Space Bunnies!

Chapter 17: Double-Back

"Guess what? You made parole," Kai said seldomly with a smile. Bodi had survived a full hour in 'the cool-off corner.' Bodi turned to face his brother, the tears were dry, and he had a wide smile on his face, sarcasm was quite clearly his mood, so his immediate response was to mock Kai, "You made parole." Bodi said in a high-pitched voice, and Kai smacked his cheek, not hard, but just hard enough to make him be quiet, Bodi jerked away and caressed his cheek, he glared in shock as Kai lowered himself to his level. "Stop it, I'm just trying to protect you," Kai said sternly, Bodi scoffed and thrashed his hands in the air. "You say that like I'm crazy!"

"You're not, you're just irresponsible, know you were trying to help that guy... but you can't just let him wander the ship." Kai countered Bodi interrupted, "I wasn't! I tied him up and everything, you're overreacting. As usual." Bodi defended, to which Kai exhaled, "I'm sorry Bode but the truth is, you're an idiot." Kai chuckled affectionately but Bodi's mouth was wide open in terror, his brother was not being silly or 'cute.' He was actually calling him an idiot! "I just don't want you hurt. Stop being so irresponsible." Kai said firmly, before standing up and making his way out of the room, Bodi in tow. "Did you just call me dumb?" Bodi said, scrambling after Kai, and the red Gel-Bunny nodded without hesitation, "But look at you! You took a mission for bounty hunting! How irresponsible is that?!" They made their way to the cockpit, where Kai briefed his brother. "We're not doing that anymore. And the last time I checked you were the one who picked the most expensive, and most dangerous assignment. But fortunately for us, I was able to secure a better assignment that lets us explore space and build our 401(k)s!" Kai said with a tail wiggle, Bodi gritted his teeth in embarrassment for his brother. "I hate it when you get all nerdy like that."

"Look! The term doesn't matter." Kai said, fanning his hand as a way to brush off the claim of being called a nerd. "It's about the money, silly! It's very dangerous because we have to travel to quadrant four and traverse a sea of dangerous anomalies, stuff like that. If we do this one thing we'll be set for a few years, provided we save money more than we spend it." Kai reciprocated, as he made it into the cockpit, he started flicking a few switches, his imagination running wild. "Are we stopping at any planets along the way?" Bodi asked, climbing through with Kai. He was just as excited now. "Oh no! There won't be any time for that. I mean we'll be exploring— but more like just gazing as we move through space. Because we're making money."

"What kind of money?" Kai was silent toward Bodi's inquiry. Which only increased his curiosity, Bodi scurried in front of Kai, impeding his ability to view the switch panels. "160,000 half now. Half after we finish the thing." Kai responded. "What!?" Bodi shouted with a slight jump, Kai looked at Bodi with exasperation. "Yep, you heard right. A nice sum of money, but remember, it comes with its risks. We need to be prepared for whatever challenges come our way. And you wanted to do the bounty hunting mission." Kai smiled mockingly. "Well, clearly I made the wrong choice! Maybe that's enough to double back and drop Pad off before we keep going?" Bodi proposed and to that Kai's mental process halted instantly. He rolled his eyes. "Bodi! You're starting to sound like a broken record. And now, you're really pissing me off!" Kai glared, and he continued his switching. "Why not! I know you're starting the fuel process, 80,000 is more than enough to fill our primary and reserves! Kai... please." Bodi exasperated, he reduced himself to begging on his knees, hugging his brother's waist. Kai planted his hands on his hips, and actually smiled, of course, his eyebrows displayed something else.

Bodi was an actor, so Kai could tell he was just trying to make 'puppy dog' eyes. Which was not unusual for him, unfortunately. Playing with Kai's emotions like a master manipulator. Kai let out a sigh, a mixture of frustration and affection, as he looked at Bodi's pleading expression. "Fine... fine. We'll drop 'Pad' off before we continue." Bodi's face lit up with gratitude and triumph. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're the best, Kai!" He jumped up and gave his brother a bear hug, nearly knocking Kai off balance. "Yeah, yeah, just don't make a habit out of this. No more pets. This one was already enough trouble as it is. So no more butterflies, space squids, or man-eating bears. Deal?" Kai added, and reluctantly, Bodi agreed. Kai chuckled, playfully ruffling Bodi's hair as he turned back to the control panel to finalize his refueling process.

Long trip ahead.