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"Yeah, I guess too much can really make it seem mean, even though I know you wouldn't be mean to me on purpose." Marlon chuckled as he picked up the other remote. "I guess it's a good thing then that I don't have a nickname for you; I wouldn't want to overdo it and have you mad at ME."

He looked down at the remote thoughtfully. "I don't mind childish; I can't recall when I could ever be.....you know......a child. I don't have a lot of kid memories. I think I was mostly just kept out of the way much of the time. Hell, I don't even remember having friends. No wonder my Mom thinks I'm a bully, a thug, a ne'er-do-well.: Brightening up forcibly, he smiled at Eolande. "So in a way, we're just both being the kids we never got the chance to be, right?" With the next bit, he didn't need to forcibly smile. "Oh that'd be awesome! If it's anything like the lunches you've been bringing me, it's going to be so cool." He paused and looked almost embarassed. "Uhm, this may sound kind of weird, but.......can I help you make something?"

Watching his little form on the TV putting up his dukes just like he was, Marlon kept his eyes fixed on the set while he was talking, concentrating on blocking the jabs that Eolande's form kept sending his way. He made a slightly miffed sound; his Wii counterpart seemed just as clumsy as he was as it awkwardly threw a punch and got one landed on him by Eolande's.

"He did? Wow.......my folks probably wouldn't let me have a car anytime soon. I Get money from them, but never enough for a car. A bike, maybe." He sighed and continued to stare at the screen. "I'm almost certain that Herick would be happier; I don't think he even wanted my Mom to have me. But I know she's happy that I'm there; I like to think that I'm here because she wanted her life to have some bit of meaning, you know? I just wish she'd talk to me more about things. She probably would if Herick didn't book her solid every week." Scowling at the TV, he watched with satisfaction as his frustrated punch carried through to his little Wii guy and finally connected.

Seeing her head move toward him, Marlon turned his own head and smiled back. "I warn you though, I don't have much experience, so you might want to have me doing something simple. And I know I'm clumsy now, but I don't know how much accident-prone that'll make me in the kitchen." He chucked and returned his gaze to the TV, moving to block a punch. "I probably should be quiet now before you reconsider letting me help you, huh?"

"Maybe." Marlon shrugged as he blocked two of the three jabs and watched his character reel back. "But sometimes I just can't believe that Herick's my father. I mean, he never shows any love, and I'm just....in the way, it seems like. Why did he even bother having me if I'm such a bother to him, you know? Sometimes I think that was the only thing my mother got HIM to do for a change; having a kid. I wish she'd stand up to him and think like her own person. I;m sure she didn't have all those 'How to Raise You Child' books all her life; she must have just lost interest in the hands-on approach."

His sweat came as much from frustration as it did from the game. He really didn't mind that his character was getting beat black and blue; it was pretty good exercise, and he was certain that it would help him with his real life coordination, something he could sure use, since the only place he was graceful in now was any body of water. Speaking of which...... Marlon turned his head from his character looking all sad as the round ended and grinned at Eolande. "Oh thanks a lot; feeding water to a fish. Next you'll be telling me it'll be chowder!"

Seeing the game end, Marlon dropped his own hand, smiling grimly. "Whereas my Dad is completely interested in my mother; more like the amount of money he can make off of her. I'm not even sure he really loves my mother. I mean, he buys her presents and all, but there's more to love than that, I know. Hell, if that was all there was to love, than with that Ipod, you've just professed it." Blinking he turned pink and looked down at the floor. "S-sorry; I didn't mean for that to just come out. Heh."

His embarrassment was short-lived as the taunting with fish continued. "How about a nice snow crab salad while you're at it? And whiting filets with-" Kisses his fingertips and makes a dramatic gesture. "Rosemary!" He chuckled and looked thoughtful as he fiddled with the straps binding the controller to him. "You know, wouldn't it stand to reason that I wouldn't want to eat fish if I actually turned into one? And yet some of that still sounds delicious. Still, I suppose there are fish that eat other fish, so it probably isn't so strange."

Glad that his faux pas was being taken so lightly, Marlon found himself laughing along. "That would be some engagement ring, huh? I'd hate to see the wedding item; maybe a nice big touch-screen phone! Or a drawing tablet! Hey you know, I saw a clip of a robot in Japan that marries people; maybe we could see how much he charges."

Still chuckling, he followed Eolande to the kitchen and looked over her shoulder curiously. "I bet a lionfish is a predator fish; it has to have those spines for a good reason, after all. And come to think of it, I don't see many of them with other fish, though it's sort of like a show-fish; I know I probably would want a tank with just one. Hey, wouldn't it be something if I could consider myself my own pet? Just chuck me into the nearest aquarium and voila."

Crossing his arms, Marlon put on his best scowl face. "I refuse to have a reception in any arcade without at least 2 pinball games. I love pinball. And no mini-golf, unless it's that blacklight stuff."

He looked over at the fridge, marveling at how much food was actually in there. With Macie's frozen special dinners and him and Herick's food consisting mainly of take-out and fast food, there never was much in the refrigerator. Just the usual staples, like milk for the breakfast cereal and butter for the grilled cheese sandwiches.

"Homemade pizza? I don't think I've ever had that. Is it a lot better than the kind you get at the pizza places?" He really didn't want to wait for hours to eat, and he knew pizza would be a safe bet because he liked it; the last thing he wanted to do was to have Eolande prepare him a dish and it turned out to be something he didn't like! "I like all kinds of pizza, so sure!"

Marlon smiled a little at the compliment. "Was it really? I mean, I thought it was pretty cool too, but I didn't know if....you know...you thought it looked ridiculous or something." He chuckled a little bit. "At least the thing with the fountain proves that it doesn't have to be salt water. How much of a burn would that be if I could only use it at the beach? Haven't tried it in a regular swimming pool though; I guess for a human fish that could be about the size of a fishbowl."

"DDR machines? Oh man; I can't go near those; not only do I stink at them, I'd probably break it with my flailing arms and legs." He nodded and smiled. "Aww man, you can never have too much garlic. It just MAKES so much food. Of course, it doesn't so much for social points. Why is it that something so good has to make your breath so bad? It's the same thing with pork rinds."

Nodding as he was instructed, Marlon began to prepare the yeast and flour, being careful not to use too much yeast; there was something to be said for many Saturdays watching cartoons and seeing what happened when the unsuspecting character used too much yeast in their baked goods. As he mixed, he looked over his shoulder at Eolande. "That would be a total pain in the a**, although I don't think I'd want to do it in the bathtub; with all that constricted space, the spines would bend and I'd probably poison myself. I've heard what lionfish poison does, and I sure wouldn't want to chance it."

He was still looking back when her eyes met his, and he paused a bit before replying. "Well.....no, I haven't. Truth of the matter is, I'm almost afraid to try. I know the moment was right for when we were at the mall, but after that.......I guess I was afraid of people seeing me and.....I don't know, calling the zookeepers and having them ship me off to Sea World or some laboratory somewhere. It kind of sucks, because I really do want to change again. I just.....love how I felt when it happened. Like I could do anything. But I really would love to change somewhere with more water, like out in the ocean, or in a lake. Someplace where I can really stretch out and swim. I want to try swimming SO bad."

Marlon could feel his face turning red; he had an inkling about what it was that Eolande was laughing about. "Hey it's true! And there are plenty of guys out there who can't dance very well! There....... just aren't many who can't even walk really well."

Clearing his throat, Marlon clicked a bowl with oil, dumped the dough in and covered it with a clean dish towel before setting it on the stove. "Hmmm, I dunno about mint leaves, but I bet I could talk my folks into getting us some apples; after all, they're fruit; nothing much healthier than that. I bet even Herick won't complain about having them there for mom to see."

He gasped and turned to Eolande, excitement obvious on his face. "Really? We could do that? Just go out to a lake and I can....well, what would you do then? I thought you told me once that you couldn't swim. I wouldn't want you just stuck on the shore."