Misery, Company and Regretting Everything

They met on neutral territory, down at the beach in a sheltered cove. Scott brought a packet of chocolate biscuits as a peace offering, Kayo had made lemonade. Sitting side by side on a hammock that someone had slung under a wide-spreading pōhutukawa tree and sharing the treats, they compared notes.

Scott had noticed it first, a pattern of opportune moments that seemed to have been all too conveniently suggested, and Kayo had cottoned onto the same pattern not long after he did. She'd been the one to suggest a truce, via a note left on his pillow, and he'd suggested meeting in the cove for privacy.

Now that they'd talked about it, it really was all too obvious.

"He's been playing both sides this entire time!" Kayo couldn't help but laugh. "Would you believe the ice pack was his idea? And he kept watch to make sure no one could warn you I was sneaking up on you."

"Oh I'd believe it." Scott grinned and refilled his cup with lemonade. "The confetti bomb was his suggestion. He wanted me to make a glitter bomb initially, but there was no way I was going to build one of those- Grandma would kill me and Virgil would finish off anything she missed."

"He overplayed his hand though." Kayo tisked and shook her head in mock admonishment, smiling as she spoke. "Did he really think we wouldn't notice if we both started getting ambushed at times that only he knew we'd be somewhere?"

"I think he was counting on us being too eager to prank each other to question it." Was Scott's amused reply.

"You do know what this means though, right?" Mischief dripped from every word, a distinctly anticipatory grin marking Kayo's features.

"Mm, I do." Scott mused, distractedly tapping the side of his cup as he mulled over the problem now facing them. "We're going to have to get John for this, and get him good."

0o0o0

Three days later, John stepped out of the space elevator and indulged in a luxurious stretch. He'd been looking forward to this visit home because they were going on a rare family trip in the morning- Virgil had a gallery opening tomorrow night, a collaboration with three other artists with a series of paintings, music and artworks inspired by space and space travel and Virgil had promised that the venue would be set up with introverts in mind.

Things had been quiet on the prank war front for a little bit, but that was okay. Kayo had been off base running down a lead on an arms dealer and it'd given him time to brainstorm new ideas with Scott- holographic emitters like the projectors they had for comms could make some remarkably realistic illusions with the right programs. They'd mutually agreed to not do anything with butterflies though- that would be unfair. It also allowed time for Kayo's latest delivery to arrive- she'd had an inspired idea that involved makeup sponges, Scott's shoes and paint.

Walking towards the passageway that led up to the villa, John didn't notice the discreet laser trip wire set up just before the doorway carved into the rock. However, he did notice the holographically concealed bucket of slime that dropped onto him and the synchronised pops of the two wall mounted confetti cannons firing to shower him in fragments of paper. The crowning moment was the large bag of orange coloured powder that burst over his head just as the confetti stopped swirling.

Frozen in a half hunch of surprise, John blinked several times as he realised what had just happened and that two laughing siblings had just appeared out from hiding around the corner.

John wiped slime and confetti out of his face and looked between Scott and Kayo as they got their laughter under control. "...you know?" He asked, realising his meddling had been uncovered.

"Oh yes, we know." Kayo's smirk was triumphant.

"...I'm going to regret everything, aren't I?" The question from John was rueful as more orange tinted slime dripped from his hair to splatter on the ground. He didn't even want to know what this stuff was doing to his uniform.

"Yes you are, little brother, yes you are." Scott grinned broadly, delight dancing in his eyes.

John straightened up and cracked a rare grin. "Bring it."