*Chapter 212*

A fluffy, tidy sprout of adorable auburn hair atop his forehead, the glint of his sunny eyes, a toss of a small smolder as he aimlessly glossed about the loose crowd of the luxurious outdoor mall and food court the six marinated in, Kepa flattened her ears and nearly glowered down Gideon's proud stature from across the stretch. Although nervous to be in a crowd, a fully expressed notion he gave to Kepa prior to jumping into this exciting triple date, he seemed to have loosened up as him, Oliver and Theo cutely joked back and forth while they waited for their food. The full toss of his head back, an adorable eruption of laughter that Theo and Olvier happily fell into, their mannerisms and nudges to each others arms were brotherly and friendly, though Kepa kept his every single move tight in her sights, even through the thicker crowd that dared to aimlessly cross in between. He wore an adorable collared button down, though the chest was left gaped to casually reveal his undershirt, alongside the roll of his sleeves tucked into his elbows. Although freshly showered and tidy, the stubble on his jaw was beginning to turn into a shadow that promised a scruffy sprout of facial hair he wasn't typically caught donning; all of this combined, Kepa silently boiled as Emery and Tatum cutely continued to chatter away, unaware that they had slowly wrangled Kepa's unawares into the conversation.

"Is he looking over here?" Emery mumbled as she tucked her straw to her mouth and subtly leaned back and forth to see around a patch of people that stood loosely nearby.

"No, he's not even concerned about us, he's talking to Theo and Oliver," Tatum fell into similar movements to Emery, though both girls finally peered to Kepa and dart their eyes back and forth between her and Gideon, far across the way.

"We're here, in the wild, Orion City outback," Emery started lowly in tender dramatics, a subtle enough tone change that Kepa's huge ears still didn't even twitch to. Tatum erupted into giggling as Emery scrunched her shoulders and fervently peered in Gideon's direction, "We've found a rare tigress here in the bush... Sizing up her prey."

"But maybe he's too much of a challenge," Tatum mumbled, she tried to get on Emery's dramatic level though failed due to her giggling, such a notion that Emery nearly succumbed to.

"Ah-wait, is it prey she seeks? Or," Emery sucked in a silent gasp for emphasis and sprawled her hands for drama, she nearly did jazz-hands as her and Tatum teasingly locked eyes, "A mate..."

"Oh, definitely both," Tatum now erupted into brighter laughter that finally had Kepa flinching and yanking her eyes away from Gideon, across the way; to cover, Kepa sweetly smiled and ushered Emery and Tatum an equally as giggly little smile, though very obviously had no clue she was being lovingly picked on.

"You and Gideon doing okay, Kepa?" Emery cooed lovingly, her beautiful green eyes hooked into Kepa's with a swathe of sisterly care, it was the same vibe she had been slowly getting from Tatum all day. Kepa was grateful she could finally sag into a proper group of girlfriends; she knew she had Koko and Berri, though somehow this little collective group felt tamer, softer.

"Yeah, we're okay," Kepa mumbled shyly as she rubbed her arm and sucked in a huge breath.

"Uh-oh, know what that means," Tatum murmured. Although Tatum was half human, half lion gargoyle, she still sport her molted pelt, a beautiful show of whites and marbleized silvers all along her arms and shoulders. Her striking, dark maroon colored eyes tenderly caught with Kepa's, and although the two weren't of the same breed or blood, Kepa still was genuinely grateful that Tatum was invited to this outing. So much as being with another person from Castle Run, besides her parents, made the trauma of it all not seem so big and sad. Tatum shrugged through the adorable, pale orange tank top she wore, she tossed her gaze across the way to their group of boys, once more, "Trouble in paradise."

"N-No, we're... Fine, it's fine," Kepa suddenly stabbed with a wide, nervous little smirk as she gestured her hands to her sternum, "I know I'm kidding no one but I don't care..."

"C'mon, whatsamatter?" Emery lovingly cooed, she shrugged as all three girls tossed their eyes to their men across the way, they diligently waited for their number to be called so to bring their delicious food over to the table all three girls comfortably sat at.

"Oh, nothing, it's just... A rollercoaster of emotion, I guess," Kepa murmured shyly as she rubbed her forehead.

"I'll bet, I put myself in your shoes, I'd feel conflicted with every move," Tatum murmured softly, all three girls sagged in their seats and gently tossed one last ogling glance of tepid, forlorn curiosity in Gideon's direction, "Gunner and I had our issues, and even though him and I have reconciled and hanging out with him has gotten easier and easier, I still sometimes get that feeling in the pit of my stomach..."

"Can't imagine having Gunner's new girlfriend around makes that any easier, huh?" Emery mused, Kepa sagged her ears and was relieved the attention was swung away from her, even if it was temporary.

"It's not so bad, I used to get mad seeing Gunner treat her so much better than he ever treated me, but Theo treats me better than Gunner ever could, so... It all shakes out," Tatum's warm words clearly made Emery's motherly heart smile, the way her gorgeous emerald eyes lit up in soft knowing, Kepa now flattened her ears and looked down to her hands. Both Emery and Tatum slowed their roll on this conversation, though Tatum bravely inched on as her and Emery caught eyes in a swing of silent caution, "Y-Y'know, we're a safe place, Kepa... I know you have your parents and all, but... You can definitely confide in us if you're struggling."

"Yeah, you look like you're in pain whenever there's a break in conversation, the way you look at Gideon is either so loving or full of daggers," Emery trilled into a giggle that Tatum fell into, something that finally got a shy, knowing little smirk out of Kepa's sighing figure.

"I still have a lot of frustration towards him, even with all of his incredible progress. We both concluded that the ball was in my court, in the way of furthering intimacy, but... I-I don't want the ball to be in my court, most days," Kepa muttered as she rubbed her temple, all three girls now erupted into knowing giggling, "I want him to just whisk me away, but we already agreed that I'd have to be the flag girl. So now, we're just... Like..." Kepa stiffened her upper lip, gestured her hands in confusion and tried to source the words to even remotely pair with how confused she was feeling.

"Dancing," Tatum hissed in a whisper of enchanted tease as she narrowed her beautiful eyes, though her and Emery burst into laughter, once more.

"You don't want to give it up and reward him of his bad behavior, that makes sense," Emery muttered through their giggling as she took a sip of her soft drink.

"But, on the other hand, he's back, beefy, tattooed, pierced, hardened, all in an ironic twist of softening and being the typical, happy-go-lucky dude he's always been," Tatum rattled in proxied annoyance, "He now has a solid amount of EVERYTHING, from good guy to bad boy, from terrifying criminal to adorable, harmless artist..."

"Moment of silence for Kepa's sanity," Emery murmured into her straw, to which all three girls now came unglued with cute laughter.

"Best wishes," Tatum joked, she thud her styrofoam cup into Kepa's in an informal cheers.

"Wait it out, it's more fun to dance, as Tatum put it," Emery shrugged, she peered off in the direction of all three boys and took note that they were all making their way over, once and for all, a part through the thicker, noisy mall crowd, "I don't regret anything, but Oliver and I didn't... 'Dance'. Our diving board was one foot in length."

"Mine and Gideon's might as well be one mile long," Kepa murmured shyly into her hands as she tidied her hair and tried to compose herself as all three men were rapidly approaching.

"Well, you're wearing his artwork, he's officially yours for the taking, ride out all these feelings," Emery mused sweetly as the two caught eyes.

"It'll make the deed more explosive, trust," Tatum muttered, though she shyly raised her eyebrows as her and Emery caught gazes in a swing. She sheepishly grinned and shrugged her shoulders to her head, "S-Sorry, mom."

"More information about Theo that I didn't need or want, check," Emery snipped playfully as all three girls continued to giggle, though they shaped up the second all three men were now within conversing distance; the sudden drop off made Oliver's and Theo's faces slope to concerned annoyance, with Gideon trailing in tow.

"... I told you they were talking about us," Theo stabbed to his father, Oliver gaped and shrugged as he set down the tray of food he had for him and Emery.

"I was trying to stay positive!" Oliver blurt, and as all three men took their seats next to their respective spouses, warm murmuring amidst couples began to fill the atmosphere of their large table, a safe haven between the bustling noise of the sunny outdoor mall they collected at.

"So... I know you don't like pickles or tomatoes, so I ordered yours without. I made yours a double, so you could have extra meat. I also got you the unsalted fries cause I know you're sensitive to too much of it, and, uhh..." Gideon sweetly assessed the tray he put before the two as he sat down. A perfect platter of delicious burgers and fries, he perked up and grappled at the now three drinks before them, his eyes so lovingly hooked into hers as he jostled about the smaller sized frosty cup, "I got you a milkshake. I know you don't like chocolate, but they were out of the vanilla, so... I hope you're okay with strawberry."

"It's all perfect, thank you," Kepa mumbled warmly, as if to insinuate that this level of attention to detail was enough, as is.

She found herself beaming, again. A dorky grin of lovestruck youth that she subtly wiped from her face as her and Gideon, as well as the rest of their company, began to happily dig in to their delicious food. As if this all wasn't enough, Kepa took note that Gideon was waiting for Kepa to start eating first before he even so much as picked up anything, and though Kepa was desperate to remain frustrated with him, to remain nervous for more of his wrongdoings to surface, she could feel it all be overwritten in the name of impatient love. Sunlight glinted through the petals and leaves of the tree they sat near, as well as the big billowy shade of a nearby table umbrella, the atmosphere about them was sunny and inviting. Gideon's glowing purple coding hung tight to his temples, above his ears, making clear that he hadn't muted his surroundings entirely, though likely turned the volume down, further insinuating to Kepa that he was en-route to helping himself and finding new norms in their fresh take at life and love, once more. He happily hummed an adorable little noise of content as he finally began to eat his fries, he bobbed a nod as him and Oliver met eyes and innocently geeked out over how delicious their food was. All mannerisms and notions that had Kepa nearly fuming with confusion. Knowing this wasn't the time or place to begin picking Gideon's brain over the fantastical, sexual ordeal that had taken place last night, Kepa swallowed a gulp of her drink and wondered if she could skirt the rules, somehow, whilst Emery and Theo now loudly began to bicker and rouse into distracted laughter.

"Hey, uh... Do you remember what happened last night?" Kepa wondered softly into Gideon's upper arm and shoulder, clearly quiet enough underneath the group's much louder conversation taking place.

"Hmm? You mean the wings thing?" Gideon innocently wondered, Kepa bit her lip and could see flashes of visions come rushing to her retinas, taunting her for every single last pixel to her name.

"W-Well, yeah, but... D-Do you remember anything after that?" Kepa braved, Gideon long-blinked in warm confusion, looked off in recalling and shrugged.

"I remember leaping to take off after you, but then I woke up," Gideon stated plainly, though he furrowed his brow and could now tell Kepa was cutely bothered. The way she rubbed her temple, the way she looked off in exasperation, the heavy sigh she took through her nose, Gideon sneakily caught a subtle, ogling glance into the open folds of her tank top and wondered if pressing on, in the name of being a tease, was either mean or all in good fun, "...Why, did, uh... It all carry on for you?"

"N-No, no, it didn't, I just wasn't sure where it all left off," Kepa guffawed as she waggled her hand in dismissal, a convincing show of nonchalance that nearly had Gideon fooled. She lazily picked at her food and gave Gideon a flash of her gorgeous, orange cat eyes, a show of strongholds she was desperate to rebuild and proudly fly her 'no Gideons allowed' flag, "Pretty cool what your lucid state can achieve. I just wanted to know if you got your chance to test out your wings, but... Guess there's always next time."

"Next time being, tonight?" Gideon pawed sweetly, though he sagged a little as Kepa shrugged and now proverbially yanked the power back into her clutches.

"We can, but... I-I kinda miss my bed, I might sleep at the lighthouse tonight, if that's okay," Kepa stated with such warmth, such tender disarm that Gideon now dropped the taunting act and bowed to her every whim.

"Ma'am," He politely hummed, though with such a proverbial yank Kepa took, Gideon secretly smirked down into the burger he now picked up and understood that his singular, one-worded notion of submission was beyond enough to yank every ounce of power back into his own court, once more. It was something he could physically see Kepa show frustration over in the sweep of a subtle side-eye she shot in his peripheral. Feeling unstoppable, he cutely carried on, "Remember, we got our date on Friday."

"I haven't forgotten," Kepa's cheery voice pressed, she shrugged and also prepped to take a bite of the burger Gideon had gotten for her. She muttered into the bun, a secret for only the sesame seeds, "Just like I know you haven't forgotten what happened last night..."

"Are you guys fighting?" Oliver stated in a puff of collected nervousness, to which Gideon and Kepa perked up in prickled shock.

"N-No, not at all," Gideon staggered as he furrowed his eyebrows and peered hard into Kepa's eyes, a swing of innocence Kepa could somehow see right through, "Are we fighting?"

"I mean, we CAN, I'll fight with you all day, I got enough material, my guy," Kepa teasingly taunted, though as the whole table erupted with laughter, Kepa softened and could see Gideon show genuine concern. She sagged and wondered if maybe he really was telling the truth, if maybe he really wasn't stringing her along and playing dumb. Kepa lovingly rubbed his upper arm and dropped all signs of competitiveness, "I-I'm just playing, babe, it's okay."

"Y'sure?" Gideon worried, Kepa nodded.

"Absolutely," Kepa lovingly assured with a nod, though as Gideon now took a proper bite of his food, Kepa gently flattened her ears and could feel a darkened, playful vibe emanating from Gideon's person, one that was soaked in good fun, though definitely had an edge, a bite of danger Kepa had never felt from Gideon before, in this realm; such a vibe had the circuits in her brain nearly frying from all the hoops she was jumping through, all the conclusions she was clawing at to hopefully land and stay on, though were simply pitfalls.

After about an hour of eating, laughing and enjoying each other's presences, the three couples cleared their table and picked up in preparation to window shop. In any maneuver the group had to take through thick crowds, inside the massive, outdoor mall and shops they traversed, Gideon was keen on sticking to the back of the pack and keeping an eye out for impending danger, danger that had likely zero chance of taking place inside such a warm and welcoming game that was Sugar Rush. Still in constant fight-mode, always on the lookout for trouble, a diligent task of sourcing unrest and squashing it in the form of getting involved and puffing his chest, Gideon skulked at the back and was certain nothing could ever shake that war-hound demeanor now branded into his skin. Nothing except the grapefruit-sized bouncy ball that came springing to Gideon's feet. In the scuff of surprise, Gideon stopped his trailing march behind his family and broadened his scope. In passing across a much bigger courtyard inside the nook of huge shops all around, there was a rather playful and noisy splash pad where small children could play and run in the sprays of water on this warm spring day. Gideon sharply furrowed his brow and peered down at the red ball that now rolled at his feet and bounced to a stop upon the small collision, though just as he lifted his eyes, he felt his heart suddenly spike in a beat of terror as a small, giggling little girl came running in his direction.

Gideon raised his eyebrows and held his breath, he faltered a noise of apprehension as he realized that this little girl was now going to stop at nothing until an interaction was had, until her ball was returned with the price of a very elementary conversation Gideon had no idea how to navigate. Now hyper-aware of his terrifying appearance, his mean-mug of a warning, the proverbial barbed-wire crown he wore as the prince of dastardly deeds, he sourced every single last ounce of sunny goodness in him and felt his whole body go on auto-pilot as he leaned down and collected said little girl's ball, as if this whole interaction was now entirely against his own will. The splash pad was further away, the little girl approaching Gideon had run a decent stretch. She wore a cute, casual sundress that was sopping wet from the waist down. Her beautiful pink skin glistened with the bigger scales that lined her temples and cheek bones, it was clear she was a Sugar Rush self-programmed gamer, through a through. A thoroughbred that could be easily picked from a crowd, and though she was adorable, Gideon felt terror plague him the second simply handing her ball back wasn't going to be enough of a form of payment for this little girl.

"I like your stripes, mister," the girl loudly called as she pointed a firm finger up to Gideon; she stood a few feet away, nearly soaking wet, the look of blistered, childlike joy hung tight to her adorable, gap-toothed grin. She jostled on her tip toes and continued to point in the defying act of refusing to officially take the ball from Gideon's gentle, warily outstretched arm and hand, "Are you a tiger?"

Gideon raised his eyebrows in a swing, said little comment was nearly enough to jar Gideon from the clench of terror he was in, though he didn't move.

"U-Uh, funny," Gideon mumbled sweetly, he jostled the ball in his hand a little and was now nearly desperate for this little girl to take the ball from him, though she continued to ignore the blatant obvious. Just as Gideon was due to tossing the ball away from the both of them, he held onto every single last second of patience he could. Although not technically good with children, due to his very limited knowledge and wherewithal, he knew not to be mean or abrupt lest he accidentally make this little girl cry. He sucked in a trembling breath and desperately softened, he jostled the ball a little more and donned a forced smile of goading, "Here's your ball, okay?"

"Are you a tiger?" She asked again with more adamance and strength, and it was here did Gideon not only see his collective group halt their movement in his peripheral, he also saw nearby lounging parents and civilians take ogling glances in the direction of Gideon's curious predicament. Now that all eyes were on him, he swallowed a struggled gulp and felt his spine wiggle in confused terror, full frustration that so much as an adorable little girl could bring him to his knees and expose every single last one of his weaknesses in not only the public eye, but a shred of his family, as well.

"No, I'm not," Gideon cooed gently, he continued to awkwardly hold the ball out, though she tucked her beautiful white hair behind her ears, collected her panting, grinning, childlike self and softened with the sag of her shoulders and the twiddling of her little fingers.

"...A zebra?" She innocently wondered, though it was here did Gideon see the beautiful, tender innocence in her eyes, a forlorn look of guessing that was en-route to being let down and disappointed, something Gideon was well aware he didn't want happening. Not only for her sake, though he knew if he made this innocent little girl cry, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

"No, these stripes are, um... Tattoos," Gideon stated in gentle uplift as he finally sagged his arm to his side, still holding this little girl's ball.

"What are those?" She pressed, unabated curiosity, unending questions Gideon was now nervously getting roped into.

"Uh... Art," Gideon furrowed his brow and quickly had to source just how to explain tattoos to a child, a scary procedure that such an innocent mind likely wouldn't be able to grasp without being frightened, he bit his lip a little and shrugged, "Like... A pen, or paint brush."

"My mommy got me watercolors!" She immediately brightened, a set of language Gideon was relieved she understood, though now that the two were on the same page, he inwardly grimaced and was desperate to leave this interaction lest he run into a prompt he had no clue how to respond to. Although the little girl eyed the ball safe in Gideon's hand, she wrangled the sopping wet bottom of her dress into her little hands and began to shyly ring it out, her tone sagged to that of tepid sorrow she innocently glossed through, as if she didn't want to feel sad but couldn't help it, "Peppy thinks they're stupid. Peppy's my big brother."

Gideon frowned and now strangely felt the world about him blur, the haze of this little girl's innocent feelings being rewritten by the potentially also innocent teasing of a big brother, notions Gideon would otherwise dismiss, though due to every single twinkling, artistic moment to his name, he held his breath and very strangely felt himself come to a gentle kneel to his left knee. Never in his life did he think he'd be caught dead in this type of a scenario, though somehow, as he came closer to this little girl's level, the intensity of her gaze rapidly became more tender, more vulnerable. The twinkle of childlike wonder encapsulated her whole being, she ogled the markings on Gideon's face without a shred of fear, it was something that somehow gave Gideon fuel. He heaved a gentle sigh and now fully gave this little girl his attention, and though he was desperate to leave this interaction, even still, it was all sprinkled with enough importance to give his full attention to.

"But YOU don't think it's stupid, do you?" Gideon softly wondered, he loosened and made her ball available to snatch and run, if she pleased, though she stood still with the ends of her wet dress in her little hands. She shook her head and peered hard into Gideon's eyes, so full of question and tenderness. Gideon felt his heart race, he was uncertain if he was doing any of this right, yet he pressed on with any grapple of rudimentary vocabulary he could remind himself to use, in this moment, "If painting is what you love, you should keep doing it. Don't let anyone tell you not to, that's what I did."

"You paint too?" She brightened with a scrunch of her shoulders and a gaping smile into Gideon's eyes, to which he chuckled and looked down at her shiny red ball, loose in his hand.

"I do," Gideon warmly chirped as the two held eyes, she brightened even more so, something Gideon wasn't sure was possible.

He took in a steady breath and took note of another woman slowly strolling up to the two. It was clear that this woman was this little girl's mother, strictly coming to assess the situation, though hovered once she realized there was no danger or issue. Gideon held her ball out for emphasis and gingerly pushed his left pointer finger into it. With a subtle cue of his coding, he did everything he could to somehow manifest paint, like what he always could, though as he pushed said glitching abilities into the ball and was sure he'd only really gift this little girl a light show that fizzled, and nothing more, he felt his pupils tighten at the raw idea that even without his manifestation abilities, he had somehow successfully manifested paint, like how he always could. Wrought with shock, he concealed it nicely and followed through with painting a smiley face onto the girl's ball. It quickly dried, to which he smiled into her eyes and was absolutely floored with just how much she lit up, just how much his magic trick rocked her little world.

"Whoa," She loudly whispered in full stun, Gideon now couldn't help but beam a wide, dorky grin, he suddenly felt every inch of his heart take off into outer space.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Gideon's grinning, chuckling, now confident voice shook from his body, as if to prove that he was equally as stunned, though as her mother softly budged into the conversation, Gideon broadened his scope upwards and smiled up into this woman's eyes with a show of humbled apology.

"Sorry, she's... She'll talk to a park bench, I mean, anything with a shred of personality, really," Her mother warmly giggled, the little girl grappled her mother's hand and finally took the ball from Gideon's hand.

"Mommy look! He painted with only his finger!" The little girl squealed in full delight, to which her mother tucked her hair behind her ears, peered to the ball in disbelief, though once she saw it, and saw that Gideon didn't have any paint supplies, she cocked an eyebrow and peered down into Gideon's eyes.

"... Yeah, how did you do that?" Her mother wondered warmly, Gideon grunted to a slow stand, now hovering over the two, especially the little girl.

"Oh, I have... Manifestation abilities," Gideon pawed, he waggled his fingers and gave the woman an apologetic smile, "Your daughter was just telling me about painting cause she noticed my tattoos."

"Mommy, I want tattoos," She urged with a bounce on her tiny feet, her mother rolled her eyes and tossed Gideon a playfully disappointed smirk in his direction; he narrowed his eyes in cheeky deliverance and chuckled.

"...Sorry," Gideon meeped, she rolled her eyes and softly scooped up her daughter with a thump of a rest to her wider hip.

"Ah, that's okay, we'll send you the bill," She teased with a friendly little smile of sarcastic warmth, to which Gideon playfully shook his head and gave an equally as friendly smile, "Thanks for your kindness... The splash pad crew has given up giving Kiko, here, the time of day."

"Gladly," Gideon bobbed a nod as him and Kiko cutely caught eyes, "Us artists gotta stick together."

"What was your name?" The woman warmly asked as Kiko swung her arm and hand up and presented Gideon with the opportunity for a high five, to which he only very cautiously held his huge hand up and allowed her to be the one to do the smacking motion.

"... Fox," Gideon sneakily presented, he furrowed his brow and felt his heart sink. The opportunity to behave normally, in public like this, was now something that had a deadline, something that made him genuinely feel pricked with eternal sadness and regret. He skillfully adopted a quick maneuver of a pseudonym, he nearly brightened as the words rolled from him with ease, "Fox Favor."

"You have an art studio in town? Or know of any good ones? She's been itching for lessons, but... It's hard to find a reputable studio, and I don't want to travel outside of the game," Kiko's mother scoffed in exhausted smiling as she readjusted Kiko onto her hip.

"I-I don't know of any in Sugar Rush, but... I've wanted to have my own studio for a long time now, so... I guess be on the lookout," Gideon mused, surely daydreams with no fruition in sight, though the more the words came out of him, the more he believed it all, "This part of town could use a studio, huh..."

"We'd be your first customer," She mused with a nod as she took a sidestep away, a cue that she was due to politely parting.

"Bye Mr. Favor," Kiko firmly waggled her hand and then waved her ball around, all cutely plastered with the simple smiley face Gideon had painted with bright yellow paint.

"Bye," Gideon mused warmly with a waggle of his bigger hand, though as he slumped it to his side and watched the two walk in the direction of the bustling splash pad, he sucked in a huge, shaky breath and gently turned to reunite with his crew, whom of which all stood still in frozen surprise as to the multitudinous things that had just taken place.

"Alright, Mr. Favor," Oliver obnoxiously started with a chuckle, good fun he was eager to deploy in the direction of his baby brother, "One, uh... How are y'gunna break the news to Sezeke that you're stealing his last name? And two... HOW did you manifest without your manifestation powers?"

"One, your guess is as good as mine, and two..." Gideon held up two fingers and looked down at them in a hover of playful pondering, "Your guess is as good as mine."

"Three, you didn't know you had a way with kids?" Emery sweetly mused as she crossed her arms and shrugged, "An awfully cute look for you, Giddy..."

"I'll say," Tatum agreed with a playfully annoyed giggle as she firmly eyed Kepa, though Kepa flattened her ears in further frustration and tried not to be obvious about it all. Oliver and Emery continued to cutely bicker with Gideon as the group reformed and began to fall into the motion of crossing the courtyard, though Tatum hooked her arm into Kepa's with a girly link and mumbled a conclusion for Kepa's ears only, "If you weren't fighting then, you two will certainly be fighting now..."

"Fighting to find the right words to say, oh I don't know, take me now?" Kepa stabbed quietly, though both her and Tatum erupted into laughter they desperately tried to stifle.

"Just give it up, chickie, after that, there's no use resisting," Tatum wiped her eye in their continued giggling, to which Kepa heaved a shaky sigh, shook her head and avoided Gideon's eye contact at all cost.

"I still got fight left in me," Kepa muttered, "I got nine lives and I'm prepared to use every single last one in the name of... Oh I don't know."

"Stubbornness? Stupidity?" Tatum listed, the two laughed and laughed, they were clearly comfortable with a pawing level of girly bantering, "Reserving yourself from fun to be had for no good reason?"

"I'll find reasons as I go," Kepa murmured as she tidied her bangs, "My patience will win out against his... His..."

"You got NOTHING," Tatum howled with laughter, to which Kepa now lulled her eyes closed and succumbed, grateful that Theo, Oliver and Emery were busy keeping Gideon in joyous conversation.

"I got nothing," Kepa sighed in smiling, annoyed defeat; she wondered just what this impending, romantic night out with Gideon would entail, likely their very first romantic evening date yet, it was something she was excited to see play out once and for all. Furthermore, she was eager to get to the bottom of Gideon's manifesting ability, gamer powers that were very blatantly muted, strict authority that Gideon's coding easily wiggled around.