The cartoons that Reid and Austin mention (as well as the one they watch) are all available on YouTube. If you like Looney Tunes, give them a look!
"This is the ride you want to start with," Austin said as she surveyed the long line in front of them.
"Yeah, this is going to be great." He was bouncing up and down on his feet like an excited ten year old and it made her smile.
She threaded her arm through his and gave him a smile. "Well, ok then. Let's go."
The line they joined outside a large building with the Merrie Melodies logo over the door was very short. There were a lot of kids and some adults waiting for the 3-D "Duck Dodgers in the 24th and half Century," ride.
"I remember this from when I was a kid." Austin said.
"It's one of my favorites. I love cartoons. The political satire in most of them is brilliant. And the study of human behavior that -"
"I don't think little kids care about political satire." Austin interrupted. "I think they just wanted to have a good laugh. Isn't that why you watched them as a kid?"
"Well, yeah, but…"
"So let's pretend we're kids." She said as they took their places on the ride. "Personally, I like shorts like 'Bewitched Bunny' and 'Transylvania 6-5000'."
"Those were good, but the one I liked the best was 'Lonesome Ghost'."
"You like the creepy cartoons… I wouldn't have guessed that little Spencer Reid would like that."
He blushed, and got warm when Austin put an arm around him just as the lights went out and the ride began as the car they were in jolted forward.
The Merrie Melodies theme began to play while the cartoon began. The background music that began after the theme song was over and after the title was announced was familiar.
"Hey, I know this song…it's -"
Reid reached over and put a hand to her mouth. "Later, just watch the show."
Duck Dodgers and his faithful sidekick, Porky Pig were given the assignment of find planet X. Apparently the earth was low on shaving cream atoms and it was Duck Dodgers job to claim the planet that could restore the supply.
"Shaving cream atoms!" Austin said with derision.
"Shh…"
She turned back to ride that seemed to explode in color and sound around her. Teasing Reid about this was going to be way too easy.
"Why doesn't he listen to his faithful sidekick?" she asked as Duck Dodgers mapped out this incredibly complicated route to Planet X and then calmly stole his sidekick's idea that they just follow the other alphabet planets.
"Austin…"
"Okay, no more questions."
Planets whizzed by them and seem to fly right at them as the ride progressed. Everything seemed to be going well for Duck Dodgers until Marvin the Martian showed up.
After a long battle between disintegrating pistols and ultimatum dispatchers, the two rivals managed to blow up their space vehicles and most of planet X till there was just one tiny little bit floating in space. The 3-D effects were better them most movies Austin had seen while living in Atlanta as the explosions and flying rockets came right off the screen at them. The best part was watching Reid have such a good time on the ride. She was going to make sure he got to do more things that most little kids took for granted.
"Wow… that was a lot better the watching the old shorts on YouTube!" he exclaimed. "The colors and the special effects were the best I've ever seen!"
"I'll bet you forgot all about wondering what kind of subtle commentary on society they might have slipped into the short while you were dodging particles of a planet that came flying out when they blew it up."
"Well yeah…"
"Still, it was kind of pointless. Duck Dodgers blows up the planet they need for shaving cream atoms. He totally messed up his mission."
"I thought you didn't want to talk about subtext," he said as they left the ride and rejoined the people milling around the park.
"I'm just asking a valid question."
"Well, I agree with you. Also, did you see the way that he treated Porky Pig? The pig had all the good ideas and Duck Dodgers takes them all for his own. It's like he's some kind of corporate honcho and Porky Pig is just a little peon."
"I think you'd make a great profiler."
"Are you kidding? Too many long hours and not enough pay."
"That's for sure." He agreed. "But I love doing my job."
She laughed and steered him to the ride that she wanted to go on. "Let's go, we can't miss the "Superman Tower of Power" ride."
"I'm fine with that," he said, taking her hand in his.
"You're okay with a free fall from twenty-three stories at sixty miles per hour, but you balk at the Log Flume."
Reid went pink in the cheeks and decided to watch the riders while they waited in the line.
"Come on Dr. Reid, spill it!"
"I wasn't afraid okay. I just didn't want to get soaked and walk around in wet clothes for the rest of the day."
The line moved forward a bit and Austin moved to stand in front of him so he couldn't hide from her.
"There's more to it then that."
"Okay, so the last time I got soaked with a girl, it didn't go too well."
"Oh, you mean you and Lila Archer."
He went beet red. "How did you - oh, you've been talking to JJ and Garcia."
"Yeah, they told me all about your little 'swim' with Ms Archer."
They reached the ride and were getting strapped into it when Reid said, "I hope they told you why it didn't work out."
"Yeah, I heard it all. I'm not going to break up with you just because we have a long distance relationship."
"I'm not worried about that."
She would have questioned him further but the ride was in motion and she was completely distracted by the rise and then the high speed drop back to the ground that seemed to put her stomach into her brain. Reid was looking like he was having the time of his life.
"That was fun…" he said excitedly. "Let's get in line again."
"I'm glad you didn't throw up all over the rest of the riders."
"Why would I do that?"
"Because we had a lot of junk food for lunch."
"I have a stronger stomach then most people think," he bragged as they got back in line.
"I guess you do."
Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss that nearly melted his brains into his feet.
"What was that for?" he asked when he could form coherent sentences.
There were a couple of teenage girls behind them, giggling like crazy at the couple. Reid was red in the face again. "Austin…"
"I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me. So stop worrying about it! I'm not like Lila Archer."
"Yes ma'am…"
"Don't call me ma'am! That's my mom."
"Okay!"
---
Austin climbed into Reid's car and immediately turned around to the back of the car. "Hello my darlings! How did you spend the day?" She was talking to the stuffed animals lined up in the back like they were small children.
"What are you doing?"
"I have to check up on our children."
"If they're kids, then we should be going to jail."
"Why?" She sat down and buckled her seat belt.
"Because we left them in a hot car all day alone."
"Very funny!"
"Not as funny as you calling the zebra "Ziggy!"
"It's an allusion… You know what an allusion is, don't you?"
"Yes!"
"It was better then calling him Stuart."
"Stuart isn't a bad name."
"How many zebras do you know that are called Stuart?"
"To my knowledge, you don't give zebras names."
"You really did miss a lot as a kid."
"Can we just go get something to eat? I'm starved and I want pie."
"Garcia said that we should go to "Jim's" for great pie if we spent time in Chicago. So, since we're here…'
"What are you waiting for? Apple pie waits for no man or woman."