68.

ROUGHEST DRAFT YOU'LL EVER READ BUT I COULDN'T RESIST ANY LONGER.

WELCOME BACK TO ALL OF US!!! Drop a piece of your love here!

Hope you love flash-backs :) this one kinda just kept rolling. It's that night time work delirium kicking in. I've been craving pancakes.

Enjoy!

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Nearly 10 years ago...

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"Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?"

"Spongebob Squarepants!"

"Absorbent and yellow and porous is he!"

"Spongebob Squarepants!"

The seven and eleven year olds' screechy kid voices filled the decently sized one-story home, mixing in synch with the blaring television in the family room. The home was an open-concept with the most used space of the home sprawled all the way in the back, far away from any bedrooms.

Therefore, the higher, the more obnoxious, the better it sounded. Made complete sense in Franny's and Sonny's minds.

The sleep deliruim was real.

It was late late.

"Who's nautical nonsense be something you wish?"

"Spongebob! Squarepants!"

"So drop on the deck and flop like a fish!"

"Spongebob! Squarepants!"

Behind their big stage of imagination and the mismatched couches was the decently sized kitchen with a raised counter bar top and two more brothers slaving away at the stove.

Slaving?

More like making a disaster of a mess and calling it cooking.

Dakota and Glen were the reason for the light dusting of flour, baking powder, and egg covering all counter spaces and then some. They'd been busy at work for some time now.

"Now pour all of that into here, Smiley."

Smiley's eyes narrowed in focus, his little tongue poking out the side of his mouth as he concentrated. He would not mess this up.

This one would be even perfecter than the first couple batches.

He was determined to do this set all by himself.

"Spongebob! Squarepants!"

"Spongebob! Squarepants!"

"Spongebob! Squarepants!"

His small hands wrapped around the mixing bowl, sliding upward until his index fingers met the lid edge. "I can do this."

The older brother's lips couldn't help but quirk upward. "You can do this."

The littlest brother paid his words of encouragement no attention, biting down on his tongue as he slowly lifted the red bowl off the counter. From his height advantage of standing on the kitchen chair, he was able to hold the mixing bowl full of dry ingredients just high enough to tilt into the even bigger green bowl, with the egg yolk, some broken shell pieces to add an unsuspecting crunch, and melted butter.

He was so so so close to dumping the ingredients almost mostly in the larger bowl when the finale of "SPONGE BOB... SQUARE PANTS!" startled the boy. His hands jerked upward with such momentum that a cloud of flour flung into Smiley's face.

And the middle child got it all on camera.

Dakota's sacred camera sat tucked safely away in the corner of the kitchen counter, the blinking red light indicating that it was currently recording the meltdown about to occur.

Never a better time than the present to collect some good black mail material to pull out years later.

The mature side of Dakota knew he should at least attempt to ward off the meltdown, but the immature side, anything was fair game.

His gaze happened to cut across the kitchen to the time on the microwave. Damn, they didn't have time to waste, already cutting it close.

Colton would be home any time now and they needed this batch of pancakes done. He didn't want all their efforts to go to waste, they needed at least one stack of edible pancakes to share.

Birthday tradition and all.

The meltdown freight train started with the bottom lip trembling, the classic boo-boo lip, the way it always does.

Kota was quick to catch on and reached forward to take the bowl from his baby brother's hands. "Don't sweat it, dude. Shit happens." The thirteen-year-old had plenty of practice averting the crisis.

Almost as much as practice as being the cause of the impending meltdown. He loved stirring shit up in the family, pushing one button too many and really winding up his siblings. Francis especially, the little brother was just too easy, too gullible.

But now he called upon his prevention tactics. The number one advice being, act like whatever happened was no big deal.

Empty-handed, Glen's arms fell limply to his side. He looked distantly related to a ghost, the white creating a ghostly paleness on his skin.

"My pancakes," the little boy whimpered, his fingers curling into fists.

"Still plenty in here to be cake," Dakota reassured, unable to keep all the laughter out of his voice.  "Wait, Smiley, let's just make a cake." That idea was actually so much better.

"No!" Glen shouted, stomping his little foot on the cushioned chair. "We have to make pancakes!"

"Okay, okay," Kota said with a roll of his eyes, the thirteen-year-old never without a piece of attitude.  "It was just a suggestion. Take a breath, dude. Then you can try it again."

It would have been a whole lot easier without dumb and dumber still screeching in the family room. It was a wonder how Baker was able to sleep through it all, zonked out on the couch in the same room of all this chaos.

As a matter of fact, he also couldn't fathom how their little sister was also able to continue snoozing. Wait, maybe it was the fact that she hadn't slept much at all these past couple days, the baby finally fallen victim to the bug that had been passed around the brothers.

Sunshine was dead asleep laying on her older brother's chest, her blankie covering her body as they lay chest to chest, with Baker's arm wrapped protectively and securely around her back to keep her in place.

Glen squeezed his eyes shut, trying really hard to take a deep breath just like his brother had taught him. A tear of frustration slipped down his cheek. "I can't,"

"Yes, you can," Kota immediately countered. His patience eaten up for the evening, Dakota turned to look over his shoulder and yelled at dumb and dumber, "Hey, will you guys shut the hell up?"

"Or what?" Emerson spun around, hands on hips as he challenged his brother. Pretty brave of the eleven-year-old.

"Or do you really want to find out?" Dakota retorted ominously. He had no qualms about using the fear factor against his younger brother. Two years of older brother wisdom that Kota used to his advantage.

All fun and games until Baker did the same thing to Dakota. The eighteen- and thirteen-year-old butted heads often.

Emerson stood his ground, thinking about his next steps. Realizing it wasn't worth it, he shrugged and flopped onto the couch, settling in to watch the 327th episode of the night. If there were that many. Sonny wasn't counting.

Blessedly, the television had reached commercial break, so Emerson muted the TV anyways.

"Dakotaaaaaa," Franny whined, moving from the family room into the open kitchen space.

"What?" Kota asked gruffly, briefly glancing on Glen who seemed to have regained his confidence. The little boy was rubbing his eyes, which wasn't helping the flour stain on his checks and forehead. The older brother strutted to the kitchen sink and ripped a paper towel from the roll and briefly ran it under water. He squeezed out the excess water before walking back to Glen and cleaning his face.

Perhaps a bit too roughly when Smiley sputtered from practically being water-boarded and shoved his brother's hand away.

"Dakota," Francis sidled up to his brother's side and grabbed Kota's arm with urgency.

"What?" Dakota repeated himself, shaking his arm free.

"I have to go pee," the younger brother crossed his legs, desperation written on his face.

"Okay, and?" Kota drawled as he watched Glen out of the corner of his eye successfully pour the mixing bowl into the larger bowl.

Hell yes.

With that task completed, Smiley had no problem abandoning the bowl onto the messy counter and picking up the whisk to mix everything together.

He could do this.

"It's dark over there," Francis whispered, his hands covering his crotch.

Dakota sighed. Francis' fear of the dark was getting annoying. "Go turn the light on then."

"Kota, please." The younger brother pouted.

Kota sighed again. "Fine," he grumbled. "Don't move," he ordered Glen before walking away. He took two steps before turning back to the boy. "And don't touch the stove."

Smiley acted like he didn't hear him, too busy concentrating on counting to one hundred aloud. That was how many whisks he had to do with the batter until it was ready.

"Kota," Francis pleaded, on the cusp of peeing his pants.

"Jesus Christ," the teen muttered, stalking off into the shadows to the opposite side of the house where the bathroom was, shared amongst all the sibling's bedrooms. Francis scurried behind him.

There was another half-bathroom that was closer to where they tended to gather, but the toilet was broken. For a while now and probably for a while more.

By then, the older brother was reluctantly committed to the cause and posted up against the corner of the wall. Franny's fear ran so deep that Kota wasn't even able to shut the bathroom door so the boy could pee by himself.

Because what was privacy?

What if the lights went out?

Then Bloody Mary would appear.

Instead, the door stayed wide open and Dakota busied himself with peeling the chipped paint off the wall to block out the sounds.

Back in the kitchen, the youngest brother was left to his own devices. "sixty-three, forty-nine, one hundred!" Glen happily exclaimed, dropping the whisk onto the counter. He may have skipped a few numbers but that was fine. Surely he didn't need to count in order.

When no one said anything, Smiley frowned and looked around. "Kota?" His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Silence.

Glen took one more glance around the empty kitchen, his eyes landing briefly on the still muted television before spotting the stove. The cooking pan they had been using lay abandoned, still warm from the previous batch.

With the idea burning bright in his mind, the little kid climbed off his chair and wandered over to the infamous stove. Without really thinking about, Glen lifted his hand and poked the outer rim of the pan.

Unable to decide if it was really warm or not, Glen got a little braver and poked the stainless steel again then again and again and...

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

The poor little boy nearly jumped out of his skin at Dakota's barking. Unfortunately for his luck, his hand really smacked into the stove pan, and yes, turns out it was still hot.

A sharp cry escaped Smiley's lips as he yanked his arm back.

"I told you not to..." Dakota growled, letting his sentence linger in the air. It wouldn't make a difference so he didn't waste his breath.

Kota stormed forward and grabbed Glen by the armpits, hoisting him onto his hip and walked him the several steps over to the sink. With his left hand, Dakota turned on the kitchen sink, cold water blasting out.

"Put your hand under the water," Kota demanded, unintentionally shoving Glen a tad too hard against the counter as he leaned over.

"Ow," Smiley squirmed, pain bursting from everywhere. His hand, his side, his head because why not.

The older brother mumbled his apologies but did not budge.

The open room suddenly got a whole lot louder when Francis, freshly returned from the bathroom, got his hands on the remote and turned the volume back on the television full blast.

HELL-O.

The sound took everyone by surprise, jolting every single sibling out of their skin.

Baker groaned loudly and rolled onto his side, pulling the little girl with him so she was now sandwiched between the couch and her older brother's warm body. Miraculously, the blankie remained tucked around her.

Baker's secret of being unbothered with the ruckus was revealed when his hood slipped off his head, exposing the noise-canceling headphones he had been wearing.

"What the fuck, Francis," Dakota exclaimed, his streak of not saying the F-bomb now over. Almost three days strong.

Wait-

Kota saw the time on the microwave. He grinned.

1:15am.

Ahaaa bitches, he did it. Best record yet.

Almost four days strong.

Austin would be proud, the strict asshole that he tried to be. At least he wasn't here to complain about his vocabulary.

But it did the trick, silence once again. Franny smartly knew he owed him after basically babysitting him in the bathroom.

"Dude."

That single word was coated in disappointment, the nineteen-year-old unimpressed by what he just walked into.

Well fuck.

Dakota spun around, water splashing onto their shirts and to their socked feet as Glen's hand was yanked away from the kitchen sink. Talk about getting his heart pumping.

Standing before the two brothers were the remaining two brothers left to have been seen.

Austin and Colton.

Surprise flitted across Kota's face, not having expected to see both of them to arrive home at the exact same time. Did they meet up somewhere or was this a coincidence? Why was he not invited?

Letting Smiley safely return to the ground on his own two feet, Kota immediately jumped on the defense, giving his eldest brother a scowl. He folded his arms across his chest. "What are you doing home?"

Austin raised his eyebrows, unsurprised be his brother's greeting. It greatly contrasted the palpable excitement radiating from the little boy. Glen took off running, crashing into his eldest brother's awaiting arms.

Before Austin could say two words, Franny came once again running full steam ahead into the kitchen. The eldest brother staggered from the side-tackle but thankfully Cole stuck his hand out to balance him.

Austin adjusted his hold on the six-year-old, perching him on his hip. He wrapped his free hand around Franny's shoulders to tug him close. "I have a better question. Why is everyone awake right now?"

"Who cares? You're not our dad, Austin." Kota unfolded his arms over his chest and turned his back to the crowd, rolling his eyes as he focused back on the pancake-making task. Might as well put the batter to good use.

"Kota, come on," Colton mumbled, the peacekeeper that he was. Confrontation made him uncomfy.

Austin took no offense to his brother's behavior, as this was the routine when he returned home from college each time. It was a bit like a 24-hour adjustment for Dakota to get used to his eldest brother being home again and under his reign.

This is unlike all the other younger siblings who never stop thinking that Austin walked on water.

At nineteen, the eldest brother had a good handle on the household. That didn't mean it excluded him from having his own moments of slightly poor judgment, but he never claimed to be God.

Sometimes he wished he was simply their older brother, but way before he reached these young adult years, he assumed that role of responsibility. Someone had to, considering their parents didn't step up to do it.

Austin took everything in stride best he could.

"Because!" Sonny joined the group, hugging Austin from behind. He further explained, "We were waiting for Cole."

With three kiddos wrapped around him, Austin took count of who was missing. "Where's Baker?"

"With Sunshine," was another one of Emerson's cheeky responses. He released his death grip on his eldest brother and hounded Colton next. "Happy birthday!"

Sonny boy was too pure for this life.

Technically, the freshly seventeen-year old's birthday was yesterday, but that was not a hill to die on. Especially because Colton hadn't even been home, too busy at a recruiting basketball tournament with his travel team. It was an opportunity he wasn't able to pass up. Not with his future so close to being in his clutches.

"Thanks, Em," Cole said as he playfully ruffled his tween brother's longish blond hair. He was still feeling the high of the tournament. Not because of the 1st place medal tucked away in his bag, but because the scout from his favorite college team had talked to him.

Him.

Colton No-one Powers.

Yeah, he was going to be on cloud 9 for a bit longer.

"Chill, I'm right here," Baker grumbled from the couch as he slowly re-alived himself again. He sounded rough. "Not like anyone can sleep with your demanding ass."

Austin glanced in his brother's direction, his eyes scrutinizing his right-hand man and his baby girl in his arms. "You're sick."

"No shit," Baker grunted. "Blame them. This house is infested with their nastiness." He flicked his wrist in the general direction of the kid siblings. "I literally followed them around the house with Lysol and it still got me."

Emerson, Franny, and Glen shared sparkling glances and giggles. They understood the assignment that was just given.

"Oh no," Baker threatened, with an poorly-time hacking cough. "Stay away from me." He went as far as to hold out a sleepy-eyed Sunshine as if to ward off the boys.

If she was even asleep before, that was no longer the case as Baker supported her under the arm pits, her legs dangling freely as she twisted and turned. Sleepy giggles escaped her as well, cracking a smile from the eighteen-year-old holding her hostage.

A perfectly timed switch occurred as Franny boy ducked away from Austin and under Hayes' legs, while Glen wiggled out of Austin's arms, and Emerson broke free from Colton; all three attacking Baker. Together they had impressive strength, but the eighteen-year-old was stronger, resisting their wrestling attempts to bring him to the ground.

The eldest brother quickly snatched his little girl out of the danger zone, snuggling her cherub self in his arms. "Hi Sunshine," he whispered into her messy hair, pressing a kiss there.

"miss you Aussy," she tiredly replied, nestling her forehead against his neck. Poor baby sounded congested.

"Miss you too, baby," he murmured right back. Austin may have just gotten home for Christmas break, but he was already dreading the return for the spring semester. It was hard leaving his heart behind.

He could never shake this niggling feeling that something was going to happen when he walked out those doors.

Speaking of something. Or better yet, lack of someone.

Austin's stomach tightened at the noticeable absence.

This woman had one job.

"Where's Mom?" He asked, glancing around to catch the siblings' different reactions. He wasn't necessarily surprised by her lack of presence but certainly didn't stop his disappointment. She literally had one fucking job.

The eldest brother swallowed back down his burst of anger. He wanted to protect his young siblings from the reality of that woman but there was still a small piece of him that thought their mother could turn around. So, he didn't want to tarnish that optimism.

And in doing so, he had the expectation that their mother would be present for her son's birthday.

All eyes fell upon Colton, whom pointedly avoided every single one of them. He ran his fingers through his short hair as his eyes fell to his well-worn sneakers.

A clanging sound took all their attention as Kota decided to drop all the dirty bowls into the sink. Pancakes were done.

Austin was unamused. "She's not here." He stated.

Dakota snorted to himself, "No shit."

"You're not helping, Dickwad," Baker grunted as he untangled himself from the three boys. Two wedgies and one ticklish Smiley later, he was free. The older brother stood next to Colton, slinging an arm over his shoulder.

Kota rolled his eyes and busied himself with grabbing utensils from the kitchen drawer. "Pancakes are ready."

The three little boys cheered, distracted from the look shared between Austin and Baker. The eldest brother had seen the camera forgotten in the corner, and he knew exactly what to do with it.

"Pancakes!" Franny happily screeched, as the boys race to pull out their chairs at the kitchen table, climbing onto their assigned seats.

"I'm sorry, Cole," Austin felt terrible for his brother. "She told me she'd be here."

Hence why the eldest brother felt comfortable surprising Colton as his basketball tournament that weekend as opposed to speeding right home at the end of his final exam week.

He had complete confidence in Baker taking care of the house full of rambunctious kids by himself, but it was certainly easier to have someone else around. Even though Austin hadn't expected their Mother to actually spend time with her children, just knowing she was physically in the house provided a smidge of relief.

He certainly knew that if their Mother had been home, his siblings would definitely not be awake right now.

But nope. Baker was home alone and on top of that, sickly sick. Which now Austin completely understood how it was possibly 1 am and everyone was wide awake. The brother had not enough strength to fight them all with the bedtime routine.

Colton shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing to be sorry for. She went to visit Lotte for her birthday. Nothing wrong with that."

"It's your birthday too," Baker reminded him. You're important too.

Colton's body language revealed way more than what he was trying to play off with his words. Any excitement he once was feeling had evaporated. He was simply nobody.

"Yeah, it is," Sonny echoed, throwing his fists in the air as he started to chant. "Birth. Day. Boy. Birth. Day. Boy."

Franny and Smiley joined in, their voices getting louder and louder, threatening to bring the house down.

"Forget that bitch," Dakota said as he beep-bopped his way through his brothers with the highly anticipated plate of pancake stacks. A smirk played on his lips as he saw Austin's death glare. He was getting close to crossing that invisible line.

Baker nudged Colton with his shoulder, and then kept nudging him annoyingly until he coaxed the tiniest smile out of his sullen brother. "Cheer up, butter cup. Never thought I'd say this but Kota's right."

"Finally." Dakota mumbled under his breath. About time someone recognized his greatness.

"Get your yuck away from me." Colton laughed, pushing his brother away. He couldn't stay down and depressed for long. It just wasn't possible when he was loved so hard by his siblings.

He also didn't want the virus back, so he was totally serious about the space.

"Aussy, pancakes," Sunshine mumbled against her eldest brother's neck. Austin rubbed her back, his nose wrinkling at the feeling of her boogies sticking against his skin.

"You heard the girl," Baker said, giving Austin a pointed look to drop the topic of all things evil. He clapped his hands together with each syllable. "Pancake time."

"I made it all by myself, Colton!" Smiley exclaimed. Dakota stayed uncharacteristically quiet, letting his brother bathe in the praise.

"They smell amazing, buddy," Cole said, moving to the kitchen table. He stood behind the little boy's chair. "I love it, really. Thank you."

Glen's smile could not get any larger.

"I'm starving!" Francis dramatically flung himself forward, his elbows landing on the table. "Can we eat now?" He begged.

"Jeez, like Lord of the Flies in here," Colton chuckled to himself.

"Nerd alert," Emerson coughed into his fist.

"We have to sing first," Austin ignored Em's snide remark as he and Sunshine joined their siblings around the table.

All the little kiddos minus Hayes sucked in a big breath, challenge accepted to see how fast they can sing it, off key and all.

Colton loved every second of it.

————

Countdown until Christmas: 5 days

(Monday)

Hayes sat on the kitchen counter; her legs folded beneath her in crisscross apple sauce. Now normally, she wasn't supposed to be sitting on the counter, since she was destined to be an absolute klutz for life, but that's what exceptions were for.

And supervision.

Always good to have supervision.

"Sunny, catch."

Hayes looked up in time to see a Hershey kiss flying at her face, until it wasn't.

Austin snatched the wrapped piece of chocolate out of the air, the silver disappearing behind his folded fingers. "I said no more, Sonny." He directed his warning glare to the brother sitting at the kitchen table.

Sonny, not Sunny.

She was off the hook.

Emerson innocently held up his empty hands. "I don't have anything."

"Yeah, sure. Let's pretend I believe you." Austin retorted.

Emerson chuckled, sending a wink to his little sister when Austin turned his attention back to Glen. The youngest brother was making pancakes on the stove with the eldest brother's guidance.

Sonny waited a beat before reaching behind the fishbowl on the table for his supply. Then quickly he tossed another piece of chocolate in the girl's direction.

Hayes caught it with her left hand, adding it to her pile in her lap. She ducked her chin, hiding her grin as she enjoyed conspiring with her brother. Nowadays it was like second nature. As if they had been thick as thieves her entire life.

Her thoughts went sour as she stared at her broken arm, a reminder good as ever about how that wasn't the case. At least her arm didn't really hurt, until she really started to think about it. Then the achiness crept in and her arm would start to burn a little and all she wanted to do was cut of the cast but she couldn't do that, of course.

A looming presence fell over her as a finger nudged her chin back up. "No. more." Austin emphasized, briefly catching her eye before she looked away.

The eldest brother remained standing in front of her, scrutinizing her young face. He had seen something that darkened her expression momentarily but then he blinked, and it was gone.

The longer Austin stood there, the more antsy the little girl got. She frowned up at him, wanting him to move his attention elsewhere so she didn't blow her cover with the chocolates she had stowed away.

"Shit. Austin, I burnt another one," Glen grumbled from his position at the stove.

Austin turned away, whatever trance he was in now broken. "That's alright, bud. You're doing great."

"Don't toss it!" Sonny exclaimed. "Those are the best pancakes."

"You only say that because all you make are burnt ones." Francis snickered from across the table. He was seated with his feet propped on the chair next to him, a bowl of dry cereal in his hands. The teen munched on his pre-breakfast snack, the endless garbage disposal that he was.

Emerson rolled his eyes and chucked a Hershey kiss at his brother's forehead. "At least I can cook."

Francis laughed loudly. "That's not cooking."

"It's more than what you do," Sonny pointed at Franny's bowl of cereal for exhibit A. "You just going to eat cereal for the rest of your life?"

"No," Francis scoffed like he had said the dumbest thing. He gave the cheesiest smile. "You'll cook for me."

As Emerson vehemently disagreed to that, Smiley groaned again and flung the spatula he'd been using into the sink.

"I give up." He announced, spinning around to face everyone. He had his arms crossed tightly over his chest; frustration evident. Too many burnt pancakes when he was striving for perfection or bust.

"But you were doing so good," Francis wailed. In utter selfishness, he needed someone to make the pancakes so he could then eat them. "You can't quit now."

Emerson threw another chocolate, nearly hitting him in the eye. "Shut up, Fran. Why don't you get up and help him?"

"What?" Francis asked, clueless. "Hello, I am helping. I'm encouraging him. Duh. Why don't you get up and help him, since you're all 'Mr. I can cook anything'," Francis did hand quotes.

"Neither of you are helping, is what you guys are doing." Austin said, turning his head over his shoulder to give them a silent look to be quiet. He had immediately stepped in as Glen's replacement and retrieved a clean spatula from the drawer. "Smiley, these pancakes don't look burnt at all. What are you talking about?"

Smiley pointed at the perfectly brown tinged pancake, the edges only slightly darker. Overall, very fluffy looking and absolutely delicious smelling. But the boy was looking for perfection, and these weren't cutting it.

Glen basically stomped his feet as he abandoned his place at the stove. He yanked the chair that Francis had been using to rest his poor feet on, the wooden legs scraping along the tile making a hideous sound.

"Sure, you can sit there. I wasn't using it," Francis grouched.

Glen threw himself onto the seat then reached over and stole the bowl straight from Francis' hands.

"Sure, you can have that. I wasn't eating it or anything." The teen grunted, flinging his arms in the air.

"Good," Smiley said, shoveling a handful of the lucky charms into his mouth.

" Glen, buddy I promise these pancakes are looking amazing. There's only a little bit of batter left. Are you sure you don't want to finish?" Austin asked.

"No."

Hayes' gaze darted back and forth between her brothers, like she was watching a tennis match. As long as the attention wasn't focused on her, she continued to eat her Hershey kisses like nobody's business. Her pile was dwindling fast.

She happened to make passive eye contact with Emerson who immediately noticed the pout on her face. Sonny smirked and held up the empty bag that once held the supply of Hershey kisses.

"Sorry sunshine, we're all out."

At his announcement, Austin glanced at Emerson before whipping his head to the other side, where Sunshine was innocently licking the chocolate stains off her fingers.

" Hayes! I told you no more chocolate," Austin, exasperated. " I don't wanna hear it when you can't have ice cream cake later tonight."

He may not want to hear it then, but he was certainly going to here right now.

"That's not fair!" Hayes immediately protested, her legs unfolding from underneath her and dropping down, so her heels hit loudly against the bottom cabinet.

"I don't want to hear it. I already warned you." Austin stood his ground. He flipped over the final three pancakes in the pan, watching the batter sizzle. It was satisfying seeing the crisp golden brown.

Hayes mimicked his words behind his back, showcasing the sassy teenager she had hidden deep inside her.

Emerson immediately burst out, laughing, having seen the whole thing.

Across the table, Francis grabbed the box of Lucky charms that been sitting there and shoved his hand into the box. He took a handful out and shove the cereal into his mouth, having no shame, as he began to talk as he munched on the marshmallows. " Oh, this just got good."

Austin used the spatula to put the final pancakes onto the growing stack. He twisted the dial so the stove was shut off. He quickly rinsed his hands under the water in the kitchen sink before drying them on a towel that was hanging on the oven door.

"What's so funny?" Austin asked as he gave all his siblings a dose of his serious-looking glare.

" Nothing," Emerson said, shaking his head. But the little girl's blushing cheeks was giving her away.

No poker face whatsoever.

" Well, I don't buy that for a second," Austin walked over to his sister and helped her off the counter so she stood on her own two feet on the floor. He planted a chaste kiss to the top of her head before giving her butt a smack. " Why don't you go find Dakota and Baker so we're all here when Colton gets back?"

Sunshine nodded, accepting her mission and wasted no time escaping any punishment. She spun around with her socks on. She didn't make it but three steps out of the kitchen before ramming into one of the brothers she was going on the hunt for.

Specifically, Baker. Thank God.

She stumbled onto his feet which were protected by sneakers.

Huh. Where was he going?

" I heard my name," Baker said jokingly. Without missing a step, his muscular arm slipped around his little sister's back and basically half-carried her back into the kitchen. "Smells good in here, what did you make?"

"Pancakes," Austin said tilting his head in Glen's direction. "It was Smiley's idea."

Glen looked up at Baker hesitantly, awaiting his reaction. The little brother didn't know why he was so nervous. It was just pancakes.

"Pancakes for lunch?" Baker's eyebrows furrowed as he stopped walking. He released Hayes who immediately twirled around and darted into Austin's embrace. His body heat warmed her up as she forced his arms over her shoulders, her back pressed against his stomach. Austin naturally folded his arms around her collar bone, snuggling her tight.

"b-b-b-brunch," Francis corrected with exaggeration.

Baker rolled his eyes at the smart ass. "These for Cole?" He was quick to put two and two together as he lazily scratched his stomach.

Francis continued to mock his older brother, making monkey sounds as he pretended to scratch his own stomach and the top of his head. He quickly stopped at Baker's daring glance.

"That's what I thought," Baker punked him, doing a quick jab step in Fran's direction.

Francis flinched.

"Yes, for Colton," Austin answered. "Since we weren't able to do it yesterday."

Birthday pancake special!

"Do what yesterday?" Kota slowly entered the room. Exhaustion was written all over him, the poor brother not sleeping much at all. Last night just sucked any remaining energy out of him.

"Dude, are you fucking kidding me right now? Why don't you have two crutches?" Baker questioned. "I just told you to take it easy."

"Fuck off." Kota did his classic eye roll and continued forward. Glen hopped out of his chair, offering it to his brother. That made Dakota pause, his brain rapid firing until Smiley's baby face popped up in his mind. He grunted a quick thanks and took the seat.

Like hell was he going to admit that Baker was right in this single moment, but yeah, his knee was aching.

"Um hello? Can we stop cursing for two seconds? Did we forget there were kids in this house?" Austin scolded.

Dakota gritted his teeth, about to snap back when their little sister drew his attention with a hesitant welcoming smile.

"Who you calling kid? Kid." Emmy joking replied, breaking the suddenly tense atmosphere.

"Where's Cole-dawg anyways?" Franny asked, shoving another handful of cereal into his mouth.

"Up your butt," Emerson smirked.

Francis snorted, the lucky charms flying everywhere including one little bit into the fish bowl. That got Emerson and Glen laughing too, especially when Sunshine's giggles turned into snorts as well when Mike Wazowski swam up to investigate the disintegrating grain.

Over the laughter, the sound of the front door closing could be heard. Footsteps preceded Colton appearing in the doorway. He was dressed casually nice in his jeans and unwrinkled T-shirt. His jacket was folded over his arm. "What's so funny?"

"Your face," Emerson was on a roll, cracking himself up with a knee slap. He then got a slap to the back of his head by Baker.

Probably deserved.

"Are you going back out?" Smiley asked curiously when Colton didn't make a move to join them at the table.

His voice didn't waver, but Austin could read the range of emotions that flitted across the boy's face.

The eldest brother bent down and whispered in his little sister's ear to go sit with Sonny. He could feel something  about to break in Glen and wanted her out of the way.

Cole tilted his head to the side, staring at his little brother for a second before glancing around the room. Everyone was basically staring back at him, waiting for how he was going to answer such a seemingly innocent question.

"I mean, I was..." Colton hesitated, unsure what he was missing until behind Glen's head, Francis subtly pointed his finger towards something.

Out of the corner of his eye, Cole spied the stack of pancakes waiting to be devoured.

Glen's lips twisted to the side in such a dejected look, taking Colton's unfinished answer at face value. All his hard word for nothing.

"Great." Smiley grunted before attempting to hightail out of the kitchen to go lick his wounds upstairs.

He didn't get too far before a muscular hand clamped down on his shoulder.

"Hey, wait Glen. Why are you leaving?" Colton had been the one to chase after him. He had to be the one to fix it.

But Austin was lingering, in case it went down hill to fast.

"Go away, Cole." the teen growled trying to shake his brother off. "Why do you care? You were leaving anyways."

Colton tightened his grip. "Not until you tell me why you're so upset."

" I'm not upset," Smiley hissed through his teeth. Straight up lie.

" yes, you are" Colton didn't buy that bullshit. " I'm not letting you leave angry at me. We've already been through this once before. Tell me what I just did wrong. Let me fix it."

Glen's chest rose up and down, his frustration slowly sleeping out of him as he maintained eye contact with his older brother. He could see how serious Colton was.

Glen stayed silent.

Colton lowered his voice. " OK, yes so I was about to leave. But now I'm not. Because I know there's something going on that I'm guessing was your idea. You can't blame me for not knowing if it was supposed to be a surprise. And now I'm staying and you can't make me leave."

Glen swallowed harshly and ducked his head, breaking the eye contact. His brother did make a good point. The pancakes weren't necessarily supposed to be a surprise, but he realized what it may have looked like from Cole's perspective.

Perhaps he overreacted.

" I'm sorry" Glen quietly apologized.

"Apology not accepted," Colton replied. " you did nothing wrong. This is simply called talking. Tell me what's going on."

Smiley wrung his hands together. "I made you pancakes for your birthday since we didn't do it yesterday."

The admission was so soft, Colton wasn't sure he heard him right.

"You made me birthday pancakes?"

That hadn't happened in...

years.

His little brother nodded. "I just thought, since yesterday it was okay to celebrate that you would like pancakes too."

"Wow," Colton was taken aback by his brother's thoughtfulness. He shook his head, "wow, Bud that's so..." he cut himself off and tugged Glen closer for a hug. "Thank you."

Smiley nodded against his chest. "Welcome."

Colton held on for another second before remembering a very important something. He loosened his arms, letting Glen take an anxious step back.

"Shoot, I just have to do one thing then I'll be right back." Colton said. He quickly backtracked when the little boy's face instantly saddened. "No, I'm not going, I just," Colton ran a hand through his hair, fumbling his words. Finding peace with just giving the truth, he exhaled, "Stella is waiting in the car right now. We went to breakfast and then we were going to pickle ball. But I'm just going to go tell her to take my car without me."

Colton went to pass by Glen when the boy said, "wait."

The older brother paused and turned to look at Smiley.

Waiting.

Glen opened his mouth once, hesitated. Twice. "She, Umm." The lack of confidence oozed out of him. "Stella, umm she can just come in. She probably likes pancakes too."

Colton's eyebrows shot up, similar expressions on Austin's and Baker's faces who were blatantly listening in from the kitchen threshold.

Pride, that's what they were feeling right about now.

"I appreciate that offer, Buddy, and I'm sure Stella likes pancakes too." Colton said, thinking his words carefully. "Maybe next time, though. Is that okay?"

Glen's breath of relief was not super subtle, letting Cole know he made the right decision. Glen and the rest of the siblings needed some family time at the moment.

Colton had no doubt Stella would understand the change of plans. And he'd be correct, his girlfriend not feeling slighted at all in their date being cut short.

The happy birthday song was soon sang, Kota reluctantly partaking and coincidently being the best singer of them all.

Pancakes were eagerly snatched from the plates and syrup dribbled everywhere, including the table and possibly even Mike Wazowski's fish bowl which sent Sunshine into another fit of snorts.

Loopy was she.

The family was squeezed around the breakfast nook, cramped for room but no one paid attention.

Cozy.

"Life is good," Hayes randomly announced, garnering looks of confusion. She somehow ripped off a piece of the pancake, which it was faster than using utensils considering she was down an arm, and shoved it in her mouth, very unladylike in every way.

"Huh?"

"Okay?"

"Uh huh."

"Sure."

Came the multiple not-really-listening-but-whatever-you-say responses to back up their facial expressions.

From across the table where she sat on Baker's lap, Hayes gestured to Colton's tshirt, pointing at the exact words she just read from.

Life is good.

Colton smiled warmly, sharing identical looks with his two older brothers.

It sure as hell was.

~~~~~

Life is good, my friends

Even when it may not feel like it.

Tomorrow's another sunrise to experience.

Thanks for hanging around!

Maybe two or three chapters left?

Stay tuned!!