready.

She carefully got out of the bunk, not wanting to wake up any of her family. The heiress quickly used the bathroom before quietly walking over to the closet. Yukiko always made sure she prepared an outfit for the next day to avoid unnecessary scrambling in the morning. It was something she tried to get Chie to make a habit of, but her meat-loving best friend never picked it up. Thankfully, Yu and Yosuke were both more open to the idea. This summer she attempted the same thing with Ben and Gwen, but only Gwen bothered to do it. Sadly, Ben would just throw on the first thing he saw.

She was hoping that he'd grow out of it eventually.

After making sure she had her toiletries and outfit properly in hand, the heiress retreated back into the bathroom to take her shower before the others woke up.

Max's eyes slowly opened as the dawn of morning was approaching. The old man stayed in his spot on the futon for a few more minutes. Shaking away the dreariness of sleep wasn't much of a hassle for him, but Max Tennyson wasn't one for oversleeping. Years in the air force, being a Plumber, and a father of three would turn you into a morning person. Sitting up in his blue pajamas with white stars printed on, Max heard the faint noise of the shower running. Looking over to the back he noticed three out of his four grandkids were still sleeping.

It didn't take much for him to realize that it was Yukiko who was up this early. It was a habit of her's to always prepare for the day ahead of everyone else. At first, he was a bit concerned, but then he realized it was handy to have someone around to help get Ben and Gwen up in the morning. He didn't have to worry about Kenny, the other teen would be on his feet in a few more minutes.

The sounds of the shower soon stopped and a few minutes later Yukiko stepped out. Lightly coming through her long black hair. Her eyes found him up and the heiress waved at him. "Morning, Grandpa."

"Morning, sweetheart. You sleep well?" Max asked.

Yukiko nodded her head. "Yes. Did you?"

"Sleep like a log, pumpkin."

"But logs can't sleep, Grandpa. They're made of wood."

Max chuckled to himself. A part of him still wasn't sure if Yukiko was that naive or she was more aware of American metaphors and similes than she let on. Getting up to his feet Max walked past her to the bathroom. "You gonna get started on breakfast?"

Yukiko tapped her chin. "That was the plan, but I'll set the table and couch back up before that. You just get ready before the others wake up, Grandpa."

Another thing Max appreciated about Yukiko joining them was how willing she was to help out with chores. He guessed that growing up with a family inherited Inn as a business would do that to you. "You didn't use up all the hot water, did you?"

Yukiko pouted; cheeks flustered. "That was one time, Grandpa. I didn't know that Rustbucket had limited hot water."

Max laughed quietly, teasing his oldest granddaughter was always a treat. "I know, sweetheart. Better get ready." Max grabbed his usual Hawaiian shirt, pants, and underwear before heading into the bathroom.

Kenny stirred awake, not exactly desiring to leave the tranquility of his dreams, but unfortunately his body was all recharged for the day. He turned his head away from the sunlight that was coming through the open blinds. "Ugh? Why are the blinds open?"

"Oh, sorry. I was going to wake you up anyway once breakfast was ready."

Kenny peered down and noticed Yukiko opening the blinds as the morning sun was beginning to penetrate the sky. "It's all good. I'd rather blame the sun anyway, who told it to wake up now anyway?"

Yukiko hummed. "I'm not sure. Maybe some kind of higher power out there?"

"Wouldn't be surprised if aliens and different dimensions exist." Kenny climbed out of the top bunk. He was still a bit groggy but he had enough wits to examine the rest of the Rustbucket. "Where's Grandpa?"

"Oh, he just went outside with a cup of coffee. Guess, he wants to enjoy the cool air in the morning. Maybe we should have breakfast outside?" Yukiko pondered.

Kenny nervously walked over to the pots and pans of food cooking on the stove. Both were shaking a bit too violently as a purple mist exuded from them. "Maybe some animal will come over to try and eat it instead. Oh, who am I kidding? No animal would try to eat this." Kenny could still feel the indigestion he had gotten the first time he had Yukiko's cooking. The older brother was still planning out his revenge on Ben and Gwen for tricking him like that. "What are you making anyway?"

The heiress walked over to stir the pot. "Eggs and pancakes."

"That's a pancake!?" Kenny almost gagged.

Yukiko didn't pick up on his distress, instead focusing on her cooking. "You might want to hurry up and get dressed before I wake those two up. Gwen will want to hog the shower and I'll then have to force Ben to get in there."

Not wanting to be told twice, Kenny gathered his outfit for the day and took his turn in the bathroom.

Gwen's eyes fluttered open to the morning sun penetrating through the window. She rolled over to the other side of the bunk to avoid the heat rays. Sighing peacefully, she tried to get a few more moments of sleep in.

Key word: Tried.

She was quickly brought back from dream land as Yukiko shook her awake. "Gwen, c'mon. The day's just getting started and there's no time to waste. I don't want breakfast to get cold."

Annoyed at Yukiko's interruption, Gwen sniffed the air and gagged. "Yeah, I'd rather throw it out instead." Looks like she was going to have to use some sort of charm to make the food somewhat edible again. Not that it worked completely, but at least they wouldn't be in danger of dying.

Pushing the sheets off and getting off of the bunk, she saw Yukiko trying to shake Ben awake. Knowing that she wouldn't have much time before he tried to hog the bathroom, Gwen quickly gathered her toiletries and clothes, then secluded herself into the bathroom.

"Five more minutes…"

"Ben, wake up! We can't keep doing this every morning!" Yukiko kept shaking him. The boy wouldn't budge though. Huffing out a breath, Yukiko reached for her fan and brought it down on Ben's head.

SMACK!

"I'M UP! I'M UP!" Ben screamed, clutching his head. He glared at Yukiko for disrupting his sleep. "What was that for!?"

"Wake up the first time I shake you awake, then I wouldn't have to do that. We got things to do today and breakfast to eat."

"Did you cook it…?"

"Of course!"

"I'm just gonna throw most of it on Grandpa's plate. I doubt he'll notice." Ben thought. He jumped down from the bunk and yawned. "A few more minutes wouldn't have hurt, ya know?"

Yukiko shrugged. "Perhaps, but a few more minutes for you is another hour."

"Not gonna deny that at all." Ben said. He went to the bathroom to open the door, but it was locked. "What? Is Gwen in there!?"

"Bug off, doofus! You should've gotten up first!" Gwen's voice was a bit muffled from the shower.

"Hurry it up, dweeb! Other people live here too!"

"I'm almost done, anyway!"

"Yeah, in like two hours." Ben rolled his eyes. His eyes trailed over to the radio equipment and a devious smirk found its way to his face. Seeing that Yukiko was distracted for the moment, Ben messed around with the settings then turned on the sink. A few seconds later he was given the desired reaction.

"EEEKKK!" Gwen squealed as the water suddenly turned ice cold.

"Hahahahaha!" Ben laughed in glee as he heard the shower turn off.

SMACK!

"OW!" Ben's enjoyment didn't last long after Yukiko punished him. "What was that for!?"

Her raised eyebrow was the only answer he was given before she smacked him again for playing dumb.

Every morning he pulled the same stunt and thought it was going to go any different the next day. "This boy, honestly…" Yukiko mentally sighed.

After Ben finally got dressed, the Tennyson family were seated around the table and were about to dig into their breakfast(?). Well, three of them were going to try and eat their food and hopefully not need a trip to the emergency room.

"BREAKING NEWS!"

The sudden broadcast from the radio pulled them away from their food(?). They all turned to the radio to listen to the news.

"A HIGHWAY CHASE IS IN PROGRESS! THE GETAWAY CRIMINALS ARE CURRENTLY SPEEDING AWAY FROM THE BANK AS POLICE ATTEMPTS TO CATCH THEM!"

Yukiko sighed, putting down her spoon. "Couldn't criminals at least wait until after breakfast to rob a bank?"

"Guess not. Well, I didn't think today was going to be peaceful anyway." Gwen said.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go kick some tail!" Kenny was eager to stop a car chase.

Ben stood up from his seat, moving to the front seat. "What are we waiting for, Grandpa!? It's Hero Time!"

Max sat down in the driver's seat, starting up the engine. "I guess we should count this as a part of our morning routine, huh?"

Yukiko smiled softly. "Well, I guess it's fine. As long as we're saving the day together, right?"

The Rustbucket's engine started, and the motorhome sped off into the street to catch up with the high-speed chase.

Just another morning for Yukiko and the Tennyson family.

Log End

NOTE: Hope you all liked it. Look forward to the next installment!