Viva La Vinnie!

by Intrepidwarriors

Vacation time for Charlie, and with Vinnie in tow, she's heading for Las Vegas..a place where anything can happen..and does. As Charlie says "She's on holiday" and nothings gonna stop this lady from partying!

Viva La Vinnie! – JANUARY 2005

By Intrepidwarriors

BMFM is copyright to its owners. I don't make any money from writing this.

All references to existing places or characters belong to their respective owners.

This is a sort of sequel to my first fan fiction "Thrills & Spills".

Rating: M15 for implied Adult behaviour, minimal usage of adult language….and my ranting and raving.

Apologies to my readers. I am not familiar enough with Vegas' setout to give accurate geographical descriptions, hotel setouts or the little things that show I actually know what I'm talking about.

VIVA LA VINNIE!

Chapter 1

Vinnie lounged back against the wall of the Last Chance Garage. He took a swallow from the can of root beer in his hand and watched as Charley whistled to herself under the bonnet of a Hum-V. Sweet Georgie Brown was on in the background and Vinnie reached over to crank the radio when the DJ stopped talking and put on the latest offering from Metallicrank.

Chi-town had been quiet for the last few days, and Vinnie was feeling bored already. After a visit to their arch-nemesis, the mice had found out (via a blubbering Greasepit) that Limburger had been summoned back to Plutark to explain his latest dismal failings to Lord Camembert in person. Throttle and Modo decided to head home to Mars for a well-earned vacation with loved ones, catching a lift with Stoker when he stopped in too see how the three punks were doing, but Vinnie had elected to stay and keep an eye on things. Amongst which was his favourite wrench-jockey.

Charley started bopping in time to the music, her rear swinging from side to side. Exposure to the mice had led to exposure to heavy metal music and, during her acquaintance with one, she had developed a tolerance and then a liking for the other.

Enthralled, Vinnie watched the animated gluteus maximus intently. Charley stood up, and still dancing, grabbed a wrench from her toolbox and started working on a stubborn bolt. After a few frustrating attempts, which only served to make her hand sore, she hit the engine with the wrench. A loud twang echoed around the room. Annoyed, she threw the wrench back into the toolbox and stalked away, breathing deeply until she could regain her composure.

Vinnie drained the remnants of his root beer and threw the can into the bin. Walking over to the toolbox, he picked up the wrench Charley had tossed aside. With one quick turn, he unscrewed the bolt and dropped the wrench back into the toolbox.

Charley looked up as the clang from the wrench hitting the steel toolbox reached her ears. Vinnie tossed her the bolt and she caught it in one hand.

"Thanks Vin!" she exclaimed, surprised and pleased at the same time.

"Any time sweetheart" he remarked as he walked back to his previous spot, waiting for her to continue so he could resume his scrutiny of her denim-clad posterior.

Charley looked at him for a moment, tossing and catching the bolt in her hand as she thought about his completely uncharacteristic behaviour. Realising there was more behind it than first appeared, she went back to work on the Hum-V, watching him out of the corner of her eye. Seeing where his gaze was, Charley grinned to herself. She'd have a bit of fun teasing him before the day was over.

The next song started playing on the radio, an electric number from Liquid Fire and Charley's body moved vigorously up and down, and from side to side. Vinnie's eyes were like two yoyos as he tried to keep pace with the ever mobile backside. He shook his head from the dizziness and tried to refocus. The short tune finished and a selection of advertisements came on.

Charley walked over to the radio and turned it down. Turning her back on the man offering great discounts at Phil's Hardware, she looked coyly at Vinnie.

"Hey Vincent" she said, tapping the wrench against her hand.

Vinnie raised an eyebrow and looked at her questioningly.

"Could you help me unscrew another bolt?" she asked sweetly.

Vinnie nodded ever so slightly and followed her over to the Hum-V, suspicion sending tendrils out into his mind.

"Which bolt?" he asked, scanning the engine.

"That one." Charley pointed vaguely at the engine.

"Where? This one?" Vinnie indicated a particular bolt.

"No, that one" Charley pointed to a bolt further back, toward the driver's end of the bonnet. She handed him the wrench and watched as he leant over the engine, fitting the wrench end around the bolt in question.

When he was bent over far enough for her satisfaction, she stood back and had a good peruse from behind, of his behind and then reached forward and pinched his backside, causing him to yowl in shock. He reared up, hitting his head on the hood in the process and the collision caused him to fall forward onto the engine. His arm knocked the rod keeping the hood upright and it dislocated from its hole, letting the hood come hurtling down onto Vinnie's head.

His bellow of rage stopped Charley's concerned dash toward him to see if he was alright. He levered the hood off his head and glared at her, his pink eyes glowing almost as much as Modo's did when someone called him a rat.

Self-preservation kicked in and Charley made a fast exit, fear of retribution giving her legs unexpected power. She ran out of the garage and pelted down the street. Turning left and then right, she ducked through a pedestrian alley, waving to a neighbour or two. When she was sure he wouldn't find her until he had simmered down, she stopped and took a breath, her hand going to where the stitch was beginning in her belly.

A roar coming toward her caused her to stop in confusion.

Wait a sec, she thought surely Sweetheart would be behind me, not in front?

Charley moved forward cautiously and sure enough, a bright red racer stopped in front of her, beeping excitedly. Except its rider wasn't with it. Charley's brow crinkled worriedly. Had delayed shock kicked in and left Vinnie unconscious?

"Hold on girl, I'm coming with you!" Charley said as she jumped onto Sweetheart's seat.

She shrieked when the seat dipped from behind and two strong arms came round her, pinning her motionless.

"Gotcha!" a familiar voice breathed hotly into her ear.

Charley shivered from the tingles running down her spine. She laughed shakily, still a little jittery from being startled.

"Took you long enough!" she retorted, settling back against the warm body of her biker friend.

Vinnie loosened one arm and started Sweetheart again, urging her forward. She obliged, taking over the driving while her two riders sat contentedly back, enjoying the cool breeze caressing their faces.

Vinnie tugged Charley further back against him and she let her head fall back until it rested on his shoulder. After a while, her heart stopped beating so fast and settled into a steady rhythm and she exhaled deeply, tension slipping from her body. Though it had been quiet without Limburger to set Chicago on its ear, work had picked up at the garage and she was feeling mentally and physically exhausted from the heavy workload.

"I need a vacation" she murmured wishfully.

"Then let's go somewhere" Vinnie said, his keen hearing picking up her spoken desire.

"Too much work, there's no one to look after the garage" she replied, sighing.

"There's nothing that won't wait for a couple of days Charley-girl. Let's go somewhere for the weekend" he coaxed, his voice silky and enticing. "You can show me some of the sites around this blue ball you call home."

"I suppose…but where would we go?" she said, biting her lip as the thought of a mini-break started to build up anticipation inside of her.

"Somewhere exciting, I've had it up to my antennas with peace and quiet" Vinnie muttered, disgust filling his voice.

Charley started to laugh and then stopped when an idea hit her.

"What?" Vinnie asked.

"How about we go to…." She paused for dramatic effect.

"Come on Charley-girl, quit holding out. You owe me for this bump on the head!"

"LAS VEGAS!" she shouted, throwing her arms wide.

Complete silence from the back of the bike caused her to turn sharply around.

"You don't want to go to Las Vegas?" she asked worriedly.

"Um…what's Las Vegas?" Vinnie asked in reply, his handsome face frowning in puzzlement.

"It's, well, it's…I guess like a huge adult fairground" she said.

"I'm so there!" Vinnie let out a whoop and Sweetheart beeped in alarm.

"Its ok girl" Charley reassured her, patting the bike on the bonnet. "Just one thing Vinnie, you have to promise to stay away from the gambling tables. You remember what happened last time!" Charley said severely, doing her best to look stern at eighty miles per hour.

Vinnie grinned sheepishly. "Ok, no gambling" he promised.

"Of any sort!" she said, determined to cover all angles.

"Are we having a holiday or not doll, cos you're starting to sound like my mother!" Vinnie harrumphed. "Ok, no gambling of any sort, freedom fighters oath."

Satisfied he would stick to his word, Charley grinned and gave him a peck on the nose, causing him to blush a little.

"Do you guys always blush?" she asked, chuckling at his red face.

"Only round you doll face, only round you" he retorted before returning the gesture and kissing her on the nose.

It was his turn to laugh when Charley turned as bright as a tomato. Vinnie directed Sweetheart back to the garage and she picked up speed, eager for the shade of the garage.

Chapter 2

The remaining days of the week before their trip flew past thanks to a steady workload and Vinnie's eagerness to be off. He gave Charley a hand wherever he could, often getting in the way more than of being any real help, but she patiently put up with it, knowing it was for a good cause.

She made the necessary arrangements, booking two rooms in one of the themed hotels and organising their flights. Vinnie wanted to ride Sweetheart to Las Vegas but Charley put her foot down. She knew her rear wouldn't be able to handle a road trip that long. He pouted a little at first but soon cheered up when Chef Andy agreed to look after her and keep an eye on the garage while they were away.

Charley booked a taxi to take them to the airport as they had left Sweetheart at Chef Andy's the day before, deciding to take the next fastest transport available.

She packed her bathers, some day clothes, and some warmer clothes for night time and all the odds and ends she would need on the trip. Vinnie just watched the process in amusement.

"Are you packed?" she asked, seeing he had only a backpack with him and no additional luggage floating around anywhere.

"I'm packed" he replied.

"Where's your suitcase?" she asked, looking round.

"This is it baby, this is all I've got" he replied in confusion, surprised by her question.

She stared at him thoughtfully for a moment.

"We'll have to do some shopping when we get there, you can't just wear that all the time" she said, trying to close her bulging suitcase.

Vinnie stood up and pushed down on the top of the case, holding it so she could close the latches.

"What for?" he asked, unsure he liked the idea of shopping when there were huge rides waiting for him.

"Some of the places require smart dress, you'll need something other than jeans and bandoleers" she replied, smiling to take the sting out of her remark.

Vinnie still looked doubtful but she patted him on the cheek. "It'll be fine!" she said reassuringly, handing him the suitcase. A horn sounded, announcing the taxi's arrival.

"Shall we?" Vinnie asked in a posh voice, offering his arm to Charley.

She grinned delightedly and placed her arm through his.

"Indeed Mr. Darcy, we shall!" she replied in an equally posh voice.

Vinnie ruined the effect by jealously asking who Mr. Darcy was and what relevance did he play in Charley's life, but she shushed him and practically dragged him down the stairs in excitement.

They emerged to find a heavy-set fellow with long sideburns and an even longer paunch, standing by a taxi. Tattoos ran the length of his arm and were prominently displayed when he reached up to brush his greasy fringe to one side. He gave Charley a quick head to toe once over and a friendly nod, and then looked at Vincent.

The mouse stopped and waited for the questions that usually accompanied people's first encounter with meeting any of the mice, but the driver blinked once, held out his hand and asked for the luggage.

Vinnie surrended Charley's suitcase to the driver and he put it in the opened boot. Charley opened the passenger door closest to her and climbed in, leaving Vinnie to choose where he wanted to sit.

"Watcha ride?" a deep baritone voice asked from the rear of the taxi.

Startled, Vinnie could only say "huh?" in confusion.

The driver closed the boot and walked around to the side of the taxi.

"You're a biker ain't ya? I can usually tell. Name's Big Ned" the driver said, and offered Vinnie his hand.

Vinnie, still a little surprised, gingerly took Big Ned's hand and was left suitably impressed from the friendly driver's firm handshake.

"So watcha ya ride?" Ned repeated his earlier question. He motioned Vinnie to take the front seat as he climbed into the driver's chair.

For the next ten minutes, Vinnie excitedly gave a detailed description of his pride and joy and some of the adventures they had been in together. Ned remained silent, but asked questions every now and then that showed he was listening intently.

When Vinnie ran out of steam, Ned took up the slack and impressed both of his passengers with his love for his 'Harley Baby' and his knowledge of motorcycles in general.

"What do you ride miss?" he asked Charley, looking at her through the rear vision mirror.

"My tow-truck!" Charley replied and grinned at him.

Ned burst into a hearty laugh and thumped the steering wheel.

"I like this one, she's got a feisty sense of humour!" he said to Vinnie.

"I'll say! The last time she used it I got concussion!" Vinnie said, rubbing the slowly receding bump on his head where the bonnet had hit him.

"Why, what happened?" Ned asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Charley couldn't keep her hands off my studly bod, so of course she succumbed and decided to let her fingers to do the talking…" Vinnie began but Charley's outraged protest drowned out his explanation.

"Oh please! The only one who can't resist you is yourself. And who couldn't keep their eyes off me thank you very much!"

Ned hid a grin as he watched the two friends argue back and forth over who had been perusing who's physical attributes. Between the squabbling, he managed to pickup enough information about what had really happened and laughed for a solid minute. This was going to make a good story to share with the rest of the lad's during the afternoon break.

The argument ended with Charley threatening to give Vinnie another bump if he didn't drop the subject and he complied, but gave her a cheeky wink and suggestive waggle of the eyebrows to show he wasn't beaten.

She pretended to glare at him but was hard pressed to keep a straight face. Finally, she resorted to poking her tongue out at him and pulling a face.

"How long have you two been together? You fight like an old couple" Ned remarked, having seen the immature interaction between the two.

"Going out? Oh no, we're not going out, we're just friends" Charley replied firmly. Her tone left no room for argument.

Vinnie's eyebrow rose at this news and a teasing gleam twinkled in his eyes.

"Not for lack of trying though. Charley-girl's been after me for years, but I don't want to deprive the rest of the world of my good-looks" he said to Ned, ignoring the sarcastic "yeah right!" from the backseat.

Ned chuckled as the arguing started once again, adding an observation or two himself, just to keep the entertainment going.

After half an hour, the signs to the airport appeared and Ned took the appropriate turnoff. They cruised down the main road to the airport, went through a large roundabout and pulled up next to the departure gates. The taxi's passengers disembarked and Ned popped the boot. Vinnie went to retrieve the suitcase while Charley handed over the fare, surprising Ned with a kiss on the cheek.

"It's been so lovely to meet you, could you pick us up when we get back?" Charley asked.

"It'll be my pleasure miss, have fun on your trip" Ned said as he dug around for his business card. He handed it through the window to Charley and she stepped aside so Vinnie could shake Ned's hand in farewell.

"Catch ya in a few days lad" Ned said, clasping the younger man's hand.

"Ride free, Ned!" Vinnie replied, before disengaging.

Ned pulled out, saluted them with a series of horns in a melody they didn't recognise and then drove off, his former passengers waving in the background.

Vinnie put the suitcase in his right hand and offered his left hand to Charley. All teasing forgotten, she slipped her hand in his and they walked through the terminal gates together.

Several people stopped and looked as the curious looking couple made their way through the terminal, including a number of Asian tourists, who quickly fumbled for their cameras. Vinnie tried to stop and pose for the amateur photographers, but Charlie was having none of it. Determined not to miss their flight, she yanked on Vinnie's arm and pulled him at a fast trot toward the flight counter.

The female attendant at the flight counter did a double take at seeing her latest passengers but was too professional to lose a beat and duly processed them. She informed them the plane was due to disembark in twenty minutes, bid them a safe flight, and directed them to Gate 12. As soon as Vinnie and Charley had left, she seized her friend in the next counter and they managed to have a thirty second chinwag about it until another set of passengers arrived.

Charley stopped at one of the magazine stores to purchase a gossip magazine for herself and Vinnie ended up selecting a travel book on Las Vegas.

"I thought you didn't like reading" Charley commented, surprised to see Vinnie's selection.

"I like playing the dumb tourist less" he replied, looking at the pictures while Charley paid.

They hot-footed it to the gate and were just in time to make the last boarding call. The flight steward directed them to their twin aisle and window seats and they made their way past retired pensioners, harassed mothers with babies and young children, businessmen absorbed with paperwork, necking teenagers and the occasional solo passenger. Finding their seats, Vinnie allowed Charley to slip in next to the window.

"You don't want the window seat?" she asked, twisting from left to right as she attempted to mould the seat cushion to her body shape.

"Charley-girl, this is primitive transport for me, I've seen better views from space remember" he said, the chair creaking a little with his weight. Leaning closer he whispered in her ear, "Besides, I can see the movie better from here!"

Laughing, she thumped him gently on the arm. "Should have known you had an ulterior reason."

She opened her magazine and flicked idly through the pages till she found an article that captured her interest. Vinnie looked round, smiled at the wide-eyed kid sitting across from him and assured the curious child that no, he wasn't a mascot for one of the local sports teams, before turning to his book.

At first he didn't know what to expect, but the more he read about their chosen destination, the more excited he became. He was so engrossed in what he was learning that he failed to notice the food trolley until it was right next to him and the stewardess was asking if he wanted beef or chicken for lunch.

"Do you have any hotdogs?" he asked hopefully but the stewardess shook her head in the negative.

"Ok, I'll have the chicken then please" he replied, nudging Charley so the stewardess could take her order.

Charley selected the beef, and asked for a couple of root beers as well. They were each served a tray which had their chosen main meal, a side salad and small dessert. They each took bits of the other's meal to see what they tasted like and there was a fair amount of fork invading before they were finished.

While they were eating, the movie started and Vinnie took out the earphones and put his book in the seat pocket in front of him. Charley read for a bit longer before doing the same. She couldn't quite see the entire movie so she leant her head on Vinnie's shoulder to get a better view. She fell asleep that way, missing half of the movie.

Vinnie remained as still as he could, which was amazing for an energy ball not used to such inactivity but he knew his friend have been working to the point of exhaustion and he didn't want to wake her. He found himself starting to nod off as the movie neared its big finish and eventually lay his head on top of Charley's and drifted off.

The clang of seat trays and the pilot's announcement 'that they were nearing their destination and could all passengers return to their seats' woke them up. Charley lifted her head off Vinnie's shoulder and blinked several times, trying to blink the fuzzy out of her eyes. Vinnie, who hadn't been sleeping as long, merely extended his legs and arms as far as he could and stretched.

"You humans really have no idea about leg room" he muttered in disgust when his knees kept bumping the chair in front of him.

"Hey, we're primitive remember!" Charley snapped, her green eyes lighting up in defence of her species, even though secretly she agreed with him.

Vinnie grinned and reached over to brush the fringe out of her eyes, as her hair was still slightly rumpled from when she had been sleeping.

"You're not all bad, you have some things to recommend you as a species" he remarked, running his finger down her cheek.

Charley was going to going to add something else but settled for trying to bite his finger.

Vincent yelped when her teeth connected and he yanked his finger out of range of the white canines, glaring at her in consternation.

"Yeesh Charley-girl, a man's just not safe around you. What's next, my manhood?!" he said, moving as far away from her as he could in his seat.

Charley didn't let him escape and leaned over in her own chair. She gave him a sweet smile and a puppy-dog face, batting her eyelids at him. He refused to play along and pointedly ignored her, crossing his arms and turning to look in the opposite direction. She tweaked his right ear but he still refused to turn round.

She linked her arm through his and rubbed her head on his shoulder. "Vin, don't be mad at me" she pleaded in a sugary-sweet voice.

That did the trick and he turned to frown at her. "Only if you promise never to use that voice again Charley-girl!" he said pointedly. "It gives me the creeps!"

Charley gave him a grin that was more true to her usual self. "Actually, it creeped me out too" she said, and shivered to emphasise the point.

The pilot interrupted their banter and announced that arrival was imminent in ten minutes. The plane began to descend and the flight attendants quickly took their seats. The plane touched down without a hitch, disembarking was leisurely and uneventful and they made their way through the Las Vegas airport to the luggage collection area.

Being an experienced city girl, Charley took no time in hunting down a cab while Vinnie minded their limited baggage. His eyes popped at the sight of the advertisement on top of the taxi, a nearly naked female human lounging seductively next to a phone, beckoning passer-by's to give her a call to have a 'chat'.

Seeing his look, Charley merely grinned. "Welcome to Vegas, you'll get used to that sort of thing, its everywhere" she said as she handed the suitcase to the taxi driver. Vincent closed his jaw but his eyes had a hard time leaving the poster female behind, and Charley had to practically push him into the back seat. She climbed in next to him and the driver started the vehicle, checked for oncoming traffic and then pulled out into the closest lane.

"Circus Circus Hotel please" Charley instructed the driver and settled back against the vinyl seat. She smiled at Vinnie's wide-eyed gaze, taking in everything.

"Not bad, eh Vin?" she said.

He turned to look at her and grinned. He nodded enthusiastically and went back to staring out the window, his face pressed against the glass like a kid window-shopping at an exotic candy store.

The large outer-shell of Adventuredome loomed and the taxi skimmed round the edge of it till they arrived at the Casino Tower entrance of the Circus Circus hotel. A valet opened the taxi door for them and the driver popped the trunk. A porter arrived with a trolley and placed the suitcase and Vinnie's backpack on top of it and waited patiently for them to follow.

Charley tipped the driver and valet and followed the porter into the impressive blue-purple dominant reception foyer. They joined a small que waiting to be checked-in and were shortly summoned forward by one of the hotel receptionists.

"Booking for Davidson, Charlene."

The receptionist confirmed their booking with the computer, coded two room keys and handed them to their porter.

"There you go Miss Davidson, you and Mr. Van Wham are booked into adjoining rooms. We hope you enjoy your stay and thank you for choosing Circus Circus for your holiday destination."

The porter led his guests to the hotel lifts, selected the 'up' arrow and allowed his guests to enter the lift first. He pulled the trolley in behind him and pushed the 10th floor button. The lift began to ascend and the porter began whistling a lively tune. Vinnie was starting to find the whistling irritating but thankfully, the lift arrived at their destination before he reached the point of stuffing a sock into the guy's mouth. His relief was short lived though.

The doors opened and the porter whistled his way out of the lift, down the corridor and into the first hotel room assigned to his guests. He whistled the two bags onto the floor, through the process of opening up the other room and the connecting doors, waited patiently while Charley selected a bill to tip him with, whistled his thanks and then serenaded his trolley again out of the room and back down the hall.

Vinnie's hands were clenched in fists and he bit down on his bottom lip to stop himself saying anything to the porter before he left. He let out a breath when the porter finally departed and sunk down onto one of the chairs, rubbing his forehead between his fingers.

Charley shut her wallet and put it back in her bag. She made a quick inspection of the mini-bar and facilities, eventually ending up in the bathroom.

"Hey, they've got those little emergency repair sewing kits here!" she exclaimed, turning it over to inspect the contents.

"Good, it'll come in handy when we run into that trolley guy again" a tired male voice replied from the bedroom.

Charley merely smiled, choosing not to answer and put the sewing kit back on the vanity. She returned to the bedroom and sat down on the bed opposite Vincent.

"Which room do you want?" she asked, stifling a yawn.

"I'll take the other one" he said generously, noting how Charley seemed to have already settled into this one.

"Ok. What do you want to do first?" she added.

"Sleep" Vinnie replied emphatically.

"That doesn't sound like you Vincent. I think you're definitely getting old!" she teased.

"Charley-girl, I happened to be tired ok, not old!" he retorted.

"Yeah right, tell Heath and Tarina that when you get back" Charley replied, referring to their new friends from their last trip to a theme park back in Chi-town.

(for more details, please see Thrills&Spills © Intrepidwarriors)

"Hey, I wasn't the only one who needed a break, grandma" he said, pulling a face at her.

She picked a pillow up and threw it at his head but he caught it with one hand and pounced onto the bed.

"Don't you dare!" she shrieked as he held the pillow threateningly over her.

He grinned evilly and proceeded to swat her with the pillow.

Charley growled and grabbed another pillow. She went on the offensive, batting Vinnie from the left, while he defended from the right. Charley seemed to gain the upper hand for a time but Vinnie made a strong comeback and soon had her pinned to the bed, her hair flowing around her like a silken spider web.

"Ok, ok! I give up!" she gasped, breathless from laughing. Vinnie had removed her pillow out of reach and had her hands pushed up above her head, held there by his left hand while his right hand still held the pillow he had used.

His face took on a serious look and he bent down to kiss her lightly on the lips. Charley closed her eyes and breathed in, marvelling at how delicious his musky scent smelt. Vinnie deepened the kiss and soon found all thoughts of sleep disappearing from his mind. His free hand wandered down Charley's body, running feathery touches across her skin. Charley shivered with delight and groaned a little at the sensations he created.

A warning alarm went off in her head and she reluctantly turned her head so he couldn't reach her lips. This caused him to regain focus and he drew back, breathing heavily. Charley's chest rose and fell in tandem to his own.

"Sorry Vin, but there's a reason why I booked two rooms" she said almost regretfully

Vinnie's body screamed at him. 'Not fair!'it cried, and his mind seethed at the intrusion of reality. He pushed himself off from on top of her and stood for a moment, still breathing heavily. Charley sat up and stared at the wall in front of her. Her cheeks were flushed and she was having a hard time quashing the desire flooding her body.

"I'll….I'll just go have a cold shower and hit the sack for an hour" Vinnie muttered and turned on his heel, knowing the sight of her flushed cheeks and desire filled eyes would weaken his resolve.

"Good idea" she replied to his retreating figure. She got off the bed and sighed. Sometimes she hated being the 'good girl' her mother and father had raised her to be. She unzipped her suitcase, pulled out a fresh pair of briefs and entered the bathroom. Turning the taps on so there was just enough warmth to keep her from freezing to death, she stripped and hopped into the shower. The water worked its magic and she felt more refreshed than she had in a while. Drying herself off, she put on her clean briefs and walked back into the bedroom with the towel wrapped around her.

Vinnie had left the connecting doors open so she walked over to shut them so she could dress. As she went to do so, Vinnie walked back into her room with only a towel wrapped round his waist. He stopped and wolf-whistled appreciatively

"Nice look babe, you could get onto one of those taxis, all you need is a phone" he commented and ducked when she aimed a mock swipe at his head.

"What do you want Van Wham?" she asked, pretending to be irritated.

"Forgot my bag" he responded sheepishly and grabbed his pack from off the floor.

He slung it over his shoulder and paused at the door. "Charley….I…" he began.

"Good bye Vincent, I'll see you in an hour" Charley said firmly, holding the door wider for him.

He shrugged his shoulders, gave her a lop-sided grin and deliberately swaggered out the room, giving her a nice view of his departing figure.

"Rascal!" she chuckled and shut the door, locking it for good measure. She pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank-top and picked the pillows off the floor and rearranged them on the bed. She pulled the sheets back and climbed under the covers, sighing with contentment as her head rested on the soft pillow. Her breathing slowed and she soon fell asleep.

Chapter 3

Charley woke to a soft tapping coming from the connecting door. Sighing, she threw the covers back and stumbled to the door, unlocking it finally after a few fumbled attempts. A sleepy-eyed Vinnie greeted her at the door, his bright red satin boxers nearly invisible in the semi-dark.

"Its seven o'clock, its dark outside and my tummy's rumbling" he said, doing his best to pretend he wasn't copping an eyeful of her tanktop-minus-bra state.

Charley wasn't fooled and lifted his chin with her finger.

"My eyes are up here, Vincent" she said and waited till his reluctant gaze moved higher up.

"Yeah well, as I was saying, I'm getting hungry, so if you want to get dressed, we can go get something to eat."

"Fancy or casual?" she asked, mentally running through what she had to wear.

"Casual I guess. I don't have anything fancy to wear" Vinnie replied, his gaze slipping down once more.

Charley sighed in exasperation and pushed him back into his own room. "Give me fifteen minutes" she said as she shut the door.

"One track mind that boy" she muttered to herself and then grinned. "Who am I kidding? He's not the only one!"

Charley dug through her suitcase for a pair of blue jeans and a red t-shirt. She selected a jacket just in case it got cooler and quickly brushed her hair into a less riotous state.

She tapped on the door to let Vinnie know she was ready and he walked in with his usual pair of tight fitting jeans on, black boots and red bandana, but he had elected to leave the bandoleers behind, settling instead for a black muscle t-shirt.

"Do you want to eat in the hotel or should we look around a bit first?" he asked.

"Let's just grab something quick from the hotel and then see if the shops are open in the plaza" she replied, unlocking the front door. Vinnie pocketed his key and followed Charley into the hall, pulling the door shut. They walked to the lift, joined another couple of guests waiting for a ride and hopped into the first lift heading to the ground floor.

They wandered over to the information counter and asked where they could grab a light meal. The information officer recommended they visit the Pink Pony or the Pizzeria. Further questioning revealed that they could pick up a range of men's and women's clothing from Marshall Rousso, including casual and evening wear.

"Do you want pizza?" Charley asked Vinnie.

Vinnie pulled a face. "What do I look like? A damn turtle? Nah, let's try that Pink Pony place."

They followed the map provided by the helpful information officer till they found the café. They were shown to a table by a waitress and Charley handed a menu to Vinnie. Vinnie had a quick look at the menu, selected a burger with the lot and a root beer and then looked around at the decorations on the wall.

"That is the gayest looking horse I have ever seen" he commented, scrutinising the bright pink pony on the wall.

"Vincent, how can a horse be gay just because of its colour?" Charley asked, putting her menu down in disbelief.

"I didn't say he was gay, I just said he was the gayest looking" he said defensively.

"Maybe it's a girl horse!" she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "You're unbelievable sometimes. Gay horse my…" she cut herself when she realised what she was about to say.

Vinnie grinned at her. "I'm sorry Charley-girl, what was that?" he teased.

She refused to rise to the bait looked and picked up her menu, stoically keeping her eyes on the list of items. Fortunately, the waitress arrived again with notebook in hand and she asked for their orders.

Vinnie rattled his off and waited for Charley to order hers. She settled on a burger as well, but with less filling than Vinnie's. The waitress took their menus and bustled off to place their orders with the chef.

"How do you think the guys are doing?" Charley asked. They hadn't been in contact with them for over a week.

"I'm sure they're enjoying their holidays. Modo was pretty eager to see his family, especially Primer; he hasn't seen his niece for five years."

The waitress arrived with their drink orders and they each took a sip before continuing.

"Betcha Throttle will be happy to see Carbine again" Charley commented, remembering how excited the mouse leader had been before Stoker arrived to transport them to Mars. She chuckled at the memory, she had never seen the normally calm, cool and collected Martian so wound-up over something before. He had grabbed her in a bear hug, dropped a kiss on her forehead and dashed up the ramp as fast as he could, not even stopping to wait for his bike.

"I thought we weren't here to gamble" Vinnie replied, grinning to show he was only joking. His look turned thoughtful for a moment. "Yep, I reckon you'd be right on the mark. He was getting pretty frisky there for a while."

Charley groaned. "Seriously Vinnie, sometimes you can be an absolute gentleman, and other times you are so crude."

"Crude? This ain't crude doll!" he replied. "If you want to see crude, I can show you later!"

He waggled his eyebrows at her and leered like an evil villain from an old black and white movie.

She laughed at his imitation and hid her head in her hands. Vinnie grinned, glad to see she was enjoying herself. So far the trip had proven a lot of fun. And all they had done was shower, sleep and order dinner. He couldn't wait to see what fun the rest of the weekend was going to be.

Their burgers arrived and conversation was ceased while they ate. Charley cut her burger in half and then quarters, eating one section at a time. Vinnie, having the biggest mouth in Chi-town, had no such problem and shoved the whole burger into his orifice in one piece.

Vinnie patted his now over-extended belly and belched quietly. He watched as the last morsel of burger disappeared between Charley's lips and she sucked the sauce off her finger. He watched fascinated, licking his own lips in response. Inwardly he groaned. 'Not again, can't you think of anything else!' he fumed at his inner self. Since he had taken her to the fair the month previous, and they had shared their first kiss, Charley and everything that was Charley had been constantly on his mind.

Charley noticed him looking and paused, blushing when she realised what she was doing. She pulled her finger out of her mouth and quickly used the napkin to wipe the rest of the sauce off.

"Shall we go shopping?" she prompted, standing up and pulling several green bills out of her wallet and handing them to Vinnie.

Vinnie moved his chair back and went to pay for the meal. He left a tip for the waitress, having learnt the tradition from Charley and met her out the front of the café. They walked to the Marshall Rousso store and Charley spent a few minutes looking for some evening clothes for Vinnie, smiling away the proffered offer of help from the shop assistant. Vinnie just stood awkwardly in the middle of the shop, looking uncomfortable and out of place.

"Don't like anything?" Charley asked, pulling a white jacket off the shelf.

"We don't have shopping malls on Mars sweetheart, I'm not exactly well practised at this sort of thing" he replied.

Deciding she didn't like the jacket, Charley put it back on the rack and turned to scrutinise Vinnie.

"Mind if decide for you?" she asked.

A look of pure relief flooded across Vinnie's face. "Definitely!"

He nearly changed his mind when he saw the feral gleam in her eye but there was no stopping Charley. Like most people of her gender, she had an innate ability to shop, and to shop hard. Vinnie soon found himself layered with an armful of clothing that reached to his antennas. Charley kept piling clothing of different sorts on top of him and his arms started to ache from the weight.

"Charley-girl, I don't need all this stuff!" he protested as a blue shirt was dumped on top of a pair of black formal pants.

"You're just trying it on Vinnie, we'll decide what looks best once I've seen it on you" Charley said from somewhere in front of him.

She had to guide him to the change rooms because he couldn't see properly, and he spent an exhausting thirty minutes changing in and out of the different items she had selected. After umming and arring about the selection, Charley settled on a long-sleeved black formal shirt, a pair of earth-brown formal slacks, the short-sleeved blue shirt and the black slacks combination she had piled on him last, a casual yellow t-shirt with short sleeves, a red tank top and a pair of blue shorts. She also selected a versatile black jacket which would compliment all the outfits. Vinnie also ended up with a couple pairs of new boxers, some socks and a pair of smart loafers. Charley tried on a startling jade coloured evening gown while Vinnie was getting dressed, and she decided to buy it then and there when she saw the approval in his eyes.

Charley dumped the unwanted items on the shop assistant who had stood by just in case her help was needed. She picked up the items she intended to purchase and carried them over to the counter. Vinnie brought the shoes and underwear with him, putting them on the counter with the rest of the gear.

"Please don't ever do that again!" he begged. Charley only smiled and patted him on the head.

The shop assistant stifled a laugh as she began processing the clothing tags through the scanner.

"That will be $1000 including tax thank you ma'am" said the shop assistant politely.

Vinnie's jaw dropped and he stuttered a protest but Charley calmly pulled out her credit card and handed it over.

"Charley, you can't afford that" Vinnie whispered in her ear.

"I'm not paying sweety, you are" she replied as the assistant handed her a verification slip to sign.

"I don't have that kind of money!" he protested.

"Yes you do" she said, thanking the shop assistant and handing the bags to Vinnie. She took him by the arm and directed him back to their rooms.

"Since when?" Vinnie asked, not believing a word she said.

"Since Carbine kicked some government rear on Mars and got you freedom fighters some well-deserved compensation. But, since you guys aren't on Mars to spend it, I asked them to let me sell some of the low tech Martian technology to the government and use the proceeds for your share. You've all been back paid for the time you spent fighting the Plutarkians and also holiday pay, four weeks a year. That's was my idea" she said proudly "Plus, I worked out with Stoker and Carbine to purchase any items the other freedom fighters might want from Earth and Stoker will have them shipped up to Mars every two months. That means more trips home for you guys!"

"And you were going to tell me when? And how come you have control over my money?" he asked, flabbergasted beyond belief. He seemed more interested in the money side of things than the opportunity to be able to visit his home planet pretty much whenever he felt like it.

"You were too busy stuffing hotdogs down your gullet to listen to Stoker so I figured what was the point. And I have control of your money because Throttle and Modo agreed that you would just blow it all on some ridiculous item."

"Like clothes!" he said sarcastically.

She pinched him in the ribs and grinned. "You'll get pocket money, but at least this way you'll have the money to spend on important things rather than just hotdogs and root beer, or poker."

"Yeah, I suppose" he mumbled, not happy at the idea of a small fortune not at his beck and call. And the gaming tables were so close!

Charley stood on tippy-toe and kissed him on the cheek. "By the way, thank you for my dress" she said warmly.

He blinked in surprise, and then grinned. "You're welcome sweetheart. You deserve it!"

They caught the lift back to their rooms and Charley let them in via her room. Vinnie dumped his clothing in his room and wandered back into Charley's.

"Feel like having coffee?" she asked, turning the kettle on.

"Sure" he replied, making himself comfortable on the bed. He turned the television on and flicked through the pay per view movies. Finding a James Bomb film that was half way through its plot line, he pushed accept and settled back to watch the flick.

"That's going to charge to my account!" she said pointedly, handing him a cup of hot black coffee.

He accepted the cup and smiled knowingly. "Put it on my tab sweetheart."

Charley put her cup on the bedside cabinet and curled up around Vinnie with her head on his chest. He stroked her hair and breathed in the scent of her shampoo. The smell of strawberries and sandalwood tickled his nose.

They watched the film together and when the credits began to roll, Charley sat up, drained the last of her coffee and took both cups to the sink. Vinnie sat up, rolled off the bed and bid Charley a goodnight, kissing her on the forehead as he left.

"Goodnight my teddy bear" she cooed and laughed when he blushed.

"I'll get you for that!" he promised as he left her room.

Feminine laughter echoed after him as he entered his own room, followed by the sound of the connecting door being shut. He looked around the empty room and sighed. He wasn't used to sleeping in a room by himself, usually one or more of his bros was there to fill it with their snoring. A nap was ok, but eight hours straight of just himself for company felt strange, almost surreal.

Shrugging, he started pulling off his jeans and t-shirt. He thought about sleeping in his red boxers, but on a whim, he pulled out one of his new purchases and ripped the plastic wrapping off a green pair of boxers.

An anorexic mouse with black ears grinned inanely back at him when he held the boxers up to the light.

How Charley had talked him into getting them was a mystery, but one crook of her pinkie and any of the big, bad biker mice were putty in her hands. It was an uncanny ability that Vinnie was determined to get to the bottom of sometime soon, but for the time being, he and his bros were stuck turning all gooey like a gaggle of Aunties at a wedding whenever she batted an eye at one of them.

Vinnie had another look at the grinning mouse, before tossing the boxers onto the bed and diving into the bag again to pull out the second packet of boxers, this time a dark purple pair. He pulled the plastic off them and held them up for inspection. His face fell when he realised they weren't much better.

A duck with no pants on gave him a thumbs-up, completely at home in his semi-nudity.

"Seriously dude, if you're not going to wear any pants, you may as well not wear anything at all" he said to the white duck. "And what's with the whole sailor suit get-up? You friends with the Pink Pony or something?!" he asked in exasperation, tossing the purple boxers on the bed in frustration.

"That woman is determined to make me a laughing stock!" he fumed, eyeing the offending underwear.

Vinnie stared glumly at the boxers for another few minutes until a half-remembered idea formed in his mind. He had heard about this sort of thing from watching movies. His eyes lit up and he quickly pulled his jeans and t-shirt back on. Stuffing the boxers back into their wrapping, Vinnie grabbed his key and quietly slipped out the hotel room. Checking to see the coast was clear, he tip-toed past Charley's room and made a made dash for the elevator. He rocked back and forth on his heels in impatience until the elevator arrived and he jumped in, pushing the ground floor button.

Vinnie walked briskly through the hotel until he reached Marshall Rousso again. The shop was close to closing time but the shop assistance welcomed him and enquired as to his needs.

Dumping the boxers on the counter, Vinnie gave her his most charming smile.

"I, uh, I need to exchange these boxers" he said, the unfamiliar shopping term rolling off his tongue.

"Ok sir, what seems to be the matter with them?" the shop assistant asked, pulling the boxers out to examine them. "Is the sizing wrong? Or is there a problem with the manufacturing?"

"Does a friend's sick sense of humour count as a problem?" Vinnie asked in all seriousness.

The shop assistant looked at the purple boxers with Donald Duck on them, glanced at the muscled Martian in front of her, looked at the boxers again and then grinned.

"Unfortunately sir, store policy does not cover exchanging items due to a change in a customer's taste."

Vinnie muttered a 'damn' before nodding. He had hoped but….

"But I'm sure we can come to an arrangement." The shop assistant winked at him conspiratorially. "My boyfriend happens to have a fondness for Disney characters, and he's about your size. If you pick two pairs to the same value which are more to your liking, I'll put them on my account and you can take the new ones home with you, and I'll give these to my boyfriend."

"You are a doll!" Vinnie crowed, leaning over to give the shop assistant a kiss on the cheek.

Laughing, she watched as he happily started rummaging amongst the variety of boxers on the shelves. She turned back to the boxers in front of her and started folding them neatly, popping them in a bag to take home with her.

Vinnie emerged from amongst the clothing, triumphantly clutching a pair of black boxers with a Harley Davidson logo on them and amore risqué pair of boxers. He handed them to the shop assistant who scanned them through, used her Staff Card for a discount and put them in a bag for him.

"By the way, my name's Vinnie" Vincent added, holding out his hand to the shop assistant.

"Carole" she replied, shaking his hand warmly.

"I don't know how to say thank you…" Vinnie said awkwardly.

Carole smiled and shook her head. Winking, she tapped the cheeky boxers.

"I just wish I had a camera when you're girlfriend sees these!" she said, chuckling. "No need to thank me Vinnie, it's me who should thank you for choosing to shop at Marshall Rousso. Have a nice night."

Vinnie gave a salute and wave before jogging back through the hotel to his room. He tucked his naughty pair of boxers away in his bag and decided to wear the Harley Davidson. Crawling into bed, he switched the light off and drifted off to sleep, despite the quiet of the room. In fact, he didn't remember when he had slept so well.

Chapter 4

Sunshine peeping through the crack between the curtains signalled that morning had arrived and Vinnie reluctantly opened his eyes. Yawning, he did a full body stretch, arms and legs covering the large queen size bed from top to toe. He felt fully refreshed, ready to take the world on and any scary ride it had to offer.

The thought of rides sent Vinnie bolting out of bed and battering on the connecting door. The door was yanked open and Vinnie nearly fell forward into Charley. He managed to steady himself on the doorjamb and pull himself up before he landed on top of her.

"Are you awake?" he asked eagerly.

"No, I'm dancing!" she said sarcastically, her throat raspy from lack of hydration.

"You mean like this?" Vinnie asked, before sweeping her up and twirling round his room with her.

"PUT ME DOWN!" Charley yelled. She was still too befuddled to tolerate such enthusiasm from the white dynamite this morning and could only hold on for grim death while the walls spun widely.

Pausing mid-spin, Vinnie came to an abrupt stop and grinned at her. Putting her back down on her feet, he pushed her gently toward her room.

"Come on, get dressed, we've got some rides to conquer!" he said enthusiastically. He slapped her backside for good measure when she muttered something about Vinnie and ADD, and she shrieked in outrage, launching herself at him.

She chased him round the room a few times, over the bed, round the chairs and into the bathroom. Cornered, Vinnie held his hands up in surrender as the flame-eyed beauty descended on him. Before she could make good on her promise of retribution, he seized her in a bear hug and squeezed her tight against him.

Charley managed to wriggle one of her hands free and she used it to good measure, slapping him hard on his rear. Vinnie only grinned, and rearranged his grip so his superior strength kept her motionless.

Something Charley had seen caused her to stop wriggling and she looked at him in confusion.

"Where did you get those boxers?" she asked curiously, indicating his Harley Davidson boxers.

"These? Carole let me trade the mouse and duck ones for them last night" he replied, enjoying the feel of her in his arms again.

"Who's Carole?" Charley asked, not quite able to keep the hint of jealousy out of her voice.

"The lady who works at that shop we were at last night" he replied, grinning from ear to ear when he realised she was jealous.

"What else did you get?" Charley asked, intrigued despite herself. Personally, she had thought the other two pairs were cute but he certainly didn't look bad in the Harley Davidson pair either.

"I'll show you another time" Vinnie said, dodging the issue.

"Why not now?" Charley asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"No Charley" Vinnie said, more firmly this time.

Amazed by his determination, Charley changed tactics and moved closer to Vinnie and smiled seductively at him, half-lidding her eyes in the process.

"Are you sure?" she asked, dropping her voice an octave or two.

Vinnie lidded his own eyes and moved his face closer to hers.

"Yes" he replied in the same low tone.

Furious her ploy hadn't worked, Charley struggled to get free but Vinnie wrapped his tail round her legs to keep her immobile.

"I think you need to cool down" he remarked and swung her round toward the shower.

"No!" Charley spluttered and fought even more violently.

Vinnie released her feet and used his tail to turn the cold water tap on. He mimed throwing Charley under the faucet, causing her to grab his fur tightly.

"Are you going to get ready?" he said, holding her close to the stream of water.

"Yes!" Charley yelled, laughing despite herself. She hiccuped once, twice, causing Vinnie to grin.

He turned the tap off and carried her out of the bathroom and back to her room. Plonking her on the bed, he strode back into his own room, ignoring her shouted threats of pay-back.

Charley grinned as Vinnie returned to his own room, shutting the door behind him. She was having more fun than she was letting on. There was something about Vincent that seemed to bring out the cheeky side of her.

Humming to herself, she had a brief shower and dressed in the bathroom, donning jeans and a t-shirt. She didn't bother with makeup; she was on holiday after all. Though, she did compromise with a little foundation.

Vinnie walked in with his new red tank-top on and his regular jeans and boots. His laser featured prominently at his hip and he paused when he saw her look of distaste.

"What?" he asked, miffed by her facial expression.

"It's not Chi-town, Vinnie, leave the laser at the hotel. How you managed to get it past customs is beyond me" she said.

Vinnie unholstered his laser and looked at it dubiously for a moment. Deciding she was right, he returned it to his backpack. After all, as far as he and his bros knew, there was no Plutarkian activity in Las Vegas.

Charley joined him in his room, slinging a day pack round one of her shoulders. She opened the door to the hallway and waited for Vinnie to join her.

They door to the room opposite them opened and a small child of about five emerged. She paused, looked wide-eyed kid at Vinnie and popped her head back into the room.

"Mummy! Come look, its Mickey Mouse!" she called out, turning back to smile winningly at Vincent.

Vincent groaned, grabbed Charley's hand and dragged her snickering down the hall.

"Mister Mouse, can I get your autograph?" Charley teased in a whiny child's voice.

Vinnie ignored her, frantically pushing the down button on the elevator. The child's voice seemed to get closer and she soon appeared, mother in tow.

"There mummy, there!" she yelled excitedly, pointing at Vinnie.

Vinnie quickly made a dash for the stairs, leading Charley by the hand.

"What's wrong with the elevator?" Charley couldn't resist asking.

"We need the exercise" he muttered and increased their pace down the stairs.

They emerged on the Sixth Floor and Vinnie decided to take the elevator the rest of the way. The doors opened and Vinnie breathed a sigh of relief. There was no sign of the loud child or her doting mother. The elevator reached the ground floor and Vinnie and Charley spilt out into the foyer, joining the already large crowd walking in the direction of the breakfast smorgasbord. They joined the breakfast que, Vinnie keeping a lookout for the miniature menace from upstairs, while Charlie fended off queries from queuing neighbours as to what show Vinnie and herself would be appearing in.

Grabbing three plates, Vinnie handed one to Charley and began loading his own two with a large serving of everything. He loaded Charley's at the same time, placing croissants on her plate with his tail.

"You can come back for as much as you want" Charley protested when her plate threatened to overbalance.

"No time, got to get on those rides!" Vinnie replied, balancing his two five-story high plates of food over to a table for two. He whipped her chair out with his tail and then pulled his own out, placing both plates on the table side by side. Seeing Charley was comfortable, he proceeded to plow through everything in front of him, even finishing Charley's when her stomach rebelled and begged off from attending the feast.

Charley barely had time to wipe her mouth on her napkin when Vinnie was dragging her up from her chair and hot-footing her away from the food area.

"Vinnie, please, this is ridiculous. If I wanted to be rushed off my feet, I would have stayed home!" she said, trying to make her friend slow down.

To her amusement and Vinnie's dismay, a long wail of "MOUSSEEYYY!" pursued them.

"Quick, before she catches us!" Vinnie exclaimed and once more dragged Charley away from the persistent Mickey Mouse fan.

They bolted through the foyer and out of the front door. He turned to see the young girl being scooped up and carried away by a man who had to be her father, because he gave her a small spanking for running away and carried her crying back to her mother.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Vinnie looked at his tour guide.

"Where to now?" he asked Charley.

"Rides you want, rides you shall have. But my tummy needs time to settle first. Why don't we take a walk around and then we'll hit the Adventuredome," Charley suggested, linking her arm in his and leading him in the direction of the Vegas Strip.

After an hour or two of seeing the sights, Vinnie's eagerness for a rollercoaster had reached boiling point and he flatly refused to look at anything else that didn't have a double loop in it. So they returned to Circus Circus and bought an all-day pass to use such rides as The Canyon Blaster, The Rim Runner, Chaos and Slingshot. After several turns of each, it was time for lunch. They opted to eat away from the hotel this time and stopped in at Hard Rock Café, Las Vegas style.

The huge guitar impressed Vinnie and Charley took a picture of him standing next to it, before they settled down to a round of nachos and root beers. Charley was getting a little tired of an all hotdog diet and was doing her best at getting the guys to try different foods.

Chapter 5

Once lunch was finished, they headed for the Sahara Hotel and bought tickets to ride the Speed rollercoaster. Eventually, they reached New York, New York and bought a final ticket to ride the Manhattan Express.

Vinnie's woohooing rang out from the roller coaster and Charley tried not to grin like a maniac. 'This had Deathly Pleasure beat' she thought as the ride came to an end.

Wobbly from so much excitement, the two friends climbed out of the rollercoaster and walked into the main area of New York, New York.

"What's Coyote Ugly?" Vinnie asked, eyeing the advertisement in front of him.

"It's a bar" Charley replied. "With lots of dancing, drinks twirling women."

Vinnie's ears visibly pricked up at this. "Really? Can we go?" he asked eagerly.

Charley had heard about the bar from a friend and was interested to see the bar mistresses at work herself.

"Sure" she said, and was dragged for the twenty thousandth time that day by an over-stimulated white tsunami.

Charley watched, as fascinated as her male companion, as the beautiful CU gals danced, spun, flipped and poured numerous alcoholic beverages to the cheers of their customers. Vinnie looked goggle-eyed at the skimpy costumes on so many sexy women but he kept glancing back at Charley every now and then, wondering what she would like look in one of the cowgirl outfits.

Charley caught him watching her speculatively. "What?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nothing" he replied, and quickly turned back to watch one of the CU ladies line up a shot of whiskeys for a group of college boys.

Charley looked at him for a moment longer, and then shrugged. She was having too much fun to pursue the topic.

After a while, Charley checked her watch and nudged Vinnie, telling him it was well past dinner time. An answering rumble from Vinnie's bottomless pit confirmed her statement. They waved as several of the CU gals blew them farewell kisses and headed out of Coyote Ugly for Gallagher's Steakhouse, a favourite of Charley's to dine at when she had visited Las Vegas before.

They ate their steaks slowly, exhausted from their full day of activity.

"Want to catch a comedy show?" Vinnie asked, remembering an advertisement he had seen earlier.

"How about a cabaret?" Charley suggested.

"Cabaret? Charley, come on, that's for senior citizens!" Vinnie moaned, rolling his eyes at the idea.

"Fine! We'll see your comedy show tonight" Charley replied.

Vinnie grinned, feeling pleased with himself at his victory.

But Charley wasn't done yet. "Tomorrow, we are going to see a dinner and show at Excalibur!" she said sternly.

"Sorry sweetheart, but somehow I doubt Lance the lover boy is going to be there" Vinnie teased, referring to the time the biker mice and Charley had travelled back to the original Camelot to protect the medieval world from Limburger.

"Keep that up and I'll just go back to the hotel and sleep" Charley said to shut him up.

"I'm a big boy sweetheart, I can go to the show by myself" Vinnie said nonplussed.

"Not without money you can't" Charley reminded him mildly and waggled her wallet in front of his face.

His tail whipped up and tried to grab it out of her hand but she was expecting this and moved it out of reach. Laughing, she waggled it at him again as she moved over to the cashier to pay. Outsmarted for the time being, Vinnie followed more leisurely behind her.

"Ok deal. Show tonight, Excalibur tomorrow" he said into her ear as he stood behind her.

"Deal" Charley agreed and smiled back at him.

In the end, they caught a show that even Charley enjoyed. Rita Rudner was sassy and funny enough to leave them with a belly ache from so much laughing. When the show finished, they caught a taxi back to their hotel and bid each other their respective good nights. Exhausted mentally and physically, the Martian and human fell into dreamless sleeps.

Chapter 6

The following morning's wakeup time was initiated by Charley and was a tad more leisurely than yesterday's. She had decided just before she fell asleep that she was going to show Vincent one of the natural wonders of the world. She was taking him to the Grand Canyon.

Deigning to use the connecting door, she rolled over to the side of the bed and fumbled for the phone handset. Dialling Vinnie's room, she waited several seconds while the phone buzzed his room. There was the sound of the handset on the other end being dropped, some scuffling noises as the handset scraped against the side of the bed and finally a husky voice said 'hello?'

"Morning sleepyhead" she replied, amused the hyperactive mouse wasn't already awake.

"Charley-girl? What time is it?" Vinnie asked groggily, knuckling the sleep out of his eyes.

"Ten in the morning" she replied, moving so she could see the bedside clock.

"Umph" was the response from the other end of the phone, followed by "What's on the itinerary for today?"

"We're going to see the Grand Canyon" she said, excitement creeping into her voice.

"That little thing? Sorry to disappoint you babe, but we got bigger holes on Mars" Vincent replied, sounding highly disinterested.

But Charley was having none of his smug attitude. "Too bad, we're going! So get dressed!" she commanded and hung up the phone.

It was Charley's turn to shower and dress in a hurry, knock impatiently at the connecting door and drag her companion downstairs. Thankfully, the midget admirer from next door wasn't around and they were able to walk the hallway in peace.

Vinnie yawned hugely in the elevator and blinked owl-fashion at his excited friend. His tummy started rumbling, telling him that maybe he had enjoyed the overtime in bed, but it hadn't and was feeling neglected. Vinnie patted his stomach reassuringly. "Soon beautiful, soon!" he promised quietly. His stomach gurgled happily at him and the prospect of food in the not too distant future. Charley watched the interaction between mouse and meat processor and could only shake her head.

They exited the lifts and headed for the same smorgasbord they had eaten at before. Vincent took more time in selecting his food this time, opting to go back for seconds rather than trying to juggle two plates at the same time.

"I need something to wake me up" he said, yawning for the third time. "I'm going to get a coffee. Do you want one?" he asked politely as he stood up.

"Why not, white with two please" Charley replied, stifling a yawn herself.

Vincent soon returned with two steaming cups of coffee and Charley sipped hers a little at a time, cradling the cup between her hands.

"I have to go to the information office and see if we can get on a light plane tour" she said, watching Vinnie working his way through a slice of toast with scrambled eggs and bacon on it.

"What's a light plane?" he asked, before placing a bite-size bacon and egg sandwich in his mouth.

"It's a small plane, very few passengers. You'll see when we get there" she replied as pushed her chair back and stood up. She left him to finish his breakfast while she spoke to the information office about booking a plane tour over the Grand Canyon.

The information officer was able to book two seats on a 12pm flight, which would give them time to get to the Canyon and do a little sight-seeing on foot before they were airborne. Charley returned to find Vinnie just finishing up and she informed him of their plans.

They caught a bus to the Canyon and spent a leisurely half hour wandering around, taking pictures of each other with the Canyon as the backdrop. Vinnie, in true Van Wham fashion, dropped a rock over the side and timed its descent to see how long it would take to hit the bottom.

"Real mature Vincent" Charley remarked as she lead him to the flight departure lounge.

When Vinnie saw the plane they were to fly in, he pulled up short and grabbed Charley's hand.

"We can't fly in that. It'll fall out of the sky!" he protested.

"Its fine Vinnie, we're perfectly safe" she replied, doing her best to reassure him.

Vinnie wasn't convinced and wouldn't move another step, trying to argue her out of going in the plane.

Circling behind him, she put her hands on his back and started pushing him toward the plane. "Come on Vin, you'll love it, it's better than a roller coaster."

Better than a rollercoaster?! This was news to Vinnie and he quickly changed direction, suddenly eager to get on the plane so he could get the best view.

Vinnie selected a seat near the front of the plane, taking the window seat this time and Charley sat down next to him, pushing her daypack under the seat in front of her. Several more passengers climbed on board and then the door was being secured, the pilot started the motor and aimed the small plane at the runway.

The plane fought to get airborne and Vinnie looked at Charley worriedly, but she squeezed his knee and smiled. The plane finally reached an altitude sufficient to satisfy its pilot and they were soon gazing down at one of the biggest land based canyons on Earth.

The flight lasted for half an hour, during which the oncoming winds caused the light plane to lose altitude every now and then. This created an intense ticklish sensation in the plane's occupants and many caught themselves laughing nervously. Vinnie had to admit, it was more fun than any rollercoaster he'd been on, and a tad scarier as well.

The plane touched down with only a slight bump or two and its passengers disembarked in quick time, glad to have solid ground under their feet. Vinnie and Charley caught a bus back to their hotel and had a late lunch.

"Did you want to check out the Star Trek exhibition?" Charley asked looking through a pamphlet she had picked up from the information counter.

"They have a Star Trek exhibition? Why didn't you tell me?!" Vinnie exclaimed, snatching the leaflet out of her hands so he could see for himself.

'Vinnie a Trekkie? Now I've seen everything!' Charley thought and chuckled at the very idea.

The finished their meal and decided to walk to the Exhibit. They looked at the Star Trek memorabilia and then at Vinnie's prompting, bought tickets to the Borg Encounter ride. When the seven minute ride was over, Vinnie spent several moments scaring little kids as he ran around yelling "Resistance is Futile! You will be assimilated!" until the glares from parents comforting sobbing six and seven year olds convinced him it would be a good idea to drop it. Charley had ducked out of sight behind a glass panel and pretended she wasn't with the white Martian, finally emerging to drag him out of the exhibit when the coast was clear.

They wandered around the MGM, looking at the lion exhibit and checking out its shopping plaza. Charley picked up a gift for each of her Martian friends, including Stoker, Rimfire and Carbine while Vinnie tried on several different baseball hats with the MGM logo.

As he was checking himself out in the mirror with the latest hat on his head, two small hands suddenly grabbed him round the neck and pulled him backwards.

"Mousey!" a girlish voice piped behind him and squeezed harder, effectively cutting of his supply of air.

'Last time I listen to you about leaving the laser at home, Charley!' Vinnie thought as he struggled to unwind the little girl's hands from his neck.

"Rachael! Let the poor man go!" a female adult voice said, working with Vinnie to free himself.

Rachael's mother finally managed to unglue her child from around the white stranger and put her daughter on the floor next to her. She hovered apologetically while the nearly blue Martian fought to get his breath back.

"I'm so sorry sir, I didn't know you were behind us" she said, apologising over and over.

"It's cool" Vinnie said, waving off the mother's offer to get him some water.

Vinnie attempted to walk away but his movement was restricted by a three foot high octopus attached to his leg. Vinnie groaned inwardly as he reached down to pry Rachael off his right leg.

Her mother seized the errant offspring, who immediately started to cry, holding her arms out to Vinnie, wailing her distress at being parted from him.

Charley, having heard the ruckus Rachael's wailing caused, wandered over and grinned at the studly hero brought to a standstill by a pint-sized megaphone.

"Vinnie, why don't you have a picture with Rachael?" she suggested, holding the camera up.

Rachael's mother brightened up at this prospect. "It might end this ridiculous obsession she has with you" she added.

Vinnie looked at the red-eyed sniffling child and his heart melted.

"Sure" he said and held his arms out to the little girl.

Rachael eagerly launched herself at him and put her arms round his neck, laying her head on his shoulder. Her mother pulled out her camera while Charley took a few pictures of her own. After posing for some shots together and autographing her hat (she still didn't believe he wasn't her Disney hero), Vinnie was finally able to wave goodbye to Rachael and breathe a sigh of relief.

"My Vinnie, you certainly have a way with the ladies!" Charley teased.

Vinnie only glared at her briefly and returned to selecting three of the hats, one for each of his bros and one for himself. He followed Charley to the counter and rubbed his neck while their purchases were bagged and paid for.

They took their shopping back to their rooms and changed into bathing suits, opting to spend a couple of hours by the pool. Charley wandered off briefly to find out what time the Tournament of Kings show was on at Excalibur and decided they would be better off seeing the 6.30pm show.

Chapter 7

Around 5pm they went back upstairs to get ready for the show. Charley emerged to find Vinnie wearing his new short-sleeved blue shirt and casual slacks. She eyed him up and down, impressed despite herself. He returned the look and whistled when he saw her in the tight fitting evening slacks and blouse she had selected.

They caught a taxi to Excalibur and enjoyed a medieval-style meal and entertainment, despite having seen the real thing not so long ago. Vinnie was on his best behaviour, which meant no arm wrestling with the guy next to him and controlled belching. The show ended by 7.30pm and since it was still early, they decided to go to the arcade till midnight, and then to visit the Coyote Ugly bar again.

The place was starting to get rowdy when they arrived, several guys were getting body shots from the bartenders and a number of women customers were being encouraged onto the bar to shake a leg or two to the ACDC music pumping out of the jukebox.

The clientele and the bar staff were out to party, and party hard!

They shouted their orders to one of the staff and were soon standing side by side with cold beers in hand. Vinnie finished his beer, placed it on the counter and waved eagerly at one of bartenders to order a shot of whiskey for Charley and himself. Charley found herself starting to protest, attempting to warn him about the dangers of over-drinking, when the normally hidden but mischievous side of her kicked in and said Aw crap, I'm on holiday!

Vinnie could only stare at a Charley he had never seen before. The mechanic, encouraged by their rowdy neighbours chanting 'chug, chug, chug!" drained the glass and slammed it down on the bar. The guys, a handsome group of tanned, muscled men, whistled and clapped, slapping her on the back. She grinned, her eyes watering from the sharp sting of the whiskey sliding down her throat.

Now it was Vinnie's turn and the male group urged him on. Following Charley's example, he knocked back the shot and slammed the glass down next to hers. Their drunken fan club broke out into cheering and ordered them another round. This was followed by another round, which was chased down by several different shooters and then escorted to bed by a communal jug of beer passed from hand to hand.

"Maybe wese shud goes 'ome" Charley slurred to Vinnie, doing her best to get the latest shot of whiskey to her mouth. Vinnie could only blink at her, holding tightly to the bar to keep himself from sliding to the floor.

One of the cheering squad overheard her and protested loudly. His friends wanted to know why he was upset and when told, they too joined in protesting. They solved the problem by ordering another round of beers and forcing them into their new friends' hands.

"Nights swill ung!" one of them said, grinning from ear to ear as he lifted Charley up onto the bar.

She tried to protest but two of the bar staff, realising what was going on, seized her by her arms and hoisted her up between them.

"Dwance pwetty wady, dwance!" the boys hollered and cheered as Charley tentatively began imitating the staff.

Vinnie and their inebriated friends hooted and clinked glasses, beer sloshing over the sides and dripping on the floor.

After that, the night became a blur and the first thing Charley felt when she woke was a pounding headache….and a furry arm lying heavily against her naked skin.

'Fur?! Naked?!'

Charley sat bolt right up in bed, her upward movement tossing the arm away from her mid-section. She soon fell back down again when the pounding increased in volume and she groaned from the pain afflicting her temples.

She turned her head to see Vincent Van Wham lying on his side on the pillow next to her. One of his arms was supporting her own pillow and the other, the one that had been so securely tucked around her moments ago, lay where it had fallen on her leg. He was sleeping quite peacefully, snoring slightly, with a trail of drool pooling on his pillow.

She wrinkled her nose at the site and pondered how he had ended up in her room. Had she invited him in last night? She really couldn't remember. Something about the room nagged for Charley's attention and she glanced around. Finally it dawned on her. Her room wasn't normally bright pink with fat little cherubs shooting arrows through hearts on the ceiling, and she definitely hadn't been sleeping in a love heart shaped bed last night!

"Vinnie!" Charley whispered, nudging the sleeping Martian in the ribs with her elbow.

Vinnie only mumbled something in his sleep and his arm resettled where it had been previously, drawing her closer to his warm body. He nuzzled her neck briefly before resuming his snoring.

"Vincent, wake up!" she said in a louder voice and elbowed him harder.

Vinnie's eyes fluttered open and he stared at her.

"What?" he said in a grumpy voice. And then realisation of the situation they were in dawned on him and he smiled cheekily at her. "Did you have a nightmare Charley-girl? Did you want big brave Vinnie to wook after woo?" he teased.

Charley snorted and pushed his arm away. "Hardly!" she said and inched away from the mouse. She tugged the sheet and drew it right up to her neck, trying to spot any of her clothing.

Vinnie raised himself on his side and drew patterns on the sheet, his eyes watching her lazily. An unfamiliar weight on his left hand caused him to look down. On his finger was a ring he didn't remember ever having purchased. He glanced at Charley's hand and noticed she was wearing a similar ring, only smaller in size.

Looking to see what he was staring at, Charley gasped and nearly fainted from shock. 'No!" she cried, holding the ring up to the light.

"We got matching rings" Vinnie commented and put his own hand up to compare with Charley's.

He did a double-take when he saw the fat little humans with wings on the roof. "Hey, this isn't my room".

Charley didn't respond to his comment; too busy staring at the ring on her finger, almost comatose from its surprise appearance.

A knock at the door signalled someone requesting entrance and they looked at each other in a panic.

"What do we do?" Charley asked, looking round frantically. She still couldn't see any of her clothing.

Vinnie shrugged. "Answer it I guess."

"You answer it, I've got no clothing on!" she hissed at him.

"You're not the only one sweetheart" Vinnie drawled and grinned at her dismay.

"Close your eyes" she ordered and then worked the sheet free from the bed, wrapping it toga-fashion round her petite frame.

Vinnie pulled the bed quilt up to his waist and rearranged the pillows so he could lean back against the bed head. Charley made her way to the door, nearly tripping over the sheet as it tried to wind its way round her legs. She peeked out through the peephole and saw a porter with a trolley with their bags on top of it.

Charley unlocked the door and the small man gazed at the wild-haired siren in the satin sheet. He hid a grin and tipped his hat politely.

"Good morning Mrs. Van Wham. I have brought your baggage up to your new suite as requested. Breakfast will be served shortly" he greeted her, pushing the trolley into the room.

"Thank you" Charley mumbled without thinking. The whole Mrs. Van Wham thing had shaken her to her core.

The porter greeted Vinnie and placed the baggage on the floor, wished them a nice honeymoon and retreated to where he had originated from.

"I like the sound of that" Vinnie commented, wrapping the quilt round himself as he got off the bed and started rummaging for some clothing.

"Like the sound of what?" Charley asked, drawn out of her zombie-like state.

"Mrs. Van Wham, has a nice ring to it" he said, tossing a tank-top and pair of shorts to her.

She caught them instinctively and just stared at him. This can't be happening! Panic started to build in Charley as she fought to remember the previous night's events.

Memories started to crawl slowly back in, like a dog that knows it really shouldn't have dug up its mistresses favourite rose bush.

…Charley, dancing on the bar at the Coyote Ugly, taking off her bra and pinning it to the wall of fame…

…Being escorted arm-in-arm with two of the Thunder Down Under Team back to their hotel suites, encouraged to put on the green dress from Marshall Rousso, and then to the 'Rain Las Vegas' nightclub…

"So that's who those guys were!" she said out loud. She had thought the muscled hunks had looked familiar.

"Who was?" Vinnie asked idly, hunting for a couple of aspirin. His head was killing him, and it wasn't planning to show any mercy any time soon.

"Nothing" she said muttered, and quickly ducked into the bathroom to change.

Two glasses were sitting on the cabinet with a bottle of aspirin next to it.

"Charley, do you have any…" Vinnie began and stopped when a glass of water and two aspirin were shoved into his hands. "Thanks" he said before downing them.

Charley sank back down on the bed, fiddling with the ring on her finger. Another knock at the door signalled the arrival of breakfast and the smiling waiter winked at the bewildered couple.

"Compliments of your Aussie friends" he said, and pulled metal lids off steaming platters. When he had finished unveiling the wonders on the trolley, he informed them to leave the dishes outside the door and he would have housekeeping collect them later.

Vinnie saw something rumpled and green on the floor, half hidden under the bed and he pulled it out. It was the dress he had bought Charley. The feel of the dress made a memory flash into his mind.

…Charley, him, slow dancing, his arms round her waist, her hands round his neck, stroking the fur along his neck. Their new friends had each secured a lady from Coyote Ugly and formed a protective circle round them. Charley leaning back and smiling, her lips gently touching his own, his hands sliding down her waist to rest further down…

Vinnie dropped the dress as if it had burnt him. Charley, seeing the dress drop, stood up and picked it off the floor. She looked at it intently and then at him. He could tell she was remembering the same scene as he was, since she blushed a bright pink that matched their surroundings.

Another confusing image crossed his mind and he wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

…A man dressed like a famous dead singer, a small church-like building, really bad organ music, Charley kissing him, their cheering squad slapping him on the back, a different room, something the Hotel Manager called the honeymoon suite, Charley in his arms…

"Maybe we can get an annulment" Charley murmured, looking at the dress again.

"What's an annulment?" Vinnie asked, his brow crinkling at the unfamiliar word.

Charley explained it to him, but when a more descriptive image involving himself and Charley flashed across his mind, he gave her a look.

"I highly doubt it sweetheart" he said, reaching up to stroke her cheek.

His words caused her brow to furrow briefly but when more memories surfaced of last night's activity, she blushed even harder, turning bright red.

"Oh mama! What next?!" she cried, sitting down on the bed again.

Vinnie shrugged, seized a plate off the trolley and sat down next to her. He speared a piece of bacon and held it up to her mouth, waving it under her nose. Charley looked at him and sighed, opening her mouth and accepting the cooked meat. She chewed listlessly but Vinnie continued to feed her and soon she felt better as the warm food settled her stomach.

Something winked at her and she reached up to touch Vinnie's chest.

"Nice Vinnie" she chuckled and laughed outright when he looked down at what she was playing with, and turned even whiter than he already was.

He muttered a Martian expletive, or ten. He frowned at Charley to shut her up but she only laughed harder.

"The guys are never gonna let me live this down!" he muttered, pulling at the nipple ring.

Charley took a plate of fruit from the trolley and shoved a piece of melon into his mouth. He chewed on it idly, trying hard to remember when, and even why he had done such a thing.

…"Come on mate, Sheila's love this sort of thing, it's cool!" the long haired male dancer said, guiding him into the tattoo and body piercing salon. Charley, along with her new girlfriends from the bar, were having piggy-back races with members of the Thunder Down Under Team further up the Strip and Vinnie and his new friend had lagged behind. That was enough convincing for Vinnie and he happily sat in the chair while the big, bald, tattooed guy approached him…

"I am never drinking again!" he vowed to Charley, but she only smiled knowingly and popped a strawberry into his mouth.

She sucked one herself, looking at him out of the corner of her eye as she did so. She could tell she was turning him on by the look of heat burning in his pink eyes. He growled at her, knowing she was doing it deliberately and tore his gaze away. On the floor near their luggage was a package he had missed earlier. Picking it up, he ripped the wrapping off it to reveal a pair of snap pants and a cowgirl outfit, the types used by their friends for their professional employment.

"Hey honey, wanna play dress up?" he drawled, waving the vest at her.

She snatched it out his hand and shoved it back in the wrapping. Seizing the package, she pulled out the pants and tossed them at him.

"Only if you're gonna return the favour, sweety" she replied, shoving the package to the bottom of her suitcase.

Vincent barked with laughter and held the pants up against him. Shaking his head at such an outrageous but well meant gift, he folded the pants and put them in his own pack along with the rest of his new clothes. He found his shirt and pants stuffed at the bottom of the bed under the covers and he fished around till he could pull them out.

In the process, he found a collection of cards with women posing in their underwear and he spent a few seconds inspecting them, confused as to where they had come from. Shrugging, he put them in his luggage. It'd make a good gift for Modo, something to make the big fella really blush.

"Are those the boxers you wouldn't show me before?" Charley asked idly, noticing the glow in the dark 'cheeky devil' boxers poking out of the top of the bag.

Vinnie turned to find Charley sitting at the foot of the bed, finishing off the fruit and she offered him the last piece but he wasn't hungry for fruit. The sight of his new wife in her bed-rumpled state was enough to start a new hunger deep in his belly.

"Yeah, the new boxers" he replied dismissively, walking to stand in front of her. He took the bowl out of her hands and drew her up from the bed.

"Vinnie, I was eating that!" she protested but was soon silenced by his lips meshing with her own.

"Wha...what are you doing?" she said breathlessly when he broke the kiss and scooped her up in his arms.

He laid her back on the bed and settled full length against her. Brushing her hair out of the way, he smiled at her smugly.

"Annulment is such an ugly word" he declared, caressing her lips with a feathery touch. He drew back slightly and smiled at her as his hands teased the bottom of her tank-top. "And I don't want to ever hear it on your lips again!" he said emphatically, before once more kissing her hungrily.

Charley's mind raced, unsure whether she should stop him or not, as the touch of his lips and the feel of his hands working the tank-top further up her body, started a fire burning in her belly. She pushed half heartedly at his chest until he growled in his throat and pulled back, breathing heavily. His eyes looked at her questioningly but he held his tongue.

The sensible girl in her was declaring that she should stop this, right now! But the mischievous side of Charley had other ideas.

"I'm on holidays!" she declared to the confused Martian, before seizing him by the ears and dragging his head down to her own. Her lips claimed his and no more words were possible for some time after that.

And, added the mischievous side of Charley, after all, it takes two to tango…and two to say 'I do!'

The End…for the moment.

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