Azure129: :D YAY Time for Halloween! Ooo and super fun things happen : 333 We hope you all enjoy it! Please review! And Happy Halloween, everyone O.O This chapter's coming just in time XD
NintendoGal55: The last chapter was the longest, but now, THIS is the longest chapter by far! :D And it's HALLOWEEN! So, this and the second part of the chapter are leading up to, and are on Halloween.
Part two will be posted tomorrow! :)
In regards to the second part of this chapter:
I wrote the This Is Halloween rendition, with generous input from Azure!
Azure wrote the Sally's Song rendition, and did so beautifully, I might add!
Oh yes, and there are cameos from two other characters we both love! ;) We won't say who, but those two characters belong to Craig Bartlett.
You know the disclaimer by now, people! Tim Burton is our master who owns these wonderful characters. :)
"Sally? Sally, darling..." Jack called to the living room from his bedroom, the door of which was open. He was currently facing away from the doorway and just finishing up making his bed...which Sally had been frequenting more and more ever since a certain rather intense sleepover of theirs during the summer.
Of course, their 'activities' during these new frequent sleepovers had managed to stay behind a certain line, but...that didn't mean he and Sally hadn't come close to that line quite a few times. And even though the weather had gotten cooler now, Sally still managed to come to bed in very 'nice' nightgowns...They were long, like her original ones, but thin like her summer one had been, with thin, string-like straps.
Her latest one had been black, in 'celebration for Halloween coming up', she had said...though regardless of the impending holiday, black certainly suited his Sally and Jack certainly liked it on her. He finished up with his bed, adjusted his bat bowtie and let out a sigh with a smile.
"Perfect..." Then he called over his shoulder once more, really surprised Sally hadn't replied to him yet. "Sally? I heard you wake up a while ago...I wanted to know if you wanted to eat breakfast here or maybe go out for it this morning?" Still no reply though...Although it did, for a moment, sound like she was out in the living room...and like a little squeak of worry had escaped her. Jack blinked and turned around curiously entering the living room and looking around. "Sally?" He moved forward looking all around.
"Sally, I-Oh!" And then suddenly Jack had stumbled upon Sally. She was on the floor, half under the couch actually...like she was looking for something. "Sally, what are you doing?" he asked both curiously and amusement.
"Jack?" There was a light thump. "Ow!"
She had been looking under the couch for something, quite frantically. When Jack came in and called her by name, it had surprised her and she bumped her head. It didn't hurt, it was more out of surprise and the impact itself. She froze, and hoped she'd find what she was looking for, at least under here!
"Ohhh...where is it..." Sally groaned, still looking around, using a little flashlight to see better.
"Sally!" Jack was a little concerned now. It sounded like she had bumped her head and he had heard that desperate little exclamation and groan from her. He bent low, looking at her with a touch of worry. "Sally, what in the world are you doing down there? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Sally said crossly, though she didn't mean to direct it toward him. She was just a bit on edge, considering the situation. "I'm just looking for something..." She sighed in frustration, pouting a bit as she kept looking. "It's not under here..."
Jack blinked several times but then smiled, feeling relief wash over him. "Oh, is that all. Well, why don't you tell me what it is and I'll help you look for it. I'm sure together we could find it twice as quickly." He winked at her.
"No no...it's all right, I'll find it." Sally said in a softer tone.
Jack let out a small sigh, a little frown coming to his face. "Oh...Um...a-alright...A-As you wish, Sally..." He stood up, looking downward, and feeling...well, he knew it might be silly but he was feeling a tiny bit sad that..she seemed to kind of just want him to go away right now. "I-I didn't mean to bother you..." he added quickly, sincerely. "Good luck with finding it." He did his best to smile about all of this, not wanting to seem like he was whining or something.
A wave of guilt washed over her, and she turned off the flashlight, crawled out from under the couch. "I'm sorry... What happened just kind of aggravated me." She had her back to him, despite speaking to him. "But it's okay! I'll find what I'm looking for...hopefully in time before we see the Mayor and the others a little later." She turned around, now covering her left eye for some reason with her hand.
Jack looked at her, blinking again, his curiosity and concern suddenly overtaking any disappointment. "Sally, I don't understand...And I...I know you want to find whatever it is on your own but...I really do just want to help, if I can. I promise I wouldn't laugh or tell anyone or anything if it's something embarrassing or something like that..." Jack recalled how sensitive his Sally really could be at times. "And Sally...why are you covering your face like that? Do you have a headache or something?" he asked, raising part of his brow.
"...Um...my eye hurts. Got um...dust in it from being under there..." Sally said nervously, clearly lying.
Jack smiled, trusting her entirely at first, of course. "Well...maybe if you let me see it, I can kiss it and make it better?" He took a step closer toward her.
"Jack...that's silly... Nobody can kiss an eye..." Sally backed away. "But thank you, I appreciate the sentiment..." She scooted toward the side a bit, looking for the next place she could try looking for...whatever it is that she was trying to find.
Whether fortunately or unfortunately, Jack took her backing away and her somewhat curious reply as...a sort of a little game of 'hard to get'...And according to the unofficial rules, it seemed to be his turn to pursue now that she had just pulled away. "Okay, well...if I can't kiss your eye...perhaps there's something else I could kiss...?" He took a stride closer to her, a coy smile upon his face and his arms behind his back.
Unable to help herself, Sally giggled. "Oh, Jack...certainly...but um...once I find my e-...thing." Unfortunately for her she was backed against the wall now.
Jack faked a little out and then chuckled, still approaching. "You're awfully silly today, my Sally...So, no kisses until we find your 'thing' huh? Well, then..." He took a final step toward her until he all but had her pinned to the wall with his body, "...all the more reason to let me help you look so you can find it sooner...right?" He leaned his skull in close and winked at her.
"Jack..." Sally was taken aback by shivers and his bold move. "Jack I-" On instinct she went to hold his shoulders, forgetting about her problem, therefore lowering her hand from the eye she'd been covering.
Only to reveal that there was nothing but an empty socket.
"Ah!" A sharp gasp escaped Jack and his eye sockets flew open wide, all romance within him suddenly replaced by shock! "S-Sally!" he suddenly exclaimed! "Y-Your...your...your eye!" He blinked several times, still trying to take in the sight before him.
"...Oh!" Now Sally realized her mishap had been revealed. "...Yes...I lost my eye. I can't find it anywhere..." She moaned, looking down, feeling utterly ashamed. Surely he would find her to be foolish for losing it and not taking care of herself. How could she have been so careless? Those three had surely been up to no good and she still fell for it...
"What happened, Sally?" Jack asked almost sounding frightened, and definitely starting to sound panicked! "Where...how...and what...Oh Sally, my darling, does it hurt? Are you in any pain? Oh you at least must be dizzy from having to walk around with sight only in one eye! Come here!" He scooped her up in his arms and quickly carried her back over to the couch, laying her gently down upon it. "Here, you just rest and I'll find your beautiful eye. They're so large and bright and perfect that I'm sure I can find it for you, Sally. Now, where was the last place you had it?" He looked to her eagerly, a little frown of worry on his face.
Sally blushed, her single remaining eye wide and was taken aback. He wasn't disappointed in her or angry in the least! If anything, he was worried and wanted to find her eye. Touched, she smiled a bit. "Well...I don't know, I was standing in the middle of the room when I got hit in the face with a Jack-in-box. ...It popped my eye out and it rolled somewhere, I don't know where..." She bit her lip. "...Oh!" She covered her right eye then, concentrating. "Okay...it's somewhere dark."
Jack's eye sockets widened in perplexity. "You got...a Jack-in-the-box...Sally, where in the world did you get a Jack-in-the-box? I don't understand..." He looked at her with so much confusion, popping the information about her eye being in someplace dark to the back of his mind for later.
"Lock, Shock and Barrel had stopped by while I was outside sweeping the steps." Sally explained. "They brought it over to me, and then ran off...some kind of early Halloween thing, they said. I came back inside, tried it out, it went right into my face and then I lost my eye."
Jack's face and body remained utterly frozen. "Lock, Shock and Barrel did...what?"
"They give me that toy..." She pointed to the box sitting on the floor nearby where she'd dropped it in a fit of panic earlier upon losing her eye because of it. "And whether or not it was intended to pop my eye out, I don't know...all I know is that they must have meant to prank me."
Oh boy... Jack flew up from the couch, his hands stock down at his sides, his eye sockets narrowed about as much as they had ever gone, and he was FUMING. "How dare they..." hissed from his mouth.
Sally's eye, as well as her empty socket, went quite wide. She'd seen him angry before, and that was at Oogie Boogie...but since then, the closest to angry he'd ever been was annoyed, a little bit frustrated or when in "stern" mode. This had been the angriest she'd seen him since that very night. "...Jack...?" Sally stood up from the couch. As much as it was inappropriate, she couldn't help but feel shivers course up at her spine...at how alluring this was.
Jack heard her say his name but for the first time ever the sound didn't sooth him of every worry. He was MAD. "I will go out and rip the three of them from the streets and scare them so thoroughly that they won't sleep right until they're as old as I AM! They will WISH they were still serving Oogie instead of loyal to me again because that Halloween hack couldn't half dream of the reprimand and punishment I will put those three through!" At this point Jack had his arms behind his back and he had been pacing the floor vehemently until he stopped now, his arms flying down to his sides again.
Allured and very...well, strong-feeling as she was, she was worried. And decided she had to get physical in order to calm him down. "Jack!" Sally went behind him, bringing her arms around his torso and laying her head against his spine. "...Jack...please calm down..." She said softly.
A little shuddery sigh escaped Jack slowly but he was still very tensed with anger over all. "Sally..." he spoke firmly, sternly, though some of the edge had at least left his tone, "I am very angry at the moment. I don't want to calm down. I want to remind three inconsiderate trick-or-treaters why exactly it is that I'm the Pumpkin King. And I think I'll start by asking them what they think Oogie might have done to them in this situation...and then I'll remind them that I'm the one who managed to turn that sadist, despite all of his 'power' into a pile of dead bugs...and then I'll let them draw their own conclusions." He let out another breath, shaking a tiny bit...though by now it was only half due to anger, the other half of it being from Sally's hold and touch upon him.
"I know you're upset, and believe me, I'm none too pleased with them either." Sally tightened her grip on him a bit more, nuzzling her face into his spine now. "Just please...please calm down. You're starting to scare me... Don't worry, they will get their comeuppance, I promise you. ...Just please help me find my eye." She pleaded softly.
Jack blinked, suddenly seeming to snap out of something. 'I...I'm...' He gasped. "I'm scaring you..." he whispered, almost in shock. He felt...horrible! "Oh...I'm sorry!" he suddenly yelled sadly and then turned around and wrapped his arms around her in a deep, full embrace, and threw them both so off balance in the process that they collapsed to the couch with Jack on top of Sally, still hugging her, his eye sockets cringed shut in sadness. "I'm sorry..." he whispered again, unable to find other words at the moment. "I'm sorry..." It really hit him now-there had been genuine fear in her voice...and all because of him. He never wanted to scare Sally...in 'that' way. In that way that...Oogie Boogie had scared her. He shook his head a little, letting out a sigh. What had he been thinking, comparing himself to Oogie on top of everything else? He felt so stupid...and so selfish. He just snuggled into her for comfort, hoping he could make it better for her soon.
Relieved, Sally snuggled back, glad that he had finally calmed down. "It's all right. I just didn't want you to lose control like that... Don't worry about it, okay?" She kissed his cheek to offer comfort, and squeezed his shoulder bones. Yes, she was half allured and half scared at this display, but it didn't stop her from stepping up and trying to calm him then. "I love you, and I know you love me, I know you weren't trying to scare me. You just got upset...Personally I might have even lost my cool if anyone pranked you in such a mean way."
Jack just blinked several times, his eyes finally opening, a little frown still on his face. "I don't care...I scared you badly and that was wrong...I won't let that happen anymore...I promise." He looked up into her eyes...or, her one eye... "But you're so sweet and good and kind for calming me and comforting me...thank you." He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and then pulled back, starting to finally smile again. "I love you, my Sally. A-And I didn't mean to get so, er...'forceful' about things..." He glanced down a little sheepishly. "And thank you for what you said about how if anyone had pranked me you might have not been okay too...I feel better."
"I love you too, and I'm glad you feel better." Sally beamed, and snuggled close in a little hug. "That's what matters."
"Arf! Arf!" Zero came floating into the room, holding something in his mouth.
Jack got all melty and utterly collapsed in her embrace, his smile all goofy. He nodded a little. He saw and heard Zero now and glanced at him. "Z-Zero...Daddy Jack and Mommy Sally are...very close to being busy righ now...If you want to play fetch, can it wait until later? Please! F-For Daddy Jack's sake, at least..." He looked at the cute little ghost dog smiling at him with something in his mouth. It occurred to him that maybe he should be curious about whatever this things was. "Zero...do you have something for Daddy Jack and Mommy Sally?" he asked kindly.
"Arf!" Zero floated over to them, and indicated toward Sally.
"What do you have there, boy?" Sally looked at him with a smile, and held her hand out as Zero dropped the object into her hand. "Ooh! My eye! You found it! Thank you, Zero!" She scratched him behind his ears, and then inspected the fallen eye for a moment. It was intact, which was a relief. "Phew...good, I don't have to go to ask Dr. Finkelstein for a replacement, or for it to be fixed..." She sat up, and then carefully placed her eye back into the empty socket. She blinked a few times, and smiled. "There...good as new."
Jack leaned in forward, causing Sally to blink, and then gave her eyelid a little kiss before pulling back. "It's perfect. I'm so happy, Sally." He beamed. Then he looked to faithful Zero. "Thank you, Zero. Daddy Jack is very proud of you. We'll play fetch all day tomorrow if you'd like as a little reward." He winked at him and scratched under his chin.
The little dog beamed proudly. "Arf!" and then did a flip through the air and nuzzled Jack then Sally and then flew off to play with some of his toys.
Sally giggled, beaming happily as she waved after the dog. "Thank you, Zero! ...Well, that's one problem solved."
Jack smiled and let out a small sigh. "Yes...Now we've just got two other problems to work out." He grinned at her a little.
"What do you mean?" Sally crawled toward him on her knees and brought her arms around his neck, smiling.
Lots of happy little trembles went through Jack, all of them very welcome after that hot, uncomfortable rage that had gone through him before. "Well..." he started, and let a hand rest on her knee, "First of all...Lock, Shock and Barrel really do need some form of punishment. Nothing horrible of course, I promise, but we really will have to think of something to let them know that things like this are not okay..."
"Well don't worry...they will get their comeuppance." Sally assured. "In fact, I might have a good idea for that. ...But I will need your help, of course." She winked.
"Oooh, I get to spend some time with my Sally's clever side...I like that..." His hand moved a little farther up the upper part of her leg.
"Oh!" Sally shivered a bit at this, lowering her eyelids a bit. "Jack...are you getting naughty?" She smirked, and toyed with his bat tie. Yes, there were little moments she got a little spunky, especially ever since their night together back in the summer.
Jack got all smiley and bashful, looking downward. "S-S-Sally..." he mumbled goofily...Then he gulped and squeezed her thigh a little and added quietly, "...maybe."
"Oh." Sally giggled quite a bit, smiling then. "Careful Jack...we could get carried away and we'd be late..." Though she made no attempt to move his hand away.
"Maybe I like being late...I always did feel too stuffy and predictable before you came along...always doing everything that was expected of me and following all the rules...So, so what if I'm a few minutes...or more...late...? I do have other 'needs' to fulfil besides just my Pumpkin King ones... A-And also...this would actually bring us to solving that..second problem I mentioned before that we have to work out...because I'm pretty sure I was promised kisses once your eye was found...but I haven't gotten even one..."His other arm had crept around her waist and now he was holding her against himself, his limb nestled in the grooves of her hips.
"I didn't say I was complaining about lateness, either..." Sally giggled, and came closer. "Oh, well, I should remedy that, shouldn't I? Oh, far be it from me to break a promise." She laughed a bit then captured his lips with her own.
"Mmm...mmm..." Jack moaned in satisfaction and pleasure, pulling himself even closer to her. He pressed his palm an fingertips deeply into her back and with his other hand massaged her thigh a little, the thin material of her patchwork dress serving as the only barrier.
Playfully, and to add to the mild naughtiness that seemed to conspire, Sally ran one finger down his bony chest along his shirt and suit, as something of a reminder of what she'd done once before...only deeper. She liked their naughty moments, they were both out of fun and getting a rise out of each other, and to add to their growing physical aspects to their courtship. She moaned and giggled between kisses, especially at his ministrations along her leg, which made her shiver a bit.
"M-M-M-Mmm..." Jack gave a shuddery moan at that feeling of her finger over his shirt...and something inside of him longed, for a moment, to have her do that but with no shirt there to keep her soft, cloth fingertip from his beckoning bones. He adored things like this and how they had started to happen more frequently...He was so happy he could get this intimate with her and still have it be alright. Jack moved his hand on Sally's leg back to her knee so that he could touch her actual skin, and as he massaged he moved the hem of her dress up just a little for fuller access to her knee.
"Mmmm...!" Was her response, making her both gasp and giggle at the same time. Turning things up a notch or two, Sally added to her ministrations by very gently squeezing his bones through his shirt to feel them more.
"Hm...Hm-m...Mmmmm...!" WHY did she have to do that...She knew how sensitive his bones were...and what her touching them did to him. WHY did she have to push it to that...? It felt too good...He felt that urge again to take off or unbutton his shirt...To feel her actual soft cloth fingers on his actual bones. Lately he had been getting more and more comfortable wtih little bits and pieces of himself getting 'exposed' to Sally and it made moments like this that much harder to resisting intensifying. He barely knew what to do back to her but settled on pushing up the hem of her dress just a smidgen more, his whole hand now on the lower part of her thigh, no more dress as a barrier.
"Ooh!" Sally pulled back a bit to breathe, and opened her eyes partway, giggling. "Are you getting back at me?" She squeezed his rib bones gently through his shirt to prove her point, and shuddered at the feeling of his hand on her thigh like that, even gently brushing aside the hem of her dress a bit.
"Mm..." Another little moan escaped Jack at her little squeeze and he shrugged, grinning at her."W-Well...you started it. Y-You know h-how sensitive my bones are to your touch, S-Sally..." He let out a shuddery breath. "Your fingertips bring fire to them with even the lightest touch...If you tried your hardest with them ever I think I'd utterly collapse and fall apart entirely..I-I wonder what that would be like..." He chuckled a little at the idea. He remembered his hand on her thigh then, and gave it a little squeeze again. "I'm happy you're enjoying what I'm doing to your leg by the way. I like it quite a bit myself..."
"...Well, I am stuffed with leaves and don't feel much else...but you'd be surprised how my skin can be sensitive to your touch..." Sally cooed, toying with his bat bowtie again. "But it is nice we can feel this way, isn't it?"
"O-Oh yes...very nice..."A little grin came to Jack's face. "And, hmm...speaking of your sensitive skin..." He moved the hem up farther, moving more toward the middle section of her thigh, still just lightly squeezing the top of it, "See, I guess that means those 'extra fetching' dresses and nightgowns you've made work out well for both of us-you get to have more of your skin exposed for my touch and I get to...be the one touching you in that situation. Isn't that nice?" He chuckled a tiny bit.
"Oohhh...!" Sally shivered and gasped a bit at the feeling. "Yes...yes it's true..." She smiled a bit more, her eyelids lowering. "If you keep this up...I have half a mind to go and change into one of those dresses right now...and make us more late."
Jack gulped, his spine straightening, though he tried to play it cool. "I-I see...That's an interesting proposition, Sally...And who knows...if you did do that...I might be willing to have undone a button on this shirt...or two...or four...or more...Th-This shirt has buttons all the way down it you know...I could even take off my jacket while you were waiting, so that we could save time...provided of course that something like what you're suggesting actually took place."
"Ooh...really?" Sally beamed at the idea. "And um...well, I made three new ones since the summer...and two of them are much shorter... If you wanted, I could wear one of those." She toyed with his tie again, giggling. "And sit really close to you...maybe even put on a little perfume, to entice your sense of smell?"
He was losing it. Completely. "N-N-Now, n-now, S-Sally...L-Let's save something at least for the wedding night...heh..." He chuckled in nervousnes...and then looked down in thought...and then glanced back up at her. "I-I suppose nothing would be wrong with those things though i-if done in moderation of course..." He was all shivery and shaky all over at this point, smiling blissfully.
"Of course...I'm only giving you options, to let you know they're there." She giggled. "Or better yet, I suppose we-"
"Arf! Arf! Arf!" Zero suddenly came back into the room, motioning his head toward the front door.
Almost a second later, the doorbell rang and screamed, snapping the two out of it.
"Jack! Sally! You two home?" The Mayor called from outside. "Come on you two, it's already eight! We were supposed to start a half hour ago!"
Jack's chest rose and fell in deep breaths, first of shock and then of frustration. He saw Sally move just a little out of the corner of his eye and held her back for a second, looking to her and whispering, "C-Can't we just shut out all the lights and pretend we're not home?" He smiled sheepishly, giving a little shrug.
"We did that last time, Jack..." Sally giggled. "Come on, we have two weeks until Halloween...we should probably do as we're supposed to." Then she lowered her voice. "But um...I have something for you when we get home...perhaps we can do something then?" She traced a finger down his chest a bit suggestively, winking.
Deep visible shudders went through Jack and his eye sockets went half lidded. "O-Oh...a-alright, my Sally...L-Later it is then...B-But, um...if I tell the mayor that we'll be right there...can I get another nice kiss to tide me over until 'later'?" He looked at her in a cute, pleading little way.
"Of course...after all, I'll need something to tide me over as well."
"Jack! Sally! Helloooo? Answer meeeeee!" The Mayor was pounding on the door desperately.
Jack's whole face brightened. Then he cleared his throat and called out, never once taking his eyes off of Sally though. "W-We're here, mayor! Sorry for the delay...We've just been taking care of some business around the house. I think the fireplace is broken because it keep getting very warm in here..." He chuckled silently and winked at Sally. "B-But anyway we'll join you and everyone else in a few minutes, we promise."
"Don't worry Mayor, we won't be long!" Sally called out as well, not taking her eyes off Jack. "Oh dear, I lost my shoe! I have to go find it!" She added in, winking at him.
"Okay! Hurry now, you two!" The Mayor sounded relieved.
"There's my shoe..." Sally joked and captured her beloved's lips yet again, this time ending up collapsing over him.
Jack, finished falling backwards, didn't waste any time and instantly one arm was around Sally's waist and back, the other arm's hand was up behind her hair somewhere gently touching and stroking it, and now his tongue was gently teasing her lips, going back and forth over them.
Unable to resist, Sally happily opened her mouth a bit to grant his tongue's entrance, moaning all the while. Her fingers wove over his chest and shirt as she did so, applying a little pressure. Juuust to hold out until later on when they'd return.
His tongue was all over her mouth in an instant. If this was going to have to hold him over for hours then he wanted his full fill of it. He worked at her little mouth seams and went all along the soft, damp cloth in there and then found her shy little tongue and caressed it as tenderly and thoroughly as he could for her.
A giggle escaped her, sending vibrations through and along her mouth. Her shy little tongue responded in kind, gently and sweetly caressing right back, causing her to moan deep in her throat.
Jack moaned deeply back to her, all but massaging her mouth at this point. He didn't care though...He was in love and for crying out loud he wanted to get utterly carried away with the perfect female creature who had fallen in love with him too. He wanted to push things to their utmost until finally they reached the point one day where they would push things all the way...And Sally really was so hard to resist. He pressed his mouth more deeply into hers for a moment, drinking in all of this moment that he could.
An appreciative moan escaped her in response, as she too responded in kind, taking all she could for the moment. Yes, duty called, and given that she would someday be Queen alongside him, she did have to remember "business over pleasure" at times when it was necessary. But oh, how hard it was to resist the most desired and sought-after creature in this town! Who she loved and loved her right back, only intoxicated her all the more.
"Mmm-mm..." Her mouth opened quite a bit wider in response, as much as it could, anyway.
Jack let his hand in her hair gently grip her head and pull it as completely as possible against his skull, which he angled as he dove in farther, practically touching the back of her throat with the tip of his tongue at this point. And how was it that she tasted so good? Like spice and autumn and something cool...The perfect woman for him right here and they had to go to a meeting...He just did his best to remind himself that he would get her later all to himself...He liked the idea of that...and those new dresses she had mentioned too. He willed himself to stop this but it was so hard but then finally Jack managed to pull his tongue from Sally's mouth and his lips from hers, panting heavily. "A-Alright, l-let's go to the meeting...Th-The sooner we leave, the sooner it's over, the sooner we can come back here." He winked at her.
"That's true..." Sally giggled and managed to get up, standing up straight. She smoothed out her dress and adjusted the hem a bit, since it had now ridden further up her leg. "The sooner we do this, the sooner we can return..." She winked right back.
"Arf!" Zero poked his head into the room again.
Jack stood up as well finally, straightening his tie (which was all over the place thanks to Sally's finger twirling of it) and smoothing his shirt. "Hmm...You know, I'm just grateful Zero's a dog and can't talk. He can't tell anyone half the private stuff he sees going on in this house, and he seems to like when Daddy Jack and Mommy Sally 'play together.'" He glanced at the dog. "You are a very good boy, Zero...Tomorrow after fetch we'll give you a nice little treat. Maybe a mini pumpkin pie for you. How about it?"
"Arf! Arf!" the little dog barked happily, twirling in the air.
"A wonderful dog like you certainly deserves the best!" Sally agreed, and petted him happily. "You're right, it is a good thing he can't talk...otherwise I think I'd be unable to leave the house..." She quipped.
Jack shrugged, smirking a little. "Well at least keeping him under constant house arrest would give both of us an excuse never to leave this place..." He winked at her.
"Oooh...that's true." Sally agreed, giggling.
"Arf!" Said Zero, circling around them now, and then nudging them toward the door with his head.
Jack chuckled. "Alright, alright, Zero, we're going...but only so that we can get back as quickly as possible." He winked at Sally and then took her hand in his at the top of the staircase.
"Yes..." Sally giggled, and looked down at Zero. "Take care of the house, Zero, you know what to do."
"Arf!" Zero winked and then did a flip in midair before going off to play with a candy cane.
Jack smiled after the dog and then turned to Sally. He gestured forward with this free hand. "Beautiful ladies first..." he offered charmingly.
Sally giggled, unable to keep from smiling at his chivalrous gestures that just never seemed to die. "Now you added beautiful to it? I never would've thought..." She went down the stairs, carefully, looking over her shoulder as she did so.
Jack's grin picked up a bit more as he followed after her, still holding one of her hands. "Well, all of your new outfits have been letting me see so much more of your 'beauty' that...I couldn't resist..." He raised part of his brow at her with just a touch of playfulness.
This made her laugh a bit, shaking her head. "You're too much, Jack..." She squeezed his hand lightly, smiling brightly.
A bag was sitting near the door, which she picked up as they reached the bottom, which was filled with some stuff she was to bring to the meeting.
"I only hope the Mayor didn't suspect anything..." She quipped, giggling.
Jack cleared his throat, smiling bashfully. "I-I'm sure he didn't...A-At least, I hope so too...At the very least, I'm sure he didn't suspect... 'the extent' of what we were doing..." He opened the front door and gestured forward for her to go first as usual.
"That's true..." Sally agreed, and stepped outside, already going down the stairs. She did recall how the Mayor just about freaked out and was absolutely flabbergasted when Jack had said Sally was now living with him, back the day after Christmas, when a town meeting had been dismissed. It had been a hilarious sight. "At least now he won't freak out seeing us come out the door together." She giggled.
"There you two are!" The Mayor waved to them from the other side of the gate. "Come on now, we haven't a moment to lose!"
Jack tried not to look too bashful or sheepish as he cleared his throat and addressed the Mayor as he and Sally continued their approach toward him. "Of course, Mayor! Sorry to have kept you waiting...I-It just seems like Sally and I can't get out of our own way sometimes, though mostly it was my fault, I assure you." He bowed a little in apology.
"No no Mayor, it was my fault, you see." Said Sally, shaking her head. "I couldn't find my shoe. I was silly for misplacing it."
"Now now you two, no need to apologize!" The Mayor grinned. "Now that you're out and about, let's go! We have a lot to do! Oh, but won't this be our most horrible Halloween yet!"
Jack nodded, following behind the Mayor with Sally. "Yes, of course. It will be simply ghastly. Oh and Sally has been working on new outfits for everyone for the special event and I'm certain they'll be simply splendid!" He squeezed Sally's hand a little.
"I hope they'll like them...I have some of them in this bag here." Sally said.
"Wonderful!" The Mayor did a twirl with his head staying in place. "Since you made such terribly wonderful outfits for the other holidays before, surely these will be the greatest!"
Sally blushed, looking down at the ground. "Thank you..."
Jack smiled proudly, just gazing at her with a touch of adoration. "Yes, thank you, Mayor...It's so kind of you to compliment the talents of my Sally." He chuckled just a tiny bit.
"And why wouldn't I? She's one of us now! And this Halloween, she'll truly prove to us her worth as our future Queen!" The Mayor cajoled. "And I have a feeling it'll be a spectacle like no other!"
Sally blushed all the more and mumbled incoherently as she still looked at the ground shyly.
"Mmm-hmm..." Jack nodded in reply, smiling even more at her and deciding to let things go for just a bit more before stopping for the sake of her embarrassment. "I completely agree, Mayor...We've never tried the celebration with a Pumpkin King and Queen...although I suppose for this year at least it'll be a Pumpkin King and Princess...but who knows? Maybe by next year...we'll have that whole Pumpkin King and Queen thing all officially worked out...and then our Halloween celebration will really dazzle." He shifted a little closer to Sally as they walked, squeezing her hand and moving his arm warmly against hers.
The Mayor laughed in agreement. "Splendid, Jack! A horrible idea if I ever heard one!"
Sally was put off balance just a bit, which was also partly due to the fact that she was a rag doll and sometimes did have little physical problems with her balance. "S-Sure..." She said in a soft voice.
Later in the day, toward the evening, at the Town Hall, the Mayor had gathered many of the citizens inside for some last preppings before Halloween, which was now two weeks away. Sally mostly sat back, observing everyone with a smile as she watched them interact and throw out ideas and advice. She'd come to a few meetings like this before over the past ten months, and it was always pretty interesting to watch.
"Say, Sally...did you ever sing for everyone?" Clown suddenly said, turning to her.
"Oh...no?" Sally blinked, wondering why this was brought up.
"Of course!" The Mayor turned around then. "I don't know why I didn't think of this before! Please, Sally, sing for us! We'd sure like to know what you can do, when you sing on Halloween!"
"I...I...um..." Sally stood up, twiddling her hands nervously. Then again, this was probably a good idea to practice with an extensive audience, right? "Well I...g-guess I could..."
Jack smiled pleasantly, utterly intrigued by the idea of course! But then he hesitated, a touch of concern coming to his features. He pulled her aside slightly and spoke quietly to her. "Sally...are you sure you're okay with this? If you're not...we can tell them you'd rather not sing right now and then maybe you could try again later when you've had more time to prepare and think about it..." He smiled at her. "Really, just say the word and...I'll help you put them off. Okay?"
"...No, no...I'll do it." Sally assured softly with a smile. "I think...it's time I practiced a little with an audience..."
Jack looked into her eyes, wanting to make absolutely sure that she was being sincere right now and not just trying to make the townspeople happy. Satisfied from her smile though that she really did want to try, he smiled at her and nodded. "Alright, Sally..." his grin picked up a little more, "It's about time they heard the sweetest sound in all of our world...or anyone else's world, for that matter." He winked at her.
"Oh, Jack..." Sally giggled, turning back to a few of the others. "So...I'll sing for you...to demonstrate, I suppose..."
"What will you sing for us?" Asked the Hanging Tree with a kind smile.
"Um...I don't know..." Sally blinked, having not thought of that. "What should I sing?"
"Anything!" Said the Mayor. "Whatever comes to your heart!"
"No no! Sing part of our song!"
"That's just stupid! We need everyone for that!"
"I think she should sing about the graveyard!"
"No, definitely the candy!"
"Sing about ghosts!"
"No, sing about running for the hills in fright!"
"Um..." Sally tried to get a word in, but everyone was talking over her.
Then it hit her.
Hills...
She blinked and then remembered a sweet song that she remembered Flower Heart singing. It had been the first moment since she knew the angel...that she actually looked really happy. Every other moment, her happiness, though it was genuine enough, always looked to be very forced and over the top, like she was trying to hide something with it. But at that moment, hearing her voice, clear as a bell, singing a sweet song as she danced around...was a moment where she seemed really happy.
"The hills..."
Sally smiled. She had just the song.
Everyone was still talking loudly over her, and so, she decided to try this out.
"The hills are alive with the sound of music..." She sang fairly loudly, but softly, clear as a bell.
Everyone immediately stopped talking, staring at her in utter surprise.
A moment of fright passed through her as she realized what she'd just done...actually singing in front of others. But, she went on. The words were just coming to her, she could remember them so well, as if she had only heard them yesterday, despite it being a few months since she had heard them at all.
"With songs they have sung for a thousand years
The hills fill my heart with the sound of music
My heart wants to sing every song it hears..."
Yes, this was turning out well! She could barely even remember feeling shy, instead, she felt as if she had drifted into her own little world...dancing along dark and light hills with dead rose petals falling and dancing all around her as well.
"My heart wants to beat like the wings of the birds that rise from the lake to the trees
My heart wants to sigh like a chime that flies from a church on a breeze
To laugh like a brook when it trips and falls over stones on its way
To sing through the night like a lark who is learning to pray."
Now she danced a little, around the stage, and then stepped off it, walking around everyone as they watched her intently. Then she spread her arms a bit, twirling and looking up toward the ceiling, as if it were the sky.
"I go to the hills when my heart is lonely
I know I will hear what I've heard before
My heart will be blessed with the sound of music
And I'll sing once more..."
Finished with the song, she took a deep breath and managed to compose herself, though she was blushing profusely and now looking away.
"...Wow." Said Barrel, who was nearby, helping with some ideas.
"Amazing! Absolutely splendid!" The Mayor wiped a tear from his eye. "Oh! It seems this song touched a part of me I never knew! Oh dear!" His head turned to his sadder face and he began to sob. "So beautiful..."
For a moment a touch of jealousy came to the witches' faces but then they both just sighed in defeat and had to nod in agreement with everyone else. "Yes...It was frightful!" the big witch had to admit.
"Yeah..." the little witch nodded, "It was perfect." The smiled in admiration at Sally.
All of the other townspeople were just looking at Sally in impressed awe. And then suddenly a single clap was heard...and it lead to all of the citizens suddenly clapping and then cheering and halooing for her!
Jack stepped forward right up to Sally. He was clapping too...and had actually been the one to start the clapping in the first place. He was smiling proudly. "And that would be your future Queen, my friends..." he announced to the room, his eyes never leaving her, "...A vision with a voice like Halloween wind through the willows at midnight...And what a lovely performance that was for us all. Thank you, my Sally." He gave her a gracious bow, smiling happily up at her.
"Um...you're welcome..." Sally blushed and brought her hands behind her back shyly.
"Sooo beautiful!" The Mayor snorted in his handkerchief.
"Absolutely marvelous." The Hanging Tree had his Hanging Men do some clapping as well. "You do have a lovely voice, Sally. I think it will be a lovely contrast."
"Thank you, everyone..." Sally kicked her foot against the floor a bit, giggling shyly.
"How horribly beautiful!" The Mayor turned back to his happier face. "We're looking forward to hearing you sing on Halloween!"
"Well...I'm really looking forward to it." Sally smiled, and she was. She really was. "At first...I was very overwhelmed to perform that night...but I...well, I will do my best."
"And I'll be there every step of the way to help you, my Sally...It will be our most glorious Halloween ever!" Jack announced proudly, swinging a fist through the air and looking at the townspeople to rally them a bit. "With Sally's singing and scariness how can it help but be the most glorious?"
The townspeople cheered and instantly began nodding their heads and talking and smiling, all agreeing with Jack. Smiling in satisfaction, Jack turned back to Sally, speaking to her quietly now with a smile. "Sally that was...utterly...thrilling! You did such a perfect job!" He suddenly hugged her, closing his eyes and even lifting her off the ground a little to spin with her.
"Ooh!" Sally gasped in surprise, her arms flailing for a moment before she curled them around him, now smiling quite a bit. "Thank you Jack..."
"No, no, thank you, Sally..." Jack assured, squeezing her a little and sighing happily, "What a talented woman I got myself mixed up with..." He chuckled happily.
Sally blushed and giggled shyly. "It's not much...but I do what I can..."
Jack leaned in closer, opening his eye sockets and whispering into her ear while they had a moment. "Now don't be modest...who else is clever enough to be my spooky siren and my seamstress and my wife and my princess and my queen and my love for all time?" His grin grew.
A wave of nostalgia ran through her as she remembered the year before, standing on that stage while he was presenting her with the assignment to make a Santa Claus suit, all while she had been trying to warn him about the consequences. "Now don't be modest! Who else is clever enough to make my Sandy Claws outfit?"
As well as that, Sally shivered a bit as he whispered into her ear like that, unable to keep from smiling."Point taken, Jack..."
Jack snuggled with her a little and then let her go, pulling back to gaze at her. He addressed the room again. "It's official then, I suppose...All those in absolute favor of Sally joining me as the center of our celebration, say 'aye'!"
"AYE!" instantly went up all over the room followed by congratulations and words of satisfaction from all the citizens.
"Then it's settled!" The Mayor cajoled. "Sally will most definitely be right alongside our Pumpkin King Jack during our annual Halloween celebration! Do you have anything to say, Sally?"
"Um..." Sally squirmed a bit, now put on the spot. "...Boo?"
Everyone laughed, slapping their knees.
"I-I mean..." Sally cleared her throat. "I'm so sorry. I meant to say thank you, to everyone...for having this much confidence in me, and supporting me through this. Especially..." She brought her hands behind her back shyly as she looked toward Jack fondly. "This man right here...who has done nothing but encourage me and help me where I needed to improve."
"Awwwww..." Everyone chorused.
Jack blinked and then instantly looked down bashfully at being publically thanked like this and it also didn't help that she had just referred to him as 'this man' before everyone. "O-Oh, well, um...heh...W-Well after all what kind of King would I be if I didn't support my future Queen?" He grinned with a touch of sheepishness at everyone.
"You the man, Jack!" Said Cyclops from somewhere in the back.
A few of the citizens chuckled at all of this, whispering to each other.
"And I also just wanted to say..." Sally went on, though shyly, but she did all she could to be as confident as ever. After all, one day, she would be doing this a lot. "It's very true, Jack has been the pillar of strength for me, as well. Even during my toughest moments, he never gave up on me, and helped me through this. ...And now, I feel ready to perform a great Halloween spectacle for all of you on Halloween night, right with Jack. I think...together, we can do this..."
Everyone clapped and cheered, even whistling and hooting with excitement.
Jack didn't know why, but he just kept feeling more and more bashful as she went on with this. But he realized perhaps it was because he was so used to being the one taking the reigns in social situations for them that he had never expected Sally to suddenly do it and to be singing his praises besides. And yet also he had to smile at the fact that she really did seem to be getting into this whole 'public leadership' thing and Halloween as well! He took a step forward so that he was directly beside her now. He spoke to her but so that everyone could hear. "Thank you, Sally...for rallying everyone's spirits and for saying such kind things about me...And you have been a pillar of strength for me as well, my darling. You've revived my love for our holiday and for that I am eternally grateful..." And then before he could lose the courage he took her hand, bent down low, and gave the back of it a gentle, lingering kiss.
Sally's eyes widened and she blushed, smiling widely behind her hand. "And I...I'm grateful to have helped you."
Everyone laughed and chorused a series of "Awwww!"
Jack chuckled a tiny bit during the remainder of his kiss and then gently separated his lips from her hand and straightened up again, looking into her eyes with a charming smile. "Isn't she extra adorable when she blushes, folks?" He chuckled, unable to resist.
"Jack!" Sally covered her mouth with her hands and blushed all the more.
"Yeah! She's so cute!"
"She's gotta be a blushing machine or something!"
"You're a lucky man, Jack!"
Everyone else ad-libbed agreements to this, some laughing.
Jack smiled proudly and turned back to the crowd. "Thank you, all...And, erm...speaking of being a lucky man, if you all wouldn't mind, I think now my Sally and I would like to return to our home to continue enjoying out lucky life together. We're really rather tired...I suppose we haven't been getting much sleep lately..." he hoped Sally wouldn't blush too much at that private little reference to their occasional new 'nocturnal' activities, and then quickly tacked on to make sure no one would pick up on anything suggestive in his words, "Wh-What with Halloween coming up so much of our time gets consumed with planning and discussing it that sometimes we get ready to go to bed and suddenly the rooster crows to signal sun-up!" He chuckled a little and shrugged.
Sally's eyes went all the more wider and she blushed hard, looking down at the floor. But she managed to clear her throat to add to the statement. "We-We have done quite a lot in this, yes. And I hope the rest of you will take time to yourselves as well...since it's important to take care of yourselves."
"Why of course, Jack and Sally!" The Mayor chuckled. "Run along home, and we'll see you tomorrow!"
Everyone applauded this, whistling.
Jack smiled appreciatively, taking Sally's hand and squeezing it and giving everyone else a little bow. "Thank you all...We appreciate it. We'll see you all later!" He gave them a little wave with his free hand and then turned to the girl at his side. "Shall we then, Pumpkin Princess Sally?"
Sally nodded, blushing a bit more. "Yes, of course..." She turned to the crowd and gave them a wave as well. Everyone was now getting up and putting together some last minute things before leaving for the day.
Jack turned to leave, leading Sally along with him. He spoke to her privately, all the while smiling down at her. "You did not tell me you were so very talented at public speaking and rallying the citizens...and at making old Pumpkin Kings shy in front of all of their subjects for the first time in centuries..." He chuckled a little.
"Well...I...I had to do it sometime...didn't I?" Sally looked away shyly. "I mean...public leadership is something I have to be able to adapt and execute on my own soon...and I...well...I guess now was as good a time as any." She squeezed his hand. "And I...wanted everyone to know how much your support has meant to me."
Jack looked down at her, just touched... "Oh Sally...you're...you're just...Do you even realize how sweet and selfless and perfect you are? Learning to adapt so much...and wanting to thank me in the middle of it all...Charming creature..." He tapped her on the nose.
Sally giggled at his little action. "It's who I am...It's just what I do."
"Well...now that you've done all of that...and now that the meeting's over...would you like to do 'other things'?" He smiled shyly at her.
"Such as what?" Sally cocked her head lightly, smiling more.
They were over by the door now and Jack pushed it open with his free hand, bowing a little and gesturing for her to go first, grinning at her the whole time. "Hmm...oh, you know...just 'other things'..." he countered extra coyly.
"Really?" Sally stepped outside, and lowered her voice a bit, sounding coy. "Well, of course... I'd love to."
Jack followed her. "What a coincidence...so would I. Now, now...what should those 'other things' be?" he mused playfully as they started to walk back to their home.
"That's a good question..." She giggled behind her free hand. "Either we improvise, play it by ear...or...think about it? ...Um...that is...unless something comes to mind?"
"W-Well..." Jack began with a little shrug, acting 'casual', "You know, a...little bat told me that somewhere in your closet there's a new...v-very nice...very extra... 'summery'...dress or two...Perhaps whatever we do could involve those?"
"Oh! Well..." Sally blushed, nodding her head. "I can certainly pull one of them out... Mmm...did the bat say anything else?"
"I-I-I think the bat...implied a few things about...b-buttons and m-my bones..." Jack added 'innocently'.
"Ooh, okay..." Sally continued playing along, giggling. It was so silly, and normally she preferred being straight up and direct about things, but she couldn't help but be silly for a change. It was fun. "I think the bat might even have some other...implications."
Jack gulped and blinked, breaking from their game for a second. "Really?" sort of squeaked out of his mouth. Then he cleared his throat, doing his best to bring his voice back to normal. "I-I mean...r-really? I...hadn't heard...W-Will you share with me?" He turned forward but glanced at her in anticipation as he did so.
"Um...well..." Sally broke character for a moment, and smiled a bit more. "I won't say too much, we are still outside, of course." She said in a soft voice. "Maybe...straps? Stitches? ...Snuggling?"
"Mmm..." Jack got all shuddery and his spine even slouched a bit, a goofy smile overwhelming his face. "O-Oh...Well I can't wait then...You'll have to thank the little bat for me, Sally..." He chuckled, and then added, a playful smile coming to his face, "Could...Could a 'skull'...and massaging...come into that as well at all?"
"Of course...I was keeping that secret, but you caught me." Sally pouted a bit, then smiled. "Oh well."
Jack gave a little gulp and shrugged with a bashful smile. "I-I'm sorry, Sally but don't worry...i-if anyone can find new ways to surprise me...i-it's certainly you. Maybe I'll surprise you too...today or someday...as soon as I think of a good way to do it..."
"Oh, well...of course...I think...perhaps we can both find a new way to surprise one another..." Looking up then, their home came into view down the street, with her stuffing seeming to flutter in anticipation.
Jack felt her grip on his hand tighten and he looked from her forward to where she was facing, and saw their house coming into view. He smirked just a tiny bit and glanced to her again. "Well, well, well...I take it some little bat is quite eager to get home..."
"Well I...I can't help it." Now Sally's gaze drifted to the ground, blushing and sounding sheepish, as if waiting for a scolding. "Everything we do together...is always something I can never help but enjoy so much."
Jack nodded, totally understanding. "Yes, me too, of course...I-It's like we discover something new about each other every time and...I've adored it." He smiled goofily.
Sally beamed, and then leaned against him a bit as they walked, giggling a little. "Yes, that's very true, Jack. ...And well, as our little routines have come to form themselves, whether familiar or even bringing in something new, has been...well, a joy, you can say. Discovering things about each other, whatever they may be, I love it, too..."
Sally could remember when she first moved in, how it seemed so big and strange to be in a new place. She was almost afraid she'd never adjust! And yet, two months shy of being a year later, it truly felt like home. Like she'd been there for so long. She knew the place inside and out, felt as if her room was a little sanctuary, and could never get enough of the view from the tower. She loved their home so much. But the fact they shared it together was what truly made it special. In a sense, they could be anywhere at all, and she'd still be very happy and fulfilled. Their routines had developed a lot since the beginning, and were always such a sweet joy. Getting up in the morning and greeting each other, sharing meals together and just nattering on about things that popped into their minds, cuddling on the couch together while reading or just simply sitting there, playing with Zero, cleaning and organizing, cooking, it was a joy. All along, it felt as if they'd done this for a very long time.
Then of course, discovering new things about each other. That in itself was quite a part of the perks of living together.
Jack's thoughts ran in a similar vein as Sally's right now, reminiscing about their time together and each new joy and experience and how far they had come since the beginning. He let out a small sigh and nodded as they passed through the gate to their house together. "Our life together truly is a joy...just as you said, dearest Sally. You've given me...purpose...aspiration and novelty and purpose...in a life where all of those things had started to slip away...Centuries of love and kisses from me to you can never repay you enough for all that, my sweetest love..." His skull turned and placed a single, tender kiss upon her forehead. "Thank you...dearest, dearest, dearest Sally..."
Blushing, Sally giggled and snuggled into his side a little more. "Oh, Jack...you're very welcome...I'm very glad this makes you feel better about life. And I...have to thank you, too. You've given me purpose too, and not to mention so much else that can attribute to how I go about my days and my life, how I see things, right there with you. ...Well, our time together to come, forever it may be, could never be enough to repay you, for all you've done for me. But I'll spend all our days making sure you know how much I love you, and how much you mean to me in so many ways."
Jack all but melted, his smile going all wobbly as they reached the front door. "Oh Sally...I'm so happy and...I'll do the same for you, my darling. Every day, in some small way, will be dedicated all to loving you...in all the ways I can...Every single perfect way I can love my Sally..." He suddenly scooped her up in his arms, cradling her, and pushed open the front door with his hip and then quickly shut it behind them in the same manner. He was gazing down at her the entire time. "Welcome home, darling..." He winked at her.
"Welcome home." Sally giggled, clasping her hands around his neck like so. Oh, he just loved picking her up, didn't he? It was pretty funny and adorable at this point, not to mention a sweet way to get closer together.
Jack's smile grew at the familiar feeling of her soft arms going around his neck. "Let's go upstairs...shall we?" A spark of something glittered in his deep eye sockets.
Raising a would-be eyebrow, Sally's smile quirked on one side. What was he thinking about...? "Of course, darling... We shall." She said sweetly.
Jack gave her a small nod and then instantly began to ascend with her, still holding her firmly. He made it to the upper landing with her and then paused as they entered the living room. "Where shall I place you, my pretty pumpkin princess?" he asked, still grinning.
"I don't know...where do you want to put me?" Sally asked coyly, nuzzling his cheek.
Jack gave a little gulp, but managed to maintain his own coolness/coyness as he replied with, "Well...we have only three options...Our couch...my bed...soon to be our bed...or your own bed...Do you have a preference?"
"Oooh...well..." Sally giggled, smiling more. "I do have to change into...well, you know... So, you can put me on my bed to start."
An extra big gulp escaped Jack this time. "O-Oh! Yes, of course...well then...to your bed it is..." He glided across the room toward Sally's bedroom door, unable to help feeling nervous. After all, even despite all of their sleepovers, he rarely visited Sally's room...She mostly just came to stay in his room at nights...Her room still felt sacred, a little. His lovely lady's lovely space. But still he could handle it he decided and so as he reached her door he didn't hesitate and gently pushed it open with his hip, entering her perfect, sunny little room. His eyes then fell on her sweet little bed and he brought her over to it, gently laying her down upon the covers. "There you are..." He straightened up, clearing his throat and glancing away bashfully, "I'll just...give you a moment, and...go wait in the living room...Wh-Whenever you're ready, I'll be waiting for you..."
"All right." Sally smiled, sitting up. "But um...you forgot something." A little pout came to her lips.
Jack blinked and paused, tilting his head curiously to the side. "What?"
"You forgot to let me give you a welcome home kiss..." She said, smiling a bit then. "I know we came home together, but...old habits are hard to break."
Jack's eye sockets went a little wide and he gulped a tiny bit again. "O-Oh, r-right, um...right now...?" He blinked a few times.
"Just a little one..." Now she stood up, bringing her hands behind her back. "...Please?"
A little nervous look came to Jack's face. "Is...Is that okay...t-to do in your room, I mean? I-It's just that we never...y-you know...in your room...I...d-don't want to take advantage..." He looked at her shyly, arms behind his back and chin tilted down a little. And he knew it must sound so silly at this point in their relationship but he couldn't help feeling the need to ask.
"Well, it is my room now, but since that's the case...I certainly don't mind. You wouldn't be taking advantage, Jack...I promise you." Sally assured, smiling in understanding as she approached, bringing her hands to his shoulders. "I understand how you feel, but you don't have to worry. Jack, I love you... And I just want to give you a kiss... M-May I?" She blushed a bit.
There wasn't even a chance in the world that Jack could ever deny such a perfect request. "Y-Yes, please..." he stuttered out in a fluster, feeling his bones tremble.
Sally beamed and then leaned up on tiptoe. Yes, she may have been fairly tall, especially since she had a very long neck, which added to it, but even she had to lean up quite a bit to reach him! But she didn't care, she was used to it, and never much minded anyway. She captured his lips in a sweet, lingering kiss. After a few moments, she pulled back, smiling all the more. "Welcome home, my love..." She added in, as she usually would when they'd greet each other upon his return home.
Jack was just standing there with his arms straight at his sides and his smile all goofy. "Hmm..." he chuckled a little, "I-I like coming back home..."
Giggling, Sally smiled more. "I like you coming home, too..." She said coyly.
For a moment Jack just remained standing there all goofy and lovesick, like he would just be here for a while and she would change and then maybe they would go to the living room or something...
"Are you all right...?" Sally waved a hand in his face. "Jack?"
"Hmm..." And then suddenly Jack blinked, snapping back to reality. "O-Oh! Y-Yes, heh..." he smiled sheepishly, "S-Sorry...I-I'll just leave you to ch-change now...Bye! Ow!" The bye had been accompanied by a little wave...the ow resulted from him trying to back out of her room and accidently bumping into her sewing machine. He had messed up a few spools of thread and he quickly did his best to right them before giving another wave and a sheepish grin and then slipping out, shutting the door behind him. Once done he just closed his eyes and leaned his back against her door and slid down it a little, letting out a deep breath. He mumbled to himself. "You'd think after almost a year I wouldn't become a nervous wreck around her...Oh well..." a little smile came to his face, "maybe that's a good thing...At least things are still interesting for us both."
Sally giggled, shaking her head at the display. Oh well, she could certainly understand he felt nervous in some aspects of their courtship. So did she! But that was all right. Their relationship was still pretty young, and had plenty of room to grow. She went to her closet, and selected one of the new dresses she'd made. This one was pink, with white lace and white straps. She had decided to mix it up a bit, and since they both had a liking for pink, she tried it out. When she had finished it, she liked how it turned out.
Changing into it, she brushed her hair, put on her special locket to add to the touch, and exited her room. "Jack? I'm done now..."
However, Jack was nowhere in sight at the moment. Obviously he had been in the living room...The fire was lit, a pot of tea was on, the curtains were drawn...but the author of these little additions to the space was nowhere to be found at the moment.
"Ooohh..." Sally was awed by the sight, smiling quite a bit. "What a lovely little set up... But where are you, Jack?" She looked around, stepping further and further into the room.
Jack finally heard her call to him and suddenly his bedroom door was opened and out stepped a shy, smiling Jack without his usual jacket. He didn't glance up at her yet as he addressed her at first. "Here I am, Sally...Sorry, I didn't mean to keep you waiting...I just...thought things might be nicer if I got rid of the jacket right from the start...I'm happy that you like how the room looks." He looked up at her...and then instantly, trembly, nervous Jack was back. His jaw fell a little. "W-Wow.." escaped him before he could stop it from slipping out. He never blinked nor took his eyes off of her once.
"Oh, there you are." Sally turned toward him and could see he was surprised. "Um..." She blushed, bringing her hands behind her back. "So...d-do you like it?"
"You...Y-You look like a flower...w-with really really sh-short, um 'petals'..." He hadn't failed to notice that this was one of her shortest dresses yet. He could see half of her thighs at least. And it wasn't helping that the color complimented her blue skin so nicely... "Y-Yes, I like it..." he finished with a tiny gulp, taking a small step towards her.
"Awww...thank you, Jack..." Sally cooed sweetly, stepping toward him also, unable to tear her own eyes away.
He gave a tiny shrug. "Y-You're welcome..." Then he gulped and took another step forward, this one a bit bigger than his first one, deciding to try saying something a little less nervous and a little more bold that was on his mind sometimes. "Sally, you're...you're very beautifully proportioned...E-Every time I see you in an outfit like this I notice it more and more. Your shape is so appealing..." He managed another decent stride forward.
"I...I...um...y-you think so?" Sally looked down a bit shyly, blushing.
Her blushing made Jack smile and relaxed him a bit. He approached her and spoke to her much more calmly and smoothly, nodding to her question. "Of course...Your design is just so...ideal. All of those lovely limbs set together with all of those lovely curves...Who could help but admire your beautiful feminine flawlessness?" He smiled more at her.
Sally blushed all the more and faced him again, stepping closer. "Oh, Jack... I never know what to say when you say such sweet and confident words... But thank you."
Jack gave a little smiling shrug. "You don't have to ever say anything, Sally...Just your blushing and appreciative smiling face is more than enough of a reward for simply telling you the truth.." Jack walked entirely over to her know, no longer wishing to waste time. He stood before her now. "You're so cute, dressing up all for me..." He smiled sweetly.
She blushed more, if that was possible. "You're so sweet...thank you."
He smiled even more, liking her getting all shy like this. "You're welcome...Now..." He reached up, gently touching one of her dress straps with the tip of one of his bony fingers. "What would my pretty flower like to do, all dressed up as she is?"
"Well...um...we could go sit down..." Sally fluttered her eyelashes a bit, smiling.
"As you wish, fair princess..." Jack stepped aside and bowed low, gesturing forward with one of his arms toward the couch. " 'Flowers' first..." He winked at her.
Sally giggled, and stepped further on into the living room and then sat onto the couch, clasping her hands onto her lap for a moment. She smiled and then sweetly patted a spot next to her. "Join me?"
Jack's grin picked up on one side. "For eternity..." he replied smoothly and then took a large stride over there and sat himself directly next to her on the couch, all the while still admiring her adorably shy face and her beautiful form in another one of her pretty dress creations.
"Oh...Jack..." Sally giggled, and then made herself a bit more comfortable before reaching for some tea. She sipped it, happily savouring the flavour of it. "Mmm..."
Even her just saying 'mmm' from liking the tea instantly sent warm shivers up and down Jack's spine. Watching her cute little lips form around the cup edge to sip it didn't help much either. "Do, um...Do you feel relaxed, my Sally? Would you like another little seam massage to help loosen you up?" he asked leaning in closer.
"Of course I do, Jack... I feel fine." Sally sipped it some more, and soon finished it. It was too good! "But um...If you wanted to...You can..."
"I-I always want to but...only if you want me too..." Jack replied shyly, glancing away. "And if you do want me too...where might you like me to start?"
"Um...well..." Sally scooted a bit closer. "Why don't you pick this time?"
Jack blinked at first then glanced down extra shyly then let out a breath and finally turned his eyes back to her again. "W-Well, um...I...I do adore your legs..."
Blushing, Sally smiled and nodded before she brought her legs up onto the couch completely, turning her body to face him, raising her knees up. "G-Go ahead then, Jack..." She looked down shyly.
Jack swallowed with a little smile. "O-Okay...Um...but first...if I may..." And then Jack seated himself so he was facing forward on the couch instead of facing Sally, and then he put both of his arms underneath her knees and gently lifted up her legs, and then scooched toward her and finally ended things by gently lowering her legs into his lap. "I...I think this'll work better for us..." He put a single bony hand on one of her legs on her thigh near the hem of her dress and then gently and slowly moved it down the entire length of her leg.
"Oooh...good idea." Sally smiled a bit, blushing some. "Um...Jack? I...wanted to bring this up at the meeting, but then I thought it would be more...um...effective if they were surprised. But I wanted to tell you...I...um...finished my outfit for Halloween." She looked down a bit bashfully.
Jack blinked and instantly his gentle stroking down her leg stopped and he looked at her with an interested smile. "Really? Oh Sally that's...that's wonderful!" He practically beamed. "I bet it's just lovely!"
"Well, I...don't like to brag, but...I'm very happy with how it turned out..." She played with her hair bashfully.
Jack chuckled a tiny bit, finding her reply adorable. "Well, if our master seamstress approves then I'm sure it must be the most haunting creation of fashion ever to adorn Pumpkin royalty..." He leaned extra close to her, his grin growing, his eye sockets looking charming.
"Aww..." Sally beamed all the more, charmed by then. "Thank you, Jack... It'll be...amazing to perform with you. As overwhelmed as I may have been, I'd be lying if I said I didn't dream about being right there alongside you on Halloween before everything started..."
Jack's eye sockets went a little half lidded in a dreamy way. "I...I...dream of the same thing, Sally...And I'm so touched you're that excited about...you and me together like that for the first time. I-I haven't looked forward to a Halloween this much in centuries, to be honest..." He reached out and placed a single bony fingertip on a seam high on her cheek and then gently moved down the length of it, all the while gazing into her eyes.
More blush tinted Sally's cheeks as she gazed right back, clutching the hem of her little dress a bit. "Really...?" She beamed. Yes, he had told her before that she had indeed played a part in restoring his love for Halloween, but to think, it even had him looking forward to it all the more? It was so touching...
Jack gave a gentle nod. "Yes really, my Pumpkin Princess...I always felt like something was missing during Halloween...even from the start...I-It just...hadn't ever occurred to me that...well...What's a Pumpkin King without a Pumpkin Queen? What was the point of being the leader, the scariest, the symbol of our holiday...if I had no gentle kindred spirit with whom to share it? ...And then I found you, Sally...and now I will be able to have my first truly perfect Halloween...My perfect darling..." He let out a small sigh and then leaned in and gently kissed her forehead, before pulling back a tiny bit and looking into her eyes and adding with a small grin and in a whisper, "...A-At least...the most truly perfect one for now...until our lovely little children can join in the celebration." He winked at her.
"True..." Sally giggled, agreeing with that sentiment. "Then I hope...well...to do well within my power, to make this a memorable Halloween...and again for the years to come..." She looked down with a soft blush.
Jack just chuckled a little and shook his head. "My sweet Sally...just your presence will be more than enough to accomplish that...You know that. And you've already done so much by sewing costumes and promising to sing..." He sighed dreamily. "I can't wait to see how you look that night...There's no way I could...um..." he glanced to the side coyly, "...get a little hint about how it looks...could I? Just a teeny tiny hint..." He shifted back a little and the fingertips of one of his hands started to gently graze over the seams of one of her legs.
"Well...sure..." Sally looked up again. "It's all black...and I made a little accessory to go with it...it was my first time making one, and it turned out nicely."
Jack's grin grew and his eye sockets turned back to her. "Hmm...well, you do look rather fetching in black...It suits you very well, my Sally...It even brings out your natural spookiness a bit..." He winked at her. "And you made an accessory?" he asked curiously... "May I ask what kind?" he asked curiously.
"...A bow." She admitted, looking coy.
Part of Jack's brow raised and his grin grew on one side. "A bow? Well that sounds frightfully lovely...It'll be perfect in your flowing yarn hair."
"I hope so..." Sally twirled a strand of her hair around one finger.
Jack chuckled a little and then added shyly, "A-And, um...Sally? I...well, I really did want to save this as a surprise but...just so you can coordinate...on Halloween I was planning to present you with a small trinket of my own for you to wear...if you'll have it, of course?" He smiled warmly at her.
"...Really?" Sally blinked in surprise, wide-eyed. "...Oh, Jack...of course I'll have it!"
Jack's face beamed in happiness. She was so cute sometimes! "Oh wonderful, my darling Sally!" He slipped his arms around her waist and leaned over to hug her close for a moment. "I was hoping you'd say yes..." He pulled back to look at her with a smile, "But if it's alright, I'd like to keep exactly what it is a surprise until that night, okay?"
"Sure thing, Jack..." Sally smiled more and returned the embrace. "But really, thank you...that's very sweet of you."
"Nothing is too good or sweet for the woman I love..." he replied charmingly, his fingertips finding their way to the seams of her legs again. They started at her calves and went to her knees, tiptoeing their way upward...slowly moving to her thighs.
"Ooooh..." Sally giggled a bit, feeling an overwhelming sense of sweeping pleasure. "And well...nothing is too good or sweet for the man I love..." She cooed sweetly.
"Yes, I've been noticing that lately...what with all of these lovely new dresses being sewn for my enjoyment..." His fingertips had reached the hem of her dress, where he managed to stop himself, just playing a little with the hem. He sighed as his eye sockets took in the lovely sight of her and her pink dress once more.
"And they feel comfortable, too..." Sally admitted, and toyed with his tie a bit. Not to mention, they were special because they were for his eyes (or eye sockets, rather) only. Sometimes it was just fun to have little intimate secrets...
Jack gulped at her little hands on his bowtie. "S-Sally, um...before...before I...we...you know...can I...just...make sure of something...with you?" He managed to calm down his playing with the hem of her dress, though his fingers stayed there, touching and savoring the little border on her body.
"What is it, Jack?" Sally looked at him curiously.
A silly little smile came to Jack's face, his eye sockets half lidded. "W-Well...these...all of these new, um... 'romantic' dresses...I-I mean, I know you know that I...like your body v-very much...and like looking at it...and I know that you make the dresses so that I can see more of it...A-And I appreciate that, Sally...very much...But...do you also like wearing them for yourself? I-I mean, I just want to make sure that you're not uncomfortable...that you're not making them and wearing them just because you feel like you 'have to' for me or something...I do like your body, Sally, but that's never more important than your comfort. Do you understand what I'm asking, Sally?" He looked to her sincerely, hoping he had worded everything right.
"Ohh..." She realized what he meant, and shook her head. "Of course not, I never felt I had to... I never feel like I have to do anything. I made them because I wanted something cooler to wear on hot summer days...and I...well, was completely oblivious to the fact that you liked...s-seeing my body at the time. It wasn't until later that I knew that. ...And well, since then I kind of...felt, well, flattered...and I wanted to try making more. And I...I do like wearing them, they feel comfortable, and it...well, feels kind of nice to feel a little liberated..." She blushed and looked down a bit. "I do like wearing them for myself. But the fact they entice you, and well, make you smile...that's just a big bonus for me. Knowing something makes you happy only makes me want to do it all the more. I promise you, I wouldn't do this if I didn't want to or didn't like wearing these. I love you, and I know you love me too, and I...know you love me for more than just my body."
Jack's eye sockets were wide at taking in all of that. His first response to her reply was to look deeply into her eyes and assure her gently and passionately,
"Of course. I love you for...for...so much...Your caring nature and your charm and your conversation and your passion and your love and your cleverness and your sweetness...Your body is...beautiful of course and...a very nice, erm...perk...heh...But there's so much more to you! The substance just...overwhelms me!" He leaned in closer as he went on. "And Sally, I'm happy to know that you enjoy wearing your new dresses just like I enjoy watching you wear them. And you feel...flattered...that I like your body? Oh Sally..." He smiled, "And you feel liberated...like enticing me...Oh Sally..." He let out a gentle sigh. "I...Sally..."
His fingertips left the hem of her dress and jumped lightly to her inner elbow. He gently started to tiptoe up the upper part of her arm, over her shoulder, across her collar. He stopped here and gently touched the strap, playing with it a little and threatening to move it off of her shoulder.
His words sunk in, and Sally felt so overwhelmed with happiness, she was sure she would start falling to pieces! Giggles escaped her as he played with her strap, and she leaned a little closer as well, beaming. "Oh, Jack... Well...um...yes, I do... I mean...I never even thought of it...as I said, I was oblivous to it the first time...but um...now that I know, it's...pretty sweet. Now I...well, understand how you felt, back on Valentine's Day..." She blushed a bit.
"O-Oh, yes...with, um...me...wanting to touch your leg..." A dreamy chuckle escaped Jack. "Y-Yes, well...those legs of yours...really are...erm..." His eyes went back to her long, bare legs over his lap. "They really are...r-rather..." he felt his breathing growing shallow, "...rather...much for a guy to handle...Shapely, beautiful, blue...I love to touch them so." His one hand played with her strap, his other went back to her legs, squeezing and tickling one of her knees. "I love to kiss them..." he added in a whisper, and then he leaned down and kissed one of her thighs.
Sally giggled, blushing more. "Back then, I was perplexed...but I still found it...sweet that you liked it."
Jack chuckled a little. "And I found it sweet that you liked it back then...Isn't that a happy coincidence?" He smiled at her.
"Yes...it really is." Sally agreed, giggling and smiling in return. "Well, at least now the knowledge isn't lost on me..."
"No, it certainly isn't..." A shuddery sigh escaped Jack and then something passionate came to his eye sockets and he looked directly into her eyes. "Sally, I...I...unless there are a few more things you'd like me to do to your attractive legs...p-perhaps...w-well, we were talking about it a bit before the meeting earlier but perhaps, you could, um..." He swallowed, feeling himself shake a little inside.
"Yes?" Sally smiled all the more, tilting her head slightly.
Jack gave a little gulp and a little grin. "Well...while we kissed you...pressed your hands...rather deeply against my shirt...touching me...a-almost like...if we had had time...you might have...um...you know...touched me...f-for real...i-if you know what I mean..." His fingers had been playing with her strap again and now, in nervousness, he let it fall lightly from her shoulder.
"Oh! ...Well...I..." Sally blushed as she recalled that. "I do know...what you mean... I couldn't help myself..."
Jack gave a small little nod, his finger tracing lightly over her bare shoulder. "Yes, I just...sort of wish...seeing as how we have the time, finally...that you 'couldn't help yourself'...right now...U-Unless that would be too much, of course..." he tacked on shyly, like the gentleman he truly was.
"Oooh...well, if you wanted me to, all you had to do was say so..." Sally now coyly traced a finger down his chest, giggling. "I'd like to..." Not waiting for a response, she leaned in and brought their lips together, slowly lowering her hands to press deeply but still gently against his shirt, feeling his bones.
"Mm!" She had moved so quickly and Jack just...adored it. He felt so overwhelmed and yet so satisfied...Every touch through his shirt to his bones was like flame being directly applied to him. And her little lips hotly upon his own wasn't helping things. He just brought his arms up around her waist, holding on more than pulling her close, he was trembling so much inside in anticipation.
Happy with his responses, a giggle escaped her between kisses, as she felt his bones beyond the fabric, just loving the feel. Yes, it may not have been much, considering she saw them for herself and got to touch them when they were exposed, but this was still just as nice. She then gently brought herself into his lap, slowly so as not to overwhelm the poor thing, as she moved her hands a little lower along his rib bones.
"Mm!" Jack's breath hitched in the back of his throat and he visibly started to shake. She had never, well...gone that... 'low' on his torso...A-And she was in his lap. She was so warm and gorgeous and he continued to just hold on to her by the waist just for the sake of holding on.
Oh yes, Sally went a lot lower, but not TOO low. Not too far, she didn't want to bring things going too fast. So she moved up again, slowly, even bringing her hands more toward his sides to feel there. Her fingers pressed deeper, but were still sweet and gentle as they explored.
Jack half sighed, half moaned in pure pleasure. She was just...everything she did to him ever was so good! So much! She knew just how to touch him, just how to kiss him, just how to press against him...It almost wasn't fair...but it felt so right! He managed to hold her a little closer and even to tilt his skull to the side, fusing his lips to hers.
A shiver coursed through her as she let out a little moan of her own, especially with her little cloth tongue slowly trekked out, gently running along his lips as it seemed to shyly request entrance. One of her hands then moved along to his bat tie, toying with it, while the other continued its exploring.
Jack already felt like he was going to burst apart and collapse in utter bliss, but he figured...oh why in the world not? His mouth opened and he all but pulled her tongue inside with his, wanting to be close to her...closer and closer...
Her little tongue responded in kind, shyly though sweetly, as they met in a little dance, brought around each other. Sally moaned between kisses, and then before she realized it, one of his buttons had become undone thanks to her hand now seeming to have a mind of its own.
Jack's spine utterly straightened and his tongue that had been all but curling around hers paused in its motion. He felt his little bat bowtie fall lazily to the side, barely clinging to his shirt anymore. One of his buttons...gone...Oh, he...felt so...excited! He started gently touching Sally's tongue again with his own, trying to let her know that it was all right and that he wanted this and was grateful for it.
A happy shiver ran up her spine as Sally caught the message, bringing one hand over to squeeze his shoulder for a moment as a sign of saying she understood. Her hands then quested down to gently touch along the mildly exposed collarbone happily.
A little squeak escaped Jack and he lost all breath through his nose. He had to stop for a moment, just for a moment...He managed to pull his mouth from hers. He was breathing heavily. He finally found it in him to speak. "You...I...yes...Th-Thank you, Sally...I-I love you..." His eyes closed and he almost chuckled with joy. "I love you and it makes it...feel...s-so good...Thank you..."
"You're welcome, Jack..." Sally giggled, trying to catch her breath. "I love you, too...and I'm happy that felt good for you..."
"Y-Yes, and..." he looked down extra bashfully with a growing grin, "It...It also felt very good when...your hands...d-down my ribcage like that before..."
"Oh...Yes, I suppose I did go a bit lower than usual..." Sally looked down bashfully.
"You...can go down a bit lower than usual...and I hope I can go a bit higher than usual...wh-when it comes to your legs..." He placed a hand on one of her thighs, massaging it a little...moving his hand and the hem of her dress up a little higher. "A-And speaking of which...a-at least another button or two of mine is certainly at your disposal, Miss Sally..." He couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with her, just smiling goofily to himself.
"Ooh...well...you can certainly go as high as you want..." Sally cooed, and toyed with one of his buttons in response to his offer.
Jack felt his bowtie fall off entirely at her new gestures, and he felt his bones trembling at her offer to him. "O-Oh, well then..." He pushed a little higher, starting to pass the half way point of her thigh. He wouldn't let himself go much past there but still...he wasn't about to back down from the ground he had gained either. "S-Sally...wh-why must you play with the buttons first...the anticipation is so great...I can barely bear it..." he whispered shyly.
"Sorry..." Sally said softly, and nuzzled her cheek against his. "I-I suppose I...didn't know where to start..." Her questing hand then resumed its little path of exploration, dipping within the open folds and caressing his collarbone.
"A-A-Ah..." A very deep, audible sigh shuddered out of Jack. His eyes closed. He nuzzled her back and shook his head. "D-Don't be sorry...never...I-I'm the one who shouldn't be so...demanding. I should just...let your explore. Everything will come in time..." A deep breath entered his throat and he gave a little gasp/moan. "Yes...Sally...that's...yes..."
"You're not demanding..." Sally assured sweetly, still moving along, nuzzling her head into his neck.
Jack smiled more. "Th-Thank you...Oh Sally..." He pressed his hands tenderly into her back, gently moving one of them down her spine.
A shiver coursed up her spine as she smiled, her free hand coursing around his torso to hold them closer together, as her hand dipped more into his shirt to caress his awaiting bones. "You're welcome...mm...Jack..."
Jack sighed, his eye sockets opening a little. "Oh...S-Sally, we...H-How is it...always so good when we...like this...together?" He chuckled at the whole wonderful thing.
"...All I can say is, we love each other...and it makes it all the more special, maybe?" Sally cooed sweetly, nuzzling her face more into his neck.
Jack let out a blissful sigh, nodding his skull and at the same time snuggling against her more, his eye sockets barely open. "Yes, of course... After all, I...I couldn't even imagine...things like this..with anyone else...But...But you're...special...I like doing everything with my Sally..." He chuckled goofily, his eye sockets closing entirely again.
"I like doing everything with you, too..." Sally raised her head a bit to kiss his cheek, nuzzing her own against it. "I love you, Jack..."
"I love you too, Sally..." he gurgled out. "Y-You're sweet for cuddling with me like this..." he added in a goofy whisper, holding her more closely now and rubbing his hands a little up and down the gentle curve of her back.
"I never knew how...sweet and wonderful cuddling could feel until we did." Sally giggled, bringing her arms around him. "I used to dream about it all the time before...and anytime you hugged me, I never wanted to let go..." She blushed at this.
"Oh Sally, you dreamed about me...and us together...Oh my darling I never want to let us go either...Never. Perfect Sally..." And suddenly he felt a surge of something and just squeezed her and pounced them both down to the couch cushions, him on top of her and just hugging and snuggling and smiling away! He all but buried himself against her and her beautiful form. He chuckled merrily. "I'm so happy, Sally! Last Halloween I was so sad but now I'm so very happy!" He felt himself just about ready to burst with all of the joy inside of himself.
"Oooh...!" Sally just about giggled and managed to relax under the little attack, hugging him. "Oh, Jack... I...felt the same way...until I saw you in action, of course." She giggled at this. "I'm glad you're happy this year, I'm so happy too, darling..." She nuzzled against him.
Jack chuckled a little, opening his eye sockets and gazing to her warmly. "You're so sweet...liking me 'in action'...my most skillful and scary 'fangirl' of all." He winked at her with a grin.
Sally blushed and giggled. "Well, it was my first Halloween...and first time seeing you in action...I suppose I couldn't help but feel excited..."
"Well, I'm happy I was able to impress such a charming creature...and that I made your first Halloween memorable...Though I plan to make your second Halloween the most brilliant night you've ever had...and then one day there'll be a Halloween when we're married and...maybe at that point to go along with our ever more frightful Halloweens...we can also have a little private celebration afterward...just you and me...you know, to fill up that space of time after the procession when I'd usually try and avoid being mobbed by everyone just wanting to touch the 'Pumpkin King' and then go off alone and sing of my deep melancholy... I'd much rather fill that time celebrating Halloween alone with my Pumpkin wife." He gave a few little kisses to her cheeks, snuggling into her more.
"Awww...Jack..." Sally smiled more and giggled from his cute little gestures of affection. "That sounds wonderful...to be able to bring Halloween to everyone, together...and then to have our own little private celebration? I would love that..." She cooed and nuzzled their cheeks.
"Y-Yes..." Jack replied back lovingly, "...j-just me and my spooky little bat...And such a scary little private celebration we'll have..." He sat up a little bit and tapped her nose. Then he swallowed and glanced to the side shyly. "S-So, um...speaking of private celebrations...th-this right now has been...very very good, Sally...but, um...I'm a little sleepy, my love...So, I was wondering...would you like to take a little nap together here on the couch? I'll cover us with a blanket and maybe we could just cuddle and sleep holding each other until dinnertime, and then I'll cook you something extra special...What do you say...enchantress?" All lovesick, he smiled and winked at her.
"Oooh, sure...I don't see why not..." She giggled, smiling at the idea. "I'd love that..."
Jack's eye sockets beamed! "Splendid!" he exclaimed happily and then instantly shifted off of her and moved quickly across the room to get a fresh blanket from near the fireplace. He brought it back for them and then got back on the couch along side her and covered them both. He snuggled with her, smiling happily. "You're my favorite girl to sleep near, you know." He winked at her and chuckled.
Sally giggled once more and then snuggled against him too. "You're my favourite guy to sleep near..." She winked back.
Jack chuckled more and couldn't help himself. "I'd better be...Or someone out there better look out for the Pumpkin King." He smirked at her a bit, nestling in more.
"I don't think anyone would dream of making you jealous...and um, I'd better be, too. Or else I'll be very sad." She pouted playfully.
"Aw..." Jack did his best not to laugh at her cute little face. "Well, don't you worry-you're not only my favorite girl to sleep near, you're my only girl to sleep near...All of my fangirls can eat their hearts out." He smirked again. "I only want to share a bed and my life and m-my bones with the fair Pumpkin Princess Sally and no other."
"Awww..." Sally smiled all the more and nuzzled their noses. "If I had any fanboys, they too can eat their hearts out...I want to share my life and my seams with the Pumpkin King..."
Jack shivered a little, always unable to help it whenever she called him by his title. "Hmm...I suppose then that...we'll just have to be together and stay that way forever to make both of us happy..." An arm of his slipped over her waist under the covers. "If I coo your name while I sleep, I hope it doesn't disturb you, Sally..." he added shyly.
"Not at all..." Sally giggled, smiling. "Apparently I say your name when I dream about you in my sleep, so...I suppose we're even." She let out a squeaky yawn. "Um...are you supposed to say something when taking a nap, and it's not quite night?"
Jack chuckled at all of her adorableness. "Hmm...why don't we just say 'sweet nightmares' and that we'll see one another later...and then we'll sleep...perfectly together right here."
"Okay. I think that makes sense." Sally smiled and closed her eyes. "Mmm...well, sweet nightmares...see you later."
Jack nodded. "Sweet nightmares...I'll see you later too...my future queen..." He closed his eyes and let out a sigh.
It was early in the night a couple of days after the last major town meeting about Halloween, and Lock, Shock and Barrel were just walking down the street alone, snickering and laughing to each other and congratulating themselves on all the great pre-Halloween pranks they had managed to pull so far this October...and in particular, their crowning achievement...the prank they had managed to pull and get away with scott free on none other than the future Pumpkin Queen herself!
We got her SO good!" Lock announced proudly with a smug little smile.
Shock cackled and nodded. "Yeah, she didn't see it coming at all. She's so gullible!"
"Oh yeah!" Barrel agreed, "She's so 'trusting' and 'wholesome'..." he rolled his eyes, laughing more, "She's the PERFECT target for all of our plans from now on!"
His other two friends nodded in total agreement. "Oooh..." Shock added with a grin, "And the best part is she must have been too 'shy' and too embarrassed to tell Jack-she probably just scrambled around, found that big eye of hers, popped it back in and pretended like nothing happened so he wouldn't see her looking like that! After all, she's so 'in wuv' with him she was probably all worried about him thinking she was funny looking or ugly if he saw her with that big empty socket in her head!" She laughed and her two friends laughed in agreement.
"Oh, I don't know...I don't think eye sockets make a person so very ugly...But perhaps I'm prejudiced-I do have two of them myself after all..." Lock, Shock and Barrel instantly froze...stopped moving, breathing, blinking, speaking. Then the kids managed to focus their eyes forward to the sight of none other than the Pumpkin King himself before them. Their initial expectation was that he would be FUMING!...Yet he was just casually leaning with his back against a lamppost, arms crossed over his chest, a very small polite smile on his face as he eyed the three children...Though honestly something about this posture of his was even more unsettling than the sight of him angry and ready to enact his royal wrath on the three trick-or-treaters.
"Hello, children." He said in a low, yet fairly calm voice, very much not unlike the same way he had addressed Oogie the very last time.
"Um...heh heh heh...uh...hey!" Lock waved nervously.
"Yeah uh...good for you, least she wasn't whining about how ugly she looks!" Barrel laughed.
"Hey, shut up!" Shock hissed as she nudged him roughly.
Jack cleared his throat a little-not enough to sound harsh but enough to silence the children, snapping their attentions right back to him. "Just so you know..." he began casually enough, stretching out a bony hand and glancing at his fingertips for a moment, "...she...Sally...my princess...and your future queen...didn't come to me the second you three left or anything and 'rat you out'...In fact I had to pull the information from her after I discovered her searching for her eye...Despite everything she was very loyal to you three...though I myself... 'disagreed'...rather strongly...with that sentiment at first of course..." He glanced at the three of them, still with that small polite smile...that was possibly scarier than any enraged scowl might be from him.
Lock, Shock and Barrel then stared at each other, and gave little whistles. She DID rat them out, thought not at first. And they felt shivers of fear...something was coming.
"Heh heh heh...come on Jack, we only wanted to have fun! We didn't mean to hurt her!" Lock said sheepishly.
"As if we could, anyway!" Shock rolled her eyes.
"Um, so yeah, we're sorry! We won't do it again! Promise!" Barrel grinned.
The three proceeded to cross their fingers.
"Uncross. The fingers. NOW." For just a moment, something rather angry and serious did come to Jack's eye sockets and he lost the little smile and seemed to bristle a bit.
The three meeped and did so, twiddling their fingers.
"What are ya talkin' about...we weren't!" Lock protested, laughing nervously.
"Yeah, come on now! That's not fair! Hmph!" Shock crossed her arms defiantly.
"We definitely weren't hiding that, not at all!" Barrel said.
Both Lock and Shock smacked him.
"What? I said not!"
"Enough." Jack quickly silenced them with that word. He didn't yell it quite like he had the word 'now' before, but it was definitely said in a firm and no-nonsense tone. For a moment Jack closed his eye sockets and took in a deep breath and let out a deep breath. Then he opened his eye sockets again, having fully regained his composure once more. The little smile even returned to his mouth. "Anyway...what's done is done, I guess...Now all that remains are the consequences of your actions. But first, children, can I ask you a question...?" That little smile on his face grew just a tiny bit.
"Uh...heh...sure Jack...ask away!" Lock rubbed the back of his neck.
"Whatever! We've got things to do, I guess we can fit that into our busy schedules." Shock muttered.
"Okay!" Barrel grinned.
Jack gave a small nod of thanks, then asked simply, almost with a yawn really. "If you had done something similiar to a 'princess' of Oogie Boogie's...what do you think he would have done to you three?"
The three of them widened their eyes...before bursting out laughing.
"As if! Mr. Oogie Boogie was the meanest guy around!" Shock snorted.
"Yeah! If I were on his Oogie list, I'd run for the hills!" Lock agreed.
"Oogie Boogie had a Princess?" Barrel blinked.
"It was a hypothetical, stupid!" Shock smacked him.
"Children." Jack interrupted them, doing his best to be patient. "In general...if you had seriously insulted Oogie Boogie...if not by insulting someone very special to him then by insulting him directily...by, let's say, pranking him and causing harm to his body...what do you think he might have done to you three?"
"Cooked us into a stew!" Shock shuddered.
"It would be the last time we ever did anything to him!" Lock agreed.
"We'd be idiots for messing with him or some girl he liked!" Barrel shuddered.
"Exactly..." Jack's smile grew. Then he finally removed himself from the lamppost and approached them slowly, deliberately. "And I..." he gestured to himself, leaning down toward the children, "...am far more powerful...and, if I do say so myself, far more scary than Oogie Boogie ever was...I am your King, after all." He straightened up and crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at them with interest to see how they might respond to all of that.
"Um...heh heh...we're sorry, Jack!"
"We won't do it again! Honest!"
"She's real nice, we won't hurt her!"
Now Lock, Shock and Barrel began yelling and apologizing incessantly and profusely, all three of them shouting at once.
Jack just watched them in all these antics and at first was about to silence them again with a firm word and a sweep of his hand...but then he just...his smile grew and he just...started to laugh. He brought a hand to his mouth, trying to cover it up and subdue it but it was no use. He was chuckling rather fully at the moment.
The trio stopped, seeing him laughing now.
"What are you laughing about!"
"It's not funny!"
"Mommy!"
Jack let out a deep sigh, finally managing to recompose himself. "Oh children, children, children...my precocious Lock, Shock and Barrel...really, I'm not the one you should be afraid of..." And then Jack turned a little and gestured behind himself to a couple of trees on the side of the cobblestone path he and the children were on, "...she is." He finished. The children looked on curiously...until a smiling Sally suddenly slipped out into view from behind those trees...her arms very distinctly behind her back.
"Hello, you three." Sally smiled at them pleasantly. "I'm glad we found you. I've been meaning to talk to you."
"Heh heh heh...you're not still store about that eye thing, are ya?" Lock laughed nervously.
"Yeah, really! Come on...now we know Jack didn't think you were ugly! So yeah...no hard feelings?" Shock smiled nervously.
"Um...have you got something there?" Barrel grinned.
"Come now, children, I'm not upset." Sally said calmly. "But, however, I agree that you three should get your comeuppance."
Jack nodded, stepping back to stand alongside Sally, smiling fully now along with her. "Yes, of course. A punishment is certainly in order. After all, no one minds your harmless, fun pranks that you children occasionally pull. Those may be annoying at times but we all accept that you're just being yourselves when you pull them and of course they can be very clever and funny." He chuckled a tiny bit but then added, looking at the children again with a touch of seriousness, "But this time you crossed a line, you three. I don't care what Oogie Boogie thought Halloween and scaring should be like-as the Pumpkin King I will not tolerate harm to other citizens...and as...well, as a gentleman I will NOT tolerate harm to the woman I love. Do you three understand?" He looked at them seriously and sincerely, awaiting their replies.
"Okay okay okay! We won't! We promise!"
"Honest we won't!"
"Please don't spank us!"
Once again the three of them were shouting at once.
"...Why would I do that?" Sally blinked, and shook her head. "After all, we only want to teach you a lesson that bad behaviour such as this does not go without consequences."
Jack nodded. "Exactly. And really you three should thank Sally...She came up with a very clever and just punishment...after she calmed me down about all of this, of course. To be honest if she hadn't been there to soothe me a little and if I had found you three right away, I was ready to banish you to the hinterlands, at least temporarily..." Jack tried to maintain his composure but as he glanced down he couldn't help a touch of shame coming over his features at the memory of his hastiness and loss of temper.
"Well, he's right." Sally shrugged. "I suppose it is a good thing...otherwise, well, I suppose that you three wouldn't be so lucky now."
"Uh...heh heh...yeah uh...thanks, Sally!"
"Yeah, really! Thanks!"
"I wet myself..."
"Now then, for your punishment..." Sally smiled and brought her arms out from behind her back, holding a bundle of pink garments and accessories. "I have some new clothes for you! Aren't they nice?"
"...PINK? EWWWWW!" Shock gagged.
"I'm not wearing that ugly colour!" Lock groaned.
"I'm scared..." Barrel quivered.
"Oh you three are going to wear them and like them because the alternative punishment, pending Sandy Claws's approval, is that Sally would come up with elf costumes for you three and you would be his special helpers from the second Halloween was done until the very last present was delivered on Christmas Eve. Now would you rather do that or would you rather wear pink just for the last two weeks before Halloween?" He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the children with a smirk.
"What?"
"Pink or being an elf?"
"...I want to be an elf..."
"Fine! Gimme!" Shock grabbed one of the pink garments.
"Me too." Lock groaned and grabbed another.
"Can I be an elf?" Barrel grinned.
Jack blinked and glanced at Sally, scratching his skull. "Is that allowed, Sally? I feel like he's enjoying the idea too much?" Jack almost had to laugh at it.
Sally giggled, shaking her head. "It does defeat the purpose... Sorry Barrel, you'll have to wear this." She held the other pink outfit.
"But I want to be an elf! I want to see how Sandy Claws does all that stuff!"
"You're a dork." Shock muttered.
"That's lame." Lock rolled his eyes.
"He's starting to sound like me, Sally..." Jack chuckled a little, letting out an amused sigh. "Alright, alright...Barrel, wear the pink as your punishment...We'll discuss the elf thing later." He took the pink outfit from Sally and placed it into Barrel's hands.
"Fine." Barrel pouted.
"Do we HAVE to?" Lock groaned. "We're gonna be laughed at!"
"No one will take us seriously!" Shock crossed her arms.
"Well, perhaps you should have thought of that before causing a harmful prank." Sally said pleasantly. "After all, if any other of the citizens pulled a prank like this, surely they too would get a punishment. I know I certainly would if I caused such an antic."
"HA! You? You wouldn't hurt a fly!"
"You're too nice!"
"Nice girls finish last...or is that the guys?"
"Sally..." Jack interrupted the children, addressing them, "...knows that it's one thing to play a little joke on someone and another thing to cause them physical harm and distress. And for someone who's supposed to 'finish last', I believe she's doing quite alright for herself-she's holiday royalty and a loving, selfless creature who is loved by others including myself. And despite being 'nice' we do have fun and enjoy ourselves." He smiled. "Every day is sort of an adventure with her to be honest..." His smile grew a little.
Sally giggled, blushing and going along with it. "Well...you do certainly help play a part in bringing out the best in me and letting me feel confident in being myself, so, everyday with you is an adventure for me as well..."
"Ewwwww! Cut the mushy stuff!" Lock groaned.
"Yuck! That's gross!" Shock gagged.
"Ewwww." Barrel made a face.
The three of them then pulled on the pink outfits, which were alternate versions of their regular outfits, pulling them on over them.
"There! We have them on! Happy now?"
"This sucks!"
"Pink is ugly."
"Yes, we're happy and no, we're not going to 'cut the mushy' stuff-I've just decided that that's part of your punishment too..." He had spoken without taking his slightly half lidded eye sockets off of Sally and now he took up her hand in his and moved close, pressing his forehead lightly to hers. "Do you like that idea too, my bashful little bat?" He nuzzled his nose gently against hers.
"Yes, I do..." Sally giggled, and then proceeded to toy with his bat bowtie sweetly. She closed her eyes in sweet bliss.
"Ewwww!" The trio chorused, gagging.
"Okay, that's enough! Quit it!"
"Don't start smooching!"
"Dude, don't encourage them!"
Jack chuckled a little, shaking his skull lightly (and using it as an excuse to nuzzle her nose more). "No, no...kisses are for private time...Lots of other things are fair game though, aren't they, my princess of scary sweetness?" He put his arms around her, hugging her close, eye sockets still locked onto her eyes. "You're so cute when you punish people, my Sally." He chuckled a little, winking at her.
Sally giggled, bringing her arms around him too, reciprocating the hug. "Well, I had to do something, but I did learn from the best...and even how to go about a reasonable punishment..." She too, nuzzled his face right back.
"Ewwww!"
"This is gross!"
"So unfair."
Jack chuckled a little more, unable to help milking this for at least a little bit longer. "Oh you're too kind, my Sally...But really it was all you...So kind and fair and clever... All part of why I 'wuv' you so much..." He leaned her back a little bit, gazing lovingly at her...and knowing that, despite how much of this might be a show for the kids, he was getting close to really getting quite swept away with all of this...
"Awww..." Sally giggled, tightening her hold a little bit, and even raised up one of her legs. "And I 'wuv' you, too..." She too was milking this, and couldn't help but feel a little swept away. Oh, the fun of flirting...
"Gaaah! Okay, okay! Enough already!" Lock gagged.
"Can we go now?" Barrel whined.
"Oh for crying out loud, would you two just go back to your house and kiss and leave us normal people alone!" Shock complained with a grimace. "It's SO gross watching you two act like that-this place is supposed to be scary the last time I checked, not full of fluff and googly eyes and our King giggling like a school girl!" She rolled her eyes.
Jack had to actually laugh a little bit at that last comment. His eye sockets remained on Sally though. "Oooh, Sally...it sounds like they think I've lost my edge...Meanwhile, I'm not the one wearing pink for the next two weeks." He winked at Sally.
"Oh, they tell me that all the time when I run into them in the streets." Sally giggled. "They wonder if I have you under some kind of a spell."
"Yeah, seriously! This time last year Jack was all big and scary! And now he's all soft and mushy and sings and dances about love...ewww!" Lock agreed.
"Shut up about the pink..." Barrel whined.
Jack was just laughing and grinning more and more, unable to help himself. "Ooo, you have me under a spell, huh? Why didn't you tell me so, my enchantress?" He chuckled a little. "And I am just as scary as I ever was..." Jack glanced at the three children. "Or did I 'imagine' you three cowering in fear and begging for mercy from me mere minutes ago?" He smirked just a tiny bit.
Shock blinked and glanced away. "Hey! That's...o-out of context!" she countered weakly.
"That's funny, because I remember that, as well." Sally tapped her cheek in thought, and smiled toward the kids.
"Heh heh..we were just playing around! Right guys?"
"Yeah! Of course!"
Jack smiled warmly, shaking his head, and finally loosened up his hold on Sally a tiny bit to look at the children fully. "Ah, of course, how silly of me not to realize all of that..." he did his best not to laugh too much at them. "Now...I believe you've suffered enough for now...How about you three run along to get a start on wearing your new outfits for the next two weeks and Sally and I will...take our love to some place a bit more private. Would you like that, my little candy corn?" Jack asked in a sugary voice, suddenly turning back to Sally and hugging her close again, foreheads pressed together once more.
"Candy corn?" Lock snorted. "That's corny, even for you!"
"I like candy corn." Barrel pouted.
Sally giggled, smiling more. "I'd love that very much, my handsome candy cane." She said in an equally sugary voice.
"EW! Is this really what you two do all day locked away in your house together? It's torture! E-Even if you love each other..." a frustrated little pout came to Shock's face, "...i-it's still weird!" She stuck her tongue out defiantly.
Jack, meanwhile, felt a sudden little tremor unexpectedly shoot up his spine. "I-I..." 'C-Candy cane?' It might have sounded silly but for some reason he sort of liked that name...And it didn't' help his fluster that one of the children had just brought up the topic of what exactly he and Sally might be spending their time together doing locked up in their home half the time...It made a few distinct memories flash though his mind actually. He cleared his throat and just did his best to maintain though for now. "I...I'm happy, my sugary little Halloween treat..." he cooed to Sally. "After all, private time means kisses...You know, those things the kids hate." He laughed a little and snuggled himself as close to her as possible.
"The very thing kids hate." Sally giggled, and looked at the kids. "Don't be silly. We have housework, organizing, planning, food to make, a dog to cake care of, chimney sweeping..."
"Like we'll believe that!" Lock rolled his eyes. "Admit it. all you do is lock up and smooch all night!"
"Ewww..." Barrel gagged.
Jack blinked his eye sockets and cleared his throat in a touch of surprise and fluster. "W-Well, we...er...Um...Sally, yes, you're right, of course we have many many other things to do first..." He agreed with a touch of sheepishness.
Shock just scoffed and rolled her eyes."Heh, yeah! I bet you're right, Lock..." she smirked, elbowing Lock and nodding in agreement with his comment, "You two say you spend all your time doing official Pumpkin King and Princess stuff and preparing for Halloween and the other holiday, but you probably just shut the door behind you and then kiss and cuddle until you have to go out somewhere again!" Grinning fully now, Shock glanced to the two boys beside her and 'whispered' (in a voice rather loud of course so that Jack and Sally could hear it) "You know, Timmy told me sometimes they have 'sleepovers'...He walked in on one once back in Valentine Town! They were all snuggled in bed together and everything!" She cackled/giggled to herself.
"No way!" Lock laughed hysterically. "So wait, Timmy told you that? Wow! I thought he idolized Jack so much! Haha!"
"Looks like he sold you out, Jack!" Barrel hooted.
Sally's eyes went wide and her cheeks pinkened. "Oh goodness...he told you that?"
"Mmm-hmm!" Shock nodded proudly, crossing her arms over her chest. "And he said you guys said that one wasn't the only one...He said you told him when he asked that you had them 'sometimes'." She cleared her throat and glanced at the two boys beside her and started singing in a sing-song voice, unable to help herself. "Jack and Sally, sleeping in a bed! But Jack's still too shy to make them wed!" All three children burst into laughter.
Jack was just utterly mortified at the moment, meanwhile. He had never expected ANYONE here to find out about his and Sally's sleepovers...And if the kids knew it...was a safe bet that other people might know. He just hoped no one would get the wrong idea about things. He couldn't blame Timmy of course-he had never told the little angel not to tell specifically about what he had seen and it was only natural he would share with the kids. Still though, that didn't mean Jack was just 'fine and dandy' right now or anything. He let out a panicked sigh, a slightly distressed look on his features actually. He still held Sally and still kept turned toward her, though mostly out of the need for support than as a continuation of their playful flirting from before.
"Oh dear...heh...I, um...well, that's...Children, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't...There are complicated things that...I..." He closed his eye sockets and stopped and let out a deep sigh and then looked to them fully, opening his eye sockets again. He spoke plainly and simply. "Yes, Sally and I have sleepovers sometimes...And if you children are lucky then one day you'll have someone to have sleepovers with too..." He smiled warmly down at them, doing his best to suppress his fluster.
"EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" All three of them chorused in disgust.
"Enough with the 'Oh, one day you'll know how it feels!', that's just gross!" Lock gagged.
"You sleep in the same room sometimes but you're not married?" Barrel's eyes were wide. "Wow. That's crazy."
Sally sighed then, and stepped over to them, crouching down at their level. "You three listen to me. What Jack and I do behind closed doors in our own home, when we choose to get married and such, is our business. I'm sure you three will have a good laugh about it later, but I would appreciate it very much if you wouldn't broadcast it. What Timmy had said, yes, was true." Now her voice grew stern. "Again, this is our business. So please, enough of this."
The trio stared at her with very wide eyes, especially at the stern, borderline scowl on her face...but there was a smile in her eyes. She softened a bit then, looking more pleasant. "All right?"
"...Yeah, sure." Lock blinked.
"Crystal clear!" Barrel laughed nervously.
Shock shrugged, looking down with just a touch of shame. "Yeah...I guess...A-Actually, I...well, I...I don't know, I think it's kind of...neat that you and Jack...do whatever you feel like together and don't get all stuffy about waiting until you're married and junk. I mean, you live in the same house! How boring would it be if you two just always kept to your own space all the time all because you were shy of what other people think you know?" She glanced up at Sally with a little shrug.
Lock and Barrel looked at Shock incredelously at what she said, blinking.
"...I don't get it." Barrel scratched his head.
"Shut up." Lock rolled his eyes.
Sally smiled, giggling before she stood up straight. "Thank you, Shock. You're quite right. We've learned in all of this couples do what works for them."
"Yeah yeah yeah, so ya do what works! Whoopee! You want an award? I'm outta here! Let's go, guys!" Lock started to walk off.
"Wait for me!" Barrel dashed after him.
Shock was about to dash away too...but was stopped by Jack reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder, detaining her for a moment. Shock gulped and looked up at him shyly, recalling a touch of the nervousness she had felt before about him punishing her for her part in the prank against Sally. "U-Uh...yes, Jack?" She put her arms shyly behind her back. Jack let out a sigh, and then bent low to her level and smiled warmly.
"Thank you, Shock...Sally and I appreciate the support very much. And it was very mature of you to make an observation like that. I'm proud of you." "U-Um..." Shock glanced away shyly and shrugged. "I...well...well don't get used to it or anything! I'm still gonna pull pranks and stuff. I just think you and Sally are neat sometimes! Anyway, bye!" And with that she quickly zipped away.
Sally waved after them, giggling as she shook her head. "She certainly did make a very articulate observation, and realize that what people in love do isn't always black and white 'one size fits all'..."
Jack nodded, straightening up and moving close beside her. "Yes...and also hopefully that means she, and maybe the two others if she can convince them, won't go parading around town about our sleepovers..." Jack swallowed, a touch of worry coming to his features. "I just...I adore our sleepovers and I don't care what anyone thinks about how we choose to express our love, of course but...I...I guess I don't want something like that information...hurting your 'reputation', if that makes sense. I hate to cause you any distress ever, my Sally." He looked at her sincerely.
"Oh, don't worry, Jack...I understand what you mean." Sally assured, and blushed. "After all...yes, we do have some certain reputations to uphold, and they all have to realize that our love life does not and should not interfere with our...well, work life?"
Jack gulped and nodded. "Yes, of course...A-As long as we're still fulfilling our professional obligations to the town...it really shouldn't matter what we do in our free time. I just want to make sure you're really okay with other people knowing now about our 'special nights' happening...a-and I also want you to know that, well..." he sighed deeply, "You'll think this is 'corny', I'm sure, but..." he took her hand and raised it up, looking deeply into her eyes, "...if anyone ever did make some kind of comment on the way things are with us, I'd defend your honor to the death, my darling Sally." He pouted a little, hoping he hadn't put that too ridiculously.
"Oh..." Sally smiled and brought her arms around his thin frame in a hug. "You're very sweet to say that... Well, I mean, I'd rather people didn't know about our...well, romantic business, but I suppose as long as they don't make big spectacles about it all the time, I don't see the problem." She looked up at him then, curious. "...And what is corny? I don't understand. ...It sounds to me like one would say that if they're...well, acting like corn. Which would be weird since it's food and doesn't have characteristics of a live being..."
Jack just blinked at her and then smiled warmly and chuckled. Then he just hugged her fully and picked her up and spun her around. "Oh Sally..." he put her down, "...you're just...delightful. Corny means...silly, unnecessary, a little ridiculous...Like it would be too old fashioned and over the top to defend your sweet honor my sweet Sally..." He placed a hand upon one of her cheeks, gently cradling her face.
"Oh..." Sally blushed, but smiled. "Well, I don't see why it's silly or ridiculous to say things such as that when you're being genuine about it."
Jack swallowed, a happy smile coming to his face. "Thank you, my Sally... And I do mean them so very much...Jack will always protect and love and adore his Sally..." he whispered sweetly to her, lightly laying his forehead against hers.
"And that's why I always feel safest with you..." She cooed sweetly, nuzzling her face toward his.
A little full shiver passed through Jack's torso at her words. "Yes..." he whispered kindly, "...I will always be with you and you will always be safe...You bring me such comfort...my Sally..." His eye sockets were starting to drift shut.
"You bring me comfort as well, Jack...Always..." Sally tightened her hold a bit, then lowered her voice to a whisper. "You know...I think a reward is in order...for how well you've handled the situation today. We should go home...and I'll reward you properly." She nuzzled her cheek against his own.
Her words processed and Jack instantly started uncontrollably trembling in her grasp, his breaths becoming shallow. "I...B-But...if anyone deserves a reward it's you...You handled the children so brilliantly...so queenly...I...A-All I did was..." He had to pause, letting out a shuddery sigh at her continued nuzzling and her tighter hold-he just couldn't help himself. He held her closer too. "Sally..." he cooed out her name in pleasure.
"But Jack, you played an essential hand in helping me out and surprising them. That was part of the point. I couldn't have done that without your help." Sally pouted a bit, but smiled afterwards. "Come on...let's just go home and we'll reward each other then, okay?"
A goofily smiling and totally lovesick Jack just barely nodded. "Y-Yes, my fair Queen...please lead and your King will follow..."
"All right..." Sally giggled, pulling away and taking his hand, now leading the way down the cobblestone streets toward their home.
Jack just chuckled dreamily and let himself be led onward happily. "Sally..." he started with a little extra laugh, a thought occurring to him, "Those kids are right...All we do is sneak away up to our nice little home and 'smooch'...You don't really think it has softened my scaring skills...do you? Am I still your 'master of fright'?" He pouted a tiny bit at her and then smirked just a little.
"...We do..." Sally admitted, blushing quite a bit, and she giggled. "Of course you're still the Master of Fright...that hasn't changed. And well, do you still feel like the scariest of them all, despite our...growing romance?"
Jack smile more and considered and then replied sincerley, "I feel...the happiest I've ever felt about being the scariest of them all...and all because I have you to share it with...and you to open up and be kind and soft to... I don't feel defined by being scary anymore so now I like it a lot more." He smiled at her.
A blushy, beaming smile came to her face at his proclamation. While she felt she couldn't take all the credit for helping in that, she couldn't help but feel a little bit proud. Proud that she had really come to help inspire someone she loved and cared about to have the incentive to realize such a thing, and to step forth with it. In all, it was a great feeling. She would have been happy to help anyone in this kind of situation.
"I love to able to share it with you...that and everything else about yourself. And to feel like you can be yourself, in all...well, aspects of yourself, is a great feeling..."
Jack just gazed at her warmly. "So selfless... You care so much about just giving me happiness and making my life worthwhile..." The tiniest bit of a flirtatious smirk came to his lips. "I think you deserve an extra reward for that once we get home." He stopped their walking and, before she could protest, scooped her up in his arms to carry her the rest of the way home. "Come, my princess of the night...Let's return to our happy home so that I can continue to try and be the best King and the best lover to the most ravishing royalty and rag doll ever to exist." He winked down at her.
"Oh...well..." Sally blushed all the more at all this, wondering what he could possibly have in mind! "Jack..." She clasped her hands around his neck, snuggling against him happily. "And I'll...be the best Princess and best lover to you in return..."
"You already are, my sweetest Sally...You already are..." he cooed gently, and then leaned in and placed a single kiss upon her cheek. Then he straightened up a little, smirking again. "Now come on...it's almost Halloween and the moon's full and you were so queenishly commanding with the children that it still sends shivers up my spine...So let's go have one of our 'big, mushy sleepovers', as Lock, Shock and Barrel might put it..." he chuckled and then lowered his voice to a whisper as he added, "Really, as it gets closer and closer to our holiday...something about you just gets more and more irresistible to me, my darling..."
Oh, she just felt ready to BURST at the seams! Needless to say, she was so swept away by the onburst of a romantic moment that if not for the fact they weren't at home safely behind a few closed doors, there might've been a bit more going on than this adorable scene.
"Ohhh Jack!" Sally squealed passionately, and hugged him tightly around his neck, nuzzling their faces. "Let's...go home. Please...or else I might just kiss you to death right here..." She giggled, smiling coyly.
Jack's bony knees quaked and if it wasn't for the knowledge that it would mean dropping his most precious person in the whole world to the cold hard ground he might have seriously lost his grip on Sally. "N-N-Not if I kiss you to death first..." he managed to whisper back in a quivering coo and then instantly Jack was full on running back to their home, holding her as close as could be, all the while anticipating more and more his lovely forthcoming night of romance with the beautiful woman who had done him the honor of granting him the chance to have her be his Queen.