Kit - Kas is going to the movies with a friend, so I'm taking over the uploading of the chapters all on my own. Muha ha ha!
Chapter Thirty-Six
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"So, I mean, can't we go back to Love and stay for a little longer?" Randy's clothes and hair were completely ruffled and a wreck, the ghost still slightly blushing. "Like, I mean, we have to make sure he's okay!"
"Oh, trust me, you did that quite enough," Andrew said with a huff, physically dragging Randy to the next area. Randy pouted, shifting and squirming enough to hug Andrew.
"Aw, I'm sorry. Did we make you feel neglected?" It was more of an absent realization that the maze walls were changing from their default state again. There were also small crayon drawings that dotted the lower parts of the walls, most of them themed around stars and rocket ships. Andrew only rolled his eyes, continuing through the maze... Interesting.
"Just come on." He led Randy through the maze until a small body was leaping at their feet.
"Andy! Randy!" The two blinked down at the small seven-year-old that was in scuffed up overalls, gray scarf tied around his ankle. Randy slowly looked up to Andrew, speaking quietly.
"I feel guilt. Just...so much guilt." Andrew looked all too satisfied with himself as he bent down towards the emotion.
"Oui, oui, bonjour, mon petit. And how are you?"
"I'm okay. The shocks were bad, but you're here, so it's super!" Andrew gave a little coo, picking the child up gently and cuddling him close, looking quite delighted.
"Our mate's mind is evil," Randy muttered, gently patting the small child's head. Really, having the seven-year-old right next to Love. This place was very dangerous for wandering mates.
"But he's so adorable," Andrew cooed, holding the child close.
The emotion gave a giggle, hugging Andrew tightly around the neck. "Yeah, but you're the cuteriestestiest. And- And Randy's the cuterestiesterest!" Randy blinked at that, narrowing his eyes, and, huh...he was a tad bit cuter than Andrew... He was wonderfully alright with that.
"Alright, then, mon petit. Which one are you then, huh?" And this one really was adorable. And he had freckles! Andrew seemed to have noticed the freckles as well, since he placed a peck of a kiss to a patch of them.
"Innocence." The child leaned out towards Randy to give him a sloppy kiss on the cheek. "Mine."
"Aw..." Randy was hugging the child - who was still in Andrew's arms - and returning the kiss with one to his own cheek. "You're so adorable, mon petit!" Innocence giggled and nuzzled against them with a hum.
"So, you guys are trying to get through the maze, right?"
Andrew chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "That would be right, mon petit. Do you know the way to the next area, then?"
"Uh huh! That way!" Randy cooed, nuzzling back against Innocence as they continued on through the maze, more drawings coating the entire area. Along the upper parts of the walls and ceiling there were thousands of glow-in-the-dark stars, like the kind you would find in a store. "Do you like 'em? I put 'em up myself." Innocence was staring up at the ceiling with a grin, laying his head on Andrew's shoulder.
"They're perfect, mon petit."
"Just like you," Randy grinned, pecking Innocence on the cheek again. Adorabley itty bitty mate. When Andrew kissed at his other cheek, the child laughed and nuzzled against them.
"Yes. Oh! Oh! Stop!" Andrew did so, raising an eyebrow while Randy blinked down at them, and, wait, why were they stopping. Innocence looked up at them. "We're here."
"...Ow..." Randy gently took the emotion from Andrew's arms, clinging to him tightly and tucking him under his chin. "Andy my heart hurts." Innocence's room was so small. Andrew sighed, nuzzling against them.
"I know." He ran a hand through Innocence's hair before giving a small nod to Randy. They needed to keep moving... Randy nodded, gently setting the small child down before pausing and rustling through Andrew's pockets. A moment later and he was pulling a cookie out and handing it to Innocence.
"So, there probably won't be any negative side-effects from this, besides, it's a Riter cookie. They might as well be magical, at this point."
Andrew rolled his eyes with a huff. "Honestly."
"Yeah, yeah, like you weren't thinking the same," Randy rolled his eyes eyes, nudging Innocence back into the room. "We'll see you again, alright, mon petit?"
Innocence grinned as he took a bite of the cookie, speaking around it. "Promise?"
"Promise." The child held his pinkie out to the two of them, trying to hold back giggles. Randy rolled his eyes as he held his own pinkie out, dragging Andrew down to do the same. The two wrapped their pinkies around Innocence's as best as they could. The emotion giggled and kissed at their cheeks, before running back off to a different part of his maze. "I want to kidnap him and keep him for forever. I want to keep all of them."
Andrew sighed and nudged Randy along. "I know, mon chevalier. I know. Come on, then. There must only be a couple more. And think about it this way. You do get to keep all of them."
"...True," Randy nodded, letting himself be nudged along down the maze, back in it's default state. "So, ah, Andy...did you...notice the magazines that Love had hidden under all those pillows?"
"I'm surprised you did." Andrew sighed, leaning back against Randy. "We're going to need to talk about this, aren't we?" Randy supported the other's weight, sighing himself.
"We really should have seen this coming, with how he is..." Honestly. It took seeing wedding magazines to really get it. They weren't the best at this, really.
"Maybe he was trying to wait until..." Andrew shook his head. "Come on, we can be given some slack. We've never really had that in our sights."
"Still...I feel like we should have at least had an inkling of an idea," Randy grumbled, noticing the maze walls starting to stretch out again, the colors muting to feel a little more calm and relaxed. There were also scattered books and piles of pillows everywhere. "And yeah, we're gonna be talking about it a bit more, later."
"Like I said, maybe he was trying to wait."
"Trying to wait on what." There was a version of Danny that...was completely unique. One eye blue, and the other his ghostly green, while white streaks ran through his black hair. His skin was more tan than his human paleness, but not as much as in his ghost form. He wore his typical tee-shirt with a long-sleeved black shirt underneath, scarf wrapped around his neck and icy blue gloves covering his hands. His jeans were skinny and black, leaving him just enough room to maneuver. The emotion himself was reclining against one of the pillows, his nose stuck in a book.
"...Huh." Randy flew over to the emotion, plopping down on the pillows and settling against him with a little sigh. "Nothing much important at the moment, I think. You doing okay, though?" This emotion seemed to be one of the more relaxed ones, and a mix between Danny's ghostly and human sides.
"I'm fine." The emotion shifted and moved until his head was resting on Randy's stomach. "How are you two?"
"A bit worried about you, but overall, we're perfectly fine," Randy hummed, running a hand through the teen's hair, scratching at the scalp a bit. "Which emotion are you, then?"
"Mm, Calm." The emotion was quietly humming before giving a smile to Andrew. "And you? How are you, right now?"
"Perfectly fine, mon cher." Andrew flew over and settled on Calm's other side, kissing his cheek softly before settling against him. "Just a bit of a long day, is all. Traversing through emotions is a bit exhausting, after all."
"Yeah, I would guess. You have one more left, I'm pretty sure." Calm ran a hand through Andrew's hair as he set his book down, giving the two a smile. "I'm sorry you're going through all of this."
"Well, it's not too bad," Randy pointed out, kissing at Calm's neck and relaxing against him. "After all, we get to learn more about you, and that's a pretty nice thing."
"Although a warning would have been nice," Andrew snorted, relaxing at the hand through his hair and sighing contently.
"You mean like the warning you two gave?" Calm rose an eyebrow as he shifted a tiny bit, pulling Andrew to lay down beside him and rest his head on Randy's chest.
"You make a point," Randy snorted, scratching at Calm's scalp and settling down, a sense of relaxation and, well, 'calm' filling him. He attributed that to the area they were in. "So, any mind-shattering revelations you have to tell us?"
"Nothing that you can't already see." Setting his book off to the side, Calm wrapped an arm around Andrew's waist to pull him closer, and the other around Randy's stomach a bit awkwardly.
"Mhm," Andrew curled up to Calm and nuzzled against him, settling down a bit more. "As long as you're alright."
"Like I said, I'm fine." He gave a soft purr as he kissed Andrew's forehead then nuzzled at Randy's stomach.
"So, do you know about the whole time vision, shock to the system, barrier thrown up, thing?" Randy quietly asked, playing with the teen's hair, and curling around the two. Calm...seemed rather like Danny on a quiet day.
"A bit, yeah. Timekeeper will know the most. It's fine, since I don't leave my area very much either way."
"I wouldn't either, considering all these pillows," Randy snorted, looking amused at seeing Andrew was a purring pile of happy ghost cuddled up to Calm. "You know, he didn't used to purr ever until you showed up."
"Yeah. I guess he's just finally gotten...comfortable, I guess. Being all locked up alone in Vidya? I made it a bit of my own mission."
"Oh, speaking of that!" Randy cupped Calm's cheeks before drawing him into a long, lengthy kiss, the action completely familiar and loving. "Love you~" Calm looked surprised for a moment before smiling and leaning his forehead against Randy's.
"Love you, too." As he spoke, he scratched lightly at Andrew's scalp, tugging him closer. Andrew purred a bit louder, kissing under Calm's chin.
"Well, maybe we better stay here and relax with you a little bit," Randy chuckled, sinking down on the pillows a bit more. "These pillows are so comfy~"
"It sounds like you need a moment to relax. And not Love's version of relaxing," Calm said with a snort. Randy chuckled at that, kissing at Calm's cheek again.
"Sounds great." Timekeeper, huh... Well, he'd definitely be the one to ask about the time vision, and why this had happened to Danny. Still, resting a bit until then didn't sound so bad. "Go for the ears, I'll get the neck."
Calm rolled his eyes, continuing to scratch at his scalp. "You're so cruel." And whoops, was his hand wandering towards Andrew's ear?
"Oh, as if you're not," Randy snorted, scratching at the back of Andrew's neck and kissing Calm's cheek.
"We're all cruel," Andrew managed to mumble out, words trailing off into sharp, heavy purrs as he curled up to the two of them with delight.
"Yeah, but you love us." Calm passed the kiss to Andrew's cheek, nuzzling against him.
"Mhm..."