Pre-chapter Conversation
"Boss, question." Izzy said.
"What?" I asked.
"To continue a previous conversation we had, what would ya name the main coupling for this fic?"
I held a hand to my chin. What conversation was he talking about? Oh yeah! I snapped my fingers. He was talking about chapter three of The Runaway.
"If the great Lars winds up being the dominant guy in the relationship, the coupling would be called 'Lotto.'" I replied. Izzy punched the air.
"Jackpot!" He chuckled. A few seconds passed before he raised an eyebrow at me. "…Hey! What do ya mean 'if?' Is it even possible for Otto to be dominant in a relationship with Lars?" I shrugged.
"Just saying. Besides Izzy, you're my muse. Use your imagination." I answered. "In any case, if Otto winds up being dominant, the coupling would be called 'Oars.'"
"At least those names make more sense than the other names you came up with so far." He said, crossing his arms.
"Yeah…" I turned to the camera. "Anyway, this is going to be a Lotto fic. Enjoy the chapter, everybody!"
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Race across Rainbows
Chapter Two
Meet the Yaoi Bros.
The next day…
"Tell me again, Reg, because I swear, I don't get it." Sam's voice said to Reggie. She was talking on the phone in her room while getting ready.
"For the fifth time, Sammy, Lars is in love with Otto and I'm gonna help them get together." She replied with exasperation heavy in her voice.
"Alright. …Tell me again." Reggie sighed.
"I'm going to pick up Lars in a few to go to that arcade so he could practice."
"But what about Lars?"
"What about him?"
"What if this is all a trick and he just wants you to get back together with him?"
Reggie laughed at the urgency in Sam's voice.
"Are you afraid?"
"What? Me, afraid? Not a chance. It's just that…"
"Yes…?" Reggie asked, enjoying hearing her boyfriend sweat. Sam sighed.
"Ok. Maybe I'm a little scared, but Lars is bi? Where did that come from?"
"Sam, are you going to keep asking the same thing or are you gonna chill?"
"I'll chill. Sorry." Sam replied sheepishly.
"Good. Now I need you to do something for me."
"Sure. What is it?"
"If Otto comes to your place, teach him how to play." Reggie replied. Sam hesitated a bit.
"Alright." He finally said.
"And don't let him come to the arcade, no matter what."
"You're gonna go there every day?.!"
"It's just for this week, until they race." Reggie could hear Sam pouting because she added, "And besides, it'll only be during the day, so we'll be able to spend time together at night."
"You promise?" Sam sniffed. Reggie couldn't help but giggle a little at that.
"I promise. Love you."
"Love you, too." Sam replied and they hung up.
"Now to deal with Lars." Reggie said to herself as she grabbed her purse and her skating gear before leaving her room.
On her way out, she saw Otto getting ready to go out skating.
"Hey Rocket Boy."
"Huh?" Startled, Otto looked up and turned to his sister. "Oh, hey Rocket Girl. Where are you going?"
"Just out. See ya later." Reggie answered as she walked out of the house.
'I wonder what he was thinking about.'
Shrugging, she went around the house to wait for Otto to leave. After a few minutes, he emerged and skated down the hill. When she was sure he was gone, Reggie made her way over to Lars' house. She walked up to the door and knocked on it. A few minutes later, a disheveled brunet answered the door.
"Reg? What are you doing here so early?" He asked with a yawn. Reggie waved her hand in front of her nose.
"Man! You need to brush your teeth!" She said, getting a glare in the process. "I'm here to take ya to the Yaoi Brothers Arcade, remember?" Lars grumbled in response.
"Uhh… Reg, I'm starting to have second thoughts about this whole thing." Now it was Reggie's turn to glare.
"You are not backing out of this!" She shouted. "You're gonna race him and you're gonna win his heart!" Lars raised both eyebrows at her before standing straight up.
"Yes sir!" He saluted. Reggie glared at him again. "Err… I mean ma'am."
"That's better. And another thing," She started as she walked past him into the house. "Since when were you a quitter, anyway?" Lars rubbed the back of his head before putting on a look of pride.
"I never quit anything!" He said before laughing heartily. Reggie raised an eyebrow at him. He coughed. "Sorry, but how can you honestly think Otto's gay?.!"
"It could happen!" Reggie shot back. "Besides, who honestly thought you were bi?" Lars looked down.
"Alright, alright. Just let me take a shower and I'll be all set to go." He left the violet haired girl alone and got ready. She sat down on the couch and put a hand to her chin.
"Hey, what does yaoi mean, anyway?"
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°Lars' POV°
After I took my shower and got my clothes on, Reggie and me left to go to this arcade. We were in our roller blades, skating along the strand. We soon found a tall building at the end far behind the Shack. It was at least seven stories tall. It's hard to believe we didn't notice it until we got to the strand. I mean, the place even looks weird! The whole thing looked like a castle from some really old game that I may have played when I was younger. There was even a huge flagpole. At the top was a green flag that had a skull on it.
"Is that it?" I asked, royally freaked out by the building.
"Yep. According to that sign, it is." Reggie answered.
I looked up and saw a neon sign above the entrance. It read, "Yaoi Bros. Arcade." And below it was a banner that read, "GRAND OPENING!.!.! This week only! 50 percent off!"
We sat down at a bench and took off our skates. After getting our shoes on, we stood up and turned back to the arcade.
"Ladies first." I said, holding an arm out towards the entrance. Reggie giggled.
"Why thank you." She replied as she started walking. "This is just like old times, huh?"
"I guess…" I said with a shrug. "Except for the fact you're helping me get with your brother."
We stepped through a pair of electronic doors. We were instantly hit with a cool breeze. Must've been the AC. In the hall we were in, there were many posters of video games. A few featured some blue animal. Others had this guy in green. He was holding a sword and shield. And a few had those "Pokéman" things. There was also a case full of trophies.
'Welcome to Geeksville. Population: Me and Reg.'
That was the very first thought that went through my head. Sam would feel right at home here. I better not wind up seeing anybody dressed like plumbers. That's all I'm saying. We reached another set of electric doors that slid open for us. We walked through and found ourselves in what I guessed was the reception area of the arcade.
To my right was a counter. There were several stools in front of it. There were also a computer, cash register, and a bell. There was a menu behind it that had a bunch of video game characters pictured. There was a grill and fryer underneath that. To my left were a bunch of tables and pay phones. Ahead of me, down a small flight of stairs, were a bunch of arcade games. They were practically all over the place! In the center was a circle of games and above it was a stand with a huge gold statue of a porcupine! The quills in its head were spiked up and looking at the design, I'd say it has a bunch of hair on its chest. Its arms were crossed.
(A/N: If you've ever played Sonic Adventure 1/DX, the last part Lars just described is exactly like the area where the Sonic statue is in the Casinopolis stage. The main difference is instead of Sonic, the statue in the arcade is of Shadow.)
"Hello? Anybody here?" Reggie asked, looking around. I too looked around before I laid eyes on the bell.
"Guess we gotta ring it." I said as I walked towards the counter. I pressed the bell a few times.
Nothing happened for a few moments, but soon, the lights in our section of the arcade went off.
"What's going on?" Reggie asked as I backed up.
About a minute later, a light turned on over the counter, revealing two guys who had their backs turned and their arms crossed.
"Prepare for trouble." The taller of the two started. He had shoulder length black hair. He was also wearing a black shirt. He was a little shorter than me.
"Make it double." The smaller of the two said. Under his purple cap, I was able to see some black hair. He was wearing a blue shirt. He was at least as tall as Sam.
"To protect the world from boredom!"
"To unite all gamers within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of closed-minded people!"
"To extend gay love to the stars above!"
"Izzy!" The taller one turned around.
"Iggy!" The smaller one faced us as well. They both pointed at us.
"We're the Yaoi Brothers, gamers extraordinaire!"
"Surrender your bigotedness now or prepare to fight!"
"That's right!" They both ended, winking and giving us a thumbs-up. My mouth must've been hanging open, as was Reggie's.
'Yep. Geeksville.' I confirmed mentally as the rest of the lights in the area turned back on.
°Third Person POV°
"Yes! I knew we'd get our motto right!" Iggy cheered as he punched the air. He was wearing a shirt with paratroopas (koopas with winged shells) pictured. They were flying around a bright blue sky. His cap had a purple I inside a white circle. Izzy sighed.
"So much for not doing a Team Rocket joke." He was wearing a shirt that had Team Dark (from Sonic Heroes) pictured.
"Come on, brother! We can't you like Dad's jokes?" Iggy asked. Izzy looked at him with wide eyes.
"'Dad?.!' You call him our father!.?"
"Well why not? He created us, after all. Why don't you call him Dad, anyway?"
"Listen, you sixteen year-old nutcase, there's no way I'm ever calling the boss Dad! Not after what he put me through!" Izzy replied. Iggy glared at him.
"Just because you're two years older than me doesn't give you the right to call me names!" Izzy glared right back.
"I'll call you whatever I want. I'm the older brother and the owner of the arcade! And unless you want to live in the gutter, I suggest you shut your trap now!"
"Meanie!" Iggy said, sticking his tongue out at Izzy.
"Idiot!" Izzy retorted.
"Lame-o!"
"Dork!" They both faced each other with a cold glare, preparing to fight.
"STOP!" Reggie yelled. She walked up to the two brothers. "Is that any way to treat each other?"
Izzy and Iggy didn't pay any attention to her question. They just gave her a loving stare. They both grabbed her hands.
"What the—?" She asked with wide eyes.
"My dear, did anyone ever tell you that purple is the color of royalty?" Izzy asked, looking at Reggie's hair. He then looked into her eyes. "Would you like to become my queen?"
"Well I—"
"Buzz off!" Iggy yelled before turning to Reggie. "Maybe you'd be more willing to become my princess so that I could save you from evil giant turtle type things."
"Actually—" Reggie started.
"What!.?" Izzy shouted, pulling her left arm towards him. "What makes you think she'd what to be a lowly princess when she could be a queen?.!"
"She'd get a lot more fresh air!" Iggy replied, tugging on Reggie's right arm. "It's better than sitting on a throne all day!"
"Listen, Luigi, she's way too old for you!"
"Luigi!.? I compared myself to Mario right there, ya idiot!"
"Whatever! She's mine!" Izzy tugged harder on Reggie.
"No! She's mine!" Iggy also tugged harder.
"Mine!"
"No, mine!"
"STOP IT ALREADY!.!.!" Reggie roared, taking both arms back and giving both brothers a hard slap across the face. "I'm already taken!" The Yaoi Brothers gasped and sulked.
"Oh man… Shot down again. I wonder who the lucky guy is." Izzy said.
"It's probably that guy behind her." Iggy pointed at Lars. Izzy looked at him.
"Yeah. He's wearing the royal color, after all. He's probably her king."
Lars and Reggie turned to each other. They looked back at the brothers and pointed at each other.
"ME AND HER!.? NO WAY!.!.!"
"Oh, then what are you doing here with another guy, my dear?" Izzy asked with a coy smile. Reggie only glared at him.
"Don't call me that! I have a name ya know."
"Ahhh… What beauty." Iggy sighed. "Please, dear purple haired angel, tell us your name." The girl gagged at that one.
"Ugh… I already told you I'm taken. And my name's Reggie."
Both brothers sighed at that.
"Reggie… Have you ever heard a name more beautiful, brother?" Izzy asked.
"Not at all." Iggy replied.
"Hey, wait a sec!" Lars yelled. Reggie and the Yaoi Brothers turned to him. "Now I remember what yaoi means! It's something that involves two guys getting together!"
Both brothers grinned.
"I was wondering when someone would catch that." Izzy said.
"Yeah! Everybody's been asking why we call ourselves the Yaoi Brothers since we opened the arcade." Iggy supplied.
"We're both big fans of yaoi." They both said at the same time.
"But if yaoi is something that involves gay guys…" Lars started.
"And you're brothers, then…" Reggie continued. They both looked at each other with wide eyes.
"EWWWWWW!.!.!.!.!" They both exclaimed. The brothers glared at them.
"First of all, sickos, we're not, nor have we ever been gay!" Izzy shouted.
"And even if we were, you have the nerve to think that me and him would do something like that!.?" Iggy added, pointing at himself and his brother.
"We oughta toss you both out for that insult." They both finished. Lars and Reggie immediately put on looks of fright.
"Crap! We can't get tossed out!" Reggie whispered to Lars. "You still need to practice!"
"I know!" Lars whispered back.
"Well? Apologize to them!" Lars turned to the brothers and put on the most apologetic look he can muster given the situation.
"I'm terribly sorry about that outburst. It's just that you caught us off guard. Please let us play your fine games." He said.
'God, when did I become such a wuss?' He thought.
He then started to wonder why he even thought that about the two teens in the first place. After all, his younger brother was gay and he was bi, yet he never even came close to thinking about Twister like that.
The Yaoi Brothers smiled.
"That's better. You're forgiven." The older one said.
"But there's something I don't get." Reggie started. "If you're not gay and, judging by what just happened, probably not bi either, then why would you be into that? I mean, no straight guy in their right mind would be into yaoi."
"Of course. A good question." Iggy replied. "It started with an experiment my brother wanted to perform. He thought that if girls and gay and bi guys can be into yaoi, then why not a straight guy?"
"Yep. It all started with me reading a yaoi story on the Internet." Izzy said. "Pretty soon, it exploded into a full fledged obsession. I even got Iggy here in on it. Of course, the obsession went no further than reading and writing stories and looking at light art."
"Our arcade even runs a yaoi fan club on the side." Iggy supplied. "We already got a few members. Pretty soon, all the gamers in this town will be yaoi fans!"
Both boys threw their heads back and laughed. Both Reggie and Lars raised an eyebrow at them.
"Can we go home?" Lars asked, turning to Reggie, who glared at him. He instantly shut his mouth. The brothers stopped laughing a minute or so later.
"So what's the real reason you're fans of yaoi?" The violet haired girl asked, not believing a word of their story.
"The money." Izzy simply said.
"What?" Both Reggie and Lars asked.
"Do you know how much yaoi fan girls would pay for quality pictures of two guys kissing? Lots! You can get even more if the picture is of the very first kiss."
"We'll get tons of cash and rule the world of yaoi!" Iggy yelled.
'I don't even want to get into how strange and wrong that is.' Lars thought, shaking his head. "I bet anything there's at least one more reason."
"Alright, alright." Izzy said. He then beckoned the two older people closer. Reggie and Lars moved until they were right at the counter. "Keep this under your hats, but this is a method to get girls."
"How?" Lars asked, raising an eyebrow.
"That's easy." Iggy replied, waving a hand. "Girls nowadays like guys who are open minded and don't care about a person's sexuality and stuff like that. In fact, they prefer it if you support a person in that situation."
Reggie had to think hard about that one.
"Are you sure about that?" She asked.
"Of course! We've read tons of books on dating and they all said the same thing: 'Girls like guys who are open minded.'" Izzy replied.
"Whatever." Reggie said, shrugging. "So anyway, forgetting about the random things that were just said for a few minutes, can we get to business?"
"Ah of course!" Izzy and Iggy replied before clearing their throats.
"I'm Izzy." The older one started.
"And I'm Iggy." The younger one continued.
"And we're the Yaoi Brothers, the owners of this fine arcade!" They both finished.
"We know that already." Reggie said through clenched teeth. The brothers took one look at her and backed away. Her face seemed to have an expression of SEVERE impatience.
"Err… Right. We knew that." Izzy said.
"Anyway, we have seven floors of gaming fun!" Iggy said, getting back into their sales pitch. "The first floor contains your average coin-operated games, as well as our dining area, for if you ever get tired and need recharging."
Reggie clenched her fists and started growling.
"The second floor contains our action/adventure games." Izzy continued, not noticing the girl's increasing anger. "The third floor is home to our party games."
"Reggie?" Lars asked, looking at the girl, whose face started getting red.
"And the fourth floor has our fighting games." Iggy said. Reggie started shaking. "The fifth floor has our puzzle games, if you ever want to test your intelligence, of course." He winked.
Lars backed away from the Rocket, who looked like she was going to explode. The brothers still took no notice.
"Uhh… Guys?" The oldest of the four said.
"Not now. We're getting to the good part." Izzy interrupted. "The sixth floor has the RPGs. Those are Role-Playing Games for those not in the know. And finally, the seventh floor—" He couldn't finish for Reggie had grabbed his shirt.
"I don't care what kind of games you got, we only want to play ONE!.!.!" She screamed. Izzy started sweating.
"Uhhh… Right. The customer's always right." He chuckled nervously.
"So, what game was it you guys are looking for?" Iggy asked.
"Uhhh… That Mario Kart game." Lars replied.
"Well that's kind of vague. We have all four Mario Kart games available on the seventh floor, which, as my brother was trying to say, is where we keep our racing games." Reggie let go of Izzy and turned on Iggy, who held his hands like a cross.
"Back, evil woman! Back I say!" He yelled. Reggie stopped and slapped her head.
"Figures it would be on the top floor." She groaned.
"Now which Mario Kart game did you want to play?" Izzy asked, going over to the computer.
"Double Dash." Lars replied.
"Ah yes. Our most popular game." Izzy started typing.
"I heard almost every gamer in this town has that game." Iggy said, turning to the other two.
"Yeah. It's really popular." Reggie said. "How long have you guys been living here, anyway?"
"Oh we've been here for close to a month. We had to overlook construction of the arcade, of course."
"Ah! Here we go." Izzy said. Everybody turned to him. "You're in luck. We have only one more playing station available at the moment."
"Good." Lars breathed a sigh of relief. "So how much to play?"
"Well, the normal price is ten dollars for up to three hours, fifteen for up to six, and twenty to play anytime after that until closing time." Iggy answered. "But we have our fifty percent off special for this week, so—"
"Iggy! Don't be so rude to our lovely guest." Izzy scolded as he turned towards Reggie. "You guys can play for free today, just to show no hard feelings about our little—err… conversation."
"Thanks." Reggie said as she and Lars started to walk. "And I'm still taken!"
Both brothers slapped their heads.
"Oy… Show them to the Double Dash Room, Iggy."
"Why me?" Iggy yelled.
"Because I don't feel like it right now!" Izzy replied. "So get going before I decide not to let you play anything for a month!" Iggy grumbled as he walked around the counter and up to Reggie and Lars.
"Let's go." He said as he started walking. Reggie and Lars followed.
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Post-chapter Conversation
"Well, I may not like having to be in a slash fic again, but at least I'm straight this time around." Izzy said. I rolled my eyes.
"Whatever." I turned to the camera. "So how—"
"Hiiiiiiii!.!.!.!.!" A high pitched voice screamed. We turned towards Iggy, who ran into the studio. He waved at the camera excitedly. Izzy and I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Uhhhh…" Iggy turned towards me and grinned.
"Daddy!" He then ran over and clung to me.
"Ack!" I grunted as I struggled to get out of his grip. "Nice to see you too."
"Yay! Daddy!" Iggy cheered. He snuggled his head into my chest. Izzy gave him a strange look, while I gave him a pained look.
"Ummmm Boss, why is he like that?" My partner asked.
"Well, unlike you, I made your brother have unquestioned loyalty and respect for me. I guess I went too far." I laughed sheepishly.
"But I have unquestioned loyalty for you too."
"Yeah, but you don't have any respect for me." I clarified. Izzy held a hand to his chin.
"True. So that's why he calls you Daddy and clings to you like Amy Rose?"
"Ugh! Pretty much." I grunted as I struggled again to no avail. The younger brunet was just too strong. "Iggy! You're squeezing too hard!" Iggy just squeezed harder in response. My face turned blue and I wasn't able to speak. Izzy raised an eyebrow at the scene.
"Riiiiight…" He turned to the camera. "Anyway, how will training go for Lars? And will our favorite surfer start practicing for the race? Find out next time!"
