Meant to be Broken [boyxboy] [Watty Awards 2012]

Chapter Seventeen

It was a week before Tomi could convince his parents to let him come over for dinner. As soon as Ives found out he was coming over, he went crazy trying to clean the house before he arrived. Then he hurried to make a respectable dinner at the last possible minute.

"Wow, this place looks cleaner than normal," Kylle commented when she came home.

"We're going to have a dinner guest," Ives explained, just as his mother arrived home.

She came into the kitchen looking as surprised as her daughter. "Dinner guest?" she questioned.

"Uh, yeah," Ives replied as he dug through one of the cupboards. "My boyfriend, Tomi."

"I knew it," Kylle declared. "Is this the guy you go to the mall with all the time?"

"Yes," Ives answered. "I see you check your virtual social universe news regularly."

His sister laughed. "I haven't been online in months. I forgot my password."

Ives rolled his eyes. "Only you could lose your profile password and not bother resetting it."

"I have enough of a social life," Kylle argued. "I don't need to be online all the time. I don't have time!"

"Well, I certainly hope this boy of yours is a nice one," his mother announced, cutting into the siblings' argument. "I don't want you to have your sister's taste in boys."

It was a comment that at least stopped the sibling bickering.

"Mom!" Kylle practically yelled, turning on her. "I don't have bad taste in guys!"

Just then, there was a knock on the front door. Ives raced his sister to the door and pulled it open. Tomi smiled nervously at the two of them.

"Aw, he looks like a perfect match for you!" Kylle exclaimed.

Ives glared at her. "Come in," he offered, holding the door for his boyfriend.

Tomi waved to his parents' car in the driveway and stepped inside as they left.

"This is Kylle," Ives introduced as he shut the door behind him. "Kylle, this is Tomi."

Tomi nodded to her. "Nice to meet you," he said with a small smile.

"You, too," Kylle replied, looking him over as he took his coat off. "My brother has good taste, I see."

"Yes, and he's not for you," Ives stated, shooting her a glare. He led Tomi to the kitchen, where his mother was surprisingly working on the dinner Ives had started. "Mom, this is Tomi. Tomi, my mom."

Lisa Fay turned around and smiled at Tomi. "I'm happy to meet you," she said, a hint of a smile on her lips.

"Same here," Tomi replied politely, nodding to her.

Ives shooed her off and took command of his meal again. "I hope pasta is okay," he said over his shoulder to Tomi. "It's about all I can make, besides microwaved stuff."

"Sounds good to me," Tomi assured him. "Anything I can do?"

"It's almost done, don't worry about it." Ives turned and pulled Tomi into his arms. They were alone in the room, and Ives took the opportunity to kiss him lightly. "I'm glad you're here."

"I'm glad to be here," Tomi replied with a smile.

Ives reluctantly let Tomi help him set the table and finish making the meal, then he called in his mother and sister. Tomi ate more than he had the week before at his own house, but he still hardly finished what Ives put on his plate. After dinner, Tomi insisted on helping clean up, too.