AN: Once again, I apologize for the awaited update. School is killer this quarter so not much time to write. But luckily, got a little downtime and able to flush out another segment for you. Hope you're all prepared for some laughs.
The ride to the bistro was rather lively, what with the men volunteering to take the front while the ladies comfortably conversed in back. They chatted on about anything and everything, though Sally was rather curious to know more about where they were going. They were in the human realm, and despite Gomez's reassurance, she was still nervous. The most interaction she had with humans was with Will and Al. Would it really be alright for her and Jack to have dinner in a human restaurant?
Before she had a chance to ponder the thought some more, the car came to a stop. "We're here!" Gomez announced.
Sally was about to get out when her door suddenly opened. Jack stood there, one hand behind his back while the other was held out to her. His smile was charming as ever as he gave a slight bow at the waist. "Shall we, milady?"
Sally giggled, seeing in her peripheral that Gomez was doing the same for Morticia. She placed her hand in his and allowed him to help her out. So Sally in turn did the same for Jack. Once he had helped her out, Sally moved to the side so he could close the door. "Thank you, my gallant gentleman."
"Anything for my dearest lady," he purred, lifting her hand to his lips.
Sally giggled again, letting him tuck her hand into the crook of his arm. They then awaited for Gomez and Morticia to join them before heading inside. All the while Sally felt her leaves fluttering from nerves.
As soon as they entered, Sally was taken aback. The place was like it had been carved out in an underground cavern. Candles were the only source of lighting. Thousands of them were lite about the room, in simple candlesticks on every table. The black and white colors complimented well and stood out against the deep red of the tablecloths. There were candles even adoring the black chandeliers that hung from the ceiling. It was breathtaking!
But what surprised Sally the most were the people. Every single one was human, but their "air" reminded her of Morticia and Gomez. Aloof yet attractive, they seemed fairly normal, yet no one showed sign of being perturbed by the appearance of a seven foot skeleton and an equally tall rag doll. As she looked about more, she sensed a rather macabre aura fill up the place. It was actually horribly charming.
"You were right, Gomez, the place is different," Jack said with an appraising look around. "It looks fantastic!"
"I told you. Now, let's get our table," he replied as they walked over to the maître d'.
"Good evening," the grim looking man greeted. "Do you have a reservation?"
"Addams party of four, eight o'clock," Gomez replied.
The man scanned the list and smiled. "Ah! Monsieur Addams," he said, "its delightful to see you once again. We're have your usual table ready for you."
"Excellent!"
Another man quickly approached them after a pair of claps from the maître d'. From the way he was dressed, Sally assumed he was another member of the staff. "May I take your coats?" he politely inquired, addressing the ladies with a slight bow.
"Oh, yes, thank you." Sally undid her wrap and handed it to the waiter just as Morticia handed off her silken shawl.
Jack nearly burst into flame!
Sally wore a figure hugging dress that he could not keep his sockets off of. It was similar to the one she wore the night he'd asked for her hand, but clung to her shapely hips and legs instead of flaring out at the bottom. The dress was also strapless with a sweetheart neckline, and hugged every one of her voluptuous curves. When she turned to speak to Morticia, Jack spotted there was a sort of cape attached to the lower back. The sheer fabric was black with a shimmer to it, making it like the night sky on a starry night. It matched the shimmery opera-style gloves that she debuted this evening.
However, the best part was the color of the dress itself. The fabric was made up of broad black and white stripes that almost matched his suit perfectly. As he watched her continue to chat with Morticia, he took in her enchanting profile. She wore little jewelry, wearing only black opal earrings to match the chocker on her neck. The ornamental band stood out against her pale skin and the silken stitching on her neck, which given the low neckline, made it look even more slender. Jack wanted nothing more than to trail kisses over every stitch.
"Jack? Jack!"
Jack shook his head. When he looked again, the waiter had already begun escorting the ladies to their table. He turned to his left to find Gomez patting his shoulder. "Jeez, old man, lost you for a moment," his friend teased then gave the skeleton a wink. "But I sympathize with you. I can't keep myself from my lovely wife."
Jack chuckled as they followed after the ladies. When the table was insight, both Gomez and Jack moved quickly. Neither could allow the waiter of having the pleasure of pulling out the ladies' chair. The women sat, followed by their men, and the waiter asked if they'd like a drink to start. Jack recalled an excellent wine the last time he visited, but for the afterlife of him he could not remember the name. Fortunately, Gomez appeared to have the same idea for he ordered the very wine.
When the man left, the group fell into a silence as they perused the menu. Having not been in ages, Jack was eager to see if any of his favorite dishes were still available. Meanwhile, Sally was in utter confusion. There were dishes she had never even heard of, let alone knew what she could eat. She took a quick glance and noticed everyone else seemed to have an idea of what to order. It was then her eyes met with Jack.
"Something troubling you, Love?" he asked.
Feeling warmth on her cheeks, Sally lowered her gaze. "Oh, n-nothing," she replied quietly. "I was just, um, I still can't decide, that's all. There's just…so many things to choose from."
Jack caught onto the tone in her voice. He gently took hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Sally, if you like, I could make one or two suggestions?"
"Oh, umm…"
"If I could add my two cents as well," Gomez added, jumping in on the conversation. "The braised beef lungs, rosemary lambs brains, or stewed viper are all divine choices."
"Really? Humans eat those sorts of things?" Sally replied.
"Oh sure! There's tons." He held up the menu and began pointing to some of the selections. "For one, the pickled shark liver is perfect, but not everyone enjoys its pungency. And of course, the fugu fish is to die for, especially since the chef here prepares it laced with a remaining trace of its own venom."
"Really!" Jack said ecstatically. "It was always much better with the venom. The tingly sensation before a sensory brush with death. Best way to eat it!"
"Goodness!" Sally gasped.
"Oh yes, they really do have the best of exotic cooking," Morticia said with a smile. "It's one of the charms of this place. Though too bad they stopped insect cuisine."
"I had no idea. Usually whenever I offered dishes like that to Will and Al, they would politely decline, but I could see the thought of eating anything dead or rotten or having an insect as a part of the dish turned their stomachs. I assumed it was the same for all humans."
"Well, to be fair, Sally," Jack interrupted, "Will has gotten more open to the idea of bug dishes. She raved over your tarantula skewers at our last luncheon."
"Ah, so a budding insectivore, huh?" Morticia smiled. "Really, so many wonderful dishes, yet not enough people willing to try them."
"I suppose so." Sally took another glance at her menu. She still felt a little apprehensive about some of the food choices. After all, she still wasn't entirely sure what she could eat. Though she felt a little more encouraged by her friends.
Watching over her shoulder, Jack leaned in a little closer when he noticed Sally looking at the pasta dishes. She caught him, pointed to one with curious but unsure eyes, and he smiled.
Suddenly the waiter returned with their wine. When their glasses were poured, he asked if they were ready to order. They replied yes and each gave them their order. When it was just four of them again, Gomez raised his glass.
"I propose a toast!", he said, prompting everyone else to lift up theirs. "To the happy couple. May you both have a long and happy afterlife together."
"Well spoken, darling," Morticia praised.
Jack and Sally smiled, and then they all clinked their glasses. "You haven't lost you touch for speeches," Jack said.
"Well you know me," Gomez replied. "Can't miss a chance to wish the same joy to others like we have. Isn't that right, Querida?" He purred sweetly to his wife, running his thumb over her pale knuckles.
The conversation took a quick turn to Jack teasing Gomez, inevitably leading the two men into a mock debate over who was more debonair. Meanwhile Sally and Morticia watched, each sipping their wine, and adding their own conversation about how men were charming but unnecessarily competitive.
"Honestly, I've never seen Jack like this," Sally tittered quietly. "He's not usually so...competitive."
"Gomez loves a challenge. I find it's why they get along so well," Morticia countered, a proud smiled as she turned her eyes to her husband. "You should see him with his brother. Sometimes I think Wednesday and Pugsley act just like Gomez and Fester when they were that age."
"I'm sure. Hmm… Speaking of the children, I wonder how they're getting along with Will and Al?"
XXX
Addams' Manor…
Will faced the main hall, out of breath. She had spent the last twenty minutes searching all over the house and still had not found Wednesday, Pugsley, or NJ. The game was taking longer than expected, even with Al and her splitting up to cover more ground. Sometime during the search she'd lost sight of Zero. Hopefully she would find the mischievous phantom hiding with one of the children. Which she had better do soon. Not only because it was getting close to dinnertime, but Al would be none too happy if they were given the penalty.
Will was trying to decide which room to check next when she heard a familiar shriek. Following the sound, Will stumbled into the greenhouse, and what she saw was Al being swallowed up by what looked like some kind of enlarged, mutated Venus flytrap.
"Nononono!" She practically flew as she rushed over and grabbed the mouth of the plant, using all her strength to pry open the its jaws.
"That's. Not. Food!" she grunted, struggling to free her friend. Will finally got the massive mouth open enough to pull out her friend's torso. The plant made a ssvppptt sound, spitting Al out, and both girls tumbled to the ground.
"Argh. You okay, Ally?" Will moaned. She turned and noticed her friend was coated in a sickeningly yellow-green slime.
"Iamgoingtokillaplant." Al's voice was muffled from the slime and slowly sat up. Her hair had been pulled from its bun, now sticking out at odd angles about her face. Reaching up her hand, Al cleared the slime from her eyes and lips. She didn't look at Will but straight at the plant with a murderous glare.
"Imma kill a plant!"
"What happened?"
Al wiped more of the slime from her face. "Looking for the smug brats and this thing attacked me!"
"That must be Cleopatra, Morticia's pet. Guess she's hungry." Will quickly had to grab Al as she was about to take a pair of gardening shears to the plant's stem. "No, we are not going end scene of Little Shop of Horrors!"
"Death to plant!"
"Alice Tanner, you are not killing Morticia's pet! Drop the shears!"
"I DO WHAT A WANT!"
Will growled and shifted so she was looking directly into Al's eyes. Her own eyes were glowing an unearthly blue as she spoke in an even-tempered tone. "Al. Calm down and listen to me. You will put down the shears. You will step back. And you will leave the plant. Alone."
Al frowned. She stepped out of Will's grasp and glared at her, clutching the shears to her chest. "Don't get all psychic with me, Miss. You know hypnosis don't work on me."
"I know." Will smirked. "I just wanted you to chill out." She held out her hand for the shears and, reluctantly, Al relinquished them. Her green eyes were still glaring with murderous intent but she backed away.
"Better. Now, let's get back to finding the kids," Will stated. "We've got fifteen minutes to meet the deadline, and we still haven't found one of them. Thought we'd at least find NJ."
"I think they're cheating," Al grumbled. "I know they are– Wait a cotton-picked minute! How come you can't sniff them out?!" she accused Will.
"What are you talking about?"
"You're half bat, duh. Just use your bat powers to find them."
"That would be cheating. I ain't gonna be called out by kids for cheating at a game."
"Stoop to the level." She glared at Will, seeing her seriously considering the idea. Al further tempted her friend. "Come on, they're clearly doing it, so really it's only fair. They know all the secret hidey spots. We need an edge."
Will finally relented, though with a heavy sigh. She quickly transformed into a bat and fluttered overhead. "I'll search the attic and crawl spaces. You cover the ground floor."
"I've got this!" She was about to head back out when Will called out, "Leave the gardening tools!"
"Aww! Killjoy…" Al dropped her hidden weapons and hurried out of the room.
Will rolled her eyes and flew out of the room to search upstairs. As she climbed higher a thought suddenly hit her. "Hey! You never went up; you just wanted me to go so you didn't have to climb the stairs!" Will shouted out. Only a maniacal laugh answered her.
"I should've known…" Will sighed and continued upward. She only hoped being this small would allow her to avoid any of the hidden traps. But something in her doubted that.
Meanwhile, Al was searching every nook and cranny. She was determined to win this bet if it killed her. Which it almost did as her foot caught the corner of the rug, sending her into a face plant.
"Is this *bleep* house trying to *bleep* kill me!?" She growled out. "And why did I just get bleeped?"
She turned to unleash her fury on the offending rug when she noticed something. Upon closer inspection she found a hidden doorway. Something rumbled underneath.
"Ha! Busted!" She eagerly grabbed onto the latch, undid the lock, and peered inside. "Okay. You smug little chibs, I got you!"
A pair of glowing yellow eyes greeted her. When she looked closer, there was a low growl and a menacing gnashing sound.
"Oh, *beep*. Teeth!"
XXX
Bistro…
The evening was looking to be splendid, and Jack couldn't remember the last time he had enjoyed the cuisine of the human realm. He was particularly enjoying his fugu fish. He particularly enjoyed the subtle sting of its venom on his tongue and crunch of its bones with dark delight. Though he noted with a touch of humor that Gomez and Morticia appeared to prefer each other much more than their meals. He chuckled.
Gomez sure hasn't changed, he thought. It was always nice doing things like this with them, especially with Fester and Thing too. And Gomez certainly never misses a chance to show how passionate he is for Tish.
Memories flooded back of all the times they spent together. Sure some weren't exactly his favorites, like the number of times they would try to set him up on dates despite his protests. There might may have been a nice ghoul or two that interested him, but it usually ended the same. The ghouls would swoon because of his title and looks, never really bothering to get to know him. Honestly, he had been rather jealous of Gomez back in those days. Sweet Samhain, he'd broken off an arranged marriage—an Addams family tradition—to Ophelia because of his love for Morticia. Gomez Addams had found his other half. While he, Jack Skellington, could not.
That had secretly been a part of the reason he grew distant, which he still felt shame for even after having admitted it to himself years ago. As much as he adored Gomez and the rest of the Addams Clan, the man had his own life and was starting a new chapter of it, which did not necessarily include a lonely skeleton. It was when the children had come along that Jack knew his friend needed to be with his own family, and with his own growing fame and responsibilities, he didn't need that as a distraction. So with a heavy heart, Jack returned to Halloween Town to focus on his own path, though he kept up short correspondences from time to time.
Still, it was something else to be in the same room. So much time had passed and yet the two got along as if Jack never left all those years ago. He really had missed a lot since he and Gomez had parted ways.
I wonder… he began puzzling, pushing his fish around his plate. Should I even ask? Everything seems fine now, but do I even have the right to?
Casting a glance at Sally, Jack smiled seeing her enjoy her meal. He had to admit, even he was intrigued by the choice: spaghetti with fried calamari in a creamy white wine sauce. Better yet, whole baby squid were used in the dish instead of those odd rings of flesh.
She had taken another bite when she caught him staring. "Something wrong, Jack?"
He smiled at her cute reaction, and the candlelight only added to how lovely she looked tonight. "Nothing. How do you like your meal, Sally?"
"Oh, it's so tasty! We don't get much fish at home that's so fresh," Sally gushed, twirling her fork on her plate for another bite. "Plus, I heard Will mention this dish once, so when I spotted it on the entrée menu, I thought I'd try it."
"I don't think she had it quite like this," Jack pointed out, "but then again, I've never seen it prepared this way either. Even on one of my haunts to Italy."
"Oh, well then, here. Would you like to try a bite?" Sally held the fork up to his fiancé with a smile.
Jack was a little surprised. Normally they didn't share food unless they were back home, but he complied nonetheless. He was about to reach for the fork when he got an idea—a rather mischievous idea.
He put on a charming grin, leaned in closer, and took the bite right off her fork. Sally had, of course, been right. The flavor was incredible, and the crispiness of the panko breading with the tender, albeit chewy texture of the squid. The legs were particularly crunchy, but the overall flavor was only heightened by the spiciness of the red pepper flakes and garlic. Being rather daring, he slurped up the noodles, noting how she watched the linguine disappear into his mouth. It was then he noted some of the creamy sauce on his love's stained lips, which only made his wicked smile grow wider.
"You're right, it is rather tasty." Jack leaned in closer. His arm came around her back, his fingers brushing her hip. He quickly stole a kiss, discretely licking her lips, before he whispered into her ear, "Though, it's nothing compared to you, my delectable dolly."
"Jack!" Sally gasped. "What-What do you think you're doing?"
"You started it, Babydoll. What did you expect, offering me to sample from your plate," he purred, gently squeezing her hip. "Perhaps there's an even tastier morsel you'd like to offer me?"
Sally was flustered. Jack's use of that particular pet-name, the strategic touches, and his suggestively low voice. It was too much! "Jack, stop, we-we're in public."
"Can't help it. You're just too irresistible. In fact…" He pulled her closer. "Mi piacerebbe saltare la cena e andare dritto al dessert."
"Hey, that's Italian!"
Jack was suddenly pulled back by his free arm. He turned to find Gomez about to pepper kisses over his arm.
"Your wife is over there!" Jack scowled as he shoved his friend off. "Honestly, I thought you'd gotten over that little quirk."
"Whoops, sorry old man," Gomez apologized sheepishly.
"Well next time–"
"Oh!" Jack turned. When he'd been pulled back, he pulled Sally with him, causing her to bump her plate which caused some of the sauce to spill onto her dress.
"Oh, Sally, I'm so sorry!"
"Don't worry about it, Jack," Sally said quickly. "I just need to get it cleaned up before it sets."
"Here dear, let's get you the ladies room," Morticia offered. She stood and gestured for Sally to follow. "Excuse us, won't you?"
Both men stood and watched the ladies excuse themselves to the restroom before sitting back at the table.
"Well… Bit of a set back, eh Jack?" Gomez casually teased before roaring with laughter at the subtle glare the embarrassed monarch threw him. "Oh come on, can you blame me? It's the first time I've ever seen you like that. I was starting to think you didn't have a passion for anything other than Halloween."
"I didn't either," Jack admitted, "but Sally… Oh, where do I begin?"
"'Mi piacerebbe saltare la cena e andare dritto al dessert' would be a start." Gomez chuckled.
Jack blanched. "Yes, well, umm… Th-That's a more r-recent development."
"Really! But, do my ears deceive me or did my friend, Master of Fright, just stutter?" Gomez laughed as his friend sunk to the table. "Sorry, old man, didn't quite catch that."
"The most infectious pestilence upon thee," he replied menacingly.
"Oh, don't be such a sourpuss." He patted Jack's shoulder affectionately. "You're a man in love, and no one will fault you for that. Besides," Gomez smirked wickedly, "you can't blame me for wanting a little revenge for all the grief you gave me when I was courting Tish."
Jack smirked back, lifting his head with a laugh. "As I recall, you two were rather too amorous about it. Still are."
"Love does that to you, Jack. I'm glad you can now share in the joy I have with Morticia. It's all I wanted for you. For anyone, but especially one of my closest friends."
Jack smiled. "It really has been too long."
"Oh now don't start with that," Gomez sighed, waving his hand in light dismissive gesture. "You had your position and duties keeping you busy, and myself with my family. It's water under the bridge."
"No, I mean it." Jack's tone became more serious as he continued, "I admit, I was worried you'd be upset with me. I was the one who left, and I barely wrote to you over the years. I felt that we'd lost touch and I didn't expect you to forgive me, but I wanted you to know I am still sorry I let that happen."
"Jack, my friend, you've nothing to worry over," Gomez said sincerely, all the usual playfulness of his gone as he leaned forward as much as the table would allow him. "The past is the past and what matters is the here and now."
"You don't know how glad I am to hear that," Jack replied. "Speaking of the here and now, there's something I've been meaning to ask."
"What's on your mind?"
"Gomez, I wanted to say…" Jack looked Gomez right in the eye. "Would you do me the honor, old friend, of being my best man?"
Gomez was dazed for a moment. Then his smile widened to show the gap in his teeth. "I'd be honored!" He got up and clapped Jack over the shoulder. "Oh, come here, you!"
"Whoa!" Jack was not expecting the sudden attack. He had been pulled to a standing position and was now being hugged—a little too tightly—by his friend. It was a little embarrassing, given the height difference, but the embrace wasn't unwelcome. In fact, Jack just burst out laughing, promoting Gomez to do the same.
