Stuck In The Middle With You

by CoffeeMinion

Rumbling Thunder - [Lowbrow Slice-of-Life] - February 2019 Flashfic (“Hidden Motives”)

An earsplitting alarm chased Rumble from the snuggly darkness of his blankets, which tangled in his legs and sent him facefirst to the floor. But the cloud-house floor didn’t stop him until he was chest-deep, leaving his muzzle uncomfortably close to the stove where Thunderlane was cooking haybacon.

“Dig the new alarm, lil’ bro?” Thunderlane beamed. “Early bird catches the worm... or in our case, the flying fish!”

Rumble groaned, pulled his torso free, tromped down the cloud-stairs, and dropped onto a chair.

Thunderlane offered a full plate and a smirk. “C'mon! You're the one who wanted to hang this weekend.”

After a few bites, Rumble pointed at the darkened window. “Yeah, but waking me up in the middle of the night?"

"It's totally not. It's just early. Prime time when the fish bite, by the by."

Rumble shook his head. "I guess... is this how Wonderbolts hang? I mean, do you do this sort of thing with them?"

"No way," Thunderlane chuckled. "Most of 'em would think fishing's lame. Most of 'em would just go buy fish. And the fish isn't the point, anyway. Most of 'em don't have cool little brothers who need to be taken out and reminded of the simple and beautiful things in life."

"Oh yeah?" Rumble set his fork down. "Like what?"

"Like the fact that a fishing trip with my little bro is a perfect excuse to get out of Saturday morning Wonderbolts practice, on top of giving us some quality bonding time!" Rumble's eyes widened, but Thunderlane held up a hoof to forestall him. "I know, I know; it's a lot of work just to be lazy. But, see, that's not all I'm doing; I am actually taking you out for a good experience. I mean, the real point’s to take time we don't normally get to just sit and talk. You and me, no distractions. Right?”

Rumble cocked an eyebrow, sucked in a deep breath, then ripped out the grandest eructation he could muster.

“Celestia ABOVE, bro!” Thunderlane chuckled and waved. “Do I gotta put up with THAT all morning?”

“Hey, you wanted to blow off work, drag me out of bed early, and spend a bunch of time together, right?! That's the least I could do to repay you, 'bro!'”

Author's Note:

This was slightly expanded from its original appearance in the February 2019 Flashfic contest, which had a limit of 150 words.