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Thank you to sashary, FlamesOfFury, Tezi, Butterfly Ishida, Corn- The OTHER White Meat, lordoftherhyme, anim3gurl, lalalalala2, Silver Suzuka, Ladya C. Maxine, MingX2, .Beyblade.Angel. & blackangelz23 for reviewing.
Chapter Tweleve - Swing What Way?
Hiro yawned and stretched as he walked to the kitchen. He past by the lounge where Tyson, Cosmo and Brooklyn were watching DragonTales and laughing. The three of them were entangled with each other on the floor and he had to do a double take since the dog looked like he was watching TV as well. He smiled, it was the start of another morning and they had yet to change back. He walked into the kitchen where grandpa was sipping a freshly brewed cup of coffee. Hiro poured himself a mug as he sat down at the table and yawned again.
"Where's dad?" he ask, sipping his hot beverage carefully after noticing that he was missing. "He went to the store," Grandpa replied over his paper, "said he wanted to get Brooklyn a present after what happened to him in the park yesterday." "I hope that he doesn't come back with a puppy," Hiro mused, "Cosmo is enough around here." "He mentioned something about going to the toy store," Grandpa added, "they don't sell puppies at toy stores." Both men sighed with relief as Hiro picked up a part of the paper to look at the morning news.
He decided to skip breakfast and just drink his coffee as he looked at the paper until they heard the return of a car. Then there were the sounds of someone struggling with something as both men raised their eyebrows and exchanged a look. The door opened to admit Bruce, who was carrying a large box that he dropped on the wooden floor with a loud thud. "I'm glad that you are up," he remarked to Hiro, "you can help me with this. I bought a present for Brooklyn."
"What did you buy the little dude?" Grandpa ask as their attention turned to the box, "that box is bigger than he is." "It is a Power Wheel," Bruce replied, "a car for he and Tyson to drive around the dojo in. I thought it would be perfect for the two of them and make him forget about getting a puppy." "Dad, you do realize that they aren't going to stay this size forever?" Hiro added as he looked at the box, "they are not going to get much use out of it." "I am certain they will use it enough," Bruce informed with a wink, "besides, we can keep it for the grandchildren that one day I may eventually have."
Hiro blushed from the comment and silently cursed his father for thinking about grandchildren so soon. Tyson and Brooklyn were still teens and that wouldn't happen for quite a few years yet. It might never happen if they were both gay. The only way they would have families would be through a surrogate mother or adoption. "Aren't you jumping ahead a little too much, dear old dad?" Hiro ask, emphasizing the word old, "that is years down the road if it happens at all."
"If you want to be a father," Bruce remarked, slapping him on the back, "it will find a way to happen. I know it." Hiro gave up arguing with him since he was going to win; no matter what he said. He looked at the box to see that the toy car his father had chosen was a replica of a Hummer H2. He did admit that Tyson and Brooklyn would love the toy and that they would look cute in it.
"Why didn't they have toys like this when I was young?" he mused as they opened the box. "You wouldn't believe the toys they have now," Bruce added with a smile, "It almost makes me wish they would stay this size for a while. I would love to buy more toys for the two of them and spoil them rotten." The battery had to be charged before they could play with it as Hiro plugged into a wall. It only took them a few minutes to put the toy together as they looked at their handiwork. The three smiled from the car and since it was a two seater, the two chibis would be able to ride together. "They are going to love this, dad," Hiro remarked with a smile as grandpa nodded in agreement.
"Brooklyn, Tyson!" Bruce called from the doorway, "come in the kitchen for a minute." They heard them running from the lounge as they appeared in the kitchen. "What you want, daddy?" Tyson ask with a smile. "I bought a present for Brooklyn," he stated, "that the both of you can share." He stepped out of the way as the two chibis gasp at the toy car.
"That for me," Brooklyn stated as he pointed at the Hummer and looked at Bruce. "I thought you deserved something after what happened at the park yesterday," Bruce informed, kneeling down in front of him and gently brushing his hand over the bruise on his cheek, "and I knew that you would share with Tyson." "That cool!" Tyson exclaimed as he clapped his hands and jumped up and down, "can we play with it?" "You have to wait until the battery charges," Hiro informed, "and that will take a few hours. Hopefully, you can wait that long."
Brooklyn was still staring at the toy and then looked at Bruce. "Thank you, daddy," he stated, throwing himself at the man, who chuckled from the affection, "me luv it." "I'm glad that you do," Bruce mused with a smile as he returned the hug, "it makes me happy to see the two of you happy." "Me can't wait to play with it," Brooklyn admitted as he walked to the car and climbed into it. He looked at it happily as Tyson took the seat beside of him.
"I have got to get a picture of this," Grandpa exclaimed with a smile as he disappeared to get his camera. He returned a few minutes later with his digital camera and snapped a picture of the two of them sitting in the car. They had to play with their other toys while they waited for the battery. By lunch, it was charged as the two were finally driving about the grounds in the toy Hummer. It only went about two miles per hour but still the pair was having the time of their lives.
Brooklyn got to drive it first since it had been a gift for him but after a few minutes, he traded places with Tyson. Hiro guessed it had something to do with the fact that he nearly drove the car into the koi pond if Bruce hadn't intervened in time. Both Brooklyn and Tyson were laughing from the experience as Bruce ask if it was a boat instead. It was kind of amusing to watch his father play with the two chibis. He was definitely making up for the time he had lost before.
Hiro was sitting on the porch with a glass of soda and watching them play when Kenny, Daichi and Hillary appeared at the gate. Hillary must have forgotten that she was banned from the dojo as she stalked right to him. "I HATE MALES!" she snapped, glaring at Hiro, who had no idea what she was talking about. She went into the house to find grandpa, leaving Hiro confused as to what just happened. "Ignore her," Daichi informed, darkly, "she's been in that mood all morning."
"What just happened?" he ask with confusion. "It is a long story," Kenny added, sitting beside of them as Brooklyn and Tyson drove by waving. "Where did they get that toy from?" Daichi ask, looking at the car with interest, "hey guys, can I ride in it?" He ran after the two, leaving Kenny with Hiro. Before he could ask the genius what was going on, Miguel appeared at the gate of the dojo.
It looked like he ran a long distance but what made Hiro's mouth drop open was the fact that he was back to his normal age. "When did he turn-" he began but Kenny cut him off. "This morning," Kenny informed as he turned his computer on, "at least Miguel didn't make a scene like Enrique did. He calmly ask what had happened to him." "Where is Hillary?" Miguel ask as he took several deep breaths, "I need to speak with her."
"She went in the house, Miguel," Kenny replied, "but she is in a really bad mood." "Thanks," he remarked, going inside. "May I ask what is going on?" Hiro inquired, "Hillary is banned from the dojo. Why did she come back?" "She's kind of mad at Miguel," Kenny informed as he blushed, "she was in a really good mood when she discovered that he was back to his normal age but it all went downhill after breakfast. You know that she has a crush on him."
"Yeah," Hiro stated, "I remember her saying something at the mall about him but what did he do to upset her?" At that moment, they heard screaming from inside of the house as Miguel came out the door, trying to put on his shoes and run for his life at the same time. He sprinted across the garden as Hillary followed suit, waving grandpa's shinai at him. Hiro and Kenny sweatdropped as did Daichi, Tyson and Brooklyn. Cosmo whined as he dove under the porch for protection.
Kenny, Daichi and what sounded like Dizzi chuckled from the display. Hiro was about as confused as the two chibis in the Power Wheel. When Miguel and Hillary made another circuit, Hiro had enough. "May I ask what the hell is going on?" he demanded, standing up with his hands on his hips like a female. His glare was enough to make the teens start singing like jail birds.
"Hillary likes Miguel," Daichi stated, simply and with a smirk, "but Miguel doesn't like Hillary. In fact, he doesn't like girls at all." Hiro's mouth formed an O as he nodded in understanding. Miguel prefered the same sex like many of them. "I see," Hiro finally managed to say as they made another circuit of the house and he sat back down, "so who is he seeing?"
"No one is certain," Kenny informed, "he wouldn't say because he was afraid that Hillary would go after him. I believe Dizzi knows but she is not telling." "I can't help that bit beasts love to gossip," Dizzi defended, "and I'm not saying who he is seeing. It is up to Miguel and his boyfriend to break the news to everyone; not nosy bit beasts. Besides Dark Gargolye would never forgive me and you don't want to get on his bad side. He is nothing like Zeus in personality."
"Hero," Brooklyn called as he came up to them and tugged on his shirt, "why Hiwary mad at Migale? Why she gots grandpa's sword?" Hiro smiled as the toddler crawled into his lap and watched as the two made another circuit around the house. Brooklyn's eyes widened as Hillary caught up to him and hit Miguel on the back with the bamboo sword. The chibi cringed and leaned back into Hiro for comfort and safety, who wrapped his arms around Brooklyn for protection.
Hiro was surprised that the chibi knew who Miguel was but they had acted like that the day before with Enrique. None of them had ask a single question about Enrique. It was like a part of them understood what was going on; well subconsciously at least. This way the dechibification would not be as hard on them as they had originally thought. Hiro had hoped they would all turn back at once but it was fated not to happen.
"Hillary!" Miguel shouted as they ran past once again, "I didn't know that you liked me. You should have said something instead of pining over me like this. I would have been honest and told you. I simply don't swing your way." He took off at a sprint again but this time left the dojo grounds. Hillary followed in his wake as Bruce and grandpa stepped out onto the porch.
"Are they still going at it?" Bruce inquried, sipping a mug of tea, "how long is she going to stay mad at the poor boy?" "Appears for as long as necessary, homme," Grandpa remarked, "I hope that she gets over it soon though. Normally, I like the lass but not when she is in this type of mood." "She swary," Brooklyn murmured as the adults laughed at his comment. "Brookie wright," Tyson added, "girls swary. Me think me prefer boys too."
"I think she had better apologize to Enrique," Hiro noted as their shouts reveberated around the neighborhood, "since he is the only one interested in her." "She is on the outs with him as well," Kenny added, "he's nursing a black eye from where she slugged him this morning after he playfully taunted her with an I-told-you-so. She has a mean right hook." "Hero!" Brooklyn shrieked after his eyes went wider from that bit of news, "save me from her pwease!" "She is not going to come after you, Brookie," he tried to comfort, "she is angry at Miguel at the moment. Besides, she would have to get through me first."
His remarks fell on deaf ears as Brooklyn continued to bawl as Tyson and Cosmo both joined in.
Hiro sighed with defeat as Bruce suggested that he take them out for the afternoon. Hiro didn't want to go anywhere with the bruise on Brooklyn's cheek since he was afraid that someone would think the chibi had been abused by him. Some makeup solved that problem as they covered up the bruise and Hiro shortly found himself with Brooklyn, Tyson and Daichi on their way to Chuck E. Cheese. "This is going to be so great," Daichi exclaimed, bouncing into the air with excitement, "I haven't been to the mouse's house in ages."
"It my favorite place too," Tyson added, jumping up but couldn't move as much since Hiro had his hand securely in his own, "me love the pizza and games." "Can I join you?" Miguel ask as he came running to them and took cover behind Hiro since he was taller, "I can't shake that crazy girl." "Might as well," Hiro replied with a sigh, "the more the merrier." Brooklyn held out his free hand to the blond teen that Miguel gladly took. "It's funny having to look down at you," Miguel remarked to the ginger hair who was giggling from the extra attention, "especially when you were so tall before. Now, you are the small fry instead of Daichi."
Brooklyn smiled at Miguel as Hiro's eyes turned to him as well. He held onto Brooklyn's hand and wrist tightly as Miguel got the message and did the same. They both lifted him off the sidewalk and started to swing him inbetween them. He started to giggle louder as Tyson looked jealous but Daichi wasn't tall enough to do it with him or would he hold his hand. They had to stop after a few minutes since Brooklyn was turning a bit green and Hiro hadn't brought any extra clothes with him if he got sick. He didn't want to return to the dojo just yet.
"How much do you remember about your experience?" Hiro ask as Brooklyn was rapidly talking to Tyson about something that only the two chibis could understand. "I was confused when I woke up," Miguel replied, "but it is like a fog is lifting. I remember everything that happened. I'd have to agree with Enrique's assessment of the situation. It is like I have two individual sets of memory for that age that will probably mesh together before it is over with. It was a lot of fun; too bad that you were left out of it."
"I'm glad that Metal Driger did not tempt fate and turn me into a chibi," Hiro remarked, darkly, "I would have shattered his bit when I turned back if he had." "I heard Robert say the same thing about Griffynlon," Miguel added with a smile, "yeah, it could have been worse. Everyone could have been chibified and then there would have been trouble." They could laugh about it now since it hadn't happened but Hiro didn't want to jinx his luck or give the bit beasts anymore ideas. He couldn't even imagine himself at their current ages.
Fortunately, Miguel had managed to lose Hillary and the group of males were female free until they arrived at the establishment. Both Tyson and Daichi ran through the doors, leaving them to sweatdrop. Brooklyn would have followed their lead if Hiro hadn't been holding his hand tightly. He whined as he tried to wrench himself loose but Hiro was a lot bigger and stronger than he was at the moment. The restaurant wasn't that crowded which made Hiro feel more at ease and since most of the play equipment was kid-size, Brooklyn wouldn't ask him to join in his play.
He exchanged some cash for coins and handed them out to Tyson and Brooklyn, who gladly shoved them into their pockets and took off together. Daichi was more interested in playing video games as Hiro grabbed a soda and Miguel followed him to a place where they could sit and watch the chibis in relative peace. "What is it with girls and gay men?" Miguel questioned, getting a funny look from a woman who had just walked past, "why do they desire something that they can't have?" "If you can figure out the answer to that question," Hiro replied after taking a sip, "then you will have solved one of the mysteries of life. Hillary takes matters to the extreme however. When she falls, she falls hard."
"I thought she was nice before," Miguel said with a nervous laugh, "but now I'm not so certain. I hate to think what she would do to the object of my affection if she found out who he is." "Judy would not allow her to hurt any of the other chibis just for that," Hiro noted as Brooklyn ran by and jumped in the ball pit, where he went under, "she is just going to have to learn to live with it since her crush is not going to change anything. She was the same way with me until she found out that I was gay. If she had tried to chase me with grandpa's shinai, I would have hit her back and had no hard feelings about it."
Even though, Hiro had started to develop a headache from all of the noise around him, they stayed at the restaurant for several hours. He had to play with Brooklyn after a while to help the tot earn enough tickets to win a prize. He traded them in for a black stuffed animal that reminded him oddly enough of Zeus. Then he had to turn his attention to Tyson, who wanted a dragon that reminded him of Dragoon. When his father called and said the dojo was Hillary-free, they decided it was time to leave.
Hiro invited Miguel back to the dojo for dinner in case Hillary had went back to the house to await another confrontation with him. Miguel eagerly agreed and decided that an evening with them was better than dealing with an angry female. Fortunately, they hadn't filled up on soda and pizza since grandpa would have a fit if no one ate what he had slaved over the hot stove to cook. When they had returned to the dojo, Miguel offered to help him with dinner as Tyson and Brooklyn went into the lounge to watch television. They had killed the battery in the Hummer so they had to put it on the charger once again.
Who thought they could get into trouble watching television but with them, there was no guarantee. "What you wanna watch?" Tyson ask, grabbing the remote control. "Cartoon Network," Brooklyn replied, happily. "Me wanna watch Nickeledeon," Tyson frowned as the two then started to fight over the controller. As they played a game of tug-of-war with the device, their fingers accidentally pushed the buttons, turning the television on but also changing the channel.
"I want you," came the female voice from the television as the two chibis stopped fighting and their eyes turned to the screen, "I can't get enough of you. You are such a sex god, Ken." "Yuck, they kissing," Tyson exclaimed, pointing to the screen, "that gross." "And they taking off their clothes," Brooklyn added as his head cocked sideways and made him look even more adorable than he was all ready, "me never seen anything wike that fore with adults. Hero says going nakie bad." "Me either," Tyson admitted as they continued to watch the television, mystified by what they were watching.
"Ty-Ty," Brooklyn called after a few minutes as his eyes turned from the television to look at his surrogate brother, "what are they doing?" "Don't know," Tyson shrugged but his eyes would not leave the television screen, "never seen anything wike this before. Why is the woman screaming? Is she in pain?" "Looks wike it," Brooklyn added as his eyes turned back to the television and caught a glimpse of something he didn't quite understand but that repulsed him, "what is the man doing to her?"
The two chibis continued to watch the show that they had accidentally come across in both fascination and disgust. "What are you two little dudes up too?" Grandpa ask but his eyes almost popped out of his head when he saw what was on the screen. "NO!" he shouted, lunging for the television and hitting the off button after noticing that somehow it had been been switched to the Playboy channel. "Grandpa," Tyson questioned, "what was that? What were they doing?"
"BRUCE!" Grandpa shouted, ignoring the question then added, "HIRO!" You could hear the sound of footsteps as the other two adults darted through the house thinking there had been an accident. They both slid into the lounge in their socks to see grandpa shaking with fury and both chibis looking confused. "What happened?" Bruce ask, "did someone get hurt?" "No one is hurt," he yelled, "Tyson and Brooklyn were watching television but do you know what channel they were looking at?"
He tapped his bamboo sword against his foot as the two men looked at each other and shrugged. "It was on the Playboy channel," Grandpa fumed as the vein over his eye nearly popped, "they were watching porn." Both Hiro and Bruce sweatdropped but the younger recovered more quickly. "It wasn't me," Hiro defended, holding out his arms in self-defense, "Grandpa, remember that I am gay. Why would that interest me?"
Hiro and Grandpa turned to Bruce who looked more uncomfortable as the temperature in the room rose several degrees for him at least. "What?" he questioned, "how do you know it was me?" "Hero," Brooklyn called, tugging on his jeans, "what were they doing? Why were they screaming? Was the man hurting her?"
"By the gods," Hiro muttered, blushing redder than a tomato, "I so do not want to explain this." "Yeah," Tyson added, "why did they get in such positions but what were they doing?" The two little chibis looked to the adults for answers but weren't getting any. "It's kind of hard to explain," Hiro began, kneeling down to their level, "see when two people love each other they express their love in different ways." "Me love you," Brooklyn stated, looking quite puzzled, "but we don't do anything wike that."
Grandpa burst into laughter from his remark as Bruce murmured, "not yet" and then joined in. Hiro just turned even a darker shade of red than he was all ready while Brooklyn looked at Hiro in confusion. "It is a matter you will understand when you are older," Bruce added, taking the pressure off of Hiro, who sighed, "it doesn't concern you. Try not to think about it too much, okay?" Tyson and Brooklyn nodded in agreement and went back outside to play with Cosmo.
"You were watching porn," Daichi teased as he stood in the doorway with Miguel, who was wearing a white apron that had Kiss the Cook across it in big red letters. Miguel blushed a deep red as Daichi started to laugh from the embarrassing situation. "Do you want to feel my shinai across your bottom instead?" Grandpa fumed as Daichi stopped laughing and ran from the doorway. "Excuse me, sensai," Miguel replied with a polite bow as he disappeared as well. Grandpa mumbled something about at least one of the teens had manners before his attention turned back to his son and grandson.
"We need to make certain that you reset the child blocks after watching your shows," Grandpa growled, "I don't dig the scene that I just came across. Let them have their innocence until they turn back into teens. They can deal with all of the adult matters and pressures then." "Tell that to dad," Hiro remarked with a smirk, "I wasn't the one watching television late last night." Bruce glowered at his oldest son for telling on him to grandpa.
Hiro got the point and decided to make himself scarce for the rest of the evening. He went outside to watch Tyson and Brooklyn. "Looks like the little dudes are rubbing off on him," Grandpa laughed, "he just tattled on you." Bruce took a deep breath and sighed. "It's a good thing, dad," he replied with a smile, "he needs to lighten up and if he acts like a kid then so be it. He has had to deal with a lot of responsibility in his young life that I willingly pushed off on him. I like to see him act young and I think that Brooklyn is a good influence for him."
"Brooklyn has been a good influence on everyone," Grandpa noted, hearing the chibi's laughter from the yard, "he has done a world of good for many of the others especially Kai. I just hope that it all stays that way when they change back." "Yeah, I hope that as well," Bruce added, looking out the window at the chibis playing in the yard, "Hiro mentioned his concerns about that very subject to me just yesterday. I don't want to think about what would happen if they hated one another again especially the effect it would have on Brooklyn." "I have to agree, dude," Grandpa remarked, joining him at the window to watch the chibis playing, "I completely agree."
AS
R & R
