Disclaimer: I will never compare to Sun Jae-Ho and Lee Gwang-Su

Rael woke up to a dull throbbing in his temples.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound was like a hammer inside his head.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

He groaned.

"Nice of you to join us," a voice said from his left. "I thought you were going to sleep all day."

He tried to look at the owner of the voice, but found that he could not move his body. He looked down to see ropes binding his torso and legs. His arms were tied behind his back and his whole body was strapped down to a chair.

From his peripheral vision, he could see a dark-haired figure tapping away at some mechanical device.

"Where am I?!" he demanded.

"Awake, are we?" someone said from behind him. A familiar silver-haired head made its way to his peripheral vision.

Regis stood in from of him with his arms crossed. "I was impressed when we couldn't find a trace of your aura no matter how hard we looked, I thought you might have returned home…but that was before we found you passed out on the roof." He scoffed.

Rael felt his ears warming as he remembered his hasty escape the night before.

Xxx

**Last night…**

It was chaos in the kitchen as they scrambled to tidy up the mess. Nobody really noticed when Rael suddenly disappeared.

Tao lay slumped on a chair, breathing hard, when Seira came in through the door.

She glanced at the pair who was sweating and out of breath. "You are cooking?" she asked curiously.

"Actually-" Regis started to say.

"It was Rael who tried to do some cooking." Tao cut in.

Regis raised an eyebrow in his direction.

"He seems to really like cake." Tao laughed nervously.

Seira's eyes moved to look at the trash can full of cake mixes. "He did not ask me?"

Tao shrugged. "He said you left him at the kitchen."

"Rael must really like cake," said Regis, still looking at Tao questioningly.

"I see… It is my duty to do the cooking in the house. I must apologize to him." Seira said, turning towards the door.

"I don't think you'll find him," interjected Tao. "Me and Regis will get him for you!" He grinned.

"I am grateful." She bowed and left the kitchen.

Xxx

"Why am I tied to a chair?" Rael demanded. "Release me at once!"

"No need to shout," Regis huffed. "It's just a precaution. We wouldn't want you running from your shame again."

Just then, the door opened and M-21 entered the room. "Seira is coming." He informed them.

Rael flinched. "What are you planning?" he asked.

"I think you are misunderstanding something," Tao explained. "Seira instructed us to bring you back here." Tao hummed happily to himself. "She's very disappointed."

"What… did she say?" Rael asked. Heat flooded his face.

"Something about.. yesterday… and .. cake."

*flinch*

A soft knock sounded at the door. M-21 opened it and ushered in the slim girl inside.

M-21 patted Rael's back as he moved to exit the room. "Good luck." Regis and Tao smirked at him as they left with him.

Rael hung his head low and was unable to anywhere but at the floor.

Soft padded feet halted in front of him. "S-seira…I.." he started.

He froze in shock as he felt soft fingertips brush his forearms. "Regis was too hasty. I apologize for his behavior." She said as her hands gently loosed the ropes binding him.

Rael stood up slowly. He felt dazed as he rubbed his arms and calves. His face was still cast down to the floor as he stuttered a reply. "T-thank you…About… last n-night-"

"I am going out." She said suddenly.

He looked up at her words. Why is she telling me this? He wondered. Is she asking for my permission? He stared at her dumbfounded.

"I will await you outside." She turned and left the room.

Huhh? How- Rael shook his head to clear his mind. What just happened..?

Xxx

He shuffled outside the room and went down to the living area. Regis and the enhanced humans looked up from their place on the couch as he entered.

"How'd it go?" asked M-21.

Rael glared at them. "What did you tell her?" he growled.

"So inelegant." Regis observed.

"How'd you get out of those ropes?" Tao asked. "We thought you'd take longer in there."

Rael flushed, remembering the firm but gentle pressure of her hands at his side. "None of your business." He muttered.

"Why are you blushing?" Regis narrowed his eyes. "I hope you did not do anything improper."

Rael averted his eyes as he strode towards the main door.

Xxx

Rael quietly followed Seira as she went inside the Grocery. He pushed the cart slowly, trailing behind her.

He was thoroughly surprised when she filled the cart with boxes of cake mix.

A/N: I am so bored. I am rereading from the very beginning. It's weird that it seems I have skipped some things on my first read, or maybe I just totally forgot some scenes. Oops

Is it just me or does this chapter feel weird. I wasn't really sure where I was going with this haha. I just felt like Tao wanted to payback after all the mess they had to clean.

Of course, you would think it would make sense if they just told Seira everything and watch him squirm. But this seems the more fun way.

Now I am out of ideas again. Suggestions? I'm thinking of having him go to school with them. But I'm having a hard time picturing him there.