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Lyssdoodle : Aww thank you so so so much! I'm glad you feel that way :)


*Chapter 234*

"This is probably the gayest thing I've ever done," Wren muttered, his vibrant blue eyes scanned the span of glistening white sand beyond the common room's airy patio.

Although properly dressed in a pair of darker swim trunks, he also sport Koko's bikini top, awkwardly stretched over his chest. Koko meticulously began to thread a few loose ties into her top, with Wren simply being a body to aid in said process. Koko raised her eyebrows in grinning delight and shook her head in the preparations to allow a witty remark to be let loose. Mara cutely sat close by, so to aid in the process and remain in the conversation.

"Y'know, outside of having sex with Throttle," Koko sarcastically blurt, though her beautiful, honey-brown eyes held tight to the chore awkwardly strapped to Wren's broad chest, cutely lined with a trail of darker blonde hairs.

"Aww. Wrenny, you look so beautiful!" Lash cried with a wide, scheming grin, and although everyone here was on great terms, Wren softly furrowed his brows and felt as if Lash's teasings had run its course, as if it was funny for the first day or two, though it was becoming a chore to keep up with; Lash was tailed by Theo and Nox as they pushed further out into the massive, covered patio of the common room's structure. All three boys were ready to hit the crashing waves, though just as Wren was due to sticking to ignore Lash's teasing remark, Lash pushed the envelope, "Is Koko going to be kind enough to let you borrow that for your hot date with Throttle?"

"No, I don't need to, I have my own," Wren snapped back sarcastically with a nod, he brushed his handsome, longer strands of white hair out of his eyes and was at least thrilled to see Throttle enter the common room's building and saunter across the gape of inside the building to catch up with Theo, Nox, and Lash.

"Ooo, what color?" Lash volleyed, he narrowed his gaze and shot Wren a mean little smile, in which Wren didn't miss a beat.

"White," Wren snipped meanly, he, too, narrowed his gaze and tilted his head in challenge as he could see Koko's curious, lovely eyes look up at Wren's becoming-dominant and frustrated disposition. Wren carried on in a hissing, sarcastic tone of bitey sassiness, "Any guess why…?"

"To pretend to have a grand 'ol white wedding you'll never be able to have?" Lash pushed, to which now Theo rolled his eyes and muttered for the two to stop bickering.

"No, sometimes I like to pretend I'm still pure and innocent," Wren chimed with a shrug of his masculine shoulders, he bobbed Lash a nod and eased the meanest, sarcastic smile he could afford, "Like you! Aww. So sweet and fragile."

"Choke on a dick, my guy," Lash muttered sharply, to which Wren looked off in delightful contemplation and shrugged a little.

"...Not the worst idea ever," Wren skillfully returned with a little smile, a toothy show of victory; Koko grit her teeth and lobbed her bewildered gaze down to Mara's icy, frozen eyes and disposition, though Koko was surprised to see Mara finally furrow her eyebrows in irritation and glower Lash a tired, annoyed look. Theo and Nox now nervously laughed and began to do what they could to usher Lash out of Wren's now boiling aura.

"Hoookay, so what did I just walk in on?" Throttle argued with an incredulous laugh as now Lash, Theo and Nox stepped out into the cut of hot sunshine and finally were out of earshot.

"Dunno what's crawled up his butt and died, but ever since, like… Day two, he's been getting progressively meaner to me," Wren muttered, the downswing of dominant, riling testosterone was now gently sagging into defeated sorrow as his strong shoulders slumped. Koko continued to gently pick at her bikini top, still awkwardly and lazily strapped to Wren's bare chest, "I'm literally helping Koko with her top and nothing more. Not everything has to be a hot topic."

"That's nice of you," Throttle eased with a soft nod and a mature, steady disposition he laid over Mara, Koko, and Wren. He raised his eyebrows and inhaled a long, deep breath through his nose as he lofted his white, patient gaze across the sunny sand. Off to the right, in the distance, Tatum, Chester, and Berri could be seen running about in the sand, their laughter carried alongside the ocean breeze as Throttle's quiet gap of silence was finally broken with the tenderness of his deep, wise voice, "I just don't pay Lash's remarks any mind. The reason he keeps after you, Wren, is because you bite back."

"I don't have a choice," Wren muttered cutely, to which Koko and Mara giggled.

"He makes it easy to argue, I get it, I've… I've had my moments, with him, but I've learned to just not even play into it," Throttle's warmth concluded, he gave Mara a sweet smile and nodded, "I've noticed he's laid off picking on you too, Mar. Take a page out of our books."

"He's picked a new target. You know how hard it is for me to keep my mouth shut," Wren muttered, he narrowed his gaze as he, too, looked off to the disappearing little group of men that now neared the halfway mark to the water, "Y'think he's just… I don't know-"

"Projecting? Yeah," Mara quipped wisely with a shrug, to which Throttle shot her a look of patient curiosity. She glanced into Throttle's eyes and nervously carried on, knowing, full well, her's and Lash's little bloom of friendship was supposed to be on the down-low. She shrugged and tried to seem nonchalant, "He's jealous. All of his brothers have a swap mate. Literally everyone here has a swap mate or is the product of swapping. He just needs to be properly educated."

"Who dares sit him down and really TRULY get him to understand?" Wren stabbed in grinning irritation as Koko let out a small little noise of elated relief, having finally been able to make headway with her threading; Mara did whatever she could to remain still and act as if she maybe wanted nothing to do with what Wren was insinuating, though she knew she was secretly caught in the downswing of her eyes to the ground. Throttle furrowed his black brows in tender, silent inquiry and remained still as Wren carried on, "Methinks we should just give him a place to live in the city, maybe he'll meet someone. He'll fall stupidly in love, code swap, then come crawling back to us and reveal just how sorry he is for being such an asshole to us all."

"I-I think he just needs camaraderie," Mara bravely interjected, to which Wren, Koko, and Throttle all halted whatever they were doing, whatever direction their gazes were in, and glued their curious eyes tight to Mara's pristine facial features. She raised her pastel blue eyebrows in a prickle of nervousness, her cheeks grew red, she did whatever she could to inhale a steady breath and nervously continued on in a forced show of now agitated nonchalance, "Y-You know, like… Sure, he's friendly with some of us, but, does he even like… HAVE a best friend outside of, say, Turbo?"

"No, God no," Throttle muttered as he raised his eyebrows and looked off in contemplation, "He's… Only really ever had Turbo, and even for a year or so after Sugar Rush was saved, he literally had no one. He was in coded purgatory."

"Surely he had friends in Turbotime, he probably knows how to BE a friend," Koko stated with a grimace as she shook her head and was now on her way to concluding her chore, something Wren sweetly remained still for.

"He had a few buddies, but… Yeah, he just doesn't take social cues very well, he's probably pretty lonely, I think Mara's right," Throttle eased in a mumbling fashion as if to be defeated like maybe there was little to no hope for Lash. Mara frowned and peered out to the sunny, late morning beachscape, in which her eyes landed on Lash's bare back, far across the stretch. She felt her heart dip in dread as if maybe she now understood the weight of their new little blossom of friendship, and any shred of camaraderie she could afford him could quite possibly save him. Mara allowed her eyes to get lost in the heat-waves that gently lifted off of the lovely, velvety, blinding sand before her as Throttle's warm voice continued on, "I'll… I'll chat with him. You know he doesn't hate you or anything, Wren, you're just an easy target cause… Well…"

"It's simply just a game, Wren, and you're willing to play along," Mara mumbled, she tried not to smile, though Wren lulled his eyes closed in defeat and bobbed a nod.

"I guess the only way to win is to not play at all," Throttle stated in a downswing of concluded defeat, to which Mara now felt a weird reversal within her little group, here.

The idea that simply just dipping out of a conversation with Lash was what saved someone the trouble of being picked on, Mara felt her heart begin to pound with the very idea that Throttle's words were definitely not true. She knew simply not playing Lash's little game would only reveal losing, having already won over his true friendship. She smiled a sneaky, cute little smile to herself and looked down at her twiddling fingers in her lap. She was well aware that the only way to win Lash's little games was truly to play them right back and to not give up until said collection of banter and teasing has turned into a weird bonding agent, thus solidifying a very winding, bumpy road to Lash's friendship. Already knowing the road eventually evened out, and she was now in the clear of Lash's sharp tongue, she smiled and felt further victorious over her peers.


"He's only, oh I don't know, your future brother in law, you jerk," Nox snapped to Lash, though both boys grinned in they're typical banter.

"Oh, he knows I'm just playing," Lash guffawed, to which Theo raised his eyebrows in irritation, and protectiveness for Wren, and quickly interjected.

"Nnnaw, I know Wren, he wouldn't meanly bite back at you, like that, if he thought you were just playing," Theo muttered, Lash furrowed his eyebrows and tossed Theo a confused look over his shoulder.

"You like Throttle, right?" Nox pressed on, in which Lash now began to feel ganged up on. Nox narrowed his eyes and smiled as the three boys happened upon the larger white beach umbrella and massive sprawl of a blanket Turbo was lounging at, "You want him to, I don't know, remain your friend and not feel estranged from you, yeah?"

"Yes, I like Throttle, what does that have to do with-"

"He literally shares codes with Wren, dude, how is NONE of this clicking?" Theo barked, although this was a serious topic, all three guys laughed in small bouts of annoyed chuckling. Although Theo didn't have any coded siblings, he was grateful he had cousins growing up, as well as the new brotherly camaraderie he now found within Turbo and his own brothers, "Surely you'll understand eventually, like, when is that going to get through to you?"

"What, Throttle just downloaded Wren's personality?" Lash argued, they finally were within earshot of Turbo; he looked over his bare shoulder in cute curiosity, in which it sagged to teasing dread the second he realized Theo, Nox, and Lash were arguing.

"Basically!" Nox urged, Turbo finally got to a stand as they neared, and though Turbo was well aware just what they were talking about, by simply gathering a few keywords, he played dumb.

"Hey guys, I think I saw some dolphins," Turbo eased warmly with a nod, the shade the beach umbrella provided him made his vibrant, golden eyes glow with a pop of color.

"Yeah? You get it to code swap with you and now you know how to swim four hundred miles an hour or something lame? Y'gunna put on a dolphin costume?" Lash argued, and although he had seemed lighthearted and playful this entire time, insecurity finally caught up to him, he glowered Turbo down and tried to hold onto an irritated smile, though failed. He almost immediately regretted saying anything due to Turbo's gravity that seemingly pulled him in and kept him in orbit. Turbo skillfully caught Lash's shoulder, halted him from making any progress out to the ocean, and sagged him into a proper, coded exterior swap. Lash choked a noise of irritated inquiry, though immediately sagged his shoulders and peered hard into Turbo's eyes, in which were now mildly getting into his face.

"Hey. Imma need you to chill out and stop taking your frustrations out on everyone," Turbo firmly muttered in Lash's face, although his tone was stern, the coding underneath their skin crawled with brotherly care, corrective action Turbo knew to deploy on the coded beings that greatly looked up to him. He was well aware he was Lash's ultimate kryptonite, their eyes remained glued as Lash finally succumbed to softness, "Be nice to Wren, he's Throttle's future husband. That's your big brother... You wouldn't dare treat, say, Berri or Koko that way, would you?"

"No," Lash mumbled in a downswing of genuine defeat, his eyes looked off as if to desperately hold onto annoyance.

"No, so don't treat Wren that way, or anyone, for that matter," Turbo pressed, he shook his head and delivered Lash one last brotherly throw of dominance, "Knock it off. Maybe try smiling, my guy, you're literally on vacation. On top of it, everyone here has a wealth of knowledge on stuff you know nothing about."

"I get it, tell me a million times," Lash grunted gently, and though their coded connection was small and simple, Lash almost found it painful to peel away from the addictive embrace Turbo's coding had deployed on his own; however difficult it was, he and Nox finally peeled away in soft understanding and began a new, much smaller and lighthearted conversation.

"... Damn, I should try that, next time," Theo mumbled as he remained stationary with Turbo, both men patiently watched as Nox and Lash continued to walk closer to the water, away from the little camp Turbo had set up. Turbo crossed his arms and shook his head as him and Theo fell into quiet conversation with each other, over the roar of the ocean's waves and the cool kiss of a breeze it provided.

"Sometimes you just have to shut him up via exterior swap, he'll hear you with his coding, but not his ears," Turbo muttered sharply, though he smiled in playful irritation as he and Theo continued to hold attentive eyes to Lash's figure; both he and Nox began to cordially laugh once more, their feet finally graced Sugar Sun's glorious, crystal clear water.

"He's stubborn, that one," Theo included, Turbo nodded and lulled his eyes closed.

"He's the epitome of an evil genius," Turbo choked a laugh as Theo grinned, both men finally caught eyes, "He's stubborn and will play dumb for an eternity, but will surprise you right at the last moment. I'm telling you, he's going to show up one day with a full-blown swap mate and we're all going to be blindsided."

"Fully married with children," Theo volleyed, him and Turbo loudly laughed.

"I honest to User wouldn't be surprised at all," Turbo bobbed a nod, though Berri's, Chester's, and Tatum's laughter could suddenly be heard across the stretch of sand behind Turbo's lovely umbrella setup. Although Berri wasn't properly dressed for it, she and Chester ran through a few sprinting drills in the sand, so to keep Chester sharp and allow him to get some energy out. Alongside this rather normal routine, Tatum had joined them in flight, wings on full display, as confident as ever. Both girls loudly laughed as Chester's much larger, insanely fast body and legs splayed sand about in the act of coming to sharp halts, or cutting tight turns. Tatum's graceful gliding followed suit, in which both girls loudly chattered and laughed back and forth. Turbo softly crossed his arms, eyed the small group from far away, and finally gave Theo a cute, knowing side-eye of boyish charm, "So... How ya feeling?"

"Fine," Theo mumbled as they caught eyes, though Theo immediately crumpled from Turbo's powerful side-eye and grinned down to his twiddling fingers, "I'm feeling great, okay, don't pick on me."

"It's my job to pick on my little brothers," Turbo grumbled, he long-blinked and continued to hold his gaze to Theo's face, which was now bruised with warmth and honey glow, his adorable gap-toothed grin assured to Turbo that Theo had an eventual, successful night prior, "Is it as incredible as everyone lead on?"

"More so," Theo assured with a nod, he peered out to the sand and felt his wide, toothy grin finally sag to that of a knowing, matured little smile of warm nostalgia, adoration for his brand new swap mate, courage and security now securely instilled in both him and Tatum. Theo inhaled a deep breath, his broad chest expanded, he bobbed a nod and finally caught eyes with Turbo, "That code reversal did wonders for her, too. I mean, look'it her."

"A new lease on life, I understand the feeling well," Turbo bobbed an agreeing nod as him and Theo watched Tatum's graceful flight bring her to the sand, in which Chester trot up to her, with Berri confidently straddled his spine, "I'm happy it all worked out for you, man. I can see why Arcade maybe thinks we're cultivating an army, over here. What that swap will do for fragile souls is either tremendous or devastating. I'm just glad no one, thus far, has had a negative experience."

"I don't think this crew could fall into that kind of a trap," Theo assured with a nod, and although they weren't necessarily talking about anyone specific, both boys dragged their gaze back to the ocean's lovely water and hooked their eyes to their lonely, cy-bug-mark-riddled little grey moon, the only of said little grey moons without a planet to orbit. Theo sagged his shoulders, though, after a moment, Turbo gave Theo's arm a warm pat and gestured for the two to join Nox and Lash in the shallows, where they were. They stepped out into the cut of sunshine, in which Theo warmly carried on, "Guess... The only being I worry about would be Lash."

"Yyyep," Turbo muttered with a nod, "Me too. Hopefully, whoever he saddles himself with has a good head on their shoulders, and can somehow guide the terrifying twister of a personality that is Whiplash Black."

"We'll need to set them up with a care package," Theo stated under his breath as they now were approaching earshot of Nox and Lash, "They're gonna need all the help they can get."

"Hopefully we'll discover whoever it would be sooner than later," Turbo quietly ushered to Theo, their bare feet finally sagged into the climbing waves that had then begun to recede back into the ocean, "Whatcha got there, Lash?"

"Look, it's a cute little crab!" Lash cried with a grin, he picked up said crab shell first and showed the three men that now stood about him. Its legs and pinchers slowly squirmed, though it was on its way to looking like it was distressed, "We should give it to Gunner as a peace offering..."

"Crap, I totally forgot Gunner's coming," Nox muttered, to which Turbo heaved a heavy, shaky sigh and shook his head, though Theo firmly interjected.

"Yeah, Tatum and I are staying in our house and are not coming out," Theo urged hotly, he gave Turbo a knowing look of disgruntled irritation and shook his head, "I don't want him saying anything cross to her, User knows I would go ham..."

"We all would," Nox mumbled, Lash finally bent down and released said squirmy crab with a show of delicate care that Turbo was surprised by.

"I was half expecting you to literally chuck that crab back into the ocean," Turbo blurt as he crossed his arms and gave Lash a curious, chuckling little smile.

"I'm an asshole, not a monster," Lash retort with an offended grin, Turbo bobbed a soft nod of agreeing and looked down to the rush of shallow water that returned to all four boys.

"Try saying that after Gunner gets here," Nox cheesed, Lash sneakily rubbed his hands together.

"So what's the deal, Bo, we gonna stand in a body-guard circle around Berri?" Lash rushed with a scheming smile and a nod, "Tell me the details."

"Welp... Berri has instructed to give her and Gunner at least a hundred feet of space when he first gets here," Turbo mumbled in dismay, Lash immediately crowned a gaping look of full, astonished irritation and yanked his arms out in a gesture of disagreeing.

"What!" Lash barked.

"Yeah, trust me," Turbo rolled his eyes, "He'll be coming later this afternoon, Berri said she'll meet with him by the deck and pool area, we're allowed to stay on the common room's back patio and keep an eye on things, but that's it."

"Queen's orders," Nox mumbled as he rubbed the back of his head, Turbo bobbed a defeated nod as Lash threw his head back and loudly groaned up to the sky.

"That's not FAIR," Lash wailed, though all four boys erupted with understanding laughter.

"Yes, it is, c'mon," Theo chuckled, he looked over his shoulder and caught eyes with the scene of Berri, Tatum, and Chester having fun, running and flying about, far off.

"Berri said she'll discuss with Gunner what the code block reversal entails and if he feels comfortable enough involving me, or not," Turbo stated, he inhaled a deep breath and finally caught eyes with Lash, "If so, we'll go someplace private and conduct the reversal. If not, him and Berri will go alone."

"ALONE!" Lash's voice got more stern, he shook his head and now firmly eyed where Berri was, across the sand, "No, no, no, I don't want her ALONE with that guy, you kidding?"

"He's an asshole, not a monster," Theo cheekily delivered, copying Lash's statement from literal minutes ago. Lash reeled and firmly gazed into Theo's eyes in soft, defeated shock, "Besides... This is all for Gunner's benefit. We reversed Tatum's code block last night and now look at her. You couldn't PAY her to show off her wings, like such, and now?"

"She looks awesome," Turbo encouraged with a nod.

"Badass, man," Nox mumbled in warm inclusion, to which Lash heaved a raspy sigh and looked off.

"Whatever, you guys," Lash stabbed, though Turbo finally gave Lash a soft, loving smile.

"... I think it's sweet that you're so protective of my swap mate," Turbo's firm voice was ladened with care, both boys caught eyes, though Lash looked embarrassed. Before Lash could bark an annoyed retort, Turbo grinned and cocked an eyebrow, "Now, expand that emotion to all of your brother's swap mates."

"I don't hate Wren, my User!" Lash firmly argued, everyone but him loudly laughed, "It's not like Wren's ex-boyfriend is visiting the island for some strange Houdini code reversal and Wren has to do literal pixel magic and put his hands all over his ex, like such."

"Two spots on the body," Turbo mumbled in irritation, Nox crossed his arms.

"Something you'd care to know nothing about," Nox volleyed, to which Lash now firmly looked off in full-blown irritation, which was made obvious by the now dip of molten orange his once golden eyes suddenly stabbed to; Turbo cleared his throat and knew to quickly diffuse.

"It's going to be FINE, we can observe from the patio," Turbo firmly instructed, he resisted the urge to grapple Lash into yet another exterior swap, though with his stance, he made clear to Lash that he was definitely thinking it, "If Gunner finds he's brave enough to speak to all or one of us, you guys, I'm telling you, if you do or say anything to instigate a fight..."

"That's... Why Tatum and I are staying away," Theo mumbled with a nervous chuckle.

"Be like Theo and remove yourself," Turbo continued on, "You can stay if you'll play nice. Trust me, it's hard, I get it, but... He's here for a reason. And if we can possibly help HIM, surely we can broaden that to helping other people in the Arcade. We have to be a safe spot for people, otherwise, what is all of this even for."

Lash softened and peered up to Turbo's wise disposition, and though he felt the edges of his mouth curl in the act of wanting to let a teasing, silly, potentially hurtful remark fly, he held his breath and stuffed it, for once. He gently glossed his eyes to Theo, Nox and back again to Turbo, all men confident, secure, and strong in their own right, and although Lash desperately would want to argue that he was right up there with the greats, properly running with the big dogs, he sagged his shoulders and knew he had to just admit to himself that he definitely had a lot to learn. Of the how many more times he could get away with rude remarks, and not be further alienated, he wasn't sure. Out of the corner of his eye, he finally noticed Mara, Throttle, Koko, and Wren making their way out to the larger beach spot Turbo had set up, and with such, Tatum, Berri, and Chester began to show signs of heading over, as well. Although not even remotely good at apologies, Lash bit his lip a little and landed his eyes tight to Wren's figure, far across the sand; the unfamiliar sting of regret coursed through him, once more, a feeling that initially came to fruition within Mara's sweet presence. In the downswing of negotiating with himself, he stuffed his regrets and guilt, for now, hoping that the issue with him and Wren has just blown over and could be forgotten about.


After a few hours in the sun, the rigorous push and pull of laughter, loud conversation, and avoiding getting a belly full of ocean water, the whole group quietly parted ways so to prepare for Gunner's arrival. With an hour or so before the main event, everyone had time to wind down, shower, and await a confusing, eventful evening. Thrilled to even so much as to be apart of it all, Lash hustled back to his little abode and figured he'd do the standard of cleaning up and eating something, and although the idea of sneaking in a nap crossed his mind, he rolled his eyes, shook his head and closed his own front door behind him. With the gape of his little home's sunny, glorious sprawl of tile, he furrowed his brow and was surprised to see that he had accidentally left his own patio's sliding doors open. The curtain ruffled with the wind, and although he felt a dip of terror, he was swiftly reminded that the secluded area they were in was private and safe. In the tug of his tank top, he ripped it off of his body and felt the prickle of the air conditioning hit his hot skin, he heaved a satisfied sigh and rounded the corner into his airy, open-format kitchen, in which he swiftly endured a near-heart attack.

"Y'left your patio door open," Mara mumbled cutely, to which Lash froze dead in his tracks, bugged his eyes, clutched his bare chest, over his heart, and finally huffed a shaky noise of hot dread.

"Hoooo my GOD you scared the shit out of me," Lash hissed tightly through his teeth as his brain finally collected the fact that Mara was here with him, lazily leaned against the counter of his island, she stood to correction and breathed a small giggle with an easy, unreserved smile of sweet sass.

"Well, yeah, can you imagine if I was here to rob you?" Mara blurt, she firmly flung her arm out, across Lash's slightly messy home, and gestured to the gaping patio glass, "I'm here to teach you the concept of closing and locking your windows and doors when you leave the house, friend! Doesn't matter if we're in a safe location.

"Your Highness," Lash obliged shakily, though he shook his head and gave Mara a quick quip of soft correction, "Er, Mara... Emmy... Your Emmy. Your Hinny!"

"NO," Mara barked as she pointed a firm finger in Lash's direction, though Lash loudly erupted in hard laughter and clutched his bare center in the act of hunching over.

"Holy User, I'm using that title, from now on," Lash loudly continued to laugh, the cy-bug markings on his jaw firmly stretched with his wide, unreserved grin; Mara quickly shook her head and couldn't help but grin and giggle, in return.

"No, I draw the line at 'Your Hinny', you're NOT using that," Mara struggled to get words out amidst their laughter, though Lash finally settled with a hard, shaky, chuckling little sigh and wiped his eyes free of tears.

"Wow, I needed that laugh, thank you," Lash wheezed with a nod, he finally set his shirt on his island's counter and came within a few feet of Mara, "I'll lock my doors and windows next time, I just sort of... Left. It's not like I've ever owned my own place or anything."

"I know, I wasn't knocking you for it, just giving advice," Mara chimed gently.

"I could've been naked, and you're just standing here," Lash snapped with a sneaky, annoyed smile, to which Mara looked disinterested.

"Damn, you're right, then I'd finally discover if those cy-bug markings go into your buttcrack, or not," Mara tsked a small noise and sarcastically shook her head a little. She concluded said sarcasm with a mumble audible for Lash, "Missed opportunity."

"No missed opportunity at all! Here, I'll show you," Lash pressed with a wide grin, he gripped the rim of his lazy sweats and moved into the action of sliding them down his hips, in which Mara urgently flailed her arms out and looked entirely away.

"NO! Leave your pants on!" Mara cried, though Lash urgently grit his teeth and now was very scarily aware of the fact that his patio door was wide open; Mara slapped her hands over her mouth and bugged her eyes a little.

"Yeah, PLEASE tell everyone on this island that I'm removing my pants in front of you, I WAS JOKING," Lash firmly argued through a sharp hiss of whispery secrecy; Mara covered her face and loudly giggled into her hands. Lash corrected his sweats, having only pulled them down a mere inch, or two. He stood straight, inhaled a deep breath, expanded his powerful chest, and eyed Mara in now rising irritation, "Why are you in here, anyway?"

"To give you some friendly advice," Mara stated with a smile, she breathed a final few giggles, crossed her arms, and relaxed as her lovely blue eyes held tight to Lash's.

"Much appreciated, moving forward, I'll be scared to remove my clothes for fear of you sneakily just BEING in my house," Lash muttered in smiling irritation, he sagged his hands into his baggy sweat's pockets and slumped his shoulders in further relaxation, though Mara lulled her eyes closed and shook her head.

"I'm not talking about the patio doors," She eased seriously, she reopened her eyes and was now glad to have Lash's frozen, confused, and attentively golden gaze.

"... What's going on?" Lash softened, his veins wiggled, the strangest feeling of peaking over the tops of his high walls had him mentally wobbling in confusion.

Mara inhaled a slow breath through her nose, lofted her tender gaze down to Lash's island, and steadied her thoughts, she was floored to feel Lash's disposition absolutely freeze in attentive stillness, something that he never really purposefully gave to anyone. She cutely began to open the huge box she was prepared to unpack for this lost, fragile soul now in her friendly, loving care, "Dubs, I'm going to need you to really set your pride aside and listen to me, for a moment. Can you handle that?"

Lash held his breath and felt his pupils tighten as Mara's lovely eyes finally dragged to his, and although her gaze was typically icy and authoritative, she held this weird, new bubble of tenderness, a warmth she was becoming comfortable with revealing to her new friend. Knowing that both creatures were ones of the bad habit of pushing others away, Lash felt as if Mara was quite literally the only person who would truly understand, and appreciate, whenever warmth and softness were given or received. Upon his eyes curiously delving deeper into Mara's gaze, he finally heaved a shaky, defeated sigh through his nose, looked off, and bobbed an aimless nod of very mild annoyance. His deep voice quietly mumbled her a polite conclusion.

"... Ma'am," Lash quietly obliged, humility that was palpable from a million miles away, he could feel his hands begin to shake with the unfamiliar, almost delightful weirdness.

"Look... What you did earlier really hurt Wren's feelings," Mara started, to which Lash frowned and looked down to his feet in further contemplation. Mara skillfully carried on, her tone was anything but demanding, "He didn't say so, but... Y'know, being a User comes with its perks of near-perfect intuition. I... I understand you probably were trying to just banter and have fun, but I could tell that Wren was hurt by that give and take."

"I truly was just kidding," Lash grumbled, he eyed Mara in the softest rise of resistance, to which Mara's warm, understanding smile immediately flattened.

"I know that," Mara assured, she shook her head and sighed her conclusion, "But, he doesn't... C'mon, man, he's probably going to eventually be your brother in law. You respect Throttle, don't you?"

"I do," Lash eased, he felt his coding blob about in confusion, the fact that no snarky retorts were being deployed, nor were any waiting in the wings for usage, he sagged his shoulders and felt a weird scoop of safety officially secure him in Mara's secretively tender presence.

"Lash, I think you need to apologize to him," Mara affirmed, Lash frowned and peered hard into Mara's eyes, full of mild dread and curiosity, "He was genuinely just trying to help my aunt Koko and you made some rude comments. The poor guy DOES eventually want a white wedding, surely. Just because he's not a virgin doesn't take away from that, you really just... Gotta dig in and-"

"I'm sorry, okay? I just... How do I make jokes without hurting people's feelings? How is everyone else so good at it?" Lash worried, he narrowed his gaze and felt the string and collection of words and thoughts, escaping him, to be the oddest form of coherence to ever leave his brain. He huffed a shaky chuckle and gestured to himself, "I-I saw him in a bikini top and thought it was funny. Anyone would!"

"Sure, but you could've stopped with 'aw Wrenny you look so beautiful'," Mara instructed with an incredulous giggle, "Quickly followed with 'I'm just teasing, what are you guys up to?' Not everything has to be a war. I know you've had it rough, I get it. I'm caught up on the history of everyone's traumas... I'm just here to help you understand maybe why it's so hard for people to let you in."

Lash frowned, though somehow felt the sun's warm rays beam straight into his heart. He long-blinked in further warmth and assessed Mara's aura before him. Just days ago she was a being that he'd get into verbal battles with, though the strange sensation to scoop her into a grateful hug overrode his body. Obviously not keen on acting on any of it, he dug his sweaty hands deeper into his pockets and allowed a small, sneaky little smile to sprawl his face.

"... You did," Lash's deep voice soothed alongside the sound of the crash of the ocean's waves, far beyond their standpoint.

"Yeah, but it wasn't forty-eight hours ago where WE were at each other's throats, too," Mara corrected with a wide, incredulous smile, "The only reason it settled was because we're technically one and the same, we're... Birds of a feather, if you will. I pulled us out of it because I have far more people skills than you do, and that's SAYING something."

"Rude," Lash muttered, he still held on to that sneaky little smile as he bashfully looked down.

"Please, just... Please, consider apologizing to him," Mara began to conclude, she narrowed her gaze and was grateful he held unwavering, concerned eye contact with her, "You don't need to put on a huge show, you don't need to bend over backwards, just... I know it'd mean a lot to him."

Lash heaved a long, dreaded, hot sigh through his nose and finally pulled his phone out of his pocket. He set it on the island next to him and began to unlock it, so to cue up his messages in obligatory preparation. He finally bobbed an understanding nod and glanced into Mara's eyes.

"I'll try," Lash politely eased, he finally shook his head and grumbled his conclusion, "Y'all are so sensitive..."

"No, don't try and turn this on anyone, sensitivity isn't a bad thing," Mara instructed, in which Lash's gaze caught with hers, once more, attentive stillness Mara had never seen before, merely as if he was making clear that her word was something he secretly respected above everyone else's, "Sure, Wren played his part with the remarks, but you started it. It's not fair that your way of making friends is to torture them first."

"... Did you feel that way?" Lash quietly worried, to which Mara bugged her eyes, looked off and firmly nodded.

"Uh, YEAH," Mara blurt with a wide, sarcastic grin, though she softened the second Lash visibly sagged in official defeat, the golden joy in his eyes now muted to a matte grey of sullen regret. Mara gave him an apologetic smile and dared to take a few steps closer to him, "This vacation is good for you. You have to learn how to properly be reintroduced into society, again, right? The only reason Turbo has a leg up on the mess is because he's had a year and a half head start. No one here is interested in tearing you down, just... Remember that."

"I will," Lash's gentle voice eased with continued defeat, and although he shyly looked down to his island's counter and looked as if this notion of definitive lesson-learned was concluded, he raised his eyebrows in a gentle pique of curiosity as he noted Mara now easing yet another step closer to him.

"Don't beat yourself up about it," Mara blurt a quiet giggle, her cheeks squished alongside a cute smile her eyes now delivered up into Lash's attentively nervous eyes, and just before she very bravely sealed her's and Lash's very first friendly little embrace, she was able to see the golden happiness come flooding his previously sullen gaze. With said further push of bravery, Mara's much shorter figure successfully snugged into the broad of Lash's front. She hugged her arms about his bare middle and gave his figure a friendly little squeeze. Delighted that her bravery rewarded her in the form of Lash's now unsure ravel of his own arms, she lulled her eyes closed and rested the side of her head onto Lash's bare, broad shoulder, "Surely apologizing will get easier for you, hmm?"

"I'll keep you posted," Lash mumbled through a shaky breath of now forced irritation, he bashfully scanned his eyes about the area of his kitchen, directly in front of him, and felt his arms weirdly cup into an embracing gesture about Mara's upper shoulders. Although no stranger to a quiet show of tenderness, in the form of a hug, his brain began to boggle in cute confusion with the sheer notion of this unfamiliar, cute, short little bundle of incredible power now so warmly snuggled against him. Although excited to shove away the idea of thawing his cold, tired heart, his shaky sigh audibly ushered another new notion of further vulnerability that shoved said resistance, to thawing, out the window, "Thank you... For, well..."

"Breaking and entering?" Mara mumbled, the sound of her voice right up on his ear had his skin suddenly plaguing with sharp goosebumps, and though he fluttered his eyes in hot confusion and held his breath, he felt his stomach dip into a weird clench of delight and desire as the insanely close proximity of Mara's hushed little voice continued on, "Well... I guess I just... Entered."

"Everything," Lash deep, sweet voice concluded as Mara allowed her grip to loosen, she took a slow step or two back as Lash's strong though uncertain grip gently sagged from the tops of Mara's shoulders. He bobbed a nod and shyly looked off as if to assure to Mara that he had flown past his softness quota a very long time ago, "For... Everything. Thank you."

"Anytime, Dubs," Mara's warm, smiling little tune mumbled, she gave Lash a snarky little side-eye and finally began to take a few steps away, so to cross Lash's home and leave the way she entered. Lash held his breath and humbly watched her leave, his golden eyes hooked tight to her glowing aura, she grinned, and, alongside the broadening of her happy gaze, her voice got a bit louder the further she got from him, "Y'excited to kick butt in an hour? My previous celebrity crush surrounded by Turbotime's top dogs? Probably the wildest thing I'll witness, yet."

"Yeah, don't hold your breath, Turbo won't let us past the common room's patio," Lash grunted with a wide grin as they both shared a laugh.

"User-rules, just stick with me, dude, we can fight our way out," Mara dorkily called as she waggled her hands, her silhouette began to disappear out of the fluttering drapery of Lash's patio door, and though he opened his mouth to cutely agree and volley another affirming notion her way, he sagged his shoulders in a weird show of cheesy, grinning delight and watched as the sun caused him to catch one last glimpse of her beautiful, wavy pastel blue hair.

He rested his deflated fist to his island's counter and allowed his golden eyes to now aimlessly peer to the fluttery, creamy curtains that ruffled with the ocean breeze. The sifting noise of Mara's gentle footsteps could be heard vanishing into the sand, though was quickly accompanied by the sound of a buzzing of electricity then promptly followed by her absence, cueing Lash's understanding that she teleported away. Lash heaved a long, hard shaky breath down to his island's counter and peered to the mesmerizing swirls of marbled greys in aimless contemplation. His heart thud in now riled urgency as if to warn his brain that something new was continuing to happen, and though he had a sneaking suspicion of just what it was, he lulled his eyes closed and shook his head as if to beg himself not to even go there. Although, upon reopening his brightly glowing gaze and lofting said gaze to the doors Mara had left out of, he could see the bridge of his nose cutely show a tint of a peachy glow.

About an hour had passed, and through the slower process of showering, eating and taking time to really mull over his thoughts, Lash bravely stepped out the front door of his home and inhaled a deep breath as his eyes glossed with the massive grassy field and circle driveway before him. Stationed at the end of the strip, Lash's bare feet stepped onto the sandy concrete and began pressing in the direction of the common house building, though in a jolt of nervous surprise, he came upon Wren's and Throttle's little abode just in time for the both of them to be exiting their front door as well. Lash did whatever he could not to visibly clench, he reeled in quick decision making though he knew it was way too late to dip out and not be seen, though just as Wren and Throttle glossed their eyes in Lash's direction, Lash firmly clenched his jaw and silently began to verbally berate himself for not utilizing his teleportation powers, ones of which he forgot he even had access to.

"Hey bud," Throttle lazily called as Lash neared, though as Throttle and Wren delivered easy smiles in Lash's direction, they looked as if they were due to walking to the common house with strictly each other only, Lash excluded.

Lash held his breath and felt the knee-jerk reaction to deliver a rude, snarky statement alongside the fact that he was visibly being left out. Knowing this was due to his mean comments earlier, he heaved a raspy sigh, looked off to the glistening hoods of Turbo's three incredible vehicles, far off, and swiftly contemplated just getting this apology over with so that the group could focus on the impending task at hand. Lash cleared his throat, stuffed his pride, looked down to his still moving feet and was thrilled to see Wren and Throttle deliver Lash one last passing glance as they just about turned to head towards the common house, at least two dozen feet away from Lash's approaching figure.

"Hey, guys, uh..." Lash gently jogged to catch up to both Wren and Throttle; they both softly halted their line of action, peered their curiously bewildered eyes tight to Lash's approaching figure and softened. Both looked as if they, too, had showered, eaten and relaxed with each other's sweet company, and though Lash's gentle voice continued on, Wren furrowed his golden eyebrows in a show of billowing irritation, "Is it, uh... I-Is it okay if I have a moment alone with Wren?"

Both Wren and Throttle froze at Lash's words, and in said softer delivery, Wren cautiously dart a look to Throttle, as if to silently beg for some form of a translation and just what this meant. Throttle bobbed a confused nod, peered hard into Lash's eyes and narrowed his gaze, and although Throttle looked as if he was about to swiftly deliver a tidal wave of sass directly headed for Lash's crumpling little island of new feelings, he inhaled a steady breath through his nose, bobbed an understanding nod and began to peel away from Wren's and Lash's figures.

"Sure thing, I'll see you guys inside," Throttle chimed gently, though he shot Wren one last look as if to make clear that he wanted all the details of just whatever this little chat entailed.

"Look, I put on a normal shirt, just for you, I made sure it WASN'T white," Wren meanly delivered after Throttle had stepped away, and though his bright, sunny smile was easy going and sweet, Lash sagged his broad shoulders in nervous defeat and was very well aware this was just Wren's hurt feelings talking.

"I'm... That was fucked up of me to say to you, I just wanted to..." Lash grit his teeth, jostled his hands and now wondered just why the word of all words was only now escaping him; Wren sharply furrowed his eyebrows at this reversal and held his breath, a solid disposition as if to remain frozen in the presence of a scared, dangerous wild animal. Lash choked a shaky breath, rubbed the back of his head and peered his genuine, muted gaze to Wren's, a sullen look of tenderness Lash was desperately doing what he could to not show too many people, "Apologize..."

"... I-I'm sorry, you're doing what now?" Wren curtly wondered as he crossed his arms, and though he breathed an incredulous little chuckle, he sagged his shoulders and began to now swipe away his mean, bitey attitude due to the way Lash's further-sullen, genuinely apologetic eyes remained sorrowfully hooked to Wren's.

"I'm sorry," Lash's deep voice eased, he shook his head and looked down to his feet, "I... I was truly just kidding, but... It was funny and I probably took it too far. You have every right to be pissed at me, I'd be pissed at me, too."

Wren remained still and assessed his swap mate's youngest brother. Although the most scheming and likely the most misunderstood of all four boys, Wren halted in his thinking and hovered for a moment. Having never really seen Lash's golden gooey center, Wren held his breath in amazement and very quickly affirmed to himself that this was, indeed, that rare moment. Wren unraveled his arms and was glad to gain Lash's genuinely bothered eye contact, and though still ladened with a touch of gold, his gaze was muted due to his feelings now being very blatantly on display. Wren bobbed a nod and looked off, once and for all, the air of snarky meanness, between both boys, finally lifted.

"It's fine, man, just work on your delivery," Wren mumbled, a sneaky smile finally began to cross his sunny aura, "Believe it or not, you don't have to be a virgin to still have a white wedding."

"I know, that was dickish of me," Lash muttered as he looked down to his hands and heaved a shaky sigh, though Wren side-eyed Lash and narrowed his tight blue gaze to him.

"... Who told you to come and apologize to me?" Wren flatly wondered, in which Lash firmly raised his eyebrows and looked taken aback. Wren gestured his hand about and shook his head in now grinning delight, "I KNOW you didn't come to apologize to me on your own accord."

"What if I did?" Lash staggered, he gestured his arms out and finally let loose a genuine smile, the golden glow of his eyes came back to its proper state of joy, "You really think I'm THAT terrible of a person that I can't just come out here and apologize? I saw an opportunity and I took it."

"I think there's a way you can make it up to me," Wren started as he wrinkled his nose and beamed, and though he didn't give Lash time to question him, he still gave Wren a pleading look of dread, "You could wear a bikini top to our jam session, tonight."

"... For fuck's sake, man, do you REALLY need that?" Lash blurt with a hard laugh, to which Wren easily joined and shook his head in a solid show of pure tease.

"No, I'm kidding, please spare us," Wren wheezed through his chuckling, and with a kind grin, he held out his masculine hand for a proper handshake, "We're cool. Just ease up, no one here is your enemy."

"Not... The easiest thing for someone like me to remember," Lash muttered, though he eased a sigh of relief as he sagged his hand into Wren's, and as they shook hands, Wren tugged Lash into a bit of a loose, guy-like hug, which included the firm pats onto each other's backs. In the downswing of release, they both slowly began to fall into step with each other as they head to the common house, down the stretch, "Thanks, man. Just... Call me on my bullshit, I'll do my best to listen and not bark back remarks."

"Appreciated," Wren grunted with a nod, "Might want to check in with Throttle, too."

"Good User, you all are so sensitive, what the heck," Lash barked, Wren loudly laughed and shook his head.

"Maybe you're not sensitive ENOUGH," Wren retort, to which Lash dully looked off and shook his head amidst a smile.

"Yeah, you're... Probably not wrong," Lash mumbled cutely down to his aimless thumb-twiddling.


With a nervous inhale, Berri tossed her eyes over her shoulder and assessed the common room's back patio. Amidst the glowing sunset, Berri flinched to find Throttle, Turbo, Lash, and Nox hovering in baited wait, their attention was tight to their future Queen. Berri slumped her shoulders in further stress-induced irritation and rolled her eyes, and as she pulled out her phone to begin working on pulling up Sugar Rush's map, via her extension of the code room, she began to take a few meandering steps further away from the patio of the common room. With bare feet that traversed the terracotta tiles of the main pool area and lovely, luxurious gathering site just between the common house and Throttle's abode, she felt her heart surge in hot surprise the second she saw Gunner's name come up on the glistening little map before her, as well as a few of his security guards. Without another second to dread or overthink, she sank her thumb into Gunner's name and allowed the grid lines next to her to come to life. Pixel by pixel, Gunner's figure quickly came into view.

"... Whoa," Gunner huffed with a shaky chuckle as he long-blinked in confusion and briefly looked about. He rubbed the back of his head and allowed his eyes to traverse the high palm trees overhead, the lovely beach umbrellas that lined the area, hovering over comfortable lounge chairs, his honey-gold eyes finally gathered on Berri's face, his smile was irresistible as he carried on through a chuckle, "That was one of the weirdest feelings I've ever felt."

"What, coded teleportation?" Berri chimed happily, somehow their troubles eased to the wayside, it was clear to Berri that Gunner had been doing well for himself in the way of hulling away and caring for his mental health; though these thoughts uplifted her, the way he sagged hands into his jean's pockets, the rigidity of his shoulders proved to her that he was still in need of a boost.

"Yeah, it wasn't every day we were in Sugar Rush, able to utilize the code room like that," Gunner huffed an easy chuckle, the twinkle in his eye proved to Berri that he was nervous, though equally as relieved to see Berri. He narrowed his gaze a little and peered a little harder into her soul, a soft and tender look he used to deploy on Berri, a warm and gooey look Berri knew well. Before Berri could rush to cutely cut him off, from the impending compliment to be had, Berri clenched her teeth and was thrilled Gunner's back was to the four Turbotime guard dogs across the stretch, on the common room's patio. His broad chest inhaled, he so softly delivered Berri a compliment of warmth, "Damn, Berri, you... I-I'm really sorry, but you look very beautiful."

"... You used to hate my hair being all poofy and wavy, like this," Berri blurt in an incredulous tone, she did whatever she could to keep things light, she knew Gunner was here to aptly receive a new beginning; Gunner looked out to the ocean and shook his head, which had Berri clenched in terror, she hoped that Gunner wouldn't loft his gaze to where Turbo and crew hovered in baited wait, like a pack of wolves honing in on a lone sheep.

"C'mon, I'm... I'm trying," Gunner pressed in sorrowful, bittersweet plea, he took a cautious step closer to Berri and radiated honest love, Berri allowed herself to welcome it in, once and for all; she was well aware Gunner was no longer her lover, though she felt confident in this rush of energy that her and Gunner maybe, just maybe, could come out of this debacle as friends. Gunner smiled his irresistible, charming, typical smile and tilted his head in a show of tender hope, "I'm appreciative of you doing this for me, I... Just want to give back where I can."

"It's appreciated, you got my text explaining the whole... Core coding thing, right?" Berri wondered, having just sent said text a few hours ago and received no response.

"I did, and I did my own research, as well," Gunner bobbed a nod and inhaled a shaky breath, he cocked an eyebrow and looked down in mild irritation, "I... I found a page on Litwak's private web, a dissertation Turbo had written about it... Not my favorite thing to read, but... I'm hopeful."

"O-Oh, you found Turbo's teaching on it," Berri prod with the switch up, to which Gunner bobbed a defeated nod and tried his best to allow a neutral smile to sprawl his face.

"Yeah, that... Guy really knows what he's talking about," Gunner mumbled, "Dunno how I feel about him literally having my coding in his hands, but if... This means relief for everyone, then I'm willing to try anything."

"... That's... Really big of you, Gun, I'm glad you feel that way," Berri stated, she felt her veins begin to wiggle underneath her skin, though in the downswing of sweetness, she tensed in hot dread as she noted Gunner so cautiously approaching her so to prepare to give her a hug. Berri stiffened, which caused Gunner to freeze dead in his tracks. He raised his eyebrows and gently shook his head as if to show nervous concern.

"S-Sorry, Bear, I... I have a lot to tell you," Gunner prod, almost in a pleading tone, as if to beg for some shred of camaraderie, though he furrowed his brows and bravely glossed his eyes to the lovely, still pool and bar area out to his right. He eased an incredulous smile and finally gave his warm gaze back to Berri, "I'm surprised they let you meet with me alone."

"It took some wagering, but..." Berri shrugged and did everything she could to not shoot her eye contact to the vultures on the patio, though with this, Gunner watched her line of sight trickle just beyond and behind him. He furrowed his brow in a strike of prickled terror, scrunched his shoulders, and did everything he could to look over his left shoulder as slowly and subtly as he could. Berri could physically see the air leave Gunner's lungs as Gunner's and Turbo's molten eye contact collided from across the fifty-foot gap. Berri crossed her arms a little, each man on the balcony stood poised in still intimidation, a formidable, unbreakable team of the Arcade's rawest, truest form of power. Gunner swallowed hard and kept his nervous eyes tight to the situation as Berri cutely pressed on, "Maybe just... Do your best not to make any sudden movements."

"...Noted," Gunner mumbled shakily, he finally brought his now terrified eyes to Berri's and shook his head, "Look, I'm not... Gunna cause trouble, you don't NEED them to hover all meanly, like that."

"They're just protective of me, Gunner," Berri mumbled, and though she gave all four boys a collective glance of proven appreciation, she finally rolled her eyes and peered up into Gunner's eyes, "Look, I... I told Turbo I could handle the code block reversal procedure, but... I've never done it before, and I don't want to mess it up. Turbo performed Tatum's code block reversal last night, it was seamless. He's willing to do the reversal on you, in loo of my inexperience, but... I'd want you two to make nice, first. Is that something you could handle?"

"Yeah, I can, can HE?" Gunner prod, he desperately did whatever he could to not be mean about this situation, though Berri was well aware two weeks of this fresh situation wasn't enough time to eradicate hard feelings.

"As long as I'm alive, yeah," Berri blurt with a gentle, authoritative laugh as she glossed her eyes to her future husband, she bobbed a nod and was well aware the fire could be stamped out, even though it was rather large. Having had it simmer over the days, the issues at hand that only time could quell, Berri exhaled a shaky sigh and was glad that her's and Gunner's peel of slow movement began to ever so cautiously press in the direction of the balcony. Berri pat Gunner's upper arm and cutely concluded their quiet, last shred of solitude with a few words of caution, "Just let your guard down, be neutral, and don't say anything 'smart'... Those four boys have the capability to mouth-off until the end of time, so just keep your wits about you."


A/N : Hey guys, I drew this last scene on my IG :) I'm also participating in Inktober! Come check it out, my username is vyntastic

ALSO! Out of the Blue just hit ONE MILLION words! INSANITY.