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

Chapter Nineteen

Ives was awoken in the morning by the sounds of cooking coming from the kitchen. He continued to lay on the couch for a few minutes, until his fuzzy brain came to understand where he actually was, then he sat up and rubbed his face. The TV was still on the History Channel, but some show about lumberjacks was on.

Tomi's mother peeked into the room then. "Good morning. I hope I didn't wake you up."

"It's fine," Ives replied. He squinted at the clock on the TV. It was 9:43.

At that moment, Tomi trotted down the stairs and joined him on the couch. His black-and-red hair was wet from his recent shower. "Wow, it's weird seeing your eyes as blue."

Ives smiled at him. "I'm sure it must be."

Tomi kissed him on the cheek. "Shower is all yours," he announced.

"Just be quick," Mrs. Miliani added from the kitchen. "Breakfast is almost done!"

"Your mom makes breakfast?" Ives asked his boyfriend curiously.

"Only on Sundays," Tomi replied. "It's supposed to be a 'family day.' Only it usually isn't. Usually, I spend the day hanging out in my room and Mom and Dad do stuff around the house."

"What are we going to do?" Ives wondered aloud.

"Kiona is demanding a rematch," Tomi answered. "She says us beating them yesterday was just a fluke."

Ives smiled. "I'm in. But I guess I should shower before breakfast."

By the time Ives came back downstairs, breakfast was being set out on the table. Tomi's father was reading the Sunday paper at the table, and Tomi was setting out glasses of orange juice and milk while his mother set plates of pancakes at each place setting. Scout was sitting next to the table, begging already. Ives' stomach grumbled at the smell, and sympathized with the dog more easily than he ever would have expected.

"Do you like pancakes?" Mrs. Miliani asked him when she saw him walk into the kitchen.

"Yes," Ives answered immediately.

"Mom makes the best," Tomi told him.

As soon as Ives started eating, he had to agree with Tomi, because they were some of the best pancakes he had ever had. Ives made sure that he ate his fill, and as soon as he and Tomi were done eating, they went straight to Tomi's room.

"Let's kick some butt," Ives commanded as he sat down to play.

"We'll show them," Tomi agreed, grinning.

Well, they showed them something, and it wasn't a victory dance. It was more like a resigned retreat.

The next morning, Ives was awoken by something wet and slimy coating his face. He opened his eyes to see a black, furry face just inches away, and jolted back against the back of the couch.

From somewhere by the front door of the house, he heard Tomi's dad hiss, "Scout! No! Outside!"

The dog whined, then turned to go outside.

"Sorry, Ives," Ian Miliani whispered in the dimness.

"'s okay," Ives replied, wiping his face off with the blanket before settling back to sleep.

He woke up again, a few hours later, when someone squeezed onto the couch with him, laying stretched out against him. Ives rubbed his eyes, and opened them to see Tomi, smiling at him.

"Mom just went to work," Tomi said quietly. "You should get up so we can have our movie day."

"Time is it?" Ives asked.