Ok, to be fair, they shouldn't have left a 14-year-old to make dinner. Beef was just trying his best, following what the instructions told him to and what he had done hundreds of times before. But this time his parents weren't home.

You know, it wasn't even his fault! The chicken was in the oven and he wasn't even using the burner! He stepped away because it would take a while for the chicken to cook. After a few couple minutes a stench of something burning started to fill the house, it took Beef a second to recognize it at all.

X on the other hand, who was just finishing up going to the bathroom noticed it right away. Gray strings of smoke rose from the vent on the floor, he was right over the kitchen. He began coughing and had noticed the smell moments before.

Not bothering to dry his hands he ran out of the bathroom and down the stairs to where Beef was screaming. What the heck was he supposed to do?!

X's first instinct was to find the fire extinguisher. He opened the door underneath the sink to see that it wasn't there. It was usually always there! WHERE THE HECK WAS IT?!

"WHAT DO I DO?!" Beef asked fear in his eyes as the stove and microwave above it burned angrily.
"LOOK FOR THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER! GO!" X instructed.
Beef immediately ran off.

What the heck was X supposed to do?! Was this a grease fire? Do you cover it? Put something on it? Oil? Water?! How would you cover it if it's above?!
Suspecting it wouldn't work X began putting water on it.

Meanwhile Beef was running through the car that was there, the garage, the upstairs bathroom, any bathroom! Where the heck was the fire extinguisher?! Were they supposed to call the cops?!

Beef ran back to X to find the fire out, the burner still on, and X coughing wildly curled up on the floor.
He ran to him in concern. Looking further into the kitchen he found Skyzm opening a window coughing as well.

Once everything calmed down and the trio could all see properly again they went to assess the damage.
The microwave and stone were pitch black and melting like ice cream.

X began crying.
"Woah, hey hey! It's ok!" Sky assured.
"Why don't we go back outside and call mom, yeah?" Skyzm offered.
Beef glanced at the perfectly wrapped food he had made that, in their panic, Skyzm still manage to save. It would be a miracle if it was ready and tasted good.

"Come on you 2," the middle child of the tree instructed leading his crying older brother and his shocked younger brother outside.
Why did they stay in the house that entire time again? Eh.

The feeling of new air filling their lungs was enough to make all three start coughing and laughing. Because of course the feeling of convoluted air entering their lungs would feel this amazing, like a high without any smoke.

X called their mom and explained ad best he could what happened, trying to blink the remaining tears away.
"You know, the chicken might still be ok," Skyzm offered jokingly.
"I kinda hope so after that, need a miracle," Beef hummed with a laugh.

"She says she's on her way home," X informed.
"Is rushing home to a house full of smoke a good idea for a pregnant woman?" Sky asked.
"Not at all," X replied.

"Maybe she shouldn't come home then..." Beef hummed.
"Do you really think we'll be able to keep her from coming home? Especially when her children just claimed that they almost burned the house down and stayed inside the house!?" Sky rolled his eyes.
"You could try if you wanted to Beef," X chuckled holding his phone out to Beef.

Beef gladly took the phone and checked to make sure she was still on the line.

"Mom?"
. . .
"Just send dad over.."
..
"No mom, you're preg-"
...
"No mom-"
....
"But-...."
.....
....
...
"We're fine!"
"I-"
....
"Ok... Yes ma'am..."

Beef handed the phone back to X hanging his head low.
"Told ya'!" Both the older boys commented.

Their mom returned hurriedly with Aureylian, Sp00n, and the Joe twins.
X shot up and they met her halfway.
"Mom! It's probably not a good idea to go in right now, you know.... Smoke," Skyzm chuckled.
Beef sighed.
"I'm sorry!" He whined.

"The chicken did turn out pretty good tho! If not a little undercooked," X commented.
"That's good," Beef hummed.
"That's impressive," Hills chuckled.
"Far beyond impressive!" Nagee laughed elbowing Hills.

"Okay, we get it! Beef's a miracle worker! With his setting things on fire when it's not even being used, and somehow managing to almost perfectly cook a chicken with in same thing!" Sky waved the Joe twins off.
Both laughed.

"Should one of us stay? Just in case the sto-" X began.
"No!" Their mom immediately insisted.
"But we couldn't turn it off-" X began.
"No! No one's going back in the house!" She snapped tears swelling in her eyes.
"O-ok, but we have to do someth-" X began.

"No babies are going back into the house!" Mom insisted pulling them in for another hug.
"Mom-"
"No!"
"Why dont we call a neighbor to try it?" Hills offered.

.
.
.

"Ok..." She hummed burrying her face into Sky's hair.
"This is totally irrati-" X began but this time was cut off by Skyzm elboing him.
Sky raised an eyebrow with the distinct look of; when was the last time Mom fussed over us like this?

And he was right, she was always fussing over the newer, younger children. And although Skyzm was the fourth in the line he was still overlooked, overshadowed.
It felt nice to properly be in her arms again. Even if he had to share it.

X slumped and sunk deeper into the hug, the tears returning in streams.
The three younger sibling looked at each other in confusion and interest.

Was a hug from mom really that good?

They ended up eating out, with their neighbor watching their home just in case.
Sky kept joking about it until X and Beef joined in on the joke. It quickly became an inside joke between them but they absolutely hated when someone else would make fun of one of them because of it.

It always made them feel bad. They always snapped back angrily.

The joke kept up until Sky moved out 6 year later. It was more of slight comments, the occasional "I've started 3 fires in my lifetime now and X has put out 3 fires in his lifetime!" Or "almost like that one time I started a kitchen fire and Sky saved my chicken while the fire was still burning!".

At least it was all in good fun!
Heh...

Yeah their mom was still mad at them for scaring her half to death and costing her nearly 2 thousand dollars in repairs, even after Sky left...