Fight

When Bill arrived at his son and daughter-in-law's house, he found the door unlocked. That wasn't surprising; they knew he was coming. Laura had called Lee that morning to ask if she could borrow some kitchen implement that Bill didn't quite understand the purpose or usage of, but apparently both Laura and Lee did, because Lee had agreed and said he'd leave it out – and Laura had said she'd send Bill to pick it up, never mind that he didn't have a clue what it actually was.

Bill looked around the small kitchen, hoping to see something sitting out, but nothing caught his eye. Lee must have left it somewhere else. So where was he? And Kara as well? It certainly wasn't like her to leave the house so quiet.

Suddenly, most of Bill's questions were answered by a loud shout from what he judged to be the living room.

"Damn it, Lee!"

And then Lee's voice answered just as loudly: "You were asking for it!"

"How was I asking for it?"

"You've been messing with me on purpose this entire time – !"

"I have not!"

"Really? You've been – hey! What was that for?"

"Maybe you were asking for it!"

The argument continued, both Lee and Kara's voices growing louder and louder. Bill stayed where he was in the kitchen, frozen to the spot. The last thing he wanted to do was walk in on a couple having an argument – especially given that it was only in recent years that his relationship with one member of said couple had reached what might be called stable ground. On the other hand, there was always the option to leave before they realized he was there – but that would mean going home without whatever the thing was that Laura wanted, which would certainly irritate her at the very least. And if he told her why he'd come home empty handed, she'd certainly start to worry about Lee and Kara…

Of course, he could always just tell her he'd gotten to the house and found that they weren't home. She might find it hard to believe that they had forgotten – well, Lee, at least – but Bill was fairly certain that he could convince her. Mind made up, he turned to leave – and bumped into the handle of a pot that was resting on the edge of a counter, sending it crashing to the floor.

Frak.

The two furious voices in the other room had cut off abruptly at the sound, so Bill knew he didn't have much choice but to admit that he'd overheard their fight. With a heavy sigh, he pushed open the kitchen door, reluctantly making his way down a short hallway and into the living room. What he saw there was almost more shocking than the ferocity of the fight he'd heard.

Lee and Kara were sitting in the middle of the floor in front of the TV, each with a video game controller of some kind in their hand. The screen displayed a pause menu of some kind, headed with two words in a bright, cartoonish font: Mario Kart.

"You have got to be kidding me."

Lee grinned sheepishly, his face already an impressive shade of red as he put his controller down and got to his feet. "Uh… hi, Dad…"

"This is what you were fighting about?" Bill asked exasperatedly. "A video game?"

"It's not just a video game," Kara muttered defensively from the floor. "It's a curse. It brings out the worst in a person. It's a destroyer of relationships." She threw a piece of popcorn at Lee. "And your son's cheating."

Lee caught the popcorn and threw it right back, sticking his tongue out at her. "I am not."

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are – "

"Children," Bill exclaimed loudly. "Both of you. Children, I swear." To his surprise, he suddenly found himself on the receiving end of a very angry glare from Kara.

She held out her game controller. "Try it. I dare you."

"Laura's waiting for me – "

Kara raised an eyebrow. "I think she can wait a few minutes."

Wondering how he'd never noticed that his daughter-in-law was just as intimidating as his wife, Bill reluctantly took the controller, watching as Lee restarted the race.

"This button accelerates," Kara said, pointing. "This steers. This uses weapons."

"Weapons?"

A few minutes later, Bill understood exactly why Lee and Kara had been arguing so fiercely. "Damn it, Lee!"

Lee didn't answer, laughing gleefully instead.

"You are definitely cheating."

"Dad!"

Kara stuck her tongue out at him. "You lose, Apollo."

Ancient proverb: If you wish to see the worst side of a person, challenge them to a round of Mario Kart.