Chapter Three: Meathead in the Morning

Kel woke the next morning, with the sun shining brightly on her face. After her eyes adjusted to the light, she started to get up, only to be pulled back down by a strong arm wrapped around her waist.

She smiled and turned over to face Dom, whose eyes were still closed, but she knew he was awake because a smile was plain on his lips.

"You didn't let me sleep and now you won't let me get up," said Kel, laughing when his grip tightened.

Still, not opening his eyes, Dom replied, grinning, "I thought we already decided you were skipping dawn practice."

"We did," Kel answered, "But, Dom, it's mid-morning, and I'm hungry." With that she pulled away from Dom's grip, though reluctantly and with great difficulty. However, he quickly grabbed her wrist, and pulled her back. This time, Kel found no escape, for Dom pinned her down, his smile and blue eyes alight with humor.

Kel mock-glared up at him, but she was smiling too. "You're not going to let me eat either?"

Dom laughed softly, while bending down to kiss her, "I'm not letting you go that easily."

With that, he pressed his lips to hers, enjoying their warmth on such a cold morning. He could feel Kel smile, causing him to do the same, and then he deepened their kiss.

Unwillingly, they parted a while later, breathless. They smiled at each other affectionately before moving to go down to breakfast.

"I wondered why you didn't show up for dawn practice," Yuki teased, eyeing Kel and Dom as they sat down with their breakfast plates. The mess hall was only partially filled, most people already having eaten their meals.

Rolling her eyes at her friend, Kel retorted, jokingly, "As if you show up every day. When Neal came home, you were absent for almost a week!"

The Yamani's eyes crinkled in silent laughter, and if it weren't for her training, Kel knew Yuki would have been blushing.

"I'm surprised Meathead lets you go to practice," Dom piped up from where he sat beside Kel. "I would've expected him to have you bed-ridden the moment he found out."

Yuki had discovered that she was pregnant soon after the Scanran War had ended, to her own delight and especially to her husband, Nealan of Queenscove's. She was now quite heavy with-child.

"Speaking of which, where is my stubborn cousin?" Dom asked, looking around the hall.

"Probably still asleep," Kel replied, knowing all-too-well her best friend's hatred of early mornings- early meaning before midday.

"The lazy bum," said Dom, receiving an inquiring look from Kel. He was not a morning person either, and sometimes out slept his cousin.

"As I recall, I believe you wanted to stay in bed too this morning," Kel reminded him, smiling shyly.

Then Dom replied gently, "Yes, but that was for a completely different reason," and he grinned roguishly, causing a slight blush to appear on her cheeks.

Yuki, watching the sidetracked couple amusedly, decided to answer Dom's earlier question by explaining, "The only reason I can practice is because it's in the morning and Neal never even notices I've gotten up that early. Other than that I'm under his watch all the time."

As if on cue, Neal walked into the hall, his hair disheveled and his eyes still heavy with sleep. He went and got his plate, and when walking over to their table, Dom announced, "Sir Meathead! You have finally decided to grace us with your presence!"

Neal, who had not seen his cousin, or anyone else at his table for that matter, groaned at the use of that name that his cousin used relentlessly.

"Oh, shut your gob, Dom," Neal replied in his usual drawl, taking a seat beside Yuki.

Dom chuckled, "Mithros, you're grumpy in the morning." Neal not bothering to reply, they all continued to eat.

Food in his stomach putting him in a better mood, Neal leaned back from his plate, content, and asked his cousin, "So how was the North?"

"Much more eventful than it was here, I imagine," Dom replied.

"I can bet," said Neal, smirking, "what with you, Raoul, Third Company, and your crazy ideas..."

Dom smiled, clearly recalling all the mischief he and the Own had gotten into, which Neal imagined to be a lot, knowing his cousin and the men of the Own, including their knight commander.

And he was right. Dom told the three of them about all the fun the Own had with each other, and soon their table was joined by fellow members of the Own, also late to breakfast, and other interested listeners, too. All were soon erupting in laughter, which brought even more people, who were already coming in for midday meal, around. Before long, Neal and Dom were recounting stories of their own pranks with each other, and there were many, so many they could hardly remember them all.

"Remember when I put those worms in your soup?" Neal asked, trying to control his fits of laughter.

Dom laughed, "I still don't like soup, 'cuz of that! But that wasn't nearly as good as that time I put frogs in your water! You didn't take another bath for a week!"

Neal practically fell off his chair in hysterics. "And the only reason I finally did was because..." he stopped because he was laughing so hard.

"...the lady in the market..." said Dom, remembering why, and also unable to go on.

Neal nodded his head, wiping his watery eyes, "She wouldn't sell me the pork I was trying to buy till I washed...'cuz she said, she said..." He started laughing so hard he was crying.

Finally, it subsided, and Dom and Neal shouted together, "'You'll get it, when you stop smelling like the pigs!'"

Everyone roared with laughter, and Dom, Neal, Kel and Yuki were laughing harder than ever before, if that was even possible. Many others were laughing so hard, they were crying, too.

Soon the midday bells tolled, and slowly their crowd started to thin out. It took a long while for the four of them to get their laughter under control, but when they did they realized that they should get to their duties-it already being the middle of the day, and all. Neal and Yuki left together, Neal fussing over Yuki and Yuki saying her commonly heard reply, "Neal, I'm fine!".

Kel and Dom laughed at the couple while following them out of the mess hall. While the other two headed back to their quarters, Kel and Dom headed to the practice courts.

A/N: Please review, I will update soon! And thanks to all my reviewers so far!