The Magic in Our Chemistry

by namelesslunitic

Brian and Stewie set out on the road to becoming star magicians.

3. The Prestige

Chapter 3: The Prestige

"Ohhhhhhhhh myyyyyyyyyyyyy gaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwd!"

The infant was still in the process of getting dressed for the day when his partner had woken up to give him the great news. Brian was sitting in bed with the comforter over his lap, grinning from ear to ear as he confirmed what he'd just told Stewie.

"I know, right!? The guy wants to give us our own Vegas stage show!"

The child finished slipping into his white dress before starting to bounce up and down on his feet.

"This is incredible, Bry!"

He stopped bouncing long enough to seek out his wig and put it on his head before heading into the dressing room, still speaking as he went. Brian got up to follow after him, figuring he had to get out of bed at some point.

"I was sure that we'd be heading back home after what all happened last night. It's not like we'd ever work with Slade again after what he pulled, but I was content to call it quits. Things finally happening between us was victory enough for me."

Brian stood in the doorway watching Stewie picking out some jewelry in front of a mirror and catching an adorable little smile followed by a giggle before the boy continued.

"But...I really do love performing with you, babe."

He turned around and smiled sweetly at the dog in front of him.

"If I can keep that, I'd really like to."

The dog nodded and walked up to his little partner, leaning down to kiss the tyke on the forehead before looking him in the eyes seriously.

"I love performing with you, too, so I guess that's what we'll keep doing."

Stewie shivered and then leaned up to plant a quick kiss to Brian's lips.

"Better go let our new agent know, then, sir."

The boy shot him a wink and then hopped up from his chair as Brian chuckled and returned to the bedroom to grab his phone. As he was doing this, Stewie was going to check his own phone. His eyes just rolled as he saw all his notifications. He scoffed.

"How absolutely pathetic. Slade sent me so many texts last night! And there just might be even more missed phone calls! What a pitiful little man."

Stewie shook his head as Brian, phone now in hand, glared over in Stewie's direction.

"Well, tell him to fuck off. I already fired him this morning. It's done."

Stewie hummed thoughtfully as he began clearing the notifications.

"I don't think I'll even do that much. Probably best to just cut ties completely. He doesn't need to hear from me, not anymore, not after last night."

The canine huffed but also nodded in agreement as he began dialing Charles's number. He placed the call on speakerphone and then slid over so that he was closer to Stewie just in time to see the child blocking Slade's number. The boy then set his phone down and leaned against his partner as he waited for Charles to answer. After only a couple of rings, the phone picked up.

"Hello? Brian?"

Brian went to answer, but Stewie beat him to the punch.

"Hiiiiiiii, Charles! That's right. It's The Amazing Brian and The Fabulous Stella calling you back to accept your very gracious offer! We're in!"

There was a boisterous laugh from the man on the other end before he responded.

"Cutting right to the chase, huh, little lady? I like that! And glad to hear that you've accepted the job! I'll be sending you a text with some instructions. I'd like for us to meet later today, if possible. We'll go over terms and see how things go from there!"

Brian took the opportunity to finally speak, too.

"Sounds good, Charles. We can definitely meet today. Me and my girl are very eager to get everything worked out."

A hint of red came to Stewie's cheeks at hearing himself being called Brian's "girl".

How is this not a dream? It's too perfect!

Charles was responding again, but Stewie wasn't listening as he kissed his lover on the cheek before hopping down from the bed. His man could take it from here. He still had some things to take care of before they could get the day started.

"Houdini? You awake, sweetie?"

---

The driver that had been sent to pick them up let the dressed up magic pair out near the back entrance of Charles's venue, and then, the two of them knocked on the door as had been instructed in the text sent to Brian. A few seconds later, the big steel door flew open to reveal a well-dressed and rather large bald man the dog and baby pair now knew to be Charles Tucker. He smiled at them and ushered them inside.

"Brian! Stella! So good to see you here! Please, come inside. We have much to discuss."

Brian and Stewie followed the man inside the building and found themselves in what looked to be the backstage area of the venue. They continued following him as he spoke to them.

"My office is just on the other side of the building, but first, I want to give you a brief tour of the place, let you get acquainted with what will be the setting of your big Vegas gig."

He showed them around backstage. There wasn't a lot to see, a few workers here and there moving various items around. It was a big area, one of the biggest Brian and Stewie had seen, so far, in their brief time as a traveling act. They saw the dressing rooms soon after, Charles indicating which one would be theirs as he assumed they would be sharing. Stewie, still reeling from the new step his relationship with Brian had taken, was already wondering just how much privacy the two of them should expect to receive, a small snicker escaping him as Charles led them out onto the stage.

The venue was empty, obviously, but Charles seemed to want to point out its size as they used the stage to cross over to the other side of the backstage area.

"It takes a lot to fill this theater, but after your performance last night, I doubt we'll have any trouble doing that on most nights. You're all over the internet! People from all over are all trying to figure out how in the world you pulled off that incredible levitation illusion! Me, well...I gave up on that the minute I saw it."

He chuckled as they re-entered backstage.

"I didn't have to watch that over and over again to know that it's beyond anything I've ever seen. I have to say, I'm quite eager to see what other tricks you two will manage to cook up. We've needed a breath of fresh air like you two in the magic business for some time."

The trio stopped at the door to Charles's office. He opened it and ushered them inside. The office was nothing fancy. With all the odd little nick-nacks it almost seemed more like a storage room, but there was a desk at the far end, as well as a couple of fully-stocked bookshelves. Brian and Stewie took seats in two separate chairs that were in the middle of four, and then, Charles came around to sit behind the desk. He immediately opened a drawer and pulled out a stack of papers.

"I had an associate of mine quickly whip up this contract. Feel free to look through it, but it basically just says that you'll be under my employment for so long as you choose to perform in my venue. I will also take on any and all responsibilities of your former agent, arranging other shows for you, possibly another tour. In fact, I should probably go ahead and let you two know that your first show here won't be for another few weeks. In the meantime, though, I have already started looking into other opportunities for you, just until everything is squared away with our new arrangement. I also understand that Slade owns your current tour bus, so I have taken it upon myself to set you up in one of the finest hotels in the city. Any extra belongings that you don't necessarily need there are free to be stored here, if you wish."

As Charles explained all of this, Brian and Stewie were busy giving the contract a quick read-through. Brian didn't see anything to be alarmed about in the pages. It all seemed pretty standard and airtight, but he made sure to look over at Stewie to see if his little genius partner had caught something he didn't. He apparently hadn't, though, as the boy was simply all smiles as he came to the end of the contract, further indicating his approval with a firm nod as he spoke.

"You are a very generous man. This really is too good to be true."

Charles just laughed as he produced two pens from his shirt pocket and handed them to Brian and Stewie.

"My fair lady, I would be a fool not to be! Talent like what you two have doesn't just come along every day! Me wanting to do everything I can to snatch you up before someone else does is a completely selfish act, make no doubt about that."

Despite the warning, the smile on the man's face was a warm one as he began pointing to lines on the pages.

"So, let's hurry up and make this thing official, shall we? You can start by signing here...and there…there, too…"

---

Their new contract had been signed, and safe accomodations had been arranged. After leaving the venue, the driver took Brian and Stewie back to the tour bus and helped them load up their various belongings into his vehicle. They dropped off a majority of the inventory for their show back at the venue, leaving only a few bags and suitcases to come back with them to the hotel. A few hours later, they were entering their hotel room just in time to see the sun setting out on the horizon through their room's large window. It was hard to focus exclusively on that, though, as the pair began to take in the site of their room. It was a full-blown suite, basically a cozy little luxury apartment for the two of them: kitchen, bedroom, living space, bathroom, the works. The pair was rendered speechless, especially the giddy Stewie who quickly set aside a sleeping Houdini in his carrier before starting to explore the space. Brian watched on as he began putting their other stuff away, chuckling to himself as Stewie repeatedly called out to him.

"Can you believe that we'll basically be living here for the next few months!?"

"You know, I've always wanted to try my hand at cooking. This kitchen could come in handy!"

"Good lord! How many knobs can you put in one shower!?"

"Bed's comfy! I checked!"

By this point, Brian had put away all he was willing to, for the moment, and was following his ear to find Stewie lying down on his side on their new king-sized bed. The boy held his cheek in his palm and was trying to look sultry.

He was succeeding.

"You're cleared for landing, sir."

The dog rolled his eyes.

Ok...mostly succeeding.

But he laughed as he walked over to have a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Cleared for landing? Isn't that a little...off theme?"

The boy giggled and then moved to sit next to his partner.

"Darling, nothing is "off theme" for us anymore. In case you haven't noticed, I'm all about the role-play, and…"

Stewie suddenly threw a leg over Brian's and rotated his whole body so that he was now facing the dog while sitting in his lap. His arms went around the dog's neck and smoldering eyes met wide, curious ones.

"There are sooooooooo many roles I want to play with you."

The canine's mouth went a little dry as he began to think of all the possibilities those words could imply, but his thoughts were interrupted when the child leaned in and spoke right against his lips.

"Might wanna start carrying some lube on you at all times, babe. You just never know when and where the urge to fulfil one of those roles might strike."

He then offered the canine a deep, wet kiss that seemed to go on for some time.

It didn't last long, though.

Definitely not long enough for Brian who was now starting to get pretty worked up, a whimper escaping him as Stewie suddenly pulled away and turned around in his lap so that they were no longer facing each other as the baby's back reclined on his chest. The boy continued from where he left off, but the allure in his tone had shifted into something much more casual as he began speaking again.

"I guess we are pretty committed to the magician theme, right now, though. Wouldn't want to overwork your brain by asking you to switch too suddenly. We can talk about it, plan a night for you to really test those acting chops you seem to think you possess."

The infant snorted, little hands coming up to cover his mouth as a couple of chuckles shook him. Brian just shook his head as he brought a paw up and placed it on Stewie's side, pulling the boy closer against him as he smiled his best charming smile while looking at his snickering partner.

"You of all people, Stella, should know that The Amazing Brian is a man of many talents. I'm magic, baby. I can be anything you want me to be."

The dog winked and snapped his fingers to accuenate his point. Stewie bagan laughing harder, hands still covering his mouth as his cheeks went a little red and one of his eyes shut in mild, secondhand embarrassment for his goofball of a partner. One eye remained locked on Brian, though.

One shimmering, love-filled eye…

Brian's whole body went warm at the sight, and his cartoonish grin shifted to something more sincere as he leaned over and placed a kiss on the top of Stewie's head. The boy shivered and fell further into the canine's loving embrace, his other eye shutting as he hummed in blissful comfort, and for a while, the pair remained like that with Brian holding his lover as they sat snuggled on the edge of the bed in comfortable silence.

It was Stewie who was the first to speak next.

"I never want to stop doing this with you. Makes me wonder just how long we can keep this up for."

He looked up at Brian.

"How long do you think we'll get to stay The Amazing Brian and The Fabulous Stella together?"

The dog shrugged.

"I don't see why it has to end anytime soon. What's stopping us?"

The baby nodded and moved to sit up a tad straighter as he turned back to face Brian.

"I guess nothing, really. We've never let anything stop us before. There's even less reason we should now."

Brian hummed in agreement.

"Then, let's just do what we want. If we get tired of doing this, then we'll find something else."

There was a beat, and then, a smirk appeared on the child's lips as he placed his hands on the dog's chest and pushed him onto his back. Brian's hat flew off his head and rolled off of the bed, but it was paid no mind as Stewie came to hover over the canine.

"I like the 'let's just do what we want' philosophy. Can you guess what I want, right now?"

The boy began to unbutton the dog's shirt, and desire began to overtake Brian again as he responded in his head.

Yeah… I think I have a hunch about what you want, you little deviant… What shall I be for you tonight?

---

"Houdini! Stop being difficult for daddy and come on out!"

The audience snickered as Brian continued to dig around in his hat, a look of annoyance on his face as he made a show of muttering to himself.

"He's such a little…"

The audience didn't get to hear exactly what Houdini was, though, as a smile suddenly came to the dog's face.

"Gotcha!"

In the next instant, Houdini was being pulled up by his scruff up and out of the hat, prompting the onlookers to applaud as the little bunny was set down carefully onto the table. Brian took a bow, and then, Stewie stepped forward onto centerstage, waiting for the clapping to die down before beginning to speak.

"We always like to begin the show by introducing our audience to our special little friend here."

The crowd laughed as the disguised boy continued.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to our humble little show. Now, I know you may have heard a lot about me and The Amazing Brian in the last few days. Word on the street is we're sort of a big deal now."

He looked back at Brian and winked before turning back to the people gathered before him.

"So that just means all you lovely people are expecting to see the best damn show you've ever seen, and me and my partner intend to deliver!"

The room erupted into applause once again, leaving Stewie to shout over the crowd in order to be heard.

"Let's keep the fun rolling, then! For this next trick I'll need a volunteer!"

Several hands immediately went up. Stewie began scanning the audience, eventually settling on a handsome looking young man with straight, black hair who was wearing a light green button up shirt. He pointed at him with a white gloved finger and waved him toward the stage.

"You there in the green, get on up here!"

The man stood up, beaming as he rushed up onto the stage to stand next to Stewie. The child led him over to the table where Brian was sitting and motioned for him to have a seat next to the dog. The baby then took a seat across from the both of them, his profile facing the crowd as he reached out and picked up a smartphone that was sitting on the table. He unlocked the phone and began browsing through it, causally speaking to everyone in the room as he focused on the screen.

"I'm pretty sure nobody in here will disagree with me when I say that music is absolutely one of the greatest creations of mankind. It's the voice we make for ourselves when words alone are simply not enough to express our deepest, rawest emotions. It has the power to bring even the staunchest of enemies together for a bonding moment, and while our tastes on what qualifies as good music may vary, we all can appreciate the impact a single song can have on another. A lot of us all probably have one song in particular that impacts us the most out of any other. That just might be our favorite song. Though, I imagine that some of us would flounder when asked to name just one song as the most important to them personally. Me? Well, my favorites fluctuate from day to day, but one person I always seem to come back to is Taylor Swift."

There were a few chuckles from the audience, but Stewie ignored them as he finally looked up from the phone and over at the dog in a top hat sitting across from him.

"Bry Bear here is an old soul who likes to sit down to the tunes of Ol' Blue Eyes."

The canine smiled and nodded to indicate that was the truth.

The boy finally turned to the crowd.

"Anyway, my point is that we all enjoy music, and we all have our favorites. I also imagine none of you would consider it all that likely that a stranger would be able to guess one of your favorite songs. Not like they know you or anything, right?"

There were a few curious murmurs from the group as Stewie then turned to address his volunteer.

"Well, that's exactly what I'M about to do with you, my good sir. Tell me, what is your name?"

The man's grin grew as he answered the question.

"Nathan. I'm Nathan."

Stewie extended out his hand for the man to shake as he replied.

"Pleasure to meet you, Nathan."

His hand retreated. Then, he slid the phone over to the young man.

"On this phone you'll find a playlist of over 2000 songs dating all the way back from the 1950's to now. Whatever your aural cup of tea may be, I'm sure you can find it somewhere in there, so just take some time to peruse the selection and find something you really enjoy."

He pointed to some earbuds that were also sitting on the table next to the man.

"Feel free to pop those in and start listening whenever you're ready. Don't turn the volume up too loud, though. I'll still need to be able to communicate with you."

The man nodded and continued to browse through his selection as Stewie turned to the audience to explain more about what was going to happen.

"Once our friend Nathan here picks a song, I'll begin talking with him, and the two of us will have a pleasant little chat as the song plays out. Once the song is over, I will have everything I need to determine which song he chose. Impossible? Most would probably say so but mere child's play for a master mind reader such as myself."

The boy chuckled a cocky and effeminate chuckle before then turning back to Nathan.

"Find your jam yet, sir?"

The man nodded his head and began plugging the earbuds into the phone and putting the earpieces into his ears.

"I found something that's pretty decent, yeah."

Stewie looked over at Brian.

"Honey, you should probably come over here next to me. Can't have you peaking at the phone. I'm sure the good people here would consider that suspicious."

The canine rolled his eyes, but a smile was on his face as he did it.

"Oh, but of course. Whatever you say, dear."

He then moved over to take a seat closer to Stewie. Satisfied, Stewie proceeded on with the trick.

"Begin the song whenever you're ready, Nathan."

The man hit play and leaned over on the table to get comfortable.

"It's playing."

The child leaned in, too, eyes focused right at his volunteer's as he began speaking casually.

"Do me a favor and count up to ten, will you please, kind sir?"

The young man tilted his head at the strange request but acquiesced all the same.

"Ok…? One. Two. Three. Four…"

"Are you nervous, Nathan?"

The man sputtered for a second, obviously caught off guard at having been cut off.

"Uh? Oh? Uh? N-No. I d-don't feel nervous."

He cleared his throat.

"Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten."

Stewie hummed thoughtfully.

"Hmmm. Very good. Now, do you have a favorite color? I'd guess green, but that's really just a shot in the dark based off of your shirt color."

The audience laughed and so did Nathan as he responded with a nod of his head.

"It, uh… It actually is green. Lucky guess I...uh...guess."

Another awkward laugh from the man as Stewie continued staring at him intensely.

"Yes. I suppose so. Lucky…"

The performer and volunteer just kept their eyes on each other for several tense seconds before Stewie finally spoke again.

"You know, most people associate green with jealousy, but people who like green actually tend to have a pretty interesting character profile. They're committed to others but can also be conceited or preoccupied with their own reputation. Does that sound like you, Nathan?"

The man shrugged, shifting in his seat a bit as he responded.

"I don't think I'm conceited, but I do care a lot about the people in my life."

Stewie nodded his head.

"Of course. Of course."

More silence.

"I feel like the song you're listening to is very...heavy but...also melodic, like the soundtrack of a tortured soul who must hide their pain."

Nathan blinked with surprised eyes.

"Uhhhh… Ok. Interesting description."

The baby just smirked.

"The artist means a lot to you. You discovered them when you were young, and for a while, you were afraid to share them with others because you knowing about them and others not gave you a sense of superiority that you just couldn't bear to let go of. But, over time, you began to realize that more people knew about them than you initially thought, and while this took away the thrill of indulging in your hidden gem, the impact their songs had left on you was already firmly cemented to the point that their music would always mean something special to you."

The man blinked again, his jaw dropping slightly.

"H-How can you…"

Stewie cut him off again.

"I told you, I'm a mind reader. I'm simply picking up on the memories that the song you're listening to is bringing to the forefront of your mind. Though…"

He tapped his chin.

"I haven't quite nailed the exact song yet, but I do believe I still have a couple of minutes before it is over. Correct?"

Nathan nodded.

"You do."

The boy rubbed his palms together.

"Perfect. There's still time."

He took a breath and closed his eyes.

"It's a band, isn't it, Nathan?"

"It is."

"Yes. Foreign, too, if I'm reading this right. I'd also wager the song you're listening to was released in the late 90's or early 2000's judging from the sound of it."

He smiled.

"Not anything I'd seek out, personally, but the female vocals are pleasant and the musicianship certainly has its charms, soaring guitars backed by a symphony and pounding drums. They probably put on one hell of a show."

The child opened his eyes.

"Not that you would know, right?"

Nathan frowned.

"No. I've never gotten a chance to see them…"

"And the song is almost over?"

The man looked at the phone.

"Yeah. Just a few more seco…"

"It's Ever Dream by Nightwish a symphonic metal band hailing from Finland."

Nathan flew up from his seat, pure astonishment on his face, no words to say.

Stewie just smirked.

"How about you unplug those earbuds and let everyone else here listen to what you picked from my playlist?"

The man immediately yanked out the cord, and the intense sound of a Finnish symphonic metal band began echoing throughout the room before it was quickly drowned out by the loud applause of the stunned and dumbfounded crowd.

---

The infant finished slipping the straitjacket over his partner's torso and began securing the straps.

"Ok. Hold your arms out stiffly or else this won't work, Bry."

The canine snorted.

"I watched the videos, Stewie. This should be easy enough."

The boy didn't respond as he continued maneuvering around on the bed in their hotel room, trying to pull the straps on the straitjacket as tight as he could. Brian flinched, grunting a bit as he began to struggle against his restraints.

"Jeez. Think you got those tight enough, kid?"

The infant snickered and then came around to sit facing Brian on the bed.

"What? You said this would be easy. I'm just trying to make this a feat worthy of the unparalleled skills possessed by The Amazing Brian."

The dog continued to struggle, quickly realizing that this was going to be harder than he initially thought.

"I don't think I can pull my arm over my head like this. We can't have them this tight during the show, Stewie. Loosen them up a bit."

But Stewie just shook his head.

"Absolutely not! Besides, practice makes perfect, and if you can escape from this, you'll definitely be prepared to do it quickly on stage. In fact…"

A devilish grin appeared on the child's face then as he slowly lowered himself down between his partner's pantless legs.

"Speed is the name of the game here, so let's see just how fast you are."

He looked up at the confused canine, a sultry glint in his eyes.

"Bet you can't escape that jacket before I get you off, handsome"

The dog's eyes went wide, and his mouth fell open slightly before he responded.

"Oh, you dirty little…"

But before he could finish his thought, Stewie had already begun massaging his inner thigh, causing the dog to jump slightly as a high-pitched yipping sound flew out of his mouth.

Stewie began laughing, applying more pressure before placing his hand fully on Brian's crotch and rubbing the lump that was forming there.

"Tick tock, baby. I know this won't take long."

Brian moaned loudly but resumed struggling with the jacket.

"You're a goddamn monster."

The baby nodded his head, pupils focusing in on a hint of pink beginning to peek out from the canine's groin.

"I know."

He stuck out his tongue and circled it around the tip, urging the dog's cock to reveal itself further.

"I also know you love it, though."

The dog began breathing in deep breaths through his nostrils as he fought to ignore the glorious sensations taking place down below.

Can't let him win. Can't let him win.

He strained, pulling his arm as far away from his body as he could before tilting his head and trying to force it through the small opening he had created. His cock was at full attention, by this point, Stewie still working his magic, using that tongue to trace every vein in his now- throbbing appendage.

As he was doing this, though, the child was still watching Brian as he instinctively licked him all over. The kid was actually fairly impressed and wanted to see if his partner would actually manage to complete the first step of the straitjacket escape. After a lot of straining, though, Brian ultimately had to take a break. He just couldn't quite get his head through.

Still...valiant effort, no doubt.

That was a good try, boy! Not good enough, though...

With a mocking laugh, he looked back at the cock in front of him and moved to take it into his mouth.

"Oh, fucking Christ!"

The canine fell back onto the bed and began writhing around, a part of him fighting to get away but another knowing good and well that he didn't want to escape this torture one bit. He began pulling at the straitjacket again, still attempting to create enough space for him to get his head through but it was becoming harder and harder to muster up the energy as his mind kept drifting to what Stewie was doing to his body, like he was sucking the life right out of him and using his dick as a straw.

Stewie was right.

This wouldn't take long.

It didn't take long.

The boy began bobbing up and down on him, and before Brian could even register how intense the sensations actually were, he was climaxing in Stewie's mouth, tongue lolling out and dangling as he panted happily, leg kicking rapidly while his orgasm coursed through his subdued body.

Stewie placed his hands on Brian's legs and held on tight as he began to gulp down the animal's release, moaning lewdly as his own little cock began to get hard just from the act of pleasing his adorable pet.

He'd have to get Brian to return the favor later...or maybe sooner rather than later...

For now, though, he quickly finished up the task at hand, coming up for air once Brian had given all he had to give. A speck of white dribbled down his chin, so he used the back of his hand to wipe it away before sitting up and making eye contact with the dazed and satisfied animal lying on the bed.

Brian shut his eyes as if to go to sleep, but Stewie quickly smacked him in the leg to bring him back to reality.

"We're not done with practice yet. You didn't even get past the first step! I don't know, Bry. I think we're going to be at this all night."

The baby grinned that devilish grin of his once more and began to remove his clothes as the canine just continued to lie there, staring at him with a mixture of excitement and fear, knowing he was in for one hell of a night and ready to indulge in every twisted moment of it.

---

Another night, another show.

Stewie was in the dressing room tinkering with a new invention. Brian had gotten all dressed up and ready almost an hour ago, but Stewie still needed to finish his makeup. The little genius just needed to make this quick adjustment first to the two metal rings on his table. Yes, he was never one to put off getting pretty, but the scientist in him also was unable to ignore an obvious design flaw when it became apparent to him.

Just tighten this a little, and…

"Are you still not ready?"

The sound of the canine's booming voice broke the baby's concentration momentarily. He sighed and turned to address his partner.

"I'm going to get ready. I was just finishing this up."

The dog looked rather surprised, finger going up to point at a clock on the wall.

"We go on in fifteen, Stewie. You've been at that for an hour almost."

The infant's eyes went wide at this revelation. Had time really flown that fast?

"What!?"

He immediately threw down his tools and shoved whatever he was working on to the side, little hands quickly reaching for his beauty supplies as he hurried to finish his look for the night. He heard Brian laughing under his breath as the canine came to stand beside him.

"I was wondering if you lost track of time. It's not like you to wait until the last minute to get ready."

Stewie hummed in agreement as he began applying his eyeliner.

"Sorry. I just got distracted, babe. Was working on a new invention that will do wonders for our act."

Brian nodded, eyes going down to look at the odd-looking metal rings on the table.

"Those? Huh. What could you even do now? You already basically perfected the art of levitation."

Stewie moved onto the foundation.

"It's a little hard to explain, right now… They're, like...portals...essentially?"

Brian quirked an eyebrow, mind trying to wrap around the words Stewie had spoken as he went over to his own table to retrieve his top hat.

"P-Portals? So...You put one thing through and it comes through the other…"

Eh, just a touch of blush should do.

"Well, yeah, that's the simple way to put it, but there's a little more going on than that."

The canine thought about the concept a little more before ultimately deciding to drop it. Stewie would obviously show him when whatever device he was working on was ready. The kid always liked to show off, and it wasn't like Brian was going to suddenly gain a greater understanding of the types of advanced science his little lover had a grasp on just by simply thinking about it harder.

"Hmmmm. Well, I'm sure you'll get it working soon. Must be child's play for someone who dabbles in time and multiverse travel."

Stewie smiled, fully appreciating the compliment as he moved on to his lips.

"It's not as black and white as all that, but you're sweet for acknowledging how exceptional I am."

He smacked his lips and gave himself a quick once-over in the mirror.

Yeah. That'll do.

He looked up at the clock and saw that they were down to their last five minutes or so before showtime.

Ready or not, it was going to have to do

The baby hopped up from his chair.

"Come on! We better go take our places."

The dog scoffed but followed his partner out of the dressing room obediently.

"You the one rushing me now?"

The child was in full performance mode now. No time for impromptu banter.

"Yes."

And that was all that was said as the pair took their place just offstage, Brian running to retrieve their table with all the props as a man introduced them to the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for Vegas's hottest new act, The Amazing Brian and, his partner, The Fabulous Stella!"

That was their cue. Brian and Stewie made their way out onto the stage as the man who introduced them walked off. Brian was pushing their table, and Stewie was pushing a big box on a mobile platform, the both of them waving to the cheering audience as they both took their places on stage, Brian more toward the back while Stewie went up front and center. The child waited for the clapping to die down before beginning his usual greeting.

"Welcome! Welcome, all you lovely people, to the show of your lives! Now, this is normally the part of the show where I explain the sights and wonders you are about to behold, but let's be honest here, everyone, most of you already know what you're here for. So, I'm going to cut the formalities short."

He turned back to Brian then, extending a gloved arm in presentation.

That was Brian's cue to unveil the straitjacket as the two then walked over to each other, Stewie taking the jacket and starting the process of securing it around Brian's torso. He'd had plenty of practice fastening the thing, by this point, so he was able to easily continue addressing the audience as his hands worked quickly with the various straps and locks. As he was scanning the crowd, though, something caught his eye. His hands stopped, for a brief moment, prompting Brian to look at him to see what was going on, not that he would be able to receive an answer. They couldn't speak to each other, right now, and Stewie wasn't sure he would even need to speak to his partner afterwards, anyway. After all, it could just be a trick of the eye. He knew that. It was simply too dark for him to know for sure whether or not that was indeed Slade sitting way in the back of the theater.

---

"Wow! That's amazing!"

Brian knew that what he was seeing was sort of par for the course when it came to Stewie and his crazy inventions, but he also wasn't sure that he would ever stop being impressed by the new and inventive ways the young boy always managed to bend time and space to his will.

The two rings that Stewie had been working on were now fully functional, only took the tyke a couple of days to finish his work on them, and now, Stewie was demonstrating what they were able to do. They had arrived at this next venue incredibly early, so there was more than enough time for a quick test. The pair was standing on stage, Brian at one end and Stewie at the other, both holding onto a single metal ring that didn't look much different from the linking rings that Brian had used when he was just getting started in his current profession.

These were truly magic, though.

Stewie had placed his hand through his ring, and the end of it had exited through Brian's. They were several feet away, and Stewie was still able to reach the dog and stroke his smiling muzzle. The child smirked as he shouted over to his partner.

"Just imagine the possibilities with these. You thought we were blowing people's minds before? No, no, no, we're just getting started, baby!"

The infant's hand retreated.

"There's no limit to what we can do with them, either! Watch!"

What happened next totally took the canine off guard as the child then held his ring aloft above his wig adorned head and then let it go. The ring dropped, expanding around the boy as it fell so that the entirety of Stewie passed through it, and then, instantly, the boy rematerialized through Brian's ring, flying forward and tackling the canine so that he fell on his back with Stewie now on top of him.

"Oomph!"

The impact knocked the wind out of the stunned canine, and he grimaced in mild annoyance as he lay there on the wooden floor of the stage.

"Ah! Jeez, Stewie! You couldn't have warned me?"

The infant snickered and then rested his head on the canine's chest, eyes shutting as he sighed happily.

"Guess I might have underestimated the momentum that would be transferred from the ring falling, but this is a perfectly acceptable outcome, I feel."

Brian sighed, arms coming up to wrap around his little lover as he stared off to the side at the empty seats that would be filled within the next few hours.

"I guess it isn't that bad…"

The pair remained lying there for some time, Brian's mind lost in thought. He took stock of just where he was right now, all that had happened to get him and Stewie to this point. It was something he had been thinking about a lot, and just like every time Stewie showed him a new invention, he never ceased to be amazed by the circumstances. He smiled and hugged the boy tighter.

After all he had gone through, how had he wound up so lucky?

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt Stewie shifting to sit up. The infant straddled the canine and raised his arms to stretch as a yawn escaped him.

"Mmmmmm! Well, can't just keep lying around out here. I'm liable to pass out, and wouldn't that be quite unprofessional of me?"

The infant then stood up, collecting the ring that was still on the ground by them before making his way over to the other side of the stage where the other ring had fallen.

Meanwhile, Brian just remained lying there, eyes following after the boy as his mind continued to marvel at his luck, at how absolutely amazing Stewie was.

He loved that kid so much.

It wasn't until Stewie retreated backstage that Brian finally stood up and chased after his partner, his heart pounding as a sudden swell of adoration and affection began to hit him. The child had just shrunk the rings back down so he could put them aside on a nearby table with a backup set of rings when the dog finally caught up to the tyke, paw reaching out to grab the child's shoulder before spinning him around so that they were facing each other.

Stewie's eyes went wide in surprise.

"What are you-"

But he was immediately silenced by the canine's mouth covering his own. Brian's arms went to take another tight hold of the boy, and it was a good thing, too, because he could feel his young partner go limp at the sudden and unexpected kiss he was bestowing upon those tender lips. A moan poured out of Stewie, and the animal swallowed it greedily before pulling away and locking eyes with the object of his affections.

"I love you so fucking much. You know that?"

Stewie needed a moment to catch his breath, body shivering violently as he took in the action and words of his partner. He continued to pant heavily as he looked up at Brian and spoke with all due seriousness in a hushed whisper.

"Oh, god, I love you, too…"

The electricity that was always between them was sparking like crazy, and the two of them both knew where this was going since they had both been so goddamn insatiable lately. Stewie's eyes began looking over the backstage area for a place where they could escalate this encounter. There weren't many options, though, not that he'd really mind if Brian just threw him down and took him right here on the goddamn floor.

But then his eyes landed on something that caused a memory to pop into his head, and he smiled a lewd and satisfied smile as he looked back at his companion.

"You wanna split me in half with that bone of yours, boy?"

Brian smirked, but then, something flickered in his eye as Stewie's words seemed to remind him of something.

His smirk grew, and his gaze drifted over to the trick box that was normally reserved for when he sawed Stewie in half during their show.

It was totally suitable for a different purpose, though.

You dirty little…

He swept Stewie up and bolted over to the box before opening it and placing Stewie inside. As he was climbing in to join his lover, he spoke.

"Might need to make this quick. Others might start showing up before too much longer."

Stewie was already removing his heels and underwear. He'd keep the dress on, hopefully he wouldn't have to fix himself back up too much when this was over.

"Well, I have no doubt in your ability to service me quickly and efficiently, darling."

The canine dropped into the box, choosing to ignore the slight jab as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle of lubricant.

Stewie snickered.

"Took my advice about always carrying that on you? I told you we'd end up screwing in public, eventually."

The dog was working on his pants now in the cramped box, trying to maneuver them down and off.

"You act like I didn't fully expect that, too. You think it's easy for me having to watch you in sexy dresses all day? Hell no."

Stewie scoffed, reaching over to assist the struggling canine with the removal of his pants.

"I'd say we need to teach you some self-control, but I honestly wouldn't have it any other way."

The pants finally came flying off, and Stewie took a moment to stare at Brian's already engorged length.

Still took his breath away.

He reached out and began to stroke it with his gloved fingers.

"Definitely can't have you going on stage with that thing out of control. We'll have to tame it."

Stewie pushed Brian back so that he was lying against the side of the box, forcing the dog's legs apart as far as they would go before tossing some hair aside and leaning down to tend to the organ with his mouth. He started with delicate licks that trailed up the full scale of it, causing Brian to moan as his legs instinctively went to spread wider despite being contained by the box. The boy then quickly moved on to taking the dick into his mouth, lips sliding over the tip and then down the shaft. He moaned around it, little erection of his own twitching as he serviced his partner gladly.

"Mmmmm. Fuck, Stewie…"

The child pulled up off of Brian long enough to shoot him a wink, hands working diligently to keep his mate good and satisfied.

"Don't worry. We're getting to that."

He went back to sucking Brian off, head starting to bob as a hand went down to fondle the animal's balls. The dog growled and placed a paw on top of the baby's head, patting it as a gesture of his appreciation. Stewie smiled around the dick in his mouth and began swirling his tongue all around the organ in his mouth as he took it as far into his throat as possible. A whine escaped Brian then as he began panting.

"St-Stewie...too...good… Can't… Gonna…"

The boy got the message. He quickly retreated from his task, tongue slithering out to lick at some of Brian's essence that had managed to collect around his lips after he had pulled up and off of Brian. The dog was leaning his head back, staring up at the ceiling as he fought to keep himself from cumming right then and there. Stewie could see how close to the edge Brian was, so he didn't even dare to speak a word as he waited patiently for the animal to compose himself.

Finally, after several seconds, the dog took a deep breath and looked back at the infant, a hint of shyness in his expression.

"Heh. Would be pretty pathetic if I had finished so soon…"

Stewie just rolled his eyes.

"You men are all the same."

He reached out and grabbed the lube that was still in Brian's paw, uncapping it and drizzling a decent portion of the bottle down on Brian's cock causing the canine to gasp at the sudden cold sensation. Stewie then closed the bottle and set it aside before removing his gloves.

"You put so much stock in your fucking stamina when there's really so much more to pleasuring another."

He began to rub the lube up and down the canine's dick as he continued to lecture him. Brian just shut his eyes and moaned loudly at the sensation of slick hands rubbing over him so thoroughly.

"Like, seriously, your ability to keep from reaching orgasm doesn't count for much when you lack any finesse in your touch or awareness of what your partner likes and dislikes. You might be able to pound that thing for hours, but if that's all you care about, sex with you is always going to be boring, you know?"

No, Brian didn't exactly know what Stewie was getting at, but he also was finding it hard to focus on this "lesson" when his brain was mainly focused on what was going on between his legs. He didn't have much longer to enjoy that, though. Stewie had done quite a good job at getting him lubed and was now pulling his hands away as he continued to address the dog.

"Not that I'm saying you lack any of that, darling. You've been a wonderful lover, Brian."

The boy stood and began rolling his dress up so that it would be out of the way.

"I'm just saying that you shouldn't stress yourself out by worrying about silly things like that. This is supposed to be enjoyable for both of us."

He walked over and took his position above Brian, hands going to rest on the dog's chest for support. Brian finally opened his eyes, and he was met with the sight of Stewie smiling at him sweetly and sincerely.

His chest grew warm.

"I don't want to be with you because I know you can keep it up. I want to be with you because I love you."

The boy leaned in and placed a chaste kiss to the dog's lips, leaving Brian chasing after him as he pulled away and began to lower himself on the seemingly impossibly hard shaft. The boy squeaked as he felt his insides swell from the intrusion.

So hot.

So full.

His breath hitched, but he continued to sink lower. Brian's eyes about rolled into the back of his head as he felt his cock slowly entering the tight passage, huffing through gritted teeth, paws going up to hold onto Stewie's hips. Soon, the boy was completely seated on him, and the two sat there allowing the younger to adjust and just enjoying the feeling of being one together. Stewie leaned forward and kissed the dog's clothed chest, a happy sigh passing from his lips and ghosting over the fabric.

"Just...be with me."

Brian nodded his head, finally understanding exactly what Stewie had been getting at.

"Ok."

His hips began to move.

"I'm here with you."

---

"Can we have a volunteer, please?"

Several hands went up after Stewie's request. The boy turned to his partner who was standing behind the table behind him. Brian's eyes scanned over the audience carefully before finally landing on an older looking woman, probably in her fifties or sixties, who was wearing a fairly bright green dress that stuck out in the dense crowd. The dog pointed at her and waved her onto the stage.

"You there, ma'am. Come join me and my partner up here on stage, will you?"

The woman's eyes lit up, and the audience applauded her as she stood up and made her way up to meet Brian and Stewie. The child took her hand and directed her to have a seat at the end of the table before taking a seat behind the table next to Brian who remained standing.

The canine spoke to the audience again.

"Now, what would usually happen here would be our usual rabbit out of the hat routine, and that's exactly what we're gonna do. But, me and my partner figured it was about time we put our own little spin on it. So, instead of just watching me perform that classic trick…"

He turned to their volunteer.

"We're gonna be having this lovely lady do it!"

The woman's jaw dropped and the crowd erupted into sounds of intrigue and curiosity. Brian smirked and removed his top hat from his head. He held it up so that the audience could inspect the inside, as was the normal start for the trick.

"Nothing in the hat."

And, indeed, as far as anyone could see, the hat was completely empty. Not even the lady who was serving as the duo's volunteer noticed anything suspect when Brian held the hat up for her to inspect.

There was something in the hat, though. It was one of the portal rings that Stewie had recently invented, and the other ring was currently fastened to the side of Houdini's pet carrier backstage so that whoever reached inside the hat would instantly be able to grab the cute little animal. It was all a trick of advanced scientific theory, but to the people watching the show, it might as well have been real magic.

Brian allowed the lady to inspect the hat for a moment longer before setting it on the table.

"Go ahead, ma'am."

Stewie leaned forward, setting his elbows on the table before resting his chin in his hands casually.

"Yes, please. I'm dying to see my adorable little guy."

The lady, despite seeming unsure, then reached into the hat. The portal activated once her hand reached it, and to her great surprise, instead of feeling the bottom of the hat, she felt her palm come into contact with soft fur.

"Oh!"

The surprise on her face was obvious, and it only intensified as she grabbed onto Houdini and proceeded to pull him up and out of the hat. The audience all gasped. The woman just sat there, jaw wanting to fall to the floor as she stared at the rabbit that had seemingly materialized from out of nowhere.

"There he is! Come here, baby!"

Houdini wiggled free from the woman and hopped over to join his owner on the opposite end of the table, arriving by the boy just as the audience erupted into enthusiastic applause. Brian and Stewie both took modest bows before Brian turned to the woman and held out his arms toward her in presentation to the crowd.

"How about we give a great big round of applause to our lovely volunteer, ladies and gentlemen!"

The clapping grew louder, and it was several seconds later before Brian was able to speak over them in order to move on to the next part of the show.

"Ok. Ok. Settle down, everyone. There's still plenty to get to tonight."

The canine whipped out a deck of cards from under the table and began to shuffle them.

"How about a little card magic? Would you mind assisting me for a little longer miss…?"

The lady hesitated briefly before realizing that the dog was asking for her name.

"Oh, my name is Ellen, Ellen Shoemaker."

The dog continued to shuffle as he nodded.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Ellen. Thank you for coming out tonight."

The woman smiled.

"Oh, the pleasure has been all mine. You two are lovely."

The audience cheered in agreement, causing both Brian and Stewie to feel a little swell of pride. Stewie began petting Houdini but turned to the crowd to show their appreciation.

"You're all too kind, thank you."

Brian nodded in agreement, still shuffling the cards for a moment longer before stopping briefly and looking back up at everyone fixated on his actions. He smirked and then began to do something that even took Stewie by surprise.

He took the cards into a single paw and proceeded to shuffle with them, cleanly and expertly. As the audience all indicated their amazement with various whispers and murmurs, the child was left speechless. His lips parting only just slightly as he watched the work of a true showman.

When did he learn to do that?

The shuffling continued, cards seeming to float in the air as they were cut and reordered again and again. Brian turned to Ellen.

"As with pulling a rabbit out of a hat, card tricks are a true staple of any halfway decent magician, but again, we'll be putting our own little spin on things here tonight. The next few tricks you'll be assisting me with tonight Ellen will all be performed with this one…"

He stopped shuffling the cards.

"Single…"

And fanned them out facedown for the woman.

"Hand."

The raw talent on display actually caused Stewie to shiver a bit, and he was soon shivering again when he felt a sudden and unexpected sensation on his leg. It didn't take him long to recognize what it was. He was pretty well acquainted with this particular feeling by now.

Brian's free paw, the one that had been concealed to the audience by the table, was now resting on his leg.

He had to fight not to squeal.

"Pick a card, Ellen."

The paw began rubbing the infant's leg. Stewie's eyes began to search all throughout the crowd to see if anyone had picked up on what was going on, but that crafty mutt was a sly one because the way Stewie was positioned at the table made it pretty much impossible for anyone to see anything all that suspicious.

"That the one you want?"

The boy looked back at the performance that was currently happening within plain view. The woman had picked out a card…

And Brian's paw was slowly sliding up his leg and under his dress!

Oh my god…

Stewie slid up closer, unable to deny how sexy he was finding all of this and wanting more of the dog's touch as he tried to keep himself as composed as possible in front of the hundreds of carefully watching eyes. Brian was doing something with the cards again. It was so hard to focus on that, though, when he could feel the pad of that paw rubbing against the front of his underwear. He bit his lip.

Hard.

It was all he could do to keep from embarrassing himself and moaning right on stage.

Damn it! Stop teasing me, and just get it over with!

"Is this your card?"

"It is!"

Applause.

All business as usual.

Stewie smiled, gulping as he simultaneously began clapping while subtlety moving his hips against Brian. The dog began shuffling the cards again, somehow finding an opportunity to look back over at the boy he was currently torturing. He shot Stewie a wink and then refocused on their volunteer.

"Ok...for this next trick…"

You're gonna get it so fucking good tonight, I swear…

He could barely pay attention to what was going on with the cards anymore. Brian was now slipping his paw into his underwear, and he was about to lose his fucking mind if he didn't get off soon. The baby began moving his hips more urgently, still trying to keep things looking pretty normal for the audience but almost beyond the point of caring.

Houdini knew something was up, though. The bunny tilted his head at the infant, obviously finding something off about the way his owner was acting.

Fuck!

Stewie offered his pet a reassuring smile, knowing he couldn't say anything because his mic would pick it up.

Oh, good lord,.. He's jerking me off now!

"Oh, wow! That's amazing!"

"They don't call me The Amazing Brian for nothing!"

Damn right they don't…

He was so hard and firm in Brian's paw, each little sensation causing shockwaves of pleasure to course through him. It was all just so amazing. So sexy. Brian was amazing. Such an amazing, sexy animal.

My amazing, sexy animal…

"Thank you, Ellen."

Stewie shut his eyes and gripped the table for dear life as a quick but intense orgasm hit him. The audience was clapping again, and it was a funny coincidence to him in his mind.

It felt like they were clapping for him.

He didn't have time to think about that for too long, though. He had to hurry up and pull himself together! His eyes opened.

Brian's paw retreated.

"I will now turn the stage over to my fabulous partner Stella! Show the crowd what you can do, babe!"

Compose! Maintain!

The infant turned to the crowd and then carefully hopped off of his chair before walking forward on slightly wobbly legs.

Focus! Focus!

"Ahem. Hi, everybody!"

He waved to the crowd awkwardly. A couple of people snickered, but Stewie chose to ignore them as he tried to get his mind back on the task at hand. He clapped his palms together.

"So...who wants their mind read?"

---

Charles, Brian, and Stewie entered the building. Charles led the way as they began walking towards the back.

"You're lucky I was able to find you what you needed on such short notice, you two. Not a lot of performers do that kind of thing anymore, but then again, that's what I like about you. You're always trying new things, expanding your repertoire of skills. With your big show coming up, it's good to prepare some illusions that people won't be expecting from you. I just hope this works out. I heard that this creature can be...uncooperative… Probably why they're looking to get rid of her."

Brian looked down at Stewie, uncertainty in his expression as he whispered to the boy.

"Do you really think we need to add a fucking tiger to our act?"

The child shrugged.

"I don't think we NEED to, but what's the harm?"

The dog expressed his uneasiness with a mirthless chuckle.

"Oh, I don't know. How about the fact that it's a fucking tiger! I'm sure they are more than capable of causing you or me significant harm!"

Stewie looked over at his partner and sighed as the group went through a pair of large double doors.

"Charles told us that he had the necessary trainers to help us with this. I believe him. Let's just...see how it goes."

The voice of Charles then interrupted the pair's private conversation.

"Ah ha! There's the rascal! Wonder where everyone else is, though…"

They stopped at a large cage that was currently housing a fairly big white tiger with bold black stripes. The tiger was lying down with its back to the group. Brian gulped in fear, but Stewie was staring at the animal with full curiosity, taking in the sight of it, assessing the situation.

"I was told that they would be here… Hmmmm…"

Charles turned to address his clients.

"Well, I guess I'll have to find the owners. Guess you two can just stay where you're at. I'll be sure to return quickly."

And, with that, Charles wandered off in search of the people he had intended to meet.

Stewie continued to look at the creature in the cage for a moment longer before turning to Brian.

"She's a gorgeous thing. Don't you think?"

Brian blinked and tilted his head at the intimidating looking beast.

"Gorgeous… Right…"

The dog shook his head.

"I'm not exactly sure I'm seeing what you are."

Stewie smiled and took a seat on the ground by the cage.

"Can't say I'm surprised, love."

He then reached through the bars just a bit. Brian immediately felt himself grow concerned over the action as he raced over to sit next to Stewie with a stern warning.

"Hey! Don't stick your hand in there!"

He grabbed the child's arm, but Stewie didn't pull back. Instead, the boy began patting the floor of the cage as he called out to the animal.

"Hey! How ya doin', girl?"

The tiger turned its head to face them, a tired almost annoyed look in its eyes as far as Brian could tell. He yanked Stewie's arm back and out of the cage before forcing the infant to face him.

"What are you doing!? Are you crazy!?"

Stewie scoffed.

"I'm being careful, Brian. It's fine. There's nothing to worry abo-"

The boy's words were cut off by a sudden puff of air that caused the hair on his wig to blow to the side. Brian felt the sudden surge of air, too, and his own hair immediately stood on its ends at the sensation. He turned to see where it had come from and was met with the sight of the tiger standing upright on the opposite side of the bars, staring intensely at the dog and his young partner. The canine began shaking, trying to urge Stewie away from the cage as he began backing up. Stewie remained put, though, despite his confident expression faltering just slightly as he stood back up on his feet and faced the intimidating creature.

"S-See…? She's safe in the cage."

The infant laughed nervously but still didn't make any move to turn away. Brian didn't dare move too far away from his partner. He had no idea what Stewie was even trying to do, but he wasn't going to let anything happen to the child no matter how frightened he was.

The boy cleared his throat before speaking to the female tiger in a sweet, sing-song tone.

"Hi there! Were you sleeping? It was hard to tell."

The tiger tilted its head in curiosity. Moving its head closer to the bars so that its snout pressed against the bars as it sniffed the air. Stewie took a breath and smiled, throwing a thumb back in Brian's direction as he continued.

"That handsome devil back there is Brian."

He then placed a palm on his chest.

"And I'm…"

The child took a quick look around, playing up the fact that what he was about to say was supposed to be a secret before leaning in to whisper to the animal.

"Well, my real name is Stewie, but that's just between you, me, and Hot Dog back there."

He finished with a wink and then began speaking at a normal volume again.

"My professional name is Stella!"

The tiger huffed and then opened its mouth, a garbled sound bubbling out of its mouth as if it was replying. Stewie hummed thoughtfully.

"Ah. Well, that is very nice of you."

He turned back to Brian, a big grin on his face.

"See? She's just curious. As long as she doesn't perceive us as a threat, she's harmless."

Brian continued to look on, the tension in his muscles easing up as he took a step forward while Stewie went back to talking with the tiger.

"Isn't that right!? You're a good girl! I can tell! Just want someone to treat you with some respect is all! Believe me, I understand how that feels."

The tiger huffed again and then layed down, eyes still focused on Stewie's. Brian came to stand beside Stewie, his paw going up as he waved at the animal.

"H-Hi… How's it… How's it going?"

The tiger let out that sound again, causing Stewie to laugh.

"My, my, you're a talkative one."

The baby then raised his own hand, but it was not to wave at the tiger.

"Just a sweet girl..."

He extended his arm out and into the cage in the direction of the creature's snout. Brian gulped, but did not make any move to stop Stewie. He was ready to pull the child back in an instant, if the need arose, but for now, he felt like he could trust Stewie here.

The kid had this under control.

The tiger watched Stewie closely as his hand drew nearer and nearer.

"You gonna let me pet you? I'd like to."

The tiger didn't make any sounds in response. Its body did hunch up a bit, though, and its ears went flat as it waited with wide eyes to see what Stewie would do.

Admittedly, Stewie could feel his heart racing as he allowed himself to get closer and closer to the wary female. He wanted her to understand that they were her friends, though, wanted to form some kind of bond. This creature wasn't going to be a prop for the stage. That's not what he wanted. He didn't want her to worry.

And...it seemed like, on some level, she could sense that.

The infant's hand pressed against the top of her snout and he began to pet it softly. After a moment, the animal relaxed and began to push into the touch, a soft purr vibrating in its throat. Stewie breathed a sigh of relief and then looked over at Brian.

"A little understanding and care goes a long way, my dear."

Brian felt it again, that sense of awe that only Stewie could instill in him. He smiled and nodded his head.

But, if he was going to say anything, he didn't get the chance because, in the next moment, an unfamiliar male voice called out to the pair.

"Well, look at that! It looks like Fae has taken quite a liking to you! Don't see that every day!"

The big cat jumped away, prompting Stewie to yank his hand back as both he and Brian turned around to see Charles approaching with a man and woman neither of them had ever seen before. The group joined them by the cage and formal greetings and handshakes were exchanged by all with Stewie going first.

"You must be this sweet thing's caretakers! Pleased to meet you! I'm Stella, and this is Brian."

Brian tipped his hat.

The man simply nodded his head.

"Pleased to meet you, as well. You two have been making quite the buzz in Vegas lately. Been hearing lots of good things."

He looked over at the woman beside him.

"I'm Ray and this is Julie."

Charles cut in.

"Yes, Ray and Julie here have been performing for quite a while. They usually work with wild animals, but they've been having some issues getting Fae over there to participate."

Julie frowned.

"She's just stubborn, but you know, that happens sometimes. We were at a loss for what to do with her, but then, we heard you two were looking for something for your act. Maybe you'll have more luck with her?"

The question was directed at Stewie, but Charles once again cut in.

"She shouldn't be any trouble. I have some very talented people who work for me, and she won't be involved in anything near as complex as your routine, at least not yet."

Stewie turned to Charles then, a stern expression on his face.

"And these people who work for you, they'll take good care of her?"

The man nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh, absolutely! Old girl over there will be treated like a queen!"

The child smiled at this and then looked over at Brian who was already smiling in his direction. Their eyes met briefly, and then, the dog turned to address Charles himself.

"We're gonna hold you to that."

The man just laughed.

"Trust me, Brian. I know a good deal when I see one, and this is a good deal for everyone involved."

Everyone in the group nodded, and then, Ray clapped his palms together.

"Ok, then! Let's make this official."

Julie hummed in agreement.

"Yes, I'm eager to send Fae off to a good home. You two seem to already be closer to her than we ever managed to get. I'm sure she'll be much happier performing with you."

Brian chuckled.

"Well, what can I say?"

He looked back at Stewie.

"Stella just has a way about her when it comes to animals."

---

The magic pair waved off their driver and watched him drive away. They had just finished up another show, and normally, this was the part where they would be driven back to the hotel. But, the hotel wasn't that far away tonight, and it was actually rather nice out this evening. Stewie had suggested that they walk.

And, as usual, Brian had given into the child's whims.

So, they set off, Stewie skipping along through the alley and towards the sidewalk while Brian casually strolled beside him with Houdini in the carrier. They hit The Strip and set off in the direction for their little temporary luxury home. The child looked up at all the dazzling lights of the city and sighed happily.

"Ahhhhhh. This really is the life, isn't it, babe?"

Brian's eyes diverted down at his little partner, a small smile etched onto his lips. He'd been smiling more than ever lately.

"Yeah. It really is…"

Stewie felt the eyes on him and looked over to meet them. The expression he saw on the canine's face absolutely took his breath away. All that love… Was that for him? A little gasp rushed out of him before he had a chance to catch it, and then, his features went the slightest shade of pink. Brian chuckled, and then, as if they were telepathically linked, the two of them both began to lean towards each other so that they could share a sweet kiss right there on the sidewalk.

God, I love you so-

"Hey! Brian! Stella!"

The pair jumped back as if they were afraid of getting caught and then both turned around to see a man approaching from behind them. The man's stride was unsteady, so it seemed pretty clear that he was inebriated in some form or fashion. They both squinted at the figure as he got closer, eyes going wide when the shape finally came into focus against the bright lights of the city. They looked back at each other once more, Brian being the first one to speak.

"What the hell…?"

Stewie just stood there, completely unsure of what to do.

The man called out to them again.

"Hey! Heeeeeeeey! I know you see me! Don't be rude! Why don't you come say hi to your good pal Slade! Especially you, Stella! You're looking as fine as ever! Ruin anymore careers lately!?"

The smile that had been on Stewie's face fell into a deep frown, and Brian could feel his paws clenching into tight fists. He went to yell something back but a tiny hand on his arm stopped him.

"Let's just keep walking. He's not worth it…"

Stewie then took ahold of the canine's paw and began to lead them both away from their crazed former agent. Brian huffed angrily in the man's direction but could tell that Stewie was uncomfortable and wanted to get away.

And Stewie always came first.

So, they both opted to ignore the man, continuing down the sidewalk away from him and towards the hotel. But, all the while, Slade kept calling out to them. He kept shouting down the street, voice slowly fading into the noise of the night only to be left echoing in the minds of the pair he had been so desperate to talk to.

"Don't ignore me! Nobody ignores me! Do you know who I am!? Do you know who you're fucking dealing with!?"

---

"Hey. You ok?"

Brian and Stewie were backstage in their dressing room for the night. It had been a couple of days since their encounter with Slade, and tonight would be their first time doing a show since then. The dog had attempted to bring up what had happened multiple times to his partner, but each attempt had been brushed aside with the child's usual nonchalance.

Brian knew better, though.

He knew Stewie.

He just wanted to make sure the kid was ready to go back out there in front of the public.

The boy was ignoring him, though, not saying a word as he switched his blonde wig for a brunette one before diligently beginning the task of applying his makeup. Brian sighed then spent the next several minutes in silence before speaking.

"How long are we supposed to just ignore it, Stewie?"

The infant finished putting on some lipstick and then turned his seat around to face his partner.

"Ignore what, darling?"

It was enough to make Brian want to groan. He didn't, though.

"Slade."

He spoke sternly.

"How long are we supposed to just ignore what happened with Slade?"

The boy smiled, an effeminate little laugh pouring out of him as he batted a hand at the canine.

"What's there to ignore? The man has lost it. You saw him. He's pathetic! What's he going to do!?"

There was a fire in the baby's tone that only increased the more he spoke. It was almost enough to make Brian flinch away, but this was serious. He had to stand his ground. He growled, allowing a fist to come down hard on the table he was sitting by as he replied angrily.

"I don't fucking know, Stewie! I don't know what's going through his head, but the man seemed pretty fucking unhinged to me!"

Stewie shot up from his seat and stared the dog down with an intensity that only the little demon could muster.

"Fine! Let him be unhinged! Let him wallow in his pitiful little sham of a career that he apparently thinks I ruined! We're done with him, Brian! I refuse to allow him to even have the small honor of occupying space in my brilliant mind, so if you would be so kind as to fucking drop this whole thing, I'd really fucking appreciate it."

The dog wanted to retort, but the inferno blazing behind those eyes was enough to quell any response he may have had. He didn't want to fight with Stewie, and besides, it was about time for them to head out on stage.

This could wait.

...Or maybe it was simply a futile subject to keep pestering the kid about.

The canine inhaled deeply, holding the breath for a few seconds before exhaling in an attempt to calm himself before replying.

"Fine. I'm sorry."

He stood up and motioned towards the door of the dressing room.

"Let's just go out there and put on a good show for everyone."

The child gave the dog a firm nod before turning and stomping his way out of the dressing room. Brian wasn't too far behind, but he did keep some distance. The kid was obviously still agitated. It was just for the best to give him some space. Once they were out on stage, it would all be fine.

He hoped…

Brian grabbed the table with all the stage props and took his place by Stewie just offstage. The infant was tapping his foot as he awaited their cue to go on. He groaned.

"Dammit! This is always the worst part. How can I still get nervous even though we've done this dozens of times? I know good and well that everything will be fine."

Brian looked over at the boy in mild surprise.

"I didn't know you got nervous."

Stewie looked back at him and smirked.

"What? You mean in general or just when we go out on stage? Do I really hide it that well, darling?"

The tone was sweet, but the cadence was full of sarcasm.

Brian just rolled his eyes.

"I meant when we perform. You know I know you better than that."

The lights in the theater went down, so the dog switched to facing forward as he finished his thought.

"You do hide it well, don't get me wrong, but that sort of stops working as well when you open your heart to someone."

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

"I opened my heart to you because you were the only one who seemed like they could understand it."

"Put your hands together!"

"I know, and that's exactly why I did the same for you."

"For The Amazing Brian!"

"Do you regret that decision?"

"Aaaaaaaaaand"

"No."

"The Fabulous!"

"Neither do I."

"Steeeeeeelllllllaaaaaaa!"

"Good."

The crowd's greeting of thunderous applause reverberated all throughout the building as Stewie and Brian made their way out onto the stage. The duo waved at their audience, both wearing big smiles as they took their usual places. As always, Stewie spoke first.

"Well! Aren't you all such a lovely audience!? I can already tell that we're going to get along just splendidly this evening! What a warm welcome from you all! Thank you!"

The people began clapping once again, so Stewie waited for them to quiet down before continuing.

"We've got a hell of a show for you all tonight, plenty of feats and illusions to shock and awe you. In fact, we'll be beginning tonight's show with something we've never done before."

At the conclusion of that sentence, a curtain behind both Stewie and Brian began to ascend. A clear, small tank of water was slowly revealed, and as this was happening, Stewie made his way over to the table beside Brian and pulled out a straitjacket that had been stashed underneath it. The canine took off his signature top hat and set it on the table. Then, he extended out his arms so that Stewie could start securing the jacket to him. They had rehearsed this numerous times, so the process was completed quickly and effortlessly as the child addressed the audience once again.

"Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, you will bear witness to The Amazing Brian's first ever LIVE escape performance! After I place him in this regulation straitjacket, he will then be lowered into that container of water. Once given the go-ahead, I will then close and secure the container with multiple heavy-duty padlocks. There will be no way to reach the locks once he is inside the container."

The people in the audience began to murmur amongst themselves as Stewie finished strapping Brian into the jacket. He then began leading the dog over to a set of stairs that had been placed behind the tank as he continued speaking.

"No curtains. No smoke. No mirrors. You will be able to see every little thing that is going on inside as he struggles to escape with his life intact, so if this is the kind of thing that is too intense for you, I advise you to leave the theater for the next few minutes."

The infant looked over at his partner who was staring straight out into the audience with a blank expression. Stewie was all smiles, but on the inside, he was definitely panicking a little bit. He really didn't have much reason to. All of their practise sessions recently had gone off perfectly, and there was even a very effective fail safe in place in the event that the dog somehow wasn't able to make it out of the jacket in time. It was fine.

Everything would be fine.

Brian, meanwhile, was doing his best to keep calm. He wasn't so much worried about the possibility of dying so much as just the possibility of failing in front of an audience again. If things went wrong, Stewie had put measures in place to assure that he'd be alright.

He knew he would be fine.

So, without further ado, the canine closed his eyes, took a breath, and then jumped into the tank, causing some of the water to splash out onto the stage. The container was just short enough for his head to stick up out of it and wide enough for him to have a decent amount of space to move around.

The water, though? The water was absolutely freezing. He had to fight not to start shivering.

Conserve energy. Conserve energy.

Stewie remained standing at the top of the steps, waiting for Brian's cue to shut the lid. By this point, the entire theater had gone dead silent as everyone waited to see what would happen. Brian was breathing in and out deeply through his nostrils, preparing himself both mentally and physically for the task ahead. About a minute went by before he finally looked over at Stewie and gave a firm nod of his head.

Stewie gulped.

That was the cue.

The boy reached over and grabbed the lid, eyes never leaving his partner's as he raised it up and mouthed three words to the dog in the water.

I love you.

The canine smiled, took a breath, and then submerged his entire body under the water. Stewie then worked quickly as he slammed the lid shut and rushed down the stairs, grabbing all the locks that had been left on the ground before securing them to the left, right, and front-facing sides of the box so that the lid could no longer be opened. He then took multiple steps back and watched on with the rest of the audience as Brian flailed around in the water to remove the straitjacket.

The worst thing the dog could do was panic, but perhaps he had underestimated just how hard it would be to keep himself composed once the reality of being locked in a box underwater finally hit him. He didn't panic, though. It was incredibly difficult but he fought back against that response as he tried to think about his situation just like any other. He had escaped from this jacket multiple times, after all. The circumstances may have been different, but he knew all the techniques.

It was simple, really.

He jerked his arms from side to side in an effort to give himself some more slack, and then he took one of his arms, leaned his head over toward it, and just barely managed to squeeze it through the small space he had managed to create. This allowed him to pull his arm up and around his body, essentially giving him the ability to move it around more freely. The process was then repeated with the other arm. By the time both of his arms were free, Brian had been under the water for almost a minute. Stewie felt his fingers digging into his palms as he watched on.

Come on, babe. You're almost there.

With his arms now more mobile, Brian began to pull them free from the tight sleeves. At this point, he was being pretty mindful of how much energy he was exerting, so he opted to hold onto one sleeve while steadily shimmying the other out. It took some time, more than he would have liked, but eventually, he had one of his arms out of the sleeve and free enough to reach down and out of the jacket. Stewie was practically bouncing on his heel-clad feet.

You got this!

Brian reached around his back and began undoing the bottom strap of the jacket. It took some fiddling, and he was really starting to feel the toll holding his breath for so long was taking on his body, but soon the strap was undone, allowing the jacket to open up almost all the way. It was just enough for him to free his other arm and pull the jacket up and over his head with ease.

The crowd began applauding loudly, shouts and whistles making their way to the stage but just barely registering in Brian's ears as he struggled to keep his body going. Stewie was beginning to feel somewhat relieved, but he knew the time for clapping would come once Brian was safely out of that death trap.

With the jacket off, Brian moved on to the big finish. He reached down and grabbed desperately at his lifeline, one of the portal rings. The ring had been stashed in the tank before the show, and it was so small that no one in the audience would have ever been able to see it. His eyes were closed, though, so it took a few moments before he felt his paw hit the device. As soon as he touched it, though, he knew everything was going to be alright. The dog smiled and activated it before tossing it upward.

For the people in attendance of tonight's show, what happened next was unexpected, baffling, and incredible. One minute, they were all staring at a tank full of water with a dog trapped in it, but then, in the blink of an eye, all of the water rushed out of the tank and as for that dog…

He vanished. Completely disappeared from sight.

No smoke. No mirrors. Just...gone...

Practically every jaw in that theater dropped simultaneously.

Stewie just smiled, though, a tension finally rushing out of him as he turned to watch the crowd. He wanted to see their reactions. The Amazing Brian had caused those reactions.

And he'd bloody well earned them.

The boy was proud.

As for Brian, he had landed right where the other portal ring had been stashed, right under the stairs by the tank. He was soaking wet but still very much alive, something he was very happy about. It took him a moment to catch his breath, but as soon as he was ready to be in front of the crowd again, he opened a hidden door on the side and stepped out, revealing himself to the crowd by stepping around the tank and into sight.

The people in the room went crazy. It was the most uproarious applause the pair had heard to date. Brian just stood there, still recovering a bit as he took a bow. Stewie rushed over to his side and held his arms out towards the canine as he addressed the audience with a huge grin on his face.

"How about that, ladies and gentlemen!"

The cries from the crowd somehow grew even louder, practically shaking the walls of the venue. Brian just smiled and waved while uttering the words "thank you" over and over, and Stewie allowed for all the attention to remain on his partner for some time before finding an opportunity to move the show along once the applause finally began to die down.

"My word! What a spectacular feat! But…"

He then scrunched up his nose and sniffed the air as he turned towards Brian.

"Can't say I'm looking forward to spending the rest of the show enduring the smell of wet dog…"

Several people in the crowd laughed at this comment while Brian began scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. He shrugged.

"Heh. Sorry…"

Stewie sighed and shook his head, and there was a beat of silence between them as Brian tapped his chin in thought before finally throwing a finger into the air to indicate an idea had struck him.

"Hey! What about that giant Chinese lantern we saw backstage?"

Stewie tilted his head in curiosity at the odd comment as did several of the people watching their performance.

"Yeah? What about it?"

The dog shrugged again.

"Maybe we can bring it out here. Might provide enough heat to help me dry."

The child folded his arms and began tapping his foot as a frown overtook his expression.

"And I suppose you just want to stay here while I go and retrieve that humongous thing?"

That nervous smile returned to Brian's lips as he chuckled and nodded his head.

"Probably for the best, babe. Can't have me dripping all over backstage. Could cause an accident, you know?"

By now, mostly everyone in the audience had caught onto the fact that this was all part of the show, so the sounds of laughter could be heard as they sat back and enjoyed the bit Brian and Stewie were performing.

Stewie's frown widened as he threw his hands up dramatically into the air with a sigh.

"Fine! You always manage to come up with some kind of excuse. How very typical of a male."

A few people in the crowd clapped at this as the boy then turned to head off-stage, giving a very visible roll of his eyes as he exited stage right. That just left Brian to stand there awkwardly by himself on the stage as he turned back to the people in attendance of tonight's show. Another nervous chuckle escaped him as he began shuffling his feet, playing up the idea that he was now very uncomfortable to be alone. After a few clicks of his tongue to fill the dead air, the canine threw his thumb back in the direction Stewie had left.

"She'll, uh… She'll be back soon."

There were a few snickers from the crowd, and then, the dog began whistling as he walked over to his table to retrieve his signature hat. A little while later, one of the stagehands came out pushing the giant lantern onto the stage. As described, it was indeed an oversized Chinese lantern, cube-shaped with a paper panel on each side and just slightly taller than the dog it came to sit by. It was lit up with a bright light that was housed in the inside, and that light did give off a decent amount of heat. But, Brian was no longer all that concerned with getting good and dry, at the moment. He looked over at the man in surprise.

"Hey, where's Stella?"

The man shook his head.

"Your guess is as good as mine, chief."

And that was all he said before leaving the baffled dog alone once more. The canine held a finger up in protest, but he said nothing as the man just walked away. His eyes blinked, and then, he took a quick glance around the stage before turning back to the crowd.

"Uhhhhh… I'm not really sure what to do, now. She was supposed to perform the next trick."

He tapped his foot a couple of times before calling out for his partner.

"Stella!?"

There was no response.

"Where in the…"

His eyes landed on the lantern.

"Maybe…"

He lifted up the front panel to look inside the lantern, but it soon became apparent to both him and the audience that the lantern was empty aside from the light inside. The canine groaned and then closed the lantern as he looked at the audience once again.

"Sorry, everyone. I know we don't have too much time to waste here."

He gulped.

"Stella is about as professional as they come. This is so unlike her…"

He took a seat on the floor beside the lantern, folding his legs so that they crossed over each other as he closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before speaking again.

"Where...are you?"

By this point, the audience was very curious to see where all this was going, some of them even leaning forward as they watched the proceedings carefully. Brian remained sitting there, eyes shut tight like he was meditating. He hummed and then spoke to the crowd again.

"Me and her have a very strong connection, so I bet if I try to sense her I can…"

The dog then extended his arm out towards the lantern, and that's when a shadow of a hand began to emerge from inside the lantern on the very same side Brian was sitting by. Gasps were heard from various people, but Brian didn't react to them. Instead, he began to wave his arm up and down slowly while the shadow next to him followed suit.

"Is that...you, Stella?"

He reached out towards the shadow, placing his paw on the lantern, and the shadow slowly began to reveal more of itself. Another arm materialized and extended out as if it was trying to clutch at Brian's extended paw. The dog smiled.

"There you are."

He slid his paw over so that it came to rest on the shadow's own hand.

"Reveal yourself."

The shadow of the arms then began to dance, slithering their way around the panel before growing larger and revealing the form of the person they were attached to.

It was definitely the person the audience knew as Stella.

More gasps were heard as the shadow continued to dance in the lantern. Then, Brian huffed loudly before thrusting his arm forward and shouting.

"Reveal yourself!"

A tiny, gloved hand then burst out from the paper panel. Brian threw his other arm out, and then, another hand came bursting through the lantern. Brian's paws and the hands then moved completely in sync as the panel was ripped further open, eventually revealing Stewie who proceeded to step out of the lantern as the crowd burst into applause.

Brian smiled and opened his eyes to look at his partner, waiting for the noise to quiet down before speaking.

"Thought you could run away from me, huh?"

Stewie turned towards the canine and folded his arms over his chest.

"What? It's like a maze back there! I got lost! And let me tell you that it didn't ease any of my worry to suddenly have my body possessed, or whatever the fuck you did, only to suddenly appear inside of what might as well be a goddamned sauna! You really couldn't think of a better way to come and get me?"

The child looked at the crowd and shook his head.

"Never date a magician, folks."

The people all laughed as Brian remained sitting there stoically.

"I tried calling for you. And, besides, I needed to get you back as soon as possible so these lovely people weren't forced to sit in boredom while I retrieved you."

He smiled then.

"I'm just glad it worked! Can you imagine how awkward it would have been if I had tried summoning you and it didn't work? I have to imagine everyone would be wondering why they had bothered wasting their money to come see us."

The child looked back at the dog.

"Riiiiiight… So... I guess I'm up then, huh? You just gonna keep sitting there while I take over for a while?"

The canine gave a single firm nod of his head.

"I'm gonna stay here and dry off. It's all you, sweetheart. Maybe by the time you're done you'll no longer have to worry about dealing with the smell of wet dog."

He shot the boy a wink, prompting a few chuckles from the audience as Stewie ultimately sighed and turned to the amused crowd with a big, friendly smile. The boy began explaining what was about to happen next. Meanwhile, a subtle smirk began appearing on the lounging Brian's face.

"Now, for this next part, I'm going to need a few volunteers…"

Volunteers.

That was the cue.

Brian flicked his wrist, causing his wand to materialize from seemingly out of nowhere.

And Stewie activated the levitation pad under the stage using the button on his bracelet.

The smirk on Brian's face grew, and then, he began to raise his wand just as Stewie began to use the bracelet to cause himself to begin ascending up off of the floor. Once he was in the air, the infant's eyes went wide in faux surprise. He began to rise higher and higher as he turned to look at the animal that was now wearing a cheeky smile.

"Do you mind!? I'm trying to perform here!"

The audience laughed, and Brian chuckled slyly as he began to lower the wand, indicating for Stewie to start lowering himself back down onto his feet. Once the boy was back on the ground, the canine flicked his wrist again, sending the wand back into the ether. He laughed one last time.

"Sorry. I couldn't resist. You just look so cute when you're irritated."

Stewie huffed, eyes locked onto his partner's as a few awwww's could be heard coming from the crowd behind him. Brian smiled at him, that sweet and warm smile that he had grown so used to seeing over these last few weeks.

The smile that said it all.

The boy smiled back, an honestly involuntary giggle escaping him as he batted his hand at the mutt.

"You're lucky you're such a charmer. But, I'm going to need you to behave yourself while I do my bit. Ok?"

The dog simply nodded his head, and then, the baby went back to what he was doing prior to being swept off of his feet.

"Anyway, who wants to volunteer!"

---

"You two have been killing it here in town! And your first big show next week in my venue has already sold out! It's coming up fast, let me tell you! I'm incredibly excited for it! Just imagine performing to a packed crowd at one of the finest theaters in Las Vegas every week! Complete creative control! You're about to be living the dream, my friends!"

The enthusiasm wafting off of Charles was nothing short of infectious, so as the man went on and on behind the desk in his office, the magic dog and baby pair couldn't help but start to bounce in their seats just a little bit, especially Stewie who was only just barely managing to contain himself as he clenched his tiny fists.

"And here I was thinking we were already living in a dream!"

And he was. Even after all this time, the little guy could hardly believe how well things were going. The successful magic career was one thing. That alone was something he never saw getting to this point, but also finally nabbing Brian along the way…? How could he have ever predicted that!

And they were happy! They'd been officially together for a couple months now, and things were going so well. Sure, there was still the occasional bickering, but honestly, he would have been concerned if that wasn't the case. That was just how they were with each other, and that was never going to change.

He never wanted it to.

In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't that big of a change to how their relationship had been previously. The only real things that had changed were the open admissions of love, the extra bits of affection...the sex…

God...the sex was so good, everything he could have ever wanted and then some.

Red began to infuse the tyke's cheeks as he caught his mind beginning to wander, so he quickly reeled himself back in to more...wholesome thoughts.

Plenty of time to ponder all that later...

For now, he could just focus on the fact that he and Brian loved each other. He saw it in his partner's expression everyday, and even a genius such as himself had no possible way of fathoming just how he had gotten so damn lucky. His hand went up and reached out to clutch at Brian's paw almost instinctively. He felt the canine give him a firm squeeze and sighed happily as Charles continued speaking.

"You can always dream bigger, my dear! Especially you two! The sky and beyond is the limit for you!"

The man snickered.

"Especially with that advanced levitation trick that you like to show off."

Brian and Stewie looked over at each other and shared a knowing smile.

"But, anyway, we're basically all set to go on my end. We've gone over all the different tricks and acts that you've developed in your toolkit, so to speak. What I need from you two by tomorrow is an official list of all the tricks you'll be performing next week. You've got a decent amount of time to fill, so don't hold back. I need you to put together the best show yet! You got it!?"

The pair nodded as Brian responded.

"Got it. You can count on us, Charles."

The man smiled and sat back in his chair.

"Splendid! Off you go, then! I've got some other business to attend to. We'll reconvene tomorrow at the same time."

There was no need to say anything else as Brian and Stewie then stood up and proceeded out of their agent's office. They began heading for the exit of the building, Stewie practically jumping up and down as he began planning out their evening.

"I say we find a good movie on at the hotel, pop some popcorn, and snuggle in bed with a pen and piece of paper while we figure out exactly what tricks we want to do next week."

Brian nodded his head and hummed.

"That sounds pretty nice, yeah.'

They rounded a corner and soon saw a very large cage that was housing a smaller but still pretty large white tiger with black stripes.

It was Fae's new home, and Brian and Stewie had long since made it a habit to check in on their tiger starlet anytime they were around. They walked over to the cage and noticed that Fae was currently bouncing a big rubber ball around the cage. Stewie giggled and took a seat on the floor beside the cage before reaching in and tapping one of the bars.

"Got a new toy there, Fae?"

The big cat immediately turned around at the sound of Stewie's Stella voice. She purred and made her way over to the side of the cage Stewie was sitting by. Brian took a seat beside his partner and smiled at the animal.

"Hey, Fae."

He waved at the animal, having long since gotten over any apprehension he'd had about interacting with the animal upon their first meeting.

The tiger sat down and nudged its head against the bars. Stewie took the hint and reached in to begin petting the top of the animal's head.

"They still taking good care of you, girl? You know you can tell me anything."

The tiger didn't seem to respond, though, as she instead laid her head down and closed her eyes. Still, that was enough for Stewie. He could tell that she was happy, and that in turn, made him happy. The pair continued to sit there as Stewie kept petting the magnificent creature. Before too long, they could make out the loud rumbles of peaceful snoring, so in the interest of letting the female tiger rest, they then stood up and made their way out of the building with one last wave farewell.

"See you again soon, girl."

---

Another day had come to an end, which meant it was time for the two lovers to spend another lovely evening together. As usual, Stewie had gotten his way. As had been suggested, they were now settled into bed together with a movie. Brian had discarded his magician attire for the day, and Stewie had slipped into a silky, white flowing robe with pink frills at the ends. He was also sporting a pair of reading glasses that had come from who knew where as he held a small notepad and a pen that he was pensively chewing the bottom of. Houdini was off to the side beside the boy, and the dog was holding a warm bowl of freshly popped popcorn in his lap while his free arm was behind his young partner as they rested against the headboard. The canine reached down and scooped up a big handful of the popcorn to shovel into his mouth just in time for Stewie to ask him a question.

"So...obviously we'll start off with pulling Houdini out of the hat, right? People always love that."

While Brian hurried to chew and swallow his popcorn, Houdini looked over at Stewie and tilted his head upon hearing his name. Stewie reached over and used the end of his pen to boop his pet bunny on the tip of his nose as he spoke to the animal sweetly.

"That's right. Mommy is talking about you, baby. You like the attention, don't you."

The bunny's little puffball of a tail twitched in excitement, prompting a laugh from his adoring caretaker as Brian finally finished with his bite.

"Yeah. That's always a good way to start. Can't keep Houdini from the crowd too long. They might up and riot."

Stewie nodded and jotted down something onto his notepad.

"Ok, so that's a start…"

He hummed thoughtfully.

"Now, as for where we go from there, really we have plenty of options."

The tyke set his pen down and grabbed some popcorn for himself as Brian responded.

"Well, you want to sort of work up to the really big stuff, right? So, the trick with Fae will probably come near the end of the show I would imagine."

The infant's mouth was full, so he nodded while indicating his agreement.

"Mmhmm."

He grabbed the pen and wrote on the notepad again, finishing up as he swallowed.

"You don't want to simply keep ramping things up, though. That might start to get a little tiresome, so maybe we should throw some simple stuff in the middle of the act somewhere?"

Brian was paying more attention to the movie, at this point. The opening had actually grabbed him more than he had expected it to. They had aimed for something pretty mindless to have on while they talked, but it was beginning to look like they had been duped. Stewie, for sure, noticed this whenever he didn't receive a response, but he wasn't that irritated. If Brian wanted to enjoy the movie, that was fine. So, the infant simply opted to wait for a break in the dialogue that was currently going on before clearing his throat and speaking again.

"Did you hear me, babe?"

Brian jerked his head so that he was now looking at Stewie.

"Oh! Sorry! You, uh… You say something?"

The canine chuckled nervously, and the baby just shook his head.

He was still smiling, though.

"I was saying that we might want to throw in a simple trick or two in the middle of the show somewhere so that the audience has time to breathe a bit. Don't you agree?"

It wasn't like Brian needed much convincing. The idea made enough sense. Truthfully, he wasn't all that concerned with planning a bad show, though. Stewie had proven to have a knack for this thing time and time again. So, he trusted the kid and his ideas. He'd throw in his input here and there, but this was most definitely an area where Stewie shined. So, Brian just nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah. I see what you mean. We've got a few tricks that we haven't done in a while, stuff from the early days…"

Stewie scoffed at the words, a snicker escaping him and shaking his small body.

"Heh. Early days…"

He sighed, a wistful expression coming over his features as he seemed to get lost in his own memories.

"It hasn't even been a year, but it really does seem like we've been doing this for ages, doesn't it…?"

The canine gave his partner an affectionate squeeze as he pulled the child in a little closer, his own mind beginning to wander over the events of the last several months.

"It does… I never would have imagined we'd end up where we are now, but...I know I've never been happier."

The infant smiled warmly at the animal.

"I'm glad to hear that, Bry."

For a while after that, the two just kept looking at each other, each of them reminiscing over their individual favorite moments from this whole venture of theirs. Each of them taking a moment to appreciate the wonderful relationship that blossomed between them because of it. Stewie felt his pulse starting to race, and before long, he was leaning up to place his lips on Brian's.

Before he made contact, though, the dog began laughing, causing the infant to stop and pull away slightly in mild confusion.

"What's so funny?"

The canine took a moment to cease his laughter before responding.

"Oh, man. I haven't thought about it in so long, but…"

There was another chuckle before he continued.

"Lois. We haven't talked to her or the rest of the family pretty much this entire time, but I remember she was really trying to get in good with Stella before we left. Did you ever actually friend her?"

Stewie was taken off guard by the subject, but a smirk was soon appearing on his lips.

"You know, I wasn't going to, but oh my god, the woman is relentless. Not long after we left, my phone just kept blowing up with notifications from her constant messaging. So, I did end up friending her."

It was Stewie's turn to laugh.

"I was hoping to leave it at that, but we actually do talk from time to time. She's a lot of fun to mess with."

The boy set the notepad off to the side and then moved to retrieve his phone from the nightstand before returning to the security of his lover's embrace as he unlocked the phone with a devilish grin on his face.

"You wanna see?"

Brian's eyebrow quirked in curiosity, and he soon had a smile to match Stewie's as he nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh ho ho. Absolutely."

The child eagerly popped open his messenger app, and soon, the two were gleefully scrolling through the messages and having some good laughs at the Griffin matriarch's expense, the more pressing task at hand as well as their movie mostly forgotten for the moment. They'd get back to work soon, though...eventually, but for now, they just wanted to enjoy this moment together.

So, that's exactly what they did.

Just the two of them.

Riffing on some silly message thread.

For the remainder of the night.

There wasn't much that felt more natural than that.

---

"And that's the show! Goodnight, everybody!"

The audience erupted into thunderous applause as the boy bid them all farewell before exiting the stage with his boyfriend. They were all left suitably entertained and stunned. The things they had seen, not a one of them could even begin to deduce how such things were possible, especially that last trick where the pair's usual table full of tricks had completely vanished into thin air. There had been no concealment or trickery that they could perceive. It was just there one minute and then gone the next.

How could it not be magic?

That was what they were all left to ponder as each of them slowly stood up from their seats to exit the venue.

It wasn't magic, though. It was just science, months of dedication and research from a special little genius that was all starting to pay off in a big way. Stewie and Brian had made a pretty big splash when they had first come to Vegas on their tour, but now, it was very likely they were the most talked about act in town.

And Stewie was pretty proud of this fact.

The table hadn't actually vanished from existence. It had simply been transported backstage, and now, the two of them were going to retrieve it so that they could pack up for the night and get back to the hotel. It was the last night before their big show at the venue Charles owned, so they were eager to get back so they could enjoy their evening and rest up before the big day they had been waiting all these weeks for. So, they hurried the process along a little faster than usual, Stewie grabbing his inventions before packing everything else up and handing it all off to some stagehands that would make sure everything got taken back to its proper place, and once that was all taken care of, they grabbed Houdini and met up with their driver.

The ride back to the hotel was a short one, but there was just enough time for a little making out in the backseat before they arrived, something they did pretty much every time they were riding together now. Brian had been a little wary of doing anything in front of the driver the first few times Stewie had pressed him, but the man never paid them much mind aside from getting the doors and their luggage for them.

In fact, had Brian heard the man speak to him even once?

Either way, it was no longer a concern of Brian's what the man probably thought about them fooling around in the car. Why should he care?

They were goddamn stars!

The car stopped, and Brian gave one last bite to Stewie's bottom lip before pulling away with a growl. Stewie giggled but then thanked their driver before hopping out of the vehicle, Brian getting in one good smack to the baby's backside and following after him. The car drove away, and the pair plus their bunny made their way into the hotel and up to their suite. Once inside, the two of them locked lips once again for a brief moment before Brian pulled away again, a fire in his eyes, desire. The canine was breathing heavily, but he paused and took a breath before nodding his head in the direction of their bathroom.

"I'm going to take a quick shower, get all this stuff off, but after that…"

He reached back and took a firm hold of the boy's ass, squeezing it tightly, possessively.

"You're all mine."

The child shivered, knees practically quivering as he pressed himself against the paw that was touching him so brazenly.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, sir."

The dog smirked and delivered one last goodbye spank before retreating into the bathroom, leaving Stewie standing there all hot and bothered and eager for his man to return. He couldn't just stand there waiting the whole time, though. For one, he still had to get Houdini settled in for the night. Luckily, the little guy must have dozed off in the vehicle because one peak into the carrier revealed that the bunny was now sound asleep.

A warm smile came to the infant's face, and in the interest of not disturbing his pet from his deep slumber, the boy simply opted to set the carrier down in the corner, for now. He'd check in on the bunny at some point later to make sure he was still comfortable, but right now, he had other things to focus on.

Tonight was a big night after all, and he wanted to do something a little special for his partner before their big day tomorrow. Sex was definitly on the menu. Brian had made that perfectly clear. ...Not that there were many nights where that WASN'T an option, but still...

Brian was horny.

Stewie was VERY horny.

He knew where this was going.

He also knew the importance of keeping things interesting in the bedroom, especially for a special occasion. So, he set to work on trying to whip up a little surprise for the canine for when he finally rejoined him in the bedroom. It didn't take long for something to come to mind.

Meanwhile, Brian was already in the shower, the water pouring over him as his mind raced with thoughts of Stewie. It was a tempting notion, the thought of just standing there for a while and relaxing underneath the cascade as he fantasized about what all he wanted to do to that little deviant, but it was also a pretty foolish one. After all, why fantasize when he could just have the real thing? Stewie was out there waiting for him, and he had no intention of keeping the kid or himself waiting on what they both really wanted. So, he hurried through the process of washing himself, so occupied with the task that he completely failed to notice as Stewie snuck into the bathroom to quickly steal something away.

The infant grabbed what he had come in there for and then stealthily retreated, quietly closing the door before rushing back into the bedroom. He tossed his pilfered prize up onto the bed, and then began to strip out of his dress and underwear. He wasn't going to completely remove his disguise, though. No. The brunette wig, makeup, and white sleeve gloves were allowed to stay as he tossed the clothing off into a corner before grabbing one of Brian's magic wands and hopping up onto the bed.

Several minutes later, Brian finally emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. His fur was still the slightest bit damp due to him being in kind of a hurry, but he wasn't dripping all over the place or anything. He immediately set out in search of Stewie, calling out to the tyke when he saw no sign of him.

What the…?

"Hey! You still here?"

He received no answer as he entered the bedroom. A paw went up to scratch at his head as he looked around the room.

"Why would he…?"

Nothing seemed all that out of the ordinary. Houdini was on the floor, and he could see that Stewie had at least gotten out of his disguise at some point since there was a dress lying on the floor. His hat was sitting upside down on the bed, and…

Wait…

Hadn't he taken his hat off in the bathroom with the rest of his clothes? Did Stewie bring it in here? That was odd… He looked around the room again, turning his back to the hat. What was Stewie up to?

"Ok. What's going on?"

It was then that he finally heard that familiar voice.

"Turn around, darling."

He immediately obeyed the command, quickly turning around to see Stewie now appearing from out of the hat like magic. He saw the wig first and then two smoky eyes before a lewd smirk. The child brought his arms out, still clad in his white gloves as he draped one appendage over the edge of the hat. He noticed the boy was holding one of his wands, and the tip of it was soon touching the infant's lips in a suggestive fashion that excited the animal. Stewie leaned forward a bit, and the next thing the animal noticed excited him even more. He could just barely see the boy's unclothed backside, a clear indication that aside from the few remaining parts of his disguise, Stewie was completely naked in there.

The canine gulped, the sultry reveal having obviously served its purpose as he allowed his towel to drop. An engorged and throbbing erection instantly made its presence known, Stewie's eyes growing wide at the sight of it.

He licked his lips hungrily.

"Get that thing over here, boy."

The canine scrambled over to his waiting partner. Stewie extended his arms up, indicating that he wanted to be lifted out of the hat. Brian reached out and grabbed the infant under his arms, lifting him up out of the hat and over into the dog's lap, his pulsing cock coming to nestle in the crack of Stewie's ass. The boy looked up at his lover and smiled, little hands roaming through the animal's fur-covered chest as he sighed happily. The boy then began to leave little kisses all along the areas he was touching, causing sporadic shivers from his partner every time his lips made contact with flesh.

The canine groaned and began rubbing the child's back.

"God, you're sexy…"

The infant giggled and then pecked his lover on the lips.

"Thank you."

He then pushed the dog down onto his back before sliding down to have a seat between the animal's legs.

"I want to make you feel good tonight."

Brian laughed, giving a little shake of his head as he leaned up to look at the child.

"You wanna make me feel good every night."

He smirked.

"One of the perks of dating a little nympho such as yourself."

A hand went to the infant's chest as he feigned shock.

"Nympho!? Why I NEVER, sir!"

The boy then snickered and moved his hand over to start stroking the canine's dick, causing Brian to moan lowly.

"Am I really that transparent, babe? Is my overwhelming, constant desire for you just that obvious even to someone as oblivious as yourself? Hmmmm?"

The dog took no offense to the comment as he sank back into the mattress and closed his eyes. It was hard to care about a light jab such as that when all he cared about was getting this little devil on his dick.

"It is. So, how about we just go ahead and get to what we both want?"

He opened his eyes and tilted his head to where he could just barely see the boy past his stomach.

"Hmmmm?"

His voice was obviously meant to imitate the child's in a teasing fashion, something Stewie took much amusement in as he burst into laughter. The baby took a few moments to come down from his moment of mirth before climbing back up to straddle his partner.

"Oh, you sure are a funny mutt."

He leaned over and kissed the animal square on the nose, his eyes focusing right in on Brian's.

"Alright. We'll do it your way…"

The boy reached back and made a successful grab for Brian's cock, causing the animal to moan again as Stewie hissed the last word into his ear.

"Siiiiiiiiiiir…"

The dog began to move his hips instinctively, a primal desire to mate taking over as he whimpered slightly against his lover's shoulder.

Stewie hummed in total satisfaction, arousal growing more intense by the second as he gripped Brian tighter and directed him to the opening he was seeking so desperately. Brian felt his cock slip along Stewie's ass again, and the glide was so smooth that he could immediately tell Stewie had gone and done him the courtesy of preparing himself ahead of time.

That was sweet of him.

The dog almost felt like he should say thank you, but instead of actual words exiting his mouth, all he managed to get out was a loud howl as his cock suddenly achieved penetration and slid effortlessly right into his young lover. Stewie's eyes went wide open upon feeling the intrusion, his body rising back up into a sitting position and hands clawing at the canine's chest as he hissed through gritted teeth.

"Gooooooooood looooooord! There it is!"

The child began moving up and down, bouncing on the animal beneath him as tiny hands continued to clutch and roam through the still slightly damp white fur. Brian braced his feet on the mattress and began humping up into the child, his paws going to grip the boy's hips as he threw any and all caution to the wind and began fucking the boy purely like an animal in heat. Stewie gasped, his eyes shutting tightly as he began to pant and lose himself in the act of being claimed so savagely.

"That's right, doggy! You just take what you need from me!"

Brian growled and smacked the infant's ass, words shooting out of him that he could barely process.

"Take. What's. Mine!"

Stewie squealed and nodded his head enthusiastically.

"That's right, handsome! I'm yours! I'm all yours!"

He leaned in again, eagerly capturing his lover's lips in a violent and sloppy kiss, lots of tongue and hints of teeth. The canine growled against his lips and spanked him again, causing the infant to squeal again as he pulled away to speak through heavy breath.

"My...you're...you're an eager boy tonight…"

The animal smirked, but didn't respond with any words of his own. Instead, Stewie felt himself being suddenly lifted up and off of the canine's dick, a disappointed groan pouring out of him as the feeling of being so full was taken away from him.

"Awwww. What are you doing?"

A devious chuckle was his only reply as Brian sat up and placed the boy back down on the mattress so that he was now resting on his hands and knees. The baby felt another swat being delivered to his backside before Brian rolled over and took his place behind the child. Two paws groped at his ass then, one cheek per paw as they squeezed and massaged the sensitive flesh. It was enough to make Stewie's body start vibrating in pure lust and anticipation.

What he heard next didn't help matters.

"I'm about to make you my little bitch boy."

It was corny...and not exactly all that creative…

But goddamn did that not matter one bit to the boy in this moment as he looked back at the animal, his eyes gazing into dark, possessive eyes that made it clear he'd never be able to get away even if he wanted to.

His little cock twitched at the sight.

"How about we just go ahead and get to what we both want…?"

The dog chuckled that devious chuckle of his once again as the tip of his dick rubbed against the baby's entrance.

"You got it."

And with that, he entered the boy once again, instigating an intense yet constant blur of desire and pleasure as the dog and baby pair began the first of several rounds of violently passionate love-making that would carry them well into the late hours of the night.

---

Brian woke up the next day to the first rays of the morning sun as they shone through the hotel suite's large window. He groaned and brought his arm up to shield his eyes, but it was only a temporary solution since there was no way he was getting back to sleep in that position. The heat from the sun was making him pretty uncomfortable, too. He was going to have to get out of bed. He sighed in mild frustration.

Goddamn it… Note to self. NEVER forget to close the curtains before going to bed EVER again.

After working up the energy, he finally sat up and hopped out of bed. He swayed for a moment upon standing up, legs still a little shaky from last night's activities as he walked over to the window and aggressively pulled the curtains shut. He then turned around and took in the sight of the bed. The sheets were all in disarray and pillows had been strewn about. Stewie was still lying in the center in the spot where he and Brian had collapsed after who knew how many rounds of fucking.

The dog had lost count.

The kid was good and knocked out, though. Brian could just tell. The little guy wouldn't be waking up from having his body ravaged any time soon. Honestly, the full sight of it was enough to make Brian's chest swell a bit in pride.

You did good, Brian. You did good.

What he felt next, though, wasn't the swelling of pride. It was a swelling in his gut. His stomach rumbled, a familiar gurgling sound coming from within. It was loud, loud enough to completely catch the canine off-guard.

When had he last eaten?

The specifics of last night were still pretty fuzzy, but he was pretty sure he and Stewie hadn't gotten anything to eat after getting back from their show. So, that meant the last time they had both eaten must have been prior to their performance.

His stomach growled again, and this time his paw came up to grip his abdomen as the uncomfortable sensation of hunger began to grip him.

Jeez… No wonder I'm hungry.

He immediately began to weigh his options. On one hand he would have loved to hop back into the bed to snuggle back up against his boyfriend before falling back to sleep, but the persistent growling of his stomach made it clear that he wouldn't be able to ignore his hunger for too long. It would just be futile. So, he needed to eat, and Stewie would surely need to, as well, once he woke up. But, as he had already noticed, that would not be happening for another few hours. So, it looked like he would be having breakfast alone this morning. Room service was an idea that popped into his head for only a brief moment before he considered how he didn't want to do too much to disturb Stewie from his slumber.

Because that boy definitely needed to rest up after last night.

Brian knew what he could do, though.

There's all kinds of places to eat right here in the building. Might as well make use of one. I can come back up for Stewie later and take him down, too, if that's what he wants to do, but right now, I gotta get something in my stomach…

So, it was decided, and after quickly cleaning up and getting dressed in the usual duds, the canine was making his way out of the room. He paused at the door and turned around to bid his love a courtesy farewell with a tip of his hat before heading out into the hallway.

It was early enough so that there weren't that many people awake yet, and frankly, Brian liked it that way. He wasn't exactly looking to go down to wade through a big crowd just to get some grub. There were a few people in the hallway, though. Three men to be exact, all walking together, most likely heading for their room after a long night of gambling and partying. Brian moved to the side in order to give them room to pass by. None of them seemed too keen on extending him the same courtesy, though. He was going to have to practically hug the goddamn wall just so these morons didn't bump into him.

Wow… Real nice, assholes…

They were getting closer and closer, so with a groan Brian stopped in his tracks so that he could move far enough over to get out of the trio's way. They still weren't moving. Instead, it almost looked like they were intentionally heading right for him. Just as they were about to be next to him, an alarm started going off in Brian's head as he shouted at the men.

"Wait! What are you-"

But, by the time he realized that something very wrong was going on, it was too late. One of the men went to cover his mouth as another subdued him in a chokehold. The dog fell to his knees, eyes wide in panic as he attempted to scream for help. It wasn't worth the effort, though. His cries were being muffled by the hand, and as the squeezing on his neck tightened, it became pretty much impossible for him to choke out any words at all. He heard the third man speak as he struggled to take in air.

"Don't fight it, pal. We're not gonna hurt ya. We're just takin' ya away for a while, so the best thing you can do is to not make this difficult for us. This ain't personal. Just a job, buddy."

Brian had no idea what to make of the words the man was speaking, but whatever confusion he was feeling didn't matter for much longer as his body finally went limp and darkness engulfed his vision, drowning him until all sense of consciousness finally left his mind.

---

For the first time since he and Brian had gotten together, Stewie Griffin woke up alone. The realization came slowly as the infant gradually opened his eyes and then stretched.

"Mmmmmm! Good morning, hands-"

He had turned to speak to Brian, who he had assumed would still be lying beside him.

Of course, the dog wasn't there, though. He looked over to the other side, and then he sat up to find that the bed was completely empty except for him. This immediately struck him as very odd, but at first, he just figured Brian had gotten up to use the bathroom or something. He wanted to confirm this, though, so he got out of the bed and ran over to the bathroom door to knock on it.

"Sweetie? You in there?"

He heard no reply. The infant then turned around to call out for the dog one more time, hoping his partner would materialize out of one of the rooms in their suite.

"Brian!? Where are you!?"

He waited for a beat, but again, he was not greeted with the sound of the deep baritone he adored so much. His heart began to beat a little faster. Why wouldn't Brian be in here with him?

Something's not right here…

He stopped himself after that thought. What was he doing? There was no need to panic. Brian probably had a good reason for leaving the room for a while. Sure, they were practically tied to the hip, but he shouldn't expect them to ALWAYS be together. There was a simple solution here.

The baby ran back into the bedroom and grabbed his phone. He dialed the canine's number and waited for the other end to pick up. It rang and rang. Stewie sighed in irritation.

Come on, Brian. Answer the damn phone.

It rang a few more times before sending him to the dog's voicemail.

Stewie didn't like this. With a huff, he hung up the call before tossing his phone over onto the bed. He then began the process of getting ready for the day. If Brian wasn't back by the time he had gotten ready to go out...god, he was going to have to go looking for that damn mutt.

You better have a damn good excuse for making me worry like this.

It took him about an hour before he was all cleaned up and dressed. He had picked out a sleek black slip dress with matching pumps that he had chosen specifically to wear on the day of their first big regular Vegas show. Normally, he would have taken more time to admire how hot he was in his new outfit, but by that point, Brian still hadn't returned. So, with another sigh of frustration, he went to check in on and feed Houdini before giving the animal a kiss on the nose and heading for the door.

"I have to go find daddy, baby. I'll be back soon, though. You just relax. Got a big night tonight!"

It was also a reminder for himself, a reminder to stay positive. Brian was probably fine, after all. The dog just had his dumb moments. The child had long since accepted that fact about his partner in crime. He'd give the mutt a piece of his mind when he found him, for sure, but there was no reason that this fiasco had to put a damper on such an important day.

He had to keep himself in good spirits.

So, that's what he resolved to do as he exited the suite. As he made his way through the hotel, the baby kept a keen eye out for Brian, but by the time he'd made it down to the lobby, the dog was still nowhere in sight. Not sure what else to do, the disguised infant made his way over to speak with one of the hotel employees that was on the floor, calling out to them in his fake female voice.

"Excuse me, sir?"

The man turned around and greeted him with a smile.

"Good morning, ma'am. How may I assist you today?"

Stewie smiled back at the man and began explaining the situation.

"Hello. I'm not sure if you recognize me or not, but me and my partner are performers in town. We actually have a big show in a few hours, but for whatever reason, when I woke up today, he wasn't around, and he's not answering his phone, so I was just wondering if you've seen him? Chubby white dog? Just over my height? Might have been wearing a top hat?"

The man's face scrunched up slightly as if he was thinking before he finally answered.

"Don't believe I've seen anybody down here matching that description."

Then, his eyes lit up as if something had clicked in his mind.

"Wait… Are you with that dog who's been performing magic in town?"

The child nodded his head.

"Yes! That's us! Have you seen, Brian!?"

The man frowned and shook his head.

"I'm afraid I've only seen either of you on posters, ma'am. Sorry, but I'll be sure to keep an eye out for him throughout the day and let him know that you're looking for him."

It was clear that he was content to leave it at that.

Stewie certainly wasn't, though.

"I'm afraid that's not good enough, sir."

The man's eyebrow rose at the statement.

"Excuse me?"

The baby's face went stern as he folded his arms.

"Like I said, he and I have a show tonight, so I need to find him as soon as possible. Surely there's something you can do to help me. He was with me last night. He had to leave through here. You must have footage of that. No way does a nice place like this not have security cameras."

The man sighed, patience starting to wear thin despite needing to keep up his friendly appearance.

"Those tapes are only for security personnel, ma'am. I can't let you-"

"Take me to someone who works in security, then. I need to speak with them."

It was clear by now that Stewie was not going to give up, so this was probably why the man didn't offer up much more protest before leading him through an employee exit in the lobby and into a maze of hallways with cement walls. Soon, they were in front of a door that read SECURITY. The man knocked on it and called to whoever was inside.

"Hey, Tess! You got a minute!?"

A few seconds later the door opened to reveal a uniformed woman with a gun holstered to her hip. She looked curiously at the man who had summoned her before looking down at Stewie. She rolled her eyes.

"Ok... Mind telling me why you brought a civilian back here?"

The man shrugged.

"She's a performer, and her partner is missing. She insisted that we check the tapes. Dude probably just went out to get some fresh air, but you know how these celebrity types get."

Stewie chose to ignore the snide comment in the interest of expediting the process of finding Brian as he addressed the security officer directly.

"He had to have left this morning, but it's unlike him to leave me alone and he's also not answering his phone. This just seemed like the quickest solution. And it shouldn't take long to check either, either. He's kind of hard to miss."

The woman eyed Stewie for a few moments as if she was considering what to do. Eventually, though she stepped out of the way and motioned for Stewie to come into the room.

"Come on. Let's find your guy."

The boy breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't realized he'd been holding in as he stepped past the woman and into a room full of computer monitors each broadcasting a feed from a different camera that was setup somewhere in the building. Behind him, the security officer was speaking to the employee.

"Wait out here, so that you can escort her back."

The boy then heard the sound of the door shutting before the woman stepped in front of him and led him further into the room.

"What floor are you guys staying on?"

Stewie looked up at the woman and answered her as they walked.

"We've been staying in the suite on the seventeenth floor."

The woman nodded her head and then took a seat at her command station. Stewie just took a spot beside her and stood. Tess leaned over and began clicking around on the main computer terminal.

"And he was with you last night? Do you know when he left?"

Stewie nodded to the first question as he responded to the second, a hint of red coming to his cheeks as he thought about all that had gone on last night in that room.

"I was asleep when he left, but...he couldn't have been up before sunrise. I, uh…"

He cleared his throat.

"I definitely know that much."

The woman just nodded, and then, a few moments later, a feed of the seventeenth floor hallway popped up on screen. She hit a key on her keyboard, and the feed started to rewind. Stewie watched the feed carefully. For a while, there didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary.

But, then, the eyes of both he and the security officer went wide as saucers as they saw something very, VERY out of the ordinary.

The boy's heart began to beat rapidly.

"Oh my god! Who are those people!?"

The child watched in horror as the footage of three strange men subduing and walking away with Brian played out before him. He didn't know what to do. Who were they? What did they want!?

Was Brian ok?

Tess was already on the phone.

"Yes, I'm calling to report a kidnapping that took place this morning."

Kidnapping…

Brian had been kidnapped…

The infant took a few steps back, a sick feeling in his gut as ringing began going off in his ears. Everything seemed to fall away for a second, as worry and terror took a hold of him, and he wasn't able to come back to reality until he heard Tess practically shouting at him.

"Hey!? Are you listening to me!?"

Stewie blinked and looked at the woman with eyes that were still glazed over.

"Wh-What…?"

The security officer pointed at the frozen image of the three men with Brian.

"These men, honey. You have no idea who they are? Does your guy have any enemies? Did he piss somebody off? Any reason for this happening!?"

The boy shook his head.

"E-Enemies? N-No…"

But...then he remembered.

There was somebody.

"Do you know who I am!?"

But...was that pitiful little man capable of something like this?

"Do you know who you're fucking dealing with!?"

He had to find out.

The child took a breath and then stated firmly.

"I have to call our agent.'

And, with that, he turned around and began heading out of the room, Tess calling after him as he retreated.

"The cops are on their way. Don't you worry. We're going to find whoever took him, ma'am!"

Stewie didn't say anything, didn't cease his stride until he had made it back through the lobby and outside on the sidewalk where he could talk privately. He pulled out his cellphone and looked at the number he had blocked weeks and weeks ago, hesitating only briefly before unblocking it and dialing. He put the phone up to his ear and waited for an answer.

If you hurt him, Slade…

The phone was answered after only a couple rings, a familiar voice coming over the phone that made the infant want to vomit.

"Hello there, Stella."

It had been him. That was all that Stewie needed to hear for him to know it for sure, that sly and smug tone in the man's voice. He sounded so proud of himself.

The boy clenched his fist, fighting to keep himself composed as he spoke sternly.

"Where. Is. He?"

---

The disguised child walked down the sidewalk briskly, red purse slung over his shoulder, his destination just a couple of blocks away.

The tour bus.

Apparently it was still in the same parking lot where he and Brian had left it, and that was where Slade wanted to meet him.

Hopefully with Brian.

Stewie just wanted this to be over. He had left the hotel not long after the police had arrived, having stayed just long enough to give a brief statement before saying he needed to go out for some air. Charles had been notified of the situation, also. It only seemed like the reasonable thing to do. The man had suggested postponing the show, but Stewie had told him not to, even telling him to make sure to get somebody to pick up Houdini and get him to theater in time for the show. Slade wasn't going to take that accomplishment from them. He wouldn't get that satisfaction. The meeting had already been arranged, anyway. Stewie was going to see what this asshole wanted, and then...well...he was a genius. He'd fucking figure it out when he got there.

If he didn't kill Slade first.

If someone ever deserved my full wrath…

The boy rounded a corner, and soon the tour bus was in sight, the parking lot completely empty aside from that single vehicle. But there was no sign of Slade anywhere. He was late. That bastard had the gall to be late. Of course he did. The infant huffed but proceeded towards the bus. He took a spot beside it and stood there. All that was left to do was wait.

The nerve of it all.

He had to remain composed, though. The goal was to get Brian back, first and foremost. Had to remember that. Of course, if Slade actually showed up with Brian, then he'd have no reason to hold back. Just take that scumbag out and rescue his dog. Would he be so lucky, though?

The boy grimaced, a hand moving to fiddle with the bracelet on his wrist as his mind began to wander to less ideal scenarios.

Please be ok, babe…

He was left to stand there, mind racing with horrible possibilities for several long minutes before he finally heard the sound of a vehicle turning into the parking lot. He looked over and recognized it immediately.

It was Slade's car.

The vehicle sped into the parking lot, tires screeching as it came to a stop just a few parking spaces down from where Stewie was standing. The child squinted trying to see who all was in the vehicle, but he didn't see anyone besides that horrible man. His chances of Brian being at this meeting were starting to look even more unlikely than they already were.

For a while, Slade just sat in the car, leaving Stewie to wonder what the hold up was before finally hearing the engine being shut off as the man exited the vehicle. The driver's side door was slammed shut, and then, Slade could be seen coming around the vehicle. The man was decked out in a red button up, black blazer, and jeans.

A gaudy look for a gaudy person.

Stewie couldn't help but think about how fitting the man's fashion sense had always been as those eyes instantly went to his former client.

"Ah! Stella! Good to see you!"

The man took a couple of steps towards Stewie, and the boy was surprised to find himself having to fight not to take a similar number of steps backwards as he continued to approach.

"I wasn't sure if you would actually show up, considering how rude you've been since we last saw each other."

He chuckled and came to a stop only a couple of feet away from the boy.

"Look, I know things didn't exactly go all that well when we were last together, but come on! It was a simple mistake! I feel like you shutting me out the way you did without even a word was kind of low, but lucky for me, it looks like even you will stop being so stubborn once the proper motivation is put in place."

He grinned at the child smugly.

"So, whaddya say? You ready to talk to me?"

That face. That goddamn self-satisfied face of his. Stewie wanted nothing more than to wreck that face.

...But that wouldn't get him very far.

"No, Slade, I'm not ready to talk. I was done with you, but since you've gone and kidnapped my partner, it seems I don't have much of a choice."

The man sighed, smile never leaving his face.

"Yeah. I figured as much…"

He snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Seriously don't know how a wonder like you gets stuck on a chump like him. He'd be nothing without you, and I know you know that."

It was Stewie's turn to scoff.

"Jesus Christ, man. How are you this arrogant!? You think just because you spent a few months with us that you have me and Brian figured out!?"

It was so laughable to the child. This man literally knew nothing, didn't even know who the person he was talking to really was. And yet he thought...he had a chance at...what? Breaking him and Brian up? Granted, he and Brian had been pretending at the time when Slade had made his inebriated attempt at stealing him away, but even then, Stewie knew what he really wanted.

He would never stray from Brian, especially now that he actually fucking had him!

He'd worked too damn hard to let this ignorant buffoon screw up his happy ending!

"If this is all some crazy attempt to talk to me just so you can make some pathetic attempt at stealing me from him, you might as well stop right now because what I have with Brian can never be replicated with anyone else, especially a pathetic little sad sack like you!"

He took a step forward, jabbing a finger at the man.

"So, how about we just end this, right now? You have nothing to gain from this, and I don't want this to cause too much of a commotion in our career. I'm willing to refrain from getting the police involved so long as you let him go, Slade. After that you better not ever show your face anywhere near us again, or so help me-"

The man held a hand up to silence the infant, smile finally falling from his face as he looked at his former client seriously.

"Oh, I have plenty to gain by taking that loser boyfriend of yours. I simply thought I'd take my shot again, Stella, but this isn't about getting with you. This is about payback."

The boy lowered his finger as he blinked up at the man.

"P-Payback!? Payback for what!? We didn't do anything to you, Slade!"

The man began walking forward again, an intensity in his eyes that Stewie had never seen before.

"Didn't do anything to me!? You and that mutt fucking ruined me! You think anyone is going to want to work with the guy who sexually assaulted his client in this day and age!? Word travels fast in the entertainment industry, babe. When you ran into that party and made the scene that you did, you essentially ended my career! Do you have any idea how hard I've worked to get to where I am!? And you think that I'm going to just let you and your amateur little boyfriend continue to let all the luck in the world just rain upon your precious little heads!?"

He was right by the boy now, encroaching closer and closer even as Stewie backed up all the way against the bus.

"What have you done to earn that? What have you honestly sacrificed? I'm just teaching you a harsh lesson, princess."

Slade finally stopped once he was practically pinning Stewie to the bus, a heavy sigh pouring from him as he knelt down to face the baby eye-to-eye.

"But, look, I'm not a total monster. I'm not going to hurt Brian. Ok? Well…"

That smirk reappeared on his face.

"Not any more than I already have. I'm no killer, either. I just hired some guys to hold him for a while. You can try to get the police involved, but by the time they find him, I feel like I'll have gotten what I wanted."

He leaned in closer, causing Stewie to flinch away as the man's breath wafted across his face. Stewie didn't break eye contact, though. He refused to give this man even a small victory as he spoke to him.

"And what exactly is it that you want?"

The child reached into his purse, eyes still dead focused on the man as the reply came.

"You may have carried that dog to stardom, but the fact of the matter is that, right now, you still need him. So, I'm just going to hold onto dear old Brian for a while until your fifteen minutes have finally ticked by. Once I'm satisfied that significant damage to your career has been done, then I'll let him go."

The man snickered and then moved to stand up but was stopped when Stewie suddenly jumped up and grabbed him by the inner pocket of his blazer. The child yanked the man down, forcing their eyes to meet once more.

"Do you. Know. Who you're. Fucking. Dealing with...?"

Stewie practically spat the words out, little daggers meant to slowly chip away at the pompous armor this man thought he wore so well, and it seemed to work as the gloating man's expression fell away into one of confusion and slight fear. Slade didn't let his concern show for too long, but just that little hint of insecurity was more than enough for Stewie as the man yanked himself free and then retreated to his car without another word. The child watched on with a smug expression of his own as the car quickly left their little meeting spot.

The answer was no.

He closed his purse and began to walk away. He wasn't going back to the hotel, though. Why would he do that? He and Brian had a show to get to.

No, you very obviously do not.

---

"I just don't understand what you're planning to do! At least tell me that much! You don't have to go out there by yourself, my dear. Yes, people will be disappointed, but considering the circumstances…"

Stewie held up a hand to silence Charles.

"Those people came here to see a show, and that's exactly what they're going to get."

The man had been begging the child to call off the show ever since he'd learned of Brian's kidnapping, but Stewie had been persistent in his insistence to continue on. So, here they were, just a little while to go before showtime and still arguing in his and Brian's dressing room. Only now, from the look on the man's face, it looked like he was finally willing to give up on changing the infant's mind.

After a minute, Charles finally sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"So be it, then. I just hope that this doesn't ruin things. I had very high hopes for you two."

Stewie could tell the man was incredibly frustrated, understandably so, but it wasn't like the baby could actually tell Charles about his plan. The man, first of all, would probably not even be able to comprehend it, but also, despite everything, the child still had his secrets to keep.

Everything was going to be fine, but as his agent finally turned to leave the room, Stewie did feel the need to tell him one thing.

"No matter what happens out there, Charles, I need you to make sure those people know that everything is fine. As far as they're concerned, it's all part of the show. Alright?"

The man looked back at his client, utter confusion written on his face as he shook his head.

"I seriously hope you know what you're doing…"

And, with that, he left.

Stewie rotated his seat so that he was facing his mirror. He gave himself a quick once-over before shutting his eyes and taking a breath.

Showtime.

He reached out and grabbed a small metal ring before turning to bid his bunny farewell and exiting the dressing room himself, taking his place just offstage as he waited for his cue to go on. He rotated the metal ring around in his palm, nerves starting to get to him a bit as he thought about what he needed to do and whether or not he'd be able to make it happen.

I heard him. He's there with Brian, hiding out in case I did tell the police it was him. It's just him and the three men he hired, need to take them all out and get Brian back here safe and sound. Simple as that. You can do this, Stewie.

He was just mere seconds away from going on now, heart beating rapidly as he lifted the ring up and placed it against his ear. A portal was activated, allowing his ear to pass through it and listen in to what was going down on the other end.

The end where he had slipped the ring into Slade's blazer pocket.

The end that would lead him to Brian.

He could hear the dog's kidnappers now.

"What was that, dog? Couldn't hear you."

The voice was Slade's, but there were some other men chuckling in the background, as well. He then heard the sound of a muffled voice.

It was Brian's.

He couldn't listen to anymore, both because he hated hearing his partner trying to speak through a gag and also because the lights had gone down in the theater. The music was starting up.

That was his cue.

The boy threw on a smile and began walking out onto the stage, the sound of the crowd applauding him starting up as soon as he was visible to them. The infant waved to them and blew a few kisses before taking his spot at center stage. The music died down, and he went to greet his audience.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I want to thank you all for joining me on this special night. Me and my partner have worked very hard to get where we are, but we could have never done it if it weren't for so many people like you coming to watch us perform. Give yourself a big round of applause!"

The crowd of people did just that, whooping and hollering as Stewie turned around and took in the fact that Brian wasn't here yet for this moment. It felt wrong...being up here without his best friend.

He was going to fix that, though.

He shouted in order to speak over the crowd.

"Now, I'm sure that some of you have probably noticed by now that half of the act you paid to see is missing, currently."

The clapping started dying down, so he looked back at the people watching him.

"And I'm afraid that was not in the original plan for tonight."

The applause stopped altogether, several faces in the crowd going blank and looking at the baby with honest confusion.

"I'm not sure how to tell you people this, but someone took The Amazing Brian in an attempt to sabotage our show."

The audience immediately broke out into loud murmuring, people trying to determine if this was all part of the act or not. Stewie continued on.

"Never fear, though! By the end of tonight, it will have been nothing but a futile attempt. Because you see…"

He flicked his wrist and the ring in his palm expanded, seemingly appearing from nowhere to the bewildered crowd.

"...Brian and I have a connection, a magic connection that allows me to always reach him no matter where he is, so if you'll excuse me…"

He raised the ring aloft up above his head.

"...I'm going to go get him back."

He shot the crowd a wink.

"We'll be right back, ladies and gentlemen!"

And the ring was released, causing the boy to vanish right before the crowd's very eyes as he was launched through the portal.

---

"What was that, dog? Couldn't hear you."

Slade leaned down to gloat at the dog who was currently gagged and tied to a wooden chair, the men he had hired standing off to the side and laughing as they leaned against the wall of the small, rundown studio apartment. Brian stared up at the man with a swirl of rage and sadness in his eyes. He didn't know what was going to happen.

He just wanted to get back to Stewie.

The dog tried to say something, but it just came out muffled, prompting a cruel snort from Slade.

"We're going to have to work on your communication skills."

The goons off to the side laughed again as Slade stood up to address them.

"That little bitch is probably panicking so hard, right now. I'm surprised she didn't just cancel the show. She always was a fiesty one, though."

He chuckled to himself.

"I can only imagine how much of a disaster it will be if she tries to go out there alone. God, just imagining how furious the crowd will be! They'll be ruined!"

He looked back at Brian.

"That should be good news for you, though. The sooner your career tanks, the sooner I'll let you go to run back to that teasing troublemaker. Then you two can get your happily ever after minus the fame and fortune. I think that's more than fair. Don't you?"

The canine just growled through the gag.

Slade shot him pistol fingers.

"Ah! See, now THAT I understand! Looks like you're just better off knowing your place, after all."

His expression went cold.

"You're nothing but an animal."

He turned away and grumbled under his breath.

"No idea what that hottie sees in you…"

Several seconds ticked by in complete silence before one of the goons spoke up.

"So, uhhhh, you're still paying for dinner tonight right, Slade?"

The man seemed to snap back to reality as he went to answer.

"Oh, of course! You guys did such a good job today. How could I not reward you?"

He pulled out his phone.

"So, what was the name of that Italian joint you guys liked aga-"

He was cut off by the sudden sound of something ripping. The man stopped talking and followed his ears to the source of the sound until his eyes landed on the blazer that he had hung up on the wall. It seemed to be getting...bigger…

"What the…?"

Before he could finish the expression, though, the whole thing flew apart at the seams, and the man's eyes went wide as he watched in amazement and horror while Stella materialized from out of his blazer. Stewie came flying across the room, landing less than gracefully as he fell facedown onto a tile floor, but he was soon up on his feet, a smile of pure satisfaction on his face as he stared at the horrified Slade and his confused henchmen.

His eyes went to Brian then. The canine seemed pretty shocked, as well, but it was almost hard to tell through the look of pure joy that was in his eyes. Stewie smiled at the dog but then focused his attention right back on the man that caused him so much trouble today.

"Surprised to see me, Slade?"

The man gulped and began taking several steps back. He was forced to stop, though, when his legs came into contact with Brian who had been behind him.

"H-H- But how!? How are you here!?"

The baby just smirked.

"How do you think?"

He looked over at Brian, and the two shared a knowing look with each other.

"It's just magic."

The dog knew it was time to take action. Before, he had stood practically zero chance of escaping this room alone, but now that Stewie was here, he knew this was his shot. The canine huffed and summoned up his strength as he threw his body back. His bound legs managed to kick Slade behind the knees, causing the man to fall over as the wooden chair then came crashing onto the hard floor, shattering upon impact. The men who had been hired to kidnap Brian could see things were quickly going south, so they moved to jump into action. Stewie was way ahead of them, though, as he pulled out his small levitation pad from a pocket on his dress. The boy threw it across the floor so that it landed near two of the goons and then quickly flicked his finger across the entire length of his bracelet, bringing the pad to full power in a matter of seconds and launching the two men straight up through the ceiling. The jaw of the last remaining kidnapper practically dropped to the floor as he looked up in terror.

"Vinny! Tony! What happened to ya!?"

He then looked over at Stewie, fear still in his eyes but anger quickly replacing it.

"What kinda… What kinda witch are you!? What did ya do to my brothers!?"

The man pulled a knife out of a sheath on his ankle and began stalking his way towards the boy. Stewie's eyes went wide as he took a fighting stance, preparing himself to go toe-to-toe with the crook. Just as he was upon the infant, though, a cylindrical piece of blunt wood came flying across the room. It hit the man square in the head and sent him down to the ground.

"Stay away from her!"

Stewie looked over to see that Brian had managed to disentangle himself from the ropes just in time to throw one of the chair's legs at his assailant, and now, the canine was bolting over to where the man had landed, a wild look in his eyes as he dove for the man's knife. The animal began wrestling the knife free from the dazed man.

"I won't let you hurt her!"

"No! How did this happen!?"

The voice of Slade tore the child's eyes away from the scuffle taking place on the floor. His former agent was slowly struggling to stand up, clear frustration in his expression when he wasn't quite up to the task. He slid back down and hit the floor again before he was finally able to stand under the power of his shaking legs. The man saw Stewie watching him, and there were a few seconds where they held eye contact. He finally chuckled nervously, prior to trying to sprint past Stewie so that he could reach the exit.

Stewie wasn't going to let him get away, though.

Thinking fast, the child noticed the portal ring that he had come through still laying on the ground, so in a series of quick movements: the boy ran over to the ring, grabbed it, and then sent it flying across the room. The ring landed only a couple of feet in front of the fleeing man who soon found himself stepping down over it, ultimately hurtling himself through the portal that opened upon detecting his presence. The last thing the child heard was the man screaming in terror before he seemed to vanish right through the floor. It was enough to bring a huge grin to the baby's face.

Good fucking riddance.

"Ahhhhh! No! Please! It was just a job! You don't have to do this!"

Stewie was pulled away from celebrating his victory as he turned back to where Brian and the thug had been fighting. The dog was now straddling the man, his teeth barred as he held the knife to the man's throat.

"Oh, yeah! That's right! I forgot! This wasn't supposed to be personal was it!?"

The child watched on for a few seconds, curious to see if the canine would actually go through with killing this man…

But then he came to his senses when he realized that Brian didn't need to risk getting blood all over his outfit.

Neck wounds were always so messy…

"Brian!"

The kept the pressure of the blade on his man as he looked over at Stewie, the bloodlust slowly fading from his pupils as he looked over and saw that the boy was alright.

Stewie smiled at his partner and pointed at the man.

"Let him go. It's done. We have a show to get to."

The dog kept the knife pressed to the man's throat for a moment longer before finally nodding his head and hopping off of the goon. He kept the knife pointed at him, though, as he motioned towards the exit.

"Get the fuck out."

The frightened man didn't need to be told twice as he immediately shot to his feet and ran out of the room. Brian watched to make sure he was gone for good before tossing the knife away and walking over to Stewie. The baby ran up to him and practically tackled him to the ground as they fell into a deep embrace.

"Brian!"

The canine chuckled and gave his boyfriend an affectionate squeeze while sighing in contentment.

"Stewie…"

They pulled away and looked at each other lovingly before sharing a quick kiss. Stewie knew they had to hurry, though. He pointed at the portal ring on the floor.

"Our public awaits, my dear."

The canine nodded, understanding immediately.

"Well, let's not keep them waiting, then."

---

Charles had been just offstage watching in nervous anticipation when Stella had vanished. As was to be expected, his initial reaction upon seeing the unexpected trick was pure shock, but then, he remembered what his female client had told him.

"As far as they're concerned, it's all part of the show. Alright?"

So, with that in mind, the older gentlemen made his way out to speak to the audience. He had invested a lot into this act, so if there was even a slim chance of this all somehow working out, he had to do his part.

And do his part he did.

The crowd was making quite the ruckus, a large theater full of confused and somewhat frustrated people. They didn't understand if this was all part of the show or not. It appeared like it could be, but how long were they supposed to wait there staring at an empty stage? To many people, it seemed like a very poorly put together act, and these were the people that Charles had to keep calm as he walked out.

"Good evening, folks!"

Upon seeing someone new on the stage, the people in attendance of tonight's performance began to settle down, everyone interested to hear what this man had to say.

"Now, I know what you all must be thinking. Who is this man? I didn't come to see him! Where's the magic dog and his lovely assistant!?"

A few people in the crowd laughed, serving to ease the man's nerves a bit as he continued.

"Well, everyone, to answer that first question, my name is Charles Tucker, and I'm the man who bankrolled tonight's show. What am I doing out here, though?"

He shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mine! I'm just following orders, so I guess I'm just waiting to see what happens just like all you lovely people are."

The crowd began to talk amongst themselves again, meaning Charles had to speak up in order to be heard.

"But, I was assured that this would all pay off. I don't know what The Amazing Brian and The Fabulous Stella are up to with this stunt, but if we all just engage in a little patience, I'm sure we'll all see that-"

Suddenly, the sound of a man screaming erupted in the theater, and everyone, including Charles watched on in utter bafflement as a man in a red shirt seemed to fly from up out of the stage. He flew several feet into the air before coming back down with a loud thud. Everyone who watched winced at the impact, but Charles recognized the man after only a few seconds of staring at him.

"Slade!? What the devil are you doing here!?"

The man didn't move for several seconds as he lay there groaning from the impact of his landing, so Charles walked up to him, determined to get to the bottom of this sudden and unwelcome intrusion.

"Where did you come from?"

Finally, Slade looked up at the older man before glancing around at his new surroundings. He began chuckling hysterically, his palm slapping the stage repeatedly as he gasped out some incoherent nonsense.

"It's. Not. Possible. I. Can't. Be. Here."

Charles raised his eyebrow at this, pretty close to giving up on trying to figure out just what the fuck was going on.

"What… What happened to you?"

Slade didn't get a chance to respond even if he wanted to. In the next instant, two more individuals came popping from out of nowhere, only this pair was a much more welcome sight to everyone who had been watching the insanity taking place in the theater.

Brian and Stella had made their miraculous reappearance.

They landed on the stage much more gracefully than Slade had, both of them turning to the audience and waving as Stewie laughed gleefully.

"Ha! Found him, everybody!"

The crowd cheered. They were all still pretty unsure on exactly what was going on, but at the very least, the two people they had actually come to see were now both on the stage. That was progress.

Stewie turned to Charles. He could tell the man was completely at a loss to explain anything he was seeing, so the child opted to keep things simple as he pointed at Slade.

"He kidnapped, Brian. I brought him back."

Charles just blinked a couple of times before motioning to a couple of stagehands.

"Take this man. I need to notify the authorities that we've apprehended our kidnapper."

Slade burst out into laughter again.

"It doesn't make any sense!"

Brian simply shrugged as he replied.

"Magic isn't supposed to make sense. Thought you knew that, Slade."

The former agent was then quickly taken off of the stage, and Charles decided to take that as his cue as he left to go have a drink in his office, leaving Brian and Stewie to entertain their public.

Let the real show begin.

Stewie turned to his partner.

"Well, sir, still feeling up to entertaining all these lovely people?"

The dog nodded his head confidently.

"Still a little stunned, but I think I can manage."

He motioned towards stage right.

"Would you mind going to get our things while I properly greet everyone?"

The child leaned over and picked up the portal ring that was still on the stage before turning back to shoot the canine a thumbs up.

"You got it, babe!"

He then practically skipped off of the stage as he heard Brian start to talk to the audience.

"Hi, everyone! I'm sure you're all pretty confused, right now…"

Stewie didn't pay too much attention to what was being said. He knew Brian could handle himself while everything got prepared. He had to do this quickly, though. Not that he was stressing out over it. Honestly, the hard part of the night was over. Brian was back safe and sound, and now, they could just continue on like normal. He was quite proud of himself for making this happen. He couldn't imagine how it could have gone much better considering the circumstances, and he simply couldn't stop smiling as he set to work getting everything ready for the show.

First, he set the ring he was holding aside and went and grabbed Houdini.

"Hey there, sweetie! Don't worry! Mommy and daddy are ok!"

The bunny looked at the infant, little puffball of a tail twitching happily as he was picked up and carried out of the dressing room. Stewie then set to work, wrapping his pet in a handkerchief and hanging him on the back part of their trick table.

"Gonna have to do this the old fashioned way tonight, but I know you'll be fine. You're a little professional, aren't you honey."

The bunny couldn't respond, but Stewie could just imagine his whiskers twitching as if to indicate that he understood as the child moved on to the next task at hand. The disguised infant made his way towards the back of the backstage area and followed some stairs down to the storage space that was underneath the stage. He retrieved the levitation pad from his pocket, setting it in the spot that he and Brian had previously designated for it and, then, quickly returning to the main backstage area.

There was just one thing left now.

He went back into the dressing room and retrieved the pair of backup portal rings he had built just for a moment like this. One didn't get to where he was now without learning how to plan ahead.

Always have a backup.

With the extra rings in hand, the boy left the dressing room for the last time before running over to the water tank that was currently being concealed by the stage curtain. He dropped one of the rings into the tank.

Gotta make sure you have this, for sure.

He then placed the other ring under the steps that were by the tank.

That was it.

They were now all set.

Stewie walked over to the trick table and took a second to calm himself down before proceeding to push it out onto the stage. It looked like he had finished just in time. Brian appeared to be finishing up.

"So, you see, while we may have had a bit of a rough start, I promise you that your patience will be well worth it."

Once that was said, Stewie returned to the stage with the table.

Brian turned to him and smiled.

"We all good to go, Stella?"

The infant nodded as he finished placing the table at the center of the stage, turning to the audience as he spoke.

"All set!"

He struck a pose.

"On with the show!"

The crowd cheered, obviously relieved that things were returning to some form of normalcy after such an unconventional start. Brian walked over and took his place behind the table.

The show proceeded on as originally planned from there as Brian miced up with the microphone that was on the table and began speaking again.

"As plenty of you probably know, there's one little guy who usually likes to make an appearance at our shows who has yet to make his grand appearance, so how about we go ahead and start things out by summoning him?"

Stewie clapped his hands, playing up his excitement for show.

"Oh, yes! We need to bring out Houdini! He's probably wondering why you haven't called for him yet, babe."

The canine nodded and then took off his top hat.

"One criminally cute rabbit coming right up!"

The dog held the hat out so the audience could see inside it. He even flicked his wrist and materialized a wand which he used to skim around the hat before placing it right-side up and shaking it a few times to further indicate his point that there was nothing inside. The hat was then set down on its side briefly, and that's when the canine made the grab and swiftly took the handkerchief with Houdini in it to place inside the hat before setting it upside down on the table. He then reached inside the hat.

"Alright, buddy. I know we're late, but you can come out now."

Brian dug around in the hat a bit as he undid the handkerchief. He looked over at Stewie.

"I think he's being stubborn."

The child placed his hands on his hips and sighed before calling out to the rabbit.

"Houdini! It's showtime, baby!"

Brian dug around for a few more seconds before smiling.

"Ah ha!"

The dog grabbed the animal by the scuff and lifted him up and out of the hat.

"Here he is!"

The audience began clapping as Houdini was set down on the table. The small animal immediately hopped over closer to Stewie who began patting his pet on the top of the head as congratulations for doing yet another good job as he spoke to the crowd.

"This little guy here is Houdini, and he's been with us since pretty much the start of our act. Can't do a show as important as this without him."

Some people in the audience laughed, others cooed, but hardly anyone could deny how adorable the extra addition to the show was as he sat there and received affection from his owner. Brian even reached over and offered up a few pats of his own as he nodded his head.

"Absolutely. Wouldn't dream of starting tonight off without good ole Houdini here."

But then he addressed Stewie.

"I guess now would be a good time for you to show everyone just what you can do, Stella."

The infant hummed in agreement and then turned to walk towards the front of the stage as he began speaking to the audience once again.

"The Amazing Brian is right. You people waited long enough, so let's keep this train chugging along."

As Stewie talked to the audience, Brian grabbed a blindfold from under the table and went over to put it on the boy.

"For this next segment, I will demonstrate the incredible connection that The Amazing Brian and I share."

The blindfold went over the infant's eyes.

"While I wear this blindfold, he will venture out into the audience, picking several volunteers at random. These volunteers will then give him an item of their choosing, and he will attempt to mentally project the image of this item to me."

Once the blindfold was secure, Brian took over as he made his way off of the stage into the rows of seats, searching for an attendee who was game to participate.

"Alright. Who wants to help us out here?"

Several people raised their hands. The dog made his way over to an Asian woman.

"Excuse me, ma'am. Would you mind handing me something that you have on your person?"

The woman nodded and produced an eyeglass case from her purse. She handed it to the dog. Brian held it up for everyone to see as he shouted to Stewie.

"Can you identify this, now, Stella?"

The child paused for a moment, appearing to concentrate very hard before answering.

"Is it? Do you have some kind of case?"

A few people in the crowd gasped as Brian nodded his head.

"I do! Can you see what kind of case it is, though?"

The boy snapped his fingers as it came to him.

"Is it a case for that lovely woman's glasses?"

The audience began applauding.

"Yes! Yes, it is!"

Brian handed the case back to the woman before inspecting the crowd for another volunteer. While he was doing this, Stewie spoke to the crowd.

"When you're choosing your items, ladies and gentlemen, try and pick something that has some kind of special meaning to you. I'm using my connection with Brian to pick up on what he's seeing, but the more sentimental something is to a person, the easier it is to project that object to another's mind."

Brian stopped by a middle-aged man in a grey sweatshirt.

"You, sir! Do you have something like that on you?"

The man nodded and pulled out his wallet, producing a bright red guitar pick and handing it over to the dog.

"Thank you, sir."

Brian held it up where everyone could see even though the pick was quite small.

"Describe this now, would you please, my love?"

Stewie tapped at his chin a few times.

"Ok… Well, I'm sensing music, but I doubt that the gentlemen next to you brought an instrument with him into the theater."

Several people chuckled, including Brian.

"That would be sorta ridiculous."

The baby nodded as he remained standing in his spot.

"Sooooo, it must be something used to play an instrument, and...I think I'm seeing strings… Is it a guitar pick, babe?"

More sounds of amazement from the audience as they began clapping again.

"It is! Very good, but let's take it a step further. Can you tell me the overall color of this man's guitar pick?"

The boy tapped his foot.

"Hmmmm. It's a bright color… I'm seeing red?"

Without another word, Brian handed the guitar pick back to the stunned man as the audience continued applauding while he searched for someone else in the crowd. The canine made his way over to a younger looking man, a finger going up to point at him as he drew closer.

"You there!"

The man smiled and quickly took off his watch, handing it to the dog once he had gotten to him. Brian held up the watch.

"Can you identify this piece, Stella?"

A smirk came to the child's face.

"Oh, that's easy. It's a watch."

By this point, the people weren't surprised to see Stella declaring what was in Brian's paw so effortlessly, but they were no less amazed as another round of applause was then heard. Brian handed the man back his watch and began scouting again.

"Ok. One more… One more…"

Plenty of hands went up, but Brian chose to focus on an older-looking man with a neatly trimmed mustache and goatee combo.

"Ok. You'll be our last volunteer."

The man was already waving something in the air, and upon arriving next to him, Brian could see that it was a dollar bill of some sort. After inspecting further, he could tell that it was a one-hundred dollar bill. The dog took it and held it high.

"Ok. Got something really interesting for you, right here, Stella."

Stewie's face scrunched up.

"Alright. I'm getting something, but it's pretty fuzzy. Not detecting much sentimental value…"

There was a pause, and then the baby continued.

"Whatever it is it's...small? But I believe that it's also worth a decent amount. Thin...like paper."

A hand went up to massage his temple as he tried to concentrate.

"Is it...money?"

The canine chuckled over the sounds of the stunned crowd.

"I believe that's what you're supposed to tell me."

The boy rolled his head to indicate that he was rolling his eyes behind the blindfold.

"Ok, fine. It's money, but more precisely, it's a hundred dollar bill."

More clapping as the canine handed the man back his money before sprinting back up to the stage. Once back up there with his partner, the dog removed the blindfold and held his arms out towards Stewie.

"The Fabulous Stella, ladies and gentlemen!"

The crowd continued clapping as Stewie took a bow.

"Thank you! Thank you! You're all too kind!"

The audience continued applauding for just a little while longer before quieting down. Once the room had fallen back into silence, Brian whipped out his wand and pointed it towards the disguised infant. Stewie took that as his cue and placed a finger onto his bracelet as he awaited the magic words.

"Rise now!"

The dog began to lift his wand, so Stewie began to move his finger across the bracelet, slowly lifting himself up off of the floor with the levitation pad he had stashed under the stage. This was something of a signature trick, by this point, but the shocked reactions of the crowd were always the same. Everyone in the audience ooooooo'd at the sight, watching with wide eyes as the boy was lifted higher and higher off of the ground. Brian looked out to everyone watching the incredible display once Stewie was several feet into the air.

"Don't try this stuff at home, people. It takes an insane amount of concentration to keep someone up in the air like this."

Brian was pretty sure he heard audible gulping as Stewie continued to rise up until he was almost out of sight at the top of the stage area. That was the peak. The child then did a few elegant spins and twirls to indicate that he was not on any kind of wire. Several people went ahead and started clapping, but most of the crowd just continued to watch on nervously with no idea of how this was happening. Stewie remained at the top for only a little while longer before Brian finally started to lower his wand, indicating it was time for the boy to make his descent. Soon, the baby was safely back on the ground, and that's when the rest of the audience joined in the cheering. The pair smiled out into the audience and waited for them to stop before proceeding on to the next segment of the show, Stewie indicating to a stagehand just offstage to lift the curtain that was behind them. Brian spoke to the audience as the curtain began going up to reveal a clear box full of water.

"What you've seen so far tonight has merely been a warm up, everybody. This next part of the show is not for the faint of heart."

While Brian prepped the audience for what they were about to see, Stewie went to push their table off to the side before retrieving the straitjacket. He then walked back over to Brian and assisted the canine with putting the item on before leading him over to the tank and up the steps. Both of them were feeling much more at ease about this trick than last time, so there was hardly any concern as Stewie practically pushed his boyfriend into the tank before rushing down the steps and sealing the canine into the water-filled death trap. As Brian began struggling with the straitjacket, Stewie addressed the audience.

"Bound up. Sealed in a box filled with water that can only be opened from the outside. Only so much time to escape before his body runs out of oxygen and tires out! How will The Amazing Brian get out of this one? Well, watch and be amazed, ladies and gentlemen!"

He then stepped to the side so that everyone could focus on Brian. By now, the canine had already gotten one of his arms free, prompting the people in the audience to gasp as they watched on in anticipation, nobody wanting to watch a dog drown on stage tonight.

They had nothing to worry about, though.

Brian was managing to get out a lot faster this time. He was already fiddling with the strap on the back of the jacket, and soon, he had managed to loosen it enough so that he could pull the whole thing up and over his head. A quick grab for a portal ring that had been placed inside by a stagehand only a little while earlier, and then...poof…

The dog and all the water inside the box vanished without a trace. The theater went completely silent for a few seconds before the sound of murmuring in the confused crowd began to make itself known, but those murmurs were soon replaced by loud cheers as Brian suddenly appeared from around the tank, completely safe, if not completely soaked. The dog placed fists on his hips and turned to Stewie.

"Another successful night of escaping imminent death!"

The crowd's cheers increased in volume. Stewie giggled with glee at the enthusiasm.

"People! People! Don't wear yourselves out! We're not even done yet!"

It took awhile for the theater to go quiet again, and when it did, Brian waved to the crowd as he started to head offstage.

"Ok. I'm going to go get something for the next trick. Stella here will keep you all entertained."

Stewie turned to the dog and looked at him sternly.

"Don't take too long, now. I already had to go rescuing you once tonight."

The people in attendance all laughed as Brian quickly ran backstage. He beelined it for the dressing room where he began shedding his wet magician attire. After shaking himself mostly dry in the corner, he threw on a matching outfit and left the room. He then walked over to a basket, about a third as tall as him, that was sitting on a rolling platform and began pushing it out onto the stage but not before motioning for a stagehand to lower the curtain so that Stewie could recover the rings later without being seen. Stewie, as always, was doing a phenomenal job of interacting with the crowd, having used the opportunity for a brief question and answer segment. He was just finishing up an answer, right now.

"So, you see, we didn't actually commit to this thing until fairly recently, and we probably never would have if it weren't for people like you caring about our act so much."

He looked over and saw Brian arriving with the basket for their next trick before turning back to the audience.

"And that will have to be the last question. Time for us to get back to the show!"

The basket was placed at the center of the stage and locked into place. Stewie took his place beside it as Brian went over to the table. He threw on his top hat and then grabbed several swords from underneath the table before going back over to the basket. The child turned towards the dog and lifted up his arms.

"Throw me on in there!"

The audience watched on curiously as the canine set down the swords and then assisted his partner into the basket before sealing the boy in. He then grabbed a sword and looked at the crowd seriously.

"This is definitely something you shouldn't try at home."

Silence fell in the room as Brian began to slowly push one of the swords down through the top of the basket. He plunged it down all the way to the hilt and then grabbed another sword. This sword went in at an entirely different angel.

Slowly.

Steadily.

He knew Stewie could do this, but he never wanted to push his luck with something like this.

He grabbed another sword once that one was all the way in, pushing it in at yet another angle, and then, he took the last sword and shoved it in at the last remaining angle. From what anyone on the outside could tell, it seemed impossible to be in that basket without getting skewered. Brian unlocked the basket from its fixed position and gave it a quick spin to further indicate this point before locking it back in place. The dog then began the process of slowly removing the swords.

One sword.

Two swords.

Three.

Four.

Once they were all removed, he pulled off the lid of the basket.

"Reveal yourself, Stella!"

Now, of course, Stewie didn't come out immediately. He needed to build at least a little suspense, so he waited until he could hear a few worried voices in the crowd before finally emerging from out of the basket. Several members of the audience sighed in relief as the boy took a seat on the edge of the basket and threw his hands into the air.

"Ta-da!"

Everyone clapped loudly for yet another death defying feat. Stewie looked over at Brian, and the dog looked back as they both smiled at each other.

Everything was going so well.

Brian helped Stewie down to the floor and then unlocked the basket as he spoke to the still cheering crowd.

"Alright! Now, it's Stella's turn to run offstage for a bit while I show you guys a neat little trick."

The child began pushing the basket offstage, and Brian grabbed up the swords and carried them back to the table. Houdini was still sitting there, taking in the sight of everything, so the dog gave the bunny an affectionate pat on the head.

"Such a well-behaved little guy, isn't he, ladies and gentlemen?"

Houdini's whiskers twitched as several people in the crowd gave him a good-hearted cheer. Brian then moved the table back towards the center of the stage before grabbing the props for one of the first tricks he ever learned.

The linking rings.

Meanwhile, as Brian was performing that routine, Stewie had informed one of the stagehands to take down the water tank setup and start moving Fae into place after having recovered the portal rings. He was now hurrying to set up the rings for what would end up being their grand finale of the night. He placed one ring in a trick box that was used for their sawed-in-half routine and then made his way out of the stage area completely and into the halls of the building where he ascended the stairs leading up to the balcony. He set that ring in a storage area that was next to the doors that led into the theater. Then, he quickly made his way back towards the stage, grabbing the trick box before taking a spot just offstage. Brian was finishing up his segment with the linking rings when he had returned.

"And, now, watch as the final two rings phase right through each other."

The dog began to rotate the seemingly linked rings against each other, slowly pulling them further and further apart until delivering one last hard yank as they broke free. The audience clapped their approval, and the canine then set the rings down, which served as Stewie's cue to begin making his way back on stage with the trick box. The child waved to his adoring public as Brian made room for the trick box by sliding the table off to the side again before rejoining Stewie by the box. The boy motioned towards the object.

"And, now, The Amazing Brian and I shall perform a classic for all you lovely people."

He looked over at the dog.

"Let's get sawin'!"

The canine chuckled and then assisted his partner into the box, making sure his head and feet were properly in place before closing the box and locking it tight. The dog then walked back over to the table to retrieve the two saw blades necessary for the trick. Stewie craned his head, trying his best to watch. His eyes caught sight of Houdini still on the table, and he frowned.

"Honey!?"

Brian turned around with the saw blades in hand, looking confused.

"Uh...yeah?"

The infant motioned with his head towards his pet.

"Would you please get somebody to take Houdini off the stage. I really don't know why I have to ask for this every time. I don't want him seeing his mommy spit in two."

There was laughter heard from the crowd as a stagehand quickly ran out and retrieved the bunny. Stewie shouted after him as he exited.

"Thank you, Kenny! Just take him to the dressing room! I'm sure he'll be ready for a nap soon!"

There was more laughter, but all the laughter soon ceased once Brian was back over by Stewie and lifting up one of the blades. He ran a finger along one of the blades to show that it was sharp. The lights in the theater went down slightly, and all the attention in the room was focused on Brian as he began to lower the blade through the center of the box. Stewie winced, a nervous expression on his face as the blade cut deeper and deeper. For a while, the blade seemed to cut through effortlessly, but then, Brian stopped as if he had hit something harder. The canine applied a bit more force, and eventually, the blade fell all the way down as it finished cutting its way through the box. Stewie cried out as if he were in pain, but Brian didn't stop. He instead picked up the second blade and began to lower that one down, as well.

The audience began speaking amongst themselves in mild concern, but the dog ignored them as he wiggled the blade back and forth to force it all the way down. Meanwhile, Stewie continued to scrunch up his face and moan in apparent agony. Once the second blade had made its way all the way through and come to rest, the canine stepped back and turned his head to speak to his partner.

"How do you feel, Stella?"

The baby took a few deep breaths before nodding his head.

"I think… I think I'm fine."

Satisfied, the dog stepped up again. He placed a paw on both halves of the box and began to slowly push them apart. The two halves of Stewie appeared to separate, both his head and feet still moving and making the illusion all that much more convincing. The canine pushed the halves as far apart as he could before moving over to the half with the feet and giving it a showy spin for the audience who all gasped in amazement. He then did the same thing with the other half. The child shut his eyes to avoid getting dizzy as the animal spun him around a few times. Once the spinning stopped, Brian took both halves of the box and began to slowly bring them back together. The two halves became whole again, and then, the dog began to carefully remove the blades before setting them down and unlatching the box. Brian threw the box open with a flourish and looked down to inspect his work.

Of course, Stewie was still in one piece.

He extended a paw down to help the boy out of the box, and everyone cheered when the baby emerged without a single scratch. Before exiting the box completely, Stewie palmed the portal ring that he had hidden in there previously. He then stealthily handed it off to Brian who placed it into his pocket before the both of them took a bow in front of the box. They continued to bask in the applause for a few more moments before Stewie stepped forward to speak to the crowd.

"Thank you once again, ladies and gentlemen. You've truly been one of the loveliest audiences we've ever had the pleasure of performing for."

He frowned and then continued.

"I'm afraid our time together will soon be coming to an end, though."

As Stewie talked, Brian looked over to a stagehand and gave her the sign to start lifting the curtain again.

"For, you see, with this next illusion, I will vanish, leaving behind something else entirely."

The curtain went up, revealing a cage with a yellow curtain attached to the back. The audience watched on with intense curiosity as Brian and Stewie began walking over to the cage. He waved to the crowd, hammering home the point that this was his farewell for the evening. Brian opened the cage and then helped the boy inside before locking him in the shiny metal prison. Stewie extended a hand out past the bars, a smile on his face as he addressed the crowd for seemingly the final time.

"Have a lovely rest of your evening, everyone! Perhaps I shall see you again at another show!"

The crowd applauded the lovely assistant as Brian walked behind the cage and grabbed the yellow curtain by one of its ends. He wrapped it all the way around one half of the cage, and then, he wrapped the other end around the other side, completely concealing the interior with the thick yellow material. On the outside of the cage, Brian made his wand appear before starting to wave it all around. On the inside, Stewie was hurrying to open up a trapdoor in the bottom of the cage that led to another trapdoor on the stage. Once the way below the stage was clear, the child took hold of a thin wire that was attached to a false wall in the back of the cage. Behind that wall was Fae awaiting her big debut. The infant smiled.

All you now, girl.

He then hopped down below the stage, pulling on the wire as he dropped which then released the false wall. The wall fell flush against the floor of the cage, simultaneously concealing the trapdoor and revealing the striped tiger who had been hidden only a little while ago. It couldn't have gone off much better. Realizing the trick had worked, Stewie rushed off to the location for the final trick of the night.

By the time Stewie had made his getaway, Brian was finishing up his little performance. He pointed at the cage with his wand dramatically.

"Vanish!"

A person offstage activated a switch, and the curtain around the cage fell away revealing only Fae stalking around in the cage. The room erupted into loud applause, Brian turning around to take a bow as he walked to the front of the stage. He waited for the noise to die down before speaking.

"Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen."

He reached into his pocket and palmed the portal ring.

"Well, now that Stella has made her exit. I'm afraid that I should do the same."

A few people in the crowd booed to indicate their displeasure at having arrived at the end of the show, causing Brian to snicker as he put up a paw.

"Come on now. This is the end of tonight's show, but me and Stella aren't going anywhere. From now on, you can find us performing here every week for the foreseeable future, and I really do hope that all of you decide to come see us again sometime soon. It's been an absolute pleasure performing for you all tonight. Give yourselves a round of applause."

The audience did just that as they began clapping and cheering again. The dog allowed them to continue on with this for several seconds before activating the portal ring and tossing it into the air. He tossed it so that it would fall down on top of him, and the cheering crowd was so distracted that several of them almost didn't register the fact that The Amazing Brian had just vanished into thin air right before their very eyes.

While the crowd was losing their damn minds, Brian emerged from the other portal ring that had been stashed in the storage room to find Stewie already there waiting for him. The child greeted the canine with a deep kiss before pulling away with a smirk.

"Let's go wow them one more time, babe."

The canine nodded, picking up the portal ring before the pair of them left the storage area and walked through the doors leading to the balcony of the theater. They made their way down the aisles passing several rows of occupied seats before one of the audience members noticed them.

"Oh my god! Is that them!?"

Everyone who heard turned to see the pair, their eyes going wide in pure stupefaction as Brian and Stewie took their place at the edge of the balcony overlooking the rest of the theater where they called down to everyone else who had yet to catch on to what was going on.

"Goodnight, ladies and gentlemen!"

A spotlight focused in on the pair, drawing everyone's eyes to that particular spot on the balcony. Once Brian and Stewie were sure that everyone could see them, Brian took the ring and tossed it into the air one last time, wrapping an arm around Stewie so that they would both vanish and then reappear onto the stage together for their big showstopper.

It was almost too much. The people in the crowd could hardly process what was happening. One minute the dog and baby pair were completely across the venue, but now they were right back on stage.

They didn't know what else to do besides all stand up and cheer loud enough to the point that it felt like the building was starting to shake. Brian and Stewie had nothing left to say. They just stood there and took in the praise and adoration as some stagehands slid out a pair of platforms that read The Amazing Brian and The Fabulous Stella. They each struck a pose on their respective platforms, Brian flicking his wrist to reveal his wand one last time before suddenly making the end of it burst into flame. Fae was released from the cage and allowed to wander around. She walked up in front of Brian and Stewie and roared out into the crowd. And to top the grand scene all off, some doves were released backstage and set free to fly around the stage as the crowd continued to cheer loudly while giving their entertainment for the night an ecstatic standing ovation.

Brian and Stewie remained standing like that for some time before looking over at each other, immense respect and pride exuding from both of their expressions. At some point, a bouquet of roses was tossed onto the stage. Brian had to think fast to catch it, extinguishing his wand before allowing it to fall to the ground. He looked back at Stewie to find that the child had drawn closer to him.

The love in those eyes.

The canine smiled affectionately at the infant, all the boisterous noise of the crowd and everything happening on stage fading away as he took in the sight of the one he loved the most during the happiest moment of his life.

"I-I love you."

Stewie leaned in closer.

"I love you, too."

The boy then reached up and took Brian's top hat, placing the hat over their faces and leaning in further to share an intense, concealed kiss with his lover right on the stage as the crowd continued to cheer them on.

---

The show had ended hours ago. All the stagehands had cleaned up and gone home. Charles was still in his office. Houdini was asleep in the dressing room. And the theater was now completely empty aside from the dog and baby pair that were currently sitting on the edge of the stage and holding hands. They had been sitting there for some time, neither of them ready to let this magical night come to an end.

They just wanted to savor the moment, so they sat there in comfortable silence overlooking all the seats that had been filled earlier in the evening. There was no telling how much time went by before they finally heard Charles walking up from behind them.

"You two planning to leave anytime soon?"

Brian and Stewie turned around to see the man smiling down at them as the dog answered the man's question.

"Oh, we can get going if you need us to, Charles. Me and Stella were just...kinda…you know…"

The man held up his hand, indicating for the canine to stop talking.

"Don't worry. I understand, Brian."

He pulled his gaze away from the pair and looked out past them into the theater as he continued.

"You've had quite an eventful day. I can understand if you need a moment to recover, take it all in."

He looked back at them.

"I'm still amazed that you managed to pull it off. You two are more exceptional than even I gave you credit for."

The man chuckled.

"I need to be getting home, but you have my permission to stay here as long as you want. All the doors are already locked except for the back entrance. All I ask is that you take care of that for me before heading out."

With that, their agent turned to leave, stopping only one last time once he'd reached the end of the stage as he looked to tell them one last thing.

"Good work, you two. I look forward to seeing where your career takes you."

And, then, the man was gone, leaving Brian and Stewie in the theater completely alone. Stewie looked over at his partner and moved in closer, resting his head in the canine's side as he sighed happily.

"We really did it, didn't we?"

Brian nodded as he brought his arm around the child.

"Yeah… We did…"

He looked down at the boy in his arms and caught Stewie looking up at him. The dog placed a kiss on the infant's forehead and then continued his thought.

"Would have never happened without you, though. If you hadn't pushed me into this...hadn't rescued me from Slade…"

The baby shrugged and snuggled in closer.

"Yeah."

He giggled.

"I know, but don't sell yourself short. You've...come such a long way from struggling at birthday parties, Brian. I'm so...proud of you."

The canine's tail began to wag, beating out a steady rhythm on the stage floor. It was amazing how much those words meant to him, and he had to fight not to get too worked up as he responded to the compliment.

"Tha-Thank you, Stewie."

Their eyes met again, and soon, they were sharing a deep and heated kiss. Stewie placed a tiny hand on the canine's chest and pushed him down onto his back before moving to straddle the animal as he pulled his lips away to speak.

"We are alone, you know…"

Brian knew what the infant was insinuating. A cocky smile materialized on his face.

"You that desperate for it, sweetheart?"

The baby laughed.

"Oh, don't you wish."

He then got up off of Brian and began walking away, a teasing smirk on his face that Brian could read from a mile away. Before the child had made it even a few feet away from the animal, Brian had already bolted up and tackled him back down to the ground. The boy squealed, pretending to fight to get away, but the giant grin on his face completely betrayed his intentions. Still, he wasn't about to lose this game. He realized which spot of the stage Brian had him pinned to. It was the exact spot where his levitation pad had been set up, so while the canine was on top of him gloating, Stewie reached down for his bracelet and activated the pad. Brian's eyes immediately widened upon realizing that he was rising up off of the floor.

"What the hell!?"

The baby just snickered.

"Oh, come now. You should be used to fantastic feats by now."

The child took them up higher and higher, and soon, the dog was clinging to his partner as he looked down at the floor below.

"I...I never got to do this."

Noticing that Brian's fear at being so high up was very real, Stewie decided to tone down the teasing as he wrapped his arms around the animal and began petting the top of his head to calm him down.

"It's ok, babe. It's completely safe. I would never put you in any actual danger."

The dog closed his eyes and focused on Stewie's comforting presence for a while before reopening them and loosening his grip. He knew Stewie was telling him the truth. He knew he could trust Stewie.

This was fine.

He was safe.

...It was more than fine, actually. As he floated there and adjusted to the completely new sensation of weightlessness, Brian couldn't help but embrace the feeling of freedom that was awakening in him. After all, who else in the world got to experience things like this!?

He couldn't believe how lucky he fucking was.

Brian finally let go of Stewie and just allowed himself to float there for a while next to his partner. Stewie smiled at him and did a quick spin in the air before retaking his place on top of Brian.

"See?"

A familiar playful look then appeared in the baby's eyes as he reached down to start undoing the canine's pants.

"We're completely safe and free up here."

The child then yanked the dog's pants off and tossed them down to the ground below. Brian just looked on in slight disbelief at just what Stewie was trying to make happen.

He was totally game for it, though. The engorged length that was growing between his legs was more than enough proof of that as he laughed at the absurdity of it all.

"Guess there really is nothing we can't do together."

The boy had already tossed off his shoes and was now working to remove his underwear as he replied to his lover.

"Not a damn thing, my love."

The underwear came off, and Brian went to retrieve the small bottle of lube that he had learned to always carry on his person as Stewie continued talking to him.

"What we have truly is something magical."

The canine poured some lube into his paw and then began to work the liquid up and down his shaft as he nodded in agreement.

"And we have to savor every magical moment of it."

Stewie couldn't wait for too long, though. As soon as he felt Brian had done an adequate job he pulled the canine's paw off of his dick and took his place just over the organ, leaning in to give the animal a deep kiss before lowering himself onto his partner.

They both hissed in pleasure, neither of them wasting any time before starting to move in unison, the freedom granted to them by floating there in the air allowing the movements to happen more effortlessly than ever before.

It really didn't get much more magical than this, the pair of magicians making love there suspended in the empty theater that they intended to perform in regularly for who knew how long after tonight.

This was it.

How could it get any better than this?

They didn't know what the future held exactly, but what they were sure of was that it was bright before them.

So, as they embraced each other as one, their bodies pressed against each other and twirling in the air, they both knew one thing for sure. Every moment together was a precious one, and they had to capture it with the same enthusiasm and gusto with which they had resolved to capture this one right here.

This one single magic moment in a relationship that surely had many left in store for the future.

All made possible by the magic in their chemistry.

The End