Reviews :

Snake557 : Oh gosh that would be funny. Yeah I don't have like perfectly accurate logistics on all of that, currently, but at least 60 percent of the 6th story takes place at a certain, new location on the internet. All good things, the next story is going to be the thing I've been too nervous to try, up until now - branching further outside the realm of Litwaks. It'll be good though, the story is well rounded with locations equally centered around newness as well as the cozy familiarity that everyone's used to.

Burgie : Thank you! YAY! I hope so! And yes, this whole (current/in-story) day goes smoothly. There's not very much intense drama sparked until a little after chapter 220. From here until about then, you guys are safe to sit back and enjoy the fun/romance/humor. Erm... I guess I should say soak it up. You guys know the drill by now haha


A/N : Whoa, this sketchdump absolutely snuck up on me. Alright guys! Drawing request time! You can request ANY scenes to be drawn between chapter 100-200. I put a pause on the saga comic because, well... No one was interested, and I'm not going to waste that huge amount of energy on something extra that seemingly no one's interested in. I might return to it one day, if my brain ever is in a state other than totally fried. The sketchdumps are fun though, and I want to make sure I can give you guys proper visuals where I can. So go ahead and request the scenes you'd like seen! Can be any scenes between ch. 100-200 :D


Song Listened To :

Style by Taylor Swift (last half of the chapter)


*Chapter 200*

"Kippy," Elkuorra answered Kepa's phone call. Elkuorra happily leaned her elbow on her's and Sezeke's dining room table, to which her chin sagged into her little hand and pink toe beans, though she stiffened in a bug of her widening eyes and peered her nervous, bright blue gaze into Gideon's from across their modest table.

"Hi mom, I'm just... Calling because it's still too early to call Gideon but I'm just kind panicking, right now," Kepa whimpered through her tears, to which Elkuorra sat a bit straighter. In doing so, both Sezeke and Gideon froze in the readiness to up and bolt to the lighthouse, just across the way. Elkuorra held her forehead and opened her mouth to rush Kepa a few calming questions of clarity, though Kepa beat her to it, "I-I'm totally fine, I just... Am I on speaker?"

"No, you're not on speaker," Elkuorra mumbled sweetly, and as she sagged in her seat, so did Sezeke and Gideon; both men nervously and slowly continued to pick at their breakfast, due to being in the middle of their morning routine of a hearty breakfast and Gideon's counseling. Elkuorra giggled nervously and tossed her eyes out their big, round window, the sunshine on the sand was blinding, though she still was able to land her gaze on Kepa's turquoise front door, all the way across the stretch, "Why are you panicking? What's going on?"

"Because, seriously do NOT tell dad any of this, please promise me," Kepa whimpered through her tears, she began to collect herself as she sounded as if she was pacing, "Gideon and Lash came over last night and we all may or may not have smoked some weed and I don't remember Gideon saying goodbye to me and when I woke up he was gone, and I just-"

"Whoa, whoa, easy, my love, it's okay," Elkuorra erupted into sweet giggling as she sat back, now fully relaxed, and swirled her spoon in her creamy hot coffee, "Don't worry, Gideon is safe and he's on palace grounds, okay?"

"How do you know?" Kepa worried, to which only Elkuorra's blue eyes lifted to catch with Gideon's, they both held in a hover of anticipation to which Elkuorra shook a giggle and took note of the look of flexed, readied anticipation written all over Gideon's handsome face, as if he was due to diving out of the window next to him and rushing to Kepa's aid.

"Because I'm looking him right in the eye, as we speak," Elkuorra loudly laughed and finally gave Gideon and Sezeke a wide, loving smile.

"... OH, he's over at your guy's house right now?" Kepa stabbed in full surprise, Elkuorra nodded and grinned wider.

"Yes, love, he told us about the get together later this afternoon, are you still open for that? We'd love to come hang on the beach," Elkuorra mused sweetly, Kepa heaved a long, drawn out sigh and murmured in trembling relief.

"Yeah, I-I'll... Text Gideon, I'm still down, I'm sorry, I'm doing everything I can not to bug him at hours where he might still be asleep," Kepa rushed softly, "We had a conversation about it yesterday and I'm really trying to be strong about it, I just panic sometimes."

"He's awake, he's literally here across the table from me as we speak, did you want to talk to him?" Elkuorra sweetly mused, to which Gideon brightened and sat up a bit straighter in preparation to receive Elkuorra's phone.

"Please," Kepa whimpered softly, to which Elkuorra tenderly reached over the table, met Gideon half way and handed off her phone to him.

"Hey, what's going on?" Gideon's lovely voice soothed as he tucked Elkuorra's phone to his ear and hovered in preparation to ease Kepa's worries.

"I-I'm sorry, I just didn't remember you saying goodbye to me last night cause we were... Y'know," Kepa staggered softly, Gideon smiled and now felt as if he was put in a weird predicament, due to Sezeke sitting tight to their bubble.

"Well, it's okay, I'm quite literally a one minute walk from you, currently," Gideon grunted a warm chuckle and glossed his golden eyes out the big window, his pupils tightened as they landed on the blinding white sand, across the stretch of enclosure, "I have small plans with Beaux, after this, but I can just briefly stop by and say hi before the beach get together, does that sound okay?"

"Yes, please," Kepa politely mumbled, "I'm trying, Gid, I'm sorry... It's really hard for me to wake up and you're just gone."

"I know, I have the same feeling, but we can talk more about it in-depth later, maybe go for a walk on the beach, yeah?" Gideon pressed, Kepa sucked in a huge breath.

"Yeah, that sounds good," Kepa sighed after her huge inhale, she shook her head and rubbed her forehead in dismay towards herself, "I'm sorry to interrupt, I had no clue you were with my parents... What are you guys up to?"

"Counseling," Gideon volleyed gently, he glossed his eyes to Elkuorra and then Sezeke, "My dad and Beaux have their own schedule I adhere to, as well, but... Your parents are where I come first thing in the morning. Guess, rest assured, if you wake up and are worried about where I am, just always know I'm not very far."

"As opposed to your spire, it's a whole flight away, sheer across palace grounds," Kepa giggled, Gideon smiled down to his plate and shifted in his seat.

"I'll come knock on your door once I'm done here, okay?" Gideon assured sweetly, he was adamant about not only making Kepa feel better, but being on his best behavior in front of Kepa's parents, though they both took note that his tremors had now begun to become more noticeable. He bravely continued on, "Maybe within the next twenty minutes or so, alright? I love you."

"I love you too," Kepa swiftly returned, adamant about filling in the huge, gaping hole she left in Gideon's heart when he first confessed and she didn't reply; the two said their polite notions of departure, to which Gideon ended the call and handed Elkuorra her phone back.

"Thank you," Gideon stated to Elkuorra in great warmth, to which Sezeke looked down and bugged his eyes.

"No, thank you," Sezeke mumbled happily as Gideon curiously peered to him, "Sounds like you BOTH took our advice and ran with it... And look how smoothly that panned out."

"Yeah, it helps that she's flexible, insanely intuitive," Gideon complimented sweetly, "She shifts with changes quick, she's adaptable. I greatly admire that about her."

"I think, of everyone, she's probably been thrown around the most, outside of Gideon's whole experiences," Elkuorra stated with a swing of apologetic sweetness, "I think I speak for Sezeke as well when I say that we appreciate you being so teachable. Even during your hardships, you and Kepa seem to be getting on well... Really well."

"She's pretty fantastic and I don't deserve it, truly," Gideon mumbled, almost sadly, he picked at what was left on his plate.

"... I'd say you deserve it, why don't you think that?" Sezeke wondered tenderly, Gideon's droopy eye contact peered to Sezeke's in a gloss of hope.

"Well... I guess I feel that way about most things, it used to be a lot worse. I don't know, I always wind up feeling guilty after someone pays attention to me or goes above and beyond to make me feel wanted or loved, or... Worthy," Gideon explained.

"You said this used to be a lot worse? Like, before Game Over?" Sezeke wondered, Gideon shrugged.

"Well, yeah, being a winner in the Arena made me feel like I was entitled to literally everything... The amount of steamrolling I did, when I dealt and participated in activities on lower floors, kind of became a staple to my personality. It's only now that I can shake off the feeling, quicker than prior, but it's still there," Gideon warmly explained, his hands continued to tremble from the spike of anxiety that came with Kepa's spontaneous phone call, "I've been told, throughout my childhood, to sit still or shut up or stifle talking about the things I enjoyed, so... Anytime anyone even gives me a shred of attention, I either feel happy in the moment and then guilty for the rest of the day, or... Jaded, as if they're just patronizing me."

"As if none of it is real and they're now just kissing your ass to make up for the crap you've been through?" Sezeke questioned, Gideon nodded, to which Sezeke breathed a long sigh and prepared to continue, "When you were little, you probably relied on everyone to build your worth, which... Ultimately gives them the power to take it away."

Gideon peered hard into Sezeke's eyes and patiently soaked in every single last beam of wisdom he had to glean in Gideon's direction, a sponge to water, he did everything to marinate in every word Sezeke had to say. Not one sentence out of him felt aimless or useless.

"I know that you know everyone's words are true, whatever was said to you, prior to Game Over, was your loved ones desperately doing what they could to read their own script in an understanding that YOUR script was written in a different language. I know that you know everyone's solid attempts at learning your language, and sharing theirs with you as well, is solid proof that you need to rewire your thinking and leave jadedness and cynical feelings at the door," Sezeke's deep voice mused as he picked up his mug of coffee and prepared to take a sip, "You can't let all the pain you've felt let you forget about all the love surrounding you. You say Kepa's fantastic and you don't deserve her? The dad in me wants to say one big 'hell yeah' and agree with you until the end of time, but..."

"He does deserve her," Elkuorra murmured in sweet caution as her and Sezeke caught eyes.

"You do," Sezeke gently agreed in smiling defeat, into Gideon's eyes, "And she deserves you. Just keep this momentum, and allow yourself to receive. She clearly is adhering to the boundary you put up, let these stepping stones turn into bigger slabs of land, what will eventually lead you two to a bigger, sturdier foundation to which you can then build upon. Build an unbreakable trust, a home within each other, a family of your own, a marriage, whatever that all looks like for you two, don't lose this wide-open line of communication you two have."

"Yes, sir," Gideon mumbled politely, he looked down to his plate and dared to smile, "I'm so used to being angry and taking advances of kindness as if there are strings attached. Oliver texted me and invited Kepa and I to a double date, sometime next week, and... I immediately felt the urge to roll my eyes, as if he was only doing it to bully me, or patronize me, as if somehow this makes up for all the hurt."

"Y'know, it's good to keep your guard up, it's good you feel the urge to protect yourself, it's actually better that you are hyper-aware of these feelings, the thing to do with it now is understand that Oliver's intentions have been wildly reset, everyone here is adamant about doing right by you, by each other," Sezeke listed as he gestured out to the gorgeous span of thick jungle grass just outside, "It's much better that you're a warrior in a garden, than a gardener in a war. Methinks prior to Game Over, you thought yourself an innocent gardener in a war, and everyone was seemingly against you, no matter how innocent you truly were."

"And now, the dust has settled, everyone's doing their best to deconstruct and put this puzzle back together correctly, and you're wearing bullet-proof armor inside this new garden of yours, so no one can get in," Elkuorra sweetly giggled, to which Sezeke grinned and bobbed a nod as he looked down.

"You're right to be on your toes and worry that intentions maybe aren't pure and maybe people might patronize you, but... You need to do better about discerning intention first instead of throwing all shields up and feeling as if in order to avoid guilt, you need to avoid the interaction at all," Sezeke continued, "I'm sure this is far easier to do with Kepa, but you just said that Oliver's innocent double date invite made you feel the urge to roll your eyes."

"Yeah, it just... Now that I'm back, now that everyone's trying to make things right and we're all doing our best, I feel jaded about it, like... Why couldn't have this been the blueprint all along?" Gideon worried, "Then I wouldn't have left, Callum would still be here, I wouldn't be struggling with bouncing back from drugs, none of this would even be happening."

"You wouldn't have met Kepa, you wouldn't have reunited me and Sezeke, you wouldn't have the hope to free the other winners, our eldest daughter included, we wouldn't have the opportunity to dismantle that shred of the dark web and make every being of love, under our wings, a stronger more successful unit," Elkuorra quickly listed, to which Gideon sagged at her decimating checkmate to his heart, "Sometimes bad things have to happen in order for life to progress in the way it needs to. I'm serious, had you never met Kepa, had you never left Academy on that fateful day and found the lighthouse... NONE of us would be here, right now. Who knows even what life would look like."

"You were loud and proud about what you needed, no one was listening, you made a rash decision to jump away," Sezeke stated as he and Gideon held eyes, "And, sure, huge mistakes were made, but it woke everyone up, once and for all. What I'm trying to say is, be vulnerable to extensions of love handed your way, from here on out. Don't feel guilty, because you DO deserve it, believe it or not. You're a living, feeling being that has built relationships with everyone here. You wouldn't want Kepa to feel guilty for your kindness, would you?"

"No," Gideon sighed, he swiftly was reminded of the instance Kepa touched on, when he gifted Kepa her very first full night's sleep, he bobbed a nod and was well aware he'd be heartbroken if she felt undeserving or guilty of it.

"You're wise to have a guard up, but maybe loosen it a little," Sezeke instructed warmly, "Allow progression, allow others to show you love without the idea that strings might be attached. I can promise you that no one on palace grounds has poor intentions... Maybe they used to, and I know that's burned you, but it's time to look forward and press on, y'know?"

"Yeah," Gideon patiently agreed with a nod, "Got my own crap to keep up with, but... I feel as if things are slowly looking up."

"Got a whole beach day to look forward to," Sezeke nodded as him and Elkuorra sweetly caught eyes, "I might even take a flight about the waters and stretch my wings."

"Count me in," Elkuorra chirped happily, Gideon smiled down to his nearly-empty plate and felt his core soften; eager to continue taking Kepa's parent's advice, he wondered just what this beach day would entail.


A few hours had gone by and Kepa's and Gideon's beach get-together was well underway. Tessa, Oliver, Koko, Ace, Libby, Mara, Sezeke, Elkuorra and even Rancis and Taffyta had come to enjoy a lazy day on Cherry Ribbon Beach's gorgeous, pale pink sand. The lighthouse reigned over the dome of the enclosure, as well as it's neighboring cliffside, though their private little section of a beach front spanned about half a mile, a perfect oasis of sunny bliss all to themselves, due to moving the palace closer to the ocean. Throughout the hour or two of hanging out, Kepa and Tessa could sense that Gideon's social battery was dwindling, so Kepa took Gideon up on that singular walk on the beachside, just the two of them. They walked all the way to the far cliffside, one that swooped in a curve and held a proper view of their gorgeous lighthouse, the reigning jungle foliage in the enclosure's dome, and the glowing glass-tunnel of an entrance into said enclosure. The two eventually began to circle back, the near-half a mile walk they had taken to get to this point was now what they were prepared to slowly meander back down in the preparation to join their beach party, once more.

"Alright, got another question for yah," Kepa started gently, she merely glanced in Gideon's direction and watched him bob a readied nod and peer down to their feet in the near-white sand. His auburn hair was messy due to the ocean air, his cheeks were sun kissed, the glow of his darker brown tattoos looked like a gloss of honey on his sweaty skin, Kepa tried to take her shy, glancing eyes off of him and was finding that she couldn't. He wore his favorite, thin black t-shirt and a pair of darker red surf shorts that went to his knees. She persisted, she hid the tremble in her voice well, "So, if you're the prince of Sugar Rush, have you ever been like... Crowned? Do you even have a crown? Your guys hierarchy is super laxed, are there ever any formal ceremonies or anything?"

"I actually do have a crown, believe it or not. Tessa and Zed do obviously, but yeah. Me, Oliver, Koko, Ace, Libby, Berri and Turbo all have crowns," Gideon explained with a smile he tossed her way, though upon the glance, he, too, couldn't keep from subtly eyeing her. Although dressed in a strappy black bikini, she also wore a small white t-shirt on top of it, Gideon couldn't figure out how to get his mind to work due to the way the wet, becoming-sheer fabric was draping her beautiful hourglass figure, the stick of her breasts under the gloss of wet cloth. He swallowed hard and urgently peered to the lighthouse in a squint through the bright sunshine, he tried to keep his thoughts straight though ultimately failed due to the seductive trail of deep murmuring he pressed to her over the sound of the ocean waves, "It's probably best I have it... Crowns keep my horns trimmed."

Kepa sharply cocked an eyebrow, shot Gideon a look of unwinding stun in a side-eye and finally scoffed an eruption of shaky laughter she tossed out to the ocean, directly to her right. The water rushed the two and only managed to submerge the tops of their feet before receding.

"They're on display in the Great Hall, we can wear them if we want... Really the only time they get worn is if anyone in royalty gets married, weddings are important," Gideon grumbled cutely, Kepa lifted her chin and dared to allow a sassy smile adorn her beautiful face.

"So... Where does that put me?" Kepa mused cautiously, her and Gideon caught a solid stab of eye contact amidst her words. He peered to her through the squint of sunshine, though it was clear he was en-route to allowing a bewildered smolder escape him shortly. Kepa beamed and shook her head with the scrunch of her shoulders, "Y'said a lot the other night, about seeing our relationship all the way through, no matter the speed, so..."

"I returned home with the intention to give you a crown of your own one day, yes," Gideon answered with delicacy, though he still peered to her in the swing of smoldering, brewing delight that was becoming of them, "If that's what you're asking..."

"I can see why you didn't want to tell me any of this when we met," Kepa stated through a wistful sigh as the swing of their arms delicately caught, Gideon's bigger fingers flexed to grapple Kepa's littler hand into his, "It's a lot, it's overwhelming... Did you think it'd scare me off?"

"Yeah," Gideon answered unflinchingly, he sighed and lulled his eyes closed as the two slowly moseyed, "My first best friend outside of Academy and family life, I was adamant about not letting both lives meet. As time went on, I felt as if maybe the chances of you running off were dwindling, but I was still scared."

"Well, I'm glad it's all finally out in the open, I think it's really grand, you should be proud," Kepa lilted lovingly, Gideon bobbed a nod as the two peered to their gorgeous lighthouse, still a solid amount of walking distance away.

"I am... I didn't used to be, but I am now," Gideon stated through a sigh as he sagged his shoulders, "It wasn't until I heard of Flint's plan did I start to feel as if maybe this palace life wasn't so bad... Living at the Arena was a lot of fun, very luxurious, no one could touch us, but..."

"What was Flint's plan?" Kepa wondered, Gideon gently let go of Kepa's hand so to begin wrangling the bottom of his loose, thin t-shirt into the splay of his bigger hands.

"For us winners to eventually procreate with one another," Gideon answered politely knowing he had already told Kepa this information, he lifted his shirt and hunched over a little as the two continued walking, so to patiently wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"Oh-oh, sorry, you told me," Kepa murmured.

"It's okay," Gideon chirped as he lifted his shirt a little higher and patiently got rid of the sweat from his face, his bare front exposed, "I was down for living the dream and being an asshole, but... Somehow capitalizing on our powers and making us procreate with one another wasn't originally on the agenda, nor was I told about it upfront. I'm not really in the baby-making business with someone I have no romantic connections with."

Kepa gently clutched her sternum and was floored Gideon's eyes were covered, due to him wiping his face. She easily allowed herself to ogle Gideon's figure, the slope of his sculpted front and strong, broad chest, although he wasn't technically cut or overtly muscular, Kepa swallowed hard and could still see the shape of his fit body, alongside the obvious that his thicker board shorts somehow managed to contain. Paired with his sweet words, she rubbed her forehead, opened her mouth a little and felt her heart begin to aggressively thump. The urge to pant overrode her mainframe, due to becoming hot and lacking the ability to sweat, she merely glanced at the nearby ocean water and was due to taking a small dip in the hopes that it'd settle the caged beast inside of her.

"But the one you do have that connection with?" Kepa staggered, the only words she felt she could properly utter, she breathed a shy giggle and allowed her eyes to collect with Gideon as he dropped his shirt, though she felt her face heat up as he shot her a cheeky little grin.

"Eh, I figured you and I could just play tag or something instead," Gideon teased, Kepa firmly rolled her eyes and looked off, to which he cutely stepped tight to her figure, wiggled his finger into the delicate little furs on her ear and watched as she yelped a sharp giggle, scrunched her shoulders and took a wobbly step away from him, grins galore. He wrinkled his nose and beamed her a snarky smile, "You have thirty-two muscles in each of your ears and you use ALL of them to ignore me."

"It was just a question," Kepa's girly voice lilted in full, giggling tease as she shrugged and stepped on in confidence, though she kept about five feet of distance between her and Gideon in a playful show of being hard to get.

"Here's your house mates! Oh, also, choose ONE to have full, penetrative congress with," Gideon rattled on with a wide grin, Kepa clutched her stomach and choked a hard belly laugh out to the ocean. Gideon's grin managed to broaden as his deep, lovely voice joined in on her happy laughter, he longingly peered to her with all the sweetness his golden eyes could afford, "Y'think I'd make a good dad?"

"Yes, hands down," Kepa giggled as she wiped her eyes, she brushed her windswept white hair out of her eyes and heaved a trembling, drawn out sigh of fluttery anticipation, "You're hilarious. Kids love that."

"Meh," Gideon flagged his hand at her in guffawing and looked forward with a tiny smirk of equal fluttery delight, the glow about them was beyond palpable, "I'm afraid I'll need a world's more life experience before I'm ready to father babies. Kittens."

Kepa perked her ears high and shot Gideon a bewildered look as she snapped her jaw shut, Gideon side-eyed her and pointed to her in grinning, sassy jokes he continued to dole in her direction.

"Op-look how flustered you get, every time," Gideon's deep voice mused in a snarky crackle, to which Kepa flattened her ears and firmly shoved on Gideon's upper arm. Gideon erupted into happy laughter, wobbled on his feet and jogged to catch himself as the two continued to mosey in the direction of the lighthouse, in which they were now almost half way to, "Hey, I'm just getting you back. You embarrassed the shit out of me, last night."

"I didn't mean to! I have NO idea what came over me, my User, I am SO sorry," Kepa urgently pressed through her giggling, she cupped her hands together in plea and caught eyes with Gideon's playfully mean side-eye of disapproval.

"You don't keep secrets when you're stoned, next time we have a smoke with Lash and whoever, I'm going to have to keep tabs on you," Gideon muttered cutely, Kepa continued to wildly giggle, "User, no matter what we do privately, it's gunna spill out to our friends cause you don't know how to get good."

"Stop it," Kepa became unglued with giggling as she finally gripped Gideon's much bigger upper arm, they cutely tripped over each other's feet and corrected themselves in leaning and bumbling, messy steps in the pillowy sand.

"How's Gideon in bed, Kepa? Oh, he's equal parts hungry bottom, equal parts lazy dead person from hell," Gideon loudly blurt in aggressive sarcasm, Kepa fully stumbled over her own feet this time, came to a stop, hunched over and loudly laughed down to the white sand they walked on. Gideon whirled around, put his hands lazily on his hips and watched as Kepa finally rolled to a stand amidst wiping tears of laughter. He cocked an eyebrow, bit his lip a little and very obviously admired her figure as she came out of her eruptive giggling, "Though, that comment you made about your forearm? Thanks for the very outrageous compliment, but I'm not THAT huge, for User's sake."

"Pretty damn close, Gid, I hardly knew what to even do with you," Kepa muttered through giggling as she tried to catch her breath, she held her forearm out and shyly assessed it as she brushed her hair back, though she flinched as Gideon pressed closer to her and held his hands out a little, palms up and open, "Whatcha doin'?"

"Can I please see your claws? Like, fully extended?" Gideon wondered innocently, to which Kepa sighed a final breath of collectiveness and rested her palms down into Gideon's much bigger ones; within doing so, she exposed her terrifyingly long black claws.

"How come?" Kepa wondered as Gideon brought her hands closer to his face and intelligently assessed, though in the small gap of silence, she raised her eyebrows in a held-breath of gut-twisting glee the second Gideon's piercing, smoldering golden gaze sharply peered into her eyes from his thick brow, the angle of his downward glance into her hands, he finally sagged out of her bubble and silently answered her with nothing but his facial expressions and body language. The full smolder on his face was enough for Kepa to snap her jaw shut and realize just why he was interested in her claws, she felt the fur on the back of her neck begin to stand on end. She stomped her foot and uttered a hard notion of playful disapproval, "Hey!"

"Hey," Gideon cooed cutely as the two continued on, Kepa firmly stomped to catch up to him and playfully glowered him down.

"You think you're slick... Y'want bloody claw marks on your back like they're badges of honor? Is that what you want?" Kepa rushed in flustered cuteness, though before she could answer, she spat him a playful retort, "I can give you scars on the left side of your face to match, too, buddy. Favor's special."

"If that'll do it for yah," Gideon playfully mused in a seductive draw, he shrugged his big shoulders and caught smiles with Kepa, though he flinched and sagged out of his playful notions as Kepa gave his arm another nudge. He softened and peered to her in a swing of humility, "I'm just playing... Thanks for walking with me. I've quickly discovered that you're the only person on this planet that I can recharge my batteries with. Everyone else drains me, to some extent, but... For some reason, you're the only person that fills me."

"Well, it's a good thing you've decided to center your whole future around me, then, your highness," Kepa seductively snipped as she lowered her ears and lifted her chin in poise, she gave Gideon a sly little look of girly sass and eventually softened, as well, "I'm honored... You do the same thing for me, believe it or not. I think I'm more social than you are though, I have more stamina for get-togethers, but that's okay."

"... I kinda liked that, you calling me that," Gideon tenderly admitted, he shot her a devious little look and tried not to look way to blistered about it. He nervously chuckled and grappled the chest of his shirt, he repeatedly tugged it away from his body a little, so to subtly fan his chest.

"Is 'your highness' your equivalent to you calling me 'kitten'?" Kepa mused sweetly, though she slowed to a stop as Gideon tenderly gripped her littler hands and scuffed to the sand in a halt, as well. Kepa softened and collected with Gideon's fiery spirit, one that was usually abundant with jokes and playful banter, though whenever he softened with seriousness, the whole game slowed to a rolling, respectful bow, as if his dominant, leading personality almost demanded it. Kepa huffed a shaky breath and lovingly squeezed Gideon's warm, bigger hands, the two held eyes as Kepa sweetly continued on, "You can still call me that, y'know."

"And Pebbles," Gideon included, Kepa beamed a sweet smile down to their feet, she gently pressed her much bigger toe-beans to the tops of Gideon's bigger bare feet, it was here did he warmly scoop Kepa into a loose hug about her lower back.

"Yes, of course," Kepa whispered warmly over the brisk, ocean air that ruffled through their hair.

"I'd love to take you out on a date," Gideon started, his voice shook, he smiled into her eyes and looked as if he was somehow mustering the courage to say all of this, "I... It's not something that's easy for me, to be out in public, but... I made plans for us this coming Friday afternoon."

"...Y-You did?" Kepa wondered in a swing of enchanted delight, she gently rested her hands to Gideon's chest and gave him an adoring little smile as he nodded.

"Mhmm... It's a surprise, so all you need to do is just be ready at five, looking gorgeous as always," Gideon concluded with a nod, his eyes looked nervous, though as if he was excited and wrought with anticipation; Kepa did what she could to not visibly swoon into a backbend in Gideon's strong embrace.

"That's so sweet of you, really?" Kepa wondered once more, Gideon's smile broadened as he nodded.

"Yes, ma'am, you don't need to get dolled up, but... Yeah, I... I want to do this right, I want to properly court you, earn you back," Gideon's patient voice pressed down to her, Kepa could swear her thudding heart was about to come pounding right out of her chest.

"I-I'm... Honored, that's so romantic of you," Kepa fumbled on her words, she brushed her messy bangs out of her eyes and fluttered in the rush of lovely feelings she was floored to be apart of, once more, "I'd love to, I'm really excited."

"It's a date," Gideon concluded with a small smile, though Kepa blurt a cute giggle as Gideon gripped her into a hug and playfully laid a firm few smooches to her adorable light brown snout and damp black nose.

"Where are you taking us?" Kepa wondered through sighing giggling as the two slowly unhanded each other and continued walking.

"It's a surprise, I'm not telling you," Gideon repeated with a chuckle, "I promise you'll love it, though."

"I don't have a single doubt," Kepa sighed as she casted her eyes to the lighthouse, though she raised her eyebrows in hard surprise and took note that their wish was granted, and one of the flyers was now lounging on the sand alongside Tessa and Oliver. Kepa gasped and pointed, "Oh! There's one of the flyers! Which one is that?"

"Oh, that's Lickity, she's Novus's mother," Gideon brightened, though he grit his teeth and looked to grow nervous, "Hopefully she doesn't leave as we approach..."

"Let's just... Act natural," Kepa soothed as she flattened her hands outwards in a gesture of calming the two down, to which Gideon grinned and rolled his eyes.

"I don't think acting natural is something we, as a collective unit, have EVER succeeded at," Gideon exploded into laughter that easily wrangled Kepa into, the two pressed on down their last stretch of walking in anticipation to have a proper conversation with Lickity, the hopes that it would goad more of the flyers out of the enclosure was their ultimate goal.